Interactive Tools

for Teaching English

Collection of Materials,
Edited by PhD Diana Bebenova-Nikolova,
Ruse University, Silistra Branch
2021
CONTENT

Chapter 1
Introduction
The Chapter starts with some theoretical discussions on why and how interactive activities
might be used. Most of the activities, included in this first part of the collection have been
p blished in the Book Comm nicati e fl enc acti ities b Friederike Klippel, Cambridge
University Press, 1985, others have been developed in the last five years and tried out in
class.

The Chapter also delves into topics, like: the importance of the atmosphere within the class
or group, the teacher's role, and ways of organising discussions, as well as giving hints on
the selection and use of the activities in class.

Chapter 2
Tips for interactive teaching
Lots of secondar teachers claim that st dents moti ation matters a lot hen class
participation is required. Therefore, this Chapter provides simple motivational activities that
are easy to prepare and need no special resources to be implemented. These exercises are
truly involving and interactive. They might be used to develop all kinds of skills and
kno ledge (e.g. Speaking, Writing, Le ical kno ledge ). Yo can j st ha e a look at each
title and pick up the most interesting for you.

The activities are not classified into gro ps (e.g. Speaking, Writing, Vocab lar ) since
many of them would fit into more than one category anyway. Readers can have a look at
each title and see what most interests them.

Chapter 3
Infographics to present grammar tenses
The last Chapter focuses on how infographics can be used for a really impactful visual
presentations. Some examples are provided to spur the readers to think and create other
visual images to help their students develop linguistic competences.

1 of 6
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Content
Most of the activities, included in this first part of the collection have been published
in he Book Comm nica i e fl enc ac i i ies b Friederike Klippel, Cambridge
University Press, 1985, others have been developed in the last five years and tried out
in class. However, as students are different, the activities could be different as well to
suit their age, level of English or interests.
Like games or folk songs these interactive tools are handed on from teacher to
teacher. So, the readers of this book might find out that they have experienced some
of the teaching ideas or have developed them in a different way.

1.2 What to consider when teaching ESL

Two devices help teachers in making up communicative activities: information gap and
opinion gap exercises.

Information-gap exercises force the participants to exchange information in order to

find a solution (e.g. reconstitute a text, solve a puzzle, write a summary).

Opinion gaps are created by exercises incorporating controversial texts or ideas,

which require the participants to describe and perhaps defend their views on these
ideas. Another type of opinion gap activity can be organised by letting the participants
share their feelings about an experience they have in common. Any discussion game
can be turned into an opinion giving exercise. Differences of opinion can either be the
focus of a discussion, an obstacle to be overcome so that a consensus can be
reached.

By applying the principles of information gap and opinion gap to suitable traditional
exercises the teacher can change them into more challenging communicative
situations. Thus the well-known procedure at beginner's level of having students
describe each other's appearance is transformed into a communicative activity as
soon as an element of guessing (information gap) is introduced.
Information and opinion-gap exercises have to have some content worth talking about.

Students do not want to discuss trivia; the interest which is aroused by the structure
of the activity may be reduced or increased by the topic.

However, not all exercises can be spruced up like this. Manipulative drills that have
no real topic have to remain as they are.

Many of the activities are concerned with the learners themselves. Their feelings and
ideas are the focal point of these exercises, around which a lot of their foreign
language activity revolves. For learners who are studying English in a non-English-
speaking setting it is very important to experience real communicative situations in
which they learn to express their own views and attitudes, and in which they are taken
seriously as people.
Furthermore, learning a foreign language is not just a matter of memorising a different
set of names for the things around us; it is also an educational experience. Since our
language is closely linked with our personality and culture, why not use the process of
acquiring a new language to gain further insights into our personality and culture? A
number of activities adapted from 'values clarification' theory have been included with
this purpose in mind

Learning is more effective if the learners are actively involved in the process.
The degree of learner activity depends, among other things, on the type of material
they are working on. The students' curiosity can be aroused by texts or pictures
containing discrepancies or mistakes, or by missing or muddled information, and this
curiosity leads to the wish to find out, to put right or to complete.

Learner activity in a more literal sense of the word can also imply doing and
making things: for example, producing a radio programme forces the students to
read, write and talk in the foreign language as well as letting them 'play' with tape
recorders, sound effects and music. Setting up an opinion poll in the classroom is a
second, less ambitious vehicle for active learner participation; it makes students
interview each other, it literally gets them out of their seats and - this is very important
- it culminates in a final product which everybody has helped to produce.

Many of the activities included in this book focus on the participants' personalities
and help build an atmosphere of mutual understanding. Quite an important factor in
education towards cooperation is the teacher's attitude. If she favours a cooperative
style of teaching generally and does not shy away from the greater workload
connected with group work or projects, then the conditions for learning to cooperate
are good.

1.3 How to use the activities

This section deals with the importance of the atmosphere within the class or group,
the teacher's role, and ways of organising discussions, as well as giving hints on the
selection and use of the activities in class.

Atmosphere
Many of the activities in this book are focused on the individual learner. Students are
asked to tell the others about their feelings, likes or dislikes. They are also asked to
judge their own feelings and let themselves be interviewed by others.

Speaking about oneself is not something that everyone does with ease. It becomes
impossible, even for the most extrovert person, if the atmosphere in the group is hostile
and learners afraid of being ridiculed or mocked. The first essential requirement for
the use of learner-centred activities (they are marked pers. in all the tables) is a relaxed
and friendly atmosphere in the group. Only then can the aims of these activities be
achieved: cooperation and the growth of understanding.
The teacher's role
A lot of the activities will run themselves as soon as they get under way. The teacher
then has to decide whether to join in the activity as an equal member (this may
sometimes be unavoidable for pair work in classes with an odd number of students)
or remain in the background to help and observe.

The first alternative has a number of advantages: for example the psychological
distance between teacher and students may be reduced when students get to know
their teacher better. Of course, the teacher has to refrain from continually correcting
the students or using her greater skill in the foreign language to her advantage. If the
teacher joins in the activity, she will then no longer be able to judge independently and
give advice and help to other groups, which is the teacher's major role if she does not
participate directly. A further advantage of non-participation is that the teacher may
unobtrusively observe the performance of several students in the foreign language
and note common mistakes for revision at a later stage. A few activities, mainly jigsaw
tasks, require the teacher to withdraw completely from the scene.
Whatever method is chosen, the teacher should be careful not to correct students'
errors too frequently. Being interrupted and corrected makes the students hesitant and
insecure in their speech when they should really be practising communication.

It seems far better for the teacher to use the activities for observation and to help only
when help is demanded by the students themselves; even then they should be
encouraged to overcome their difficulties by finding alternative ways of expressing
what they want to say.

Ways of organising discussion groups

A number of different ways of setting up the communicative activities in this book are
explained in the description of the activities themselves. For teachers who would like
to change their procedures for handling classroom discussions (e.g. in connection with
topical texts) a few major types are described below:

Buzz groups
A problem is discussed in small groups for a few minutes before views or
solutions are reported to the whole class.
Hearing 'Experts' discuss a topical question and may be interviewed by
a panel of students who then have to make a decision about that
question.

Fishbowl
All the members of the class sit in a big circle. In the middle of the circle
there are five chairs. Three are occupied by students whose views
(preferably controversial)
on the topic or question are known beforehand. These three start the
discussion. They may be joined by one or two students presenting yet
another view. Students from the outer circle may also replace speakers
in the inner circle by tapping them on the shoulder if they feel confident
that they can present the case better.
Network
The class is divided into groups which should not have more than 10
students each. Each group receives a ball of string. Whoever is
speaking on the topic chosen holds the ball of string. When the
speaker has finished he gives the ball of string to the next speaker,
but holds on to the string. In this way a web of string develops,
showing who talked the most and who the least.

Onion
The class is divided into two equal groups. As many chairs as there
are students are arranged in a double circle, with the chairs in the
outer circle facing inwards and
those of the inner circle facing outwards. Thus each member of the
inner circle sits facing a student in the outer circle. After a few
minutes of discussion all the students in the outer circle move on
one chair and now have a new partner to continue with.
Star
Four to six small groups try and find a common view or solution. Each
group elects a speaker who remains in the group but enters into
discussion with the speakers of the
other groups.

Market
All the students walk about the room; each talks to several others.

Opinion vote
Each student receives voting cards with values from 1 to 5 (1 = agree completely, 5 =
disagree completely). After the issue (which needs to be phrased as a statement) has
been discussed for a while, each student votes, and the distribution of different
opinions in the group can be seen at a glance.

Forced contribution
In order to make sure that all the members of the class or group give their views in the
discussion, numbers are distributed which determine the order of speaking.

1.4 How to prepare the activities

Once you have found a suitable activity for your class you should do the following:
1 Prepare your materials in sufficient quantity.
2 Read through the 'procedure' section and if necessary note down the main steps.
Think about how you are going to introduce the activity and if your students will need
any extra help.
3 Decide which role you are going to adopt (joining, helping, observing) and stick to it
throughout the activity.
4 Let the students give you feedback on the activity when it is finished.
5 Make a note of any problems arising as well as your own comments and those of
your students. You can then modify the activity when you use it again.
Chapter 2
Tips for interactive teaching
L
participation is required. Therefore this booklet provides simple motivational activities
that are easy prepare and need no special resources to implement. These exercises
are truly involving and interactive. They might be used to develop all kinds of skills and
( . .S ,W ,L ). Y have a look
at each title and pick up the most interesting for you.

Happy Teaching!

Discussing personal information

T D O .I
interesting way to help students for the first stage of any oral exam. Tell students to
draw a five-pointed star and write their name in the middle. At the tips of the star, they
write (a) the name of someone who is important in their life, (b) a date which is
significant to them, (c) a number which is special, (d) a place that has some relevance
to them, and (e) the name of a film/band/book/computer game that they love/hate/have
S , ,
to find out more about each point. Then ask students to tell you one interesting thing
they discovered about their partner.

Talking about the holidays

Draw three empty squares on the board. Tell the students that these are photos of their
last holidays. The first is a photo of somewhere they went, the second is of something
they did, and the third is of the best moment in the holidays. Give them five minutes
.M (
on the board to demonstrate the activity if you like!).
When they have finished, in pairs or small groups each student shows his/her photos
and the other(s) must ask questions to find out in detail what each photo shows. The
person showing the photos can only answer yes or no. Finish with whole class
feedback, with students telling you one interesting thing they found out about their
partner(s).

Breaking the ice

At the start of the year, students may well want to know more about you as a person if
. Tell them to work in pairs/small groups and write questions to
ask you. If you like, warn them from the start that you reserve the right not to answer
questions. After five to ten minutes, ask for a volunteer. This volunteer is now you, the
teacher, and so comes to the front of the class. The class ask the volunteer their
questions and the volunteer has to answer as if they were you, guessing your answers
.F ,
correct and which were wrong and why.
Question practice
Question formation in English is not easy, and since in most classes it is the teacher
who asks most questions, students generally need all the question practice they can
get. This simple activity motivates students to fire away question after question. Simply
ask students, in teams, to prepare questions to ask you, but they always need the
answer to be Y . Teams (
is grammatically correct, if you want), but they get no points for any question that gets
.S A ? ,
A ? (!).

Teamwork
Tell students they have five minutes to find as many things as possible that they have
in common with their partner. After five minutes, the students feed back to the rest of
the class. This activity not only helps students to break the ice, but it also encourages
positive elements such as empathy and teamwork.

Talking about the weekend

H a simple idea to get students talking about what they did at the weekend. Write
up one or two question words on the board, e.g. Who, What. Now tell them to
continue writing down as many other question words as they can, either individually or
in pairs. Then tell them they must write a question about the weekend (or it could be
about their last holidays) for each one of the question words that they wrote in their
list. When they finish, they can interview each other using their questions. Because
the activity is structured and in stages, it works much better than simply saying T
, response.

Revising basic classroom language

F ,
classroom language. One A Z .
In pairs/small groups, students think of something you can find in the classroom
beginning with each letter of the alphabet, leaving out any difficult letters. So, for
example, A - ?, B board, C chair, D desk, E , .O ,
use the same activity to recycle any group of words, or even irregular past forms, or
.B , ,
should be encouraged!

Playing with words

This activity is a simple vocabulary warmer. (By the way, you can also do this
activity in the staffroom on a wet morning/afternoon while you and your colleagues
are having a well earned coffee/tea break!). All you have to do is change the
spelling of a word one letter at a time to make another word.
E.g. rose rise rice mice
I , .I !
E.g. day - say - sat - rat..............

Word association
This is the classic Word Chain activity. A student says a word and the next student
has to say another word with some link to it. Continue round the class. So: paper-tree-
park-football-sport I , allenge it. An
interesting variation is to say a word that has NO connection with the previous word.
If someone thinks that some type of connection exists, they can make a challenge. So:
paper-football A about football
in the papers. Usually students are good at finding obscure or creative links between
words. T what you want because it leads to lots of discussion.

Listen and repeat, but with a purpose

This is an activity I often demonstrate in my t .I Q Q ,
you can sometimes see short interviews with famous people using the same
technique. All you do is call out two options. The students must call out the one they
prefer. So it could be Tennis or football? TV or the cinema? Hamburgers or pizzas?
Chemistry or History? etc. This is a very simple drill, but still communicative since
the students are actually expressing a personal preference. It can be used to
introduce/recycle a topic, e.g. food, sports, free-time

Vocabulary races
This is a great way to wake up students at the start of the lesson. Students work in
pairs or small groups. Give them two minutes to write down words in an unusual
category, for example: things that are usually red (e.g. tomatoes, fire engines, etc.),
things that normally need electricity to work, things that are made of wood, things that
have handles, words that have seven letters, things that are usually sticky, etc., etc.
After two minutes, see who has most, get them to write their words on the board and
teach any that are not known by the majority of the class, and then repeat with the
next unusual category.

Recycling lexical sets

I .T ,
and lab L /S /A . D
write each one in the corresponding column. When you finish, students compare their
answers, checking which column the word is in as well as the spelling. You can correct
with a volunteer at the board. Your columns could be Sports (Indoor/Outdoor,
Team/Individual), Rooms (dictate furniture, students write which room it usually goes
in), Adjectives (Personality/Physical experience), etc.
You could also do Countable versus Uncountable nouns, Regular versus Irregular
verbs, and even as a pronunciation exercise (words with the /i/ sound/ versus words
with the /i:/ sound, two syllable words with stress on the first syllable versus those with
stress on the second syllable, etc.).

Playing with pronunciation

In this activity, students create their own tongue twister. First of all, choose a pair of
sounds that your students find difficult to differentiate. Spanish-speakers for example
.G
write down 5 words beginning with or containing one of the sounds (e.g. in this case
), ( . . ).
Students then try to write a silly sentence combining as many of those words as
possible and they then practise saying it. Help out as the students have a go at saying
T , similar!
Collaborative writing
Writing is often difficult and dull for students because it is usually a solitary activity.
T why this collaborative writing activity makes a welcome change for the students.
On the board, write Y .I .T ,
in turns, each student must add just one word to continue the story. They can also ask
for a full stop, comma, etc. Continue until you have at least one paragraph. The end
result is usually a mad but funny story.
From time to time, you can brush up the story together if you think there are
grammatical problems or problems with coherence and cohesion. The activity lends
itself to a focus on when and why
we use different past tenses, and the use of linkers of time and sequence. You can
also go back and make sure there are sufficient adjectives and adverbs, and you might
want to elicit more sophisticated alternatives to words like good, bad or nice.

Written role-plays
Teachers often find that it can be difficult getting teenagers to speak. H a way
of getting round that problem. Each student has a piece of paper. Explain a
situation, e.g. Y are a parent. It is Saturday night. You told your teenage son/
daughter to come back at 11pm but it is now midnight. Suddenly your son/ daughter
walks through the . Now tell the students to write down what they would say
if they were the parent. Next they pass their paper to the person on their right and
tell them to read silently what is on the paper. Now they imagine they are the
son/daughter and write a reply to the comment. Then they pass their paper
to the person on their right again and continue as the parent, and so on. At the end
they could work in pairs and take it in turns to read out the dialogues. This, at the
very least, is a starting point for oral activities with secondary students.

Improving your writing

To encourage higher level students to add complexity to their writing, write this
sentence on the board: A boy walked down the street. The competition (in pairs, for
example) is to see who can make the longest sentence by adding as many words as
they can to the sentence. So one sentence : L , -haired, blue-
eyed American boy walked quickly and confidently down the narrow, .
This activity can also come just before or just after work on adjective order.

Focusing on spelling
This is an extremely easy but interesting way to get students focusing on spelling and
recycling vocabulary. You simply write words in the air, slowly and clearly, letter by
letter. As soon as the students think they know what word it is, they shout it out. The
only thing to remember is to turn your back to your students as you spell the letters,
or spell each letter back-to-front. If not, the letters will all be back-to-front for the
students. Students could then spell words to the class or in pairs.

Describing photos
If you simply ask students to describe a photo, they may not feel very inspired. So try
this variation, which can also be used to present and practise modal verbs of
speculation (may, might, could, can , etc.). You need a large photo (A4 size for
example). Cover the photo with a blank piece of paper and slowly unveil it, starting by
showing a centimetre at the top. Ask students what they can see (very little!) and what
they think the picture might be. Gradually show the students more and more of the
picture until the whole thing becomes clearer. You can use the photo to introduce a
new topic, getting the students interested in it right from the start.

Introducing a new topic in class 1

H an idea that works well as an introduction to a topic, or as a warm-up to a
debate. Tell the students to divide a piece of paper horizontally into three columns.
The first column should have the heading I , the second I , and the
third I . Dictate short sentences to the students, who write them in one of
the three columns, according to their opinion. So, if your class is about technology,
you could dictate L would be impossible without my mobile , C
, etc.
When you finish dictating the sentences, students compare their columns in pairs and
justify their opinions. When they finish, find out how many people agreed or disagreed
with each statement and see what their main arguments are. The students have
practiced listening, writing and speaking. You could now go on to read a text linked to
the same topic.

Introducing a new topic in class 2

H another simple way of introducing a new topic in class. Write the name of the
topic vertically on the board. For example:
TRANSPORT
Students (individually or in pairs) think of a word beginning with each letter that they
associate with the topic. So they may come up with:
ticket railway arrive, network, etc.
Any word they come up with is valid as long as they can explain and justify it.

A dictation with a difference

This is a simple dictation idea that gets students listening, writing, speaking and
thinking in English.
D .F , T
who lived in a beautiful house in the country. She had five black cats and a dog. She
loved drinking tea and watching the . BUT tell the students to write down
the OPPOSITE of what they hear. The idea of here is relative, which
makes the activity more interesting. For example could become
old , young , young , etc. After the dictation, ask students to
compare their stories and see how similar or different they are. Get some volunteers
to read their texts out to the rest of the class. To finish, tell the students to work in
pairs and turn their texts back into the original version that that you dictated.

Higher level writing

H B2/B2+/C1 . Y S
Beginner level readers lying around at school. Give the students the readers and ask
them what they notice. The students will probably spot that the sentences are all very
short, only a limited number of tenses are used, and the vocabulary used is fairly basic.
Tell the students to rewrite a couple of pages of the readers using linkers (of time,
sequence, addition, contrast, etc.), a wider variety of narrative tenses (past
continuous, past perfect, etc.), and a fuller range of more sophisticated vocabulary.
T
.I
see that they can now improve texts that, when they started learning English, were
maybe even a little difficult for them!

Oral fluency
T T T . I H
S .H .O set should have a different topic on each
, . .S ,T ,N ,T .O
set, write a sentence. The sentence should not have any particular connection to any
.S , : P ,I ., I
, E , ., .
Each student takes a topic card and a sentence card. They must not show anybody
the sentence card. The students then have five minutes to prepare a short talk about
the topic on their first card, BUT at some moment in their talk they must include the
sentence on their sentence card, WITHOUT other students realising. When a student
finishes giving their talk to the class, the other students must try to decide what the
hidden sentence was.

Playing with grammar

Draw a grid on the board (5 squares x 4). Put each of the following words in one
square in the grid.
don / o/ o /of en/ pe ma ke /anna/and/ e/pi a/ all /ea /cinema/ he/go/i/
doe n /ne e / goes/eat/dog
How many grammatically correct sentences can the students make, using only the
words in the grid, in ten minutes? What is the longest sentence they can write? In this
case, the words in the grid help to revise basic, elementary grammar but you can
, . .
perfect, conditionals,

Writing simple poetry

As you probably know, a haiku is a three-line poem. The first line has five syllables,
, .S , S :
Warm sun all day long
Ice cream melting in my hands Cool nights by the beach.
Give this as a model for your students and then allow them time to think up their own,
allowing them to choose their own topic. First, they should brainstorm words
connected to the topic. Then they need to think how to put them together, within the
limit of the syllables for each line. When they finish, they can practise reading the haiku
aloud to improve sentence stress and rhythm.

You can find more ideas at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNNrW4cz9PU&list=PLbEWGLATRxw-
LgcVfRQrzkjO7vsra5QtY&index=7
Chapter 3
Infographics
By definition, an infographic is a visual representation of any kind of information or
data.Whether it s a st d on market trends or a step-by-step guide on how to do your
laundry, an infographic can help you present that information in the form of an attractive
visual graphic.

The use of bright colors, illustrated characters and bold text instantly grabs your attention
and gives you an overview of the topic as you skim through.

Keep in mind that the goal of an infographic is not only to inform, but also to make the
viewing experience fun and engaging for your audience.

Educators and trainers can use infographics to explain difficult concepts or break down
complex information to make it easier to understand. Try using the suggested below
infographics for your grammar classes .
 ALWAYS TRUE PERMANENT SITUATIONS
Two and two make four.
I live in London.

SHORT ACTIONS NOW

He takes the ball and scores a goal!

PRESENT
HABITS
She plays tennis every Tuesday.

Use with: twice a month, on Fridays,

often, sometimes.

PRESENT SIMPLE

FUTURE

FUTURE TIMETABLES
Our train leaves at 11am.
FUTURE IN TIME CLAUSES
Use with: this evening, at 10 o'clock, I won't go out until it stops raining.
tomorrow.
Use with: until, when, as soon as, after,
before.
UNFINISHED ACTIONS NOW
I'm working at the moment.

Use with: now, at the moment.

TEMPORARY SITUATIONS
I'm living in London.

Use with: at the moment, for a few weeks, for

a couple of months.

PRESENT

TEMPORARY HABITS
He's eating a lot these days.

Use with: at the moment, these days.

ANNOYING HABITS
PRESENT You're forever losing your keys!
CONTINUOUS Use with: always, forever, constantly.

FUTURE

DEFINITE FUTURE PLANS

I'm meeting my father tomorrow.

Use with: tomorrow, later, at 7pm tonight,

on Tuesday.
 UNFINISHED

HOW LONG

PRESENT I've known Karen since 1994.

She's lived in London for three years.
PERFECT SIMPLE
Use with: since 2010, since July, for ten
years, for three days.

UNFINISHED TIME WORD

I haven't seen her this month.

FINISHED
Use with: this week, today, this month, this
year.

PRESENT RESULT
I've lost my keys (so I can't get into my house).
LIFE EXPERIENCE
I've been to Tokyo.

Use with: ever, never.

NEWS / RECENT EVENTS
The Queen has given a speech.

Use with: just / yet / already / recently.

 PRESENT PERFECT
CONTINUOUS

FINISHED

PRESENT RESULT
I've been working (that's why I'm tired).
UNFINISHED

HOW LONG
TEMPORARY SITUATIONS
I've been living in London for two years. She's
been working here since 2004. I've been going to the gym a lot recently.

Use with: recently.

Use with: since 2010, since July, for ten
years, for three days.
FINISHED TIME WORD
I went to the cinema yesterday.
Use with: yesterday, last night, in 2003, 6
months ago.
FINISHED TIME PERIOD
Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa.

PAST
DETAILS OF NEWS
I've hurt my leg. I fell off a ladder.

Use with: the present perfect.

ACTIONS IN STORIES

PAST SIMPLE He sat down and ordered a coffee.

Use with: the past continuous.

PRESENT / UNREAL / IMAGINARY THINGS

FUTURE
If I won the lottery, I would buy a house.

Use with: wish, it's time, second conditional.

 OVERLAPPING ACTION
I was walking to the station when I
met John.

Use with: when + past simple, two

o'clock, 7pm. STORY BACKGROUND
The birds were singing and the sun was
shining. Amy sat down.

Use with: the past simple.

SOME PAST HABITS

She was constantly singing.

Use with: always, forever, constantly, at

that time, in those days.
PAST
CONTINUOUS

EMPHASIS OF LENGTH OF ACTION

I was working in the garden all day.

Use with: all day, all evening, for hours.

ACTION FINISHED BEFORE ANOTHER PAST ACTION
When we arrived, the film had started.

Use with: when + past simple, June, last Tuesday.

HOW LONG TO A POINT IN THE PAST

When he graduated, he had been in London for six years.

Use with: when + past simple, for + time.

PAST
PERFECT

UNREAL THINGS IN THE PAST

I wish I hadn't gone to bed so late!

Use with: third conditionals, wish.

 PAST PERFECT
CONTINUOUS

HOW LONG TO A POINT

IN THE PAST
She had been working at that company for a
year when she met James.

Use with: when + past simple, for

+ time.
RESULT AT A TIME IN THE
PAST

The pavement was wet. It had been

raining.

Use with: the past simple.

FUTURE PREDICTION
The sun will rise at 7 am.
I think the Conservatives will win the next
election.
PROMISES / REQUESTS /
REFUSALS / OFFERS
I'll help you with your homework.

WILL FUTURE CONDITIONALS

If it doesn't rain, we'll go to the park.

Use with: the first conditional.

FUTURE SIMPLE PLANS AND INTENTIONS

A: We've run out of milk.
B: I know. I'm going to buy some.

BE GOING FUTURE PREDICTION

TO
The sky is getting darker and darker. It's going to
rain.
 FUTURE
CONTINUOUS

OVERLAPPING ACTION
I'll be waiting when you arrive.

Use with: when + present simple, at 8pm.

FUTURE AS A MATTER OF COURSE

The government will be making a statement later.

Use with: later, tonight, next week on the 2nd of September.

 HOW LONG TO A POINT IN THE FUTURE
When we get married, I'll have known Robert for four years.

Use with: when + present simple, by the time + present

simple, for + time.

FUTURE
PERFECT SIMPLE

ACTION FINISHED BEFORE A POINT IN THE FUTURE

By ten o'clock, I will have finished my homework.

Use with: by three o'clock, by Friday, when + present simple, by the time
+ present simple.
 HOW LONG TO A POINT IN THE FUTURE
In April, she will have been teaching for twelve years.

Use with: when + present simple, by the time + present simple, for +
time.

FUTURE
PERFECT
CONTINUOUS

ACTION FINISHED BEFORE A POINT IN THE FUTURE

When I see you, I'll have been studying, so I'll be tired.

Use with: when + present simple, by the time + present simple.