TENSE REVIEW PRESENT SIMPLE, PRESENT CONTINUOUS PRESENT PERFECT and PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS PAST SIMPLE, PAST CONTINUOUS PAST PERFECT and PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS ACTIVE / PASSIVE

AUXILIARY VERBS

Auxiliary verbs have no meaning. They help form tenses.

• The verb BE is used to form Continuous tenses and Passive voice.

• I am swimming.

• Christmas is celebrated on Dec 25th.

• The verb DO is used to form Simple tenses, but only in negatives and questions.

• Do you like chocolate?

• The verb HAVE is used to form Perfect tenses.

• I have been to England.

In some tenses, you have to use more than one auxiliary verb (e.g. Present Perfect Continuous).

• I have been learning English for over 20 years.

OTHER VERBS

MODAL AUXILIARY VERBS

Modal verbs are auxiliary, because they help other verbs. They are different from be, do and have because they have meaning:

• Can • Could • Might • May • Will • Would • Shall • Should • Must • Ought to • need

FULL VERBS

Full verbs are all the other verbs. The verbs be, do and have can also be used as full verbs with their own meaning.

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SIMPLE TENSES

PRESENT SIMPLE

1. FORM

[verb] + s/es (3rd p. singular)

+ You speak English.

- You don't speak English.

? Do you speak English?

PAST SIMPLE

[verb] + -ed / irregular verbs

You called Debbie. You knew Debbie.

You didn‘t call Debbie. You didn‘t know Debbie.

Did you call Debbie? Did you know Debbie?

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SIMPLE TENSES

PRESENT SIMPLE 2. USE: • Repeated actions

• I play tennis. • She always forgets her purse.

• Fact or generalizations • Cats like milk. • California is not in the United Kingdom.

• Scheduled events in the near future (timetables) • The train leaves tonight at 6PM. • The party starts at 8 o'clock.

• Actions in progress at this moment (non-continuous verbs) • I am here now. • He has his passport in his hand.

PAST SIMPLE • Completed action in the past / a

series of completed actions • I saw a movie yesterday. • I finished work, walked to the beach

and found a nice place to swim.

• Duration in the past • I lived in Brazil for 2 years. • They sat at the beach all day.

• Habits in the past (used to) • I studied French when I was a child. • He played the violin.

• Past facts or generalizations • She was shy as a child, but now she is

very outgoing. • He didn‘t like tomatoes.

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CONTINUOUS TENSES

PRESENT CONTINUOUS

1. FORM:

am / is / are + (not) + present participle

You are watching TV.

You aren‘t watching TV.

Are you watching TV?

! Some verbs cannot be used in any Continuous Tense (e. g. abstract verbs, possession verbs, emotion verbs)

PAST CONTINUOUS

1. FORM

was / were + (not) + present participle

You were studying when she called.

You weren‘t studying when she called.

Were you studying when she called?

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CONTINUOUS TENSES

PRESENT CONTINUOUS

2. USE • Actions in progress at this moment

• You are learning English (now). • I am sitting.

• Longer actions in progress now • I am studying to become a doctor. • I am reading Tom Sawyer.

• Near future • I am meeting some friends after

school. • I am not going to the party tonight.

• Repetition and irritation with „always“ • She is always coming to class late. • He is constantly talking.

PAST CONTINUOUS

• Interrupted action in the past • While we were having a picnic, it

started to rain.

• I was watching TV when she called.

• Specific time as an interruption • Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.

• At midnight, we were still driving through the desert.

! 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.

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CONTINUOUS TENSES

• PAST CONTINUOUS (continued)

• Parallel actions

• I was studying while he was making dinner.

• Were you listening while he was talking?

• Atmosphere

• 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.

• Repetition and irritation with „always“

• She was constantly coming to class late.

• He was constantly talking.

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PERFECT TENSES

PRESENT PERFECT

1. FORM

has / have + (not) + past participle

You have seen that movie many times.

You haven't seent that movie many times.

Have you seen that movie many times?

PAST PERFECT

1. FORM

had + (not) + past participle

You had studied English before you moved to New York.

You hadn‘t studied English before you moved to New York.

Had you studied English before you moved to New York?

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PERFECT TENSES

PRESENT PERFECT

2. USE

• Unspecified time before now:

• Experience

• I have seen that movie twenty times.

• Change over time

• You have grown since the last time I saw you.

• Accomplishments

• Man has walked on the Moon.

• An uncompleted action you are expecting to be completed

• The rain hasn‘t stopped.

• Multiple actions at different times

• The army has attacked that city five times.

PAST PERFECT

2. USE

• Completed action before something in the past

• I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Kauai.

• Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times.

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PERFECT TENSES

PRESENT PERFECT

2. USE

• Duration from the past until now (non-cont. verbs)

• I have had a cold for two weeks.

• She has been in England for six months.

PAST PERFECT

2. USE

• Duration before something in the past (non-continuous verbs)

• You had had that car for ten years before it broke down.

• By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years.

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FUTURE TENSES

FUTURE SIMPLE

• Predictions (future fact):

• It‘ll be cold in a few days‘ time.

• Decisions (at the moment of speaking):

• I‘ll phone you back in a minute.

GOING TO FUTURE

• Predictions (based on present fact):

• Careful! That glass is going to fall over.

• Decisions (before the moment of speaking):

• When she grows up, she‘s going to be a ballet dancer.

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Active voice: The professor teaches the students. subject verb object

doing action receiving action

Passive voice: The students are taught by the professor. subject verb

receiving action doing action

Passive voice is used, when the thing or person doing the action is unknown or unimportant, so it is often omitted.

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PASSIVE VOICE

1. FORM

be + past participle

TENSE PASSIVE

Present Simple A letter is written.

Present Continuous A letter is being written.

Present Perfect A letter has been written.

Past Simple A letter was written.

Past Continuous A letter was being written.

Past Perfect A letter had been written.

Future A letter will be written.

Exercise Lars: Excuse me, which movie are you waiting for?

Tony: We _______________ (wait) for the new Stars Wars movie. In fact, we _______________ (wait) here for more than five hours.

Lars: Five hours? When did you arrive?

Tony: We _______________ (get) here at 6:00 o'clock this morning. More than forty people _______________ (stand, already) here waiting for tickets when we arrived.

Lars: I can't believe that! Are you serious?

Tony: Yeah, people _______________ (take) Star Wars movies seriously. In fact, this particular showing has been sold out for over a week. We _______________ (wait, just) in line to get a good seat in the theater.

Lars: When did you buy your tickets?

Tony: I _______________ (buy) them last week by phone. I _______________ (know) tickets would be hard to get because I _______________ (see) a news interview with a group of people standing in line to get tickets. They _______________ (wait) in line for almost a month to buy tickets for the first showing.

Lars: I don't believe that!

Tony: It's true. They _______________ (camp) out in front of Mann's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles for about a month because they _______________ (want) to be the first people to see the movie.

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Answers

1. are waiting

2. have been waiting

3. got

4. had already been standing

5. take

6. are just waiting

7. bought

8. knew

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9. had seen

10. had been waiting

11. camped

12. wanted