In each language that we learn, it is important to develop a repertoire of phrases, idioms and expressions. Start today – collect expressions and write them down. Use all media and tools, like newspapers, magazines, books as well as audio-visual media and participate in conversations. One important aspect: Mind the tenses! For this purpose we provide you with a free summarisation of tenses!
Present
| Present Simple – Formation: | Present Progressive – Formation: |
| person + 1st form of the verb | person + present form of “to be” + infinitive + “-ing” |
| Present Simple – Conjugation: | Present Progressive – Conjugation: |
| I exercise | I am exercising |
| You exercise | You are exercising |
| He, she, it exercises | He, she, it is exercising |
| We exercise | We are exercising |
| You exercise | You are exercising |
| They exercise | They are exercising |
| Present Simple – Usage: | Present Progressive – Usage: |
| · When something happens regularly or· is a permanent situation or
· to show a schedule or fixed timetable in the future (present simple with a future meaning) |
· For actions happening at or around the moment of speaking or· for a longer action which is currently in progress or
· for individual plans already in place |
Past
| Past Simple – Formation: | Past Progressive – Formation: |
| person + 2nd form of the verb | person + past form of “to be” + infinitive + “-ing” |
| Past Simple – Conjugation: | Past Progressive – Conjugation: |
| I exercised | I was exercising |
| You exercised | You were exercising |
| He, she, it exercised | He, she, it was exercising |
| We exercised | We were exercising |
| You exercised | You were exercising |
| They exercised | They were exercising |
| Past Simple – Usage: | Past Progressive – Usage: |
| Expresses that an action took place at a definite time in the past (complete actions)and is used to express that one event happened after another,
|
Expresses that somebody was in the middle of an action at a certain time,indicates a past action in progress, when a new event happened
and is used for actions in progress simultaneously
|
Present Perfect
| Present Simple – Formation: | Present Progressive – Formation: |
| person + 1st form of the verb | person + present form of “to be” + infinitive + “-ing” |
| Present Simple – Conjugation: | Present Progressive – Conjugation: |
| I exercise | I am exercising |
| You exercise | You are exercising |
| He, she, it exercises | He, she, it is exercising |
| We exercise | We are exercising |
| You exercise | You are exercising |
| They exercise | They are exercising |
| Present Simple – Usage: | Present Progressive – Usage: |
| · When something happens regularly or· is a permanent situation or
· to show a schedule or fixed timetable in the future (present simple with a future meaning) |
· For actions happening at or around the moment of speaking or· for a longer action which is currently in progress or
· for individual plans already in place |
Future
| Future “will” – Formation: | Future Tense “going to” – Formation: |
| person + “will” + infinitive of the verb | person + present form of “to be” + “going to” + infinitive + “-ing” |
| Future “will” – Conjugation: | Future Tense “going to” – Conjugation: |
| I will exercise | I am going to exercise |
| You will exercise | You are going to exercise |
| He, she, it will exercise | He, she, it is going to exercise |
| We will exercise | We are going to exercise |
| You will exercise | You are going to exercise |
| They will exercise | They are going to exercise |
| There are also the forms: Future Progressive, like: “I will be learning” and Future Perfect, like: “you will have leaned”… more examples soon to come! | |
| Future – Usage: | Future Tenses Examples |
| Use Future Tense “will” for future events that cannot be controlled and for spontaneous reactions,Future Tense “going to” for plans, intentions and the near future,
Present Simple for schedules (e. g. times of arrivals and departures), Present Progressive for individual plans and intentions. |
· “I think I will be back at seven.”· “I am going to become a teacher.”
· “I am playing chess with him tomorrow.” · “The train leaves at eight”. |
Past Perfect
| Past Perfect Simple – Formation: | Past Perfect Progressive – Formation: |
| person + had + 3rd form of the verb | person + past form of “to have” + “been” + infinitive + “-ing” |
| Past Perfect Simple – Conjugation: | Past Perfect Progressive – Conjugation: |
| I had exercised | I had been exercising |
| You had exercised | You had been exercising |
| He, she, it had exercised | He, she, it had been exercising |
| We had exercised | We had been exercising |
| You had exercised | You had been exercising |
| They had exercised | They had been exercising |
| Past Perfect Simple – Usage: | Past Perfect Progressive – Usage: |
| expresses that something happened before another action in the past | expresses that something started in the past and continued until another time in the past |
Active Passive
| Active: | Passive: |
| An active verb is used to express what the subject does: | A passive verb is used to express what happens to the subject (form of “to be” + past participle): |
| Passive – Tenses with examples: | Passive – Tenses with examples: |
| Present Tense: “He opens the door”.Present Perfect Tense: “He has opened the door”.
Past Tense: “He opened the door”. Past Perfect Tense: “He had opened the door”. Future Tense “will”: “He will open the door”. Future Tense “going to”: “He is going to open the door”. |
Present Tense: “The door is opened by him”.Present Perfect Tense: “The door has been opened by him”.
Past Tense: “The door was opened by him”. Past Perfect Tense: “The door had been opened by him”. Future Tense “will”: “The door will be opened by him”. Future Tense “going to”: “The door is going to be opened by him”. |
Conditionals
| Conditional Clauses – Type 1: | Conditional Clauses – Type 1 – Example: |
| Type 1 for a general fact or something that is always true: If + Simple Present, Future “will” (or Simple Present for general facts). | Type 1: “If the rain stops, the game will continue” |
| Conditional Clauses – Type 2: | Conditional Clauses – Type 2 – Example: |
| Type 2 for imaginary or unreal events and actions: If + Simple Past, Conditional 1. | Type 2: “If he invited me to his party, I would come”. |
| Conditional Clauses – Type 3: | Conditional Clauses – Type 3 – Example: |
| Type 3: “If he had taken better care, the accident would not have happened”. | Type 3: “If he had taken better care, the accident would not have happened”. |
Reported Speech
| Direct Speech – Reporting verb is present | Indirect (Reported) Speech – Reporting verb is present |
| Reporting verb is present in direct speech: e. g. Tim says: “I am tired.” | Reporting verb is present in indirect speech: e. g. Tim says (that) he is tired” (only pronoun changes!) |
| Direct Speech – Reporting verb is present | Indirect (Reported) Speech – Reporting verb is present |
| Reporting verb is past in direct speech: e. g. Tim said: “I am tired today.” | Reporting verb is past in indirect speech: e. g. Tim said (that) he was tired that day” (pronoun, adverb and tense change!).· Present form in direct speech changes to past.
· Past form in direct speech changes to past perfect. · Present perfect form in direct speech changes to past perfect. · Future form in direct speech changes to conditional 1. |