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PAST
AA
PRESENT
FUTURE
past
present
future
TIME LINE
SIMPLE VERBS: Collocate facts, verbs of state, habits,
truths at a certain point on the time line.
AA
Past continuous:
I was having a shower when the phone rang. (the when clause indicates
the past point in time. I was having a shower indicates the action
in course at that point in time).
Can you remember (now) what you were doing when John Kennedy was shot?
(I want to know your action at that time)
Past Perfect Simple:
How many cars had he stolen before the police caught him? (the
stealing took place over a period of time before he was caught and the
answer will contain a fact).
He had stolen ten cars before he was caught by the police.
Had you ever visited Scotland before you went there on your honeymoon
in 2012?
Past Perfect Continuous
We had been waiting for an hour when the bus finally arrived. (At a
certain point in the past the bus arrived and our action of waiting
finished at that point.
John had been playing tennis for eight years when he became a
professional in 2010. (We can deduce that he started playing tennis
in 2002 because the eight years precede the point in time 2010).
B = related to the present time
Simple present:
I am fourteen and my brother, John, is sixteen. (this is the truth))
Look at the state of your room!
It is so untidy.
John usually goes to the cinema every Saturday. (this is his habit)
Do you know John Brown? (to know is a mental activity verb)
Present continuous:
Im not doing anything special at the moment (adverb of present time)
Mary is watching TV in the living room. (her action now)
John is always smoking whenever I see him. (this upsets me)
What are you doing?
- Im finishing my homework.
When the ceremony is over those soldiers will have been standing in
the same place for four hours. (when + simple present/ their action
of standing will finish when the ceremony is over)