ENGLISH 1 Faculty of Medicine Islamic University of Indonesia

Meeting 1

TENSES USED IN ACADEMIC WRITINGS

Present tense Present Perfect tense Past tense Future tense

Present tense
Functions:
To express general facts or truth To express permanent conditions at recent time (in a particular given period of time) To express habitual activities To present schedule

Present tense using be

If the object of the sentence is a complement the verb is be e.g. I am a doctor. I am not a doctor. Am I a doctor? Yes, I am. No, I am not.

 You are beautiful. You are not beautiful Are you beautiful?

She is a nurse. She is not a nurse. Is she a nurse?

 We are sad. We are not sad. Are we sad?

Present tense using verb

If the sentence has one or more actual objects, the action verb (V1) is used. e.g. I study match. I dont study match. Do I study match ? Yes, I do. No, I dont.

 She read a good magazine. She does not (doesnt) read a good magazine. Does she read a good magazine? Yes, she does. No, she doesnt.

Time markers for present tense

Today, everyday, every week, every., on Sundays, on Tuesdays, once a week, twice a month, three times a day, four times a year. Adverbs of frequency: always, usually, often, sometimes, occasionally, seldom, rarely, never.

Present Perfect Tense

Functions To describes an action that happened at an indefinite time in the past To describe an action that was repeted several times in the past

Present Perfect using has/have + been

If the object of the sentence is a complement the verb is be e.g. - He has been sick for 3 days. He hasnt (has not) been sick for 3 days. Has he been sick for 3 days? Yes, He has No, He hasnt

- He has studied. He hasnt (has not) studied. Has He studied? Yes, I has. No, I hasnt.

Present Perfect using verb

If the sentence has one or more actual objects, the action verb (V3) is used. e.g. - I have studied English. I havent studied English. Have I studied English? Yes, I have. No, I havent.

- She has already gone.

She hasnt already gone. Has she already gone? Yes, she has. No, she hasnt - I have read that book several times. I havent read that book several times. have I read that book several times? Yes, I have No, I havent. I have seen the building. I havent seen the bulding. Have I see the building?

Past tense
Functions:
to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. to describe a habit which stopped in the past. to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true.

Past tense using be

If the object of the sentence is a complement the verb is be e.g. - You were at home. You werent (were not) at home Were You at home? Yes, you were. No, you werent.

- I was a child. I wasnt (was not) a child was I a child? Yes, I was. No, I wasnt She was diligent She wasnt diligent Was she diligent? Yes, she was No,she wasnt

Past Tense using verb

If the sentence has one or more actual objects, the action verb (V2) is used. e.g: My father bougth this car last year My father didnt (did not) buy this car last year Did my father buy this car last year? Yes, he did. No, he didnt.

Time marker
...ago last... yesterday this morning

Future tense
E.g: He is going to read magazine He is not going to read magazine Is he going to read magazine? Yes, he is No, he isnt

HOMEWORK
Make the summary of the other three tenses aforementioned complete with their functions, descriptions, examples and time markers. Submit to fdesnita@yahoo.com Duedate on February 28, 2011 at 6 p.m. The submission after then will be ignored and discarded