English Grammar: Tenses, Adverbs, and Pronouns
Present Simple
Used for permanent situations, routines, and habitual actions.
Time expressions: Always, often, usually, never, every day, once a week.
Auxiliary: Do/does.
Present Progressive
Used for actions happening now or around the present time. Indicated by “-ing” form. Example: I am cooking.
Time expressions: Now, at present, at the moment, today, tonight, these days, tomorrow, this week/month.
Stative Verbs
These verbs describe states rather than actions and are generally not used in progressive tenses.
Examples: Feel, hear, smell, taste, seem, look, appear, like, dislike, love, hate, want, need, prefer, know, mean, understand, remember, forget, imagine, hope, believe, have, own, belong.
Adverbs of Frequency
Examples: Rarely, occasionally, hardly ever, usually, never, always.
Usage:
- Before the main verb.
- After auxiliary and modal verbs (can, should, etc.).
- After “to be” verbs (is, are, was, were).
Past Simple
Auxiliary: “Did”.
Verbs can be regular (ending in “-ed”) or irregular.
Time expressions: Last night/year, yesterday, ago, in 1999.
Past Progressive
Formed with “was/were” + verb-ing. Used for actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past.
Often used with “while” (before the past progressive) and “when” (before the past simple).
Time Clauses
- As and while + past progressive.
- When and as soon as + past simple.
Prepositions of Time
- On: Used before days and dates.
- In: Used before months, seasons, years, and centuries.
- At: Used for specific times (e.g., at nine o’clock).
- For: Used to indicate duration (e.g., for hours).
- During: Used to indicate an action within a period (e.g., during 1999).
- From…to: Used to indicate a time range (e.g., from 8:00 AM to…).
- By: Used to indicate a deadline (e.g., by tomorrow).
Present Perfect Simple
Formed with “have” (or “has” for third-person singular) + past participle. Used for actions that happened at an unspecified time in the past or actions that started in the past and continue to the present.
Example: I have cooked pasta with seafood. I have lived in Athens since 1990.
Time expressions: For, since, already, just, yet, recently, lately, ever, never, how long, once, twice, before.
Present Perfect Progressive
Formed with “have been” + verb-ing. Emphasizes the duration of an action that started in the past and is still ongoing.
Time expressions: For, since, how long, all day/week.
Comparative Form
Used to compare one thing to another, often using “-er” or “more”.
Example: Mary is shorter than Susan.
Irregular forms:
- Good – better – the best
- Bad – worse – the worst
- Much/many – more – the most
- Little – less – the least
Superlative Form
Used to compare more than two things, often using “-est” or “most”.
Example: Whales are the biggest animals in the world.
Future Will
Form: “will” + base form of the verb. Example: I will work.
Used for offers, promises, favors, and predictions.
Time expressions: Tomorrow, tonight, soon, next, in an hour/week.
Future Going To
Form: “am/is/are going to” + base form of the verb. Example: I am going to work.
Used for future plans and predictions with evidence.
Future Perfect
Form: “will have” + past participle. Example: He will have finished reading the book before you arrive tomorrow.
Used for actions that will be completed before a specific time or another action in the future.
Full Infinitive
Form: “to” + base form of the verb.
Used:
- To express purpose.
- After verbs like want, hope, decide, manage, plan, arrange, advise, choose, learn, offer, promise, refuse, expect.
- After adjectives like afraid, surprised, free, happy, ready, sorry, pleased.
- After “too” and “enough”.
- After question words (WH- words).
Bare Infinitive
Form: Base form of the verb without “to”.
Used:
- After modal verbs (can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must).
- After the verbs “let” and “make”.
Gerund (-ing Forms)
Used:
- After verbs like like, love, hate, enjoy, prefer, suggest, remember.
- After “worth”.
- After prepositions (of, but, about, etc.).
- As the subject of a sentence.
Reflexive Pronouns
Myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves.
Exclamatory Sentences
- How/so + adjective/adverb. Example: How wonderful! It was so funny!
- What/such + a/an + adjective + noun. Example: What a beautiful day! He is such an unusual man.
Past Perfect Simple
Form: “had” + past participle. Example: I had worked.
Used for an action that happened before another action in the past, often used with “before”.
Irregular Verbs
- Begin – began – begun
- Bring – brought – brought
- Choose – chose – chosen
- Deal – dealt – dealt
- Do – did – done
- Fall – fell – fallen
- Feel – felt – felt
- Find – found – found
- Get – got – got/gotten
- Keep – kept – kept
- Know – knew – known
- Leave – left – left
- Lend – lent – lent
- Let – let – let
- Make – made – made
- Meet – met – met
- Pay – paid – paid
- Say – said – said
- Sell – sold – sold
- Send – sent – sent
- Speak – spoke – spoken
- Stand – stood – stood
- Take – took – taken
- Teach – taught – taught
- Wear – wore – worn