Common Errors in English Tenses With Examples

Are you struggling with English tenses? You’re not alone! In this post, we’ll dive into the Common Errors in English Tenses and help you understand where things often go wrong. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your grammar, this guide will highlight the most frequent mistakes learners make and provide simple tips to avoid them. By the end of this post, you’ll have a better grasp of how to use tenses correctly in your sentences. Let’s clear up the confusion and improve your grammar.

What are Errors in Tenses?

Tense errors occur when there is incorrect use of verb forms to express time in English. These mistakes can:

  • Change the intended meaning of sentences
  • Create confusion about when events occurred
  • Make communication less effective
  • Affect the logical flow of ideas

Common causes of tense errors include:

  1. Misunderstanding of tense rules
  2. Interference from native language
  3. Lack of practice with complex tense forms
  4. Confusion between similar tense structures
  5. Inconsistent tense usage within a sentence or paragraph

Types of Common errors in English tenses

1. Agreement Errors

❌ Incorrect: “The students was studying.” ✓ Correct: “The students were studying.”

2. Formation Errors

❌ Incorrect: “She have went to school.” ✓ Correct: “She has gone to school.”

3. Sequence Errors

❌ Incorrect: “After I finish my work, I went home.” ✓ Correct: “After I finished my work, I went home.”

4. Mixed Tense Errors

❌ Incorrect: “Yesterday I go to the store and bought some food.” ✓ Correct: “Yesterday I went to the store and bought some food.”

5. Aspect Errors

❌ Incorrect: “I am knowing the answer.” ✓ Correct: “I know the answer.”

Common errors in English tenses Common errors in english tenses with examples

30 Common errors in English tenses (with Examples & Corrections)

Here’s a table listing common tense mistakes, explaining why they are wrong, and showing the corrected version.

# Common Error Why It’s Wrong? Correct Sentence
1 She has went to the market. Incorrect past participle of “go.” She has gone to the market.
2 I didn’t ate breakfast today. Double past tense (did + ate). I didn’t eat breakfast today.
3 He was play football when it rained. Missing continuous form. He was playing football when it rained.
4 They had saw the movie before. Incorrect past participle of “see.” They had seen the movie before.
5 By the time I arrived, she left. Should use past perfect for earlier action. By the time I arrived, she had left.
6 I am working here since 2015. Present continuous doesn’t work with “since.” I have been working here since 2015.
7 He don’t likes pizza. Wrong auxiliary verb with “he.” He doesn’t like pizza.
8 She has meet him before. Wrong past participle of “meet.” She has met him before.
9 When I was a child, I was going to school every day. Past continuous is wrong for repeated actions. When I was a child, I went to school every day.
10 If he will come, we will go out. Future tense shouldn’t be in the “if” clause. If he comes, we will go out.
11 She is liking ice cream. “Like” is a stative verb, not continuous. She likes ice cream.
12 He did called me yesterday. Double past tense (did + called). He called me yesterday.
13 I was be late for school. Wrong verb structure. I was late for school.
14 The train has left an hour ago. “Ago” doesn’t work with present perfect. The train left an hour ago.
15 She was cook when I arrived. Incorrect past continuous form. She was cooking when I arrived.
16 I have seen him yesterday. “Yesterday” requires past simple. I saw him yesterday.
17 He is hearing a strange noise. “Hear” is a stative verb, not continuous. He hears a strange noise.
18 We didn’t went to the park. Double past tense (did + went). We didn’t go to the park.
19 I am thinking it is a bad idea. “Think” (opinion) is a stative verb. I think it is a bad idea.
20 She have finished her homework. Wrong auxiliary verb “have” with “she.” She has finished her homework.
21 I had been met him before. Incorrect past perfect continuous structure. I had met him before.
22 When she arrived, they was eating dinner. “They” needs “were,” not “was.” When she arrived, they were eating dinner.
23 I was borned in 1995. “Born” is not a regular verb. I was born in 1995.
24 He drinks coffee yesterday. Present tense with past time marker. He drank coffee yesterday.
25 She has written a book last year. Present perfect doesn’t work with past time markers. She wrote a book last year.
26 I am knowing the answer. “Know” is a stative verb, not continuous. I know the answer.
27 By the time we got there, the party finished. Needs past perfect for earlier event. By the time we got there, the party had finished.
28 She wasn’t understanding the question. Stative verbs don’t take continuous tense. She didn’t understand the question.
29 We had went to the beach before. Wrong past participle of “go.” We had gone to the beach before.
30 If I was you, I would take the job. “Was” should be “were” in conditional sentences. If I were you, I would take the job.

Key Takeaways:

Use correct past participle with present and past perfect tenses.
Avoid double past tenses (e.g., “did went” → “did go”).
Stative verbs (know, like, hear, understand, etc.) don’t take continuous tense.
“Since” & “for” → Use present perfect or perfect continuous (not present continuous).
Past perfect is used for earlier actions in the past.

Confusing the Present Tense Forms

Simple Present vs. Present Continuous

  • ❌ “I am loving this chocolate.” (incorrect with state verbs)
  • ✓ “I love this chocolate.”

Present Perfect vs. Present Perfect Continuous

  • ❌ “I have worked here for three hours.” (when still working)
  • ✓ “I have been working here for three hours.”

Common State Verb Errors

  • ❌ “I am knowing the answer.”
  • ✓ “I know the answer.”
  • ❌ “She is owning three cars.”
  • ✓ “She owns three cars.”

Confusing the Past Tense Forms

Simple Past vs. Past Perfect

  • ❌ “When I arrived, the train already left.”
  • ✓ “When I arrived, the train had already left.”

Past Perfect vs. Past Perfect Continuous

  • ❌ “I had waited for an hour when she called.”
  • ✓ “I had been waiting for an hour when she called.”

Common Irregular Verb Mistakes

  • ❌ “I have drank the water.”
  • ✓ “I have drunk the water.”
  • ❌ “She had broke the glass.”
  • ✓ “She had broken the glass.”

 Switching in and out of Present and Past Tense

Narrative Consistency

❌ Incorrect passage: “The sun was shining brightly. Birds are singing in the trees. Sarah walked to school and is feeling happy.”

✓ Correct passage: “The sun was shining brightly. Birds were singing in the trees. Sarah walked to school and was feeling happy.”

Historical Present

Note: Sometimes, switching to present tense can be intentional for dramatic effect: “In 1492, Columbus sails across the Atlantic. He encounters new lands and changes history forever.”

Misusing the Past Continuous Tense

Common Errors

  • ❌ “I was studying English for five years.”
  • ✓ “I had been studying English for five years.”

Correct Usage Examples

  • ✓ “I was studying when she called.”
  • ✓ “While I was working, it started to rain.”

Switching Tenses Around Dialogue Tags

Incorrect Switches

❌ “I can’t believe it,” she said. “This is amazing!” ❌ “I couldn’t believe it,” she says. “This was amazing!”

Correct Usage

✓ “I can’t believe it,” she says. “This is amazing!” ✓ “I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “This was amazing!”

Altering the Future Tense Forms

Will vs. Going to

  • ❌ “It will rain tomorrow.” (when based on evidence)
  • ✓ “It is going to rain tomorrow.” (prediction based on evidence)

Future Continuous Confusion

  • ❌ “I will working tomorrow.”
  • ✓ “I will be working tomorrow.”

Future Perfect Issues

  • ❌ “By next year, I will worked here for ten years.”
  • ✓ “By next year, I will have worked here for ten years.”

Verbal Victory: Overcoming Verb Tense Errors

Strategy 1: Timeline Mapping

Create a mental timeline for your story or sentence:

  • Past events → Past tense forms
  • Current events → Present tense forms
  • Future events → Future tense forms

Strategy 2: Context Clues

Look for time markers:

  • Yesterday, last week → Past tense
  • Now, currently → Present tense
  • Tomorrow, next week → Future tense

Strategy 3: Consistency Check

  1. Identify the main timeframe of your narrative
  2. Stick to corresponding tenses
  3. Only switch when there’s a logical reason

Strategy 4: Practice Exercises

Fix these passages:

  1. Mixing Tenses: ❌ “John enters the room and saw his friend. He is surprised and runs away.” ✓ “John entered the room and saw his friend. He was surprised and ran away.”
  2. Dialogue Issues: ❌ “I don’t understand,” she had said. “This makes no sense.” ✓ “I don’t understand,” she said. “This makes no sense.”
  3. Future Confusion: ❌ “By next month, I will finished the project and starting a new one.” ✓ “By next month, I will have finished the project and will be starting a new one.”

Tips for reduce common errors in English Tenses

  1. Read your writing aloud
  2. Create a tense chart for complex narratives
  3. Study model texts in your genre
  4. Practice with progressive difficulty
  5. Get feedback from others
  6. Keep a log of common mistakes

Remember: Mastering tense consistency takes time and practice. Focus on one area at a time and gradually build your skills.

Tense Error Correction Exercises with Answers

Exercise 1: Correct the Simple Present/Past Errors

  1. ❌ “Last week I go to the cinema.” ✓ “Last week I went to the cinema.”
  2. ❌ “She don’t like coffee.” ✓ “She doesn’t like coffee.”
  3. ❌ “They was happy yesterday.” ✓ “They were happy yesterday.”

Exercise 2: Perfect Tense Corrections

  1. ❌ “I have saw that movie last night.” ✓ “I saw that movie last night.”
  2. ❌ “She never been to Paris.” ✓ “She has never been to Paris.”
  3. ❌ “They had went to the party.” ✓ “They had gone to the party.”

Exercise 3: Progressive Tense Practice

  1. ❌ “I am having a car.” ✓ “I have a car.”
  2. ❌ “He working now.” ✓ “He is working now.”
  3. ❌ “They were study when I called.” ✓ “They were studying when I called.”

Common errors in English tenses Common errors in English tenses

Practice Exercises for Self-Study

Correct these sentences:

  1. “I living here since 2010.”
  2. “He don’t went to school yesterday.”
  3. “When I reached home, she already leave.”
  4. “We are having three cars in our garage.”
  5. “She never see this movie before.”

Answers:

  1. “I have been living here since 2010.”
  2. “He didn’t go to school yesterday.”
  3. “When I reached home, she had already left.”
  4. “We have three cars in our garage.”
  5. “She has never seen this movie before.”

Tips to Avoid Tense Errors

  1. Study the basic tense forms thoroughly
  2. Practice with irregular verbs regularly
  3. Pay attention to time markers in sentences
  4. Maintain tense consistency in writing
  5. Read extensively to develop a natural feel for tense usage
  6. Use a grammar checker for initial feedback
  7. Review your writing specifically for tense consistency

Common Time Markers and Their Tenses

  • Present Simple: usually, always, every day, never
  • Present Continuous: now, at the moment, currently
  • Past Simple: yesterday, last week, in 2020, ago
  • Present Perfect: since, for, already, yet, never
  • Past Perfect: before, after, by the time
  • Future: tomorrow, next week, in the future

FAQs on Common errors in English tenses

  • What is a common error in tenses?

    • A common error is mixing up the tenses within a sentence. For example, using the present tense in one part of the sentence and the past tense in another. It’s important to maintain consistency in tense throughout a sentence.
  • What is the most confusing tense in the English language?

    • The present perfect tense is often considered the most confusing. It’s used to talk about actions that started in the past and are still relevant in the present, but learners often confuse it with the simple past tense.
  • What is a common mistake in the future tense?

    • A common mistake is using the simple present tense to talk about future events, especially when referring to planned or scheduled actions. For example, instead of saying “I will go to the market,” some learners may incorrectly say “I go to the market tomorrow.”
  • What is the negative rule of tenses?

    • In the negative form, auxiliary verbs are used for most tenses. For example, in the present simple, we use “do not” (don’t) or “does not” (doesn’t), like “She does not like coffee.” In the past simple, we use “did not” (didn’t), like “They did not go to school yesterday.” The structure changes depending on the tense, but the negative form always requires an auxiliary verb.