BRIEF BUT IN-TENSE!
We are now going to have a brief look at some of the more commonly used tenses in English. We will review their uses and take turns doing some practice exercises.
1 THE SIMPLE PRESENT AND SIMPLE PAST
A) SIMPLE PRESENT -- Form - VERB + s or es in the 3rd person (He/She/It speaks)
Uses and Examples :
(Note the use of verbs and auxiliaries in the examples)
1 GENERALISATIONS, FACTS AND PERMANENT SITUATIONS:
Babies drink milk.
I do not drink coffee.
Does she have children?
Life is expensive in London.
The cost of living is not high in Spain.
I have a house in England.
Don't they have a president in Liberia? Or is it a prime minister?
2. REPEATED ACTIONS ( Habits, hobbies, daily events, scheduled events, routine events)
It is often used with Adverbs of Frequency such as always, never, frequently, rarely, occasionally, often, once a month, twice a year, every day, Tuesday etc.
I speak to my children often.
Always she forgets her purse!
I knit everyday.
Does the Earth circle the sun twice a year?
The train does not leave at 9 am, it usually leaves at 8.
I never play golf on Mondays.
Sometimes I play video games with my children.
Note the placement of the Adverb between the Subject and the Verb. You add more emphasis to the Adverb by placing it at the beginning or end of the sentence.
3. SCHEDULED EVENTS IN THE NEAR FUTURE:
We board the plane at 11 o' clock tomorrow.
We arrive in China tomorrow evening.
4. TO RECOUNT A JOKE, NARRATION OR STORY:
A Brit, a Frenchman and an Irishman are drinking beer when a trio of flies lands on their three drinks. The Frenchman pushes his away in disgust. The Brit removes his fly and continues drinking. The Irish grabs the fly and shakes it violently, yelling "Spit it back out you bastard!"
So in this book, an army invades Britain and takes the entire government hostage.
The movie is about a woman who travels to Tibet to find her family.
B) THE SIMPLE PAST -- Form - REGULAR VERB + d or ed
Uses and Examples :
1. PAST FACTS AND GENERALISATIONS:
In the 19th century, women were not allowed to vote.
Queen Victoria reigned for over 63 years.
She was so shy as a girl but now she is very outgoing!
Cell phone calls were much more expensive 10 years ago.
Did dinosaurs live in Asia?
2. HABITS OR REPEATED ACTIONS IN THE PAST:
He played lots of football as a child.
They always arrived late to class.
He drank a cup of coffee after every meal.
She sang regularly at the opera house.
3. COMPLETED ACTIONS IN THE PAST WITH NO CONNECTION TO THE PRESENT:
Yes, the Vikings invaded Britain.
He rode his bike to school this morning.
Did Leonardo paint the Mona Lisa? Or was it Michelangelo?
4 SERIES OF COMPLETED ACTIONS IN THE PAST, NARRATION, LISTS:
He arrived at the hotel at 8, checked in 10 minutes later and met the others at 10.
Did you add flour, pour in the milk and then add the eggs?
She woke up, got dressed and went straight to see her father.
2 THE PRESENT AND PAST CONTINUOUS
A) THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS --- Form - am/is/are + VERB+ing)
Uses and Examples :
1. SHORT OR LONG ACTIONS IN PROGRESS NOW. IT CAN ALSO BE USED TO SHOW THAT SOMETHING IS NOT HAPPENING RIGHT NOW:
Are you sleeping?
Who are you talking to on the phone?
They are not watching television, they are in their rooms.
I'm not reading any good books right now.
I'm studying to be a musician.
Are you working on any special projects this year?
2. NEW OR TEMPORARY HABITS, TEMPORARY EVENTS, EVENTS THAT WE FEEL WILL NOT LAST LONG (as opposed to the simple past which we use to talk about permanent situations or situation we feel will last long)
I am staying with a friend for a week.
Tim is working at a bar until he finds something in his field.
She is smoking a lot these days.
They are working late every night to meet the deadline.
3. AN EVENT IN THE NEAR FUTURE:
I am meeting some friends after work.
I am not attending tonight's conference.
Are we visiting your parents this weekend?
I am leaving at three.
4. ANNOYING HABITS WITH ALWAYS:
Used with adverbs like constantly, forever, always.
You're always losing your keys!
She is constantly missing the train.
He is forever complaining about something, he is never happy with anything!
PAST CONTINUOUS --- Form - was/were + VERB+ing
Uses and Examples:
1. A CONTINUOUS ACTION IN THE PAST WHICH IS INTERRUPTED BY ANOTHER ACTION OR BY A SPECIFIC TIME:
I was taking a bath when the telephone rang.
At three o clock I was working.
Someone stole his car while he was sleeping last night.
Were you out jogging when the storm started?
I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.
At 7 pm last night I was watching the football game.
At midnight we were still driving through the desert.
2. PARALLEL ACTIONS IN THE PAST :
I was studying while she was making dinner.
I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several mistakes.
Were you listening while he was talking?
3. TO DESCRIBE THE ATMOSPHERE OF A PLACE OR EVENT, OR TO GIVE BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
When i walked into the office, several people were busily typing some were talking on the phones, the boss was yelling direction and customers were waiting to be helped. One customer was yelling at the secretary and others were complaining about the bad service.
It was a beautiful day. The birds were singing, the sun was shining, and the people in the cafe were laughing and chatting.
4. ANNOYING, REPEATED ACTIONS IN THE PAST (WITH ALWAYS):
He was constantly talking, he annoyed everyone.
He was always leaving the tap running.
They were always singing out of key.
NOTE : NON CONTINUOUS VERBS OR STATE VERBS DO NOT TAKE THE ING FORM. THE FULL LIST OF STATE VERBS IS AVAILABLE HERE. WE WILL COME BACK TO THESE VERBS LATER.
EXERCISES:
3. PRESENT AND PAST PERFECT
PRESENT PERFECT --- Form - Have/Has + Past Participle
The Present Perfect is used to express a truth or an action that happened at any point / an unknown point in the past. Therefore the present perfect cannot be used with specific time expressions such as yesterday, one year ago, last night, last week, when i was young, one day, when i was in china etc. We can use it with unspecific time expressions such as : Once, ever, never, many times, before, so far, already, yet.
- We can use it to express ACHIEVEMENTS AND EXPERIENCES :
Have you ever met Tim? No, I've never met him.
Doctors have cured many deadly diseases.
Man has conquered the land and now he has landed on the moon.
I have climbed that mountain twice.
Have you ever been to Mexico?
-To express ACTIONS STARTED IN THE PAST THAT MAY HAVE A CONNECTION TO THE PRESENT OR A CONTINUATION IN THE FUTURE
I have had five exams so far this semester.
We have already had three snowstorms since the start of winter.
This city has been attacked five times.
We have encountered some major setbacks while working on this project.
I have been here for hours and I still haven't seen him.
Susan has not finished her dinner yet.
-We use it to express a change over time:
The government has become more interested in arts education.
You have grown since the last time I saw you.
The price of oil has become exorbitant.
-With NON CONTINUOUS VERBS. Non continuous verbs do not take the ING form. Instead we use the present perfect to express that the action started in the past and is still true today:
Anna has loved chocolate since she was a little girl.
My family has owned this house for several generations.
I have known Jacob for over ten years now.
We have lived here since 2001.
NOTE : Although we do not use the Present Perfect with a specific time in the past, we can narrow the time frame we are referring to with expressions like this week, this year, since, in the past decade, in one hour, in one day - these are fields of time, they are not considered to be specific times:
Have you spoken to your mother this month?
I have received two calls so far this week.
I have made more money in one hour than I have ever made before.
She has been to Japan three times this week.
PAST PERFECT --- Form - Had/Has+ past participle
The past perfect is used to express a completed action in the past connected to another action or event in the past. The action in the past perfect form is anterior to the action in the simple past form:
When we arrived the film had started. (The film started, then we arrived)
I had never seen a real diamond before I went to South Africa.
I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet.
Had you previously studied English before you moved to New York?
I'd eaten dinner so I wasn't hungry.
NON CONTINUOUS VERBS. We use the Past Perfect form to express a duration or repeated action in the past that continued up to another action in the past:
We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
When he graduated he had been in London for six years.
Jessica was sad about losing the house, her family had owned it for generations.
Now lets try some exercises with all the new tenses we've seen:
EXERCISES
No comments:
Post a Comment