Shadowing Practice: [1] English Grammar not easy | 12 tenses through stories - Learn English Speaking with Video

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145 sentences
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1
Hank is a cowboy.
2
He lives on a farm.
3
He has a horse named Ginger.
4
Hank loves ginger.
5
He rides ginger every day.
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Sometimes they walk slowly, and sometimes they run fast.
7
They always have a good time.
8
Ginger is Hank's horse.
9
She is light brown.
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her tail and mane are dark brown She is three years old.
11
She lives in the stable by the house.
12
Ginger waits for Hank every morning.
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She enjoys their time together.
14
Often, Hank gives her apples.
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After long rides, Hank always washes and brushes Ginger.
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He usually brushes her tail.
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Then he gives her food and fresh water.
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Ginger loves Hank.
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Right now, it is Monday morning.
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Mike and Tina are at home.
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They are sitting at a table.
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They are eating breakfast.
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At this moment, Tina is drinking coffee.
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She is eating a pastry.
25
She is sitting across the table from Mike.
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She is talking to Mike.
27
Mike is Tina's husband.
28
He is sitting at the table with Tina.
29
He is also drinking coffee.
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Mike is listening to Tina.
31
After breakfast, Mike and Tina are leaving for work.
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They work in the city.
33
They are riding the bus to work.
34
Mabel Jones lives in Florida in the United States.
35
Her grandchildren live in London, England.
36
They have lived in London for three years.
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Mabel has not seen her grandchildren in over a year.
38
She has talked to her grandchildren on the phone and through emails many times.
39
She has also seen pictures of her grandchildren.
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They have grown so much since the last time they visited America.
41
Mabel knits scarves and blankets to send to her grandchildren in London.
42
So far, she has knitted two large blankets for her granddaughters.
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She has also needed a scarf for each grandchild.
44
Ruth and Martha are best friends.
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They have been spending time together since they were young girls.
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Every morning, they get dressed and walk to the post office together.
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They have been walking together to the post office every morning for the past 10 years.
48
Lately, Martha has not been feeling well.
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Ruth has been walking to the post office alone each morning.
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Then she visits Martha at home.
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She has been bringing Martha her mail every morning for two weeks.
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She hopes Martha feels better soon.
53
One autumn evening, Charles and Beth went to the theatre.
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They attended a play.
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The play started at seven o 'clock.
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Charles and Beth enjoyed the theater.
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After the play, Charles and Beth walked together in the park.
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They walked beside the lake.
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The moon was bright.
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They talked about their future.
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When Charles and Beth went home, their children were not asleep.
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They waited for Charles and Beth to return.
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They were excited to hear about the theater.
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Charles told the children about the play.
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Then, Beth put the children to bed.
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Charles and Beth were very tired.
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It was a good night.
68
Mitch was always driving his motorcycle too fast.
69
Yesterday after work, Mitch was driving his motorcycle home.
70
While everyone else was driving slowly, he was speeding through the streets.
71
He wasn't paying attention and was driving too fast when he saw the police officer.
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While the police officer was directing traffic, he saw Mitch speeding down the street.
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He was waving his arms when Mitch stopped.
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The police officer wrote him a traffic ticket for speeding.
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Mitch was not feeling happy when he arrived home.
76
Last night, Dane and Emily danced in a competition.
77
They danced a salsa dance.
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They had practiced for six months before they danced in the competition.
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They were very good.
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Dane and Emily's friends were in the audience.
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Before that night, they had never seen Dane and Emily dance.
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In fact, Dane and Emily had never danced in front of anyone before the competition.
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After everyone had danced, the judges announced the winners.
84
Dane and Emily won.
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They were the best dancers in the competition.
86
Emily said she had never practiced so hard before.
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She was glad they had practiced a lot.
88
Patrick had been playing the guitar for about 15 years.
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Many years ago, his grandfather played the guitar in a band.
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He taught Patrick how to play the guitar when Patrick was just 10 years old.
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Patrick had been practicing the guitar ever since.
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He had been playing for his friends and family for many years.
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Last night, Patrick played his guitar on a television show.
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He had been hoping to be on this show since he first saw it on television five years ago.
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He played in front of a live studio audience.
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The audience cheered and clapped for Patrick.
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Patrick knew he was good because he had been playing the guitar for a long time.
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Now everyone knew that Patrick was a good guitar player.
99
There is going to be a wedding today.
100
At 4 o 'clock this afternoon, Megan Smith and Mark Jones are going to get married.
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After today, they will be Mr. and Mrs. Mark Jones.
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It is going to be a huge celebration.
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Everyone will be there.
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They are going to serve dinner and dessert.
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The best man will give a speech.
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Then everyone will dance.
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The dance will last until midnight.
108
The day after the wedding, Megan and Mark are going to leave for their honeymoon.
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They are going to travel to Hawaii.
110
They are going to stay there for seven days.
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They will have a good time in Hawaii.
112
Brad likes to fish.
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He fishes whenever he can.
114
This weekend, he will be fishing at the lake.
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It is his favorite place to fish.
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Mark is Brad's friend.
117
Mark likes to fish too.
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He also fishes whenever he can.
119
This weekend he will be fishing at the lake with Brad.
120
They will be camping at the lake all weekend.
121
Mark will be picking Brad up at 8 o 'clock Friday night.
122
Brad will be ready when Mark arrives.
123
They will be driving all night before they get to the lake.
124
They are excited about the weekend.
125
Brad and Mark both love to fish.
126
They love to fish together.
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They will be fishing together for many years.
128
Mr. Jones is a farmer.
129
He owns a big farm.
130
He plants crops in his fields in the spring.
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By the time he finishes planting the spring, he will have planted ten acres of crops.
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He is going to have planted many crops.
133
Mr. Jones must finish planting before it starts to rain.
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He is working hard.
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At this rate, he will have finished planting before it rains.
136
Mr. Jones and his horse will have worked many long hours by the time they finish tonight.
137
Pete is a window washer.
138
Today, he is going to be washing windows on the 13th floor of a downtown office building.
139
He will have been washing windows for almost 10 hours when he finishes all of the windows on the 13th floor.
140
He will be very tired tonight because he will have been working so hard.
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Although the work is difficult, Pete enjoys his job.
142
In August, he will have been working as a window washer for five years.
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He will have been washing windows in this city for the past five years.
144
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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?

Ever wondered how to make grammar feel less like a textbook and more like a story? This video uses simple, relatable tales—about cowboys, couples, and grandmothers—to create the perfect shadowspeak practice. Shadowing (repeating aloud while listening) with these stories helps you pick up natural rhythm and intonation, key for IELTS speaking practice. Unlike rigid drills, the conversational flow makes it easy to mimic real-life speech, turning grammar rules into habits. Whether you use a shadowing site or app, this video’s clear, slow-paced dialogue is ideal for building confidence in everyday speaking.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

Let’s dig into the hidden grammar gems. First, the present simple shines in "Hank rides Ginger every day"—notice how it describes routine. Then, the present continuous brings "right now" to life: "Tina is drinking coffee" shows action in progress. The video also uses the present perfect to link past and present, like "Mabel has knitted two blankets"—a great structure for talking about experiences, crucial for IELTS. Finally, "They have been walking together for 10 years" uses the present perfect continuous to emphasize ongoing actions. These structures aren’t just rules—they’re tools to tell stories.

Common Pronunciation Traps

Watch out for tricky sounds! "Ginger" (the horse) has a soft "g" and a clear "er"—don’t rush the ending. "Pastry" can trip you up with its silent "y"; say "pay-stree," not "pay-sty." Notice how "grandchildren" blends into "gran-kid-ren" in fast speech—shadowing helps you master these links. Also, the contraction "they’re" in "they’re leaving" sounds like "they-er"—listen closely to avoid mixing it up with "their." Even small tweaks like these can make your speaking sound more natural, whether you’re using a shadowing app or practicing alone.

Ready to try? Hit play, pause, and repeat—this video is your ticket to turning grammar into conversation. Perfect for shadowspeaks, it’s more than practice; it’s a chance to speak like a storyteller.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

StructureIn the video
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going onhave been spending · have been walking · has been walking
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters nowhave lived · has not seen · has talked
Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the pastwas always driving · was driving · wasn't paying
Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing formfinishes planting · finish planting · finished planting

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →