a new lesson+ practical exercices for each day...follow me:)

Good morning everybody

here a new thread to help you how to use English Grammar

Everyday I will give you a lesson followed by some exercices,

so try to focus and you will never need to pay for a private

school ;))

It is free



I hope you enjoy that

Thanks

Present continuous

The present continuous is used to talk about present situations which we see as short-term or temporary. We use the present simple to talk about present situations which we see as long-term or permanent.

In these examples, the action is taking place at the time of speaking.

• It's raining.
• Who is Kate talking to on the phone?
• Look, somebody is trying to steal that man's wallet.
• I'm not looking. My eyes are closed tightly.

In these examples, the action is true at the present time but we don't think it will be true in the long term.

• I'm looking for a new apartment.
• He's thinking about leaving his job.
• They're considering making an appeal against the judgment.
• Are you getting enough sleep?

In these examples, the action is at a definite point in the future and it has already been arranged.

• I'm meeting her at 6.30.
• They aren't arriving until Tuesday.
• We are having a special dinner at a top restaurant for all the senior managers.
• Isn't he coming to the dinner?

Exercices:


1--Put the verb between brackets in the right form...be careful !

1. John (read) a book now.
2. What (you do) tonight?
3. Jack and Peter (work) late today.
4. Silvia (not listen) to music.
5. Maria (sit) next to Paul.
6. How many other students (you study) with?
7. The phone (not ring).

2--. Click on the words in the correct order to make different sentences in the Present Continuous Tense - positive; negative; yes/no and information questions.





1 for looking glasses. my I'm



2 What reading? kind of are you book



3 Why crying? is Pamela



4 National Paul University. economics Kharkov is studying at



5 Why laughing? is everyone



6 me? Are you for waiting



7 are When you leaving?



8 in John at the Saudi working Arabia is moment.



9 for Jennifer working as Is you? the company same



10 you next Saturday come? want do party I'm having - a to

Present simple

We use the present simple to talk about actions we see as long term or permanent. It is a very common and very important tense.
Here, we are talking about regular actions or events.

• They drive to the office every day.
• She doesn't come here very often.
• The news usually starts at 6.00 every evening.
• Do you usually have bacon and eggs for breakfast?

Here, we are talking about facts.

• We have two children.
• Water freezes at 0° C or 32° F.
• What does this expression mean?
• The Thames flows through London.

Here, we are talking about future facts, usually found in a timetable or a chart.

• Christmas Day falls on a Monday this year.
• The plane leaves at 5.00 tomorrow morning.
• Ramadan doesn't start for another 3 weeks.
• Does the class begin at 10 or 11 this week?

Here, we are talking about our thoughts and feelings at the time of speaking. Although these feelings can be short-term, we use the present simple and not the present continuous.

• They don't ever agree with us.
• I think you are right.
• She doesn't want you to do it.
• Do you understand what I am trying to say.

Exercices:


1--Put the verb on the right tense or form :




1. The cinema (close) at 7pm.


2. They (not/think) you should buy this dress.


3. We usually (take) a taxi to go to work.


4. How often (you/go) to the swimming pool?


5. Courses (begin) on the third of September.


6. When (he/arrive) home in the evenings?


7. She (not/live) in Washington, but in New York.

8. He (get up) early on Mondays.


9. I (not/believe) in witches.


10. The Sun's rays (take) eight minutes to reach the Earth.


2-- Reorder these items to get a full sentence.

1. don’t / I / like / school
2. does / give / he / trouble / you / ?
3. always / arrive / at / I / on / school / time
4. do / know / Martin’s / parents / you / ?
5. does / read / she / well / ?
6. doesn’t / help / no / she / want
7. come / do / they / time / what / ?
8. doesn’t / machine / this / work / !

Present simple or continuous

The Present Simple is used for:

• regular actions or events
  He plays tennis most weekends.
  
• facts
  The sun rises in the east .
  
• facts known about the future
  We leave at 8.30 next Monday
  
• thoughts and feelings about the time of speaking
  I don't feel very well.

The Present Continuous is used for:

• the time of speaking ('now')
  Shh, I'm trying to hear what they are saying .
  
• things which are true at the moment but not always
  We're looking for a new flat.
  
• present plans for the future
  We're having dinner with them next week .

Look at these examples :

• I don't usually have cereals for breakfast but I'm having some this morning because there is nothing else.
• I often cycle to work but I'm taking the car this morning because it's raining very hard.
• I'm thinking about having my hair cut short but I don't think my husband will be very happy about it.
• My parents live in Washington but I'm just visiting.

Note how, in all these examples, we use the present continuous to talk about events which are temporary/limited in time and the present simple to talk about events which are habits/permanent.




Exercice:
-Present continuous or Present simple ?


1. Let's go out. It (rain)...... now
2. Julia is very good at languages. She .......... (speak) four languages very well
3. Hurry up ! Everybody (wait)........... for you
4. The river (flow)............ very fast today much faster than usual
5. We usually (grow).................. vegetables in our garden
6. Rachel is in London at the moment, she (stay) ................at the Park Hotel
7. She always (stay) ...........there when she is in London
8. Sonia (look)............... for a place to live
9. The moon (go).............. round the Earth in about 27 days
10. The water ..................... (boil). Can you turn it off ?

Past simple

We use the past simple to talk about actions and states which we see as completed in the past.

We can use it to talk about a specific point in time.

• She came back last Friday.
• I saw her in the street.
• They didn't agree to the deal.

It can also be used to talk about a period of time.

• She lived in Tokyo for seven years.
• They were in London from Monday to Thursday of last week.
• When I was living in New York, I went to all the art exhibitions I could.

You will often find the past simple used with time expressions such as these:

• Yesterday
• three weeks ago
• last year
• in 2002
• from March to June
• for a long time
• for 6 weeks
• in the 1980s
• in the last century
• in the past

Exercice:




Put the verbs into the correct form (simple past).

1. Last year I (spend) my holiday in Ireland.
2. It (be) great.
3. I (travel) around by car with two friends and we (visit) lots of interesting places.
4. In the evenings we usually (go) to a pub.
5. One night we even (learn) some Irish dances.
6. We (be) very lucky with the weather.
7. It (not / rain) a lot.
8. But we (see) some beautiful rainbows.
9. Where (spend / you) your last holiday?

Past continuous

We use the past simple to talk about actions and states which we see as completed in the past.

We can use it to talk about a specific point in time.
We use the past continuous to talk about past events which went on for a period of time.

We use it when we want to emphasize the continuing process of an activity or the period of that activity. (If we just want to talk about the past event as a simple fact, we use the past simple.)

• While I was driving home, Peter was trying desperately to contact me.
• Were you expecting any visitors?
• Sorry, were you sleeping?
• I was just making some coffee.
• I was thinking about him last night.
• In the 1990s few people were using mobile phones.

We often use it to describe a "background action" when something else happened.

• I was walking in the street when I suddenly fell over.
• She was talking to me on the phone and it suddenly went dead.
• They were still waiting for the plane when I spoke to them.
• The company was declining rapidly before he took charge.
• We were just talking about it before you arrived.
• I was making a presentation in front of 500 people when the microphone stopped working.

Exercice:


Put the verbs into the correct form (past progressive).

1. When I phoned my friends, they..... (play) monopoly.
2. Yesterday at six I...... (prepare) dinner.
3. The kids .......(play) in the garden when it suddenly began to rain.
4. I ......(practise) the guitar when he came home.
5. We...... (not / cycle) all day.
6. While Aaron...... (work) in his room, his friends .......(swim) in the pool.
7. I tried to tell them the truth but they..... (listen / not) .
8. What ......(you / do) yesterday?
9. Most of the time we....... (sit) in the park.

Past simple or continuous

Both the past simple and the past continuous refer to completed actions in the past.

Most of the time when we are talking about such actions, we use the past simple. This is by far the most common way of talking about the past.

• I lived there for 6 years.
• I only found out a few moments ago.
• I asked her but she didn't know anything.
• The company made 100 people redundant last year.

Only use the past continuous when you want to emphasize the continuity of the action.

• Everybody was talking about it all evening.
• They were really trying hard but couldn't do it.
• I was thinking about you the other day.
• Were you expecting that to happen?

When we use these two forms in the same sentence, we use the past continuous to talk about the "background action" and the past simple to talk about the shorter completed action.

• It was raining hard when we left the building.
• I was reading the report when you rang.
• He was going out to lunch when I saw him.
• The company was doing well when I last visited it.

Exercice:




Put the verbs into the correct tense (Simple Past or Past Progressive).

1. While Tom (read) , Amely (watch) a documentary on TV.
2. Marvin (come) home, (switch) on the computer and (check) his emails.
3. The thief (sneak) into the house, (steal) the jewels and (leave) without a trace.
4. Nobody (listen) while the teacher (explain) the tenses.
5. While we (do) a sight-seeing tour, our friends (lie) on the beach.
6. He (wake) up and (look) at his watch.

Irregular verbs

All new verbs in English are regular.

• I photocopied the report.
• She faxed it to me.
• They emailed everybody about it.
• I googled my name and got more than 20 000 responses.

There are approximately 180 irregular verbs. You don't need to learn all of them because some of these are very rare but many others are very useful and you do need to know them.
What's the easiest way to learn them? Some people think you should learn a list 'by heart'. Others think you should not learn them at all – you will just gradually acquire them over time.
One useful method is to note down new irregular verbs as you meet them. It is useful to write these verbs (or any vocabulary you want to learn) in sentences and learn those rather than the individual word.
Which is easier to learn?

• stick stuck stuck
• I stuck the photo into my album.

Another technique is to classify the irregular verbs into 4 categories.
1. All forms the same

• set set set
• cost cost cost

2. Similar sound groups

• beat beat beaten
• eat ate eaten
• blow blew blown
• throw threw thrown
• drink drank drunk
• sing sang sung
• speak spoke spoken
• wake woke woken

3. The second and third forms are the same.

• bend bent bent
• sleep slept slept
• spend spent spent
• bring brought brought
• buy bought bought
• teach taught taught
• have had had
• pay paid paid
• say said said

4. The "unclassifiables"

• come came come
• do did done
• go went gone
• show showed show

As you meet new irregular verbs, try to decide in which category they fall.


Exercice:




Fill in the correct forms of the irregular verbs.


*Infinitive :To cut ---S.Past:................---P.Participle:..............

*................................ ----: saw-------------------------- :................

*........................----------:...................................---- known........

*To feel ----------------:...........................-----..............................

*To buy----------------:.............................----..............................

Present perfect

(Please note that British and American English have different rules for the use of this tense. The explanation here refers to British English. In American English, it is often acceptable to use the past simple in some of these examples.)

We use the present perfect when we want to look back from the present to the past.

We can use it to look back on the recent past.

• I've broken my watch so I don't know what time it is.
• They have cancelled the meeting.
• She's taken my copy. I don't have one.
• The sales team has doubled its turnover.

When we look back on the recent past, we often use the words 'just' 'already' or the word 'yet' (in negatives and questions only).

• We've already talked about that.
• She hasn't arrived yet.
• I've just done it.
• They've already met.
• They don't know yet.
• Have you spoken to him yet?
• Have they got back to you yet?

It can also be used to look back on the more distant past.

• We've been to Singapore a lot over the last few years.
• She's done this type of project many times before.
• We've mentioned it to them on several occasions over the last six months.
• They've often talked about it in the past.

When we look back on the more distant past, we often use the words 'ever' (in questions) and 'never'.

• Have you ever been to Argentina?
• Has he ever talked to you about the problem?
• I've never met Jim and Sally.
• We've never considered investing in Mexico.

Exercice:

Put the verbs into the correct form (present perfect simple).

1. I (not / work) today.
2. We (buy) a new lamp.
3. We (not / plan) our holiday yet.
4. Where (be / you) ?
5. He (write) five letters.
6. She (not / see) him for a long time.
7. (be / you) at school?
8. School (not / start) yet.
9. (speak / he) to his boss?
10. No, he (have / not) the time yet.

Present perfect continuous

This tense is used to talk about an action or actions that started in the past and continued until recently or that continue into the future:

We can use it to refer to an action that has finished but you can still see evidence.

• Oh, the kitchen is a mess. Who has been cooking?
• You look tired. Have you been sleeping properly?
• I've got a a stiff neck. I've been working too long on computer.

It can refer to an action that has not finished.

• I've been learning Spanish for 20 years and I still don't know very much.
• I've been waiting for him for 30 minutes and he still hasn't arrived.
• He's been telling me about it for days. I wish he would stop.

It can refer to a series of actions.

• She's been writing to her regularly for a couple of years.
• He's been phoning me all week for an answer.
• The university has been sending students here for over twenty years to do work experience.

The present perfect continuous is often used with 'since', 'for', 'all week', 'for days', 'lately', 'recently', 'over the last few months'.

• I've been wanting to do that for ten years.
• You haven't been getting good results over the last few months.
• They haven't been working all week. They're on strike
• He hasn't been talking to me for weeks.
• We've been working hard on it for ages.
• I've been looking at other options recently.
• He's been working here since 2001.

Exercice:

Put the verbs into the correct form (present perfect progressive).

1. He (work).................... in this company since 1985.
2. I (wait)..................... for you since two o'clock.
3. Mary (live).................... in Germany since 1992.
4. Why is he so tired? He (play)...................... tennis for five hours.
5. How long (learn / you)........................ English?
6. We (look for)..................... the motorway for more than an hour.
7. I (live) .................... without electricity for two weeks.
8. The film (run / not) ................. for ten minutes yet, but there's a commercial break already.
9. How long (work / she) ....................... in the garden?
10. She (not / be) ............. in the garden for more than an hour.

Present perfect simple or continuous

Often there is very little difference between the present perfect simple and the present perfect continuous. In many cases, both are equally acceptable.

• They've been working here for a long time but Andy has worked here for even longer.
• I've lived here for 10 years and she has been living here for 12 years.

To emphasize the action, we use the continuous form.

• We've been working really hard for a couple of months.
• She's been having a hard time.

To emphasize the result of the action, we use the simple form.

• I've made fifteen phone calls this morning.
• He's written a very good report.

Look at the difference in these examples.

• I've been reading this book for two months but I've only read half of it. It's very difficult to read.
• She's been trying to convince him for 20 minutes but she hasn't managed to yet.
• They've been talking about this for month and they still haven't found a solution.

When an action is finished and you can see the results, use the continuous form.

• The phone bill is enormous. You've been calling your boyfriend in Australia, haven't you?
• You're red in the face. Have you been running?

When you use the words 'ever' or 'never', use the simple form.

• I don't know them. I've never met them.
• Have you ever heard anything so strange in your life.

Exercice:



Put the verbs into the correct tense (Present Perfect Simple or Present Perfect Progressive).

1. A: (you / take)................. the dog for a walk yet?
2. B: I (work)............. all day. I (come / just) .............. home from work and I (have / not)................. the time yet to walk the dog.
3. A: How long (the dog / be).................. home alone?
4. B: For about 6 hours. You (walk / not) ............... the dog for a long time. Don't you want to go?
5. A: Well, I (laze / not)............. about all day either, you know. I have a very important meeting tomorrow and I still (finish / not) ................. my presentation.
6. B: Okay, I will go then. Where (you / put)..................... collar and leash?
7. A: They are in the kitchen. By the way, (you / eat)................ anything yet? If not, could you get us something from the supermarket?

Past perfect

We use the past perfect simple to talk about what happened before a point in the past. It looks back from a point in the past to further in the past.

• I hadn't known the bad news when I spoke to him.
• I checked with the supplier and they still hadn't received the contract.
• She had already told him before I got a chance to give him my version.
• The company has started the year well but was badly hit by the postal strike.

The past perfect simple is often used when we report what people had said/thought/believed.

• He told me they had already paid the bill.
• He said he believed that John had moved to Italy.
• I thought we had already decided on a name for this product

Exercice: Change the verb into the correct form: it may happen that the tense is not the past perfect be careful.


1. I (study)............ Japanese before.
2. She (bake)........... a lot before she ................ (open) her shop.
3. We .............(have) a lot of trouble because we ............. (lose) our passports.
4. Brian ...............(know) many people at the club because he............. (be) there many times.
5. They.............. (study) English before they............. (move) to Canada.
6. You ............ (enjoy) the movie because you............. (read) the book.
7. She really.............. (like) him because he.............. (help) her.
8. Amy........... (study) a lot before she.......... (take) the test.
9. We.......... (get) into the restaurant only because we.............. (reserve) our places.
10. I.................. (be) to India before 1986.
11. They .............. (have) a lot of trouble before they finally............. (succeed).
12. Chris.............. (own) that car for 5 years before he.............. (sell) it.
13. Sharon ..............(be) very sick until she ................. (stop) eating junk food.
14. I ..................... (be) in Greece for 7 months before I........................ (move) to Spain.
15. You .................(cook) a lot, because you ..............(be) so hungry.