THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS (PROGRESSIVE) TENSE

FORM:

The Present Continuous Tense is formed using the present tense of the verb to
be and the present participle of the verb required.

We are learning English now.

↓ ↓
Present Tense of to be the present participle of the verb required
↓ ↓
(am/is/are) (the infinitive of the required verb without
to + the suffix -ing)

Interrogative: Are we learning now? - it is formed by inversion of the

auxiliary verb and the subject

Negative: We are not learning now. – it is formed by adding the negation

not to the auxiliary verb to be

The Present Participle – Form:

a) When adding the suffix –ing to the infinitive of the verb without to, very
often no spelling changes occur:

work + ing → working

sing + ing → singing
build + ing → building

b) If the verb ends in “mute e” (“e” which is written but non pronounced),
the “mute e” gets dropped:

smile /smail/ + ing → smiling

receive /ri’si:v/ + ing → receiving
c) If the verb ends in a consonant preceded by a short vowel, the final
consonant gets doubled:

slip + ing → slipping

↓
short vowel

run + ing → running

swim + ing → swimming
put + ing → putting

USE:

a) to denote an action which takes place when we speak (= the real

present):

The students are sitting now / at this moment.

(In this case the adverbs of time “now” / “at this moment” can be
omitted.)

You’re eating my ice-cream!

Look! It’s raining!
The children are sleeping now.
As you see, I’m dropping the stone into the water.

b) for activities that are in progress, but not necessarily going on at this
very moment:

They are building a new highway.

He is reading “Tom Sawyer.”

c) to denote a durative action, a process:

He is growing older.
She is getting more and more attractive.
Your English is improving.
 d) to denote a temporary habit:

They are living in a rented house. ( = temporarily, until they buy

their own house)

He’s walking to work while his car is being repaired.

e) with ALWAYS meaning TOO OFTEN, more often than normal.

It’s a frequently repeated action, usually annoying the speaker:

He is always mowing his lawn!

You are always visiting your mother.
My sister is always wearing my clothes.

f) for future arrangements (very often used with adverbs of time denoting
near future, such as TOMORROW, THIS WEEK, TONIGHT, THIS
AFTERNOON, NEXT WEEK, LATER):

They are going to Venice tomorrow.

We are visiting our granny this weekend.
Where are you spending your holidays this summer?
He’s moving to London.

NOTE:

Certain verbs are practically never used in the Present Continuous (or other
continuous tenses), even when describing the real present. With them we use the
Present Simple instead.
These are mainly verbs of condition or behaviour not strictly under human
control.

The following list contains the more important verbs that are not usually found
in CONTINUOUS tense forms:

admire, adore, appear (= seem), be (except in Passive Voice), believe, belong

to, care, consist of, contain, desire, dislike, fear, feel (that), forget, forgive, have
(= possess, own), hate, hear, know, like, love, matter, mean, mind, notice,
observe, own, perceive, possess, realize, recognize, recollect, refuse, remember,
respect, see (= understand), seem, smell, suppose, taste, think (that),
understand, want, wish,.....

Some of the listed verbs can be used in the continuous tenses in certain cases.

Note the difference:

I see. = I understand.
I’m seeing my doctor on Wednesday. → an arrangement

I have a car. = I possess a car.

I am having a bath.

I think he is nice. → an opinion

What are you doing here alone in the dark? I’m thinking.

THE PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE

FORM:
The Present Simple has the same form as the infinitive without to (except the
verb to be), but adds an s for the third person singular in positive setences only.

Infinitive: to work
Present Simple: I work, you work, we work, they work
he/she/it works

Interrogative: Do I work? Do you work? Do we work? Do they work?

Does he/she/it work?

- it is formed with the present tense of to do + the infinitive

without to of the main verb

Negative: I do not (don’t) work, you/we/they do not work

he/she/it does not (doesn’t) work

- it is formed with the present tense of to do + negation not + the

infinitive without to of the main verb

Adding –s/-es in the 3rd person singular (positive only)

a) Quite often no changes occur and only –s is added:

I work – she works

we ask – he asks
they add – she adds

b) Verbs ending in –y preceded by a consonant change y into i and add –es

pronounced /z/:

I cry – he cries /kraiz/

you fly – she flies /flaiz/
we study – she studies /stadiz/

c) If y is preceded by a vowel there is no change and only –s is added:

I play – he plays
they stay – she stays
 but: I say – he says /sez/

d) If the verb ends in /s/, /z/, /∫/, /ž /, /t∫/, /dž /, we add the ending –es which
is pronounced /iz/:

I watch /’wot∫/ - he watches /’wot∫iz/

you wash /’wo∫/ - it washes /’wo∫iz/
we kiss /’kis/ - she kisses /’kisiz/
they brush /’bra∫/ - he brushes /’bra∫iz/
I teach /’ti: t∫/ - she teaches /’ti: t∫iz/
We grudge /’gradž / - he grudges /’gradžiz/
they buzz /baz/ - it buzzes /bazis/

Exceptions: I do – he does
we go – she goes

USE:

a) to denote habitual action:

(we can always add adverbs of definite or indefinite time in these
sentences)

We always play tennis on Sundays.

She never drinks coffee.
Peter goes to work every morning.

b) for expressing general truth:

He works in the Post Office.

My father doesn’t like sweets.

c) for scientific facts:

The Sun sets in the evening.

Water boils at 100° C.
The planets go round the Sun.
Spiders have eight legs.
 d) to denote a fixed future action (schedule, timetable):

The ship sails at 5:45.

The film starts at 6 p.m.

NOTE: Both the Present Simple and Continuous are often used with
verbs: ARRIVE, COME, SAIL, LEAVE, LAND, TAKE OFF, GO, STRT,
STOP, etc, (dynamic transitional verbs) having the meaning of “plan” or
“programme”:

The ship sails / is sailing at 5:45.

The train leaves / is leaving tonight from Chicago.

e) instead of the Simple Past to make the description of past events

more vivid (also called “Historical present”)

He takes the bag, enters the car and escapes.

I walk into the shop, ask for the ring and the woman behind the counter
tells me they’re closed.
At that moment, in comes a policeman.

e) in clauses beginning with the adverbs of time like WHEN, AFTER,

AS SOON AS, BEFORE, TILL:

When Mary sees John, she’ll fall in love with him.

As soon as you do it, you’ll go home.
Wait till the bus stops.
You will eat the sandwich before we reach the village.
The guests will be drunk before they leave.

Adverbs of time used with the Present Simple (to denote habitual action):
↓ ↓
DEFINITE INDEFINITE
every day always
every month usually
twice a year never
once a month ever
on Fridays …… sometimes
occasionally
 rarely
hardly…..
Position of the adverbs of definite time in a sentence:

He goes to school every day. → end position

Every day he goes to school. → initial position

Position of the adverbs of indefinite time in a sentence:

She usually drinks coffee.

↓ ↓
subject main verb → they follow the subject and precede the
main verb

But if there is verb to be in a sentence, it will occupy the position after the
subject and precede the adverb of the indefinite time:

He is always late.
↓ ↓
subject verb to be

Exception: the adverb SOMETIMES may behave in the sentence both as a

definite or indefinite adverb, regarding its position:

She sometimes eats sweets.

Sometimes she eats sweets.
She eats sweets sometimes.

EXERCISE

Put the verbs in brackets either into the Present Continuous or in the Present
Simple Tense:

1. She (learn) _________ English twice a week.

2. They (go) _________ to London next week.
3. Bad students never (work) _________ hard.
4. She usually (sing) _________ in English, but today she (sing) __________ in
Italian.
5. Doctors (work) _________ in hospitals.
6. Actions (speak) ________ louder than words.
7. It usually (rain) _________ in autumn.
8. It (rain) __________ now.
9. This plane (fly) __________ over the Atlantic on Wednesdays.
10. Betty sometimes (watch) __________ “Melrose Place”.
11. _____ we (write) _________ a test at this moment?
12. _____ your father (teach) _________ at school?
13. She (not like) _________ winter.
14. The baby (cry) _________ every day.
15. ____ you (read) _________ the Novi List every day?
16. ____she (make) _________ a cake now?
17. The Sun (rise) _________ in the east; now it (set) ________ and the
night (fall) ________.
18. He (spend) _________ this weekend in Paris. He (go) _________
there nearly every week.
19. She (go) _________ to church on Sundays.
20. Jim (enter) ________ the room, (draw) ________ the revolver and
(shoot) ________ . Dead!
21. When he (arrive) ________ we’ll go out.
22. I (not like) _________ him.
23. My children (work) _________ very hard. Peter (study) _________ for an
examination.
24. What music ____ you (play) _________ next?
Sheila (sing) _________ a song by Schubert; she (sing) _________ it
very well.
25. I (see) ________ that you (wear) ________ your best clothes. ___ you
(go) _________ to a party?
26. I shall do it as soon as I (get) _________ home.
27. Mary (leave) ________ tomorrow and Peter (come) _________ back
next Friday.
28. I (have) ____________ a great time here in London.
29. I (stay) ____________with some English friends who (own) ____________
a farm.
30. At weekends I (help) ____________ on the farm.
31. He (develop) _____________ some strong muscles.
32. _____ she (come) ____________ to visit us at Christmas?
33. My friends (want) ____________ to meet my brother.
34. It’s too late. Nothing (matter) ____________ now.
35. He can’t see you now. He (dictate) ______________ letters.
36. Hurry up. The train just (come) _______________ in.
 THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE (THE PRETERIT TENSE)

FORM:

The Simple Past Tense is formed either by adding a suffix –(e)d to regular verbs
or by using *a special form of irregular verbs (e.g. leave - left):

The students visited the British Museum last year.

↓
regular verb + ed

He left his bag here yesterday.

↓
special form of the irregular verb

Interrogative: Did the students visit the British Museum last year?

- it is formed by using the auxiliary verb to do in the Simple Past

(= did, for all the persons) and the infinitive without to of the
main verb

Negative: The students did not (= didn’t) visit the British Museum last
year.

- it is formed by adding the negation not to the auxiliary verb,

and the infinitive without to of the main verb

*See “List of irregular verbs”

Adding suffix –(e)d to the regular verbs:

a) When adding the suffix –ed to the infinitive of the verb without to, very
often no spelling changes occur:

work + ed = worked
ask + ed = asked
cover + ed = covered

b) If the verb ends in “mute e”, only –d is added, because e already exists:
 smoke + d = smoked
believe + d = believed
dance + d = danced

c) If the verb ends in –y preceded by a consonant, y changes in i :

cry + ed = cried
↓
consonant

try + ed = tried
apply + ed = applied

but if the verb ends in –y preceded by a vowel, it behaves like any

other verb from the above mentioned group a), i.e. no spelling changes
occur:

play + ed = played
↓
vowel

stay + ed = stayed
obey + ed = obeyed

d) If the verb ends in a consonant preceded by a short vowel, this final

consonant gets doubled:

slip + ed = slipped
↓
short vowel

stop + ed = stopped
rub + ed = rubbed

USE:

a) to denote an action that happened in a finished period of time in the

 past:

France won the World Cup in 1998.

They had an accident yesterday.
Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away.
They demolished that building last week.

Adverbs of time which appear with the Simple Past: yesterday

last week
last month
two days ago
in 2004
last Saturday …. etc.

The Simple Past of the verb to be:

Positive Interrogative Negative

I was Was I? I was not (= wasn’t)
you were Were you? You were not (= weren’t)
he was Was he? He was not (= wasn’t)
she was Was she? She was not (= wasn’t)
it was Was it? It was not (= wasn’t)
we were Were we? We were not (= weren’t)
you were Were you? You were not (= weren’t)
they were Were they? They were not (= weren’t)
 THE PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE TENSE

FORM:

The Present Perfect Tense is formed with the Present Tense of the verb to have
and the past participle of the required (main) verb.

*The past participle in regular verbs is exactly the same form as the Simple Past,
i.e. loved, walked etc.
** In irregular verbs the past participles vary.

He has gone out.

↓ ↓
Present Tense of the verb to have past participle of the main verb
↓
(have/has)

The Present Tense of the verb to have:

Positive Interrogative Negative

I have (= ‘ve) Have I? I have not (= haven’t)
you have (= ‘ve) Have you? You have not (= haven’t)
he has (= ‘s) Has he? He has not (= hasn’t)
she has (= ‘s) Has she? She has not (= hasn’t)
it has (= ‘s) Has it? It has not (= hasn’t)
we have (= ‘ve) Have we? We have not (= haven’t)
you have (= ‘ve) Have you? You have not (= haven’t)
they have (= ‘ve) Have they? They have not (= haven’t)

Interrogative: Has he gone out? – it is formed by inversion of the auxiliary

verb and the subject

Negative: He has not (= hasn’t) gone out. – it is formed by adding the

negation not to the auxiliary verb to have

______________________________________________________
* See “The Simple Past Tense” - Adding suffix –(e)d to the regular verbs
** See “List of irregular verbs”
USE:

a) with the expressions of time which include the present moment:

TODAY, THIS WEEK, THIS MORNING, RECENTLY, EVER,
NEVER, SINCE, FOR (A LONG TIME, FIVE DAYS…) ALREADY,
(NOT) YET, IN THE LAST FEW DAYS …… , because as its name
says, the Present Perfect is a sort of mixture of present and past and it
connects present to the past. So it is used for an action that started in the
past and lasts up to the present moment:

I have lived in Rijeka ever since I was born.

She has met a lot of new people in the last few days.
Nobody has written to me since my birthday.
He hasn’t passed a single exam this semester.

b) for an action that happened in the past, but it doesn’t matter WHEN.
Important are the consequences of this action in the present:

They have broken the window. → and it is broken now

The Titanic has sunk. → and it’s at the bottom of the sea now
They have seen that film. → and they know a lot about it

c) when we ask “How many?” or “How many times?”:

How many cars have you bought?

How many times has she visited Italy?

d) with the expressions “It’s the first time”, “It’s the second time” etc. that
something has happened:

It’s the first time I have been to Spain.

It’s the third time they have visited us.

Remarks on the expressions of time SINCE and FOR:

I haven’t seen her since Monday.

They have built ten new houses since the beginning of the year.

since = from a certain point in past till now

(It can be translated in Croatian as “OD”)
I haven’t seen her for five days.
He has been absent for seven hours.

for = length of time till now

(It can be translated in Croatian as “VEĆ”)

Remarks on the expressions of time JUST, ALREADY, YET:

JUST → expresses a recently completed action (meaning “upravo, baš”); it is

used mainly in positive sentences; it must be placed between the
auxiliary and the main verb

She has just arrived.

I have just finished learning.

ALREADY → it is used mainly in positive sentences (meaning “već”); it must

be placed between the auxiliary and the main verb

She has already done it.

They have already cleaned the car.

YET → means “until now”; it is used in negative sentences (meaning “još”) and
in interrogative sentences (meaning “već”); it is placed at the end of the sentence

He hasn’t come yet.

Has he come yet?

NOTE:

The Present Perfect Tense is sometimes translated using the Croatian PREZENT,
and sometimes using the Croatian PERFEKT:

I have worked here since 2001. → Radim ovdje od 2001. → prezent

He has read the book. → Pročitao je knjigu. → perfekt
 EXERCISE

Put the verbs in brackets either into the Simple Past or in the Present Perfect
Tense:

1. How are you? I (lose) __________ my necklace. I hope I’ll find it.
2. My friend (see) ___________ that film several times.
3. Henry (leave) ___________ the country last year.
4. She (call) ____________ the doctor yesterday because she (not feel)
____________ well.
5. Mary just (receive) ___________ an SMS from John.
6. _____ you (send) ___________ the e-mail?
7. When ____ you (send) _________ the e-mail?
8. How long ago (be) __________ the last war?
9. She already (consult) ___________ some of the best specialists.
10. ____ you ever (be) __________ to London?
11. I suppose you (hear) ___________ the news; John (marry)
_________ that horrible Jackson girl yesterday.
12. Last year they (begin) __________ to build a new block of flats.
13. They (live) ___________ in this street since 1997.
14. They (live) ___________ in this street in 1997.
15. ____ they (repair) __________ the roof yet?
16. “_____ he (speak) _________ to my sister yesterday?”
“No. He (not see) _________ her for a long time.”
17. My wife (not come) ___________ home yet.
18. I (not eat) ___________ caviar since I was in Moscow.
19. They (come) __________ here a month ago.
20. My servant (leave) __________ me two weeks ago.
21. She (not have) ___________ holiday for four years.
22. Since when _____ you (know) __________ him?
23. I (leave) ___________ school three years ago and since then I (have)
___________ several jobs.
24. We (not spend) _____________ much money yet, but we’ll get some
souvenirs before we leave.
25. My brother (be) ____________ interested in architecture ever since he
(be) ____________ a child.
26. Where _____ you first (meet) ___________ your husband?
27. We (post) ___________ the parcel three weeks ago. If you still (not receive)
____________ it, please inform us immediately.
28. When _____ she (leave) ___________ school?
29. Where _____ you (be) ____________ since then?
30. Quick! There (be) ______________ an accident. Phone the hospital.
The accident (happen) _______________ when that black car (shoot)
______________ out of the side street without warning.