Grammar Samenvatting
Present Tense
Present Simple
Use:
- To express habits/ repeated actions/ unchanging situations
Things that happen regularly, routines and habits.
Markers: always, never, usually, often, sometimes, every etc
- General / neutral truths
General truths/ things that are always true (no particular
time is mentioned)
- Certain verbs / senses
I see a brand new Jaguar. Shh, I hear something outside.
- To express fixed arrangements in the future
Fixed items, e.g. timetables, schedules
- For vivid storytelling/ historic present
To give a vivid description of something that happened in the
past.
o I don’t smoke (habit)
o London is a large city (general truth)
o I often go to the movies these days (repeated actions)
o I work in London (unchanging situation)
o Your exam starts at 09.00. (fixed arrangement future)
o So Superman walks into a store and says to the lady behind the
counter.. (vivid storytelling)
Form:
- Positive: I live in London. My sister lives in Stockholm.
- Negative: I do not live in an apartment. He does not live in a house.
- Questions: Do you work in an office? Does she work from home?
o We don’t add -s to the main verb in questions and negatives.
o Why aren’t I on the list?
Spelling varieties:
- Ending in consonant & y -y + ies
I fly
he flys
he flies
(but ending in vowel + y > stay – stays)
- go/do + es
I go
she gos
she goes
- Ending in hissing sound + es
I kiss
he kisss
he kisses
,Present Continuous
Use:
- Actual present
Something which is going on at or around the moment of
speaking.
You could add now, at the moment or these days to the
sentence.
- Future present
When definite arrangements have been made for the near
future.
Always followed by an indication of future time.
- Habitual present
Indicating a source of irritation.
To show irritation, the sentence often has words like always
and constantly in it.
- Changes and trends
To talk about things that are changing as we speak.
- Describing pictures
To describe what is happening in pictures and photos.
o I’m teaching an English class at the moment. (actual present)
o I’m having a party this Saturday. (definite arrangements for near
future)
o My sister is always nagging! (irritation)
o Prices are going up again. (changes and trends)
o The woman in the middle is holding a cup. (descripting pictures)
Form:
- Positive: I’m having lunch. He’s watching TV. They’re running away.
- Negative: I’m not watching TV. She isn’t having lunch. We aren’t staying
there.
- Questions: Are you watching TV? Is she running away? What are they
having for lunch?
Spelling varieties
- One vowel in stressed syllable > double the consonant
• tap > taping > tapping
• forget > forgeting > forgetting
• look > looking two vowels
• conquer > conquering stress not on last syllable
• spoil > spoiling preceded by two vowels
- Verbs ending in silent –e > drop the silent –e
• waste > wasting Why not wasteing?
• become > becoming Why not becomeing?
- Exceptions to the rule
• to die > dying to lie > lying
,Auxiliary/ Action/ State verbs
Auxiliary verbs
- Be
o am, is, are, was, were
- Have
o have, has, had
- Do
o do, does, did
- Modals
o can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must
o have to, need to, ought to, be able to, manage to
Action verbs
Action verbs describe an action and can usually be used in both simple and
continuous forms:
- Janice flies around the world. She’s flying to Sydney today.
State verbs
State verbs describe states rather than actions, e.g. ways of thinking or feeling.
These verbs are used in the simple form.
State verbs and the continuous form
We can use some state verbs in the continuous form,
- with a different and more active meaning.
o have, think, appear, taste, see
- to emphasize that the state is unusual and unexpected, and temporary
o I’m finding it difficult to organize my time at the moment.
- state verbs that express physical states can be used in the simple and
continuous forms with no difference in meaning
o feel, hurt, ache
,
Present Tense
Present Simple
Use:
- To express habits/ repeated actions/ unchanging situations
Things that happen regularly, routines and habits.
Markers: always, never, usually, often, sometimes, every etc
- General / neutral truths
General truths/ things that are always true (no particular
time is mentioned)
- Certain verbs / senses
I see a brand new Jaguar. Shh, I hear something outside.
- To express fixed arrangements in the future
Fixed items, e.g. timetables, schedules
- For vivid storytelling/ historic present
To give a vivid description of something that happened in the
past.
o I don’t smoke (habit)
o London is a large city (general truth)
o I often go to the movies these days (repeated actions)
o I work in London (unchanging situation)
o Your exam starts at 09.00. (fixed arrangement future)
o So Superman walks into a store and says to the lady behind the
counter.. (vivid storytelling)
Form:
- Positive: I live in London. My sister lives in Stockholm.
- Negative: I do not live in an apartment. He does not live in a house.
- Questions: Do you work in an office? Does she work from home?
o We don’t add -s to the main verb in questions and negatives.
o Why aren’t I on the list?
Spelling varieties:
- Ending in consonant & y -y + ies
I fly
he flys
he flies
(but ending in vowel + y > stay – stays)
- go/do + es
I go
she gos
she goes
- Ending in hissing sound + es
I kiss
he kisss
he kisses
,Present Continuous
Use:
- Actual present
Something which is going on at or around the moment of
speaking.
You could add now, at the moment or these days to the
sentence.
- Future present
When definite arrangements have been made for the near
future.
Always followed by an indication of future time.
- Habitual present
Indicating a source of irritation.
To show irritation, the sentence often has words like always
and constantly in it.
- Changes and trends
To talk about things that are changing as we speak.
- Describing pictures
To describe what is happening in pictures and photos.
o I’m teaching an English class at the moment. (actual present)
o I’m having a party this Saturday. (definite arrangements for near
future)
o My sister is always nagging! (irritation)
o Prices are going up again. (changes and trends)
o The woman in the middle is holding a cup. (descripting pictures)
Form:
- Positive: I’m having lunch. He’s watching TV. They’re running away.
- Negative: I’m not watching TV. She isn’t having lunch. We aren’t staying
there.
- Questions: Are you watching TV? Is she running away? What are they
having for lunch?
Spelling varieties
- One vowel in stressed syllable > double the consonant
• tap > taping > tapping
• forget > forgeting > forgetting
• look > looking two vowels
• conquer > conquering stress not on last syllable
• spoil > spoiling preceded by two vowels
- Verbs ending in silent –e > drop the silent –e
• waste > wasting Why not wasteing?
• become > becoming Why not becomeing?
- Exceptions to the rule
• to die > dying to lie > lying
,Auxiliary/ Action/ State verbs
Auxiliary verbs
- Be
o am, is, are, was, were
- Have
o have, has, had
- Do
o do, does, did
- Modals
o can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must
o have to, need to, ought to, be able to, manage to
Action verbs
Action verbs describe an action and can usually be used in both simple and
continuous forms:
- Janice flies around the world. She’s flying to Sydney today.
State verbs
State verbs describe states rather than actions, e.g. ways of thinking or feeling.
These verbs are used in the simple form.
State verbs and the continuous form
We can use some state verbs in the continuous form,
- with a different and more active meaning.
o have, think, appear, taste, see
- to emphasize that the state is unusual and unexpected, and temporary
o I’m finding it difficult to organize my time at the moment.
- state verbs that express physical states can be used in the simple and
continuous forms with no difference in meaning
o feel, hurt, ache
,
