ENG - TENSES PREFINALS Flashcards
Habitual actions in the present:
Simple Present Tense
She walks to school every day.
General timeless truths (physical laws or customs):
Simple Present Tense
With every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
A body at rest remains at rest, and a body in motion remains in motion.
With be and other stative verbs to indicate states
Simple Present Tense
The car belongs to Bill.
There is a large house on the corner.
I know Mr. Jackson.
In the subordinate clauses of time or condition when
the main clause contains a future-time verb
Simple Present Tense
When you get home, we will watch a movie.
Expresses future (when a scheduled event is involved, usually with a future-time adverbial):
Simple Present Tense
I have a meeting on Wednesday.
Present event/action (usually in sporting events/procedures of some sort):
Simple Present Tense
Now I beat the egg whites until they are soft and fluffy.
Present speech acts (where the action is accomplished in the speaking of it):
Simple Present Tense
I declare amity between our country and theirs.
Conversational historical present (used to refer to certain past events in narration):
Simple Present Tense
He bows his head and makes a peace sign.
also states facts but adds a sense of remoteness (Knowles 1979)
The “remoteness” comes in the feeling that the event is over and done with.
simple past
A definite single completed event/action in the past:
simple past
I attended a meeting of that committee last week.
Habitual or repeated action/event in the past:
simple past
it rained every week last year
An event with duration that applied in the past with the implication that it no longer applies in the present:
simple past
Mr. Montgomery taught in the university for 30 years
Mrs. M worked at the bakeshop for 2 months
With states in the past
simple past
He appeared to be a creative genius.
He owed me a lot of money.
Imaginative conditional in the subordinate clause (referring to present time):
simple past
If he took better care of himself, he wouldn’t be so absent so often.
social distancing
simple past
Did you want to sit down and stay for a while?
a. An action to take place at some definite future time:
simple future
She will graduate next year
A future habitual action or state:
Simple future
After this semester, she will wake up at 5 am since her classes will start at 7
A situation that may obtain in the present and will obtain in the future but with the future termination in sight (notice here it is not the will that suggests the limitation on the event, but the subordinate clause):
Simple future
John will work for his father until he learns his lesson.
In the main (result) clause of future conditionals:
Simple future
If you do not submit this project, you will fail.
situation that began at a prior point in time and continues into the present:
Present Perfect
I have been a doctor since 2011
I have had a cold for two weeks.
An action occurring or not occurring at an unspecified prior time that has current relevance:
present perfect
I have already seen that movie.
A very recently completed action (often with just):
present perfect
Mort has just finished his homework.
d. An action that occurred over a prior time period and that is completed at the moment of speaking:
present perfect
The value of the Johnson’s house has doubled in the last four years.
With verbs in subordinate clauses of time or condition:
present perfect
She won’t be satisfied until she has finished another chapter.
If you have done your homework, you can watch tv.
An action completed in the past prior to some other past event or time:
Past Perfect
She had already cooked dinner before I can offer to dine outside.
Imaginative conditional in the subordinate clause (referring to past time):
past perfect
If Sally had studied harder, she would have passed the exam.
A future action that will be completed prior to a specific future time:
future perfect
I would have finished studying by 4 pm
A state or accomplishment that will be completed in the future prior to some other future time or event:
future perfect
I would have seen the Eiffel Tower before I turn 20
portrays an event in a way that allows for it to be incomplete, or somehow limited
used to make specific statements
progressive aspect
. Activity in progress:
present progressive aspect
He is currently eating
Extended present (action will end and therefore lacks the permanence of the simple present tense):
present progressive aspect
I’m studying Medical Technology at the University of Santo Tomas
A temporary situation:
present progressive aspect
I am living in a dormitory.
Repetition or iteration in a series of similar ongoing actions
present Progressive aspect
Lisa is kicking the soccer ball
Expresses future (when event is planned; usually co-occurring with frequency adverbs always or forever):
present Progressive aspect
He’s always delivering in a clutch situation.
He’s forever acting up at these affairs.
A change in progress:
present Progressive aspect
She’s becoming more mature
An action in progress at a specific point in time in the past:
Past Progressive
He was walking to school at 8:30 this morning.
. Past action simultaneous with some other event that is usually stated in the simple past
Past Progressive
The phone rang when I was taking a bath.
While Mom was wandering around the park, we were preparing a surprise for her.
Repetition or iteration of some ongoing past action
Past Progressive
She was studying all day long
Social distancing (which comes from the past tense and the tentativeness of the progressive aspect):
Past Progressive
I was hoping you could lend me 100 pesos
An action that will be in progress at a specific time in the future:
future progressive
He will be taking the exam at 8 am tomorrow
Duration of some specific future action
future progressive
He will be working for Mr. Smith for the next 2 years
combines the sense of “prior” of the perfect with the meaning of “incompleteness” inherent in the progressive aspect
PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
a. A situation or habit that began in the past (recent or distant) and that continues up to the present (and possibly into the future):
Present perfect progressive
I have been working with Dina for this project.
An action in progress that is not yet completed:
Present perfect progressive
I have been researching about the benefits of honey.
A state that changes over time:
Present perfect progressive
The students have been getting better and better
An evaluative comment on something observed over time triggered by current evidence:
Present perfect progressive
You’ve been drinking again!
An action or habit taking place over a period of time in the past prior to some other past event or time:
Past perfect progressive
Carol had been working hard, so her doctor told her to take a vacation.
A past action in progress that was interrupted by a more recent action:
Past perfect progressive
We had been planning to vacation in Maine, but changed our minds after receiving the brochure on Nova Scotia.
. An ongoing past action or state that becomes satisfied by some other event:
Past perfect progressive
I had been wanting to see that play, so I was pleased when I won the tickets.
durative or habitual action that is taking place in the present and that will continue into the future up until or through a specific time:
future perfect progressive
On Christmas Eve, we will have been living in the same house for 20 years.
He will have been keeping a journal for 10 years next month.
