Thursday 13 December 2012

PAST CONTINOUS TENSE



Past continuous - form. The past continuous of any verb is composed of two parts : the past tense of the verb to be (was/were), and the base of the main verb +ing.
Subject
was/were
base-ing
They
were
watching

Affirmative
She
was
reading
Negative
She
wasn't
reading
Interrogative
Was
she
reading?
Interrogative negative
Wasn't
she
reading?
Example: to play, past continuous
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
I was playing
I was not playing
Was I playing?
You were playing
You were not playing
Were you playing?
He, she, it was playing
She wasn't playing
Was she playing?
We were playing
We weren't playing
Were we playing?
You were playing
You weren't playing
Were you playing?
They were playing
They weren't playing
Were they playing?

Past continuous, function
The past continuous describes actions or events in a time before now, which began in the past and was still going on at the time of speaking. In other words, it expresses an unfinished or incomplete action in the past.
It is used:
often, to describe the background in a story written in the past tense, e.g. "The sun was shining and the birds were singing as the elephant came out of the jungle. The other animals were relaxing in the shade of the trees, but the elephant moved very quickly. She was looking for her baby, and she didn't notice the hunter who was watching her through his binoculars. When the shot rang out, she was running towards the river..."
to describe an unfinished action that was interrupted by another event or action: "I was having a beautiful dream when the alarm clock rang."
to express a change of mind: e.g. "I was going to spend the day at the beach but I've decided to go on an excursion instead."
with 'wonder', to make a very polite request: e.g. "I was wondering if you could baby-sit for me tonight."
More examples
They were waiting for the bus when the accident happened.
Caroline was skiing when she broke her leg.
When we arrived he was having a bath.
When the fire started I was watching television.


LIST OF IRREGULAR VERBS



List of Irregular Verbs
Infinitive
Simple Past
Past Participle
alight
alighted, alit
alighted, alit
arise
arose
arisen
awake
awoke, awaked
awoken, awaked
be
was, were
been
bear
bore
borne, born
beat
beat
beaten, beat
become
became
become
beget
begot
begotten
begin
began
begun
bend
bent
bent
bereave
bereaved, bereft
bereaved, bereft
beseech
besought, beseeched
besought, beseeched
bet
bet, betted
bet, betted
bid
bade, bid
bidden, bid, bade
bide
bade, bided
bided
bind
bound
bound
bite
bit
bitten
bleed
bled
bled
bless
blessed, blest
blessed, blest
blow
blew
blown
break
broke
broken
breed
bred
bred
bring
brought
brought
broadcast
broadcast, broadcasted
broadcast, broadcasted
build
built
built
burn
burnt, burned
burnt, burned
burst
burst
burst
bust
bust, busted
bust, busted
buy
bought
bought
can
could
(kein Participle)
cast
cast
cast
catch
caught
caught
choose
chose
chosen
cleave
cleft, cleaved, clove
cleft, cleaved, cloven
cling
clung
clung
clothe
clothed, clad
clothed, clad
come
came
come
cost
cost
cost
creep
crept
crept
crow
crowed
crew, crowed
cut
cut
cut
deal
dealt
dealt
dig
dug
dug
do
did
done
draw
drew
drawn
dream
dreamt, dreamed
dreamt, dreamed
drink
drank
drunk
drive
drove
driven
dwell
dwelt, dwelled
dwelt, dwelled
eat
ate
eaten
fall
fell
fallen
feed
fed
fed
feel
felt
felt
fight
fought
fought
find
found
found
flee
fled
fled
fling
flung
flung
fly
flew
flown
forbid
forbad, forbade
forbid, forbidden
forecast
forecast, forecasted
forecast, forecasted
forget
forgot
forgotten
forsake
forsook
forsaken
freeze
froze
frozen
geld
gelded, gelt
gelded, gelt
get
got
got, gotten
gild
gilded, gilt
gilded, gilt
give
gave
given
gnaw
gnawed
gnawed, gnawn
go
went
gone
grind
ground
ground
grip
gripped, gript
gripped, gript
grow
grew
grown
hang
hung
hung
have
had
had
hear
heard
heard
heave
heaved, hove
heaved, hove
hew
hewed
hewed, hewn
hide
hid
hidden, hid
hit
hit
hit
hold
held
held
hurt
hurt
hurt
keep
kept
kept
kneel
knelt, kneeled
knelt, kneeled
knit
knitted, knit
knitted, knit
know
knew
known
lay
laid
laid
lead
led
led
lean
leant, leaned
leant, leaned
leap
leapt, leaped
leapt, leaped
learn
learnt, learned
learnt, learned
leave
left
left
lend
lent
lent
let
let
let
lie
lay
lain
light
lit, lighted
lit, lighted
lose
lost
lost
make
made
made
may
might
(kein Participle)
mean
meant
meant
meet
met
met
melt
melted
molten, melted
mow
mowed
mown, mowed
pay
paid
paid
pen
pent, penned
pent, penned
plead
pled, pleaded
pled, pleaded
prove
proved
proven, proved
put
put
put
quit
quit, quitted
quit, quitted
read
read
read
rid
rid, ridded
rid, ridded
ride
rode
ridden
ring
rang
rung
rise
rose
risen
run
ran
run
saw
sawed
sawn, sawed
say
said
said
see
saw
seen
seek
sought
sought
sell
sold
sold
send
sent
sent
set
set
set
sew
sewed
sewn, sewed
shake
shook
shaken
shall
should
(kein Participle)
shear
sheared
shorn, sheared
shed
shed
shed
shine
shone
shone
shit
shit, shitted, shat
shit, shitted, shat
shoe
shod, shoed
shod, shoed
shoot
shot
shot
show
showed
shown, showed
shred
shred, shredded
shred, shredded
shrink
shrank, shrunk
shrunk
shut
shut
shut
sing
sang
sung
sink
sank
sunk
sit
sat
sat
slay
slew
slain
sleep
slept
slept
slide
slid
slid
sling
slung
slung
slink
slunk
slunk
slit
slit
slit
smell
smelt, smelled
smelt, smelled
smite
smote
smitten
sow
sowed
sown, sowed
speak
spoke
spoken
speed
sped, speeded
sped, speeded
spell
spelt, spelled
spelt, spelled
spend
spent
spent
spill
spilt, spilled
spilt, spilled
spin
spun
spun
spit
spat
spat
split
split
split
spoil
spoilt, spoiled
spoilt, spoiled
spread
spread
spread
spring
sprang, sprung
sprung
stand
stood
stood
steal
stole
stolen
stick
stuck
stuck
sting
stung
stung
stink
stank, stunk
stunk
stride
strode
stridden
strike
struck
struck
string
strung
strung
strive
strove
striven
swear
swore
sworn
sweat
sweat, sweated
sweat, sweated
sweep
swept
swept
swell
swelled
swollen, swelled
swim
swam
swum
swing
swung
swung
take
took
taken
teach
taught
taught
tear
tore
torn
telecast
telecast, telecasted
telecast, telecasted
tell
told
told
think
thought
thought
throw
threw
thrown
thrust
thrust
thrust
tread
trod
trodden
understand
understood
understood
wake
woke, waked
woken, waked
wear
wore
worn
weave
wove
woven
wed
wed, wedded
wed, wedded
weep
wept
wept
wet
wet, wetted
wet, wetted
win
won
won
wind
wound
wound
wring
wrung
wrung
write
wrote
written

EXERCISE1


 
We (sleep)  for 12 hours when he woke us up.
  They (wait)  at the station for 90 minutes when the train finally arrived.
  We (look for)  her ring for two hours and then we found it in the bathroom.
  I (not / walk)  for a long time, when it suddenly began to rain.
  How long (learn / she)  English before she went to London?
  Frank Sinatra caught the flu because he (sing)  in the rain too long.
  He (drive)  less than an hour when he ran out of petrol.
  They were very tired in the evening because they (help)  on the farm all day.
  I (not / work)  all day; so I wasn't tired and went to the disco at night.
  They (cycle)  all day so their legs were sore in the evening.

PAST PERFECT - POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE


Past Perfect - Positive and Negative
1) When I arrived at the cinema, the film  (start)..
2) She  (live) in China before she went to Thailand..
3) After they  (eat) the shellfish, they began to feel sick..
4) If you  (listen) to me, you would have got the job..
5) Julie didn’t arrive until after I  (leave)..
6) When we  (finish) dinner, we went out..
7) The garden was dead because it  (be) dry all summer..
8) He  (meet) her somewhere before..
9) We were late for the plane because we  (forget) our passports..
10) She told me she  (study) a lot before the exam..
11) The grass was yellow because it  (not/rain) all summer..
12) The lights went off because we  (not/pay) the electricity bill..
13) The children  (not/do) their homework, so they were in trouble..
14) They  (not/eat) so we went to a restaurant..
15) We couldn’t go into the concert because we  (not/bring) our tickets..
16) She said that she  (not/visit) the UK before..
17) Julie and Anne  (not/meet) before the party..
18) I  (not/have) breakfast when he arrived..
19) He  (not/use) email before, so I showed him how to use it..
20) You  (not/study) for the test, so you were very nervous.


PRESENT PERFECT



Present Perfect
The present perfect is formed from the present tense of the verb have and the past participle of a verb:
The present perfect continuous is formed with have/has been and the -ingform of the verb:
Use
We use the present perfect tense:
for something that started in the past and continues in the present:
They’ve been married for nearly fifty years.
She has lived in Liverpool all her life.
Note: We normally use the present perfect continuous for this:
She has been living in Liverpool all her life.
It’s been raining for hours.
 for something we have done several times in the past and continue to do:
I’ve played the guitar ever since I was a teenager.
He has written three books and he is working on another one.
I’ve been watching that programme every week.
We often use a clause with since to show when something started in the past:
They’ve been staying with us since last week.
I have worked here since I left school.
I’ve been watching that programme every week since it started.
when we are talking about our experience up to the present:

Note: We often use the adverb ever to talk about experience up to the present:
My last birthday was the worst day I have ever had.
Note: and we use never for the negative form:
Have you ever met George?
Yes, but I’ve never met his wife.
for something that happened in the past but is important at the time of speaking:
I can’t get in the house. I’ve lost my keys.
Teresa isn’t at home. I think she has gone shopping.
I’m tired out. I’ve been working all day.

 We use the present perfect of be when someone has gone to a place andreturned:
A: Where have you been?
B: I’ve just been out to the supermarket.
A: Have you ever been to San Francisco?
B: No, but I’ve been to Los Angeles.
But when someone has not returned we use have/has gone:
A: Where is Maria? I haven’t seen her for weeks.
B: She's gone to Paris for a week. She’ll be back tomorrow.

We often use the present perfect with time adverbials which refer to therecent past:
just; only just; recently;
Scientists have recently discovered a new breed of monkey.
We have just got back from our holidays.
or adverbials which include the present:
ever (in questions); so far; until now; up to now; yet (in questions and negatives)
Have you ever seen a ghost?
Where have you been up to now?
Have you finished your homework yet?
No, so far I’ve only done my history.

WARNING:

We do not use the present perfect with an adverbial which refers to past time which is finished:
I have seen that film yesterday.
We have just bought a new car last week.
When we were children we have been to California.
But we can use it to refer to a time which is not yet finished:
Have you seen Helen today?
We have bought a new car this week.


PAST CONTINOUS



Past continuous - form. The past continuous of any verb is composed of two parts : the past tense of the verb to be (was/were), and the base of the main verb +ing.
Subject
was/were
base-ing
They
were
watching

Affirmative
She
was
reading
Negative
She
wasn't
reading
Interrogative
Was
she
reading?
Interrogative negative
Wasn't
she
reading?
Example: to play, past continuous
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
I was playing
I was not playing
Was I playing?
You were playing
You were not playing
Were you playing?
He, she, it was playing
She wasn't playing
Was she playing?
We were playing
We weren't playing
Were we playing?
You were playing
You weren't playing
Were you playing?
They were playing
They weren't playing
Were they playing?

Past continuous, function
The past continuous describes actions or events in a time before now, which began in the past and was still going on at the time of speaking. In other words, it expresses an unfinished or incomplete action in the past.
It is used:
often, to describe the background in a story written in the past tense, e.g. "The sun was shining and the birds were singing as the elephant came out of the jungle. The other animals were relaxing in the shade of the trees, but the elephant moved very quickly. She was looking for her baby, and she didn't notice the hunter who was watching her through his binoculars. When the shot rang out, she was running towards the river..."
to describe an unfinished action that was interrupted by another event or action: "I was having a beautiful dream when the alarm clock rang."
to express a change of mind: e.g. "I was going to spend the day at the beach but I've decided to go on an excursion instead."
with 'wonder', to make a very polite request: e.g. "I was wondering if you could baby-sit for me tonight."
More examples
They were waiting for the bus when the accident happened.
Caroline was skiing when she broke her leg.
When we arrived he was having a bath.
When the fire started I was watching television.


PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE




Present Simple Tense
How do we make the Present Simple Tense?
subject
+
auxiliary verb
+
main verb
do
base
There are three important exceptions:
1.    For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary.
2.    For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), we add s to the main verb or esto the auxiliary.
3.    For the verb to be, we do not use an auxiliary, even for questions and negatives.
Look at these examples with the main verb like:
subject
auxiliary verb
main verb
+
I, you, we, they
like
coffee.
He, she, it
likes
coffee.
-
I, you, we, they
do
not
like
coffee.
He, she, it
does
not
like
coffee.
?
Do
I, you, we, they
like
coffee?
Does
he, she, it
like
coffee?
Look at these examples with the main verb be. Notice that there is no auxiliary:
subject
main verb
+
I
am
French.
You, we, they
are
French.
He, she, it
is
French.
-
I
am
not
old.
You, we, they
are
not
old.
He, she, it
is
not
old.
?
Am
I
late?
Are
you, we, they
late?
Is
he, she, it
late?
How do we use the Present Simple Tense?
We use the present simple tense when:
§  the action is general
§  the action happens all the time, or habitually, in the past, present and future
§  the action is not only happening now
§  the statement is always true
John drives a taxi.
past
present
future

It is John's job to drive a taxi. He does it every day. Past, present and future.
Look at these examples:
§  I live in New York.
§  The Moon goes round the Earth.
§  John drives a taxi.
§  He does not drive a bus.
§  We meet every Thursday.
§  We do not work at night.
§  Do you play football?
Note that with the verb to be, we can also use the present simple tense for situations that are not general. We can use the present simple tense to talk about now. Look at these examples of the verb "to be" in the present simple tense - some of them are general, some of them are now:
Am I right?
Tara is not at home.
You are happy.
past
present
future

The situation is now.

I am not fat.
Why are you so beautiful?
Ram is tall.
past
present
future

The situation is general. Past, present and future.