Grammar Package 1

Tense
Tenses are used to describe when an event or action takes place. They are a grammatical
category marked by verb inflection (‘s’, ‘es’ and ‘ed’). There are two basic tenses, present
and past.

I. Present Tense
The present tense is used:

a) To show habitual actions

Example: Helen sleeps at eleven every night.

b) To state something which is true in general and happens regularly, repeatedly or all the
time

Example: Water freezes at 0 C.

c) For future events which are time-tabled

Example: The train arrives at 5.05pm tomorrow.

d) To talk about actions and events that happen as we speak or write , such as in
commentaries and demonstrations

Example: Beckham passes the ball to Ronaldo. Ronaldo to Joe, Joe back to Ronaldo and
Ronaldo kicks – and it is a goal!

e) For a current fact that may hold true for some time or may change in the future

Example: Michael Lau is a well-known sculptor.

II. Present Continuous

The present continuous is used:

a) To talk about temporary actions and situations that are going on at around the time of
speaking

Example: Richard is not in Singapore now. He is working in London at the moment.

b) To talk about developing and changing situations

Example: As a result of global warming, the climate is getting warmer.

c) For future events which are planned

Example: I am coming home late tonight because I have a medical appointment.

1
 Simple Present Present Continuous
(verb in present tense) (is/ are + -ing verb)
Talks about things that are always true and Talks about something that is happening at
things that happen repeatedly or around the time of speaking. The action is
not finished.

Water boils at 100 C. The water is boiling.

Talks about a permanent situation in the Talks about a temporary situation in the
present present

Banks lend money in order to make a profit. Banks are lending more money in the
(a situation which usually happens) financial crisis to encourage businesses to
expand. (a temporary arrangement)

Allows more formality in letter writing Allows less formality in letter writing

We write to inform you … We are writing to inform you …

Note:

There are some verbs that we do not use in the Progressive Tense. These include:

Belong - Cost - Hate - Have (possession) - Hear - Know - Like - Love - Need - Own -
Remember - Seem - Smell - Understand – Want

Exercise 1 Present & Present Continuous Tense

Instructions:
Some of the underlined verbs in the sentences are incorrect. Write the correct verbs in the
boxes provided. If there is no mistake, put a tick (  ) in the box.

1 After he wakes up, the first thing Dad do is to go for a walk in the garden.
2 The Statue of Liberty stands at the entrance of New York harbor.
3 We stay at our aunt’s flat while our house is being renovated.
4 Henry works as a consultant surgeon at the University Research Hospital.
5 They leave now so please lock the door.
6 I am hearing that you are getting married next month. Congratulations!
7 Ten teams take part in the badminton tournament on Saturday.
8 Harold is working for a law firm in Sydney. He has worked there for more
than ten years.

2
 Instructions:
Fill in the blanks with the Simple Present or Present Continuous Tense form of the verbs in
the brackets.

Dad : Where is everyone?

Mum : They’re all in the family room.
Dad : What 1. _______________________ (happen) there?
Mum : The children 2. ______________ (plan) a surprise party for my mother. Ranjit
and Roy 3. _______________ (call) the whole family together for a grand
celebration at our house.

Dad : How are your parents going to get here? They 4. ____________ (live) quite far
away. Someone has got to pick them up.

Mum : Roy 5. ____________ (drive) down in his four-wheel drive on Saturday to bring
them here. Papa 6. ____________ (enjoy) sitting in it because it 7.
____________ (remind) him of his days in the army.

Dad : I 8. ____________ (hope) the food will be good.

Mum : Of course it will be. I am in charge of that!
Dad : You know your mother has to be careful about the things she 9. ____________
(eat).
Mum : Yes, I 10. ____________ (prepare) roast chicken, salads and lots of other
goodies. I 11. ____________ (bake) her favourite dessert, blueberry cheesecake,
too.

III. Past Tense

The past tense is used:

a) To talk about an event that happened at a specific time in the past

Example: Jane arrived at Changi International Airport at seven o’clock this evening.

b) For situations that existed for a period of time in the past, but not now

Example: I work in a school now. Before that I worked in an accounting firm.

c) To talk about a regular and repeated activity that took place in the past, but which no
longer occurs

Example: We saw each other every day because we were at the same primary school.

Note:

3
When forming the simple past tense of regular verbs, we add ‘d’ or ‘ed’ to the base form of
the verbs. However, the simple past form of irregular verbs either does not change or
changes in a number of ways.

 All three forms (base, past and past participle) are the same.

hit  hit  hit

cost  cost  cost

 Simple past is different from the base form but same as the past participle.

tell (base)  told (past)  told (past participle)

 All three forms are different.

go (base)  went (past)  gone (past participle)

eat (base)  ate (past)  eaten (past participle)

Exercise 2 Simple Past Tense

Instructions:
Some of the verbs in the sentences are incorrect. Circle them and write the correct verbs in
the boxes provided. If there is no mistake, put a tick (  ) in the box.

1 Late yesterday afternoon, a northbound train collide with a

cargo train at an intersection.

2 When James is in college, he took part in many college

activities.

3 The old boatman ferried the children across the swollen river
this morning.

4 When we were still students, my friends and I have basketball

practice in this gym every Friday.

5 After a tiring day, the campers slept soundly in their tents last
night.

6 The Cougars defeat the Red Roosters in the finals to win the
King’s Cup.

7 We seen this movie at the City Cinema last Thursday.

8 Grandmother exercises for more than an hour every morning

before she had a stroke.

4
Instructions:
Some of the verbs in the sentences are incorrect. Circle them and write the correct verbs in
the boxes provided. If there is no mistake, put a tick (  ) in the box.

The ladies stolen the show last night and this morning at the Sydney 1.
Olympics. First of all, there was Naoko Takahashi of Japan. She runs 2.
the women’s marathon in 2:23:14 and shatter the Olympic record. 3.
Hers was the best ever marathon run by a woman. She gains the 4.
prestige of being the first Japanese athlete to become a gold medallist. 5.
Then there was Svetlana Khorkina who won the gold for uneven bars. 6.
Next, America’s favourite Laura Wilkinson seen her dream come true. 7.
She wins the gold in platform diving. 8.

IV. Past Continuous

The past continuous is used:

a) To emphasise the continuity of an action in a particular period of time in the past

Example: The girls at the back were talking for the whole lesson.

b) To indicate that something important happened when a longer action was going on in
the past. We use the past continuous tense for the longer action and the simple past
tense for the shorter one.

Example: When I was taking a shower, the door bell rang.

Longer action Shorter action

Note:

 If we want to show two actions going on at the same time in the past , then the past
continuous is used in both parts of the sentence.

Example: The elder brother was studying while the younger brother was playing an
online game in the room.

 On the other hand, if we want to express two instant, short actions happening at the
same time in the past, the simple past is used instead.

Example: As he opened the door, the door went off the hinges.

5
 Simple Past Past Continuous
(verb in past tense) (was/ were + -ing verb)
Talks about a completed action Talks about an action in progress

Deepa cooked dinner for her mother to Deepa hurt her finger when she was cooking
celebrate Mother’s Day. dinner.

Talks about a permanent situation in the Talks about a temporary situation in the past
past

I lived in Aberdeen for ten years when I was SARS broke out while I was living in
a child. Aberdeen last year.

Exercise 3: Past Continuous Tense

Instructions:
Fill in the blanks with the Simple Past Tense or the Past Continuous Tense form of the verbs
in the brackets.

Coastguard : How did you get caught at sea in last night’s storm?

John : We 1. ____________ (set) sail at noon yesterday. The sea 2.

____________ (be) calm and our boat quickly 3. ____________
(pick) up speed.

Coastguard : Where were you going?

6
 Richard : We 4. ____________ (go) up the coast. We 5. ____________ (sail)
north when suddenly the weather 6. ____________ (change). The
wind 7. ____________ (blow) fiercely. I 8. ____________ (try) to
adjust the sails while John struggled to keep the boat steady.

John : I 9. ____________ (lose) control of the boat when Richard 10.

____________ (take) over and 11. ____________ (save) the
situation.

Instructions:
Some of the verbs in the sentences are incorrect. Circle them and write the correct verbs in
the boxes provided. If there is no mistake, put a tick (  ) in the box.

At about 11 o’clock on Tuesday morning, my mother, Eddy and I were

shopping at the mall. Mum intends to buy a birthday present for Dad 1.
and she asked me to help her. While Mum chose some silk shirts in 2.
the store, Eddy and I were shopping a birthday card for Dad. Mum 3.
strolled up to us and was showing us the shirt she liked. Mum and I 4.
discussed the price when we suddenly realised Eddy was not with us. 5.
My heart pounded with fear while we were hunting for Eddy. Just then 6.
I heard an announcement. Someone had come across a little boy who 7.
seem lost. I ran immediately to the information counter and saw Eddy 8.
there. He howled while a security officer was trying to comfort him. I 9.
hugged him and was taking him back to Mum. She was so happy to 10.
see him that she forgot to scold him for wandering away.

7
V. Present Perfect
The present perfect is used:

a) For an action that has already taken place. However, the definite time of the action is
not stated.

Example: Felicia has returned the books she borrowed from the school library.

Simple Past Present Perfect

I finished my homework at 10pm. I have finished my homework.

Completed action Exact time Completed action

b) To talk about an action or a situation which started in the past and continues until now

Example 1: David has lived in Japan since childhood. (= He still lives in Japan now. Since
indicates a particular time in the past until the time of speaking.)

Example 2: I have studied in this college for four years. (= I am still studying here now.
For shows a length of time.)

Compare with: I was in this college for four years. (= I am no longer studying here
now.)

c) For events that were completed in the past but are important in the present

Example 1: Tom has already gone to the cinema. (= so you cannot find him in the
office)

Example 2: I have just lost my pen. (= so I am not able to do the exercise)

Note:

Indefinite adverbs of time such as just, already, yet, never and not are often used with the
present perfect.

Adverbs of time Usage Examples

Just Events that took place The students have just handed in their
very recently examination papers.

Already Events that took place Go to the zoo? No thanks, I have already
sooner than expected been there.

Yet Events that took place She has not yet decided how to spend
until the present time the Christmas holiday.

Never / Not Events that did not take They have never been to Disneyland.
place at any time

8
9
Exercise 4 Present Perfect Tense

Instructions:
Cross out the incorrect verb forms to complete the sentences.

1 The committee has just announced just announced the names of the winners.

2 Just now, Bob came has come across the files we were looking for.

3 I forgot have forgotten the exact time of the meeting. Let me check my diary.

4 She already spoke has already spoken to the police about the vandalised lifts.

5 I haven’t met didn’t meet Sonia since we graduated from college five years ago.

6 We have never heard never heard of the shampoo you recommended.

7 Jeffrey worked has worked in this bank for 35 years. He retired last month.

8 He has not gone did not go to the bank yet so he cannot lend us any money.

Instructions:
Fill in the blanks with the Simple Present, Simple Past or Present Perfect Tense form of the
verbs in the brackets.

My family 1. ____________ (live) in this town for more than 30 years. In the beginning,
it 2. ____________ (be) a peaceful place to live in with lots of greenery. Later,
however, things changed when developers and their machines moved in. They 3.
____________ (cut) into the hillsides, 4. ____________ (widen) roads and 5.
____________ (build) hotels and office complexes.

Since then, the traffic passing through the town 6. ____________ (increase) greatly and
multi-storey shopping malls 7. ____________ (replace) the old shops. Our town 8.
____________ (become) crowded and dirty.

My family 9. ____________ (be) now tired of the endless noise and dust. We long for
the gentle pace of life of the earlier days. However, Dad 10. ____________ (not talk)
about moving to a quieter place yet. I hope he will think about it soon.

10
Instructions:
Some of the verbs in the sentences are incorrect. Circle them and write the correct verbs in
the boxes provided. If there is no mistake, put a tick (  ) in the box.

We arrived here last night. We are very busy since 1.

this morning. We wake up at about six o’clock and 2.
sat on the beach admiring the scenery. Later we 3.
swim and went for a morning walk on the soft white 4.
sand. It is now noon. We already visited several 5.
shops to buy souvenirs. We also went on a boat ride 6.
round the islands. The coral reefs here were indeed 7.
spectacular. Our hotel offers scuba-diving lessons 8.
for those who wanted a close view of the coral, so 9.
Sue and I just signed up for the lessons. 10.

VI. Past Perfect

The past perfect is used:

a) To talk about something that happened before a certain past moment

Example: When Jodie arrived at the school for the picnic, no one was there. Everybody
had left the school.

b) When there are two events that happened in the past, the past perfect is used to talk
about the event that happened earlier and the simple past tense for the event that
happened later.

Example: After the dentist had pulled out my bad tooth, I felt much better.

11
c) For unreal events. For past events that did not happen, we can use the past perfect
after if, would rather and wish.

Example 1: If I had known that you wanted the MP3 player, I would have bought
one as your birthday gift. (= but I did not know)

Example 2: I would rather he had asked me before borrowing my notebook

computer. (= but he did not ask)

Example 3: Alex wishes now that he had taken my advice. (= but he did not take it)

Exercise 5 Past Perfect Tense

Instructions:
Fill in the blanks with the Simple Past Tense or the Past Perfect Tense form of the verbs in
the brackets.

After Karen 1. ____________ (see) her two small boys to the school bus, she 2.
____________ (clear) the breakfast dishes from the table and washed them. She 3.
____________ (just sit) down to read the morning papers when the highway patrol 4.
____________ (call). An officer informed her that the local school bus 5.
____________ (meet) with an accident on the wet road. Karen 6. ____________
(become) terribly worried about her children. She tried to get her husband at his office but
his phone was engaged. By the time she got through to his office, Peter 7.
____________ (already leave) for the hospital. One of the other parents 8.
____________ (tell) Peter about the accident before Karen could reach him.
Karen dashed to the emergency unit of the hospital right away. She 9. ____________
(cry) with relief when Peter assured her that their sons were fine except for a few bruises.
He said the bus 10. ____________ (skid) and gone off the road. Fortunately, no one
was badly hurt.

Instructions:
Some of the verbs in the sentences are incorrect. Circle them and write the correct verbs in
the boxes provided. If there is no mistake, put a tick (  ) in the box.

Last week, Steve asked me to go with him to a concert in town

and I accept his invitation. By six o’clock yesterday evening, I 1.
dressed and was ready to go when Steve called me. He said 2.
that he have had a small accident on the way. He promised 3.
to come soon. I told him it was alright and that I would wait. 4.
By the time Steve arrived, I waited for more than an hour. 5.

12
 When we had walked into the concert hall, the show had 6.
already begun. I almost fall over someone’s feet when I tried 7.
to get to my seat in the dark. I felt very embarrassed even 8.
as Steve apologised on my behalf.

Annex 1

Forms of a Verb

Verbs in the English Language can usually exist in five forms, as indicated in the table
below.

base form --s form --ing form --ed form --en form

(infinitive) (present participle) (past form) (past participle)

walk walks walking walked walked

recover recovers recovering recovered recovered
arrive arrives arriving arrived arrived
swell swells swelling swelled swollen
mow mows mowing mowed mown
send sends sending sent sent
bend bends bending bent bent
teach teaches teaching taught taught
find finds finding found found
take takes taking took taken
blow blows blowing blew blown
swim swims swimming swam swum
begin begins beginning began begun
go goes going went gone
eat eats eating ate eaten
come comes coming came come
become becomes becoming became become
run runs running ran run
hit hits hitting hit hit
cut cuts cutting cut cut
put puts putting put put

13
14