Verb Tenses
Present Continuous Tense
• For action in progress right now.
• For a “temporary” situation (for example,
doing something just for “this month”).
• Planned action
• Repeated action with adverbs like always,
forever.
I am studying English right now.
I am living with my uncle for this month.
She is always helping people.
We are spending next summer in Australia.
Simple Present Tense
• For action that is repeated, a habit
• with verbs that do not represent action (for
example, the verbs like, hate, hope, think
believe, etc.).
• Use “s” on the verb if the subject is “third
person singular” (he, she, or it):
I study English every day.
Yelena studies English every day.
I like coffee.
Maria likes tea.
Simple Present Tense
• For permanent truths.
Gases expand when heated.
• For observations & declarations
It says here …
I hate him.
• For instructions
First you weigh the ingredients.
• Commentaries
Becker serves to John.
Exercise
• It -------- in the paper it will rain today. (say)
• The children --------- a lot of sweets. (eat)
• I always ---------- out on a Sunday. (go)
• Can he manage? I -------- so. (hope)
• She never ---------- up early in the morning.
(get)
• I occasionally --------- meat. (eat)
Future Tense
• Use the future tense to describe future action
• Either will or going to can be used for future
action):
I will study English tomorrow.
(or “I am going to study English tomorrow.”)
Simple Past Tense
• Use in speaking or writing about past action.
• Always use a time reference.
• For regular verbs, use “-ed” (study/studied) to
make a verb past tense.
• Many verbs have “irregular” past forms such
as do/did, write/wrote, think/thought,
read/read, etc.
I studied English yesterday.
I wrote an essay last night.
Simple Past Tense
• Asking a question beginning with the word
When, use the simple past tense.
When did you go there? (or “When were you
there?”)
I went there two months ago. (or “I was there two
months ago.)
When did he study Spanish?
He studied it two years ago.
When did she have a test?
She had a chemistry test last week.
Past Continuous Tense
• For action in progress at a specific time in the
past.
• Used for a long continuous action which was
interrupted by a short action
• for action which lasts through a long period of
time, such as “all day”.
• Polite inquires
I was studying English at 9 o’clock last night.
I was walking in the street yesterday afternoon when
I saw a car accident.
I was working all day yesterday.
Present Perfect Tense
• Use for action started in the past which
continues up to now.
I have studied English for three years.
I have been studying English for three years. (from
three years ago up to now)
• In response to question How long & Since when?
How long have you been in the U.S.?
I have been in the U.S. for 2 years.
Since when has Juan been studying at Brooklyn
College?
Juan has been studying at Brooklyn College since
September, 2005.
Present Perfect Tense
• In response to the question Have you
ever?
Have you ever been to the top of the Empire
State Building?
Yes, I have been there.
Has your brother ever studied Spanish?
Yes he has.
Present Perfect Tense
• With a time which is not yet finished, which
“includes now,” such as this morning (if it is
still morning), today, this week, this month,
this semester, this year, etc.:
Have you had anything to eat yet today?
No, I haven’t yet had anything to eat.
Has Maria had any tests yet this semester?
Yes, she has had some tests.
Proofreading Exercise One
• Everyone is looking for someone who always listens
to his or her feelings, and who sometimes suggest a
right way to move forward.
• Laura made a high, invisible wall, which protect her
from anyone who tried to approach her.
• This is something that a person who do not have a
brother cannot describe.
• When a sister likes a dress and her brother says that
she look bad, sometimes it is good to listen to him.
• Tom doesn’t like the way that his mother treat him.
• Tom doesn’t like to hear about things that happen
when his mother was young.
…
• Tom has this plan for a long time.
• My sister is controlled by her husband. Sometimes,
she doesn’t has the right to choose.
• Women had to stay married even if they don’t love
their husbands.
• Just because she is younger than me, that do not
mean that she knows less.
• Since the time we immigrated, we had some
misunderstandings and fights.
• There is no two identical people on this planet.
• She lose me when she thought I belong to her.
…
• As a result of love, people got married.
• If two people living together cannot trust each other,
it is, certainly, will end in divorce.
• Women work more and taking financial responsibility
to support their families.
• In history, we had many wars, and it seems like we
going to have more, though nobody wish that.
• Everyone in this world had problems: Some has
physical problems and some has emotional
problems.
• Love is something that change the world.
• Steven had encouragement from his family and his
condition had improved.
…
• The writer doesn’t tell the reader about what kind of
decision he need to make.
• I was pleased that I make the right decision.
• She is pushing her daughter to get married and don’t
understand her.
• The mother did not had her own private life.
• In 2002, I have met a very good person.
Proofreading Exercise Two
v,a The human life begin when one is conceived, and it
culminates with the
v death. This reality make us try to live and enjoy every single
day of our life the
v best that we can. In the poem “The Wake,” the poet show us
a view of how death
v, a affect us humans when it take away an important member
of our family. The
v death is not expected ever, but when it comes and take
someone close to you, it
v can’t be accepted right away. When this happen, you feel
that inside you,
v something missing; it is a feeling of emptiness. But after a
while, this feeling go
a, v away. The people accepts the fact that this person is no
longer there and is not coming back ever again.
Practice …
There could be many reasons why person is shy. Maybe
she or he was raised
v in a certain environment that cause the
development of shyness. This concept is
a connected with one of characters in play “The Glass
Menagerie”– Laura
v Wingfield. Laura chose to avoid social situations
because they give no reward to
v her, and she find the sensory input overwhelming.
Laura fear such situations and
v feel that she has to avoid them And in order to avoid
this, she create her own imaginary reality, Laura’s private
world.
…
(a) In ancient China, there was law that men
were allowed to get married with more than one
woman. So nobody would think about those
women’s happiness, (v) because they had to
share their husband with other women when
they had (v) married. Moreover, most of these
women had married someone who was older (v)
than them, by more than ten years, so when
they live together, there were no (v)
communication, and the feelings of these
women was controlled by men.
…
At that (v) time, there are two kinds of people
who let their daughter get married with (v)
someone they does not love and who is older
than them. One is to make more (a, v) money
and get higher status, such as letting their
daughter marry king. Another is to avoid threats
because in ancient China some governors would
punish people (v) who do not let their daughters
marry them.
