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Question
Carefully study each of the following events or situations described in a set of three sentences/phrases. Then, write a short paragraph to describe each event/situation as shown in the example. Your paragraph should begin with the description of the second event in each case. Use the verb form had+ past participle to describe the earliest of the past events.
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• Somebody burgled the office on Sunday night. • Our arrival at work on Monday morning . • Police informed |
We arrived at work on Monday and found that somebody had burgled the office the previous night. So, we immediately informed the police. |
|
• (I) Mayank went out with his family. (ii) I tried to phone him this morning. (iii) His servant answered. |
I tried to phone Mayank this morning but the servant ........................................... ........................................... |
|
• (i) Rohit returned from holiday.(ii) Jayanti met Rohit. |
Jayanti met Rohit, who ........................................... ........................................... |
|
• (I) All the arrangements were finalised for the seminar. (ii) The seminar participants arrived in Gangtok. (iii) Met the professors from the UK the same evening. |
The participants arrived in Gangtok. They found ........................................... ........................................... |
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Solution
Event 1
We arrived at work on Monday morning and found that somebody had burgled the office the previous night. The burglary had occurred on Sunday night. We immediately informed the police.
Event 2
I tried to phone Mayank this morning but the servant told me that he had gone out with his family. So I couldn’t contact him.
Event 3
Jayanti met Rohit who had returned from holiday. After meeting both went to see a film.
Event 4
The seminar participants arrived in Gangtok. They found that all the arrangements had been finalised for the seminar. So they met the professors from the UK the same evening.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
Now compare your answers with those of your partner and discuss the
following questions and write your observations in the given space.
a. Is the time referred to in the sentences always the same as the tense of
the verb? What conclusion can you draw from your observation? Write
your observation below.
...............................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................................
b. How have you found the tense of the verbs in the sentences above? Are
there any indicators or markers that reveal the tense of the verb? Write
your observation below.
...............................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................................
c. Did you find any verb form that could be called 'future form'? (You will
learn more about the different ways of talking about future later in this
unit.)
...............................................................................................................................................
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d. Why do you think verb forms are often labelled as 'simple' or 'indefinite', 'progressive' or 'continuous', 'perfect' and 'perfect continuous'?
...............................................................................................................................................
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Present Progressive
(Progressive = continuous)
Form

S +is/ am/ are +verb+ ing
S +is/ am/ are+ not+ verb+ ing.
Is/am/me+ S + verb+ing?
S + is/ am/ are +being+ Verb (past participle)
- Complete the following sentences by filling in the blanks with the present progressive form of the given verbs.
i. "You've put on weight, Cheryl."
"Yes. I.. .... (eat) a lot these days."
ii. "Hurry up! We ... (get) late for school."
"Justa second, please! I ... (come}."
iii. Temperatures ... (rise} all over the world.
iv. "You .... not ... (wear) this dirty shirt to office. Wait, I'll give you another."
v. "l...not ... (do) your homework-forget it. I still haven't forgotten how you
fought with me in the morning."
vi. The Prime Minister ... (leave) for Russia tomorrow on a 5 day state visit.
Vii "You ... (be) ver:yrude, Abhi."
viii. She ... always (make) excuses for coming late.
ix. Aabha ... (write) a novel these days.
- The table below shows different uses or meanings of the present progressive. Match the verbs in the above sentences with the uses or meanings they convey.
| a. Something pre-arranged or a fixed plan ............ b. Insistence............. c. Annoyance............ d. Repeated action............. e. Some development or change........... f. Emphatic refusal............. g. Something happening 'around now'.............. h. An action just starting.......... i. Temporary action not necessarily taking place at the moment of speaking............ |
*It is a little difficult to match the sentences with uses of present progressive
tense. Here are the answers:
a-vi, b-iv, c-vii, d-i, e-iii, f-v, g-ix, h-ii, i-viii.
Compare your answers with these and have a class discussion.
Present Perfect vs. Simple Past
b. What conclusion can you draw from these sentences about the use of present perfect and simple past forms of verbs?
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As Susie, write a reply to Nikita's letter. Do take care to answer all the
questions Nikita has asked you. What verb forms would you like to use?
Milan
25th October, 2011
Dear Nikita
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
Yours
Susie
Simple Past Tense-Past Perfect Tense
Underline the main verbs in the sentences below. Then, rewrite the sentences in the correct order of events.
1) The people began to starve.
2) In 1925, a disease destroyed the crops in one village.
3) Later, the village people came to retrieve their children
4) The chief decided to send the children of the village to live in a settlement in the next valley.
5) However, they had married outside the village.
6) This caused a war between the two villages.
__________________
__________________
Now work with your partner and tick (✓) the sentence in which a different tense has been used. In pairs, discuss why this has been done.
Sentence No: 5 uses a different tense because ..................................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................................
Find the incorrect sentences and then rewrite them correctly. Put a tick mark (✓)against the sentences that you think are correct.
1) By 2005, the singer recorded ten albums.
2) When I got to the bank, it had closed.
3) Timothy, the tiger, had killed five calves yesterday.
4) When Rehman met Mini ten years later, she grew up into a young girl.
5) By the time we reached the airport, the flight had left.
6) We hardly went a kilometre or so when the car broke down.
Now write short paragraphs to describe the trends in the other groups of visitors featured in the graph.
• Overseas Visitors
....................................................
....................................................
• Domestic Visitors
....................................................
....................................................
• Total Number ofVisitors
....................................................
....................................................
Read this sentence.
M. Hamel had said that he would question us on participles.
In the sentence above, the verb form “had said” in the first part is used to indicate an “earlier past.” The whole story is narrated in the past. M. Hamel’s “saying” happened earlier than the events in this story. This form of the verb is called the past perfect.
Pick out five sentences from the story with this form of verb and say why this form has been used.
Use the correct tense form of the verb given in the bracket and rewrite the sentence.
All this ________ destroyed in a few years.
Name the Tense of the Verb underlined to include Time (Past/Present/Future) and Aspect (Simple/Continuous/Perfect/Perfect Continuous).
I slept on the floor.
Change the Tense as instructed.
The dots will somehow connect. (Past Perfect)
Change the Tense as instructed.
I started the company. (Present Continuous)
Spot the error and correct the following sentences.
- My grandparents laid down for an afternoon nap.
- A stranger were knocking at our door.
- My sister and I shares a study room.
- One of my friend, is leaving school.
- A flock of birds were flying overhead.
Underline the verb and choose the correct option from the options.
Preeti even wrote about it.
Underline the verb and choose the correct option from the options.
Preeti was scornful.
Read the following sentence carefully, underline the verb and find out the tense in the sentence.
The sun was now ascending the sky.
Rewrite the sentences in present perfect tense:
I had been working for Anil for almost a month.
Rewrite the sentence in simple future tense.
He has been playing since afternoon.
Fill in each of the numbered blanks with the correct form of the word given in brackets. Do not copy the passage but write in correct serial order the word or phrase appropriate to the blank space.
It was hot in the railway compartment and the fan ______ (1) (not work). The elderly lady ______ (2) (use) up all her water because she had cheerfully shared it with her fellow passengers. She knew that the train ______ (3) (halt) at the station for only three minutes. Calling a shoeshine boy she said, ‘Will you help me? I ______ (4) (need) a bottle of cold water and here is the money,' and she put a twenty rupee note in his hand. The boy snatched the money and ______ (5) (disappear) into the crowd on the platform. A fellow passenger ______ (6) (cannot believe) what he had witnessed. ‘What ______ (7) (you do)?’ He said, ‘You ______ (8) (never see) your money again.' Just then the whistle was heard and the train began to move. At that moment the child appeared at the window with the water. 'Your water,' he gasped, out of breath. ‘And the change.'
