LESSON 8: VERB

The Simple Tenses

The Simple Tenses comprises of three forms, Simple Present, Simple Past and Simple Future tense.

 Simple Present 

1. The simple present says that something was true in the past, is true in the present, and will be true in the future. It expresses general statements of fact and timeless truth.

a. Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen.

b. The average person breathes 21,600 times a day.

c. The world is round.

2.The simple present is used to express habitual or everyday activities.

d. I study for two hours every night.

e. I get up at seven every morning.

f. He always eats a sandwich for lunch.

Exercise 

1.  he    (play)tennis?
2. The train  (leave) every morning at 8 AM.
3. She always  (forget) her purse.
4. He never  (wash) his hands before meal.
5. Every twelve months, the Earth  (circle) the Sun.
6. The bus   (not arrive)at 11 AM, it  (arrives) at 11 PM.
7. When  we    (board) the plane?
8. The party  (starts) at 8 o'clock.
9. When   class   (begin) tomorrow?
10. I  (be) here now.

Simple Past

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

a. I walked to school yesterday.

b. John lived in Paris for ten years, but now he lives in Rome.

c. I bought a new car three days ago.

2. If a sentence contains when and has the simple past in both clauses, the action in the when clause happens first. 

d. Rita stood under a tree when it began to rain.

Note (d): 1st: The rain began. 

2nd: She stood under a tree.

e. When Mrs. Chu heard a strange noise, she got up to investigate.

f. When I dropped my cup, the coffee spilled on my lap.

Exercise

1. I  (watch) a movie yesterday.
2. I   (not see)a play yesterday.
3. Last year, I  (travel) to Korea.
4.  you  (have) dinner last night?
5. She  (drive) her car to the mall this morning.
6. He  (not wash) those plates.
7. I  (finish) work,  (walk) to the beach, and  (find) a nice place to swim.
8. He  (arrived) from the airport at 8:00,  (check) into the hotel at 9:00, and  (meet) the others at 10:00.
9.  you    (add) flour,  (pour) in the milk, and then  (add) the eggs?
10. I    (live) in Brazil for two years.

Simple Future

1. Will is used to express future time.

a. Jack will finish his work tomorrow.

b. Anna will not be here tomorrow.

Exercise

1. I  (send) you the information when I get it.
2. I  (translate) the email, so Mr. Smith can read it.
3.  you  (help) me move this heavy table?
4.  you  (make) dinner?
5. I  (not do) your homework for you.
6. They  (buy) him some food afterwards.
7. Gwen  (visit) her grandmother next week.
8. Henry  (not save) the dinner for his mum.
9. Thomas  (pay) Julia next month.
10. Owen  (pass) the gift to Clara. 

The Progressive Tenses

The Progressive tenses give the idea that an action is in progress during a particular time. The tenses say that an action begins before, is in progress during, and continues after another time or action.

Form: be (is, am ,are / was, were) +ing (present participle)

Example: 

• You are watching TV.
• Are you watching TV?
• You are not watching TV.
• You were studying when she called.
• Were you studying when she called?
• You were not studying when she called.

Present Progressive

1. The present progressive expresses an activity that is in progress at the moment of speaking. It is a temporary activity that began in the past, is continuing at present, and will probably end at some point in the future.

a. John is sleeping right now.

b. I need an umbrella because it is raining .

c. The students are sitting at their desks right now.

2.Often the activity is of a general nature: something generally in progress this week, this month, this year.

d. I am taking five courses this semester.

e. John is trying to improve his work habits.

f. Susan is writing another book.

Note (f): The sentence means that writing a book is a general activity Susan is engaged in at present, but it does not mean that at the moment of speaking she is sitting at her desk with pen in her hand.

Exercise

1. You  (learn) English now.
2.  you  (eat) now?
3. Ivan  (standing).
4.  Johnny and his brother  (sit) or  (stand)?
5. They  (reading) their books.
6. They  (watching) television.
7. What   you  (do)?
8. Why   you  (not do) your homework?
9. We   (studying) to become a dentist.
10. I  (read) the book Tom Sawyer.

Past Progressive

1. Both actions occurred at the same time, but one action began earlier and was in progress when the other action occurred.

a. I was walking down the street when it began to rain.

Note(a): 1st: I was walking down the street.

2nd: It began to rain.

b. While I was walking down the street, it began to rain.

c. Rita was standing under a tree when it began to rain.

d. At eight o'clock last night, I was studying.

Note(d): My studying began before 8:00, was in progress at that time, and probably continued.

e. Last year at this time, I was attending school.

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

f. While I was studying in one room of our apartment, my roommate was having a party in the other room.

Exercise

1. I  (watch) TV when she called.
2. When the phone rang, she  (write) a letter.
3. While we  (have) the picnic, it started to rain.
4. What   you  (do) when the earthquake started?
5. I  (listen) to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.
6. You  (not listen) to me when I told you to turn the oven off.
7. While John  (sleep) last night, someone stole his car.
8. Sammy    (wait) for us when we got off the plane.
9. While I  (write) the email, the computer suddenly went off.
10. A: What   you  (do) when you broke your leg?
    B: I  (snowboarding).