B1 · Lesson 9 · 25 min
Checkpoint: time and possibility
In this lesson
- I can choose tenses to show the order and connection of events.
- I can describe real future possibilities and imagined situations.
Grammar in context
Nina has been planning a weekend trip with her cousin. They booked a train yesterday, but the weather may change. If it rains, they will visit the museum. If Nina had more free time, she would stay for an extra day.
Which sentence describes a real possible future, and which describes an imagined situation?
Link past events clearly
Use the past simple for completed events at a finished time: We booked the train yesterday. Use the present perfect when a past action matters now or when the time period is still continuing: We have booked the train, so we can relax. Use the past perfect for an event that happened before another past event. It helps the listener follow a story.
- When I arrived, the film had already started.
- Leo missed the bus because he had left home late.
Show duration and recent activity
Use for with a period of time and since with a starting point: I have lived here for three years; I have lived here since 2023. Present perfect continuous often focuses on an activity and its duration or visible result. Present perfect simple often focuses on a completed result, number or experience. Do not usually use continuous forms with state verbs such as know, like and own.
- We have been waiting for the café to open.
- She has written three messages this morning, and it is still morning.
Choose real or imagined conditions
For a real future possibility, use if, when, as soon as, before or until plus a present form, then will or another future form in the main clause. Unless means if not. For an imagined present or future situation, use if plus a past form and would or could plus a base verb. Were is especially common with I, he, she and it in careful English.
- If the shop is open, I will buy a charger.
- If I were you, I would ask for help.
Common mistakes
Compare the incorrect and corrected forms.
Avoid
If it will rain, we will stay inside.
Use
If it rains, we will stay inside.
Use a present form after if for a real future condition.
Avoid
I have been knowing Marta since school.
Use
I have known Marta since school.
Know is a state verb, so use the present perfect simple.
Put it into practice
Try the exercises, write your own examples and check your understanding.