Shadowing Practice: Learn All English Verb Tenses (Easiest Method) - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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Hi, I'm Brian Wiles, and in this video I'm going to explain how to use all 12 tenses in English.
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Let's get started.
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As you might be aware, English has four present tenses, and you're probably familiar with the present simple,
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as in "I study." We use this tense when talking about facts, habits, and schedules.
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That is my phone.
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Fact.
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He studies every day habit.
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On weekends, we play soccer.
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Schedule.
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The present simple is by far the most common verb tense in English, so you'll get plenty of practice with this over time.
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The present continuous: I am studying.
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We use the present continuous to describe actions that are happening right now, as in: you are watching this video right now.
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I am speaking on camera.
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An airplane is flying through the sky.
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With this tense, the action is happening as we speak.
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The Present Perfect I have studied.
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We use the present perfect when talking about how an action from the past describes the subject now,
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as in, "I have studied English for three years." In this sentence, "have studied English" is a past action,
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but we're using it to describe who I am now.
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It's my experience.
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And we often use the present perfect to talk about someone's experience or lack of experience.
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She has eaten breakfast already.
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He has lived there all his life.
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They have never been to Mexico.
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We're using past experience to describe who the subject is now, and that's why this is a present tense.
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And finally, the present perfect continuous:
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"I have been studying." We use the present perfect continuous to talk about an action
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that started in the past and continues non -stop into the present.
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"I have been studying Spanish for eight years." In other words, I started studying eight years ago,
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I never stopped, and I'm still learning now.
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I have been studying.
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We often use this tense to emphasize when an ongoing action first started, He has been sleeping for 12 hours.
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She has been working two jobs since February.
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They have been traveling for five weeks.
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OK, ready to talk about the past?
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Let's do it.
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And again we have four tenses.
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First up is the past simple: "I studied." This tense is very straightforward and very common.
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We use it when talking about an action that started in the past and finished in the past.
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For example, "She worked last night." In other words, "She started work last night,
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and she finished work last night." he ate eggs for breakfast.
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He ate eggs then, he's not eating them now.
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I lived in Chicago when I was a child.
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I lived there then and I don't live there now.
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Why?
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Because an action in the past simple is always finished in the past.
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Great, now we have the past continuous.
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I was studying.
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We use the past continuous to describe an action
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that continued over a period of time in the past: "I was studying." But more specifically,
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we almost always use this tense to give context
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or background for another action: "I was studying
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when the phone rang." "We were living in Canada when we got engaged." "He was running when he caught the ball."
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The past perfect: "I had studied." This tense is also used to provide context for another action in the past.
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But the past perfect always comes beforehand.
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Sarah had already left by the time he got home.
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In other words, Sarah left before he got home.
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It could have been a minute before, an hour before, or a year before.
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All we know is she had already left.
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Let's look at two more examples.
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I had already booked the tickets when the concert sold out.
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In other words, I booked the tickets before the concert sold out.
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We had eaten a big lunch so we weren't hungry when we got to the hotel.
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In other words, we ate a big lunch before we got to the hotel, so we weren't hungry.
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And finally, the past perfect continuous: "I had been studying." And again, we almost always use this tense to give context.
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But the past perfect continuous describes an action that continued over time and then stopped at the moment of another action.
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"I had been watching TV when the power went out." I was watching, I was watching, I was watching, power went out, no more watching.
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pizza every day when he started the diet.
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Eating pizza, eating pizza, eating pizza, started the diet.
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We had been talking about going to France for years and finally decided to go.
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Talking about going, talking about going, talking about going, decided to go.
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Congratulations, we've now covered all the past tenses of English.
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Excellent work.
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We're on to the final stretch, the future.
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And again, we've got four tenses.
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Let's begin with the future simple: I will study.
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We use the future simple to talk about actions that we believe will happen in the future.
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I will call you tomorrow.
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"We'll bring cupcakes to the party." "He'll be there by 6 :00 p .m." And yes,
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most of the time, English speakers shorten the word "will" to "ll," as in "I'll study," "You'll study," "He'll study," etc.,
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etc. And there's another form of the future simple that you might already be familiar with going to or gonna,
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as in, I'm going to call you tomorrow.
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We're gonna bring cupcakes to the park.
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He's gonna be there by 6 :00 p .m.
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The will and going to forms have the same meaning, but going to or gonna is more casual.
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The Future Continuous: I will be studying.
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We use the Future Continuous to talk about an action
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that we believe will continue over a period of time in the future.
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For example, "We will be eating dinner from 6 to 7 p .m." "I'll be running errands all afternoon." And again,
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we can also use "going to" instead of "will." they're going to be traveling all summer.
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the baby's gonna be sleeping when you arrive.
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The future perfect: "I will have studied." We use the future perfect to talk about actions
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that will be finished by a certain time in the future.
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For example, "She will have moved to a new apartment before the end of the year." In other words,
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here's the end of the year and she'll move to a new apartment sometime before
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that could be a day before a week before a month before any time Let's look at two more examples.
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He will have finished his homework by the time dinner is ready.
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So, dinner is ready and he finished his homework sometime before that.
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They will have come home by the spring.
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So, spring comes and they came home sometime before that.
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The action will be finished before a given time in the future.
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And finally, the future perfect continuous: I will have been studying.
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So this time we're talking about a continuous action that will be completed at a given time in the future.
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He will have been driving for six hours straight when he arrives.
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Now honestly, English speakers rarely use this tense, but when we do, it's to emphasize the duration of an action, how long it will take.
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We will have been living in Los Angeles for a decade this December.
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at the company for 40 years when she retires.
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And that's it!
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We've covered all 12 tenses of English.
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Congratulations!
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If you have any questions or comments, please let me know, and as always, thanks for watching.
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What You'll Learn

This video builds three key speaking skills for effective english speaking practice: mastering the 12 verb tenses to clarify time and action, using tense-specific context clues to communicate experiences and ongoing actions, and structuring sentences naturally to avoid confusion. By breaking down present and past tenses, you’ll learn to describe habits ("I study"), current actions ("I am studying"), past experiences ("I have studied"), and ongoing processes ("I have been studying")—skills that make everyday conversations flow smoothly.

Listen For These Sounds

Pay attention to connected speech and reductions in the dialogue. For example, "I have studied" often shortens to "I’ve studied," with the "h" in "have" almost silent. Similarly, "He has been sleeping" becomes "He’s been sleeping," linking "has" and "been" into a fluid "he’s been." These subtle reductions are critical for understanding native speakers and sounding natural yourself. Notice how the speaker stresses key words like "every day" (habit) or "for eight years" (duration) to emphasize tense meaning—this helps listeners grasp the timeline of your message.

Say It Like a Native

Use the shadowing technique to mirror the speaker’s rhythm and stress. Pause the video, repeat phrases like "She has eaten breakfast already" and "I was studying," and focus on matching the pace—slower for complex tenses like present perfect continuous, and crisp for simple past actions. Stress time markers (e.g., "since February," "last night") to highlight when actions start or end. Practice shadow speak daily with this video to internalize tense patterns; over time, you’ll automatically choose the right tense without overthinking. For more practice, use a shadowing site to replay tricky sections—this is how native-like fluency is built. Remember: learning English with YouTube videos like this one combines grammar knowledge with real-world pronunciation, making it a powerful tool for progress.

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 studying · has been sleeping · has been working
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters nowhave studied · has eaten · has lived
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does itis always finished · will be finished · will be completed
Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the pastwas studying · were living · was watching

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 →