Simple past

 

Structure of the simple past.

Affirmative:

subject + verb (in past form) + complement.

example: I saw a movie yesterday

Negative:

subject + auxiliary verb (did) + negacion + verb (infinitive) + complement.

example: He didn’t hear the telephone.

Interrogative.

auxiliary verb (did) + subject + verb (infinitive) + complement?.

example: Did you have dinner last night?

 

Whit the verb to be.

for subjects I, He, Shse, It use was and for the others use were.

Affirmative:

subject + verb (was/were) + complement.

example: He was last night.

Negative:

subject + verb (was/were) + negacion + complement.

example: I wasn’t angry

Interrogative.

verb (was/were) + subject +  complement?.

example: Was Mark at school yesterday?

Simple present tense

SIMPLE PRESENT STRUCTURE

Subject + Verb + Complement

Examples:

• I like pizza
• She lives in Toronto
• We have a dog
• They go to school

Here are all the pronouns with the verbs in simple present:

I like pizza.

You like pizza.

He likes pizza.

She likes pizza.

It likes pizza.

We like pizza.

They like pizza.

The spelling for the verb in the third person differs depending on the ending of that verb:

1. For verbs that end in -O, -CH, -SH, -SS, -X, or -Z we add (ES) in the third person.

go – goes

catch – catches

wash – washes

kiss – kisses

fix – fixes

buzz – buzzes

2. For verbs that end in a consonant + Y, we remove the Y and add (IES).

marry – marries

study – studies

carry – carries

worry – worries

 

NOTE: For verbs that end in a vowel + Y, we just add (S).

play – plays

enjoy – enjoys

say – says

This table shows the difference between the third person  pronouns. Notice the “s” on the end of the Word.

Verb	3rd Person
I live in Vancouver.	He lives in Vancouver.
You play soccer.	She plays soccer.
Tom and Dan (they) like basketball.	Tom (he) likes basketball.
The books (they) look old.	The book (it) looks old.

 

 NEGATIVES

Negatives in simple present use do not or does not.  They also

use be + not.

Do Not/Does Not

Subject + Do/Does + not +  verb +complement

Examples:

• I do not like pizza.
• She does not play baseball.

Be + Not

Negative sentences can also use the verb to be and not.  They

look like these examples:

• I am not a doctor.
• She is not hungry.
• They are not from Africa.

 

QUIESTIONS

Questions with verbs in the simple present use the auxiliary

verb “DO”.

Structure

Do/Does   +   Subject   +   Base Verb

Examples:

• Do you like pizza?
• Does she play baseball?

 

 

ANSWERS

The answers to do/does questions are always “yes” or “no”.

This is why they are Yes/No Questions.

 

Question:        Do you like chocolate?

Answer:          Yes I do.

No I do not.

Question:        Does she have a brother?

Answer:           Yes she does.

No she does not.

 

NEGATIVES

Negative sentences in simple present use do or does.

Structure

Subject        +        Do/Does        +        Not        +        Verb      + complement.

Examples:

• I do not like hockey
• She does not live in Brazil.

Contractions

• Do not =  Don’t
• Does not =  Doesn’t

Examples:

• They don’t have a dog.
• He doesn’t want a drink.

For a better understanding, this is a website to know how to apply these basic rules, and improve spelling and speech.

Present perfect

Introduction to the topic:

The present perfect is used to talk about an action that happened at a time before now, but it is not specified when it happened because it doesn’t have relevance. Sometimes, we want to limit the time we are refering to by using expressions such as in the last week, in the last year, this week, this month, so far, up to now, etc. We can also use the Present Perfect to show that something started in the past and has continued up until now (“For two hours,” “for three days,” or “since Saturday”), with the use of non-continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of mixed verbs. 

Future Tense

Simple future has two different forms in English: will and going to. Although both forms can sometimes be used interchangeably, they often express two very different meanings. Both forms refer to specific time in future.

Sentence Structure

 

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Form Will

Affirmative sentences structure: Subject+ [will + verb] + complement

Examples:

• I will help my mother later
• She will send some letters
• You will paint a beautiful picture for the art class

Sometimes, the form will can be used as a contraction à ’ll. With the last examples:

• I’ll help my mother later
• You’ll paint a beautiful picture for the art class
• She will send some letters**

**The contraction (’ll) is often used for the pronouns: I, you and we.

 

 

Negative sentences structure: Subject+ [will not + verb] + complement**

** “Will not” can be replaced with the contraction won’t 

Examples:

• I will not help my mother
• She won’t send some letter
• You will not paint a beautiful picture

 

Yes/No questions structure: Will + subject + verb + complement + ?

Examples:

• Will you help your mother?
• Will she send some letters?

In Yes/No question, we should give either an affirmative or negative answer to that question.

• Will she send some letters?

Affirmative: Yes, she will. (The verb is omitted)

Negative: No, she will not/won’t.  (The verb is omitted)

 

 

Wh-questions structure: Wh-word (what, which, when…) + Will + subject + verb + complement + ?

Examples:

• What will she send? A: She will send letters

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Form be going to

Affirmative sentences structure: Subject + [be going to + verb] + complement

Examples:

• I am** going to send a letter tomorrow
• He is** going to join a gym the next month
• We are** going to perform a song tonight

** REMEMBER: We should conjugate the verb be according to the subject.

 

 

Negative sentences structure: Subject + [be not going to + verb] + complement

Examples:

• I am not going to send a letter tomorrow
• We aren’t going to perform a song tonight.

 

Yes/No questions structure: Be + subject + going to verb + complement + ?

Examples:

• Are you going to send a letter tomorrow?

Affirmative: Yes, I am

Negative: No, I am not

 

Wh-questions structure: Wh-word (what, which, when…) + Be + subject + going to verb + complement + ?

Examples:

• What are you going to send tomorrow? A: I’m going to send a letter tomorrow

 

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Uses

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  USE 1 “Will” to Express a Voluntary Action

“Will” often suggests that a speaker will do something voluntarily. A voluntary action is one the speaker offers to do for someone else.

Examples:

• I will paint your wall if you need it.
• She will translate the Japanese text, so Mr. Baratheon can read it.
• I won’t help Mary because she was very mean with me.
• A: I’m really hungry

B: I’ll make some sandwiches

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  USE 2 “Will” to Express a Promise

Examples:

• I will give you a beautiful gift for Christmas
• If I win the elections the next year, I will solve poverty in Costa Rica
• You won’t tell anyone my secret, right?

 

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  USE 3 “Be going to” to express a Plan/Arrangement

“Be going to” expresses that something is a plan. It expresses the idea that a person intends to do something in the future. It does not matter whether the plan is realistic or not.

Examples:

• He is going to meet the president next Wednesday.
• I am going to spend my vacation in Russia.
• Are you going to invite Cersei to the party tonight?
• I’m not going to be an actor when I grow up.

 

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  USE 4 “Will” or “Be Going to” to Express a Prediction 

Both “will” and “be going to” can express the idea of a general prediction about the future. Predictions are guesses about what might happen in the future.

Examples:

• In the year 5894, a post-human race will invade the planet
• In the year 5894, a post-human race is going to invade the planet

If we add an “if”, it is mandatory to use will.

• I don’t know if Oscar Arias will win the elections in 2018

 

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  USE 5 “Going to” to express something that is likely to happen

• Be careful! You are going to fall
• Look at those hungry lions. I think they are going to bite our bodies