Seminar 1

SIMPLE AND CONTINUOUS

FORMS OF VERBS

Touchstone 4

EL 701

The Present Simple is used :

►To talk about regular activities, routine,

habits:

- John plays tennis once a week.

- We start work at 9 a.m. every day.

- Mary eats fish on Fridays.

►To talk about tastes:

- Peter likes Chinese food.

- Julie doesn't like fish.

- Their children love chocolate.

► To talk about facts:

- The sun rises in the east.

- In Europe, the weather is cold in winter.

- Authors write books.

The Present Continuous is used :

● To talk about continuous activities :

1) at the time of speaking :

I am reading this page now.

2) around now, in a more general sense :

I am learning English this year.

● To talk about planned future

arrangements :

- Next month I am spending my holidays in

Australia.

I have already booked my flight.

- Our neighbours are coming to dinner

tomorrow.

They have accepted our invitation.

The Present Perfect Continuous is used to refer to an action started in the past which continues today.

Example: 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.

Example: 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)

The Present Perfect is used to refer to actions which take place in an unfinished time period up to now.

Example :Today, it is now 2 p.m.At 9 o'clock this morning you started revising your English.

Today is not finished, so you can say "I have been revising my English since 9 o'clock."(You are still revising, so the continuous form is used.)

You have done part of the revision

work, which is not finished, so at 2 p.m. you

can say: "So far today, I have revised tenses

and irregular verbs.

(You do not mention any specific time; you

refer to today which is not finished.)

N.B. If you refer now (2 pm) to the morning,

for example, which is finished, you must use

the Past Simple.

Example: This morning I revised tenses and

irregular verbs.

The Past Simple is used to talk about

finished actions in a finished period of

time.

Example : Yesterday evening, I played tennis

with a friend.

In 2005, 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.

◊ The Past Continuous tense is used to talk about a continuous action which took place at a specific time in the past.●Yesterday evening, at 9 o'clock, I waswatching television.

◊ It is also used, in sentences with when or while, to refer to an action which was taking place when a shorter, brief action took place.●Yesterday evening, while I was watchingtelevision, the phone rang.● When my husband arrived home yesterday evening, I was cooking dinner.

3. A When ________ you last ______ (get) a good workout?

B Yesterday. In fact, I ___________ (lift)weights when you ________ (call) me last night.

4. A What _________ you ________ (do) for living?

B Actually, I ______________ (not work ) right now. I _____________ (look) for a job for six months, but I ____________ (not find) anything yet.

5. A What ________ you _________ (do) for

fun lately?

B Not much. I ________ (work) really hard

for the past year.

In fact, I _______ (not take) a vacation in

over a year now.

6. I (book)__________ the tickets two weeks ago for the concert in Vienna.

7. The teacher (speak)____________ English since the beginning of this lesson.

8. In your life, how many countries (you-visit) _______________?

9. The Bank (open)__________ a branch in new shopping centre last month.

opened

has been

speaking

have you visited

booked

10. The bus is late and Julie is cold. She

(wait)__________ for 10 minutes.

11. Caroline (work)__________ here between 2003

and 2006.

12. Before boarding, John (buy)_______ a book to

read during the flight.

13. So far today, I (learn) ____________ several new

words in English.

has been waiting

has worked

bought

have learnt

Present Perfect Simple or Continuous?

Find the mistake - 3

Each of the sentences below has one or two

mistakes. Find them and correct them.

(Example :

I am watching television since I came home

from school. →

I have been watching television since I came

home.)

1. How long are you learning English ?

have___ been learning

have___ smoked

2. How many cigarettes have you been

smoking this afternoon ?

3. I am working here since 1995.

4. I’ve had my watch since a long time.

5. How many years are you living in

London ?

6. Mark is exhausted. He is playing tennis since two hours.

7. Sophie is doing very well at school since the beginning of the year.

8. I have worn this sweater since 9 o’clock this morning.

9. I know Laura for many years. have known

10. Peter is attending English classes since two years.

11. My best friend has always been hating fish.

12. How many chapters of the book did you read so far ?

13. I am waiting for the bus since a long time.

14. I have listened carefully to the teacher since the beginning of the lesson.

15. How long are you a member of the tennis club ?

for

hates

have___ read

have been

waiting

have been listening

have___been

for

has been attending

Past Simple - Past Continuous

Complete the sentences below with the correct form of the tense in brackets(ex : Past Simple : I played - Past Continuous : I was playing)

1) When her husband ____________ (arrive) home, Anne __________________(watch) television.

2) I _________________ (prepare) dinner when the telephone _________________ (ring).

3) What ________________________ (you do) when the postman ______________(arrive)?

4) Julie _______________ (learn) to drive when she ___________________ (work) in London.

5) Where ___________________ (you sit) when the show _______(begin)?

arrived

was

watching

was

preparingrang

were you doing

lear

ntwas

working

were you

sitting

arrived

began

6) I ________________ (visit) Athens while I

____________________ (tour) Greece.

7) It was when he ____________________ (cross) the

street that John_____________ (fall).

8) What ________________(you see) while you

______________________ (wait) for the bus?

9) Where _______________________ (you go) when

your car ________________(break) down?

10) Julie ________________ (meet) Peter when she

___________________ (walk) in the park.

visite

dwas touring

was crossing

fell

did you see

were

waitingwere you going

broke down

met

was walking

Grammar Simple and continuous verbs Unit1A

Simple verbs: for completed actions or permanent situations.

What kind of music do you listen to?

I love Latin music. I listen to it a lot.

Have you ever lived in another country?

No, I’ve never livedanywhere else.

Continuous verbs: for ongoing actions or temporary situations

What kind of music are you listening to currently?

I’m listening to a lot of Latin jazz right now.

How long have you been living here?

I’ve been living here for five years.

What did you do for your What were you doing at

this last birthday? this time yesterday?

I went home and had I was sitting on a bus.

a big party.

Complete the questions and answers. Use the simple or

continuous form of the verb in the present, past, or present

perfect.

1. A Who do you admire (admire)the most?

B I _____(admire) my grandfather. He ________ (teach)

me a lot when I _____ (grow up).

2. A _____ you ever ____ ( meet) anyone famous?

B No, but last year, I _______ (see) a TV star on the street.

We ______ both _____ (wait) in line for ice cream.

admir

e

taught

grew

upHave met

saw

were

waiting

Grammar Verb complements: verb+ -ing or to+verb

Unit 1 BVerb+verb+- ing:

consider finish imagine

miss mind spend(time)

He finished reading his

newspaper.

I spent three years working in

Tokyo.

Verb + particle/preposition +verb+-

ing: end up

keep on think about plan on

How did you end up living here?

I wasn’t planning on leaving

Japan.

Verb+to+ verb:

agree decide happen offer

seem intend expect

They agreed to pay for Korean

lessons.

I didn’t expect to get the job.

Verb +- ing or to + verb with different

meaning: remember stop try

I stopped talking to him.

I stopped to talk to him.

Verb +- ing or to + verb with the

same meaning: begin bother

continue start like love hate

Should I bother applying?

Should I bother to apply?

Complete the conversations with the correct forms of the

verbs given.

1. A How did you end up studying here?

B My friend recommended this school, so I decided ________ (sign up) for this class. How about you?

A Well, I wasn’t planning on ________ (learn) English, but my company offered _______ (pay) for my classes. I agreed ________ (come), and here I am! I want to keep on _______ (take) classes if I can.

2. A How did you get your current job?

B It’s a long story! I started ________ (work) there as an assistant, and I spent months just ___________ (file)papers. I didn’t mind _______ (do) that for a while, but then I happened ________ (hear) about a new sales position. I never intended _________ (be) a sales rep, but now I can’t imagine _________ (do) anything else.

to sign up

learning

to come

taking

working

filing

doing

to hear

to be

doing

to pay