ENGLISH GRAMMAR
Contents:
1-Parts of speech
1-Nouns and articles 5-Adverb
2-Pronoun 6-Preposition
3-Verb 7-Conjunction
4-Adjective 8-Interjection
2- English tenses
Simple tenses
1- Simple Past / 2- Simple present / 3-Simple future
Continuous tenses
4- Past Continuous / 5- present Continuous / 6-future Continuous
Perfect tenses
7- Past Perfect / 8- present Perfect / 9-future Perfect
Perfect Continuous tenses
10-present Perfect Continuous / 11-Past Perfect Continuous 12-future Perfect Continuous
List of irregular verbs
Word does not become a part of speech until it is written or spoken in a sentence. This principle is important because a word can function as more than one part of speech, depending where it is located and how it is used in the sentence. For example, the word reading can be used as different parts of speech.
ü Reading is an enjoyable pastime. (noun)
ü She has been reading since she was three. (verb)
ü The reading assignment took me two hours. (adjective)
1-Nouns and articles:
Nouns are words that name people, places, things, or ideas/ qualities. The following
table lists a variety of nouns.
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Agadir New York lake horse |
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Cashier Accountant boy |
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Cat dog horse |
Kinds of nouns
• Common noun: names general, nonspecific, places, people, things, or ideas. They start with a small letter unless they begin a sentence.
For example: writer, city, park, hospital, woman, religion
• Proper nouns: name specific people, places, things, or ideas. They always start with a capital letter.
For example: Victor Hugo, Agadir, Christianity
• Abstract nouns: are the opposite of concrete. They name something that you cannot perceive with your five senses – something that does not physically exist.
For example: happiness, freedom, Christianity
• Concrete nouns : name something that you can perceive with your five senses – something that physically exists.
For example: cat, chocolate, stick
• Countable nouns: can be counted, and they use both the singular and the plural forms. Anything that you can make plural is a countable noun.
For example: clock/clocks, poem/poems.
We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:
- A dog is an animal.
When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:
- I want an orange. (not I want orange.)
- Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)
When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:
- I like oranges.
- Bottles can break.
We can use some and any with countable nouns:
- I’ve got some dollars.
- Have you got any pens?
We can use a few and many with countable nouns:
- I’ve got a few dollars.
- I haven’t got many pens.
• Uncountable nouns: cannot be counted. Since they cannot be counted, they only use the singular form.
For example: milk, rice, water
• Compound nouns: These are made up of two or more smaller words.
For example: tablecloth, haircut, dining-room ..
• Collective Nouns: are singular nouns that refer to a group of things as one whole.
For example: class, audience, swarm
• Singular nouns : These refer to one person, place, thing, or idea.
For example: box, face, road, ball
• Plural nouns : These refer to more than one person, place, thing, or idea. They generally end in with an s.
For example: boxes, faces, roads, balls.
Note: nouns would fit into more than one category.
For example, the word train is a common, concrete, countable, singular noun.
practice
For each word below indicate whether it is:
a) Common or proper b) concrete or abstract c) singular or plural d) count or non-count:
The first one is done for you. Church: common, concrete, singular, count
Church mice boy
beauty Canada news
Agadir meat equipment
boys loyalty jury
grammar March fragrance
men company surprise
trouble sunrise Lions’ Club
2-Pronouns:
A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun or another pronoun
The pronoun, like the noun, is used in the common sentence patterns as subject,
object …
Pronouns may be classified as personal (subjective, possessive, objective), intensive, reflexive, demonstrative, relative, Interrogative, indefinite.
Kinds of Pronouns
- 1. Personal pronouns show person; that is, they, indicate whether the pronoun stands for the person speaking, the first person; the person spoken to, the second person; or the person spoken of, the third person. Personal pronouns also have number and case.
Employees must always be ready to give their best service to each customer.
OR
An employee must always be ready to give his (or her) best service to each customer.
Subject case possessive case objective case
I like bananas. This is my home. would you please give me your hat
Note: My, your, his, her, its, our and there are always used as adjectives
2. Intensive and reflexive pronouns have the same forms. They are formed by adding -self or-selves (plural form) to certain personal pronouns.
SINGULAR: myself yourself himself herself itself
PLURAL: ourselves themselves ourselves
- Ø The intensive pronoun usually comes after the word it stands for and emphasizes that word.
ü The president himself met the reporters.
ü I myself gave him the directions.
- Ø The reflexive pronoun points the action back toward the subject.
ü She bought the dress for herself.
ü She bought herself a new dress.
ü Do you consider yourself his friend?
3. Demonstrative pronouns are used only in the third person, to point out particular persons, places, or things.
SINGULAR: this, that PLURAL: these, those
This is my party./That is Jim’s shirt These are her pencils. /Those are good apples.
- When these pronouns modify nouns, they are demonstrative adjectives.
This party is fun. These shoes are too expensive.
That shirt is torn. Those papers arc soiled.
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This is the man who saw me. This is the man whom I saw. This s the man whose house I saw. This is the man that I saw. This is the house that Jack built.
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4. Relative pronouns. Who, whose, whom, which, and that.
ü I am the person who called earlier today.
ü The door that I closed last night is now open.
ü The boy whose knife I found lived across the street.
ü Here is the painter whom we met last year.
Note: who, whose, and whom are used to refer to people. That and which are used to refer to things.
5. Interrogative pronouns introduce question sentences. The interrogative pronouns are
who, whose, whom, which, and what.
ü Who is that girl?
ü What is the date of his birth?
ü Who is going to the dance next week?
ü Whom will you ask about the schedule?
ü Which do you like best, CDs or tapes?
ü What are you going to wear tomorrow?
6. Indefinite pronouns refer to particular persons, places, or things in a vague and general manner.
ü Somebody took the key to the storeroom.
ü Each of the employees has a job to do.
ü Nobody has his or her ticket.
- Most indefinite pronouns
another anybody anyone anything each
either everybody everyone neither nobody
no one one somebody someone something
both few many several
all any none some
practice |
Exercise 1
Underline and identify each pronoun used in these sentences.
1. All of my friends saw that movie.
2. Who brought the ketchup?
3. Did they give themselves a pre-test before writing that exam?
4. You didn’t give that to them, did you?
5. The couple who just arrived on the plane kissed each other.
6. Sherri did not take your boots, but he took mine instead.
7. We can tell you who leaked that information to the press!
8. We did most of the work ourselves.
9. Always ask yourselves, “What can I do to help those people?”
10. Something is missing from this formula.
Exercise 2
Match the term on the left with the example on the right.
1. personal plural A. these
2. interrogative pronoun B. our
3. relative pronoun C. they
4. indefinite pronoun D. everybody
5. demonstrative pronoun E. what
6. possessive pronoun F. himself
7. reflexive pronoun G. which
Exercise 3
Underline the pronouns found in each sentence. Above each pronoun label its type using These abbreviations: personal (PER), reflexive (REF), demonstrative (DEM), interrogative (INT), or indefinite (IND) pronoun.
1. This is the way to do it.
2. He hurt himself during gym class.
3. Can you finish the cleaning by three o’clock?
4. Who is the person with her?
5. I held the door for them.
6. Please tell him that we said hello.
7. Ours is older than theirs.
8. Neither of them is the winner of the race.
9. Will she watch someone while Sarah goes shopping?
10. Those are the best ones to buy.
11. Please bring yours to us.
12. After Jerry spotted the giraffe, he photographed it.
13. Everything has gone well for us.
14. Will they be able to move the belongings by themselves?
15. both of them are my friends.
2– Circle ten different pronouns in this paragraph. For the total of ten pronouns, if a
pronoun appears more than once within the paragraph, count it only once.
I could not fall asleep last night. It felt as if somebody kept knocking on the window keeping me up most of the night. This is pretty unusual. So I tried to calm myself down and think about other things besides being unable to sleep. All of my work paid off when I finally fell asleep.
3-Verb:
There are three main types of verbs: action verbs, linking verbs, and helping verbs (also called auxiliary verbs).
Action Verbs
As their name implies, these verbs show action.
The action doesn’t always mean movement.
Example: she thought about bears.
In that example, the verb thought does not show movement, but it is a mental action, and therefore, it is still a verb.
Linking Verbs
These types of verbs link the subject of a sentence with a noun or adjective.
Example: kamal became a famous musician.
If you count all of the forms of “to be” as one word, there are 13 linking verbs. Memorize these!
| Forms of be | be, am, is, are, was, were, been, being |
| Other Linking Verbs | appear, become, feel, grow, look, seem, remain, smell, sound, stay, taste, turn |
Helping Verbs
These do just what their name implies. They help action verbs or linking verbs. There can be more than one of them used in a single verb phrase.
Example: (used with the action verb love)
you will love these sausages.
There are only 24 helping verbs
Be am is are was were been being have has had could must shall can will should would may might do did does having
A verb can be transitive or intransitive.
Transitive verb takes a direct object to complete its meaning.
Thus, the statements (I kill) or (I build) are not complete until it is clear whom I kill or
what I build. To complete we say: I built a house / I killed a lion
Intransitive verb does not require a direct object to complete its meaning. The action of the verb does not “pass over” to another person or thing.
Thus,( I fall, I stand, I run, I am falling, the sun is shining ) are complete sentences.
But many verbs can be both transitive and intransitive: I run/I run the race. I can stand/ I can stand it no longer.
As is clear in the last example, this change from intransitive to transitive often is accomplished by a change in basic meaning (stand. endure, bear)
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Exercice 1 |
Practice
In your notebook, identify the verbs in the following sentences and record whether
they are action or linking verbs.
1. The soup smells good.
2. He looks taller than Mario.
3. The sailors looked intently at the horizon for signs of another ship.
4. The children became excited before the snow storm.
5. I am not your teacher.
6. I felt sick after the party.
7. Wolves always howl at the moon.
8. She fell down the stairs and broke her leg.
9. Madonna sings and dances well.
10. Suddenly, he slammed the door and drove down the lane.
11. That newspaper publishes editions in both Toronto and Vancouver.
12. This food would taste good on a cold winter’s night.
Indicate the main verb in each of the following sentences, and the auxiliary or helping verb(s),
4-Adjectives:
An adjective modifies (qualifies or limits the meaning of ) a noun or a pronoun. It answers the
questions, What kind? Which one(s)? How many? How much?
Which one? ( yellow, the, that) . How many? ( sixteen, several, many)
What kind? (furry, plastic, special) . Whose? (Caroline’s, his, its, John’s)
ü Carrie read an interesting story. ( What kind of story?)
ü The recent article has that information. ( Which article?)
ü Kent owns those surfboards. ( Which surfboards?)
ü Wendy paid fifty dollars for the jacket. ( How many dollars?)
ü Much space was devoted to her artwork. ( How much space?
An adjective can come before or after the noun or pronoun it describes:
ü Older cards are found on the table. (Which cards?)
ü Tall players and intelligent coaches were interviewed by the interested reporter. (Which players? Which coaches? Which reporter?)
ü Tired and hungry , the campers reached the lodge. ( What kind of campers?)
ü The campers, tired and hungry , reached the lodge. ( What kind of campers?)
Types of adjectives:
| Proper Noun | Proper Adjective |
| America | American school |
| English | English grammar |
| Hicham | Hicham’s car |
proper adjective is formed from a proper noun.
Moroccan bread
compound adjective is a word composed of two or more words.
black-and-blue mark hometown hero
newly painted mural recently purchased
People sometimes confuse adjectives with nouns or with pronouns. Here are some points to remember.
ü This problem is difficult. (This is an adjective since it answers the question, Which problem?)
ü This is difficult. (This is a pronoun since it takes the place of a noun and does not modify a noun or a pronoun.)
a/ an/the
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The words a, an, and the are the most frequently used adjectives. Although they are sometimes referred to as articles, they are really adjectives. We Use a before words that start with a consonant sound ( a joking man or a lucky lottery player) and an before words that start with a vowel sound ( an hour’s wait or an interesting story).
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Regular Comparatives and Superlatives
Most adjectives can be described in degrees. This means that something can have more or less of the adjective’s quality.
Regular comparatives end in -er or start with more.
Regular superlatives end in -est or start with most.
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
| ambitious | more ambitious | most ambitious |
| cold | colder | Coldest |
| comfortable | more comfortable | most comfortable |
| dry | drier | Driest |
| funny | funnier | Funniest |
| organized | more organized | most organized |
| pretty | prettier | Prettiest |
| sharp | sharper | Sharpest |
Aicha is richer than her neighbor.
Aicha is more beautiful than her neighbor.
Irregular Comparatives and Superlatives
These can still be given in degrees, but they don’t follow the patterns listed above.
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
| bad | worse | worst |
| good | better | Best |
| little | less | least |
| many | more | most |
I am good at grammar and my friend is better than me, but you are the best.
Practice.
Exercise 1
Copy these sentences in your notebook and then underline the adjectives
1. The little girl ran along the dusty road.
2. Six delicious cookies were cooling on the rack.
3. The dark brown painted dripped on the new white carpet.
4. A beautiful red rose bloomed in a quiet corner of that flower garden.
5. The old curtains were torn and faded, and they flapped in the light breeze.
6. After a few hours, they arrived at the train station, nine miles from Marrakech.
7. These apples are juicy and red.
8. The long summer months are usually hot and dry.
Exercise 2
Thirteen of the words in this activity are not adjectives. Twenty-seven are adjectives. Define them.
5-Adverb
An adverb is a word that modifi es (qualifi es or limits) a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
. Many adverbs end in – ly .
. Adverbs answer any of these four questions: Where? When? How? To what extent?
. Adverbs make writing more specifi c and more exact.
. Here are some adverbs that do not end in – ly :
Adverbs modify verbs:
John ate quickly . ( How did he eat?)
I walk there . ( Where did I walk?)
Mohamed will eat soon . ( When will Mohamed eat?)
Adverbs modify adjectives:
Karim is very happy. ( Very modifies the adjective happy and answers the question, To what extent?)
The program was too unrealistic. (Too modifies the adjective unrealistic and answers the question, To what extent?)
Adverbs modify other adverbs:
Aicha walks too quickly. ( Too modifies the adverb quickly and answers the question,
How quickly?)
He moved rather recently. ( Rather modifies the adverb recently and answers the question, How recently?)
- When is a word an adjective, and when is it an adjective? Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns. Adverbs do not. Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Adjectives do not.
-Helen has a yearly membership at the local health club. ( Yearly is an adjective since it modifies the noun membership and tells which membership.)
-Helen contributes yearly . ( Yearly is an adverb since it modifi es the verb contributes and answers the question, When does Helen contribute ?)
-Mike arrived late . ( Late is an adverb since it tells when Mike arrived.)
-The late delivery cut down on sales in the supermarket. ( Late is an adjective because it tells which delivery.)
Practice
Exercise 1
Identify the adverb(s) in each sentence.
Ex. The glass was carefully removed from the carpet.
1. The team played well in the championship even though the victory was not theirs.
2. Soon after the rainstorm, the flowers began to bloom.
3. He has never taken a standardized test before he came to this class.
4. She enthusiastically encouraged her students to attend the retreat.
5. The cat has lazily lain by the window all day.
Exercise 2
6-Prepositions:
A common preposition is a word that shows the relationship between a noun or a pronoun and another word in the sentence.
–The man swam under the bridge. ( Under connects the idea of swam and bridge .)
–She walked down the aisle. ( Down connects walked and aisle .)
–Julie walked around the campus and toward town. ( Around connects walked and campus. Toward connects walked and town. )
Here are the most commonly used prepositions:
But is a preposition only when it can be replaced by the word except. So in the sentence, “All but Teddy went inside,” but is a preposition since it connects All and Teddy and can be replaced by the word except.
Adverb or preposition? The difference between a preposition and an adverb is that an
adverb answers the questions, Where? When? How? To what extent? by itself. Both common and compound prepositions need more than just themselves to answer the same questions:
-He fell down . ( Down is an adverb because it takes only one word to tell where he fell.)
-He fell down the stairs. ( Down is a preposition because it takes more than a single word to tell where he fell.)
-Karim walked aboard . ( Aboard is an adverb because it takes only one word needed to tell where Karim walked.)
-Karim walked aboard the ship. ( Aboard is a preposition because it takes more than one word to tell where Karim walked.)
PRACTICE
Underline the preposition in each of the following sentences. Note there may be sentence/s with no preposition.
1. The parents joined in the conversation
2. The track team ran into the hills.
3. The temperature is several degrees below zero.
4. Call me around four o’clock.
5. It is a matter concerning bad behavior.
6. I have fallen down.
7. Ronnie fell asleep during the professor’s lecture.
8. We found the sleeping cat underneath the blanket.
9. The couple walked near the bridge.
10. The children slid down the slide yesterday.
11. We lost contact over time.
12. This letter is addressed to your sister.
13. The strong man swam across the wide lake.
14. This group is under great suspicion.
15. I pointed toward the tall building.
7-Conjunctions
A conjunction connects words or group of words . There are three types of conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions , correlative conjunctions , and subordinating conjunctions.
- A coordinating conjunction is a single connecting word. These seven words are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.
Karim and Hicham are my brothers. ( And joins the names Karim and Hicham. )
Paula or Jeannine can go with you tonight. ( Or joins the names Paula and Jeannine. )
I would like to help you, but I will be busy tonight. ( But joins two sentences or complete ideas.)
We must leave early so we can get to the wedding reception on time. ( So joins two sentences or two complete ideas.)
Remember the made-up word FANBOYS when you memorize the coordinating conjunctions. Each letter in this word ( F or, A nd, N or, B ut, O r, Y et, S o) stands for a coordinating conjunction.
- Correlative conjunctions are pairs of connecting words. These five pairs of words are:
both/and, either/or, neither/nor, not only/but also, and whether/or.
Both Henry and Henrietta are leaving the dance now. (The correlative conjunctions join
two names.)
Not only will they leave now, but they will also not be here to help clean up. (The correlative conjunctions join two sentences or complete ideas.)
Either go with them or stay here and help. (The correlative conjunctions illustrate a choice.)
He went neither to the stadium nor to the concert hall during this vacation. (The correlative conjunctions join two prepositional phrases.)
- Subordinating conjunctions:
are words that introduce subordinate clause = ( incomplete sentences )
A subordinate clause is a clause that cannot stand alone. (Remember that a clause is a complete sentence or a group of words with a subject and a verb.) It is always introduced by a subordinating conjunction.
Subordinate Clause Examples:
unless you are allergic
whenever I see your cat
since you are coming
These are not complete sentences. They all have subjects (you, I, you) and verbs (are, see, are coming), but since they cannot stand alone, they are subordinate clauses.
An independent clause is also a group of words with a subject and a verb. But, unlike a subordinate clause, an independent clause can stand alone.
Independent Clause Examples: I will bring my cat.
I sneeze.
I won’t bring my cat.
These are all complete sentences. They all have subjects (I), verbs (will bring, sneeze, won’t bring), and they can stand alone.
Subordinating conjunctions let us join subordinate clauses with independent clauses:
Examples:
I will bring my cat unless you are allergic.
Whenever I see your cat, I sneeze.
Since you are coming, I won’t bring my cat.
There is a list of most useful subordinating conjunctions:
after, although, as, as if, as long as, as much as, as soon as, as though,
because, before, by the time when, whenever, where, wherever, while,
even if, even though, if, in order that, in case, once, only if,
unless, until, provided that, since, so that, than, that, though, till,
8-Interjections
An interjection is a word that expresses strong feeling or emotion:
. An interjection usually comes at the beginning of the sentence.
. An interjection is often followed by an exclamation point (!) when the emotion is strong or a comma (,) when the emotion is mild.
. Do not overuse interjections. Include one when you want to make your point. If you use too many interjections, your writing loses its power and effectiveness.
Here are some common interjections:
Bravo Goodness gracious Hey Yea Alas Yes
Horrors Hurray Oh Oh no Oops Ugh Wow
Exercise 1
Decide whether each underlined word is a noun (N), pronoun (PN), verb (V), adjective (ADJ), Adverb (ADVB), conjunction (C), preposition (P), or interjection (I). Then write its abbreviation
on the line before the sentence.
1. ———Slow down.
2. ——— I would like to go, but I have to help my sister.
3. ——— Can you please drive more slowly?
4. ———He is our legislator.
5. ———The captain looked for a better route.
6. ——— Wow ! Are we there already?
7. ———The pictures fell from the table.
8. ———I can certainly use your help during the ordeal.
9. ———This extravagant home is overpriced even for today’s market.
10. ——— Mom and Dad just returned from Charlotte, North Carolina.
11. ———Diplomacy is the best tactic.
12. ——— They think that their dog will like it.
13. ———Some of these stories are discussed often.
14. ———Either the giraffe or the monkey will be fed now.
15. ——— We will probably hinder the process if we try to help them.
16. ——— Helene cautiously approached the dog.
17. ——— Can you help with the moving?
18. ———They will do most of the moving themselves.
19. ———I am not hungry.
20. ——— This is a very pretty necklace.
II- ENGLISH TENSES
Introduction to English tenses
In each lesson, we look at two aspects of the tense:
- Structure: How do we make the tense?
- Use: When and why do we use the tense?
What is a Tense?
| tense (noun): a form of a verb used to indicate the time, and sometimes the continuation or completeness, of an action in relation to the time of speaking. |
| Some grammar books use the word progressive instead of continuous. They are exactly the same. |
English Tense System
In some languages, verb tenses are not very important or do not even exist. In English, the concept of tense is very important.
In this lesson we look at the idea behind tense, how to avoid confusing tense with time, and the structure of the basic tenses, with examples using a regular verb, an irregular verb and the verb be.
These are the forms of the main verb (regular) that we use to construct the tenses:
| base verb | past | past participle | present participle -ing |
| work | worked | worked | working |
These are the forms of the main verb (irregular) that we use to construct the tenses:
| base verb | past | past participle | present participle -ing |
| sing | sang | sung | singing |
1-Simple Past Tense
| I sang |
How do we make the Simple Past Tense?
To make the simple past tense, we use:
- past form only or auxiliary did + base form
Here you can see examples of the past form and base form for irregular verbs and regular verbs:
| V1 base |
V2 past |
V3 past participle |
||
| regular verb | work explode like |
worked exploded liked |
worked exploded liked |
The past form for all regular verbs ends in -ed. |
| irregular verb | go see sing |
went saw sang |
gone seen sung |
The past form for irregular verbs is variable. You need to learn it by heart. |
Note: You do not need the past participle form to make the simple past tense. It is shown here for completeness only.
| subject | + | main verb |
| past |
The structure for positive sentences in the simple past
tense is:
- eg: I was at work yesterday.
| subject | + | auxiliary verb | + | not | + | main verb |
| did | base |
The structure for negative sentences in the simple past tense is:
- · eg: Jamal did not go to work yesterday.
| auxiliary verb | + | subject | + | main verb |
| did | base |
The structure for question sentences in the simple past
tense is:
- eg: Did you play tennis last week?
The auxiliary verb did is not conjugated. It is the same for all persons (I did, you did, he did etc). And the base form and past form do not change. Look at these examples with the main verbs go and work:
| subject | auxiliary verb | main verb | |||
| + | I | went | to school. | ||
| You | worked | very hard. | |||
| – | She | did | not | go | with me. |
| We | did | not | work | yesterday. | |
| ? | Did | you | go | to Rabat? | |
| Did | they | work | at home? |
Exception! The verb to be is different. We conjugate the verb to be (I was, you were, he/she/it was, we were, they were); and we do not use an auxiliary for negative and question sentences. To make a question, we exchange the subject and verb. Look at these examples:
| subject | main verb | |||
| + | I, he/she/it | was | here. | |
| You, we, they | were | in Ouarzazate. | ||
| – | I, he/she/it | was | not | there. |
| You, we, they | were | not | happy. | |
| ? | Was | I, he/she/it | right? | |
| Were | you, we, they | late? |
How do we use the Simple Past Tense?
We use the simple past tense when: examples
*the event is in the past + The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday.
*the event is completely finished + We did not sing at the concert.
*we say (or understand) the time and/or place of the event + Jamal drove to Casablanca on Monday.
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Here are some more examples:
- I lived in that house when I was young. *We were not late (for the train).
- He didn’t like the movie. *Were you angry?
- What did you eat for dinner?
Note that when we tell a story, we usually use the simple past tense. We may use the past continuous tense to “set the scene”, but we almost always use the simple past tense for the action. Look at this example of the beginning of a story:
“The wind was howling around the hotel and the rain was pouring down. It was cold. The door opened and James Bond entered. He took off his coat, which was very wet, and ordered a drink at the bar. He sat down in the corner of the lounge and quietly drank his…”
| I sing |
2-Simple Present Tense
How do we make the Simple Present Tense?
| subject | + | auxiliary verb | + | main verb |
| do | base |
There are three important exceptions:
- For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary.
- For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), we add s to the main verb or es to the auxiliary.
- For the verb to be, we do not use an auxiliary, even for questions and negatives.
Look at these examples with the main verb like:
| subject | auxiliary verb | main verb | |||
| + | I, you, we, they | like | coffee. | ||
| He, she, it | likes | coffee. | |||
| – | I, you, we, they | do | not | like | coffee. |
| He, she, it | does | not | like | coffee. | |
| ? | Do | I, you, we, they | like | coffee? | |
| Does | he, she, it | like | coffee? |
Look at these examples with the main verb be. Notice that there is no auxiliary:
| subject | main verb | |||
| + | I | am | French. | |
| You, we, they | are | French. | ||
| He, she, it | is | French. | ||
| – | I | am | not | old. |
| You, we, they | are | not | old. | |
| He, she, it | is | not | old. | |
| ? | Am | I | late? | |
| Are | you, we, they | late? | ||
| Is | he, she, it | late? |
How do we use the Simple Present Tense?
We use the simple present tense when:
The action is general (we are students)
The action happens all the time, or habitually, in the past, present and future +(John drives a taxi)
The action is not only happening now +(We work at night)
The statement is always true +(The Moon goes round the Earth.)
| I will sing |
3-Simple Future Tense
The simple future tense is often called will, because we make the simple future tense with the modal auxiliary will.
How do we make the Simple Future Tense?
The structure of the simple future tense is:
| subject | + | auxiliary verb WILL | + | main verb |
| invariable | base | |||
| will | V | |||
For negative sentences in the simple future tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the simple future tense:
| subject | auxiliary verb | main verb | |||
| + | I | will | open | the door. | |
| + | You | will | finish | before me. | |
| – | She | will | not | be | at school tomorrow. |
| – | We | will | not | leave | yet. |
| ? | Will | you | arrive | on time? | |
| ? | Will | they | want | dinner? |
Contractions :
*When we use the simple future tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb:
I will I’ll …etc
*For negative sentences in the simple future tense, we contract with won’t, like this:
I will not I won’t.
How do we use the Simple Future Tense? 1- No Plan
*We use the simple future tense when there is no plan or decision to do something before we speak. We make the decision spontaneously at the time of speaking. Look at these examples:
+We will see what we can do to help you + We will see what we can do to help you.
== In these examples, we had no firm plan before speaking. The decision is made at the time of speaking.
*We often use the simple future tense with the verb to think before it:
+I think I will have a holiday next year. +I don’t think I’ll buy that car.
*We use going to when we have the intention to do something before we speak. We have already made a decision before speaking. Look at these examples:
+We‘re not going to paint our bedroom tomorrow. +When are you going to go on holiday?
2-Prediction
*We often use the simple future tense to make a prediction about the future. Again, there is no firm plan. We are saying what we think will happen. Here are some examples:
+It will rain tomorrow. + Who do you think will get the job?
*We also use going to to make a prediction about the future. Our prediction is based on present evidence. We are saying what we think will happen. Here are some examples:
+The sky is very black. It‘s going to snow. +It’s 8.30! You‘re going to miss the train!
| I was singing |
4-Past Continuous Tense
The past continuous tense is an important tense in English. We use it to say what we were in the middle of doing at a particular moment in the past.
How do we make the Past Continuous Tense?
The structure of the past continuous tense is:
| subject | + | auxiliary verb BE | + | main verb |
| conjugated in simple past tense | present participle | |||
| was were |
base + ing | |||
For negative sentences in the past continuous tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past continuous tense:
| subject | auxiliary verb | main verb | |||
| + | I | was | watching | TV. | |
| + | You | were | working | hard. | |
| – | He, she, it | was | not | helping | Mary. |
| – | We | were | not | joking. | |
| ? | Were | you | being | silly? | |
| ? | Were | they | playing | football? |
How do we use the Past Continuous Tense?
The past continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the past. The action started before that moment but has not finished at that moment. For example, yesterday I watched a film on TV. The film started at 7pm and finished at 9pm.
At 8pm yesterday, I was watching TV.
When we use the past continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are talking about.
Look at these examples:
- I was working at 10pm last night.
- They were not playing football at 9am this morning.
- What were you doing at 10pm last night?
- What were you doing when he arrived?
- She was cooking when I telephoned her.
- We were having dinner when it started to rain.
- Ram went home early because it was snowing.
Past Continuous Tense + Simple Past Tense
We often use the past continuous tense with the simple past tense. We use the past continuous tense to express a long action. And we use the simple past tense to express a short action that happens in the middle of the long action. We can join the two ideas with when or while.
In the following example, we have two actions:
- 1. long action (watching TV), expressed with past continuous tense
- 2. short action (telephoned), expressed with simple past tense
We can join these two actions with when:
- I was watching TV when you telephoned.
(Notice that “when you telephoned” is also a way of defining the time [8pm].)
We use:
- when + short action (simple past tense)
- while + long action (past continuous tense)
There are four basic combinations:
| I was walking past the car | when | it exploded. | |
| When | the car exploded | I was walking past it. | |
| The car exploded | while | I was walking past it. | |
| While | I was walking past the car | it exploded. |
| I am singing |
5-Present Continuous Tense
We often use the present continuous tense in English. It is very different from the simple present tense, both in structure and in use.
How do we make the Present Continuous Tense?
The structure of the present continuous tense is:
| subject | + | auxiliary verb | + | main verb |
| be | base + ing |
Look at these examples:
| subject | auxiliary verb | main verb | |||
| + | I | am | speaking | to you. | |
| + | You | are | reading | this. | |
| – | She | is | not | staying | in London. |
| – | We | are | not | playing | football. |
| ? | Is | he | watching | TV? | |
| ? | Are | they | waiting | for John? |
How do we use the Present Continuous Tense?
We use the present continuous tense to talk about:
1- Action happening now (I am eating my lunch)
The action may not be happening exactly now, but it is happening just before and just after now, and it is not permanent or habitual.
examples
- Muriel is learning to drive.
- I am living with my sister until I find an apartment.
2-Action in the future (When are you starting your new job? )
We can also use the present continuous tense to talk about the future—if we add a future word!! We must add (or understand from the context) a future word. “Future words” include, for example, tomorrow, next year, in June, at Christmas etc. We only use the present continuous tense to talk about the future when we have planned to do something before we speak. We have already made a decision and a plan before speaking.
examples
- · I am taking my exam next month.
- · We’re eating in a restaurant tonight. We’ve already booked the table..
| I will be singing |
6- Future Continuous Tense
How do we make the Future Continuous Tense?
| subject | + | auxiliary verb WILL | + | auxiliary verb BE | + | main verb |
| invariable | invariable | present participle | ||||
| will | be | base + ing | ||||
For negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we insert not between will and be. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at these example sentences with the future continuous tense:
| subject | auxiliary verb | auxiliary verb | main verb | |||
| + | I | will | be | working | at 10am. | |
| + | You | will | be | lying | on a beach tomorrow. | |
| – | She | will | not | be | using | the car. |
| – | We | will | not | be | having | dinner at home. |
| ? | Will | you | be | playing | football? | |
| ? | Will | they | be | watching | TV? |
When we use the future continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and will:
eg: I will———– I ‘ll..etc
For spoken negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we contract with won’t, like this: I will not———– I won’t…etc
|
How do we use the Future Continuous Tense?
The future continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the future. The action will start before that moment but it will not have finished at that moment. For example, tomorrow I will start work at 2pm and stop work at 6pm: so we say: At 4pm tomorrow, I will be working.
When we use the future continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are talking about. Look at these examples:
- I will be playing tennis at 10am tomorrow.
- They won’t be watching TV at 9pm tonight.
- What will you be doing at 10pm tonight?
- What will you be doing when I arrive?
- She will not be sleeping when you telephone her.
- We ‘ll be having dinner when the film starts.
- Take your umbrella. It will be raining when you return.
| I had sung |
7-Past Perfect Tense
The past perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and to use. This tense talks about the “past in the past”.
How do we make the Past Perfect Tense?
The structure of the past perfect tense is:
| subject | + | auxiliary verb HAVE | + | main verb |
| conjugated in simple past tense | past participle | |||
| had | V | |||
For negative sentences in the past perfect tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past perfect tense:
| subject | auxiliary verb | main verb | |||
| + | I | had | finished | my work. | |
| + | You | had | stopped | before me. | |
| – | She | had | not | gone | to school. |
| – | We | had | not | left. | |
| ? | Had | you | arrived? | ||
| ? | Had | they | eaten | dinner? |
When speaking with the past perfect tense, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb: I had——- I’d….etc We had arrived (past participle) ==We’d arrived… We would arrive (base) ==We’d arrive..
(It is always clear from the context.)
The past perfect tense expresses action in the past before another action in the past. This is the past in the past. For example:
The train left at 9am. We arrived at 9.15am. When we arrived, the train had left
So we : say The train had left when we arrived.
Look at some more examples
- I wasn’t hungry. I had just eaten.
- They were hungry. They had not eaten for five hours.
- I didn’t know who he was. I had never seen him before.
- “Mary wasn’t at home when I arrived.”
“Really? Where had she gone?”
We often use the past perfect tense in reported speech after verbs like said, told, asked, thought, wondered:
Look at these examples:
- He told us that the train had left.
- I thought I had met her before, but I was wrong.
- He explained that he had closed the window because of the rain.
- I wondered if I had been there before.
- I asked them why they had not finished.
| I have sung |
8–Present Perfect Tense
The present perfect tense is a rather important tense in English, but it gives speakers of some languages a difficult time. That is because it uses concepts or ideas that do not exist in those languages. In fact, the structure of the present perfect tense is very simple. The problems come with the use of the tense.
How do we make the Present Perfect Tense?
The structure of the present perfect tense is:
| subject | + | auxiliary verb | + | main verb |
| have | past participle |
Here are some examples of the present perfect tense:
| subject | auxiliary verb | main verb | |||
| + | I | have | seen | extraterrestrial | |
| + | You | have | eaten | mine. | |
| – | She | has | not | been | to Rome. |
| – | We | have | not | played | football. |
| ? | Have | you | finished? | ||
| ? | Have | they | done | it? |
Contractions with the present perfect tense Here are some examples:
- I’ve finished my work. They’ve gone home.
When we use the present perfect tense in speaking, we usually contract the subject and auxiliary verb. We also sometimes do this when we write. I have—— I’ve….etc
How do we use the Present Perfect Tense?
This tense is called the present perfect tense. There is always a connection with the past and with the present. There are basically three uses for the present perfect tense:
- experience ex: I have seen how it works.
- change ex: I have bought a car.
- continuing situation ex: He has been ill for 2 days.
We often use for and since with the present perfect tense.
*We use for to talk about a period of time—5 minutes, 2 weeks, 6 years.
*We use since to talk about a point in past time—9 o’clock, 1st January, Monday
Here are some examples:
- I have been here for 20 minutes. John hasn’t called for 6 months.
- I have been here since 9 o’clock. John hasn’t called since February.
9-Future Perfect Tense.
The future perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and use. The future perfect tense talks about the past in the future.
How do we make the Future Perfect Tense?
The structure of the future perfect tense is:
| subject | + | auxiliary verb WILL | + | auxiliary verb HAVE | + | main verb |
| invariable | invariable | past participle | ||||
| will | have | V | ||||
| subject | auxiliary verb | auxiliary verb | main verb | |||
| + | I | will | have | finished | by 10am. | |
| + | You | will | have | forgotten | me by then. | |
| – | She | will | not | have | gone | to school. |
| – | We | will | not | have | left. | |
| ? | Will | you | have | arrived? | ||
| ? | Will | they | have | received | it? |
In speaking with the future perfect tense, we often contract the subject and will. Sometimes, we contract the subject, will and have all together:
I will have—- I’ll have / I’ll’ve….. etc
How do we use the Future Perfect Tense?
The future perfect tense expresses action in the future before another action in the future. This is the past in the future. For example:
The train will leave the station at 9am. You will arrive at the station at 9.15am. When you arrive, the train will have left. = The train will have left when you arrive
Look at some more examples:
- You can call me at work at 8am. I will have arrived at the office by 8.
- They will be tired when they arrive. They will not have slept for a long time.
A “Mary won’t be at home when you arrive.”B.”Really? Where will she have gone?”
| I had been singing |
10-Past Perfect Continuous Tense
How do we make the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?
The structure of the past perfect continuous tense is:
| subject | + | auxiliary verb HAVE | + | auxiliary verb BE | + | main verb |
| conjugated in simple past tense | past participle | present participle | ||||
| had | been | base + ing | ||||
For negative sentences in the past perfect continuous tense, we insert not after the first auxiliary verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and first auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past perfect continuous tense:
| subject | auxiliary verb | auxiliary verb | main verb | |||
| + | I | had | been | working. | ||
| + | You | had | been | playing | tennis. | |
| – | It | had | not | been | working | well. |
| – | We | had | not | been | expecting | her. |
| ? | Had | you | been | drinking? | ||
| ? | Had | they | been | waiting | long? |
When speaking with the past perfect continuous tense, we often contract the subject and first auxiliary verb: example: I had been I’d been ..etc.
How do we use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?
The past perfect continuous tense is like the past perfect tense, but it expresses longer actions in the past before another action in the past. For example:
Ram started waiting at 9am. I arrived at 11am. When I arrived, Ram had been waiting for two hours.
= Ram had been waiting for two hours when I arrived.
Here are some more examples:
- John was very tired. He had been running.
- I could smell cigarettes. Somebody had been smoking.
- Suddenly, my car broke down. I was not surprised. It had not been running well for a long time.
- Had the pilot been drinking before the crash?
11-Present Perfect Continuous Tense.
How do we make the Present Perfect Continuous Tense?
The structure of the present perfect continuous tense is:
| subject | + | auxiliary verb | + | auxiliary verb | + | main verb |
| have has |
been | base + ing |
Here are some examples of the present perfect continuous tense:
| subject | auxiliary verb | auxiliary verb | main verb | |||
| + | I | have | been | waiting | for one hour. | |
| + | You | have | been | talking | too much. | |
| – | It | has | not | been | raining. | |
| – | We | have | not | been | playing | football. |
| ? | Have | you | been | seeing | her? | |
| ? | Have | they | been | doing | their homework? |
Contractions
When we use the present perfect continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and the first auxiliary. We also sometimes do this in informal writing. I have been I’ve been … etc Here are some examples:
- I’ve been reading.
- The car’s been giving trouble.
How do we use the Present Perfect Continuous Tense?
This tense is called the present perfect continuous tense. There is usually a connection with the present or now. There are basically two uses for the present perfect continuous tense:
1. An action that has just stopped or recently stopped
We use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an action that started in the past and stopped recently. There is usually a result now.
- I’m tired [now] because I‘ve been running.
- Why is the grass wet [now]? Has it been raining?
- You don’t understand [now] because you haven’t been listening.
2. An action continuing up to now
We use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an action that started in the past and is continuing now. This is often used with for or since.
- I have been reading for 2 hours. [I am still reading now.]
- We‘ve been studying since 9 o’clock. [We’re still studying now.]
- How long have you been learning English? [You are still learning now.]
- We have not been smoking. [And we are not smoking now.]
We use for to talk about a period of time—5 minutes, 2 weeks, 6 years.
We use since to talk about a point in past time—9 o’clock, 1st January, Monday.
Here are some examples:
*I have been studying for 3 hours. *I have been watching TV since 7pm.
12-Future Perfect Continuous Tense
| I will have been singing |
How do we make the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?
The structure of the future perfect continuous tense is:
| subject | + | auxiliary verb WILL | + | auxiliary verb HAVE | + | auxiliary verb BE | + | main verb |
| invariable | invariable | past participle | present participle | |||||
| will | have | been | base + ing | |||||
For negative sentences in the future perfect continuous tense, we insert not between will and have. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at these example sentences with the future perfect continuous tense:
| subject | auxiliary verb | auxiliary verb | auxiliary verb | main verb | |||
| + | I | will | have | been | working | for four hours. | |
| + | You | will | have | been | travelling | for two days. | |
| – | She | will | not | have | been | using | the car. |
| – | We | will | not | have | been | waiting | long. |
| ? | Will | you | have | been | playing | football? | |
| ? | Will | they | have | been | watching | TV? |
When we use the future perfect continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb: example: I will= I’ll … etc
For negative sentences in the future perfect continuous tense, we contract with won’t, like this:
I will not I won’t …etc
How do we use the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?
We use the future perfect continuous tense to talk about a long action before some point in the future. Look at these examples:
- I will have been working here for ten years next week.
He will be tired when he arrives. He will have been travelling for 24 hours.
Irregular Verbs List
This is a list of some irregular verbs in English. Of course, there are many others, but these are the more common irregular verbs.
| Base Form | Past Simple | Past Participle |
| 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 |
| blow | blew | blown |
| break | broke | broken |
| bring | brought | brought |
| broadcast | broadcast | broadcast |
| build | built | built |
| burn | burned/burnt | burned/burnt |
| buy | bought | bought |
| catch | caught | caught |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| come | came | come |
| cost | cost | cost |
| cut | cut | cut |
| dig | dug | dug |
| do | did | done |
| draw | drew | drawn |
| dream | dreamed/dreamt | dreamed/dreamt |
| drive | drove | driven |
| drink | drunk | drunk |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| fall | fell | fallen |
| feel | felt | felt |
| fight | fought | fought |
| find | found | found |
| fly | flew | flown |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| forgive | forgave | forgiven |
| freeze | froze | frozen |
| get | got | gotten |
| give | gave | given |
| go | went | gone |
| grow | grew | grown |
| hang | hung | hung |
| have | had | had |
| hear | heard | heard |
| hide | hid | hidden |
| hit | hit | hit |
| hold | held | held |
| hurt | hurt | hurt |
| keep | kept | kept |
| know | knew | known |
| lay | laid | laid |
| lead | led | led |
| learn | learned/learnt | learned/learnt |
| leave | left | left |
| lend | lent | lent |
| let | let | let |
| lie | lay | lain |
| lose | lost | lost |
| make | made | made |
| mean | meant | meant |
| meet | met | met |
| pay | paid | paid |
| put | put | put |
| read | read | read |
| ride | rode | ridden |
| ring | rang | rung |
| rise | rose | risen |
| run | ran | run |
| say | said | said |
| see | saw | seen |
| sell | sold | sold |
| send | sent | sent |
| show | showed | showed/shown |
| shut | shut | shut |
| sing | sang | sung |
| sit | sat | sat |
| sleep | slept | slept |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| spend | spent | spent |
| stand | stood | stood |
| swim | swam | swum |
| take | took | taken |
| teach | taught | taught |
| tear | tore | torn |
| tell | told | told |
| think | thought | thought |
| throw | threw | thrown |
| understand | understood | understood |
| wake | woke | woken |
| wear | wore | worn |
| win | won | won |
| write | wrote | written |
Edited by : abdessamad
abdessamady 