VERB TENSES REVIEW.

SENTENCES CHANGE THEIR MEANING WITH A DIFFERENT VERBAL TENSE.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TABLE OF ENGLISH TENSES.

One sentence is put into different tenses. You can see how the meaning changes.

The words in green are signal words. They tell you which tense you have to use.

Tense	Example	Explanation
Simple Present	I play football every week.	Here you want to say that it happens regularly.
Present Progressive	I'm playing football now.	Here you want to say that it is happening at the moment.
Simple Past	I played football yesterday.	You did it yesterday, it happened in the past.
Past Progressive	I was playing football the whole evening.	You were doing it in the past. It's not sure whether the action was finished or not.
Present Perfect	I have just played football.	You have just finished it. So it has a connection to the present. Maybe your clothes are dirty.
Present Perfect Progressive	I have been playing football for 2 hours.	You want to say how long you have been doing it. (You started in the past and it continues up to the present.
Past Perfect	I had played football before Susan came.	The two actions are related to each other: you had finished to play football and after that the girl arrived.
Past Perfect Progressive	I had been playing football for two hours when Susan came.	Here you want to point out how long you had been doing it before the girl came.
will-future	I will/shall play football next week.	This is a prediction, you can probably do something else.
going to-future	I'm going to play football this afternoon.	This is a plan you've made.
Future Progressive	I will/shall be playing football next Sunday.	You do it every Sunday (as usual)
Future Perfect	I will/shall have played football by tomorrow.	You will have done it before tomorrow.
Conditional Simple	I would play football.	You'll probably do it.
Conditional Progressive	I would be playing football.	You'll probably do it. Here you concentrate more on the progress of the action.
Conditional Perfect	I would have played football.	You'll probably have finished playing football at a special time in the future. Here you concentrate on the fact (football).
Conditional Perfect Progressive	I would have been playing football.	You'll probably have finished playing football at a special time in the future. Here you concentrate on the progress of playing (football).

NEW TERM 2019/20

WELCOME BACK!

CAN, COULD AND BE ABLE TO

Can

Is used to talk about possibility. e.g. ‘Can you meet me at 5?’
Is used to talk about ability. e.g. ‘I can ride a bike’.
Is used to make informal requests and orders. e.g. ‘Can you bring me my jumper?’
Has two negative forms,. can’t and cannot.

Could

Is used to talk about past abilities. e.g. ‘When I was a child I could do handstands’.
Is used to make formal requests. e.g. ‘Could you fax me that document by Tuesday?’
In the negative form, is couldn’t.

Be able to

Is sometimes used instead of can or could.
Can be used with all tenses. e.g. ‘I will be able to see you next week’.
Is used to talk about ability. e.g. ‘Are you able to write formal letters?’

 In the present:
“Can” and “able to” are the same in the present tense:

Yes, I can take on this project.
Yes, I‘m able to take on this project.

The negative forms are can’t and am not / is not / are not able to.

In the past:

We use “could/couldn’t” or “was/wasn’t able to.”
In general, both are used in the negative form:

I wasn’t able to finish all my homework yesterday.
I couldn’t finish all my homework yesterday.

But in the positive form, “was able to” is more common than “could”:

I was able to leave work a little early yesterday.

Don’t say didn’t can in the past – it doesn’t exist, and it’s a common error in English!

In the future:

In the future, there is only one form: “will be able to”:

I have some free time tomorrow, so I‘ll be able to work on this project.
Sorry, I won’t be able to go to the party on Thursday. I have school the next day.

Don’t say “will can” or “won’t can” – it’s another common error in English!

When asking someone to do something:

When you are asking someone to do something, use “could” (more formal) or “can” (more informal):

Could you bring me a glass of water, please?
Can you bring me a glass of water, please?

When asking about someone’s abilities:

In this case, you can use either CAN or ABLE TO:

Can you run a mile in less than 10 minutes?
Are you able to run a mile in less than 10 minutes?

Can is probably more common in spoken English, simply because it’s shorter.


EXERCISE 1
EXERCISE 2
EXERCISE 3

NOUNS, FORMING ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS.

CLICK ON THE LIST BELOW TO GET MORE INFORMATION:

PRESENT `PERFECT SIMPLE AND PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS (PROGRESSIVE)

Form

Present Perfect Simple	Present Perfect Progressive
irregular verbs: form of 'have' + 3rd column of irregular verbs Example: I / you / we / they have spoken he / she / it has spoken regular verbs: form of 'have' + infinitive + ed Example: I / you / we / they have worked he / she / it has worked	form of 'have' + been + verb + ing   Example: I / you / we / they have been speaking he / she / it has been speaking
Exceptions
Exceptions when adding 'ed' : when the final letter is e, only add d Example: love - loved after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled Example: admit - admitted final l is always doubled in British English (not in American English) Example: travel - travelled after a consonant, final y becomes i (but: not after a vowel) Example: worry - worried but: play - played	Exceptions when adding 'ing' : silent e is dropped. (but: does not apply for -ee) Example: come - coming aber: agree - agreeing after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled Example: sit - sitting after a vowel, the final consonant l is doubled in British English (but not in American English). Example: travel - travelling final ie becomes y. Example: lie - lying

Use

Both tenses are used to express that an action began in the past and is still going on or has just finished. In many cases, both forms are correct, but there is often a difference in meaning: We use the Present Perfect Simple mainly to express that an action is completed or to emphasise the result. We use the Present Perfect Progressive to emphasise the duration or continuous course of an action.

Result or duration?

Do you want to express what has happened so far or how long an action has been going on yet?

Present Perfect Simple	Present Perfect Progressive
Result (what / how much / how often) I have written 5 letters. / I have been to London twice.	Duration (how long) I have been writing for an hour.

Certain verbs

The following verbs are usually only used in Present Perfect Simple (not in the progressive form).

• state: be, have (for possession only)

Example: We have been on holiday for two weeks.

• senses: feel, hear, see, smell, taste, touch

Example: He has touched the painting.

• brain work: believe, know, think, understand

Example: I have known him for 3 years.

Emphasis on completion or duration?

Do you want to emphasise the completion of an action or its continuous course (how has somebody spent his time)?

Present Perfect Simple	Present Perfect Progressive
Emphasis on completion I have done my homework. (Meaning: My homework is completed now.)	Emphasis on duration I have been doing my homework. (Meaning: That's how I have spent my time. It does not matter whether the homework is completed now.)

Result or side effect?

Do you want to express that a completed action led to a desired result or that the action had an unwanted side effect?

Present Perfect Simple	Present Perfect Progressive
desired result I have washed the car. (Result: The car is clean now.)	unwanted side effect Why are you so wet? - I have been washing the car. (side effect: I became wet when I was washing the car. It does not matter whether the car is clean now.)

Time + negation: last time or beginning of an action?

In negative sentences: Do you want to express how much time has past since the last time the action took place or since the beginning of the action?

Present Perfect Simple	Present Perfect Progressive
since the last time I haven't played that game for years. (Meaning: It's years ago that I last played that game.)	since the beginning I haven't been playing that game for an hour, only for 10 minutes. (Meaning: It's not even an hour ago that I started to play that game.)

Permanent or temporary?

If an action is still going on and we want to express that it is a permanent situation, we would usually use the Present Perfect Simple. For temporary situations, we would prefer the Present Perfect Progressive. This is not a rule, however, only a tendency.

Present Perfect Simple	Present Perfect Progressive
permanent James has lived in this town for 10 years. (Meaning: He is a permanent resident of this town.)	temporary James has been living here for a year. (Meaning: This situation is only temporary. Maybe he is an exchange student and only here for one or two years.)

Signal words

Present Perfect Simple	Present Perfect Progressive
how often ... times	how long since for

Exercises on Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Progressive

EXERCISE ONE

EXERCISE TWO

EXERCISE THREE

PAST TENSES. NARRATIVE TENSES.

NARRATIVE TENSES 

Copyright EOI de Mieres, Asturias

 

1. The Past Simple
The Past Simple is used to narrate past events in chronological order:

Alice left her family home in the morning and moved to the big city. What a busy day it was! She sat and looked at the cosy living room around her. At last the house was hers. She gazed out at the London skyline with awe.

 

2. The Past Perfect
The Past Perfect is used to express an action that happened before a definite time in the past.
A writer can use it to re-order the events of a narrative for dramatic effect:

Alice sat and looked at the cosy living room around her. At last the house was hers. What a
busy day it had been! She had left her family home in the morning and had moved to the big
city. She gazed at the London skyline with awe.

 
Notice that had need not be repeated if the subject of both verbs is the same:

She had said goodbye to her mother and (had) caught the train to London.

 
It is not always essential to use the Past Perfect. If it is clear that the events described in the time clause took place before the one in the main clause, the Past Simple can be used.
 

After she said goodbye to her mother, she caught the train to London.

 
If it is important to show that the first action was completed before the second one began, the Past Perfect must be used.

When she had raised sufficient capital, she put in an offer on the house.

 
For reasons of style, it is unwise (and unnecessary) to have to many verbs in the Past Perfect one after another. Once the time aspect of 'past in the past' has been established, the Past Simple can be used as long as there is no ambiguity.

The furniture suited the room perfectly. She had been to auction rooms looking for just the right period pieces, and had found some excellent examples of Regency workmanship. She bought them at good prices, and didn't pay more than five hundred pounds for anything.
 

 

3. The Past Continuous and the Past Perfect Continuous.
The Past Continuous and the Past Perfect Continuous (as with all continuous tenses) express
ideas of activity in progress or repeated activity.
 

She was wearing a green velvet dress.

She was hoping the phone would ring.
She had been arranging and rearranging the rooms for weeks.

 
4. Past Simple, used to, and would for past habits

 
Used to can be used to express past habits and states:
We used to go out a lot. (habit)
He used to be very short tempered. (state)
Would can express typical behaviour. Whereas used to is quite factual, would looks at past
habits rather nostalgically.
We had some lovely holidays by the sea when I was young. We'd spend the day collecting seashells, or we'd go for long walks on the cliffs.
Would can not be used to express past states.(We cannot say *He'd live in a lovely cottage .)
If the past action happened only once (and is therefore not a habit), the Simple Past must be used.

5. 'At the beginning', 'In the end' etc.

 
The words and expressions that tell us when something happens in a story are not all used in quite the same way.
At the beginning (of the story) tells us the chronological point.
In the beginning and at first suggest a contrast later. We expect to hear but later the
circumstances changed.
At the end of (the story) tells us the chronological point.
In the end suggests a contrast earlier. Before, there were problems and uncertainty.
Finally and eventually suggest a long wait. (Finally usually comes before the verb.) The
outcome may be positive or negative.
At last suggests a very long wait. The outcome is positive.

EXERCISE ONE

EXERCISE TWO

EXERCISE THREE

EXERCISE FOUR

LETTER/EMAIL OF COMPLAINT

Letter/email of complaint www.lawebdeingles.com

Letter/email of complaint, éste es uno de los writings que suele salir en exámenes de inglés por ejemplo de la Escuela Oficial de Idiomas. Éste es un ejemplo de writing formal, hay muchos ejemplos, hoy vemos la de complaint (queja).
Dear Sir/ Madam,

(INTRODUCTION)
 I am writing to express my strong dissatisfaction at the disgraceful treatment I received at the Walford Branco of Stimpson’s Electronics yesterday afternoon.
 (
MAIN BODY)
Firstly, the product I was given was not the model I had asked for. The new X-401 calculator was demonstrated to me by the sales assistant, and I agreed to buy it. However, on unpacking my purchase, I saw that I had been given the smaller X-201 model instead.
Furthermore, this calculator was much cheaper than the model I requested and paid for. It did not have many of the features I needed and was much more basic than the one I was shown to begin with.
To make matters worse, I was deeply offended by the behaviour of the sales assistant when I went back to the shop to complain. He was not only impolite, but also unhelpful. He refused to contact the manager when I asked to speak to him about the incident.

(CONCLUSION)
As you can imagine, I am extremely upset, I must insist on a full refund, in addition to a written apology from the local manager, or else I shall be forced to take further action.
I expect to hear from you as soon as possible.
Yours faithfully,
Caroline Adams

 Another possibility:
As you can imagine, I am extremely upset and I feel I am entitled to a partial refund in addition to a written apology from the local manager.


EXAMPLES AND TOOLS:

TOOL ONE
EXAMPLE AND USEFUL PHRASES