Learning English

Learning is a lifelong effort. "Consider a language ... language serves to describe a combination of colored squares on a surface. The squares form a complex like a chessboard. There are red, green, white and black squares. The words of the language are 'red', 'green', 'white', 'black', and a sentence is a series of these words. They describe an arrangement of squares in an order." -- Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher (20th century)

Verb Tenses



Grammar

Verb Tenses:

Present Simple (Simple Present): basic verb (infinitive) ( go-went-gone) eg: I go home every day.

Present Progressive (Present Continuous): Simple Present of 'to be' + -ING (he is going) eg: he is still sleeping, be quiet!

Past Simple (Simple Past): regular verbs + ed, irregular 2nd form (pushed, go–went-gone) eg: He pushed me into the water. Last night, he went home right away.

Past Progressive (Past Continuous): Past Simple of TO BE + ING eg: He was eating dinner when I called him last night.

Present Perfect: 'HAVE' + Past Participle (go–went-gone) eg: I have gone home.

Past Perfect: 'HAD' + Past Participle (take-took-taken) eg: I had taken a holiday.

Future: will + basic verb (infinitive) or ‘to be’ + going to + basic verb (infinitive) eg: He will go home soon. Or He is going to go home soon.

Auxiliary Verbs:

DO', 'BE' and 'HAVE' are the English auxiliary verbs used in a negative structure, a question or to show tense.

eg: I haven’t eaten yet!

Are you happy?

'DO', 'DON'T', 'DOES' and 'DOESN'T' are used for questions and negatives in the Present Simple Tense,

and 'DID' and 'DIDN'T' are used in the Past Simple Tense.

eg: Do you speak English?

BE' is used with basic verb (infinitive) in Continuous (Progressive) Verbs. It is also used with the Past Participle in the Passive

eg: He is going home. Rice is grown in Taiwan.

'HAVE' is used with the Past Participle to form the Present Perfect or HAD with the Past Participle to form the Past Perfect.

eg: He had gone to school before his mother got home.

Gerund: A Gerund is a verb when it acts as a noun. Basic verb (infinitive) + ING

Remember: If a verb ends with -e, it loses the last letter -e before adding the –ing.

eg: Swimming is fun!

Infinitive: The infinitive usually occurs with 'To' (for example To go)

eg: I had to go!

Modal Verbs: Modal verbs are used to express ideas such as possibility, intention, obligation and necessity: CAN, COULD, WILL, WOULD, SHALL, SHOULD, OUGHT TO, DARE and NEED.

eg: I would tell you the story, if I had more time..

You should study harder!

Posted by TP

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