Tenses

Present tenses
Jasper Daems G3B Present simple Most verbs add s to the base The form is the same for I/we/you/they. Wants eats helps drives He/She/It will add s or es. ---------------------> Add es when ends in; -ss, -sh, -ch, -x We use does(n t) in questions and o I work He works Kisses washes watches fixes goes I don t work He doesn t work We use the present simple in: - a habit - a fact that is always true - a fact that is true for a long time Present continuous The from: Am/is/are + verb + -ing I m playing tennis Use: - an activity that is happening now. Don t turn the TV off. I m watching it - an activity that is not necessarily happening at the moment of speaking but is happening around now. - a temporary activity Most add ing - a planned future arrangement Going wearing visiting eating Present simple passive Verbs that end in on e lose the e The form: Smoking coming hoping writing Am/is/are + past participle (= voltooid But: lie --> lying deelwoord, engels + -ed) Verbs that end in ee don t drop an e Most workers are paid monthly Agreeing seeing Is service included in the bill? Verbs of one syllable, with one vowel Present Continuous and one consonant, double the The form: consonant Am/is/are being + past participle Stopping getting running planning This road is being widened If the final consonant is y or w, it is Are you being served? not doubled The use same as in the active Playing showing Present Perfect The from: Has/have + past participle I ve lived in Rome She s lived in that Use: - unfinished past we ve lived in the same house for 25 years time expressions are common with this use for two years/a month/ages since 1970/August/Christmas - experience I ve been to the United States time expressions are common with this use Have you ever been to Australia - present result

The taxi hasn t arrived yet time expressions are common with this use I haven t done my homework yet Present perfect simple passive The form: Has/have been + past participle It has been sold The use is the same as the active Present perfect continuous The form: Has/have +been + -ing She s been studying for three years The use: - an activity that began in the past and is continuing now. I ve been studying English for three years - a past activity that has caused a present result I ve been working all day (I m tired now)

Past tenses
Past simple The form is the same for all persons He left at three o clock They left at three o clock She didn t finish on time yesterday We didn t finish on time yesterday When did he finish the report? When did you finish the report? The use: - a finished action in the past We met in 2000 Most regular verbs add ed - actions that follow each other in a story Worked wanted helped washed Mary walked into the room and stopped. She Verb ends in e? Add d listened carefully. She heard a noise Liked used hated cared coming from behind the curtain. She threw the Only one syllable, one vowel + one curtain open, and then she saw... consonant? Double the consonant - a past situation or habit Stopped planned robbed When I was a child, we lived in a small house by The consonant is not doubled i fit is y the sea. Every day I walked for miles on or w the beach with my dog. Played showed Past continuous In most two-syllable verbs, the end The from: consonant is doubled if the stress is on Was/were + verb + -ing the second syllable I was learning English Pre ferred ad mitted We weren t waiting for a long time End in y What were you doing? Carried hurried buried Use: - express activities in progress before, and probably after, a particular time in the past. At seven o clock this morning I was having my breakfast - for descriptions Jan looked beautiful. She was wearing a green cotton dress. - to express an interrupted past activity While we were playing tennis, it started to rain. - to express an incomplete activity I was reading a book during the flight. (I didn t finish it.) Past simple passive The from: Was/were + past participle The museum was opened in 1987 Past continuous passive The form: Was/were being + past participle The vase was being restored Past perfect passive The form: Had been + past participle The house had been redecorated The use of this three forms are the same as the active

Past perfect The form: I d (had) seen him before. You had(n t) seen him before. Where had you been before? The use: - The past perfect is used to make clear that one action in the past happened before another action in the past. When I got home, I found that someone had broken into my apartment and had stolen my TV. - The past perfect can be used to tell a story in a different order. Sue and Pete divorced last month. They d met at university, and had been together for six years. - Notice the difference between these sentences When I got to the party, Peter went home (= first I arrived, then Peter left) When I got to the party, Peter had gone home (= first Peter left, then I arrived) - The past perfect continuous refers to longer actions or repeated activities. We were exhausted because we d been driving all day. Have to The form: Has/have + to + infinitive You have to go to school He doesn t have to go to school Does he have to go to school? The use: - Have to expresses strong obligation You have to work hard if you want to succeed - Have to expresses a general obligation based on a law or rule, or based on the authority of another person Children have to go to school - Have to is impersonal The doctor says I have to lose weight - Have to has all verb forms I had to work last night (past) I have to study hard (future) I never had to do any work (present perfect) I hate having to get up on winter mornings (-ing form) Have got to The form: Have + got + to + infinitive The use: - Have got to is common in British English but it is more informal than have to. I ve got to go now. - Have got to expresses an obligation now, or on a particular occasion soon. I ve got to stop eating ice-cream! It s to yummy!

Modal and related verbs Modal verbs: Can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, must, ought to You must be exhausted I can swim The form: - no s in the third person singular she can ski - There is no do/does/don t/doesn t in the question or negative What should I do? - Modal auxiliary verbs are followed by the infinitive without to You must go - They have no infinitives and no ing forms. I d love to be able to ski - They don t usually have past forms You should have told me that you can t swim. - Could is used with past meaning to talk about a general ability I could swim when I was six The Use: - Modal verbs express our attitudes, opinions, and judgments of events It could/may/might/must/should/can t/ ll be John. - Each modal verb has at least two meanings. One use of all of them is to express possibility or probability I must post this letter! You must be tired! Future forms Will/going to and the present continuous The form: I ll see you later I won t be late We re going to stay in a hotel We aren t going to rent a cottage The use for will: - it expresses a future fact or predictions. (future simple) We ll be away for two weeks - will for a prediction can be based more on an opinion than a fact. I don t think Laura will do very well in her exam The use for going to: - Going to can also express a predictions, especially when it is based on a present fact She s going to have a baby - Sometimes there is no difference between will and going to This government will ruin the country Will is used to express a decision, intention, or offer made at the moment of speaking Going to is used to express a future plan, decision, or intention made before the moment of speaking. Future possibility: may/might/could The form: May, might, and could are modal verbs I may/might/could see you later I may not/might not see you later Do you think you ll get the job? The use:

- may, might, and could, all express a future possibility It may/might/could rain later - may can be formal the government may increase income tax - could suggest something less definite I could be a champion if I trained hard Conditionals Possible conditions If I see Dave, I ll tell him to call you Improbable conditions If I had the money, I d buy an Aston Martin Impossible conditions If I d (had) known you were coming, I d (would) have cooked you a meal Second conditional: improbable conditions The form: If + past simple, would + verb If I won some money, I would buy an Aston Martin The use: - We use the second conditional to express an unreal situation and its probable result If I were the president of my country. I d increase taxes. - To give advice If I were you, I d apologize to her - When the condition is understood, it is common to find the result clause on its own I d travel - Would can express preference I d rather have coffee, please - Would can express a request Would you open the door for me? Third conditional: impossible conditions The form: If + past perfect, would + have + past participle If I hadn t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn t have believed it The use: - express an impossible situation in the past and its probable result If she d known he was cruel, she wouldn t have married him. Might/could have done The use: - express possibilities in the past that didn t happen She could have married anyone she wanted. - in the result clauses of the third conditional If I d told him I had no money, he might have given me some - Might have done and could have done can express criticism You might have told me it was her birthday! Should have done The use: - Should have done expresses advice for a past situation, but the advice is to late You shouldn t have said she looked old. She really didn t like it. - Should have done can express criticism You should have asked me before you borrowed my car