Present Continuous Tense

The Present Continuous Tense is used to express an

action that is going on at the moment.
Examples:
1. I am reading a book in the library.
2. The old man is sitting on the bench.
3. They are fishing by the river.
4. The guard is closing the door now.
5. The pupils are arranging the desks in the classroom.
Notes
* The present continuous tense is formed as
am / is / are + [ verb + -ing ]
* For verbs that end in 'e' , replace the 'e' with 'ing'.
Examples: (a) arrive + ing = arriving
(b) receive + ing = receiving
(c) come + ing = coming
* For verbs ending with a consonant and have only the
one vowel before the consonant, double the last letter
before adding ' ing '.
Examples: (a) fit + ing = fitting
(b) dig + ing = digging
(c) rob + ing = robbing

Simple Present Tense

The Simple Present Tense is used for actions which are

done every day, sometimes, always, often, etc.
Examples:
1. I brush my teeth every morning.
2. It sometimes rains in the evening.
3. Lily always sleeps early.
4. I often help my friends.
Read the sentences above.
Which are the verbs in the sentences ?
They are 'brush' , 'rains' , 'sleeps' and 'help' .
They are used to show us what people do every day ,
sometimes , always and often.
They are in the Simple Present Tense.
We use the Simple Present Tense to show a regular or
habitual action.

Past Continuous Tense

We use the Past Continuous Tense for an action that was going on in the past when
something else happened.
Examples:
1. While they were playing yesterday, they saw a snake.
2. I was going to the market when I saw Zhi Ming.
3. The bird was flying away when he shot it.
4. While we were flying, it started to rain.
5. I was writing a letter when the lights went out.
We also use the Past Continuous Tense for an action that was going on at a given
period or point of time in the past.
Examples:
1. I was reading a book yesterday afternoon.
2. We were sleeping at 9 o'clock last night.
3. My mother was cooking all yesterday morning.
4. She was walking home at 8 o'clock last night.
5. He was digging in the garden all day yesterday.

Simple Past Tense

We use the Simple Past Tense for a past action when we

know the time it happened.
Examples:
1. I drew the picture yesterday.
2. I bought this book two days ago.
3.They caught a lot of fish this morning.
4. My sister gave me the bag last night.
5. The cat ate the fish just now.
The sentences above mentioned the past actions.
Are we told when the actions took place?
Yes, the actions took place ' yesterday' , 'two days ago' ,
'this morning' , 'last night' and 'just now' .

Simple Present Tense

The Simple Present Tense is used for actions which are

done every day, sometimes, always, often, etc.
Examples:
1. I brush my teeth every morning.
2. It sometimes rains in the evening.
3. Lily always sleeps early.
4. I often help my friends.
Read the sentences above.
Which are the verbs in the sentences ?
They are 'brush' , 'rains' , 'sleeps' and 'help' .
They are used to show us what people do every day ,
sometimes , always and often.
They are in the Simple Present Tense.
We use the Simple Present Tense to show a regular or
habitual action.

common Mistakes
Lover
Sporting house
Dead president
Service station
Rest room
Busboy
Dry goods <> <>
Heart man
Tea shop
Senior citizen
Wash ones hands
A busy body
A black sheep
Be taken in
Pull sbs leg
African American
Eat ones words
Mad doctor
Eleventh hour
Personal remark
Sweet water
Confidence man
Criminal lawyer
Dressing room
Horse sense
Capital idea
Familiar talk
Black tea (
Green hand
Have a fit
Black art
White coal
Chinese dragon
Red tape
China policy
White man
Black stranger ()
Eat ones words
An apple of love
Handwriting on the wall
Bring down the house
Blind date
Roadside business
American Dream
Yellow book
Blue stocking
American beauty
English disease
Indian summer
Greek gift

Spanish athlete
French chalk
In ones birthday suit
Make ones hair stand on end
Think a great deal of oneself
Pull up ones socks
Have the heart to do
What a shame
You dont say
You can say that again
I havent slept better

article

Writing guidelines for Section C Note Expansion

1. Section C of the UPSR SJK(C) English Language Paper 2 requires you to construct
sentences based on the notes and pictures given. You must answer this question.
2. You are required to construct simple and compound sentences.
3. You are also required to use correct grammar, spelling and punctuation in your
sentences.
4. You must read the instructions and study each picture carefully before you start
writing your sentences.
5. Look out for names as well as time frame given in the instructions.
6. You may / must use all the words given to construct the sentences depending on the
instructions given.
7. You need to know that the 3 pictures are in sequence. Therefore, there must be a link
between the sentences you are constructing and the pictures.
8. Look out for the verbs and time words given as they can help you to determine the
tense that you have to write in. for example:
a. Simple Present Tense
- teacher drives school morning
Mr. Wong is a teacher. He drives his car to school every morning.
b. Present Continuous Tense
-sweeping floor- sister- book- now
I am sweeping the floor while my sister is reading a book now.
c.

Simple Past Tense

-fell bicycle- yesterday- leg
Amin fell fro his bicycle yesterday. He broke his leg.

d. Past Continuous Tense

-drawing- picture ago
Patrick was drawing a picture an hour ago.
e. Future Tense
-play badminton- friends- tomorrow
Mei Sim will play badminton with her friends tomorrow.
9. You are advised to spend about 35 minutes on this section.
10. You must always remember to read your sentences and understand what you have
written. If you do not understand your own sentences, how can you expect the
examiner to understand them.

Writing guidelines for Section B Information Transfer

1. Section B of the UPSR SJK(C) English Language Paper 2 requires you to transfer
information from a given text to another which consists of five blanks. You must
answer this question.
2. You are required to transfer the information correctly without altering its original
meaning from a text into a given framework.
3.

You must use the correct tenses and structure in all your answers.

4. You must look at the picture(s) carefully to get the main idea before you fill in the
blanks.
5. You are encouraged to use your pencil to underline, bracket or tick the key words
or ideas as you read through the information given.
6. You must read the passage, dialogue or whatever framework given to determine
what the missing information is.
7.

You use the key words underlined, bracketed or ticked to fill in the blanks.

8.

You must transfer and copy the information correctly.

9.

If necessary, you can add suitable words to make your sentence structure correct.

10. The words that you fill in must have the correct grammar correct spelling, tense,
structure and punctuation.
11. You are advised to spend about 25 minutes on this section.
12. You are also advised to read through the passage, dialogue or whatever given
framework after you have filled in the blanks.
13. You must remember that if you do not understand the information that you have
filled in, how can you expect the examiner to understand them.

Writing Guidelines for Section A - Sentence Construction

1. There are 10 questions in Section A of the UPSR SJK(C) English Language Paper
2. You must answer all the questions.
2. Two words are given for each picture.
3. You must write only ONE grammatically correct sentence based on the picture and
the two given words.
4. Look at each picture carefully and try to understand what each picture and the two
given words.
5. You must use both the words in their given form and the sentence must describe the
picture.
6. Look at the verbs given to determine the tenses to be used in your sentence such
as :
a) Simple Present Tense
-brushes morning
Jasmin brushes her teeth every morning.
b) Present Continuous Tense
-washing car
Mr.Tan is washing his car now.
c) Simple Past Tense
-bought house
Mrs. Tan bought a house last year.
d) Past Continuous Tense
- listening - radio
They were listening to the radio just now.
e) Future Tense
- visit tomorrow
We will visit Keith tomorrow.
7. If there is a person drawn in the picture, remember to give that person an identity,
for example Mr.Tan, Mrs.Tan, Jasmin or Ahmad. You can also use personal
pronouns like I, You, We, They, He or She. If there is an animal or a
thing in the picture, you can use It or write the name of the animal or thing.
8. You must check to make sure that your spelling is correct.
9. You must also make sure that you use the correct punctuation for your sentences.
10. You are encouraged to construct simple sentences to avoid errors.
11. You are advised to spend 15 minutes on this section.
12. Remember to read your sentences and understand what you have written. If you
do not understand your own sentences, how can you expect the examiner to
understand them.

A(An) vs. The

USE 9
A and AN are called indefinite articles. "Indefinite" means "not specific". Use A(AN)
when you are talking about a thing in general, NOT a specific thing.
Examples:

I need a phone. Not a specific phone, any phone

Mark wants a bicycle. Not a particular bicycle, a bicycle in general

Do you have a driver's license? In general

Use A(AN) when talking about a thing which is new, unknown, or introduced to a
listener for the first time. Also use A(AN) when you are asking about the existence of
something.
Examples:

I have a car. The car is being introduced for the first time.

Tom is a teacher. This is new information to the listener.

Is there a dictionary in your backpack? Asking about the existence of the

dictionary

Similarly, use A(AN) to introduce what type of thing we are talking about.
Examples:

That is an excellent book. Describing the kind of book

Do you live in a big house? Asking about the kind of house

I ate a thick, juicy steak. Describing the kind of steak

REMEMBER: You cannot use A(AN) with plural nouns because A(AN) means "one"
or "a single".
Examples:

I saw a bears in Yellowstone National Park. Not Correct

I saw bears in Yellowstone National Park. Correct

USE 10
THE is called a definite article. "Definite" means "specific". Use THE when talking
about something which is already known to the listener or which has been previously
mentioned, introduced, or discussed.
Examples:

I have a cat. The cat is black.

There is a book in my backpack. The book is very heavy.

Do you know where I left the car keys? The listener knows which specific car
keys you are talking about.

Do you own a car? Is the car blue? You assume they do have a car after
asking about it in the first sentence.

Nobody lives on the Moon. The Moon is known to everyone.

IMPORTANT: You can use THE with both singular nouns and plural nouns.
Examples:

I saw the bear in Yellowstone National Park. Correct

I saw the bears in Yellowstone National Park. Correct

USE 11
Many clauses and phrases make the noun known to the listener by telling the listener
which person or thing we are talking about. Let's look at an example sentence:
Can you give me the book on the table.
We use THE in this sentence because the phrase "on the table" tells the listener which
book we are referring to. We are not talking about other books, we are talking about a
specific book that the listener can see or already knows about. Learning to recognize
such identifying clauses and phrases will help you use THE correctly.
Examples:

Did you read the book which I gave you?

He didn't like the movie that you suggested.

He loved the dessert with chocolate and cherries.

The phone on my desk belongs to Ken.

Did you know the man who was talking to Leonie?

HOWEVER: Not all clauses and phrases make the noun known to the listener. Some
are simply descriptive. They add extra information, but they do not tell the listener
which specific thing we are talking about.
Examples:

He bought the house with a big backyard. This combination tells the listener
which specific house he bought.

He bought a house with a big backyard. This combination tells the listener
what kind of house he bought, but not the specific house he bought.

Are there any simple rules for choosing the definite

vs. indefinite (vs. none) article?

Well, if you insist on the rule being simple, here you are:

a = some, any

the = this, that

Two simple examples. Note that you just wrote "...if a person knows which item you
are talking about...". You didn't write "...if the person knows...". And that's correct,
because you are not pointing to this or that person, you are talking about any person
in general.
On the other hand, my answer starts with "if you insist on the rule being simple".
That's because you asked for a rule (= any rule), and I am now talking about that rule.
We are talking about the same thing.
Now, I can't think of a (= any) simple rule of thumb when not to use an (= any) article
at all, but here are some suggestions:

Don't put an (= any) article before a (= any) noun if the (= that) noun is
preceded by:
o

a number

a possessive adjective ("my", "his", "our"...)

a "no", "some" or "any"

a "this", "that", "these" or "those"

Give me a chair! (= any chair you like)

Give me the chair! (= this chair)

Give me that chair! (no article, you already specified which chair you
mean)

Give me my chair! (no article)

Give me five chairs! (no article)

Give me some chairs! (no article)

Give me the chairs! (= these chairs)

Give me these chairs! (no article)

Give me a reason to hit you! (= any reason will do)

Give me no reason to hit you! (no article because of "no")

Give me no reason to hit you with a chair! (= any chair)

Give me no reason to hit you with the chair! (= this chair)

Examples: