The Present Continuous Tense is formed from the present tense of the verb be and the present participle

(-ing form) of a verb:

Use 1. We use the present continuous tense to talk about the present:

for something that is happening at the moment of speaking: Im just leaving work. Ill be home in an hour. Please be uiet. !he children are sleeping.

for something which is happening before and after a given time: "t eight oclock we are usually having breakfast. When I get home the children are doing their homework.

for something which we think is temporary: #ichael is at universit$. %es studying histor$. Im working in &ondon for the ne't two weeks.

for something which is new and contrasts with a previous state: !hese da$s most people are using email instead of writing letters. What sort of clothes are teenagers wearing nowada$s( What sort of music are they listening to(

to show that something is changing) growing or developing: !he children are growing uickl$. !he climate is changing rapidl$. *our +nglish is improving.

for something which happens again and again: Its always raining in &ondon. !he$ are always arguing. ,eorge is great. %es always laughing.

Note: We normall$ use always with this use. -. We use the present continuous tense to talk about the future:

for something which has been arranged or planned: #ar$ is going to a new school ne't term. What are you doing ne't week( .. We can use the present continuous to talk about the past:

When we are telling a story: When we are summarising the stor$ from a book) film or pla$ etc.:

Possessive Pronouns

Subject I ou !e She It "e #hey

Object me $ou him her it us them

Possessive adjectives m$ $our his her its our their

Possessive pronouns mine $ours his hers its ours theirs

We can use a possessive pronoun instead of a noun phrase:

Is that /ohns car(

0o) its 1m$ car2

0o) its mine.

Whose coat is this(

Is it 1$our coat2(

Is it $ours(

%er coat is gre$) 1m$ coat2is brown

%er coat is gre$)

mine is brown.

We can use possessive pronouns after of. We can sa$: 3usan is one of my friends. or 3usan is a friend of mine. but not 3usan is a friend of me or I am one of Susan$s friends. or I am a friend of Susan$s. but not I am a friend of 3usan Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

We use comparative adjectives to describe people and things: !his car is certainl$ better but its much more e%pensive. Im feeling happier now. We need a bigger garden We use than when we want to compare one thing with another: 3he is two $ears older than me. 0ew *ork is much bigger than 4oston. %e is a better pla$er than 5onaldo. 6rance is a bigger countr$ than 4ritain. When we want to describe how something or someone changes we can use two comparatives with and: !he balloon got bigger and bigger. +ver$thing is getting more and more e%pensive. ,randfather is looking older and older. We often use the with comparative ad7ectives to show that one thing depends on another: When $ou drive faster it is more dangerous 8 !he faster $ou drive) the more dangerous it is. When the$ climbed higher it got colder 8 !he higher the$ climbed) the colder it got. Superlative adjectives : We use the with a superlative: It was the happiest day of m$ life. +verest is the highest mountain in the world. !hats the best film I have seen this $ear. I have three sisters) /an is the oldest and "ngela is the youngest .

9erbs

1.

How Many Different Types of Verbs Are There? When we talk about the different kinds of verbs) it generall$ makes more sense to define them b$ what the$ do rather than b$ what the$ are. /ust as the :same; word (rain or snow) for e'ample) can serve as either a noun or a verb) the same verb can pla$ a number of different roles depending on the conte't. "nd verbs can pla$ many different roles. %ere are 7ust some of them. Au iliary Verbs and !e ical Verbs "n au%iliary verb (also know as a helping verb) determines the mood or tense of another verb in a phrase: <It will rain tonight.< !he primar$ au'iliaries are be, have,and do. !he modal au'iliaries include can, could, may, must, should, will) and would. " le%ical verb (also known as a full or main verb) is an$ verb in +nglish that isn=t an au'iliar$ verb: it conve$s a real meaning and doesn=t depend on another verb: <Itrained all night.< Dynamic Verbs and Stative Verbs " dynamic verb indicates an action) process) or sensation: <I bought a new guitar.< " stative verb (such as be, have, know, like, own) and seem) describes a state) situation) or condition: <0ow I own a ,ibson +'plorer.< "inite Verbs and #onfinite Verbs " finite verb e'presses tense and can occur on its own in a main clause: <3hewalked to school.< " nonfinite verb (an infinitive or participle) doesn=t show a distinction in tense and can occur on its own onl$ in a dependent phrase or clause: <While walking to school) she spotted a blue7a$.< &egular 'erbs and Irregular 'erbs See the answer to question #3.

Transitive Verbs and $ntransitive Verbs " transitive verb is followed b$ a direct ob7ect: <3he sells seashells.< "n intransitive verb doesn=t take a direct ob7ect: <%e sat there uietl$.< (!his distinction is especiall$ trick$ because man$ verbs have both a transitive and an intransitive use.) >oes that cover everything verbs can do( 6ar from it. ?atenative verbs) for e'ample) 7oin with other verbs to form a chain or series. ?ausative verbs show that some person or thing helps to make something happen. ?opular verbs link the sub7ect of a sentence to its complement. "nd we haven=t even touched on the passive or the sub7unctive.

Learn more about the different kinds of verbs at the glossary entry for 9erb.

2.

%hat are the most common verbs in &n'lish? "ccording to the Oxford nglish !ictionary) these are the -@ most commonl$ used verbs in +nglish: 1. be) -. have) .. do) A. sa$) @. get) B. make) C. go) D. know) E. take) 1F. see) 11. come) 1-. think) 1.. look) 1A. want) 1@. give) 1B. use) 1C. find) 1D. tell) 1E. ask) -F. work) -1. seem) --. feel) -.. tr$) -A. leave) -@. call. !he editors at the O ! offer these observations: 3trikingl$) the -@ most fre uent verbs are all oneGs$llable wordsH the first twoGs$llable verbs are become (-Bth) and include (-Cth). 6urthermore) -F of these -@ are Ild +nglish words) and three more) get, seem) and want) entered +nglish from Ild 0orse in the earl$ medieval period. Inl$ try and use came from Ild 6rench. It seems that +nglish prefers terse) ancient words to describe actions or occurrences. See also" !he 1FF #ost ?ommonl$ Jsed Words in +nglish.

3.

%hat(s the difference between a " wea) verb " and a "stron' verb "? !he distinction between a weak verb and a strong verb is based on how the past tense of the verb is formed. "eak verbs (also called regular verbs) form the past tense b$ adding #ed, #d) or #t to thebase formGGor present tense formGGof the verb (for e'ample) call, called and walk, walked). Strong verbs (also called irregular verbs) form the past tense or the past participle (or both) in various wa$s but most often b$ changing the vowel of the present tense form (for e'ample) give, gave and stick, stuck). Learn more about Weak 9erbs and 3trong 9erbs.

4.

Are there any e amples of &n'lish verbs that are both re'ular ( wea) ) and irre'ular ( stron' ) ? Ine that comes to mind is the verb <to fl$.< In most cases) <fl$< is an irregular verb: fly, flew, flown. 4ut in the 7argon of baseball) <fl$< is a regular verb: fly, flied, flied. 3o we sa$ that <>erek /eter flied out to center to end the inning.< If /eter ever <flew out to center)< we=d have uite a different stor$. See also" !he &anguage of 4aseball.

5.

%hat is Verbin' ? In a single work da$) we might head a task force) eye an opportunit$) nose around for good ideas) mouth a greeting) elbow an opponent) strong#arm a colleague) shoulder the blame) stomach a loss) and finall$ hand in our resignation. What we=re doing with all those bod$ parts is called verbingGGusing nouns (or occasionall$ other parts of speech) as verbs.

9erbing is a timeGhonored wa$ of coining new words out of old ones) the et$mologicalprocess of conversion (or functional shifting). 3ometimes it=s also a kind of word pla$ (anthimeria)) as in 3hakespeare=s $ing %ichard the Second when the >uke of *ork sa$s) <,race me no grace) and uncle me no uncles.< Learn more about 9erbing.
6.

%hat is the difference between the present pro'ressive and the present participle ? " present participle is a verb form with an <Ging< ending (for e'ample) <tapping<). !hepresent progressive aspect is a form of the verb <to be< &lus a present participle (for e'ample) <is tapping<). %ere is how each one is used: " present participle b$ itself can=t serve as the main verb of a sentence. !his word group) for instance) is incomplete: <3adie) ta&&ing her cane to the music.< %ere) <tapping< begins a present participial phrase that modifies the noun <3adie.< Ine wa$ to make this word group into a sentence is b$ adding a sub7ect and a predicate: <' remember 3adie) tapping her cane to the music.< In contrast) a verb in the present progressive tense ma$ itself serve as the predicate of a sentence: <3adie is ta&&ing her cane to the music.< !he present progressive is used for ongoing actionsGGthat is) for actions occurring at the moment of speaking and for actions that take place over a short period of time. 3o we could have a sentence that contains both a present participial phrase (<tapping her cane to the music<) and a main verb in the present progressive tense (<is singing<). Learn more about !he Present Participle and the Present Progressive.

7.

%hat(s the difference between passed and past ? (assed is both the past and past participle form of the verb &ass. (ast is a noun (meaning <a previous time<)) an ad7ective (meaning <ago<)) and a preposition (meaning <be$ond<). In fact both words are derived from the verb &ass) and at one time &ast was commonl$ used for the past tense and the past participle. !he editors of )erriam#*ebster+s !ictionary of nglish ,sage (1EEA) offer several e'amples: I did not tell $ou how I &ast m$ time $esterda$. (/onathan 3wift) -ournal to Stella) -@ /an. 1C11) . . . he was much offended . . . that he &ast the latter part of his life in a state of hostilit$. (3amuel /ohnson) Preface to /ohnson=s edition of 3hakespeare) 1CB@)

I know what has &ast between $ou. (Iliver ,oldsmith) She Stoo&s to .onquer) 1CC.) 0owada$s &ast has lost its status as a verb form (it=s bus$ enough serving as a noun) ad7ective) adverb) and preposition)) leaving &assed to fill the role of past tense. 4ut who knows( Perhaps this) too) shall pass.