UPM-FBMK/ SEM 1, 2011-2012/PPG/ BBI 2409/ MODULE
GRAMMAR SKILLS
3. TENSES
Simple Present versus Present Progressive
Simple present verbs are used to describe regular activities, facts, routines, and actions that continue over time. They are commonly used in writing.
Present progressive verbs are used to describe actions that are in progress now or actions that are temporary or occur for a limited time. The present progressive is commonly used in speaking.
Simple Present / Present ProgressiveTam lives in an apartment / Liu is staying with Tam
His apartment is large / Liu is looking for an apartment
Tam wakes up early every day / Liu is sleeping late today
Tam enjoys the morning / Liu is dreaming about his new life
From the present progressive with a form of be plus the –ing form of the main verb, add not to make negative statements.
I am taking English 101 this semester.
You are learning more English every day.
We are not writing a paragraph in English class today.
The verbs below are not commonly used in the present progressive.
Non-progressive Verbs / Example SentencesFeelings and emotions:
Like, love, hate, prefer, want, need / Kathy likes to write.
NOT Kathy is liking to write.
Mental states:
Think, believe, understand, seem, forget, remember, know, mean / She understands the homework.
NOT She is understanding the homework.
Senses:
Hear, see, smell, feel, sound / Tom hears the phone.
NOT Tom is hearing the phone.
Possession:
Belong, own, have / Mary owns her home.
NOT Mary is owning her home.
Exercise 1
Underline the verbs in the paragraph below. Write PP above present progressive verbs and SP above simple present verbs. Discuss why each verb is in the simple present or the present progressive.
Exercise 2
Read and understand the meaning of each word in the box below. Then fill in the blanks with the correct past tense verbs that go with the stories. There may be more than one possibility.
die sink hit watch slide help remainchoose smoke eat tell feel decide
become put win receive grow sell
come wear murder send find take catch
explode think have return splash survive
Titanic
On 15 April 1912 more than 1500 people ______in the icy waters of the North Atlantic when Titanic ______after it ______an iceberg. The survivors ______helplessly as the giant ship ______beneath the waves. Colonel John Jacob Astor ______his own new bride and many others into boats and then ______on the Titanic until the end. Some wives ______to die with their husbands rather than to be saved alone.
Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi’s parents were very religious but the young man secretly ______, ______meat and ______lies. However, he ______a lot of guilt and ______to change his behaviour for the rest of his life. Returning to India after working in South Africa, he ______involved in non-violent political protest against the British, who ______him in prison on many occasions. Indians eventually ______their independence in 1947.
Scarface
In the 1920’s gangsters ______more press than the President of the United States. The most famous was ‘Scarface’ Al Capone who ______up in Brooklyn. Capone illegally ______alcohol giving him an income of more than $20 million dollars a year. He ______through the Chicago gang wars by killing rival gang members. In the St. Valentine’s Day massacre some Capone’s gang ______police uniforms and ______seven members of the ‘Bugs’ Moran gang. In 1931, the authorities finally ______Capone to prison for tax evasion when they ______a false bank account containing $856,000.
Apollo 13
Apollo 13 ______off for the moon on 11 April 1970. Unfortunately, 56 hours later some wires ______fire and an oxygen tank ______. For a brief moment of time the three astronauts – Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert - ______they would not be able to return to earth. They ______to move to the one part of Apollo that was safe, and ______to the main part only for the final stage of the journey back to earth. Apollo ______down in the Pacific on April 17. All the astronauts ______.