VERB TENSE REVIEW 1

TIME English tenses have two elements of meaning: time and aspect. Remember that time is not the same as tense. Do the following sentences refer to the present, past or future time? Your plane leaves at 10.00 In the book the heroine goes back to her youth Ive had a perfectly I wish I knew the answer, but I dont. wonderful evening, I could come tomorrow, if you like. but this wasnt it. ASPECT The 3 aspects add another layer of meaning to the action of the verb. Groucho Marx Simple: action seen as a complete whole. Continuous: action seen as having duration. Perfect: action seen as completed before another time The choice of verb form depends on many factors, and not on a set of rigid grammatical rules. Read Marxs joke. Can you explain it to your partner? Whats the difference? I ask my husband to mend this door everyday. I have been asking my husband to mend this door for 2 years. I have asked my husband to mend this door for 2 years. He always buys me books and CDs Hes always buying me books CDs Ill talk to Sean about it tomorrow. Ill be talking to Sean about it tomorrow. Im going to talk to Sean about it tomorrow. Im talking to Sean about it tomorrow I will have talked to Sean about it by tomorrow. Will you be using the computer for long? Are you going to be using the computer for long? Ive read the book Ive been reading the book My father wore a suit to work My father was wearing a suit to work I live with my friends Im living with my friends Whos been drinking my beer? Whos drunk my beer? Who drank my beer? He hit me He was hitting me He is silly He is being silly Theyve been married for 20 years. They were married for 20 years. I come from Scotland Ive come from Scotland. When Ive talked to him, Ill tell you When I talk to him, Ill tell him The report will be finished by Friday The report will be finished on Friday The report will have been finished by Friday Did you ever meet Toms father? Have you ever met Toms father? I wish I knew the way I wish I had known the way

Is it possible to change the verb forms in these sentences from simple to continuous or continuous to simple. What is the change in meaning? Why is the change sometimes not possible? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Everyones very nice to me. I dont know why. Ill see Linda later. Ive cut my finger. Its really hurting. David always gives Pam expensive presents. What do you do? He fired a gun. She was dying. Ive been checking my emails. The train leaves in five minutes. That room is used as a study.

Complete the sentences below with either the past perfect or the simple past forms of the verbs in parentheses. The years in office (make) _______________ some difference in John Kennedy. He (be) _______________ older looking now. He still (move) _______________ quickly and gracefully, however, and his confidence and humour (not diminish) _______________. When President Kennedy (announce) _______________ his plans for a trip to Dallas, many members of his staff (be concerned) _______________ for his safety. The business leaders of Dallas _______________ (be) angry about some his liberal policies, and (show) _______________ their bitter opposition to the Kennedy Administration during the visit of his aide, Adlai Stevenson, one month earlier. Stevenson (be heckled) _______________ during his speech, and a crowd of pickets (push) _______________ against him when he (walk) _______________ out of the hall. In spite of his staffs concern, Kennedy (decide) _______________ to make the trip to Dallas. When he (see) _______________ the large, cheering crowd along the parade route, he (be) _______________ glad that he (decide) _______________ to come. He (wave) _______________ to the crowds and (smile) _______________. Moments later, President Kennedy (be struck) _______________ by an assassins bullet. He (die) ______________ an hour later.

Put the verb in brackets into the correct tense. When I (open) _______ the door I (see) ___________ a man on his knees. He clearly (listen) _______________ to our conversation and I (wonder) _______________ how much he (hear) _______________. When I (ask) _______________ him what he (do) ______________, he (say) _______________ that he (drop) _______________ a 50p piece outside the door and (look) _______________ for it. I (not see) _______________ any sign of the money, but I (find) _______________ a small notebook and pencil which he probably (drop) _______________ when the door (open) _______________ suddenly. So he (take) _______________ notes of our conversation!. The notes (be) _______________ written in a foreign language, so I (turn) _______________ to the stranger and (ask) _______________ him to translate. But he (pull) _______________ my hat over my eyes and (run) _______________ off down the corridor. By the time I (recover) _ ______________ from the shock he (disappear) _______________ round the corner. Curiously enough, when I (move) _______________ my foot I (find) ______________ that I (stand) _______________ on a 50p piece. Perhaps he (tell) _______________ the truth after all!

Complete this story with the correct past form of the verbs in brackets. You may need to use the passive. A detective ______________ (walk) along the corridor of a large hotel. Suddenly, he ______________ (hear) a womans voice. No! Dont shoot me, John! Then there ______________ (be) a shot. The detective ______________ (run) to the room where the shot ______________ (come) from and ______________ (burst) in. In one corner ______________ (lie) a dead woman in the middle of the room ______________ (be) the gun that ______________ (use) to shoot her. On the other side of the room ______________ (stand) a postman, a lawyer and an accountant. The detective ______________ ( look) at them for a moment, then ______________ (go) up to the postman ______________ (grab) him and ______________ (say), I am arresting you for murder. The detective ______________ (never see) any of the people in the room before. How ______________ (know) that it was the postman who _____________ (murder) the woman?

Are these sentences correct? Whats the difference between them? I have been waiting here for twenty minutes. Im waiting here for twenty minutes. Weve been living here since 1992. I have waited for twenty minutes. Weve lived here since 1992. I wait here for twenty minutes. Ive been writing an essay. Im tired now. Ive written an essay. Ive been writing 3 essays. Ive been ironing shirts since ten oclock. Ive ironed eight shirts. Ive known the secret for a long time. Ive been knowing the secret for a long time. Ive been living in London for a month. Ive lived in London for 10 years When I got to the station, everybody had gone home When I got to the station, everybody went home When I got to the station, everybody was going home

Read this account of a real-life rescue and correct any mistakes in the verb forms. The call came through on the emergency phone, the direct link to ambulance control. It was clipped , to the point, the way they always are. A man was stung by bees in Wymondham. It was only a ten-minute drive from the ambulance base station at Attleborough to Wymondham. On the way the crew, Steve Mortley and Dave Money, tried to work out the possibilities, to prepare themselves for what they might to find . They were deciding the most likely thing was a straightforward bee sting; somebody had panicked and was calling them out, and by now everybody would be a bit embarrassed when they turned up because he wasnt needing any treatment at all. It often happened. Dave Money recognized the house when they had arrived , and realized he was knowing the people involved. It was always an unsettling feeling; casualties are normally strangers. He was first out of the ambulance. He snatched up the emergency case and ran down the side of the bungalow. He recognized Ross Wallace. He stood in the window, pointing urgently to the back of the house and the garden. When he was getting to the corner of the building he could see Peter lying, face down, in the grass. Even from there he could see the air above his body was thick with bees. He took a step forward and had called out to him, but there was no response. He went a few more steps and called again. Now he could see bees around Peters head and more of them swarmed over his body. It looked for the world like the scene of a film from a Hitchcock movie. At that moment the bees turned on him. He wore a short-sleeved shirt. The bees were already on his arms and in his hair. It was no time for heroics. He turned and ran.

Read the following jokes in pairs. Which tense are the verbs in? Whats your favourite?

INTERVIEWER (to 90-year old woman) :

Have you spent all your life on this farm? 90-YEAR-OLD WOMAN: Not yet
PEGGY: How did you come TOM: How disgusting! Ive just found a worm in this apple KEN: It would have been more disgusting to find half a worm.
to marry Molly? DAVID: I didnt come to marry Molly. I came to read the gas meter

TEACHER: Pam, tell me the simple present of the verb to walk. PAM (very slowly) I walkyou walk he walks TEACHER: A bit faster, please. PAM: She runs, we run, they run

At a wedding reception. TIM (looking at the bride in surprise) : You dont look tired at all. BRIDE: Should I? Why? TIM: Well, Mummy just said that youd been running after Henry Smith for six years.

John: Do you ever disagree with your Did you hear about old wife? Tom? Peter: Very often, No, what happened to but she doesnt him? know it. He fell dead at the pub door yesterday. Was he going in or coming out? He was going in. What bad luck