English Tenses: Nurse Educator Team
English Tenses: Nurse Educator Team
English Tenses: Nurse Educator Team
Examples :
You speak English
You do not speak English
Do you speak English?
Usage of Simple Present Tense
1. Repeated Actions
Use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action
is repeated or usual. The 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?
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
Examples :
You called Debbie.
Did you call Debbie?
You did not call Debbie
Usage of Simple Past Tense
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.
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.
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.
SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE