English Verb Tenses
Understand how English marks time through verbs without getting lost in rigid formulas. Learn to move naturally between habits, finished stories, ongoing moments, and future plans.
Like Duolingo, but for English Verb Tenses. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes end to end, roughly 5 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Grounding Present and Past and Connecting to the Future and the Open Present. It starts from scratch.
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Key ideas in English Verb Tenses
- The simple present tense expresses repeated routines, habits, and everyday facts
- Habitual time clues like 'every morning' or 'always' pair naturally with simple present forms
- The '-ing' form describes temporary or unfolding actions, not general recurring habits
- Pairing a form of 'to be' (am, is, are) with an '-ing' verb signals an action unfolding right now
- A base verb without '-ing' points to a general state, habit, or regular capability
- Switching between these forms changes whether listeners view the event as a live scene or a stable fact
- Verbs for mental states, thoughts, and emotions (like know, want, understand) describe conditions rather than physical activities
- State verbs normally stay in the simple present rather than taking an '-ing' helper form
- Expressing a desire or belief right now still uses the base verb ('I want', not 'I am wanting')
- He, she, it, and singular names require adding '-s' or '-es' to the verb in the simple present
- Verbs ending in sounds like -ch, -sh, or -s take '-es' to make them pronounceable
- Plural subjects and 'I' or 'you' do not take the '-s' ending
- English only marks the third-person singular once per clause, on the helper verb 'does'
- When 'does' or 'doesn't' carries the third-person '-s', the main verb must return to its bare base form ('like', not 'likes')
- Negative statements combine 'does not' (or 'doesn't') with the plain dictionary form of the verb
- The simple past is used for actions that started and finished in a time period that is completely over
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives English Verb Tenses the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
Which sentence sounds natural when talking about your daily commute?
Get it right to open this lesson and 11 more in the app.
Where English Verb Tenses takes you
- 1
Grounding Present and Past
- The Present: Habits Versus Right Now
- The Past: Finished Moments and Stories
- 2
Connecting to the Future and the Open Present
- The Present Perfect: The Past That Matters Now
- Looking Forward: Plans, Predictions, and Intentions
2 sections · 4 units · 12 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
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You pick the voice
English Verb Tenses is taught in the Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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