English Tenses Timeline Chart: This timeline tenses chart provides a handy reference sheet to English tenses and their relationship to one another and the past, present and future. Conjugated verbs are highlighted in bold. Tenses which are rarely used in everyday conversation are marked by an asterik (*).

TIMELINE

SIMPLE ACTIVE SIMPLE PASSIVE PROGRESSIVE / CONTINUOUS ACTIVE

PROGRESSIVE / CONTINUOUS PASSIVE

PAST TIME^|

She had already eatenwhen I arrived.

The painting had been sold twice before it was destroyed.

^|

PAST PERFECT

|

I had been waiting for four hours when he finally arrived.

The house had been being painted for over a month before they began to decorate the interior. *

I bought a new car last week.

The book was written in 1876 by Frank Smith. ^

|PAST

|

I was watching TV when she arrived.

The problem was being solved when I arrived late for class.

She has lived in California for many years.

The company has been managed by Fred Jones for the last two years.

^|

PRESENT PERFECT

|

She has been working at Johnson's for six months.

The students have been being taught for the last four hours. *

He works five days a week.

Those shoes are made in Italy.

^|

PRESENT|

I am working at the moment. The work is being doneby Jim.

|PRESENT MOMENT

||

FUTURE INTENTION

|V

They are going to fly to New York tomorrow.

The reports are going to be completed by the marketing department.

The sun will shinetomorrow.

The food will be brought later.

|FUTURE SIMPLE

|V

She will be teachingtomorrow at six o'clock.

The rolls will be being baked at two. *

I will have completed the course by the end of next week.

The project will have been finishedby tomorrow afternoon.

|FUTURE

PERFECT|V

She will have been workinghere for two years by the end of next month.

The house will have been being built for six months by the time they finish. *

FUTURE TIME

|V

Ms Ieva Zebryte LL.M. Consulting & Training (CaT) / CaT Asesoría y CapacitaciónE-mail: ieva.zebryte@p2p-cat.com & zebrytei@gmail.com Cell: +56 (9) 928 44791 (Movistar, Chile); Office: +56 (45) 442503 (Linea Fija, Chile)Office No. 203 at Bernardo O´Higgins N°669, Pucón, IX Region, Chile; http://www.p2p-cat.com

Question Formation in English - by Viv Quarry   (www.vivquarry.com)

There are two basic types of questions in English.

1. 'Wh' questions ask for specific information and start with a question word.What Which When Where Whereabouts Why Whose How

The most common question structure is: Question word + Auxiliary Verb + Object or Main Verb.

'Wh' questions usually have a FALLING INTONATION.

Tense No verb Verb Answer

Present simple Whose is this? What do you do? I'm a teacher.

Present continuous Where are you going? To the bank.

Past simple When were you there? When did she do that? Last night.

Past continuous Who were playing? Flamengo & Vasco.

Pres. perf. simple Why haven't you done your homework?

Because I didn't have time.

Pres. perf. continuous Which report have you been working on?

The one you asked you asked me to.

Passive Whereabouts were they found? On the side of the mountain.

will / would Who will be there? How will they get here? By train.

Can / could How could you? What could it be? It might be a UFO.

'What' can be followed by a noun and is usually used when there is an unlimited number of possibilities. 'Which' is normally used with a limited number of choices.

Eg. What size shoes do you take?Which one do you like the most?When asking about people it is better to use which. Eg. Which astronauts have landed on the moon?

'How' can combine with adjectives and adverbs.How many (countables), How much (uncountables), How tall (height), How old (age), How big (size), How fast (speed), How often (frequency), How many times (number), How long (duration), How far (distance)

Prepositions often come at the end of a question.Eg. What are you looking at? Which channel is the film on?What are you afraid of? What schools did you go to?Who did you dance with? What is it about?Who did you give it to? Who was it written by?Who is he getting married to? What did you do that for?How long did you stay for? Who did you get that from?

Short reply questions with prepositions are also possible in English.

2

Eg. What with? What about? What for? Who to? Who from? Where to?

Subject QuestionsMost questions ask for the object of a sentence.SUBJECT VERB OBJECTLee Oswald shot President Kennedy.Who did Lee Oswald shoot? ANSWER = OBJECT (President Kennedy).

With the question words WHO, WHAT & WHICH, if the answer is the SUBJECT, there is NO AUXILIARY 'DO, DOES, DID and the WORD ORDER IS THE SAME AS A STATEMENT.

Who shot President Kennedy? ANSWER = SUBJECT (Lee Oswald).

Here are some more examples of subject questions:SUBJECT (+ VERB + OBJECT)Who broke the window? Peter (broke the window)Who discovered America? Columbus (discovered America)Which actors starred in Casablanca? Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall (starred in Casablanca).Which switch operates this machine? The red switch (operates the machine).What happened to you last night? Something terrible (happened to me last night).

In contrast, here are the object questions for the examples above:What did Peter break?Which continent did Columbus discover?Which actors did Casablanca have in it?What does this switch operate?What did you do last night?

'Like' in questions'LIKE' can be used as a VERB for preference and as a PREPOSITION for description.What does she like doing at the weekend? (VERB) = What does she enjoy doing?What is she like? (PREPOSITION) = Describe her character (and maybe her appearance).What does she look like? (PREPOSITION) = Describe her appearance ONLY.

NOTE! 'How is she?' REFERS ONLY TO HEALTH & WELL-BEING.Eg. How is your mother? = Is your mother in good health.What would you like to do next weekend? (VERB) = What do you want to do?What is London like? (PREPOSITION) = Give me your general impressions of London.What was the weather like? (PREPOSITION) = Describe the weather to me.What was the food like? (PREPOSITION) = What did you think about the food?What were the shops like in London? (PREPOSITION) = Tell me about the shops in London.What did it look like? (PREPOSITION) = Give me a physical description of it.

Comparatives and superlatives:Nice -> nicer than -> the nicestGood -> better than -> the bestHigh -> higher than -> the highestCheap -> cheaper than -> the cheapest

Safe -> safer than -> the safestLarge -> larger than -> the largestBig -> bigger than -> the biggestTidy -> tidier than -> the tidiest

3

Additional tips on question formation:

1. 'Wh' questions ask for specific information and start with a question word.

What Which When Where Whereabouts Why Whose How

The most common question structure is:

Question word + Auxiliary Verb + Object or Main Verb.

'Wh' questions usually have a FALLING INTONATION.

Form ExamplesObject Questions

Question word auxiliary subject main Verb

Where do you live?What will you do?When is she coming?

Subject Questions

Question word subject (auxiliary) main verb

Notice that this structure is like positive sentence structure without the question word.

Who loves you?Which car will arrive first?What type of food costs less?

2. 'Yes/No' questions ask for a positive or negative answer.

They normally start with an AUXILIARY or MODAL verb and are followed by SUBJECT + (VERB) + OBJECT

AUXILIARY or MODAL verb + SUBJECT + (VERB) + OBJECT

'Yes/no' questions normally have a RISING INTONATION.

4

2. 'Yes/No' questions ask for a positive or negative answer.

They normally start with an AUXILIARY or MODAL verb and are followed bySUBJECT + (VERB) + OBJECT'Yes/no' questions normally have a RISING INTONATION.

Tense No verb Verb Answer

Present simple Am I right? Do I do it like this? Yes, you do.

Present continuous Is it working? Yes, it is.

Past simple Was she the manager? Did you enjoy it? Yes, I did.

Past continuous Were they fighting? No, they weren't.

Pres. perf. simple Have they had dinner yet? No, they haven't.

Pres. perf. continuous

Has she been working all day?

Yes, she has.

Passive Was it finished on time? No, it wasn't

will / would Will she be happy in her new job?

Will you finish by 5.30? Yes, of course I will.

Can / could Could he be right? Can you pass me the salt, please?

Yes, here you are.

Negative 'Yes/No' questions are used to show surprise: Didn't you hear the bell? I rang it four times!

In exclamations:Doesn't that dress look nice! (= That dress looks very nice)When we expect the listener to agree with us:Haven't we met somewhere before? (= I think that we have)Be careful with the answers to negative questions:Didn't Dave go to Canada? Yes. (He went there.)No. (He didn't go there.)

Reply questionsReply questions are formed of Auxiliary/modal verb + Subject and are used to show interest or surprise. They always have a strong RISING INTONATION.Eg. A: He has a problem. A: I've finished! A: I can't do this.B: Does he? B: Have you? B: Can't you?A: Didn't you see his hand shaking? A: It's been done before. A: He'd like it.B: Was it? B: Has it? B: Would he.

Question tagsQuestion tags have the same form as reply questions but are used either to ask for confirmation or a response.If a positive statement is made, the question tag is negative.Eg. You're Brazilian, aren't you?If a negative statement is made, the question tag is positive.Eg. You haven't finished yet, have you?

5

There are TWO TYPES of question tag.

1. This tag has a falling intonation and means "I'm sure I'm right, confirm it for me".

2. A question tag with a rising intonation means "I'm not sure, can you tell me if I'm right?"

With this type of question tag, it is better not to use contracted auxiliary and modal verbs.Eg. You have brought the tickets with you, haven't you? (not "You've brought...").NOTE!

After 'Let's....' the question tag is 'Shall we?'Eg. Let's go out for a meal, shall we?

After the imperative the question tag is 'Will you?'Eg. Open the door for me, will you? Don't be late, will you?

A positive question tag can follow a positive statement when expressing interest or surprise.Eg. Oh, You think he'll win, do you?

For information on indirect questions see the worksheet on indirect and reported speech.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

6

PASSIVE VOICE

Examples:The bread is baked for about 45 minutes.Was the room reserved?Did you book your flight?Has the pickpocket been arrested?Taking pictures is not allowed.English is spoken here.Was the manager trained in Switzerland?Will the Winter Olympic Games be held in Sochi (Russia)?

1. Verbs with two objects:

There will be two Passive Voice sentences for the sentences with two nouns. There are few verbs which take two objects, a Direct object and an Indirect object. For such sentences, there will be two forms in Passive Voice sentences.

Examples:• I gave him five rupees. (Active voice)• Five rupees were given to him by me. (Passive Voice)• He was given five rupees by me. (Passive Voice)

• She has told me the truth. (Active voice)• I was told the truth by her. (Passive Voice)• The truth was told to me by her. (Passive Voice)

• They lent me their car. (Active voice)• I was lent a car by them. (Passive Voice)• A car was lent to me by them. (Passive Voice)

• The Government has sent him a message. (Active voice)• He was sent a message by the government. (Passive Voice)• A message was sent to him by the government. (Passive Voice)

2. Imperative sentences (Commands and requests)

There is special formula for changing the imperative sentence into passive voice.• Please open the door. (Active voice)• Let the door be opened by you. (Passive Voice)

Here the sentence in active-voice has been changed into a sentence in passive-voice. Please understand the formula which has been followed to change the active-voice to passive-voice.

“Let” is used to convert the active voice sentence into a passive voice sentence.Examples:

7

• Cut your nails. (Active voice)• Let your nails be cut. (Passive Voice)

• Do not ignore my suggestions. (Active voice)• Let not my suggestions be ignored. (Passive Voice).These sentences have been changed into passive voice sentences by adding "let".

3. With Modal verbs:

The verbs can, could, may, might, and must are known modal verbs. As per the following methods these sentences with these verbs are changed into passive voice.

Examples:• You can take the book. (Active voice)• The book can be taken by you. (Passive Voice).

• Everybody must obey the rules. (Active voice)• The rules must be obeyed by everybody. (Passive Voice).

8

Modal verbs - Modal verbs - Modal verbs - Modal verbs … should … You should carry some identification. NO “to”!!!It’s best to + to + infinitiveIt’s a good idea + to + infinitiveI recommend you + verbAvoid + verb + ing is used when giving recommendation and advice

REQUESTS AND OFFERS Could / would / do you mind are used to express polite requestsWould you like …? Is used to express a polite offer… must … for strong and enthusiastic recommendations

Could you spell your surname for me, sir?Would you mind showing me your passports, please?Do you mind waiting here?Would you like me to call your room?Would you like the porter to help with your luggage?Could you repeat that, please?Could I see your passport, please?Would you mind closing the door?Do you mind not smoking in this area?Would you like to see the wine list / the menu / our brochure / our offers?Would you like me to call a taxi?

ADVICE AND RECOMMENDATIONSYou should drink lots of water.You shouldn’t carry a lot of cash. (NOT you should not to carry)It is best to visit the region in May or June.I recommend you visit the Prado museum.Avoid wearing a lot of jewelry.You must try our national dish.You must not walk around the town center late at night.

OBLIGATIONPassengers must wear their seatbelts during take-off and landing.She had to switch off her mobile phone during the flight.Passengers must not smoke in the toilets on board the plane. (NOT … must not to smoke…)You can smoke in the designated areas.Passengers should contact LAN for further details. You have to check in ninety minutes before the flight. She has one small bag so she does not have to check in any luggage.

9

Future

Present tenses for the future actions:

1. Present simple for schedules and timetablesThe museum is not open on Mondays.

2. Present continuous for personal plans and arrangementsWe are flying to Cancun next week.

3. “Going to” for personal intentions or predictions with evidenceWe are going to visit the Mayan ruins.The tourism industry is going to expand.

Future tense for future actions:“will” for predictions, offers an future actions

Key words: tomorrow, next Friday/day/week/month/year, in 2020, in summer, in a week/month/year [from now].

Examples:On the south coast it will also be extremely hot.I will fax you the information on Acapulco.

When we give information about the future or predict future events that are not certain we usually use shall/will.For example:-“Wh question” -> Q) Who do you think will win the election?" A) "I'm not sure but I think the current party will win."“yes/no question” -> Will Chile qualify for the FIFA World Championship without BIelsa?

We can also use shall/will to make promises for the future.When leaving work I would say - "Goodnight, I'll (I will) see you tomorrow."

Shall/Will is often used when we just decide to do something.For example:-The phone is ringing - If I decide to answer the phone I would say - "I'll (I will) get it."

It can also be used in formal situations to express planned events and is preferred in formal written English.For example:- The party will start at 10.00pm.

10

Present Simple

Adverbs of frequency: frequently, always, usually, often, sometimes, hardly ever, never, rarely, seldom

- For regular activities and situations, for routines and habits, actions and situations that happen all the time. I help the Head Housekeeper. A stay-over is a general routine clean.I like to go to the cinema. I never do sports.I often travel to Temuco to teach Legal English / to run errands.I sometimes work until very late. She checks-in the guests.He guides the guests to their rooms.

- Do/does in negative sentences and questionsNew chambermaids don’t work alone.Why does she carry a bleeper? Do you clean mirrors?Does Darina go to work on Sundays? Do you use the computer? Yes, I do./No, I do not.Does she like her job? Yes, she does./No, she doesn’t.

- Adding –s to make the he/she/it form of the present simpleClean / cleans, check / checks, make / makes, register / registers, welcome / welcomes [a guest], train / trains, play / plays, go / goes, do / does

- If the word ends in a consonant+y, then y is changed or I, and only them we add –esTidy / tidies, carry / carries [the guest’s bags], fly / flies

- Typical mistakes:I help you? -> Can I help you?I check for you. - > I will check for you. (this is Future simple)I work in London this summer. - > I am working in London this summer. (this is Present continuous)

11

Past simple

Key words: Yesterday, last week/month/year, in 1960, 2 days ago, in summer

We add –ed to regular past simple verbs and we use the special form of the irregular verbs.We use did to form negatives and questions.

Examples: What did she say? What did he do?! He did what?!Did you book a holiday last week? When did the coach (bus) leave?Did she book a holiday last week? How long did you stay in Venice? I watched the Olympics on television. We saw the Plaza of Pucon yesterday.I did not stay in a four star hotel.They did not win the football match against Barcelona. When did the visitors start coming to the island?

12

Present continuous

- We use Present Continuous for current or temporary activities:I am working very hard at the moment. I am reading now.

- We use be + verb with -ing to form present continuous

As far as sentence formation goes For a positive expression we use

I – am Working, writing, taking notes, traveling, paying, repeating, driving, riding a horse, talking to the client, serving coffee, giving information,

giving out flyers, renting a car/bike/apartments/he, it – is

we, you, they – are

For a negative expression we useI Am not Working, writing, taking notes, traveling, paying, repeating, driving,

riding a horse, talking to the client, serving coffee, giving information, giving out flyers, renting a car/bike/apartment

S/he, it Is notWe, you, they Are not

To form a question we useAm I

Working, writing, taking notes, traveling, paying, repeating, driving, riding a horse, talking to the client, serving coffee, giving information,

giving out flyers, renting a car/bike/apartment

Is S/he, it

Arewe, you, they

When is he playing hockey? Where are you playing tennis? Who is playing football in the Plaza? What girl is writing on the white-board?

- We also use Present Continuous for some future situationsAre you taking any holidays in July? My friend Paul is not coming with me. She is visiting her son next month. Are you going to Florida? Is she flying to Florida? She is traveling to Florida on May 17th. Oscar isn’t meeting Jackie.

- Some verbs are not used in Present Continuous Jane knows a good travel agent. Mr Craig wants to go to Miami.

13

Present perfect [simple]

For, since, ever, never, lately, recently, yet, already, just, so far

Positives We have worked as tour guides [sometime before].I have already checked their passports.I have already noted their personal data.I have already adjusted their gear.The plane has already left.I have lived in Barcelona for 12 years.He has worked as a tour guide since 1999.I have never been to Brazil.

NegativesI have not been to Brazil yet.I have not seen you since Friday. If you have not met the director yet, this is a good opportunity.

QsHave you ever been to the Greek islands?Have you ever been to India?Has she ever flown before?Have you ever been to Mexico?Have you ever worked abroad?

Have you taken your sea-sickness pills?Have you already checked their passports?

BUT:When did you start the course?

14