TENSES

Present Simple

He often goes fishing and catches nothing.
My friend works in London. She buys and sells cars.
She sits at the window and watches the traffic.
His little girl thanks him when he gives her presents.
He washes his hands and dries them on a towel.
Does this lady generally go to the theatre on Saturday evening or does she stay at home?
My friend doesn’t like fish.

She lives in a small house which has only three rooms.
She gets a new book from the library every day.
He has breakfast at 6 o’clock and eats his lunch at 12 o’clock.
This chair is very comfortable but it is too expensive.
She tells me that when she gets home every afternoon she cooks lunch.
This boy says that he always listens carefully but doesn’t always understand his teacher because she speaks very fast.

Present Simple (always, usually, often, sometimes)/ Present Continuous (now, at the moment, around now, planned future arrangement)

She goes to school every day.
We are learning English now.
The sun always shines in Egypt.
Bad students never work hard.
It is raining now. It rains in winter.
I wake up at 7 and have breakfast at 7.30.
He generally sings in English but today he is singing in French.
The teacher points at the blackboard when he wants to explain something.
Mother is cooking some food in the kitchen at present.
She always cooks in the morning.
The sun rises in the East. Now it’s setting and the night is falling.
That woman in the white hat who is walking past the window lives next door.
Architects make plans for buildings.
Where do you live?



VERBS SELDOM USED IN PRESENT CONTINUOUS: see, hear, notice, recognize, smell, taste, believe, feel (that), think (that), know, understand, remember, recollect, forget, suppose, mean, gather (that), want, wish, forgive, refuse, love, hate, like, dislike, care, seem, appear, belong to, contain, possess, matter, own…








Present Perfect/ (have/has+III/ed)

Since/for
I haven’t seen you since Christmas?
I haven’t seen you for three days.
We’ve been here since January.
We have been here for an hour and a half.
She hasn’t spoken to me for more than two years
I haven’t written French since I was ten.
It hasn’t rained here since January.

Present Perfect Continuous (have/has been +verb-ing)

The cat has been sitting in front of the fireplace since 9 o’clock.
I know you have been talking about grammar for the last half an hour but I’m afraid I haven’t been listening.
Have you been waiting long for me? Yes I have been standing here in the rain for half an hour.
He has been learning English for three years but he can’t even read a newspaper yet.
What have you been doing while I have been out?
We have been sitting here, writing our homework, but it’s not finished yet.
He has been working in the bank for 12 years.
Lunch is not ready yet, although I have been cooking all the morning.

Present Perfect/ (have/has + III/ed)
Present Perfect Continuous (have/has been +verb-ing)

I wonder where he has been living since then. We have been living here for the last six months and just have decided to move.
I have been trying to learn Spanish four years but I haven’t succeeded yet.
You have already drunk three cups of tea since I have been sitting here

That book has been lying on the piano for weeks.
You haven’t read it yet.
I have been waiting here for her since 7 o’clock and she hasn’t come yet.
He hasn’t had a holiday for five years because he has been too busy.

S/HE HAS GONE--------S/he has BEEN (gone=ne e tuka)/ (been=tuka e, se vrati)

John isn’t here. He’s gone to the pictures again, although he has already been twice this week.
They haven’t spoken to each other since they quarreled.
That grandfather’s clock has been standing as long as I can remember.
Bob has been trying to take me out to dinner for the last three weeks.
How long have you been learning Macedonian?
I have been waiting here nearly half an hour for Maggie.

He has been selling cars for 5 years.
I have been reading this book since last January.
He has been working since 5 o’clock this morning.
They’ve been living here since 2000.
That church has been standing here for centuries.

Past Simple Tense
Negative
I broke a cup. I didn’t break a cup.
It began to rain. It didn’t begin to rain.
We liked oranges. We didn’t like oranges.



She came early. She didn’t come early.
I lay on the bed. I didn’t lie on the bed.
He taught French. He didn’t teach English.
I knew his name. I didn’t know his name.
The prisoner ran away. He didn’t run away.
He tore his coat. He didn’t tear his coat.
I said no. I didn’t say no.
Someone stole the money. No one stole the money.
I chose a book. I didn’t choose a book.
I put the sandwich on the table. I didn’t put the sandwich on the table.
I bent my arm. I didn’t bend my arm.
We bought meat. We didn’t buy meat.
I wrote a letter on Saturday. I didn’t write a message on Monday.

Questions: Somebody found it. Did somebody find it?

Mr. Alan opened the door? Did he open the door?
He sat down and waited. Did he sit down and wait?
He took his hat and coat. Did he take his hat and coat?
It laid five eggs. Did it lay 5 eggs?
Mr. Bob knew Greek. Did he know Italian?
Tommy fell and hurt his leg. Did he hurt his arm?

Adverbs of Frequency
I have never seen an elephant.
I sometimes forget my homework.
We always try to work hard.
My mother often goes for a walk on Saturdays.
They have never heard of it.
The student on my left always makes mistakes.
The student on my right never answers correctly.
He has just come in.
Marry always knows what to say.
She scarcely knows what to say about it.
The receptionist was hardly able to carry my luggage.

He has almost finished this exercise.
The children often quarrel with each other.

Past Simple- IIk/ ed, did, didn’t (ago, last, yesterday, in 2004)
/ Present Perfect
have/has +III/ed (for, since, just, yet, recently..)

Columbus discovered America more than forty years ago.
I haven’t seen you for more than a week.
I haven’t eaten caviar since I was in Paris.
Since when have you known him?
How long ago was the last moon landing?
Old Michael hasn’t been here for years.
They came here a month ago.
He hasn’t spoken to me for the last three days.
You had a new one every day for the last six weeks.
How long ago did you arrive here?
We finished it last week.
She hasn’t had a holiday for four years.
My brother hasn’t written to me for months.
My roommate left me two weeks ago.
I bought one like it a month ago.
My youngest brother got a new job a week ago.
I haven’t seen you since we met a year ago.
I haven’t played the violin since I was a little girl.


PAST CONTINUOUS/ PAST SIMPLE

I was reading a book when he came in.
The sun was shining when we went out.
He was sitting in the garden when he came in.
I came in while he was writing.
I was working all day yesterday.
We were living in France when the shop opened.
When I arrived in his house he was still sleeping.
He jumped of the train while it was moving.
The fire was still burning at six o’clock this morning.
We were walking across the bridge when he heard the voice.
The children were doing their home work when their father came back from their office.
I took another cake when you weren’t looking.
The bus started while I was getting on.
She cut her finger while she was cutting bread.
Maggie was cooking fish when I first asked her to marry me.
I was speaking to her several times, but she was always reading and didn’t hear me.
I was opening the door just as Carol rang the bell.
He was leaning against the wall and listening to the radio when I first tried to speak to him.

Tense Revision PRESENT SIMPLE-PAST SIMPLE-PRESENT PERFECT

I always drink tea for breakfast.
I drank tea for breakfast yesterday.
The class usually begins at six o’clock.
His brother always lives in Italy.
His brother lived in Italy in 2003.
We sometimes go to Paris.
We were to Paris for our last holiday.
It rained here last week.
It has never rained here.
Carla often buys a new dress for her birthday.
That girl often eats too much. He ate too much at the party last night. The plane always starts very early.
The play started very early this morning.
Do you often write letters? Did you often write letters?
She usually learns quickly. She learnt quickly when she was at school.
These children often lose their handouts at school.
These children lost their handouts at school yesterday.
We seldom speak Japanese.
We spoke Japanese during Lee’s visit.
He sometimes sleeps in the garden. He slept in the garden last night.

PAST PERFECT (HAD+ III/ed) before/ after

He told me his name after he had left.
He had done nothing before he saw me.
My friend enjoyed his food as soon as he had tasted it.
He thanked me for what I had done. I was sorry that I had hurt him.
After they had gone I sat down and rested.
After you had gone I went to sleep.
Before he had arrived in Mexico, he forgot something.
The river became deeper after it had rained heavily.
It rained yesterday after it had been dry for many months.
He had already learned English before he left for England.