English Verbs

A Review of the System

Three categories of English verbs
Category Type Example
1. to be as main verb I am English
as auxiliary I am speaking English
He is loved by everyone.
2. Auxiliary verbs do Do you speak
English?/He doesn’t
speak English
have I have been to England
modal auxiliaries (can, I can swim
could, may, might, shall, Should we order pizza?
should, will, would) He won’t tell me.
semi-modals (dare, need, You ought to apologize.
ought to, used to) I didn’t use to like her.
3. Lexical verbs regular love – loved
irregular speak – spoke – spoken
 The verb to be
to be is unique because:

it can be an auxiliary or a lexical verb, but even as a lexical verb, it behaves

syntactically like an auxiliary, i.e.:

• It is directly negated with not:

He is tall > He is not tall

• It can invert:
He is tall > Is he tall?

• It can be used in ellipsis:

Are you English? > Yes, I am.
Forms of the verb to be - affirmative
Affirmative statement Affirmative question
full contracted full
I am I’m Am I?
He is He’s Is he?
She is She’s Is she?
It is It’s Is it?
The teacher is The teacher’s Is the teacher?

You are You’re Are you?

We are We’re Are we?
They are They’re Are they?
 Notes on the verb to be - affirmative
• Contracted forms usual in speech and informal
writing; full forms preferred in formal writing
• Contracted form of is is also used after noun
subjects, question words, indefinite pronouns,
here, there and now.
• Contracted forms cannot be used at the end
of a clause
• Full forms are used when the truth of the verb
to be is emphasized
Forms of the verb to be - negative
Negative statement Negative question
full contracted contracted full
I am not I’m not Aren’t I? Am I not?
He is not He’s not / He isn’t Isn’t he? Is he not?
She is not She’s not / She Isn’t she? Is she not?
It is not isn’t Isn’t it? Is it not?
The teacher is not It’s not / It isn’t Isn’t the teacher? Is the teacher not?
The teacher’s not /
The teacher isn’t
You are not You’re not / You Aren’t you? Are you not?
We are not aren’t Aren’t we? Are we not?
They are not We’re not / We Aren’t they? Are they not?
aren’t
They’re not / They
aren’t
Notes on the verb to be - negative
• Contracted forms usual in speech and informal
writing; full forms preferred in formal writing
• Contracted form with not in full is preferred in
American; two forms equally common in British
• Negative contractions can be used at the end of a
clause
• Full negative question forms sound very formal
• Many English dialects use ain’t for all persons
 Auxiliary Verbs
• Grammatical auxiliaries
be > continuous tenses and passive
do > negation, inversion and emphasis
have > perfect tenses
• Modal auxiliaries
can, could, may, might, must, shall, should,
will, would
• Semi-modals
dare, need, ought to, used to
 NICE Properties of Auxiliary Verbs
Negation – only auxiliaries can be negated with not

Inversion – only auxiliaries can invert

Code (Ellipsis) – auxiliaries used to avoid repetition

Emphasis – auxiliaries used to stress truth

 Negation: Jespersen’s Cycle
Old English: ic ne seah

Middle English: i ne saugh nawiht

Early Modern English: I saw not

Modern English: I didn’t see

 Do-support
• begins to be used systematically in the early 16th
century
• before that, lexical verbs could be negated and
inverted, e.g. I know not, came he?
• reasons for change are unclear:
– restores pre-verbal negation while avoiding conflict with
other pre-verbal adverbs
– first occurs in negative questions, where combination of
inversion and negation makes understanding difficult
– in inversion, also serves to preserve SVO word order
• occurs in present and past simple tenses and
imperative
 Inversion
• In yes/no and wh-questions:
Have you spoken to Jim today?
What did the teacher say?
EXCEPT no inversion after what, which and who as subject:
What happened next?
NB: No inversion in indirect questions!
Do you know what her name is? [what is her name]
I asked him where he lived. [where did he live]
• In negative questions used as exclamations:
Isn’t it hot today!
Aren’t you the lucky one!
• After a negative or restrictive expression:
At no time was the president in danger.
Only later did I realize I had been robbed.
 Code (Ellipsis)
Instead of repeating a lexical verb, English uses an
auxiliary:
‘Hurry up!’ – ‘I am!’
He said he’d come, but he didn’t.
‘Should I call the police?’ – ‘I would!’
‘Is John coming to the party?’ – ‘He said he was.’
She loves him. She really does.
Doesn’t that noise bother you? It does me.
‘Do you speak German?’ – ‘I do, but I haven’t for a long
time. The last time I did was about five years ago. I
wonder if I still can.’
 Typical cases of ellipsis
• Tag questions:
John speaks French, doesn’t he?
• Short answers:
‘Is Lynn American?’ – ‘Yes, she is.’
• After so and neither/nor:
I haven’t been to London and neither has he.
• Confirmatory questions:
‘John speaks French.’ – ‘He does?’ / ‘Does he?’
 Emphasis
Full form of auxiliaries used to emphasize truth:
‘I thought you were British.’ – ‘I am British.’
‘Finish your homework!’ – ‘I have finished it.’
It is raining, but not that much.
Auxiliary do can be inserted to emphasize present
and past simple:
He does like her, but not in a romantic way.
‘You said you were going to call me.’ – ‘I did call you,
but you didn’t answer your phone.’
If you do decide to come, give me a call.
 Exercise 1 Use of auxiliaries
1. Mal sentei para jantar, tocou a campainha.
2. Ele gostava muito daquela menina. Ainda gosta.
3. “Você já viu esse filme?” – “Eu já. E você?”
4. Eu estudei inglês no colégio sim, mas já esqueci tudo.
5. Eles não só atrasaram, como também nem pediram
desculpas.
6. A Júlia não come carne e o marido dela também não.
7. Eu não tomei vinho, mas todos os outros tomaram.
8. Você sabe onde fica a estação de metrô?
 Modal auxiliaries
can, could, may, might, must,
shall, should, will, would

• Same form for all persons; no -s in third person singular

• Followed by infinitive without to
• No infinitive, gerund or past participle
• Can form a type of past with have + past participle
• NICE properties
• Stressed and unstressed pronunciations (except may/might)
• Contractions: will > ‘ll, would > ‘d
• Most can contract with not: can’t, couldn’t, mustn’t, shan’t,
shouldn’t, won’t, wouldn’t
 Semi-modals
dare He dares (to) argue He daren’t argue with Dare he argue with Daren’t he argue
with the teacher the teacher. (BrE) the teacher? (BrE) with the teacher?
He doesn’t dare (to) Does he dare (to) (BrE)
argue with the argue with the Doesn’t he dare
teacher. teacher? (to) argue with the
teacher?

need She needs to go to the She needn’t go to the Need she go to the Needn’t she go to
bank. bank. (BrE) bank? (BrE) the bank? (BrE)
She need not go to Does she need to go Doesn’t she need
the bank. (BrE) to the bank? to go to the bank?
She doesn’t need to
go to the bank.

ought to He ought to He oughtn’t to Ought he to Oughtn’t he to

apologize. apologize. (BrE) apologize? (BrE) apologize? (BrE)
He ought not to Ought he not to
apologize. apologize?

used to She used to smoke. She didn’t use to Did she use to Didn’t she use to
smoke. smoke? smoke?
 Exercise 2: Modal auxiliaries
1. Preciso terminar esse trabalho hoje.
2. Fecho a porta ou deixo aberta?
3. Pode esfriar bastante no inverno aqui.
4. Leva uma blusa que pode esfriar mais tarde.
5. Você me empresta uma caneta?
6. Você acha que devemos chamar a polícia?
7. Vocês não devem falar durante a prova.
8. “Posso estacionar aqui?” – “Não, não pode.”
9. Se eu fosse você, não contaria para ninguém.
10. O Pedro não deve ter recebido a nossa mensagem.
 Syntactic Properties of Lexical Verbs
• cannot be directly negated with not:
I like not action movies
I don’t like action movies

• cannot be inverted:
Like you action movies?
Do you like action movies?

• are not used in ellipsis:

Do you like action movies? – Yes, I like.
Do you like action movies? – Yes, I do.
 do and have as lexical verbs
Do and have can also be lexical verbs (= fazer
and ter). When used as lexical verbs, they follow
lexical verb syntax:
He doesn’t do the dishes.
What did you do last night?
I don’t have time right now.
Did you have a good time last night?
 have got
In this expression, have is an auxiliary and
behaves as such syntactically:
I haven’t got time right now.
Have you got enough money to get home?
You hadn’t got your phone with you, had you?
I haven’t got a pen, but my wife has.
 Contractions of auxiliary have
When used as an auxiliary, forms of the verb to
have are usually contracted after pronouns and
there:
have > ‘ve haven’t
has > ‘s hasn’t
had > ‘d hadn’t
In other cases, they are written in full, but
pronounced unstressed: have [həv, əv], has [həs,
əs], had [həd, əd]
 The system of tenses and aspects
• Tense
– Present
– Past

• Aspect
– Simple vs. continuous
– Perfect (present relevance)
 Tense and Aspect
• Aspects of the present tense:
– Present simple: I eat
– Present continuous: I am eating
– Present perfect: I have eaten
– Present perfect continuous: I have been eating

• Aspects of the past tense:

– Past simple: I ate
– Past continuous: I was eating
– Past perfect: I had eaten
– Past perfect continuous: I had been eating
 Formation of Tenses
• Simple tenses: basic verb forms, present and
past: live – lived, eat – ate

• Continuous tenses: to be + -ing form

• Perfect tenses: to have + past participle

 Overview of Tenses
Present tenses English Portuguese
Simple I speak falo
Continuous I am speaking estou falando
Perfect simple I have spoken falei / falo*
Perfect continuous I have been speaking tenho falado / estou
falando*

Simple I spoke falei / falava

Continuous I was speaking estava falando, falava
Perfect simple I had spoken tinha falado / falava*
Perfect continuous I had been speaking tinha falado, vinha falando,
andava falando / falava*
Portuguese > English Equivalences (1)
In general:
falo > I speak

estou falando > I am speaking

EXCEPT actions which started in the past and are still going on at the
present time:

Port: Present tense > Eng: Present perfect tense

I’ve studied English for ten years/since 2001.

Estudo inglês há dez anos/desde 2001.

How long have you been waiting here?

Faz quanto tempo que você está esperando aqui?
Portuguese > English Equivalences (2)
In general:

eu falava > I spoke/I used to speak /I would speak/I was speaking

eu estava falando > I was speaking

EXCEPT actions which started at an earlier time and are still going on at
the moment in the past which is being described:
Port: Imperfect tense > Eng: Past perfect tense

I had studied English for two years when I went to the States.
Eu estudava inglês havia dois anos quando fui aos EUA.

How long had you been waiting for the bus when I called you?
Fazia quanto tempo que você estava esperando o ônibus quando te liguei?
 Portuguese Imperfect Tense
eu falava >

I spoke simple past in descriptions and narrations

I used to speak referring to past habits and states that

are no longer the case in the present

I would speak referring to habitual actions in the past (not

states)

I was speaking ongoing action as the background to events (=

eu estava fazendo)
 used to
• Refers not only to past habits, but also past states. Also used to indicate that the action or state is no longer the case:

‘Do you speak French?’ – ‘I used to, but I’ve forgotten it all.’
This building used to be a movie theatre.

• Negative and questions with ‘did’:

I didn’t use to like running, but I’ve gotten into it. Or: I never used to like running, but …
‘Didn’t you use to smoke?’ – ‘Yes, I did, many years ago.’

• Not always equivalent to ‘costumava’ and much more common in spoken language:

I used to have a dog.

 Eu costumava ter cachorro.
 Eu tinha cachorro (antigamente).
This building used to be a movie theatre.
 Esse prédio costumava ser um cinema.
 Esse prédio era um cinema (antigamente).
‘Do you speak French?’ – ‘I used to.’
 “Você fala francês?” – “Eu costumava (falar).”
 “Você fala francês?” – “Eu falava.”

• Does not exist in the present tense; use the simple present with usually unless another time adverbial contradicts it:

Ele costuma comer cereal no café da manhã.

He usually has cereal for breakfast.
Eles costumam jantar fora de vez em quando.
They go out for dinner occasionally.
 used to do ≠ be used to doing
Do not confuse:

I used to work at home.

Eu trabalhava em casa (antigamente).

and

I’m used to working at home.

Eu estou acostumado a trabalhar em casa.

I was used to working at home.

Eu estava acostumado a trabalhar em casa.
 would expressing typical behaviour in the past
When I was a child, I would read a lot.

She would occasionally come and visit us.

We would sit for hours just chatting.

• Rather literary, not much used in speech

• Not normally used in questions
• Can always be replaced by used to and usually is in speech
• Cannot be used to refer to past states > used to
• Cannot be used to indicate that a habit or state is no longer
the case > used to
 Past continuous
• Past continous (was/were doing) is obligatory in English when the
meaning is estava fazendo, i.e. action in progress

• Portuguese pretérito imperfeito may be used in this sense,

especially in more formal/literary language:

O que é que eu falava mesmo? Ah é ...

What was I saying again? Oh yes ...

Eles jantavam quando a polícia irrompeu.

They were having dinner when the police burst in.

O que é que você fazia no meu quarto?

What were you doing in my room?
(cf. What did you do ...? = O que você fez ...?)
Examples of past imperfect action
She spoke Italian with her grandmother. (ambiguous)

She used to speak Italian with her grandmother. (habitual

action and/or action that is no longer true)

She would speak Italian with her grandmother. (habitual

action)

She was speaking Italian with her grandmother. (ongoing

action)
 Exercise 3
1. “Você gosta de malhar?” – “Eu não gostava, mas
passei a gostar.”
2. Quando eu estudava na faculdade, sempre dormia de
madrugada e acordava ao meio-dia.
3. Fazia muitos anos que ele não via a família.
4. A gente ia para a praia quando começou a chover.
5. “Você lia gibi quando era criança?” – “Lia sim.”
6. No inverno, meu pai acendia a lareira e tomávamos
chocolate quente.
7. Os dois viviam brigando.
8. A professora perguntou há quanto tempo eu estudava
inglês.
9. O programa passava todo domingo depois do jornal.
10. Havia um hotel nesse terreno antigamente.
 Portuguese Pretérito Perfeito
falei > I spoke or I have spoken?

I spoke (simple past) reports a past action. Time of

action is either specified or implied from context:
Judy broke her arm and had to go to the hospital.

I have spoken (present perfect) reports an action

occurring at an unspecified time before the present
which serves to configure the present situation:
Judy has broken her arm. We have to take her to the
hospital.
 What’s the difference?
She’s been a nun for many years.
She was a nun for many years.

Saturday’s game has been canceled.

Saturday’s game was canceled.

Have you been to the Van Gogh exhibit?

Did you go to the Van Gogh exhibit?

Has John called this morning?

Did John call this morning?

Their son hasn’t graduated from college.

Their son didn’t graduate from college.

Have you enjoyed the party?

Did you enjoy the party?
 Origin of the Present Perfect

Resultative construction with present meaning >

perfect tense with present relevance

I have a letter written > I have written a letter

Tenho uma carta escrita > *Tenho escrito uma carta

 Continuative Perfect
Describes action that started before the present and continues into the present, always with reference to the length of time (PT:
há/desde + present tense):

I have lived in Rio for 15 years/since 2004.

Moro no Rio há 15 anos/desde 2004.

I haven’t seen Pedro for two weeks/since Tuesday.

Não vejo o Pedro há duas semanas/desde terça.

I haven’t been to the dentist in five years. / It’s been five years since I went to the dentist.
Faz cinco anos que não vou ao dentista.

How long have you worked as a teacher?

Há quanto tempo você trabalha como professora?

Compare meaning with simple past:

I lived in Rio for 15 years.

Morei no Rio durante 15 anos.

I didn’t see Pedro for two weeks.

Não vi o Pedro durante duas semanas. / Fiquei duas semanas sem ver o Pedro.

I didn’t go to the dentist for five years.

Não fui ao dentista durante cinco anos. / Fiquei cinco anos sem ir ao dentista.

How long did you work as a teacher?

Quanto tempo você trabalhou como professora?
 ‘Status Update’ Perfect
Reporting on current progress in an ongoing situation or life experience (PT: até agora/já/ainda não):

I’ve been to New York twice.

Já estive em/fui a Nova York duas vezes.

I’ve never tried Korean food.

Eu nunca experimentei comida coreana.

Have you had lunch yet?

Você já almoçou?

I’m not ready yet. I haven’t taken a shower.

Não estou pronto ainda. Não tomei banho.

John’s already had three beers and I’m still on my first.

O John já tomou três chopes e eu ainda estou no primeiro.

Hang on a minute! I haven’t finished.

Espera um pouco! Não terminei.

Where have you gotten up to in the book?

Você já leu até onde no livro?

Sue hasn’t replied to any of my messages, so I still don’t know if she’s coming.
A Sue não respondeu nenhuma das minhas mensagens, aí continuo sem saber se ela vem.

I’ve tried calling him three times this morning.

Já tentei ligar para ele três vezes hoje de manhã.
 ‘News-breaking’ Perfect
Reports actions that have just happened and/or will come as news to the listener/reader (PT: e agora?):

I’ve broken my tooth! Look, it’s broken!

Quebrei o dente! Olha, está quebrado!

The stain hasn’t come out of this shirt. I’ll have to wash it again.
Não saiu a mancha dessa camisa. Vou ter que lavar de novo.

Breaking news: the prime minister has resigned.

Notícia de última hora: o primeiro ministro renunciou.

The patient hasn’t suffered any permanent damage.

O paciente não sofreu nenhum dano permanente.

I’m afraid there has been an accident.

Infelizmente houve um acidente.

At last! We’ve finished!

Até que enfim! Terminamos!

I’ve won! I don’t believe it!

Eu ganhei! Não acredito!

I’ve just arrived.

Acabei de chegar.
 ‘Ordinal’ Perfect
Used with ordinal numbers to report the current number of something
(PT uses present tense!):

This banana’s the first thing I’ve eaten all day.

Essa banana é a primeira coisa que eu como o dia inteiro.

This is the second time I’ve seen this movie.

Essa é a segunda vez que vejo esse filme.

That’s the third whisky he’s had this evening.

Aquele é o terceiro uísque que ele toma hoje à noite.

This is the fourth time he’s been to Brazil.

Essa é a quarta vez que ele vem ao Brasil.
 Time reference with the present perfect
• The present perfect CANNOT be used if there is any reference, explicit or implied, to the time when
the action happened.

 I’ve seen John two minutes ago.

 I saw John two minutes ago.

 Have you been to Hawaii for your honeymoon?

Did you go to Hawaii for your honeymoon?

• There can be a reference to a period of time that is still ongoing at the time of speaking (today, this
morning, this week, this year, the last few months, recently/lately, for/since = há/desde etc.):

Have you seen Bob this morning?

(cf. Did you see Bob this morning?)

I haven’t been to the gym today.

(cf. I didn’t go to the gym today.)

She’s worked as a teacher for seven years.

(cf. She worked as a teacher for seven years.)
 Exercise 4
1. Você já esteve na Inglaterra?
2. O cantor já veio ao Brasil quatro vezes.
3. Não comi nada hoje. Estou morrendo de fome.
4. Ai, meu Deus! Perdi o celular!
5. É a primeira vez que falo inglês com um nativo da língua.
6. Você já foi ao supermercado?
7. A Sandra acabou de sair. Ela foi ao supermercado.
8. Ela sempre quis ser cantora.
9. Os convidados chegaram. Você pode fazer as honras da
casa?
10. O Pedro me mandou mensagem agora mesmo.
11. Não falei com o Tiago ontem.
12. Faz quanto tempo que você estuda inglês?
 Observations on the use of the present perfect

 Brazilian students tend to overuse the present perfect:

i.e. they use it in cases where it is incorrect, either
because of ‘bad rules’ or hypercorrection.

 Many American English speakers only use the present

perfect in continuative sentences (for/since). In all
other cases, they use the simple past.

 EXCEPT in continuative sentences, where there is a

clear difference in meaning between present perfect
and simple past, the simple past is never wrong.
 Present Perfect Continuous
I have been doing = tenho feito, venho/ando
fazendo (except in sentences with for/since)

“You look fit.” – “Yes, I’ve been working out.”

You’re all dirty. What have you been doing?
The business has been growing steadily over
the last few years.
I haven’t been sleeping very well lately.
 Perfect Simple vs. Perfect Continuous (1)
Perfect simple implies completion of one-off action before the
time of speaking; perfect continuous suggests continuous or
repeated action that continues into the present:

I’ve read a lot about UFOs. (já li)

I’ve been reading a lot about UFOs. (tenho lido)

The price of oil has fallen to $50 a barrel. (baixou)

The price of oil has been falling lately. (vem baixando)

I’ve been to the gym every day. (fui)

I’ve been going to the gym every day. (tenho ido)
 Perfect Simple vs. Perfect Continuous (2)
Sentences with for/since (= há/desde) or other expression of duration:

Portuguese uses present tense, simple or continuous; English uses perfect tense, simple or continuous

• With verbs which denote a naturally continuous action (e.g. study, wait, rain) there is no real
difference in meaning, continuous sounds more natural, simple slightly more formal:
Pedro’s been studying/’s studied English for two years.
We’ve been waiting/’ve waited since midday.
It’s been snowing/’s snowed all night.

• Some verbs (e.g. live, work) have a nuance of temporary vs. permanent:
I’ve been living/working here for seven years. (temporary)
I’ve lived/worked here all my life. (permanent)

• Some verbs (e.g. learn, read, grow) can denote ongoing or completed action:

She’s been learning Portuguese since she moved to Brazil. (ongoing)

She’s learned Portuguese since she moved to Brazil. (completed)

I’ve been reading a really interesting book since we last met. (ongoing)
I’ve read a really interesting book since we last met. (completed)

The company has been growing steadily for the last few years. (ongoing)
Your son’s grown since I saw him last. (completed)
 Past Perfect Simple
• had done = tinha feito
He had forgotten his passport. (tinha esquecido)
• English often requires past perfect where
Portuguese uses pretérito perfeito:
Bob realized he’d forgotten his passport.
The police asked her when she had last seen her
husband.
For lunch I ate the sandwiches I’d brought from
home.
 Two aspects of the past perfect simple

She said: “I saw Bob two days ago.” >

She said she’d seen Bob two days before.

She said: “I haven’t seen Bob today.” >

She said she hadn’t seen Bob that day.

She said she’d lived in New York for ten years.

 Past Perfect Continuous
I had been doing = tinha feito, vinha/andava
fazendo (except in sentences with for/since)

Jim was sweating because he’d been moving

furniture.
I asked her what she’d been doing lately.
The business had been growing steadily and was
now making millions.
I hadn’t been sleeping very well, so I decided to
go to the doctor.
 Past Perfect Simple vs. Past Perfect Continuous (1)
• Principles are the same as for present perfect simple vs. continuous,
but point of reference is in the past rather than the present:

I’d been studying/I’d studied Portuguese for a number of years

when I moved to Brazil.

She had lived in the same house all her life.

Her health was poor because she’d been living on the streets.

He told me about a book he had been reading. (lia/andava lendo)

He told me about a book he had read. (leu/tinha lido)

She said she had lived in New York for ten years.
She said she had been living in New York for ten years.
 Past Perfect Simple vs. Past Perfect Continuous (2)
• Examples with for/since and similar (pretérito imperfeito in Portuguese):

They’d been walking for two hours when it started to rain. (caminhavam)

How long had you been married when you had your first child? (era)

He’d grown since I’d last seen him. (tinha crescido)

The company had been growing since the ’80s. (crescia)

She’d been working all day and felt really tired. (trabalhava)

How long had you known Jack when you realized you were in love with
him? (conhecia)
 EXERCISE 5
1. Faz tempo que você está me esperando?
2. O paciente se queixava de dores no peito fazia algumas
semanas antes de infartar.
3. Foi aí que percebi que erramos o caminho.
4. Você tem acompanhado a novela?
5. Não tem sido fácil me adaptar à vida aqui.
6. A emissora decidiu cortar o programa, que vinha
perdendo fôlego.
7. Ele casou com a mulher que namorava fazia oito anos.
8. Perguntei à Sandra quanto tempo ela trabalhava como
professora.
9. Era a primeira vez que ele falava com a menina e estava
muito nervoso.
10. O que é que eles andavam aprontando?
 Talking about the future
Example Description
will + infinitive The election will be held ‘objective’ future
in November.

I’ll see you later. ‘spontaneous’ future

going to + infinitive I’m going to learn intention
Chinese.

It’s going to rain later. present evidence

The election’s going to plan in place

be held in November.
present continuous I’m leaving tomorrow. arrangements in place

The election’s being held

in November.
present simple The game starts at nine. scheduled event
 Special use of will future
Spontaneous (unpremeditated) statements and decisions
about the future, usually in response to the ongoing situation,
are expressed with the will future (usually abbreviated as
‘ll/won’t), NOT present simple as in Portuguese!:

I’ll see you tomorrow. (te vejo)

That’s the phone. I’ll get it. (eu atendo)
The bus’ll be along in a minute. (o ônibus passa)
John’ll drop you off at the station, won’t you, John? (o John
te deixa)
We’ll help with the cleaning. (a gente ajuda)
Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. (não conto)
If the truth gets out, the government will fall. (o governo
cai)
 Points about the future

• The will future is the most ‘objective’, so preferred in formal

contexts, and so is the appropriate translation for the
Portuguese future tense (farei/fará etc.).
• Except in spontaneous statements about the future (which
require will), will and going to are often interchangeable.
Going to sounds more conversational.
• With going to, there is a connection with the present: there
is already an intention, plan or evidence in place in the
present. The action is already happening.
• With the present continuous and present simple, there
must be another element in the context that makes it clear
the reference is to the future.
• The choice of which form to use depends on the context,
the speaker’s attitude and what he/she wishes to
emphasize
 Differences in emphasis
The company will open its Rio office in April.
(news report, formal writing)
The company is going to open its Rio office in
April. (speech, less formal writing)
The company is opening its Rio office in April.
(emphasizes arrangements already made)
The company opens its Rio office in April.
(emphasizes firmness of plan, also journalese)
 Exercise 6
1. Te mando mensagem se for sair mais tarde.
2. O ministro vai fazer uma declaração sobre o assunto.
3. Vai cair um toró a qualquer momento.
4. A presidente se reunirá amanhã com o embaixador
americano.
5. Não sei se vai dar tempo para ler tudo.
6. Não se preocupem, eu ajudo vocês.
7. Eu pensei que ele fosse bater em mim.
8. Quando eu precisar de ajuda, te aviso.
9. O meu irmão vai pegar o voo das 22h45.
10. A que horas termina o filme?
 Other future tenses
• will/going to be doing (future continuous)
This time next week, I’m going to be sitting on the
beach.
You go into the pharmacy, I’ll be waiting outside.
• will have done (future perfect)
Will you have finished the job by Friday?
They will have been married 50 years in June.
• will have been doing (future perfect continuous)
By the time we finish, we’ll have been working 24
hours non-stop.
 Future from a past perspective
• would do
Bob: “I’ll help” > Bob said he’d help.
• was going to do
Sara: “I’m going to get a dog.” > Sara said she was going
to get a dog.
• was doing
“When are you leaving?” > I asked him when he was
leaving.
• did
“The movie starts at eight.” > They told us the movie
started at eight.
 Future tenses 1
1A The company will open its first overseas branch next year.
1B The company is going to open its first overseas branch next
year.
1C The company is opening its first overseas branch next year.
1D The company opens its first overseas branch next year.

2A Analysts predict that stock markets will continue to fall.

2B Analysts predict that stock markets are going to continue to
fall.
2C Analysts predict that stock markets are continuing to fall.
2D Analysts predict that stock markets continue to fall.
 Future tenses 2
3A We will inform you if there are any new developments.
3B We are going to inform you if there are any new
developments.
3C We inform you if there are any new developments.
3D We are informing you if there are any new
developments.

4A I’m leaving now, so I see you tomorrow.

4B I’m leaving now, so I’m seeing you tomorrow.
4C I’m leaving now, so I’m going to see you tomorrow.
4D I’m leaving now, so I’ll see you tomorrow.
 Future tenses 3
5A When I get paid, I’m going to buy a new
computer.
5B When I get paid, I’ll buy a new computer.
5C When I get paid, I buy a new computer.
5D When I get paid, I’m buying a new
computer.