Class 01 – Time Tenses

Basic Concepts Review

There are 3 basic types of verbs in English:

- Lexical
- Auxiliary
- Modal

Lexical: Denote actions, events and states

They can stand alone

Brazil plays an important role in the UN General Assembly.

World War II changed European identity.

Lexical verbs are divided into regular verbs and irregular verbs:

Regular Verbs

To Look To Ask To Study

Base Form Look Ask Study
Past Form Looked Asked Studied
Participle Form Looked Asked Studied

Irregular verbs

To Drive To Fly To Read

Base Form Drive Fly Read
Past Form Drove Flew Read
Participle Form Driven Flown Read

Auxiliary: Add extra information to lexical verbs

3 auxiliary verbs: be, do, have

She is studying for the Itamaraty exam.

Historians do not consider this an important issue.
Polemical candidates have grown in popularity.

Obs: Be, do, and have can be used as lexical verbs!

Argentina is a rich country.
The President did his job.
The Middle East has many challenges ahead.

Modals: Used to indicate whether something is real or true, or if

something is speculation rather than knowledge. They are followed by
lexical verbs.

Main modal verbs: can, could, may, might, will, shall, should, would, must

You should Kissinger’s new book.

Simple Present

Format: verb in base form (in the present)

Used for:
General truths and facts

I study English at Curso Clio.

She is Australian.
Brazilians enjoy cultural diversity.

Regular events and habits

UNHCR works with refugees every day. (Don’t forget! Third person
singular = + s)
It always rains in the Amazon.
Congress usually votes its bills in the afternoon.

Notice all the adjuncts indicating regular events and habits!

↓
ADJUNCTS AND CONTEXT ARE ALWAYS VERY IMPORTANT!

Feelings and reactions at the moment of speaking

I feel sick.
This book looks interesting.
Wow! That hurts!
 Mental process verbs
(hear, know, reckon, see, suppose, think, understand, etc)

The government thinks this reform will lead to renewed growth.

The Minister understands what you mean.
I hear you are deciding whether to travel to Europe or not.

What’s the difference?

The party representative lives in New York. → Permanent

The party representative is living in New York. → Temporary

Present Progressive

Format: to be + ing form

Used for:

Events in progress at the moment of speaking.

Congress is voting right now.

They are traveling at the moment.
The Brazilian government is currently studying different options for the
exploration of its new oil fields.

Obs: Moment of speaking indicated either through context or through

adjuncts!

Obs 2: This tense highlights the temporary aspect of the event!

Actions which are repeated or regular, but that are judged to be

temporary

Is she taking English lessons three times a week?

(She has recently started taking lessons three times a week)

She’s seeing her teacher quite a bit at the moment.

(She’s meeting him regularly)
Obs: Do not mix this up with the simple present version of regular events
and habits!

Describing events that are regular but not planned, and often undesired

The police are always using excessive force.

The Mayor is constantly complaining about everything.

Attention: Verb to be in present progressive = temporary actions or

behavior

You’re being silly. (≠ you are silly)

We are being loud. (≠ we are loud)

Obs: Progressive uses of mental process verbs have different meaning

than their simple present use:

Thinking = considering/inclined towards an opinion

I’m thinking about traveling to Italy this summer.

See = meet with/have a relationship with

She’s busy right now. She’s seeing a client.

She’s seeing a man with whom she works.

Simple Past

Format: Verb in the past form

Used for:

Definite time in the past, clearly separated from moment of speaking

Time in the past is evident from context or through adjuncts!

There was a strike last week.

The Minister traveled Greece two months ago.
Gilberto Freyre wrote Casa-grande & senzala. → We know Gilberto Freyre
died many years ago. (Casa-grande & senzala = Masters and Slaves)
Common past time adjuncts:
a year/two weeks/five minutes/etc ago
at two o’ clock/earlier today/this month/etc
last night/last week/ last month/etc
the other day/the other week
yesterday
etc

The simple past may be used for habitual events in the past

We did a lot of acting at school. (= we used to do a lot of acting at school)

They visited museums regularly when they lived in Sao Paulo.

Past Progressive

Format: to be in the past form + ing form

Used for:
Events in progress around a particular time in the past
Temporary aspect once again highlighted!
Adjuncts and context indicate both progressive aspect of action and time
in the past!

When the President was visiting London one year ago, he spoke to
students.
Where were you last night? I was working.
Fourteen hours later, Congressmen were finishing their speeches.

Compare:
Fourteen hours later, Congressmen finished their speeches. → The past
simple emphasizes the whole event, from start to finish.
The past progressive emphasizes the event as being in progress but
unfinished at the time referred to.

Events occurring as a background to other events which interrupt them

I was reading in my room when the phone rang. Sarah wanted to talk to
me.
The President was giving a speech when the attack happened.
 The past progressive may occur with adverbs such as always and
constantly to describe repeated unplanned or undesired events

People were always warning him that he needed to calm down.

Activists were constantly being threatened by militia.

The past progressive can be used to refer to a definite time in the past,
like the past simple, but it is chosen to emphasize the extended nature of
the event

I was talking to Jessica last night. (= I was talking to Jessica for a long time
last night)
We were working in the project all day yesterday.

Past Progressive X Simple Past

When used together, the past progressive suggests that the events may
be seen more as background or of secondary importance, or it is
highlighting their temporary aspect

She was here once, and I was writing an article. And she asked me, “Can I
help you?”
↓ ↓
Background Foreground

I was working so hard I had to get some rest.

Special Cases

Other verb tenses that may refer to present time:

Past tense:
Past simple and past progressive may be used for reasons of indirectness
and politeness, especially with the verbs be, hope, look for, think, want,
wonder.

Excused me, I wanted to check if there is a train at 2pm.

We were wondering about going to Rio de Janeiro. What do you think?
Will referring to general truths or used for politeness:

In the evening, he will always sit down and watch TV.

I’m sorry, but I’ll have to ask you to be a bit quieter.

Present Perfect

Format: have + past participle

The present perfect is used to refer to events that took place in a past
time-frame but that are important or relevant to the present, or to events
that started in the past but are still going on.

We will call this the “now relevance”.

----------- Event ------------→

Past --------------------------------→ Present

The “now relevance” is always indicated either through adjuncts or

through context!

Examples:
The economic crisis has caused unemployment in many countries.
(context)
I have been tired lately.
“I have run through the fields, only to be with you…” (context)
The country has changed significantly in the last twenty years.

Common adjuncts:

before
recently
so far
lately
up to/till/until now
today
to date
this week/month/year…

More examples:
During the last 20 years, there have been significant changes in
communication technology.
They have quit their jobs. (context)
I have worked in many different projects recently.

Note that, sometimes, adjuncts can be used with either the present
perfect or the simple past, depending on the speaker’s/writer’s
perspective. These include:

already
before
once
recently
today
this morning/week/etc

In this case, if the events happened at a definite point in the past, then the
past simple is used:

I called him today.

If the events are connected to the present, in other words, they have
“now relevance”, then the present perfect is used:

I haven’t seen her today.

What is the difference?

He has gotten stressed this month. → Something happened, and because

of it, he is still stressed. (“now relevance”)

He has been getting stressed this month. → Something started stressing

him and it is still happening.

Present Perfect Progressive

Format: have been + ing form
↓
(note that been is the verb to be in the past participle form)
The present perfect progressive is used for events which started in the
past and are still continuing.

-----------Event -------- Continuing→

Past --------------------------------→ Present

Again, context or adjuncts are going to be use to indicate the “event in the
past still continuing” aspect!

Examples:
She has been working for the company for many years.
I have been reading all night.
What have you been doing this afternoon? I’ve been studying.
Are you sad? You look like you have been crying. (context)

Present Perfect X Present Perfect Progressive

The difference between the present perfect and the present perfect
continuous may sometimes be an emphasis on the event itself as a
progressive, extended activity (progressive form)

It has rained a lot. → This would indicate that it is still possible to notice
the consequences, and hence, the “now relevance” of the rain, but it
probably will not rain anymore.

It has been raining a lot. → This would indicate that it started raining in
the past, and it will probably keep raining in the future.

Observations:

- Some verbs are rarely used in the present perfect progressive. These
include mental process verbs (hear, understand, know, etc) and sense
verbs (smell, taste, etc):

I’ve known Anne for 10 years now.

(I’ve been knowing Anne for 10 years now.

- The expression this is the first time when referring to an immediate event
is normally used in the present perfect, not the simple present or present
progressive:
[one passenger to another during a flight]
Is this the first time you’ve flown on British Airways?
(Is this the first time you fly on British Airways?)

In this case, the present progressive is most likely to be used in a

reference to the future:
Is this the first time you’re flying on British Airways? → Is this the first time
you will fly on British Airways?
Version 2018
Translate the following excerpt into English. [valor: 15,00 pontos]
Nenhum povo está mais distante dessa noção ritualista da vida do que o
brasileiro. Nossa forma ordinária de relações sociais é fundamentalmente
o oposto de polidez. Ela pode iludir na aparência, e isso se explica pelo
fato de a atitude polida consistir precisamente em uma espécie de mímica
deliberada de manifestações que são espontâneas no “homem cordial”; é
a forma natural e viva convertida em fórmula. Além disso a polidez é, de
algum modo, uma organização da defesa ante a sociedade. Está na parte
exterior, superficial do indivíduo, podendo mesmo servir, quando
necessário, de meio de resistência. Equivale a um disfarce que permitirá a
cada um de nós preservar intatas nossa sensibilidade e emoções.
Por meio de semelhante padronização das formas exteriores da
cordialidade, que não precisam ser legítimas para se manifestarem,
revela-se um decisivo triunfo do espírito. Armado dessa máscara, o
indivíduo mantém sua supremacia ante a sociedade. Com efeito, a polidez
implica uma presença contínua e soberana do indivíduo.
Sérgio Buarque de Holanda. Raízes do Brasil. 26.ª ed. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 1995,
p. 147 (com adaptações).

No people is further/more distant from this ritualistic idea of life than the
Brazilian. Our ordinary form of social relations is fundamentally the very
opposite of politeness. It can deceive in appearance, as is explained by the
fact that a polite attitude consists precisely of a kind of deliberate mimicry
of manifestations spontaneous in the “cordial man”; it is a natural and
living form converted into a formula. Moreover/Besides, politeness is
somehow a defense organization/mechanism against society. It is in the
external and superficial part of the individual, and it can even serve, when
necessary, as a means of resistance. It is equivalent to a disguise that
permits each of us to keep intact our sensibility and emotions.
By means of similar standardization of external forms of cordiality, which
do not have to be legitimate to be manifested, it is revealed (or: Similarly,
adopting/using/employing external patterns of cordiality, which do not
have to be legitimate to be manifested, reveals) a decisive triumph of the
spirit. Armed with this mask, the individual maintains his or her supremacy
over society. In effect/Effectively, politeness implies a continuous and
sovereign presence of the individual.
Version 2017
Quem somos nós, os brasileiros, feitos de tantos e tão variados
contingentes
humanos? A fusão
deles todos
em
nós
já
se completou,
está em
curso, ou
jamais se
concluirá?
Estaremos condenados a ser
para sempre um povo
multicolorido no plano racial
e no cultural? Haverá
alguma característica distintiva dos brasileiros
como povo, feito que está
por
gente vinda
de
toda parte? Todas
essas
arguições
seculares
têm

já
resposta
clara encontrada
na
ação
concreta.
 



Nesse
 campo
 de
 forças
 é
 que
 o Brasil
 se
 fez
 a
 si
 mesmo,
 tão
oposto
 ao
 projeto
 lusitano
 e
 tão
 surpreendente
para
 os próprios
brasileiros.
 Hoje nos tornamos o que os lusos aqui nos juntaram,
tanto

os
tijolos
biorraciais
como
as
argamassas socioculturais
com
que
o

Brasil
vem-se
fazendo.

Assim é que, embora
embarcados
num
projeto
alheio,
nos viabilizamos

ao nos afirmar contra
aquele
projeto oficial e
ao nos opor aos desígnios
do
 colonizador
e
de
seus
sucessores.
Pela vontade
deles,
os
índios,
os
negros
e
todos
nós,
mestiços deles, arrebanhados
pela
empresa
colonial,
prosseguiríamos
na
 função
que nos foi prescrita de
serviçais

de
ultramar, destinados
a produzir mercadoria exportável, sem jamais
chegar a
ser
gente
com destino
 próprio.

Darcy Ribeiro, O Povo Brasileiro, Pag. 246-247 (com adaptações)

Who are we, Brazilians, originated from many and varied human groups?
Has the fusion of them all in us already finished, is it still taking place, or
will it never cease? Are we forever meant to be both a racially and
culturally multi-coloured people? Will there be a distinctive feature of
Brazilians as a separate people since we came from people coming from all
parts of the world? All these centuries-old questions already have a clear
answer based on reality.
It was in this set of circumstances that Brazil shaped itself, in direct
opposition to the Portuguese project and to Brazilians’ great
astonishment. Nowadays, we have become what the Portuguese here
brought together — not only the bioracial bricks but also the sociocultural
mortar with which Brazil has been creating itself.
Therefore, even if we embarked on a project that was not of our own, we
asserted ourselves in defiance of that official project, as we opposed the
plans of both colonizers and their successors. If it depended on them,
Indians, blacks and all of us, their half-breed children who had been
rounded up by the colonial enterprise, would go on playing the role that
had been assigned to us as overseas labourers meant to produce
commodities, never managing to become a people, masters of its own
destiny.
Version 2015
Translate into English the following excerpt adapted from Sérgio
Buarque de Holanda’s Raízes do Brasil. [value: 15 marks]

A empreitada de implantação da cultura europeia em extenso território,

dotado de condições naturais, se não adversas, francamente antagônicas
à sua cultura milenar, é, nas origens da sociedade brasileira, o fato
dominante e mais rico em consequências. Trazendo de países distantes
nossas formas de convívio, nossas instituições, nossas ideias, e timbrando
em manter tudo isso em ambiente muitas vezes refratário e hostil, somos
ainda hoje uns desterrados em nossa terra. Podemos enriquecer nossa
humanidade de aspectos novos e imprevistos, aperfeiçoar o tipo de
civilização que representamos, mas todo o fruto de nosso trabalho ou de
nossa preguiça parece participar de um sistema de evolução próprio de
outro clima e outra paisagem.

É significativo termos recebido a herança proveniente de uma nação

ibérica. Espanha e Portugal eram territórios-ponte pelos quais a Europa se
comunicava com os outros mundos. Constituíam uma zona fronteiriça, de
transição, menos carregada desse europeísmo que, não obstante, retinha
como um patrimônio imprescindível.
Sérgio Buarque de Holanda. Raízes do Brasil. 3.ª ed. Rio de Janeiro: José Olympio, 1956, p. 15-16.

The task of establishing European culture in a vast territory, characterized

by conditions that, if not adverse, were completely contrary to those of
their millenary culture, is, at the origins of Brazilian society, the main fact
and that which is richest in terms of consequences. By bringing from
distant countries our way of living, our institutions, our ideas, and by
managing to sustain all of this in an often difficult and hostile
environment, we are still foreigners in our own land. We may enrich our
humanity with new and unforeseen aspects, improve the kind of
civilization we represent, but all the result of our work or our laziness
seems to be part of an evolution system that belongs to a different climate
and another landscape.

Having received our inheritance from an Iberian nation is meaningful.

Spain and Portugal were bridges through which Europe communicated
with other worlds. They constituted a border, a transition zone, less
burdened with these European traits, but that, nevertheless, it kept as
patrimony that it could not forfeit.
 TPS 2018
Text I
With this report, our aim is to present initial reflections on diplomacy in
the digital age. In the ongoing debate amongst international relations
scholars, information and communication technology (ICT) experts, digital
strategists, social media advocates and others, the first question for us is:
what is happening to diplomacy? And the obvious answer is what has
always happened to it: diplomacy is responding to changes in the
international and domestic environments, in the main centres of
authority, particularly states, and in the character of societies at home and
abroad.
“Newness” in diplomacy today has everything to do with the application
of new communications technologies to diplomacy. This issue goes right
to the heart of diplomacy’s core functions, including negotiation,
representation and communication. Given the centrality of
communication in diplomacy, it is hardly surprising that the rise of social
media should be of interest to practitioners of diplomacy. Most of them,
like people outside diplomatic culture, are in the process of adjusting their
“analogue” habits and finding their own voice in a new information
sphere. This takes time, and for technological enthusiasts to simply
proclaim the arrival of a “new statecraft” in the form of what is variously
termed e-diplomacy, digital diplomacy, cyber diplomacy and “twiplomacy”
is too simplistic.
Paradoxically, greater complexity encourages shallow, hurried analyses
and the search for simple explanations about what is happening to
diplomacy as the regulating mechanism of the society of states. As in
other epochs of fast technological change, the lure of quick fixes
addressing multifaceted processes of change in diplomacy appears almost
irresistible
Brian Hocking and Jan Melissen. Diplomacy in the digital age. 2015, p. 9. Internet: (adapted).

QUESTÃO 35 Decide whether the following statements are right (C) or

wrong (E) according to text I.
1 For the authors, the changes brought about by new communications
technologies are affecting the essence of diplomacy as never before.
2 The text lists three different kinds of change which affect diplomacy:
those originated in international and domestic scenarios; those coming
from the main centres of authority; and the ones which are related to
societal transformations.
3 Due to the close relationship that exists between diplomacy and
communication, diplomats have managed to bring their communicative
skills to perfection in order to work autonomously with new digital media.
4 The authors are critical of the kind of explanation analysts have given for
the phenomenon of diplomacy in the digital age, which, according to the
authors, should be approached more thoroughly
QUESTÃO 36 Decide whether the following statements are right (C) or
wrong (E) according to text I.
1 In the first paragraph, the words “ongoing” (R.2) and “advocates” (R.5)
can be correctly and respectively replaced by far-reaching and lawyers
without this changing the meaning of the passage.
2 The passage “what has always happened to it:” (R.7) can be correctly
replaced by what has always happened to it, which means that or by what
has always happened to it, which is to say.
3 In the end of the second paragraph, the authors express the opinion that
the so-called ‘new statecraft’(R.22), also known as “digital diplomacy”
(R.23), is “too simplistic” (R.24).
4 The passage “the lure of quick fixes addressing multifaceted processes of
change” (R. 29 and 30) could be replaced by the temptation of finding
easy solutions for manifold processes of change and this would still keep
the paragraph coherent.