Mastering tenses is essential for clear and effective communication in English. If you’re looking for change tenses exercises, you’ve come to the right place! In this post, you’ll find fun and easy exercises to practice switching between different tenses. Whether you struggle with past, present, or future forms, these exercises will help you improve your grammar skills step by step.
Why Practice Changing Tenses?
Before we jump into the exercises, let me tell you why this is super important. You see, being able to switch between tenses smoothly is like having a time-travel superpower in English! It helps you tell stories better, write more professionally, and even ace those tricky English exams.
Change tenses exercises 1: Identify the Type of Tenses
Carefully analyze the sentences below and categorize each one according to the tense used.
- Damon drinks coffee every morning.
- The boy got up late and missed the bus.
- My mother goes to pray in the temple.
- The team is playing very well.
- The school will be closed for winter break.
- Leonard graduated from college last year.
- The baby has eaten all the chips.
- Have you read Pride and Prejudice?
- The train has just left the station.
- The sick child has been sleeping for three hours.
- They have known each other for a long time.
- Sam was going to school.
- When I went there, Bucky was playing video games.
- The workers have been working on the building for a long time.
- Penny had done her homework when her parents came back.
- Mr. Arnold had been writing his last book for four months.
- I will move to Delhi soon.
- Mr. Samuel will be staying in New York next week.
- Beverly will have left before you arrive to see her.
- Mr. Peter will have been teaching for twelve years next month.
Change tenses exercises 1: Answer
- Simple Present Tense
- Simple Past Tense
- Simple Present Tense
- Present Continuous Tense
- Simple Future Tense
- Simple Past Tense
- Present Perfect Tense
- Present Perfect Tense
- Present Perfect Tense
- Present Perfect Continuous Tense
- Present Perfect Tense
- Past Continuous Tense
- Past Continuous Tense
- Present Perfect Continuous Tense
- Past Perfect Tense
- Past Perfect Continuous Tense
- Simple Future Tense
- Future Continuous Tense
- Future Perfect Tense
- Future Perfect Continuous Tense
Change tenses Exercises 2: Transfer the Tense
Rewrite each sentence, transforming the verb tense as specified.
- The boy speaks the truth. (Change to Present Continuous Tense)
- Mr. Cooper has spoken about dinosaurs. (Change to Present Perfect Continuous Tense)
- The boat sailed yesterday. (Change to Simple Present Tense)
- Amy went to school yesterday. (Change to Future Continuous Tense)
- The baby cried for hours. (Change to Present Perfect Continuous Tense)
- Robert ate all the cookies. (Change to Present Perfect Tense)
- I have finished my assignment. (Change to Past Perfect Tense)
- Mr. Bert had taught for five years. (Change to Past Perfect Continuous Tense)
- Dev saw the Prime Minister yesterday. (Change to Future Continuous Tense)
- Priya shall finish her stitching by then. (Change to Future Perfect Tense)
Change tense exercises 2: Answers
- The boy is speaking the truth.
- Mr. Cooper has been speaking about dinosaurs.
- The boat sails today.
- Amy will be going to school tomorrow.
- The baby has been crying for hours.
- Robert has eaten all the cookies.
- I had finished my assignment.
- Mr. Bert had been teaching for five years.
- Dev will be seeing the Prime Minister tomorrow.
- Priya shall have finished her stitching by then.
Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering Change Tenses Exercises for English Learners
These Change Tenses Exercises will help you transform sentences from one tense to another while enhancing your understanding of verb tenses
Exercise 1: Change Present Simple to Present Continuous
Rewrite the sentences using present continuous.
- She goes to school every day.
- They play football on weekends.
- I read books before bed.
- He drinks coffee in the morning.
- The dog sleeps in the living room.
Answers:
- She is going to school now.
- They are playing football right now.
- I am reading a book at the moment.
- He is drinking coffee now.
- The dog is sleeping in the living room.
Exercise 2: Change Present Continuous to Past Continuous
Rewrite the sentences using past continuous.
- She is watching TV.
- We are studying for the exam.
- They are dancing at the party.
- He is cooking dinner.
- The kids are playing outside.
Answers:
- She was watching TV.
- We were studying for the exam.
- They were dancing at the party.
- He was cooking dinner.
- The kids were playing outside.
Exercise 3: Change Past Simple to Past Perfect
Rewrite the sentences using Past Perfect.
- I finished my homework.
- They left before I arrived.
- She ate lunch before going out.
- We watched the movie last night.
- He bought a new phone yesterday.
Answers:
- I had finished my homework.
- They had left before I arrived.
- She had eaten lunch before going out.
- We had watched the movie last night.
- He had bought a new phone yesterday.
Exercise 4: Change Past Perfect to Past Simple
Rewrite the sentences using Past Simple.
- I had studied before the exam started.
- She had cooked dinner before guests arrived.
- They had already left when we arrived.
- We had finished our work before the deadline.
- He had met her before.
Answers:
- I studied before the exam started.
- She cooked dinner before guests arrived.
- They left when we arrived.
- We finished our work before the deadline.
- He met her before.
Exercise 5: Change Future Simple to Future Perfect
Rewrite the sentences using Future Perfect.
- She will complete the project by next week.
- They will finish their work before 5 PM.
- I will arrive by tomorrow morning.
- We will write the report by Monday.
- He will learn Spanish in two years.
Answers:
- She will have completed the project by next week.
- They will have finished their work before 5 PM.
- I will have arrived by tomorrow morning.
- We will have written the report by Monday.
- He will have learned Spanish in two years.
Exercise 6: Change Present Perfect to Present Perfect Continuous
Rewrite the sentences using Present Perfect Continuous.
- She has worked here since 2010.
- They have lived in New York for five years.
- I have studied English for two months.
- He has waited for an hour.
- We have traveled a lot this year.
Answers:
- She has been working here since 2010.
- They have been living in New York for five years.
- I have been studying English for two months.
- He has been waiting for an hour.
- We have been traveling a lot this year.
Exercise 7: Change Past Continuous to Past Perfect Continuous
Rewrite the sentences using past perfect continuous.
- She was working all night.
- They were waiting for the bus.
- I was reading a book when she arrived.
- He was running in the park.
- We were talking for hours.
Answers:
- She had been working all night.
- They had been waiting for the bus.
- I had been reading a book when she arrived.
- He had been running in the park.
- We had been talking for hours.
Exercise 8: Change Future Continuous to Future Perfect Continuous
Rewrite the sentences using future perfect continuous.
- By next year, she will be studying at Harvard.
- They will be working on the project all night.
- He will be training for the marathon.
- We will be traveling to Europe next month.
- She will be waiting for you at the station.
Answers:
- By next year, she will have been studying at Harvard.
- They will have been working on the project all night.
- He will have been training for the marathon.
- We will have been traveling to Europe next month.
- She will have been waiting for you at the station.
FAQs on Change Tenses Exercises
1. What are change-tenses exercises?
These are exercises that help learners practice converting sentences from one tense to another, improving their grammar skills.
2. Why is it important to practice changing tenses?
It helps you understand how verbs change in different situations, making your speech and writing more accurate.
3. How can I improve my tense-changing skills?
Practice regularly with exercises, read English texts, and pay attention to how tenses are used in conversations.
4. What are common mistakes when changing tenses?
Forgetting to adjust helping verbs, mismatching subjects and verbs, or not considering time expressions.
5. Are there any shortcuts to learning tense changes?
Understanding the basic tense rules and practicing with structured exercises will make learning easier over time.