Simple tenses
Uses
| Present | Past | Future |
|---|---|---|
| Facts and situations | action in the past taking place once, never or several times | spontaneous decision |
| Actions set by a timetable or schedule | action in the past taking place in the middle of another action | opinion, hope, promise, uncertainty or assumption regarding the future |
| Verbs expressing states, possession, senses, emotions and mental activity | actions in the past taking place one after the other | action in the future that cannot be influenced |
| Actions in the present or actions that take place one after another | if sentences type II (If I talked, …) | conditional clauses type I |
Signal Words:
| Present | Past | Future |
|---|---|---|
| - always - every … - never - normally - often - seldom - sometimes - usually - If Clause Type I | - yesterday, - 2 minutes ago - in 1990 - the other day - last Friday - If-clause Type II (If I talked, …) | - in a year - next … - tomorrow - I think - probably - perhaps |
Forms
| Present | Past | Future | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Positive | S + V (present form / infinitive) | S + V (past form) | S + WILL + VERB (present form) |
| Negative | S + DO / DOES NOT + VERB | S + DID NOT + VERB | S + WILL NOT + VERB |
| Question | DO / DOES + S + V ? | DID + S + V? | WILL + S + VERB ? |
PRESENT
Example
P: He speaks. N: He does not speak. Q: Does he speak?
Form of Simple Present
- I / You / We / They / Plural nouns + infinite verb
- He / She / It / Singular nouns + verb + s / es
BE:
- I + am
- he / she / it / singular form of nouns + is
- we / you / they / plural form of nouns + are
Use
- Verbs expressing states, possession, senses, emotions and mental activity
-
- be (state)
- believe (mental activity)
- belong (possession)
- hate (feeling and emotion)
- hear (senses)
- like (feeling and emotion)
- love (feeling and emotion)
- mean (mental activity)
- prefer (mental activity)
- remain (state)
- realize (mental activity)
- see (senses)
- seem (feeling and emotion)
- smell (senses)
- think (mental activity)
- understand (mental activity)
- want (feeling and emotion)
- wish (feeling and emotion)
Exceptions in Spelling
-
The verbs can, may, might, must remain the same in all forms. So don't add s.
- he can, she may, it must
-
Verbs ending in o or a sibilant (ch, sh, s, x) add es instead of s.
- do - he does, wash - she washes
-
A final y after a consonant becomes ie before s.
- he worries
-
A final y after a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) is not modified.
- play - he plays
Short Forms:
- I am English. = I'm English.
- I am not English. = I'm not English.
- We are English.= We're English.
- We are not English. = We're not / We aren't English.
- He is English. = He's English.
- He is not English. = He's not / He isn't English.
- I have got a dog. = I've got a dog.
- I have not got a dog. = I've not got a dog. / I haven't got a dog.
- He has got a dog. = He's got a dog.
- He has not got a dog. = He's not got a dog. / He hasn't got a dog.
- I do not play tennis. = I don't play tennis
- He does not play tennis = He doesn't play tennis. Ego4u
PAST
FORMS:
Positive: I spoke. Negative: I did not speak. Question: Did I speak?
USE:
- action in the past taking place once, never or several times Example: He visited his parents every weekend.
- actions in the past taking place one after the other Example: He came in, took off his coat and sat down.
- action in the past taking place in the middle of another action Example: When I was having breakfast, the phone suddenly rang.
- if sentences type II (If I talked, …) Example: If I had a lot of money, I would share it with you.
EXCEPTIONS:
When adding e
- after a final e only add d love – loved
- final consonant after a short, stressed vowel or l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled admit – admitted travel – travelled
- final y after a consonant becomes i hurry – hurried
FUTURE
FORM:
Positive: I will speak. Negative: I will not speak. Question: Will I speak?
USE:
- a spontaneous decision example: Wait, I will help you.
- an opinion, hope, uncertainty or assumption regarding the future example: He will probably come back tomorrow.
- a promise example: I will not watch TV tonight.
- an action in the future that cannot be influenced example: It will rain tomorrow.
- conditional clauses type I example: If I arrive late, I will call you. Ego4U
