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THE THREE MAJOR VERBS IN ENGLISH
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Video Clip
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Surely you recall in the previous lesson we looked at all possible verb tenses and forms and we decided that English verbs have several forms, and each verb tense uses a particular form. Here we will look at these tenses and forms and try to make sense out of them. We will examine when and how we use each form.
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These are the possible forms followed by two examples, a regular verb and an irregular verb:
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Infinitive: To work- to eat
simple: work (s)- eat (s)
progressive: working - eating
past: worked - ate
past participle: worked eaten
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Verb tenses are divided into three major times:
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The Future
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The Present
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The Past
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Each of these times has four different specific times:
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The Simple
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The Progressive
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The Perfect
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The Perfect progressive
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We have looked at the simple and the progressive. In this lesson we will examine the perfect tense in the present and past times. We will look at when, how, and why the perfect tense is used.
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Again, remember that verb tenses reflect important information about the time of the action. To illustrate, let us examine the following chart:
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TIME
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ACTION
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6:30 a.m.
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Get up
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7:00 a.m. |
Make breakfast |
7:45 a.m. |
Go to school |
9:00 a.m. |
Attend English class |
12:15 p.m. |
Talk with Mary |
12:30 p.m. |
Eat lunch |
3:30 p.m. |
Study at the library |
4:30 p.m. |
Go to work |
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Now let us ask some questions about the activities in the chart.
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The present simple
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Q. What does John do every day at 7:00?
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A. John makes breakfast every day at 7:00.
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The present progressive
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Q. It is 9:00 now. What is John doing now?
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A. John is attending English class now.
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The past simple
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Q. What did John do yesterday?
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A. John got up at 6:30, made breakfast at 7:00, went to school
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At 7:45, attended English class at 9:00, ate lunch at 12:15
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And went to work at 4:30.
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The past progressive
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Q. What was John doing yesterday at 12:15?
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A. John was talking to Mary yesterday at 12:15.
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The future simple
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Q. What will John do tomorrow at 7:45?
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A. John will go to school tomorrow at 7:45.
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The future progressive
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Q. What will john be doing tomorrow at 2:30?
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A. John will be studying in the library tomorrow at 2:30.
Internet Links:
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http://www.lang.uiuc.edu/r-li5/esl/ The simple present tense
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http://www.lang.uiuc.edu/r-li5/esl/ The simple past tense
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http://www.lang.uiuc.edu/r-li5/esl/ The past continuous
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http://www.lang.uiuc.edu/r-li5/esl/ The present perfect
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http://www.pacificnet.net/~sperling/quiz/#grammar Various grammar exercises
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http://www.pacificnet.net/~sperling/quiz/#grammar Various grammar exercises
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http://www.pacificnet.net/~sperling/quiz/iverb1.html Irregular verbs
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http://www.pacificnet.net/~sperling/quiz/vtr.html Verb tense review
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http://www.pacificnet.net/~sperling/quiz/wordf1.html Word forms
Grammar Online
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