Problem: your ideas are good, but tense slips and sentences that stay active where a process needs the passive hold your grammar back. Answer in brief: match every verb to its time frame — present simple for facts and routines, present continuous for current trends, present perfect for change up to now, past tenses for completed history, future forms for predictions and plans — and use the passive (be + past participle) where the action or process matters more than the actor. This guide teaches the full framework with rules, Task 1 and Task 2 models, and 12 practice tasks with complete answers.
Learning outcomes
By the end you will be able to: choose present simple, continuous, perfect and perfect-continuous correctly in Task 1 and Task 2; narrate past sequences with simple, continuous and perfect forms; make predictions and plans with will, going to, present continuous and future perfect; form the passive in six tenses and decide when to omit the agent; and self-check every sentence for tense–time match. All guidance follows the source book, IELTS Grammar Framework for High Performance (Jobin Thomas), which covers present, past and future tenses plus the passive with fill-in-the-blank, rewrite and short-paragraph exercises and immediate answer keys.
Where grammar wins and loses marks
IELTS assesses grammatical range and accuracy. Choose structures that express your meaning clearly: a mainly present-tense essay may be appropriate, while a historical comparison needs past forms. Common problems include tense–time mismatches (“the graph increased now”), stative verbs forced into continuous (“I am knowing”), and passives with the wrong participle (“has been announce”). The rule for every sentence is: what time am I describing, and does anyone need to know who did it? Time decides tense; need-to-know decides active versus passive.
Present tenses: simple, continuous, perfect
Present simple — facts, habits, timetables
Use the base form (add -s/-es for he/she/it) for timeless truths, routines and schedules: “Water boils at 100°C at standard atmospheric pressure”, “She drives to work every day”, “The train leaves at 6 PM tonight”. In Task 2 it states positions (“Education plays a crucial role”); in Task 1 with no time axis it describes what a chart shows now. Negatives and questions use do/does (“He does not like coffee”). The book’s James paragraph (Exercise: Present Simple, with its answer key) drills exactly this — exact excerpt: “Every weekday, James wakes up at 6 AM. He has a quick breakfast and then catches the 7 AM train to the city. James works as an accountant in a large firm. He enjoys his job because it gives him opportunities to solve problems. In the evenings, he goes to the gym or reads books. James tries to read at least one novel every month. He believes that reading helps improve his vocabulary and writing skills.” Every third-person -s in place (wakes, has, catches, works, enjoys, gives, goes, reads, tries, believes, helps).
Present continuous — happening now, temporary, current trends
Form am/is/are + verb-ing. Three uses: action at this moment (“She is reading right now”), temporary situations (“I am working on a short-term project this week”; “My cousins are staying with us this week”), and fixed near-future arrangements (“We are meeting the tutor tomorrow morning”). In Task 1 it carries trends: “The percentage of urban population is increasing steadily.” Contrast routine with temporary: “Usually Sarah works in an office, but this week she is working from home.” Stative verbs (know, believe, love, prefer) normally stay simple: “I know the answer”, not “I am knowing”.
Present perfect and present perfect continuous — past linked to now
Form has/have + past participle (perfect) and has/have been + verb-ing (perfect continuous). Use it for experience with no stated time (“She has travelled to Japan”; “She has never tried sushi”), recent actions with present results (“I have lost my wallet” — still missing), and states or changes continuing to now with for/since (“He has lived in London since 2018”; “They have improved their English over the last year”; “He has been working on his thesis for six months”). Present perfect versus past simple: meaning and viewpoint decide, not cue words alone. A stated finished time (yesterday, in 2010, last week) normally takes past simple — “I worked there for six months in 2020” stays past simple despite “for”. Words such as already, yet, ever, never and just often accompany the present perfect, but they do not force it; if the event is framed as finished history, use past simple.
Past tenses: simple, continuous, perfect
Past simple — completed events and Task 1 history
Completed, finished-time narration: “She finished her assignment before midnight and then went to bed.” In Academic Task 1 with past years, data points stay past simple. The book’s Alice rewrite (Exercise 5: Rewrite a Paragraph in Past Tense) drills the conversion — present-tense paragraph: “Alice is nervous on her first day at a new job. She arrives at the office and meets her team. Everyone is welcoming and helps her settle in.” Past-tense answer: “Alice was nervous on her first day at her new job. She arrived at the office and met her team. Everyone was welcoming and helped her settle in.” Every verb shifts, including be (is→was) and irregulars (meet→met).
Past continuous — background and parallel actions
Form was/were + verb-ing. Use for background in progress when a shorter event interrupts it (“We were having dinner when the telephone rang”; “I was talking on the phone when the doorbell rang”), for two parallel ongoings (“While the teacher was explaining, the students were taking notes”), and for scene-setting at a past hour (“I was driving to the airport at 8 AM yesterday”). The book’s picnic sample narrative (Exercise 6 model answer) shows the mix — exact excerpt: “Last weekend, I went on a picnic with some close friends. We were having a great time at the park when suddenly it started to rain. We had to pack everything quickly. However, the rain turned into a fun surprise – we ended up laughing and running to the car, making the day even more memorable despite the weather.” Simple for main events (went, started, ended up), continuous for the interrupted background (were having).
Past perfect and past perfect continuous — the earlier past
Past perfect (had + past participle) marks the earlier of two past events: “I had finished my homework before the movie started”; “By the time we arrived, the movie had already started”; “Jim was frustrated because he had lost his keys earlier.” Past perfect continuous (had been + verb-ing) stresses duration up to a past point or its effect: “She had been working there for five years when she changed jobs”; “I was tired because I had been studying all night”; “We had been waiting for an hour when the train arrived.” In essays, use it sparingly and only to clarify order; consistency (stay in past once telling history) matters more than showing off.
Future forms: will, going to, arrangements
English has no single future ending; choose by meaning. Will + base verb: spontaneous decisions, offers, promises and opinion predictions (“I will submit my application tomorrow”; “Don’t worry, I will help you”; “I think it will rain tonight”). Be going to + base verb: pre-decided plans and evidence-based predictions (“She is going to study architecture”; “Look at those dark clouds — it is going to rain soon”; “We are going to move next month”). Present continuous + time: fixed personal arrangements (“I am meeting my advisor tomorrow at 3 PM”). Present simple: timetabled events (“The train departs at 6:30 AM”). Future continuous (will be + verb-ing) marks an action in progress at a future hour (“Don’t call at 8 PM; I will be having dinner”); future perfect (will have + past participle) marks completion by a deadline (“By the end of this month I will have finished my essays”). The book’s Exercise 7 set drills exactly this six-way choice with win / study / rain / depart / have dinner / finish. In Task 2 solutions and conclusions, will and going to carry predictions and commitments. In Task 1 with future years, a bare “will continue to grow” is an unhedged forecast — it does not hedge by itself. Hedge only on the basis of the input: “is projected to grow” where a projection is supplied, otherwise “may”, “might” or “could grow”. An essay that correctly uses mainly present simple needs no forced future variety.
Passive voice: formation and IELTS uses
Form be (in the needed tense) + past participle, with the agent omitted or added with by: “The chef prepares the meal” → “The meal is prepared (by the chef)”; “Researchers have developed a vaccine” → “A vaccine has been developed”; “They will announce results tomorrow” → “Results will be announced tomorrow.” Use the passive when the actor is unknown, unimportant or obvious (“The store was robbed last night”), when the result or process matters more than the actor (“A new policy has been adopted”), for an impersonal focus (“It is believed that recycling reduces waste”), and for Task 1 processes (“The mixture is heated, then poured into a mould”). The passive selects focus — active verbs remain fully acceptable academic English, so choose focus, not formality. Keep the tense of be matched to the time: is spoken (present), was opened (past), have been sold (present perfect), will be announced (future), is being prepared (present continuous), had been made (past perfect) — the book’s Exercise 9 set. Omit agents that add nothing (“People think homework is bad” → “It is thought that homework is bad”); keep agents that carry information (“The library was opened by the mayor”).
Worked models: Task 1 process and Task 2 essay sentences
Labelling: the process input below is fictional and supplied in full, and the process model is newly written from that input only; the Task 2 paragraph model is newly written. None is an official examiner answer. Official IELTS Academic Writing minima: Task 1 at least 150 words, Task 2 at least 250 words — see IELTS Academic format — Writing (check current official guidance before test day).
Model 1 — Academic Task 1 process in the passive (fictional input supplied; model newly written, 169 words)
Input (newly written fictional process; use only these details): A local centre recycles office paper in six stages. (1) Collection vans deliver mixed office paper to a covered receiving area. (2) Staff separate white and coloured paper into different bins and remove plastic covers and metal bindings. (3) Machines shred each sorted batch into narrow strips. (4) Tanks mix the strips with water to form pulp; white and coloured batches remain separate. (5) Rollers press the pulp into flat sheets, which are then air-dried on racks. (6) Workers cut the dry sheets into A4 and A3 sizes, wrap them in paper and pack them into boxes for shops.
Task (new — a full Task 1 practice response needs at least 150 words): Summarise the six stages in at least 150 words, using the passive where the process matters more than the actor.
Suggested model (newly written, 169 words):
The process describes how a local centre converts used office paper into packaged sheets for sale. Overall, there are six stages, beginning with delivery and sorting and ending with cutting and packing. The material changes from whole pieces of paper to strips, then pulp, before being formed into sheets again.
First, collection vans bring mixed office paper to a covered receiving area. Staff then separate white paper from coloured paper, placing them in different bins. At this stage, plastic covers and metal bindings are removed. Each sorted batch is subsequently shredded by machine into narrow strips.
In the fourth stage, the strips are mixed with water in tanks to produce pulp. The white and coloured batches are kept separate during this operation. Rollers then press the pulp into flat sheets, after which the sheets are placed on racks to dry in the air. Finally, workers cut the dry paper into two sizes, A4 and A3. The finished sheets are wrapped in paper and boxed ready for delivery to shops.
Why it works (teaching notes, not part of the model): present simple forms describe a routine process. Active clauses identify meaningful actors such as staff and rollers; passive clauses put the material in focus. The overview summarises the transformation, and the body preserves the supplied order and the separation of the two batches. No timings, temperatures or machinery beyond the fictional input are invented.
Model 2 — Task 2 paragraph showing tense range (newly written, 140 words)
Prompt (new): “Remote working has grown rapidly. Why has it spread, and should employers keep it?”
Model (newly written, 140 words): Remote working has spread because technology has removed the office’s main advantage. Broadband and shared documents mean a team that once needed one room can now coordinate across cities; commuters who previously lost two hours a day have regained them. While managers were learning to supervise screens, staff were proving that focused tasks — drafting, coding, marking — are completed faster at home. Companies that had struggled to hire beyond their city found they could recruit nationally. Looking ahead, firms that keep remote options will attract more applicants, while those that force a full-time return are going to face resistance. The policy that works is hybrid by task: quiet work is done at home, team induction and brainstorming are scheduled on site, and results are measured by output. The firms that publish clear rules will keep more of the staff they trained. (140 words)
Why it works (teaching notes, not part of the model): present perfect for change to now (has spread, has removed), two parallel past continuous clauses for simultaneous background (were learning / were proving), present simple passive for a general result (are completed), past perfect for the earlier hiring constraint, will / going to for predictions, and impersonal passives (is done, are scheduled, are measured) where the arrangement matters more than who arranges it. These are illustrative arguments in a suggested paragraph, not verified findings about all workplaces. Each tense should earn its place through the time meaning.
Practice bank: 12 tasks with answers
Attempt before opening each answer. Items 1–6 and 8 are adapted from the book’s exercises (wording lightly reworked; item 6 stays near-verbatim to the book’s own model answer); items 7 and 9–12 are newly written IELTS-style tasks. Answers are complete with teaching notes.
1 (Adapted — Exercise 1: present-tense fill-in-the-blanks): Choose present simple, continuous, perfect or perfect-continuous — Show answers
Routine: Every morning, Sarah ____ (take) a walk. Happening now: Quiet! The baby ____ (sleep) at the moment. Fact: Water ____ (boil) at 100°C at standard atmospheric pressure. Present result: I ____ (lose) my wallet. Duration: He ____ (work) on his thesis for six months. Temporary: My cousins ____ (stay) with us this week. Experience: She ____ (never, try) sushi. Arrangement: We ____ (meet) the client tomorrow afternoon.
Answers: 1. takes (routine) 2. is sleeping (now) 3. boils (fact) 4. have lost (present result) 5. has been working (duration to now) 6. are staying (temporary) 7. has never tried (experience, no time) 8. are meeting (fixed arrangement). Note: time expressions help, but the intended meaning and whether a period is finished decide the tense. Here the labels specify the intended situation; other contexts can support different forms.
2 (Adapted — James paragraph: present simple -s): Complete with correct present simple forms — Show answers
Every weekday, James (wake) at 6 AM. He (have) breakfast, then (catch) the 7 AM train. He (work) as an accountant. He (enjoy) his job because it (give) him problems to solve. Evenings he (go) to the gym or (read). He (try) to read one novel a month. He (believe) reading (help) vocabulary.
Answers: wakes, has, catches, works, enjoys, gives, goes, reads, tries, believes, helps. Note: he/she/it forces -s/-es (catch→catches, try→tries); “believes that reading helps” keeps two third-person forms.
3 (Adapted — Exercise 7: six future forms): Choose will / going to / present simple / continuous / perfect — Show answers
Prediction (no evidence): I think our team ____ (win) tomorrow. Plan: She ____ (study) medicine after graduation. Evidence: Dark clouds — it ____ (rain). Schedule: The train ____ (depart) at 6:30. In progress at 8 PM: I ____ (have) dinner then. By month-end: I ____ (finish) my essays.
Answers: will win; is going to study; is going to rain; departs; will be having; will have finished. Note: opinion→will, evidence/plan→going to, timetable→present simple, action-in-progress→future continuous, deadline→future perfect.
4 (Adapted — past sequence): Choose simple / continuous / perfect — Show answers
I ____ (talk) on the phone when the doorbell ____ (ring). She ____ (finish) before midnight, then ____ (go) to bed. By arrival, the film ____ (already, start). At 8 AM yesterday I ____ (drive) to the airport. While the teacher ____ (explain), students ____ (take) notes. Jim was frustrated because he ____ (lose) his keys.
Answers: was talking / rang; finished / went; had already started; was driving; was explaining / were taking; had lost. Note: interruption, sequence, earlier-past and parallel patterns from the book’s Exercise 4.
5 (Adapted — Alice rewrite): Rewrite in simple past — Show answer
Present (all facts as given — keep every one): “Alice is nervous on her first day at a new job. She arrives at the office and meets her team. Everyone is welcoming and helps her settle in.”
Answer: “Alice was nervous on her first day at a new job. She arrived at the office and met her team. Everyone was welcoming and helped her settle in.” Note: every verb shifts, including be (is→was) and irregulars (meet→met); the story now reads as finished history. The exercise is tense conversion only — no fact, place or detail is added or removed.
6 (Adapted — picnic narrative): Write 3–5 past-tense sentences using: last weekend, picnic, friends, rain, surprise — Show model
Answer (adapted — near-verbatim from the book’s Exercise 6 model answer, lightly reworked): “Last weekend I went on a picnic with close friends. We were having a great time at the park when suddenly it started to rain. We had to pack everything quickly. The rain turned into a fun surprise — we ended up laughing and running to the car, which made the day more memorable despite the weather.” Note: simple for main events, continuous for the interrupted background; all five prompts included logically. This reproduces the book’s own answer wording, not a newly invented story.
7 (Future paragraph): Predict life in 10 years using: in 10 years, technology, will, change, everyday life — Show model
Suggested model (newly written): “In 10 years, advances in technology will significantly change everyday life. More people will work from home, and virtual reality is going to become common in education. Homes will be smarter, with assistants managing routine tasks. Life will be more convenient, though we are also going to face new cybersecurity challenges.” Note: will for opinion predictions, going to only for the developments framed as already visible or decided; identical meanings would keep identical forms — variety follows meaning, never rotation for its own sake.
8 (Adapted — passive fill-in-the-blanks, six tenses): Supply the correct passive — Show answers
English ____ (speak) in many countries. The library ____ (open) by the mayor last week. Tickets ____ (already, sell). Results ____ (announce) tomorrow. Dinner ____ (prepare) right now. By my arrival, the decision ____ (already, make).
Answers: is spoken; was opened; have already been sold; will be announced; is being prepared; had already been made. Note: be carries the tense, the main verb stays past participle; “being” appears only in continuous passives.
9 (Active→passive sentences): Convert, keeping every fact and time — Show answers
People consume a lot of sugar. / The government will launch a recycling policy next year. / The engineer designed the bridge in 2019. / They are building a bridge. / Someone has made a mistake in this report.
Answers: A lot of sugar is consumed. / A recycling policy will be launched by the government next year. / The bridge was designed by the engineer in 2019. / A bridge is being built. / A mistake has been made in this report. Note: drop empty agents (“people”, “someone”, “they”); keep specified, informative agents (the government, the engineer) and every time reference. The exercise is voice conversion, not fact generation.
10 (Task 1 sentence repair): Fix the tense — Show answers
a) “The proportion shown in the graph is increasing between 2000 and 2010.” b) “Water is boiling at 100°C at standard atmospheric pressure” (intended as a general scientific fact). c) “Output will have reached 500 units by 2010 (the chart ends in 2010).”
Answers: a) “The proportion shown in the graph increased between 2000 and 2010” (the measured quantity increases, not the graph; finished period→past simple). b) “Water boils at 100°C at standard atmospheric pressure” (fact→simple; continuous only for the kettle right now: “The water in the kettle is boiling”). c) “Output had reached 500 units by 2010” (past deadline→past perfect, using only the supplied 500-unit figure — no peak or rise invented).
11 (Active→passive conversion): Change the voice, keeping every fact and time — Show models
a) “People think homework is bad.” b) “The company built a new library.” c) “We will announce the results soon.”
Answers: a) “It is thought that homework is bad” (impersonal stance, same claim). b) “A new library was built by the company” (result in focus; specified agent kept). c) “The results will be announced soon” (announcement matters, announcer understood; “soon” kept as given). Note: this exercise converts voice only — no new times, places or claims are added. Use the passive to shift focus, not to sound formal for its own sake.
12 (Mixed sentence edit): Find the 6 errors — Show corrected version
Faulty (every sentence below contains exactly one error): “I am knowing the answer since 2018. The train will departs at 6 PM tonight. The essay has been announce. While I was talked on the phone, the doorbell rang. Water is boil at 100°C at standard atmospheric pressure. He rung the bell yesterday.”
Answer: “I have known the answer since 2018 (a state continuing from 2018 to now). The train departs at 6 PM tonight (timetable→present simple). The essay has been announced (passive needs the past participle). While I was talking on the phone, the doorbell rang (background action→past continuous). Water boils at 100°C at standard atmospheric pressure (stated fact→present simple). He rang the bell yesterday (rang is the past simple; rung needs have: has rung).” Note: corrections change verb form only — no fact, time or place is added.
Common errors and corrections
- Time mismatch: using present simple for a completed historical event merely to keep every sentence in the same tense. Fix: assign time first — chart years→past, current claim→simple, change-to-now→perfect, plan→going to/continuous.
- Perfect where simple belongs (and reverse): “I have seen him yesterday.” Fix: finished time (yesterday)→“I saw him yesterday”; no time with present result→“I have lost my keys.”
- Stative in continuous: “I am believing / am knowing.” Fix: “I believe / I know.” Reserve continuous for actions and trends.
- Be + base instead of participle: “has been announce / is being build.” Fix: announced / built. Check every passive: tense on be, participle on the main verb.
- Agent clutter: “The meal was prepared by the chef by the kitchen by evening.” Fix: keep the informative agent once or drop it: “The meal was prepared by the chef.”
- Future repetition: ten predictions all starting “will”. Fix: check each meaning first — keep will for opinions and instant decisions, use going to only for pre-decided plans or visible evidence, timetables in present simple. Do not rotate forms for their own sake; an essay that correctly uses mainly present simple needs no forced variety.
Independent task and self-check
Task (new — a grammar drill, not a full exam response): In 180–220 words, (a) describe a past school event using past simple, continuous and perfect (for example, “By the time we arrived, the hall was full”; “we were rehearsing when the lights failed”), and (b) close with two predictions using different future forms (one will, one going to) plus one passive (for example, “Winners will be announced on Friday”). Guidance: open in past simple; add one background continuous and one earlier-past perfect; finish with a present-perfect link to now (for example, “Since then, our club has met every Friday”) and future plans. Checklist: every verb matches its time adverbial; statives not in continuous; each passive has be + participle; at least four tenses plus one passive present; 180+ words; 3-minute re-read asking “does this tense match the time?”
Study sequence with the book
Week 1: present chapters + Exercises 1–2 (Sarah blanks, James paragraph). Write five Task 1 trend sentences with continuous and five facts with simple. Week 2: past chapters + Exercises 4–6 (interruption blanks, Alice rewrite, picnic narrative). Retell one past event three ways (simple-only, then with background, then with earlier-past). Week 3: future chapters + Exercises 7–8 (six-form blanks, prediction paragraph). Draft one Task 2 solution paragraph using will, going to and future perfect once each. Week 4: passive chapters + Exercise 9 and a process-paragraph rewrite. Convert the recycling-centre model above into the active voice and back to the passive; keep an error log of participle and be-tense slips and re-do the six-tense passive set from memory.
FAQs
How many tenses do I need to show? Range with control beats count. There is no required tally of tenses or passives. Show appropriate control of different structures when your ideas need them; do not add a tense simply to increase a count.
Present perfect or past simple? Use past simple for a finished event located in a finished period, such as yesterday. Present perfect connects past experience, a result or a continuing situation to now. A missing time expression does not itself require the perfect, and words such as for can accompany several tenses: compare “I lived there for a year in 2020” with “I have lived here for a year”.
Does the passive sound more formal? Not by itself. The passive selects focus: use it when the action or result matters more than the actor (processes, reported findings). Active verbs are fully acceptable academic English. Do not passivise every sentence; mix active agency with passive results.
Will versus going to? Opinion or instant decision→will (“I think costs will fall”); pre-decided plan or visible evidence→going to. Timetables stay present simple.
Can I use continuous in Task 1? Yes, when the input supports an ongoing situation at the relevant time: “is increasing” for change continuing now, or “was increasing” for change in progress at a past point. Completed historical data normally take past simple. A diagram showing construction in progress may support “is being built”.
British or American spelling? Either consistently; this guide uses British English (organise, behaviour, centre).
The matching book
This guide accompanies IELTS Grammar Framework for High Performance in the Jobins Training collection — the verb-tense and passive-voice workbook with step-by-step rules, model sentences and exam-focused fill-in, rewrite and paragraph exercises with immediate answer keys. You can find its current listing here: IELTS Grammar — Book 1 in the Jobins Training book collection. The book adds the full exercise bank and extended explanations this single article samples.
Take this further with IELTS Grammar Framework for High Performance
If this guide helped, IELTS Grammar Framework for High Performance gives you the full training volume behind it: more practice, worked examples and step-by-step preparation. Get the book →
Sources and editorial note
Source book read for this article: IELTS Grammar Framework for High Performance (Jobin Thomas) — the introduction, present / past / future tense chapters, passive-voice chapters, Exercises 1–11 with answer keys, conclusion and author note read in full. Items labelled “adapted” rework the book’s exercise themes (Sarah blanks, James paragraph, Alice rewrite, picnic narrative, six-form future set, six-tense passive set) without reproducing the book whole; short passages labelled “exact excerpt” quote the book’s answer keys verbatim; items labelled “newly written” are original to this article, including the recycling-centre process input and model. Page numbers are not cited. Exam rules mirror current official IELTS Academic Writing guidance (Task 1: at least 150 words in about 20 minutes; Task 2: at least 250 words in about 40 minutes): IELTS Academic format — Writing (check current official guidance before test day).
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