SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE, SIMPLE CONTINOUS TENSE,
SIMPLE
PAST TENSE, SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT AND
PRONOUN
A.
Simple Present Tense
The simple present or present simple is one of the verb forms associated
with the present tense in
modern English. It is commonly referred to as a tense, although it also encodes
certain information about aspect in addition to present time.
We use
the present tense include the example :
1.
For repeated or regular actions in the present
time period.
·
I take the train to the office.
·
The train to
Berlin leaves every
hour.
·
John sleeps eight hours every night
during the week.
2.
For facts.
· The President of The USA lives in The White House.
· A dog has four
legs.
· We come from
Switzerland.
3.
For habits.
· I get
up early every day.
· Carol brushes her
teeth twice a day.
· They travel to
their country house every weekend.
4.
For things that are always / generally true.
·
It rains a lot in winter.
·
The Queen of
England lives in
Buckingham Palace.
·
They speak English at work.
B.
Simple Continous
Tense
The simple
continuous tense is commonly used in English for actions happening
right now, or in the future. This page will explain the rules for forming the
tense with regular verbs.
When to use The Simple Continuous Tens
1.
We
use the Present Continuous Tense to talk about activities happening now.
Examples
The kids are watching TV. I am sitting down, because I am tired. I am not learning German, because this is an English class. Who are you writing to?
2.
We
can also use the Simple Continuous Tense to talk about activities happening
around now, and not necessarily this very moment.
Examples
Sally is studying really hard for her exams this week. I am reading a really interesting book now. How are you brushing up on your English for the trip? We aren't working hard these days.
3.
The
Simple Continuous Tense is also used to talk about activities happening in
the near future, especially for planned future events.
Examples
I am seeing my dentist on Wednesday. Polly is coming for dinner tomorrow. Are you doing anything tonight? We aren't going on holiday next week.
C. Simple Past
Tense
The simple past is used to talk about a completed action in a time before now. Duration is not important. The time of the action can be in the recent past or the distant past.
1.
When you mention a time in the past:-
For example:
"Last year I took my
exams."
"I got married in 1992."
2.
It can be used to describe events that happened
over a period of time in the past but not now.
For example:
"I lived in South Africa for two years."
3.
The simple past tense is also used to talk about
habitual or repeated actions that took place in the past.
For example:
"When I was a child we always went to the seaside on bank holidays."
4.
It can sometimes be confusing.
For example:
"She had a baby last year." (She hasn't lost
the baby, but here you are talking about the actual process of giving birth.)
D.
Past
Continous
The past continuous describes actions or events in a time before now, which began in the past and is still going on at the time of speaking. In other words, it expresses an unfinished or incomplete action in the past.
We use the past continuous
1.
for
something which continued before and after another action:
2.
This use of the past continuous is
very common at the beginning of a story:
3.
for
something that happened before and after a particular time
4.
to show
that something continued for
some time:
5.
for
something that was happening again
and again:
Example :
They were laughing at the joker
He was taking exam last month
You waiting for him yesterday
She was working in a factory.
It was raining yesterday.
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E. SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT
Subject verb agreement refers to the fact that the subject
and verb in a sentence must agree in number. In other words, they both must be
singular or they both must be plural. You can’t have a singular subject with a
plural verb or vice versa. The tricky part is in knowing the singular and
plural forms of subjects and verbs.
We Use
Subject Verb Agreement
1.
When two singular subjects are joined by the words or or nor a singular verb is in order.
My sister or my brother is meeting you at the
airport.
2.
Two singular subjects joined by either/or or neither/nor also
need a singular verb.
Neither Carla nor Jeff is available to meet you at
the airport.
3.
When the word and connects
two or more nouns or pronouns, use a plural verb.
She and her family are at Disney World.
4.
When a compound subject contains both a singular and a plural
noun or pronoun joined by or or nor, the verb should agree with the
part of the subject that is nearer the verb.
The athlete or his teammates sprint every day.
His teammates or the athlete sprints every day.
5.
When a phrase comes between the subject and verb, the verb
has to agree with the subject, not with the noun or pronoun in the phrase.
Two of the puppies are whimpering.
The birthday boy, along with his friends, is
anxious for the party to stop.
F. PRONOUN
Pronoun is defined as a word or phrase that may be
substituted for a noun or noun phrase, which once
replaced, is known as the pronoun’s antecedent. How is this possible? In a
nutshell, it’s because pronouns can do everything that nouns can do. A pronoun
can act as a subject, direct object, indirect object, object of the preposition, and more.
Pronouns
can be divided into numerous categories including:
·
Personal pronouns – those associated with
a certain person, thing, or group; all except you have distinct forms that
indicate singular or plural number
·
Reflexive pronouns – those preceded by the
adverb, adjective, pronoun, or noun to which they refer, and ending in –self or –selves
· Relative pronouns – those which refer to
nouns mentioned previously, acting to introduce an adjective (relative) clause
Examples, the pronouns are italicized.
1.
We are going on
vacation.
2.
Don’t tell me that you can’t go with us.
3.
Anybody who says it won’t be fun has no
clue what they are
talking about.
4.
These are terribly steep
stairs.
5.
We ran into each other at the mall.
6.
I’m not sure which is worse: rain or snow
Sumber :
