PRESENT SIMPLE AND PRESENT SIMPLE PROGRESSIVE I surf / I am surfing.' What's the difference between the Present Simple / Present Continuous and how to use them. We use the present simple tense when we want to talk about fixed habits or routines – things that don’t change. We use the present continuous to talk about actions which are happening at the present moment, but will soon finish. Compare these two statements: • •
(present simple) I play tennis. (present continuous/ progressive) I am playing tennis.
(present simple) ‘I play tennis’ tells us that playing tennis is something the speaker always does. It is part of a routine or habit. We can call this a permanent situation. (present continuous/ progressive) ‘I am playing tennis’ tells us that the speaker is playing tennis right now. Soon the game will be over. We call this a temporary situation. With the present simple we say: I play tennis You play tennis We play tennis They play tennis He/she/ it plays tennis.
With the present continuous we say:
I am playing tennis You are playing tennis We are playing tennis He/she/it is playing tennis Frequency Adverbs we use with the Present Simple With the present simple we use these frequency adverbs: (Notice that the adverb comes before the main verb in the sentence.) Always: ‘I always read before I go to bed.’ Often: ‘Her sister often comes shopping with us.’ Frequently:‘Michael frequently visits his family.’ Sometimes:‘You sometimes go to the gym, don’t you?’ Occasionally:‘It occasionally rains in summer.’ Seldom:‘They seldom ask for help.’ Rarely: ‘He rarely goes out without his backpack.’ Hardly ever:‘I hardly ever eat pizza.’ Never: ‘Japanese people never wear shoes inside.’ Time Expressions we use with the Present Continuous With the present continuous we use these time expressions: (Notice that the time expression can come at the start or at the end of the sentence.) At the moment: ‘I’m watching TV, at the moment.’ These days: ‘Paul’s living in Cardiff, these days.’ Now: ‘What are you doing, now?’
Nowadays: ‘I think you are smoking too much, nowadays.’ Complete these sentences below using either the present simple or present continuous. •
(Play) I
golf every weekend.
•
(Play) The children
•
(Work) Haruka
•
(Work) You can’t borrow my lawnmower because it doesn’t
•
(Make) Smells good! What are you
•
(Make) My husband never
•
(Live) Pauline is
•
(Live)Do you still
outside at the moment. today. ?
me breakfast.
in Hong Kong. with your parents?
Simple Past The simple past is a verb tense that is used to talk about things that happened or existed before now. Imagine someone asks what your brother Andres did while he was in town last weekend. Example
Andres entered a hula hoop contest.
Example
He won the silver medal.
The simple past tense shows that you are talking about something that has already happened. Unlike the past continuous tense, which is used to talk about past events that happened over a period of time, the simple past tense emphasizes that the action is finished. Example Andres admired the way the light glinted off his silver medal. You can also use the simple past to talk about a past state of being, such as the way someone felt about something. This is often expressed with the simple past tense of the verb to be and an adjective, noun, or prepositional phrase. Example
Andres was proud of his hula hoop victory.
Example
The contest was the highlight of his week.
How to Formulate the Simple Past For regular verbs, add -ed to the root form of the verb (or just -d if the root form already ends in an e): Play→Played Type→Typed Listen→Listened Push→Pushed Love→Loved
For irregular verbs, things get more complicated. The simple past tense of some irregular verbs looks exactly like the root form: Put→Put Cut→Cut Set→Set Cost→Cost Hit→Hit For other irregular verbs, including the verb to be, the simple past forms are more erratic: See→Saw Build→Built Go→Went Do→Did Rise→Rose Am/Is/Are→Was/Were The good news is that verbs in the simple past tense (except for the verb to be) don’t need to agree in number with their subjects. Example
Andres polished his medal. The other winners polished their medals too.
How to Make the Simple Past Negative Fortunately, there is a formula for making simple past verbs negative, and it’s the same for both regular and irregular verbs (except for the verb to be). The formula is did not + [root form of verb]. You can also use the contraction didn’t instead of did not. Example
Andres did not brag too much about his hula hoop skills. Andres’s girlfriend didn’t see the contest.
For the verb to be, you don’t need the auxiliary did. When the subject of the sentence is singular, use was not or wasn’t. When the subject is plural, use were not or weren’t. Example
The third-place winner was not as happy as Andres. The fourth-place winner wasn’t happy at all.
The viewers were not ready to leave after the contest ended. The contestants weren’t ready to leave either.
How to Ask a Question The formula for asking a question in the simple past tense is did + [subject] + [root form of verb]. Example
Did Andres win the gold medal or the silver medal? Where did Andres go to celebrate? Did the judges decide fairly, in your opinion?
When asking a question with the verb to be, you don’t need the auxiliary did. The formula is was/were + [subject]. Example
Was Andres in a good mood after the contest? Were people taking lots of pictures?
Common Regular Verbs in the Past Tense
Common Irregular Verbs in the Past Tense
Make the past simple, positive, negative or question: 1. I 2. She 3. What time 4. Where 5. I 6. We 7. What 8. I 9. We
(not / drink) any beer last night. (get on) the bus in the center of the city. (he / get up) yesterday? (you / get off) the train? (not / change) trains at Victoria. (wake up) very late. (he / give) his mother for Christmas? (receive) ÂŁ300 when my uncle (not / use) the computer last night.
(die).
10.
(she / make) good coffee?
11. They
(live) in Paris.
12. She
(read) the newspaper yesterday.
13. I
(not / watch) TV.
14. He
(not / study) for the exam.
15.
(he / call) you?
Past Continuous The past continuous tense, also known as the past progressive tense, refers to a continuing action or state that was happening at some point in the past. The past continuous tense is formed by combining the past tense of to be (i.e., was/were) with the verb’s present participle (-ing word). To illustrate‌ Positive
Negative
Question
I / he / she /
I was speaking..
I was not speaking
Was I speaking?
It/ you / we / they
You were speaking
You were not speaking
Were
you
speaking?
There are many situations in which this verb tense might be used in a sentence. For example, it is often used to describe conditions that existed in the past. Example The sun was shining every day that summer. As I spoke, the children were laughing at my cleverness.
It can also be used to describe something that was happening continuously in the past when another action interrupted it. Example The audience was applauding until he fell off the stage. I was making dinner when she arrived.
The past continuous can shed light on what was happening at a precise time in the past. Example At 6 o’clock, I was eating dinner.
It can also refer to a habitual action in the past. Example She was talking constantly in class in those days.
One final caution: Though the irregularities are few, not every verb is suited to describing a continuous action. Certain verbs can’t be used in the past continuous tense. One common example is the verb to arrive. Incorrect: At noon, he was arriving. Correct: At noon, he arrived.
Exceptions in Spelling Exceptions in spelling when adding ing
Example
final e is dropped (but: ee is not changed)
come – coming (but: agree – agreeing
after a short, stressed vowel, the final
sit – sitting
consonant is doubled l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled travel – travelling final ie becomes y
lie – lying
Practice Make the correct form of the past continuous 1) (when / he / work there)? 2)
(you / make dinner)?
3)
(they / drink coffee when you arrived)?
4) (when / we / sleep)? 5) (they / study last night) 6) (we / talk when the accident happened) 7) (he / not / exercise enough) 8) (I / talk too much)? 9) (it / not / snow) 10) (how / they / feel)? 11) Yesterday at six I (prepare)
dinner.
12) The kids (play) in the garden when it suddenly began to rain. 13) I (practise)
the guitar when he came home.
14) We (not / cycle) all day. 15) While Aaron (work) in the pool.
in his room, his friends (swim)
FUNCTIONS OF THE SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE The simple future refers to a time later than now, and expresses facts or certainty. In this case there is no 'attitude'. The simple future is used: § § § § § § § § §
To predict a future event: It will rain tomorrow. With I or We, to express a spontaneous decision: I'll pay for the tickets by credit card. To express willingness: I'll do the washing-up. He'll carry your bag for you. In the negative form, to express unwillingness: The baby won't eat his soup. I won't leave until I've seen the manager! With I in the interrogative form using "shall", to make an offer: Shall I open the window? With we in the interrogative form using "shall", to make a suggestion: Shall we go to the cinema tonight? With I in the interrogative form using "shall", to ask for advice or instructions: What shall I tell the boss about this money? With you, to give orders: You will do exactly as I say. With you in the interrogative form, to give an invitation: Will you come to the dance with me? Will you marry me?
Note:In modern English will is preferred to shall. Shall is mainly used with I and we to make an offer or suggestion, or to ask for advice (see examples above). With the other persons (you, he, she, they) shall is only used in literary or poetic situations, e.g. "With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, She shall have music wherever she goes."
FORMING THE SIMPLE FUTURE The simple future tense is composed of two parts: will / shall + the infinitive without to
Subject
will
infinitive without to
I
will
go
I
shall
go
Affirmative
Negative
Subject
will
infinitive without to
They
will not
see
They
won't
see
she
ask?
they
try?
Interrogative
Will
Interrogative negative
Won't
CONTRACTIONS I will = I'll We will = we'll You will = you'll He will = he'll She will = she'll They will = they'll Will not = won't The form "it will" is not normally shortened.
TO SEE: SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
Interrogative Negativ
I will see
I won't see
Will I see?
Won't I see?
*I shall see
*Shall I see?
You will see
You won't see
Will you see?
Won't you see?
He will see
He won't see
Will he see?
Won't he see?
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
Interrogative Negativ
We will see
We won't see
Will we see?
Won't we see?
*We shall see
They will see
*Shall we see?
They won't see
Will they see?
Won't they see?
FUTURE CONTINUOUS Future continuous has two different forms: "will be doing " and "be going to be doing." Unlike simple future forms, future continuous forms are usually interchangeable.
FORM Future Continuous with "Will" [will be + present participle] Examples: • • •
You will be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight. Will you be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight? You will not be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.
FORM Future Continuous with "Be Going To " [am/is/are + going to be + present participle] Examples: • • •
You are going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight. Are you going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight? You are not going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.
REMEMBER: It is possible to use either "will" or "be going to" to create the future continuous with little difference in meaning. Complete List of Future Continuous Forms
USE 1 Interrupted Action in the Future
Use the future continuous to indicate that a longer action in the future will be interrupted by a shorter action in the future. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time. Examples: • • • •
I will be watching TV when she arrives tonight. I will be waiting for you when your bus arrives. I am going to be staying at the Madison Hotel, if anything happens and you need to contact me. He will be studying at the library tonight, so he will not see Jennifer when she arrives.
Notice in the examples above that the interruptions (marked in italics) are in simple present rather than simple future. This is because the interruptions are in time clauses, and you cannot use future tenses in time clauses.
USE 2 Specific Time as an Interruption in the Future
In USE 1, described above, the future continuous is interrupted by a short action in the future. In addition to using short actions as interruptions, you can also use a specific time as an interruption. Examples: • •
Tonight at 6 PM, I am going to be eating dinner. I will be in the process of eating dinner. At midnight tonight, we will still be driving through the desert. We will be in the process of driving through the desert.
REMEMBER In the simple future, a specific time is used to show the time an action will begin or end. In the future continuous, a specific time interrupts the action. Examples: • •
Tonight at 6 PM, I am going to eat dinner. I am going to start eating at 6 PM. Tonight at 6 PM, I am going to be eating dinner. I am going to start earlier and I will be in the process of eating dinner at 6 PM.
USE 3 Parallel Actions in the Future
When you use the future continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the idea that both actions will be happening at the same time. The actions are parallel. Examples: • • • •
I am going to be studying and he is going to be making dinner. Tonight, they will be eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time. While Ellen is reading, Tim will be watching television
resent
erfect
The Present Perfect tense is a rather important tense in English, but it gives speakers of some languages a difficult time. That is because it uses concepts or ideas that do not exist in those languages. In fact, the structure of the Present Perfect is very simple. The problems come with the use of the tense. In addition, there are some differences in usage between British and American English
The Present Perfect tense is really a very interesting tense, and a very useful one. Try not to translate the Present Perfect into your language. Just try to accept the concepts of this tense and learn to "think" Present Perfect! You will soon learn to like the Present Perfect tense!
How do we make the Present Perfect tense? The structure of the Present Perfect is:
subject
+
auxiliary have
+
main verb
conjugated in Present Simple
have, has
past participle
-The auxiliary verb (have) is conjugated in the Present Simple: have, has -The main verb is invariable in past participle form: -ed (or irregular) -For negative sentences we insert not between the auxiliary verb and the main verb. -For question sentences, we exchange the subject and the auxiliary verb.
Look at these example sentences with the Present Perfect tense:
subject
auxiliary verb
main verb
+
I
have
seen
ET.
+
You
have
eaten
mine.
-
She
has
not
been
to Rome.
-
We
have
not
played
football.
?
Have
you
finished?
?
Have
they
done
it?
This tense is called the Present Perfect tense. There is always a connection with the past and with the present. We use the Present Perfect to talk about: •
experience
•
change
•
continuing situation
Select the right answer: 1. Lindsay
not been to France.
has is have 2.
you finished your homework? Have Has Is
3. They_
gone to a rock concert.
's 'es 've 4.
you been to Japan? Is Have
Has 5. We
never eaten Mexican food.
have has are 6. Andrea has
her umbrella.
forget forgetting 7.
forgotten the sun come up? Was Have
Has 8. The children
_ the lost puppy.
have find is finding have found 9. Wiwi's been a vegetarian
three years.
since for after 10. I haven't worked since for by
last December.
resent
erfect
ontinous
-The Present Perfect Continuous uses two auxiliary verbs together with a main verb.
How do we make the Present Perfect Continuous tense?
The structure of the Present Perfect Continuous tense is:
subject
+
auxiliary have
+
auxiliary be
conjugated in Present Simple
past participle
have, has
been
+
main verb
present participle
Important to know!
-The first auxiliary (have) is conjugated in the Present Simple: have, has -The second auxiliary (be) is invariable in past participle form: been -The main verb is invariable in present participle form: -ing -For negative sentences we insert not after the first auxiliary verb. -For question sentences, we exchange the subject and first auxiliary verb.
Look at these example sentences with the Present Perfect Continuous tense:
subject
auxiliary verb
auxiliary verb
main verb
+
I
have
been
waiting
for one hour.
+
You
have
been
talking
too much.
-
It
has
not
been
raining.
-
We
have
not
been
playing
football.
?
Have
you
been
seeing
her?
?
Have
they
been
doing
their homework?
Contraction with Present Perfect Continuous
When we use the Present Perfect Continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and the first auxiliary verb. We also sometimes do this in informal writing.
I have been
I've been
You have been
You've been
He has been She has been It has been John has been The car has been
He's been She's been It's been John's been The car's been
We have been
We've been
They have been
They've been
This tense is called the Present Perfect Continuous tense. There is usually a connection with the present or now. We use the Present Perfect Continuous to talk about: • •
past action recently-stopped past action still-continuing
Present Perfect Continuous for past action just stopped We use the Present Perfect Continuous tense to talk about action that started in the past and stopped recently. There is usually a result now.
I'm tired because I've been running.
past
present
future !!!
Recent action
•
Result now
I'm tired [now] because I've been running.
• •
Why is the grass wet [now]? Has it been raining? You don't understand [now] because you haven't been listening.
Present
Perfect
Continuous for
past
action
continuing now
We use the Present Perfect Continuous tense to talk about action that started in the past and is continuing now. This is often used with for or since.
I have been reading for 2 hours.
past
present
Action started in past.
Action is continuing now.
future
•
I have been reading for 2 hours. (I am still reading now.)
•
We've been studying since 9 o'clock. (We're still studying now.)
•
How long have you been learning English? (You are still learning now.)
•
We have not been smoking. (And we are not smoking now.)
FOR AND SINCE WITH PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE We often use for and since with perfect tenses: • •
We use for to talk about a period of time: three hours, two months, one decade We use since to talk about a point in past time: 9 o'clock, 1st January, Monday
for
since
a period of time
a point in past time
------------
-•----------
30 minutes
10.00am
four days
Friday
3 months
March
2 years
2010
3 centuries
1700
ages
I left school
1. It has
snowing a lot this week.
be been being 2.
your brother and sister been getting along? Have Has Are
3. Rick 's s 've
been studying hard this semester.
Dayanna Hidalgo and Noylin Gaitán
The Past Perfect Tense The past perfect tense is to talk about actions that were completed before another action. Besides, we don't use the past perfect a lot in English, but it is useful, and it sounds very good if you can use it correctly. Structure: Subject + had + verb past participle + complement. Note: it doesn’t matter if the subject is singular or plural, the formula doesn’t change.
E.g: 1. He had studied. 2. We had bought a new house. 3. It had been easy to understand. Negative sentence: Subject + had +not + verb past participle + complement. E.g: 1. She had not run. 2. It had not rained. 3. You had not eaten.
Interrogative sentence: Yes/No question. Structure: Auxiliary verb + subject + verb past participle + complement. E.g: 1. Had they left? 2. Had she cried? 3. Had you cooked?
Wh- question. Structure: Wh question + auxiliary verb + subject + verb past participle + complement. E.g: 1. Why had he gone?
Dayanna Hidalgo and Noylin Gaitán 2. Where had she run? 3. How had we met?
Uses 1. For actions that happened before a past event. E.g: v I arrived very late at the party, all my friends had already gone home. v When I got home yesterday, my father had cooked dinner. v I didn´t want to go to the movies with my friends because I had seen the film already. 2. In reported speech.
Eg: v John said that he had never eaten sushi before. v I thought I had sent her a birthday card. v She told me that she had finished the homework. 3. In if (conditional) sentences. E.g: v If I had known you were in the spa, I would have gone with you. v If I had had enough money, I would have bought that car. v If she hadn’t helped her, she wouldn’t have finished on time.
ACTIVITY Past Perfect Positive, Negative, Interrogative. 1. When I arrived at the cinema, the film (start). 2. She (live) in China before she went to Thailand. 3. After they (eat) the shellfish, they began to feel sick. 4. If you (listen) to me, you would have got the job. 5. Julie didn’t arrive until after I (leave). 10. She told me that she 11. The grass was yellow because it summer. 12. The lights went off because we electricity bill.
(study) a lot before the exam. (not / rain) all (not / pay) the
Dayanna Hidalgo and Noylin GaitĂĄn 13. The children in trouble. 14. They
(not / do) their homework, so they were (not / eat) so we went to a restaurant.
15. 16. 17.Why 18. 19. 20.When she arrived,
(you / go) there before we went together? (she / see) the film already? (he / forgot) about the meeting? (it / be) cold all week? (I / read) the book before the class? (we / eat) already? Š 2008 www.perfect-english-grammar.com May be freely copied for personal or classroom use.
The Past Perfect Progressive Tense The past perfect progressive tense is used to express something that started in the past and continued until another time in the past. Structure: Subj + had + been + verb + Ing + Complement. E.g: You had been waiting for 8 hours. Negative sentence: Subj + had + not + been + verb + Ing +Complement. E.g:
They had not been talking. Interrogative sentence: Had + Subj+ been + Verb + Ing + Complement. E.g:
Had you been feeling tired?
Uses i.
Action interrupted in the past.
E.g: I had been teaching in Tokio when the earthquake hit. ii.
Past duration of time.
Dayanna Hidalgo and Noylin Gaitรกn E.g: She had been waiting for over an hour for him to arrive. iii.
Cause of past results.
E.g: I could tell you had been swimming all morning because you looked like a prune.
ACTIVITY Put the verbs in to the correct form (past perfect progressive). We (sleep) They (wait)
for 12 hours when he woke us up. at the station for 90 minutes when
the train finally arrived. We (look for)
her ring for two hours and
then we found it in the bathroom. I (not/walk)
for a long time, when it
suddenly began to rain. How long (learn/she) went to London?
English before she