GRAMÁTICA INGLESA

Unidad 2

Milton Pájaro
PRESENT, PAST AND FUTURE TENSES

BY:

LILIAN DEL CARMEN RAMÍREZ RIVAS

CECAR UNIVERSITY CORPORATION

SEMESTER: 3°

PROGRAM:

BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN ENGLISH

SUBJECT:

ENGLISH GRAMMAR

TEACHER:

ANDREA PAOLA FIGUEROA RAMIREZ

 Verb Tenses

2.1 Present Continuous

We form the present continuous with the auxiliary

verb to be and the main verb with the ing suffix.

Use

We use the present continuous for:

a) Actions happening now, at the moment of speaking.

e.g. They are walking in the park

b) Temporary actions happening around now but not at the actual moment of speaking.

e.g. He is studying hard these days.

Time Expressions
Time expressions used with the present continuous are: now, at the moment, at

present, these days, etc.

Spelling rules
a) Verbs ending in –e drop the –e and take the ing suffix. Write=writing but

see=seeing

b) Verbs ending in one stressed vowel between two consonants, double the last

consonant and take the ing suffix. Sit=sitting but Open= Opening

c) Verbs ending in –l, double the l and take the –ing suffix. Travel=travelling

d) Verbs ending in –ie, drop the –ie and take –y +ing. Lie=lying, die=dying.
 Affirmative Negati Interrogative
ve
I am Working I am not Working Am I Working?

You are You are not Are you

working He is working He is not Working? Is he

working She working She is Working?

is working It not working It is Is she

is working not working Working? Is it

We are working We are not working Working? Are

They are working They are not working we Working?

Are They Working?

Exercises

1) Add –ing to the verbs and put them in the correct box.

Walk, dance, swim, shop, lie, study, laugh, write, play, smoke, look, stop, sleep,

die, run.

+ ing -ie = y+ing

Study,sleep,laugh,play,look,walking, Die , lie

-e = ing Double consonant +ing

Write,dance,smoke, Swim,run,stop,shop,
 2) Fill In with the present Continuous.

a) He  is sitting (sit) at the desk

b) They are playing (play) Football

c) She is eating (eat) dinner

d) You are reading (read) a book

e) The dog is sleeping (sleep)

f) Ana is swimming (Swim)

g) I am listening (Listen) to music

h) Tom is writing (write) a report

i) The Birds are singing (Sing)

j) Mum is making (Make) a Cake

3) Correct the mistakes

a) We looking for a new flat=  We are looking for a new flat

b) I am play tennis now=  I am playing tennis now

c) George and Mary is Watching tv= George and Mary are watching tv now

d) What are you do?= what are you doing

e) You isn’t listening to the teacher= you aren't listening to the teacher

f) He reading a Magazine= He is reading a magazine

=
 4) Choose 5 people (members of your family, friends, wife, husband, children,

etc) and describe what are they doing?

R/= My mom is in the office working

My sister is working in architecture

My dad is cleaning the garden

My friends are playing video games

My grandmother is watching TV

2.2 Present Simple

We form the Present simple with the subject

and the main verb. We usually add an –S to

the third person singular in the affirmative

form. In the interrogative and negative forms

we use the auxiliary verb do/don’t with I,

you, we, they and does/doesn’t with, he, she

and it. We do not add an –S to the main verb

when it appears with does/doesn’t.

Use

a) The present simple is used for repeated actions or daily routines. E.g. She

usually plays tennis at the weekends

b) Permanent states. E.g. He works in a Hospital

c) General truths or laws of nature. E.g. The sun sets in the west.

Spelling Rules
Most verbs take –s in the third person singular
Verbs ending in -ss, -sh, -ch, -x and -o take es. e.g. miss=misses, finish=finishes

Verbs ending in a Consonant + Y, drop the Y and take –ies. E.g. Study=studies.

Time expressions

Time expressions used with the present simple are:

Every day/week/year, Usually, Always, etc.

Every morning/afternoon/evening/night,

In the morning/ afternoon/evening/at night, etc.

Affirmative Negati Interrogative

ve
I work I do not Work Do I Work?

You You do not Do you

work work He does Work? Does

He not work She he Work?

works does not work It Does she

She does not work Work? Does

works It We do not work it Work? Do

works They do not work we Work?

We Do They Work?

work

They work
 Short answers

In short answers we only use yes or no. the subject pronoun and the auxiliary verb. We do not repeat the main verb.

SOLUTION

Do you work? Yes, i/we do

No, I/we don’t

Does he/she/It? Yes, he/she/it does

Does she travel in
Italia No, he/she/it
doesn’t
Do They study? Yes, they do

No, They Don’t

Exercises

1) Write the third person singular of the verbs in the list in the correct box

Dance, brush, open, try, fix, buy, put, kiss, like, dry, go, catch, wash, sit, fly, copy,

teach, play, pass, begin, say.

-S - -
E IE
S S
Dances Brushes Tries
Puts Passes Copies
Likes Washes Flies
Plays Kisses dries
Says Goes
Begins Teaches
Opens Catches
sits fixes
2) Put the verbs in brackets into the present simple.

a) I play (play) football with my friends on Sundays

b) Tina walks (walk) to school every day

c) We goes (go) to bed at 10’oclock every night

d) Penguins lives (live) in the Antarctic

e) Tony studies (study) maths at the university

f) John and Peter visits (visit) their grandparents every week

g) Sally speak (Speak) Spanish

h) Mike does (do) his homework every evening

i) Susan washes (wash) her hair every day

j) Water boils (boil) at 100° Celsius.

3) Correct the mistakes

a) He don’t speak English= He doesn’t speak English

b) He is swimming every morning= He swims every morning

c) Does you work in a bank?= Do you work in a bank

 d) I have dinner now= I having dinner now

e) Mark walk to school every day=Mark walks to school every day

f) Kate is liking Pizza= Kate likes pizza

g) The sun is rising in the east= The sun is rise in the east

h) Susan and Michael lives in London= Susan and Michael live in London

i) We re needing some sugar= We need some sugar

4) Describe briefly your daily routine. Take into account, adverbs of frequency nd

the present simple.

5) Hi my name is Lilian Ramírez, I’m 18 years old and I’m Colombian, I live with my

Family in Istmina-Chocó.

My day I usually starts wake up early at 7:00am, I brush my teeth, after I have

sweep and mop the house, I like to prepare the breakfast.

After I have to clean the cage of my parrot Marcelo ang feed , I usually take a

shower, get dressed, I start to study at 9:00am, I finish the homework at 11:00am.

At noon I help make lunch, and then I take five minutes brake.

In the afternoon I have to seize time with college commitments at 2:30, after I

finish my study, I go to watch movies in an hour , In my house I usually hear the

prayer at 6:00pm, My sister finishes the architect work at 12 :00 pm, My father go

to bed at 8:00pm.
 2.3 Past Simple

For this tense we will talk about the past simple

of the verb to be and the past simple of regular

and irregular verbs. In general terms we use the

past simple for actions that finished at a definite

stated time in the past. That is, we know when

the action happened.

e.g. They were in berlin last

month I visited Canada last

month.

Also, we use past simple for repeated actions which happened in the past but don’t happen

anymore. In this case we can use adverbs of frequency. (always, often, usually)

e.g. My father often took me to the park when I was a child

Past simple (was/were)

The past simple of the verb to be is was for I, she, he, it and were for we, you, they. We

form questions by putting was/were before the subject pronoun. E.g. She was ill yesterday

-- Was she ill yesterday?

We form negations by putting not after was/were. E.g. she was not/wasn’t ill yesterday
 Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I was I was not Was I?

You You were Were

were not He was you?

He was not She Was he?

She was not It Was

was It was not she?

was We were Was it?

We not Were

were They were not we?

They were Were they?

Short answers-Past SimpleTense

In short answers we only use Yes or No, the personal pronoun and the verb form

was/wasn’t or were/weren’t. We do not repeat the whole question.

Were you here? Yes, I was/we were

No, I wasn’t/we
weren’t

Was he/she/It….? Yes, he/she/it was

Ws she studied
english
No, he/she/it wasn’t

Were They dancing? Yes, they were

No, They weren’t

Past simple (regular and irregular verbs)

We form the past simple of regular verbs by adding –ed to the main verb. E.g. He played

football yesterday. We form questions with the auxiliary verb did, the subject pronoun and
the main verb without –ed. E.g. Did he play football yesterday? We form negations with

did not/didn’t and the main verb without –ed. He did not/didn’t play football yesterday.

Spelling Rules

1. Verbs ending in –ed take only –d. like=liked

2. Verbs ending in a consonant + y, drop the y and take –ied. Study=studied.

but verbs ending in a vowel + Y, take –ed. Play=played

3. Verbs Ending in one stressed vowel between two consonants double the last

consonant and take –ed. Stop=stopped. BUT Visit=Visited

4. Verbs ending in one l, double the l and take –ed. Travel- travelled.

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I worked I did not work Did I work?

You You did not Did you

worked work He did work? Did

He not work She he work?

worked did not work It Did she

She did not work work? Did It

worked It We did not work work?

worked Did we work?

We worked
 They worked They did not work Did they work?

Irregular verbs do not form the past simple by adding –ed. They have a special form to

form the past and the past participle of the verb. (see list of irregular verbs at the end of the

module). They form questions and negations with did/didn’t and the root form of the verb.

E.g. he went out. Did he go out? – he didn’t go out.

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I went I did not go Did I go?

You You did not Did you

went go He did go? Did

He not go She he go?

went did not go It Did she

She did not go go? Did It

went It We did not go?

went go Did we go?

We They did not go Did they go?

went

They went
Short answers ´Past simple Tense

In short answers we only use Yes or No, the subject pronoun and the auxiliary verb

did/didn’t. We do not repeat the whole question.

e.g. Did you go to the cinema? Yes, I did / No, I didn’t

Did you studied? Yes, I Did/we Did

No, I didn’t /we didn’t

Did he/she/It….? Yes, he/she/it did

Did she cook
No, he/she/it didn’t

Did They sleep ? Yes, they did

No, They didn’t

Did you play football? Yes, I Did/we Did

No, I didn’t /we didn’t

Did he/she/It….? Yes, he/she/it did

Did he studied french
No, he/she/it didn’t

Did They drink coffee? Yes, they did

No, They didn’t

Exercises

1) Fill in was, wasn’t, were or weren’t

a) Was Marilyn Monroe a famous actress? Yes, she was

b) Was Alfred Hitchcock an actor? No, he wasn´t He was a

famous director

c) Was Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin directors? No, they weren´t .

They were composers.

d) Was Thomas Edison a singer? No he wasn´t . He was _ an

inventor.

e) Were Abraham Lincoln and George Washington presidents of the

USA? Yes, They were

2) Write the past simple of the verbs in the correct box

Laugh, tidy, travel, stay, plan, hate, cry, rob, pull, love, study, dance, kiss,

drop, change, enjoy, try, live, prefer, cook, hurry.

 -ed -d

stayed, hated, pulled, loved, danced, lived

kissed, changed, enjoyed, cooked.

-ied Double consonant +

ed
Studied, cried, tidied, studied, tried, travelled, planned, robbed, dropped,
hurried preferred

3) Write the past simple of the verbs

1. Run Ran 12. Take took

2. Make Made 13. Drive Drove

3. Break Broke 14. Steal Stole

4. Read Read 15. Write Wrote

5. See Saw 16. Wake Woke

6. Drink Drank 17. Bring Brought

7. Feed Fed 18. Leave Left

8. Eat Ate 19. Sleep Slept

9. Come Came 20. Swim Swam

10. Find Found 21. Know Knew

11. Say Said 22. Give Gave

4) Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form of the past simple
 1. Did you go to school yesterday (you/go)

2. He read an interesting book last month (read)

3. I looked for my keys but I didn´t find them (not/find)

4. I wasn’t hungry so I didn´t anything (not/eat)

5. Did you rang the bell? (you/ring)

6. What did they for breakfast? (they/have)

5) First put the verbs into the interrogative form of the past simple, then

match the questions to the answers.

1. What time did you get up (you/get up) this morning?

2. When when did she move (she/move) to London?

3. Why did she go (he/go) to Paris?

4. Where did he see (he/see) the film?

5. Whose Car did she driver (she/drive) this morning?

6. Who did they invite (they/invite) to dinner?

7. What did you have (you/have) for lunch?

a. Four years ago 2 e. Jean and Tom 5

b. At the cinema 4 f. For a holiday 3

c. Pizza 7 g. Robert’s 6

d. At 8 o’clock 1
2.4 Past Continuous

We form the past continuous with was/were

(past simple of the verb to be) and the main

verb with the -ing suffix. We form questions by

putting was/were before the subject. We form

negations by putting the word not after

was/were

Use

We use the past continuous:

a) For an action which was in progress at a stated time in the past. We do not know

when the action started or finished. E.g. at 9:00 a.m yesterday I was washing

my car.

b) For a past action which was in progress when another action interrupted it. We use

the past continuous for the action in progress(longer action) and the past simple for

the action that interrupted it (shorter action). E.g. He was washing the dishes when

the phone rang.

c) For two or more actions which were happening at the same time in the past. E.g.

the people were listening, while he was singing.

d) To give the background information in a story in the past. E.g. the sun was shining,

the dogs were barking…

Time expressions

Time expressions used with the past continuous include: while, when, as, , all

day/night/afternoon, etc

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I was Studying I was not Studying was Studying?

You were You were not were You

Studying He was Studying He was not Studying? was He

Studying She Studying She was not Studying? was She

was Studying It Studying It was not Studying? was It

was Studying Studying Studying? were

We were We were not Studying We Studying?

Studying They were not Studying were They Studying?

They were Studying

 Short answers Past continuous

In short answers we only use Yes or No, the subject pronoun and was/wasn’t,

were/weren’t. We do not repeat the whole question.

e.g. Were you doing homework yesterday at 7:00 p.m.? Yes, I was/No, I wasn’t

Were you listen to Yes, I was/we were

music?
No, I wasn’t /we weren’t

Was he/she/It….? Yes, he/she/it was

Was she paint
No, he/she/it wasn’t

Were They studied? Yes, they were

No, They weren’t

Exercises
1) Put the verbs in brackets into the past continuous

A: What was happening (happen) at the time of the robbery?

B: Well, I was sitting (sit) in my office. I was talking (talk) to an

employee. Some of the staff was putting (put) food onto the

shelves. Several customers were doing (do) their shopping and a cashier

Was standing (stand) behind the till.

A: Can you tell me anything about the robbers?

B: yes, They were wearing (wear) black masks and they

Were holding (hold) guns. They were shouting _(shout).

2) Match column A with Column B

Column A 2. We were watching the

1. While I was driving children= c
home= e
3. He cut his finger=a
4. At eight o’clock yesterday=f b. He was sleeping in his bed
5. As she was crossing the c. While they were playing
street=d
d. She slipped and fell
6. While they were talking=b
e. I ran out of petrol
Column B
f. The doorbell rang
a. As he was chopping wood

3) Correct the mistakes

a) Tom was washing the car while the fire started

b) Nelly was studying when her sister was listening to music

c) Harried was opening the door and walked into the house

d) We were having lunch at a lovely restaurant every day when we were on holiday

e) Brian drank tea at five o’clock yesterday afternoon

 f) Dad was repairing the TV while mum cooked dinner

g) I was buying a new dress for my party yesterday

h) While Jeff built the fence, he hurt himself

i) While the teacher were speaking, the students was listening to him

4) What were the following people doing yesterday at 4:00 o’clock p.m.?

a) Your sister/brother my sister was doing an architecture job yesterday

b) Your father was preparing the classes of Physic Education

c) Your Mother was working in the office

d) Your best friend was doing the English homework

e) Your boyfriend/husband/girlfriend/wife
 2.5 Present Perfect

We form the present perfect with the

auxiliary verb have/has and the past

participle. We form the past participle of

regular verbs by adding –ed to the verb.

E.g. clean=cleaned, study=studied.

We form the past participle of irregular verbs differently. E.g. give=given (See the list of

irregular verbs at the end of the module).

We form questions by putting have/has before the subject pronoun. E.g. has she

cleaned the house? Have you written a book?

We form negations by putting not between have/has and the past participle. e.g. She

has not/hasn’t cleaned the house. I have not/haven’t written a book

Use

We use the present perfect:

a) For actions which happened t an unstated indefinite time in the past. The exact time

is not important. E.g. they have bought a new house (it is not mentioned when did

they buy the house)

 b) For actions which started in the past and are still continuing in the present. e.g I

have known Mary for ten years.

c) For actions which have recently finished and their results are visible in the present.

E.g. He has just painted the fence. (he has just finished painting it)

Time expressions

The time expressions used with the present perfect include: since, for, how long,

ever, never, yet, already, just, recently.

Regular Verbs

Affirmati Negati Interrogative

ve ve
I have cleaned I’ve cleaned I have not cleaned I haven’t cleaned Have I cleaned?

You have cleaned you’ve cleaned You have not cleaned You haven’t cleaned Have you
cleaned?

He has cleaned he’s cleaned He has not cleaned he hasn’t cleaned Has he cleaned?

She has cleaned she’s cleaned She has not cleaned she hasn’t cleaned Has she cleaned?

It has cleaned it’s cleaned It has not cleaned it hasn’t cleaned Has it cleaned?

We have cleaned We’ve cleaned We have not cleaned We haven’t cleaned Have we cleaned?

They have cleaned They’ve cleaned They have not They haven’t cleaned Have they
cleaned cleaned?
 Irregular verbs

Affirmati Negati Interrogative

ve ve

I have eaten I’ve eaten I have not eaten I haven’t eaten Have I eaten?

You have eaten you’ve eaten You have not eaten You haven’t eaten Have you eaten?

He has eaten he’s eaten He has not eaten he hasn’t eaten Has he eaten?

She has eaten she’s eaten She has not eaten she hasn’t eaten Has she eaten?

It has eaten it’s eaten It has not eaten it hasn’t eaten Has it eaten?

We have eaten We’ve eaten We have not eaten We haven’t eaten Have we eaten?

They have eaten They’ve eaten They have not eaten They haven’t Have they eaten?
eaten
 Short Answers present perfect

In short answers we only use Yes or No, the subject pronoun and the auxiliary verb

have/haven’t or has/ hasn’t. We do not repeat the whole question.

e.g. Have you ever eaten Chinese rice? Yes, I have / No, I haven’t

Have you eaten? Yes, I have/we have

No, I /we haven’t

Has he/she/It….? Yes, he/she/it has

Has she studied

No, he/she/it hasn’t

Have They dancing? Yes, they have

No, They haven’t

Exercises

1) Write the past participle of the following verbs

VERBS PAST-PARTICIPLE
See Seen
Cut Cut
Work Work
Leave Left
Feed Fed
Bring Brought
Swing Swung
Buy Bought
Drink Drunk
Go Gone
Catch Caught
Read Read
Arrive Arrived
Make Made
Give Given
Sing Sung
Teach Taught
Ring Rung
Do Done
Eat Eaten
2) Ask and answer questions using the prompts as in the example

a) My friend has opened (open) a flower shop in the village.

b) I haven´t done (not/do) my homework yet

c) The baker  has baked (bake) many loaves of bread

d) Have you sent (you/send) aunt Margaret a birthday

card yet?

e) Grandma has watered (water) the flowers

f) I have lost (lose) my gloves

g) He He hasn´t (not/finish) his lunch yet

h) Beth has knitted (knit) a beautiful red sweater.

3) Put the verbs in brackets into the present perfect

A: What have you done (you/do) so far?

B: Lots of things. I have cleaned (clean) the house, I have not cooked (cook)

Lunch and I have taken (take) the dog for a walk. What about you?

I ha watered (water) the flowers, I have not washed (wash) the

dishes and I have cut (cut) the grass.

2.6 Future with Will and Future with going to

We form the future simple with will and the root form of the verb. E.g. He will visit his

friends. We form questions by putting will before the subject pronoun. E.g. will he visit his

friends?. We form negation by putting not after will. E.g. He will not/won’t visit his

friends.

We use the future simple:

a) For future actions which re not definite. E.g. We will travel around the world

one day

b) For predictions about the future. E.g. you will be a great computer operator one day

c) For threats or warnings. E.g. Be quiet or I will send you out

d) For promises or on-the-spot decisions. E.g. I will buy you this ring
 e) With the verbs hope, think, believe, expect, etc., The expressions I’m sure, I’m

afraid etc. and the adverbs probably, perhaps, etc. e.g. I hope he will pass his

exams.

Time expressions:

The time expressions used with the future simple include: tomorrow, the day

after tomorrow, next week/month/year, tonight.

Affirmati Negati Interrogative

ve ve
I will leave I’ll leave I will not leave I won’t leave Will I leave?

You will leave You’ll leave You will not leave You won’t leave Will you leave?

He will leave He’ll leave He will not leave He won’t leave Will he leave?

She will leave She’ll leave She will not leave She won’t leave Will she leave?

It will leave It’ll leave It will not leave It won’t leave Will it leave?

We will leave We’ll leave We will not leave We won’t leave Will we leave?

They will leave they’ll leave They will not leave They won’t leave Will they leave?

Short Answers Present Perfect

In short answers we only use Yes or No, the subject pronoun and the auxiliary verb

will/won’t. We do not repeat the whole question.

e.g. Have you ever eaten Chinese rice? Yes, I have / No, I haven’t

will you leave ? Yes, I will/we will

 No, I will not/we
won’t
will he/she/It….? Yes, he/she/it will
Will she study
No, he/she/it won’t

will They reading? Yes, they will

No, They won’t

Be Going to:

We form the affirmative with the verb to be (is, am, are), going to and the root form of the

verb. E.g. He is going to eat out tonight. We form questions by putting the verb to be

before the subject pronoun. E.g. is he going to eat out tonight? We form negations by

putting not after the verb to be. E.g. He is not/isn’t going to eat out tonight.

Use:

We use be going to:

a) For plans and intentions for the (near) future. E.g. I am going to play football

this afternoon.

b) When there is evidence that something is going to happen in the near future. E.g.

It is going to rain. There are dark clouds in the sky.

Affirmati Negati Interrogative

ve ve
I am going I’m going I am not going I’m not going Am I going to leave?

to leave to leave to leave to leave

Short Answers-Be going to

In short answers with be going to we only use Yes or No, the subject pronoun and the

verb to be. We do not repeat the whole question.

e.g. Are you going to the cinema tonight? Yes, I am/ No, I’m not

Are you going to the Yes, I am/we are

beach?

No, I am not /we

aren’t

Is he/she/It….? Yes, he/she/it is

Is she going to the

gym No, he/she/it isn’t

Are They going to Yes, they are

Pizza shop?

No, They aren’t

Exercises

1) Fill in the blanks with will or will not

a) You are late. You won’t get there in time

b) The Ice-cream is melting. I will put it in the freezer

c) Perhaps Tom will start looking for a better job

d) I won´t be able to help you tomorrow because I’m busy

e) We haven’t got any milk. I will buy some

f) Put on your coat or you _will get cold

g) I’m afraid I wont have time to go shopping with you next Saturday

2) Write questions and negations

a) They will be back soon. Will they be back soon? They won’t be back soon

b) Tom will go to Africa next year Tom won´t go to Africa next year.

c) I will visit my girlfriend next month I won´t visit my girlfriend

d) She will visit us next Tuesday She won´t visit us next Tuesday.

e) I will play football someday next month I won´t play football someday next month
3) Fill in the short answers

a) Will they go camping next week? Yes, they will

b) Will Tom buy a car next year? No, he won´t

c) Will Fiona go to a concert tonight? No, she won´t

d) Will the children decorate the cake? Yes, They will

e) Will mother be back in an hour? No, she won´t

f) Will you help me fix the tv? No, he won´t

4) Fill in the gaps with the correct form of be going to and the verbs in brackets

a) I´m going to (buy) a new car next month

b) When you going to tidy (you/tidy) your bedroom?

c) Bob going to play (play) football on Saturday because he has hurt his

leg

d) Barry and Jason going to visit (visit) their grandparents on Sunday

e) Monica is going to sing (sing) in the concert. She has a sore throat

f) I´m going to walk (walk) to school today. I’ll take the bus

g) Would you like help (you/help) me wash the dishes after lunch?
5) Describe what are your plans for the next month? How do you see yourself in 5

years?

For next month I …start to study hard to achieve my personals goals, work on my career and be
committed to social need, win every semester without neglecting commitments.

In five years I … see myself as a highly successful language graduate, formed by a good quality
university that allows me to work as a teacher in the teaching of English.