Grammar Review for Quiz 1: Sentence Completion and Verb Tenses
1. Present Simple Tense
**Explanation:** Used for habitual actions, general truths, and routines. It's formed with the base form of the verb (or verb+s/es for he/she/it).
- **Examples:**
- "Birds fly." (general truth)
- "She drinks tea every morning." (routine)
**Teaching Point:** The present simple is about regular actions or states of being. It's not about what's happening right now, but what happens regularly.
2. Past Simple Tense
**Explanation:** Describes completed actions at a specific time in the past. Formed using the past form of the verb (regular verbs end in -ed; irregular verbs have different forms).
- **Examples:**
- "I visited London last year." (completed action)
- "They bought a new car." (specific past time)
**Teaching Point:** Past simple is about actions or states that have finished. Time expressions like 'yesterday', 'last year', 'in 1990' often accompany it.
3. Future Simple Tense
**Explanation:** Talks about actions that will happen later. Formed with 'will' + base verb. 'Will' expresses a decision, prediction, or promise about the future.
- **Examples:**
- "She will graduate next year." (future plan)
- "It will probably rain." (prediction)
**Teaching Point:** Use future simple for spontaneous decisions, promises, predictions, or things we think will happen.
4. Present Continuous Tense
**Explanation:** Used for actions happening at the moment or temporary actions. Formed with 'am/is/are' + verb-ing.
- **Examples:**
- "He is eating lunch right now." (current action)
- "I am living in Madrid for a month." (temporary situation)
**Teaching Point:** It's about what you're doing now or these days. It's a temporary state, unlike the permanent state of present simple.
5. Past Continuous Tense
**Explanation:** Talks about ongoing actions in the past, often interrupted by another action. Formed with 'was/were' + verb-ing.
- **Examples:**
- "They were watching TV when I called." (action interrupted)
- "I was walking to the park at that time." (ongoing past action)
**Teaching Point:** Use past continuous for an action that was in progress at a specific time in the past, often when another action happened.
6. Future Continuous Tense
**Explanation:** For actions that will be in progress at a specific time in the future. Formed with 'will be' + verb-ing.
- **Examples:**
- "This time tomorrow, I will be flying to Rome." (action at a specific future time)
- "He will be working when you arrive." (ongoing future action)
**Teaching Point:** This tense is perfect for talking about what you'll be doing at a particular moment in the future.
7. Present Perfect Tense
**Explanation:** Links past actions to the present moment. Formed with 'has/have' + past participle. Indicates completed actions with present relevance or ongoing actions that started in the past.
- **Examples:**
- "She has written five emails." (action with present relevance)
- "We have lived here since 2010." (ongoing since the past)
**Teaching Point:** Use present perfect for actions completed in the recent past (without a specified time) or ongoing actions starting in the past and continuing to present.
8. Past Perfect Tense
**Explanation:** Describes actions completed before another action in the past. Formed with 'had' + past participle.
- **Examples:**
- "He had finished eating when she called." (action completed before another)
- "They had left before the party started." (sequence of past events)
**Teaching Point:** Past perfect sets the scene for another action in the past, showing which action happened first.
9. Future Perfect Tense
**Explanation:** For actions that will be completed by a certain future point. Formed with 'will have' + past participle.
- **Examples:**
- "By 2025, I will have graduated." (action completed by a future time)
- "They will have arrived by 8 PM." (completion before a future time)
**Teaching Point:** Future perfect is useful for projecting ourselves into the future and looking back at an action that will be completed.
10. Present Perfect Continuous Tense
**Explanation:** Shows actions that started in the past and continue to the present, especially emphasizing the duration. Formed with 'has/have been' + verb-ing.
- **Examples:**
- "I have been studying English for three years." (focus on duration)
- "It has been raining since morning." (action started in past, still happening)
**Teaching Point:** Present perfect continuous emphasizes the duration of an action. It's about how long an action has been happening.
11. Past Perfect Continuous Tense
**Explanation:** For past actions that were ongoing until another past action occurred. Formed with 'had been' + verb-ing.
- **Examples:**
- "She had been working at that company for five years when it closed." (action until another event)
- "We had been talking for hours before we noticed the time." (duration before another past action)
**Teaching Point:** Use past perfect continuous to focus on the duration of an action before something else happened in the past.
12. Future Perfect Continuous Tense
**Explanation:** Describes actions that will continue up until a specific point in the future. Formed with 'will have been' + verb-ing.
- **Examples:**
- "In 2023, I will have been working here for 10 years." (focus on duration until future)
- "By the end of your course, you will have been studying for four years." (duration of an action by a future point)
**Teaching Point:** Future perfect continuous is great for discussing the length of time an action will have been happening by a certain point in the future.
13. Modals for Probability
**Explanation:** Express varying degrees of certainty about an action or state. Modals like 'might', 'could', 'may' are used.
- **Examples:**
- "She might be at home." (something is possible)
- "John could be the winner." (there's a possibility of being true)
**Teaching Point:** These modals are less about facts and more about what we think is possible or likely.
14. Modals for Obligation
**Explanation:** Indicate necessity or advisability. Modals like 'must', 'should', 'have to' are used.
- **Examples:**
- "You must stop at a red light." (necessity)
- "You should see a doctor." (advisability)
**Teaching Point:** 'Must' is for strong obligations (often personal feeling), while 'should' is for recommendations, and 'have to' for external obligations.
15. First Conditional Sentences
**Explanation:** Discuss real or likely situations and their possible results. Formed with 'if' + present simple, and 'will' + base verb in the main clause.
- **Examples:**
- "If it rains, we will stay indoors." (real possibility)
- "If you study hard, you will pass the exam." (likely condition and result)
**Teaching Point:** Use first conditional for real possibilities in the future, where the condition is likely to happen.
16. Second Conditional Sentences
**Explanation:** For hypothetical situations in the present or future and their unlikely results. Formed with 'if' + past simple, and 'would' + base verb in the main clause.
- **Examples:**
- "If I won the lottery, I would buy a house." (unlikely scenario)
- "If she were here, she would help us." (imaginary situation)
**Teaching Point:** Second conditional is great for 'what if' situations. It's about things that are not likely to happen but are interesting to think about.
17. Third Conditional Sentences
**Explanation:** Discuss past situations that did not happen and their hypothetical results. Formed with 'if' + past perfect, and 'would have' + past participle in the main clause.
- **Examples:**
- "If I had studied, I would have passed the test." (regret about a past situation)
- "If they had left earlier, they would have caught the train." (imagining a different past outcome)
**Teaching Point:** Third conditional is for reflecting on the past, imagining a different outcome. It's about 'what could have been.'
18. Zero Conditional Sentences
**Explanation:** Used for facts or general truths. Formed with 'if/when' + present simple, and the main clause also in the present simple.
- **Examples:**
- "If you heat water, it boils." (general truth)
- "When the sun sets, it gets dark." (fact)
**Teaching Point:** Zero conditional isn't about possibility; it's about certainty. It's used for things that are always true.
19. Mixed Conditionals
**Explanation:** Combine different times or types of conditional sentences. Often mix second and third conditionals.
- **Examples:**
- "If you had practiced more (past), you would be better now (present)." (past condition, present result)
- "If I weren't so busy now (present), I would have joined your trip (past)." (present condition, past result)
**Teaching Point:** Mixed conditionals let you mix times and situations, like talking about a past condition with a present result, or vice versa.
20. Wishes and Regrets
**Explanation:** 'Wish' + past simple for present or future unreal situations, and 'wish' + past perfect for past unreal situations. 'Regrets' are usually formed with 'wish' + past perfect.
- **Examples:**
- "I wish I were on a beach now." (present unreal desire)
- "I wish I had gone to bed earlier last night." (regret about a past action)
**Teaching Point:** Use 'wish' to express desires for things we don't have or situations that are not true. It's often about wanting things to be different.
21. Reported Speech Statements
**Explanation:** Transforming direct speech into indirect (reported) speech. Changes the tense back one step and adjusts pronouns and time expressions.
- **Examples:**
- Direct: "I am tired." Reported: "He said that he was tired." (present simple to past simple)
- Direct: "I will go there." Reported: "She said she would go there." (will to would)
**Teaching Point:** When reporting what someone else said, we often change the tenses and perspectives. It's like telling someone else's story.
22. Reported Speech Questions
**Explanation:** Turning questions into indirect speech. Use 'if' or 'whether' for yes/no questions, and 'wh-' words for questions starting with them. Tenses are usually moved one step back.
- **Examples:**
- Direct: "Are you coming?" Reported: "He asked if I was coming." (present continuous to past continuous)
- Direct: "What are they doing?" Reported: "She wondered what they were doing." (present continuous to past continuous)
**Teaching Point:** In reported questions, the order is like a statement (subject before verb) and don't use 'do/does/did'. It's about telling someone's question in your own words.
23. Reported Commands and Requests
**Explanation:** Changing commands or requests into indirect speech. Use 'to' + base verb for commands, and 'not to' for negative commands.
- **Examples:**
- Direct: "Close the door." Reported: "He asked me to close the door."
- Direct: "Don't be late." Reported: "She told him not to be late."
**Teaching Point:** When you tell someone about a command or request someone else made, you're reporting what was said. You turn the command into a 'to do' form.
24. Passive Voice in Present Tense
**Explanation:** Formed with 'am/is/are' + past participle. Focuses on the action or the object of the action rather than who or what is performing it.
- **Examples:**
- "The book is read by many people." (action focus)
- "The cake is made in the bakery." (focus on the object, not the maker)
**Teaching Point:** Use passive voice when the action is more important than who performs it, or when the doer is unknown or irrelevant.
25. Passive Voice in Past Tense
**Explanation:** Uses 'was/were' + past participle. The focus remains on the action or the object, not the doer.
- **Examples:**
- "The house was built in 1900." (focus on the house, not the builder)
- "The song was sung beautifully." (action focus, not who sang it)
**Teaching Point:** Past passive is helpful when discussing actions done in the past, especially when the doer isn’t important or is unknown.