All of the example sentences that we have considered up to this point have been in what is known as the active voice. However, this ignores a major type of sentence construction that is sometimes used in speaking, but is more frequently met in the written language – this construction is called the passive.

Look at the contrast between ‘active’ and ‘passive’:

Active sentence

• George Bush started the war.
• The people grow rice in Asia.
• I heated the chemicals to 200 Celsius.

Passive sentence

• The war was started by George Bush.
• Rice is grown in Asia.
• The chemicals were heated to 200 Celsius.

The first sentence uses an active verb because we are saying what somebody (or in other cases, something) DID: we want to say what Bush did. In the second sentence, we are interested in what HAPPENED, so a passive verb is used. In the first sentence, Bush is the object; in the second, he is the subject.

In the second active sentence, the focus is on who grows the rice; in the second passive sentence it is on the rice. Who grows it is unimportant.

In the third passive sentence, the person who heated the chemicals is not important and, following the convention of reporting of a scientific experiment, is not stated.

Form

We make the passive with the verb be in the tense that we require, followed by the past participle. Sometimes, in place of the verb be, we use get often with very little change in meaning, but get is usually preferred when the action is unexpected, unwelcome, or happens in the face of adversity. Get also tends to be informal than be. Here are some short examples of passive sentences.

1. Rice is grown in China.
2. My computer is being repaired at the moment.
3. The thief was arrested.
4. All mistakes have been rectified.
5. Harry might have been involved in an accident.
6. Applications must be received before the end of the year.

The main verb usually ends in -ed but, as we saw earlier, some verbs have irregular past participles as in the first sentence. In active sentences the order of the elements of a sentence usually follows the pattern subject – verb – object, like this:

• That man stole my wallet.
• I painted this picture.

In these examples the subject or ‘doer’ of the verb is that man and I respectively, while my wallet and this picture are the objects. The main purpose of the passive is to change the focus of attention of the sentence, so it is often used when the more important information is:

• what happened to the subject – I’ve been robbed!
• who or what carried out the action – Guernica was painted by Picasso.
• how the action was carried out – the concerto was played beautifully.
• when the doer is unknown – this house was built in 1845.

If we want to include the identity of the doer, then it has to move to the end of the sentence preceded by the word by. So, in the second sentence above we obviously need to know the identity of the artist that painted Guernica otherwise the sentence makes no sense. (The active form of this sentence is Picasso painted Guernica.)

If you look back to the first set of numbered sentences above you will notice that the doer is missing in every case and yet the sentences are still logical and complete. The doers are either unknown, unnecessary or can be guessed from the context, so, for example, in sentence number 3 we can automatically add by the police.

People can sometimes get a little confused about what a gerund is and this is perhaps because the same word can be described in different ways.

Look at these sentences. How is the word driving being used in each case?

• We are driving to Bristol in the morning.
• We were driving in the rain when the accident happened.
• I had been driving for about two hours when I decided to stop for a coffee.
• He will be driving for about six hours a day with that freight company.
• Driving is something that I have always hated.
• I loved the holiday but the driving was exhausting.

In the first four sentences, the word driving is a verb used in a range of different tenses. The word driving in those first four sentences is a continuous participle form.

• Present Continuous tense
• Past Continuous tense
• Past Perfect Continuous tense
• Future continuous tense

However, in the last two sentences, the word driving is not being used to construct a verb tense. It is being used as a noun. In other words, it is a gerund. The writer or speaker is using the word driving to refer to the activity itself.

Have a look at these further examples of -ing words being used as gerunds:

• Flying is something that I’ve always been afraid of.
• Cycling is an activity that I’ve always enjoyed.
• The reading by her brother was definitely the best part of the service.
• I enjoy gliding but I don’t like parachuting.
• I was hungry but eating was the last thing on my mind.
• I saw the danger a warning was impossible.
• I like writing but I hate proof-reading.
• Suffering is something we all have to do.

Some verbs commonly are associated with gerunds including:

like, love, hate, enjoy, avoid, detest, finish, begin, imagine, practise, stop, start.

Are the -ing words in the sentences below being used as participles or gerunds?

1. Was she smiling when you saw her?
2. I saw him yesterday and he was working hard.
3. I think that grinning looks rather silly.
4. We saw him standing by the clock-tower.
5. Cooking takes far too much time.
6. She said that sleeping is something we do for a third of our lives.
7. There he was – just lying beside the rusty old car.
8. Do you like working?
9. Crying is something I never do.
10. Cycling is a wonderful sport.

Answers

The following sentences contain gerunds:

3. grinning 5. cooking 6 sleeping 8. working 9. crying 10. cycling

Modals are a very complex area of English grammar, so in this quick guide we will not be able to go into much detail, but we will at least get an overall idea of what their function is in a sentence. In an earlier section of this guide we looked at how the verb phrase can be broken down into its constituent parts and we noted that one of these parts was called a modal auxiliary verb. Just to remind you of the previous examples, a section of the chart has been reproduced below:

Subject	Modal auxiliary verb	Primary auxiliary verb(s)	Main verb	Object
Sarah	can	–	sing	opera
You	should	have been	watching	the baby

Before we look at some of the possible meanings of modal auxiliary verbs we need to have some idea of what constitutes a modal in English and where they occur in a sentence. A few more examples should enable us to answer the second of these points fairly quickly and easily – the modals are in bold:

• He should be here by now.
• I could swim quite well when I was younger.
• You mustn’t blame yourself for this.
• You might have discussed it with me first.
• You can’t be serious!
• Could you open the window please?
• Must you make so much noise?
• She had to take her brother along with her.
• We ought to be going.

It should be clear from these examples that the modal verb occupies the first position in verb phrase, coming before any other auxiliary verb (like have or be) and the main lexical verb.

In questions the modal verb is simply inverted with the subject of the sentence as in examples 6 and 7 and it also carries the negative particle not (examples 3 and 5).

The subject of the sentence has no effect on the form of the modal since almost in all cases they do not change at all.

So, a modal verb is quite simple as far as its form and position in various types of sentence are concerned; but what exactly are the modal verbs in English? The chart below lists the main modal auxiliaries that you are likely to meet and divides them into two categories pure modals and semi-modals, although in most cases the distinction is merely formal and their meanings are not affected by this division.

Pure modals	Semi-modals
can	ought to
could	has/have (got) to
may	be able to
might
shall
should
will
would
need ***

*** need is a special verb since as an auxiliary it is almost always negative and it is also a lexical verb as in sentences like he needs to speak to you now, while it acts as a modal verb in sentences such as you needn’t come to work tomorrow where it has the same meaning as don’t have to.

The forms of pure modals

The main characteristics of the pure modals are:

• they never change their form irrespective of the subject of the sentence
  e.g. he can swim, not *he cans swim
• following on from the above feature, they do not change to show past tense
  e.g. she had to leave not *she musted leave
• they all carry the negative of the sentence by the addition of not/n’t
  e.g. I can’t remember not *I don’t can remember
• they all form questions by inversion with the subject of the sentence.
  e.g. should I stay?
• they are all followed by the base form of the verb without the addition of to
  e.g. he can swim not *he can to swim

The forms of semi-modals

You will notice that this type of modal is made up of two or more separate words, the last one invariably being to. They are all modal in meaning but not in form as they behave differently in a sentence from the pure modals. It is perhaps best to think of the semi-modals in the form with the to infinitive that is given in the table rather than thinking of them as modals that need to + base form. We need to look at the form of each individual semi-modal separately.

Be able to

We use this semi-modal to express possibility or the ability to do something, but unlike the pure modals, be able to has a full range of tenses and also needs to inflect to show agreement with its subject. For example:

• He is able to offer you the best price possible.
• We were able to get in to see the film.
• They haven’t been able to find the missing document.
• So, you aren’t able to help.

Notice that the negative is carried either by the be element or the auxiliary verb that is closest to the subject of the sentence. It can also be accompanied by any of the pure modals:

• I will be able to see you after lunch.
• They might not be able to put us up for the night.

Has/have (got) to

This is used to express necessity or obligation to do something and shares some of the features of be able to discussed above. The have element of the form has to change to agree with its subject. Although it is normally used in the present tense, it also has its own past (had to) and can be used with pure modals to show the future or the attitude of the speaker:

• They have to be more punctual.
• He has to take responsibility for the accident.
• I had to help my father repair his car.
• We will have to put this off until tomorrow.
• You shouldn’t have to suffer in silence.
• You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.
• He didn’t have to do all the shopping.

From these few examples it should be clear that the negative not again attaches itself to the auxiliary verb (modal or main) that comes immediately after the subject of the sentence.

Ought to

It is usually claimed that the meaning of ought to is the same as should whether it refers to giving advice or making a logical deduction. So, to most native speakers the following sentences with ought to and should feel the same:

• You ought to see a doctor.
• You should see a doctor.
• They ought to have got back home by now.
• They should have got back home by now.

In practice, most speakers tend to prefer should for negatives and questions because the ought to and oughtn’t … to forms can sound rather clumsy and awkward.

• Ought you to be doing that?
• They oughtn’t to (ought not to) do that.
• Oughtn’t we to leave now?

Meanings of modal verbs

The main function of modal verbs is to allow the speaker or writer to express their opinion of, or their attitude to, a proposition. These attitudes can cover a wide range of possibilities including obligation, asking for and giving permission, disapproval, advising, logical deduction, ability, possibility, necessity, absence of necessity and so on. The problem with each modal verb is that it can have more that one meaning and the interpretation of a particular modal will depend heavily on the context in which it is being used. The following examples should help to illustrate this point.

• It might take more than a week. (possibility)
• You might have told me about it! (showing disapproval)
• He must take his medicine three times a day. (obligation)
• He must be French. (logical deduction)
• I can’t lift that suitcase by myself. (ability)
• That can’t be the right answer. (logical deduction)
• May I look at the questions now? (asking for permission)
• They say it may snow tomorrow. (possibility)

You probably also noticed from the examples that notions like permission and possibility can be expressed using different modal verbs – this, of course, only serves to complicate matters further since one modal verb can have more that one meaning, and one meaning can be expressed by more than one modal verb. In the space that we have available here it would be impossible to cover all the meanings of each of the modals, so as examples we will look at some of the ways that obligation and logical deduction can be expressed.

Obligation

The two main modals here are must and have to. The difference between them is usually given as follows: must is used to express an internal obligation that is imposed by the speaker, while have to refers to rules and regulations that are imposed from outside the speaker. Again, as with many points of grammar this is only intended as a rough guide.

To express a lack of obligation we cannot just automatically add not to the modal verbs without thinking more carefully about it first. How do you feel about the following sentences for instance?

• He must sing loudly.
• He mustn’t sing loudly.

In the first sentence you would probably agree that this is obligation originating from, say, a teacher or someone with authority. The second sentence, however, does not express a lack of obligation but a prohibition to do something. The form that we use to express a lack of obligation could be one of the following:

• He doesn’t have to get up early.
• He doesn’t need to get up early.

This lack of balance in the use of modals can cause many problems for people who are learning English since it is quite illogical.

Logical deduction

This is another area of modal use that is fraught with difficulties for reasons similar to those just discussed above. Look at the following sentences:

• The telephone rings:
• That’ll be Frank.
• That must be Frank.
• That should be Frank.
• That could be Frank.
• That might be Frank.
• That may be Frank.

The modal verbs used here have been listed in what many consider to be the order of likelihood of something being true. You may or may not agree with this listing, but it gives you some idea of some of the choices available for drawing logical conclusions from situations. If we look at the negatives of these sentences, however, you can see just how much more complex it can become:

• That won’t be Frank.
• That mustn’t be Frank.
• That shouldn’t be Frank.
• That couldn’t be Frank.
• That mightn’t be Frank.

Many of these sentences now denote completely different attitudes to the situation and you may even agree that some of them are either not English or are only marginally acceptable. The sentence which has probably moved furthest from its original intention is number 2 which sounds very odd. In fact, the negative of must when we talking about deduction is can’t – one more example of how complicated and counter-intuitive the system of English modals can be.

Past time with modals

We noted earlier that the pure modals do not change to show tense. Most of these modals do in fact have either present or future reference, but sometimes we need to refer back to the past. With the semi-modals there is little problem, but how can we do this for pure modal verbs? You may have picked up from some of the previous examples that one way to do this is to insert have immediately after the pure modal. But this is not always the case since can has its own past tense could when it refers to general ability. Some examples should help:

• I can speak German.
• I could speak German when I was seven years old.
• You should see this film.
• You should have seen this film.
• Indonesia must be hot.
• Indonesia must have been hot.
• He could find his wallet.
• He could have found his wallet.

Notice that in the third pair of sentences the meaning of must is logical deduction not obligation. If we want to use must for obligation then the past tense is had to.

• She must visit her mother.
• She had to visit her mother.

Expressing the future time in English is particularly fraught with problems not only because there are so many different forms to choose from, but also because the distinction between them is not always clear.

Will

Form

There should be no problem in making this particular form of the future tense since will does not change with the subject and the main verb is the form that you would find in a dictionary and so does not change either.

will
Iyouhesheitwethey	will (‘ll)will not (won’t)	look

Meanings

This is the form that most people immediately associate with the future tense, but it is in fact restricted in its use. It has two main functions.

• the first is to talk about unplanned or spontaneous future events;
• the second is for predictions that are not based on current evidence.

Some examples should help to clarify the different meanings:

(The telephone rings) I’ll get it.

I’ll make us a cup of coffee.

In these two cases the speaker is deciding what to do on the spur of the moment without prior consideration. You may have noticed that they act as offers. This is also true of promises or threats like:

• I’ll give you the money back next week.
• I’ll kill you!
• For predictions, we may hear or read sentences like:
• I think it’ll rain tomorrow.
• There’s no way that we will lose the game.
• You will meet a tall, dark, handsome stranger.

Going to

Form

This is an unusual compound form since it is made up of the Present Continuous tense of the verb go with to + the main verb, so it is easy to confuse this with a normal Present Continuous.

am/is/are going to
I	am (‘m) going toam not (‘m not) going to	look
youwethey	are (‘re) going toare not (aren’t) going to
hesheit	is (‘s) going tois not (isn’t) going to

Meanings

There are two main functions of this tense; the first is to refer to premeditated intentions. Examples of this are:

• I’m going to take a few days off.
• We’re going to visit my parents at the weekend.

The meaning that the speakers want to get across here is that I/we hope that these events will take place, but they are always subject to change if needs be or if some unforeseen obstacle arises. There is a sense of an arrangement, but it has a rather indefinite feel to it.

The second use of this form is for talking about predictions based on present or past evidence. You may remember we said that will is used for referring to predictions that are not reliant on current evidence – going to, on the other hand, is used for those predictions where we can rely on present evidence or past experience. For example:

• Look at those clouds – it’s going to rain.
• Have you heard that Jenny’s going to have a baby?
• Getting up at 4:00 in the morning is going to be a problem.

In the first sentence there is clear, visible evidence that my prediction is likely to come true. It would be, at best, unusual to use any other of the future forms in this situation and, at worst, incorrect. The prediction in the second example is based on information that I have heard directly from Jenny herself or from someone who already had the information. The final sense seems to be based on my past experience of getting up early in the morning.

Present Continuous

Form

We have already met the Present Continuous when talking about present, temporary events and actions, so, it is perhaps rather surprising to find that it can also be used to refer to events that have not even started yet. In fact, this is a very important use of this tense.

Meanings

While the going to future form is often used to discuss intentions (possibly prearranged), the Present Continuous is used more for referring to solid arrangements and plans. For example, we are more likely to prefer this form when we have made a booking at a restaurant or theatre or have bought tickets for a train/plane journey. This tense is often accompanied by a time adverbial such as next month, in July etc.

• Next holiday we’re staying in a five-star hotel. (the reservation has been made)
• They’re all taking the day off on the 7th.
• I’m spending Christmas in the Bahamas.

Present Simple

Form

Just as the use of the Present Continuous to refer to future time may have been surprising, the Present Simple may, at first sight at least, seem the most unlikely candidate for talking about future events. The form is as before:

Meanings

The foremost use of this tense form to indicate future time is almost certainly after time conjunctions such as after, before, when, if, until, as soon as and so on. A few examples should demonstrate this:

• She’ll get in touch as soon as she has the information.
• If I see Michael, I’ll give him the message.
• When you finish the report, put it on my desk.

Perhaps not quite so obvious is its use in referring to programmes, timetables, itineraries and public events that we have no direct control over.

• I’m spending Christmas in the Bahamas. The plane leaves on the 20th.
• When does the film start?
• Often precise times are given.

Future Continuous

Form

There are two more commonly used tenses with more complex forms that are used to refer to the future, the first consisting of will + be + the present participle and the second consisting of be going to + be + the present participle. The full forms are given in the following tables:

Future Continuous (Progressive) with will
Iyouhesheitwethey	will (‘ll) bewill not (won’t) be	looking

Future Continuous (Progressive) with be going to
I	am (‘m) going to beam not (‘m not) going to be	looking
youwethey	are (‘re) going to beare not (aren’t) going to be
hesheit	is (‘s) going to beis not (isn’t) going to be

Meanings

There are two basic functions for these two forms and the difference in meaning between them is, for our purposes, negligible. Firstly, we use the Future Continuous to talk about predicted or planned events that start at some unspecified time in the future and are still occurring at a given time in the future. In this sense it is often used with time adverbials beginning this time next… or a precisely specified time. Since this sounds rather complicated it may be better to illustrate this with a diagram and a couple of examples.

• This time next week I’ll be lying on a beach in Hawaii.

Another example of this is:

• We’ll be watching the TV at 9:00. (It is not known when we will start, but at 9:00 we will be in front of the TV and we will probably continue to watch after 9:00.)

In their second sense, we can avoid any hint of intention, planning, prediction, willingness or unwillingness by using these two tenses. The impression is that this is how the future will unfold in spite of everything else, so it can be used to show that we are not being put out or putting others out or to check on someone’s plans before asking a potentially embarrassing favour. For instance:

• Would you like a lift? – I’m going to be heading in that direction anyway.
• Will you be dropping by later? (e.g. As a prelude to asking the listener to bring something from the supermarket on the way.)

Future Perfect Simple

Form

The following two tenses are not used as often as the others that we have looked at, but they still need to be explained as they are likely to arise in the teaching classroom if only at the more advanced levels. They are both complex verb forms; the Future Perfect Simple is made with will + have + the past participle.

Future Perfect Simple
Iyouhesheitwethey	will (‘ll ) have (‘ll’ve)won’t havewon’t’ve	looked

Meaning

We use this tense to look at events or actions from a point in the future after we expect the event or action to have already finished. It is often accompanied by a time phrase beginning with either by or before. Again, a diagram is perhaps the best way to demonstrate this tense.

• I will have passed my driving test by the end of the year.

Future Perfect Continuous

Form

The Future Perfect Continuous is formed with will + have + been + the present participle.

Future Perfect Continuous
Iyouhesheitwethey	will have been’ll have been’ll’ve beenwill not have beenwill not’ve beenwon’t have beenwon’t’ve been	looking

Meaning

Rather like the Future Perfect Simple, this tense is used to view future events that have already happened from a more distant point in the future The main difference between the two being that by using the Future Perfect Continuous, we are emphasising the duration of the event. One example of this tense might be:

• My family will have been living abroad for 5 years this September.

These notes cover the following tenses in English grammar:

• Past simple
• Present Perfect Tenses
• Past Continuous
• Past Perfect Simple

Past Simple

Form

The regular form is verb +ed although of course there are many irregular verbs in English; for example, think/thought; come/came; drive/drove; spin/spun; write/wrote.

We need to introduce the auxiliary verb did into Past Simple negative sentences and questions, so he arrived becomes he did not arrive and did he arrive?

Past Simple
Iyouwetheyhesheit	did not (didn’t)	looked
look

There is one exception to this – the verb be. The following chart shows the positive and negative forms of this verb in the past. Unlike all other Past Simple verbs, questions are made simply by inverting the subject and the was/were, e.g. she was late becomes was she late?

Past Simple of be
Ihesheit	waswas not (wasn’t)
youwethey	werewere not (weren’t)

Meanings

The Past Simple is one of the tenses that we use to talk about events, states or actions that have been completed at some point in the past. To emphasise this completion at a time before the present we often add expressions such as in 1980, in the last century, many years ago, yesterday, when I was younger, but these expressions are not of course obligatory.

The Past Simple is also preferred when we want to give more precise detail concerning an event. This is something that we often hear in news broadcasts where the speaker begins by using the Present Perfect to indicate that the event happened very recently and then switch to the Past Simple to give a more detailed account of the event. For example:

The north coast of France has been swept by violent storms. Trees were uprooted, houses were damaged and cars were blown off the roads. There was, however, no loss of life.

This demonstrates quite clearly the main use of the Past Simple as a tense of narration which is used to move a story forward and to pinpoint its main events and action. The other past tenses are normally reserved for setting the scene or giving background information against which the Past Simple highlights the more important elements of the narrative. Here’s an example which should illustrate the point:

I’d been out shopping all day and it had just started snowing quite heavily when I decided to head back home. By the time I’d got to the car it was snowing even faster. I got in and set off along the High Street. I was driving really carefully, but suddenly some idiot pulled out in front of me. I braked hard. But there was no way I could’ve missed him. I ran straight into the side of his car. The guy jumped out and started shouting at me.

The Past Perfect tenses and Past Continuous are used merely as a backdrop to the more exciting action which is in the Past Simple. However, you need to note that this tense is not only used for single, momentary actions like those in the story above. It is also used to describe events that occurred over longer periods of time and actions which were repeated over an extended period, but are now ended. So,

• During the 1930s he made several attempts to climb Everest. (repeated)
• Our family lived in this house for over 30 years. (extended period)
• That’s the boy that hit me! (single action, but compare with…)
• The old man hit the horse until it collapsed (clearly repeated action)

As we move on to the next past tense, you will need to keep in mind the fact that the Past Simple refers only to actions, states and events that were wholly completed at some time in the past. This is important as we will be examining the differences between this tense and the Present Perfect tenses in the next section.

Present Perfect Tenses

We have already met the Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous during our discussion of the tenses that we can use to talk about the present. We noted that these tenses are used to refer to actions which began in the past and are still true now and that time expressions with for and since often accompany them.

• I have lived here for 25 years.
• I have been working in this factory since I was a boy.

Meanings

Let’s begin with the Present Perfect Simple. When referring to the past, we use this tense to talk about completed events, actions and states in the past which occurred during a time period which is not yet finished. Often we use time expressions to indicate the time period we are interested in has not yet finished. This sounds rather complicated so let’s look at a couple of examples.

• I’ve had four cups of coffee today.
• Anne’s been off work three times this year already.
• I’ve read two books this week.

In each example the implication is that today, this year and this week have not yet finished and that there is still time for these events to happen again. Sometimes there is no time expression, but it is implied:

• I’ve never been to Australia. (the listener will understand that the speaker’s life is the implied time period)
• Note the difference between these two sentences.
• I have never met my uncle (Present Perfect)
• I never met my uncle (Past Simple)

Both sentences indicate that a meeting between my uncle and myself has not happened at any time in the past. However, because the Present Perfect refers to an unfinished time period, most native speakers of English would say that there is still a possibility for me to meet my uncle. In contrast to this, the second sentence indicates that, for example, a meeting is now out of the question because my uncle died before I had a chance to meet him.

You will find grammar books and English teaching course books that give short lists of words and expressions that are used with one tense or the other, but these should really only be treated as rule-of-thumb approximations since you may find that these rules are often broken by native speakers of English.

Both the Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous are used to refer to completed events, but there are often subtle differences that we need to be aware of:

• I’ve painted the lounge.
• I’ve been painting the lounge.

We understand that the actions in both of the sentences have stopped, but in the first example we know that the painting itself has finished, whereas in the second, the lounge may not yet be ready. So a major difference here is that the continuous form may be used to show that an action has recently stopped but may not yet be completed. Also, the action usually took place over an extended period of time.

Both tenses can also be used to denote actions which happened repeatedly, but we would have a preference for the continuous form in this case, e.g.

• I’ve tried to get in touch with you.
• I’ve been trying to get in touch with you.

The use of the second sentence would seem to indicate that the speaker has tried on many separate occasions to get in touch, while the first may or may not show this.

Past Continuous

Form

Perhaps unsurprisingly the form of the Past Continuous closely resembles the Present Continuous except that the verb be (am, is, are depending on the subject) is used in its past tense form. So, in place of am and is we use was and instead of are we use were. The main verb is still the present participle –ing form. The full tense looks like this:

Past Continuous (Progressive)
Ihesheit	waswas not (wasn’t)	looking
youwethey	werewere not (weren’t)

Meanings

The Past Continuous is used to describe an action that was happening before a particular point in the past and was still in progress at that point. The action may or may not have continued after that point.

• He was still talking at 4:00. (He very probably continued talking past that time).
• I was walking down the street when I saw an old friend from school. (It is not clear at this point whether I stopped to talk to my friend or whether I carried on without stopping).

The second sentence is an example of this tense’s most common use. As we saw above in the discussion on the Past Simple, the Past Continuous is often used to set the scene or background to a narrative and the Past Simple action then interrupts this situation. We can also use this tense with time expressions such as the whole…, every day, all day, every minute of… to describe events that extend over long periods of time.

• We were walking the whole day yesterday.

used to / would

Form

The forms for both of these auxiliaries are used to talk about the past. They are quite straightforward since neither of them changes for the subject and both are followed by the simple verb form, as you can see in the chart.

used to/would
Iyouhesheitwethey	used todid not use to (didn’t use to)would	look

Meanings

Both of these can be used as alternatives to the usual past tense to describe habits and to denote actions which took place over a period of time (not usually given in the same sentence) and which have since ceased to happen.

• I used to smoke 40 cigarettes a day.
• We would jump into the car and head for the sea.

As you can see from the examples, both indicate repeated action over an extended period and also distance from the time of speaking. It would be odd to continue using these forms throughout the rest of the narrative so speakers will often switch back and forth between used to, would and the Past Simple.

While both used to and would can be used to describe repeated actions in the past, only used to can be used for past states which occurred over a long stretch of time. For example, try replacing used to in the following sentences and see how you feel about the results.

• I used to be lonely when I first moved here.
• The whole family used to belong to the local tennis club.
• I used to know the roads around here really well.

You should have rejected the sentences with would as not being acceptable English. However, look at the next set of sentences which contain stative verbs and decide how you feel.

• He wouldn’t realise what had happened until someone pointed it out to him.
• I would often feel guilty about not taking the dog for a walk.
• She would be angry whenever I didn’t finish my homework.

In these examples the states did not occur over a long period of time, but were rather temporary, single actions repeated at various times in the past. In each case used to can, of course, be substituted.

was going to / were going to

Form

This tense is formed by using was or were (depending on the subject) plus going to followed by the simple verb.

was/were going to
Ihesheit	was going towas not (wasn’t) going to	look
youwethey	were going towere not (weren’t) going to

Meanings

We use this tense to describe a past intention that never actually occurred. We often find this form when someone is trying to give an excuse for not having done something that was expected of them or when someone feels that they have let another person down. The clause containing was/were going to is frequently followed immediately by but.

• We were going to come last week, but the weather was so awful.
• She was going to bring her new boyfriend along (but… is understood)
• My parents were going to go on holiday this year, but they didn’t have enough money.

Past Perfect Simple

Form

The Past Perfect Simple is made by adding the past participle (usually the verb form ending in –ed, but there are irregular verbs) to had, which does not change according its subject.

Past Perfect Simple
Iyouhesheitwethey	hadhad not (hadn’t)	looked

Meanings

The Past Perfect can only be used to refer to something that happened and finished before another point in the past. You will never see this tense alongside any tense that refers to the present time. More often than not, this tense will be used in a clause that is connected to another clause containing the Past Simple – the words that connect these clauses are called conjunctions; some examples are: because, that, when, as soon as, so, after, before and so forth.

These notes cover the following tenses in English grammar:

• Present simple
• Present continuous
• Present perfect simple
• Present perfect continuous

Present Simple

Form

The construction of this tense is shown in the table below.

Present Simple
Iyouwethey	lookdo not look (don’t look)
hesheit	looksdoes not look (doesn’t look)

Meanings

In general terms, the Present Simple is used to describe permanent and repeated events or actions. So, facts, habits and routines are often expressed using this tense.

Fact: Lions live in Africa .

Habit: My brother bites his nails.

Routine: I go to work at 8:00 every day.

With routines we often add adverbs of frequency like always, often, now and again, every week, every year and so forth.

Other meanings

We can find a common use of the Present Simple to talk about temporary, unfinished actions in sports commentaries where the speaker, in the heat of a game, will often say things like:

Agassi serves deep and Ferrero returns across court and moves quickly to the net. Agassi’s backhand goes down the line…

In a similar vein, we often fall back on this tense to create a sense of immediacy when we are describing past actions or telling jokes and anecdotes – this is usually only found in informal speech:

Anyway, this guy comes up to me last Saturday and says “I know you from somewhere, don’t I?” and I reply “I don’t think so” and he looks surprised.

Note also that we can use will to refer to regularly repeated actions

Every evening my father will finish his dinner and then go off to the lounge where he’ll sit in front of the TV for hours watching anything that comes on.

Present Continuous

Form

This tense is made by using the present tense forms of the verb be, which needs to change according to the subject of the sentence, and the present participle (verb + ing). This tense is sometimes called the Present Progressive by some grammars and course books.

Present Continuous
I	am (‘m)am not (‘m not)	looking
youwethey	are (‘re)are not (aren’t)
hesheit	is (‘s)is not (isn’t)

Meanings

1. We use this tense mainly to refer to temporary events and actions which have begun but are not yet completed.
   He’s washing the dishes at the moment.
   I’m doing my homework.
2. We can also refer to intermittent actions that happen occasionally.
   She’s having lunch at work this week.
   I’m catching the late train tonight.
3. We can use the Present Continuous with a small number of verbs which describe changes and developments (for example grow, expand, increase, become, decline) to describe on-going events such as in a sentence like this:
   The world temperature is increasing. His standard of living is declining.
4. Although we normally prefer the Present Simple tense to refer to habits and routines, there are times when we can use the Present Continuous especially if we want to show irritation with a repeated action. This is nearly always found with particular time expressions such as, constantly, forever, always and continually.
   He’s always turning up late!
   You’re forever complaining about something!
5. There are many occasions when native speakers resort to using the Present Continuous tense to show the temporariness of a feeling.
   He’s feeling unwell.
   You’re just being silly!
   Are you meaning to stay until after midnight?
   She’s thinking what to do.

Present Perfect Simple

Form

We form the Present Perfect Simple with has or have (again depending on the subject of the sentence) and the past participle of the main verb (e.g. walked, gone, lived, known). Most past participles end in –ed, but there are some irregular verbs, two of which are included in the examples above.

Present Perfect Simple
Iyouwethey	have (‘ve)have not (haven’t)	looked
hesheit	has (‘s)has not (hasn’t)

Meanings

We use this tense when we want to refer to an action or event that began in the past and has duration up to and including the present time. In these cases we often indicate how long the action has lasted by using for or since with a time expression. We use for with a length of time, whereas we use since with a point of time. For example:

• We’ve lived in London for seventeen years.
• I’ve eaten in that restaurant since I arrived here.

In both instances the action began at a time in the past and is still true at the time of speaking. However, we need to compare these uses of the Present Perfect Simple with the Present Perfect Continuous which we will look at next.

Present Perfect Continuous

Form

As with any continuous tense we need the verb be and the present participle. Only this time, because we are dealing with a Perfect tense we also need the verb have somewhere in the equation. So, the order of these elements is: has/have + been + present participle.

Present Perfect Continuous
IYouwethey	have been (‘ve been)have not been (haven’t been)	looking
hesheit	has been (‘s been)has not been (hasn’t been)

Meanings

When we are referring to the present time, the Present Perfect Continuous is used to talk about actions that started in the past and are continuing up to the time of speaking and often need a time phrase with either for or since.

• We’ve been seeing each other for a few months now.
• My mother’s been going to yoga since she was 25.

We tend to prefer the Present Perfect Continuous in contrast to the Present Perfect if the action is not short-term or if it is repeated frequently.

• We’ve been living in London for seventeen years.
• I’ve been eating in that restaurant since I arrived here.

In the first example I want to stress the length of my stay in London and the fact that I do not see it as a short-term activity; it is, therefore, likely to continue for some time into the future. In the second example I am trying to emphasise the repetition of the activity.

In this part we will be looking at the various verb forms that we use to talk about present, past and future time – these verb forms are called tenses. We will also be looking at the meanings of these tenses and the differences between them.

The tenses can be used to refer to more than one time; so, for example, we use the Present Continuous tense to talk about actions that are happening at the time of speaking (e.g. It’s still raining) and are, therefore, unfinished However, we can also use the same tense to refer to future plans (e.g. I’m quitting my job in a month’s time).

In the sections that follow, the forms of the tenses are introduced, beginning with the present, and then their various meanings are discussed. You should bear in mind that the meanings given in the following sections are not exhaustive and are, in many cases, only a guide to the senses that can be conveyed. You should also be aware that there are often exceptions to the general rules that are presented below.

The tenses covered in these notes include:

• Talking about the present:
  • Present simple
  • Present continuous
  • Present perfect simple
  • Present perfect continuous
• Talking about the past:
  • Past simple
  • Past continuous
  • Past perfect simple
  • Past perfect continuous
• Talking about the future:
  • Using ‘will’
  • Using ‘going to’
  • Using present continuous for future events
  • Using present simple for future events
  • Future continuous
  • Future perfect simple
  • Future perfect continuous

Verbs are also helpful in a number of other ways, which are not so obvious. There are also auxiliary or ‘helping’ verbs that are used in a variety of ways. The main auxiliary verbs are be, have and do.

1. They are used with main verbs to make specific tenses:
   • He is coming. present continuous
   • She wasn’t driving. past continuous
   • We haven’t seen an eclipse before. present perfect
   • She had dropped her keys. past perfect
2. The verb be + a past participle is also used to make passive forms:
   • The road is mended once a year.
   • The engines are made in Germany.
   • The votes are being counted in the hall.
   • The whales had been driven onto the shore.
3. The auxiliary verbs are used to make questions:
   • Do you want a drink?
   • Don’t you like opera?
   • Have you finished the work yet?
   • Which train do you think you’ll catch?
4. Auxiliary verbs are used to make exclamations:
   • Wasn’t she awful!
   • Haven’t you grown!
   • Didn’t they do well!
   • Isn’t it freezing!
5. To make questions tags:
   • We’re very happy, aren’t we?
   • It’s cold, isn’t it?
   • You don’t like fish, do you?
   • You haven’t had a happy childhood, have you?

Note that the verb to be is the most common verb in English and it is the only one that can operate as both a main verb and an auxiliary verb. It doesn’t need any additional help to make questions or negatives.

• I am very happy.
• Am I very happy?
• I’m not very happy.

Compare this with the verbs do and have which need additional help to make questions and negatives.

• I have a very large nose. I don’t have a very large nose.
• I do my piano practice at 6 o’clock. I don’t do my piano practice.

What’s a modal auxiliary verb?

They are also ‘helping’ verbs because they are used to express a range of meanings, such as certainty, probability, possibility, suggestion, permission, instructions, requests, obligations, necessity, ability and so on. The main modal auxiliary verbs are:

• can could may might
• shall should will would
• must ought to
• also need to be able to have (got) to

The main types of use

• certainty / probability (must, will, ought to, can’t, should)
  • He must be feeling very unhappy at the moment.
  • She ought to forget him, and move on.
• possibility (may, might, could, can)
  • She might arrive on the 5 o’clock train.
  • They may come on Sunday, but I’m not sure.
• suggestion (may, could, shall, might)
  • Shall we start again?
  • You may want to read over your essay again.
• permission (may, can, could)
  • Can I connect this wire now?
  • You may begin the examination.
• instructions and requests (would, will, can, could)
  • Can you explain that words of one syllable?
  • Could you close the door, please?
• obligations / necessity (must, have to, have got to)
  • I must send my mother a card on her birthday.
  • I’ve got to re-write this essay.
• ability (can, could, be able to)
  • I couldn’t stop laughing!
  • He won’t be able to shift that stone.

Look at the main verbs in the following sentences:

• They always wait for the 6 o’clock train.
• Every day the dog waits for the postman.
• I am waiting for a friend.
• We waited for three hours.

Notice that there are only four possible forms of the lexical verb wait:

• The base form, wait, which is the word you would look up in a dictionary. This is sometimes also called the bare infinitive (the infinitive of an English verb is usually given as to + V e.g. to wait).
• The V+s form – waits. This is restricted in use to just the third person singular (he, she, or it) of the Present Simple tense as in the example the dog (it) waits… and in he likes and she looks.
• The V+ing form – waiting. This is also known as the present participle and has a wider range of uses than form 2. In the Verb phrase it is invariably preceded by a form of the verb be (e.g. am, is, were, been).
• The V+ed form – waited. This form has, in fact, not one use, but two depending on how and where it is used. The first denotes the Past Simple tense as in the example, while the second is used in the formation of the Perfect tenses (see part 2) and the passive voice (see part 3). In the second use it is also called the past participle.

English, then, relies on just four forms of the verb. If we know the base form of a verb (which we can find in the dictionary), we are able to predict the other three forms provided that the verb we are looking for is regular; that is, it obeys the normal rules for verb formation in English.

These changes to the endings of words are called inflections. There are some languages which have very few or no obvious verbal inflections (e.g. Chinese, Indonesian), while some can boast a bewildering number (e.g. Russian, Turkish, German, Finnish, Latin). Other languages have fewer verbal inflections than, say, Russian, but more than English (e.g. French).

There are, however, a fair number of what are known as irregular verbs in English and you may come across charts of these which show their various deviations from the regular verb changes. Unfortunately for students of English many of these verbs are very common and the forms need to be learned by rote if accuracy in the language is to be achieved. A selection of irregular verbs is given in the table below.

base verb (infinitive)	past tense form	past participle
tread	trod	trodden
come	came	come
take	took	taken
write	wrote	written
hit	hit	hit
swell	swelled	swollen
read	read	read
put	put	put
forget	forgot	forgotten
understand	understood	understood
bite	bit	bitten

Note: in American English dive is an irregular verb (dive, dove, dove), but regular in English, and the older past participle of get (gotten) is still retained in American English.