Grammar

Refresher and
Common Errors
Verb Tenses
Session 3
and Sentence
Mr. Franco
Wong Types
Tenses and Aspects
• In English we have two (or three) tenses only:
• Present
• Past
• Future (some argue that there is no future tense)
• Tenses refer to the time when something happened.
• Aspects refer to how the action / happening is
perceived in reference to time. So, we have three
aspects:
• Progressive
• Perfect
• Perfect progressive
 Tenses and Aspects
• And each aspect has a corresponding formula:

• Progressive: be + v-ing
• Perfect: has / have + PP
• Perfect progressive: has / have + being + PP
 Present Tenses (1)
Simple Present
Functions Examples
Events that occurs in past, Water boils at 100 degrees.
present and future
Events that always continue The sea gets rough when the gales arrive.
A permanent state (Physical state) The mattress feels soft.
(Mental state) I believe in ghosts.
Habits (state / event / He lies in bed all day on Sunday.
response) She laughs loudly.
Snakes strike when threatened.
 Present Tenses (2)
Present Progressive
Functions Examples
Unfinished actions I am teaching a group of students now.
Temporary situations I am living in Causeway Bay.
Compare:
I live in Causeway Bay.
Temporary habits He is eating a lot recently.
Compare:
He eats a lot.
Future actions (planned) I am playing darts tomorrow night.
 Present Tenses (3)
Present Perfect
Functions Examples
(Unfinished action) I have worked in this school for two years.
Something that happened (Life experience) I have worked in different tertiary institutions.
before you make this (The past event is affecting the present time) I have lost my keys so I can’t get
statement in.
(Recently) The government has approved the use of COVID-19 vaccines.
 Present Tenses (4)
Present Perfect Progressive
Functions Examples
Something that happened (Unfinished action) I have been working in this school for two years.
before you make this (Temporary habits) I have been drinking expensive coffee recently.
statement with a focus of
the duration. (Cause of a present action) I can’t sleep. I have been drinking coffee.
 Past Tenses (1)
Simple Past
Functions Examples
(w/ time words) I went to the park yesterday.
Finished actions / states / (w/o time words) Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa.
habits in the past (details) I have hurt my leg. I fell off from a ladder.
(in stories) He went to a café.
Unreal things in present / I wish I had more time.
future
 Past Tenses (2)
Past Progressive
Functions Examples
Overlapping Action At three o'clock, I was working.
The birds were singing, the sun was shining and in the cafés people were
Story Background
laughing and chatting. Amy sat down and took out her phone.
Past Habits She was constantly singing.
Emphasizing duration I was working in the garden all day.
 Past Tenses (3)
Past Perfect
Functions Examples
Finished action before I'd eaten dinner so I wasn't hungry.
another action in the past
Started in the past and When he graduated, he had been in London for six years.
continued up to another
action or time in the past
Unreal or imaginary things in If I had known you were ill, I would have visited you.
the past
 Past Tenses (4)
Past Perfect Progressive
Functions Examples
Something that started in the We'd been living in Berlin for three months when we had to leave.
past and continued up to
another action or time in the
past
Something that finished just The children had been playing and so the room was a mess!
before another event in the
past
 Future Tenses (1)
Future Simple
Functions Examples
(Future Prediction) Liverpool will win the championship.
will (Requests / Offers etc.) Will you give me a hand?
(Conditionals) We will go to the park if it is sunny.
(Plans) I am going to have my hair cut after school today.
be going to (Future Prediction) The players are doing well. Liverpool is going to win the
championship.
 Future Tenses (2)
Future Progressive
Functions Examples
Overlapping actions in the At eight o'clock, I'll be eating dinner.
future
Future as a matter of course The Government will be making a statement later.
 Future Tenses (3)
Future Perfect / Future Progressive
Functions Examples
An action that starts before When we get married, I'll have known Robert for four years.
and continues up to another
action or time in the future In September, I will have been teaching for twelve years.
An action that will finish By 10 o'clock, I will have finished my homework.
before a certain time in the
future When I see you, I'll have been studying, so I'll be tired.
 Sentences and Clauses
• Basic terminologies first:

• A sentence is a set of words forming a complete meaning and is containing at

least a subject and a predicate.

• A clause is a set of words containing a verb, and sentences can contain more than
one clause.
 Basic Sentence Patterns

Basic Sentence
Example
Patterns
S+V The government officials arrived.
S+V+O The government officials announced another lockdown.
S+V+IO+DO The government officials gave the residents affected by the lockdown some food.
S+V+C The residents affected by the lockdown were furious.
S+V+O+C The government officials made the residents very angry.
 Clauses
• There are two major types of clauses:
• Main Clause; and
• Subordinate Clause

• A main clause is a clause that is carrying a complete meaning – basically a complete

sentence

• A subordinate clause is a clause that cannot stand alone as a sentence; it is adding or

completing the information in the main clause
 Sentence Types
• We have 4 types of sentences in English:

• Simple
• Compound
• Complex
• Compound-complex
 Sentence Types
Sentence Types Number of Ideas Formation and Example

• Main Clause (S+V)  Basic Form

Simple 1 • Example:
The government officials arrived.
• Main Clause + Conjunction + Main Clause
• Example:
Compound 2
The reporters arrived at the building, and the government officials arrived five minutes
later.
• Main Clause + Subordinate Conjunction / Relative Pronoun + Subordinate Clause
Complex 1+ • Example:
The reporters were angry because a government official did not answer their questions.
• Simple Sentence + Conjunction + Complex Sentence
Compound- • Example:
2+
complex The reporters were angry and the government official who did not answer their
questions went inside the building.