1. Simple present tense:
1.Concept:Regular, rebellious actions or behaviors and a present condition. It can also express the objective law and in the time, conditional adverbial clause in the future tense (subject will be present).
2.Time Adverbial:
always, usually, often, sometimes, every week (day, year, month…),once a week, on sundays,3.Basic Structure:
be verb; am is are action verbs: verb primitive, third person singular.
4.Negative form:
am/is/are+not;don't doesn't + verb form + ......
5.General interrogative sentences:
Put the verb be at the beginning of the sentence; ②do/does +…Verb primitive form +...?
2. Simple past tense:
1.Concept:
an action or state that occurred at some time in the past; Habitual, regular actions and behaviors in the past.
2.Time Adverbial:
ago, yesterday, the day before yesterday, last week(year, night, month…),in 1989, just now, at the age of 5, one day, long long ago, once upon a time, this morning
3.Basic Structure:
be verb; was/were…
Action verb: The past tense of a verb.
4.Negative form:
was/were+not;didn't + verb form.
5.General interrogative sentences:
was or were at the beginning of the sentence; ②did +…Verb primitive form +...?
3. Present continuous tense:
1.Concept:
Indicates the actions and behaviors that are being carried out at this stage or at the time of speaking.
2.Time Adverbial:
now, at this time, these days, look,listen ,can you see?can’t you see ?and so on.
3.Basic Structure:am/is/are+doing
4.Negative form:am/is/are+not+doing.
5.General interrogative sentences:is /are…+doing sth ?
4. Past Continuous Tense:
1.Concept:
Indicates an act or action that is occurring or being carried out at a certain time or time in the past.
2.Time Adverbial:
At this that time yesterday, at that time, at sixyesterday evening, from eight o'clock to nine o'clock last night or a time adverbial guided by when while (past continuous tense + when + simple past tense simple past tense + while + past continuous tense past continuous tense + while +Past Continuous Tense).
3.Basic Structure:was/were+doing
4.Negative form:was/were + not + doing.
5.General interrogative sentences:Put was or were at the beginning of the sentence.
Example sentence: We were watching tv from seven to nine last nightWe were watching TV from seven to nine o'clock last night.
what was he researching all day last sunday?What did he study all day last Sunday?
6. Verbs that cannot be used in the past continuous tense are: agree, be, believe, be, care, forget, hate, h**e, hear, know, like, love, mean, mind, notice, own, remember, seem, suppose, understand, want, wish, etc. Static verbs, temporary verbs, and likewise cannot be used in the past continuous tense.
For example: Error: I was knowing the answer
Correct: I knew the answerI know the answer.
Error: I wasn't understanding him
Correct: I didn't understand himI don't understand what he meant.
5. Present Perfect Tense:
1.Concept:
The effect or result of an action that has occurred or been completed in the past on the present, or an action or state that has begun in the past and continues to the present.
2.Time Adverbial:
recently, lately, since…for…,in the past few years, already ,yet ,never ,ever, just, before, so far ,once, twice etc.
3.Basic Structure:h**e/has + done
4.Negative form:h**e/has + not +done.
5.General interrogative sentences:Put h**e or has at the beginning of the sentence.
6.Antisense interrogative sentence:Directly use has h**e for rhetorical questioning.
7.Note:
1).h**e been to h**e gone to h**e been in.
h**e been to + location means that a person has been to a place and has returned. (once ,twice….)
h**e gone to + location means that the person has gone to a certain place and the person has not returned. (where is sb ?)
h**e been in + location indicates how long you have been in a certain place. （for…../ since…..
2).When used in conjunction with a time period, the transient verb should be replaced by the corresponding continuous verb.
come/go to --be at /in le**e --be away from buy --h**e borrow /lend --keep open --be open close---be closed die---dead start/begin --be on join—--be in /be a member of /be a soldier become–be make friend --be friend get up --be up
fall asleep --be asleep catch a cold–h**e a cold reach/get/arrive---stay/be
3).Four sentence patterns in the present perfect tense:
a).Subject + past tense of transient verb + time + ago
b).Subject + h**e has + past participle of a continuous verb + for..../since…. ago .
c).It's + time period + since+ past tense of transient verb.
d).Time period + has passed + since + past tense of ephemeral verb.
his grandfather died two years ago .
his grandfather has __for two years.
_two years __his grandfather __
two years __his grandfather __
4).The difference between the present perfect tense and the simple past tense.
The present perfect tense is a tense related to the present, and he focuses on the impact of past actions on the present. On the other hand, the simple past tense focuses on showing that the past action has nothing to do with the present, and when you ask about the specific time when the action occurred, you can only use the simple present tense.
has he returned the library book ? yes, he has.
when __he __return) it ?he __return)it yesterday afternoon .
6. Past Perfect Tense:
1.Concept:
An action or act that occurred before a certain time in the past, or an action that was completed before an action in the past, is the "past past".
2.Time Adverbial:
1).before+pasttime,by+pasttime, by the end of last year(term, month....)
by the end of last term, we had learned 5000 new words.
By the end of last semester, we had learned 5,000 new words.
by the time of last year ,we had built two bridges.
As of last year, we have built two bridges.
2).by the time + clause (simple past tense), main clause (past perfect tense).
the bus had already left by the time i got there.
By the time I got there, the bus had already left.
3).In the temporal adverbial clause used to be guided by when, after, before, both actions before and after occur in the past.
Past perfect tense + when before + simple past tense.
Simple past tense + after + past perfect tense.
4).Used in object clauses.
3.Basic Structure:
had + done.
4.Negative form:
had + not + done.
5.General interrogative sentences:
Put had at the beginning of the sentence.
Basic Usage:
1) It can be said that the action that was completed before a certain moment in the past, and it can also be said that the past time is about the past action. That is, "the past of the past". It can be represented by a prepositional phrase such as "by", "before", or a temporal adverbial clause, or by an action that indicates the past, and possibly by context.
Example: By nine o'clock last night, we had got 200 pictures from the spaceship
By 9 o'clock last night, we had received 200 ** from the ship.
2) Indicates an action or state that starts from a certain moment in the past and continues to another time in the past, and is often used in conjunction with the time adverbial form of "for" and "since".
Example: I had been at the bus stop for 20 minutes when a bus finally came
When the bus came, I had been waiting at the station for 20 minutes.
he said he had worked in that factory since 1949.
He said he had worked at the factory since 1949.
3) The past perfect tense is often used when recounting or supplementing actions that happened in the past after recounting or supplementing the actions that happened in the past.
Example: Mrsmith died yesterday.he had been a good friend of mine.
Mr. Smith passed away yesterday. He used to be a good friend of mine.
i didn’t know a thing about the verbs,for i had not studied my lesson.
I didn't know anything about verbs because I didn't study my homework properly.
4) In subject-subordinate compound sentences with definite clauses, if the past events are narrated, the action that occurs first is often in the past perfect tense.
For example: I returned the book that I had borrowed
I have returned the books I borrowed.
she found the key that she had lost.
Her lost key was found.
5) Past completion is often used in object clauses (or indirect speech) after verbs such as "told", "said", "knew", heard", "thought", etc., when the action in the clause occurs before the past action indicated by the main clause.
e.g. he said that he had known her well
He said he knew her well.
i thought i had sent the letter a week before.
I think I sent the letter a week ago.
6) Adverbial clause: In two actions that occurred at different times in the past, the former occurred in the past perfect tense; Occurs in the post, with simple past tense. Such as: "when", before, after", as soon as", till until".
Example: When I woke up, it had already stopped raining
I woke up to the rain had stopped.
she didn’t go to bed until she had finished her work.
She didn't go to sleep until she had finished her work.
Note: If two actions happen immediately after that, the past perfect tense is often not used, especially in compound sentences containing "before" and "after", because the order in which the actions of the clause and the actions of the main clause occur is already very clear, and the simple past tense can be used instead of the past perfect tense.
Example: After he arrived in England, Marx worked hard to improve his English
When Marx arrived in England, he worked hard to improve his English.
7) The verbs "think", "want", "hope", mean", plan", intend, etc., are used in the past perfect tense to show thoughts, hopes, intentions, or intentions that were not fulfilled in the past.
Example: They had wanted to help but could not get there in time
They were going to help, but didn't get there in time.
we had hoped to be able to come and see you.
We would have liked to have come and see you.
8) The past perfect tense can also be used in "hardly....when…” no sooner…than…”，it was the first(second,etc) time (that)…" and other fixed sentence patterns.
Example: hardly had he begun to speak when the audience interrupted him
As soon as he started to speak, the audience interrupted him.
no sooner had he arrived than he went away again.
As soon as he arrived, he left again.
it was the third time that he had been out of work that year.
It was the third time he had lost his job that year.
9) Use it in conjunction with just to indicate the action you have just completed.
he has just gone out.
He had just gone out. Equivalent to: he went out a few minutes ago
He had gone out a few minutes earlier.
Note: just must be placed between the auxiliary verb and the main verb, this collocation is mainly used in the affirmative form and can also be used in the interrogative tense.
has he just gone out？
Did he just go out?
7. Simple future tense:
1.Concept:
Indicates the action that will take place or the state of existence and the intention, plan, or preparation to do something.
2.Time Adverbial:
tomorrow, next day(week, month, year ) soon, in+, by...,the day after tomorrow, this evening ,tonight
3.Basic Structure:
1).am/is/are/going to + do；
2).will/shall + do.
3).The present continuous tense is used to show the future, the verbs come, go, start, le**e, fly, move, begin, get....
4).When the main clause is in the simple future tense, the adverbial clause led by if, as soon as, until, when , before, after, unless replaces the simple future tense with the simple present tense.
4.Negative form:
was/were + not;Add didn before the action verb't, while reducing the action verb.
5.General interrogative sentences:
be at the beginning of the sentence; Will Shall refers to the beginning of the sentence.
8. Past and Future Tense:
1.Concept:
Based on a certain moment in the past, looking at the future from the past, is often used in object clauses.
2.Time Adverbial:
the next day(morning, year…),the following month(week…),by then ,3.Basic Structure:
was/were/going to + do；
they thought it was going to rain.They thought it was going to rain.
would/should + do.
he asked me yesterday when i should le**e for paris.Yesterday he asked me when I was leaving for Paris.
they wanted to know how they would finish the homework earlier.
They want to know how they can finish their homework earlier.
4.Negative form:
was/were/not + going to + do;
would/should + not + do.
5.General interrogative sentences:
was or were at the beginning of the sentence;
Would Should mentions the beginning of the sentence.
Usage:
The starting point of the general past future tense is the past, i.e., the action or state that will take place in the future from a certain moment in the past.
Generally, it has been used in indirect speech in the past and in the future.
he said they would arrange a party.He said they would arrange an evening party.
i asked if he would come and fix my tv set.I asked him if he would come and fix my TV.
The simple past future tense can be used to denote an action or state that is not real.
if i had a chance to study abroad, i would study at cambridge university.
If I had the opportunity to study abroad, I would go to Cambridge University.
i wish he would go with me to the cinema tonight.If only he could go to the movies with me tonight.
Other expressions of past and future time
was were going to + verb form.
he said that he was going to live in the country when he retired.
He said he would live in the countryside when he retired.
they thought it was going to rain.They thought it was going to rain.
was were + verb -ing form(Just to understand).
nobody knew whether the guests were coming.No one knows if the guests are coming or not.
i was told that the train was le**ing in a few minutes.
I was told that the train was going to leave in a few minutes.
was were + verb infinitive(Just to understand).
she said she was to clean the classroom after school.
She said she had to clean her classroom after school.
it was reported that another bridge was to be built across the yangtse river.
It is reported that another bridge will be built on the Yangtze River.
Note: was going to + verb form"or"was were + verb infinitive perfect"It can represent actions in the past and future time that cannot be realized.
last sunday we were going to visit the great wall, but it rained.
Last Sunday we wanted to visit the Great Wall, but it rained. (Didn't go to work).
i was to h**e helped with the performance, but i got flu the day before.
I was going to help with the show, but I caught a cold the day before yesterday. (Didn't help).
was/were about to do(Just to understand).
was/were about to do"Indicates an action that occurs at the moment of speaking.
i felt something terrible was about to happen.
I think something terrible is about to happen.
was/were on the point of doing(Just to understand).
i’m glad you h**e come. i was on the point of calling you, but you’ve s**ed me the trouble now.
Glad you're here. I was about to call you **, and now you save me this trouble.
Hint: be about to do"with"be on the point of doing"The structure is generally not used in conjunction with a temporal adverbial that indicates the future, but it can be followed by a when-led clause.
i was about to start when it suddenly began to rain.
I was about to leave and it rained suddenly.