| Present
|
Present Progressive
|
What are you doing right now?
I’m playing with my little sister.
She’s not sleeping.
|
Actions that are happening now
|
| Present Simple
|
Does he always practice after school?
He usually practices on Wednesdays.
I don’t practice at all.
|
1. Habits
2. Things that happen all the time
3. Things that are always true
|
Past
|
Past Progressive
|
Were you eating dinner when I called last night?
We were reading and doing homework.
We weren’t eating at 7 o’clock.
|
An ongoing action in the past that happened:
1. at a certain time in the past
2. when another action interrupted it
3. while another action was happening
|
| Past Simple
|
Did they go on vacation last year?
They went to the beach for a week.
They didn’t stay home.
|
Actions that started and finished in the past
|
Future
|
will + verb
|
Where will you meet me tomorrow?
I’ll see you at the library.
I won’t be there very long, so don’t be late.
|
1. Decisions about the future that we make at the moment
2. Future predictions
3. Promises about the future
|
| (be) going to
|
He’s going to build a tree house in the yard next week.
Our friends are going to love it.
It isn’t going to be very big.
|
1. Future actions or plans that were already decided
2. Predictions about the future based on facts
|
Present Progressive
|
What are you doing this weekend?
I’m babysitting for my cousin.
I’m not doing anything exciting.
|
1. Personal future plans
2. Things you are planning to do in the future
|
| Present Simple
|
When does this store open?
It opens in an hour.
It doesn’t open at 9:00.
|
Events on a calendar or schedule
|
For more information about the tenses, see the lessons in this unit (Level 2 Unit 6), and the original lessons where the topics were taught:
Simple: L1U4; L2U6L1
Progressive: L1U2; L2U6L1
Simple: L1U5L3; L1U5L4; L1U6; L2U6L2
Progressive: L2U5L1-2; L2U6L2
will: L2U2L2; L2U6L3
(be) going to: L2U2L1; L2U6L3
Present Progressive: L2U3L1; L2U6L3
Present Simple: L2U6L3
Modals are helping verbs that add meaning to the verb.
All modals follow these basic rules:
- They are followed by the base form of the verb (without to).
For example: I might play football tomorrow.
- They have the same form with all subjects (they don’t take s, ing or ed).
For example: He could play yesterday.
Most modals follow these basic rules:
- They form questions and negatives without helping words (do, does, did, didn’t, will, etc.).
For example: He shouldn’t go there.
One-word modals invert (change places) to form yes/no questions.
For example: Can they sing?
- The same modal can have many meanings.
Some modals don’t follow all of the rules. They are called semi-modals.
For example: I
don’t have to do it. He
doesn’t have to do it.
Do you
have to do it?
(I and he have different forms. The question is formed with do.)
For more information about modals, see:
L2U2L4– have to
L2U3L2– must / mustn’t / polite expressions
L2U4L3– may / might / be supposed to
L2U4L4– should / ought to / had better
