Riassunto esame inglese, prof. Brambilla Marina Marzia, accertamento per B1/B2

Present continuous (I am doing)

Sarah is in her car. She is driving to work. Am/is/are + -ing is the present continuous:

• Am - I (I’m) driving
• Is - He/She/It (He’s, etc.) working
• Are - We/You/They (We’re, etc.) doing

I am doing something = I’m in the middle of doing it; I’ve started doing it and I haven’t finished yet. The action is not necessarily happening at the time of speaking. You can use it with time expressions like today, this week, this year, etc.

Using present continuous for changes

We can use the present continuous when we talk about changes happening around now. (Is your English getting better?)

Present simple (I do)

He drives a bus because he’s a bus driver.

• Drive/work/do - I/We/You/They drive/work/do
• He/She/It drives/works/does

We use the present simple to talk about things in general. It is used to say that something happens all the time or repeatedly, or that something is true in general.

Questions and negatives

• Do - I/We/You/They
• Does - He/She/It
• Don’t work - I/We/You/They
• Doesn’t work - He/She/It

We use it to say how often we do things (I get up at 8 o’clock).

Speech acts

Sometimes we do things by saying something. For example, when you promise to do something, you can say “I promise”, etc.

Present continuous vs. present simple

Present continuous is used when the action is not complete (temporary situations).

Present simple is used for things in general or things that happen repeatedly (permanent situations).

Always do - I do it every time.

Always doing - I’m doing it more often than normal (e.g., I’ve lost my pen again. I’m always losing things).

Verbs not normally used in continuous forms

• Like, love, know, realize, belong, fit

Think - No continuous when it means “believe” or “have an opinion”. Yes, continuous when it means “consider”.

Past simple (I did)

The past simple often ends in -ed (regular verbs). But many verbs are irregular (e.g., write -> wrote).

In questions and negatives, we use did/didn’t + infinitive:

• Did enjoy? - Did you enjoy?
• Did see? - Did she see?
• Did go? - Did they go?
• Didn’t enjoy - I didn’t enjoy
• Didn’t see - She didn’t see
• Didn’t go - They didn’t go

The past of be is was/were:

• Was - I/He/She/It
• Were - We/You/They

Note: We do not use did with was/were in negatives and questions.

Past continuous (I was doing)

Was/were + -ing is the past continuous:

• Was - I/He/She/It playing
• Were - We/You/They playing

Was doing means I was in the middle of doing something at a certain time. The action or situation had already started before this time but had not finished.

We often use the past simple and the past continuous together to say that something happened in the middle of something else (Matt phoned while we were having dinner).

We use past simple to say that one thing happened after another (I was walking along the road when I saw Dave).

Note: Some verbs (e.g., know, want) are not normally used in the continuous.

Present perfect (I have done)

The present perfect simple is have/has + past participle. It often ends in -ed, but many important verbs are irregular:

• Have finished - I/We/You/They have finished
• Has finished - He/She/It has finished

When we say “something has happened”, this is usually new information (Ow! I’ve cut my finger).

When we use the present perfect, there is a connection with now. The action in the past has a result now (Is Sally here? No, she’s gone out = She is out now).

You can use the present perfect with just, already, yet:

• Just - for a short time ago (Are you hungry? No, I’ve just had lunch).
• Already - to say that something happened sooner than expected (What time is Mark leaving? He’s already gone).
• Yet - used only in questions and negative sentences. It shows that the speaker is expecting something to happen (Has it stopped raining yet?).

Note: There’s a difference between gone (to) and been (to):

• He has gone to Italy = He is there now or on his way there.
• He has been to Italy = He has now come back. It also means “Visited”.

Using present perfect for periods of time

When we talk about a period of time that continues from the past until now, we use the present perfect (We’ve never had a car). You can also use it with time expressions like recently, in the last few days, etc.

We use the present perfect with today, this evening, this year when these periods are not finished at the time of speaking (I’ve drunk four cups of coffee today).

We say: It’s the first time something has happened (It’s the first time he has driven a car or He has never driven before).

Present perfect continuous (I have been doing)

Have/has been + -ing is the present perfect continuous:

• Have been - I/We/You/They have been doing
• Has been - He/She/It has been doing

We use the present perfect continuous for an activity that has recently stopped or just stopped. There is a connection with now (You’re out of breath. Have you been running? = you’re out of breath now).

Usage with time expressions

We use the present perfect continuous with how long, for, since when the activity is still happening or has just stopped (How long have you been learning English? = you’re still learning English).

You can use present perfect continuous for actions repeated over a period of time (Debbie is a very good tennis player. She’s been playing since she was eight).

Note: I am doing vs. I have been doing:

• I am doing (present continuous) = it is happening now (Don’t disturb me now. I’m working now).
• I have been doing (present perfect continuous) = It has recently stopped or just stopped (I’ve been working hard. Now I’m going to have a break).

Present perfect continuous vs. present perfect simple

Kate’s clothes are covered in paint. The ceiling was white. Now it is red. She has been painting the ceiling (present perfect continuous). Kate has painted it (present perfect simple).

We are interested in the activity. It does not matter whether something has been finished or not. Has painted is a completed action.

We use the continuous to say how long for an activity that is still happening.

We use the simple to say how much, how many, or how many times for completed actions:

• How long have you been reading that book?
• How much of that book have you read?

Note: Some verbs (e.g., know, like) are not normally used in the continuous.

How long have you (been)...?

We use the present perfect to talk about something that began in the past and still continues now. Bill is in hospital. He has been in hospital since Monday (not Bill is in hospital since Monday).

You can use either the present perfect continuous or simple with live, work:

• Julia has been living/has lived in Paris for a long time.

But we use the simple with always:

• I’ve always lived in the country.

We say “I haven’t done something since/for...” (present perfect continuous):

• I haven’t seen Tom since Monday.

For and Since

We use for + a period of time (two hours, etc.):

• I’ve been waiting for two hours (two hours ago - now).

We use since + the start of a period (Monday, etc.):

• I’ve been waiting since Monday (from Monday - now).

Note: It is possible to leave out for (not usually in negative sentences):

• They haven’t had a holiday for ten years.
• They’ve been married for ten years (with or without for).

When...? and How long...?

Compare:

• When did it start raining? It started an hour ago (+ past simple).
• How long has it been raining? It’s been raining for an hour (+ present perfect).

Present perfect and past (I have done and I did)

Compare:

• Tom is looking for his key. He has lost it (present perfect) = it means that he doesn’t have it now.
• Ten minutes later, Tom has found his key.
• He lost his key (past simple).
• But now he has found it (present perfect).

The present perfect is a present tense. It always tells us about the situation now.

The past simple tells us about the past. If somebody says “Tom lost his key”, this doesn’t tell us whether he has the key now or not.

Note: You can use the present perfect for new or recent happenings (I’ve repaired the TV. It’s working now).

If we continue to talk about it, we normally use the past simple (Ow! I’ve burnt myself! – How did you do that? = not have you done).

Past perfect (I had done)

The past perfect is had + past participle (gone/seen, etc.):

• Had gone - I/We/You/They had gone
• Had gone - He/She/It had gone

Sometimes we talk about something that happened in the past (Sarah arrived at the party).

Then, if we want to talk about things that happened before this time, we use the present perfect (When Sarah arrived at the party, Paul had already gone home).

Past perfect continuous (I had been doing)

Had been + -ing is the past perfect continuous:

• Had been - I/We/You/They had been doing
• Had been - He/She/It had been doing

With it, you can say something happened for a period of time before something else happened (It was not raining when I looked out the window, the sun was shining. But it had been raining before).

Note: Some verbs (e.g., know, like) are not normally used in the continuous.

Have got and have (for possession, relationship, illness)

You can use have got or have; there is no difference in meaning (They’ve got a new car or They have a new car).

Note: With these meanings, you cannot use continuous forms (am having, etc.). For the past, we use had without got.

Questions and negatives

In questions and negative sentences, there are three possible forms:

• Have you got any questions? - I haven’t got any questions.
• Do you have any questions? - I don’t have any questions.
• Have you any questions? (less usual) - I haven’t any questions (less usual).

For the past, we use did/didn’t have in questions and negative sentences (Did you have a car when you were living in London?).

Note: We also use have for many actions and experiences (have breakfast, have a bath, etc.).

Used to (do)

Diane used to travel a lot (= she travelled a lot regularly in the past, but she doesn’t do this anymore).

We also use used to for things that were true but are not true anymore (This building is now a furniture shop. It used to be a cinema).

The normal question form is did you use to...? (Did you use to eat a lot of sweets when you were a child?).

The negative forms are didn’t use to or used not to (I didn’t use to like him or I used not to like him, less usual).

Note: "Used to" is past. There is no present form. You cannot say "I use to do". To talk about the present, use the present simple (I do).

Present tenses (I am doing/I do) for the future

Present continuous with a future meaning

This is Ben’s diary:

• He is playing tennis on Monday.
• He is going to the dentist on Tuesday.

In all these examples, Ben has already decided and arranged to do these things.

I’m doing something tomorrow = I have decided and arranged to do it.