English Made Easy –in 20 minutes a Day!

Grammar Notes 1
TENSES
Comparative Study of Tenses

TENSE SIMPLE/ SIMPLE/ CONTINUOUS PERFECT PERFECT

INDEFINITE INDEFINITE CONTINUOUS

do/does (s/es/ies) am/is/are has/have has been/

For III person have been
PRESENT singulars
MV- I form MV- ing form MV- III MV- ing form
MV- I form form

did ------- was/were Had had been

PAST

MV- I form MV- II form MV- ing form MV- III MV- ing form
form

shall/will shall be/ shall shall have

will be have/ been/
FUTURE will have will have been

MV- I form MV- ing

MV- III MV- ing form
form

PERSON SINGULAR PLURAL

FIRST I We PERSONS DEFINITE INDEFINITE

You
SECOND You I Shall Will
WE
He YOU
THIRD She They HE, SHE, IT Will Shall
It THEY

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English Made Easy –in 20 minutes a Day! Grammar Notes 2

TENSES – AT A GLANCE
TIME
TENSE
PAST PRESENT FUTURE

PRESENT I want a coffee. I leave tomorrow.

SIMPLE
She likes coffee.

PRESENT I am having dinner. I am taking my exam next month.

CONTINUOUS
They are living in London.

PRESENT
PERFECT I have seen ET. I have finished.
SIMPLE

PRESENT I have been

PERFECT playing tennis.
CONTINUOUS
We have been working for four hours.

I finished one hour If she loved you now, she If you came tomorrow, you would
PAST SIMPLE
ago. would marry you. see her.

PAST I was working at

CONTINUOUS 2am this morning.

PAST
I had not eaten for
PERFECT
24 hours.
SIMPLE

PAST We had been

If I had been working now, If I had been working tomorrow, I
PERFECT working for 3
I would have missed you. could not have agreed.
CONTINUOUS hours.

FUTURE
Hold on. I'll do it now. I'll see you tomorrow.
SIMPLE

FUTURE
I will be working at 9pm tonight.
CONTINUOUS

FUTURE I will have finished by 9pm tonight.

PERFECT
SIMPLE
We will have been married for ten years next month.

They may be tired when you arrive

FUTURE because they will have been
PERFECT working.
CONTINUOUS
In 30 minutes, we will have been working for four hours.

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1. Simple Present Tense

How do we make the Simple Present
subject main
Tense?
verb

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb + I am French.

do base
You, we, are French.
There are three important exceptions: they

He, she, it is French.

1. For positive sentences, we do not
normally use the auxiliary. - I am not old.
2. For the 3rd person singular (he,
she, it), we add s to the main verb You, we, are not old.
or es to the auxiliary. they
3. For the verb to be, we do not use
an auxiliary, even for questions He, she, it is not old.
and negatives.
? Am I late?
Look at these examples with the main
verb like: Are you, we, late?
they
subject auxiliary main Is he, she, it late?
verb verb

+ I, you, like coffee. How do we use the Simple Present

we, Tense?
they
We use the Simple Present when we talk
He, likes coffee. about something which happens
she, it repeatedly.

- I, you, do not like coffee.

we,
they

He, does not like coffee.

she, it

? Do I, you, like coffee?

we, they We use the Simple Present to describe a
series of actions in the present.
Does he, she, like coffee?
it

Look at these examples with the main

verb be. Notice that there is no
auxiliary:

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English Made Easy –in 20 minutes a Day! Grammar Notes 4
Simple present is also called present
simple.
The situation is now.
When to use Simple Present?

We use the simple present tense I am not fat.

when: Why are you so beautiful?
Ram is tall.
 the action is general
 the action happens all the time, or past present future
habitually, in the past, present and
future
 the action is not only happening
The situation is general. Past, present
now
and future.
 the statement is always true

John drives a taxi. English Made Easy: Tips

past present future This page shows the use of the simple
present tense to talk about general
events. Note that there are some other
uses for the simple present tense, for
It is John's job to drive a taxi. He does it example in conditional or if sentences,
every day. Past, present and future. or to talk about the future. You will
learn about those later.

Look at these examples:

 I live in New York. The simple present expresses an action in the

 The Moon goes round the Earth.
present taking place once, never or several times. It
 John drives a taxi.
 He does not drive a bus. is also used for actions that take place one after
 We do not work at night. another and for actions that are set by a timetable or
 Do you play football? schedule. The simple present also expresses facts in
the present.
Note that with the verb to be, we can
also use the simple present tense for
situations that are not general. We can
use the simple present tense to talk
about now. Look at these examples of be
the verb "to be" in the simple present
Use:
tense - some of them are general, some
of them are now:  am with the personal pronoun II
 is with the personal pronouns he,
Am I right? she or it (or with the singular form
Tara is not at home. of nouns)
You are happy.  are with the personal pronouns we,
you or they (or with the plural form
past present future
of nouns)

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 example: I am hungry.
he/she/it He has He has Has he
got. / He not got. / got? /
affirmative negative question has. He does Does he
not have. have?

I I am. I am not. Am I?
All other verbs

Use:
he/she/it He is. He is not. Is he?
 the infinite verb (play) with the
personal pronouns I, you, we and they
you/we/they You are. You are Are you?(or with the plural form of nouns)
not.
 the verb + s (plays) with the
personal pronouns he, she, it (or with
have the singular form of nouns)

Use:
affirmative negative question
 have with the personal pronouns I,
you, we und they (or with the
plural form of nouns) I/you/we/ I play. I do not Do I
 has with the personal pronouns he, they play. play?
she, it (or with the singular form of
nouns)
he/she/it He plays. He does Does he
 example: I have a dog. / I have not play. play?
got a dog.
Tips on how to form negative
 'have got' is mainly used in British
sentences and questions
English. You can also use 'have' on
its own (especially in American Negative sentences and questions are
English). In this case, however, formed with the auxiliary verb 'do'.
you must form negative sentences
The 3rd person singular of 'do' is 'does'.
and questions with the auxiliary
This means that in negative sentences
verb 'do' (see 'All other verbs').
and questions the 's' of the main verb is
placed behind 'do'.
positive negative question
Use

I/you/ I have I have Have I 1) repeated actions

got. / I not got. / got? / Do
we/they have. I do not I have? My friend often draws nice posters.
have.

2) things in general

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The sun rises in the East. She sings pop
We sing pop songs.
songs.

3) fixed arrangements, scheduled John plays

I play handball.
events handball.

The plane flies to London every Monday. Negative sentences:

You must not negate a full verb in

4) actions in the present - one English. Always use the auxiliary do for
follows after the other negations.

First I get up, then I have breakfast. I like computers.

I don't like computers at all.
5) instructions
My friend likes computers.
Open your books at page 34.
computers at
My mum doesn't like
all.
6) with special verbs
Questions:
I understand English.
Use the auxiliary do.
Do you play football?
Signal words Does he play football?

every day, often, always, sometimes, Special verbs in the Simple Present
never,

normally, seldom, usually If Clause Type 1) have as a full verb

I (If I talk, … affirmative negative
question
sentence sentence
I, we, you, they:
Form: 3rd person singular he, she, it:
infinitive + -s I do not
I have a Do I have
have a
book. a book?
Form of Simple Present book.
 P: He speaks. he, she, it:
 N: He does not speak. He does not Does he
He has a
 Q: Does he speak? have a have a
book.
book. book?

Examples 2) be as a full verb

Affirmative sentences: affirmative negative

question
sentence sentence
My brother reads I am from I am not Am I from
I read books.
books. Britain. from Britain. Britain?

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he, she, it:
He is from He is not Is he from Simple Present - Exceptions in
Britain. from Britain. Britain? Spelling
we, you, they:
The 3rd person singular is
Are we
We are from We are not usually formed by adding s. But there are
from
Britain. from Britain. a few exceptions to the rule:
Britain?

The verbs can, may, might, must

We often use the short forms with this
remain the same in all forms. So
verb.
don't add s.

3) do as a full verb example: he can, she may, it must

affirmative negative Verbs ending in o or a sibilant (ch, sh,

question
sentence sentence s, x) add es instead of s.
I, we, you, they:
example: do - he does, wash - she
I do an I do not do Do I do an washes
exercise. an exercise. exercise?
he, she, it: A final y after a consonant becomes
i.e. before s.
He does not
He does an Does he do
do an example: worry - he worries
exercise. an exercise?
exercise.
But: A final y after a vowel (a, e, i, o, u)
4) modal auxiliaries can, could, may, is not modified.
must, need, will etc.
example: play - he plays
affirmative negative
question
sentence sentence Simple Present - Use
every time regardless the subject (I, he, facts (something is generally known
she, it, we, you, they): to be true)
I can play I cannot Can I play The sun never sets in the
tennis. play tennis. tennis? The sun east or south or north, but
sets in the always in the west.
west.

action in the present taking place

NOTE:
once, never or several times
We can substitute don't (can't) for do
not (cannot).
Colin plays football
Colin always regularly - every
Modals have the same form every time
plays soccer Tuesday.
regardless the subject. We do not add an -
s to the infinitive. on Tuesdays. In English, signal words
are often used, e.g.:
always, never, seldom,
often, regularly, every

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Monday. smell (senses)

think (mental activity)
actions in the present taking place
one after another understand (mental activity)
want (feeling and emotion)
She takes her First one action takes
wish (feeling and emotion)
bag and leaves. place and then the
other.
SUMMARY
action set by a time table or schedule
Use Example
Although the action takes
The train place in the future, it takes
leaves at place regularly and is set by action in the present Colin always
9 pm. a time table. taking place once, plays soccer on
never or several Tuesdays.
verbs expressing states, possession, times
senses, emotions and mental activity

When you love someone, that's a actions in the present She takes her
I state, a fact or emotion, but not an taking place one after bag and leaves.
love action (like ‘running’ for example). another
her. Whenever you want to express a
state, possession, sense or
emotions, use the simple form (not facts (something is The sun sets in
the progressive). The following generally known to be the west.
words all belong to this group: true)
be (state)
believe (mental activity)
action set by a The train
belong (possession) timetable or schedule leaves at 9 pm.
hate (feeling and emotion)
hear (senses)
verbs of possession, I love her.
like (feeling and emotion)
senses, emotions and
love (feeling and emotion) mental activity
mean (mental activity)
prefer (mental activity)
remain (state)
realize (mental activity)
see (senses)
seem (feeling and emotion)

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I. SIMPLE TENSES

A. Simple present = base form: I work. OR base form + -s: He works. She works. It
works. OR base form + -es : I watch / she watches; I study / he studies
1. A general truth.
The sky is blue.
2. A typical activity.
I always brush after I eat.
Bob watches TV every night.
Sara works 5 days a week.
3. A statement of something existing at the time of speaking.
I hear the train coming.
I smell smoke.
4. A scheduled event or activity.
My plane leaves at 8:30 tomorrow.

B. Simple past = base form + -ed for regular verbs : I worked yesterday. The simple
past for irregular verbs varies : He ate lunch at noon. (irregular verb)
1. An activity begun and completed at a particular time in the past.
I went to work yesterday morning.
2. Commonly used with “after” and “before” clauses.
After Bob ate dinner, he drove to CEC.
The students arrived in class before the teacher.
3. “Used to” = past habits (used to + base form)
I used to ride horses when I was a kid.

C. Simple future = will + base form: I will work tomorrow. He will eat dinner later.
OR am / is / are + (going to + base form): I am going to work tomorrow. She is going
to eat dinner at Al’s Restaurant. We are going to study Unit 1 tonight.
1. A future event or activity.
Our break will begin at 8:10.
I will study later.
I’m going to study later.
2. Use will (not: going to) to volunteer.
A. Wait a second. I will help you with that sofa. If you try to move it by
yourself, your back will be out for a week.
3. Use going to (not: will) with a preconceived plan.
I’m going to mow my lawn tomorrow.

D. Present perfect = have + past participle : I have worked. I have eaten. OR has +
past participle: She has worked. She has eaten.
1. An activity that began in the past and continues into the present , often using
“since, ” “since...ago,” or “for”:
“since” = a particular time: I have / She has studied English since 1997.
“since...ago” = a particular time: I’ve / She’s studied English since 5
years ago.
“for” = a duration of time: I’ve / She’s studied English for 5 years.
2. A repeated activity.
I have / He has gone to ESL class every day this week.
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3. An activity that occurred at an unspecified time in the past.

A. Have you ever visited New York? B. No, but I have visited New
Orleans.
4. An activity in a time clause (e.g., when..., while..., after...) that ends before the
main clause activity begins.
I will go to the movie after I have studied Unit 1.

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E. Past perfect = had + past participle : I had worked. She had

eaten.
An activity in the past that ended before another activity in the past.
e.g. They had already gone to Lab by the time I arrived.

F. Future perfect = will have + past participle : I will have worked. She will have eaten.
An activity in the future that will end before another activity in the future.
e.g. They will have left Lab by the time I arrive.

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