fevenre FOR rie 1 AN EbitiNG GuipE To WritING Bangkok International Language, Center PEARSON| Expressing Present Time GRAMMAR FOCUS The three verb tenses discussed in this chapter—the simple present, the present progressive, and the present perfect—all express present time. However, the three tenses have different uses, Notice how they are used in the sentences below according to the time word that is chosen. Sata asa sess iistaiasas a He takes six vitamins every day. We are working on a proposal right now. Ihave driven there many times. Pretest Check your understanding of the tenses that express present time. Put a check (/)) next fo the sentences that are correct. 1. Lam loving classic English novels. 2. Our professor is sick since Monday. 3. My grandmother likes to tell me stories about her childhood. She still has remembered so much about her youth. 4. My neighbor leaves for work at 7:30 every morning. 5. Right now Pat has searched for information on the Internet. 6. Mary and | have seen all of the old silent movies. 7. Bob and Jack usually are working out at the gym five days a week. 8. Mark studi Swedish for five years. 9. At the moment, I am reading a fashion magazine. 10. ike to discuss current events, s0 I read several newspapers every day. Scanned with CamScaGRAMMAR IN CONTEXT NNotice how the verb forms and time words in the folowi h show time changes. Underline all ofthe verbs in the prose nd Pareareph sl nd New York City has the most people of all cities in the United States, Its population has been the largest in the United States since 1780. Currently, nearly 10 million people are livin New York City is an important location for business, finance, culture, fashion, and entertainment. It has been important internationally since the United Nations was located there in 1950, Many places in the city have become popular for tourists to visit. Some of these include the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, the New York Stock Exchange, Harlem, and Greenwich Village. Since September 11, 2001. many tourists have visited the site of the terrorist attacks ‘on the World Trade Center. Therefore, the city is developing parts of this area as a memorial to the victims of the tragedy, —————— 9 in the city, Fort the Simple Present—Regular Verbs To form the simple present in third-person singular, you can usually just add only an-s. Se Rca | Wourwerthey | run He/She/It Remember the following exceptions. 1. If the verb ends in ~ch, ~sh, -ss, -x, or ~2z, add -es. watch — watches . wash — washes kiss — kisses mix — mixes buzz — buzzes 2. If the verb ends in a consonant + -y, drop the ~y and add ~ies. cany — cartes ty — tries 3. If the verb ends in a vowel +-y, just add -s. pay — pays enjoy — enjoys I | Scanned with CamScaForming the Simple Present—Irregular Verbs WYoufWe/they have SUBJECT ] cg f am a problern He/Shertt is | hungy. HeyShe/t has WeNouthey | are Seu Wourwe/they | do He/She/It does ‘tho work quickly Forming Simple Present Questions and Negatives In questions and negatives, use the auxiliary verb do or does + the base form of the main verb except when the verb is be. Notice that the auxiliary do is also used when the main verb is do. (Mesh ies | Do you lke old movis? | usvally don't like old movies. Does /Avery go to school every day? 'No, she does nat go to school every day. | Do you usually do your homework atterclass? | No, | don't da my homework until after dinner. Ishea student? He isn'ta student now. Remember: When you use does, do not add -s to the verb. Correct: Does Avery go to school every day? Incorrect: Does Avery goes to school every day? Self Check 1 Circle the correct form of the simple present. 1. My sister (don't / doesn't) like to read. 2. Our manager (has / have) a new computer. 3. Does Julia (speak / speaks) Spanish and alian? 4. Mr. and Mrs. Kim (study / studies) English at night school, 5. ‘The bank (cashs / cashes) many paychecks on Friday afternoons, 6. (He lives alone / Does he live alone) or with a roommate? Scanned with CamScaUsing the Simple Present 1. Use the simple present to write about habits and routines, These are actions and situations that happen regularly, Tmeet my study group weekly. Past x rate Present Andrea travels a lot. He washes his laundry every weekend, 2. Use the simple present to write about facts. These are actions and situations . that are always true, New Guinea is an island, (fact) The arth revolves around the sun. (scientific fact) The road curves very sharply. (always true) 3. Use the simple present with non-action verbs (also called stative verbs). Non-action verbs express thoughts, feelings, senses, possession, and appearance. Avoid using these verbs in the progressive form, Thoughts: (dis)agree, believe, know, mean, recall, remember, think (= believe), understand She believes everything that her mother says Feelings: appreciate, hate, (dislike, love, need, prefer, want Tike chocolate ice cream more than vanilla ice cream. Senses: feel; hear, see, smell, taste We hear loud music from the apartment next door. Possession: be, belong, have, own Jae has three dogs at home. Appearance: appear, be, look, seem You look a little tired today. 4. Use adverbs of frequency to show the simple present when it is used to describe habits or routines. ease SSUES abways never rately annually normally regularly daily occasionally seldom everyweek often sometimes monthly onfridays usually Scanned with CamScaAdverbs Of frequency come after the verb be. They usually come before other George is usually on tine for the bus, We rarely take the bus to school, NOTE: The simple present also has a future time use. Use events, (See Chapter 4,) o write about scheduled Edit carefully with the verb remember. Frequently, the act of remembering isin the present and the ‘event that you remember isin the past Correct: remember the day we moved to our new home. Incorrect: I remembered the day we moved to our new home, Self Check 2 Circle the correct form of the present. 1. Water (freezes / is freezing) at 32° Fahrenheit. 2. Steve (is belonging / belongs) to the club for economics students. 3. We (have gone / go) there all the time. 4. He usually (works / work) from a home office. 5. Fredric (is hearing / hears) his neighbor's dog daily. Forming the Present Progressive Use the simple present form of the auxiliary verb be (am, is, are) + the present participle (-ing form) of the main verb. SUBJECT | VERB CUEING lst Usa 1 am|eaving. |__| Ishe leaving? He isn'tleaving, HeyShe/le is lee jing. Are you leaving? _| We aren't leaving. You/We/They | are leaving. 2. The present progressive uses the auxiliary verb be + ing. Do not forget the verb be. Correct: Juan is working at the library. Incorrect: Juan working at the library. Correct: Yosuke and Lena are living close to campus, Incorrect: Yosuke and Lena living close to campus. Use Appendix 3 or your dictionary to check the spelling of present participles. ocalineu WI UalllocdSelf Check 3 Circle the correct form of the present progressive. 1. Paul (is drive / is driving) to San Francisco today. 2. Mr. Lim (is eating / are eating) breakfast. 3. (Are / Ts) Ana and her sister working in a childcare center? 4, Karen (is achieving / is achieve) an A in the class. 5. The math homework (giving / is giving) me a headache, Using the Present Progressive 1. Use the present progressive to write about actions or situations that are happening right now. John is doing his homework now. vast —__£T—Tn ys int Present It's raining. They are re swing the lab report at the moment. 2. Use the present progressive to write about actions or situations that happen over an extended time in the present. The action or situation does not have to be happening right now. She is working in a restaurant this summer. I'm studying Greek this year. My grandmother is paying my college tuition. 3. In both of the above uses, the present progressive expresses something that is temporary. These are actions or situations with a beginning and an end. Remember to use the simple present for permanent actions or situations. He is speaking Spanish. (This is what he is doing right now.) He speaks Spanish. (This is a permanent ability of his.) 4, Use time words to show the present progressive. This is especially important when you change tenses. Ga i es send this year/weet/semester/tall at this moment curently nowadays right now at this time now presently these days today Itis beginning to snow now. They are currently taking an exam. Yuki is taking photography this year. NOTE: The present progressive also has a future time use. Use it to write about future plans. (See Chapter 4.) — Scanned with CamSca‘grammar book or a learner’ dictionary will tell you if verb is normally used inthe progressive form. (See Appendix 7) jf pea Self Check 4 Circle the correct form of the verb. 1. She (is knowing / knows) the correct answer to the question. 2. At this moment, Mia (listens / is listening) to her new MP3 player. 3. Americans (celebrate / are celebrating) Thanksgiving in November. 4. I (take / am taking) two history courses this semester. 5. Claudia (majors / is majoring) in chemistry. Forming the Present Perfect 1. Use the simple present form of the auxiliary verb have (have, has) + the past participle (-ed form) of the main verb. UN) | Vit WouNWe/They | have arrived | on time He/Sheytt has arrived | on ime. | Weel They haven't arrived yet. She hasn't arrived, en Have they arrived? Has she arrived? 2. Many past participles are irregular. Some of these end in -en (e.g, taken, given, eaten, driven, written). Others end in ~t (e.g., built, meant). Common irregular past participles include been, done, drunk, gone, read, and slept. We have gone there many times. I’ve read that book three times. bi Use Appendix 2 or your dictionary to make sure you use the correct form of the past partial ocalineu WIL Ualllocdes Self Check 5 Circle the correct form of the present perfect, 1. A jazz band (has play / has played) at Preservation Hall since the 19695- 2. How many times (have / has) the children seen the movie Chiderella ? 3. Bettina and Wendy (has read / ha read) all of Mark ‘Twain's work. 4. We (have been / been) in class for two hours. 5. The professor and I (haven't discussed / hasn't discussed) my grades yet. Using the Present Perfect 1. Use the present perfect to write about actions or situations that began in the past and continue to the present (and possibly to the future) Ihave worked at the library for two years. past — os patre Present He has studied hard all week. We have not seen Todd in a long time. 2. Use the present perfect to write about actions or situations that happened at an unspecified time in the past. (If the time is specified, use the simple past. See Chapter 2.) She has already seem that movie, Past. 44-4} future Present They have solved the problem. Thave already eaten dinner, 3. Use the present perfect to write about actions or situations that happened more than once at unspecified times in the past Maria has traveled to Cuba four times, Past #4 pf Sate Present J have been sick several times this winter. Ithas rained a lot this year. Scanned with CamSca4, Use for and since with the present perfect to write about actions or situations that have happened over an extended period of time. began; for tells the length of time it has lasted. since + point in time: ince tells when the time Claire has lived in Chicago since 2005. for + length of time: The liberal party hhas been int power for 10 years. 5. In addition to for and since, use other time words to introduce the present perfect. This is especially important when you change tenses. Aas ‘THE PRESENT PERFECT already recently until now just several times yet many so far A: Have you seen the movie yet? B: No, Ihaven’t seen it yet. / Yes, I’ve already seen it. He has recently graduated from college. So far we have been very busy. NOTE: Yet is used in questions and negative statements. Self Check 6 Circle the word(s) that complete each sentence correctly. 1. Robert and Alvin ( not sleep / have not slept) since the day before yesterday. 2. In recent years, I (have driven / drive) the coastal highway many times. 3. He (is / has been) president for almost eight years, but soon we will have a new leader. 4. I (am / have been) very busy with work recently. 5. Mark has been gone (since / for) six months, Be aware ofthe grammar errors that you make the most often and edit carefully for these problems. Use the editing lag in Appendix 6 to keep track of your mast common errors. ocalineu WI UalllocdEDITING PRACTICE fences that use verb tenses correctly. Correct 1e sentences that have exe i H present perfect Mave er70rs: Use the simple present, prosont progressive, OF 1, The communications industry becomes more competitive recently. 2. The story is about family relationships. 3. He has already went to school. 4, Thave not live tong enough to experience everything, —— 5-My family has noticed many differences between China and the United States since we arrived here in 2006, 6. Her 100-year-old neighbor has traveled to many different countries and still remembered everything, 7. The weather seems a little humid today. 8. Helen is stu biology now. —— 9. 1am believii 1g I did well on the midterm. 10. We make many friends since we moved into the dorm. —— 11. The earth has been round. 12, I have not been to Canada, 2. In the following essay, the underlined verbs are not correct. Write the correct verb form above each underlined verb. Use the simple present, present progressive, or present perfect. In many parts of the world, children leave home for the first time when they go away to college. A student's fist year at college was often difficult, From the time children are born, they are depending on their parents for food, clean clothing, and emotional support. After a few weeks at college, first-year students learn they have to take care of these things by themselves, ‘They learn some difficult lessons as they become independent. However, independence also is bringing good things such as freedom, no curfew, and 3 fewer household chores. Scanned with CamScaAsa college freshman, I go through these changes right now. Since | 1 moved into the college dormitory, | talk to my parents a lot. Sometimes I 5 still am_wanting their advice and support, Currently, | Any. to focus on my schoolwork, but it is hard to study when many other students in my dorm are not studying, They often are playing loud music while | am trying to study. In the past, my mother always helped me focus on my homework. Without her help, T do poorly on three tests so far. Even with these problems, | am knowing that my college experiences will make me a strong person. 3. Read the following paragraph. Complete the poragraph with the correct form of each verb. Use the simple present, present progressive, or present perfect. One of the most important influences in life - the be family. People who have strong families may have an easier time succeeding, while people with weak families may have to work harder for success. Everyone the family in a different way, and this is describe especially true in modern society. Traditional families include grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. However, over the past several decades this description Since the 1960s, the individual 3echang more important, and the traditional family ‘become many changes. For example, nowadays, many 5.have_ : ‘ children ina home with one parent. In addition, modern families problems such as divorce, poverty, 7 fave \ 7 and teenage pregnancy. Even though families in 8. change the same, The most recent years, their basic duties 4 stay important duties of a family are the care of the youngest and oldest family members, and these the same over the past decades. 10-remain ocalineu WIL Calllocd4. The following essay has ten errors in the use of the present. Find and correct the errors. In recent years, academic success becomes the most important goal 19 rong students and among their 8 many countries. As a result, competition a Parents has increased, This competition recently causes problems for many young people. Until now, this leads to several societal problems, including suicide. Currently, suicide increases among students in some countries where academic pressure is high. Many students are failing classes because of stress and not because of little knowledge or effort. However, this academic competition is making very educated and productive societies in many parts of the world. Since | arrived in the United States, I am noticing that academic success is not important to all Americans. Although American society is successful, the importance of academic success is not being as strong as it is in some other countries. This may be because the United States has many different cultures, and each culture defines success in a different way. In fact, for many years, American universities are considering a student's school and community involvement in addition to grades. As a result, students are well rounded but may be academically below students in other countries. American educators now try to raise their students’ academic levels. Alll educational systems have positive and negative parts. We are needing a combination of the good parts from systems all over the world to make one completely successful educational program. Scanned with CamSca