English Grammar and Composition chapter 2: The Tenses

UNIT 02 The Tenses

Lesson 1: Tenses and Their Aspects

A. Read the following passage and underline the verbs in it:

Azam is one of my close friends. He lives in Canada now. He often emails me. I received one email this morning. I will answer the mail soon.

What time does each verb refer to--present, past or future?

Note: Tense refers to the time of action or state indicated by a verb. According to time references, there are three main tenses:

• The Present Tense (refers to present state or different modes of present action)
• The Past Tense (refers to past state or different modes of past action)
• The Future Tense (refers to future state or different modes of future action).

Each of these tenses has four different aspects. They are: simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuous. In this unit you will learn some of these aspects.

B. Read the following sentences and say which sentence refers to what time:

• It often rains here.
• It is raining now.
• It has been raining for two hours.
• It rained here yesterday.
• It was raining then.
• It had rained here before you arrived.

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• It will rain tonight.
• It will be raining then.
• Rajib was sick yesterday.
• Suman is absent from class today for his illness. (Present state)

C. Read the following passage and underline all the verbs in it. Say which verb refers to what time (present, past or future).

Mr. Hasan was once a poor man. But now he is quite rich. He works very hard. He hopes that he will become richer in future.

Lesson 2: Present Simple

A. Read the following passage and notice the forms of verbs:

I am a student. Alam is my classmate. We two are good friends. We go to school together. We attend classes regularly. We often play together after school. We return home together. Alam lives in a house close to ours.

In this text,the verbs 'am', 'is' and 'are' describe a present state while 'go', 'attend', 'play', 'return' and 'lives' indicate present actions. The sentences are all in the present simple tense.

B. Read the following sentences and underline the verbs. Also notice their structures:

1. English is an international language.
2. These mangoes are very sweet.
3. This book is not very big.
4. Are you a student?
5. Is the class small or big?
6. Why are you late?
7. Where is your father?
8. Are they not your friends?

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These sentences have 'be' verbs in present form and they indicate present states.

Verb Form: Base form of the verbs is used in case of the action verbs and in case of the state verbs, present form of be verb 'am', 'is' and 'are' are used..

C. Read the following sentences and notice the verbs and their forms:

Jamil of class VI plays cricket for our school team.

The workers in the garments factories work very hard.

He lives very close to the school.

The earth moves round the sun.

These sentences contain action verbs. The verbs in the first three sentences indicate present action and the verb in the fourth sentence indicates universal truth.

D. Read the following sentences and see how interrogatives and negatives are formed in this tense:

I do not need your help.

He does not like music.

Do you read novels?

Does he come here regularly?

Where does he live?

When do you go to bed?

• What auxiliary verbs are used to frame interrogatives?
• How are negatives formed in the examples?

Verb form: be form

Note: In the present simple tense 'do' is used as an auxiliary verb before the subject in case of first and second person and also in case of plural numbers

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of $3^{rd}$ person subjects and auxiliary 'does' is used in case of third person singular number subjects for framing interrogative sentences.

To make negative sentences 'do not' is used after first and second person (both singular and plural) and also after third person plural number subjects and 'does not' is used after third person singular number subjects for framing negative sentences.

When 'does' is used as an auxiliary verb after a third person singular subject, the main verb loses its 's/es'.

E. Write five sentences about 'Your Family' using 'be' verbs and five more sentences using action verbs in the present simple tense.

a__________ b__________ c__________ d________ e________

F. Complete the following dialogue using negative and interrogative sentences:

Ruma: Do you watch television every day?

Suma:________________________________ .

Ruma: Neither do I. _____________________?

Suma: I spend my spare time reading books.

Ruma: ________________________________

Suma: I often read adventure stories.

G. We can use 'have/has' as a main verb in the present simple tense. Look at the following examples.

They have a lot of money.

He has a nice car.

They have a big house.

How many children do you have?

Does she have a pet cat?

Now, write some other sentences like these using have/has as a main verb.

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Lesson 3: Present Continuous

A Read the following passage and notice the verbs in the sentences:

I am going to Dhaka by bus. It is raining very hard. So the bus is not running very fast. Some passengers are sleeping. Some are gossiping. Some young boys are singing. A baby is crying and her mother is trying to appease her. What am I doing? I am watching all these things.

Notice that all the sentences in the passage express an incomplete action which is still going on.

Also notice the structure of the verbs in these sentences. Each sentence has an auxiliary verb (am/is/are) after the subject and then there is the main verb in the present participle form (verb+ing).

Verb Form: ‘am/is/are +main verb+ing’

B. Read the following conversation and say what time the verbs in it refer to

Mim: What are you doing this evening?

Shanta: I am going shopping.

Mim: Are you playing badminton tomorrow?

Shanta: Yes, I am. Mukta is coming today to join us.

Mim: What time is she arriving? I am going to receive her at the station.

In these sentences, it is seen that the present continuous tense is also used to indicate a definite future action.

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C. Look at the following pictures and say who is doing what in it:

Figure

Description: Five photographs in a grid. Top left: a man guides a pair of oxen pulling a plough in a field. Top right: a man stands beside a projector screen and points at it while people sit with their backs to the camera. Bottom left: workers are picking leaves in a tea garden. Bottom middle: a person in white holds a child while another person looks on. Bottom right: two men carry heavy loads hanging from poles on sandy ground.

D. Read the following dialogue and say which sentences refer to present actions and which ones refer to future actions:

Sharmin : What are you doing there?

Sharif : I am getting ready to go to market.

Sharmin : What are you going to buy?

Sharif : My son is home tomorrow. So, I am going to buy some sweets.

E. Write sentences of your own using the following verbs in the present continuous tense:

walk, work, eat, drink, drive and wait

Now, change your sentences into negatives and interrogatives.

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Lesson 4: Present Perfect Tense

A. Read the following conversation and notice the time reference of the action verbs and the verb structures in the sentences:

Teacher : Have you done your homework?

Student : Yes sir, I have done it.

Teacher : How many paragraphs have you written?

Student : I have written three paragraphs.

Teacher : Have you brought your work?

Student : Yes, I have.

Notice that each verb in the dialogue mentions a completed action; the action is over but there is still some effect of the action now. These are examples of present perfect tense.

Verb Form: The verb ‘have/has’ is used as an auxiliary verb after the subject and then the past participle form of the main verb is given. The verb form, then, is: have/has+ past participle form of the verb.

These sentences are examples of the present perfect tense.

B. Now, read the following negative and interrogative sentences in the present perfect tense and look at their structures:

I have not done my homework.

He has not come to class.

He has never told a lie.

Have you eaten lunch?

Where has he gone?

In the negative sentences, the negative word (not/never) comes after the auxiliary verb and in interrogatives the auxiliary verb comes before the subject.

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C. Make correct sentences in the present perfect tence using given words:

1. We/start/our journey

2. Reba/wash/her clothes

3. They/buy/a new car

4. She/learn/the lesson

5. He/not/come back/from school

6. You/take/a bath?

D. Write five sentences in the present perfect tense describing what you have done in the afternoon today.