Verb tenses, no more challenges!

Structures, meanings and use of the tenses.

Present Structures

Present simple: 

Remember: 's' and 'es' for the he / she / it form 

The Present Simple is used for: 

I) Actions that are repeated or habitual

ii) States

iii) Statements that are always true

For example:

I get up at 8am.

I like coffee.

Negative:

Do not / don't and Does not / doesn't 

The negative part of the present simple is a little more complicated because you have to add 'do' and 'do not'  before the main verb.

For example: 

I / you / they / we do like ... 

I / you / we / they do not like or don't like ...

He / she / it does like ... 

He / she / it does not like or doesn't like ...

Question:

Do

For example: 

What do they like?

What don't they like?

What doesn't he like?

Present Continuous 

Remember: 'to be' + 'ing'

I am / he is / she is / we are / you are / they are + 'ing'

The Present Continuous is used for actions that have begun but are not finished. It can also be used to talk about future arrangements. The present continuous describes what's happening now. 

Negative:

Is not / isn't and Are not / aren't

For example:

Thailand isn't getting wealthier each year.

Question: 

Is / Are

For example:

Are you going away next week? 

Present Perfect:

You will use the Present Perfect for unfinished past actions and for past actions when the time is not specified. 

Present of 'to have' + past participle.

I / you / we / they have + past participle

He / she / it has + past participle

I have eaten all the cheesecake again!

I have forgotten your name.

Negative:

Has not / hasn't 

For example:

I have not or haven't ...

She has not or hasn't ...

Question:

Has / have 

For example:

Has she forgotten your name?

Have they forgotten to pick you up?

Present Perfect Continuous:

Present of 'to have' + 'been' + 'ing'

I have been eating cheesecake all day.

The Present Perfect Continuous is used to emphasise the duration of a recent past activity. It can also be used for actions that began in the past and are still going on now.

For example:

I / you / they / we have been running all day.

He / she / it has been running all day.

Negative:

Has not or hasn't

Have not or haven't

For example:

He hasn't been waiting for an hour.

Question:

Have / has 

For example:

Has he been running all day?

Have they been running all day?

Past Structures

Past Simple:

The past simple is used for actions that happened either at a specific time and can be given a time phrase like 'yesterday' or 'last night' or understood from the context. 

Regular verbs end in 'ed' or 'd' and irregular verbs have many different forms.

Regular:

I watched the match.

I cleaned my teeth.

Irregular:

I ate an apple.

Negative:

Did not / didn't 

For example:

He didn't learn any Thai in the first few months.

Question:

Did 

For example:

Did you work there long?

Past Continuous:

The past continuous is used for actions going on in the past.

All continuous tenses are made from 'to be' and 'ing'

I was / he was / she was / it was / we were / you were / they were + ing

He was watching the match.

He was cleaning his teeth.

Negative:

Was not / wasn't 

Were not / weren't 

For example:

The teacher asked why he wasn't working on his project.

Question:

Was / Were 

For example:

Were you running yesterday?

Past Perfect Simple:

You will use the past prefect simple for an action that happened in the past but before something happened in the past. 

Past of 'to have' + past participle

I / you / we / they had eaten everything before he arrived.

He / she / it had eaten everything before he arrived.

Negative:

Had not or hadn't

For example:

I hadn't read anything before the test. 

Question:

'Had' comes before the subject.

For example: 

Why hadn't she eaten before the test?

Past Perfect Continuous:

This is where 2 actions happened in the past but one happened before the other. 

Past of 'to have' + 'been '+ 'ing'

I had been sleeping for hours when the phone rang.

Negative:

Have not or haven't

For example: 

They haven't been waiting long when the bus arrived.

Question:

Had 

For example:

How many years had you been waiting to get her into that school? 

Future Structures

Future Simple:

The future simple always includes 'will' + the 'infinitive' without the 'to' (the base form of the verb).

Often you will use it in conjunction with 'next week', 'month', 'year' or 'tomorrow' and 'later'. 

I / he / she / it / we / you / they will go. 

It's always 'will', even in the plural form.

Negative:

Will not or won't

For example:

He will not run if he hasn't trained.

Question:

Make it into a question by putting 'will' before the subject word.

For example:

Will he run today? 

Future continuous:

'will'+ 'to be' + 'ing'

An action that's in progress in the future.

He will be having dinner at 9pm until 10pm, if you want to see him.

Negative:

Will not or won't

For example:

I bet she won't be getting up early tomorrow.

Question:

'Will' before the subject.

For example:

Will she be coming to the party next week?

Future Perfect:

'will have' + past participle

It is used for describing an action that will finish by a certain time in the future. 

For example:

I will have finished the TEFL course by February and plan to travel by March. Yippee!

Most of the sentences will have a time reference.

Negative:

Will not or won't

For example:

Jack will not have learnt anything if he doesn't go to class.

Question:

Put 'will' before the subject pronoun.

For example:

Will he have eaten all the pizza before everyone arrives?

Future Perfect Continuous:

Usually used for duration of a specific moment of time in the future.

'will have' + 'been' + 'ing'

I will have been working for 3 months by the time I finish.

Negative:

Will not

Won't 

For example:

He won't have been driving for that long.

Question:

'Will' before the subject.

For example:

Will he have been writing for that many years?