GRAMMAR TENSES

PRESENT SIMPLE

Sarah arrives at work at 9 o’clock.

USE:
The present simple is used for:
 Permanent states: “Mr. Gibson is a businessman”
 Daily routines: “He usually starts work at 9 am”.
 General truths or laws of nature: “The moon moves round the earth”.
 Programmes or timetables: The bus leaves in ten minutes”

SPELLING RULES:
 Most verbs take –s in the third person singular.
I read-He reads
 Verbs ending in –ss, -sh, -ch, -x and –o, take –es.
I kiss- he kisses; I brush- he brushes; I teach- he teaches.
 Verbs ending in a consonant + y, drop the –y, and take –ies.
I try- he tries, I fly-he flies.
 Verbs ending in a vowel + y, simply take –s.
I buy- he buys.

TIME EXPRESSIONS:
 Adverbs of frequency: Always, Usually, Often, Sometimes, Seldom, Rarely, Hardly
ever, Never. Adverbs of frequency go before the main verbs, but after verb to be
and after other auxiliary verbs such as can, do, must, etc. Rarely, Seldom and Never have
a negative meaning and they are never used with the word not.
 Every day; once a week/month/year; twice a week/month/year; on Mondays; in
the morning/afternoon/evening; at night; at the weekend.

STATIVE VERBS:
Some verbs do not have continuous tenses. These include:
 Verbs of the senses: see, hear, feel, taste, smell.
This cake tastes delicious. This cake is tasting delicious.
 Verbs of perception: know, remember, forget, recognise, understand, notice,
realise, seem, sound, think, etc.
I don’t know his name. I’m not knowing his name.
 Verbs which express likes and dislikes: love, like, hate, dislike, enjoy, etc.
Shirley loves jazz music. Shirley is loving jazz music.
 Other verbs: include, matter, need, belong, cost, prefer, mean, won, appear,
believe, want, have.
That jacket costs a lot of money. That jacket is costing a lot of money.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS

AM/IS/ARE + V-ING

Bob and Claire aren’t working today.

USE:
We use the present continuous:
 For Actions happening now, at the moment of speaking
He is reading a book right now.
 For temporary actions happening around now, but not at the actual moment of
speaking.
She is practising for a concert these days.
 With “always” for actions happening too often and about which we wish to express
our annoyance or criticism.
You’re always interrupting me.
 For fixed arrangements in the near future.
He is flying to Milan in an hour.

SPELLING RULES:
 Verbs ending in –e, drop the –e and take the –ing suffix.
Dance- dancing but see-seeing
 Verbs ending in one stressed vowel between two consonants, double the last
consonant and take the –ing suffix.
Run- running get- getting but open-opening
 Verbs ending in –l, double the –l and take the –ing suffix.
Travel- travelling.
 Verbs ending in –ie, drop the –ie and take –y + -ing.
Lie-lying die-dying.

TIME EXPRESSIONS:
 Now, at the moment, right now, these days, at present, always, tonight, still.
PAST SIMPLE

Last summer, Julie and Brian visited Australia.

USE:
We use the past simple:
 For actions which happened at a definite or stated time in the past, that is, we know
when happened.
They graduated four years ago.
 For actions which happened immediately one after the other in the past.
They cooked the meal first. Then they ate with their friends.
 To talk about people who are no longer alive.
Princess Diana visited a lot of schools.

SPELLING RULES:
 Verbs ending in –e take only –d.
Dance- danced
 Verbs ending in a consonant + y, drop the –y and take –ied.
Try- tried.

TIME EXPRESSIONS:
Last night/week/month/year; in 1992; two days ago; then; when; yesterday.

PAST CONTINUOUS

WAS/ WERE + V-ING

Paul and Claire were having dinner at a restaurant.

USE:
We use the past continuous:
 For an action which was in progress at a stated time in the past.
At three o’clock yesterday afternoon Mike and his son were washing the dog-
 For a past action which was in progress when another action interrupted it.
He was reading a newspaper when his wife came.
 For two or more actions which were happening at the same time in the past.
The people were watching while the cowboy was riding the bull.
 To give the background information in a story.
The sun was shining and the birds were singing.

TIME EXPRESSION
When/while/s + past continuous (longer action)
When + past simple (shorter action)
USED TO

USED TO is used to talk about past habits or things that do not happen anymore.
Peter used to eat a lot of sweets. (Peter doesn’t eat many sweets any more).
Did Peter use to eat many sweets?
Mary didn’t use to stay out late.

WOULD

We use “would” only to talk about habits in the past, but not states. It also refers to the
distant past.
Before we got married, David would take me to the cinema and would invite me to eat out.

We don’t normally use “would” in negative or interrogative sentences with the same
meaning. If we want to make a negative sentence, we can use “would never”.
They would never play board games with their family.

PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE

Bob and Mary have been on holiday for a week.

USE:
We use the present perfect simple:
 For actions which happened at an unstated time in the past. The exact time is not
mentioned because it is not important. We put more emphasis on the actions.
Kim has bought a new mobile phone.
 For actions which started in the past and are still continuing in the present.
He has been a car salesman since 1990.
 For actions which have recently finished and their results and visible in the present.
They have done their shopping.
 With today, this morning/afternoon, etc. when these periods of time are not
finished at the time of speaking.
He has made ten pots this morning.

TIME EXPRESSIONS:
 For- I have known them for six years.
 Since- She has been ill since Monday.
 Already- We have already eaten our lunch.
 Just- I have just posted the letter.
 Always- She has always wanted to travel abroad.
 Recently- He has recently published a book.
 Ever- Have you ever met anybody famous?
 How long- How long have you lived here?
 Yet – Has Paul left yet?
 Lately- Have you seen any good films lately?
 Never- They have never worked abroad.
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

HAVE/HAS BEEN V-ING

They have been waiting for a long time.

USE:
We use the present perfect continuous for:
 An action which started in the past and continuous up to the present.
He has been painting the house for three days.
 An action which has recently finished and its result is evident now.
They’re tired. They have been painting the garage door all morning.

PAST PERFECT SIMPLE

HAD + PAST PARTICIPLE (-ED/ 3RD COLUMN)

USE
We use the past perfect simple:
 For an action which happened in the past before another past action. The action
which happened earlier in the past is in the past perfect simple, and the action
which happened later is in the past simple.
They had done their homework before they went out to play yesterday afternoon.
 For an action which happened before a stated time in the past.
She had watered all the flowers by five o’clock in the afternoon.

TIME EXPRESSIONS
 By (then/ 3 o’clock): He had finished his essay by 10 o’clock.
 By the time: By the time we got to the station, our train had left.
 Before: They had already checked in their luggage before their plane arrive.
 After: I left after I paid the bill.
 Just: I had just closed the door when the doorbell rang.

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

HAD BEEN + V-ING

USE
 We use the past perfect continuous to put emphasis on the duration of an action
which started and finished in the past.
He had been waiting for the bus for half an hour before it came. (He isn’t still
waiting for the bus now).
  He has been waiting for the bus for half an hour. (He is still waiting for the bus).

TIME EXPRESSIONS:
 Before: They had been talking about Chris before he turned up.
 For: The girl had been reading for hours.
 Since: The champion had been hoping to win the race since last year.
 All day/ all night: They had been partying all night.