🧠 TENSES

Think of tense as answering only 3 questions:

• When? (time)
• Is it finished or continuing?
• Is it a fact or experience?

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1. 🟢 PRESENT SIMPLE (Most Important Basic Tense)

📌 Structure:

Subject + base verb (+ s/es for he/she/it)

📌 Use it for:

• Facts
• Habits
• General truth

✅ Examples:

• Water boils at 100°C.
• I go to school every day.
• He works in a bank.

❌ Common mistake:

• He go to school ❌
  ✔ He goes to school

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2. 🟡 PRESENT CONTINUOUS

📌 Structure:

am / is / are + verb-ing

📌 Use it for:

• Actions happening now
• Temporary situations
• Trends

✅ Examples:

• I am studying IELTS now.
• Prices are increasing.
• He is working in Dhaka this month.

❌ Mistake:

• I study now ❌
  ✔ I am studying now

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3. 🔵 PAST SIMPLE

📌 Structure:

verb + ed / 2nd form

📌 Use it for:

• Finished actions in the past
• Specific time (yesterday, last year)

✅ Examples:

• I visited Cox’s Bazar last year.
• He studied in Dhaka.

❌ Mistake:

• I have seen him yesterday ❌
  ✔ I saw him yesterday

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4. 🟣 PRESENT PERFECT

📌 Structure:

have/has + past participle

📌 Use it for:

• Experience
• Life events (no time mentioned)
• Recent actions with result

✅ Examples:

• I have visited Cox’s Bazar.
• She has finished her homework.
• I have lived here for 5 years.

❌ Mistake:

• I am living here for 5 years ❌
  ✔ I have lived here for 5 years

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5. 🔴 PAST CONTINUOUS

📌 Structure:

was/were + verb-ing

📌 Use it for:

• Action in progress in past
• Interrupted action

✅ Examples:

• I was studying when he came.
• They were playing football at 5 pm.

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6. 🟠 FUTURE SIMPLE

📌 Structure:

will + base verb

📌 Use it for:

• Instant decisions
• Predictions

✅ Examples:

• I will help you.
• It will rain tomorrow.

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7. 🟤 FUTURE (GOING TO)

📌 Structure:

am/is/are + going to + verb

📌 Use it for:

• Planned actions
• Strong evidence prediction

✅ Examples:

• I am going to start IELTS course.
• Look at those clouds, it is going to rain.

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🔥 IELTS MOST IMPORTANT RULE (VERY CRITICAL)

👉 Don’t mix tenses randomly.

❌ Wrong:

• I went to school and I am studying there now for 5 years.

✔ Correct:

• I went to school and I have been studying there for 5 years.

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🧩 SIMPLE WAY TO REMEMBER

Time	Tense
Habit / Fact	Present Simple
Now	Present Continuous
Finished Past	Past Simple
Life experience	Present Perfect
Background past action	Past Continuous
Future	Will / Going to

 

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🧪 PRACTICE (Do this now)

Try to correct these:

1. I am go to school every day.
2. I have seen him yesterday.
3. I lived here for 5 years.

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