Review

Simple Present
Present Continuous
Simple Past
Future (Will – Be going to)
Interrogative pronouns
 Present Simple

Use:
Sentences in the present simple tense
are true all the time.

I come from Japan.

I live in Paris.
I like animals.
I have three sisters.
Form:
Form the present simple this way:
Positive
Positive

I
you like
he animals
she likes
it
we
they like

Negative

I don’t
you
like animals
he
she doesn’t
it
we don’t
they
 Questions
I
Do you
he like animals?
Does she
it
Do we
they

Short answers

I do I don’t
you you
Yes, No,
he he
does doesn’t
she she
it it
we do we don’t
they they
 Spelling Rules for 3rd person (he / she / it)
If a verb ends in consonant + y, change y to i and add es.
I study English. He studies English.

If a verb ends in tch, ss, x, sh or z, add es.

She watches television.
Susan misses her family.
He fixes the television.
My dad washes the car on Sundays.

Some verbs have irregular spellings:

I go → he / she / it goes
I do → he / she / it does
I have → he / she / it has
 Common mistakes

Some students forget to add s for he/she/it.

My mother like chocolate. X → My mother likes chocolate.

Some students make the negative form incorrectly.

Tom no work here. X → Tom doesn’t work here.

Tom isn’t work here. X
Tom don’t work here. X

Some students forget to use Do and Does to make questions.

You like this song? X → Do you like this song?

Is your father work here? X → Does your father work here?
 PRESENT CONTINUOUS

Use:
Use the present continuous to talk about actions which
are happening now.

Ellen is having a bath at the moment.

Right now, Mark is talking to her manager.

To form the present continuous, we must use the

auxiliary verb “to be”, as well as the verb+ing.
Form:
POSITIVE

I am going to school.
You are doing the dishes.
He's seeing his doctor now.
She's playing with her dog outside.
We are fighting over which tv show to watch.
You are all telling me different stories.
They are reading quietly before bedtime.
Negative

I am not going to bed now. •You aren't doing your homework now.
You are not doing your homework now. •The mouse's not eating the cheese.
My boyfriend is not telling me everything. •We're not buying a new car.
They are not reading today's newspaper. •They aren't studying very often.
Question

Am I reading a book right now? Where is he going?

Is he speaking on the phone with your teacher? Why are the buses running late?
Is the baby still crying? What is my dog eating?
How's your new phone working?
Spelling Rules:

If a verb ends in e, delete the e before you add –ing.

come => I’m coming.
have => He’s having lunch.

Common Mistakes:

Some students forget the verb be.

I watching television. X => I’m watching television.

She not coming. X => She’s not coming.

Some students make questions incorrectly.

She is working? X => Is she working?

Some students make spelling mistakes.

I’m studing law. X => I’m studying law.

 PRESENT CONTINUOUS FOR FUTURE
Use:
The present continuous tense has two uses:

Use it to describe what is happening at the moment.

‘Where’s mom?’
‘She’s watching TV in the bedroom’.
Use it to describe plans and arrangements in the future.
Tom is arriving on the three o’clock train tomorrow’
Are you doing anything on the weekend?
My parents are coming to see us next week.

Common Mistakes:
Some students use will to talk about future plans. However, present continuous is the correct tense
to use.
I’ll visit my cousin in Paris this weekend. X => I’m visiting my cousin in Paris this weekend.
 Present continuous, be going to and will

Let’s compare these three sentences. Going to

Is used when we already have a plan or an intention
to do something.
I’m meeting my friend for coffee. Present continuous.
I’m going to tell her about my new job. Going to
I’m going to tell her about my new job.
I’ll take my dog to the beach. Will
(This isn’t an arrangement – my friend doesn’t know
that I’m going to do this- but I did decide this before
Present continuous speaking.)
Is used when we have an arrangement. (Maybe you
have bought tickets already.)
Will
I’m flying to New York on Friday. Is used when we decide to do something at the time
of speaking.
OR you have made the plan with someone else:
I’m meeting my friend for coffee. I will take my dog to the beach.
(I hadn’t decided this before. I only decided this at
the moment of speaking.)
 PAST SIMPLE
Use:

Use the past simple to talk about finished events in the past.
Use it to tell stories, jokes and anecdotes.

Form:

Many past tense verbs are formed by adding -ed to the

end of the verb.
want => wanted start => started

If a verb ends in e, just add d => (liked, hoped).

If a verb ends in y, delete y and add ied => (studied,
carried).
But don’t do this if the verb ends in a vowel + y =>
Played, NOT plaied.
Stayed, NOT staied
 Negative

Positive
Questions Common Mistakes:
Some students use the past verb in negative
sentences and questions.
She didn’t bought a house. X => She didn’t buy a
house.

Did you watched the film? X => Did you watch

the film?
 BE GOING TO

Use:
Use be going to to talk about your personal plans
for the future.
I’m going to see my sister at the weekend.
Are you going to marry Paul?

Form:

The form of the positive and negative sentences

and questions is shown below.
 The short reply to a ‘be going to’ question is

‘Yes, I am’, ‘Yes, she is’ etc.

You cannot contract these short sentences.

Yes, he’s. X => Yes, he is.

The short negative replies are:

No, I’m not.

No, you’re not / No, you aren’t.
No, he’s not / No he isn’t. No, she’s not / No she isn’t. No, it’s not / no it isn’t.
No, we’re not / No, we aren’t.
No, they’re not / No, they aren’t.

Common Mistakes:

Some students forget to add the verb ’be’ before ‘going to’.

I going to see my friends tonight. X => I’m going to see my friends tonight.

Some students forget to invert the subject and be in questions.

What time you are going to leave? => What time are you going to leave?
 Will / Won’t

Use:
Will and won’t are used to talk about the future. Will is positive
and won’t is negative.

I will be late tomorrow.

John won’t be at the party next Saturday.

Use will and won’t to:

Make predictions.

In the year 2050, people will live under the sea.

Make an offer or promise.

I’ll buy you a drink.

John will help you with that box.

 Make a decision about the future at the same time as you
speak.

Sorry, we don’t have any tea. That’s OK, I’ll have coffee.

Form:
Will is the same for all persons.
I will go, you will go,
he / she / it will go,
we will go, they will go.
Always write a verb in the infinitive form after will.
You will happy when you hear the news. X => You will be happy
when you hear the news.
 You can contract will to ‘ll for pronouns.
I’ll buy it. We’ll be late.
He’ll be late home today. They’ll be delighted.

But don’t contract will with names.

Mark’ll be late. X => Mark will be late.

To write questions, write will before the subject.

Will you buy me a drink?
Will Tom get the job?

The short answer for Will questions is:

Yes, I/you/he/she/he/they/we will

No, I/you/he/she/he/they/we won’t.

Do not contract will in short answers.

Will John be late? Yes, he’ll. X => Yes, he will.

Common Mistakes:

Some students forget to write will before the subject in questions.

You will be late? X => Will you be late?

Many students use will to talk about their plans. But you should use going
to or the present continuous.

I will meet my friends on Friday. X => I’m meeting my friends on Saturday.

I’m going to meet my friends on Saturday.
 Practice time

Present simple: https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/present-simple-exercise-7.html

Present continuous: https://www.really-learn-english.com/present-progressive-exercises.html#01
Present simple vs present continuous: https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/simple_present_progressive2.htm
Past simple: https://elt.oup.com/student/solutions/preint/grammar/grammar_02_012e?cc=co&selLanguage=en
https://www.examenglish.com/grammar/A2_past_simple.htm
Future tense: https://test-english.com/grammar-points/b1/future-forms/