Simple Tense: Present and Past

Present Simple Tense
(example : to play)

Affirmative	Negative		Interrogative
	Long Form	Contracted Form
I play	I do not play	I don't play	Do I play?
You play	You do not play	You don't play	Do you play?
He/she/itplays	He/she/it does not play	He/she/it doesn't play	Does he/she/it play?
We play	We do not play	We don't play	Do we play?
You play	You do not play	You don't play	Do you play?
They play	They do not play	They don't play	Do they play?

The present simple tense is used :

• To talk about regular activities :
• John plays tennis once a week.
• We start work at 9 a.m. every morning.
• Mary goes to visit her parents on Sundays.
• To talk about tastes :
• Peter likes Chinese food.
• Julie doesn't like classical music.
• Most children love chocolate.
• To talk about facts :
• The sun rises in the east.
• In Europe, the weather is cold in winter.
• Authors write books.

Complete each of the sentences below with the correct form of the adjective.
(The answers are at the bottom of the page.)

1. Jeremy is 10 years old. Jenny is 8 years old. Jeremy is (old) ____________ ______ Jenny.
2. The Alps are very high. They are (high) _____ _______________ mountains in Europe.
3. An ocean is (large) ____________ _______ a sea.
4. A Rolls Royce costs a lot of money. A Twingo costs less.
         A Rolls Royce is (expensive) _______ ________________ _____ a Twingo.
5. John's results were bad. Fred's were very poor. Fred's results were (bad) __________ _____ John's.
6. This exercise is not very difficult. It's ____________ ______ I expected.
7. The weather is not good today. It's raining. I hope the weather will be (good) _____________ next week.
8. People are not very friendly in big cities. They are usually (friendly) ________________ in small towns.
9. In the government of a country, the President is (important) _____ ______ _______________ person.
10. People say that Chinese is (difficult) ______ ____________ to learn than English

1. older than	2. the highest	3. larger than	4. more expensive than	5. worse than
6. easier than	7. better	8. friendlier	9. the most important	10. more difficul

1.   John moved to London 10 years ago and he __________ lives there.

2.   Julie ____________ walks to school.

3.    "What time is the accountant coming?"  "He's ____________ here.".

4.   "I ordered a book last week.  Has it arrived __________?".

5.   Do you __________   take milk in your coffee?".

6.   "I've been taking English lessons for 3 months but I __________ haven't made much progress".

7.   Emma only moved house last week and she __________knows her neighbours!".

8.   I ____________ save my files and turn off the computer before leaving the office.

9.   Peter sent an application form two weeks ago but he __________ hasn't received a reply.

10.  The manager resigned yesterday, but his resignation hasn't been officially announced __________.

1)  still     2)  always     3)  already     4)  yet     5)  always     6)  still     7)  already     8)  always     9)  still     10)  yet    

Past Simple Tense

(example : to play)

• The past simple tense of regular verbs is formed by adding - ed to the infinitive
  (for example: -  Infinitive : to play   Past Simple : I played)

• The auxiliary did is used to form the negative and interrogative forms

Affirmative	Negative		Interrogative
	Long Form	Contracted Form
I played	I did not play	I didn't play	Did I play?
You played	You did not play	You didn't play	Did you play?
He/she/it played	He/she/it did not play	He/she/it didn't play	Did he/she/it play?
We played	We did not play	We didn't play	Did we play?
You played	You did not play	You didn't play	Did you play?
They played	They did not play	They didn't play	Did they play?

The past simple tense is used to talk about finished actions in a finished period of time,
for example :

• Yesterday evening I played tennis with a friend.
• Last year I started taking tennis lessons.
• When I was at school I hated history.
• Five minutes ago I finished the report for my boss.
• Last week I attended a meeting in Tokyo.

Present Perfect Tense
(example : to do)

Present Perfect Simple
Affirmative	Negative		Interrogative
	Long Form	Contracted Form
I have done	I have not done	I haven't done	Have I done?
You have done	You have not done	You haven't done	Have you done?
He/she/it has done	He/she/it has not done	He/she/it hasn't done	Has he/she/it done?
We have done	We have not done	We haven't done	Have we done?
You have done	You have not done	You haven't done	Have you done?
They have done	They have not done	They haven't done	Have they done?
Present Perfect Continuous
Affirmative	Negative		Interrogative
	Long Form	Contracted Form
I have been doing	I have not been doing	I haven't been doing	Have I been doing?
You have been doing	You have not been doing	You haven't been doing	Have you been doing?
He/she/has been doing	He/she/it has not  been doing	He/she/it hasn't been doing.	Has he/she/it been doing?
We have been doing	We have not been doing	We haven't been doing	Have we been doing?
You have been doing	You have not been doing	You haven't been doing	Have you been doing?
They have been doing	They have not been doing	They haven't been doing	Have they been doing?

The present perfect is used to refer to actions which take place in an

unfinished time period up to the time of speaking.

• The present perfect continuous tense is used to refer to an action which started
      in the past and continues today. 
• I have been learning English since September.
  (I started in September and I continue to take lessons today.)

• The present perfect simple is used to refer to the finished part of a continuous
       action.

So far in my English course :

• I have learnt new vocabulary.
• I have revised some grammar rules.
  (My English course is not finished, but I have finished some of the lessons.)

Example:

Today is your English Revision day. It is now 2 p.m. 

At 9 o'clock this morning you started your revision work. At 2 pm the day is not finished, 

so you can say : "I have been revising my English since 9 o'clock this morning." 

(You are still revising your English, so the continuous form is used.)

However, you have completed part of the revision work, so you can say, for example

"So far today I have revised tenses and irregular verbs."

N.B. 

If you refer to a specific time earlier in the day, you must use the Past Simple :

"This morning I revised tenses and irregular verbs." or,

"I met Charlie for lunch at 12.30"

Present Perfect vs Past Simple
(I have finished  vs  I  finished)

PRESENT PERFECT 

The present perfect tense is used :

• To talk about an action which started in the past and continues today :
       For and since are used to express duration. 
• I have lived here for 10 years.  I have lived here since 2002
      (I arrived 10 years ago and I am still here.)
• To refer to past events in an unfinished period of time.
• I have written two letters today.
      (Two letters are written but today is not finished.)
• To refer to past events that have just happened or been announced :
• There has been a plane crash near the coast.
      (We know the event took place but we don't know when.)
• To talk about a past action with a result in the present.  :
• I've broken my arm.  I can't drive (= because my arm is broken now.)
• To talk and ask about experiences or accomplishments up to the time of speaking :    
• "I'm a writer. I've written 9 books."
• "Have you ever written a biography?" "No, never."

PAST SIMPLE

The Past Simple is used:

• When the period of time is finished.
• I wrote two letters yesterday. (Yesterday is finished).

• When the time is mentioned, either a precise time in the past, or a time expression
       which clearly situates the event in the past.
• John lived in the country
  ..... until the age of 6.
  ..... when he was young.
  ..... from 1995 to 2002
  ..... before he moved to London.
  ..... a long time ago.

As a general rule, if you can answer the question "when?", use the Past Simple.

Past Simple Tense
(example : to play)

• The past simple tense of regular verbs is formed by adding - ed to the infinitive
  (for example: -  Infinitive : to play   Past Simple : I played)

• The auxiliary did is used to form the negative and interrogative forms

Affirmative	Negative		Interrogative
	Long Form	Contracted Form
I played	I did not play	I didn't play	Did I play?
You played	You did not play	You didn't play	Did you play?
He/she/it played	He/she/it did not play	He/she/it didn't play	Did he/she/it play?
We played	We did not play	We didn't play	Did we play?
You played	You did not play	You didn't play	Did you play?
They played	They did not play	They didn't play	Did they play?

The past simple tense is used to talk about finished actions in a finished period of time,
for example :

• Yesterday evening I played tennis with a friend.
• Last year I started taking tennis lessons.
• When I was at school I hated history.
• Five minutes ago I finished the report for my boss.
• Last week I attended a meeting in Tokyo.