11 - ] Basic Grammar For Beginners - The Present Perfect Tense

11 - ] Basic Grammar For Beginners

15 . The Present Perfect Tense

Positive	Negative	Question
I have played .	I have not (haven’t) played.	Have I played?
He She has played.  It	He She has  not (hasn’t)played . It	she Has     he   played ?       it
We They have played . You	We They have not (haven’t) played. You	we Have they played ?           you

1 . The present perfect tense is formed : have / has + Past Participle .

2. It is used to link the past with the present . It is used to indicate actions that started in the past and still take place or have an effect at present [ for , since ] . It is also used to indicate actions that have recently happened [ just , already , lately ] .

She has worked as a teacher for seven years . [ She started work . She is still a teacher . ]

She has been here since the morning .

They have bought a bigger car .  [ An action recently happened ]

He has already written the composition .

3 . It is used to ask about experienced actions or past experiences [ ever , yet ].

Have you ever been to Canada ?

Have you visited Canada yet ?

3 . The present perfect is often used with the following adverbs :

just / yet / for / since / ever / never / already / recently / lately

Exercise

Put the verbs in the correct form of present perfect :

1 . I ---------------------[ just finish ] the homework .

2 . --------------------you ever ------------------[ read ] a novel by Charles Dickens .

3 . My brother ----------------already -----------------[ se ] this film .

4 . I -----------------------already ---------------------[ tell ] you the answer of this question .

5 . Ali --------------just --------------[ leave ] school to hospital .

6 . The book ------------------[ appear ] recently .

7 . You won’t find him in his office . He ---------------------[ leave ] already .

8 . We can’t tell you anything about him . We -------------------[ not meet ] yet .

9 . My mother -------------------[ just finish ] cooking .

10 . He -------------[ bee ] here for a week .

11 . I -------------------[ live ] in London for nine years .

12  The train ---------------------------[ not arrive ] yet .

13 . It ---------------[ rain ] here since I last visited you ?

14 . The police -----------------[ not find ] the thief yet .

15 . You ------------------[ hear ] from Allan lately ?

16 . They --------------------[ recently move ] to a new house .

17 . She ------------------never [ read ] a French book .

18 . Our dinner guests --------------------just [ arrive ] .

19 . She ------------------[ not see ] him recently .

20 . I -------------------[ be ] ill since Monday .

21 . He is the worst student she ----------------ever [ know ] .

22 . The baby ---------------------[ sleep ] for ten hours .

23 . I ---------------never [ see ] such beautiful mountains .

24 . I --------------------never [ meet ] him since last winter .

25 . He ------------------already [ have ] his breakfast .

26 . He --------------[ not wash ] his face today .

27 ------------------you ------------------[ write ] any composition today ?

Since - For

1 . Since is used to indicate the start of the action or when it started .

He has been absent since last Friday .

2 . For is used to indicate a period of time or a prolonged action .

He has been absent for three days .

For	Since
for a few seconds	since this morning
for a moment	since five o’clock
for five minutes	since last week
for two hours	since winter
for three days	since last June
for five weeks	since Monday
for a month	since 1970
for four years	since he was born
for several years	since they were married
for many years	since he left school
for a long time	since I met you
for ages	since he was a baby
for a while	since the war began

Exercise 1

Add [ since or for ] to these sentences :

1 . Mr. Ahmad has been my Math teacher -------------------three years .

2 . I have lived in this town ---------------December .

3 . He has been ill -----------------last Monday .

4 . It has rained --------------two hours .

5 . He has been absent from school ------------------three weeks .

6 . This servant has worked for me ------------------- seven years .

7 . I have been awake ----------------7 o’clock .

8 . He hasn’t been to bed -------------------yesterday .

9 . I have known him ---------------years .

10 . I have worn those shoes -------------years .

11 . He has been my friend --------------------we were children .

12 . I have been I this school -----------------eleven years .

13 . I have been in the library --------------the bell rang .

14 . Has anything interesting happened ----------------------I last saw you ?

15 . Why have you not been to school ------------the last two days ?

Exercise 2 

Add [ since or for ] to these sentences :

1 . I haven’t seen him -------------last year .

2 . I haven’t seen him ---------------several months .

3 . They haven’t had any food -----------------twelve hours .

4 . He hasn’t een here ---------------several days .

5 . I haven’t seen him -------------I left school .

6 . We haven’t used that car ------------------at least a week .

7 . He has been away ---------------last Saturday .

8 . I have been in this school ----------------years .

9 . He hasn’t heard from him --------------a year now .

10 . He has been in that hotel -----------------three days .

11 . We haven’t worn our coats ---------------last winter .

12 . He has changed a lot -------------------he got married .

13 . I have been a student ---------------seventeen years .

14 . She has been asleep ----------------six o’clock .

15 . They haven’t met -------------------they were children .

Exercise 3

Choose the correct word from those between brackets :

1 . We haven’t had a swim ( since / for ) last summer [ since / for ] almost a year .

2 . Her husband hasn’t been ill [ since / for ] the day they were married .

3 . Peter hasn’t traveled by train [ since / for ] six months [ since / for ] he bought his new car .

4 . I haven’t received e-mails from you [ since / for ] two months .

5 . I have been standing in the rain [ since / for ] half an hour [ since / for ] half past six .

6 . How long have you been learning French ? [ since / for ] quite a long time .

7 . How long have you been married ? [ since / for ] last winter .

8 . They haven’t visited Paris [ since / for ] the last world war .

9 . She has been wearing glasses [ since / for ] years .

10 . She hasn’t made any friends [ for / since ] they moved to their new house .

11 . They have been fishing [ since / for ] two hors .

12 . She has boiled the egg [ since / for ] two minutes .

Exercise 4

Choose the right word in brackets :

1 . He has driven the same car [ since / for ] 2020 .

2 . The kettle has been boiling [ since / for ] half an hour .

3 . He has been very ill [ since / for ] last month .

4 . Nobody has seen her [ since / for ] last week .

5 . He hasn’t eaten anything [ since / for ] twenty-four hours .

6 . She has never cut her hair [ since / for ] more than ten years .

7 . He has worn these shoes [ since / for ] he was in primary 2 .

8 . She hasn’t bought new clothes [ since / for ] last year .

9  . We haven’t had English [ since / for ] Miss Williams got married .

10 . We haven’t painted the house [ since / for ] a very long time .

11 . Have you had anything to eat [ since / for ] this morning ?

12 . Has it rained here [ since / for ] last winter ?

13 . We haven’t had gym [ since / for ] more than three weeks .

14 . Have you heard from Sally [  since / for ] she left school ?

15 . I haven’t eaten any fats [ since / for ] I had a heart attack .

10 - ] Basic Grammar For Beginners - The Present Continuous Tense =- The Past Continuous Tense

10 - ] Basic Grammar For Beginners

13 .The Present Continuous Tense .

Positive	Negative	Question
I am playing / coming .	I am (‘m) not playing / coming.	Am I playing / coming?
He She is playing / coming . It	He She is not (isn’t)playing /coming. It	she Is  he   playing /coming?       it
We They are playing /coming. You	We They are not (aren’t) playing . You	we Are they playing ?         you

1 . We use the present continuous for something that is happening at the moment of speaking( now ) .

He is eating now .

They are studying English at the moment .

2 . We form the present continuous : verb to “be” ( am , is , are ) + verb + ing

Mother is cooking lunch now .

We are cleaning our room now .

3 . We use the present continuous tense to talk about future plans often with time expression .

I am flying to London the week-end .

I am staying at a hotel .

We are having a party next Monday .

4 . Verbs ending in a single (e) , drop it before adding (ing) .

ride - riding / make - making / leave - leaving / write - writing / come - coming / take -taking

have - having / type - typing  / bake - baking

5 . Verbs ending in a consonant after a vowel , the last consonant is doubled before adding (ing) .

hit - hitting / dig - digging / let - letting / admit - admitting / run - running / cut - cutting /

begin - beginning / shop - shopping / swim - swimming / signal - signaling / set - setting /

drop - dropping / put - putting / sit - sitting

6 . Verbs ending in (ie) change them into (y) before adding (ing) .

die - dying / lie - lying / tie - tying

7 .  This tense is often used with the following adverbs and adverbial phrases .

now , at present , at the moment , today , the imperative verbs such as “look ! “ listen ! “ smell !

Exercise

1 . She ------------------[ write ] a story now .

2 . We ---------------------[ learn ] English grammar at the moment .

3 . The servant -----------------[ clean ] the vase now .

4 . Look ! a car ---------------[ come ] quickly .

5 . Mother ------------[cook] dinner right now .

6 . Sally --------------------[ prepare ] her homework now .

7 . She -----------------[ wait ] for me in the corner now .

8 . --------------------- the boys [ do ] their homework now ?

9 . ----------------------father [ read ] the paper at this moment ?

10 . The leaves ------------------[ begin ] to fall from the tree .

11 . Look ! It --------------[ begin ] to rain .

12 . They ---------------[ take ] a walk along Ramses Street .

13 . I -----------------[ begin ] to understand English grammar now .

14 . We -------------------[ make ] good progress in our courses .

15 . Listen ! The telephone -------------------[ ring ] .

16 . Mr. and Mrs. Sultan --------------[ build ] a new house now .

17 . --------------they ----------------[ watch ] television now ?

18 . --------------mother --------------[ rest ] at the moment ?

19 . She ----------------[ not listen ] to the radio now .

20 . He -----------------[ help ] his father at the moment .

21 . --------------------the servant [ wash ] the car now ?

22 . Listen ! The baby ---------------------[ cry ] .

23 . ------------------you -----------------[ take ] French at present ?

24 . The wind --------------------- [ low ] hard now .

25 . The sky ----------------[ get ] dark now .

26 . We --------------------[ study ] the exercise on page 72 now .

27 . Helen -----------------[ look ] for her English book .

28 . All the students -----------------[ laugh ] at you .

14 .The Past Continuous .

Positive	Negative	Question
I was playing .	I was not (wasn’t) playing.	Am I playing / coming?
He She was playing.  It	He She was  not (isn’t)playing . It	she Was     he   playing ?       it
We They are playing . You	We They were not (weren’t) playing. You	we Were they playing ?           you

1 . We use the past continuous tense to talk about an action that was already happening at a particular time in the past .

At seven o’clock last night I was watching TV .

2 . We form the past continuous tense :

verb to “be” in the past [ was , were ] + verb + ing

They were reading stories for fun .

 I was having my breakfast when you came .

 They were walking to school when I saw them .

3 . The key words are : while , as , just as , when .

While / As / Just as ----------------------past continuous ----------------simple past

While / As / Just as Dina was getting ready to go out , Sara dropped in to see her .

Mr. Khalid came home , while / as / just as  the children were having breakfast .

4 . Past continuous ---------------------- when ---------------------simple past

He was returning home when a dog bit him .

The boy was riding a bicycle when a stone fell on his head .

Exercise

Correct the verbs in brackets :

1 . He -----------------------[ come ] when I called you .

2 . We --------------------------[ look ] for our teacher when we met .

3 . She ------------------[ walk ] down the steps when she fell .

4 . He played tennis while I ------------------------[ eat ] diner .

5 . I -----------------------------[ type ] when he rang .

6 . She did not listen while he was ---------------------------[ talk ] .

7 . He watched while she ---------------[ mix [ the paint .

8 . She said he -------------------[ sleep ] .

9 . I ----------------[ sew ] when she went out .

10 . She was washing up while he ------------------- [ dry ] .

11 . While she --------------------[ read ] , the milk oiled over .

12 . What -------------------you [ look ] at just now ?

13 . When she was shopping , it ------------------[ begin ] to rain .

14 . What -----------------you [ read ] when I rang you ?

15 . While he ------------------[ travel ] he ------------[ lose ] his money .

16 . As the wind -----------------[ blow ] yesterday I closed my eyes .

17 . When the war began we -----------------------[ live ] in London .

18 . The light -----------------------[ go ] out while I was having tea .

19 . My friend --------------------[ sing ] when I came in .

20 . While you ----------------[ play ] the piano I sent a message .

21 . He --------------[ eat ] his dinner when I --------------------[ go ] to see him .

22 . ------------------ you ------------------[ wear ] your new hat when I met you ?

23 . When the phone -----------------[ ring ] I ---------------[ have ] a bath .

24 . Large crowds ------------------[ wait ] at the station when the Prime Minister -------------

[ arrive ] .

25 . We ------------------[ walk ] to the station when the storm ------------[ blow ] .

26 . While he -------------------[ write ] homework , the telephone ---------------[ ring ] .

27 . He -----------------[ go ] downstairs when I -----------------[ meet ] him .

28 . As she ------------------- [ draw ] , she -------------[ break ] her brush . 

9 - ] Basic Grammar For Beginners - Simple Past Tense

9 - ] Basic Grammar For Beginners

12. The Simple Past Tense

Positive	Negative	Question
past of the verb [ed] or irregular [ went , saw ]	did  not (didn’t) + infinitive	did + subject + infinitive
We visited the park . They went to school . She washed the dishes .	We did not visit the park. They did not go to school . She did not wash the dishes .	Did you visit the park? Did they go to school? Did she wash the dishes?

1 . We use the past simple tense for actions that started and were completed in the past , often with a time expression .

Examples

The Ancient Egyptians built the Pyramids .

We visited Alexandria last week .

They played football yesterday .

2 . Verbs ending in (e) add just (d)

love , loved / arrive , arrived

3 . Verbs ending in (y) preceded by a consonant , change the (y) into (ied) .

cry , cried / carry , carried / try , tried / marry , married

4 . Verbs ending in (y) preceded by a single vowel , just add (ed)

play , played / enjoy , enjoyed / obey , obeyed / stay , stayed

5. Verbs ending in a consonant after a vowel , double the last letter .

stop , stopped / drop , dropped / drag , dragged / dip , dipped

6 . Irregular verbs have their forms .

buy , bought / swim , swam / write , wrote / grow , grew / fall , fell / read , read / hit , hit

7 . This tense is often used with the following adverbs of time .

yesterday / ago / last / once / in the past / this [ morning , day ]

Examples

We climbed the mountain last month .

They bough a car yesterday .

I met my friend two hours ago .

Once we went to the forest .

I came to school with my friend this morning .

They lived in this town in the past .

Exercise 1

Put the following verbs in the past simple tense :

1 . He -----------------[tell] me about it yesterday .

2 . I ------------------[go] to school rather late this morning .

3 . It -----------------[rain] very hard lasy night .

4 . I ------------------[see] a terrible accident yesterday .

5 . We ----------------[learn] many new words yesterday .

6 . I ---------------[watch] this play only once .

7 . We -------------------[have] no new lessons this week .

8 . --------------you----------------[enjoy] the party last night ?

9 . Where --------------you ------------[be] last night ?

10 . She -------------------[not understand] a word of what he said .

11 . Gandhi --------------------[die] more than 50 years ago .

12 . We -------------------[finish] our supper an hour ago .

13 . They -----------------[visit] the Tower of Cairo a few days ago .

14 . I ---------------------[ buy } one like that last week .

15 . -------------------you -----------------[ wash ] the dishes last night ?

16 . What time ---------------you --------------[ have ] your lunch yesterday ?

17. Where ---------------you ----------------[ spend] your last summer vacation ?

18 . He ---------------[ play ] football when he was young .

19 . They -------------------[ come ] here a month ago .

20 . They -------------------[ visit ] the Pyramids a few days ago .

21 . -----------------it [ rain ] last Sunday ?

22 . --------------your friends -------------[ have ] a good holiday last summer .

23 . They ------------------[ selltheir old car last week .

24 . Five years ago we ------------------ [ have ] a small car .

Exercise 2

Correct the verbs in brackets :

1 . Mother ----------------[ bake ] a ice cake for my birthday yesterday .

2 . ------------------you ----------------------[ see ] the film that night ?

3 . She ----------------------[ not understand ] the lesson yesterday .

4 . My father -----------------[ buy ] a new car last week .

5 . Mother ------------------[ polish ] the silver this morning .

6 . They -----------------[ do] a lot of homework yesterday .

7 . Yesterday she --------------------[ not go ] to school .

8 . Yesterday evening the train ----------------------[ leave ] for Aswan .

9 . What ---------------------your mother buy for you on your birthday ?

10 . She ----------------[ be ] a teacher twenty years ago.

11 . The customer ------------------[ pay ] the bill yesterday .

12 . Helen --------------[ study ] German when she was in high school .

13 . They --------------------[ receive ] an important message a few minutes ago .

14 . She ----------------[ invite ] many people to her last birthday party .

15 . He -----------------[ speak] to me about it yesterday .

16 . ----------------you ----------------[ see[] the film last night ?

17 . -----------------you --------------[ be ] absent yesterday ?

18 .-------------------you [ be ] at the party last night ?

19 . He ---------------[ write ] the exercise , and gave it to the teacher .

20 . The ship -----------------[ go ] round the world last year .