Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Tense Revision
Tense Revision
TENSE
REVISION
I>The
present
continuous
tense
1.For
things
happening
now
(at
present,
now,
at
the
moment…)
Eg:
Look!
It’s
raining.
2.
For
changing
or
developing
situations.
Eg:
-‐
It’s
getting
dark.
-‐
Language
is
changing
all
the
time.
-‐
The
weather
is
getting
warmer
these
days.
II>
The
past
continuous
tense
1>
A
continuous
action
at
a
point
of
time
in
the
past.
Ex:
We
were
watching
TV
at
9’o
clock
last
night.
Tom
was
playing
football
at
8’o
clock
this
morning.
2>
A
continuous
action
in
the
past,
during
which
another
action
may
occur.
Ex:
+
Yesterday,
she
visited
me
when
I
was
working
in
the
garden.
+
The
accident
happened
while
he
was
driving
on
the
highway.
+
My
sister
was
repairing
her
dress
when
her
friend
came
in.
3>
The
2
parallel
past
actions
in
progress.
Eg:
+
When
I
was
painting
the
window,
my
friend
was
repairing
the
tables.
III>
The
simple
past
tense
1. A
finished
action
in
the
past(with
a
definite
point
of
time).
Eg:-‐
We
played
tennis
last
Sunday.
-‐
I
worked
in
London
from
1984
to
1989.
-‐
John
left
two
minutes
ago.
NOTE:
The
past
simple
is
often
used
with
time
expressions:
last
year,
five
years
ago,
yesterday
morning,
in
1945,
several
days
ago,
many
years
ago,
previous
week/
year/
month,
at
that
time,
those
days.
2.
A
successions
of
actions
in
the
past.
Eg:
James
came
into
the
room.
He
took
off
his
coat
and
sat
down
on
the
bed.
Suddenly,
he
noticed
somebody
behind
the
curtain.
He
stood
up
and
walked
slowly
across
the
room.
IV>
The
present
perfect
tense
1. An
action
which
began
in
the
past
and
has
continued
up
to
the
present.
Eg:
-‐
They
have
lived
here
for
five
years
now
-‐
The
child
has
been
ill
since
yesterday.
-‐
Mary
has
studied
ballet
since
she
was
a
child.
2.
An
action
which
happened
at
an
indefinite
time
in
the
past.
Eg:
-‐
I’ve
already
read
that
novel
“War
and
Peace”
-‐
John
has
traveled
around
the
world.
3.
An
action
which
was
repeated
several
times
in
the
past.
Eg:
-‐
We
have
seen
the
play
several
times.
-‐
She
has
studied
her
lessons
over
and
over
before
the
exam.
4.
The
first
of
two
actions
in
the
present
or
future.
Eg:
-‐
The
young
scientist
declares
that
he
has
completed
the
experiment
successfully.
-‐
I
‘ll
inform
you
after
I’ve
known
the
result.
NOTES:
1.
Use
the
present
perfect
with:
ever,
recently,
this
month/year,
in
the
past
few
years,
in
the
past
decade,
in
the
past
two
days,
in
the
past
six
months,
in
recent
months/
years..
Eg:
-‐Have
you
talked
to
your
boss
in
the
past
two
days?
-‐
The
number
of
tourists
has
increased
a
lot
in
recent
years.
2.
SINCE
+
A
point
of
time
FOR
+
A
period
of
time
Eg:
Since
8
o’clock
/
Monday
/
1st
April/
March
/
1978
/
Christmas
/
lunchtime.
For
2
hours
/
3
days
/
a
week
/
a
long
time
/
10
minutes
/
2
years.
V>
The
present
perfect
continuous
tense
1. The
present
perfect
continuous
emphasizes
an
action
in
progress
especially
when
saying
how
long
something
has
been
happening.
Eg:
-‐
-‐
They
have
been
producing
cars
here
for
10
years.
(i.e
They
started
producing
cars
10
years
ago.
They
are
still
producing
cars)
-‐
I
have
been
trying
to
ring
them
all
day.
(ie
I
started
trying
to
ring
them
this
morning.
Iam
still
trying
to
ring
them)
-‐
It’s
been
raining
since
I
got
up
this
morning.
2. TPPContinuous
refers
to
an
activity
with
a
result
in
the
present.
Eg:
-‐
I’m
hot
because
I’ve
been
running.
-‐
Her
shoes
are
muddy.
She’s
been
digging
the
garden.
NOTES:
1. It
is
unusual
to
find
these
verbs
in
the
PPContinuous:
find,
start,
buy,
die,
lose,
break,
stop,
like,
love,
know,
have
for
possession.
Don’t
say:
My
cat’s
been
dying
We
say
:
My
cat
has
died
Don’t
say:
I’ve
been
buying
a
new
car.
We
say:
I’ve
bought
a
new
car
2.If
the
sentence
gives
a
number
or
a
quantity,
the
present
perfect
simple
is
used.
The
present
perfect
continuous
is
not
possible.
Eg:
We
say:
I’ve
written
3
letters
today.
Don’t
say:
I’ve
been
writing
3
letters
today.
Eg:
-‐
I’ve
had
several
boy’s
roles.
3. We
normally
use
the
present
perfect
simple
for
situations
we
consider
permanent.
Eg:
I
have
lived
in
London
all
my
life.
(not:
have
been
living….)
4. Use
the
present
perfect
→
talk
about
an
action
completed
recently,
(FINISHED
ACTIVITIES)
Eg:
By
the
way,
I
have
worked
out
those
figures.
They
are
on
your
desk
now.
4.Use
the
present
perfect
cont
when
sth
is
still
going
on
(UNFINISHED
ACTIVITIES)
Eg:
The
lawyers
have
been
looking
through
the
contract,
but
they
say
they
need
another
day
to
read
it
all.
VI>
The
past
perfect
tense
1.
An
action
which
happened
in
the
past
before
another
past
action.
Eg:
-‐
The
child
had
died
before
he
was
brought
to
hospital.
-‐ He
knew
that
he
had
made
a
serious
mistake.
b/
A
completed
action
before
a
definite
point
of
time
in
the
past.
Eg:
-‐
By
the
age
of
25,
he
had
written
two
famous
novels.
-‐
The
secretary
had
typed
ten
letters
before
lunchtime
yesterday.
PRACTICE:
Circle
the
correct
form.
1. I’m
sorry
I
haven’t
(written
/
been
writing)
you
a
letter
before
now.
I’ve
(worked
/
been
working)
very
hard.
2. Have
you
(heard
/
been
hearing)
the
news?
Marcus
has
(won
/
been
winning)
the
music
competition.
3. I
know
that
opera
well.
I’ve
(seen
/
been
seeing)
it
several
times.
4. I’ve
(thought
/
been
thinking)
about
taking
piano
lessons
since
I
stopped
working,
but
I
haven’t
(taken
/
been
taking)
a
class
yet.
5. Bill
has
(painted
/
been
painting)
the
living
room
all
weekend,
but
he
still
hasn’t
(finished
/
been
finishing).
6.
We
are
thinking
about
opening
an
office
in
Warsaw,
so
I
(learn)
Polish
at
evening
classes
for
the
last
2
months.
7.
Since
January,
our
turnover
(increase)
by
18%.
8.
The
film
company
is
a
reasonable
investment.
They
(make)
four
very
successful
films.
9.
We
(visit)
potential
sites
for
the
new
workshops,
but
we
haven’t
found
anything
suitable
yet.
10.
So
that’s
where
the
order
form
is!
Peter
(look)
for
it
all
morning.