Module 5: English Grammar Index

Chp No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Name Page No. 1-1 2-3 3-4 4- 5 5-5 5-6

Introduction-What are Tenses? Simple Present Present Continuous Simple Past Past Continuous Practice Questions and Answer Key

Introduction- What are Tenses?

Things can happen now, in the future or in the past. The tenses show the time of a verb's action or being. Time can be split into three periods The Present (what you are doing), The Past (what you did) and The Future (what you are going to do). The tenses we use to show what time we are talking about are split into the Simple, Continuous and Perfect tenses. In English we use two tenses to talk about the present and six tenses to talk about the past. There are several ways to talk about the future some of which use the present tenses, these are: Part A Present Part B Past 1. Simple Present 2. Present Continuous 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Simple Past Past Continuous Present Perfect Simple Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Simple Past Perfect Continuous Using the Simple Present Using the Present Continuous Using the Present Perfect Simple Using the Present Perfect Continuous Using going to Using shall/will

Part C Future

Simple Tenses The simple tenses are used to show permanent characteristics of people and events or what happens regularly, habitually or in a single completed action. ExamplesSimple Present- I play cricket. Simple Past- Ravi played cricket yesterday. Continuous Tenses The continuous tenses are used when talking about a particular point in time. ExamplesPresent Continuous- You are always losing your pens. Past Continuous- This time last year I was living in Kolkatta. Perfect Tenses Sometimes you need to give just a little bit more information about an action or state...and that is where the perfect tenses come in. The perfect tenses are used when an action or situation in the present is linked to a moment in the past. It is often used to show things that have happened up to now but aren't finished yet or to emphasize that something happened but is not true anymore. When they end determines which of them you use. Perfect tenses are never used when we say when something happened i.e. yesterday, last year etc. but can be used when discussing the duration of something i.e. often, for, always, since etcExamplesPresent Perfect Continuous- You have been waiting here for two hours. Past Perfect Continuous- Sheela burnt her hands when she was cooking the lunch. The Future Tenses Examples- He is going to spend his vacation in Shimla. Are you going to meet Garima tonight? Part A-1 Simple Present Use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is repeated or usual. The action can be a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that often happens. It can also be something a person often forgets or usually does not do. Examples: I play tennis. She does not play tennis. Does he play tennis? The train leaves every morning at 8 AM. The train does not leave at 9 AM. When does the train usually leave?

USE 1- Facts or Generalizations The Simple Present can also indicate the speaker believes that a fact was true before, is true now, and will be true in the future. It is not important if the speaker is correct about the fact. It is also used to make generalizations about people or things. Examples:

Cats like milk. Birds do not like milk. Do pigs like milk? California is in America. California is not in the United Kingdom. Windows are made of glass. Windows are not made of wood.

USE 2- Scheduled Events in the Near Future Speakers occasionally use Simple Present to talk about scheduled events in the near future. This is most commonly done when talking about public transportation, but it can be used with other scheduled events as well. Examples: The train leaves tonight at 6 PM. The bus does not arrive at 11 AM, it arrives at 11 PM. When do we board the plane? The party starts at 8 o'clock. When does class begin tomorrow? USE 3- Now (Non-Continuous Verbs) Speakers sometimes use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is happening or is not happening now. This can only be done with Non-Continuous Verbs and certain Mixed Verbs.

Examples: I am here now. She is not here now. He needs help right now. He does not need help now. He has his passport in his hand. Do you have your passport with you? Simple Present forms Part A-2 Present Continuous

Positive

Negative

Question

I run. You run. We run. They run. He runs. She runs. It runs.

I do not run. You do not run. We do not run. They do not run. He does not run. She does not run. It does not run.

Do I run? Do you run? Do we run? Do they run? Does he run? Does she run? Does it run?

Positive I am speaking. You are speaking. We are speaking. They are speaking. He is speaking. She is speaking. It is speaking.

Negative I am not speaking. You are not speaking. We are not speaking. They are not speaking. He is not speaking. She is not speaking. It is not speaking.

Question Am I speaking? Are you speaking? Are we speaking? Are they speaking? Is he speaking? Is she speaking? Is it speaking?

Examples:

You are watching TV. Are you watching TV? You are not watching TV.

USE 1- Now Use the 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. Examples: You are learning English now. You are not swimming now. Are you sleeping? I am sitting. I am not standing. Is he sitting or standing? They are reading their books. They are not watching television. What are you doing? Why aren't you doing your homework? USE 2- Longer Actions in Progress Now In English, "now" can mean: this second, today, this month, this year, this century, and so on. Sometimes, we use the Present Continuous to say that we are in the process of doing a longer action which is in progress; however, we might not be doing it at this exact second. Examples: (All of these sentences can be said while eating dinner in a restaurant.) I am studying to become a doctor. I am not studying to become a dentist. I am reading the book Tom Sawyer. I am not reading any books right now. Are you working on any special projects at work? Aren't you teaching at the university now? USE 3- Near Future Sometimes, speakers use the Present Continuous to indicate that something will or will not happen in the near future. Examples: I am meeting some friends after work. I am not going to the party tonight. Is he visiting his parents next weekend? Isn't he coming with us tonight? USE 4- Repetition and Irritation with "Always" The Present Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happens. Notice that the meaning is like Simple Present, but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and "verb+ing."

Examples: She is always coming to class late. He is constantly talking. I wish he would shut up. I don't like them because they are always complaining. Part B-1 Simple Past The simple past expresses an action in the past taking place once, never, several times. It can also be used for actions taking place one after another or in the middle of another action. USE 1- Completed Action in the Past Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind. Examples: I saw a movie yesterday. I didn't see a play yesterday. Last year, I traveled to Japan. Last year, I didn't travel to Korea. Did you have dinner last night? She washed her car. He didn't wash his car. USE 2- A Series of Completed Actions We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on. Examples: I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim. He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00. Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs? Positive Negative Question

I waited. You waited. We waited. They waited. He waited. She waited. It waited.

I did not wait. You did not wait. We did not wait. They did not wait. He did not wait. She did not wait. It did not wait.

Did I wait? Did you wait? Did we wait? Did they wait? Did he wait? Did she wait? Did it wait?

USE 3- Duration in Past The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc. Examples: I lived in Brazil for two years. Shauna studied Japanese for five years. They sat at the beach all day. They did not stay at the party the entire time. We talked on the phone for thirty minutes. A: How long did you wait for them? B: We waited for one hour.

USE 4 Habits in the Past-The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc. Examples: I studied French when I was a child. He played the violin. He didn't play the piano. Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid? She worked at the movie theater after school. They never went to school, they always skipped class.

Simple Past Forms Part B-2 Past Continuous ("I was doing") 1. To talk about what was happening at a particular time in the past and to give descriptions and background information. "This time yesterday, I was reading a book." We often use the Past Continuous tense with the Past Simple tense. The Past Continuous gives the background to an event in the Past Simple: "When he got home, the children were playing in the garden." (The children started playing in the garden before he got home.) "I was eating dinner when there was a knock on the door." (The knock on the door came in the middle of my meal.) We can use the Past Continuous to give descriptions. "The girl was wearing a pink dress. She was eating ice-cream." 2. To talk about temporary situations in the past. "When I was living in London, I often went to the theatre." (Living in London was temporary perhaps I only lived there for a short while.) Compare with: "When I was a child I lived in the countryside." Living in the countryside was a longer event I was a child for more than a couple of years. For more permanent situations, we use the Past Simple tense. 3. To make polite requests If we want to make polite requests, we can use the Past Continuous tense. This is because we put a distance between ourselves and the Positive Negative Question person we are asking. "I was wondering if you had time to see me." I was singing. I was not singing. Was I singing? "I was hoping we could discuss a pay raise." You were singing. You were not singing. Were you singing? We were singing. They were singing. He was singing. She was singing. It was singing. We were not singing. They were not singing. He was not singing. She was not singing. It was not singing. Were we singing? Were they singing? Was he singing? Was she singing? Was it singing?

Practice Test
Fill in the blank with the correct form of word given in bracket 1. Maxwell (is) not sleeping on our sofa. A. is B. are C. were D. No word I (eat) my dinner right now. A. eats B. am eating C. eated D. ate over My sister (learn) Spanish. A. have learnt B. is learns C. has learning D. is learning

4.

I (work) at the hair salon until September. A. am working B. was worked C. were working D. is been working Melissa is (lay) down on her bed. A. lays B. laying C. lieing D. lying

D. 7.

have been eating

5.

2.

Their new kitchen looks fantastic. They ________ completely ________ it. A. have been, redecorating B. have, redecorated C. already, redecorated D. didnt, redecorated Our Kitchens a mess. We ______ any cleaning for weeks. A. didnt do B. havent been doing C. have done D. havent done I think they are dating. They

_____ a lot of each other recently. A. had seen B. havent been seeing C. have been seeing D. have seen 10. We've discovered this great caf and we___________ _______ there a lot. A. have been going B. have gone C. are going D. have went Answer Key: 1 2 3 4 5 A B D A D 6 7 8 9 10 C B D C A

Fill in the blanks with the most suitable option 6. I'm very hungry. I_____________ _________ all day. A. didnt eat B. havent ate C. havent eaten

8.

3.

9.