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    Advanced English grammar exercises on tenses

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    264 views9 pages

    Grammar Advanced Tenses

    Uploaded by

    Christine Jennifer Wight
    Advanced English grammar exercises on tenses

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    of 9
    e TENSE AND TIME ¥ 7 Grammar Notes Verb tenses convey a sense of relationships in time that link states, events, and actions. 1. Present time: We can describe present states, events, or actions in existence or happening now by using simple present tense or present progressive. We use present perfect or present perfect progressive to describe those events which began or occurred before now and either continue now or have continued until now. Now: Mark lives with two other students. His Spanish is getting better and better. BEGAN OR OCCURED BEFORE NOW: He hasn't had a chance to take one single siesta, He has been studying very hard. BE IIOMAS $/c LTOA y Mark has beet Fay vary war Before Now Now 2. Past time: We can express past states, events, or actions in terms of a specific time in the past with simple past tense. simple ast, Yesterday Mark wrote Emily a letter. Emily read it while she was eating lunch. We use past progressive, used fo + verb, or would + verb to describe states, events, or actions that occurred during a period of time in the past. Past progressive |sa0 was cooking dinner when the phone rang, used to+ vero ‘Mark used to study French, but now he studies Spanish. would verb He would close his books every night before ten. To express those states, actions, or events that occurred before then, we use past perfect or past perfect progressive. past perfect She hadn't seen him in many years. past perfect progressive ‘Mark had been studying all evening, and he was very tired. To express those states, actions, or events that occurred after then but before now, we use future in the past. ‘Mark thought Gina was going to ‘come to the party. He thought he would fail. Study the following sentences. The verb tenses convey the order of events in past time. ‘Mark and! Luis had heard about their anthropology teacher's demanding reputation before they began the course. Iseo had been having difficulty in his math Course before Mark helped him, He thought he was going to fail the course Mark used to think that the weather in Spain was always hot because he had seen so many pictures of people at the beach. sao had been having difficulty, Before That Mark helped him he was going sane lea0 athe thought, the Past Future in the past and habitual past: Future in the past is expressed with was/were going to or would + base form of verb. It is often used to refer to events that were supposed to take place but did not. |sao and Elena were going to attend ‘a concert after dinner. (They had planned to attend but didn't.) (continued on next page) Would + verb often has a slightly different meaning. It implies a possibility or expectation, but no specific plan. Mark thought he would be serenading «girls on balconies when he got to Spain. (He expected this but had no plan.) Be carefull Habitual past is expressed with used to and would. Both forms describe actions that were repeated in the past. Mark used to study every evening when the was in Spain. Mark would study every evening when fhe was in Spain, In the examples above, used to and would are interchangeable, since the sentences describe past actions. Although both used to and would can be used to describe repeated or continuing past actions that no longer exist, only used to can be used to describe past location, state, or possession. ‘Mark used to live in Dallas. (location) Nor ener He used to be overweight. (state) not He renee naan He used to have a dog, (possession) nor rhe entet ime ma . Future time: Will, be going to + base form of verb, simple present tense, present progressive, or future progressive can be used to describe states, events, and actions that will occur at some time in the future. ‘A TIME IN THE FUTURE: wll + ve ‘Mark will go back to Dallas in July. be going to + vero Luis and sao are going to stay another simple present ‘year after Mark leaves. Future perfect or future perfect progressive describe those states, events, and actions that will occur before that time in the future but after now. Mark's Spanioh will have FORE THAT TWE BLT AFTER NOW future perfect ‘Mark's Spanish will have improved greatly by next July. Mark will go to Dallas. Luis and lea0 are going to stay x improved greatly, another year. Now Before <— A Time —> After That That in the Future Be careful! Many sentences describing states, events, or actions in the future are made up of two clauses, one with if, afier, or similar words and a verb in the simple present tense and the other clause with a future form. ‘Mark will write his parents as soon as he gets a spare moment. ‘AS soon as he gets a spare moment, Mark will write his parents. Remember that in these sentences, the simple present tense is always used to describe the action that occurs first in time, and the future form is used to describe the action that occurs second. It doesn't matter which clause comes first in the sentence. Be careful! Do not use will or be going to in both clauses. The following sentence is incorrect: Mterhesilget his bachelor’s ee 4, Both simple and progressive verb forms indicate the time when something occurs. Remember, however, that a progressive form suggests a state, event, or action that in progress, incomplete, or temporary in relation to the moment of speech. ‘Mark is cooking dinner. (in progress at the moment of speech) He has been studying Spanish for eight years. (incomplete at the moment of speech) |sa0 was speaking Japanese yesterday. (emporery) 5. In past, present, and future sentences, stative verbs—verbs that express senses, feelings, possession, or thoughts—do not TENSE AND TIME ¥ 9 usually occur in the progressive or perfect progressive forms. Remember that when stative verbs do occur in the progressive, they take on special active meanings. See Appendix 3 on page A9 for alist of stative verbs. ‘Mark has a Spanish dictionary. (stative: possesses”) ‘Mark and his roommates are having dinner. (active: “eating") Usage note: Some native speakers use stative verbs in the progressive in informal conversational speech. Will you be needing a ride to the sirport? Pm really wanting a cup of coffee right now. 6. Remember that verb tenses often follow a certain sequence that indicates relationships in time. This feature is called sequence of tenses. In general, past forms go with other past forms, and present forms go with other present forms or with future forms. present present ‘Mark thinks the Spanish people are carefree, past ast ‘Mark thought the Spanish people were carefree. present ‘Mark expects that his fluency in Spanish future perfect vill have improved sreatly by the end of the year resent perfect The boys have rented an apartment and present progessive are moving in next weekend. Remember, though, that there are many ‘occasions where meaning makes mixing of tense forms necessary. She says she used to have long hair. Remember also the formal sequence of tenses that is observed in the following types of sentences. She sald she didn’t know. (indirect speech) If Mark spoke Japanese, he would take a tip to Japan. (conditional sentence) When Isao gets to class, he will take a test (time clauses) Mark wishes he were in Spain right now. (efter wish) Discover the Grammar Look again at some of the sentences from Mark's letters to Emily. On the lines provided, write the events in the order in which they happened or will happen. 1. I've been studying all afternoon, and I'm going to keep studying until midnight. I need to take a break, though, so I'm writing you First Ive been studying all afternoon. Second: [need to take a break. Im writing you Third Tm going to keep studying until midnight. (continued on next page) 2. I've bought presents for everyone, but I'm going to send them after the New Year because I don’t have time to go to the post office. First: Second; Third: 3. Lwas sure I was going to fail anthropology because I'd failed the first exam. First: Second; Third: 4, When I get to Spain, I'm going to be rooming with two other guys. We'll have gotten to know each other really well by then. First: Second Third: Bi Homesickness Mark is inviting his friend Alicia to a party. Fillin the blanks in their conversation, choosing between the verb forms given. Ifa stative verb has an active meaning, remember to use the progréssive. Mark: Hi, Alicia. This is Mark, _—_We're having a party tonight. Can you come? Weave] Were har Alicia: Sure, I'd love to. Do you need anything? some gazpacho TUmae Ta wa right now. What if that? And what time Tere Morar) there? TRS BRNO SAT ROOT BETTY — Mark: About 8:00, but maybe you could come earlier. Yes, bring the gazpacho, please. it. to invite Gina? 3 Tee nowrey E.GDo youwart re you warers) Alicia: I don’t know. Something's wrong. really distant these days, 7 ie was Fes bewey and shehasn’t___out of her room all morning. Teoria Tea aE 1 , on her door an hour ago and she ae Tr camry at me to go away because she TO Geld was yeTTSY on her term paper and didn’t want to be bothered. I don’t T waeG vas worn think that’s it, though. There was a faint sound of sobbing coming from her room, and at first, I thought I things because Gina never TE Creag was eine) . You know how much she cra her emotions in control. Ta Teepe eTeepray What do you think it is, then? Alicla: Well, for one thing, she and Jaime ___________each other, but they an Wee ETS) it off. The other thing Is that rt ae ee ea Mark: Alicia: homesick for Italy. She just hasn’t TESST BAD used to Spain. 1 Gaon een getTay That's too bad. A party is just what Gina 19 reece neeara) That should cheer her up. Try to get her to come. She WO. (We Gance and sng / Were gong to be Gancing and sinara) should be with others. OK, I will. 'll be there as soon as some errands. Th gan nea) Perceptions ee ees Se Jihan and Luis aré having a conversation about Spain. Fill in the blanks in their conversation with simple and perfect forms of the indicated verbs. Use contracted {forms with pronouns. Jihan: Luis: Jihan: Luis: Jihan: Luis: Why are you in Spain, Luis? Well, my school awarded a scholarship to study abroad to the person who had studied Spanish the longest. I cr) Teen Spanish since elementary school, and I jumped at the chance to be in this program when I won the award. What ee of Spain? Well, I really like it, but a lot of my perceptions — since s a Portuguese, but since then | era that’s not the case. | also thought everybody ale a siesta every afternoon. Actually, hardly anybody aa What about you? Do you like Spain? PoC too, though. A Spanish-speaking TORS family, the Sotos, lived next door to us in Alexandria when I was a girl. They a daughter my age named Pilar and we Tae) good friends. Our family got to know her family really well. Since then | == close to the Spanish people. I'll tell you one thing, though: I expected Spanish women to be like Mrs. Soto. She sweet and submissive, always deferring to her husband. Ta The Spanish women I since | got here Sree that way at all! Te Yeah, Spanish women can be very assertive. How's your Spanish coming? (continued on next poge) y CV a . ' as 12 ¥ UNT1 ? a a Jihan: Pretty well. By the time the program in June, Teena fluent, I think. What about yours? TE Luis: I guess I'm fluent, but I'd better be; by next January 1 onit Tray for ten years. I still make plenty of mistakes, though! | 4. | Country and City ) Isao and Elena are talking about life in the country and the city. Fill in the blanks in their conversation with correct forms of used to or would. Use would if t is possible to do so. Isao: Have you always lived in Madrid, Elena? Elena: No. In fact, I've only been here for a year. | used to live in San Acasio; it's a small "Cie town north of here. And when I was a little girl, from 1980 to 1984, my father was a visiting professor at the University of Salamanca, We there every summer 260 during those four years, and we a farmhouse outside the city. My father 3 Gen his classes in the mornings and us on outings 4% (ead 5 cal in the afternoons. How about you? I know you live in Tokyo now, but in @ (ou notive) Sapporo? Isao: Yes, we did when I was young. We also a summer house in a small Te village near there. We don’t have it anymore, though. 's too bad, because I have some fond memories of the place. We__a month there in the early summer and 8 Gee) another month in the winter. It was great for us children because we think about school or homework for a whole month. I really miss that simple life in the country. Elena: Me too. I'd like to go back to it university bulletin board in Barcelona 5. | Plans and Expectations Ayear ago, when Mark was on the plane to Madrid, he wrote down some of his expectations for the coming year; some of them came true, and some didn't. Now ‘Mark is back in the United States and is telling his friends about his experiences. Write Mark’s sentences. Use the indicated future-in-the-past constructions: -_was/were going to + verb or would + verb. Be sure to respect the sequence of tenses. 1. imagine that I'll fall in love with a Spanish girl, (would) imagined that I fall in love with a Spanish girl but I didn't. 2.1 think I'll make a lot of new friends, (would) and I did. 3.1'm sure | won't have to study very much, (would) but I had to study a whole lot. 4.1'm sure I'm not going to have any difficulty with my courses, (was/were going to) but [had tremendous difficulty for quite a while. 5.1 think I'm going to be doing a lot of serenading of sefioritas on their balconies, (was/were going to) but I only did that once, and that was sort of a joke. 6. lexpect that I'll love Spanish food and will learn to prepare it, (would) and I did. You're all invited to dinner. 7. Pm sure that the Spanish people will turn out to be fun-loving and carefree, (would) but that was an oversimpli mn, They're fun-loving and serious. 8. [hope that I'm going to write in my diary every day, (was/were going to) but I rarely had time. I did write in it occasionally. | 6. | Misconceptions At the beginning of the year, all the students in the International Program had some misconceptions about people from other countries—some silly and some that could be hurtful. Using the following prompts and the indications of time in parentheses, write sentences describing their misconceptions and their discoveries. Make sure to follow the sequence of tenses. 1, Mark/be/under the impression that/Spain/be/the land of mafana. (past time) Mark was under the impression that Spain was the land of maMtana. 2, Isao/think/people in Spain/wear/large Mexican sombreros. (past time) 3. He/discover,/however,/that/large sombreros/be/relatively uncommon in Spé (present time) 4. Luis/assume that/everyone in Spain/can/speak/Portuguese. (past time) 5. Until she/meet Mark,/Alicia/believe/a lot of Americans/be/arrogant. (past time) 6, She/learn/that/this/be not/necessarily true. (present time) 7. Mark and Alicia/think/all Italians/express their emotions/freely. (past time) 8. They/find out that/not all Italians/be/outwardly emotional. (present time) 9. Elena/think/Japanese and American people/always have/plenty of money until she/meet Isao and Mark. (past time) 10. Now she/expect that/she/have to/lend them money. (present time) 11, When Luis/tell/Isao/he/go/introduce him to a young woman from Egypt, Isao/expect that/the woman/will/be wearing a veil. (past time) 12, He/learn from Jihan that/many Muslim women/not wear/veils. (past or present time) 7. | Editing ‘Find is and correct the twenty mistakes in verb tense usage in the following composition. Wn TREINAMEST = COMSULIOR! ume = Te rmjomas S/C LTDA + am writing these words in English because | =ractise, At this moment | have been on an airplane over the Pacific Bean, en route to a year of study at New York Univets® inthe United States. | am looking forward to being theres but | am also a little ‘afraid, What will | find when | will get to "America? Will the Americans be

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