ENSA/ Khouribga

Mr Boukhlet

English Verb Tenses

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In English grammar, verb tenses or forms indicate the
moment when something happens, such as the past,
present, or future. These three primary forms can be
subdivided further to add detail and specificity, such as
whether the action is ongoing or to describe the order
in which events occurred. For example, the present
simple verb tense concerns actions that happen every
day, while the past simple verb tense refers to
something that happens in the past. In all, there are 12
tenses. Here are some important rules for using them:
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Simple present: things that happen
every day.

• He usually goes for a walk every afternoon.

• Petra doesn't work in the city.
• Where do you live?

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• Use the present simple to speak about
routines, habits, and things that happen every
day.
• Use the present simple with adverbs of
frequency such as 'usually', 'sometimes',
'often', etc.

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Simple past: something that happened
at some time in the past.

• Jeff bought a new car last week.

• Peter didn't go to the meeting yesterday.
• When did you leave for work?

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• When using 'yesterday', 'last week', 'three
weeks ago', or other past time expressions use
the past simple.
• Use the past simple to express something that
happened in the past. Continue to use the
past simple when telling a story.

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• Simple future: paired with "will" to
express a future act.

• She will come to the meeting tomorrow.

• They won't help you.
• Will you come to the party?

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• Simple future: paired with "going to"
to indicate future plans.

• I'm going to visit my parents in Chicago next

week.
• Alice isn't going to attend the conference.
• When are you going to leave?

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• Use the future with 'will' to express promises,
predictions and when reacting to something
that happens as you are speaking.

• Use the future with 'going to' to speak about

plans and intentions for the future.

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• Present continuous: what is
happening at the moment.

• I'm working at the computer at the moment.

• He isn't sleeping now.
• Are you working?

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• Use the present continuous only with
action verbs that express what is happening at
the present moment.
• Use the present continuous to express
something that is happening around the
moment of speaking. this is especially
common in business settings to talk about
current projects.

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Past continuous: what was
happening at a specific moment in
the past.

. I was playing tennis at 7 p.m.

. She wasn't watching TV when he called.
. What were you doing at that time?

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• Use the past continuous for an action which is
interrupted by another action in the past. The
interrupting action takes the past simple.

• Use the past continuous to express something

that was happening at a specific hour of the
day in the past.

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• Future continuous: what will be
happening at a specific moment in
the future.

• I will be lying on the beach this time next week.

• She won't be having any fun this time
tomorrow.
• Will you be working this time tomorrow?

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• Use the future continuous to speak about
what will be happening at a specific moment
of time in the future.

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Present perfect: something that began
in the past and continues into the
present.

• Tim has lived in that house for 10 years.

• She hasn't played golf for long.
• How long have you been married?
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• Use the present perfect for something that
begins in the past and continues into the
present moment.
• Use the present perfect when speaking about
life experience in general.
• Use the present perfect to focus on how long
something has been happening up to the
present moment in time.

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• Present perfect continuous: what
has been happening up to the
present moment in time.

• I've been working for three hours.

• She hasn't been working in the garden for
long.
• How long have you been cooking?
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• Past perfect: what happened before
something else in the past.

• Jack had already eaten when he arrived.

• I hadn't finished the report when my boss
asked for it.
• Had you spent all your money?

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• Use the past perfect for an action which is
completed before another action in the past.
It's common to use 'already' with the past
perfect.

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• Past perfect continuous: what
had been happening up to a specific
moment in the past.

• They had been working for three hours by the

time he arrived.
• We hadn't been playing golf for long.
• Had you been working hard when he asked for
it?
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Use the past perfect continuous to express how
long something had been happening before a
moment in the past.

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• Future perfect: what will have
happened up to a point in the future.

• Brian will have finished the report by five o'clock.

• Susan won't have driven far by the end of the
evening.
• How many years will you have studied by the
time you get your degree?
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• Use the future perfect to express what will
have been done by some time in the future.

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Future perfect continuous: what will be
happening up to a specific moment in the future.

• They will have been working for eight hours by the end
of the day.
• She won't have been studying for very long when she takes the
test.
• How long will you have been playing that game by the time you
finish?
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Use the future perfect continuous to express
how long something will have been happening
up to a future point in time.

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I hope this is a handy reference lesson to English
tenses and their relationship to one another. But
it is important to note that certain tenses are
rarely used in everyday conversation.

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 Grammar Quiz

1. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct

tense:.

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 TEXT A
Tom wilson 1) .... is.... (Be) an explorer. He 2) ………….(be) to nearly
every country in the world, but the most exciting time he 3)
…………………………. (ever/have) was when he 4) ……………………
(go) to the congo jungle. A magazine 5)………………….. (Ask) him to
retrace the route of a famous explorer who 6) ………………….
(disappear) in the 1920's. As he 7) ……………….(follow) a small river
he got separated from his guides. He 8) …………………………. (go on)
alone, hoping he 9) ………………….. (find) them, but instead he 10)
………………… (encounter) a group of natives. He 11) …...............
(stay) with them for several days and 12) …………………….. (find out)
that a very old woman 13) ……………………(actually/meet) the famous
explorer. She 14) …………… (know) how he 15)
………………………….(die). Tom 16) ………………………….(become)
very friendly with the natives and now he 17) ……………………………
(plan) to go back and see them again. He is sure they 18)
………………………………..(welcome) him back.
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TEXT B
When francis lee was a boy he 1) ............................. (want) to be an
astronaut. He 2) ……........…….(watch) TV one day in 1969 when he
3) ……………………. (see) neil armstrong walk on the moon. Since
then he 4) …………….......……… (always/dream) of doing the same.
Every night when there is a full moon, he 5)………….……….. (Stare)
up at it for hours and 6) ……………..........……. (imagine) himself
walking around on it. At the moment, however, he 7) ……………….
(work) as a night-watchman at a meat factory. He 8)
…………………………. (do) the same job since he left school fifteen
years ago, but he still hopes that one day his dream 9) ……….............
………….. (come) true. He 10) ………………… (hear) that in the 21st
century they 11) …................... (sell) tickets to fly to the moon. For this
reason he 12) …………….............(save) half of his wages every month
for the past two years.

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TEXT C
Sue thomas is a fashion designer. She 1) ... has been making....
(Make) clothes ever since she 2) ………….(be) a young girl. She 3)
…………………………. (get) her first job in a clothes factory when she
was sixteen. She 4) …………………… (sew) buttons onto a shirt one
day when she 5)………………….. (Have) a brilliant idea for a design.
After she 6) …………………. (speak) to her bank manager, she got a
loan and she 7) …………....…….(open) her own little workshop. Now
she 8) …………………………. (make) lots of money. Next year she 9)
………………….. (open) a shop which will sell all her own designs. She
10) ………………… (sell) clothes to a lot of famous people, including
film stars and singers, and she 11) …...................... (think) she will be
very rich soon.

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 TEXT D
Kevin adams 1)....................(Love) trains. He first 2)........................(See) one
when he was four years old and he 3) ..............................(think) it was great.
He 4).........................(Go) to a different railway station every week and
5).........................(Write down) the engine number of every train he sees. He
6)............................(Do) this since he was eight. By the time he was fifteen he
7).............................(Collect) over 10.000 different engine numbers in various
counties. Once, while he 8).............................(Stand) in a station in cheshire
he saw something very unusual. He 9)............................(Wait) for over an
hour for a train to go by when suddenly he 10)..............................(See) a very
old steam train coming down the track. It 11).............................(Not/stop) at
the station and, as it was passing, kevin noticed that all the passengers
12)..............................(Wear) old-fashioned clothes. When he told the station
guard about this, the poor man turned pale. He said that no steam train
13)...........................(Pass) through that station for years, and that the last one
14)...........................(Crash), killing everyone on board.

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 TEXT E
Ever since dolly the sheep was cloned in 1997, scientists,
politicians and theologians 1) ..........................................
(discuss) the question of whether or not the cloning of
human beings 2) ..........................................(should/allow).
If cloning does become a reality one day, it
3) ..................................(raise) many questions. Many
scientists want cloning 4)............................(Be) legalised.
They believe that if it 5) .....................................(be) legal to
clone human beings, it
6) ....................................(be) possible to create a superior
race. Many childless couples also wish the goverment
7).......................................(Allow) cloning. If this
8) ...............................(be) the only way for you to have a
child, you might agree with them too.

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 GOOD LUCK

YOURS
MR BOUKHLET

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