BASIC COMMUNICATION

SKILLS

WEEK 5
AGENDA:
Tenses
- Simple Tenses
- Progressive/Continuous Tenses
- Perfect Tenses
SIMPLE TENSES
 The simple present is just the base form of the verb.

SIMPLE
PRESENT
TENSE • He speaks English. Third person singular
USE OF SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE
 REPEATED ACTION

The action can be a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that often
happens.

• I play badminton.
• She always forgets her bag.
• Anna leaves the house every morning at 5AM.
 STATEMENT OF FACTS

The simple present can also indicate the speaker believes that a fact was true before, is true now, and will be
true in the future. It is not important if the speaker is correct about the fact. It is also used to make
generalizations about people or things.

• Philippines offers the best customer service in the world.

• Cats are amazing animals.
• Many people love coffee more than tea.
 SCHEDULED EVENTS IN THE FUTURE

• The train leaves tonight at 6PM.

• The prom starts at 9PM.
 THE ‘NOW’ (Noncontinuous Verbs)

Speakers sometimes use the simple present to express the idea that an action is happening or is not happening
now.

• He needs help right now.

• She is not here right now.
• He has his passport in his hand.
 The simple past tense of regular verbs is formed by adding -d or
SIMPLE -ed at the end of the verb; irregular verbs may vary in
PAST TENSE construction.
USE OF SIMPLE PAST TENSE
 COMPLETED ACTION IN THE PAST

• Joanna went to the mall yesterday to buy a new set of furnitures.

• I didn’t see him in the inauguration.
• Last year, I traveled to Japan with my family.
 DURATION IN THE PAST

A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day,
all year, etc.

• I lived in Puerto Rico for three years.

• Eric studied different techniques of pottery for a year.
• We waited at the bus station all day.
 HABITS IN THE PAST

To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually,
never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.

• I played violin when I was younger.

• They always skipped class during our freshman year.
• He stopped writing poetry.
SIMPLE
Simple future has two different forms in English: "will" and "be
FUTURE going to."
TENSE
 Simple future has two different forms in English: "will" and "be
going to."

SIMPLE
FUTURE
TENSE • You will help your Aunt prepare for the party later.
• Allen is going to meet his newborn sister tonight.
USE OF SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE
 EXPRESS VOLUNTARY ACTION (will)

• I will sort out the documents so that Mrs. Tala won’t have any difficulty in the
upcoming accreditation.

• I will send you the needed drafts of the plan when I get my hands on them.
 EXPRESS A PROMISE (will)

• I will attend the meeting tomorrow.

• Don’t worry, I will do better next time.
 EXPRESS A PLAN (be going to)

• I am going to spend my vacation in Isabela.

• I am going to continue on writing my thesis this month.
 EXPRESS A PREDICTION (will/be going to)

• The year 2022 will be a better year for all of us.

• Janna is going to be the next president of the student government body.
PROGRESSIVE/CONTINUOUS TENSES
 The present continuous (also called present progressive) is a
verb tense which is used to show that an ongoing action is
PRESENT happening now, either at the moment of speech or now in a
CONTINUOUS larger sense.
TENSE
The present continuous can also be used to show that an action
is going to take place in the near future.
 FORM:

PRESENT am/is/are + present participle

CONTINUOUS
TENSE For example:

I am listening to the radio.

USE OF PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE
 The NOW

• I am eating breakfast with my family here at the hotel.

• Sheena is watching the new season of her favorite American series.
• We are negotiating with the other team for the event.
 LONGER ACTIONS IN PROGRESS NOW

In English, "now" can mean: this second, today, this month, this year, this century, and so on.

• I am studying to become a teacher.

• I am reading Animal Farm by George Orwell.
 NEAR FUTURE

Sometimes, speakers use the present continuous to indicate that something will or will not happen in the near
future.

• I am meeting my friends after work.

• We are eating Samgyeopsal tonight.
 REPETITION

Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and “verb+ing."

• She is constantly speaking while the teacher is discussing.

• They are always complaining about work, so I don’t like them.
 PAST The past continuous (also called past progressive) is a verb
tense which is used to show that an ongoing past action was
CONTINUOUS happening at a specific moment of interruption, or that two
TENSE ongoing actions were happening at the same time.
 FORM:

PAST was/were+ present participle

CONTINUOUS
TENSE For example:

We were studying when her mom called.

USE OF PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE
 INTERRUPTED ACTION IN THE PAST

• I was reviewing when she texted me.

• When the phone rang, Anna was writing a letter to Tommy.
 PARALLEL ACTIONS

• I was cooking dinner while he was cleaning the house.

• Ali and Jake were listening to the webinar while writing the request letter.
 REPETITION

Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and “verb+ing."

• She was constantly speaking while the teacher was discussing.

• They were always complaining about work, so I didn’t like them.
 Future continuous has two different forms:
FUTURE
CONTINUOUS "will be + present participle"
TENSE and
“be going to be + present participle"
USE OF FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE
 INTERRUPTED ACTION IN THE FUTURE

Use the future continuous to indicate that a longer action in the future will be interrupted by a shorter action
in the future

• I will be watching The Witcher in Netflix when she comes home tonight.
• I am going to be staying at my Airbnb, so I will not see them when they arrive.
 PREDICTING OR GUESSING ABOUT FUTURE EVENTS

• He will be coming to the meeting, I expect.

• I guess you are going to be feeling thirsty after working in the sun.
 THE USE OF “STILL”

When combined with still, the future continuous refers to events that are already happening now and that we
expect to continue some time into the future.

• In an hour, I will still be cooking this special Adobo.

• We are going to still be wearing masks next year.
PERFECT TENSES
PRESENT
The present perfect is a verb tense which is used to show that an
PERFECT action has taken place once or many times before now.
TENSE
 has/have + past participle

PRESENT
has eaten/have eaten
PERFECT
TENSE has delivered/have delivered

has written/have written

USE OF PRESENT PERFECT TENSE
 UNSPECIFIED TIME BEFORE NOW

You CANNOT use the present perfect with specific time expressions such as: yesterday, one year ago, last week.

You CAN use the present perfect with unspecific expressions such as: ever, never, once, many times, several times, before, so
far, already, yet, etc.

• I have watched Spirited Away many times.

• People have traveled to the moon.
• I think I have seen him before.
 UNSPECIFIED TIME BEFORE NOW

• I have been to Korea. (Experience)

• You have grown since the last time I saw you. (Change over time)
• Scientists have invented a lot of useful tools for humans. (Accomplishments)
 UNSPECIFIED TIME BEFORE NOW

• Allan has not finished answering the tasks on his module yet. (Uncompleted action)
• I have had four quizzes and five major exams this semester so far. (Multiple actions
at different times)
 DURATION FROM THE PAST UNTIL NOW (Noncontinuous verbs)

• I have had cold for two weeks.

• She has been in California for eight months.
• Ken has loved kare-kare since he was a child.
 The past perfect is a verb tense which is used to show that an
PAST PERFECT
action took place once or many times before another point in the
TENSE past.
 had + past participle

PAST PERFECT
TENSE had eaten
had delivered
had written
USE OF PAST PERFECT TENSE
 COMPLETED ACTION BEFORE SOMETHING IN THE PAST

The past perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. It can also show that something
happened before a specific time in the past.

• I had cooked dinner before he came home.

• Susan had studied Nihongo before she moved to Japan.
 DURATION BEFORE SOMETHING IN THE PAST

We use the past perfect to show that something started in the past and continued up until another action in the past.

• We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
• By the time Bobbie finished her studies, she had been in London for over seven
years.
 Future perfect has two different forms:
FUTURE
PERFECT "will have + past participle"
TENSE and
"be going to have + past participle"
USE OF FUTURE PERFECT TENSE
 COMPLETED ACTION BEFORE SOMETHING IN THE FUTURE

The future perfect expresses the idea that something will occur before another action in the future. It can also show that
something will happen before a specific time in the future.

• By next December, I will have received my promotion.

• By the time my mother gets home, I am going to have cleaned the house.
• Sam is going to have finished his paper by the time he leaves the coffee shop.
DURATION BEFORE SOMETHING IN THE FUTURE (Noncontinuous verbs)

We use the future perfect to show that something will continue up until another action in the future.

• I will have been in France for six months by the time I leave.
• By Tuesday, Anna is going to have had my book for two weeks.
T ha n k You !
G . R a f a el, L P T
An j e n et te
t im a U n iv e r si t y
Our Lady o f F a
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College o f A

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