Verb Tenses

من طرف ماجد جرري الإثنين ديسمبر 07, 2009 9:14 am

Verb Tenses

1- Simple Present:

It is used to express a- general statements of facts and timeless truths.

b- habitual and everyday activities.

In statements we add -s or -es to verbs with (he, she, and it). We also change y to ies: carry changes to carries.

In questions and negative sentences we use the auxiliary does or do.

We add –es to verbs ending with (s, ss, sh, ch, x, z, o).

Examples:

Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen.

The world is round.

She watches TV every night.

They play football every week.

Does ho go to school?

Do you study hard?

- Does is used with (she, he, and it), but do comes with (I, you, we, and they).

Adverbs: always, usually, sometimes, seldom, never, every---, generally, occasionally, once a month, etc.

2- Present Progressive:

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 in the future.

- Form:

Subject + (is or am or are) + verb(ing)

To make questions we put verbs to be before the subject, and to make negation we use not after verbs to be.

Examples:

They are building a new house now.

Is she reading a book this month?

I am not washing dishes at the moments.

Adverbs: now, at the moment, today, this week, this- .

Stative verbs:

Some English verbs have stative meanings. They describe states: conditions and situations that exist. When verbs have stative meanings, they are usually not used with progressive tenses.

Examples:

This food tastes good.

I like it very much.

A verb such as taste has a stative meaning, but it also has a progressive meaning. The chef is tasting the sauce. In this sentence, tasting describes the action of the chef putting something in his mouth and testing it. However, a verb such as like can't occur in progressive tenses.

The chef is tasting the sauce. It tastes salty. He does not like it.

Common verbs that have stative meanings: know, realize, understand, believe, think, want, mean, love, like, hate, appreciate, prefer, dislike, fear, possess, have, own, belong, taste, smell, hear, see, feel, seem, look, appear, sound, look like, cost, be, consist of, exist, contain, etc.

AM /IS/ ARE BEING + ADJECTIVE

Be + an adjective usually expresses a stative meaning as in Ann is sick today.Sometimes, main verb be + an adjective is used in progressive. It is used in the progressive when it describes temporary, in-progress behavior. For example, Jack does not feel well, but he refuses to see a doctor. He is being foolish. In this sentence, Jack's foolishness is temporary.

Adjectives that can be used with am/ is/ are + being: bad, good, careful, cruel, foolish, funny, generous, impolite, irresponsible, kind, lazy, logical, nice, noisy, patient, polite, quite,responsible, rude, serious, silly, unkind, etc. Nevertheless, there are many other adjectives that can not be used in this form such as: tired, healthy, angry, hungry, old, young, tall, short, etc.

Troublesome Verbs Raise/Rise, Set/Sit, Lay/ Lie

Transitive Intransitive

(a) raise, raised, raised (b) rise, rose, risen

Tom raised his hand. The sun rises in the east.

(c) set, set, set (d) sit, sat, sat

I'll set the book on the desk. I sit in the front row.

(e) lay, laid, laid (f) lie, lay, lain

I am laying the book on the desk. He is lying on his bed.

Note: lie + ing = lying.

3- Simple Past:

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

- If a sentence contains when and has the simple past in both clauses, the action in the when clause happened first. For example, Rita stood under a tree when it began to rain. In this sentence, the rain began first. Then she stood under a tree.

- In English, we have regular and irregular verbs; we add –ed to regular verbs in the past tense. However some verbs have irregular forms in the past.

Some Irregular Verbs

Simple Form Simple Past Past Participle

Be was, were been

Bear bore born, borne

Become became become

Begin began begun

Break broke broken

Bring brought brought

Build built built

Buy bought bought

Catch caught caught

Choose chose chosen

Come came come

Cost cost cost

Cut cut cut

Draw drew drawn

Eat ate eaten

Fall fell fallen

Feel felt felt

Find found found

Fly flew flown

Forget forgot forgotten

Freeze froze frozen

Get got got

Give gave given

Go went gone

Have had had

Hear heard heard

Hurt hurt hurt

Keep kept kept

Know knew known

Lay laid laid

Lead led led

Leave left left

Lend lent lent

Let let let

Lie lay lain

Lose lost lost

Make made made

Mean meant meant

Meet met met

Put put put

Read read read

Ride rode ridden

Run ran run

Say said said

See saw seen

Sell sold sold

Send sent sent

Set set set

Shoot shot shot

Shut shut shut

Sing sang sung

Sink sank sunk

Sit sat sat

Sleep slept slept

Speak spoke spoken

Stand stood stood

Steal stole stolen

Stick stuck stuck

Swim swam swum

Take took taken

Teach taught taught

Tell told told

Think thought thought

Throw threw thrown

Understand understood understood

Wake woke woken

Win won won

Write wrote written

- Did is used to make question and negation.

Q: Did she buy a book yesterday?

Did + subject + infinitive +-------?

N: She did not buy a book yesterday.

Subject + did + not +infinitive +--------.

Adverbs: yesterday, last--, ago, etc.

4- Past Progressive:

I was walking when it began to rain

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

- Sometimes the past progressive is in both parts of a sentence when actions are in progress at the same time. For example, I was eating when my brother was studying.

Using Progressive Verbs with Always to Complain

Alwaysis usually used with the simple present tense to describe habitual activities. In special circumstances, a speaker may use the present progressive with always to complain, i.e. to express annoyance or anger, as in 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. For example, I am always/ forever/ constantly picking up Mary's dirty socks.

5- Present Perfect:

The present perfect expresses the idea that something took place before now, at unspecified time in the past. The exact time it happened is not important. If there is a specific time, the simple past is used.

- The present perfect expresses the repletion of an action before now.

Form: Subject + have/ has + past participle +--------.

Q: Have/ has + subject + past participle +--------?

N: Subject + have/ has + not + Past participle +------.

- Has is used with she, he, and it. Have is used with I, we, you, they.

Adverbs: Since, for, ever, never, already, yet, still, just, and so far.

Examples:

I have met many people since I came here.

I have not met many people for three weeks.

Have you ever visited England?

She has just seen that movie.

He has never gone there.

Has she ever gone there?

I have been here since two o'clock.

- The present perfect, when used with since or for, also expresses a situation that began in the past and continues to the present.

Since+ a particular time. (1988, two o'clock, etc.)

For+ a duration of time. (A week, three times, many year, etc.)

6- Past Perfect:

The past perfect expresses an activity that was completed before another activity or time in the past.( two actions in the past; the action that took place before is in the past perfect, and the second one is in the simple past).

Form: Subject + had + Past participle +---------.

Q: Had + subject + past participle +---------?

N: Subject + had + not + past participle +-----.

Examples:

Sam had already left when Ann got there.

Sam had not left before Ann got there.

After the guests had left, I went to bed.

Had you left before Ann got there?

7- Future Time:

Will or be going to is used to express future time. The contracted form of will not is won't.

- When the speaker is making a prediction, either will or going to is possible.

a- According to the weather report, it will be cloudy tomorrow.

b- According to the weather report, it is going to be cloudy tomorrow.

There is no difference in meaning between (a) and (b).

- When the speaker is expressing a prior plan (something the speaker plans to do in the future), only be going to is used. For example, I am going to paint my bedroom tomorrow.

- We use will to express willingness (being happy to do something). With will we use I think, I suppose, I believe, in my opinion, etc.

Form: Subject + will/ be going to + infinitive +--------.

Q: Will + subject + infinitive + --------?

Or: Is/am/ are + subject + going to + infinitive +-----------?

N: Subject + will + not + infinitive +------.

Or: Subject + am/is/are + not + going + infinitive +----------.

Examples:

I think Jane will come tomorrow.

I will probably see you at the meeting, or: I am probably going to see you in the meeting.

He is going to buy a car next week.

Will You be here tomorrow?

I think I won't be here tomorrow.

Is it going to rain next week?

She is not going to buy a car.

Pronouns Table:

Subject Possessive Possessive Object

Pronouns Adjectives Pronouns Pronouns

I my mine me

We our ours us

You your yours you

He his his him

She her hers her

It its its it

They their theirs them

Notes:

- Possessive adjectives need a noun after them.

- Possessive pronouns do not need a noun after them, and they almost always come at the end of the sentence.

- Object pronouns come after verbs because they are used in stead of objects.

Examples:

I use a computer, but it is not mine.

My bag is blue, but her/his bag is red.

This is our/their class.

Give me the chair!

She told him bad news.

Jack is a good boy. He helps his parents.

They like to do their homework early.

This is not mine. It is hers.

We like our new house.

This cat is nice. Its colour is white.

She lives in Syria with her parents.

Tell her the truth!

I gave him a book.

This is not yours. It is ours.

His house is big, but hers is bigger.