Seldom rarely, hardly ever.
TENSE FORMATION
Imperative or infinitive: base form
Present Indefinite: base form or base form + s in third person singular
Present Continuous: present be + present participle
Present Perfect: present have + past participle
Present Perfect Continuous: present have + been + present participle
Past Indefinite: base form + ed
Past Continuous: past be + present participle
Past Perfect: past have + past participle
Past Perfect Continuous: past have + been + present participle
Future Indefinite: will + base form
Future Continuous: will + be + present participle
Future Perfect: will + have + past participle
Future Perfect Continuous:
will+have+been+present
participle
play
play
plays
am/is/are playing
has/have played
has/have been playing
played
was/were playing
had played
had been playing
will play
will be playing
will have played
will have been playing
Present Indefinite
Present Indefinite is used:
1. to state facts.
Boys never wear dresses.
Vegetarians don’t eat meat.
2. to express the fact which stays the same for a long time.
I live in Oxford.
She works in a bank.
3. to express habitual actions as a rule accompanied by the adverbs of frequency: always, often, sometimes, seldom, never etc.
The postman brings us the newspaper in the morning.
4. to state laws of nature or general truths.
Snow melts at 0 oC.
Two plus two makes four.
5. to express a future event which is certain due to timetables, programmes, calendars etc.
The exam takes place on 2 April.
6. to express a concrete action or a succession of actions taking place at a given moment (in such cases the action is not considered in its progress).
Why don’t you illustrate your report with examples?
Now, watch me closely: I take a match, light it, put it into the glass and…oh, nothing happens!
7. in narratives or stories to sound more interesting and dramatic(when the speaker or writer tells us what happened in the past as if it were present before his eyes).
I remember the scene very well. Mr. Blake, in a dinner jacket, arrives at the ground floor by lift; Blake gets out, looks at something on his left, gives a start and walks away briskly.
8. in commentaries, particularly on radio or television to describe rapid actions.
The athletes get out of the bus, pass through the entrance and there are crowds of people greeting them with smiling and eager faces.
9. in newspaper headlines, in the outlines and reviews of novels, plays, films etc.
Dog Saves the Master.
Students Say No to New Weapon.
10. in exclamatory sentences.
How swiftly the years fly! (Maugham).
11. to introduce a quotation:
The local newspaper says that the government should do more to create jobs in the area.
12. to give instructions(instead of imperative).
You take the first turning on left.
Trouble Spots
1. Some more adverbs of frequency for expressing present habit:
Always continually, constantly, forever
Often frequently, regularly, usually, normally
Sometimes occasionally
Never -----
Seldom rarely, hardly ever.
The normal position for adverbs of frequency is before the main verb, but after the verb -to be-.
On Sunday I seldom get up before 10 o’clock.
He is constantly late with his deadlines.
2. The Present Indefinite is also used to express a planned future action usually with verb of motion such as: to go, to come, to start, to leave, to return, to arrive, to sail.
She leaves for England in two months.
However the Present Continuous is more common here.
3. The Present Indefinite is used in adverbial clauses of time, condition and concession.
| The adverbial clauses of time are introduced by the conjunction: - when - till/until - as - as soon as - while - before - after Do it as soon as you are through with your duties | The adverbial clauses of condition are introduced by the conjunction: - if - unless - in case - on condition that - provided that - suppose(supposing) Suppose I go to the forest and get lost, please, find me. | The adverbial clauses of concession are introduced by the conjunction: - even if - even though - whatever - whenever - however Even if it rains we’ll work in the garden tomorrow. |
4. The Present indefinite is used to denote actions going on at the moment of speaking with statives (which are not used in the continuous).
| Verbs of sense perception. - seeà - hear - tasteà - smell - notice | Verbs of feelings and emotions. - (dis)like - prefer - love - hate - hope - care for - respect - adore - detest - envy - puzzle - astonish - forgive - fear - want - desire - wish |
| Verbs of thinking and opinion. - know - admit - think - suggest - believe - remind - suppose - appreciate - expect - remember - agree - forget - doubt - find - recognize - mind - trust - understand - regard - mean - assume - consider - presume - imagine - perceive - realize - object - allow - consent - forbid - refuse | Verbs expressing result. - belong - include - own - deserve - haveà - sound - signify - apply - possess - compare - contain - exist - cost - hold (= have) - matter - interest - seem - measure - owe - involve - appear - lack - remain - come from - need - beà - require - resemble - depend on - concern - weigh - consist of - result - claim - suit - fail - differ - prevent - equal - require - tend - stand for |
àNote. These verbs can be used in continuous tenses when the verb expresses an activity, not a state.
Compare the use of simple and continuous tenses in the following pairs of synonyms:
- I see what you mean(“see” in the meaning “understand”).
- I’m seeingJenny this afternoon.
- Hehas a car.
- I hope you are having a good time here.
- He isfriendly.
- Was he only being friendly because he was happy?
- The souptastes delicious.
- I’m tasting the soup to see if it needs more salt.
Present Continuous
The Present Continuous is used:
1. to denote an action going on at the moment of speaking:
Look, how happily they are playing!
Sometimes such adverbs or adverbial expressions as how, stillat the present moment are used:
She is still working in her garden.
2. to express temporary action, not necessarily happening at the moment of speaking but, in the present time period. In this way it is often used with these days, this week, today, this month, this season etc.
My son is very lucky. He is getting ready for his final exams.
3. to express a planned action in the near future.
I’m meeting Charlotte for lunch.
Note: The expressionto be going to + infinitivealso refers an action to the immediate future.
We are going to get married in June.
4. to describe a situation that is in the process of changing:
The number of cars on the road is increasing rapidly each year.
5. to express emotional attitude of the speaker (impatience, irritation, disapproval, flame, irony, admiration, etc.) towards repetead actions characterizing the subject.
In these sentences such adverbials as alwaysor constantlyare also obligatory.
You are alwayslosing your things. (impatience, irritation).
You are always thinking of other people. (admiration).
6.in adverbial clauses of time and condition after the conjunctions when, while, as long, if, in case, unless, etc.
I’ll ring you up at 2 o’clock, while you are having your break.
Trouble Spots.
1. If two simultaneous action are in progress at the moment of speaking, but only one of them is of importance from point of view of the speaker, this one takes the form of the Present Continuous, while the other is in the Present Indefinite. This is often the case in radio, television, etc.
As I stand here, the boys and girls are moving towards the gates.
2. We use The Present Continuous Tense to talk about the future when the plans have been made. It is quite informal and is used to describe personal arrangements such as social activities rather than official plans. As it refers to personal arrangements, the subject of the verb should be a person and not a thing.
3. We can only use the Present Continuous as future with a future time reference or where the future time reference is clear from the context. Where this is not the case, we use to be going to + infinitive.
He’s having a swim (= now, if there is no time reference )
He is going to have a swim (in the future)
Present Perfect
Present Perfect is used:
1. to express a completed action connected with the present in
its result.
I can’t write because I’ve hurt my finger.
a) When the time of action is often indicated by such adverbial modifiers: at last, already, ever, not…ever, never, yet, not…yet, finally, lately, of late, recently, up to now, up to the present, so far, just.
Haven’t you finished your work yet?
We have seen a film about the Indian lately.
Note: just – Present Perfect
just now – Present Indefinite.
He has just come back
He came back just now.
b). When the action is associated with a period of time, which has not yet ended: this morning, this afternoon, today, this week, this month, this year.
He hasn’t done any homework this month.
Note: If the period of time is over the Past Indefinite, not the Present Perfect is used.
Compare:
Have you done a lot of work this morning? ( it is still morning)
Did you do a lot of work this morning? It’s 3 p.m. (the morning is over).
2. to give new information or to announce a recent happening.
Do you know Tim? He has gone to Canada.
Note: If we continue to talk about it we use the Past Indefinite.
-I have burnt myself
- How did you do that?
- I touched a hot dish.
3. to express an action or state which began in the past and still continuous (with verbs which do not normally take continuous form):
a) the starting point of the action is indicated by since(ever since), which may be:
An adverb.
He left Moscow in 2006, and I haven’t seen him since.
A preposition.
I haven’t heard from him sinceJune.
- a conjunctionintroducing a subordinate clauses of time (the verb in the subordinate clauses is usually in the Past Indefinite Tense).
We’ve know each other since we were children.
b) the whole period of duration is often indicated by means of the preposition for.
I’ve been a teacher for ten years.
4.The Present Perfect is also used in adverbial clauses of time and condition (introduced by the corresponding conjunctions) to denote a future action taking place before a certain moment in the future
I’ll stay with you until you have finished everything.
Wait still I have written the notice.
5. In the sentences with It’s the first, second, third, etc.
It’s the first time she has driven a car.
Trouble Spots.
1.The Present Indefinite is used instead of the Present Perfect with such words as to learn, to tell, to hear, to forget.
I learn that you have been ill.
I am told that he has gone abroad.
I hear that you are going away.
I forget your telephone number.
2. In special questions with whenonly the Past Indefinite is possible, though the answer can be either in the Past Indefinite or the Present Perfect:
- Whendid he come?
- He came yesterday.
- He has just come.
Sometimes adverbials of place may serve as Past time markers:
Did you see him in London? (When you were in London).
But with the verb -to be in the sense of to go, to visit the Present Perfect is used in spite of the presence of the adverbials of place in the sentence.
Have you been to London?
She says that she’s been to Paris three times.
3. The Present Perfect is not used when speaking about people who are dead, except when something is stated as the present result of their activities.
Suvorov never lost any battle.
Shelley has left us many beautiful poems.