ref –

• https://www.grammarly.com/blog/simple-present/
• https://www.natterandramble.co.uk/present-simple-timeline-form-uses/

The simple present is the most basic of the English tenses. It’s used for individual actions or habitual actions in the present.

Often the simple present is just the root verb with no changes or additions. The main exception to this is when the subject is third person and singular. In this case you add the suffix –s. If the verb ends in o, ch, sh, th, ss, gh, or z, you add –es. If the verb ends in a consonant and y (and the subject is third-person singular), drop the y and add –ies.

Today I feel like a million bucks!

My brother carries the groceries while my sister stays on the couch.

When to use the present simple

The present simple is the most commonly used tense in academic writing, so if in doubt, this should be your default choice of tense. There are two main situations where you always need to use the present tense.

Describing facts, generalizations, and explanations

Facts that are always true do not need to be located in a specific time, so they are stated in the present simple. You might state these types of facts when giving background information in your introduction.

• The Eiffel tower is in Paris.
• Light travels faster than sound.

Similarly, theories and generalizations based on facts are expressed in the present simple.

• Average income differs by race and gender.
• Older people express less concern about the environment than younger people.
• Explanations of terms, theories, and ideas should also be written in the present simple.
• Photosynthesis refers to the process by which plants convert sunlight into chemical energy.
• According to Piketty (2013), inequality grows over time in capitalist economies.

Describing the content of a text

Things that happen within the space of a text should be treated similarly to facts and generalizations.

This applies to fictional narratives in books, films, plays, etc. Use the present simple to describe the events or actions that are your main focus; other tenses can be used to mark different times within the text itself.

In the first novel, Harry learns he is a wizard and travels to Hogwarts for the first time, finally escaping the constraints of the family that raised him.

The events in the first part of the sentence are the writer’s main focus, so they are described in the present tense. The second part uses the past tense to add extra information about something that happened prior to those events within the book.

When discussing and analyzing nonfiction, similarly, use the present simple to describe what the author does within the pages of the text (argues, explains, demonstrates, etc).

In The History of Sexuality, Foucault asserts that sexual identity is a modern invention.
Paglia (1993) critiques Foucault’s theory.
This rule also applies when you are describing what you do in your own text. When summarizing the research in your abstract, describing your objectives, or giving an overview of the dissertation structure in your introduction, the present simple is the best choice of tense.

Use present simple to describe habits

I smoke.
I bike.
I play badminton.
I mountain hike.

He drinks tea at breakfast.
She only eats fish.
They watch television regularly.

Use present simple to describe unchanging situations (repeated actions)

I work in the Bay.
I work in London.
I ride the bus to work.
I ride my bike to school.

We catch the bus every morning.
It rains every afternoon in the hot season.
They drive to Monaco every summer.

He goes to office every day.
We paint the walls every year.
He goes for a walk every morning.
She writes a letter every day.

Use present simple to describe general truths

Shenzhen is a green city.
Shanghai is an international city.
Beijing is the capitol of China.
The Earth is round.

Water freezes at zero degrees.
The Earth revolves around the Sun.
Her mother is Peruvian.

Use present simple to describe For instructions or directions

Open the packet and pour the contents into hot water.
You walk down Arvada, and make a left on Entradero. Keep going until the end.

In the third person singular the verb always ends in -s:

– he wants
– she needs
– he gives
– she thinks

I enjoy going to the gym.
She enjoys playing the piano.
He understands English.

ref –

• https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verb-tenses_present-perfect.php
• https://www.espressoenglish.net/difference-between-present-perfect-and-past-perfect-in-english/
• https://www.natterandramble.co.uk/present-perfect-tense-timeline-form-uses/

Perfect in latin means ‘action that has been completed’.

Present Perfect is an action that started in the past and continues to the present:

I have lived in this city for six months.

An action that happened before now (unspecified time) and is complete:
I have been to Japan twice.

With Present Perfect, one thing happened before the other, but one thing happened in the past, the other happened in the present.

Whereas in Past Perfect, one thing happened before the other, and they BOTH happened in the past.

[have/has] + [past participle]

Present Perfect tense

There is always a connection with the past and with the present.

The present perfect tense is used to show an action that happened in the past that is directly related to the present, such as actions that are still continuing or that indicate a change over time.

Six situations to use Present (Perfect)

1 – Habit: An ongoing action that started in the past, and is repeated up to the present

examples

The professor has [taught] here for two decades.

I (First person singular) have [been] here for twenty minutes.

They (Third person plural) haven’t (have not) [lived] here for years.

John (third person singular) hasn’t (has not) [called] for six months.

She (third person singular) has [worked] in the bank for five years.

We (First person plural) have [had] the same car for ten years.

He (third person singular) has [worked] in New York for a long time.

If you want to use ‘since’, the common trait is that the time between the past and now tends to be months or years. But sometimes, we can use hours too:

• I (First person singular) have [been] here since 9 o’clock.
• Have you (Second person singular) [played] the piano since you were a child?
• He has lived here since 1993.
• You have worked here since you left school.
• He (third person singular) has [worked] in New York since he left school.
• John (third person singular) hasn’t (has not) [called] since February.
• They have been at the hotel since last week.
• I haven’t ridden a horse since I was 9.
• I haven’t been on holiday since last year.
• They have [played] piano since the age of three.
• I have [worked] here since June.

2 – Experiences

The present perfect tense emphasizes the effects or consequences of the action.

I have [seen] an alien.

He has [lived] in Bangkok.

Have you [been] there?

We have never [eaten] caviar.

3 – An action that was completed very recently, so recent that it’s directly connected to the present

If an action was only completed very recently, you can describe it with the present perfect tense.

Even though the action happened in the past, it was so recent that it’s directly connected to the present. These cases usually use adverbs like just or now to show that the action “just now”.

I should not eat anymore because I have [just brushed my teeth]

We have [finished practice now], so let’s go home.

4 – A change over time

The present perfect tense is often used to emphasize a change that happened over an extended period of time.

My cousin has [grown so much] since I saw her two years ago.

Thanks to the many months of playing, I have [become an expert] at Wordle.

I have [bought a car].

John has [broken his leg].

Has [the price gone up]

The police have [arrested the killer]

5 – An uncompleted action that is expected to be finished (in the negative)

If an action started in the past but was not completed, you can describe it with the present perfect tense if it’s likely to be completed in the future. This situation uses the negative form to show that the action is still unfinished and often uses the adverb yet.

The jury has [not reached a verdict (yet)].

I have [not finished my paper], but it’s due in an hour!

6 – To add significance to a completed action

You can use the present perfect tense to make any past action sound more important. The present perfect tense is often used with great achievements or accomplishments, as well as dramatic or rare events. This makes it appropriate for newsworthy events or major life experiences.

Macbeth has [killed the king]. (king now dead)

I have [met the love of my life]! (still with that person)

Additional Notes

have – First, second, and third plural
has – third person singular
resent (and will probably continue into the future). This is a situation (not an action). We usually use for or since with this structure.

First, Second, third person plural have.
Third person use has.

Note on usage of have/has vs had:
As a main verb, use have/has for the present tense and had for the past tense.

ref – https://www.grammarly.com/blog/irregular-verbs/

Irregular verbs are verbs that do not follow the normal patterns for tense and past participle. While most English regular verbs use the ending “-ed” for the past tense and participle forms, irregular verbs each have their own unique tense forms and past participles.

Irregular verbs are one of the hardest parts of the modern English language because they’re all a little different. Since there’s no formula, English speakers have no choice but to memorize each one, along with their special verb forms.

What are irregular verbs?

You could say irregular verbs are verbs that “follow their own rules.” Regular verbs follow the standard grammar rules of modern English in adding “-ed” or “-d” to form the past tense and past participle forms. Irregular verbs, however, use completely original words for their different verb forms when they’re the main verb of a sentence. (Just a reminder: The past participle is the form used with the present perfect tense.)

To show you what we mean, let’s “dance” and “sing!” This pair is a good example to see the differences:

“dance” is a regular verb,
but “sing” is an irregular verb.

To conjugate “dance,” there’s no big surprise or trick; you just use the same formula as with most other verbs. To create both the simple past tense and past participle forms, you simply add “-ed,” or in this case only “-d” because the base form ends in e already.

Base – dance
Simple Past Tense – danced
Past Participle – danced

“Sing,” however, is irregular, so the normal rules don’t work. You can’t use “singed” because that’s an incorrect form for this verb.

Instead, “sing” has both a unique past tense and also a unique past participle form. The only way to know how to conjugate “sing” is to memorize its special forms.

Base Simple – sing
Past Tense – sang
Past Participle – sung

In practice, you end with conjugations like these:

We sang and danced all night.

I have sung opera before, but I have never danced to it.

She prefers music sung by professionals.

The simple present tense is conjugated the same no matter whether the verb is regular or irregular. This includes adding an “-s” or “-es” for the third-person singular. Be aware that certain exceptions, like the verb “be,” have special present tense forms as well.

Base Present Tense Simple Past Participle Past Participle
be am, is, are was, were been
Like “be,” quite a few other linking verbs are irregular as well, such as “become” and “feel.” Also, irregular verbs can be either transitive or intransitive verbs and can still be used as imperative verbs.

Strong vs. weak verbs
Irregular verbs and regular verbs are often confused with strong verbs and weak verbs, although they are very similar.

Strong verbs are any verb that changes its vowels in the past tense, like how the i in “sing” changes to an a for the past tense.

Weak verbs, on the other hand, keep their vowel the same in the past tense, like the a in dance.

With these rules in mind, we can see that all strong verbs are irregular. The confusion comes with weak verbs, because some weak verbs are irregular, too. One of the most common examples of an irregular weak verb is “sleep”:

Base Simple Past Tense Past Participle
sleep slept slept
Although “sleep” has its own special past tense and past participle forms (“slept”), it still keeps e as the main vowel, making it a weak verb.

Likewise, irregular verbs that don’t change at all, like “bet” or “spread,” are also weak. You can find a full list of irregular verbs that don’t change below.

List of irregular verbs in English

Want a list of irregular verbs in the English language? Below we list the common irregular verbs to help you study and provide a quick-reference resource in case you forget one later (note that the past tense verbs in the chart below are shown in American English forms; there are some differences in British English).

Instead of listing the irregular verbs in each of their verb tenses, we only mention the simple past tense and past participle forms, along with the base. Any verb conjugation you do will use one of those three forms.

Please note irregular verbs that take a prefix (e.g., “resell” or “undo”) use the same irregular forms as their base word (e.g., “resold” or “undid”).

Also, you’ll notice that some irregular verbs don’t change at all—the base, simple past tense, and past participle forms are all the same word. We discuss this type of irregular verb in the next section.

Base	Simple Past Tense	Past Participle
arise	arose	arisen
awake	awoke	awoken
be	was/were	been
bear	bore	borne
beat	beat	beaten
become	became	become
begin	began	begun
bend	bent	bent
bet	bet	bet
bind	bound	bound
bid	bid	bid
bite	bite	bitten

bleed bled bled
blow blew blown
break broke broken
breed bred bred
bring brought brought
broadcast broadcast broadcast
build built built
burst burst burst
buy bought bought
cast cast cast
catch caught caught
choose chose chosen
cling clung clung
come came come
cost cost cost
creep crept crept
cut cut cut
deal dealt dealt
dig dug dug
dive dove/dived dived
do did done
draw drew drawn
dream dreamed (sometimes “dreamt”) dreamed (sometimes “dreamt”)
drink drank drunk
drive drove driven
eat ate eaten
fall fell fallen
feed fed fed
feel felt felt
fight fought fought
find found found
flee fled fled
fling flung flung
fly flew flown
forbid forbade forbidden
forget forgot forgotten
forgive forgave forgiven
freeze froze frozen
get got got
give gave given
go went gone
grind ground ground
grow grew grown
hang hung (sometimes “hanged”) hung (sometimes “hanged”)
have had had
hear heard heard
hide hid hidden
hit hit hit
hold held held
hurt hurt hurt
keep kept kept
kneel knelt knelt
know knew known
lay laid laid
lead led led
leave left left
lend lent lent
let let let
lie (as in “lie down”) lay lain
light lit/lighted lit/lighted
lose lost lost
make made made
mean meant meant
meet met met
mistake mistook mistaken
mow mowed mown/mowed
overtake overtook overtaken
pay paid paid
proofread proofread proofread
put put put
quit quit quit
read read read
reset reset reset
ride rode ridden
ring rang rung
rise rose risen
run ran run
say said said
see saw seen
seek sought sought
sell sold sold
send sent sent
set set set
sew sewed sewn/sewed
shake shook shaken
shave shaved shaven
shed shed shed
shine shone shone
shoot shot shot
show showed shown
shrink shrank shrunk
shut shut shut
sing sang sung
sink sank sunk
sit sat sat
slay slew slain
sleep slept slept
slide slid slid
sling slung slung
sneak snuck (sometimes “sneaked“) snuck (sometimes “sneaked”)
sow sowed sown/sowed
speak spoke spoken
speed sped sped
spend spent spent
spill spilt/spilled spilt/spilled
spin spun spun
spit spat spat
split split split
spread spread spread
spring sprang sprung
stand stood stood
steal stole stolen
stick stuck stuck
sting stung stung
stink stank stunk
strike struck struck
string strung strung
strive strove striven
swear swore sworn
sweep swept swept
swell swelled swollen/swelled
swim swam swum
swing swung swung
take took taken
teach taught taught
tear tore torn
think thought thought
throw threw thrown
thrust thrust thrust
tread trod trodden
understand understood understood
upset upset upset
wake woke woken
wear wore worn
weave wove worn
weave wove woven
weep wept wept
wet wet/wetted wet/wetted
win won won
wind wound wound
wring wrung wrung
write wrote written

Common irregular verbs that don’t change

Most verbs, both regular and irregular, have different verb forms for different tenses. We add letters or change the spelling to aid communication; it helps the listener or reader understand whether you’re talking about the present, past, or future.

However, certain verbs don’t change verb forms at all. They use the same word and same spelling for the present, past, and past participle forms. Because these words don’t follow the normal rules, they’re also considered irregular.

You can find these words in the chart above, but to speed up your search we’ve also included them in the list below:

bet
bid
broadcast
burst
cast
cost
cut
hit
hurt
let
proofread (see “read”)
put
read (past and past participle are spelled the same but pronounced differently)
reset
set
shed
shut
split
spread
thrust
upset
wet

ref –

• https://www.grammarly.com/blog/past-continuous-tense/
• https://www.natterandramble.co.uk/past-continuous-timeline-form-uses/

Subj + [was/were] + verb+’ing’

The past continuous tense shows a continuous action that began in the past.

The Past:

5 past continuous tense uses and examples

1) An action in the past that gets interrupted

One of the most common uses of the past continuous tense shows a past action that was interrupted by another past action. These are often complex sentences featuring subordinating conjunctions like when, while, before, after, until, or whenever.

Put the action that was interrupted in the past continuous tense and the action that interrupts it in the simple past.

• [Marta was leaving her apartment] ( <-- past continuous) when [she heard the thunderstorm] ( <-- simple past).
• [They were sleeping peacefully] ( <-- past continuous) until [the alarm rang] ( <-- simple past)
• [My parents arrived] ( <-- simple past) while I was shopping ( <-- past continuous).

2) Ongoing actions at a specified time in the past.

When you mention an exact time in the past, use the past continuous tense if the action started before that time and continued afterward. If the action begins at the time mentioned, use the simple past instead.

• At midnight (exact time in past), everyone at the party was still having fun (action started before, past continuous).
• I was working as a cashier (action started before, past continuous) in October (exact time in past).
• By the age of nine (exact time in past), I was training to be a ninja (action started before, past continuous).

3) Habitual actions in the past (usually with adverbs like always)

Use the past continuous tense to talk about an action that used to be done frequently in the past but is not done in the present.

This form is usually used with adverbs and adverb phrases, specifically ones that suggest the action was done a lot, like those listed below:

As a baby (but not anymore), my brother was always making a mess (action done frequently in the past, past continuous).

My first year of college (but not anymore), I was making spelling mistakes all the time (action done frequently in the past, past continuous).

She was forever (but not anymore) trying to impress her crush (action done frequently in the past, past continuous).

4) Emphasizing how long a past action took

This form usually uses adverb phrases (describes an action) that explain the length of time, such as:

all morning/afternoon/evening
all day/night
all week/month/ year
for hours/days/weeks/months/years
the whole time

The players were training (action/verb) all year for this match.

She was gardening (action/verb) all morning and missed the delivery.

I was trying to complete (action/verb) the final level for hours.

5) Setting the background for a story

When telling a story (or writing one), you can use the past continuous tense to “set the scene,” or describe exactly what was happening at the beginning of your story. We use the past continuous tense because these actions were, presumably, already happening before the story began.

Past continuous tense examples:

The birds were singing (past continuous), and the sun was shining (past continuous). I knew it would be a good day.

Everyone at the cafe was enjoying their coffee (past continuous). Then the stranger appeared.

The city was going about its business (past continuous) without knowing the aliens had arrived.

Past continuous vs Simple Past

“My hamster was sleeping all day” and “My hamster slept all day” have the same meaning.

The simple past is generally more commonly used. However, there are subtle differences worth mentioning in certain situations.

The past continuous tense means the action started before the other action.
The simple past means one action started after the other.

In the example below, which uses the past continuous, the speaker started running before the whistle blew:

When the whistle blew, I was running.

PAST [—— was running —— (whistle blew) — running –]—— NOW ——— FUTURE

In this example using the simple past tense, the speaker started running after the whistle blew:

When the whistle blew, I ran.

PAST [— (whistle blew) — ran —— — running –]—— NOW ——— FUTURE

Likewise, when you mention a time directly, the past continuous tense means the action started before the time, whereas the simple past means the action started at the time. Here, the speaker started eating lunch before noon:

At noon I was eating lunch.

PAST [—— was eating lunch —— (at noon) — eating lunch –]—— NOW ——— FUTURE

Here, the speaker started eating lunch at noon:

At noon I ate lunch.

PAST [— (at noon) — ate lunch —— — running –]—— NOW ——— FUTURE

ref – http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-has-and-had/

A verb phrase contains a verb which is a word that conveys action or state of being and is usually modified or changed according to tense, aspect, mood, and voice. It must agree with its subject or object. It shows this agreement in the third person singular present tense forms of verbs that are added with ‘s’ to form its regular form.

Verbs can be ‘intransitive,’ which means that it only has one subject, or ‘transitive,’ which means that it has a subject and a direct object.

Has

‘Has’ is a transitive verb because it requires a direct subject and one or more objects.

It is the third person singular present tense of the verb ‘have’

For example, in the sentence: ‘Jane has pimples,’ ‘pimples’ is the direct object of ‘has.’

Examples:
1. He has a dog.
2. He has a huge house.
3. She has a pen in her hand.
4. She likes him, but she has a boyfriend.
5. The cat has the mouse by the neck.
6. The weather has turned cold.
7. Everyone (third person) has hopes and dreams.

‘Has’ can also be used with a past participle to form the perfect tense like in the sentence: ‘He has gone.’ It can also be used in a verb phrase and idioms.

Had

‘Had,’ on the other hand, is the past tense of the transitive verb ‘has.’ It is the third person singular past tense and past participle of the verb ‘have.’ It is synonymous with the word ‘taken,’ which means ‘deceived’ like in the sentence: ‘He has been had.’

Other examples:

1. She has a cat. (third person present tense ‘has’)

2. He had a dog but it died. (third person past tense ‘had’)

3. He has a nice car. (third person present tense ‘has’)

4. She had a nice car, but it was wrecked. (third person past tense ‘had’)

5. He has her by the hand. (third person present tense ‘has’)

Summary:

1. ‘Has’ is the third person singular present tense of ‘have’ while ‘had’ is the third person singular past tense and past participle of ‘have.’
2. Both are transitive verbs, but ‘has’ is used in sentences that talk about the present while ‘had’ is used in sentences that talk about the past.
3. ‘Has’ is synonymous with the words: own, possess, occupy, and hold while ‘had’ is synonymous with the word ‘taken.’

ref –

• https://www.twinkl.com.hk/teaching-wiki/adverb
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z8mxrwx/articles/zc2j96f

Adverb

What is an adverb?

An adverb is a word that describes how an action is carried out. Adverbs can change or add detail to a verb, adjective, or even a whole clause.

For example, An adverb can modify a verb (e.g., runs quickly), an adjective (e.g., extremely small), or another adverb (e.g., very closely).

Adverbs are words that tell us how, when, where, how often, or how much.

When discussing the adverb form, there are several adverb forms:

• -ly – in a way that is of “noun”
• -ble
• -bly
• -ley
• -sly

Adding -ful (noun –> adjective)

ex:

joy (noun) to joyful (adjective)
lust (noun) to lustful (adjective)
pride (noun) to prideful (adjective)
wrath (noun) to wrathful (adjective)
sloth (noun) to slothful (adjective)

envy (noun) to envious (adjective) (Words ending in ‘y’: delete the ‘y’ and add ‘ious’ (glory/glorious) )

Adding the -ly to the end of an adjective turns the word into an adverb

The meaning of the word does not change, and still conveys the same idea. But it is a shorter and, sometimes, more elegant way of saying or writing it.
ex: “That is how he usually dresses”.

Beautiful (adjective)
Beautifully (an action carried out that is very beautiful)

Add -ly (adjectives –> adverbs)

brave+ ly = bravely
polite + ly = politely
quick + ly = quickly
slow + ly = slowly
tired + ly = tiredly
clear + ly = clearly

It applies to verbs as well

Add -ly to (verb –> adjectives)

love + ly = lovely
friend + ly = friendly
live + ly = lively
cuddle + ly = cuddly
giggle + ly = giggly
wobble + ly = wobbly

How do you identify an adverb?

There are a few tips, tricks, and details that you can teach your students to recognize that will help them identify an adverb in their sentences. It is often recognized by the suffix -ly at the end of it. Adjectives usually describe an action in terms of how, when, where, and to what extent it occurred.

What is the adverb form with examples?

The adverb form is the addition of ‘-ly’ to an adjective ending. See some easy examples that you can share with your students below.

quick (adjective) = quickly (adverb)
careful (adjective) = carefully (adverb)
beautiful (adjective) = beautifully (adverb)

Below, we’ll look at some adverbs and their meanings, including a mix of regular and irregular adverbs:

• Beautiful Tom painted his picture beautifully.
• Quick Annie quickly brushed her hair.
• Silent Alice read her books silently.
• Brave Neena swam bravely without armbands.
• Happy Ben rode his bike to school happily. (Notice suffix -ily)
• Excited Jess waved her arms around excitedly.
• Truthful Lila explained what had happened very truthfully.
• Firm The teacher told him off very firmly.

Look at the sentences. Look at the words ending in ‘-ly’. These are all adverbs of manner. Many adverbs end in ‘-ly’. In these sentences, the adverbs describe how the action of the sentence was performed.