English Grammar and Composition chapter 5: Tenses

UNIT 5 Tenses

Lesson 1: Simple Present Tense

Look at the daily routine of Bina, a class VIII students of Fatikchari Girls’ High School. In pairs ask and answer questions about what Bina does at a particular time of a typical day.

Use the following as example:

A: What does Bina do at eight o’clock in the morning?

B: She starts for school at eight o’clock.

Now, in the same pair, talk about what you do at times shown in Bina’s daily routine. Ask and answer questions about your daily activities. Use the example below:

A: What do you do at four o’clock in the afternoon?

B: I go to the field to play football.

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Look at the pictures below. What profession do these people have? In pairs ask and answer questions about each picture. Use the example below:

A: What is his/her profession?

B: I think, he/she is a cook.

A: A cook? What does a cook do?

B: He/she cooks food in a restaurant.

Figure

Labels: 2, +2 Description: Three figures in a row: a nurse in a cap with a cross, standing with one hand open; a doctor in a white coat with a stethoscope around the neck; a teacher beside a blackboard showing the sum 2 +2, pointing at it.

What tense did you use for the activities you have done so far? Notice the verb forms you used when talking about Bina’s routine and your daily activities. Also think about how you talked about the profession of the people in the pictures.

While doing those activities, you actually talked about facts in general.

Now read the section below to know more about simple present tense.

Simple Present is also called Present Simple. The Simple Present expresses an action in the present, taking place once, never or several times. It is also used for actions that take place one after another and for actions that are set by a timetable or schedule. The Simple Present also expresses facts in the present.

Look at the diagram below that shows the time we refer to while using Simple Present tense.

Can you explain the diagram? Share your ideas with a partner.

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Figure

Labels: Past, Present, Future, Simple Present Description: A horizontal arrow pointing right, labelled Past on the left, Present in the middle and Future on the right. A small circle on the line at Present, with an upward arrow below it pointing to the label "Simple Present".

Now, read the section below to know about the uses of simple present tense:

1. Repeated Actions

Figure

Labels: Past, Present, Future Description: A horizontal line with a vertical tick at Present. Seven blue crosses sit above the line, the fourth one on the Present tick, three before it (Past) and three after it (Future).

Use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is repeated or usual. The action can be a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that often happens. It can also be something a person often forgets or usually does not do.

Examples:

• The train leaves every morning at 8 am.
• The train does not leave at 9 am.
• When does the train usually leave?

2. Facts or Generalizations

Figure

Labels: Past, Present, Future Description: A horizontal line with a vertical tick at Present. A blue bar spans from Past through Present to Future, above the line.

In Simple Present a speaker can make statement about something that was true before, is true now, and will be true in the future.

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Examples:

• Windows are made of glass.
• Windows are not made of wood.

3. Scheduled Events in the Near Future

Figure

Labels: Past, Present, Future Description: A horizontal line with a vertical tick at Present. A blue cross sits above the line just after Present, in the near future.

Speakers occasionally use Simple Present to talk about scheduled events in the near future. This is most commonly done when talking about the timetable of transportation, but it can be used with other scheduled events too.

Examples:

• The train leaves tonight at 6 am.
• The bus does not arrive at 11 am, it arrives at 1 pm.
• When do we board the plane?
• The party starts at 8 o'clock.

Exercise 1

The following text describes the life of a fisherman. Rewrite the verbs in the bracket to make a paragraph in the simple present tense.

A fisherman (to be) an individual whose work is to catch fish in the ponds, canals and rivers and sell then in the local markets. His main profession (to be) to earn his living by catching and selling fish. He even (go) to the sea in groups to catch fish. He (have) to lead a miserable life as his daily income (to be) very meagre. Some fishermen (live) on the seashore and (catch) fish in the sea, while others (move) near the rivers during the rainy season. Again some (return) to village for repairing fishing nets and boats.

A fisherman (do) not know many things happening around him. He (keep) himself busy with fishing lines. His joy (know) no bounds when he (catch) a lot of fish.

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Exercise 2

Read the passage and answer the questions below the passage:

Mr. Amin works at a bank. He is the manager. He starts work every day at 8:00. He finishes work every day at 6:00. He lives very close to the bank. He walks to work every day. His brother and sister also work at the bank. But, they do not live close to the bank. They drive cars to work. They start work at 9:00. In the bank, Mr. Amin is the boss. He helps all the workers and tells them what to do. He likes his job. He is also very good at his job. Many customers like Mr. Amin and they say hello to him when they come to the bank. He likes to talk to the customers and make them feel happy. Mr. Amin really likes his job.

Now, answer this questions:

1. What time does Mr. Amin start work?
2. Does Mr. Amin drive a car to work?
3. Does Mr. Amin talk to customers?
4. How does Mr. Amin feel about his job?

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Lesson 2: Present Continuous Tense

Read the live radio commentary of a big sport event and notice the underlined parts.

Hello! listeners, welcome to the running commentary of the annual sport meet of Bangladesh Olympic Association. I am speaking from the National Stadium, Dhaka. It's just eight o'clock in the morning and we are expecting the grand opening of the annual event in next few minutes. As I am standing in front of the main gate, I can see the crowd enjoying this sunny morning in the Eastern gallery. Now, the President of Bangladesh Olympic Association is entering the ground along with the officials. The athletes are gathering in the field and they are warming up. Just now I can see a great athlete in front of me, two times gold medalist, Jamal Haider. He is waving his hands to the crowd and as you can hear, the spectators are happy to see their heroes and they are cheering so loud!

Discuss the question in pairs:

How is the commentator describing the actions that are taking place while he is talking i.e. what verb from is she/ he wing here?

Now look at the people in the pictures below. In pairs ask and answer questions about what each of them are doing at this moment. Follow the examples below:

A: What is s/he doing?

B: S/he is ...... ing.

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Figure

Labels: watch TV, play violin, read books, playing computer games, play football, go to school, ride bicycle, skate, play badminton Description: nine small pictures in a 3×3 grid, each showing a boy doing one activity, with the activity printed under it: watch TV (sitting in front of a television), play violin, read books, playing computer games (at a computer), play football, go to school (standing with a school bag), ride bicycle, skate (on a skateboard), play badminton (holding a racket).

What tense do we use to talk about some actions that is taking place at the time of talking? The tense we use for this is called Present Continuous tense. This tense is also known as Present Progressive tense.

Now, read the section below to know more about Present Continuous (progressive) tense.

The Present Progressive is a form of the verb that shows the action is going on in the present.

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Figure

Labels: Past, Moment of speaking, Present Progressive, Future Description: a horizontal timeline with an arrow pointing right; "Past" at the left and "Future" at the right. A dashed ellipse is drawn over the line, with "Moment of speaking" written at its top and "Present Progressive" below it, and a small circle marks the moment of speaking on the line.

The Present Progressive is used for actions going on at the moment of speaking and for actions taking place only for a short period of time.

When do we use present continuous/progressive tense? Read the following sentences in present continuous tense. Can you find out the different uses of present continuous/progressive tense?

1. The boys are swimming in the pond.
2. He is studying medicine.
3. He is working very hard nowadays.
4. She is preparing a delicious curry tonight.
5. He is taking a basic computer course next month.
6. She is always making complains.

Now, read the section below to know more about when or where to use this tense.

We use Present Continuous/Progressive tense to talk about:

• Actions that are happening now (e.g. She is playing tennis.)
• Actions which are currently in progress may not be exactly at this moment/second e.g. She is studying astrology these days.)
• Planned future actions (e.g. We are starting a new course next month.)

Forming sentences in present continuous tense

You have so far looked at many examples of sentences in present continuous tense. Have you noticed how these sentences are formed? Discuss the following questions in pairs:

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1. Can you form a sentence in the Present Continuous tense without an auxiliary verb?

2. What auxiliary verbs are used with different subjects to form these sentences?

3. What form does the main verb take in present continuous tense?

Now, read the following part to check your understanding of how sentences are formed in present continuous tense.

Now, look at this table to form questions in present continuous tense. Read the examples in the last column.

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