Universidade Católica de Moçambique

Instituto de Educação à Distância

Tema do Trabalho

Present Simple tense and Past tense

Nome: MA

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Curso: Licenciatura em Ensino de

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Nampula, 2012

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 Índice
1. Introduction..............................................................................................................................0

2. Present Simple tense.................................................................................................................1

Structure of Present Simple Tense...............................................................................................1

2.3. Present Simple Tense Uses....................................................................................................2

3. Past Simple...............................................................................................................................2

3.1. Past Simple with main verb be..............................................................................................3

3.2. How do we use the Past Simple tense?.................................................................................4

4. Verb to be.................................................................................................................................4

5. Verb to have.............................................................................................................................6

When to use has?..........................................................................................................................6

6. Future simple tense...................................................................................................................8

Structure of Simple Future Tense.................................................................................................8

Form of “Be Going To”................................................................................................................9

Be................................................................................................................................................10

7. Conclusion..............................................................................................................................11

8. Reference bibliography..........................................................................................................12

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 1. Introduction

The present work is related to the English course, was prepared with the objective of
showing as clearly as possible how to use the present simple and Future Simple tense. In the
present work, the present simple tense and future simple tense will be presented, as well rules and
their uses. We can use several tenses and forms to talk about the past, but the Past Simple tense is
the one we use most often. All pronouns will be addressed, and will also be explained and
contextualized here according to their uses. And finally the verb to be and verb to have according
to grammar of the English language.

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 2. Present Simple tense

The present simple tense is one of several forms of present tense in English. This
indicates an action that happens in the present, but it isn’t necessary for actions to happen right
now. The simple present tense indicates, unchanging situations, general truths, scientific facts,
habits, fixed arrangements, and frequently occurring events.

Structure of Present Simple Tense

Positive forms (+): Negative forms (-):    Question forms (?):

Subject ( I, You, We, They ) +
V1  ( First Form of Verb )
Subject ( He, She, It ) + Verb – S / ES /
IES
( I, You, We, They ) + do Do + Subject ( I, You, We,
not / don’t + V1  ( First Form of They ) + V1  ( First Form of
Verb ) Verb )
Does + Subject ( He, She, It )
Subject ( He, She, It ) + does + V ( First Form of Verb )
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not / doesn’t + V1  ( First Form

of Verb )

Examples posetive

 My mother lets me go out with my friends.

 I prefer my coffee black.

Examples negative

 My mother does not (doesn’t) let  me go out with my friends.

 I do not (don’t) prefer my coffee black.
Examples question
1. Does your mother let you go out with your friends?
2. Do you prefer your coffee black?

Short answer forms (+ / –): 

 YES / NO + Subject ( I, You, We, They )+ do / do not (don’t)

 YES / NO + Subject  ( He, She, It ) + does / does not (doesn’t)
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Examples:

 Do you go to school? No, I do not.

 Does she clean her room? Yes, she does.

2.3. Present Simple Tense Uses

We use the present simple when something is generally or always true. Eg:

 The sun rises in the East and sets in the West.

 He drinks tea at breakfast.
Similarly, we need to use this tense for a situation that we think is more or less permanent. Eg:

 Anna often goes to school by bicycle.

 He gets up early every morning.

The next use is for habits or things that we do regularly. We often use adverbs of frequency.
Examples:

I play tennis every Tuesday.

I don’t travel very often.

We can also use the present simple for short actions that are happening now. The actions
are so short that they are finished almost as soon as you’ve said the sentence.
Examples:

 They don’t ever agree with us.

I think you are right.

3. Past Simple

The Past Simple tense is sometimes called the "preterite tense". We can use several tenses
and forms to talk about the past, but the Past Simple tense is the one we use most often.
There are two basic structures for the Past Simple tense

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Positive sentences Negative and question
sentences

Subject+main verb+past Subject+auxiliary do+main

simple verb

Example:

Subject+main verb:(+) I went to school/ Subject+ auxiliary verb+ main verb:(-) She did not
go with me

For positive sentences:

 There is no auxiliary verb.

 The main verb is conjugated in the Past Simple, invariable: -ed (or irregular)

For negative and question sentences:

 The auxiliary is conjugated in the Past Simple, invariable: did

 The main verb is invariable in base form: base

 For negative sentences, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb.

 For question sentences, we exchange the subject and the auxiliary verb.

3.1. Past Simple with main verb be

The structure of the Past Simple with the main verb be is: Subject+ main verb be conjugated in
past: Was/Were

Examples with the main verb be:

 Positive (+) I, he/she/it was here

 You, we, they were Maputo

 Negative(-)I, he/she/it not there

 You, we, they were not happy

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  Interrogative (?) Was I, he/she/it right?

 Were you, we, they late?

The following points...

 There is no auxiliary verb, even for questions and negatives.

 The main verb (be) is conjugated in the Past Simple: was, were

 For negative sentences, we insert not after the main verb.

 For question sentences, we exchange the subject and the main verb.

3.2. How do we use the Past Simple tense?

We use the Past Simple tense to talk about an action or a situation - an event - in the past. The
event can be short or long. Eg:

 The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday.

 She went to the door.

 We did not hear the telephone.

 Did you see that car?

Long events with the Past Simple tense: Eg:

 I lived in Bangkok for 10 years.

 The Jurassic period lasted about 62 million years.

 We did not sing at the concert.

 Did you watch TV last night?

4. Verb to be

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The structure of present simple tense with the main verb to is:

 Subject+ main verb be conjugated in present simple am, are, is

Verb to be + present simple + Affirmative form

Structure: am/ is/ are

In affirmative sentences, the verb must be placed after the subject

 I am a teacher
 He is a good dancer

Verb to be + present simple + negative form

To ask questions, the verb must be placed before the subject

 The structure of present simple tense with the main verb to in negative form is:

Am + not = I’m not a doctor/ am + not/ Is + not= isn`t/ Is + not

Examples:

 I am not a soccer player

 You are not at you home
 He is not my friend

Verb to be + present simple + interrogative form

To ask question, the verb must be placed before the subject

 The structure of present simple tense with the main verb to in interrogative form is:

Am……..………?/ Is…………? / Are……………?

Examples:

 Am I a good teacher?
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  Are you at home now?
 Is he your friend?

From the above, notice the following points:

 There is no auxiliary verb, even for question and negatives

 The main verb (be) is conjugated in the present simple: am. are, is
 For negative sentences, we insert not after the main verb
 For question sentences, we exchange the subject and the main verb

5. Verb to have

Have and has are inflections of the verb to have in the affirmative form of the present
simple. Has is used in 3rd person singular (he, she, it) and have with the remaining persons (I,
you, we, and they).

Have is used with pronouns I, You, e They when we want to express an idea of
possession. As main verb, it means “to have”.

Examples:

 I have blue car

 They have two cars
 You have a huge house
 We have a nice English teacher

As an auxiliary, have has no specific meaning and its meaning will be defined by the main
verb that accompanies it.

Examples:

 We have been Florida

 I have been to the beach twice this week
 They have been living in Maputo since 2009

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When to use has?

Has must be used with the 3rd person singular ( he/she/it). As a main verb , it indicates
possession and is translated as “to have”.

Examples:

 She has a great job

 He has a huge house
 It has no translation

When has is used as an auxiliary verb, its meaning will be indicated by the main verb that
accompanies it.

Example:

 He has been to the Maputo

 It has worked
 She has been to the beach twice week

Important

Note: That the verb inflection has is only used in affirmative sentences. To learn how to
form sentences with the verb to have in interrogative and negative forms.

Verb to have in affirmative form:

Structure: Have / Has

Example:

 I have a book
 You have ten dollars
 He has a car
 She has a dog

Verb to have+ present simple+ in negative form:

Structure:
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  Don not have
 Does not have

Example:

 I do not have ten dogs

 You do not have a thousand dollar
 He does not have a book
 She does not have a pen

Verb to have+ present simple +interrogative form: Structure: Do/ Does

Examples:

 Do I have two cars?

 Do you have three million?
 Does he have a boy friend?

6. Future simple tense

The future simple in English is used to express a promise, request or suggestion, or an

unfounded prediction, a decision that occurred immediately when speaking. The Future Simple
tense is often called the "will tense" because we make the Future Simple with the modal
auxiliary will.

Structure of Simple Future Tense

Positive form (+):  S + will/shall + V-main verb

Examples:

 I will help mom cooking tomorrow morning

 It will rain tomorrow

Negative form (-):

For negative sentences in the Future Simple tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb
and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb.
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 S + will/ shall not/won’t + V- main verb

Examples:

 I won’t tell her my secret

 He won’t working after dinner

Question form (?) :  Will/Shall + S + V-main verb

Examples:

 Will you come here tomorrow morning?

 Will he stay at home tomorrow night?

Form of “Be Going To”

(+): S + am/is/are + going to + V-main verb

(-) S + am/is/are + not + going to + V-main verb

(?) Am/is/are + S + going to + V-main verb

Examples:

 Jen is going to read that book

I miss my mom. I‘m going to come to her house on the way to work.
 He is not going to close the offlice
 I  How do we use the Future Simple tense?

Examples:

 Hold on. I'll get a pen.

 We will see what we can do to help you.

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  Maybe we'll stay in and watch television tonight.

In these examples, we had no firm plan before speaking. The decision is made at the time of
speaking.

We often use the Future Simple tense with the verb to think before it:

 I think I'll go to the gym tomorrow.

 I think I will have a holiday next year.
 I don't think I'll buy that car.
Be

When the main verb is be, we can use the Future Simple tense even if we have a firm plan or
decision before speaking. Examples:

 I'll be in London tomorrow.

 I'm going shopping. I won't be very long.

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 7. Conclusion

Learning the verb is mandatory and knowing that it is not always possible to translate
them. Verbs change when used with He, She, It in the affirmative form. Do and Does have no
translation, only one function: to ask questions, Its use will depend on the pronouns.

Don’t and doesn’t mean No: its use will depend on the pronouns. No is used for definitive
answers only. The past simple is used for situations that occurred in the past. Thatis is, it is used
in situations that have occurred and have ended , and have no consequences in the present, or do
not continue in the present.

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 8. Reference bibliography

Lara, N; English Grammar: Present Simple Tense

Arruda, C, C; English today, 9° ano 2 ° ed.- Sao Paulo: Escola Educacional, 2008

“Verbo to be” ; Guia de Estudo. Disponível em https://www.guiaestudo.com.br/verbo-to-be

http://www.infoescola.com/ingles/presentsimple-present/

Manik, JOSHI; Using tenses in English: Present, Past, Future, 16 de Setembro 2013

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