Universitatea Valahia, Targoviste Facultatea de Stiinte Economice Specializarea Contabilitate si Informatica de Gestiune Anul II, grupa 1

Grammar The Verb (tenses)

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Prof: Nicoleta Popescu Studenta: Dima Andreea-Gabriela

The verb (tenses)

1.The present tense Formation: Affirmative: The present tense in formed out of the short infinitive in all persons except the third person singular where -s or -es is added to the short infinitive: to go => goes; to say => says; to do => does. Verbs ending in -ychange the i before adding the ending: to try => tries. Verbs ending in x, s, ss, z, sh, ch , add, es to the infinitive in the third person singular: to wash => washes. Negative: The negative form of the present tense is formed with the help of the verb to do witch is found in the short infinitive in all persons except the third person singular and the negation not: do (does III) + not + short infinitive: He does not go to school everyday. Interrogative: The interrogative form of the present tense is formed according to the following pattern: do (does III) + subject + short infinitive: Do they go to school everyday? The negative interrogative expects a yes answer. Usage:

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The present tense expresses an action which has no necessary correlation with the present time, as it can refer to: A timeless action: The moon goes around the earth. A habitual or durative action in recent or removed past time: I go to school everyday. Contemporaneous or simultaneous present time: I open the door, and who should I find standing on the other side? Immediate or removed future: The plane arrives at 10:15 a.m. The present tense can refer to almost any time and that is why we may consider it the tense of substitution oar excellence. The adverbial distribution reflects the structural peculiarities of the present. The concept of time is relevant to the use of tenses, but the present tense escapes a rigorous time association, its meaning being relevant only in context, especially in collocation with time adverbials, explicitly or implicitly expressed. 2.The present continuous Formation: Affirmative: The present continuous is formed on the following pattern: the present of the verb to be (I am, you are, he/she/it is, we/you/they are) + short infinitive + -ing: I am going to school this year. Verbs ending in a consonant preceded by short stressed vowel double the consonant before adding the ending. One syllable verbs always double the end consonant: to sit => sitting. Two (or more)-syllable verbs double the end consonant only if the final syllable is stressed: to begin => beginning, but to differ => differing, to refer => referring. Verbs ending in silent -e drop the -e before adding the ending -ing: to make => making. The verbs to see and to be do not drop the final -e when -ing is added; the -e in these verbs is not silent: to see => seeing, to be => being. Verbs ending in -y keep the y when -ing is added: to try =>trying. Verbs ending in -ie change the ending into -y when -ing is added: to lie => lying. Verbs ending in -ic change ic into -ick before adding the ending -ing: to picnic => picnicking.

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Negative: The negative form is built according to the following pattern: the present of the verb to be + not + short infinitive + -ing: I am not going to school. Interrogative: The interrogative form is built according to the following pattern: the present of the verb to be + subject + short infinitive + -ing: Are you going? , Arent you going? Expects a yes answer. Usage: The present continuous is used to indicate that the action is viewed in terms of its duration and that it is related to a definite occasion, i.e. the moment of speech. Durative verbs related to the moment of speech indicate that the action has begun and is in progress when the action is reported. No reference is made to the span of time covered by the action, although the progressive form infers that the action is limited: He is writing a letter. The present continuous is used with punctual verbs duration is secured through repetition of the occasion: He is jumping up and down with joy. The present continuous is used to indicate that a habitual action in the present is accompanied by a durative action: I go to sleep easily if the radio is playing. 3.The past tense Formation: The regular verbs form the past by adding the ending -ed to the short infinitive: to happen => happened. Verbs ending in a consonant preceded by a short vowel double the consonant: to stop => stopped. Verbs ending in silent -e drop the -e before the ending -ed is added: to live => lived. Verbs ending in -y change the -y into -i: to try => tried. The irregular verbs have as a past form the second form of the verb: to be => was, ti sit => sat. Usage: The past tense indicates that the event specified by the verb took place before the moment of speech. The simple past is used to denote definite past time activities that have come to an end. There are two elements of meaning involved in this use of the past tense: the happening takes place before the present moment, witch means that the present moment is excluded: I lived in London for ten years.(=I no longer live there) and the speaker has a definite time in mind. There exists very little information in the meaning of the past tense alone, without any temporal specification.
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4.The past tense continuous Formation: Affirmative: The past tense continuous is formed according to the following pattern: past of the verb to be (I was, you were, he/she/it was, we/you/they were) + short infinitive + -ing: I was working when he came. Negative: The negative form of the past tense continuous is formed according to the pattern: past of the verb to be + not + the short infinitive + -ing: I was not working when she came. Interrogative: The interrogative form of the past tense continuous is formed according to the pattern: past of the verb to be + subject + the short infinitive + -ing: Were you working when he came? Usage: The past continuous is used to express temporary action in progress at a certain point in the past, this moment must be stated. The exact limits of the activity are not generally known: This time this year they were sailing down the Nile. The past continuous is used to imply gradual development, when used without a time expression: It was getting darker. The past continuous is used to describe very frequently repeated habitual action in the past. This use is always accompanied by adverbials of frequency like: always, frequently, for ever etc: The child was always asking disturbing questions. The past continuous is used to make polite inquires: I was wondering if you could give me a lift. The past continuous is used to allow specific interpretation as to the moment of action, in sentences with dates that can be either specific or non-specific: He was playing football on Sunday. Irene was playing tennis on April 16. 5.The shall/will future Formation: Affirmative: The shall/will future is formed in the affirmative according to the modal: shall/will + short infinitive (for all persons and numbers): I shall/will go tomorrow. Shall/will may be abbreviated in the affirmative: ll: Ill go tomorrow. Negative: The pattern is as follows: shall/will + not + short infinitive: I shall/will not go tomorrow.

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Shall/will may be abbreviated in the negative: will not =>wont, shall not => shant: I shant/ wont go tomorrow. Interrogative: The pattern is as follows: shall/will + subject +short infinitive: Shall/will we go Usage: The shall/will future is used with reference to events in the near future: Mary will be here soon; or with reference to events in a more distant future: Ill never forget what he has done for me. 6.The be going to future Formation: Affirmative: the present simple of the verb to be + going + to + verb: I am going to go. Negative: the present simple of the verb to be + not + going + to + verb: I am not going to go. Interrogative: the present simple of the verb to be + subject + going + to + verb: Are you going to go? Usage: The be going to future is used to render the near future with a time expression as an alternative to the present continuous: I am going to read you some poems tomorrow; without any time specification, the meaning conveyed by the construction is soon: Im going to read you some of my own poems. 7.The future continuous Formation: Affirmative: shall/will + be + verb + -ing: I will be seeing John tomorrow. Negative: shall/will + not + be + verb + -ing: I will not be seeing him tomorrow. Interrogative: shall/will + subject + be + verb + -ing: Will I be seeing him tomorrow? Usage: The future continuous is used to express a future without intention, an action which will happen in the natural course of events: I will be turning 25 in November. The future continuous is used to show that an activity is in development at a certain moment. The moment of reference can be expressed either by an adverbial of definite future time: Tomorrow at

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five I will be flying to London; or by another activity: When you come back home, Ill be watching T.V. The future continuous is used to show that an action will last continuously from the moment of speaking until a specified moment in the future: I shall be using the computer until supper-time. 8.The present perfect Formation: Affirmative: present simple of the verb to have ( I have, you have, he/she/it has, we/you/ they have) + past participle (III form of the verb): I have known him for a long time. Negative: present simple of the verb to have + not + past participle (III form of the verb): I havent known him for a long time. Interrogative: present simple of the verb to have + subject + past participle (III form of the verb): Have I known him for a long time? Usage: The present perfect is used to refer to past with present relevance or past involving the present. There are two distinct ways in witch a past event may be related to the present by means of the present perfect: It may involve a time period lasting up to the present (duration up to the present), in combination with a definite or indefinite time adverbial modified by a resultative preposition (for/since): I have studied English for to years. I have known him since he was a little boy. It may have results persisting at the present time (resultative use), without any adverbial modification: The taxi has arrived. He has done his homework. 9.The present perfect continuous Formation: Affirmative: present continuous of to have + verb +-ing: I have been reading since 5 oclock in the morning. Negative: negative present continuous of to have + verb + -ing: No, I have not been reading all this time. Interrogative: interrogative present continuous of to have + verb + -ing: Have you been reading all this time (answer yes or no) Havent you been reading? (expected answer yes) Usage:
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The present perfect continuous is used to emphasizes the continuation of a temporary activity leading up to the present: Ive been watching T.V, for more than two hours now. The present perfect continuous is used to express that the result of the activity is still apparent: Youve been drinking again. The present perfect continuous is used to make reference to an activity that has recently stopped: Ive just been writing a paper on Shakespeare. 10.The past perfect Formation: Affirmative: past of the verb have (had) + past participle: I left after the film had finished. Negative: had + not + past participle: I left before the film hadnt finished. Interrogative: had + subject + past participle: Had you finished the film before I left? Usage: The past perfect is used for an action witch began before the moment of reference in the past and continued up to that point or stopped just before it: When I met her, she was twenty. She had been in a boarding school for ten years and couldnt imagine any other kind of life. The past perfect is used for an action/state begun before a given past moment and still going on at that past moment or coming very close to that moment: I had been at home for about two hours when you rang me up. She turned and saw that her sister, who had watched the scene curiously, had gone out. 11.The past perfect continuous Formation: Affirmative: had + been + verb + -ing: He could understand what he was saying because he had been studying English at school. Negative: had + not + been +verb + -ing: He couldnt understand what he was saying because he hadnt been studying English at school. Interrogative: had + subject + been + verb + -ing: Had you been studying English at school because you could understand what he was saying? Usage:

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The past perfect continuous is used to indicate an action begun before a given moment in the past and continued uninterruptedly into that past moment or close up to that moment: We had been walking for two hours when we saw a lake in the distance. The past perfect continuous is used in reported speech, after an introductory verb in the past, the past perfect continuous replaces both the past continuous and the past perfect continuous: Tom told me Marry had been talking for two hours and it was little hope she would soon stop talking. The past perfect continuous is used to refer to a repeated action in the past, anterior to a past moment indicating that the repetition had occurred within one limited period of time: He had been trying to get her on the phone. 11.The future perfect Formation: Affirmative: will/shall + have + past perfect of the verb: By tomorrow I will have passed the exam. Negative: will/shall + not + have + past perfect of the verb: By tomorrow I will not have passed the exam. Interrogative: will/shall + subject + have + past perfect of the verb: Will I have passed the exam by tomorrow? Usage: The future perfect is used to denote a future action finished before a future moment of reference: In two years I shall have taken my degree. 12.The future perfect continuous Formation: Affirmative: will/shall + have + been + verb + -ing: By tomorrow I will have been studying for 10 hours. Negative: will/shall + not + have + been + verb + -ing: By tomorrow I will not have been studying for 10 hours. Interrogative: will/shall + subject + have + been + verb + -ing: Will I have been studying for 10 hours by tomorrow? Usage:

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The future perfect continuous is used to express a future activity that goes on uninterruptedly into a future moment of reference. This moment of reference can be expressed in a way similar to that of the simple future perfect: By five oclock this afternoon, Ill have been reading for two hours.

Bibliography: Mihai Mircea Zdrenghea, Anca luminita Greere A practical English grammar with exercises

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