2024.04.

22 Revised English Notes

General Learning Strategies
Personalized Vocabulary Learning
Identify your own effective methods for learning new words.

Example:

1. Watch an interview (e.g., Elon Musk).

2. Create flashcards on Quizlet based on new vocabulary from the interview.
3. Watch the interview again to reinforce the words in context.

Understanding English Tenses

Overview of Tenses
English has 12 tenses. Mastery of these is crucial as they form the backbone
of English sentence construction.

Focus on Present Simple and Present Continuous

Key Usage:

Present Simple is used for facts, habitual actions, and general truths.
Examples:
"I drink coffee every morning." (habit)
"The Earth orbits the Sun." (fact)
Present Continuous is used for actions happening at the moment of speaking.
Examples:
"I am drinking coffee right now." (action in progress)

Signal Words
Understanding and using signal words help in choosing the correct tense.
 For Present Simple:
Frequently: always, never, usually, often, sometimes, every day, seldom,
occasionally, regularly, hardly ever, generally, once a week, constantly.
Example: "He usually eats breakfast at 7 AM."
For Present Continuous:
Now, right now, at this moment.
Example: "She is eating breakfast right now."

Practical Application
My cat lays on the bed (Present Simple - fact).
My cat is laying on the bed (Present Continuous - happening now).

Official Contexts
Use Present Simple for scheduled future events to denote certainty.

Example: "The match starts at 10 tomorrow."

Grammar Notes
"Everyone" is treated as singular.
Stative verbs do not usually take the continuous form because they represent
states, not actions (e.g., know, believe).

Common Phrases and Corrections

Use "Can you come again?" instead of asking someone to "repeat."

Understanding the Context

It's essential to grasp the context in which tenses are used to strengthen your
command of English.

Examples from the lesson