Materiale per l'esame di lingua Inglese, docente Valentina Rossi

English Grammar - Present Tenses

Present simple

An example of this tense is: “Some pollution comes from human activity” “The right and left hemispheres of our brain control the opposite side of our body”

Form Affirmative

In the affirmative (that is, when we say something positive), the present simple tense is formed with just the subject (e.g. I, You, He, She, We, They) and the verb. When the subject is third person singular (e.g. he, she, it, John, Susan, etc.), we add an “s” at the end of the verb.

• I eat sandwiches for lunch
• You eat sandwiches for lunch
• He eats sandwiches for lunch

Interrogative

If we want to express a negative or ask a question, we use the auxiliary verb “do”. To ask a question, we invert the subject and the verb - put the auxiliary verb “do” before the subject, for example:

• Do you know John?
• Does Jane have a car?

Note that the principal verb (have in this example) is used in the base form without adding the “s”. This is because the verb “do” is conjugated in the third person, and so we do not conjugate the main verb.

Negative

If we want to express a negative idea, we use the auxiliary verb “do” together with the word “not”. We put “do not” before the main verb in the sentence, for example:

• Jennifer does not work on Saturdays.
• We do not eat meat.

In conversation and in informal writing, we can use the contracted form. “Do not” becomes “don’t” and “does not” becomes “doesn’t”.

• Jennifer doesn’t work on Saturdays.
• We don’t eat meat.

However, the contracted form is not appropriate for formal, scientific, or academic writing. If you are writing an article, an essay, or a piece of research, you should use the extended form.

Use

We use the present simple tense in the following cases:

• To talk about habits and routines, things that happen regularly: I have breakfast at 7:30. He starts work at 9 am. We wake up early on Mondays. When we talk about habits, we often use adverbs or adverbial phrases to express frequency, for example, always, sometimes, usually, often, never, in the winter, on Sundays, in the evening.
• To talk about permanent situations: My brother lives in London. She works in urban planning.
• To talk about universally recognized truths or facts: Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius. The sun rises in the East.
• To talk about the speaker’s opinions or beliefs: I think he is a terrible leader. I don’t agree with you about that.
• To tell the story of a book, film, play, etc., or to tell a story or anecdote in a dramatic way: On his eleventh birthday, Harry Potter discovers that he is a wizard and after that, he goes to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he learns how to do magic.

Present continuous

The other present tense in English is the present continuous. It is also sometimes called the present progressive.

An example of the present continuous is: I am working at the moment. He is eating his dinner.

Form Affirmative

The affirmative (positive) of the present continuous is formed using the auxiliary verb “to be” in the present and the ing form of the main verb.

• I am cooking the dinner.
• You are studying the human brain.
• He is researching alternative energy sources.
• We are analysing the effects of global warming.
• They are looking for a new house.

In conversation or in informal writing, we can use the contracted form of the subject and the auxiliary verb “to be”

• I’m cooking dinner.
• You’re studying the human brain.
• He’s researching alternative energy sources.
• We’re analysing the effects of global warming.
• They’re looking for a new house.

Interrogative

When we want to ask questions in the present continuous, we put the auxiliary verb “be” before the subject and then the ing form of the main verb

• Am I doing this right?
• Are you studying?
• Is she having a shower?
• Are we watching channel 1 or 2?
• Are they working on a new project?

Negative

The negative form of the present continuous is formed using the auxiliary verb “to be” together with the word “not”, followed by the “ing” form of the main verb

• I am not reading that book.
• You are not walking quickly enough.
• He is not taking notes.
• We are not drinking the white wine.
• They are not helping me at all.

In conversation or in informal writing, we can use the contracted form:

• I’m not reading that book.
• You aren’t walking quickly enough.
• He isn’t taking notes.
• We aren’t drinking the white wine.
• They aren’t helping me at all.

Use

We use the present continuous tense in the following situations:

• To talk about actions that are in progress in this moment: What are you doing? I’m listening to the radio.
• To talk about temporary situations, things that are relevant to this period in time but are not always true. I’m working in Rome this week (but I usually work in Milan). He’s studying English this month (but in other months he studies other subjects).
• To talk about situations and processes that are evolving or current trends: Climate change is becoming a serious problem. The number of people on antidepressant medications is rising. Women are wearing longer skirts this season.
• To describe the action in a picture or photograph: In this photo, I am opening my birthday presents. In this painting by Manet, there is a barmaid who is standing behind the bar, looking at all the people who are drinking.

Present simple vs present continuous

• Use the present simple to say what you usually do and with expressions like once a week/month/year (=una volta alla settimana/al mese/all’anno) and with frequency adverbs; with questions and negatives, the auxiliary verb is do/does.
• Use the present continuous to say what you are doing now and with expressions like: at the moment, now, right now, today; with affirmatives, questions, and negatives, the auxiliary verb is to be.

Stative verbs

There are some verbs which we call stative verbs because they usually only take the present simple tense because they indicate permanent states and not dynamic actions.

I like classical music (not I’m liking classical music)

Stative verbs can be divided into different categories:

• Verbs that express feelings and emotional state: adore, hate, love, like, dislike, despise, want, wish, prefer Gerald loves his job. We hate the noise from the bar downstairs.
• Verbs that express opinions, convictions, and ideas: believe, know, mean, realise, recognise, remember, suppose, understand, feel, think (with the meaning of believe) I think that’s a great idea. I suppose that’s the best solution. However, if we use the verb think with the meaning of reflect or consider, we can use the present continuous form. I’m thinking about changing my job. Or if we use the verb feel to talk about a temporary state of the body or mind, we can use the present continuous form. I’m feeling really tired at the moment. I need a holiday!
• Verbs that express possession and belonging: belong, have/have got (with the meaning of possess), own, possess, contain. This phone belongs to my boss. He has a big house in the city suburbs. They own a restaurant. However, when we use the verb have with a dynamic meaning, we can use the present continuous form. She is having soup for lunch (She is eating soup for lunch). He is having a bath (He is taking a bath).
• Verbs that express senses and perception: hear, see, smell, taste. I see some clouds in the sky. Do you hear the church bells? I smell something burning in the kitchen! In this dish, I taste cumin and coriander. The dog smells terrible. We need to wash him. The cake tastes delicious. However, when we use these verbs to describe voluntary actions, we can use them in the present continuous. I am smelling the flowers you gave me. He is tasting the soup to see if it needs more salt.

Past Tenses

Past Simple

The past simple is one of a number of past tenses in English. It doesn’t correspond directly with one past tense in Italian, sometimes it translates as imperfetto, passato prossimo, and other times as passato remoto.

There are many irregular verbs in the past simple tense. Perhaps the most important one is the verb “to be”. The past simple of the verb “to be” is irregular and is formed as follows:

• I was
• You were
• He/She/It was
• We were
• You (plural) were
• They were

Form Affirmative

We form the affirmative past simple of regular verbs by adding the letters “ed” as a suffix to the base form of the verb. The past simple is the same for all people, I, You, He, She, It, We, They.

• I worked yesterday.
• He started a new project last week.

Verbs that already end in “e” usually just add a “d”.

• You phoned me last night.

To form the past simple of a one-syllable verb that ends with a consonant, a vowel, and a consonant, we double the final consonant before adding “ed”.

• He stopped smoking a couple of years ago.

To form the past simple of two-syllable verbs ending in a consonant, a vowel, and a consonant, we follow the same rule and double the final consonant, but only if the accent is on the second syllable.

• She regretted her decision.

To form the past simple of verbs that end with the letter “y” preceded by a consonant, we must remove the “y” and replace it with the letter “i” and then add “ed”.

• They studied for weeks before the final exam.

The pronunciation of the past simple affirmative in most cases sounds like “t” or “d”

• I worked there for 3 years.
• I jogged around the park a few times.

The “ed” ending is pronounced fully only when the verb ends in a “t” or a “d” (or in a “t” or “d” sound)

• We started playing at 9 o’clock.
• My grandma mended the hole in my cardigan.
• The dog waded into the river.

Interrogative

To ask a question in the past simple tense, we use the auxiliary verb “to do” in the past simple – “did” – followed by the subject and then the main verb in the base form

• Did he find a solution?
• Did they arrive yesterday morning?

Negative

To form a negative sentence in the past simple, we use the auxiliary verb “to do” in the past simple – “did” – followed by the word “not” and the base form of the main verb.

• I did not enjoy the film.
• He did not speak at the conference.

In conversation and in informal writing, we can use the contracted form of “did not”, which becomes “didn’t”.

• I didn’t enjoy the film.
• He didn’t speak at the conference.

Use

The past simple tense is used in the following cases:

• To talk about a finished action that took place in a specific moment or period in the past: He went to Paris last Tuesday. We saw a great film yesterday. I broke my leg on holiday in 2015.
• To talk about a sequence of actions or events in the past: I woke up early and then I took a shower and made breakfast.
• To talk about permanent or long-term situations in the past: I grew up in the South of Italy. They spent four years working in the same team.
• To talk about repeated actions in the past: My brother and I stayed with our grandparents every Easter.

We often use the past simple to indicate the specific moment or period in the past in which an action/event or a series of actions/events took place. As a result, the past simple is often accompanied by adverbs or time expressions: Last night, last week, last month, last year, last winter, last Monday, 5 minutes ago, 2 hours ago, 6 weeks ago, 3 months ago, 10 years ago, In 1998, in March, at 11 o’clock (alle 11).

Past simple vs. past continuous

We often use the past continuous together with a simple past tense. The past continuous refers to a longer “background” action or situation; the simple past refers to a shorter action or event that happened in the middle of the longer action or that interrupted it.

Example: As I was walking down the road, I met Bill. (Mentre stavo camminando per la strada, ho incontrato Bill); The phone rang, while I was having breakfast. (Il telefono suonò, mentre stavo facendo colazione)

The past continuous, like other progressive forms, is used for temporary actions and situations. When we talk about longer situations, we use the simple past. Compare:

1. It happened while I was living in London last year. (Successe mentre stavo vivendo a Londra l’anno scorso)
2. I lived in London for ten years when I was a child. (Vissi a Londra per dieci anni quando ero piccolo)

Present Perfect

The present perfect tense allows us to express the relationship between something in the past and the present moment. It can be difficult for Italian students to fully understand its use because, as with the past simple, it is not possible to translate it with just one tense in Italian. It sometimes corresponds with the passato prossimo, but not always. Sometimes it is translated with the presente.

The present perfect tense is formed with the auxiliary verb “to have” in the present simple (have or has for the third person) and the past participle of the main verb. For regular verbs, the past participle is the same as the past simple and is formed by adding “ed” as a suffix to the base form of the verb. For example: WORK – I worked (past simple), I have worked (present perfect).

However, there are a lot of irregular verbs which do not follow this rule. For some irregular verbs, the past participle is the same as the past simple, but for many, it is different.

Form Affirmative

We form the affirmative of the present perfect with the auxiliary verb have (has for the third person) and the past participle of the main verb.

For example: If we take the verb TO ARRIVE

• I have arrived
• You have arrived
• He/She/It has arrived
• We have arrived
• You have arrived
• They have arrived

In conversation or in informal writing, we can use the contracted form of the auxiliary verb have:

• I’ve arrived
• You’ve arrived
• He’s arrived / She’s arrived / It’s arrived
• We’ve arrived
• You’ve arrived
• They’ve arrived

Interrogative

To ask a question in the present perfect, we use the auxiliary verb have (has for the third person) followed by the subject and then the past participle of the main verb. For example: if we take the verb TO ARRIVE, the interrogative would be as follows:

• Have I arrived?
• Have you arrived?
• Has he arrived? / Has she arrived? / Has it arrived?
• Have we arrived?
• Have you arrived?
• Have they arrived?

Negative

To express a negative sentence in the present perfect, we use the auxiliary verb have not (has for the third person) followed by the past participle of the main verb.

• I have not arrived
• You have not arrived
• He has not arrived / She has not arrived / It has not arrived
• We have not arrived
• You have not arrived
• They have not arrived

In conversation or in informal writing, we can use the contracted form of the auxiliary verb and the word not.

• I haven’t arrived
• You haven’t arrived
• He hasn’t arrived / She hasn’t arrived / It hasn’t arrived
• We haven’t arrived
• You haven’t arrived
• They haven’t arrived

Remember, although in Italian for certain verbs we use the auxiliary verb essere, in English we always use the verb “to have” (avere) to form the present perfect tense. We do not say Jenny is gone to the supermarket, but Jenny has gone to the supermarket.

Use

We use the present perfect tense in the following cases:

• To talk about an action that is finished in a time period that is still in progress: I have worked a lot this week (the week is not finished yet). You have sent me five emails today (the day is not finished yet). She has drunk three cups of coffee this morning (the morning is not finished yet).
• To talk about an action in the past at an indeterminate moment in the past - when the time is not specified or defined: We have eaten all the chocolates (the chocolates are finished, we ate them, don’t say when). He has been to New York (he went to New York at some point, but we don’t say when). They have seen that film (they saw that film at some point, we don’t say when).
• To talk about an action in the past when the time is indefinite (using ever or never): Have you ever eaten octopus? (in your whole life). She has never seen The Godfather (in her whole life). They have never travelled abroad (in their whole life).
• To talk about a state/situation that began in the past and is still in progress: He has lived in Paris for two years (he arrived in Paris two years ago and he still lives there). I have worked for this company since 2012 (I started working there in 2012, still work there). We have played football in this team for six months (we started playing 6 months ago, we still play there).
• To talk about an action or event that happened in the past, but has a consequence or is relevant in the present: I can’t go skiing because I have broken my leg (it happened in the past, but my leg is still broken). She has lost her keys so she can’t get into her house.