1. Simple
Present
The
simple present tense is the one which we use when an action is happening right
now, or when it happens regularly (or unceasingly, which is why it’s sometimes
called present indefinite). The simple present tense is formed by using
the root form or by adding ‑s or ‑es to the end, depending on the person.
THE
SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE IS USED:
To express habits, general truths, repeated
actions or unchanging situations, emotions and wishes:
I smoke (habit); I work in London (unchanging situation); London is a large city (general truth)
I smoke (habit); I work in London (unchanging situation); London is a large city (general truth)
To give instructions or directions:
You walk for two hundred meters, then you turn left.
You walk for two hundred meters, then you turn left.
To express fixed arrangements, present or
future:
Your exam starts at 09.00
Your exam starts at 09.00
To express future time, after some
conjunctions: after, when, before, as soon as, until:
He'll give it to you when you come next Saturday.
He'll give it to you when you come next Saturday.
Be careful! The simple present is not
used to express actions happening now.
NOTES ON THE SIMPLE PRESENT, THIRD PERSON
SINGULAR
In the third person singular the verb always
ends in -s:
he wants, she needs, he gives, she thinks.
he wants, she needs, he gives, she thinks.
Negative and question forms use DOES (= the
third person of the auxiliary 'DO') + the infinitive of the verb.
He wants ice cream. Does he want strawberry? He does not want vanilla.
He wants ice cream. Does he want strawberry? He does not want vanilla.
Verbs ending in -y : the third
person changes the -y to -ies:
fly --> flies, cry --> cries
Exception: if there is a vowel before the -y:
play --> plays, pray --> prays
fly --> flies, cry --> cries
Exception: if there is a vowel before the -y:
play --> plays, pray --> prays
Add -es to verbs ending in:-ss, -x,
-sh, -ch:
he passes, she catches, he fixes, it pushes
he passes, she catches, he fixes, it pushes
EXAMPLES
·
He goes to school every morning.
·
She understands English.
·
It mixes the sand and the water.
·
He tries very hard.
·
She enjoys playing the piano.
2. Present
continous
The
present continuous tense is formed from the present tense of the
verb be and the present participle (-ing form) of a verb:
a) Use
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.
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.
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.
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 listeningto?
What sort of clothes are teenagers wearing nowadays? What sort of music are they listeningto?
Note: We normally use always with this
use.
b) 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?
What are you doing next week?
c) 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.:
3. Past
Simple
We use
the Past Simple tense to talk about an action or a situation - an event - in
the past. The event can be short or long.
Here are
some short events with the Past Simple:
|
The car exploded at
9.30am yesterday.
She went to the door. We did not hear the telephone. Did you see that car? |
Here are
some long events with the Past Simple tense:
|
I lived in Bangkok
for 10 years.
The Jurassic period lasted about 62 million years. We did not sing at the concert. Did you watch TV last night? |
Notice
that it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a few minutes or
seconds in the past, or millions of years in the past. Also it does not matter
how long the event is. It can be a few milliseconds (car explosion) or millions
of years (Jurassic period). We use the Past Simple tense when:
-
the event is in the past
-
the event is completely finished
we say
(or understand) the time and/or place of the event
Examples:
I lived in
that house when I was young.
He didn't like the
movie.
What did you eat for
dinner?
John drove to
London on Monday.
Mary did not go to
work yesterday.
Did you play tennis
last week?
I was at
work yesterday.
We were not
late (for the train).
Were you
angry?
4. Past
Continuous
The past
continuous describes actions or events in a time before now, which began
in the past and is still going on at the time of speaking. In other
words, it expresses an unfinished or incomplete action in the past.
EXAMPLES
-
They were waiting for the bus when the accident
happened.
-
Caroline was skiing when she broke her leg.
-
When we arrived he was having a bath.
-
When the fire started I was watching television.
5. Subject
Verb Agreement
Subject verb
agreement simply means the subject and verb must agree in
number. This means both need to be singular or both need to be plural.
Subject/Verb
Agreement Examples
Here are
some examples of subject verb agreement (the subject is bolded and the verb
underlined) :
-
My dog always growls at the
postal carrier.
-
Basketballs roll across the floor.
-
I don’t understand the assignment.
-
These clothes are too small for me.
-
Peter doesn’t like vegetables.
Compound
Subjects
Compound
subjects (two subjects in the same sentence) usually take a plural verb, unless
the combination is treated as singular in popular usage or the two subjects
refer to the same thing or person. Here are some examples of subject verb
agreement with compound subjects:
o
Sugar and flour are needed for the
recipe.
o
Neither my dad nor my brothers know how
to ski.
o
Pepperoni and cheese are great on a
pizza.
o
Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional
meal in Ireland. (popular usage)
o
The creator and producer is arriving
soon. (both refer to same person)
When
using “or” or “nor” in a compound subject containing a singular and plural
subject, the verb agrees with the closest subject. Examples of compound
subjects using or, neither-nor, or either-or include:
o
My mom or dad is coming to the play.
(singular)
o
Neither gray nor white is my
favorite color. (singular)
o
Either Grandpa or my
sisters are going to the park. (closest subject is plural)
o
Either my sisters or
Grandpa is going to the park. (closest subject is singular)
o
Neither she nor I am going to
college. (closest subject is singular)
6. Pronoun
Pronouns
are words that we use in place of Nouns (or other Pronouns) in a sentence to
make it less repetitive and less awkward. Some of the most common Pronouns are
- he, she, you, they, it, etc. These Pronouns are divided into different
categories based on their use.
1)
Personal Pronouns
These pronouns are used for a specific object or
person and they change their forms to indicate the different genders, numbers,
case and persons speaking.
- Tania told him to take the food to them as soon
as possible as it was urgently needed.
- ‘Him’ is a Pronoun of gender.
2)
Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstrative Pronouns are used to show or
identify one or a number of nouns that may be far or near in distance or time.
They are only four in number - This, That, These and Those. This and That are
singular demonstrative pronouns and These and Those are plural demonstrative
pronouns. They can also be used to show an unspecified quantity in a sentence.
3)
Interrogative Pronouns
Who, Whom, Which and What are Interrogative
Pronouns as they are used to ask questions about a person or object that we do
not know about. Compounds of these words are made by attaching ‘-ever’ to the
words to strengthen the emphasis on the word.
4)
Relative Pronouns
Relative Pronouns are used to join or relate two
different clauses together by referring to the noun in the previous clause
using the pronouns - Who, Whom, Whose, Which andThat.
5)
Indefinite Pronouns
These pronouns are used to show unspecified
objects or people, whether in plural or in singular. They are used to indicate
the entire noun or some of the noun or none of the noun. They are used when we
want to refer to group of nouns without actually specifying who or how much.
6)
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns
Reflexive Pronouns are those which are used to
indicate a noun which has been used in an earlier part of the same sentence.
These pronouns are - Myself, Themselves, Yourself,Ourselves, Herself, Himself
and Itself.
7)
Reciprocal Pronoun
There are just two Reciprocal Pronouns - Each other and One
another. They are used when two or more nouns are doing or being the same to
one another. Both of these pronouns are plural in nature as they can only be
used in situations where there is more than one noun.
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