The simple present tense

1. a fact or universal truth

e.g. The sun rises in the east.

2. a habit or an action that happens regularly

e.g. I brush my teeth every day.

every day every morning every week every year

once a week twice a week three times a year

always usually often sometimes seldom never

I, You, We, They verb

He, She, It verb + s /es
The present continuous tense

1. talk about an action happening when we speak or write

e.g. We’re jumping on Mum’s bed!

2. talk about an action happening around now

e.g. I’m learning Japanese at a night school.

3. describe a trend or changing situation

e.g. More and more people are communicating online nowadays.

4. describe a picture
e.g. In this picture, my husband is kissing me!

now at the moment currently

currently nowadays tonight this weekend

I am verb + ing
You / We / They are verb + ing
He/ She / It is verb +ing

We do not usually use the following verbs in the continuous form:

verbs of sense see, hear, smell, taste

verbs of feelings like, dislike, want, love, hate, prefer
verbs of possession belong, own, posses
verbs of the state of know, forget, remember, understand, believe, need,
mind guess, hope
other verbs seem, sound, concern, consist, contain, appear, cost
The present perfect tense

1. an action that began in the past and has continued up to now

e.g. Oh Andy! I’ve been your super fan since I was one!

2. an action that happened in the past without mentioning the exact

finish time
e.g. I’ve already read it.

3. a repeated action before now

e.g. Jason has been to jail three times.

4. a past action with some effect on the present

e.g. Maria has spent all her money on shopping.

We can use the present perfect tense with time market like:

since for already yet just recently

lately ever never

e.g. Flora has worked in the shop for three years.

The children have not finished their homework yet.
Mum has just had her hair permed.
Have you ever met a Hollywood star?
I have never flown a plane.

I / You/ We / They/ + have + P.P

He / She / It/ has +P.P

The Simple Past Tense

We use the simple past tense about an action that happened at a

definite time in the past.

yesterday last night last Monday last week

last summer last year ten minutes ago
two days ago in the past in 1980
once upon a time

In questions:

Was I/ he / she/ it happy?

Were you/ we/ they happy?

Did I/ you/ we/ they/ he/ she/ it run?

Do not mix up the present perfect tense and the simple past tense.

The present perfect tense:

Refers to an action that started in the past and continues up
to the present.

e.g. I have lived in Hong Kong for five years.

(I live in Hong Kong now.)

The simple past tense:

Refers to an action that started and finished in the past.

e.g. I lived in Hong Kong for five years.

(I do not live in Hong Kong now)
The past continuous tense

1. an action going on at a specific moment in the past

e.g. What were you doing when the earthquake occurred at 7:15pm?
I was having a party at my friend’s home at 7:15 p.m.

2. an action already happening in the past when another one happened

We usually use when / while to link the two actions.
e.g. May was dancing when we suddenly felt the ground shaking.

3. an action going on at every moment during a period of time in the

past
e.g. While I was dancing, my sister was singing loudly.
Oh, we just found out that there wasn’t an earthquake but your
neighbour was skipping at the time!

4. an action going on at every moment during a period of time in the

past.
e.g. They were quarrelling the whole night.

I / He / She / It was + verb + ing

You / We / They were + verb + ing
 The simple future tense

We use the simple future tense to talk about:

1. something we decide or promise to do in the future when we
speak or write
e.g. Will you travel around the world with me next year?
Let me think…… no, but I’ll buy you a globe.

2. something we predict will happen in the future based on our

knowledge or opinion
e.g. Will I worry about my living?
No, you won’t. You’ll have food and housing for free.

We usually use the simple future tense with time markers like:

tomorrow next year next week soon later

in an hour in a few days in the future

e.g. Jimmy will go swimming with his friends tomorrow.

I will not have the piano lesson next week.
Mary and Tom will get married in a few years.
The Wong family will soon move to Canada.
Please go home first. We’ll call you later.
More people will travel to space in the near future.
Will I be rich after 30 years?

I / You / We / They / She/ He/ It will + verb

We use be going to talk about:

1. something we have already planned or intended to do in the future

5 Oct 6 Oct

Let’s go to the Mum, I ‘m not

karaoke box going to have the
tomorrow! English tutorial
today.

2. something we predict will definitely happen based on outside

evidence

e.g. Jane does not have a coat. She is going to catch a cold.

I am going to
You / We/ They are going to
He / She/ It is going to
Part A
Complete the sentences using the simple form of the verbs in the
brackets.

1. The weather _____________( be) fine today. Let’s go for a picnic.

2. Billy is a great writer. He _____________ (write) three popular
storybooks for children.
3. Mrs Peterson _____________ (prepare) for dinner when we got to
her house.
4. I ______________(be) happy to know that you ______________
(enjoy) your life in Canada.
5. I _______________ (have) three cups of coffee so I do not sleepy
now.
6. The wind __________ (blow) strongly the whole night.
7. Mr Jones _____________ (love) travelling so much that he
_____________ (travel) at least twice a year.
8. Can you tell me about New York is like? I ______________ (not be) to
there before.
9. What ______________ Angela ______________ (do) during recess?
I didn’t see her around.
10.A fable______________ (be) a very short story that _____________
(give) a moral lesson.
11.Tom feels very sorry about what he _____________ (do) to his mum.
12.I _______________ (check) my e-mail at about 10:30 pm last night.
13.Our principal ______________ (not allow) us to bring our mobile
phones to school.
14.I _____________ (not see) Oscar for a while since he moved to
Canada.
15._____________ the students ______________ (have) a lesson in the
classroom when the fire alarm rang?
16.Kelly ______________ (have) a broad range of interests.
17.Your dog looks sick. _______________ you _____________ (take) it
to the vet yet?
18.Janice _______________ (not study) for her test. She
_______________ (chat) on the phone all day.
19.The maths questions______________ (be not) difficult to solve at all.
20.Elvis cannot walk for a month because he ______________ (break)
his leg.
21.‘Mum, we ______________ (make) a mess at home,’ the children
said.
22. _____________ you ____________ (know) that smoking is a bad
habit?
23.The soup is very salty. I guess you _____________ (put) too much salt
in it.
24.The beautiful cherry blossom tells that spring ______________
(come).
25.Ivy ________________ (not believe) in making a wish upon a falling
star.
26.If you want to have an Indian-style dinner tonight, I _____________
(suggest) you go to the restaurant located at the corner of the street.
27.Scientists believe that they _______________ (travel) to the space
one day.
28.Mandy is a good students. She never _____________ (hand) in her
homework late.
29.My sisters ______________ (take) a nap while my mum was out.
30.How _____________ you _____________(celebrate) your birthday
last year?
31.Leo and May _____________ (be) Christian. They _______________
(go) to church every Sunday.
32.Lily has lost her handbook.______________ anyone _____________
(see) her handbook?
33.Rachel ______________(learn) to play the piano for more than ten
years. She ______________ (practice) the piano every day when she
was small.
34.In the past, I often ___________ (fight) with my brother. But now we
______________ (get) on with each other very well.
35.My parents ______________ (not be) to Bail before but my brother
______________ (be) there once.
36.You _______________ (not slim) down unless you eat less and do
more exercise.