English Grammar

The Tenses

The simple present tense is used to discuss permanant situations and the frequency of events.

To have	Short form	Other Verbs (to work)
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 -	Questions	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.	She doesn't work.	Does she work?	Yes, she does.	No, she doesn't.
It works.	It doesn't work.	Does it work?	Yes, it does.	No, it doesn't.
You work.	You don't work.	Do you work?	Yes you do.	No, you don't.
We work.	We don't work.	Do we work?	Yes we do.	No, we don't.
They work.	They don't work.	Do they work?	Yes they do.	No, they don't.

 

Regular or permanent situations

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 Present Timeline

For example:

Q) "Where do you live?" A) "I live in Germany."

Q) "Where does he live?" A) "He lives in Germany."

Q) "What do you do?" A) "I'm a teacher."

Q) "What does he do?" A) "He's a teacher."

Frequency

The simple present tense is also used to show how often something happens with adverbs of frequency - always, usually, often, sometimes, occasionally, seldom, rarely, never, etc.... And when discussing daily, weekly, monthly etc. routines.

For example:

"I always get up at 6.00."

"I never drink coffee before 12.00."

"I work on my website every day."

"Every Monday and Thursday I go to the gym."

We also use the simple present to ask for and give instructions or to discuss a series of actions.

For example:

Q) How do I make pancakes?" A) Well, first you take 4 eggs and crack them into a bowl, then you weigh out 4 oz. of flour and sieve it into the eggs. etc.

The simple present tense can also be used to discuss future events.

The simple past tense is used to talk about actions that happened at a specific time in the past. You state when it happened using a time 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 learned.

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?
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?

 

Regular Verb (to work) Statements +	Regular Verb (to work) Statements -	Questions	Short answer +	Short answer -
I worked.	I didn't work.	Did I work?	Yes, I did.	No, I didn't.
He worked.	He didn't work.	Did he work?	Yes, he did.	No, he didn't.
She worked.	She didn't work.	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.	You didn't work.	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.	They didn't work.	Did they work?	Yes they did.	No, they didn't.

Simple Past Timeline

For example:

"Last year I took my exams."

"I got married in 1992."

It can be used to describe events that happened over a period of time in the past but not now.

For example:

"I lived in South Africa for two years."

The simple past tense is also used to talk about habitual or repeated actions that took place in the past.

For example:

"When I was a child we always went to the seaside on bank holidays."

When we talk about events that are actually happening now, we use the present continuous tense.

Statements +	Statements -	Questions	Short answer +	Short answer -
I'm working.	I'm not working.	Am I working?	Yes, I am.	No, I'm not.
He's working.	He isn't working.	Is he working?	Yes, he is.	No, he isn't.
She's working.	She isn't working.	Is she working?	Yes, she is.	No, she isn't.
It's working.	It isn't working.	Is it working?	Yes, it is.	No, it isn't.
You're working.	You aren'tt working.	Are you working?	Yes you are.	No, you aren't.
We're working.	We aren't working.	Are we working?	Yes we are.	No, we aren't.
They're working.	They aren't working.	Are they working?	Yes they are.	No, they aren't.

Present Continuous Timeline

For example:

Q) "What are you doing?" A) "I'm building a website."

We also use the present continuous tense to talk about things that are happening around now but are temporary.

For example:

Q) "What are you doing these days?" A) "Unfortunately I'm working a lot."

It is also used to describe trends or situations that are happening but may be temporary.

For example:

"Nowadays more and more people are shopping on the Internet."

...and habitual actions (usually negative).

For example:

"He's always cleaning his car."

The present continuous tense can also be used to discuss future events:

Note:-

The present continuous is usually used with doing verbs (verbs of action) not with verbs of state. The following verbs are not used in the continuous form:-

Conditions: belong, cost, need, own, seem Feelings: like, love, hate, want, wish Beliefs: believe, feel, know, mean, remember, think, understand