CHAPTER 1+2:

OVERVIEW OF VERB TENSES

PRESENT AND PAST-SIMPLE AND PROGRESSIVE

A. Grammar

I. Overview of verb tenses

1. The simple tenses

a, Simple present

- In general, the simple present express events or situations that exist

“always”, “usually”, “habitually”, they exist now, have existed in the past,
and probably will exist in the future.

- Eg: It snows in Alaska.

Tom watches television everyday.

b, Simple past

- At one particular time in the past, this happened. It began and ended in the
past.

- Eg: It snowed yesterday.

Tom watched television last night.

c, Simple future

- At one particular time in the future, this will happen.

- Eg: It will snow / is going to snow tomorrow.

Tom will watch / is going to watch television tonight.

2. The progressive tenses

a, Present progressive
- The present progressive tense conveys a sense of ongoing action at the
present time.

- Eg: Tom is sleeping right now.

b, Past progressive

- The past progressive tense indicates continuing action, something that was
happening, going on, at some point in the past.

- Eg: Tom was sleeping when I arrived.

c, Future progressive.

- The future progressive tense is a verb tense that indicates that something will
occur in the future and continue for a n expected length of time.

- Eg: Tom will be sleeping when we arrive.

3.The perfect tenses

a,Present perfect

Eg:Tom has already eaten

->Tom finished eating sometime before now. The exact time is not important

b,Past perfect

Eg:Tom had already eaten when his friend arrived

->First Tom finished eating.Later his friend arrived.Tom’s eating was

completely finished before another time in the past

c,Future perfect

Eg:Tom will already have eaten when his friend arrives

->First Tom will finish eating.Later his friend will arrive.Tom’s eating was
completely finished before another time in the future

4.The perfect progressive tenses

 a,Present perfect progressive

Eg:Tom has been studying for 2 hours

->Tom’s studying has been in progress for

2 hours up to now

b,Past perfect progressive

Eg:Tom had been studying for 2 hours before his friend came

->Tom’s studying had been in progress for 2 hours before another event in the
past(his friend came)

c,Future perfect progressive

Eg:Tom will have been studying for 2 hours by the time his friends arrives

5.Spelling of –ing and –ed forms

Verbs that end in a Hope->hoping->hoped -ing form:drop the –e and add

consonant and –e –ing
Date->dating->dated
-ed form:just add –d

Verbs that end in a One-syllable verbs 1 vowel->2 consonants

vowel and a
Stop->stopping->stopped 2 vowels->1 consonat
consonat
Rain->raining->rained

Two-syllable verbs 1st syllable stressed->1

consonat
Listen->listening->listened
2nd syllable stressed->2
Begin->beginning->began
consonats
Verbs that end in Start->starting->started Just add the ending
two consonants

Verbs that end in -

If –y is preceded by a
y
vowel,keep the –y

If –y is preceded by a
Enjoy->enjoying->enjoyed
consonant:
Pray->praying->prayed
-ing form:keep the –y,add –ing
Study-studying->studied
-ed form:change –y to –i,add
-ed

Die->dying->died -ing form:change –ie to –y,add

–ing
Verbs that end in - Lie->lying->lied
ie -ed form:add -d

Exception:If a verb ends in –ee,the final –e is not dropped:seeing,agreeing…

-w and –x are not doubled:plowed,fixed…

II.Present and past,simple and progressive

1.Simple present

-The simple present says that something was true in the past,is true in the
present,and will be true true in the future

-Often the activity is of a general nature:something generally in progress this

week,this month,this year
Eg:John is sleeping right now

The students are sitting at their desks right now

3.Stative verbs

-Stative verbs are verbs that have stative meanings.They describe states:conditions
or situations that exist.

-They are usually not used in progressive tenses

Eg:This food tastes good.I like it very much

*Common verbs that have stative meanings:

-mental state:know,believe,feel,…

-emotional state:love,like,care…

-possession:possess,have…

-sense perceptions:taste,hear…

-other existing states:seem,appear,equal…

4,Am/Is/Are( being)+adjective

-Be+an adjective usually expresses a stative meaning

Eg:Ann is sick today

-Sometimes be+an adjective is used in the progressive when it describes

temporary,in-progress behaviour

5.Regular and irregular verbs

-Regular verbs:the simple past and past participle end in –ed

Eg:hope->hoped->hoped

-Irregular verbs:Some verbs have irregular past forms.The simple past and past
participle do not end in –ed

Eg:break->broke->broken
 Come->came->come

6.Regular verbs:pronunciation of –ed endings

Final –ed has 3 different pronunciations:

-Final –ed is pronunced /t/ after voiceless sounds such as /k/;/p/;/s/;/ch/;/sh/;/f/

-Final –ed is pronounced /d/ after voiced sounds such as /l/;/v/;/n/ and all vowel
sounds

-Final –ed is pronounced /ed/ after /t/ and /d/ sounds

7.Troublesome verbs

-Raise,set,lay are transitive verbs;they are followed by an object.

Eg:Tom raised his hand

-Rise,sit,lie are intransitive,they are not followes by an object

Eg:I sit in the front row

He is lying on his bed

8.Simple past

-The simple past indicates that an activity or situation began and ended at a
particular time in the past

Eg:I walked to school yesterday

-If a sentence contains “when” and has the simple past in both clauses,the action in
the “when” clause happens first

Eg:Rita stood under a tree when it began to rain

9.Past progressive

-The past progressive describes what was in the process of happening when
another event occurs.

Eg:I was walking down the street when it began to rain

-Sometimes the past progressive is used in both parts of a sentence when 2 actions
are in progress simultaneously

Eg:While I was studying in one room of our apartment,my roomate was having a
party in the other room

11.Using progressive verbs with “always” to complain

-In sentences referring to present time,usually the simple present is used with
“always” to describe habitual or everyday activities

Eg:Mary always leaves for school at 7:45

-In special circumstances,a speaker may use the present progressive with “always”
to complain,to express annoyance

Eg:Mary is always leaving her dirty socks on the floor for me to pick up!

-In addition to “always”,the words”forever” and “constantly” are also used with
the present progressive to express annoyance

Eg:I am always/forever/constantly picking up Mary’s dirty socks!

-“Always”, “forever” and “constantly” can also be used with the past progressive
to express annoyance or anger

Eg:I didn’t like having Sam formy roommate last year.He was always leaving his
dirty clothes on the floor

12.Using expressions of place with progressive verbs

-An expression of place can sometimes come between the auxiliary “be” and the
“-ing” verb in a progressive tense

Eg: (1)What is Kay doing?-She’s studying in her room

->The focus is on Kay’s activity in progress,on what she is doing

(2)Where’s Kay?-She’s in her room studying

->The focus is on Kay’s location,on where Kay is

B.Exercises