L5

1

Simple present

FORM

[VERB] + s/es in third person

Examples:

You speak English.

Do you speak English?

You do not speak English.

USES

1 Repeated Actions

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?

She always forgets her purse.

He never forgets his wallet.

Every twelve months, the Earth circles the Sun.

Does the Sun circle the Earth?

L5

2

2 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.

New York is a small city. It is not important that this fact is untrue.

3 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?

L5

3

USE 4 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?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

Once a week, Tom cleans the car. Active

Once a week, the car is cleaned by Tom. Passive

L5

4

Present Continuous

FORM

[am/is/are + present participle]

Examples:

You are watching TV.

Are you watching TV?

You are not watching TV.

USES

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?

L5

5

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.

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?

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?

L5

6

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.

L5

7

Simple past

FORM

[VERB+ed] or irregular verbs

Examples:

You called Debbie.

Did you call Debbie?

You did not call Debbie.

USES

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.

L5

8

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?

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.

L5

9

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.

5 Past Facts or Generalizations

The Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true. As in USE 4 above, this use of the Simple Past is quite similar to the expression "used to."

Examples:

She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.

He didn't like tomatoes before.

Did you live in Texas when you were a kid?

People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past

L5

10

Past continuous

FORM

Past continuous is formed with the past of the auxiliary verb be and –ing form of the

main verb.

[was/were + present participle]

You were studying when she called. You were not studying when she called.

I was sitting by the door You were laughing He/she was driving

We were crying They were eating

Uses

The past continuous is used to describe situation in progress in the past. This is

often contrasted with a sudden event in the past simple.

Background situation Sudden event

I was having my lunch when Ruth phoned

While I was waiting for the bus, I met Karen

The past continuous can be used to describe several situation in progress,

happening at the same time.

While James was cooking, David was phoning a friend

The airport was full of people. Some were sleeping on benches, some were shopping,

others were reading. Everyone was waiting for news of the delayed plane.

L5

11

USE 1 Interrupted Action in the Past

Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The

interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past. Remember this can be a real

interruption or just an interruption in time.

Examples:

I was watching TV when she called.

When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.

While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.

What were you doing when the earthquake started?

I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.

You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off.

While John was sleeping last night, someone stole his car.

Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane.

While I was writing the email, the computer suddenly went off.

A: What were you doing when you broke your leg?

B: I was snowboarding.

L5

12

USE 2 Specific Time as an Interruption

In USE 1, described above, the Past Continuous is interrupted by a shorter action in the

Simple Past. However, you can also use a specific time as an interruption.

Examples:

Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.

At midnight, we were still driving through the desert.

Yesterday at this time, I was sitting at my desk at work.

IMPORTANT

In the Simple Past, a specific time is used to show when an action began or finished. In

the Past Continuous, a specific time only interrupts the action.

Examples:

Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner.

I started eating at 6 PM.

Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.

I started earlier; and at 6 PM, I was in the process of eating dinner.

USE 3 Parallel Actions

When you use the Past Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses

the idea that both actions were happening at the same time. The actions are parallel.

Examples:

L5

13

I was studying while he was making dinner.

While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching television.

Were you listening while he was talking?

I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several

mistakes.

What were you doing while you were waiting?

Thomas wasn't working, and I wasn't working either.

They were eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time.

USE 4 Atmosphere

In English, we often use a series of parallel actions to describe the atmosphere at a

particular time in the past.

Example:

When I walked into the office, several people were busily typing, some were

talking on the phones, the boss was yelling directions, and customers were

waiting to be helped. One customer was yelling at a secretary and waving his

hands. Others were complainingto each other about the bad service.

USE 5 Repetition and Irritation with "Always"

The Past Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea

that something irritating or shocking often happened in the past. The concept is very

similar to the expression "used to" but with negative emotion. Remember to put the

words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and "verb+ing."

L5

14

Examples:

She was always coming to class late.

He was constantly talking. He annoyed everyone.

I didn't like them because they were always complaining.

Questions

Yes/No questions are formed by inverting the subject and the auxiliary verb be. Was I sleeping? Were you waiting? Was he/she driving?

Were we writing? Were they living?

Wh- questions follow the same pattern

What were you writing? Why were they waiting?

Negatives

Negatives are formed with the verb auxiliary verb be + not. This is contracted in speech

and informal writing.

I wasn’t listening He wasn’t playing They weren’t looking

L5

15

Affirmative sentence

Is a traditional term for any statement that is positive, not negative. Also known as an

assertive sentence or affirmative proposition. The following short statements are all

examples of affirmative sentences:

Birds fly. Rabbits run.

Negative sentences

A negative sentence (or statement) states that something is not true or incorrect. A

negative adverb has to be added in order to negate or “cancel” the validity of the sentence.

The Negation Rule: In English, in order to claim that something is not true, you form a

negative sentence by adding the word not after the first auxiliary verb in the positive

sentence.

Active voice

In most English sentences with an action verb, the subject performs the action denoted by the verb.

These examples show that the subject is doing the verb's action.

Because the subject does or "acts upon" the verb in such sentences, the sentences are said to be in the active voice.

L5

16

Passive voice

One can change the normal word order of many active sentences (those with a direct object) so that the subject is no longer active, but is, instead, being acted upon by the verb - or passive.

Note in these examples how the subject-verb relationship has changed.

Present continuous

Active / passive

Active sentences in the present continuous tense have the following structure:

Subject + is/are/am + -ing form of the verb + object

Passive sentences in the present continuous tense have the following structure:

Object of the active sentence + is/are/am + being + past participle form of the verb + by +

subject of the active sentence.

Examples are given below.

Active: I am reading a story.

Passive: A story is being read by me.

Active: The engine is driving the train.

Passive: The train is being driven by the engine.

Active: She is singing a song.

L5

17

Passive: A song is being sung by her.

Active: The carpenter is making furniture.

Passive: Furniture is being made by the carpenter.

Simple Past Passive

Affirmative Form Object + was / were + verbs (past participle)

Question Form Was / Were + Object + verbs (past participle) ?

Something was done by someone at sometime in the past.

Active : The teacher corrected the mistakes.

Passive: The mistakes were corrected by the teacher.

Active : Did the little boy sell all the candy bars?

Passive: Were all the candy bars sold by the little boy?

Active : Lauren didn't eat any apples.

Passive: No apples were eaten by Lauran.

Active : He didn't give the wallet.

Passive: The wallet wasn't given by him.

Future Passive

Affirmative Form Object + will + be + verb3 (past participle)

Question Form Will + object + be + verb3 (past participle)

Something be done by someone in the future.

Active : We will take the horses to the stable.

Passive: The horses will be taken to the stable.

L5

18

Active : Will the manager sign the contract tomorrow.

Passive: Will the contract be signed by the manager tomorrow.

Active : Will the boss give me a job?

Passive: Will I be given a job by the boss?

L5

19

Name: ________________________________________________

Code: ____________ Section: _____

Practice # 1

Simple present

Directions: underline the correct answer

1. She ___ four languages. a. speak b. speaks

2. Jane is a teacher. She ___ French.

a. teach b. teaches

3. When the kettle ___, will you make some tea?

a. boil b. boils

4. I always ___ the window at night because it is cold.

a. close b. closes

5. Those shoes ___ too much.

a. cost b. costs

6. The food in Japan is expensive. It ___ a lot to live there.

a. cost b. costs

7. His job is great because he ___ a lot of people.

a. meet b. meets

8. He always ___ his car on Sundays.

a. wash b. washes

L5

20

9. My watch is broken and it ___ to be fixed again. a. need b. needs

10. I ___ to watch movies.

a. love b. loves

11. I ___ to the cinema at least once a week.

a. go b. goes

12. They never ___ tea in the morning.

a. drink b. drinks

13. We both ___ to the radio in the morning.

a. listen b. listens

14. He ___ a big wedding.

a. want b. wants

15. George ___ too much so he's getting fat.

a. eat b. eats

16. The earth ___ round the sun, doesn't it?

a. go b. goes

17. The shops in England ___ at 9:00 in the morning.

a. open b. opens

18. The post office ___ at 5:30 pm.

a. close b. closes

19. Jackie ___ two children now.

a. has b. have

L5

21

20. Mr. Smith ___ too much. He always has a cigarette in his mouth. a. smoke b. smokes

21. When the phone ___, please answer it.

a. ring b. rings

Practice # 2 Present Continuous

Directions: Make the present continuous, positive or negative 1) (he / walk to school now) 2) (I / study at the moment) . 3) (I / not / sleep) 4) (you / play badminton tonight) 5) (we / watch TV) 6) (she / not / work in Spain) 7) (he / not / wait for the bus) 8) (they / read) 9) (we / not / go to the cinema tonight) 10) (you / not / read the newspaper)

L5

22

11) (she / eat chocolate) 12) (I / not / live in Paris) 13) (we / study French) 14) (they / not / leave now) 15) (they / live in London) 16) (he / work in a restaurant now) 17) (I / not / meet my father at four) 18) (she / not / drink tea now) 19) (she / play the guitar) 20) (we / cook)

L5

23

Practice # 3 Simple past

Exercise Was or Were? Directions: Complete the sentences with was or were.

1. I ______________ happy.

2. You ______________ angry.

3. She ______________ in London last week.

4. He ______________ on holiday.

5. It ______________ cold.

6. We ______________ at school.

7. You ______________ at the cinema.

8. They______________ at home.

9. The cat______________ on the roof.

10. The children ______________ in the garden.

L5

24

Practice # 4 Simple past

Directions: Put the verbs into the correct form (simple past).

Last year I (spend) spent my holiday in Ireland.

1. It (be) _____________ great.

2. I (travel) _____________ around by car with two friends and we (visit) _____________

lots of interesting places.

3. In the evenings we usually (go) _____________ to a pub.

4. One night we even (learn) _____________ some Irish dances.

5. We (be) _____________ very lucky with the weather.

6. It (not / rain) _____________ a lot.

7. But we (see) _____________ some beautiful rainbows.

8. Where (spend / you) _____________ your last holiday?

Practice # 5 Simple past

Directions: Exercise on questions with interrogative. Ask for the bold part of the sentence.

She pushed her bike. → What did she push?

1. She carried a bag. → _______________________________________

2. We waited in the park. → _______________________________________

3. The policeman arrested the thief. → _______________________________________

L5

25

4. We ate fish. → _______________________________________

5. She watched the match last night. → _______________________________________

6. She asked her friend because she did not know what to do. →

_______________________________________

7. I opened the door. → _______________________________________

8. The teacher checked our homework. → _______________________________________

9. Cindy had a dog. →_______________________________________

Practice # 6

Past continuous

Make the positive or negative past continuous

1) Julie _________ (sleep) at three o'clock.

Julie was sleeping at three o'clock.

2) You _________ (study) at three o'clock.

3) Luke _________ (read) at three o’clock.

4) I _________ (work) at three o’clock.

5) They _________ (eat) chocolate at three o’clock.

6) John _________ (play) tennis at three o’clock.

7) We _________ (watch) TV at three o’clock.

L5

26

8) He _________ (use) the internet at three o’clock.

9) You _________ (cook) lunch at three o’clock.

10) We _________ (travel) to London at three o’clock.

11) Mrs Brown _________ (not/walk) in the garden when the murder happened.

12) Mr Black _________ (not/work) in his study when the murder happened.

13) Miss Jones _________ (not/talk) to Mr. White when the murder happened.

14) You _________ (not/play) cards when the murder happened.

15) Dr Ford _________ (not/read) in his room when the murder happened.

16) Mr. and Mrs. Green _________ (not/eat) in the dining room when the murder happened.

17) Mr Blue _________ (not/drink) coffee in the library when the murder happened.

18) The maid _________ (not/clean) the bedrooms when the murder happened.

19) I _________ (not/listen) to music when the murder happened.

20) The dogs _________ (not/play) outside when the murder happened

L5

27

Practice # 7

Past continuous

Make the correct form of the past continuous

1) (he / cook)

He was cooking

2) (she / play cards)?

3) (I / not / cry)

4) (you / not / feel well)

5) (where / I / go when I met you)?

6) (she / not / sleeping at midnight)

7) (I / work)?

8) (you / sleep when I got home)?

9) (it / rain at lunchtime)

10) (what / you / do)?

11) (why / she / run)?

12) (you / not / read)

13) (how / we / do at that time)?

14) (he / not / watch a film at 3pm)

L5

28

15) (I / do my homework at eight o’clock)

16) (where / it / rain)?

17) (you / shop when I called you)

18) (she / eat dinner when we arrived)

19) (he / live in Tokyo at the time)?

20) (it / snow)?

Practice # 8

Past Continuous

Make past continuous 'wh' or 'yes / no' questions

1) When you arrived at the party _________ (Alan/dance)?

was Alan dancing

2) When you arrived at the party __________ (Nancy and Karen/dancing)

3) When you arrived at the party _________ (John and Ann/sing)?

4) When you arrived at the party _________ (Luke/talk to the girls)?

5) When you arrived at the party _________ (Jodie/put on make up)?

6) When you arrived at the party _________ (we/cook)

7) When you arrived at the party _________ (Jane/play the guitar)?

8) When you arrived at the party _________ (David/read a book)?

L5

29

9) When you arrived at the party _________ (Francis/sit in the corner)?

10) When you arrived at the party _________ (everybody/have fun)?

11) When I saw you and Lucy last night, where _________ (you/go)?

12) When I saw you and Lucy last night, what _________ (you/do)?

13) When I saw you and Lucy last night, who _________ (you/meet)?

14) When I saw you and Lucy last night, what _________ (Lucy/wear)?

15) When I saw you and Lucy last night, what _________ (you/eat)?

16) When I saw you and Lucy last night, what _________ (you/drink)?

17) When I saw you and Lucy last night, why _________ (Lucy/smoke)?

18) When I saw you and Lucy last night, who _________ (you/talk to)?

19) When I saw you and Lucy last night, what _________ (you/carry)?

20) When I saw you and Lucy last night, how _________ (Lucy/feel)?

L5

30

Practice # 9

Active and passive voice simple present

Directions: Rewrite the sentences in passive voice.

He opens the door. - The door is opened by him.

1. We set the table. - __________________________________________________

2. She pays a lot of money. - __________________________________________________

3. I draw a picture. - __________________________________________________

4. They wear blue shoes. - __________________________________________________

5. They don't help you. - __________________________________________________

6. He doesn't open the book. - __________________________________________________

7. You do not write the letter. - __________________________________________________

8. Does your mum pick you up? - __________________________________________________

9. Does the police officer catch the thief? -__________________________________________

Practice # 10

Active and passive voice present continuous

Directions: Put the following sentences into passive voice.

1. The cat is tearing the new book.

The new book is being torn by the cat?

L5

31

2. Is the agent chasing the criminal?

3. We are collecting the donations at the moment.

4. They are washing my car now.

5. Mr. Barber is handing out the exam papers.

6. Who is checking the passports?

7. GPS is calculating the route to your destination.

Practice # 11

Active and passive voice past tense

Directions: Put the following sentences into passive voice. (simple past)

1. Who wrote this book?

Who was this book written by?

2. How did they steal her car?

3. The children rang the bell a few minutes ago.

4. The kids forgot the whole story in a few days.

L5

32

5. Did the president make an important speech last night?

6. The police didn't question him very closely.

7. The wild animals killed two men yesterday.

Practice # 12

Active and passive voice future tense

Directions: Put the following sentences into passive voice. (will future passive)

1. Will he pick up the kids tomorrow?

Will the kids be picked up tomorrow?

2. The birds will eat those cookies.

3. My friends will visit him tomorrow.

4. The coach will throw a party on the weekend.

5. The next earthquake will destroy the city.

L5

33