The present simple tense

Form : the first column of the verb list with all subjects except (he - she - it ) , we
add "s" or "es" to the verb.

Use: We use the present simple tense to express facts or habits.

Words : Every ... / always / sometimes / usually /

Examples :

- I do to school by bus.

- She doesn't watch TV at night.

- Do you study French?

The present continuous tense

Form : subject + verb + ing

Use: We use the present continuous tense to talk about actions that are happening
at the time of the speech. .

Words : Now / at the moment / listen/ look

Examples :

- I am watching TV at the moment.

- He isn't listening to you .

- Look , Maggie is reading.

The present perfect tense

Form : subject + has / have + p.p.

Use: - very recent events

- events that happened and finished but in an indefinite time in the past.

Words : recently - for - since - yet - already - never - ever

Examples :

- I have lost my key.

- Have you seen Ann?

- She has just moved to a larger flat.

- I have never seen a lion.

The past simple tense

Form : Regular verbs ------ subject + verb + ed

irrigular verbs ---------subject + verb in the past (second column)

Use: Actions that finished in a definite time in the past

Words : last year - last ... - yesterday - two hours ago - in 1978

Examples :

- Yesterday I visited my cousins.

- I went to the USA last year.

- Did you study yesterday?

Difference between the present perfect and the past simple

1- Jack lived in London for 5 years.

1- Jack has lived in London for 5 years.

2 - The time is not specific ----------------- present perfect -------------- I've just
finished my homework.

2- The time is specific ---------------------past simple --------------------I finished my

homework 10 minutes ago.

So , whenever a past time is mentioned in the sentence(yesterday - last week -

ago - last Sunday -etc,...) , we can't use the present perfect tense.

Example:

- Tom has just finished his homework. (5 minutes ago)

- Tom finished his homework 5 minutes ago.

Difference between For / Since

For : period of time ( a month - 2 weeks - three years - long time - ages )

Since : starting point (Easter - 3 o'clock - last weekend - 2007 - breakfast)

Exercises:
Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form: Present Simple / Present
Continuous:

1-- Don’t forget to take your umbrella. It ……………………….. (rain) again.

2- The children ……………………… (hardly ever, watch) TV in the afternoon.
3- I …………………………. (not, like) this kind of music very much.
4- Jessica ……………………….. (clean) her house every day.
5- Fiona …………… (want) to go shopping with her friends. She ……………
(need) some new clothes.
6- What time …………………….. (they, get up) on Sundays? At about 10,30.
7- My cousin …………………………. (speak) to an English boy at the moment.
8- My brothers are very good students. They ……………… (study, always) very
hard.
 9- ……………….. (James, work) at the moment? No, he isn’t. He’s in the
bathroom. He ……………………… (have) a shower.
10- It ……………………… (rain, often) in the Summer in this part of the country.
11- Linda and Susie ………………………. (wear) smart dresses today.
13- How ………………………… (you, go) to school every morning? By bus.
14- My friend ………………………. (never, do) his homework at the weekend.
15- I ……..……. (not, know) what my sister Beth ………….. (do) in the kitchen.
16- I …………………………….. (wake up, always) late on Saturdays.
17- I ……………… (practise, usually) all the new vocabulary before exams.
18 - Mum ………………………… (not, talk) on the phone at the moment.
21- Look! The boy ………………………… (run) after the dog.
22- Where ….…………………… (your dad, have, usually) breakfast? At home.
24- Spring …………. (not, start) in April. It …………………. (start) in March.
25- She ………………………… (not, walk) the dog in the park at the moment.
26- Julia can´t talk to you now because she ………………..…….. (sleep).
27- Maria ………………………… (cook) dinner every evening.

Choose the simple past or present perfect .

1-When I was a child, I ________ (swim) a lot.
2-So far this week, we ________ (study) a lot.
3- Theo __________ (be) very sick recently.
4. I _________ (have) a terrible headache yesterday.
5. They _______ (get) married ten years ago.
6. My family ________ (take) a vacation last year
Choose the simple past or present perfect .

1. I (just / finish) __________________ my home task.

2. Jane (already / write) _________________ four letters.
3. Jack (move)__________________to this town in 1995.
4. My friend (be) __________________ in Australia two years ago.
 5. I (not / be) _________________ to Canada so far.
6. But I (already / travel)_______________to Kyiv a couple of times.
7. Last week, Sophie and Patrick (go) ________________ to the theatre.
8. I can't take any pictures because I (not / buy) ________________ a new film
yet.
9. (they / spend) __________________ their holiday in New Zealand last spring?
10. (you / ever / see) __________________ a shark?

Choose the correct one.

1) My mother has been a nurse
since / for we moved to Antalya.
2) We have yet / already
finished the project.
3) I have yet / just knocked the door.
4) The policeman hasn’t caught the
thieves yet / already.
5) Sue and Timothy have just / already
gone out. You cannot catch them.
6) “Have you baked the birthday cake
just / yet?”
7) My grandfather has yet / just opened the cages.
8) I have lived in Barcelona for / since I was born.
9) I have since / already fed the baby. She can’t be hungry.
10) We have just / already painted the fences. So our hands are dirty.
11) I have just / already washed the dishes. So I’m free now.
12) I have waited Tom for / since ages.
13) My son hasn’t brushed his teeth already / yet.
14) The kids have just / already come home. They are tired.
15) I have watched TV since / for two hours.
16) Angelina hasn’t solved the problems already / yet.
 The past continuous tense
Form : subject + was / were + verb + ing

Use: to express an action that took a long time in the past

Words : while - when

Examples :

- While I was studying , the phone rang. = The phone rang while I was playing.
- I was playing when the phone rang. = When the phone rang , I was playing .
- While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.

- We were having a picnic when it started to rain.

- What were you doing when the earthquake started?

Note :
While + past continuous ------- past simple
While + past continuous --------past continuous.
when + past simple --------- past continuous
When + past simple --------past simple.

The past perfect tense

Form : subject + had + p.p.

Use: We use the past perfect tense when we talk about two events in the past and
want to show that one event is older than the other .

Words : before / after / when / as soon as

Examples :

- When I woke up this morning , the bus had already left.

- He woke up late because he had forgotten to set his alarm clock.
- The meeting had started before Amir reached his office.
- He had never eaten an apple pie until he came to England.
- 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.
- She only understood the movie because she had read the book.

The present perfect continuous

Form : subject + has / have + been + verb + ing

Use: We use the Present Perfect Continuous to show that something started in the past and has
continued up until now.

Words : for / since / lately / recently

Examples :
 hey have been talking for the last hour.
 She has been working at that company for three years.
 What have you been doing for the last 30 minutes?
 James has been teaching at the university since June.
 ecently, I have been feeling really tired.
 She has been watching too much television lately.
 Have you been exercising lately?

Exercises :

1. I suddenly remembered that I forgot / had forgotten my keys.

2. While Diana watched / was watching her favorite television programme,
there was a power-cut.
3. Who was driving / drove the car at the time of the accident?
4. By the time Serdar got back, Oguz went / had gone.
5. I did / was doing some shopping yesterday, when I saw your friend , Timmy.

Fill in the blanks with “WHEN” or “WHILE”.

1) I was doing my homework __________ my parents were watching TV.
2) _________ I broke the vase I felt very sorry.
3) Mehmet was waiting for somebody _________ I saw him.
4) We were having breakfast _________ the school bus came.
5) _________ my father was cutting the trees my mother was cooking.
6) I washed my face _________ my brother was brushing his teeth.
7) _________ Sevgi was knitting her grandchildren were watching TV.
8) What were they doing ________

A) Choose the correct answer.

1) When-While I was making a cake my husband was washing the dishes.
2) Melek was sleeping when-while I opened the door.
3) When-While I was swimming my friends were playing volleyball.
4) When-While Ali phoned me I was having a shower.
5) My mother was drinking tea when-while I came home.
6) Our teacher was writing something on the board when-while somebody
knocked at the door.
7) What were you doing when-while I phoned you?
8) When-While I saw her she was having dinner with her boyfriend.
9) I wasn’t waiting for her when-while she came in.
10) We were ice-skating when-while Serkan broke his leg.

Rewrite the sentences with “WHEN” or “WHILE”.

1) I was combing my hair. My sister came in.
( When ) __________________________________
( While ) __________________________________
2) Murat painted the fences. Kubilay was planting some trees.
( When ) __________________________________ _________________.
( While ) ___________________________________________________.
3) Tahsin was playing snowball. We saw him.
( When ) __________________________________
( While ) __________________________________
4) My mother was having a rest. We came home.
( When ) _______________ ______________________.
( While ) _______________ ______________________.
5) I was having an exam. The headmaster opened the door.
( When ) _______________ ______________________.
( While ) _______________ ______________________.
Directions: Rewrite the following sentences with the present perfect progressive.
The first one has been done for you.

1. Jack is cooking. He started to do this 4 hours ago.

Jack has been cooking for 4 hours.

2. My brother drives. He started to do this in 1968.

3. Carol lives in Morocco. She went there last month.

4. Timothy rides a bus to school. He started to do it when his car broke down.

5. Ping plays tennis. She started to do this when she was young.

6. Mick Jagger sings rock music. He started to do this 40 years ago with the
Rolling Stones.

7. James knows how to repair a computer. He learned how to do it a long time

ago.