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Simple Present
Simple Present
Simple present
FORM
Examples:
USES
1 Repeated Actions
Use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is repeated or usual. The
action 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?
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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:
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:
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Speakers sometimes use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is
happening or is not happening now. This can only be done with Non-Continuous
Verbs and certain Mixed Verbs.
Examples:
I am here now.
She is not here now.
He needs help right now.
He does not need help now.
He has his passport in his hand.
Do you have your passport with you?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
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Present Continuous
FORM
Examples:
USES
1 Now
Use the Present Continuous with Normal Verbs to express the idea that something is
happening now, at this very moment. It can also be used to show that something is not
happening now.
Examples:
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In English, "now" can mean: this second, today, this month, this year, this century, and
so on. Sometimes, we use the Present Continuous to say that we are in the process of
doing a longer action which is in progress; however, we might not be doing it at this
exact second.
3 Near Future
Sometimes, speakers use the Present Continuous to indicate that something will or will
not happen in the near future.
Examples:
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The Present Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea
that something irritating or shocking often happens. Notice that the meaning is like
Simple Present, but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words "always" or
"constantly" between "be" and "verb+ing."
Examples:
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Simple past
FORM
Examples:
USES
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:
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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:
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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:
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:
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Past continuous
FORM
Past continuous is formed with the past of the auxiliary verb be and –ing form of the
main verb.
Uses
The past continuous is used to describe situation in progress in the past. This is
often contrasted with a sudden event in the past simple.
The airport was full of people. Some were sleeping on benches, some were shopping,
others were reading. Everyone was waiting for news of the delayed plane.
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Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The
interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past. Remember this can be a real
interruption or just an interruption in time.
Examples:
You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off.
While John was sleeping last night, someone stole his car.
While I was writing the email, the computer suddenly went off.
B: I was snowboarding.
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In USE 1, described above, the Past Continuous is interrupted by a shorter action in the
Simple Past. However, you can also use a specific time as an interruption.
Examples:
IMPORTANT
In the Simple Past, a specific time is used to show when an action began or finished. In
the Past Continuous, a specific time only interrupts the action.
Examples:
When you use the Past Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses
the idea that both actions were happening at the same time. The actions are parallel.
Examples:
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USE 4 Atmosphere
Example:
When I walked into the office, several people were busily typing, some were
talking on the phones, the boss was yelling directions, and customers were
waiting to be helped. One customer was yelling at a secretary and waving his
hands. Others were complainingto each other about the bad service.
The Past Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea
that something irritating or shocking often happened in the past. The concept is very
similar to the expression "used to" but with negative emotion. Remember to put the
words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and "verb+ing."
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Examples:
Questions
Yes/No questions are formed by inverting the subject and the auxiliary verb be.
Negatives
Negatives are formed with the verb auxiliary verb be + not. This is contracted in speech
and informal writing.
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Affirmative sentence
Is a traditional term for any statement that is positive, not negative. Also known as an
assertive sentence or affirmative proposition. The following short statements are all
examples of affirmative sentences:
Negative sentences
A negative sentence (or statement) states that something is not true or incorrect. A
negative adverb has to be added in order to negate or “cancel” the validity of the sentence.
The Negation Rule: In English, in order to claim that something is not true, you form a
negative sentence by adding the word not after the first auxiliary verb in the positive
sentence.
Active voice
In most English sentences with an action verb, the subject performs the action denoted
by the verb.
These examples show that the subject is doing the verb's action.
Because the subject does or "acts upon" the verb in such sentences, the sentences are
said to be in the active voice.
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Passive voice
One can change the normal word order of many active sentences (those with a direct
object) so that the subject is no longer active, but is, instead, being acted upon by the
verb - or passive.
Present continuous
Active / passive
Active sentences in the present continuous tense have the following structure:
Subject + is/are/am + -ing form of the verb + object
Passive sentences in the present continuous tense have the following structure:
Object of the active sentence + is/are/am + being + past participle form of the verb + by +
subject of the active sentence.
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Active : Did the little boy sell all the candy bars?
Passive: Were all the candy bars sold by the little boy?
Future Passive
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Name: ________________________________________________
Code: ____________ Section: _____
Practice # 1
Simple present
Directions: underline the correct answer
1. She ___ four languages.
a. speak
b. speaks
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20. Mr. Smith ___ too much. He always has a cigarette in his mouth.
a. smoke
b. smokes
Practice # 2
Present Continuous
Directions: Make the present continuous, positive or negative
3) (I / not / sleep)
8) (they / read)
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Practice # 3
Simple past
1. I ______________ happy.
4. He ______________ on holiday.
5. It ______________ cold.
6. We ______________ at school.
8. They______________ at home.
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Practice # 4
Simple past
Directions: Put the verbs into the correct form (simple past).
2. I (travel) _____________ around by car with two friends and we (visit) _____________
Practice # 5
Simple past
Directions: Exercise on questions with interrogative. Ask for the bold part of the sentence.
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6. She asked her friend because she did not know what to do. →
_______________________________________
Practice # 6
Past continuous
Make the positive or negative past continuous
1) Julie _________ (sleep) at three o'clock.
Julie was sleeping at three o'clock.
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11) Mrs Brown _________ (not/walk) in the garden when the murder happened.
12) Mr Black _________ (not/work) in his study when the murder happened.
13) Miss Jones _________ (not/talk) to Mr. White when the murder happened.
15) Dr Ford _________ (not/read) in his room when the murder happened.
16) Mr. and Mrs. Green _________ (not/eat) in the dining room when the murder happened.
17) Mr Blue _________ (not/drink) coffee in the library when the murder happened.
18) The maid _________ (not/clean) the bedrooms when the murder happened.
20) The dogs _________ (not/play) outside when the murder happened
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Practice # 7
Past continuous
3) (I / not / cry)
7) (I / work)?
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Practice # 8
Past Continuous
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11) When I saw you and Lucy last night, where _________ (you/go)?
12) When I saw you and Lucy last night, what _________ (you/do)?
13) When I saw you and Lucy last night, who _________ (you/meet)?
14) When I saw you and Lucy last night, what _________ (Lucy/wear)?
15) When I saw you and Lucy last night, what _________ (you/eat)?
16) When I saw you and Lucy last night, what _________ (you/drink)?
17) When I saw you and Lucy last night, why _________ (Lucy/smoke)?
18) When I saw you and Lucy last night, who _________ (you/talk to)?
19) When I saw you and Lucy last night, what _________ (you/carry)?
20) When I saw you and Lucy last night, how _________ (Lucy/feel)?
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Practice # 9
Active and passive voice simple present
Directions: Rewrite the sentences in passive voice.
Practice # 10
Active and passive voice present continuous
Directions: Put the following sentences into passive voice.
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Practice # 11
Active and passive voice past tense
Directions: Put the following sentences into passive voice. (simple past)
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Practice # 12
Active and passive voice future tense
Directions: Put the following sentences into passive voice. (will future passive)
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