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Activities: “What do ‘simple,’ ‘continuous,’ and ‘perfect’ mean in English verb tenses?”

By: revel arroway
Associated Articles

These activities are part of our English Grammar series. The skills we are practicing here are covered in our article:

Activity 1: Identify the aspect

Can you identify the aspect used in each of these sentences?

Hint:
look at the auxiliary!
  • I eat every day.

  • She is studying now.

  • They have learned that word.

  • John played chess yesterday.

  • I have read that book.

  • She will be traveling next week

  • It rains a lot in April.

Activity 2: Jill and Jimmy are having a chat

Read this conversation. Then identify the aspect used in each sentence.

A drawing of a red-haired white woman in a teal shirt and a black-haired white boy in a green and orange polo.
  • Jimmy: Mommy! Mommy! I’ve seen little green men in the backyard!

  • Jill: What? What are you saying Jimmy?

  • Jimmy: I was playing in the backyard…

  • Jimmy: …and I saw a lot of little green men!

  • Jill: Jimmy, little green men don’t exist.

  • Jill: You haven’t seen any out there.

  • Jimmy: But I did! I did see little green men!

  • Jimmy: Five of them were walking in the grass!

  • Jill: Well, I haven’t seen any green men, little or big, in the backyard all day.

  • Jimmy: You don’t believe me! I’ll show you! Come into the yard with me.

  • Jill: Okay, okay Jimmy. We will go look.

  • Jimmy: Do you see them? Right there!

  • Jimmy: Five little green men are walking in the grass!

    A drawing of two very small green plastic army men (the toy) in the grass.
  • Jill: Well, what do you know?

  • Jill: There ARE little green men in the backyard!

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