English Grammar

present perfect continuous and simple

noreply@blogger.com (Ruslan Dautkhanov) — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:44:00 +0000

Ann's clothes are covered in paint. She has been painting the ceiling.

Has been painting is the present perfect continuous.

We are interesting in activity. It does not matter whether something has been finished or not. In this example (painting the ceiling) has not been finished.

The ceiling was white. Now it is blue. She has painted the ceiling.

Has painted is the present perfect simple.

Here, the important thing is that something has been finished. 'Has painted' is a completed action. We are interested in the result of the activity (the painted ceiling), not in the activity itself.

Compare these examples:

My hands are very dirty. I've been reparing the car.

She's been smoking too much recently. She should smoke less.

It's nice to see you again. What have you been doing since we last met?

Where have you been? Have you been playing tennis?

The car is OK again now. I've repaired it.

Somebody has smoked all my cigarettes. The packet is empty.

Where's the book I gave you? What have you done with it?

Have you ever played tennis?

We use the continuous to ask or say how long (for an activity that is still happening):

How long have you been reading that book?

Mary is still writing letters. She's been writting letters all day.

They've been playing tennis since 2 o'clock.

We use the simple to ask or say how much, how many or how many times (completed actions):

How many pages of that book have you read?

Mary has written ten letters today.

They've played tennis three times this week.

QUIZ:

Germany hasn't won the World Cup or Germany hasn't been winning the World Cup
I've sold my bike to Mike or I've been selling my bike to Mike?
John's just swum or John's just been swimming?
I've started flying lessons or I've been starting flying lessons
David's cooked or David's been cooking?
Have you stopped eating or Have you been stopping eating?

irregular verbs quizes

noreply@blogger.com (Ruslan Dautkhanov) — Sat, 10 May 2008 12:14:00 +0000

First QUIZ:

go	went	gone
become
	began
		blown
break
	brought
		built
buy
	caught
		chosen
come
	cut
		done
draw
	drank
		driven
eat
	fell
		felt
fight
	found

Second QUIZ:

go	went	gone
		flown
forget
	got
		given
go
	grew
		had
hear
	hid
		hit
hold
	kept
		known
lead
	left
		lent
let
	brought
		lost

Third QUIZ:

go	went	gone
make
	meant
		met
pay
	put
		read
ride
	rang
		risen
run
	said
		seen
sell
	sent
		set
shoot
	showed
		shut
sing
	sank

Fourth QUIZ:

go	went	gone
		sat
sleep
	spoke
		sped
spend
	spread
		stood
steal
	struck
		swept
swim
	swung
		taken
teach
	told
		thought
throw
	understood
		worn
write

present perfect continuous (I have been doing)

noreply@blogger.com (Ruslan Dautkhanov) — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:34:00 +0000

Is it raining? No, but the ground is wet.
It has been raining.

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

I / we/you/they have (= I've etc.)
he/she/it has (= he's etc.)

been

doing
working
going

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)
Michael is very tired. He's been working very hard. (he's tired now)
Why is your hat so dirty? What have you been doing?
I've been talking to Jack about the problem and she thinks that...

It has been raining for four hours.
It is raining now. It began raining two hours ago and it is still raining.
How long has it been raining? It has been raining for four hours.

We often use the present prefect continuous in this way, especially with how long, for... and since... . The activity is still happening (as in this example) or has just stopped.

How long have you been learning English? (you're still learning English)
Clara is still doing her homework. She's been doing it all day.
Where have you been? I've been looking for you for the last half hour.
Goggy hasn't been feeling well recently.

You can use the present perfect continuous for actions repeated over a period of time:

Marry is a very good tennis player. She's been playing since she was nine.
Every evening they meet in the same cafe. They've been going there for months.

Compare I am doing (present continuous) and I have been doing (present perfect continuous):

Don't disturb me now. I'm working	I've been working hard, so now I'm going to have a rest.
We need an umbrella. It's raining.	The ground is wet. It's been raining.
Hurry up! We're waiting.	We've been waiting for an hour.

QUIZ:

It has snowing a lot this week.
your brother and sister been getting along?
Rick been studying hard this semester.
I'm tired because I been working out.
Julie living in Italy since May.
How long have you been German.
We have been watching TV 3 hours.
You have too hard today.
Has it raining since you arrived?
My brother has been travelling he finished school.

printable list of irregular verbs

noreply@blogger.com (Ruslan Dautkhanov) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:37:00 +0000

Here is printable version of groupped irregular verbs from my previous post. It's zipped 3-page RTF file with groupped verbs for easy keeping it in mind. http://rapidshare.com/files/109735551/IrregularVerbs.zip.html File hosted at rapidshare service.

irregular verbs

noreply@blogger.com (Ruslan Dautkhanov) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 03:24:00 +0000

The English language has a large number of irregular verbs. In the great majority of these, the past participle and/or past tense is not formed according to the usual patterns of English regular verbs. Other parts of the verb — such as the present 3rd person singular -s or -es, and present participle -ing — may still be formed regularly.

Most irregular verbs exist as remnants of historical conjugation systems. What is today an exception actually followed a set, normal rule long ago. When that rule fell into disuse, some verbs kept the old conjugation.

I will group irregular verbs into some groups by some common signs:

The first group includes indefinite, past simple and past participle which are all different.

indefinitive	past simple	past participle
be	was/were	been
do	did	done
go	went	gone
lie	lay	lain
saw	sawed	sawn
see	saw	seen
show	showed	shown
sow	sowed	sown

-ew -own/-awn subgroup:

indefinitive	past simple	past participle
blow	blew	blown
draw	drew	drawn
fly	flew	flawn
grow	grew	grown
know	knew	known
throw	threw	thrown

-ear -ore -orn subgroup:

indefinitive	past simple	past participle
bear	bore	born
swear	swore	sworn
tear	tore	torn
wear	wore	worn

-i- -a- -u- subgroup:

indefinitive	past simple	past participle
begin	began	begun
drink	drank	drunk
ring	rang	rung
shrink	shrank	shrunk
sing	sang	sung
sink	sank	sunk
spin	span	spun
spring	sprang	sprung
swim	swam	swum

ablaut subgroup:

indefinitive	past simple	past participle
arise	arose	arisen
bite	bit	bitten
break	broke	broken
choose	chose	choosen
drive	drove	driven
eat	ate	eaten
fall	fell	fallen
forbid	forbade	forbidden
forget	forgot	forgotten
freeze	froze	frozen
give	gave	given
ride	rode	ridden
rise	rose	risen
shake	shook	shaken
speek	spoke	spoken
steal	stole	stolen
strive	strove	striven
swell	swelled	swollen
take	took	taken
tread	trod	trodden
write	wrote	written

The second group contains verbs with equal indefinite, past simple and past participle forms.

indefinitive	past simple	past participle
burst x 3
cast x 3
cost x 3
hit x 3
hurt x 3
let x 3
put x 3
read	read [red]^*	read [red]^*
set x 3
shed x 3
shut x 3
split x 3
spread x 3

^* pronunciation

The third group consists of verbs with two equal forms.

indefinitive	past simple	past participle
beat	beat	beaten
(be)come	(be)came	(be)come
build	built x 2
flee	fled x 2
get	got x 2
hang	hung x 2
have	had x 2
hear	heard x 2
hold	held x 2
lead	led x 2
leave	left x 2
lose	lost x 2
make	made x 2
run	ran	run
sell	sold x 2
shine	shone x 2
sit	sat x 2
slide	slid x 2
spit	spat x 2
stand	stood x 2
teach	taught x 2
tell	told x 2
understand	understood x 2
win	won x 2

-end -ent subgroup:

indefinitive	past simple	past participle
bend	bent x 2
lend	lent x 2
send	sent x 2
spend	spent x 2

-ught subgroup:

indefinitive	past simple	past participle
bring	brought x 2
buy	bought x 2
catch	caught x 2
fight	fought x 2
seek	saught x 2
think	thought x 2

-eep -ept subgroup:

indefinitive	past simple	past participle
creep	crept x 2
keep	kept x 2
sleep	slept x 2
sweep	swept x 2
weep	wept x 2

-vvc -vc subgroup:

indefinitive	past simple	past participle
bleed	bled x 2
breed	bred x 2
feed	fed x 2
meet	met x 2
shoot	shot x 2
speed	sped x 2

-ay -aid subgroup:

indefinitive	past simple	past participle
lay	laid x 2
pay	paid x 2
say	said x 2

-i- -u- subgroup:

indefinitive	past simple	past participle
cling	clung x 2
dig	dug x 2
fling	flung x 2
stick	stuck x 2
sting	stung x 2
strike	struck x 2
swing	swung x 2

-ind -ound subgroup:

indefinitive	past simple	past participle
bind	bound x 2
find	found x 2
grind	ground x 2
wind	wound x 2

-c -ct subgroup:

indefinitive	past simple	past participle
burn	burnt x 2
deal	dealt x 2
dwell	dwelt x 2
kneel	knelt x 2
mean	meant x 2

A verbs of the fourth group can be regular or irregular:

indefinitive	past simple	past participle
awake	awoke/awaked	awoke/awaked
broadcast	broadcast/broadcasted	broadcast/broadcasted
dream	dreamt/dreamed	dreamt/dreamed
lean	leant/leaned	leant/leaned
leap	leapt/leaped	leapt/leaped
learn	learnt/learned	learnt/learned
light	lit/lighted	lit/lighted
smell	smelt/smelled	smelt/smelled
spell	spelt/spelled	spelt/spelled
spill	spilt/spilled	spilt/spilled
spoil	spoilt/spoiled	spoilt/spoiled
wake	woke/awaked	woke/awaked

present perfect (I have done)

noreply@blogger.com (Ruslan Dautkhanov) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:21:00 +0000

Denis is looking for his key. He can't find it.
He has lost his key. 'He has lost his key' = He lost it and he still hasn't got it.

Have/has lost is the present perfect simple:

I / we/you/they	have (=I've etc.)	finished lost done been etc.
he/she/it	has (=he's etc.)	finished lost done been etc.

The present perfect simple is have/has + past participle. The past participle often ends in -ed (finished/decided etc.), but many important verbs are irregular (lost/done/been/written etc.).

When we use the present perfect there is always connection with now. The action in the past has a result now:

'Where's your key?' 'I don't know. I've lost it.' (I haven't got it now)
He told me his name but I've forgotten it. (I can't remember it now)
'Is Sally here?' 'No, she's gone out.' (she is out now)
Ow! I've cut my finger.
(from the news) The police have arrested two men in connection with the robbery.

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

Just = 'a short time ago':

'Would you like something to eat?' 'No, thanks. I've just had lunch.'
Hello. Have you just arrived?

We use already to say that something happened sooner than expected:

'Don't forget to post the letter, will you?' 'I've already posted it.'
'What time is Mark living?' 'He's already gone.'

Yet = 'until now' and shows that the speaker is expecting something to happen. Use yet only in questions and negative sentences:

Has it stopped raining yet?
I've written the letter but I haven't posted it yet.

Note the difference between gone(to) and been(to):

Chack is away on holiday. He has gone to Spain. (=he is there now or on his way there)
Lorry is back home from holiday now. She has been to Italy. (=she has now come back from Italy)

QUIZ:

How long (you/think) that?

She (put) the book back in its place.

They (not/buy) a new car yet.

(He/ever/be) in London?

They (not/work) here for a very long time.

She (write) three letters this afternoon.

Where (he/be)?

I (not/finish) my work yet.

Peter (open) a new store recently.

How often (he/go) to Portland this week?

three tables

noreply@blogger.com (Ruslan Dautkhanov) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:51:00 +0000

Maybe it will be better to show all major tables here at once, so remembering can be easy:

Present continuous:

I am driving

he/she/it is working

we/you/they are doing
Present simple:

he/she/it drives/works/does

I / we/you/they drive/work/do etc.
Past continuous:

I / he/she/it was playing
doing
cooking etc.

we/you/they were
Past simple: no such a table

My rule of thumb: there are 3 groups - marked above as
red(I), green(he/she/it), blue(we/you/they).

= In present continuous I is standalone.
= In present simple he/she/it is standalone (only this group has -s).
= In past continuous we/you/they is standalone (has were).

You can have your own rule of thumb for these tenses...

past continuous (I was doing)

noreply@blogger.com (Ruslan Dautkhanov) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:21:00 +0000

Yesterday Karen and Jim played tennis. They began at 12 o'clock and finished at 13.30. So, at 12.30 they were playing tennis.
They were playing = 'they were in the middle of playing'. They had not finished playing.

Was/were -ing is the past continuous:

I/he/she/it	was	playing doing cooking etc.
we/you/they	were	playing doing cooking etc.

We use the past continuous to say that somebody 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.

I waved to her but she wasn't looking.
This time last year I was living in Brazil.
What were you doing at 10 o'clock last night?

Compare the past continuous (I was doing) and past simple (I did):

Past continuous (in the middle of an action)

I was walking home when I met Dave. (=in the middle of walking home)
Ann was watching television when the phone rang.

Past simple (complete action)

I walked home after the party last night. (all the way, completely)
Ann watched television a lot when she was ill last year.

We often use the past simple and the past continuous together to say that something happened in the middle of something else:

Tom burnt his hand when he was cooking the dinner.
I saw you in the park yesterday. You were sitting on the grass and reading a book.
While I was working in the garden, I hurt my back.

But we use the past simple to say that one thing happened after another:

I was walking along the road when I saw Dave. So I stopped and we had a chat.

Compare:

When Misha arrived, we were having dinner. (=We had already started dinner before Misha arrived.)

When Misha arrived, we had dinner.(=First Misha arrived and then we had dinner.)

past simple (I did)

noreply@blogger.com (Ruslan Dautkhanov) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 16:54:00 +0000

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian musician and composer. He lived from 1756 to 1791. He started composing at the age of five.

Very often the past simple ends in -ed (resular verbs):

I work in a travel agency now. Before that I worked in a restaurant.
We invited them to our meeting but they decided not to come.
She passed her examination because she studied very hard.

But many verbs are irregular. The past simple does not end in -ed. For example:

write -> wrote

see -> saw

go -> went

shut -> shut

1. In questions and negatives we use did/didn't + infinitive (enjoy/go/see etc.):

I
she
they

enjoyed
saw
went

but

did

you
she
they

enjoy?
see?
go?

I
she
they

didn't

enjoy
see
go

- Did you go out last evening?
- Yes, I went to the cinema but I didn't enojoy the film much.
They didn't invite her to the meeting, so she didn't go.

2. Be careful when do is the main verb in the sentence:

What did you do at the next weekend? (not 'what did you at the next weekend')
I didn't do anything. (not 'I didn't anything')

3. The past of be (am/is/are) is was/were:

I/he/she/it
we/you/they

was/wasn't
were/weren't

was
were

I/he/she/it ?
we/you/they ?

Note that we do not use did in negatives and questions with was/were:

I was angry because they were late.
Did you go out last night or were you too tired?
They weren't able to come because they were so busy.

QUIZ:

Tom (buy) a new house last month.

When (they/arrive) last week?

She (not/understand) the question yesterday.

Fred (take) a lot of pictures on his holiday last summer.

What (you/get) for your birthday?

They to get the bread this morning!

Alice (play) tennis this morning.

Where (you/go) last weekend?

I (want) to buy that computer, but it was too expensive.

Why (they/not/come)?

present simple exceptions

noreply@blogger.com (Ruslan Dautkhanov) — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 17:10:00 +0000

Here are some simple present exceptions/extra possibilities

Exception 1
In order to add stress to a positive sentence we can use the auxiliary verb "to do". We often use this exception when we are contradicting what someone else has said.

I don't think Peter wants to come with us this summer. He told me that he wouldn't be able to come, but I think he just doesn't want to come with us.
No, that's not true. Peter does want to come. It's just that he has too much work and can't get away from the office.

Exception 2
The simple present can also be used for the future!! We use the simple present to express future, scheduled, events with verbs that express beginning and end, or departure and arrival.

When does the train for Paris leave?
It leaves at 7 tomorrow morning.

Exception 3
We use the simple present in time clauses when talking about future events. The when is expressed with the simple present. The result is expressed with a future form, usually the future with will. Time clauses are introduced by time signifiers such as when, as soon as, before, after etc. The construction is the same as the first conditional except that we use a time signifier such as "as soon as" instead of "if".

When are you going to come and see the new house?
We will come as soon as we finish the Smith project.

Exception 4
We often use the simple present when we write time lines or biographical outlines - even if all the events take place in the past!

1911 - Pete Wilson is born in Seattle, Washington
1918 - Pete begins to play the saxophone
1927 - Pete is discovered by Fat Man Wallace
1928 - Fat Man Wallace arranges Pete's first concert with Big Fanny and the Boys in New York
1936 - Pete goes to Paris

Exception 5
In the question form we usually use the auxiliary verb "to do". However, if the question word/words (usually who, which or what) express the subject and not the object of the sentence, the question is asked using positive sentence structure with a question mark. By the way, this is true of other tenses as well!

Regular: Who do you work with? (some people prefer "Whom do you work with?")
Exception: Who works with you?

Regular: Which toothpaste do you use?
Exception: Which brands of toothpaste use fluoride?

Time Words

Time words cause a great deal of confusion to English learners. Here are some exceptions concerning time words.

Exception 6
Adverbs of frequency such as regularly, usually, normally, always, often, sometimes, never etc. are generally put before the main verb. However, they can also be put at the beginning or end of a sentence.

Regular: John usually arrives home at 5 o'clock.
Also possible: Usually John arrives home at 5 o'clock OR John arrives home at 5 o'clock usually.

Note: some teachers do not consider the other possibilities correct! However, if you listen carefully to native speakers, you will also hear these forms used.

Exception 7
The verb "to be" also causes special problems. If the adverb of frequency is placed in the middle of the sentence (as is usually the case) it must follow the verb "to be".

Regular: Fred often eats in a bar and grill.
To be: Fred is often late to work.

Exception 8
This is one of the strangest uses of adverbs of frequency. Negative adverbs of frequency used in the initial position of a sentence must be followed by question word order! These adverbs include rarely, never, and seldom.

Regular: Patricia rarely finishes work before 7 p.m..
Initial placement: Seldom does John play volleyball.

The above exceptions are certainly not the only exceptions! However, they are some of the most common exceptions.

present simple (I do)

noreply@blogger.com (Ruslan Dautkhanov) — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 14:49:00 +0000

Mike is a bus driver, but now he is in bed asleep. So: He is not driving a bus. (He is asleep.)
but He drives a bus. (He is a bus driver.)

Drive(s)/work(s)/do(es) etc. is the present simple.

I/we/you/they	drive/work/do etc.
he/she/it	drives/works/does

We use the present simple to talk about things in general. We are not thinking only about now. We use it to say that something happens all the time or repeatedly, or that something is true in general. It is not important whether the action is happening at the time of speaking:

Nurses look after patients in hospitals.
I usually go away at weekends.
The moon goes round the earth.

Remember that we say: he/she/it -s. Don't forget the -s.

I work... but He works...
They teach... but My wife teaches

We use do/does to make questions and negative sentences:

do	I/we/you/they	drive? come? do?
does	he/she/it	drive? come? do?

I/we/you/they	don't	drive come do
he/she/it	doesn't	drive come do

Note: there are no any final -s after verbs in questions and negative sentences!

`Would you like a cigarette?' `No, thanks. I don't smoke.'
I come from Australia. Where do you come from?

In the following examples do is also the main verb:

She doesn't do anything to help me.
What do you do?

1. We use the present simple when we say how often we do things:

Carry doesn't drink coffee very often.
How often do you go to the boss?

2. Sometimes we do things by saying something. E.g., when you promise to do something, you can say `I promise...'; when you suggest something, you can say `I suggest...'. We use the present simple in sentences like this:

`What do you suggest I do?' `I suggest that you...'
I promise I won't be late. (not `I'm promising')

In the same way we say: I apologise/ advise/ insist/ agree/ refuse/ ... etc.

QUIZ:

How often (you go) to the cinema?

She (not/think) that it is a good idea.

The Sun's rays (take) eight minutes to reach the Earth.

Courses (begin) the fifth of September.

When (he arrive) home in the evenings?

They (not/live) in New York, they (live) in Boston

We usually (take) the subway to work.

He (get up) early on Saturdays.

I (not/believe) in ghosts.

The store (close) at 9 pm.

present continuous (I am doing)

noreply@blogger.com (Ruslan Dautkhanov) — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 12:16:00 +0000

Ann is in her car. She is on her way to work. She is driving to work.

This means: she is driving now, at the time of speaking. The action is not finished.

Am/is/are -ing is the present continuous.

I	am	(= I'm)	driving
he/she/it	is	(= he's etc.)	working
we/you/they	are	(= we're etc)	doing

I am doing = I'm in the middle of doing something; I've started doing it and I haven't finished yet.

Often the action is happening at the time of speaking:

Please don't make so much noise. I'm calling. (not `I call')
I'm tired. I'm going to bed now.

BUT the action is not necessary happening at the time of speaking:

Some freinds of mine are building their own house. They hope it will be finished before next summer.
I'm reading an interesting book at the moment. I'll lend it to you when I've finished it.

1. We use the present continuous when we talk about things happening in a period around now (e.g., today / this week / this evening etc.):

Is Tanya working this week? No, she's on holiday.

2. We use the present continuous when we talk about changes happening around now:

The pollution of China's rivers is rising very fast.
Is your English getting better? (not `does your English get better?')

See also:

non-continuos verbs

QUIZ:

They (study) at the moment.

When (the plane/arrive)?

We (not/work)in the office this week.

She tv.

Tom (play) Tennis on Friday. He (go) to Boston.

What (you/read) at the moment?

I (cook) dinner tonight. Would you like to come?

It (work). I think it's broken.

When (you/meet) Jane?

He (learn) German for his job.

non-continuos verbs

noreply@blogger.com (Ruslan Dautkhanov) — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 15:26:00 +0000

The following verbs are not normally used in continuos tenses:

love

hate

want

need

prefer

know

realise

suppose

mean

seem

understand

believe

remember

belong

contain

consist

depend

I'm hungry. I want something to eat. (not `I'm wanting')

See also: More complete list of non-continuous verbs.

what for?

noreply@blogger.com (Ruslan Dautkhanov) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:23:00 +0000

The main purpose of engrammar.info site for me is to get more clear knowledge of English language. Grammar is my weak area in English, so I am currently have been studying it by some books. I have to get good score of TOEFL exam in the feature. Making any notes is good idea for keeping something longer in a memory. I also hope that my notes can be helpful for somebody else.

I / he/she/it	was	playing doing cooking etc.
we/you/they	were	playing doing cooking etc.