Grammar — Present and past tenses
- We use the Present Simple to talk about:
- habits and routines: He often loses touch with his colleagues.
- permanent situations around the present time: He now shares a flat with a friend.
- states (verbs not usually used in the continuous form), e.g. love, like, believe, think (opinion), know, look (appearance):
- He loves getting traditional letters.
- She looks very fit.
- Some state verbs change their meaning and can be used in the continuous form, e.g. think of/about, see (go out with), look at:
- What do you think of this message? (opinion)
- What are you thinking about?
- I don’t see why you want to stay in touch with him. (understand)
- I’m seeing Amer these days. (go out with)
- I’d like to establish contact with that company, but my boss doesn’t look at it that way. (think in a particular way)
- Why are you looking at me that way?
- We use the Present Continuous to talk about:
- actions in progress at the time of speaking:
- He is talking on his mobile.
- temporary actions in progress around now:
- He’s thinking of getting a new phone.
- changes and developments: The news is spreading quickly.
- We also often use the Present Simple and Present Continuous to talk about the future.
- See Unit 2, page 15.
Grammar — Present and past tenses: Present Perfect Simple and Continuous
- These link the past and the present. We use the Present Perfect Simple to talk about:
- the duration of states that began in the past and continue up to now: He’s been stuck here for five years.
- completed past actions with a present relevance/result: The lights have gone out. (And now it’s pitch dark here).
- He’s changed dramatically. (He looks very different now.)
- experiences during a present period of time: I’ve sent five thousand text messages so far.
- We use the Present Perfect Continuous to talk about:
- the duration of actions that began in the past and continue up to the present: I’ve been waiting here since 9 a.m.
- past processes with a present relevance/ result: I’ve got better grades because I’ve been studing a lot lately.
- We use the Past Simple to talk about actions or events completed at a specific time in the past: Neil Papworth sent the first text message in 1992.
- We use the Past Continuous to talk about actions that were:
- in progress at a specific time in the past (this often provides background to other past events): While Hani was waiting for us, his mum was texting.
- interrupted by a shorter past action: She was studying when suddenly somebody tossed a brick through the window.
- We use the Past Perfect to show the relationship between a situation in the past and an earlier state or action. The rules are similar to the rules for the Present Perfect:
- Before Hassan met his wife, he had been single for a decade.