Samuel francisco zepeda rivas (tenses) by sammy

Simple Present Tense The simple present tense in English is used to describe an action that is regular, true or normal. We use the present tense: 1. For repeated or regular actions in the present time period.   

I take the train to the office. The train to Berlin leaves every hour. John sleeps eight hours every night during the week.

2. For facts.   

The President of The USA lives in The White House. A dog has four legs. We come from Switzerland.

3. For habits.   

I get up early every day. Carol brushes her teeth twice a day. They travel to their country house every weekend.

4. For things that are always / generally true.   

It rains a lot in winter. The Queen of England lives in Buckingham Palace. They speak English at work.

Verb Conjugation & Spelling We form the present tense using the base form of the infinitive (without the TO). In general, in the third person we add 'S' in the third person.

Subject

Verb

I / you / we / they speak / learn he / she / it

The Rest of the sentence English at home

speaks / learns English at home

The spelling for the verb in the third person differs depending on the ending of that verb: 1. For verbs that end in -O, -CH, -SH, -SS, -X, or -Z we add -ES in the third person.      

go – goes catch – catches wash – washes kiss – kisses fix – fixes buzz – buzzes

2. For verbs that end in a consonant + Y, we remove the Y and add -IES.    

marry – marries study – studies carry – carries worry – worries

NOTE: For verbs that end in a vowel + Y, we just add -S.   

play – plays enjoy – enjoys say – says

Negative Sentences in the Simple Present Tense To make a negative sentence in English we normally use Don't or Doesn't with all verbs EXCEPT To Beand Modal verbs (can, might, should etc.). 

Affirmative: You Negative: You don't speak French.

speak

French.

You will see that we add don't between the subject and the verb. We use Don't when the subject is I, you,we or they.



Affirmative: He Negative: He doesn't speak German.

speaks

German.

When the subject is he, she or it, we add doesn't between the subject and the verb to make a negative sentence. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the negative sentence. We will see the reason why below.

Negative Contractions Don't Doesn't = Does not

not

I don't like meat = I do not like meat. There is no difference in meaning though we normally use contractions in spoken English.

Word Order of Negative Sentences The following is the word order to construct a basic negative sentence in English in the Present Tense using Don't or Doesn't. Subject

don't/doesn't Verb*

I / you / we / they don't he / she / it

doesn't

The Rest of the sentence

have / buy cereal for breakfast eat / like etc.

* Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part. Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc. Examples of Negative Sentences with Don't and Doesn't:   

You don't speak Arabic. John doesn't speak Italian. We don't have time for a rest.

  

It doesn't move. They don't want to go to the party. She doesn't like fish.

present continuous The present continuous tense is formed from the present tense of the verb be and the present participle (-ing form) of a verb: Use 1. We use the present continuous tense to talk about the present: 

for something that is happening at the moment of speaking: I’m just leaving work. I’ll be home in an hour. Please be quiet. The children are sleeping.



for something which is happening before and after a given time: At eight o’clock we are usually having breakfast. When I get home the children are doing their homework.



for something which we think is temporary: Michael is at university. He’s studying history. I’m working in London for the next two weeks.



for something which is new and contrasts with a previous state: These days most people are using email instead of writing letters. What sort of clothes are teenagers wearing nowadays? What sort of music are they listening to?



to show that something is changing, growing or developing:

The children are growing quickly. The climate is changing rapidly. Your English is improving. 

for something which happens again and again: It’s always raining in London. They are always arguing. George is great. He’s always laughing. Note: We normally use always with this use. 2. We use the present continuous tense to talk about the future:



for something which has been arranged or planned: Mary is going to a new school next term. What are you doing next week? 3. We can use the present continuous to talk about the past:

 

When we are telling a story: When we are summarising the story from a book, film or play etc.:

Simple past The simple past expresses an action in the past taking place once, never, several times. It can also be used for actions taking place one after another or in the middle of another action. Form of Simple Past Positive

Negative

Question

no differences I spoke. I did not speak. Did I speak?

For irregular verbs, use the past form. For regular verbs, just add “ed”.

Exceptions in Spelling when Adding ‘ed’ Exceptions in spelling when adding ed

after a final e only add d

Example love – loved

final consonant after a short, stressed vowel admit – admitted or l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled travel – travelled

final y after a consonant becomes i

hurry – hurried

Use of Simple Past 

action in the past taking place once, never or several times Example: He visited his parents every weekend.



actions in the past taking place one after the other Example: He came in, took off his coat and sat down.



action in the past taking place in the middle of another action Example: When I was having breakfast, the phone suddenly rang.



if sentences type II (If I talked, …) Example: If I had a lot of money, I would share it with you. Signal Words of Simple Past

 

yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday If-Satz Typ II (If I talked, …)

Past Continuous The past continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the past. The action started before that moment but has not finished at that moment. For example, yesterday I watched a film on TV. The film started at 7pm and finished at 9pm.

At 8pm yesterday, I was watching TV. Past

present

future

8pm At 8pm, I was in the middle of watching TV.

When we use the past continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are talking about. Look at these examples:       

I was working at 10pm last night. They were not playing football at 9am this morning. What were you doing at 10pm last night? What were you doing when he arrived? She was cooking when I telephoned her. We were having dinner when it started to rain. Ram went home early because it was snowing.

We often use the past continuous tense to "set the scene" in stories. We use it to describe the background situation at the moment when the action begins. Often, the story starts with the past continuous tense and then moves into the simple past tense. Here is an example: " James Bond was driving through town. It was raining. The wind was blowing hard. Nobody was walking in the streets. Suddenly, Bond saw the killer in a telephone box..." Past Continuous Tense + Simple Past Tense We often use the past continuous tense with the simple past tense. We use the past continuous tense to express a long action. And we use the simple past tense to express a short action that happens in the middle of the long action. We can join the two ideas with when or while. In the following example, we have two actions: 1. long action (watching TV), expressed with past continuous tense 2. short action (telephoned), expressed with simple past tense

past

present

future

Long action. I was watching TV at 8pm. 8pm You telephoned at 8pm. Short action. We can join these two actions with when: 

I was watching TV when you telephoned.

(Notice that "when you telephoned" is also a way of defining the time [8pm].) We use:  

when + short action (simple past tense) while + long action (past continuous tense)

There are four basic combinations:

When

I was walking past the car when

it exploded.

the car exploded

I was walking past it.

The car exploded While

While I was walking past it.

I was walking past the car

it exploded.

Future (will) We use WILL to speak about the future. It is always combined with another verb. Since WILL is classified as a modal verb (like can, would, could, should) it has the same characteristics: 1. It does not change in the third person (i.e. he, she, it) 2. It is always combined with another verb in the base form (i.e. without 'to')

3. We don't use it with 'Do' in questions or negatives. Examples:    

I will go to the cinema tonight. He will play tennis tomorrow. She will be happy with her exam results. They will take the bus to the South next week.

When to use WILL We use WILL in the following circumstances: 1. For things that we decide to do now.  

I'll call a taxi for you. I think we'll go right now. (I just decided this right now)

2. When we think or believe something about the future.  

The President will not be re-elected at the next election. I think it will rain later so take an umbrella with you.

3. To make an offer, a promise or a threat.  

If you say anything I will kill you! I'll have it ready by tomorrow.

Negative Sentences with WILL In the negative, we add NOT to the end of WILL and not to the main verb. Examples:

I will not be in the office tomorrow. Correct I will be not in the office tomorrow. Incorrect They will not stay here.

Correct

They will stay not here.

Incorrect

Contractions It is possible to use contractions in both positive and negative sentences. With positive contractions WILL becomes 'LL and is joined to the subject: Positive Contraction I will

I'll

You will

you'll

He will

he'll

She will

she'll

It will

it'll

We will

we'll

You will

you'll

They will they'll

With negative contractions, will not becomes won't: Negative Contraction I will not

I won't

You will not

you won't

He will not

he won't

She will not

she won't

It will not

it won't

We will not

we won't

You will not

you won't

They will not they won't

Questions To form a question using WILL, we reverse the order of the subject and WILL: Affirmative He

Question

will

Subject WILL

Verb

Will

WILL

Subject Verb

Examples: Will they win the cup? - Yes, they will. - No, they won't. Will you tell him the truth? - Yes, I will. - No, I won't. Will she get angry? - Yes, she will. - No, she won't.

here tomorrow.

here tomorrow?

Future (Going to) Going to is not a tense. It is a special expression to talk about the future. Structure of Going to The structure is: subject + be + going + infinitive The verb be is conjugated (past, present or future). subject

I'm

? Are

(not)

going

infinitive

going

to buy

a new car.

going

to go

swimming.

going

to take

the exam.

isn't

going

to rain.

you

going

to paint

not

the house?

Use of Going to Going to - intention We use going to when we have the intention to do something before we speak. We have already made a decision before speaking. Look at these examples:   

Jo has won the lottery. He says he's going to buy a Porsche. We're not going to paint our bedroom tomorrow. When are you going to go on holiday?

In these examples, we had an intention or plan before speaking. The decision was made before speaking. Going to - prediction

We often use going to to make a prediction about the future. Our prediction is based on presentevidence. We are saying what we think will happen. Here are some examples:   

The sky is very black. It's going to snow. It's 8.30! You're going to miss the train! I crashed the company car. My boss isn't going to be very happy!

In these examples, the present situation (black sky, the time, damaged car) gives us a good idea of what is going to happen.

Future continuous How do we make the Future Continuous Tense? The structure of the future continuous tense is: subject +

auxiliary verb WILL

auxiliary verb BE

main verb

invariable

present participle

will

base + ing

For negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we insert not between will and be. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at these example sentences with the future continuous tense: subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

will

working

at 10am.

You

will

lying

on a beach tomorrow.

She

will

not

using

the car.

will

not

having

dinner at home.

Will

you

playing

football?

Will

they

watching

TV?

When we use the future continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and will: I will

I'll

you will

you'll

he will she will it will

he'll she'll it'll

we will

we'll

they will

they'll

For spoken negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we contract with won't, like this: I will not

I won't

you will not

you won't

he will not she will not it will not

he won't she won't it won't

we will not

we won't

they will not

they won't

How do we use the Future Continuous Tense? The future continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the future. The action will start before that moment but it will not have finished at that moment. For example, tomorrow I will start work at 2pm and stop work at 6pm: At 4pm tomorrow, I will be working. past

present

future 4pm At 4pm, I will be in the middle of working.

When we use the future continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are talking about. Look at these examples:       

I will be playing tennis at 10am tomorrow. They won't be watching TV at 9pm tonight. What will you be doing at 10pm tonight? What will you be doing when I arrive? She will not be sleeping when you telephone her. We'll be having dinner when the film starts. Take your umbrella. It will be raining when you return.

present perfect The present perfect is formed from the present tense of the verb have and the past participle of a verb: We use the present perfect tense: 

for something that started in the past and continues in the present:

They’ve been married for nearly fifty years. She has lived in Liverpool all her life. Note: We normally use the present perfect continuous for this: She has been living in Liverpool all her life. It’s been raining for hours. 

for something we have done several times in the past and continue to do: I’ve played the guitar ever since I was a teenager. He has written three books and he is working on another one. I’ve been watching that programme every week. We often use a clause with since to show when something started in the past: They’ve been staying with us since last week. I have worked here since I left school. I’ve been watching that programme every week since it started.



when we are talking about our experience up to the present:

Note: We often use the adverb ever to talk about experience up to the present: My last birthday was the worst day I have ever had. Note: and we use never for the negative form: Have you ever met George? Yes, but I’ve never met his wife. 

for something that happened in the past but is important at the time of speaking: I can’t get in the house. I’ve lost my keys. Teresa isn’t at home. I think she has gone shopping. I’m tired out. I’ve been working all day.

We use the present perfect of be when someone has gone to a place and returned: A: Where have you been? B: I’ve just been out to the supermarket. A: Have you ever been to San Francisco? B: No, but I’ve been to Los Angeles. But when someone has not returned we use have/has gone: A: Where is Maria? I haven’t seen her for weeks. B: She's gone to Paris for a week. She’ll be back tomorrow. We often use the present perfect with time adverbials which refer to the recent past: just; only just; recently; Scientists have recently discovered a new breed of monkey. We have just got back from our holidays. or adverbials which include the present: ever (in questions); so far; until now; up to now; yet (in questions and negatives) Have you ever seen a ghost? Where have you been up to now? Have you finished your homework yet? No, so far I’ve only done my history. WARNING: We do not use the present perfect with an adverbial which refers to past time which is finished: I have seen that film yesterday. We have just bought a new car last week. When we were children we have been to California. But we can use it to refer to a time which is not yet finished:

Have you seen Helen today? We have bought a new car this week.

Present perfect continuous The structure of the present perfect continuous tense is: subject + auxiliary verb + auxiliary verb + main verb been

have has

base + ing

Here are some examples of the present perfect continuous tense: subject auxiliary verb

auxiliary verb

main verb

have

Been

waiting

for one hour.

You

have

Been

talking

too much.

has

not

Been

raining.

have

not

Been

playing

football.

Have

you

Been

seeing

her?

Have

they

Been

doing

their homework?

Contractions When we use the present perfect continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and the first auxiliary. 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

Here are some examples:   

I've been reading. The car's been giving trouble. We've been playing tennis for two hours.

How do we use the Present Perfect Continuous Tense? This tense is called the present perfect continuous tense. There is usually a connection with the presentor now. There are basically two uses for the present perfect continuous tense: 1. An action that has just stopped or recently stopped We use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an 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.

2. An action continuing up to now

We use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an 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 the present perfect tense.  

We use for to talk about a period of time - 5 minutes, 2 weeks, 6 years. 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 x

20 minutes

6.15pm

three days

Monday

6 months

January

4 years

1994

2 centuries

1800

a long time

I left school

ever

the beginning of time

etc

Here are some examples:      

I have been studying for 3 hours. I have been watching TV since 7pm. Tara hasn't been feeling well for 2 weeks. Tara hasn't been visiting us since March. He has been playing football for a long time. He has been living in Bangkok since he left school.

Past perfect When we talk about something that happened in the past we sometimes want to refer back to something that happened before that time. We can use the past perfect tense ( had + past participle ) to do this. Look at these two sentences.

 

John left the house at 7:30 yesterday morning. Mary rang John’s doorbell at 8:15 yesterday. Both actions happened in the past so we use the past simple tense. But look at how we can combine the sentences.



Mary rang John’s doorbell at 8:15 yesterday but John had already left the house. We use the past perfect (had left) because the action happened before another action in the past (Mary rang the doorbell.) Look at some more examples of the past perfect.

 

When Mrs Brown opened the washing machine she realised she had washed the cat. I got a letter from Jim last week. We’d been at school together but we’d lost touch with each other. The past perfect is used because they were at school before he received the letter. It refers to an earlier past. Look at these 2 sentences.

 

James had cooked breakfast when we got up. James cooked breakfast when we got up. In the first sentence, the past perfect tells us that James cooked breakfast before we got up. In the second sentence, first we got up and then James cooked breakfast.

Past perfect continuous The past perfect can also be used in the continuous.  

I realised I had been working too hard so I decided to have a holiday. By the time Jane arrived we had been waiting for 3 hours. NOTE The most common mistake with the past perfect is to overuse it or to use it simply because we are talking about a time in the distant past.



The Romans had spoken Latin Remember that we only use the past perfect when we want to refer to a past that is earlier than another time in the narrative Past Perfect Continuous

How do we make the Past Perfect Continuous Tense? The structure of the past perfect continuous tense is: subject

auxiliary verb HAVE

auxiliary verb BE

main verb

conjugated in simple past tense

past participle

present participle

had

been

base + ing

For negative sentences in the past perfect continuous tense, 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 past perfect continuous tense: subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

had

been

working.

You

had

been

playing

tennis.

had

not

been

working

well.

had

not

been

expecting

her.

Had

you

been

drinking?

Had

they

been

waiting

long?

When speaking with the past perfect continuous tense, we often contract the subject and first auxiliary verb: I had been

I'd been

you had been

you'd been

he had she had been it had been

he'd been she'd been it'd been

we had been

we'd been

they had been they'd been How do we use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense? The past perfect continuous tense is like the past perfect tense, but it expresses longer actions in thepast before another action in the past. For example: 

Ram started waiting at 9am. I arrived at 11am. When I arrived, Ram had been waiting for two hours.

Ram had been waiting for two hours when I arrived. past

present

future

Ram starts waiting in past at 9am. 9

I arrive in past at 11am.

Here are some more examples:    

John was very tired. He had been running. I could smell cigarettes. Somebody had been smoking. Suddenly, my car broke down. I was not surprised. It had not been running well for a long time. Had the pilot been drinking before the crash?

You can sometimes think of the past perfect continuous tense like the present perfect continuous tense, but instead of the time being now the time is past.

past perfect continuous tense had | been | doing | >>>> |

| | | |

past

now

present perfect continuous tense

future

| | | |

have | been | doing | >>>> |

past

now

future

For example, imagine that you meet Ram at 11am. Ram says to you: ď&#x201A;ˇ

"I am angry. I have been waiting for two hours."

Later, you tell your friends: ď&#x201A;ˇ

"Ram was angry. He had been waiting for two hours."

Future Perfect The future perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and use. The future perfect tense talks about the past in the future. How do we make the Future Perfect Tense? The structure of the future perfect tense is: subject +

auxiliary verb WILL

auxiliary verb HAVE

main verb

invariable

past participle

will

have

Look at these example sentences in the future perfect tense: subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

will

have

finished

by 10am.

You

will

have

forgotten

me by then.

She

will

not

have

gone

to school.

will

not

have

left.

Will

you

have

arrived?

Will

they

have

received

it?

In speaking with the future perfect tense, we often contract the subject and will. Sometimes, we contract the subject, will and have all together: I will have

I'll have

I'll've

you will have

you'll have

you'll've

he will have she will have it will have

he'll have she'll have it'll have

he'll've she'll've it'll've

we will have

we'll have

we'll've

they will have

they'll have

they'll've

How do we use the Future Perfect Tense? The future perfect tense expresses action in the future before another action in the future. This is thepast in the future. For example:



The train will leave the station at 9am. You will arrive at the station at 9.15am. When you arrive, the train will have left. The train will have left when you arrive. past

present

future Train leaves in future at 9am. 9 9.15

You arrive in future at 9.15am.

Look at some more examples:   

You can call me at work at 8am. I will have arrived at the office by 8. They will be tired when they arrive. They will not have slept for a long time. "Mary won't be at home when you arrive." "Really? Where will she have gone?"

You can sometimes think of the future perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but instead of your viewpoint being in the present, it is in the future: present perfect tense

future perfect tense

| have | done | >|

past

now

will | have | done | >|

future

past

now

future

Future Perfect Continuous How do we make the Future Perfect Continuous Tense? The structure of the future perfect continuous tense is: subject +

auxiliary verb WILL

auxiliary verb HAVE

auxiliary verb BE

main verb

invariable

past participle

present participle

will

have

been

base + ing

For negative sentences in the future perfect continuous tense, we insert not between will and have. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at these example sentences with the future perfect continuous tense:

subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

will

have

been

working

for four hours.

You

will

have

been

travelling

for two days.

She

will

not have

been

using

the car.

will

not have

been

waiting

long.

Will

you

have

been

playing

football?

Will

they

have

been

watching

TV?

When we use the future perfect continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb: I will

I'll

you will

you'll

he will she will it will

he'll she'll it'll

we will

we'll

they will

they'll

For negative sentences in the future perfect continuous tense, we contract with won't, like this:

I will not

I won't

you will not

you won't

he will not she will not it will not

he won't she won't it won't

we will not

we won't

they will not

they won't

How do we use the Future Perfect Continuous Tense? We use the future perfect continuous tense to talk about a long action before some point in the future. Look at these examples: ď&#x201A;ˇ ď&#x201A;ˇ

I will have been working here for ten years next week. He will be tired when he arrives. He will have been travelling for 24 hours.