english summary module 1 and 2 (+ legal topics)

CHAPTER ONE : VERB TENSES (PAGE 9-39)
PRESENT TENSES
1. The simple present
Form:
- Base form of a verb
- In the 3th person we add -s or -es

I play I go
you play you go
he plays he goes
we play we go
you play you go
they play they go


Negative forms:
- We use do not or don’t + the base form of a verb
 I just do not know the answer
 The neighbours don’t take any notice

- In the 3th person we use does not or doesn’t
 The journey doesn’t take long


Interrogative forms: questions
- We use do + the base form of a verb
 Do you know the answer?

- In the 3th person we use does + the base form of a verb
 Does tom know the answer?


Use:
- A permanent fact
 I live in Antwerp

- A general truth
 The sun rises in the east

- Repeated actions; routines, habits, jobs, things that happen again and
again
 The old man walks his dog every morning
-> always, often, usually, sometimes, ever, never, every day, ever month,
…
- Future events seen as part of a timetable
 The train leaves at 4 o’clock in the afternoon

,2. The present continuous
Form:
- Present of to be + ing form

I’m playing
you’re
playing
he’s playing
we’re
playing
you’re
Negative forms:
- Present of to be + not + ing form
 I’m not playing
 They aren’t playing


Interrogative forms: question
- Am I playing?
- Are they playing?


Use:
- An action that is going at the moment of speaking
 The Eurostar is leaving waterloo station now

- An action that is not necessarily going on at the moment of speaking
 He is teaching German nowadays

- A temporary situation in the present
 She’s living at her aunts until she has found a place of her own

- A gradual development (= gelijdelijke ontwikkeling)
 He is growing older
-> typical time expressions: now, at the moment, at present, just


Special use:
- To express that we are irritated or annoyed by a particular habit
 I’m always losing things, I can never find anything
-> always, continually, for ever
- Definite arrangement in the near future
 I’m meeting Mark tonight
PAST TENSES

,1. The simple past
Form:
- Infinitive of a verb + add (e)d

I played
you played
he played
we played
you played
they played



Negative forms:
- Did not / didn’t + infinitive
 She didn’t word yesterday
 I didn’t teach French


Interrogative forms:
- Did + subject + infinitive
 Did you see him?
 Did he dance?


Use:
- Actions which happened and finished in the past
 We went to Berlin last year
 Henry and Susan married last week
 He was born in 2005
-> yesterday, the other day, last (week), ago, just now, in + year
- To denote a sequence of events and actions in the past
 Tom ran and ran. He never looked round and he only stopped when
he reached home

- To denote a past habit
 Many people walked five miles to work in those days




2. The pas continuous
Form:
- Simple past of to be + ing form of the verb

, I was playing
you were
playing
he was playing
we were
playing
you were
Use:
- To denote an action that was going on at a past moment of during a past
period
 He was studying from nine to twelve last night

- Background action
 Peter called while you were watching television

- To denote two actions which continued over the same period in the past
 Mrs Mittins was laughing while her husband was singing

- For an action that interrupted an action that was going on
 He came in when I was reading a book



PERFECT TENSES
1. The present perfect
Form:
- Have + past participle

I have worked
you have
worked
he has worked
we have worked

you have

Negative forms:
- I haven’t worked
- He hasn’t worked




Interrogative forms:
- Have you worked?
- Has she worked?