Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Simple Present
FORM
[VERB] + s/es
Examples:
Use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is repeated or usual. The
action can be a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that
often happens. It can also be something a person often forgets or usually does not
do.
Examples:
I play tennis.
The Simple Present can also indicate the speaker believes that a fact was true
before, is true now, and will be true in the future. It is not important if the speaker is
correct about the fact. It is also used to make generalizations about people or things.
Examples:
California is in America.
New York is a small city. It is not important that this fact is untrue.
Speakers occasionally use Simple Present to talk about scheduled events in the near
future. This is most commonly done when talking about public transportation, but it
can be used with other scheduled events as well.
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Examples:
Speakers sometimes use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is
happening or is not happening now. This can only be done withNon-Continuous
Verbs and certain Mixed Verbs.
Examples:
I am here now.
The simple present tense is used to discuss permanant situations, and the frequency of
events.
To have
Short form
I have
I've
I work
he has
he's
He works
she has
she's
She works
it has
it's
It works
you have
you've
you work
we have
we've
we work
they have
they've
they work
Statements
Statements
Short answer
Short answer
I work.
I don't work.
Do I work?
Yes, I do.
No, I don't.
He works.
He doesn't work.
Does he work?
Yes, he does.
No, he doesn't.
She works.
It works.
It doesn't work.
Does it work?
Yes, it does.
No, it doesn't.
You work.
Do you work?
We work.
We don't work.
Do we work?
Yes we do.
No, we don't.
They work.
Do they work?
Questions
When something happens regularly or is a permanent situation we usually use the simple
present tense. When using the simple present the verb (with the exception of the auxiliary
verbs) remains in the dictionary form (verb + s with he/she/it).
Simple Past
FORM
[VERB+ed] or irregular verbs
Examples:
Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a
specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the
specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.
Examples:
We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These
actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.
Examples:
I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim.
He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the
others at 10:00.
Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?
The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A
duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for
five minutes, all day, all year, etc.
Examples:
The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It
can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a
habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a
child, when I was younger, etc.
Examples:
The Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are
no longer true. As in USE 4 above, this use of the Simple Past is quite similar to the
expression "used to."
Examples:
People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.
The simple past tense is used to talk about finished actions that happened at a specific
time in the past. You state when it happened using atime adverb.
You form the simple past of a verb by adding -ed onto the end of a regular
verb but, irregular verb forms have to be learnt. There are several examples of irregular
verbs in our Picture It section.
To be
Statements
+
To be
Statements
-
Questions ?
I was.
I wasn't.
Was I?
He was.
He wasn't.
Was he?
She was.
She wasn't.
Was she?
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It was.
It wasn't.
Was it?
You were.
You weren't.
Were you?
We were.
We weren't.
Were we?
They were.
They weren't.
Were they?
Short
Question
answer
s
+
Short
answer
-
I worked.
I didn't work.
No, I
didn't.
He worked.
He didn't work.
Did he
work?
Yes, he
did.
No, he
didn't.
She worked.
Did she
work?
Yes, she
did.
No, she
didn't.
It worked.
It didn't work.
Did it
work?
Yes, it did.
No, it
didn't.
You worked.
Did you
work?
Yes you
did.
No, you
didn't.
We worked.
We didn't work.
Did we
work?
Yes we
did.
No, we
didn't.
They worked.
Did they
work?
Yes they
did.
No, they
didn't.
For example:
It can be used to describe events that happened over a period of time in the past but not
now.
For example:
The simple past tense is also used to talk about habitual or repeated actions that took
place in the past.
For example:
For example:
"She had a baby last year." (She hasn't lost the baby, but here you are talking about the
actual process of giving birth.)
A vs. An
USE 1
The article A is used before singular, countable nouns which begin
with consonant sounds.
Examples:
He is a teacher.
USE 2
The article AN is used before singular, countable nouns which begin
with vowel sounds.
Examples:
He is an actor.
USE 3
Remember that A(AN) means "one" or "a single". You cannot use A(AN) with plural
nouns.
Examples:
USE 4
If there is an adjective or an adverb-adjective combination before the
noun, A(AN) should agree with the first sound in the adjective or the adverb-adjective
combination.
Examples:
He is an excellent teacher.
USE 5
Use A before words such as "European" or "university" which sound like they start
with a consonant even if the first letter is a vowel. Also use Abefore letters and
numbers which sound like they begin with a consonant, such as "U", "J", "1" or "9".
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Remember, it is the sound not the spelling which is important. For example, "1" is
spelled O-N-E; however, it is pronounced "won" like it starts with a "W".
Examples:
USE 6
Use AN before words such as "hour" which sound like they start with a vowel even if
the first letter is a consonant. Also use AN before letters and numbers which sound
like they begin with a vowel, such as "F" or "8". Remember, it is the sound not the
spelling which is important. For example, "F" is pronounced "eff" like it starts with an
"E".
Examples:
USE 7
Some words such as "herb" or "hospital" are more complicated because they are
pronounced differently in different English accents. In most American accents, the "h"
in "herb" is silent, so Americans usually say "an herb". In many British accents, the
"h" in "herb" is pronounced, so many British say "a herb". In some British accents, the
"h" in hospital is silent, so some British will say "an hospital" instead of "a hospital".
USE 8
In English, some nouns are considered uncountable such as: information, air, advice,
salt and fun. We do not use A(AN) with these uncountable nouns. (Learn more
about countable and uncountable nouns.)
Examples:
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Use A(AN) when talking about a thing which is new, unknown, or introduced to a
listener for the first time. Also use A(AN) when you are asking about the existence of
something.
Examples:
I have a car. The car is being introduced for the first time.
Is there a dictionary in your backpack? Asking about the existence of the dictionary
Similarly, use A(AN) to introduce what type of thing we are talking about.
Examples:
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REMEMBER: You cannot use A(AN) with plural nouns because A(AN) means "one"
or "a single".
Examples:
USE 10
THE is called a definite article. "Definite" means "specific". Use THE when talking
about something which is already known to the listener or which has been previously
mentioned, introduced, or discussed.
Examples:
Do you know where I left the car keys? The listener knows which specific car keys
you are talking about.
Do you own a car? Is the car blue? You assume they do have a car after asking
about it in the first sentence.
IMPORTANT: You can use THE with both singular nouns and plural nouns.
Examples:
USE 11
Many clauses and phrases make the noun known to the listener by telling the listener
which person or thing we are talking about. Let's look at an example sentence:
Can you give me the book on the table.
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We use THE in this sentence because the phrase "on the table" tells the listener
which book we are referring to. We are not talking about other books, we are talking
about a specific book that the listener can see or already knows about. Learning to
recognize such identifying clauses and phrases will help you use THE correctly.
Examples:
HOWEVER: Not all clauses and phrases make the noun known to the listener. Some
are simply descriptive. They add extra information, but they do not tell the listener
which specific thing we are talking about.
Examples:
He bought the house with a big backyard. This combination tells the listener which
specific house he bought.
He bought a house with a big backyard. This combination tells the listener what kind
of house he bought, but not the specific house he bought.
a few
a little
all
another
any
both
each
either
enough
every
few
fewer
less
little
many
more
most
much
neither
no
other
several
some
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Either can mean one or the other (of two) or each of two.
For example:I've got tea and coffee, so you can have either. (One or the other)
The room has a door at either end. (Both)
Neither means not the first one and not the second one.
For example:Neither of the students were listening.
Adverb
Adverbs can tell you where, when, how, why and to what extent something happens.
There are several different classes of adverb (see above).
They are often formed from adjectives or nouns be adding the suffix -ly.
For example: Quick becomes quickly, sudden becomes suddenly, intelligent becomes
intelligently.
To form an adverb from adjectives ending in -y change the y to i before adding the -ly.
For example: angry becomes angrily, busy becomes busily.
To form an adverb from adjectives ending in -e drop the -e before adding the -ly.
For example: feeble becomes feebly, true becomes truly.
Some adjectives ending in -ly need no changes.
For example: heavenly.
However there are exceptions.
For example: sly becomes slyly, shy becomes shyly.
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Example
Adverb
Example
Pretty
Serious
Fast
He was a serious
girl.
boy.
Prettily
Seriously
Fast
Quietly
The policeman
Schumacher
prettily.
spoke seriously.
drives fast.
quietly.
Quiet
They were quiet
children.
Prepositions are a class of words that indicate relationships between nouns, pronouns and other
words in a sentence. Most often they come before a noun.
The good news is that they never change their form, regardless of the case, gender etc. of the
word they are referring to.
Prepositions are classified as simple or compound.
Simple prepositions are single word prepositions - across, after, at, before, between, by, during,
from, in, into, of, on, to, under, with and without are all single word prepositions.
For example:
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Compound prepositions are more than one word - in between and because of - are prepositions
made up of two words - in front of, on behalf of - are prepositions made up of three words.
For example:
The book is in between War and Peace and The Lord of the Rings.
along
around
the playground.
the shop.
down
the hill.
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into
the room.
of
the stage.
onto (on
to)
the platform.
out of
the theatre.
over
past
the opening.
round
the track.
through
the tunnel.
to
the door.
towards
under
the shelter.
up
the hill.
At and in can also be used as prepositions of movement, but they're used to show the purpose of
the movement.
For example:
I threw the paper in the bin.
Let's have dinner at my place.
When used after some verbs, the preposition at also shows the target of an action:
The bowler was sent off for throwing the ball at the umpire, instead of to the batsman.
!Note - a lot of sites say that around and round are the same, but there can be a difference,
especially in BrE. If someone says "they were running around", it implies the movement is erratic.
For example: Children tend to run around at school.
In BrE when we use "round" we imply a more definite purpose and a more circular movement.
For example: The athlete ran round the track.
- See more at:
http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/prepositionmovement.html#sthash.ULk3M4tY.dpuf
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PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE
AFTER
She slammed the door
after
her.
They ran
after
the thief.
I enjoy being
among
my friends.
I found my handbag
among
my luggage.
at
her desk.
at
behind
the building.
behind
the others.
between
between
in
the drawer.
He lives
in
South Africa.
in front of
the class.
in front of
the garage.
next to/
beside/by
my friend.
The bank is
next to/
beside/by
the hotel.
AMONG
AT
BEHIND
BETWEEN
IN
IN FRONT OF
NEXT TO / BESIDE / BY
ON
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on
the wall.
on
the chair.
over/above
over
the table.
above
me.
OVER/ABOVE
UNDER / BELOW
The temperature outside was
under/belo
0.
w
under
a tree.
below
me.
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For example:
My birthday is on Monday.
We're having a party on 7th September.
We also use on for some special days.
For example:
On Christmas day.
We use in for nonspecific times during a day, a month, a season, or a year.
For example:
In summer it's too hot to work.
I started this web site in 1999.
She woke up in the night.
MORE PREPOSITIONS OF TIME
Point in Time
at
6 o'clock
Midnight
on
Saturday
April 10th
Christmas Day
by
till / until / up
March
to
(indicates an end point)
since
April
10th March
(indicates a beginning point in
time)
Length of
Time
in
July
the autumn
the morning
the middle of .
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at
night
the weekend
during
the meeting
the lesson
for
two days
twelve months
throughout
August
the project
Base Form
Past Participle
Form
arise
arose
arisen
awake
awoke
awoken
be
was /were
been
beat
beat
beaten
become
became
become
begin
began
begun
bend
bent
bent
bet
bet
bet
bid
bid
bid
bite
bit
bitten
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blow
blew
blown
break
broke
broken
bring
brought
brought
broadcast
broadcast
broadcast
build
built
built
burst
burst
burst
buy
bought
bought
catch
caught
caught
choose
chose
chosen
come
came
come
cost
cost
cost
creep
crept
crept
cut
cut
cut
deal
dealt
dealt
dig
dug
dug
do
did
done
draw
drew
drawn
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drink
drank
drunk
drive
drove
driven
eat
ate
eaten
fall
fell
fallen
feed
fed
fed
feel
felt
felt
fight
fought
fought
find
found
found
flee
fled
fled
fly
flew
flown
forbid
forbade
forbidden
forget
forgot
forgotten
forgive
forgave
forgiven
freeze
froze
frozen
get
got
got
give
gave
given
go
went
gone
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grow
grew
grown
hang
hung
hung
have
had
had
hear
heard
heard
hide
hid
hidden
hit
hit
hit
hold
held
held
hurt
hurt
hurt
interweave
interwove
interwoven
keep
kept
kept
kneel
knelt
knelt
know
knew
known
lay
laid
laid
lead
led
led
leave
left
left
lend
lent
lent
let
let
let
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lie
lay
lain
light
lit
lit
lose
lost
lost
make
made
made
mean
meant
meant
meet
met
met
mistake
mistook
mistaken
offset
offset
offset
pay
paid
paid
put
put
put
quit
quit
quit
read
read*
read*
ride
rode
ridden
ring
rang
rung
rise
rose
risen
run
ran
run
say
said
said
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see
saw
seen
seek
sought
sought
sell
sold
sold
send
sent
sent
set
set
set
sew
sewed
sewn
shake
shook
shaken
shine
shone
shone
shoot
shot
shot
show
showed
shown
shrink
shrank
shrunk
shut
shut
shut
sing
sang
sung
sink
sank
sunk
sit
sat
sat
sleep
slept
slept
slide
slid
slid
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speak
spoke
spoken
spend
spent
spent
spit
spat
spat
split
split
split
spread
spread
spread
spring
sprang
sprung
stand
stood
stood
steal
stole
stolen
stick
stuck
stuck
sting
stung
stung
stink
stank
stunk
strike
struck
struck
swear
swore
sworn
sweep
swept
swept
swim
swam
swum
swing
swung
swung
take
took
taken
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teach
taught
taught
tear
tore
torn
tell
told
told
think
thought
thought
throw
threw
thrown
understand
understood
understood
undo
undid
undone
wake
woke
woken
wear
wore
worn
weave
wove
woven
weep
wept
wept
win
won*
won*
write
wrote
written
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