Verb Tenses Revision

The Simple Present

THE SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE IS USED:

▪ To express habits, general truths, repeated actions or unchanging

situations, emotions and wishes:
I smoke (habit); I work in London (unchanging situation); London is a
large city (general truth)

▪ To express fixed arrangements, present or future:

Your exam starts at 09.00

NOTES ON THE SIMPLE PRESENT, THIRD PERSON SINGULAR

▪ In the third person singular the verb always ends in -s:

he wants, she needs, he gives, she thinks.
▪ Verbs ending in -y : the third person changes the -y to -ies:
fly --> flies, cry --> cries
Exception: if there is a vowel before the -y:
play --> plays, pray --> prays
▪ Add -es to verbs ending in:-ss, -x, -sh, -ch, -o:
he passes, she catches, he fixes, it pushes, she goes

EXAMPLES

▪ He goes to school every morning.

▪ She understands English.
▪ It mixes the sand and the water.
▪ He tries very hard.
▪ She enjoys playing the piano.

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 To eat To play To drink To write

I eat I play I drink I write

You eat You play You drink You write

He eats He plays He drinks He writes

She eats She plays She drinks She writes

It eats It plays It drinks It writes

We eat We play We drink We write

You eat You play You drink You write

They eat They play They drink They write

To drive To go To live To give

I drive I go I live I give

You drive You go You live You give

He drives He goes He lives He gives

She drives She goes She lives She gives

It drives It goes It lives It gives

We drive We go We live We give

You drive You go You live You give

They drive They go They live They give

For the Negative and Interrogative Form, we use the Auxiliary Verb To Do, in the Present.
I do
You do
He does
She does
It does
We do
You do
They do

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 Auxiliary Verb: To do (Present) Only in Negative and Interrogative

Affirmative: Subject + Main Verb (Present) + Object

Negative: Subject + Aux. Verb (Present) + not + Main Verb (Infinitive) + Object

Interrogative: Aux. Verb (Present) + Subject + Main Verb (Infinitive) + Object

Exercise 1
1. He writes a letter.

Negative:

Interrogative:

2. You give a present.

Negative:

Interrogative:

3. I drink a coffee.

Negative:

Interrogative:

4. Kate does the homework.

Negative:

Interrogative:

5. They go to the beach.

Negative:

Interrogative:

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 Exercise 2

Fill in the gaps with the Present Simple of the verb in brackets.

1. We sometimes _______________ (read) books.

2. Emily ______________ (go) to the disco.
3. It often ______________ (rain) on Sundays.
4. Pete and his sister _______________ (wash) the family car.
5. I always _______________ (hurry) to the bus stop.
6. I ______________ (like) lemonade very much.
7. The girls always _________________ (listen) to pop music.
8. Janet never ________________ (wear) jeans.
9. Mr Smith _______________ (teach) Spanish and French.
10. You _______________ (do) your homework after school.

Exercise 3

Rewrite the sentences below in the Negative and Interrogative.

A.

a) John buys a car.

b) We eat a burger.

c) They clean the house.

d) Sophie and Mary have a big company.

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 e) She opens the door.

f) You see the map.

B.

a) He cuts the steak.

b) We eat the bread.

c) Kelly reads a book.

d) You learn English.

e) She goes to school.

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 f) I sing a song.

g) They play handball.

Exercise 4

Make Negative Sentences

1. My father makes breakfast. _______________________________________________________

2. They are eleven. ______________________________________________________________

3. She writes a letter. _____________________________________________________________

4. I speak Italian. ________________________________________________________

5. Danny phones his father on Sundays. __________________________________________________________

Make Questions.

1. you / to speak / English ________________________________________________________

2. when / he / to go / home _________________________________________________________

3. they / to clean / the bathroom _______________________________________________________

4. where / she / to ride / her bike _________________________________________________________

5. Billy / to work / in the supermarket __________________________________________________________

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 Exercise 5
Fill in the gaps with the Present Simple of the verb in brackets.

a) I ___________________ (be) in a cafe now.

b) _____________________________ (she / play) tennis every week?
c) They ___________________ (go) to the cinema every Wednesday.
d) _____________________________ (she / be) a singer?
e) You ______________________ (not find) the weather cold here.
f) The train ______________________ (pass) every 30 minutes.
g) ____________________________ (they / be) on the bus?
h) Lucy _______________________ (ride) her bicycle to work.
i) Why _______________________ (he / be) in France?
j) He ________________________ (not / play) the piano very often.
k) David _______________________ (try) to speak English.
l) ___________________________ (we / make) too much noise at night?
m) Where _________________________________ (Harry / study)?
n) We ________________________ (not / be) late.
o) Lidia usually _______________________ (dress) casually.
p) They ________________________ (not / like) animals.
q) _________________________________ (the dog / eat) chicken?

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 The Simple Past

The Simple Past is used to refer to actions that happened once in the Past (and when
we refer to the time they happened).

Exercise 6

Fill the spaces with the Simple Past of the verb in brackets.

a) I ____________________ (to hear) a new song on the radio.

b) I ____________________ (to read) three books last week.
c) They ____________________ (to speak) French to the waitress.
d) He ____________________ (to understand) during the class, but now he doesn’t
understand.
e) I ____________________ (to forget) to buy some milk.
f) She ____________________ (to have) a baby last week.
g) You ____________________ (to lose) your keys last week.
h) I ____________________ (to give) my mother a CD for Christmas.
i) I ____________________ (to know) the answer last week.
j) He ____________________ (to tell) me that he lived in Toronto.
k) She ____________________ (to drink) too much coffee yesterday.
l) The children ____________________ (to sleep) in the car.
m) I ____________________ (to choose) steak for dinner.
n) The film ____________________ (to begin) late.
o) They ____________________ (to drive) to Beijing.
p) I ____________________ (to send) you an email this morning.
q) We ____________________ (to leave) the house at 7am.
r) He ____________________ (to feel) terrible after eating the prawns.

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 IRREGULAR VERBS IN ENGLISH

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 Auxiliary Verb: To do (Past) Only in Negative and Interrogative

Affirmative: Subject + Main Verb (Past) + Object

Negative: Subject + Aux. Verb (Past) + not + Main Verb + Object

Interrogative: Aux. Verb (Past) + Subject + Main Verb + Object

To do - Past
I did
You did
He did
She did
It did
We did
You did
They did

Exercise 7
Write the followings sentences in the Simple Past – Affirmative, Negative and Interrogative.

1. We cut the cake.

2. They buy the newspaper.

3. Jim goes to the beach.

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 Exercise 8

Fill in the gaps with the Past Simple of the verbs in brackets.

a) When ________________ you in London? (to be)

b) We ________________ in a flat when we were in Paris. (not/to live)
c) What _________ you ___________ yesterday? (to lose)
d) He ________________ magic tricks at the party. (not/to do)
e) Mandy ________________ her room on Thursday. (not/to tidy up)
f) ___________ Frank __________ a room with Henry when they ________________ in
Rome? (to share / to be)
g) I ________________ physics at school. (not/to like)
h) __________ the shop assistant ___________ 10 percent off the price? (to take)
i) She ________________ the correct word in the exercise. (to use)
j) Why __________ the baby ___________ this morning? (to cry)
k) I ________________ my maths homework yesterday. (to do)
l) _________ Susan ___________ to England by plane? (to go)
m) They ________________ a farm two weeks ago. (to visit)
n) Jenny and Peggy ________________ their brother. (not/to help)
o) The children ________________ at home last weekend. (not/to be)
p) When ________ you ___________ this wonderful skirt? (to design)
q) My mother ________________ into the van. (not/to crash)
r) The boys ________________ the mudguards of their bicycles. (to take off)
s) ___________ you ___________ your aunt last week? (to phone)
t) He ________________ milk at school. (not/to drink)

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 The Simple Future

Auxiliary Verb: Will

Affirmative: Subject + Aux. Verb + Main Verb + Object

Negative: Subject + Aux. Verb + not + Main Verb + Object

Interrogative: Aux. Verb + Subject + Main Verb + Object

Will
I will
You will
He will
She will
It will
We will
You will
They will

Exercise 9

1. He goes to the cinema.

Affirmative:

Negative:

Interrogative:

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 2. You drive a black car.

Affirmative:

Negative:

Interrogative:

3. Kate drinks a coffee.

Affirmative:

Negative:

Interrogative:

4. I do the homework.

Affirmative:

Negative:

Interrogative:

Exercise 10

Fill in the gaps with the Future Simple of the verbs in brackets.

a) They _________________ back by 6:30 pm. (to be)

b) __________ you ____________ me? (to help)
c) When _________ I ___________ you again? (to see)
d) His parents _________________ him for being late. (not/to punish)
e) ___________ they ___________ the contract tonight? (to sign)
f) It _________________ us three hours to get there. (to take)
g) __________ this concert ____________ money for our school club? (to raise)
h) This van _________________ with 8 people in it. (not/to break down)
i) The meeting _________________ before tomorrow morning. (not/to close)
j) When _________ she ___________ me a copy of her essay? (to send)

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 Exercise 11

Fill in the gaps with the Future Simple of the verbs in brackets.

a) The meeting _________________ at 4:30 pm. (to close)

b) Prices _________________. (to increase)
c) Phillip _________________ to come. (not/to forget)
d) Why _________________ you this book? (he/to lend)
e) _________________, please? I don't like driving on icy roads. (you/to drive)
f) Emily was very rude to me. I _________________ her again. (not/to visit)
g) Henry _________________ his father about the accident. (not/to tell)
h) I _________________ to answer your questions. (to attempt)
i) Where is the waiter? The guests _________________ any minute. (to arrive)
j) While the cat's away, the mice _________________. (to play)

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1. I usually ______________ (write) a letter to my classmate on Fridays.
2. Mr John ______________ (drive) his car very fast yesterday.
3. Sara and I ______________ (enjoy) a tour to London next month.
4. I ______________ (pick up) Claire from the station last week.
5. Amanda, my sister ______________ (be) a good cook. Can you smell the cakes?
6. Mr Jack, Nicole and I ______________ (watch) the football match last night.
7. Last month Linda ______________ (decide) to learn French, so we left her in Paris.
8. Antonio ______________ (visit) his old high school yesterday.
9. Sara, Clare and I ______________ (go) to the seaside tomorrow.
10. George ______________ (eat) with Sam and Nadeen every day.

1 Do you like the film? (change to past simple)

_____________________________________ the film?
2 My father loves seafood. (change to past simple)
My father _____________________________________ seafood.
3 He speaks four languages. (change to past simple)
He _____________________________________ four languages.
4 My sister doesn't have a job. (change to past simple)
My sister _____________________________________ a job.
5 He reads a lot of books in his spare time. (change to past simple)
He _____________________________________ a lot of books in his spare time.
6 I saw a great film. (change to future simple)
I _____________________________________ a great film.
7 Elizabeth isn't at home. (change to past simple)
Elizabeth _____________________________________ at home.
8 He liked his job. (change to present simple)
He _____________________________________ his job.
9 He liked the job. (change to future simple)
He _____________________________________ the job.
10 Are they here? (change to future simple)
_____________________________________ here?

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