Tips to Help Your Child Master Tenses in English
Shivam Singh23 Sept, 2025
What is a Tense?
What is a Tense is one of the commonly asked questions among children when learning a language. Tense is a part of English grammar that shows the time of an action. It helps us tell if something happened in the past, is happening now, or will happen in the future. Just like adjectives tell us more about a noun, tenses tell us more about the time of an action.
There are three basic tenses in English, which are present, past, and future. Each of these tenses also has different forms, like simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous, that children should learn to speak and write correctly. To explore how to teach your children what are tenses in grammar and how to use them in a correct manner, keep reading.
Read more: Will Learning Fluent English Improve My Child’s Career Prospects?
Basic Tenses in English Grammar
As we learned, there are three basic tenses in English: Present, Past, and Future. Each tense has four forms, making a total of twelve tenses. Let’s go through these basic tenses in English one by one, with their uses and examples, to help your child understand which tense to use in English.
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Basic Tenses in English Grammar |
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Tense Type |
When do we use it? |
Example Sentence |
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Simple Present |
This tense talks about daily habits, routines, or general truths. |
She goes to school every day. |
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Present Continuous |
Shows an action that is happening right now or around this time. |
She is going to school now. |
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Present Perfect |
Tells us about actions that happened in the past but are connected to the present. |
She has finished her homework. |
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Present Perfect Continuous |
Shows an action that started in the past and is continuing. |
She has been studying for two hours. |
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Simple Past |
Explains actions that have already happened and are finished. |
She went to school yesterday. |
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Past Continuous |
Shows an action that was happening in the past for some time. |
She was reading when I called. |
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Past Perfect |
Tells us about an action that was completed before another past action. |
She had eaten before the movie started. |
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Past Perfect Continuous |
Describes an action that went on for some time in the past before another action. |
She had been waiting for an hour before the bus came. |
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Simple Future |
Talks about actions that will happen later. |
She will go to school tomorrow. |
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Future Continuous |
Shows an action that will happen at a certain time in the future. |
She will be studying at 8 p.m. |
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Future Perfect |
Explains an action that will be finished before a certain future time. |
She will have completed her homework by evening. |
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Future Perfect Continuous |
Describes an action that will keep happening for some time until a future moment. |
She will have been studying for 3 hours by the time you arrive. |
6 Tips to Help Your Child Master Tenses in English
As a parent, you play the biggest role in helping your child learn Tenses in English. Tenses may look confusing in the beginning, but with regular practice every day, your child will start understanding them properly. Here are some easy tips you can follow at home to help your child master tenses in English:
1. Connect Basic Tenses in English with Your Child’s Daily Routine
Help your child focus on one tense at a time using daily activities. For the present tense, ask what they usually do each day. For the past tense, ask about what they did yesterday. For the future tense, ask what they will do tomorrow. This helps them understand how tenses show time.
2. Make Learning Tenses in English Fun with Games
Make learning basic tenses in English a fun game for your child. You can play by giving your child a verb like play or run and asking them to say it in the past, present, and future. Children remember better when learning feels like play.
3. Read Tenses Together daily
Reading short stories, comics, or even English storybooks helps your child understand how tenses are used in real sentences.
4. Encourage Speaking Practice
Ask your child to talk about their day using tenses. Listen to them carefully and correct them politely wherever they go wrong. Over time, this small habit makes them more confident in speaking English by using the right tenses.
5. Try Storytelling Activities
Show your child a picture and ask them to make a small story about it. They will naturally use different tenses while telling the story.
6. Use Online English Learning Courses for More Guided Support
Sometimes children need extra help beyond books and practice at home. Online English learning courses like CuriousJr's give them interactive lessons, practice exercises, and guided speaking practice. These make learning grammar, vocabulary, and tenses easier and more interesting.
Also Read: 7 Daily Habits to Improve English Fluency
How CuriousJr Helps Your Child Master Tense in English
CuriousJr’s English Online Learning Classes help children learn tenses and other foundational English skills step by step, making grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and writing easier to understand. Here’s how CuriousJr's English by Cambridge program supports your child:
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Step-by-Step Grammar Learning: Children learn tenses and other grammar rules in a simple, easy manner that they can use in daily life.
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Build Vocabulary and Writing Skills: Lessons cover common words, simple phrases, and short writing exercises to strengthen language skills.
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Speaking and Listening Practice: Kids get chances to speak in English and follow instructions during interactive online classes.
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Fun Learning Activities: Songs, games, and role-plays make grammar practice enjoyable and help children remember what they learn.
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Small Class Size for Personal Attention: Each child gets enough guidance from teachers to improve confidently.
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Learn Anytime, Anywhere: Flexible online classes let children join from home without travel or stress.
With CuriousJr’s English by Cambridge program, your child can enjoy learning tenses and English in a simple, fun, and effective way. To take a trial class at the beginning, you can even book a demo class for just INR 49.
