(1)

Tenses

The List English irregular verbs that are spelled differently in all the present and past tenses

(2) Fill in the blanks with the Simple Present tense of the verbs in brackets. 1. I .. (write) to my pen-pal once a week.

2. The train usually (leave) here at eight oclock. 3. She . (drink) coffee every morning. 4. He (practice) football every evening.

5. I usually .(read) a book during I want to sleep. 6. Miss Chen ..(teach) us English and Music. 7. My friend, Rafi (speak) Chinese and Tamil. 8. The girls often (play) netball on Sundays. 9. Larry . (swim) in the pool once a week. 10. My mother .(wash) her hair once a week. 11. The men always .(collect) the rubbish in the afternoon. 12. My grandfather (take) his bath every morning.
Future tenses

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I know my parents won't _______ me go to the party. Will it _____ for Christmas? I know she's sick, but will she _____ back in school tomorrow?

Exercise 7: Intentions The auxiliary verb going to is used in talking about intentions. (An intention is a plan for the future that you have already thought about.)
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Exercise 6:
Predictions/statements of fact The auxiliary verb will is used in making predictions or simple statements of fact about the future.
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The sun will ___ at 6.30 tomorrow. Lunch break today will _____ 10 minutes longer than usual. In the year 2050 all students will _______ their own computers in school. If you help me, I will ____ you. Do you think she will ___ soon? You won't _______ your exams if you don't start working harder.

We're going to _____ a new car next month. I'm going to ______ in a bank when I leave school. In the new year I'm going to _______ eating so much junk. He's not going to _____ to the dance. He's got too much work. I'm not going to ________ TV until my science project is finished. Are you going to _______ basketball after school? What are you going to _____ for lunch today?

Exercise 8: Arrangements The present continuous tense is used in talking about arrangements. (An arrangement is is a plan for the future that you have already thought aboutand discussed with someone else.)
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I'm _________ my mother at the airport tomorrow.

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Our grandparents are __________ us this Christmas. Sorry, I can't stay after school today; I'm ________ tennis with Jun-Sik. My sister's ________ to the dentist tomorrow. I'm not __________ home for the holidays, so I can come to your party after all! Are you _________ anything on Sunday morning? Do you know if he is ________ to the dance with Maiko next week?

time. Look at these examples (the adverbs are shown in bold): I always _______ to school by car. 2) She frequently ______ here before me. 3) He never _______ to do his homework. 4) I often ________ the late bus home. 5) I ________ football on Saturdays. 6) Once a year I ______ back to visit my family in Korea. 7) The classrooms are _________ every evening after school. 8) She sometimes ________ her temper, but it doesn't _______ very often. 9) Do you ever ________ in the cafeteria? 10) Does your father _________ English every day?
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Exercise 9: Scheduled events The present simple tense is usually used to refer to future events that are scheduled (and outside of our control). 1) Hurry up! The train _________ in 10 minutes. 2) I _____ Frankfurt at 5 o'clock in the morning and ________ in New York a. at midnight the next day. 3) She ________ an appointment with the headmaster after school today. 4) There's no need to hurry. The train doesn't _________ for another 30 minutes. 5) When does the meeting _________?

(11) Simple statements of fact When we want to state a fact or ask a question without any time reference, we use the present simple tense.
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The Present Simple Tense

(10) Repeated actions The present simple tense is very often used with adverbs of repeated
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I ______ in Frankfurt. She ________ football but she doesn't _____ tennis. For breakfast he ____ rice and _______ cold milk. She ________ very hard. My friend _________ four languages. It ______ a lot in Germany. I don't _____ horror films! Do you ________? Does your sister _______ any children?

10) How

much does it _______ to buy an apartment in Frankfurt?

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(12) World truths Statements about rules of nature and the way the world is are in the present simple tense. The sun _____ in the West. 2) Most babies ____ to speak when they are about two years old. 3) Water ____ at 100 Celsius. 4) Trees _______ their leaves in the fall. 5) Few people ______ to be 100 years old. 6) Wood _______ on water. 7) Does it _____ in the Sahara desert? 8) Do elephants ______ longer than humans? 9) Money doesn't ________ happiness. 10) Flowers don't ________ in the winter.
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She _________ she doesn't ______ who did it, but I don't __________ her. He doesn't _________ to speak to you again. This doesn't _____ very good, does it? Do you ________ the first time we met? Do you _______ something funny? Does he ________ which way to go?

(14) In jokes, anecdotes and film or book summaries The present simple tense is very often used in jokes and when telling a story to make the joke or story seem more immediate. This use of the present tense is sometimes called the graphic present. The present simple is also used to retell what happens in a book or film.
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(13) Verbs of the senses and mental processes The present simple tense is used for many verbs of thinking, feeling and sensing. The most common words are: like love prefer know hate need want see
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So in he __________ with a parrot on his shoulder. In his new film Robert Redford __________ the part of a brave cowboy.

(15) To refer to the future The present simple is often used to refer to future events that are scheduled (and outside of our control).
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understan d

believe remember smell look

hear taste

She _______ it in Germany. I ________ lying in bed late on Sunday mornings. I ______ to know right now.

Hurry up! The train ___________ in 10 minutes. I ________ Frankfurt at 5 o'clock in the morning and arrive in New York at midnight the next day.

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She _______ a piano lesson after school today. There's no need to hurry. The train doesn't ________ for another 30 minutes. When _________ the meeting begin?

10) Why

are you ______? You should be _______ to me.

(Exercise 17) For future arrangements We usually use the present continuous tense for future events that have already been arranged:
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The Present Continuous Tense Exercise 16: For actions happening now When we want to talk about an action that is happening now or at this time (and is unfinished), we use the present continuous tense. We also use this tense when we want to make clear that the action is temporary.
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Sorry, she can't come to the phone right now; she is _______ a bath. Look! Someone is _______ to break into your car. This work is good! Your handwriting is _________ better and better. I'm ________ these old trousers to school this week, as we're doing a pottery course and it's very messy work! Of course she likes you. You're just _______ stupid! Where's John? - He's ________ soccer in the sports hall. This calculator isn't _______ properly. Do you have another one. You can go outside now. It isn't ________ any more. What are you ________? My watch is broken and I'm _______ to fix it.

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I'm _____ my mother at the airport tomorrow. Our grandmother is ____________ us at Christmas. Sorry, I can't stay after school today; I'm _________ tennis with Jun-Sik. My mother's _______ to the dentist tomorrow. I'm not ________ home at Christmas, so I can come to your party after all! Are you ________ anything on Sunday morning? Do you know if he is _________ to the dance with Maiko next week?

Exercise 18: To express annoyance at repeated actions Usually the present simple is used for repeated actions. For example, He always gets up before 7 o'clock, but .. the present continuous is the correct choice when the speaker wants to express annoyance at a repeated action.(Note how often the word "always" is used in such statements): 1) You are always _________ m e when I'm talking and I don't like it!

2) She's always __________ he r pencil on the desk and it's getting on my nerves! 3) My ESL teacher's always _______ det entions; how can anyone be so mean? 4) I'm _________ tired of you always coming late to class. 5) Why is it always _______ in Germany? 6) Why are you always _________ me? This use of the present continuous is not possible as a negative statement. The Past Simple Tense (19) For actions that happened in the past The past simple is the most usual tense for talking about things that happened or have finished before now. Very often we use a word or expression of finished time with this tense. In the following example sentences the expressions of finished time are shown in bold:
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I felt __________ when the teacher asked an easy question but I didn't know the answer. 8) The weather _________ bad this afternoon* so we didn't have a picnic as __________. 9) How did you ___ that? 10) Did you ______ the film on TV last night? 11) Why didn't you _______ your homework?
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* In this sentence the speaker is talking in the evening, so for her this afternoon is finished time. (20) In reported speech In reported speech it is common to shift the tense back. So for example, if someone said something to you in the present tense, you would report it in the past tense. Look at these examples. In each case the first sentence is direct speech and the second sentence is in reported speech. The verbs in the past simple form are shown in bold.
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She _______ to Germany two years ago. It ________ every day for a week on my vacation. Columbus ________ America in 1492. I _________ tennis at the weekend. I didn't ________ you yesterday. Were you in school? My mother _______ shopping on Saturday but she didn't buy anything.

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She said: "I live in Frankfurt." She told me she ________ in Frankfurt. * He said: "I can speak 5 languages." He said he ________ speak 5 languages. The new girl said: "My father is a millionaire!" The new girl told me her father ________ a millionaire but I don't believe her! She said: "My mother doesn't like German food." She said her

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mother __________ like German food. He said: "I don't feel well." He said he _________ feel well. She asked: "Do you like ESL lessons?" She asked me if I _________ ESL lessons. The teacher said: "Do you know the answer?" The teacher asked me if I __________ the answer.

6) I would be much happier if you _________ do that! The past simple (conditional 2) is used in these sentences to express the idea of something that is not true or that the speaker thinks is unlikely to happen. So, in the first 3 sentences above, the interpretations would be: 1) I ______ have time .. 2) I _______ not the teacher .. 3) I ________ think it is likely you will win a lot of money ..

* It is common in modern spoken English to NOT change the tense if you believe that what someone told you is still true. So, for example, we could say:

She said she lives in Frankfurt. She told me her mother __________ like German food.

(21) In conditional sentences The past simple tense is used in conditional 2 sentences. Have a look at some examples before reading the explanation about what the conditional 2 is. The verbs in past simple form are shown in bold. 1) I would help you if I ____ time! 2) If I _______ the teacher I would give lots of homework every day! 3) What would you buy if you _______ a lot of money? 4) If you _________ a calculator, you wouldn't have to borrow mine all the time! 5) If you ________ eat so much junk food, you would be a lot fitter!