Improve your English in the Reading Rooms
Listen and write
Red Level
Lesson Sixteen
Expressions of Time
Past | Present | Future |
yesterday | today | tomorrow |
last week | this week | next week |
an hour ago | now | in an hour |
recently | as we speak | soon |
a little while ago | at this moment | in the near future |
a long time ago | these days | way off in the future |
in the past | nowadays | eventually |
this morning | at this time | later this evening |
Time expressions usually go at the end
or at the beginning of a sentence:
Yesterday I went to school.
I went to school yesterday.
This week I’m going to New York.
I’m going to New York this week.
Other popular time expressions:
In the morning When I wake up in the morning, I like to drink coffee. What do you drink in the morning? |  |
during the day During the day, they go to school . What do you do during the day? |  |
at night The stars and the moon come out at night. Most people sleep at night, but cats usually stay out late. |  |
in the afternoon In the afternoon, I come home from school and do my homework. |  |
Using time expressions with the correct verb tense will improve your English:
– Last week I went to the movies. (past tense. )
– This week I’m working early in the morning. (present continuous tense to describe the entire week)
– Next week I’m going to take a trip to California. (the “going to” future)