Best in class: tenses (EN)
Time is not a decoration; it is a contract with the reader. In narratives, your backbone tense should be one clear story time.
Case: a timeline on paper
Event A (finished last year) vs habit B (still true) vs state C (since 2019) — on one line, mark which gets past simple, which gets present perfect with for/since, and which gets present simple.
3 tasks
1) story spine
Write 6 sentences: one story about a bus that left early, using past simple, past perfect once (for the earlier of two past events), and past continuous once (for background) — not every verb exotic, but one of each, placed where they make sense.
Key: past perfect = “earlier in the past”, not a fancy default for all verbs.
2) stative vs dynamic
Why is “*I am knowing him” odd, and what do you say instead, in two clear alternatives?
Key: “know, believe, want” are stative; use simple present, not continuous, in standard English with these meanings. Say “I have known him since …” or “I know him”.
3) future, three clean forms
One sentence for each: (a) will as instant decision, (b) going to with evidence, (c) present continuous for a fixed arrangement — same scenario (e.g. weekend plan), three different shades.
Key: “I’ll get it” (just decided), “Look at the sky — it’s going to rain” (evidence), “I’m meeting them at 7” (diary/arrangement).