Passive Voice and Other Grammar Topics 4

Past Simple vs Present Perfect.
1. I went to Cancún two years ago. / 1. I have been to Cancún

three times.
2. Nelson didn´t have dinner last night. /2. Nelson hasn´t had
dinner for the last three days.
3. We saw that movie two weeks ago. / 3. We have seen that

movie four or five times.
4. The kids wrote some nice letters. / 4. The kids have written a
lot of nice letters.
5. Michael called me two hours ago. / 5. Michael has called me

several times since last Thursday.
6. She didn´t tell me anything. / 6. She hasn´t told me anything.
Passive voice:
Functions of the passive voice
The passive voice is used to show interest in the person or object that
experiences an action rather than the person or object that performs the action.
In other words, the most important thing or person becomes the subject of the
sentence.
Examples
 The passive voice is used frequently. (= we are interested in the passive
voice, not in who uses it.)
 The house was built in 1654. (= we are interested in the house, not in
who built it.)
 The road is being repaired. (= we are interested in the road, not in the
people who are doing the repairs.)
Sometimes we use the passive voice because we don't know or do not want to
express who performed the action.
Examples
 I noticed that a window had been left open.
 Every year thousands of people are killed on our roads.
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 All the cookies have been eaten.
 My car has been stolen!
The passive voice is often used in formal texts. Switching to the active voice will make your writing
clearer and easier to read.
Passive Active
A great deal of meaning is A few well-chosen words convey a

conveyed by a few well-chosen great deal of meaning.
words.
Our planet is wrapped in a mass of A mass of gases wrap around our

gases. planet.
Waste materials are disposed of in a The city disposes of waste materials in

variety of ways. a variety of ways.
If we want to say who or what performs the action while using the passive
voice, we use the preposition by. When we know who performed the action and are
interested in him, it is always better to switch to the active voice instead.
Passive Active
"A Hard Day's Night" was written The Beatles wrote "A Hard Day's

by the Beatles. Night".
The movie ET was directed Spielberg directed the movie ET.
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Passive Active
by Spielberg.
This house was built by my father. My father built this house.
Read more about the passive voice and active equivalents for all English
verb tenses.
Forming the passive voice
The passive voice in English is composed of two elements:

the appropriate form of the verb 'to be' + past participle
Affirmative Negative Interrogative Negative

Interrogative
The house was The house wasn't Was the house built Wasn't the house
built in 1899. built in 1899. in 1899? built in 1899?
These houses These houses Were these houses Weren't these houses
were built in weren't built in built in 1899? built in 1899?
1899. 1899.
To clean, passive voice
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Subject + to be (conjugated) + past participle + rest of sentence
Simple present
The house is cleaned every day.
Present continuous
The house is being cleaned at the moment.
Simple past
The house was cleaned yesterday.
Past continuous
The house was being cleaned last week.
Present perfect
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The house has been cleaned since you left.
Past perfect
The house had been cleaned before they arrived.
Future
The house will be cleaned next week.
Future continuous
The house will be being cleaned tomorrow.
Present conditional
The house would be cleaned if they had visitors.
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Past conditional
The house would have been cleaned if it had been dirty.
Inifinitive
The house must be cleaned before we arrive.
Passive voice with infinitives

The infinitive passive voice is used after modal verbs and other most verbs
normally followed by an infinitive.
Examples
 You have to be tested on your English grammar.
 John might be promoted next year.
 She wants to be invited to the party.
 I expect to be surprised on my birthday.
 You may be disappointed.
Passive voice with gerunds

Gerunds are used after prepositions and verbs normally followed by a gerund.
Examples
 I remember being taught to drive.
 The children are excited about being taken to the zoo.
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 The children are excited to be taken to the zoo.
 Most film stars hate being interviewed.
 Most film stars hate to be interviewed.
 Poodles like to be pampered.
 Poodles like being pampered.
Using "to be born"

"To be born" is a passive form and is most commonly used in the past tense.
However, in some cases, the present or future tense is appropriate.
Examples
 I was born in 1976.
 Where were you born?
 Around 100 babies are born in this hospital every week.
 We don't know on exactly which day the baby will be born.
Sometimes the passive is formed using the verb to get or to have instead of the
verb to be. A separate page deals with these alternative ways to form the
passive voice.
Alternative ways to form the passive voice
You can form sentences that are passive in meaning but not in form by
using the verb to get or the verb to have in place of the verb to be. These
constructions often describe situations where we want someone else to do
something for us or where we are going to hire someone else to do something
for us. The subject is active, but he is only doing the "getting". It is the
unnamed person who is gotten who will perform the action of the main verb in
the sentence. That second person is not explicit in the sentence when the
sentence has a passive meaning. We are more interested in the result of the
activity than in the person that performs the activity.
Examples
 I must get my hair cut.
 I must have my hair cut.
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 When are you going to get that window mended?
 We're having the house painted.
This type of construction can refer to the completion of an activity, especially

if a time expression is used.
Examples
 We'll get the work done as soon as possible.
 I'll get those letters typed before lunchtime.
 She said she'd have my lunch delivered by noon.
 You should have your roof repaired before next winter.
If the verb refers to something unwanted, it has the same meaning as a passive
sentence.
Examples
 Jim had his car stolen last night.
 Jim's car was stolen.
 They had their roof blown off in the storm.
 Their roof was blown off in the storm.
Using "to need" in passive constructions

You can also use the verb to need followed by the gerund in an active
construction with a passive meaning. The important thing in our minds in
these sentences is the person or thing that will experience the action, not the
person performing the action.
Examples
 The ceiling needs painting.
 The ceiling needs to be painted.
 My hair needs cutting.
 My hair needs to be cut.
 That faucet needs fixing.
 That faucet needs to be fixed.
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In passive voice, the person acting isn't specified: "The report was
written yesterday." It could have been written by the secretary, the
manager, or Albert Einstein—we don't know. The sentence is still
in passive voice if the actor is specified later in the sentence:
"The report was written yesterday by the manager."
In most instances, put the verb in the active voice rather than in

the passive voice. Passive voice produces a sentence in which the
subject receives an action. ... To change a sentence from passive to
active voice, determine who or what performs the action, and use that
person or thing as the subject of the sentence.
What is passive reporting?
It is known that there is a passive reporting structure. This structure is
made using: It + a passive reporting verb + that + a clause – which is
part of a sentence. This structure is used to report information in a
formal style or to report facts - even when the information is less than
factual.
Passive Form of Verbs

Formation and use, with examples and exercises.
The passive form (voice) of verbs is made with the appropriate tense
of BE + the past participle :
For example : English is spoken here.
Only verbs which take an object (transitive verbs) can be put into the
passive.
(for example: Tom catches the ball. / The ball was caught by Tom.)
Verbs that have no object (intransitive verbs) such as: come, go, happen,
live, sleep, etc. cannot be put into the passive.
Please note that the Present Perfect Continuous, the Past Perfect
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Continuous and the Future Continuous are not usually used in the passive
form.
 We use the active form of a verb to say what a subject does:

o The chef cooks food every day.
 We use the passive form to say what happens to the subject:

o Food is cooked every day.
 The subject of a passive verb corresponds to the object of an active

verb :
o Foodis cooked every day. (Passive).
o The chef cooks food every day. (Active)
 We sometimes used get to form the passive:
o Be careful with that sharp knife. Someone might get hurt!
o The cat got run over by a car.
 We use the passive form of a verb
- when the person who performs the action (agent) is unknown.
- when it is not important who does the action,or
- when we are more interested in the action that in the

agent (instructions, reports, etc.)
o The letter was delivered at 9 a.m.
The identity of the person who delivered the letter is unknown
or unimportant.
If we want to say who delivered the letter, we use 'by':
The letter was delivered by the postman.
o The tax reforms were announced today, or
The tax reforms were announced by the Prime Minister.
Verb Tense Active Passive

Infinitive To cook To be cooked
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Verb Tense Active Passive
Present Simple I cook food in the kitchen. Food is cooked in the kitchen.
Present I am cooking food in the Food is being cooked in the

Continuous kitchen. kitchen.
Present Perfect I have cooked food in the Food has been cooked in the

Simple kitchen. kitchen.
Past Simple I cooked food in the Food was cooked in the

kitchen. kitchen.
Past Continuous I was cooking food in the Food was being cooked in the

kitchen. kitchen.
Past Perfect I had cooked food in the Food had been cooked in the

kitchen. kitchen.
Future I will cook food in the Food will be cooked in the

kitchen. kitchen.
Future Perfect I will have cooked food in Food will have been

the kitchen. cooked in the kitchen.
Conditional I I would cook food in the Food would be cooked in the

kitchen kitchen.
Conditional II I would have cooked food Food would have been

in the kitchen. cooked in the kitchen.
PASSIVE FORM OF VERBS
Exercise n°1
Complete the following sentences with the passive form of the verb in
brackets.
Example : The bills (pay) every month. => The bills are paid every
month.
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1) English (speak) in this hotel.
2) Over 100 meals (serve) every day.
3) Each lesson (follow) by an exercise.
4) Dictionaries can (borrow) at the library.
5) Smoking (not/allow) in this building.
6) Taxes (include) in the price.
7) A new version (publish) every year.
8) More and more mobile phones (steal) every day.
9) A lot of information can (find) on the Internet.
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10) A confirmation email (send) to every subscriber.
Exercise n°2
Complete the following sentences with the passive form of the verb in
brackets.
Example: A summary (give) to everyone yesterday. => A summary was
given to everyone yesterday.
1) The escaped prison (see) at the airport yesterday.
2) The injured man (take) to hospital after the crash.
3) The apartment (clean) before our arrival.
4) The photographs (publish) in the local newspaper.
5) Food and clothing (distribute) to the refugees.
6) The cathedral (build) in the 17th century.
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7) Invitations out (send) three weeks before the event.
8) The accident (cause) by a driver using a mobile phone.
9) Because of the delay, sandwiches (give) to all the
passengers.
10) The announcement (hear) by everyone
Exercise n°3
Complete the following sentences to change them from the active to

the passive voice.
Example: Oscar Wilde wrote the poem. => The poem was written by
Oscar Wilde.
1. The children prepared the picnic.
The picnic the children.
2. A local boy delivers the newspaper every day.
The newspaper a local boy every day.
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3. Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice.
The Merchant of Venice Shakespeare.
4. The waitress took our order.
Our order the waitress.
5. We will give a summary to each participant.
A summary to each participant.
6. Julie will drive you to the station.
You to the station by Julie.
7. Both India and China produce tea.
Tea both India and China.
8. Everyone in the office uses the computer.
The computer everyone in the office.
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9. The Prime Minister will make a statement shortly.
A statement the Prime Minister.
10. A group of armed robbers attacked the bank.
The bank of armed robbers.
Passive and Active Voices
Verbs are also said to be either active (The executive

committee approved the new policy) or passive (The new policy was
approved by the executive committee) in voice. In the active voice, the subject
and verb relationship is straightforward: the subject is a be-er or a do-er and
the verb moves the sentence along. In the passive voice, the subject of the
sentence is neither a do-er or a be-er, but is acted upon by some other agent or
by something unnamed (The new policy was approved). Computerized
grammar checkers can pick out a passive voice construction from miles away
and ask you to revise it to a more active construction. There is nothing
inherently wrong with the passive voice, but if you can say the same thing in
the active mode, do so (see exceptions below). Your text will have more
pizzazz as a result, since passive verb constructions tend to lie about in their
pajamas and avoid actual work.
We find an overabundance of the passive voice in sentences created by

self-protective business interests, magniloquent educators, and
bombastic military writers (who must get weary of this accusation),
who use the passive voice to avoid responsibility for actions taken.
Thus "Cigarette ads were designed to appeal especially to children"
places the burden on the ads — as opposed to "We designed the cigarette ads
to appeal especially to children," in which "we" accepts responsibility. At a
White House press briefing we might hear that "The President was advised
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that certain members of Congress were being audited" rather than "The Head
of the Internal Revenue service advised the President that her agency was
auditing certain members of Congress" because the passive construction
avoids responsibility for advising and for auditing. One further caution about
the passive voice: we should not mix active and passive constructions in the
same sentence: "The executive committee approved the new policy, and the
calendar for next year's meetings was revised" should be recast as "The
executive committee approved the new policy and revised the calendar for
next year's meeting."
Take the quiz (below) as an exercise in recognizing and changing passive

verbs.
The passive voice does exist for a reason, however, and its
presence is not always to be despised. The passive is particularly
useful (even recommended) in two situations:
 When it is more important to draw our attention to the

person or thing acted upon: The unidentified victim was
apparently struck during the early morning hours.
 When the actor in the situation is not important: The aurora
borealis can be observed in the early morning hours.
The passive voice is especially helpful (and even regarded as mandatory)

in scientific or technical writing or lab reports, where the actor is not really
important but the process or principle being described is of ultimate
importance. Instead of writing "I poured 20 cc of acid into the beaker," we
would write "Twenty cc of acid is/was poured into the beaker." The passive
voice is also useful when describing, say, a mechanical process in which the
details of process are much more important than anyone's taking responsibility
for the action: "The first coat of primer paint is applied immediately after the
acid rinse."
We use the passive voice to good effect in a paragraph in which we wish

to shift emphasis from what was the object in a first sentence to what becomes
the subject in subsequent sentences.
The executive committee approved an entirely new policy for dealing

with academic suspension and withdrawal. The policy had been
written by a subcommittee on student behavior. If students withdraw
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from course work before suspension can take effect, the policy states,
a mark of "IW" . . . .
The paragraph is clearly about this new policy so it is appropriate

that policy move from being the object in the first sentence to being the
subject of the second sentence. The passive voice allows for this transition.†
Passive Verb Formation
The passive forms of a verb are created by combining a form of the "to be
verb" with the past participle of the main verb. Other helping verbs are also
sometimes present: "The measure could have been killed in committee." The passive
can be used, also, in various tenses. Let's take a look at the passive forms of "design."
Auxiliary Past
Tense Subject
Singular Plural Participle
Present The car/cars is are designed.

Present perfect The car/cars has been have been designed.
Past The car/cars was were designed.
Past perfect The car/cars had been had been designed.
Future The car/cars will be will be designed.
Future perfect The car/cars will have been will have been designed.
Present progressive The car/cars is being are being designed.
Past progressive The car/cars was being were being designed.
A sentence cast in the passive voice will not always include an agent of
the action. For instance if a gorilla crushes a tin can, we could say "The tin
can was crushed by the gorilla." But a perfectly good sentence would leave
out the gorilla: "The tin can was crushed." Also, when an active sentence with
an indirect object is recast in the passive, the indirect object can take on the
role of subject in the passive sentence:
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Active Professor Villa gave Jorge an A.
Passive An A was given to Jorge by Professor Villa.
Passive Jorge was given an A.
Only transitive verbs (those that take objects) can be transformed into
passive constructions. Furthermore, active sentences containing certain verbs
cannot be transformed into passive structures. To have is the most important of
these verbs. We can say "He has a new car," but we cannot say "A new car is had by him." We can
say "Josefina lacked finesse," but we cannot say "Finesse was lacked." Here is a brief list of such
verbs*:
resemble look like equal agree with

mean contain hold comprise
lack suit fit become
Verbals in Passive Structures
Verbals or verb forms can also take on features of the passive voice.

An infinitive phrase in the passive voice, for instance, can perform various
functions within a sentence (just like the active forms of the infinitive).
 Subject: To be elected by my peers is a great honor.

 Object: That child really likes to be read to by her mother.
 Modifier: Grasso was the first woman to be elected governor in her
own right.
The same is true of passive gerunds.
 Subject: Being elected by my peers was a great thrill.

 Object: I really don't like being lectured to by my boss.
 Object of preposition: I am so tired of being lectured to by my
boss.
With passive participles, part of the passive construction is often omitted, the

result being a simple modifying participial phrase.
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 [Having been] designed for off-road performance, the Pathseeker
does not always behave well on paved highways.
Passive Voice
What is the passive voice?
In general we tend to use the active voice. That is when a subject does
an action to an object.
1. Somebody stole my laptop. (subject = Somebody / action(verb) =

stole / object = my laptop)
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The passive voice is used when we want to emphasize the action (the
verb) and the object of a sentence rather than subject. This means that
the subject is either less important than the action itself or that we don’t
know who or what the subject is.
1. My laptop was stolen. (The object – now the subject = My laptop

/ action= was stolen)
1. Passive: Napa Valley is known for its excellent wines.
2. Active: [Many people] know Napa Valley for its excellent wines.
1. Passive: Twenty civilians were killed in the bomb explosion.
2. Active: Someone killed twenty civilians in the bomb explosion.
The passive agent

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When we know who the subject is, we put it at the end with by. We call
this an agent.
1. Passive: The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci.

(agent =Leonardo Da Vinci )
2. Active: Leonaro Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa.
Most writing instructors and editors recommend against using the

passive voice, when possible. The reason for this is that when you use
the active voice, your writing is clearer and less complicated.
1. Active: While Mr. Taylor was driving down Highway 101, a police
officer pulled him over and gave him a speeding ticket.
2. Passive: While Mr. Taylor was driving down Highway 101, he
was pulled over and given a ticket by a police officer.
If it’s a long sentence and you know who the subject is, it’s best to use
the active voice.
The passive is often used to report something or to state a fact.
1. Highway 15 was closed yesterday due to a serious road

accident.
2. A lot of corn is grown in Iowa.
Forming the passive voice
The passive voice is not a tense in English. Each tense has its own
passive voice which is created by using a form of the auxiliary verb to
be + V3 (past participle)
The passive voice in each tense:
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Tense Auxiliary verb + sample Examples
V3 (past participle)
Present am, is, are + made Wine is made from

simple grapes.
Many cars are made in
Japan.
Present am, is, are + being + The document is being

progressive sent sent right now.
I am being sent to work
in the London office.
Past simple was, were + invited John was invited to

speak at the conference.
We were invited to
Daniel and Mary’s
wedding.
Past was, were + being + The dog was being

progressive washed washed when I got
home.
Their cars were being
washed while they
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were in the mall

shopping.
Future (will) will be + signed The contract will be

signed tomorrow.
The documents will all
be signed by next
week.
Future am, is, are + going to A bridge is going to be

(going to) be + built built within the next
two years.
New houses are going
to be built in our
neighborhood.
Present has, have + been + sold That start-up has been

perfect sold for $5 million.
The rights to his book
have been sold for
$250,000.
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Past perfect had + been + hired The new manager had

been hired before John
left the company.
All the employees had
hired before the store
opened.
Future will + have been + The car will have been

perfect finished loaded by the time he
gets home.
The crates will have
been loaded by then.
Modals: can, could + be + issued A passport can only be

can/could issued at the embassy.
He said the documents
could be issued within
the week.
Modal: have have to, has to, had A babysitter has to be

to to + be + arranged arranged for this
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evening.
Joan’s travel plans have
to be arranged by
December.
Modal: must must + be + stopped Criminals must be

stopped before they
commit crimes.
All of the rules for passive negatives and questions are the same as for
the active voice.
Note: Verbs that have no object (no one to “receive” the action) cannot
be put into the passive, such as, arrive, come, die, exist, go, happen,
have, live, occur sleep, etc.
Passive Voice – Exercises
Fill in the correct passive form of the verb in parentheses.
1. After the earthquake, aid was sent to the people of Haiti. (sent)

2. The electricity was cut off because the bill hadn’t been paid. (not
pay)
1. Penicillin ______ by Alexander Fleming in 1928. (discover)
2. Statements ______ from all the witnesses at this moment. (take)
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3. Whales ______ by an international ban on whaling. (must
protect)
4. Both weddings _______ by Good Taste. (cater)
5. A Picasso ____ from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.(steal)
6. ____ this washing machine ______in Germany? (make)
7. Tea _____ in China. (grow)
8. When we reached the airport, we found that all the flights____

due to the storm. (cancel)
9. The fax _____ until tomorrow morning. (not send)
10. The soundtrack of a movie _____ always _____ after the filming
is finished. (is/add)
Answers:
1. was discovered
2. are being taken
3. must be protected
4. were catered
5. was stolen
6. Was/made
7. is grown
8. had been cancelled
9. won’t be sent
10. is/added
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Action Verbs

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs


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What is a Transitive Verb?
A transitive verb is one whose action must be used in relation to an

object, and when using the verb, it only makes sense if the verb is
transferring action upon an object. That means the verb doesn’t sound
good or work on its own without an object.
Consider the verb to bring: The verb will not make sense if the action of
the verb is not acting on something, i.e. you have to
bring something or someone. Simply saying I bring will not make sense
on its own, you must bring something, an object or a person or a
feeling. That something or someone – Joe, a book, your brother, a
good mood – is the direct object of the sentence, i.e. the thing that the
verb is acting upon.
 I bring (doesn’t make sense without an object).
 I bring a book for Grandma (makes sense because of the direct
object, book).
 I will bring my brother to the meeting.

Examples of Transitive Verbs
There are lots of examples of transitive verbs. They can be any verb
that fulfils the criteria of needing to confer action upon an object.
Consider these examples and see how the verb exerts action on an
object.
 I love
 Please carry the books for me.
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 Can we buy these ones?
 Johnny kicked the ball.
 She didn’t take anything from the table.
 I will send the note for the doctor.
Consider how these verbs need to confer the action upon the object.
This makes them transitive verbs:
 Love – you need to love something or someone for the verb to
make sense.
 Carry – you need to carry something or someone for the verb to
make sense.
 Buy – you need buy something for the verb to make sense.
 Kick – you need to kick something or someone for the verb to
make sense.
 Take – you need to take something or someone for the verb to
make sense.
 Send – you need to send something or someone for the verb to
make sense.

What is a Intransitive Verb?
As you might guess, an intransitive verb is one that does not need to
transfer action on an object in order to make sense.
Consider the verb to run. You can run without transferring the action of
running on a direct object.
How did you get here so quickly? I ran. (There is no need for a direct
object).
Examples of Intransitive Verbs

As with transitive verbs, there are many examples of intransitive verbs.
They can be any verb that fulfills the criteria of not needing a direct
object to confer action upon:
 It snowed.
 We laughed.
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 He cried. He will probably cry again tonight.
 We didn’t know.
 They died.
 When did they arrive?
None of the actions described above require direct objects for the
action of the verb to make sense. However, you should be aware that
intransitive verbs are often followed by prepositions or adverbs.
 It snowed
 We laughed
 He cried
 We didn’t know right away.
 They died on Sunday night.
 Did they arrive on time?
Recognizing Transitive Verbs When You See Them
Unfortunately, it can sometimes be tricky to know if a verb is transitive

because some verbs aren’t only transitive or intransitive. Consider the
verb to eat, and look at these examples:
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 I eat fried eggs for breakfast.
 I eat quickly at breakfast.
In the first example, the verb eat is a transitive verb because the action
has a direct object – the fried eggs. However, the second example
shows eat as an intransitive verb. There is no action upon a direct
object; quickly is an adverb describing the action of eating.
Other examples of verbs that are both transitive and intransitive
include walk, drive, read, and understand.
 I walked.
 I walked the dogs.
 Daniel drives.
 Daniel drives a large truck.
 Barbara reads.
 Barbara reads 10 books a month.
 I understand.
 I understand you.
So, to recognize a transitive verb, you must understand and be able to

identify that it acts on a direct object.
Recognizing Intransitive Verbs When You See Them
As mentioned above, many verbs can be transitive and intransitive, so

to recognize the type of verb it is, you must look at other parts of the
sentence. Consider the verb to sing, and look at these examples:
 The birds sang the mating call.
 The birds sang.
 The birds sang
 The birds sang on the trees.
In the first example, sang (the past tense of sing) is a transitive verb.

The birds are conferring the action of singing on a direct object – the
mating call.
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But sang is an intransitive verb in the other three examples. We know
this because the first example requires no direct object for the action,
the second example is followed by an adverb and the final example is
followed by a preposition.
Therefore, we can recognize an intransitive verb if it makes sense on
its own (without a direct object) or is followed by an adverb or
preposition.
Auxiliary (or Helping) Verbs

Auxiliary (or Helping) verbs are used together with a main verb to show
the verb’s tense or to form a negative or question. The most common
auxiliary verbs are have, be, and do.
1. Does Sam write all his own reports?

2. The secretaries haven’t written all the letters yet.
3. Terry is writing an e-mail to a client at the moment.


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Auxiliary verbs, also known as helping verbs, add functional or
grammatical meaning to the clauses in which they appear. They
perform their functions in several different ways:
 By expressing tense ( providing a time reference, i.e. past,
present, or future)
 Grammatical aspect (expresses how verb relates to the flow of
time)
 Modality (quantifies verbs)
 Voice (describes the relationship between the action expressed
by the verb and the participants identified by the verb’s subject,
object, etc.)
 Adds emphasis to a sentence
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Auxiliary verbs almost always appear together with a main verb, and
though there are only a few of them, they are among the most
frequently occurring verbs in the English language.
How to Identify an Auxiliary Verb
You probably know that every sentence has at least one verb in it.
There are two main types of verbs. Action verbs are used to depict
activities that are doable, and linking verbs are used to describe
conditions. Both action verbs and linking verbs can accompany
auxiliary verbs including the three main ones: do, be, and have.
Sometimes actions or conditions occur only one time and then they’re
over. It’s at times like these that some of the same verbs that are used
as auxiliary verbs are instead used as action or linking verbs. In this
example, we see the word “is”. This is one of the most common
auxiliary verbs, but because it stands alone here, it is not functioning
as an auxiliary verb.
Jerry slammed the car door on his thumb. He is in horrible pain.
“Is” is a linking verb in this sentence. Because it stands alone, it is not

an auxiliary verb.
At other times, an action or condition is ongoing, happening
predictably, or occurring in relationship to another event or set of
events. In these cases, single-word verbs like is are not accurately
capable of describing what happened, so phrases that include auxiliary
verbs are used instead. These can be made up of anywhere from two
to four words.
A main verb, also known as a base verb, indicates the kind of action or
condition taking place. An auxiliary or helping verb accompanies the
main verb and conveys other nuances that help the reader gain
specific insight into the event that is taking place.
Read the following sentences and explanations to gain greater insight
into how auxiliary verbs work.
1. Jerry caught his thumb in the car door as coffee spilled from his

cup onto his favorite shirt.
2. Jerry is always spilling things.
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3. Since Jerry is also accident prone, he should have been
drinking coffee from a mug with a lid, which would not have
spilled on his favorite shirt.
In sentence one, caught and spilled, single-word verbs, describe

quick, one-time actions of both Jerry and his messy coffee. This
sentence does not contain an auxiliary verb.
Since Jerry often has unfortunate accidents, is spilling communicates
the frequency of his clumsy actions in sentence two. In sentence three,
the auxiliary verbs that make up should have been
drinking and would have stained express time relationships as well
as an evaluation of Jerry’s actions.
Three Common Auxiliary Verbs
There are just three common auxiliary verbs:

 Have
 Do
 Be
In this section, we’ll take a closer look at how these common verbs
work, plus you’ll see some examples.
Have
“Have” is a very important verb that can stand alone in all its tenses,
including has, have, having, had, and hadn’t or had not. It is usually
used to denote ownership, and it can also be used to discuss ability or
describe appearance. “Have” is also a very popular substitute for the
verbs “eat” and “drink.” For example: “Let’s have dinner.”
When used as an auxiliary verb, have is always teamed up with
another verb to create a complete verb phrase, making it easy to
differentiate between uses. You can see the difference in the
sentences below:
 Jerry has a large coffee stain on his shirt. → Has = action verb
 Jerry has bought a new shirt to replace the one that was ruined
earlier. → Has = auxiliary verb; bought is a past participle that
competes the verb phrase.
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 Jerry should have been more careful! → Have = auxiliary verb;
phrase “should have been” expresses time and evaluates Jerry’s
actions.
Do
“Do” can be used as an action verb that stands alone in all its tenses,
including to do, do, does, done, did and didn’t, doesn’t or did not .
When used as an auxiliary verb, do is always paired up with another
verb to create a complete verb phrase. In some cases, it is used to add
emphasis: “I did put the garbage out!” Do is often used to form
questions and negated clauses. It is also used in elliptical sentences,
where the main verb is understood and is omitted as a result. For
example: “He plays piano well, doesn’t he?” or “They all had dinner,
but I didn’t.”
 Because he spills things so often, Jerry does more laundry than
most people.  Does = action verb
 Jerry didn’t put his coffee in a cup with a lid.  Didn’t = auxiliary
verb
 Jerry doesn’t always spill things, but it happens a lot.  Doesn’t =
auxiliary verb
Be
“Be” or “to be” is an important verb that has a multitude of uses in
English. It can be used as an action verb that stands alone in all its
tenses including be, to be, been, am, are, is, was, were, wasn’t, was
not aren’t, are not, weren’t and were not.
When used as an auxiliary verb, be is always paired with another verb
to create a complete verb phrase. It can be singular or plural, present
or past. Negative sentences are formed by adding the word “not”.
 Jerry is messy.  Is = action verb
 Although he is always complaining about his accidents, Jerry fails
to pay attention.  is = auxiliary verb
 Jerry is going to be doing extra laundry for the rest of his life.  to
be = auxiliary verb
Modal Auxiliary Verbs
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In addition to the three main auxiliary verbs, have, do, and be, there
are additional auxiliary verbs. These are called modal auxiliary verbs,
and they never change form. A complete list of modal auxiliary verbs
follows:
 Can
 Could
 May
 Might
 Must
 Ought to
 Shall
 Should
 Will
 Would
Auxiliary Verb Examples
Here are some examples of auxiliary verbs and verb phrases. In the
examples below, the verb phrase is italicized and the auxiliary verb is
in bold.
1. Jessica is taking John to the airport.

2. If he doesn’t arrive on time, he’ll have to take a later flight.
3. Unfortunately, our dinner has been eaten by the dog.
4. I have purchased a new pair of shoes to replace the ones that

were lost in my luggage.
5. We hope you don’t have an accident on your way to school.
6. She was baking a pie for dessert.
7. Dad has been working hard all day.
8. The bed was made as soon as I got up.

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9. Sarah doesn’t ski or roller skate.
10. Did Matthew bring coffee?
Auxiliary Verb Exercises
Fill in the blank with the correct auxiliary verb from the choices
presented:
1. What ________________ the kids doing when you last saw

them? (was, were, are, did, been)
2. Carla ________________ always wanted to try skydiving. (was,
doesn’t, has, is, have)
3. Where __________________ you go on your summer vacation?

(were, been, are, did, does)
4. Why do you think she __________ call you like she said she
would? (didn’t, is, hasn’t, has been, have)
5. Mary _____________ going to be upset when she hears what

happened. (will, don’t, is, didn’t, has)
6. Jeremy _____________ want to go to the movies; he wants to

stay home instead. (doesn’t, isn’t, wasn’t, hasn’t, was not)
7. I _________________ appreciate his jokes. They weren’t funny.

(did, have, been, didn’t, haven’t)
8. I really like fish but I _______________ care for meat. (weren’t,

been, don’t, is, was)
9. Where _____________ you going when I saw you last night?

(were, was, is, do, did)
10. Tara ________________ called yet; she’s late as usual. (are,

were, has, hasn’t, wouldn’t)
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Answers: 1 – were, 2 – has, 3 – did, 4 – didn’t, 5 – is, 6 – doesn’t, 7
– didn’t, 8 – don’t, 9 – were, 10 – hasn’t
Phrasal Verbs
What are Phrasal Verbs?
A phrasal verb is a combination of words (a verb + a preposition or

verb +adverb) that when used together, usually take on a different
meaning to that of the original verb.


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Phrasal Verb Examples
1. break down, check in, tear up
When we use phrasal verbs, we use them like normal verbs in a

sentence, regardless if it’s a regular or irregular verb.
1. Ella tore up the letter after she read it.

2. Their car broke down two miles out of town.
3. Did the manager deal with that customer’s complaint.
More phrasal verb examples:
1. Be sure to put on a life jacket before getting into the boat.
2. We left out the trash for pickup.
3. It’s time to get on the plane.
4. What will she think up next?
5. I’m having some trouble working out the solution to this

equation.
37
6. We’re going to have to put off our vacation until next year.
7. Stand up when speaking in class, please.
8. We’ll have to wake up early if we want breakfast.
9. Take off your shoes before you walk on the carpet.
10. My dog likes to break out of his kennel to chase squirrels.
Click here for an extensive list of phrasal verbs

Phrasal Verb Exercises
Choose the correct phrasal verb from the parenthesis at the end of the
sentence.
1. Someone broke into my car last night and stole the stereo. (broke
down/broke into)
2. Will you be able to get by this month with the little you have?(get
off / get by)
1. His father always taught him not to _____ those people with less.
(look up to / look down on)
2. Stop complaining and _____ your work! (get on with / get over)
3. The boss wants you to _____ your figures for this month to him.
(hand out / hand in)
4. We’re going to have to _____ our trip to Spain until September.

(put up/ put off)
5. I _____ Amir today at the supermarket. It was great to see him.

(ran out of / ran into)
6. I’m so tired of Sophie _____ her engagement ring all the time.
(showing off, showing up)
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7. The police would not _____ to the kidnapper’s demands. (give
up/ give in)
8. I thought I would _____ for a cup of coffee. Is that okay? (drop

off/ drop in)
9. Have you ever _____ such an unusual piece of art? (come

forward/come across)
10. It’s important to _____ on time. (show up / show off)
11. _____ your feet when walking; you don’t want to trip! (uplift / lift
up)
12. The tree was _____ by the wind. (blown up / blown over)
13. He _____ his hat to show me his new haircut. (took off / took up)
14. I just can’t seem to _____ this book. (get off / get into )
Answers:
1. look down on
2. get on with
3. hand in
4. put off
5. ran into
6. showing off
7. give in
8. drop in
9. come across
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10. show up
11. lift up
12. blown over
13. took off
14. get into
Stative Verbs
What are Stative Verbs?
Stative verbs are verbs that express a state rather than an action.

They usually relate to thoughts, emotions, relationships, senses, states
of being and measurements. These verbs are not usually used with ing
in progressive (continuous) tenses even though they may take on time
expressions such as now and at the moment. We use the simple
tenses for them.
1. Paul feels rotten today. He has a bad cold.

2. Do you recognize him? He is a famous rock star.
3. Our client appreciated all the work we did for him.


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 Incorrect: I’m smelling your wife’s wonderful spaghetti sauce.
 Correct: I smell your wife’s wonderful spaghetti sauce.
However, there are some verbs that look like they should be stative,
but may appear in the ing form. These verbs differ in meaning to the
stative verbs.
Stative Verb Examples:
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see
1. I see Michael, but he can’t see me. I’m too far away. (I see him
with my eyes.)
2. James is seeing Marsha. They’ve been together for a month.
(He’s dating her.)
hear
1. I hear music coming from the Smith’s apartment. Someone must

be home now. (To experience sound)
2. I’m hearing voices. (I’m imagining it)
have
1. Jeremy has a Mercedes. (He owns it.)

2. Sara is having lunch with her editor. (She’s eating lunch)
List of Stative Verbs
 adore
 agree
 appear (seem)
 appreciate
 be (exist)
 believe
 belong to
 concern
 consist of
 contain
 cost
 deny
 depend on
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 deserve
 detest
 disagree
 dislike
 doubt
 equal
 feel
 hate
 have (possession)
 hear
 imagine
 include
 involve
 know
 lack
 like
 loathe
 look (seem)
 love
 matter
 mean
 measure
 mind
 need
 owe
 own
 possess
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 promise
 realize
 recognize
 remember
 resemble
 satisfy
 see
 seem
 smell
 sound
 suppose
 surprise
 taste
 think (opinion)
 understand
 want
 weigh
 wish
Stative Verb Exercises
Complete each sentence using the stative verb from the parenthesis:
1. Do you _________ the answer? (depend on, know, include)

2. Jim _________ dessert every day. (has, eats, possesses)
3. I _________ good about the race’s outcome. (am, were, feel)
4. She _________ her mother. (imagines, resembles, walks with)
5. Do you _________ they will win? (think, involve, promise)
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6. They really _________ everything you did for them. (include,
appreciate, dislike)
7. I think the teacher was _________ with my speech. (involved,

measured, satisfied)
8. Can you _________ the coffee brewing? (feel, smell, dislike)
9. I still _________ a lot of money on my student loans. (deserve,

owe, involve)
10. You _________ more shoes than anyone else I know! (dislike,
suppose, have)
Answers: 1 – know, 2 – has, 3 – feel, 4 – resembles, 5 – think, 6

– appreciate, 7 – satisfied, 8 – smell, 9 – owe, 10 – have
Phrasal Verbs
What are Phrasal Verbs?
A phrasal verb is a combination of words (a verb + a preposition or

verb +adverb) that when used together, usually take on a different
meaning to that of the original verb.


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Phrasal Verb Examples
1. break down, check in, tear up
When we use phrasal verbs, we use them like normal verbs in a

sentence, regardless if it’s a regular or irregular verb.
1. Ella tore up the letter after she read it.
44
2. Their car broke down two miles out of town.
3. Did the manager deal with that customer’s complaint.
More phrasal verb examples:
1. Be sure to put on a life jacket before getting into the boat.
2. We left out the trash for pickup.
3. It’s time to get on the plane.
4. What will she think up next?
5. I’m having some trouble working out the solution to this

equation.
6. We’re going to have to put off our vacation until next year.
7. Stand up when speaking in class, please.
8. We’ll have to wake up early if we want breakfast.
9. Take off your shoes before you walk on the carpet.
10. My dog likes to break out of his kennel to chase squirrels.
Click here for an extensive list of phrasal verbs

Phrasal Verb Exercises
Choose the correct phrasal verb from the parenthesis at the end of the
sentence.
1. Someone broke into my car last night and stole the stereo. (broke
down/broke into)
2. Will you be able to get by this month with the little you have?(get
off / get by)
45
1. His father always taught him not to _____ those people with less.
(look up to / look down on)
2. Stop complaining and _____ your work! (get on with / get over)
3. The boss wants you to _____ your figures for this month to him.
(hand out / hand in)
4. We’re going to have to _____ our trip to Spain until September.

(put up/ put off)
5. I _____ Amir today at the supermarket. It was great to see him.

(ran out of / ran into)
6. I’m so tired of Sophie _____ her engagement ring all the time.
(showing off, showing up)
7. The police would not _____ to the kidnapper’s demands. (give

up/ give in)
8. I thought I would _____ for a cup of coffee. Is that okay? (drop

off/ drop in)
9. Have you ever _____ such an unusual piece of art? (come

forward/come across)
10. It’s important to _____ on time. (show up / show off)
11. _____ your feet when walking; you don’t want to trip! (uplift / lift
up)
12. The tree was _____ by the wind. (blown up / blown over)
13. He _____ his hat to show me his new haircut. (took off / took up)
14. I just can’t seem to _____ this book. (get off / get into )
46
Answers:
1. look down on
2. get on with
3. hand in
4. put off
5. ran into
6. showing off
7. give in
8. drop in
9. come across
10. show up
11. lift up
12. blown over
13. took off
14. get into
The Present Progressive Tense
Spelling Tip
Verbing (Present Participle)
 Add ing to most verbs. Ex. play > playing, cry > crying, bark >
barking
 For verbs that end in e, remove the e and add ing. Ex: slide >
sliding, ride > riding
 For verbs that end in ie, change the ie to y and add ing. Ex: die >
dying, tie > tying
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 For a verb whose last syllable is written with a consonant-vowel-
consonant and is stressed, double the last letter before adding
ing. Ex: beg > begging, begin > beginning. However: enter >
entering (last syllable is not stressed)


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The present progressive tense is often overused by non-native
speakers of English. It should only be used in the following contexts:
To describe an incomplete action which is in progress at the moment of
speaking; usually with time expressions such as: now, at the moment,
right now.
1. (During a phone call or in an e-mail) We are discussing the

project at the moment.
To describe a plan or arrangement in the near future; usually with time

expressions such as: tonight, tomorrow, this week, this Monday.
1. Jim‘s leaving for Brussels this evening.
To express actions that are repeated regularly; usually with a negative

meaning and with the time expressions: always or forever.
1. Her husband is always complaining about his health.
Note: A common mistake is using this form to describe what a

company sells or produces. In general, a company sells something on
a regular basis, so you need to use the present simple tense and not
the present progressive.
 Incorrect: We are producing high-end plastic pipes.
 Correct: We produce high-end plastic pipes.
 Correct: That company is always selling some cheap gadget.
(negative meaning)
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The present progressive (continuous) is formed using am, is or are together with the ing (present
participle) form of the verb.
Subject A form of be + Verbing Rest of Sentence

(Present Participle)
I am taking my final exam

tomorrow
He / She / It is sweeping the floor at the

moment
You / We / are giving me a headache

They
Contractions in the Present Progressive (Continuous)
In general we contract (or shorten) the subject (the person or thing

doing the action), and form of be:
1. I am > I’m – I’m going to the store in about ten minutes.

2. He is > He’s, She is > She’s, It is > It’s – It’s raining cats and
dogs.
3. We are > We’re, You are > You’re, They are

> They’re – We’re catching the 9:00 flight.
Save the long forms for when you want to create emphasis.
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1. You are not going out tonight!
When speaking, you should stress the not.

Negatives in the Present Progressive (Continuous)
Spelling Tip
When shortening a form of be and negative, just remove the o in not
and add an apostrophe (‘)
is not > isn’t
are not > aren’t
The negative in the present progressive tense is created using am not, is not or are not together
with the ing form (present participle) of the verb.
Subject A form of be + Rest of Sentence

Verbing
I am not working on that project now
He / She / It isn’t sleeping at the moment
You / We / aren’t running in the marathon

They tomorrow
Note: In general, use these contractions in the negative: isn’t, aren’t.

Am not cannot be shortened, but you can say I’m not. Save the long
forms for when you want to create emphasis.
1. I’m not listening to you.
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2. Roger isn’t eating with us tonight.
3. The Smiths aren’t going to France this year. They’re going to

Thailand.
4. He is not coming with me dressed like that!
Yes/No Questions in the Present Progressive (Continuous)
To ask a question that will be answered with either a yes or no, start
with Am, Is or Are, then choose your subject (the person or thing doing
the action), followed by the ing (present participle) form of the verb and then the rest
of your question.
A Form of Subject Verbing Rest of Sentence

be
Am I making myself clear
Is he / she / it shaking right now
Are you / we / buying steaks for dinner

they tomorrow
1. Am I talking too much?

2. Is that your dog barking?
3. Are you participating in the competition next week?
51
Wh-Questions in the Present Progressive
Wh- questions are questions that require more information in their

answers. Typical wh- words are what, where, when, which, why, who,
how, how many, how much.
To create a wh-question, start with the wh-word, then add am, is or are, then the subject (a
person or thing that is doing the action), followed by the ing ( present participle) form of the verb
and only then add the rest of the sentence.
Wh A Subject Verbing Rest of

Word form Sentence
of be
Who am I meeting with today
What is he / she / it doing right now
When are you / we / they choosing the colors

for the room
1. Which route are you taking to the conference this week?

2. Why is she bleeding?
3. Who am I sending to the meeting?
Tag Questions in the Present Progressive
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Tag questions are those short questions that are tagged onto the end
of a sentence. They are used just to make sure the person you’re
talking to understood what you meant or to emphasize what you said.
They’re formed by using a positive sentence in the present progressive
and adding isn’t or aren’t and a pronoun (I, you, we, they, he, she, it)
and a question mark. For sentences in the first person (I), use the
tag aren’t I?
1. Terry is driving to the post office, isn’t she?

2. All the kids in the class are going on the field trip, aren’t they?
3. I‘m buying tickets for everyone, aren’t I?
You may also add a positive tag when you’re using a negative
sentence.
1. Latika‘s not working at IBM anymore, is she?

2. Tomer and Guy aren’t going on the trek to South America, are
they?
As a rule: When the sentence is positive, the tag is negative.

When the sentence is negative, the tag is positive.
Exercises for Present Progressive
Fill in the correct form of the Present Progressive as in the examples.
1. The runners are approaching the finish line. (approach)

2. Are you preparing the contract for the client? (prepare)
3. Joyce isn’t playing in today’s tournament. (not play)
1. The team members ______________ late to finish the bid. (stay)
2. What _______Arnie ____________ over there? (do)
3. _______ you __________ a big wedding? (plan)
4. Tim is helping you put the lights up, ___________?
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5. The computers _____ finally ____________ like they’re
supposed to. (run)
6. _________ Ann _________ in from New York tonight? (fly)
7. The customers aren’t getting the price quote this week,

____________?
8. I________________ Peter for a drink later. (meet)
9. How much money ________ they _________ in the company?

(invest)
10. He ___________ to you. (not lie) He ____________ the truth.

(tell)
Answers:
1. are staying
2. is/doing
3. Are/planning
4. isn’t he
5. are/running
6. Is/flying
7. are they
8. am meeting
9. are/investing
10. isn’t lying/is telling
Examples – Present Progressive (Continuous)
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Positive
1. We are discussing the project at the moment.

2. Jim’s leaving for Brussels this evening.
3. Her husband is always complaining about his health.
Contractions
1. I’m going to the store in about ten minutes.

2. It’s raining cats and dogs.
3. We’re catching the 9:00 flight.
Negatives
1. I’m not listening to you.

2. Roger isn’t eating with us tonight.
3. The Smiths aren’t going to France this year. They’re going to

Thailand.
4. He is not coming with me dressed like that!
Yes/No Questions
1. Am I talking too much?

2. Is that your dog barking?
3. Are you participating in the competition next week?
Wh-Questions
1. Which route are you taking to the conference this week?

2. Why is she bleeding?
3. Who am I sending to the meeting?
Tag Questions
55
1. Terry is driving to the post office, isn’t she?
2. All the kids in the class are going on the field trip, aren’t they?
3. I’m buying tickets for everyone, aren’t I?
4. Latika’s not working at IBM anymore, is she?
5. Tomer and Guy aren’t going on the trek to South America, are
they?
The Present Perfect Simple Verb Tense
The Perfect Tenses

The opinion of many native and non-native English speakers is that the
perfect tenses are far from being ‘perfect’. They cause headaches for
most people. On these pages, we will break the perfect tenses down
into short sections that will make them easier to understand.


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Useful Tip
Time Expressions in the Present Perfect
 Use since with a specific year or a period in the past > since
2002 / since I was a child
 Use for with a number of years > for twenty years
 Use ever and yet in questions and negatives
> Have you ever / hasn’t been yet
 Use already and never, just between have/has and the verb
> has already finished / have just been
 Use before, since, for, already, many times, so far, yet at the end
of a sentence or questions > Have you been there before?
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The present perfect simple tense is used to
Describe actions that occurred in the past but are still relevant to the
present.
1. Rani has broken her arm. (She broke it in the past and can’t use

her arm now.)
Describe an action that started in the past but is still happening on a

regular or habitual basis (like the present simple).
1. The girls have played tennis at the club since 2005. (They

started to play tennis there in 2005 and still play there today. This does
not mean they are playing tennis at the moment.)
Describe actions that were repeated several times in the past.
1. I‘ve already made several calls. (Up until now)
The specific time in the past is unimportant, just the fact that it
happened.
Note: Time Expressions – Present Perfect
NEVER use the same time expressions that you use in the past simple
tense, such as: yesterday, a week ago, last night. You MAY use
unspecific time expressions such as: ever, never, since, for, already,
many times, before, so far, yet.
The Typical Present Perfect Sentence
In order to form a typical sentence in the present perfect simple, choose a subject ((the person or
thing that has done the action), add an auxiliary (or helping) verb: has or have + the V3 (past
participle) form of the verb and then add the rest of the sentence.
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Subject have/has +Verb(V3) Rest of Sentence
(Past Participle)
I / You / We / They have met him before
He / She / It has lived here for three years
The V3 (past participle) form of a regular verb looks just like a regular
verb in the past simple:
1. walk > walked / study > studied / stop > stopped / create >
created
There are quite a few irregular verbs in English. It pays to memorize

them.
Note: Has Had – A verb combination that often causes confusion in the
present perfect simple is has had or have had. Ex. I have had enough
of your complaining! Have is the auxiliary (or helping) verb and had is
the V3 (or past participle) of the main verb to have. It may look strange,
but it is correct.
Contractions in the Present Perfect Simple

In general, we contract the subject (the person or thing that has done
the action) and form of have:
1. I have > I’ve – I’ve used those images before.

2. He has > He’s / She has > She’s / It has > It’s – He’s already
had the surgery.
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3. We have > We’ve / You have > You’ve / They are
> They’ve – We’ve just gotten home.
You may have noticed that the 3rd person singular (he, she, it)
contractions look like those in the present progressive. You can tell
them apart by the use of the V3 and from the context of the sentence:
he is > He’s eating now. / he has > He’s eaten dinner already
Save the long forms for when you want to create emphasis. When
speaking, you should stress the have/has.
1. He has sung that song. I know he has.
Negative Sentences in the Present Perfect Simple Tense
Spelling Tip
When shortening the auxiliary verb have/has and the negative, just
remove the o in not and add an apostrophe (‘)
has not > hasn’t
have not > haven’t
When creating negative sentences, we usually use hasn’t or haven’t together + the V3 (past
participle) form of the verb. Save the long forms (has not, and have not) for when you want to
create emphasis. When speaking, put the stress on ‘not’.
Subject Auxillery Verb in V3 Rest of

Verb (Past Participle) Sentence
I / You / We haven’t ridden a bike in

/ They (have not) many years
He / She / It hasn’t (has lost enough
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not) weight yet
1. I haven’t eaten at that restaurant in a long time.

2. Jim hasn’t worked on Fridays since he joined the company.
3. My friends haven’t ever gone to France.
4. I have not forgiven you!
Yes/No Questions in the Present Perfect Simple

To create a question that will be answered with a yes or no, start the question with Have or Has,
(Haven’t or Hasn’t for a negative question) then add a subject (the person or thing that has done
the action) followed by the V3 (Past Participle) form of the verb and only then add the rest of the
sentence.
Auxiliary Subject Verb in V3 Rest of

Have I / you / we / begun the meeting

they yet
Has he / she / it answered your letter
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Hasn’t he / she / it eaten dinner yet
1. Have you ever gone ice skating?

2. Has Jerry presented his ideas to the CEO yet?
Wh-Questions in the Present Perfect Simple

answers. Typical wh- words are what, where, when, why, who, how,
how many, how much.
To create a wh-question, start with the wh-word, then add have or has, then the subject (a person
or thing that has done the action), followed by the V3 (Past Participle) form of the verb and only
then add the rest of the sentence.
Wh- Auxiliary Subject Verb in V3 Rest of

Word Verb (Past Participle) Sentence
What have I / you / we / read lately

they
Why has he / she / it changed color
1. When have I ever lied to you?

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2. Why has Tanya left the country?
3. How much money have you spent so far?
Tag Questions in the Present Perfect Simple
of a sentence. They are used just to make sure that the person you’re
They’re formed by using a regular sentence in the present perfect
simple, then adding haven’t or hasn’t and a pronoun (I, you, we, they,
he, she, it) and a question mark.
Examples of the Present Perfect Simple – Tag Questions:
1. John has known her for a couple of years, hasn’t he?

2. They have been in business since 1980, haven’t they?
sentence.
1. Keisha hasn’t spoken to you yet, has she?

2. Those kids have never played rugby, have they?

Exercises – Present Perfect Simple
Fill in the correct form of the present perfect simple as in the examples.
1. Dan has worked in that company for 12 years. (work)

2. Have you heard the news? (hear)
3. The boys have never eaten sushi. (eat)
1. Daniel ____ that video clip at least twenty times. (see)
2. The workers _______ a break in 4 hours. (not have)
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3. We ___________ them regularly over the last few years. (visit)
4. _______ Ella _______ her driving test yet? (pass)
5. Roger _______ to Mexico several times since 2002.(be)
6. They______ to each other in ages, _______ they? (not speak)
7. Why _______ Mathew _______his job? (quit)
8. ______the nurses ______ on strike again? (go)
9. ________ they ______ the post yet? (not deliver)
10. I _____ already_______ you the answer. (tell)
Answers:
1. has seen
2. haven’t had
3. have visited
4. Has/passed
5. has been
6. haven’t spoken/have
7. has/quit
8. Have/gone
9. Haven’t/delivered
10. have/ told
Examples – Present Perfect Simple
Positive
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1. Rani has broken her arm.
2. The girls have played tennis at the club since 2005.
3. I’ve already made several calls.
Contractions
1. I have > I’ve – I’ve used those images before.

2. He has > He’s / She has > She’s / It has > It’s – He’s already had
the surgery.
3. We have > We’ve / You have > You’ve /They have > They’ve –
We’ve just gotten home.
Negative
1. I haven’t eaten at that restaurant yet.

2. Jim hasn’t worked on Fridays since he joined the company.
3. My friends haven’t ever gone to France.
4. I have not forgiven you!
Yes/No Questions
1. Have you ever gone ice skating?

2. Has Jerry presented his ideas to the CEO yet?
Wh-Questions
1. When have I ever lied to you?

2. Why has Tanya left the country?
3. How much money have you spent so far?
Tag Questions
1. John has known her for a couple of years, hasn’t he?
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2. They have been in business since 1980, haven’t they?
3. Keisha hasn’t spoken to you yet, has she?
4. Those kids have never played rugby, have they?
The Present Perfect Progressive Tense
Useful Tip
Time Expressions in the Present Perfect Progressive (Continuous)
 Use since or ever since with a specific month, year or a period in

the past > I have been jogging in this park since 2002 / He has
been staring at the wall ever since he heard the news.
 Use for with a number of hours, days, months, years > She’s
been talking on the phone for 3 hours.


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The present perfect progressive (continuous) is actually easier to
understand than the present perfect simple tense. It is used to describe
an event that started in the past but is still happening in the present.
That event in the present can be
An habitual event:
1. I have been living in this house for 40 years.

(I started living in it 40 years ago and I am still living in it today.)
Something that is taking place at this moment:
1. I have been climbing up this mountain for over two hours.

(I started climbing up it two hours ago and at this moment I’m still
climbing.)
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To form the present perfect progressive (continuous), has or have + been + verbing (present
participle).
Subject have/has + been + rest of sentence

verbing
I / You / We / have been sitting here for two hours

They
He / She / It has been working at this company since

April
Present Perfect Simple or Present Perfect Progressive (Continuous) – Which

to use?
In general, use the present perfect simple when the action started in
the past and is relevant to the present. Ex. This is the third time I’ve
written to you. (I wrote twice in the past and now I am writing again –
in the present.)
If it’s an action that started in the past and that same action is still
happening now, use the present perfect progressive. Ex I have been
waiting for you since 10 am.
Some actions can be expressed in either tense, especially those that
started in the past and still occur in the present on a habitual basis. Ex.
I have lived in this house for 20 years. / I have been living in this
house for 20 years. Both sentences are correct.
Contractions in the Present Perfect Progressive (Continuous)
In general, we contract the subject (the person or thing doing the

action) and form of have:
1. I have > I’ve – I’ve been thinking about you since you called.

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2. He has > He’s / She has > She’s / It has > It’s – He’s been
singing for two hours.
3. We have > We’ve / You have > You’ve / They are

> They’ve – We’ve been helping her out for a few months.
You may have noticed that the 3rd person singular (he, she, it)
contractions look like those in the present progressive. You can tell
them apart by the use of been and from the context of the sentence: he
is > He’s eating now. / he has > He’s been eating for two hours.
Negative Sentences in the Present Perfect Progressive (Continuous)
Spelling Tip
When shortening the 3rd person (he, she, it) negative, just remove the
o in not and add an apostrophe (‘)
has not > hasn’t
When creating negative sentences, we use hasn’t or haven’t together with been and the ing
(present participle) form of the verb. Save the long forms (has not, and have not) for when you
want to create emphasis. When speaking, put the stress on ‘not’.
Subject Auxillery Been + Verbing Rest of

Verb Sentence
I / You / haven’t (have been lying to you

We / They not)
He / She / It hasn’t (has been sleeping weill since the

not) accident
1. I haven’t been feeling well lately.

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2. Simon hasn’t been attending class regularly since he got a job.
3. The sales team hasn’t been performing at the top of their game.
4. He has not been paying attention!
Yes/No Questions in the Present Perfect Progressive (Continuous)

To create a question that will be answered with a yes or no, start the question with Have or Has,
(Haven’t or Hasn’t for a negative question) then add a subject (the person or thing that has been
doing the action) followed by been and the ing (present participle) form of the verb and only then
add the rest of the sentence.
Auxiliary Subject Been + Verbing Rest of

Verb Sentence
Have I / you / we / been working since this

they morning
Has he / she / it been earning minimum

wage
Hasn’t he / she / it been helping you clean the

house
1. Have you been keeping track of sales?

2. Has Jerry been picking fruit from my trees again?
Wh-Questions in the Present Perfect Progressive (Continuous)
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answers. Typical wh- words are what, where, when, why, which, who,
To create a wh-question, start with the wh-word, then add have or has, then the subject (a person
or thing that has been doing the action), followed by been and the ing (present participle) form of
the verb, and only then add the rest of the sentence.
Wh- Auxiliary Subject Been + Verbing Rest of

Word Verb Sentence
What have I / you / we / been doing lately

they
Why has he / she / it been copying documents

all day
1. What have you been doing since I left?

2. Why has the phone been ringing for the last two hours?
3. How long has he been waiting?
Exercises – Present Perfect Progressive (Continuous)
Fill in the correct for of the Present Perfect Progressive as in the

examples.
1. I‘ve been gardening for three hours. (garden) My back is killing

me!
2. Tony has been listening to the news non-stop since the conflict
began. (listen)
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3. Have you been saving the coupons for me? (save)
1. Roger ______ at his mother’s house since his divorce. (stay)
2. How long _____ the dogs ________ like that? (bark)
3. I _______ the football score. (not follow) Are we winning?
4. The students ______ plans for the school party for several
weeks. (make)
5. Rachel ________ at that studio for very long. (not dance)
6. _________ Tim _______ that book since January? (not read) I’m
waiting to borrow it.
7. The project manager ________ us to finish the work since

Tuesday. (push)
8. ________ you ________ TV all morning? (watch)
9. I_________ to Paris twice a month since the project started.

(travel)
10. Jenny ________ customer deadlines since she arrived here. (not
meet.) The boss may fire her.
Answers:
1. has been staying

2. have/been barking
3. haven’t been following
4. have been making
5. hasn’t been dancing
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6. Hasn’t/been reading
7. has been pushing
8. Have/been watching
9. I’ve been traveling
10. has not been meeting
Examples – Present Perfect Progressive (Continuous)
Positive
1. I have been living in this house for 40 years. (I started living in it

40 years ago and I am still living in it today.
2. I have been climbing up this mountain for over two hours. (I
started climbing up it two hours ago and at this moment I’m still
climbing.)
3. I have been waiting for you since 10 am.
4. I’ve been thinking about you since you called.
5. He’s been singing for two hours.
6. We’ve been helping her out for a few months.
7. I’ve been gardening for three hours. My back is killing me!
8. Tony has been listening to the news ever since the conflict
began.
Negative
1. I haven’t been feeling well lately.

2. Simon hasn’t been attending class regularly since he got a job.
3. The sales team hasn’t been performing at the top of their game.
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4. He has not been paying attention!
Yes/No Questions
1. Have you been keeping track of sales?

2. Has Jerry been picking fruit from my trees again?
3. Have you been saving the coupons for me?
Wh Questions
1. What have you been doing since I left?

2. How long has he been waiting?
3. Why has the phone been ringing for the last two hours?
The Past Perfect Progressive Tense
Spelling Tip
barking
dying, tie > tying


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The past perfect progressive (continuous) is used to describe an action
that started in the past and was still in progress when a second action
started. Both actions began and ended in the past. As in the past
perfect simple, the sentence has two parts:
1. The past perfect progressive, to refer to the action that was in

process
2. The past simple to refer to the action that happened after the first
action
1. Ben had been working for three hours when Rachel came

home.
2. By the time Sam found an umbrella, it had been raining for ten

minutes.
To form the past perfect progressive, use the auxiliary (helping) verb had + been + verbing
(present participle).
Subject Have/Has + Been + Rest of Sentence

Verbing
I / You / We / had been talking for two hours when he

They got up and left
He / She / It
had been texting her long before they met
Note: The order of phrases may be switched, but the meaning will stay
the same.
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1. By the time Catherine got to the office, the client had been
waiting for an hour.
2. The client had been waiting for an hour by the time Catherine
got to the office.
Past Perfect Simple or Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous) – Which to use?
Punctuation Tip
When you begin a sentence with a time expression, put a comma (,)
after the first part of the sentence.
In general, use the past perfect simple when the first action started in
the past and ended before the second action began. Use the past
perfect progressive when that first action was still in progress when the
second action began. Remember, both actions ended in the past.
1. I had fed the dogs before I tripped and fell.

2. I had been feeding the dogs when I tripped and fell.
Negative Sentences in the Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous)
Useful Tip
Time Expressions in the Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous)
 Use since with a specific hour, month, year or a period in the past
> since 2002 / since Tuesday
 Use for with a number of hours, days, months or years
> for twenty years
 Use already between had and the verb > had already been flying
 Use before, when and by the time before the past simple
> when they saw the boys
When creating negative sentences, we use the auxiliary (helping) verb hadn’t (had not) + been +
the ing (present participle) form of the verb.
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Subject Auxiliary Been + Verbing Rest of
Verb Sentence
I / You / We / hadn’t (had been sleeping when you

They not) arrived
He / She / It
1. I hadn’t been feeling well, so I sent him away.

2. Simon had not been expecting a positive answer when he got a
job.
3. The hikers hadn’t been walking long before they got lost.
Yes/No Questions in the Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous)

To create a question that will be answered with a yes or no, use Had (or Hadn’t for a negative
question) + been + the ing (present participle) form of the verb.

Verb Sentence
Had I / you / we / been working when she

they called
he / she / it
Hadn’t been you
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Verb Sentence
assisting
1. Had he been drinking when you found him?

2. Had the manager been complaining about Jim before she fired
him?
3. Hadn’t the snow been falling for hours before then?
Wh-Questions in the Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous)

answers. Typical wh- words are what, where, when, why, which, who,
To form a wh-question, start with the wh-word, then add had, then the subject (a person or thing
that had been doing the action), followed by been and the ing (present participle) form of the
verb, and only then add the rest of the sentence.

Word Verb Sentence
What had I / you / we / been doing until then

they
he / she / it
Who been before me
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Word Verb Sentence
dating
1. What had you been doing when you cut your finger?

2. Which fax message had you been trying to send when the
power went off?
3. How long had he been waiting?
Exercises – Past Perfect Progressive
Fill in the correct form of the Past Perfect Progressive or Past Simple
as in the examples
1. I‘d been trying to sell my car for six months before I found a
buyer (try/find)
2. Sheila had not been dieting for long when she began to lose
weight. (not diet)
3. How long had the fire been burning before the

firefighters arrived? (burn/arrive)
1. Dylan ______ chess for several years before he _______ his first
tournament (study/enter)
2. Before I _______ to work here, who ______ the client’s account?

(start/ manage)
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3. Although they _______ the house for two years, it still _____
ready. (build/not be)
4. Mario _______ well before the exam. (not feel)
5. At last we ______ the movie that everyone _______ about.

(see/talk)
6. The students _____ math problems when one of them fainted.

(solve)
7. How long _____ he _____ before the accident ______?

(drive/occur)
8. Paula and Terry ______ tennis when it _____ to rain.

(play/begin)
9. ______ you _______ a long time when you ______? (jog / faint)
10. Our forces _______ in that area until two weeks before then. (not
fight)
Answers:
1. had been studying/entered

2. started/managed
3. had been building/wasn’t
4. hadn’t been feeling
5. saw/had been talking
6. had been solving
7. had/been driving/occurred
8. had been playing/began
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9. Had/been jogging/fainted
10. hadn’t been fighting
Examples
Positive
1. Ben had been working for three hours when Rachel came home.
2. By the time Sam found an umbrella, it had been raining for ten
minutes.
3. By the time Catherine got to the office, the client had been
waiting for an hour.
4. The client had been waiting for an hour by the time Catherine got
to the office.
5. I had been feeding the dogs when I tripped and fell.
Negative
1. I hadn’t been feeling well, so I sent him away.

2. Simon had not been expecting a positive answer when he got a
job.
3. The hikers hadn’t been walking long before they got lost.
Yes/No questions
1. Had he been drinking when you found him?

2. Had the manager been complaining about Jim before she fired
him?
3. Hadn’t the snow been falling for hours before then?
Wh-Questions
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1. What had you been doing when you cut your finger?
2. Which fax had you been trying to send when the power went off?
3. How long had he been waiting?
The Future Tense

The future can be expressed in several ways in English. Here are the
different possibilities:
1. Future Simple: will + base form of the verb

2. Be Going To: am, is, are + going to + base form of the verb
3. Shall: Shall + subject + base form of the verb?
4. Future Progressive: will be + verbing
5. Present Simple and Present Progressive with Future Meaning


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Time expressions in the Future Tense

There are several time expressions that are used in all of the different
forms of the future tense. They are generally used at the end of the
sentence or question. The most common are: tomorrow, next week
(Sunday/month/year), in two days (weeks, months years), the day after
tomorrow.
Future Simple: Will + Base Form of the Verb
This form is used to:
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Describe a simple action in the future:
1. She‘ll write the e-mail after lunch.

2. Alice won’t help us decorate for the party.
Make a prediction or give a warning:
1. Don’t lift that. You‘ll hurt yourself

2. If you don’t finish the bid, the boss won’t give you a raise.
Make a spontaneous decision:
1. You dropped your purse. I‘ll get it.
Subject will or won’t +verb rest of sentence
Positive Negative
I / You / We / will won’t see you tomorrow

They see night
He / She / It
Contractions
In general, use the contracted forms of the pronoun + will:
I will > I’ll / he will > he’ll / she will > she’ll / you will > you’ll / we will
> we’ll /they will > they’ll
Ex. I’ll see you tomorrow. / You’ll get the answer by post.
Try to use the short form won’t instead of will not
Ex. I won’t see you tomorrow.
Save the long forms for when you want to create emphasis in spoken
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Englsih or when writing formal texts.
Ex. You will not do that again! / His hypothesis will not stand up to
their criticism.
Yes/No Questions in the Future Simple

To create a question that will be answered with a yes or no, use Will (or Won’t) + subject + base
form of the verb.
Will subject base form of the verb rest of

sentence
Will I / You / We / send that fax for

(Won’t) They me
He / She / It
1. Will Dave burn the CD for you?

2. Won’t the girls be late for the party?
Wh- Questions in the Future Simple

how many, how much.
To form a Wh-question use: Wh-word + will (or won’t) + subject + base form of the verb.
Wh Will subject base form of the rest of

word verb sentence
What will I / You / We / tell him
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Wh Will subject base form of the rest of
word verb sentence
They tonight
He / She / It
Why won’t finish the project
1. When will he give you an answer?

2. Why won’t you tell him the truth?
Exercises – Future Simple Tense

Fill in the correct form of the verb with the future simple tense as in the
examples.
1. I‘ll drive you to your lesson at 4 pm. (drive)

2. He won’t work overtime anymore (not work)
1. Sam _______ the documents over to you tomorrow. (bring)
2. The managers ________ about the budget until next Thursday.

(not decide)
3. _______ your sister ______ in a large church? (get married)
4. ________ he _____ you move to your new apartment? (not help)
5. I _________ him this time. He mustn’t do that again. (forgive)
Answers:
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1. will bring
2. won’t decide
3. Will/ get married
4. Won’t/help
5. will forgive
Future – Be Going To
We usually use am, is or are + going to + the base form of the verb to talk about actions in the
future that have already been decided on.
Subject Form of be + going to base form of rest of

the verb sentence
Positive Negative
I am am not going to buy some

going clothes
to tomorrow
He / She is going isn’t (is

/ It to not) going
to
You / are aren’t (are
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Subject Form of be + going to base form of rest of
the verb sentence
Positive Negative
We / going not) going

They to to
1. Dan‘s going to take the order over to the customer.

2. The girls are going to sing ‘Amazing Grace’ now.
3. They aren’t going to buy the house.
4. I am not going to make dinner tonight. We’re going out to a

restaurant.
Yes/No Questions – Be going to

To ask a question that will be answered with either a yes or no, start with Am, Is or Are (or
isn’t/aren’t for negative questions), then choose a subject (the person or thing doing the action),
followed by going to + the base form of the verb.
A form of subject going to + verb rest of

be sentence
Am I going to eat lunch today
85
A form of subject going to + verb rest of
be sentence
Is / Isn’t he / she / it
Are/ Aren’t you / we /

they
1. Am I going to feel bad about my decision?

2. Is he going to watch the film tonight?
3. Are you going to participate in the race tomorrow?
Wh-Questions – Be Going To
answers. Typical wh- words are what, where, when, which, why, who,
To create a wh-question, start with the wh-word, then add am, is or are, then the subject (a
person or thing that will be doing the action), going to and the base form of the verb.
Wh- A form subject going to + verb rest of

word of be sentence
Why am I going to watch the news
86
Wh- A form subject going to + verb rest of
word of be sentence
is / Isn’t he / she /
it
are/ you / we /
aren’t they
1. How much is the computer going to cost?

2. Why aren’t you going to buy that car?
Exercises – Future – be going to

Fill in the correct form of the verb with the be going to form of future as
in the examples.
1. He is going to clean up his room tonight. (clean up)

2. Teddy and Sam aren’t going to eat at that restaurant again. (not
eat)
1. Ben__________ Mr. Davis to give him a good grade. (persuade)
2. We __________ a refund on that TV that broke down. (demand)
3. ________Ms. Thompson __________ you extra for that work?

(pay)
4. I _______ Los Angeles next year. (leave)
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5. Turner _______ a car when he lands at the airport. (hire) He’ll
take the train.
Answers:
1. is going to persuade
2. are going to demand
3. Is/going to pay
4. am going to leave
5. isn’t going to hire
Future: Shall
Shall is used with the subjects I and we to make suggestions or to offer to do something for
someone. It is always used in the form of a question.
Will subject base form of the verb rest of sentence
Shall I / We send out for pizza
1. Shall we go for a walk?
2. Shall I help you with that?
The use of shall to mean will is formal English and is not commonly
used today.
Future Progressive (Continuous) – will + be + verbing
Spelling Tip
88
barking
dying, tie > tying
We use will/wont + be + verbing (present participle) when we know that an action will be in
progress at some time in the future or to describe something that has been pre-arranged.
Subject will / won’t + be + verbing rest of

sentence
Positive Negative
I / You / We / will be won’t be waiting for you

They waiting
He / She / It
1. Don’t phone me before 12:00. I will be meeting with a client.

2. You can take my car tomorrow. I won’t be using it.
3. This time next year, we will be living in our new home.
Yes/No Questions in the Future Progressive (Continuous)

To ask a question that will be answered with either a yes or no, start with Will or Won’t, then
choose your subject (the person or thing that will be doing the action), followed by be + verbing
(present participle).
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Will/Wont Subject be + verbing Rest of Sentence
Will I be exhibiting at the show next

he / she / it month
you / we /
they
Won’t be coming to the wedding on

Sunday
1. Will Allen be participating in the science fair next week ?

2. Won’t you be visiting your mother when I’m in town?
Wh-Questions in the Future Progressive (Continuous)

Wh- questions are questions that require more information in their answers. Typical wh- words
are what, where, when, which, why, who, how,
To create a wh-question, start with the wh-word, then will +the subject (a person or thing that is
doing the action), followed by be + the ing ( present participle) form of the verb.
Wh will/wont subject verbing rest of

Word sentence
When will I be meeting with the

he / she / it CEO today
you / we / they
1. Where will he be waiting for me?
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2. How will you be travelling to the exhibition?
Some Wh-questions have a different word order:
Wh subject will verbing rest of

Word sentence
How people will be attending the show

many
Who will be going with you
1. How many contestants will be attempting to win the prize?

2. Which runners will be running the race?
Exercises – Future Progressive (Continuous)

Fill in the correct form of the verb with the future progressive ( will + be
+ verbing) form of future as in the examples.
1. He will be receiving his M.A. degree at the ceremony next week

(receive)
2. Will Ron be visiting you today?(visit)
1. I ________ to Monterey this weekend. (drive) Do you want to

come along?
2. ________ they ________ the conference next week? (attend)
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3. Ella and Sara __________ out of class just as I arrive at the
college. (get)
4. I ________ in Norway next week while you are sunbathing in

Tahiti (freeze)
5. How many students _________ next month? (not graduate)
Answers:
1. will be driving
2. Will/ be attending
3. will be getting
4. will be freezing
5. will not be graduating
Present Simple and Present Progressive with Future Meaning
The present simple tense may be used to express the future in order to
talk about plans in the near future.
1. Her bus leaves at 6:00 Tuesday morning.
The present progressive tense may be used to express the future

especially when you want to talk about plans arranged in advance. It is
common to use it with verbs of movement.
1. I’m turning in my History assignment tomorrow morning.
Tag Questions in the Future Tense

They’re formed by using a positive sentence in the future tense forms
and adding an appropriate auxiliary (helping) and a pronoun (I, you,
we, they, he, she, it) and a question mark.
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1. John will call her tomorrow, won’t he?
2. All those girls will be sitting quietly, won’t they?
3. You’re coming over tonight, aren’t you?
4. That bee is going to sting me, isn’t it?
sentence.
1. Carey won’t report me, will she?

2. The kids aren’t going to play soccer tomorrow, are they?
3. You’re not working tomorrow, are you?

Examples – Future Tense
Positive
1. She’ll write the e-mail after lunch.

2. Don’t lift that. You’ll hurt yourself.
3. You dropped your purse. I’ll get it.
4. I’ll see you tomorrow.
5. You’ll get the answer by post.
6. Dan’s going to take the order over to the customer.
7. The girls are going to sing ‘Amazing Grace’ now.
8. I’ll drive you to your lesson at 4 pm.
9. He is going to clean up his room tonight.
10. Don’t phone me before 12:00. I will be meeting with a client.
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11. This time next year, we will be living in our new home.
12. He will be receiving his M.A. degree at the ceremony next week.
13. Her bus leaves at 6:00 Tuesday morning.
14. I’m turning in my History assignment tomorrow morning.
Negative
1. Alice won’t help us decorate for the party.

2. If you don’t finish the bid, the boss won’t give you a raise.
3. I won’t see you tomorrow.
4. You will not do that again!
5. They aren’t going to buy the house.
6. I am not going to make dinner tonight. We’re going out to a

restaurant.
7. Teddy and Sam aren’t going to eat at that restaurant again.
8. You can take my car tomorrow. I won’t be using it.
9. He won’t work overtime anymore.
Yes/No Questions
1. Will Dave burn the CD for you?

2. Won’t the girls be late for the party?
3. Am I going to feel bad about my decision?
4. Is he going to watch the film tonight?
5. Are you going to participate in the race tomorrow?
6. Shall we go for a walk?
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7. Shall I help you with that?
8. Will Allen be participating in the science fair next week?
9. Won’t you be visiting your mother when I’m in town?
10. Will Ron be visiting you today?
Wh- Questions
1. When will he give you an answer?

2. Why won’t you tell him the truth?
3. How much is the computer going to cost?
4. Why aren’t you going to buy that car?
5. Where will he be waiting for me?
6. How will you be travelling to the exhibition?
7. How many contestants will be attempting to win the prize?
8. Which runners will be running the race?
Tag Questions
1. John will call her tomorrow, won’t he?

2. All those girls will be sitting quietly, won’t they?
3. You are going to finish that work, aren’t you?
4. That bee is going to sting me, isn’t it?
5. Carey won’t report me, will she?
6. The kids aren’t going to play soccer tomorrow, are they?
7. You’re not working tomorrow, are you?
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The Future Perfect Tense
The future perfect simple is used to explain an activity that will be
completed by a certain time in the future. We add time expressions
such as by the time, by then, by the year 2008, by March 25th to
describe these kinds of activities.


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To form the future perfect simple, use will have + V3 (past participle) form of the verb.
Subject will /will not + have + Rest of Sentence

(V3) form of the verb
(Past Participle)
I / You / will have worked here for three years by

We / They the time the visa needs
He / She / to be renewed.
It
I / You / won’t have solved all the math problems

We / They by then.
He / She /
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Subject will /will not + have + Rest of Sentence
(V3) form of the verb
(Past Participle)
It
1. By this time next year we will have been married for 30 years.

2. If all goes well, by June 2012, I will have finished my university
degree.
Yes/No Questions – Future Perfect Simple

To form Yes/No questions in the future perfect simple tense use: Will/Won’t + Subject + have + V3
(past participle) form of the verb.

Will I / you / we have gone home by then?

/ they
he / she / it
Won’t have eaten dinner by the

time I get home?
1. Will she have gotten her passport by then?

2. Won’t you have sent the documents by Thursday?
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Future Perfect Progressive
The future perfect progressive tense is used to talk about an action that
will already have started and will still be happening by a certain time in
the future. We use time expressions such as for 30 minutes and since
early morning to describe the length of time the activity has already
going on.
To form a sentence in the future perfect progressive use will + have + been verbing (present
participle) form of the verb.
Time Subject have + been + rest of

Expression verbing sentence
By October I / You / We will have been for two

1st, / They travelling months.
He / She / It
1. By the time you get here, we will have been building the house
for a year.
2. By 2008, Adam will have been selling sports equipment for 10
years.
Exercises – Future Perfect Simple and Future Perfect Progressive
Fill in the correct form verb in either the future perfect simple or future
perfect progressive tense.
1. Tamara will have completed her Bachelor’s Degree by June.

(complete)
2. The customer service department will have been operating for 2
years by then. (operate)
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1. By the time I start my shift, Dr. Frazier _________ for 18 hours
straight. (work)
2. Sheila ____ the scholarship by the time she starts school in

September. (get)
3. By this time next month, I hope they ____building the community

center. (finish)
4. Professor Adams ______ at this university for 25 years by the

time he retires in June. (teach)
5. By this time tomorrow night we ______ in Australia. (arrive)
6. ______ he ______ the message by the time your flight takes off?
(receive)
7. Dana _____ the night shift by the time you get up in the morning.
(not finish)
8. The team _____ at the exhibition for five hours by the time I
arrive there. (work)
9. By the time we get on the plane, they ____already _____ the

luggage. (load)
10. By 2025, I hope researchers ______ a cure for cancer. (find)
Answers:
1. will have been working

2. will have gotten
3. will not have seen
4. will have been teaching
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5. will have arrived
6. Will/have received
7. won’t have finished
8. will have been working
9. will/have loaded
10. will have found
Verb Tenses
Present Simple
1. Positive: Most kids like milk.

2. Negative: I do not like milk unless it’s chocolate.
3. Yes/No Questions: Do you like milk?
4. Wh-Questions: When do we board the train for Paris?
5. Tag Questions: You like scuba diving, don’t you?


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Present Progressive (Continuous)
1. Positive:You are learning to use perfect English.

2. Negative:You are not sleeping now.
3. Yes/No Questions:Are you eating?
4. Wh-Questions:What are you watching?
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5. Tag Questions:You aren’t eating liverwurst, are you?
Past Simple
1. Positive:I visited my grandmother yesterday.

2. Negative:We didn’t watch the movie on Saturday.
3. Yes/No Questions:Did you have spaghetti for dinner last night?
4. Wh-Questions:Why didn’t you wash the car yesterday?
5. Tag Questions:You went to Paris last year, didn’t you?
Past Progressive (Continuous)
1. Positive:We were watching TV when the power went out.

2. Negative:You were not listening to the teacher’s instructions
yesterday.
3. Yes/No Questions:Were you skateboarding when you broke

your leg?
4. Wh-Questions:What were you doing when you heard the news?
Future
Future Simple
1. Be Going To:We are going to the movies tonight.

2. Shall:You will help your grandmother later.
Future Progressive (Continuous)
1. Present Simple and Present Progressive with Future

Meaning: Sam will be coming home any minute.
Perfect Tenses
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The perfect tenses describe actions that have already been completed
or that began in the past and are relevant to the present or that will
have happened at a particular time in the future. They are also referred
to as the perfective aspect.
Present Perfect Simple
1. Positive:They have been to Paris.

2. Negative:You haven’t gone overseas.
3. Yes/No Questions:Have you been to London?
4. Wh-Questions:Why are we here?
5. Tag Questions:You haven’t been to Zurich, have you?
Present Perfect Progressive (Continuous)
1. Positive:They have been swimming for more than an hour.

2. Negative:You haven’t waited thirty minutes yet.
3. Yes/No Questions:Have you been waiting long?
4. Wh-Questions:What time did you begin waiting?
5. Tag Questions:You haven’t been waiting long, have you?
Past Perfect Simple
1. Positive:He had studied French before traveling to Paris.

2. Negative: She hadn’t studied French before last semester.
3. Yes/No Questions:Had you studied French before you traveled

to Paris?
4. Wh-Questions:Why hadn’t you studied French when you knew

you’d be traveling to Paris soon?
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5. Tag Questions:You hadn’t visited the U.S. before your trip in
2010, had you?
Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous)
1. Positive:We had been waiting for more than three hours when
the train finally arrived.
2. Negative:We had not been waiting for more than thirty minutes
when her plane landed.
3. Yes/No Questions:Had you been waiting for longer than three

hours?
4. Wh-Questions:Why had you been waiting for the last two hours?
Future Perfect Simple / Future Perfect Progressive
1. Future Perfect Simple:You will have perfected your French by

the time you come back from Paris.
2. Future Perfect Progressive:We will be waiting for him when his
plan arrives tonight.
Irregular Verbs
What Are Irregular Verbs?
Irregular verbs are verbs that don’t take on the regular –d, -ed, or -ied
spelling patterns of the past simple (V2) or past participle (V3). Many of
the irregular V2 and V3 forms are the same, such as: cut – cut, had –
had, let – let, hurt – hurt, fed- fed, sold-sold


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Irregular Verb Examples
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Irregular verbs are also known as strong verbs. Here are nine that are
used more often than the rest. These nine irregular verb examples also
happen to be among the most commonly used words in the English
language. They are:
 Go
 Get
 Say
 See
 Think
 Make
 Take
 Come
 Know
The following list of examples show how irregular verbs are used in
sentences. Some sentences contain more than one example.
1. Go get your brother. It’s time to eat dinner.
→ In this example, all three irregular verbs (go, get, and eat) are in
base form.
2. I want to build a sand castle like the one we built last year.
→ In this example, the irregular verb build is in base form. The irregular
verb built is the past simple form of “build”. When you look at the
complete list of examples, you’ll notice that built is also the past
participle of the irregular verb “build”.
3. He bet me that I couldn’t run five miles without stopping. I

proved him wrong; I ran seven miles before I had to catch my breath.
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→ In this example, bet is a past simple form. When you look at the
complete list, you will see that all three forms of “bet” are the same.
Next, in the same sentence, the irregular verb run is in base form. In
the next sentence, ran is the past simple form of “run” and had is the
past simple form of “have.” Meanwhile, catch is base form.
4. I awoke to find that a spider had bitten me. Although the wound

didn’t bleed, it itched terribly.
→ In this example, the irregular verb awoke is the past simple form of
“awake.” Bitten is past participle form of “bite” and bleed is base form.
5. Let’s drink some of this lemonade. I drank some yesterday

and found it delicious.
→ In this example, the irregular verb drink is in base form. Drank is the
past simple form of “drink,” and found is the past simple form of “find.”
For more examples, read our complete list of irregular verbs in the
English language.
Irregular Verb Exercises
Fill the blank spaces with the appropriate irregular verb.
1. My dog jumped out of the swimming pool and _____________

himself, causing water to spray everywhere. (shake, shook, shaken)
2. You should have ______________ Trish’s face when she got her
surprise. (saw, had seen, seen)
3. We _____________ the whole day lounging on the beach.

(spend, spent, had spend)
4. Let’s _____________ a hike on Saturday. (take, took, taken)
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5. My brother Mike ______________ his stinky socks on the coffee
table. (leave, left, leaving)
6. This is the ninth time that pitcher has _____________ a foul ball
(throw, threw, thrown)
7. The water balloon _____________ when it hit its target. (burst,

busted, broken)
8. Jesse intentionally ______________ gum in Jeff’s hair. (stick,

stuck, sticky)
Answers: 1 – shook, 2 – seen, 3 – spent, 4 – take, 5 – left, 6

– thrown, 7- burst, 8 – stuck
Irregular Verbs List

This list contains all the irregular verbs of the English language. Each
entry includes the base or bare infinitive first, followed by the simple
past (V2) form and the past participle (V3) form. Taking some time to
make sentences using each irregular verb form will help you to use
these verbs correctly when speaking and writing. Simply reading
through this list will help you to recognize an irregular verb when you
see one.
Irregular Verbs – Complete List
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Base Form Past Simple (V2) Past Participle (V3)
arise arose arisen
awake awoke awoken
be was/were been
bear bore born(e)
beat beat beaten
become became become
begin began begun
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bend bent bent
bet bet bet
bind bound bound
bite bit bitten
bleed bled bled
blow blew blown
break broke broken
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breed bred bred
bring brought brought
broadcast broadcast broadcast
build built built
burn burnt/burned burnt/burned
burst burst burst
buy bought bought
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can could … (been able)
catch caught caught
choose chose chosen
cling clung clung
come came come
cost cost cost
creep crept crept
110
cut cut cut
deal dealt dealt
dig dug dug
do did done
draw drew drawn
dream dreamt/dreamed dreamt/dreamed
drink drank drunk
111
drive drove driven
eat ate eaten
fall fell fallen
feed fed fed
feel felt felt
fight fought fought
find found found
112
fly flew flown
forbid forbade forbidden
forget forgot forgotten
forgive forgave forgiven
freeze froze frozen
get got got
give gave given
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go went gone
grind ground ground
grow grew grown
hang hung hung
have had had
hear heard heard
hide hid hidden
114
hit hit hit
hold held held
hurt hurt hurt
keep kept kept
kneel knelt knelt
know knew known
lay laid laid
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lead led led
lean leant/leaned leant/leaned
learn learnt/learned learnt/learned
leave left left
lent lent lent
lie (in bed) lay lain
lie (to not tell the truth) lied lied
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light lit/lighted lit/lighted
lose lost lost
make made made
may might …
mean meant meant
meet met met
mow mowed mown/mowed
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must had to …
overtake overtook overtaken
pay paid paid
put put put
read read read
ride rode ridden
ring rang rung
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rise rose risen
run ran run
saw sawed sawn/sawed
say said said
see saw seen
sell sold sold
send sent sent
119
set set set
sew sewed sewn/sewed
shake shook shaken
shall should …
shed shed shed
shine shone shone
shoot shot shot
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show showed shown
shrink shrank shrunk
shut shut shut
sing sang sung
sink sank sunk
sit sat sat
sleep slept slept
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slide slid slid
smell smelt smelt
sow sowed sown/sowed
speak spoke spoken
spell spelt/spelled spelt/spelled
spend spent spent
spill spilt/spilled spilt/spilled
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spit spat spat
spread spread spread
stand stood stood
steal stole stolen
stick stuck stuck
sting stung stung
stink stank stunk
123
strike struck struck
swear swore sworn
sweep swept swept
swell swelled swollen/swelled
swim swam swum
swing swung swung
take took taken
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teach taught taught
tear tore torn
tell told told
think thought thought
throw threw thrown
understand understood understood
wake woke woken
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wear wore worn
weep wept wept
will would …
win won won
wind wound wound
write wrote written
The Past Perfect Simple Tense
Useful Tip
Time Expressions in the Past Perfect Simple
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The time expressions already, for, since, and yet may be used in the
past perfect simple, as they are in the present perfect simple.
Remember the following rules for using other time expressions:
 Use after, as soon as, the moment that, until before using the
past perfect simple.
Ex: After she had moved out, I found her notes./ I didn’t say
anything until she had finished talking.
 Use before, when, by the time before the past simple:
Ex. Before I knew it, she had run out the door. / By the
time he phoned her, she had found someone new.


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The past perfect simple is used to describe one action that happened
before another action in the past.
In many cases a complete sentence is written in two parts with two
different tenses:
1. The past perfect simple, to refer to the action that happened first
or earlier
2. The past simple to refer to the action that happened second or
later
Sometimes the past perfect simple is used on its own and the action
that took place afterwards is understood.
1. After Sofie had finished her work, she went to lunch.

(First she finished her work and then she went to eat lunch.)
2. I washed the floor when the painter had gone.
(First the painter left and then I washed the floor.)
3. Harold had known about it for a while.

(First he knew about it, then others knew about it)
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The past perfect simple tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb had
together with the V3 (past participle). The V3 (past participle) form of a
regular verb looks just like a regular verb in the past simple:
created
There are quite a few irregular verbs in English though. It pays to memorize them.
Subject had Rest of Sentence

+Verb(V3)
(Past
Participle)
I / You / We / had met him before he became famous

They
He / She / It
had lived here for three years by the

time we met
the same.
1. By the time Doris got to the party, everyone had gone home.
2. Everyone had gone home by the time Doris had got to the party.
Note: Had Had – A verb combination that often causes confusion in the
past perfect simple is had had. Ex. I had had enough to eat but I
wanted dessert anyway. The first had is the auxiliary (or helping) verb
and the second had is the V3 (or past participle) of the main verb to
have. It means that even though I ate enough, I wanted dessert after
that. It may look strange, but it is correct.
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Contractions in the Past Perfect Simple
Punctuation Tip
We often contract the subject (the person or thing that had done the
action) and had:
1. I had > I’d – After I’d used the phone, I paid the bill.

2. He had > He’d / She has > She’d / It has > It’d – It’d happened
so quickly, I didn’t notice.
3. We had > We’d / You have > You’d /They are

> They’d – We’d just gotten home, when we heard the blast outside.
Negative Sentences in the Past Perfect Simple Tense

When creating negative sentences, we use the auxiliary verbs hadn’t (had not) together with the
V3 (past participle) form of the verb. You can also create a negative sentence by using the auxiliary
verb had with the time expression never and then the V3.

I / You / We / hadn’t (had driven a car before

They not) then
He / She / It
had never driven a car before

then
1. I had not eaten at that restaurant before today.

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2. Samantha hadn’t had time to explain her side of the story.
3. My friends hadn’t ever gone to France.
4. My friends had never gone to the USA either.
Yes/No Questions in the Past Perfect Simple

To create a question that will be answered with a yes or no, start the question with Had (Hadn’t
for a negative question) then add a subject (the person or thing that had done the action) followed
by the V3 (Past Participle) form of the verb and only then add the rest of the sentence.
Auxiliary Subject Verb in V3 Rest of Sentence

Verb (Past Participle)
Had I / you / we had time to rehearse

/ they you’re the song
he / she / it
Had he / she / it eaten there before
1. Had you cleaned up the mess by the time they came home?

2. Had Adam ever spoken to the CEO before he was fired?
Wh-Questions in the Past Perfect Simple

how many, how much.
To create a wh-question, start with the wh-word, then add had, then the subject (a person or thing
that had done the action), followed by the V3 (Past Participle) form of the verb and only then add
the rest of the sentence.
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What had I / you / we / taught before

they leaving
he / she / it education
Why had changed the

subject
1. What had they said that made him so angry?

2. Why had he agreed to work for that salary?
3. How much had he drunk before you got to him?
Tag Questions in the Past Perfect Simple
They’re formed by writing a regular sentence in the past perfect simple,
then by adding hadn’t and a pronoun (I, you, we, they, he, she, it) and
a question mark.
1. John had known about the cancer for a couple of years, hadn’t

he?
2. They had been in business together, hadn’t they?
sentence.
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1. Jennifer hadn’t spoken to you about it, had she?
2. They had never eaten a proper Indian meal, had they?

Exercises – Past Perfect Simple
Fill in the correct form of the past perfect simple or past simple as in
the examples.
1. After Loren had turned on the alarm, she locked the door. (turn
on)
2. By the time Simone arrived, the police had already left. (arrive)
3. Had you known about the contract they signed? (know)
1. After the company _____Joe, he began to work on his first

project. (hire)
2. _____you _______ the news before you saw it on TV? (hear)
3. Michael didn’t want to see the movie because he _______ the

book yet. (not read)
4. The concert ______ already _______when we _______ the

stadium. (begin/ enter)
5. Until Anne ________ Mark, she ____ never ______in love.

(meet, be)
6. Bill __________ for years before he finally _______. (smoke/

quit)
7. _______ Sara ever _______to London by herself before then?

(drive)
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8. How many fish ______ the boys _____ by the time it started
raining? (catch)
9. You ________ them to go to the beach, hadn’t you? (forbid)
10. The girls _______ in weeks? That’s why they ______ so much
afterwards. (exercise / hurt)
Answers:
1. had hired
2. Had/heard
3. hadn’t read
4. had/begun/entered
5. met/had/been
6. had smoked/quit
7. Had/driven
8. had/caught
9. had forbidden
10. hadn’t exercised / hurt
Examples – Past Perfect Simple

4. I didn’t say anything until she had finished talking.
5. After she had moved out, I found her notes.
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6. Before I knew it, she had run out the door.
7. By the time he phoned her, she had found someone new.
10. I had had enough of his complaining.
11. After I’d used the phone, I paid the bill.
12. It’d happened so quickly, I didn’t notice.
13. We’d just gotten home, when we heard the blast outside.
Negative

Yes/No Questions
Wh- Questions

Tag Questions
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he?
3. Jenifer hadn’t spoken to you about it, had she?
Do, Does, Did

The Verb to do: do, does and did
The words do, does and did often cause confusion in the English language.
They are all forms of the verb to do.
The verb to do can be used as an action verb and also as an auxiliary verb.

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to do as an Action Verb
In some cases, to do is used as a verb that expresses an action (just like the
verb to walk).
Subject/Verb Agreement Using to do as an Action Verb
135
Subj Forms of to do in each Tense Rest of
ect Senten
ce
Prese Pa Perfect Form Continuo
nt st us Form
I / do did have/had + am/are/were + a good

You / done doing job
We /
They
He / does did has/had + is/was + doing homew

She / done ork
It
Spelling Tip
In Present Simple 3rd person (he, she, it), add an es to a verb that ends in ‘o’:
do > does / go> goes
Examples
1. Pete always does his taxes on time.
2. Volunteers do a lot of work around the town.
3. Gil did a great job on his history report for school.
4. You have done nothing all morning!
5. I am doing the best I can!
The verb to do as an auxiliary verb
It is also common to use do, does and did as auxiliary verbs (or helping verbs)
together with another verb in its base form. This is used to create negative
sentences, questions, or for adding emphasis.
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Negative sentences with do not, does not and did not
When creating negative sentences, we usually use shortened
forms: don’t, doesn’t and didn’t together with the base form of the verb.
Note: Save the long forms (do not, does not and did not) for when you want to create emphasis.
When speaking, you would put an accent on the ‘not’.
Subject Auxillery Verb to do Verb in Base Rest of

Present or Past Form Sentence
I / You / don’t (do didn’t (did not) sleep late

We / not)
They
He / doesn’t didn’t (did not) sit out in the

She / It (does sun
not)
Spelling Tip
When shortening the 3rd person (he, she, it) negative, just remove the o in
not and add an apostrophe (‘)
does not > doesn’t
Examples
1. Your client doesn’t understand the contract.
2. You don’t need to worry about me.
3. Your friends didn’t get the e-mail.
Yes/No Questions with Do, Does and Did
To create a question that will be answered with a yes or no, start the question with Do, Does or
Did, (Doesn’t, Don’t, Didn’t) for a negative question) then add a subject (the person or thing that
does the action) followed by the base form of the verb and only then add the rest of the sentence.
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Auxiliary Verb ‘To subject verb in base rest of
Do’ form sentence
Present Past
Do Did I / you / we / they drink enough

water
Does Did he / she / it eat meat
Don’t Didn’t I / you / we / they write to them
Punctuation Tip
Always begin a sentence, question and wh-question with a capital letter:
He always does good work.
Do you like me?
What did they bring you?
Examples:
1. Do you want to go to the party?
2. Does your dog live outside or in the house?
3. Does your sister always talk so much on the phone?
4. Did you catch the bus this morning?
5. Don’t you ever visit your parents?
6. Didn’t Mr. Albertson call you?
Note: Time Expressions:
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1. You may add a one-word time expression, such as always, usually,
or often between the subject and the verb.
2. You may use a negative question with a time expression such as ‘ever’.
Wh-questions with do, does and did
Wh- questions are questions that require more information in their answers.
Typical wh- words are what, where, when, why, who, how, how many, how
much.
To create a wh-question, start with the wh-word, then add do, does or did,
then the subject (a person or thing that does the action), followed by the base form of the verb
Wh- Auxiliary Verb Subject Verb in Base Rest of

Word ‘To Do’ Form Sentenc
e
Presen Pas
t t
Wher Do Did I / you / we / get the

e they maps
Why Does Did he / she / it sit out in

the sun
Examples
1. Where do you want to send the package?
2. Why does she always scream like that?
3. How much do these earrings cost?
4. Why don’t you ever clean up your mess?
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5. When did they arrive home?
Exercises for the Verb To Do
Fill in the correct form of the verbs as in the examples:
1. Mark and Dylan do volunteer work at the homeless shelter twice a
week. (do)
2. Sheila didn’t do the dishes last night. (not do)
3. Does Gillian usually meet clients so late at night? (meet)
1. ________ John often _____ together with his friends on the
weekends? (get)
2. Sivan ____________the post every day. (not collect)
3. _______ the computer ____________ again yesterday? (break down)
4. ____________ work __________ he _______ every month? (how
much/do/do)
5. _________ you ________ your laundry now? (do)
6. In general, the dogs ____________ on the beds in his house. (not
sleep) They _____ last night though. (do)
7. How many copies of the document_______ you _________? (need)
8. I ________ ever___________ the street on a red light! (not cross)
9. ________ Adam always _________ the lights off when he leaves the
office? (turn)
10._________ she ________ her homework yet? (do) It’s due tomorrow.
Answers:
1. Does/get
2. doesn’t collect
3. Did/break down
4. How much/does/do
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5. Are/doing
6. don’t sleep/did
7. do/need
8. don’t/cross
9. Does/turn
10.Hasn’t/done
Examples – do, does, did
Positive
1. Pete always does his taxes on time.
2. Volunteers do a lot of work around the town.
3. Gil did a great job on his History report for school.
4. You have done nothing all morning!
5. I am doing the best I can!
Negatives
1. Your client doesn’t understand the contract.
2. You don’t need to worry about me.
3. Your friends didn’t get the e-mail.
4. I do not want to go with you!
Yes/No Questions
1. Do you want to go to the party?
2. Does your dog live outside or in the house?
3. Does your sister always talk so much on the phone?
4. Did you catch the bus this morning?
5. Don’t you ever visit your parents?
6. Didn’t Mr. Albertson call you?
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Wh-Questions
1. Where do you want to send the package?
2. Why does she always scream like that?
3. How much do these earrings cost?
4. Why don’t you ever clean up your mess?
5. When did they arrive home?
The Past Simple Tense
Spelling Tip
Regular verbs in the past simple
 Add ed to most verbs. Ex. talk > talked , employ > employed
 If a short verb ends with a consonant-vowel-consonant, double
the last letter and then add ed. Ex. stop > stopped, top > topped
However, do not double the last letter if the verb ends in w, x or
y. Ex. play > played, mix > mixed.


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 In longer words, if the last syllable of the verb ends with a
consonant-vowel-consonant and that syllable is stressed, double
the last consonant and then add ed. Ex. prefer > preferred
However, do not double the last letter if the first syllable is
stressed. Ex. enter > entered
 If the verb ends in e, just add d. Ex. create > created , live > lived
 If the verb ends in a consonant + y, change the y to i and add ed.
Ex. try > tried
The past simple tense is quite straightforward. The main problem is its
spelling rules, which you’ll find below.
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We use the past simple to describe an action that started in the past
and ended in the past. It could be something that happened twenty
years ago or something that happened two minutes ago. It started. It
stopped. It’s over.
1. I visited a client in London yesterday.

2. She planned the event all by herself.
The most common time expressions used for the past simple are:
yesterday, a week (month, year) ago, last (month, year, weekend,
Monday) night, the day before yesterday, two days (months, years)
ago. The time expression appears either at the beginning or at the end
of the sentence – never in the middle of the sentence.
Forming the Past Simple
Subject Verb + d, ed, ied Rest of Sentence

or irregular form
(V2)
I / He / She / It You / We walked to the shop

/ They yesterday
slept late last Saturday
The past simple is usually formed by adding d, ed, or ied to the base
form of the verb, however, in English there are many irregular verbs
that take on a completely different form in the past tense. Some people
call this the V2 form of the verb. The best thing to do is to try and
memorize them.
Negative Sentences in the Past Simple Tense
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Spelling Tip
When shortening the 3rd person (he, she, it) negative, just remove the
o in not and add an apostrophe (‘)
did not > didn’t
To create a negative sentence in the past simple, use didn’t (did not) +
the base form of the verb.
Note: Save the long forms (did not) for when you want to create emphasis. When speaking, put
the stress on ‘not’.
Subject didn’t + verb in the Rest of

base form Sentence
I / He / She / It You / didn’t walk to the shop

We / They yesterday
didn’t sleep late last

Saturday
1. I didn’t talk to John yesterday.

2. He didn’t steal those ideas from the company.
3. You didn’t show me the photos from the wedding.
4. Ron did not sign the document.
Yes/No Questions in the Past Simple

To create a question that will be answered with a yes or no, start the question with Did, then add a
subject (the person or thing that does the action) followed by the base form of the verb and only
then add the rest of the sentence.
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Auxiliary Subject verb in base form rest of
Verb sentence
Did I / you / we / walk to the shop

they yesterday
he / she / it sleep late last

Saturday
1. Did you ask Tina to go out with you?

2. Did the employees stay late again last night?
3. Did Rob finish his assignment yesterday?
Wh-Questions in the Past Simple

how many, how much.
To create a wh-question, start with the wh-word, then add did (or didn’t for a negative question),
then the subject (a person or thing that does the action), followed by the base form of the verb
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Wh- auxiliary subject verb in base rest of
word verb form sentence
What did I / you / we / sell the house

they
he / she / it
Why didn’t rescue me
1. When did you buy that sweater?

2. Why did the computer break down?
3. How long did the train journey take?
4. Why didn’t you tell me about the accident?
Tag Questions in the Past Simple
They’re formed either by using a positive sentence in the past simple
and then adding didn’t, a pronoun (I, you, we, they, he, she, it) and
a question mark.
1. John scored a goal, didn’t he?

2. Their dogs barked all night, didn’t they?
sentence.
1. Kate didn’t take out the rubbish bin, did she?

2. The girls didn’t copy on the exam, did they?
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Exercises with the Past Simple Tense
Fill in the correct form of the verb in the past simple as in the examples.
1. David saw his History professor at the supermarket two days

ago. (see)
2. I didn’t know your e-mail address, so I phoned instead. (not
know/phone)
3. Did you get the message I left the day before yesterday?
1. I _______ a great book last week. (read)
2. _______ Adam ______ the jacket that he _______ at the party?

(find / leave)
3. Why _______ you__________ for me at the bar yesterday

evening? (not wait)
4. I _________ for over an hour, but you never __________ up!

(wait / show)
5. My friends _________ to New Delhi via Mumbai a week ago. (fly)
6. Teresa ___________ the last train, _______________? (catch)
7. The sunset _________ beautiful last night. (be)
8. _______ they _________ the client’s deadline yesterday? (meet)
9. When _____ he ___________ from med school? (graduate)
10. Ella ___________ to get a hold of you, but you ________ home.
(try/not be)
Answers:
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1. read
2. Did/find/left
3. didn’t/wait
4. waited/showed
5. flew
6. caught/ didn’t she
7. was
8. Did/meet
9. did/graduate
10. tried/weren’t
Examples – Past Simple
Positive
1. I visited a client in London yesterday.

2. She planned the event all by herself.
Negative
1. I didn’t talk to John yesterday.

2. He didn’t steal those ideas from the company.
3. You didn’t show me the photos from the wedding.
4. Ron did not sign the document.
Yes/No Questions
1. Did you ask Tina to go out with you?

2. Did the employees stay late again last night?
148
3. Did Rob finish his assignment yesterday?
Wh-Questions
1. When did you buy that sweater?

2. Why did the computer break down?
3. How long did the train journey take?
4. Why didn’t you tell me about the accident?
Tag Questions
1. John scored a goal, didn’t he?

2. Their dogs barked all night, didn’t they?
3. Kate didn’t take out the rubbish bin, did she?
4. The girls didn’t copy on the exam, did they?
The Past Perfect Simple Tense
Useful Tip
Time Expressions in the Past Perfect Simple
The time expressions already, for, since, and yet may be used in the
past perfect simple, as they are in the present perfect simple.
Remember the following rules for using other time expressions:
 Use after, as soon as, the moment that, until before using the
past perfect simple.
Ex: After she had moved out, I found her notes./ I didn’t say
anything until she had finished talking.
 Use before, when, by the time before the past simple:
Ex. Before I knew it, she had run out the door. / By the
time he phoned her, she had found someone new.


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The past perfect simple is used to describe one action that happened
before another action in the past.
In many cases a complete sentence is written in two parts with two
different tenses:
1. The past perfect simple, to refer to the action that happened first
or earlier
2. The past simple to refer to the action that happened second or
later
Sometimes the past perfect simple is used on its own and the action
that took place afterwards is understood.

(First she finished her work and then she went to eat lunch.)
(First the painter left and then I washed the floor.)

(First he knew about it, then others knew about it)
The past perfect simple tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb had
together with the V3 (past participle). The V3 (past participle) form of a
regular verb looks just like a regular verb in the past simple:
created
There are quite a few irregular verbs in English though. It pays to memorize them.
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Subject had Rest of Sentence
+Verb(V3)
(Past
Participle)
I / You / We / had met him before he became famous

They
He / She / It
had lived here for three years by the

time we met
the same.
Note: Had Had – A verb combination that often causes confusion in the
past perfect simple is had had. Ex. I had had enough to eat but I
wanted dessert anyway. The first had is the auxiliary (or helping) verb
and the second had is the V3 (or past participle) of the main verb to
have. It means that even though I ate enough, I wanted dessert after
that. It may look strange, but it is correct.
Contractions in the Past Perfect Simple
Punctuation Tip
We often contract the subject (the person or thing that had done the
action) and had:
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1. I had > I’d – After I’d used the phone, I paid the bill.
2. He had > He’d / She has > She’d / It has > It’d – It’d happened
so quickly, I didn’t notice.
3. We had > We’d / You have > You’d /They are

> They’d – We’d just gotten home, when we heard the blast outside.
Negative Sentences in the Past Perfect Simple Tense

When creating negative sentences, we use the auxiliary verbs hadn’t (had not) together with the
V3 (past participle) form of the verb. You can also create a negative sentence by using the auxiliary
verb had with the time expression never and then the V3.

I / You / We / hadn’t (had driven a car before

They not) then
He / She / It
had never driven a car before

then

Yes/No Questions in the Past Perfect Simple
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To create a question that will be answered with a yes or no, start the question with Had (Hadn’t
for a negative question) then add a subject (the person or thing that had done the action) followed
by the V3 (Past Participle) form of the verb and only then add the rest of the sentence.
Auxiliary Subject Verb in V3 Rest of Sentence

Verb (Past Participle)
Had I / you / we had time to rehearse

/ they you’re the song
he / she / it
Had he / she / it eaten there before

Wh-Questions in the Past Perfect Simple

how many, how much.
To create a wh-question, start with the wh-word, then add had, then the subject (a person or thing
that had done the action), followed by the V3 (Past Participle) form of the verb and only then add
the rest of the sentence.
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What had I / you / we / taught before

they leaving
he / she / it education
Why had changed the

subject

Tag Questions in the Past Perfect Simple
They’re formed by writing a regular sentence in the past perfect simple,
then by adding hadn’t and a pronoun (I, you, we, they, he, she, it) and
a question mark.

he?
sentence.
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1. Jennifer hadn’t spoken to you about it, had she?

Exercises – Past Perfect Simple
Fill in the correct form of the past perfect simple or past simple as in
the examples.
1. After Loren had turned on the alarm, she locked the door. (turn
on)
2. By the time Simone arrived, the police had already left. (arrive)
3. Had you known about the contract they signed? (know)
1. After the company _____Joe, he began to work on his first

project. (hire)
2. _____you _______ the news before you saw it on TV? (hear)
3. Michael didn’t want to see the movie because he _______ the

book yet. (not read)
4. The concert ______ already _______when we _______ the

stadium. (begin/ enter)
5. Until Anne ________ Mark, she ____ never ______in love.

(meet, be)
6. Bill __________ for years before he finally _______. (smoke/

quit)
7. _______ Sara ever _______to London by herself before then?

(drive)
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8. How many fish ______ the boys _____ by the time it started
raining? (catch)
9. You ________ them to go to the beach, hadn’t you? (forbid)
10. The girls _______ in weeks? That’s why they ______ so much
afterwards. (exercise / hurt)
Answers:
1. had hired
2. Had/heard
3. hadn’t read
4. had/begun/entered
5. met/had/been
6. had smoked/quit
7. Had/driven
8. had/caught
9. had forbidden
10. hadn’t exercised / hurt
Examples – Past Perfect Simple

4. I didn’t say anything until she had finished talking.
5. After she had moved out, I found her notes.
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6. Before I knew it, she had run out the door.
7. By the time he phoned her, she had found someone new.
10. I had had enough of his complaining.
11. After I’d used the phone, I paid the bill.
12. It’d happened so quickly, I didn’t notice.
13. We’d just gotten home, when we heard the blast outside.
Negative

Yes/No Questions
Wh- Questions

Tag Questions
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he?
3. Jenifer hadn’t spoken to you about it, had she?
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Past Simple vs Present Perfect.

1. I went to Cancún two years ago. / 1. I have been to Cancún

3. We saw that movie two weeks ago. / 3. We have seen that

5. Michael called me two hours ago. / 5. Michael has called me

6. She didn´t tell me anything. / 6. She hasn´t told me anything.

Functions of the passive voice

A great deal of meaning is A few well-chosen words convey a

Our planet is wrapped in a mass of A mass of gases wrap around our

Waste materials are disposed of in a The city disposes of waste materials in

"A Hard Day's Night" was written The Beatles wrote "A Hard Day's

The movie ET was directed Spielberg directed the movie ET.

This house was built by my father. My father built this house.

Forming the passive voice

The passive voice in English is composed of two elements:

Affirmative Negative Interrogative Negative

To clean, passive voice

The house is cleaned every day.

The house is being cleaned at the moment.

The house was cleaned yesterday.

The house was being cleaned last week.

The house has been cleaned since you left.

The house had been cleaned before they arrived.

The house will be cleaned next week.

The house will be being cleaned tomorrow.

The house would be cleaned if they had visitors.

The house would have been cleaned if it had been dirty.

The house must be cleaned before we arrive.

Passive voice with infinitives

Passive voice with gerunds

Using "to be born"

Alternative ways to form the passive voice

This type of construction can refer to the completion of an activity, especially

Using "to need" in passive constructions

In most instances, put the verb in the active voice rather than in

Passive Form of Verbs

 We use the active form of a verb to say what a subject does:

 We use the passive form to say what happens to the subject:

 The subject of a passive verb corresponds to the object of an active

- when the person who performs the action (agent) is unknown.

- when it is not important who does the action,or

- when we are more interested in the action that in the

Verb Tense Active Passive

Present I am cooking food in the Food is being cooked in the

Present Perfect I have cooked food in the Food has been cooked in the

Past Simple I cooked food in the Food was cooked in the

Past Continuous I was cooking food in the Food was being cooked in the

Past Perfect I had cooked food in the Food had been cooked in the

Future I will cook food in the Food will be cooked in the

Future Perfect I will have cooked food in Food will have been

Conditional I I would cook food in the Food would be cooked in the

Conditional II I would have cooked food Food would have been

PASSIVE FORM OF VERBS

2) Over 100 meals (serve) every day.

3) Each lesson (follow) by an exercise.

4) Dictionaries can (borrow) at the library.

5) Smoking (not/allow) in this building.

6) Taxes (include) in the price.

7) A new version (publish) every year.

8) More and more mobile phones (steal) every day.

9) A lot of information can (find) on the Internet.

PASSIVE FORM OF VERBS

2) The injured man (take) to hospital after the crash.