Vocabulary and Grammar

• I can use the present and past tenses to talk about different actions.

From smoke signals to the Internet: how messages travel

Read the article and check which forms of communication …

• make it easier to stay in touch nowadays.
• were a good way to quickly spread the message that an enemy was coming.
• can carry a message over a long distance.
• can be used to convey a short and simple message.
• could be a good way to make contact if you were stuck on a desert island.

Collocations: contact, message and touch

Which verbs go with contact, with message and with touch?

Find examples in the text.

Present and past tenses: which one, and when?

Match the underlined phrases in the article to the meanings a–k.

• We use the Present Simple for:
• a. routines and habits
• b. facts and things that are generally true

• We use the Present Continuous for:
• c. things happening now or around now
• d. situations which are changing during the present time

• We use the Past Simple for:
• e. actions that started and finished at a specific time in the past

• We use the Past Continuous for:
• f. actions in progress at a specific time in the past
• g. a long activity interrupted by a short one

• We use the Present Perfect Simple for:
• h. actions and states which began in the past and continue until now
• i. finished actions in the past when we don’t say exactly when they happened

• We use the Present Perfect Continuous for:
• j. an action in progress or repeated over a period of time up until now

• We use the Past Perfect for:
• k. an action in the past that was completed before another action or time in the past

Grammar Reference: the rules with examples

The Grammar Reference gives the rules and an example for each tense.

• 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.

• 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 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 studying a lot lately.

• 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.

Time expressions: clues to the tense

Match time expressions below with the tenses in Exercise 4.

Practice: choose the right tense