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Definitions
of Tenses:
The
Six Past Tenses:
In
English, six different tenses are used to talk about the past:
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The
simple past (I worked)
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The past
continuous (I was working)
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The simple present perfect (I have worked)
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The present perfect
continuous (I have been working)
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The simple past perfect (I had worked)
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The past perfect
continuous (I had been working)
The
Two Present Tenses:
Present
simple refers to permanent situations or daily routines.
eg. He is a man. He lives on Fourth Avenue. He walks
to work everyday.
Present
continuous (or present progressive) refers to time around now,
using suffix -ing to denote this.
eg. He is swimming in the pool at the moment. He is listening
to his mp3 player. He is studying Engineering at the local
university.
Modal verbs like can or must do not have
progressive forms and some other verbs such as known
or contain are
rarely used in progressive forms.
Future
Tenses:
Will
refers to future intentions, promises and plans with no
intention or ability to alter.
eg. I will do the washing today.
eg. I will not forget you.
eg. There will be an eclipse at 6:00pm tomorrow night.
Going
to refers to flexible plans that have not been confirmed.
eg. I am going to take a year off when I finish school.
eg. I am going to the beach on the weekend.
eg. I am going to Haj one day.
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Demonstrating
What is Incorrect Usage
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Demonstrating
What is Correct Usage
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Check for
missing or incorrect articles (a/an/the):
"5% of
population of Lebanon is…"
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"5% of the population of Lebanon is…"
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Check the present
simple "s" refers correctly to a third person:
"…she want to go
to University…"
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"… she wants
to go to University…"
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Check
that your active and passive verbs are correct
"They had already
arrive…"
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"They had already arrived…"
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Check
that your verb forms are correct:
"…They have been
tried to…"
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"They have been trying
to…"
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Check
all your subject-verb agreements:
"… poor countries
has suffered…"
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"…poor countries have
suffered…"
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Check
your countable and uncountable nouns:
"Most student do
not wish to…"
but "Most peoples in the world…"
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"Most students
do not wish to…"
but “Most people in the world…"
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-
Check
that your pronouns refer to previously mentioned nouns:
"He wants to
go to University…"
(incorrect if "a student" is not mentioned before)
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"He wants to
go to University…"
(correct if "a student" is previously mentioned)
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Check
that your prepositions are correct:
"The company was
interested at…"
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"The company was
interested in…"
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Check
that your parts of speech are correct:
"…it was a
destruction act…" (noun)
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"…it was a
destructive act…" (adj.)
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- Check the correct meaning
of adjectives
"...it was an hysterical graveyard."
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"...it was an historical graveyard."
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Check
that your conditional forms are correct:
Zero:
If + present simple tense
…, + present simple tense + infinitive (Likelihood –
always)
eg. If I eat an apple everyday I stay healthy.
1st:
If + present simple tense
…, + will (may/might/could etc.) + infinitive…
(Likelihood - maybe)
eg. If I walk to school I might need an umbrella.
2nd:
If + past simple tense …, + would (may/might/could etc.) + infinitive…
(Likelihood - maybe not)
eg. If I watched the game I would know the result.
3rd:
If + past perfect tense
…, + have + past participle… (Likelihood - did not
occur)
eg. If I had worked later I would have been attacked by the stalker
in the carpark.
References:
Swan, Michael (2002), "Practical English Usage"
Oxford University Press, Great Claredon Street, Oxford, pge 443.
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