Present Tenses
HABITS: present simple or continuous?
Give an example.
Present simple.
Which adverb is slightly more frequent than "sometimes"?
often
Which two words can signal the use of the past continuous?
while / as
Last week, you _______ at a restaurant with your friends. (eat)
ate
When my sister was little, she _______ climb trees. She doesn't like doing that anymore.
used to
TEMPORARY ACTIONS:
I _________ at my grandparents' house this week. (stay)
I am staying / I'm staying
always - __?__ - never
sometimes
LONG ACTIONS IN THE PAST:
I _________ all night long! The music was great. (dance)
Two years ago, my aunt _______ her finger. (break)
broke
At first, I _______ used to eating dinner so late in Spain since we eat around 6PM in Canada.
was not / wasn't
FACTS:
The Earth _________ around the Sun. (go)
goes
What is another way to say "almost never"?
rarely
I _____ my friend, we _____ about our weekend plans, and then we _____ our homework. (call, talk, start)
called, talked, started
Yesterday, we _______ about the theory of gravity in physics. (learn)
learned / learnt
We finally got used to _______ teamwork together. (do)
doing
What is the mood of the speaker?
"My younger sibling is always borrowing my clothes!"
Present continuous can express annoyance or irritation.
MAIN VERBS: Where does the adverb go?
I finish my homework on time. (usually)
Before main verbs.
I *usually* finish my homework on time.
Which tense do we use to express an interrupting action?
interruption = past simple
As I was watching TV, the telephone rang.
Before the year 2000, not many people _______ cell phones. (have)
had
My mom didn't use to _______ sports as as kid. (play)
play
Which verbs are NEVER used in the continuous form?
STATE VERBS: feeling (like, love); thinking (understand, believe); senses (hear, see); possession (have, belong), etc.
BE VERB: Where does the adverb go?
They are playing on their cell phones. (always)
After the verb "to be".
They are *always* playing on their cell phones.
Which action happened first? How do you know?
When I got to the supermarket, it had closed.
action futher in the past = past perfect
HAD + past participle (e.g., had closed)
The driver _______ the cyclist with his car and _______ to jail. (hit, go)
hit, went
No one was used to _______ masks at the start of the pandemic. (wear)
wearing