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Question
Read the following sentence carefully, underline the verb and find out the tense in the sentence.
The sun was now ascending the sky.
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Solution
The sun was now ascending the sky.
- Verbs - was, ascending
- Tense - Past Continuous/Progressive Tense
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
Let us begin by studying the relationship between the different verb forms and the time they denote.
Work individually
Indicate the tense and time of each of the highlighted verbs in the table below.
The first has been done as an example.
| Sentence | Tense | Time | |
| 1. | We are planning to go out for a picnic tomorrow. | Present | Future |
| 2. | India has made tremendous progress in the past few decades. |
||
| 3. | It has been raining since morning. | ||
| 4. | Could you please send your e-mail address as soon as possible? |
||
| 5. | The train must have reached Delhi by now. |
||
| 6. | It always rains in July here. | ||
| 7. | Cold wave intensifies further. (A news headline) |
||
| 8. | He was playing here a minute ago. | ||
| 9. | She won the Student of the Year award last year. |
||
| 10. | All incomplete forms will be rejected. |
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.
Verbs that are normally NOT used in the progressive form.
1. Which sentence in each of the following pairs is acceptable and
why?
1. a. I am respecting you.
b. I respect you.
2. a. My son loves to draw and paint.
b. My son is loving to draw and paint.
3. a. We are having two cars.
b. We have two cars.
4. a. I am thinking you are new to this place.
b. I think you are new to this place.
5. a. The cake smells good.
b. The cake is smelling good.
| Verbs referring to mental states (eg. know, think, believe etc) and to the use of the senses (eg. smell, taste etc) are never, or hardly ever, used in progressive forms. Some of these verbs are: believe prefer know suppose feel sound (dis)like love realise understand hear taste see hate recognise want see belong doubt imagme remember wish smell agree possess own owe involve include depend |
Can you explain the difference between?
1. a. l justcan'timaginehowyougotintosuchamess.
b. You're imagining things nothing will happen.
2. a. The coffee tastes bitter
b. Mother is tasting coffee to check ifit is too bitter.
3. a. My teacher admires my art work
b. She is admiring the latest painting I have made.
4. a. The doctor is feeling the patient's pulse.
b. The patient is feeling better.
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 ..................................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................................
The present perfect is often used with the following time expressions:
until now for many years
so far over the last few years
lately in the past few months
not yet since20xx
recently
in recent years
Choose five of these time expressions and make sentences about interesting
items of news concerning yourself.
------------------------------------------
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Now make groups of four, and tell (not read) each other your news.
What has been the situation of your village/town/city five to ten years ago and how has it changed since then? Write a short paragraph describing the changes in its size, population, traftlc, buildings, lifestyle etc. Which verb forms would you mainly use to describe the changes? (Hint: Simple Past and Present Perfect forms.)
Study the following sentences.
1) I didn't know Jim had migrated to the United States.
2) When we arrived at the theatre, the show had already begun.
3) The patient had died before the ambulance reached the hospital.
4) He had got married by the time he started working.
5) I couldn't open the locker because I had mislaid the keys.
6) Byom Bakshi felt that he had seen the man somewhere before.
As you can see, each of the above sentences describes two different actions, events or situations. Work with a partner and list them as shown in the example.
| A. Occurred First | B. Occurred Later |
| 1. Example: Jim had migrated to the United States. | 1. I did not know it. The speaker came to know the fact later.) |
| 2. | 2. |
| 3. | 3. |
| 4. | 4. |
| 5. | 5. |
| 6. | 6. |
What verb forms have been used in (A) and (B) respectively?
A. ....................................................................
B ....................................................................
What conclusion can you draw from your analysis?
...................................................................
...................................................................
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.
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.
|
• 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 ........................................... ........................................... |
Tenses -Summary
Read the biodata of Sangeeta Rani Puri, India's swimming sensation. Then, complete the interview in the spaces provided. Do NOT add any extra information. Use appropriate tenses.
|
Natne : Sangeeta Rani Puri Status : Non-resident Indian Place of Birth : Trinidad Place of Residence : USA Parents : Raj Krishna Puri (Father) -fatnous immigration lawyer Moyna Margaret Puri (mother) - (from Trinidad) Achievements records : i) six new national records in five day (Junior National Swimming Meet, Vijaywada) |
Interviewer: Sangeeta, since you were in India for only a short while before
you flew to Atlanta, would you tell us a little about yourself?
Sangeeta : Well, I'm an Indian and I'm proud to be one.
I: Please tell us about your parents.
S: My father ____________________
_______________________ from Trinidad.
I: Have you taken part in any of the National Championships?
S: (Very excited) Yes,_________at Vijaywada.
I: How ______________________________________________ Senior Nationals?
S: I won seven events and __________
I: How do you rate your performance in the Altanta Olympics in 1996?
S: I ___________________________ in the 50 metres freestyle. It's true that I _____________in Atlanta. But _____________________
I: Haveyou ___________________ forthefuture?
S: I in the USA. And of course I ____________for as long as possible. Also I _______________________ in the olympics.
I: Thank you, Sangeeta. I wish you all the best.
S: Thankyouverymuch.
Work with apartner
In the following sentences, choose and circle the verb form you think best fits the meaning of each sentence. You have been provided an example.
| 1. Tomorrow | is will be is going to be | Wednesday. |
| 2. The train | has left will have left is going to leave | by the time you reach the station. |
| 3. Hurry! The film | does will is about to | start. |
| 4. The Minister | opens is opening is about to open | the new Art Centrenext week. |
| 5. This time next year, he | will live is living will be living | in Mumbai. |
| 6. I | am going to be will be will have been | a nurse when I grow up |
Use the correct tense form of the verb given in the bracket and rewrite the sentence.
She ________ that old fashion book of her mother a few months back.
Use the correct tense form of the verb given in the bracket and rewrite the sentence.
All this ________ destroyed in a few years.
Use the correct tense form of the verb given in the bracket and rewrite the sentence.
She ______ like a dressmaker’s dummy standing there.
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.
Name the Tense of the Verb underlined to include Time (Past/Present/Future) and Aspect (Simple/Continuous/Perfect/Perfect Continuous).
It had made all the difference.
Name the Tense of the Verb underlined to include Time (Past/Present/Future) and Aspect (Simple/Continuous/Perfect/Perfect Continuous).
I have been facing death.
Change the Tense as instructed.
I got fired. (Future Perfect)
Change the Tense as instructed.
The dots will somehow connect. (Past Perfect)
Change the Tense as instructed.
I started the company. (Present Continuous)
Rewrite the sentence as per the instruction given along with it.
She surveyed the area for the vicious male langur.
(Rewrite the sentence in the Simple Future Tense)
Rewrite the sentence as per the instruction given along with it.
I took the baby langur to our backyard.
(Rewrite the sentence in the Past Perfect Tense)
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.
They are sportsmen.
Read the following sentence carefully, underline the verb and find out the tense in the sentence.
She is standing on a little high hump on the plateau.
Observe the following underlined phrases. Here ‘have /has’ are followed by the past participle form of the verb. This construction indicates the perfect present tense. Find more such sentences from the speech.
- We have made progress in the last couple of decades.
- We have prevented millions of child deaths.
- It has happened.
- ________________________
- ________________________
- ________________________
Form two present participle in which the last letter is doubled.
Rewrite the sentences in present perfect tense:
I had been working for Anil for almost a month.
Rewrite the sentence in future tense:
I am doing it.
Rewrite the sentence in simple future tense.
He has been playing since afternoon.
Rewrite the sentence in the simple present tense.
He will go to the school.
