EF 2/3 Verb tenses

Verb tenses

Essential verb tenses- most important verb tenses

simple present- everyday, always do, habitual action

HIGH FREQUENCY

e.g. “I eat breakfast.  She drinks coffee. He goes to school.”

simple past- once in past, finished, completed action

HIGH FREQUENCY

e.g. “She read the book.  He mowed the lawn.  We wrote the test.”

simple future- “will” modal, once in future

HIGH FREQUENCY

e.g. “She will call her sister.  The repairman will fix the washing machine.  He will go to Japan.”

present progressive/ continuous- “ing” going on, happening now

need auxiliary verb is going, are studying

HIGH FREQUENCY

e.g. “She is driving her car.  He is reading a book.  We are cycling in Richmond.”

past progressive

LESS HIGH FREQUENCY?

e.g “She was reading a book.  She was driving her car.”

future progressive

LOW FREQUENCY

e.g. “We will be driving to North Vancouver.  We will drive to North Vancouver.”

present perfect- past until now, common to add a time indicator either with prepositional phrase or adverb clause, etc

HIGH FREQUENCY

e.g. “I have lived in Vancouver since 2001.  She has studied English for 15 years.  He has been married since he came to Canada in 1990.”

past perfect- started in past, finished in past.  Substitute simple past with time indicator.

LOW FREQUENCY

e.g. “I had lived in Japan for 2 years.  I lived in Japan for two years.  She had worked at Apple from 1998 to 2006.  She worked at Apple from 1998 to 2006.

future perfect- will start in future, will finish in future.  Substitute simple future with time indicator

LOW FREQUENCY

“I will have finished my school work by six o’clock.  I will finish my school work by six o’clock.”

present perfect progressive- sounds lively, active, energetic

HIGH FREQUENCY

e.g. “He has been waiting for 45 minutes.  She has been studying English for 10 years.  Have you been living here long?”

past perfect progressive- substitute past progressive

LOW FREQUENCY

e.g. “She had been waiting for two hours.  She was waiting for two hours.”

future perfect progressive

FORGET IT

e.g. “He will have been working for 10 hours.”

EF 2/3 modals & modal auxiliaries

modals- modal auxiliary

can

could

should

would

might

may

must

will

S+MODAL+INFINITIVE-“to”

Joe will to go to the party.

Mary’s sister should to take her son to the doctor.

I should walk in the park every evening for exercise.

He should work hard in the factory.

She should wake up at 6 am tomorrow.

He will meet his friend downtown by the Skytrain.

You should eat your breakfast before you leave.

She can beat him at tennis if he is tired.

HARDER MODALS

had better= should

She had better to phone her mother.

have to= must

You have to to be careful.

ought to= should

We ought to buy her a birthday present.

used to= did in the past

I used to live in North Vancouver.

She used to play a lot of volleyball before she had a family.

be able to= can

He is able to fix your car on Tuesday.

be going to= will

We are going to hike in the mountains.

We are going to study English.

We are going to go shopping.

be supposed to= should

My son is supposed to clean up his room.

You were supposed to pick up some milk.

You were supposed to buy some milk.

have got to= must

We have got to find a new house.

She has got to improve her writing skills.

EF 2/3 adjective clauses

simple sentence

s+v

ss+v

s+vv

compound sentence

s+v ,SOBA s+v

s+v;________, s+v MORE LEVEL

complex sentence

adverb clause

because, if, when, even though

adjective clause

that, which, who

The movie that we saw was exciting.

The movie that was on TV was exciting.

Did you go to the Vancouver Folk Festival (which was held at Jericho Beach)?

The red car (which was speeding down Knight Street) almost caused an accident.

My little sister (who lives in Halifax) is coming to visit us next month.

The salesperson (who I spoke with on the telephone) was very helpful.IGHE

EF 2/3 Adverb clause practice

Sentences with adverb clauses.

main clause + adverb clause

clause= subject and verb

1.      before, people

People wash their hands before they eat.

People washed their hands before they ate.

People walk in the park before it rains.

2.      whenever, group

This group of friends miss you whenever you go away.

You can join our group whenever you want.

The group of children play soccer whenever they have free time.

3.      if, water

You can have some water if you are thirsty.

If the water is not clean, don’t drink it.

If the water is not clean, you cannot drink it.

4.      as…as, brother

My brother is as tall as I am.

She can run as fast as her brother (can).

5.      even though, rain

LOGIC?          It is raining even though I go to the beach.

I go to the beach even though it is raining.

Even though it is raining, I go to the beach.

I will go to the beach even though it is raining.

6.      because, square

Because the box has four sides, it is a square.

The house is square because the land is square.

She likes her glasses because they are square.

EF 2/3 adverb clause work

Adverbs modify verbs-usually end in “ly”

quickly, carefully, slowly, especially, nicely, easily, suddenly

; XXX, however, therefore, also, sadly, happily, unfortunately

adverbs

adverb clauses

clause= group of words with subject and verb, S+V

complex sentence- main clause and subordinate clause

subordinate clause- adverb, adjective, noun clauses

adverb clauses

‘when’

We should leave the building.

main clause                              subordinate clause

We should leave the building when the fire alarm goes off.

subordinate clause                            main clause

When the fire alarm goes off, we should leave the building.

‘because’

She is wearing a scarf because it is chilly today.

Because it is chilly today, she is wearing a scarf.

‘if’

If you are late for the doctor’s appointment, you will have to wait.

You will have to wait if you’re late for the doctor’s appointment.

‘while’- like ‘when’, but suggests a longer time

My daughter was reading a book while I was making supper.

The cyclist likes to listen to music while he races.

When/ While I was cooking dinner, the doorbell rang.

I cut my finger when I opened the package.

I cut my finger while I was opening the package.

I yelled when I saw the dog.

I yelled while I was looking for my dog.

‘if’- does matter

You can drive a car if you have a driver’s license.

If you have a driver’s license, you can drive a car.

‘even though/ although/ though’- doesn’t matter

I will go the party even though it is in Surrey.

Although she is 90 years old, she still likes to skiing.

‘than’- compare

My son can run faster than I can.

The iphone 5 is more expensive than the 4S.

as…as- same as

My daughter can run as fast as my son (is).

The iphone 5 is as expensive as the Samsung Galaxy (is).

EF2/3 simple compound review

SIMPLE SENTENCES

SV The old woman walked in the park.
SSV The old woman and her daughter walked in the park.
SVV The old woman walked in the park and chatted on her phone.
SSVV The old woman and her daughter walked in the park and talked with each other.
SSSV The old woman, her daughter(,) and her grandson walked in the park.
SVVV The old woman walked in the park, chatted on her phone, and looked at the flowers.


COMPOUND SENTENCES

SV, FANBOYS SV
SV, SOBA SV

The children played a game of soccer, and the parents watched.
My son likes to play soccer, but my daughter likes to read.
My friend lost his shoes, so he bought new ones.
My friend lost his shoes, so he bought a new pair.
There was a problem, so I called the police.
My sink was leaking, so I called the plumber.
I need a new hook, so I will buy one.
Your teeth hurt, so you must go to the dentist.
You have a tooth ache, so you should see a dentist.

EXTRA HIGHER LEVEL SENTENCES
The children played a game of soccer; also, the parents watched.
The children played a game of soccer.  Also, the parents watched.

My son likes to play soccer; however, my daughter likes to read.
My son likes to play soccer.  However, my daughter likes to read.

My friend lost his shoes; therefore, he bought new ones.
My friend lost his shoes.  Therefore, he bought a new pair.

I like to read.
I like reading.
He hates cleaning his room.
She loves to dance.