BY. HENRY ALBERTO GARCIA MANCIA

TENSES

SIMPLE PRESENT• 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.

STRUCTURE

AFFIRMATIVE• Subject + Base Verb + Object

like pizza.She lives in Toronto.We have a dog.They go to school.

NEGATIVESubject + Do/Does +not + base verb

I do not like pizza.She does not play baseball.

He does not study English

PRESENT CONTINUOS• We Use the Present Continuous with Normal Verbs to express the idea

that something is happening now, at this very moment. It can also be used to show that something is not happening now.

STRUCTURE

AFFIRMATIVE• Subject + Be + V-ing

• He is driving a car.• They are reading a book• I am playing soccer

NEGATIVE• Subject + be + not + V- ing

• I am not playing soccer• He is not driving a car• They are not reading a book

INTERROGATIVE

• Be + Subject + V- ing?

• Am I playing soccer?• Is he driving a car?• Are they reading a book?

SIMPLE PAST• We 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.

STRUCTURE

AFFIRMATIVE• Subject + main verb (past simple)

+ object

I killed a snake He ate a mango.

NEGATIVE• Subject + (auxiliary verb + not)

main verb (base form) + object

I did not kill a snake He did not eat a mango

INTERROGATIVE

• Auxiliary verb + subject + main verb (base verb) + object.

Did I kill a snake? Did he eat a mango?

PAST CONTINUOUS

• It is used to express a continued or ongoing action in past, an ongoing action which occurred in past and completed at some point in past. It expresses an ongoing nature of an action in past. For example, “he was laughing.” This sentence shows ongoing action (laughing) of a person which occurred in past. Past continuous tense is also called past progressive.

STRUCTURE

AFFIRMATIVE• Subject + auxiliary verb + Main

Verb (present participle) + object

She was crying yesterday.

They were climbing on a hill

NEGATIVE• Subject + auxiliary verb + NOT +

Main verb (present participle) + object

She was not crying yesterday.

They were not climbing on a hill.

INTERROGATIVE• Auxiliary verb + Subject + Main verb (present participle) +

object

• The interrogative sentence starts with the auxiliary verb. If the subject is “he, she, It, I, singular or proper noun” then the sentence starts with auxiliary verb “was”. If subject is “you, we, they or plural” then the sentence starts with auxiliary verb “were”.

Was she crying yesterday. Were they climbing on a hill?

FUTURE

• It is used to express an action which has not occurred yet and will occur after saying or in future. For example, “I will go to zoo tomorrow”, in this sentence the person intend for tomorrow’s visit to zoo. In short, these sentences express actions which will be done in future.

STRUCTURE

AFFIRMATIVE• Subject + auxiliary verb + main

verb (present participle) + object

I will buy a computer tomorrow.

They will come here.

NEGATIVE• Subject + auxiliary verb+ not +

main verb (present participle) + object

I will not buy a computer tomorrow.

They will not come here.

INTERROGATIVE

• Auxiliary verb + subject + main verb (present participle) + object

• Will I buy a computer tomorrow?

• Will they come here?

FUTURE CONTINUOS

• It is used to express a continued or an ongoing action in future. For example, “I will be waiting for you tomorrow”, it conveys ongoing nature of an action (waiting) which will occur in future.

STRUCTURE

AFFIRMATIVE• Subject + auxiliary verb +

main verb (present Participle) + object

• I will be waiting for you.

• You will be feeling well tomorrow.

NEGATIVE• Subject + not between

auxiliary verbs+ not + main verb (present participle) + object.

• I will not be waiting for you.

• You will not be feeling well tomorrow.

INTERROGATIVE

• Auxiliary verb + subject + auxiliary verb + main verb (present participle) + object

• Will I be waiting for you?

• Will you be feeling well tomorrow?

FUTURE PERFECT

• It is used to express an action which will occur in future and is thought to be completed in future. It expresses a sense of completion of an action which will occur in future. For example, “John will have gone tomorrow”. It shows a sense of completion of an action (go) which will occur in future (tomorrow).

STRUCTURE

AFFIRMATIVE• Subject + auxiliary verb +

main verb (past participle) + object.

• He will have finished his work.

• You will have made a new chair.

NEGATIVE• Subject + Not between

auxiliary verbs + main verb (past participle) + object.

• He will not have finished his work.

• You will not have made a new chair.

INTERROGATIVE

• Auxiliary verb + Subject + auxiliary verb + main verb (past participle) + object.

• Will he have finished his work?

• Will you have made a new chair?

FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS

• It is used to express a continued or ongoing action that will start in future and is thought to be continued till sometime in future. (Remember, an ongoing action in future which will continue till some time in future). There will be a time reference, such as “since 1980, for three hours” from which the action will start in future and will continue. A sense of time reference is found which gives an idea that action will start at some time in future and will continue for some time.

STRUCTURE

AFFIRMATIVE• Subject + Auxiliary verb + main

verb (Present participle) + Object + Time reference.

• I will have been living in America since 2003.

• He will have been playing cricket for two hours.

NEGATIVE• Subject +”Not” inside Auxiliary

verbs + main verb (present participle) + Object + Time reference.

• I will not have been living in America since 2003.

• He will not have been playing cricket for two hours.

INTERROGATIVE

• Auxiliary verb + Subject + auxiliary verb + main verb (present participle) + object + time reference.

• Will I have been living in America since 2003?

• Will they have been watching television since 6 O’clock?