- •Contents
- •The Future-In-The-Past Tense……………………………………………………………..45 the present indefinite (simple) tense
- •I. The formation of the Present Indefinite.
- •1. The Present Indefinite is formed from the infinitive without the particle to.
- •9. To denote future actions in adverbial clauses of time after conjunctions when
- •10. To denote future actions in adverbial clauses of condition after conjunctions if
- •In case
- •11. To denote future actions in adverbial clauses of concession after conjunctions
- •What do we do next?
- •The present continuous tense
- •III. The Present Continuous Tense is used to denote:
- •Actions or events which are in progress at the moment of speaking. To emphasize this, we often use adverbials like now, at the moment, just, etc.:
- •6. For a frequently repeated action, usually when the frequency annoys the speaker or
- •7. For an action which appears to be continuous:
- •8. To describe current trends:
- •Verbs not normally used in the continuous tenses
- •VII. Verbs denoting effect or influence: astonish, impress, please, satisfy, surprise. Feel, look, smell and taste used in the continuous forms
- •2. Look
- •3. Smell
- •4.Taste
- •See and hear used in the continuous forms
- •Think, assume and expect used in the continuous forms
- •The past indefinite (simple) tense
- •I. The formation of the Past Indefinite.
- •Verbs ending in -e add -d only:
- •3. The contracted negative forms are:
- •4. The negative-interrogative forms are:
- •Irregular verbs: form
- •If the period is over or reference is made to a particular past point of time within that
- •2. In narrations to express a succession of action of past actions.
- •3. To express recurrent actions. It is generally supported by the use of adverbial modifiers
- •4. To express the immediate past. We can sometimes use the simple past without a time
- •6. To express permanent actions which indicate continuous, uninterrupted processes in the past, giving a general characteristic of the person or thing denoted by the subject.
- •The past continuous tense
- •2. The Past Continuous is used to express an action going on at a given period of time in the past.
- •The future indefinite (simple) tense
- •I. The formation of the Future Indefinite Tense
- •1. The Future Indefinite is formed by means of the auxiliary verbs shall/will
- •3. To denote future habitual actions which we assume will take place.
- •4. In sentences containing clauses of condition, time and sometimes purpose
- •The future continuous tense
- •The present perfect tense
- •III. The use of the Present Perfect
- •Have you been to Denmark?
- •Is this the first time you’ve been in hospital?
- •The present perfect continuous tense
- •I. The formation of the Present Perfect Continuous Tense
- •The past perfect tense
- •Had he not worked?
- •Hadn’t you worked?
- •The Squire was purple with anger before his son had done speaking.
- •With verbs not admitting of the Continuous form:
- •In negative sentences:
- •II. The contracted affirmative forms are:
- •Had he not been working?
- •Hadn’t you been working?
- •III. The use of the Past Perfect Continuous
- •The future perfect tense
- •I. The formation of thePerfect Continuous Tense
- •Will he not have worked?
- •Shan’t we have worked?
- •III. The use of the Future Perfect
- •The future perfect continuous tense
- •I. The formation of the Future Perfect Continuous Tense
- •II. The contracted affirmative forms are:
- •The Future Perfect Continuous denotes an action begun before a definite moment in the future and continued into that future moment;
- •The future-indefinite-in-the-past
- •I. The formation of the Future-Indefinite-in-the-Past
- •II. The contracted affirmative forms are:
- •Shouldn’t I work/
- •III. The use of the Future-Indefinite-in-the-Past.
- •The future-continuous-in-the-past
- •I. The formation of the Future-Continuous-in-the-Past
- •II. The contracted affirmative forms are:
- •I. The formation of the Future-Continuous-in-the-Past
- •I. The formation of the Future-Perfect-in-the-Past
- •II. The contracted affirmative forms are:
- •Should I not have been working?
- •Wouldn’t he have been working?
- •III. The use of the Future-Perfect-Continuous-in-the-Past
- •List of irregular verbs
- •Appendix
- •I. Some spelling rules
- •I. Doubling the final consonant.
- •II. Mute Final e.
- •III. Final -y and Its Modifications.
Verbs not normally used in the continuous tenses
The continuous tenses are chiefly used for deliberate actions. Some verbs are, therefore, not normally used in the continuous and have only one present tense, the simple present. These verbs can be grouped as follows:
I.Verbs of the senses (involuntary actions): feel, hear, see, smell; also notice and observe (= notice), and feel, look, taste used as link verbs.
Verbs such as gaze, listen, look (at), observe (= watch), stare and watch imply deliberate use of the senses, and can, of course, be used in the continuous tenses:
Watch! ~ I am watching but I don't see anything unusual.
He is listening to a tape, but he's wearing earphones so nobody else
hears it.
II. Verbs expressing feelings,emotions and wish, e.g. admire (= respect), 1 adore, appreciate (= value), care for (= like), desire, detest, dislike, fear, hate, like, loathe, love, mind (= care), respect, value, want, wish.
But the continuous can be used with admire meaning 'look at with admiration', appreciate meaning 'increase in value', care for meaning 'look after', long for, mind meaning 'look after/concern oneself with', value meaning 'estimate the financial worth of, enjoy and sometimes like/love meaning 'enjoy', and hate meaning the opposite, though it is safer to use the simple tenses with like, love and hate:
He's enjoying his holiday in the Arctic He hates touristy places and
he doesn 't mind the cold.
I'm minding my own business.
How are you liking/Do you like your new job? ~
I'm hating it/I hate it. I just don't like work, you see.
III. Verbs of mental activity, e.g. agree, appreciate ( = understand), assume, believe, expect (= think), feel (= think), feel sure/certain, forget, know, mean, perceive, realize, recall, recognize, recollect, remember, see (= understand), see through someone (= penetrate his attempt to deceive), suppose, think ( = have an opinion), trust (= believe/have confidence in), understand. But the continuous can be used with appreciate meaning 'to increase in value', doubt, guess, imagine, prefer.
IV. Verbs of possession: belong, owe, own, possess:
How much do I owe you?
V. Verbs denoting abstract relations: be, have, depend, fit, deserve, include, involve, lack, need, resemble, appear (= seem), concern, consist, contain, hold (= contain), keep (= continue), matter, seem, signify, sound (= seem/appear):
It concerns us all. This box contains explosives.
But appear meaning 'to come before the public' can be used in the continuous.
VI. Verbs denoting physical properties of objects: measure (=have length, width, etc.), taste (=have a flavour), smell (=give a smell), weigh (=have weigh).
VII. Verbs denoting effect or influence: astonish, impress, please, satisfy, surprise. Feel, look, smell and taste used in the continuous forms
1.feel
feel, when followed by an adjective indicating the subject's emotions or physical or mental condition, e.g. angry/pleased, happy/sad, hot/cold, tense/relaxed, nervous/confident, is normally used in the simple tenses but can also be used in the continuous:
How do you feel/are you feeling? ~ I feel/am feeling better.
feel meaning 'touch' (usually in order to learn something) can be used in the continuous:
The doctor was feeling her pulse. Similarly, feel for meaning 'try to find something by touching':
He was feeling for the keyhole in the dark. But feel is not used in the continuous when it means 'sense':
Don't you feel the house shaking? when it means 'think':
I feel you are wrong and when it is used as a link verb:
The water feels cold.