Simple Present Tense

Simple Past Tense

Future simple

Questions Tags

 Questions Tags

Tag questions (or question tags) turn a statement into a question. They are often used for checking information that we think we know is true.

Tag questions are made using an auxiliary verb (for example: be or have) and a subject pronoun (for example: I, you, she). Negative question tags are usually contracted: It's warm today, isn't it (not 'is it not')

Usually if the main clause is positive, the question tag is negative, and if the main clause is negative, it's positive. For example: It's cold (positive), isn't it (negative)? And: It isn't cold (negative), is it (positive)?

If the main clause has an auxiliary verb in it, you use the same verb in the tag question. If there is no auxiliary verb (in the present simple and past simple) use do / does / did (just like when you make a normal question).

There is one wierd exception: the question tag after I am is aren't I.

For example: I'm in charge of the food, aren't I?

Postive sentences, with negative tags

Present simple 'be'	She's Italian, isn't she?
Present simple other verbs	They live in London, don't they?
Present continuous	We're working tomorrow, aren't we?
Past simple 'be'	It was cold yesterday, wasn't it?
Past simple other verbs	He went to the party last night, didn't he?
Past continuous	We were waiting at the station, weren't we?
Present perfect	They've been to Japan, haven't they?
Present perfect continuous	She's been studying a lot recently, hasn't she?
Past perfect	He had forgotten his wallet, hadn't he?
Past perfect continuous	We'd been working, hadn't we?
Future simple	She'll come at six, won't she?
Future continuous	They'll be arriving soon, won't they?
Future perfect	They'll have finished before nine, won't they?
Future perfect continuous	She'll have been cooking all day, won't she?
Modals	He can help, can't he?
Modals	John must stay, mustn't he?

Negative sentences, with positive tags

Present simple 'be'	We aren't late, are we?
Present simple other verbs	She doesn't have any children, does she?
Present continuous	The bus isn't coming, is it?
Past simple 'be'	She wasn't at home yesterday, was she?
Past simple other verbs	They didn't go out last Sunday, did they?
Past continuous	You weren't sleeping, were you?
Present perfect	She hasn't eaten all the cake, has she?
Present perfect continuous	He hasn't been running in this weather, has he?
Past perfect	We hadn't been to London before, had we?
Past perfect continuous	You hadn't been sleeping, had you?
Future simple	They won't be late, will they?
Future continuous	He'll be studying tonight, won't he?
Future perfect	She won't have left work before six, will she?
Future perfect continuous	He won't have been travelling all day, will he?
Modals	She can't speak Arabic, can she?
Modals	They mustn't come early, must they?

Exercise:

click here

To better understand the issue I invite you watch the following video:

Future simple

Simple Future has two different forms in English: "will" and "be going to." Although the two forms can sometimes be used interchangeably, they often express two very different meanings. These different meanings might seem too abstract at first, but with time and practice, the differences will become clear. Both "will" and "be going to" refer to a specific time in the future.

Structure

The structure of the Future Simple tense is:

FORM Will

[will + verb]

Examples:

• You will help him later.
• Will you help him later?
• You will not help him later.

FORM Be Going To

[am/is/are + going to + verb]

Examples:

• You are going to meet Jane tonight.
• Are you going to meet Jane tonight?
• You are not going to meet Jane tonight.

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. Often, we use "will" to respond to someone else's complaint or request for help. We also use "will" when we request that someone help us or volunteer to do something for us. Similarly, we use "will not" or "won't" when we refuse to voluntarily do something.

                                                                                                       Examples:

• I will send you the information when I get it.
• I will translate the email, so Mr. Smith can read it.
• Will you help me move this heavy table?
• Will you make dinner?
• I will not do your homework for you.
• I won't do all the housework myself!
• A: I'm really hungry.
  B: I'll make some sandwiches.
• A: I'm so tired. I'm about to fall asleep.
  B: I'll get you some coffee.
• A: The phone is ringing.
  B: I'll get it.

USE 2 "Will" to Express a Promise

"Will" is usually used in promises.

Examples:

• I will call you when I arrive.
• If I am elected President of the United States, I will make sure everyone has access to inexpensive health insurance.
• I promise I will not tell him about the surprise party.
• Don't worry, I'll be careful.
• I won't tell anyone your secret.

USE 3 "Be going to" to Express a Plan

"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 spend his vacation in Hawaii.
• She is not going to spend her vacation in Hawaii.
• A: When are we going to meet each other tonight?
  B: We are going to meet at 6 PM.
• I'm going to be an actor when I grow up.
• Michelle is going to begin medical school next year.
• They are going to drive all the way to Alaska.
• Who are you going to invite to the party?
• A: Who is going to make John's birthday cake?
  B: Sue is going to make John's birthday cake.

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. In "prediction" sentences, the subject usually has little control over the future and therefore USES 1-3 do not apply. In the following examples, there is no difference in meaning.

Examples:

• The year 2222 will be a very interesting year.
• The year 2222 is going to be a very interesting year.

• John Smith will be the next President.
• John Smith is going to be the next President.

• The movie "Zenith" will win several Academy Awards.
• The movie "Zenith" is going to win several Academy Awards.

IMPORTANT

In the Simple Future, it is not always clear which USE the speaker has in mind. Often, there is more than one way to interpret a sentence's meaning.

No Future in Time Clauses

Like all future forms, the Simple Future cannot be used in clauses beginning with time expressions such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc. Instead of Simple Future, Simple Present is used.

Examples:

• When you will arrive tonight, we will go out for dinner. Not Correct
• When you arrive tonight, we will go out for dinner. Correct

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

• You will never help him.
• Will you ever help him?

• You are never going to meet Jane.
• Are you ever going to meet Jane?

Exercise

click here

To better understand the issue I invite you watch the following video:

Simple Past Tense

When we want to indicate that something happened at a specific time in the past, we use the simple past tense.

Conjugation of the simple past

The structure of "simple past" is:

[SUBJECT] + [past tense, ending "-ed"]

Construction of the past

In general, to form the past "-ed" is added to a verb.

work➜worked

But must take into account some considerations:

• Irregular verbs

For irregular verbs must be memorized his way past.

For example:

I went to the University of Oxford

• Past verbs ending in "-e"

To form the past the "-e" final is replaced by "-ed".

Denial in the simple past

The formation of negation in "simple past" is simpler than affirmation.
Its structure is:

[SUBJECT] + did + not + [VERB IN INFINITIVE (without to)]

For example:

1. I did not sing
2. He did not sing

Mark in the simple past

To construct the question the auxiliary verb to do is used in the past (did).

The structure is:

Did + [SUBJECT] + [infinitive (without to)]?

If the question had an interrogative particle structure would

[Interrogative particle] + did + [SUBJECT] + [infinitive]?

For example:

What did you sing?

Temporary accessories

Usually with prayers "simple past" it is necessary to specify when the action was performed (explicitly or by context so).
For example:
I played a match last week 

Here is a table with add-ons that can be utiloizar for this time:

Exercise

Click here

To better understand the issue I invite you watch the following

video:

Simple Present Tense

We use The Simple Present Tense for an action which goes on everyday or all the tense.

Formation of Simple Present Tense

The third person singular (he, she, it) is usually formed by adding -S to the root of the verb. Sometimes -ES is added. -S, -ES and IES are added in positive sentences.

a. Hamid listens to music every night.

b. He rarely watches TV.

c. She usually takes the train to work.

Uses of Simple Present Tense

1. To show a habit

We drink coffee every morning.

         

2. To express a general truth
Water boils at 100 degrees.

3. To express an action with a future time expression

I leave tomorrow.

Example Sentences

1. We buy a newspaper every Sunday.
2. He doesn't visit his father.
3. Does she lie to her mother?
4. My sister works at the theater.5. The boss gives us a lot of work to do.
6. Marry and Lucas don't play fairly.
7. Do you like to read comic books?
8. They spend a lot of money.

Simple Present Tense Exercise

click here 

To better understand the issue I invite you watch  the following

video:

Conjunctions

A conjunction is a word that "joins". A conjunction joins two parts of a sentence. Here are some example conjunctions:

We can consider conjunctions from three aspects.

Form

Conjunctions have three basic forms:

• Single Word
  for example: and, but, because, although
• Compound (often ending with as or that)
  for example: provided that, as long as, in order that
• Correlative (surrounding an adverb or adjective)
  for example: so...that

Function

Conjunctions have two basic functions or "jobs":

• Coordinating conjunctions are used to join two parts of a sentence that are grammatically equal. The two parts may be single words or clauses, for example:
  - Jack and Jill went up the hill.
  - The water was warm, but I didn't go swimming.
• Subordinating conjunctions are used to join a subordinate dependent clause to a main clause, for example:
  - I went swimming although it was cold.

Position

• Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that they join.
• Subordinating conjunctions usually come at the beginning of the subordinate clause.

Watch the video to better understand

                            

Future Simple Tense

The future simple tense is often called the "will" tense because we make the future simple with the modal auxiliary verb will.

in this lesson we look at the structure and use of the future simple tense.

The auxiliary verb (will) is invariable: will

The main verb is invariable in base form: base

For negative sentences we insert not between the auxiliary verb and the main verb.

For question sentences, we exchange the subject and the auxiliary verb.

Look at these example sentences with the Future Simple tense:

Contraction with Future Simple

When we use the Future Simple in speaking, we often contract the subject and the auxiliary verb. We also sometimes do this in informal writing.

-

Watch the video to better understand

First Conditional

we are talking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition or situation in the future, and the result of this condition. There is a real possibility that this condition will happen.

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. We use the Present Simple tense to talk about the possible future condition. We use will + base verb to talk about the possible future result. The important thing about the first conditional is that there is a real possibility that the condition will happen.

For example: 

If you study,you will pass.

If I win the lottery,I will buy a house.

If they do not come here,we'll have to go home.

If we don't hurry,we'll miss our bus.

If I have time,visit my grandmother.

If you feel sick,you go to the doctor.

I invite you to watch the video to understand more clearly.