| Tense
| Affirmative/Negative/Question
| Use
| Signal Words
| Spelling
|
| Simple Present
| Affirmative:
I am a student.
You are a student.
You/we/they are students.
He/she/it is a student. Negative:
I am not a student.
You are not a student.
You/we/they are not students.
He/she/it is not a student. Questions:
general:
Am I a student?
Are you a student?
Are you/we/they students?
Is he/she/it a student?
special:
What am I?
What are you?
What are you/we/they?
What is he/she/it?
alternative:
Am I a student or a teacher?
Are you a student or a teacher?
Are you/we/they students or teachers?
Is he/she/it a student or a teacher?
disjunctive:
a) I am a student, aren’t I? You are a student, aren’t you? You/we/they are students, aren’t you/we/they? He/she/it is a student, isn’t he/she/it?
b) I am not a student, am I? You are not a student, are you? You/we/they are not students, are you/we/they?He/she/it isn’t a student, is he/she/it?
subject: Who is a student?
Affirmative I/you/we/they speak.
He/she/it speaks. Negative: I/you/we/they do not speak.
He/she/it does not speak. Questions:
general: Do I/you/we/they speak? Does he/she/it speak?
special: What do I/you/we/they speak? What does he/she/it speak?
alternative:Do I/you/we/they speak or read? Does he/she/it speak or read?disjunctive:
a) I/you/we/they speak, don’t I/we/you/they? He/she/it speaks, doesn’t he/she/it?
b) I/you/we/they don’t speak, do I/you/we//they? He/she/it doesn’t speak, does he/she/it?
subject: Who speaks?
| · Permanent situation or states She is tall. I live in Almaty.
· Repeated/habitual actions often with frequency adverbs: sometimes, usually, often, always, once a week etc) He is always late. I use my mobile phone every day.
· Permanent truths or laws of nature The biggest planet in the world is the Jupiter. Water boils at 100°C
· Reviews/sport commentaries/ dramatic narrative The author of this book is Agatha Kristy. It is very interesting.It consists of 145 pages.
· Action set by a timetable or schedule Our shop opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m.
· In exclamatory sentences Here comes a policeman! There goes a bride!
· With verbs of thinking, feeling, wishes
I think I will go there
| always, every day, months, year, never, normally, often, seldom, rarely, sometimes, usually, in the morning/evening/afternoon if sentences type I (If I talk, …)
| Verbs with modals can, may, might, must remain the same in all forms. So don't add s.
example: he can, she may, it must
Add es instead of s to verbs ending in o or a sibilant (s, ss, sh, ch, x)
example: do - he does, wash - she washes
A final y after a consonant becomes ie before s.
example: worry - he worries
But: A final y after a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) is not modified.
example: play - he plays
|
| Present Continuous (progressive)
| Affirmative: I am speaking.
You/we/they are speaking.
He/she/it is speaking. Negative: I am not speaking
You/we/they are not speaking.
He/she/it is not speaking. Questions:
general: Am I speaking?
Are you/we/they speaking?
Is he/she/it speaking?
special: What am I speaking?
What are you/we/they speaking?
What is he/she/it speaking?
alternative: Am I speaking or reading? Are you/we/they speaking or reading? Is he/she/it speaking or reading?
disjunctive:
a) I am speaking, aren’t I? You/we//they are speaking, aren’t you/we/they? He/she/it is speaking, isn’t he/she/it?
b) I am not speaking, am I? You/we//they are not speaking, are you/we/they? He/she/it isn’t speaking, is he/she/it?
subject: Who is speaking?
| · Action taking place in the moment of speaking We are writing an essay now.
· Action taking place only for a limited period of time I am looking after my sister’s children because she is in the hospital.
· Action arranged for the future I am seeing John tonight.
· Frequently repeated actions with always, constantly, continually expressing annoyance or criticism. He is always lying to me.
· Changing and developing situations The weather is getting hotter and hotter.
| at the moment, currently, just, just now, now, right now
| A single, silent e at the end of the verb is dropped before ing.
example: com e - coming.
But: ee at the end of the verb is not changed
example: agree - agreeing
The final consonant after a short, stressed vowel is doubled before ing.
example: s it - sitting
The letter l as final consonant after a vowel is always doubled before ing.
example: travel – travelling
Remember: This applies only for British English; in American English there is usually only one l.
An ie at the end of a word becomes y before ing.
example: lie - lying
|
| Present Perfect Simple
| Affirmative: I/you/we/they have spoken. He/she/it has spoken. Negative: I/you/we/they have not spoken. He/she/it has not spoken. Questions:
general:
Have I/you/we/they spoken? Has he/she/it spoken?
special:
What have I/you/we/they spoken? What has he/she/it spoken?
alternative:
Have I/you/we/they spoken or listened? Has he/she/it spoken or listened?
disjunctive:
a) I/you/we/they have spoken, haven’t I/you/we/they? He/she/it has spoken, hasn’t he/she/it?
b) I/you/we/they haven’t spoken, have I/you/we/they? He/she/it hasn’t spoken, has he/she/it?
subject: Who has spoken?
| ·
Putting emphasis on the result. Peter is not hungry because he has eaten breakfast.
·
Action that stopped recently You’ve split the coffee all over the trousers – look!
· fFinished action that has an influence on the present I have lost my key.
· aAction that has taken place once, never or several times before the moment of speaking We have built 20 new schools this year.
| already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now
| Exception in spelling of verbs when adding ed
after a final e only add d example: love – loved
a final consonant after a short, stressed vowel or l as a final consonant after a vowel is doubled example: admit – admitted travel – travelled
final y after a consonant becomes I example: hurry – hurried
|
| Present Perfect Continuous (progressive)
| Affirmative: I/you/we/they have been speaking. He/she/it has been speaking. Negative: I/you/we/they have not been speaking. He/she/it has not been speaking. Questions:
general: Have I/you/we/they been speaking? Has he/she/it been speaking?
special: What have I/you/we/they been speaking? What has he/she/it been speaking?
alternative: Have I/you/we/they been speaking or reading? Has he/she/it been speaking or reading?
disjunctive:
a) I/you/we/they have been speaking, haven’t I/you/we/they? He/she/it has been speaking, hasn’t he/she/it?
b) I/you/we/they have not been speaking, have I/you/we/they? He/she/it hasn’t been speaking, has he/she/it?
subject: Who has been speaking?
| · Actions started in the past and continuing up to the present He has been washing dishes for an hour.
· Past actions of certain duration having visible results or effects in the present. He has been fighting. That is why he has got a black eye.
· To express anger, irritation, annoyance, explanation or criticism Someone has been stealing my ideas.
| all day, for 4 years, since 1993, how long?, the whole week
| Exception in spelling of verbs when adding ing
final e is dropped example: come – coming (but: ee is not changed) example: agree – agreeing
after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled example: sit – sitting
l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled (in British English) example: travel – travelling
final ie becomes y example: lie – lying
|
| Past Simple
| Affirmative: I/he/she/it was a student.
You were a student.
You/we/they were students.
Negative: I/he/she/it was not a student.
You were not a student.
You/we/they were not students. Questions:
general:
Was I / he/she/it a student?
Were you a student? Were you/we/they students?
special:
What was I?
What were you?
What were you/we/they?
alternative: Was I/he/she/it a student or a teacher? Were you a student or a teacher? Were you/we/they students or teachers?
disjunctive:
a) I/he/she/it was a student, wasn’t I/he/she/it? You were a student, weren’t you? You/we/they were students, weren’t you/we/they?
b) I was not a student, was I? You were not a student, were you? You/we/they were not students, were you/we/they?
subject: Who was a student?
Affirmative: I/you/we/they/he/she/it spoke. Negative: I/you/we/they/he/she/it did not speak. Questions:
general: Did I/you/we/they/he/she/it speak?
special: What did I/you/we/they/he/she/it speak?alternative: Did I/you/we/they/he/she/it speak or read?
disjunctive:
a) I/you/we/they/he/she/it spoke, didn’t I/you/we/they/ he/she/it?
b) I/you/we/they/he/she/it didn’t speak, did I/you/we/they/he/she/it?
subject: Who spoke?
| · Past actions which happened one immediately after the other We had dinner, washed dishes and then went for a walk.
· Past habit or state I used to eat a lot of ice cream in my childhood.
· Complete past actions not connected to the present with a stated or implied time reference Michelle Jackson made a lot of records.
| yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last week, month, year, Friday if sentence type II (If I talked, …)
| Exception in spelling of verbs when adding ed
after a final e only add d example: love – loved
a final consonant after a short, stressed vowel or l as a final consonant after a vowel is doubled example: admit – admitted travel – travelled
final y after a consonant becomes ied example: hurry – hurried
|
| Past Continuous (progressive)
| Affirmative: I/he/she/it was speaking.
You/we/they were speaking. Negative: I/he/she/it was not speaking. You/we/they were not speaking. Questions:
general:
Was I/he/she/it speaking?
Were you/we/they speaking?
special: What was I/he/she/it speaking?
What were you/we/they speaking?
alternative: Was I/he/she/it speaking or reading? Were you/we/they speaking or reading?
disjunctive:
a) I/he/she/it was speaking, wasn’t I/he/she/it? You/we/they were speaking, weren’t you/we/they??
b)) I/he/she/it was not speaking, was I/he/she/it? You/we/they were not speaking, were you/we/they? subject: Who was speaking?
| · Action in the middle of happening at a stated past time This time last year I was living in Spain.
· Past action in progress interrupted by another past action. The longer action is in the Past Continuous, the shorter action is in the Past Simple While I was taking the pictures someone stole my umbrella.
· Two or more simultaneous past actions of certain duration or background description to events in a story/description. While I was watching TV, my mother was cooking dinner and my father was reading a book.
| when, while, as long as
| Exception in spelling of verbs when adding ing
final e is dropped example: come – coming (but: ee is not changed) (but: example: agree – agreeing
after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled example: sit – sitting
l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled (in British English) example: travel – travelling
final ie becomes y example: lie – lying
|
| Past Perfect Simple
| Affirmative: I/you/we/they/he/she/it had spoken. Negative: I/you/we/they/he/she/it had not spoken. Questions:
general:
Had I/you/we/they/he/she/it spoken?
special:
What had I/you/we/they/he/she/it spoken?
alternative:
Had I/you/we/they/he/she/it spoken or listened?
disjunctive:
a) I/you/we/they/he/she/it had spoken, hadn’t I/you/we/they/he/she/it? b) I/you/we/they/he/she/it had not spoken, had I/you/we/they/he/she/it?
subject: Who had spoken?
| · Past action which occurred before another action or before a stated past time Before my mother came I had already done my homework.
· Complete past action which had visible results in the past She was happy because she had bought a new flat.
| | Exception in spelling of verbs when adding ed
after a final e only add d example: love – loved
a final consonant after a short, stressed vowel or l as a final consonant after a vowel is doubled example: admit – admitted travel – travelled
final y after a consonant becomes I example: hurry – hurried
|
| Past Perfect Continuous (progressive)
| Affirmative: I/you/we/they/he/she/it had been speaking. Negative: I/you/we/they/he/she/it had not been speaking. Questions:
general:
Had I/you/we/they/he/she/it been speaking?
special: What had I/you/we/they/he/she/it been speaking?
alternative: Had I/you/we/they/he/she/it been speaking or reading?
disjunctive:
a) I/you/we/they/he/she/it had been speaking, hadn’t I/you/we/they/he/she/it?
b) I/you/we/they/he/she/it had not been speaking, had I/you/we/they/he/she/it?
subject: Who had been speaking?
| · Action continuing over a period up to a specific time in the past She had been trying to enter the university for years before she gave it up.
· Past action of certain duration which had visible results in the past Her fingers hurt because she had been playing the guitar all day.
| for, since, the whole day, all day
| Exception in spelling of verbs when adding ing
final e is dropped example: come – coming (but: ee is not changed) (but: example: agree – agreeing
after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled example: sit – sitting
l as a final consonant after a vowel is doubled (in British English) example: travel – travelling
final ie becomes y example: lie – lying
|
| Future Simple
| Affirmative: I/we shall/will speak.
You/we/they/he/she/it will speak. Negative: I/we shall/will not speak.
You/we/they/he/she/it will not speak. Questions:
general: Shall I/we speak? Will you/they/he/she/it speak?
special: What shall I/we speak? What will you/we/they/he/she/it speak?
alternative:Shall I/we speak or read? Will you/we/they/he/she/it speak or read?
disjunctive:
a) I/we shall/will speak, shan’t/won’t I/we? You/we/they/he/she/it will speak, won’t you/we/they/he/she/it?
b) I/we shall/will not speak, shall/will I/we? You/we/they/he/she/it will not speak, will you/we/they/he/she/it?
subject:Who will speak?
| · Decisions taken at the moment of speaking It is raining outside. Oh, I will take an umbrella.
· With: expect, hope, believe etc I hope he will come.
· Actions or predictions which may (not) happen in the future Look at the sky. It will rain soon.
· Things we are not sure about or we haven’t decided to do yet. May be I will buy a house.
| in a year, next week, tomorrow If-Satz Typ I (If you ask her, she will help you.) assumption: I think, probably, perhaps
|
|
| To be going to do sth
| Affirmative: I am going to speak.
You/we/they are going to speak.
He/she/it is going to speak. Negative: I am not going to speak.
You/we/they are not going to speak. He/she/it is not going to speak. Questions:
general: Am I going to speak? Are you/we/they going to speak? Is he/she/it going to speak?
special:What am I going to speak? What are you/we/they going to speak? What is he/she/it going to speak?
alternative:
Am I going to speak or read? Are you/we/they going to speak or read? Is he/she/it going to speak or read?
disjunctive:
d) I am going to speak, aren’t I?
You/we/they are going to speak, aren’t you/we/they?
He/she/it is going to speak, isn’t he/she/it?
e) I am not going to speak, am I?
You/we/they are not going to speak, are you/we/they? He/she/it is not going to speak, is he/she/it?
subject:Who is going to speak?
| · Actions intended to be performed in the near future I am going to visit my parents next week.
· Planned actions or intentions Now she has a lot of money; she is going to travel round the world.
· Evidence that something will definitely happen in the near future I think he is going to be sick.
· Things we are sure about or we have already decided to do in the near future They are going to help Liz.
| in one year, next week, tomorrow
|
|
| Future Continuous (progressive)
| Affirmative: I/you/we/they/he/she/it
will be speaking.
Negative: I/you/we/they/he/she/it will not be speaking. Questions:
general:
Will I/you/we/they/he/she/it be speaking?
special: What will I/you/we/they/he/she/it be speaking?
alternative: Will I/you/we/they/he/she/it be speaking or reading?
disjunctive:
a) I/you/we/they/he/she/it will be speaking, won’t I/you/we/they/he/she/it?
b) I/you/we/they/he/she/it will not be speaking, will I/you/we/they/he/she/it?
subject: Who will be speaking?
| · Actions in progress at a stated future time Tomorrow at three o’clock I will be talking to my sister.
· Actions which we are the result of a routine (instead of Present Continuous) I will be going to the post office tomorrow
· When we ask politely about people’s arrangements to see if they can do sth for us or because we want to offer to do sth for them Will you be driving into town this afternoon. Can you give me a lift?
| in one year, next week, tomorrow
|
|
| Future Perfect
| Affirmative: I/you/we/they/he/she/it will have spoken.
Negative: I/you/we/they/he/she/it will not have spoken. Questions:
general:
Will I/you/we/they/he/she/it have spoken?
special: What will I/you/we/they/he/she/it have spoken?
alternative: Will I/you/we/they/he/she/it have spoken or asked?
disjunctive:
a) I/you/we/they/he/she/it will have spoken, won’t I/you/we/they/he/she/it?
b) I/you/we/they/he/she/it will not have spoken, will I/you/we/they/he/she/it?
subject: Who will have spoken?
| · Action finished before a stated future time She will have finished her report at the end of this week.
| by Monday, in a week
|
|
| Future Perfect Continuous (progressive)
| Affirmative: I/you/we/they/he/she/it will have been speaking. Negative: I/you/we/they/he/she/it will not have been speaking. Questions:
general: Will I/you/we/they/he/she/it have been speaking?
special: What will I/you/we/they/he/she/it have been speaking?
alternative:: Will I/you/we/they/he/she/it have been speaking or reading?
disjunctive:
a) I/you/we/they/he/she/it will have been speaking, won’t I/you/we/they/he/she/it?
b) I/you/we/they/he/she/it will not have been speaking, will I/you/we/they/he/she/it?
subject: Who will have been speaking?
| · Duration of an action up to a certain time in the future By this time next month he will have been working here for 5 years.
| for …, the last couple of hours, all day long
|
|
