WORKSHEET: Chapter 4

Task 1: Complete the chart below with the present simple tense, using the verb ‘go’:

PERSON POSITIVE QUESTION NEGATIVE

I I go. Do I go? I don’t go.

You You go. Do you go? You don’t go.
He/she/it He/She/It goes. Does she/he it She/he/It
go? doesn’t go.
we We go. Do we go? We don’t go.
you You go. Do you go? You don’t go.
They They go. Do they go? They don’t go.

Task 2: Identify the following tenses, and give reasons for the identification:
a) I have never met anybody famous. Present perfect as it is talking about something which
began in the past and is still true now and the form of the present perfect is: subject + auxiliary
verb (have) + past participle
b) John is having a shower at the moment. Present continuous because it describes an action
that is in progress at the time of speaking and the form of the present continuous is: subject +
auxiliary verb (be) + verb + ing.
c) I go shopping at least twice a week. Present simple because the sentence is used to describe
a habitual/routine action and the form of the present simple is: subject + base form (+s/es).
d) I have been working here for 10 years. Present perfect continuous because it expresses an
incomplete and ongoing activity and the form of the present perfect continuous is subject +
auxiliary verb (have) + been + verb + ing.
Task 3: State as many usages as possible of the present tenses with an example sentence for
each (not a sentence from the unit!). One of the usages for the present simple, with an
example sentence, has been done for you. Bear in mind that there are more:
a) Present simple
1- Facts: The sun sets in the west
❷ habitual or routine actions – He goes fishing every week
❸ newspaper headlines- Stock market falls to all time low.
❹ Commentaries - Ronaldo fails to score again despite his bold pronouncements earlier.
❺ Directions and instructions - Go straight then turn right at the first corner.
❻ Present Stories – She steps out of her car and realizes too late that it’s a trap.
❼Scheduled Events in the Near Future – The Pilates class starts at 5PM.
b) Present continuous
❶ To talk about an action that is in progress at the time of speaking – Please be quiet. I’m
watching TV.
❷ To talk about a temporary action that is not necessarily in progress at the time of speaking
– I am reading a good book at the moment. / I am learning English.
❸ To emphasize very frequent actions or annoying habits (often with always) – She is always
biting her nails.
❹ Background events in a present story – So I’m standing there when a policeman comes in.
❺ To describe developing situations – It’s getting dark.
❻ To refer to a regular action around a point of time – He’s usually working at this time.
c) Present perfect
❶ When we talk about finished actions/states that happened at an indefinite time. It refers to
general experience without specific detail. I have eaten octopus.
❷ When we are thinking about completed past actions carried out in an unfinished time
period at the time of speaking. It has rained a lot today. (I.e. the rain has stopped but it is still
today.)
I have eaten eight cakes this afternoon.
❸ When we talk about something which began in the past and is still true now, at the time of
speaking. We don’t know if this is likely to continue or not. We have lived in Paris for five years.
She has been a vegetarian since 1988. (I.e. -When did she become vegetarian? – 1988. Is she
still vegetarian now? - Yes.)
❹ When we describe past actions with present results. Oh no! I’ve left my purse at home. Can
you help me? I’ve lost one of my contact lenses. (Lost in the past and still lost now).
d) Present perfect continuous
❶ To communicate an incomplete and ongoing activity, when we want to say how long it has
continued – I’ve been dieting for the last twenty years. (And am likely to continue doing so)
❷To describe a recently finished, uninterrupted activity which has a present result – I’m tired
because I’ve been chopping logs all day. (I.e. the work lasted some time and was intensive.)

Task 4: State how the tenses below are formed grammatically. Explain positive,
negative and question forms:

a) Present simple
We use the base form of the verb but in the 3rd person singular, we add (s) or (es) to the end of
the verb.
Positive: Subject + base form + s/es. I/You/We go. He/She/It goes/watches.
Negative: Subject + auxiliary verb does/do + not + base form I don’t go. She doesn’t go.
Question: Auxiliary verb does/do + subject + base form. Do I go? Does she go?
b) Present continuous
We use a form of (to be’ (am, is, are) and the base form of the verb plus +ing.
Positive: Subject + auxiliary verb ‘be’ + verb+ing
I am reading. You are reading. She is reading.
Negative: Subject + auxiliary verb ‘be’ + not + verb+ing
I am not reading. You are not reading.
Question: auxiliary verb ‘be” + subject + verb+ing
Am I reading? Is she reading? Are we reading?
c) Present perfect We form the present perfect with have/has plus the past participle. We use
‘has’ for 3rd person singular (he, she, it) and ‘have’ for all other forms (I, you, we, they).
Positive: Subject + auxiliary verb have/has + past participle I have eaten. She has eaten.
Negative: Subject + auxiliary verb have/has + not + past participle I haven’t eaten. She hasn’t
eaten.
Question: Auxiliary verb have/has + subject + past participle Have I eaten? Has she eaten
d) Present perfect continuous
We form the present perfect continuous with have/has + been+ verb + ing.
Positive: Subject + auxiliary verb + have/has+ been + verb +ing. I have been reading. She has
been reading
Negative: Subject + auxiliary verb +have/has + not + been + verb+ing. I haven’t been reading.
She hasn’t been reading.
Question: Auxiliary verb have/has+ subject + been + verb+ing.Have I been reading? Has
she been reading?
Task 5: Consider the following student errors. After each error, state:

i) What the mistake is.

ii) Why you think it has been made.

iii) How you would explain and correct the mistake with a student.

a) I am a secretary for five years.

i) am – should be have been

ii) The student is maybe confused with the use of present simple and present perfect.

iii) I would explain the differences between the two tenses and give necessary examples and I
say to her/him we use it to talk about something which began in the past and is still true now.
The present simple is used to describe things that happened now but we want to specifically
mention the five years in the past that you have been a secretary.
b) I have eat breakfast.

i) eat – should be eaten

ii) The student might not know the past participle of eat or maybe s/he is unaware of the
rules of forming the present perfect tense.
iii) I would explain that the present perfect form is the subject (I) + auxiliary verb have/has +
past
participle. Eat is an irregular verb when we want to write its past participle form eat changes
to
eaten. Then I would give more examples of irregular verbs and review some of them.
c) She’s liked him since six months.

i) since - should be for

ii) For and since both refers to doing an action for an amount of time so Some students are
confused with the use of for and since, sometimes It is difficult to distinguish the difference
between for and since for them.

iii) I would explain to the student that for is used with periods of time such as weeks and
months and since is used with points of time like a definite date and year (e.g:1969) If it
specific, you can use since. If it’s more general and vague, then you can use for. And then give
example sentences: I’ve been reading for 3 hours (how long/ how many hours) versus I’ve been
read since 4:00 (since when/ what time).
d) When you start work?

i) Because this is the present simple form, and it is in the form of a question, there should be a
(do) in front of the subject between when and you. The sentence should be: When do you start
work?
ii) Some students think that because (when) is used to introduce the question form, there is no
need for the auxiliary verb (do) when it is in question form.
iii) I would go over the present simple form again and I would explain and review the
affirmative, negative, and question form. Then I would try to let the them to see if he/she could
see what was missing.

e) I’ve been knowing her for three months.

i)The present perfect continuous form cannot use state verbs that don’t take the continuous
form, such as prefer, like, hate, understand, want, hear, appear, wish, believe, and know. It
should be written in the present perfect form, not the present perfect continuous form. The
sentence should be: I’ve known her for three months .
ii) Some students don’t know that there are some state verbs that we cannot write in
continuous or progressive form
iii)I would give the students a list of state verbs that don’t usually take the continuous form
then ask them to remember as many words as possible from the list, in order to use the action
verbs in present perfect continuous form.
Task 6: Give at least 2 teaching ideas (suitable for the Activate stage of a lesson) for
the tenses below and give examples of sentences that you would expect your students
to produce:

a) Present simple
❶ Guess my profession: a student chooses a profession. The other students have a limited
number of questions (twenty perhaps) in which to find out what the profession is. For example,
―Do you wear a uniform?
❷ A day in the life of …. students are provided with visual prompts and must then construct
the daily life of somebody
❸Questionnaires whereby students ask each other questions about their habitual actions
❹ Find someone who...activities in which students have to interview one another in order to
complete forms.
b) Present continuous
❶ Actions in progress:
•Mime is an excellent way of demonstrating actions; this could be a game whereby students
have to guess what the action is.
• Pictures of actions are also good; an idea for an information-gap activity is to give students
different pictures (of various actions) and have them discover which is the same by asking their
partner about their pictures, or spot the difference type activities.
❷ Telling stories:
• Narrating stories using a combination of the present simple and the present continuous;
these can be based on visual prompts and/or other stimuli.
❸ Developing situations:
• A good way to get students to use the present continuous is to provide them with different
information in the form of graphs, charts, or tables; they can then describe any changes which
are occurring (e.g. rises in crime rates, unemployment, etc.)
c) Present perfect
❶ Find someone who... has been on television, has written a poem. Students mingle, asking
questions until they have found people who have done the things on their list. This can lead
into a discussion involving the present perfect and past simple.
• A: Andre has been on television
• B: Really! When were you on television, Andre?
• C: I was on a quiz show last year
❷ Change the room
Three people leave the room while the others change it in five different ways (e.g. move the
dustbin). The absent students then return and try and guess what has been done. (e.g. Have
you moved the desk?)
❸ Role-play – Job interview
4- What have you done today?
•Student mimes some actions and the others guess what they are using affirmatives or
questions.
•You’ve washed your hair/Have you washed your hair?
• You’ve changed a light bulb/Have you changed a light bulb?
d) Present perfect continuous
❶ Students survey the class to find out who has been doing something the longest. They
should write the surveys themselves. (How long have you been…...?)
❷ A student takes a piece of paper with a past activity and a result written on it.
•You’ve been chopping onions. You’re crying.
• You’ve been playing football. You’re dirty.
• You’ve been washing your dog. You’re wet.
• You’ve been chasing a bank robber. You’re sweaty.
The student tells the others the result and they have to guess the activity.
• E.g. A: I’m crying. B: Have you been watching a sad film?