GRAMMAR

NOTES
B Y N UR A S Y I K I N B I N T I R . DJ AT I & N U R A D AW I YA H B I NT I
S A LI M
 CONTENTS
1 PAST TENSE 2 PRESENT TENSE

3 FUTURETENSE
 1.PAST TENSE

Past tense
1
There are two tenses in English – past and present.

The past tense in English is used:

• to talk about the past
• to talk about hypotheses (when we imagine something)
• for politeness.
There are four past tense forms in English:
Past simple: I worked
Past continuous: I was working
Past perfect: I had worked
Past perfect continuous: I had been working
 SIMPLE PAST TENSE

DEFINITION
The simple past tense, sometimes called the preterite, is used to talk about a completed action in a time
before now. The simple past is the basic form of past tense in English. The time of the action can be in the
recent past or the distant past and action duration is not important.

Examples
• John Cabot sailed to America in 1498.
• My father died last year.
• He lived in Fiji in 1976.
• We crossed the Channel yesterday.

You always use the simple past when you say when something happened, so it is associated with
certain past time expressions
 PAST CONTINUOUS
DEFINITION
The past continuous describes actions or events in a time before now,which began in the past and were
still going on when another event occurred.

Uses of the Past Continuous Tense

The past continuous tense can be put to use when you want to convey parallel or simultaneous actions.
For example:
• Mercy was studying while her mom was cooking breakfast.
• She wasn’t listening properly when I was speaking.
You want to speak about an overlapping action.
For example:
I was watering the plants when my brother came home.
When Joe was playing cricket, he sprained his ankle.
You want to indicate an action at an overlapping time.
 PAST PERFECT

DEFINITION

The past perfect refers to a time earlier than before now.It is used to make it clear that one event happened
before another in the past.

For example :
• We are able to stay at the hotel since we had reserved a room in advance.
• I had finished the work.
• I had been working there for a year.
• They had been painting the bedroom.
• She had been living in Liverpool all her life.
 PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

DEFINITION

The past perfect continuous tense shows that started in the past continued
up until another time in the past.

Example:

• He had been working at the company for five years when I got the
promotion.
• He had been drinking milk out the carton when Mom walked into the kitchen.

• Martha had been walking three miles a day before she broke her leg.

• The program that was terminated had been working well since 1945.
 2.PRESENT TENSE
DEFINITION

The present tense is a verb tense that describes a current activity or state
of being.

Example:

• My parrot sings ‘The Sun Has Got Its Hat On” every morning.(This is a
current activity)

• I am happy.(This is a current state of being)

• I swim in the sea every Saturday.(This is a current activity)

• Aliens exist in outer space.(This is a current state of being)

 SIMPLE PRESENT
DEFINITION

The simple present tense is used to describe facts and habits,to tell
stories,and to describe scheduled events in the future

Example:
• He plays chess.

• The plane lands in 5 minutes.

• He asks the policeman for directions.(This use of the simple present tense is
quite rare)

• I like chocolate.(Fact)

• Angela runs a youth club full of glue-sniffers.(Fact)

 PRESENT CONTINUOUS

DEFINITION

The present continuous tense,as the name suggests,is the form of tense that
is used to denote an action that is ongoing or occuring in that current moment.

Example:
• Children are going to school.

• The boys are playing in the park.

• The baby is crying out loud.

• It is raining now.

• I am cooking pasta for lunch

• Miss Peters is teaching the class.

 PRESENT PERFECT
DEFINITION

The present perfect tense is an English verb tense used for past actions that
are related to or continue into the present

Example:
• They’ve been married for nearly fifty years.

• She has lived in Liverpool all her life.

• I’ve seen that film before.

• I’ve played the guitar ever since I was a teenager.

• He has written three books and he is working on another one.

 PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

DEFINITION

The present perfect continuous tense shows that something started in the
past and is continuing at the present time.

Example:
 I have been reading War and Peace for a month now.

 Mia has been competing in flute competitions recently.

 I haven’t been feeling well lately.

 Recently,I’ve been misplacing my wallet and keys.

 3.FUTURE TENSE
DEFINITION

The future tense is the verb tense used to describe a future event or state of
being.

Example:
 I will jump in the lake.(This is future activity)

 I will be happy.(This is a future state of being)

 I won’t go to the cemetery.

 You will feel better with this orange juice.

 They will win the game.

 SIMPLE FUTURE
DEFINITION

The simple future refers to a time later than now,and expresses facts or
certainty

Example:

I shall write an essay.

Ben will sing a good song.

I shall work hard to obtain good marks.

My father will go to California.

He will become a good person.

 FUTURE CONTINUOUS
DEFINITION

The future continuous tense is a verb tense that shows an action happening over a
period of time in the future

Example:
It will be raining at this time tomorrow.

He will be visiting his friends this time next week.

He will not be visiting his friend this time next week.

Will it be raining at this time tomorrow ?

 FUTURE PERFECT
DEFINITION

The future perfect is a verb form or construction used to describe an event that
is expected or planned to happen before a time or reference in the future.

Example:

 Boys will have played tennis by then.

 She will have studied hard during the exam.

 We will have written the letter.

 He will have run two kilometers.

 They will have scored a good mark in the exam.

 FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS
DEFINITION

The future perfect continuous ia a verb tense that describes actions that will
continue up until a point in the future

Example:

She will have been shopping for the whole day.

I will have been starting my startup since 2021.

She will have been learning to drive scooter for one hour.

We will have been working on this project since January.

I will not have been laughing at him for the whole day.
THANKS