Present Simple In Simple Present, the action is simply mentioned and there is nothing being said about its

completeness. It is used to talk about an action which happens on a regular basis. Form: verb (+ s in third person singular of most verbs - see additional points below) Meaning To talk about permanent situations. She doesn't speak English. Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius. To talk about things that happen repeatedly. I go to school every day. Jack sometimes plays tennis. To ask for and give instructions. How do I get to the bathroom? You go up the stairs and turn right. In narrative (to tell stories). At the start of the film a big spaceship comes to Earth and lands in LA. Then the aliens eat all the people. To talk about future scheduled events. The meeting starts at 10am. The train leaves at 7.32pm. We use present simple in certain introductory expressions. I hear you went on holiday to Spain this summer. I gather you're leaving the company. We use present simple to do things by using some special verbs (for example: promise, advise, suggest, apologise, insist, agree, swear). I promise I'll never do it again. I advise you to think carefully before you do that. Additional points: Third person singular spelling Most verbs: add s. play - plays sleep - sleeps Verbs which end in consonant + y: change y to ies. hurry - hurries reply - replies Verbs which end in s, z, ch, sh or x: add es. push - pushes watch - watches Exceptions do - does go - goes have has Present Perfect This tense is called the present perfect tense. There is always a connection with the past and with the present. There are basically three uses for the present perfect tense: experience change continuing situation Form Affirmative: have/has + verb 3 (past participle) Negative: haven't/hasn't + verb 3 (past participle) Meaning To show that a finished action or event has a connection with the present or has a result in the present.

I can't go out because I've lost my keys. She's had an accident and she's in the hospital now. I've had lunch so I'm not hungry. To give news or talk about recent events. She's had a baby girl. There's been a big fire at the factory. The value of the dollar has risen in recent weeks. To express a very recent action. She's just had a baby. I've just had lunch. To talk about a period of time not finished at the time of speaking. Compare: I 've had three cups of coffee today. (Today is not finished) I had three cups of coffee yesterday. (Yesterday is finished) Have you seen the news this week? (This week is not finished) Did you see the news yesterday? (Yesterday is finished) I've been on holiday twice this year (This year is not finished) I went on holiday twice last year (Last year is finished) With for or since to talk about how long a present situation has lasted. I've lived in Spain for 10 years. (For + period of time) She hasn't spoken to him since April last year. (Since + specific date/time) To talk about experiences, or about an indefinite time in the past. We may not know when the action happened or it may not be important. Have you ever eaten frogs' legs? (At any time in your life until now) I've never had a computer. (At any time in my life until now) She has read all the Harry Potter books. (At some time in the past - it's not important when) I've seen Shrek. (At some time in the past - it's not important when) Repeated actions or events from the past until now. We've visited China many times. I've been to France twice. The phone has rung five times since lunchtime. Use already to say something happened sooner than expected. I've already seen Mission Impossible. Use yet to say that we expect something to happen. I haven't seen Mission Impossible yet. Have you spoken to Dave yet? Additional points: Been and gone They've gone to Greece for a holiday. (They are in Greece now) They've been to Greece. (They went to Greece and they've come back) Present Continuous Present Continuous with Normal Verbs to express the idea that something is happening now, at this very moment. It can also be used to show that something is not happening now Form: am/is/are + present participle (verb + ing) Meaning To talk about something that is happening at the time of speaking. The action is not finished. He is speaking to John.

What is she doing? To talk about temporary situations. I 'm living in London at the moment. Why is she moving house? To talk about changing situations You're getting taller and taller every day. The weather's getting warmer. To talk about repeated actions around the time of speaking I'm seeing Jane a lot these days. With words such as always to talk about things that happen repeatedly (sometimes to say that something is irritating or annoying). She's always complaining about how difficult her life is. To talk about future arrangements. I'm meeting my father at the airport at 5 o'clock tomorrow. When we are talking about how someone looks or feels, we can use present continuous or present simple. How are you feeling? / How do you feel? Jenny is looking really good today? / Jenny looks really good today. Additional points: We do not normally use some verbs with present continuous because these verbs are not normally action verbs. These verbs include: believe, belong, depend, hate, know, like, love, mean, need, prefer, realize, suppose, want, and understand. They know each other very well - Correct They are knowing each other very well Incorrect Present Perfect Continuous In the Present Perfect Continuous tense, the action has been taking place for some time and is still ongoing. The duration for which the action has been going on is usually mentioned in the present perfect continuous tense. Form: Affirmative: have/has been + present participle (verb + ing) Negative: haven't/hasn't been + present participle (verb + ing) Meaning To talk about an action or event that started in the past and is still happening now. I've been waiting for over an hour. (I'm still waiting now) It's been snowing since 8am. (It's still snowing now) You've been playing a lot of tennis recently. Use How long in questions. How long have you been learning English? (You started learning in the past and are still learning now) To talk about an activity or event that has recently finished and has a result or consequence now. She's tired because she's been working hard. I have no money left because I've been shopping. To focus on the action and not on the completion of the action. She's been writing a book. (Focus on the action) She's written a book. (Present perfect simple - focus on the result) They've been negotiating the contract. (Focus on the action, it's not important if it's finished or not) They've negotiated the contract. (Focus on the result, the negotiation is finished)

When the action or event is more temporary we often use present perfect continuous, and when it is more permanent we often use present perfect simple. They've lived in Italy for many years - Present perfect simple I've been living here for a month - Present perfect continuous Additional points: We do not normally use some verbs with present perfect continuous because these verbs are not normally action verbs. These verbs include: believe, belong, depend, hate, know, like, love, mean, need, prefer, realize, suppose, want, and understand. I've known him for ten years - Correct I've been knowing him for ten years - Incorrect I've belonged to the tennis club for 25 years - Correct I've been belonging to the tennis club for 25 years Incorrect Past Simple It is used principally to describe events in the past. State when it happened using a time adverb. Form: Regular verbs: verb + d or ed. Irregular verbs: See list of irregular verbs Meaning To talk about finished actions and time. I went there last year. You lived in Paris when you were younger, didn't you? He worked there in 1980. She saw him yesterday. We didn't see Jack and Liz at the party last night. What did they talk about at the meeting in Zurich? Past Perfect The Past Perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past. Form: Affirmative: had + verb 3 (past participle) Negative: hadn't + verb 3 (past participle) Meaning To talk about finished actions that happened before a certain time in the past. I had finished lunch when they arrived. You had left by the time they got here. He didn't want to come with us because he had already seen the film. Past Continuous In the Past Continuous tense, the action was ongoing till a certain time in the past. This tense is used to talk about an action at a particular time in the past. Form: Affirmative: was/were + present participle (verb + ing) Negative: wasn't/weren't + present participle (verb + ing) Meaning To say that an action was in progress at a particular time in the past. The action had already started at this time but had not finished. I was having dinner at 6pm last night. What were you doing this time yesterday? To say that an action was in progress at every moment during a period of time. You were working all morning, weren't you? I was playing football all day yesterday. Use past continuous together with past simple. The past continuous refers to a longer or background action that was in progress; the past simple refers to a shorter action that interrupted the longer action, or happened in the middle of it. He was walking to work when he met John. She was eating when the phone rang. While I was working in the garden, I heard a woman scream.

Use past continuous to say that an action in the past was temporary. You were working in the Sales Department last month, weren't you? They were living in Paris for a year. With words such as always to talk about things that happened repeatedly. Grandpa was always telling us funny stories about his life and cracking jokes. Additional points: We do not normally use some verbs with past continuous because these verbs are not normally action verbs. These verbs include: believe, belong, depend, hate, know, like, love, mean, need, prefer, realize, suppose, want, understand. They knew each other very well - Correct They were knowing each other very well Incorrect Past perfect continuous The past perfect progressive (continuous) is used to describe an action that started in the past and was still in progress when a second action started. Both actions began and ended in the past. As in the past perfect simple, the sentence has two parts: The past perfect progressive, to refer to the action that was in process The past simple to refer to the action that happened after the first action Form: Affirmative: had been + present participle (verb + ing) Negative: hadn't been + present participle (verb + ing) Meaning To talk about longer actions or events that happened before or up to another action or event in the past. He was tired because he had been playing football all day. Theyd been driving for three hours when the accident happened. When I saw her I could see that she had been crying. When the action or event is more temporary we often use past perfect continuous, and when it is more permanent we often use past perfect simple. We found the house where my grandparents had lived - Past perfect simple We found a house where another family had been living for a few months - Past perfect continuous Additional points: We do not normally use some verbs with past perfect continuous because these verbs are not normally action verbs. These verbs include: believe, belong, depend, hate, know, like, love, mean, need, prefer, realise, suppose, want, understand. I had known him for ten years when he got married - Correct I had been knowing him for ten years when he got married - Incorrect I had belonged to the tennis club for 25 years when I left - Correct I had been belonging to the tennis club for 25 years when I left Incorrect Simple Future Tense We use the future simple tense when there is no plan or decision to do something before we speak. We make the decision spontaneously at the time of speaking. Simple Future Tense: Simple Future is used when we plan or make a decision to do something. Nothing is said about the time in the future. I will eat. I will sleep. I will play. Future perfect We use the future perfect tense when we want to emphasize the 'no-later-than' time of the completion of a future action Form: will have + verb 3 (past participle) Meaning When an action will be complete at a specific time in the future. I will have finished my project by the weekend. This time next year I will have graduated college. To predict the present. Don't bother going to see him, he'll have left.

Future continuous It is used to express a continued or an ongoing action in future. Form: will be + verb + present participle (-ing form of the verb) Meaning To say that an action will be in progress at a specific time in the future. This time on Thursday I'll be flying to Thailand. In two hours she'll be leaving work. Use future continuous to predict the present. Don't call him now, he'll be sleeping. Use future continuous to make polite enquiries about someone's plans Will you be watching TV this evening? (You simply want to know if the TV will be free) Future Perfect Continuous Tense We use the Future Perfect Continuous tense to express situations that will last for a specified period of time at a definite moment in the future. We also use this tense to express certainty about the cause of some future situation. Future Perfect Continuous is used to talk about an on-going action before some point in the future. I will have been sleeping for two hours when you arrive. I will have been playing for an hour when it is 5 p.m.

Irregular Verbs The verb 2 form is often referred to as the past simple because of its use with this tense. However, it also has other functions, such as in unreal conditionals and to talk about wishes in the present. Referring to this form as past simple can therefore be misleading. The verb 3 form is also known as the past participle. This form also has different functions, for example: forming the perfect aspect: I have already eaten / He had arrived forming the passive voice: 1000 widgets are produced in the factory every day modifying nouns: You can spend the enclosed money on whatever you like Verb Verb 2 Verb 3 awake awoke awoken be was/were been bear bore born beat beat beaten become became become begin began begun bend bent bent bet bet bet bite bit bitten bleed bled bled blow blew blown break broke broken breed bred bred bring brought brought broadcast broadcast broadcast build built built burn burnt/burned burnt/burned burst burst burst buy bought bought cast cast cast catch caught caught choose chose chosen come came come cost cost cost creep crept crept cut cut cut deal dealt dealt dig dug dug dive dived/dove dived do did done draw drew drawn drink drank drunk drive drove driven eat ate eaten fall fell fallen feed fed fed feel felt felt fight fought fought find found found flee fled fled fly flew flown forbid forbade forbidden forget forgot forgotten forgive forgave forgiven

freeze get give go grow hang have hear hide hit hold hurt keep kneel know lay lead lean leap learn leave lend let lie light lose make mean meet pay put quit read ride ring rise run say see sell send set shake shine shoot show shrink shut sing sink sit sleep slide smell speak

froze frozen got got gave given went gone/been grew grown hung/hanged hung/hanged had had heard heard hid hidden hit hit held held hurt hurt kept kept knelt/kneeled knelt/kneeled knew known laid laid led led leant/leaned leant/leaned leapt/leaped leapt/leaped learnt/learned learnt/learned left left lent lent let let lay lain lit lit lost lost made made meant meant met met paid paid put put quit quit read read rode ridden rang rung rose risen ran run said said saw seen sold sold sent sent set set shook shaken shone shone shot shot showed shown shrank shrunk shut shut sang sung sank sunk sat sat slept slept slid slid smelt/smelled smelt/smelled spoke spoken

spend spent spent spit spat/spit spat/spit spread spread spread stand stood stood steal stole stolen stick stuck stuck sting stung stung stink stank stunk strike struck struck/stricken swear swore sworn sweep swept/sweeped swept/sweeped swim swam swum swing swung swung take took taken teach taught taught tear tore torn tell told told think thought thought throw threw thrown understand understood understood wake woke woken wear wore worn win won won write wrote written