Learn English with Emma: February 2013

FORM: [has/have + past participle]

The present perfect simple expresses an action that is still going on or that stopped recently, but has an influence on the present. It puts emphasis on the result.

	Positive	Negative	Question
I / you / we / they	I have spoken.	I have not spoken.	Have I spoken?
he / she / it	He has spoken.	He has not spoken.	Has he spoken?

Past Continuous

The past continuous is formed from the past tense of be with the -ing form of the verb:
We use the past continuous to talk about the past:

for something which continued before and after another action:

The children were doing their homework when I got home.

Compare:

I got home. The children did their homework.
and
The children did their homework when I got home.

As I was watching television the telephone rang.

This use of the past continuous is very common at the beginning of a story:

The other day I was waiting for a bus when …
Last week as I was driving to work …

for something that happened before and after a particular time:

It was eight o’clock. I was writing a letter.

Compare:

At eight o’clock I wrote some letters.

In July she was working in McDonald’s.

.to show that something continued for some time:

My head was aching.
Everyone was shouting.

for something that was happening again and again:

I was practising every day, three times a day.
They were meeting secretly after school.
They were always quarrelling.

with verbs which show change or growth:

The children were growing up quickly.
Her English was improving.
My hair was going grey.
The town was changing quickly.

Games to help you study the past continuous:

Videos to help you study the past continuous:

Worksheets to help you study the past continuous:

Past Continuous Tense 1
Past Continuous Tense 2

Past Simple

The Past Simple

We use the past simple to talk about actions and states which we see as completed in the past.

We can use it to talk about a specific point in time.

She came back last Friday.
I saw her in the street.
They didn't agree to the deal.

It can also be used to talk about a period of time.

She lived in Tokyo for seven years.
They were in London from Monday to Thursday of last week.
When I was living in New York, I went to all the art exhibitions I could.

You will often find the past simple used with time expressions such as these:

Yesterday
three weeks ago
last year
in 2002
from March to June
for a long time
for 6 weeks
in the 1980s
in the last century
in the past

Games to help you study the past simple:

Videos to help you study the past simple:

Present Continuous

The Present Continuous

FORM: [am/is/are + present participle]

1. We use the present continuous tense for activities that are happening just now.
Examples: I am doing some English exercises at the moment. You aren't listening! Why is he sitting here?

2. We use it for an action happening about this time (today, this week), but not necessarily at the moment of speaking. It is a temporary activity.
Examples: I am in London. I am staying at the hotel. (But just now you can be somewhere else.) She can't go out. She is writing her essay today. (But she can be having lunch at the moment.) You can't borrow this book today. Mary is reading it. (But not right now.)

3. With a future time expression (soon, on Monday) it is used for definite arrangements in the near future. The continuous tense is more personal than the simple, because it expresses the speaker's plan.
Examples: I am leaving soon. We are meeting on Monday.

Games to help you study the present continuous:

Present Progressive Tense - Hangman Game

Present Progressive Tense - Spelling Game

Present Progressive Action Verbs - Fling the Teacher Game

Present Progressive - Car Racing Game

Videos to help you study the present continuous tense:

Worksheets to help you study the present continuous tense:

Worksheet 1: Present Continuous I

Worksheet 2: Present Continuous II

Tests on the present continuous

1. http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=1083

2. http://www.englishexercises.org/exercise.asp?id=2126

3. http://www.englishexercises.org/exercise.asp?id=3438

4. http://www.englishexercises.org/exercise.asp?id=5021

Present Simple

The present simple tense is usually the first grammar tense you learn in English:

The present simple consists of PRONOUN+VERB(+S/ES)

To be	Have	Speak	Watch	Play
I am You are He is She is We are They are	I have You have He has She has We have They have	I speak You speak He speaks She speaks We speak They speak	I watch You watch He watches She watches We watch They watch	I play You play He plays She plays We play They play