Fiducia TogetherTenses in a modern language
Past, present and future. Using three tenses accurately is the single biggest lift in a language grade.
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.
What it is
Tense marks when something happens. GCSE specifications expect confident use of present, past and future, and credit a wider range beyond that.
Where it applies
GCSE and A Level modern foreign languages.
How it works
Mark schemes reward the RANGE of structures used, not only accuracy. A response entirely in the present tense is capped however correct it is.\n\nMost languages have more than one past tense with different uses — a completed action versus a description or a habit — and using the right one is a higher-band feature.
How to use it in your work
Learn one reliable phrase in each tense that you can attach to almost any topic, and use all three in every piece of writing and speaking.\n\nIn the speaking exam, take any question into a different tense: what you did last weekend, what you will do next.\n\nAccuracy of the verb ending matters more than adventurous vocabulary. Get the common irregular verbs right first.
Where to get help
Your teacher and your board's specification vocabulary list — GCSE lists are defined, and learning outside them is less efficient than learning inside them.
Revise this with a song
These are ours. We write revision songs because a lot of people remember a tune when they cannot remember a page, and because revising out loud in the kitchen beats staring at a highlighter.
- The Spanish Song GCSE Spanish vocabulary and structures, set to music.
Where to read more
Last reviewed 2026-08-28 by Fiducia Together · Next review due 2027-08-28
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.