30–50 monthsSpeakingCommunication and Language: Speaking
Uses a range of tenses (e.g. play, playing, will play, played).
Observe whether the child: uses a range of tenses (e.g. play, playing, will play, played).
What it looks like
Three ways this behaviour shows up as a child grows. Each level includes everyday moments to watch for.
Emerging
Just starting
The child sometimes marks time (often with “-ing”) and may attempt past or future forms, but usage is inconsistent or frequently inaccurate.
What you might see
When talking about something that already happened, the child uses the same verb form as for now (e.g., “I go park” for yesterday).
The child rarely uses “-ing” forms while describing ongoing actions (e.g., says “I paint” while painting).
The child uses time words without changing verb form (e.g., “Tomorrow I play”) and does not yet attempt tense shifts.
The child uses “playing” correctly at times but switches back to “play” within the same description.
The child attempts past tense with errors (e.g., “runned”, “goed”) while describing an earlier event.
The child uses a future marker occasionally (e.g., “will”) but not consistently (e.g., “I will go” one time, then “I go” for future).
Expected
On track
The child uses present and ongoing forms more reliably, and begins to use simple past/future forms in familiar contexts, often with adult modelling or gentle recasts.
What you might see
The child describes an ongoing action using “-ing” (e.g., “I’m building”) during play.
With a prompt like “What did we do?” the child uses a past form in a simple sentence (e.g., “We played”), even if not always perfectly.
The child uses future talk in familiar routines (e.g., “We will go home”) especially when an adult models it first.
Exceeding
Going further
The child uses a range of tenses to talk about now/before/after and usually matches tense to meaning across everyday conversations.
What you might see
The child talks about yesterday using past forms (e.g., “We went to the park” / “I played on the slide”) in connected speech.
The child talks about what is happening now using ongoing forms (e.g., “He’s running”) while watching or playing.
The child talks about what will happen next using future forms (e.g., “I will play after lunch”) in a way the listener can follow.
The child uses tense shifts within a short story (e.g., “We went… then we played… and tomorrow we will go again”).
The child repairs tense to match meaning (e.g., starts “I go” then changes to “I went” when reminded it was earlier).
The child uses tense for pretend and planning (e.g., “You will be the doctor and I’m being the patient”) to keep roles/time clear.
Try this at home
Small everyday moments where you can notice this behaviour without setting up anything special.
At bedtime, ask “What did you do today?” and listen for whether your child uses past forms when describing earlier events.
During play, comment “You’re building” and notice whether your child uses “-ing” forms when describing ongoing action (“I’m building”).
Before an outing, ask “What will we do when we get there?” and see whether your child uses future talk (e.g., “will” / “going to”).
After a small mishap (spilled water, dropped toy), ask “What happened?” and notice whether your child tries a past form (“spilled” / “fell”), even if imperfect.
During pretend play, set up a plan (“First we… then we will…”) and observe whether your child keeps tense consistent while coordinating roles.
Connected behaviours
Behaviours that scaffold, follow, or co-emerge with this one.
The framework source and supporting developmental research.
Framework source
Development Matters in the EYFS (DfE, 2012), Communication and Language: Speaking (30–50 months).
This construct is framework-native and targets the developing grammatical system used to express time in speech.
Developmental research
Brown, R. (1973). A First Language: The Early Stages.
Classic developmental linguistics documents staged growth in grammar and morpheme use, supporting progression in tense marking during early childhood.
Five-level rubric (detailed)ShowHide
The full progression underlying the three levels above. Used by the platform’s reasoning agent when planning activities and observations.
Not Yet
The child mostly uses simple base forms (e.g., “play”) and relies on context rather than grammar to show whether something is happening now, already happened, or will happen.
When talking about something that already happened, the child uses the same verb form as for now (e.g., “I go park” for yesterday).
The child rarely uses “-ing” forms while describing ongoing actions (e.g., says “I paint” while painting).
The child uses time words without changing verb form (e.g., “Tomorrow I play”) and does not yet attempt tense shifts.
Emerging
The child sometimes marks time (often with “-ing”) and may attempt past or future forms, but usage is inconsistent or frequently inaccurate.
The child uses “playing” correctly at times but switches back to “play” within the same description.
The child attempts past tense with errors (e.g., “runned”, “goed”) while describing an earlier event.
The child uses a future marker occasionally (e.g., “will”) but not consistently (e.g., “I will go” one time, then “I go” for future).
Developing
The child uses present and ongoing forms more reliably, and begins to use simple past/future forms in familiar contexts, often with adult modelling or gentle recasts.
The child describes an ongoing action using “-ing” (e.g., “I’m building”) during play.
With a prompt like “What did we do?” the child uses a past form in a simple sentence (e.g., “We played”), even if not always perfectly.
The child uses future talk in familiar routines (e.g., “We will go home”) especially when an adult models it first.
Secure
The child uses a range of tenses to talk about now/before/after and usually matches tense to meaning across everyday conversations.
The child talks about yesterday using past forms (e.g., “We went to the park” / “I played on the slide”) in connected speech.
The child talks about what is happening now using ongoing forms (e.g., “He’s running”) while watching or playing.
The child talks about what will happen next using future forms (e.g., “I will play after lunch”) in a way the listener can follow.
Reflexive
The child uses tenses flexibly in narratives and plans, sometimes self-corrects, and combines tense with time words (e.g., yesterday/tomorrow) to make meaning precise.
The child uses tense shifts within a short story (e.g., “We went… then we played… and tomorrow we will go again”).
The child repairs tense to match meaning (e.g., starts “I go” then changes to “I went” when reminded it was earlier).
The child uses tense for pretend and planning (e.g., “You will be the doctor and I’m being the patient”) to keep roles/time clear.
