Support du Cours : Anglais De la Technologie et de

l'Information.

Institution : École De Paris Supérieure (Université

Française du Togo)

Instructeur : Mr. KOGNO Balaki-Yem

 Chapter 1 : Forming and Using English Tenses

A tense is expressed through a verb. The most usual tenses in English are the following

I. The Present Tenses :

They mainly describe present actions or situations

1.1. The Simple Present Tense :

Formation : Affirmative form : subject + verb

N.B : At the third person singular (he,she,it), add- « s » to the verb. If the verb ends in :
o,s,x,z,ch,sh(go,pass,mix,buzz,teach,push) you add- « es ». For verbs ending in « Consonant
+y » (cry fly,deny,etc), the « y » changes to « ies »

Negative form : Use : do not +verb (infinitive-to) if the subject is I, You, We, They and
« does not + verb (infinitive-to) if the subject is He, She and it.

Interrogative : do (for I,You,We, They)/ does( for He, She,It) + subject+ verb(half Infinitive)

Use : the simple present tense is associated with the adverbs such as always, usually, often,
sometimes, generally,never, on Mondays, in Januaries, every, for habitual actions.

Eg : She always goes to school on foot.

The Simple Present Tense is also used to say that something is true in general.

Egs : Women bear children

Water boils at 100 ° Celsius.

1.2. The Present Continuous/ Progressive Tense :

Formation : am/is/are + verb-ing

Use : this tense is often associated with the time adverbs such as now, at this time/moment,
Listen ! Hear ! Look !

To describe an action that is taking place at the time of speaking.

1.3. The Present Perfect Tense :

Formation : have/has+P.P of the verb

Use : It is associated with the tense markers : since,for and yet to talk of actions that started
in the past but may still take place in the present.

Eg : These people have lived here for years.

The Present Perfect Tense can also be associated with adverbs such as :just, ever, never,
already to talk of actions completed there is only a short period of time.

1.4. The Present Perfect Progressive/Continuous :

Formation : have/has +been+ing form of the verb

Use : for actions that started in the past but still continue. The tense markers are : since and
for.

Egs : Kwame has been living in Togo since 2005.

They have been hiding underground for twenty years.

II. The Past Tenses :

They describe past actions or situations

2.1. The Simple Past Tense :

Formation : Affirmative form : it depends whether the verb is regular or irregular. For
regular verbs, add- « ed » at the end of the verb. If the verb is irregular, you must see their list.

Negative form : just use « did not +verb (half Infinitive) »

Interrogative form : Use « did +subject +verb( infinitive-to) »

Use : It is associated with the time markers « last, yesterday, ago, once, before, it is (high)
time to » to describe past actions or situations.

Examples : Adebayor played very well yesterday.

It is high time we burnt unpleasant book in the library.

2.2. The Past Progressive Tense :

Formation : was/were +verb in ING form.

Use : It is used for actions that took a long time in the past to occur . The adverbs associated
are : « while and when »

Example : While the teacher was writing, some people were playing.

2.3. The Past Perfect Tense :

Formation : had+Past Participle of the verb

Use : It describes an actions completed at a certain point of time in the past. The time markers
that are often associated are « after and before. »

In this case, they follow these rules :

After + subject + 1st action (in Past Perfect) + 2nd action (in Simple Past)

Before + 2nd action (in simple past) + 1st action (in Past Perfect)

Example : a. He built his house first, then he left his landlord.

b1. After he had built his house, he left his landlord.

b2. Before he left his landlord, he had built his house.

2.4. Past Perfect Progressive Tense :

Formation : had +been + verb in ING form.

Use : It is used to express the continuity of a past action more than the Past Perfect does.

Example : They had been working here for many years.

III. The Future Tenses :

They describe future actions or situations.

3.1. The Simple Future Tense :

Formation : will/shall +verb (half Infinitive)

Use : It is used to say that something will happen in the future.

The adverbs often associated are « next, tomorrow, soon. » As soon as, when , after and
before can be associated to future actions if the verbs of sentence (a) are in simple future. In
that case, there are the rules :

After/ As soon as / when + subject + 1st action (in Simple Present) + 2nd action (in Simple
Future)

Before + subject + 2nd action (in Simple Present )+ 1st action (in Simple Future)

Example : a. He will built his house first, then he will leave his landlord.

b1. After he builds his house, he will leave his landlord.

b2. Before he leaves his leaves his landlord, he will build his house.

3.2. The Future Continuous/ Progressive Tense :

Formation : will + be + verb ( in ING form)

Use : The Future Continuous Tense is used to say that something will be happening at a
particular point of time in the future.

Example : She will be learning her lessons at four.

3.3. The Future Perfect Tense :

Formation : will + have + Past Participle of the verb.

Use : The Future Perfect Tense is used to say that an action will be completed at a particular
time in the future.

Example : Kofi will have got his A’ level before you come back in four years.

3.4. The Future Perfect Continuous/Progressive :

Formation : will + have + been + ing form of the verb.

Example : They will have been reading books in four hours.

3.5. The Immediate Future :

Formation : be going to +verb (infinitive-to)

Use : It is used to say that something will surely happen very soon.

Example : I am going to punish lazy students this morning.

 I.V. The Conditional Tenses :

They express restrictions under some conditions. They are often associated with « if »

4.1. The Conditional Simple :

Formation : would /could/should + verb (infinitive-to)

Example : He would go to America.

4.2. The Past Conditional/ Conditional Perfect :

Formation : would/could/should +have+ P. P of the verb.

Example : I would have killed the lion.

Assignment :

Write correctly the verbs in brackets into its correct tenses :

1. Alba (to open) the bureau since five O’Clock

2. I (to buy) my stationery from my friend’s shop now
3. The teachers (to discuss) with the minister tomorrow
4. You never (to accept) me in your family as your brother in law.
5. I often (to modify) the program before coming to school
6. What you (to do) next week ?
7. They (to sing) in the church at the present with the pastors’
8. We (to travel) in a foreign country foe two years
9. Patricia (to pass) her exam after that year
10. The seller (already to open) his shop
11. He (to copy) the assignment today
12. They (to pray) at this time for the nation
13. Sometimes people (to fail) in achieving their goals
14. Last week my brother (to win) a trophy
15. She (to come) back from France shortly
 Chapter 2 : QUESTION TAGS

Question tags are the contracted short sentences at the end of statements. They are
used in spoken English more than written English in order to confirm positive or
negative statements, or to encourage a reply from the person from the person we are
speaking to.

What are the rules of questions tags ?

1. A positive statements should be followed by a negative question tags

Egs : He is from France, isn’t he ?

She can speak English, can’t he ?

You were here last Sunday, weren’t you ?

2. A negative statement should be followed by a positive question tag :

Egs : We aren’t going, are we ?

They won’t be visiting us anymore, will they ?

N. B : It should be noted that only pronouns appear in question tags :

Therefore, if the subject of a sentence is a noun, it should be replaced with a pronoun in

the question tags :

Egs : Mary has gone to Rome, hasn’t she ?

Jack shouldn’t say things like that, should he ?

3. Also, questions are formed using the modal (helping) verbs in the sentences :

Egs : Lilian can swim, can’t she ?

He couldn’t walk yet when he was three, could he ?

 4. But if the sentences does not have a modal verb in it, question tags are formed using
do/don’t, does/doesn’t (for statements in Present Tense) and did/didn’t (for
statements in past tense).

Egs : I guess mother went to the mall yesterday, didn’t she ?

You play the guitar, don’t you ?

Aaron likes football, doesn’t he ?

5. If sentences contains words that have negative meaning such as hardly, rarely, barely,
seldom, never, the question tag should be definitely positive.

Egs : They rarely eat in a restaurant, do they ?

Note : Some modals different question tags

■ (I am) becomes (aren’t I ?)

■ (Will not) becomes (will ?)

■ Likewise (won’t) becomes (will)

Examples :

a. I am an English woman, aren’t I ?

b. Jason won’t come, will he ?

Exceptions :

☆ Positive imperatives (also known as commands)

Eg : Stop singing, will/won’t you ?

☆ Negative imperatives

Egs : Don’t go there, will you ?

☆ Let’s

Eg : Let’s go to the park, shall we ?

☆ There is/are

Eg : There isn’t any slot left, is there ?

 Assignment :

Add the correct tag to the following sentences :

1. People must stop telling lies,………. ?

2. Don’t look at me, ………….. ?
3. My sister will not get married this year, …………. ?
4. You can do it again, …………………… ?
5. John can do it again, ………….. ?
6. I shouldn’t have gone to France, ……….. ?
7. We shall fight AIDS disease together, …………. ?
8. I am not happy at all, …………… ?
9. Patricia had a call from her friend, ………….. ?
10. The players haven’t scored any goal, ………… ?
11. You are my best friend, ……………… ?
12. His uncle travels abroad,………………. ?
13. She dislikes eating fruits, ………………. ?
14. They won’t win the competition, ………… ?
15. Wash the car quickly,……………….. ?
16. The woman protest against abortion, …………….. ?
17. Go out,…………….. ?
18. Abdoul cleaned his father’s shoes, ………….. ?
19. They didn’t listen to us,………….. ?
20. That dog is dangerous,…………….. ?
21. She wasn’t ill, ……………….. ?
22. You could be hurt by the car,…………. ?
23. My son doesn’t spoil your door,……….. ?
24. They were in the house when I came in,………. ?
 25. They don’t listen to us, …………. ?

Chapter 3 : Asking for/Giving information :

A. Asking techniques (through a dialogue) :

Here are some useful expressions :

• I wonder if you could help me, I’d like to know ………………

• This may sound silly but I’d like to to know…………………...

• Do you happen to know …………………………………….

• This may sound like a stupid question but I’d like to know……………

• I hope you don’t mind my asking but I’d like to know…………………

• Something else I’d like to know is this…………………………………

• I wonder if you could tell me……………………..

B. Answering techniques :

You may need to delay answering a question while you think for a moment or check on your
facts. Here are some techniques for delaying your answer :

• Well (now), let me see……………….

• Oh, let me think, for a moment

• I’m not sure, I’ll have to find out…………..

• I’m glad you asked me that…………………

 You may avoid altogether, using the following expressions :

• That’s a very good questions, but ……………………….

• I’d rather not answer that, if you don’t mind……………..

• I’m terribly sorry, I really don’t know…………………….

• I’very no idea, I’m afraid I can’t answer that …………….

C. Getting further information :

You may have to press people to tell you more than they have already done in answering a
question. You may want further details or you may satisfied with the answer given. There are
some techniques for getting the extra information :

• Could you tell me alittle more about that ?

• I’m not quite with you there.

• Sorry but could you explain that in a bit more details please ?

• I don’t quite follow

• Sorry, that’s not really what I mean

• What I’d like to know is ………………….

• Sorry to bother you but could you tell me …………………..

• Sorry, I don’t quite understand why………………………….

 Chapter 4 : Information Technology (IT)

I. What is Information Technology (IT)

Information Technology (IT) is the use of computer systems or devices to access

information. Information. Information Technology is responsible for such a large portion of
our workforce, business operations and personal access to information that it comprises much
of our daily activities. Whether you are storing, retrieving, accessing or manipulating
information, IT greatly impacts our everyday lives. Information Technology is used by
everyone from enterprise companies all the way down to one person business and local
operations. Global companies use it manage dat and innovate their processes. Even flea
market sellers use smartphones credit card readers to collect payments and street performers
give out a vendor name to gather donations. If you use a spreadsheet to catalogue which
Christmas presents you brought, you’re using information technology.

II. What are the types of Information Technology ?

Information Technology is a broad term that involves the use of technology to communicate,
transfer data and process information. The different trends within information technology
include, but aren’t limited to :

▪︎ Analytics

▪︎ Automation

▪︎ Artificial Intelligence
▪︎ Cloud Computing

▪︎ Communications

▪︎ Cybersecurity

▪︎ Data/Database Management

▪︎ Infrastructure

▪︎ Internet of thing

▪︎ Machine Learning

▪︎ Maintenance and Repair

▪︎ Networks

▪︎ Robotics

▪︎ Software/Application Development

▪︎ SCADA.

This list is by no means exhaustive and new applications for technology are constantly
emerging.

III. What is the role of Information Technology ?

Information Technology plays a prominent role in business and provides a foundation for
much of out current workforce. From Communications to data management and operational
efficiency, IT supports many business functions and helps drive productivity. The Information
Technology is all set to play an all pervasive role in human resource management. Today, we
are in Information Technology (IT) Era. Every organization will be affected by it. Many
organizations have already started use of it. Information Technology facilitates storing and
regaining huge information quickly with the help of hardware and software networks and
workstations at lesser costs. Information Technology enables combination and configurations
of data to create distinctly new information which aids in making quick decisions. The global
expansion of trade and commerce has facilitated the companies to do global needing a
communicating network to fulfill their needs. IT network enables to communicate with
persons in any part of the world. In this way it helps to have an access to any information for
making quick decisions. Human resources can be utilized in the best possible manner with the
help of information technology to have the competition edge by increasing operational
efficiency of human resources and speedily increasing the productivity. The next century will
be dominated by the use of information technology. The advanced knowledge is made
accessible today itself. IT will be a boon foe human resource management. A large amount of
information relating to job analysis, job design, job specification and description performance,
evaluation, salary and allowances of each employee and executive, their increments with data,
time of retirements, leave records, the expertise, knowledge obtained by employees and what
not can be stored, combined and reconfigurate and make it available at the fingertips within
seconds, thus saying time and costs and increasing substantially the productivity and
efficiency of the employees.

IV. Why is Information Technology important ?

Information Technology pertains to developing, maintaining, and using computer systems,

software, and networks to process and distribute data. It refers to aspects related to computing
technology ; including hardware, applications, networking, the internet, and the people
working with these. To understand its importance in businesses, you must know how
information technology helps when employed. In a nutshell, IT :

● Contributes to revenue growth with necessary improvements in business processes and

products.

● Assists in generating new business within a short time due to the availability of accurate
information.

● Provides timely and effective communication to customers to meet their demands. No

matter your industry, having a robust IT framework and professionals, such as sysadmins,
programmers, application or web developers, network engineers, and data scientists, will give
you an edge over competitors.