Past & Present

Tenses

Present Present Simple I play golf every day Present Continuous I am

playing golf

Present Perfect He has played golf

Present Perfect Continuous He has been playing golf

Past Past Simple He played golf

Past Continuous He was playing golf

Past Perfect He had played golf

Past Perfect Continuous He had been playing golf

Future Future Simple He will play golf

Future Continuous He will be playing golf

Future Perfect He will have played golf

Future Perfect Continuous He will have been playing golf

Class 1 - Grammar & Active Vocabulary

1. Present Simple

The present tense is the most basic tense. It is used to describe:

1. Present Activities 2. Routines or Habits3. Facts / Generalisations or Truths4. Situations 5. Future Events/Arrangements that are certain or unchangeable6. With State verbs 7. To tell stories / give instructions / or to commentate

Form: Subject + Verb (without ¨to¨)

John plays golf (to play) Juan juega al golf

Examples of the present tense in use

Tiger Woods is better than Rory (Fact / Generalisation / Truth)

He plays golf every Sunday (Routines or Habits)

He lives in Barcelona (Situations) The match starts at 5pm (Future

Events/Arrangements)I like Tiger Woods(State Verbs)

Questions

Questions require the auxiliary verb (do/does)

Form: Aux Verb + Sub + Verb Do you play golf?

Negative Sentences

Negative sentences require the auxiliary verb (do/does) + not Form: Sub + Aux Verb + NOT + Verb

I do not play golf

Or I don´t play golf (do + not = don´t)

1. Present Simple – Examples

USE 1: Rountines / Habits / Repeated Actions

1. I play golf. 2. My wife does not play golf. 3. He hits the ball very well.

USE 2: Present Activities

4. Where are you? I am in the restaurant.5. I think he needs a hand looking for his ball.6. Tiger has a 5-iron in his hand. 7. Do you have your golf clubs in the car? No, I do not have them.

USE 3: Scheduled Events / Future Arrangements

8. The course closes at 10pm. It opens at 8am. 9. What hole do we tee-off from? 10. What time is our class this afternoon?

USE 4: Facts / Generalisations / Truths

11. St Andrews is in Scotland. It is near Edinburgh. 12. Golf clubs are made of steel.13. This course is difficult. It is very long. 14. The greens are fast. The rough is deep. 15. Rory likes playing in the Ryder Cup with Sergio.

2. Present Continuos

The Present Continuous is used to express the idea that something is happening at the moment of speaking.

FORM: Subject + to be + Verb (continuos form) John + is + playing +

golf John is playing golf

In English, the Present Continuos can be used to express activities that will happen in the future. However, in Spanish the present simple is used.

They are arriving at 2pm llegan a las 2pm

The Present Continuous can be used to express long-term activities that are in progress:

I am training to be a golf professional. (ongoing progress)

Questions

Questions require the auxiliary verb (to be)

Form: Aux Verb + Sub + Verb (continuos form) Is John retiring next year?

Negative Sentences

Negative sentences require the auxiliary verb (to be) + not Form: Sub + Aux Verb + NOT + Verb (continuos form)

No, he isn´t retiring next year.

2. Present Continuos - Examples

USE 1: Action that is happening (right now)

1. Tiger is aiming for the flag. 2. He is studying the line of the putt.3. He is speaking with the umpire about the rule.

USE 2: Long-Term Actions in progress (but not right now)

4. I am training to be a golf professional. ….Are you taking classes?

5. I am learning English. …Are you studying at the University?

USE 3: Near Future

6. I am playing golf this afternoon with Luis. 7. Tiger is going to win a Major (Grande) next year. 8. Are you playing golf this weekend?

USE 4: Repeated Actions / Frustration

(when used with Always and Constantly – the speaker is showing frustration at the activity).

9. He is always playing golf 10. I never see him. He is always working. 11. She is constantly talking.

3. Past Simple

We use the Past Simple to talk about actions that happened at a specific time in the past. The actions can be short or long.

Form: Subject + Verb (past form) I + went + to London yesterday.

I went to London 10 years ago.

The Past Simple is used to talk about Past Situations.

I lived in Australia for 10 years.

We also use the Past Simple for a series of actions that happened in the past.

I birdied the first hole. Then bogeyed the second hole. And then eagled the next hole.

In English it is common to use the Past Simple for the recent past. However, in Spanish the Present Perfect is used.

I spoke to him five minutes ago. Hace cinco minutos le hablé.

Questions

Questions require the auxiliary verb DO (past form)

Form: Aux Verb (Past form) + Sub + Verb (present form)

Did you play golf yesterday?

Negative Sentences

Negative sentences require the auxiliary verb DO (past form) + not Form Subject + DO (past form) + Verb (present form)

No, I didn´t play golf yesterday.

3. Past Simple – Examples

USE 1: Completed Action (in the past)

1. I saw your ball land on the green. 2. I went to St Andrews last year.3. I tried to reach the green with a 5-iron. 4. I found my ball. It was in the woods.5. I had two birdies today.6. I sold my golf clubs. And bought new ones.

USE 2: A series of past actions

7. I finished work, drove to the golf course, and played nine holes.8. I arrived at the hotel, got changed, and then went for dinner.

USE 3: Duration in the pat

9. I lived in Australia for 10 years. 10. I played golf until I broke my knee. 11. I broke my knee 7 years ago playing football.

4. Past Continuous

The Past Continuous is used to talk about activities that lasted for some time in the past. Typically, the action has been interrupted by something or can be happening at the same time as another action.

Form Subject + BE (past form) + Verb (continuous form)

John was playing golf when it started to rain.

Past Continuous Past Simple

The Past Continous can be used to express an activity that was happening whose duration is not known or important.

John was watching TV.

We can use the Past Continuous to express when two actions are happening at the same time. To connect these two clauses we use WHEN or WHILE.

He was playing golf whilehis wife was shopping in Madrid.

Questions

Questions require the auxiliary verb to be (Past Form)

Form: BE (Past Form) + Sub + Verb (continuos form) Was he playing golf when you called?

Negative Sentences

Negative sentences require the auxiliary verb to be (past form) + not Form: Sub + BE + NOT + Verb (continuos form)

No, he wasn´t playing golf when I called.

4. Past Continuous

USE 1: Interrupted Action (in the past)

1. I was playing golf when you called me. 2. Luis was waiting for me when I got there.3. I was writing an email when the computer suddenly crashed.

USE 2: Two Actions (in the past)

4. While I was playing my shot he was talking on the phone. 5. What were you doing while you were waiting for me.

While v. When

When you talk about things in the past, "when" is most often followed by the Past Simple verb tense, whereas "while" is usually followed by the Past Continuous.

"While" expresses the idea of "during that time.”

The examples below have similar meaning but emphasise different parts of the sentence.

I was playing golf when she called. = SHE CALLEDWhile I was playing golf, she called. = PLAYING GOLF