Present tenses C2.1 Adam

Unit 1-past and present forms

C2.1 Close-up

Present forms

Present simple

• Indefinite time: truths, scientific facts
• "The boiling point of any liquid is highly dependent on the temperature"
• Iterative (repetitive, habitual): + time adverbial/ expression.
• "They always ask me silly questions"
• Habits, customs
• "Guiris jump off the fountain"
• Instantaneous present: step-by-step instructions, performative actions (marry someone, inaugurate), sports comments
• "First, cut the carrot into pieces..."
• "I declare you now husband and wife"

Present simple

• Future meaning: timetables (means of transport, meetings, events, concerts, shows, films)
• The train to Madrid leaves at 17:30
• Past meaning: vivid recall, narration. I gather/ I hear/ I recall
• "So... it's 3PM, I enter the pub and see that bastard!"
• Exceptions: use auxiliary for emphasis
• "DO try it!"
• Geographical situation
• "Winnipeg is in a frozen hole"

• Age
• "I'm 29 (and already feel old)"
• Immutable events
• "The Earth orbits the Sun"

• Historical summary
• "The troops enter in 1954 and station in the country"
• Adverbs of frequency: always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, hardly ever, seldom, never, these days, every now and the, much of the time,

Present continous: am/ is/ are + ing

• Things in progress
• "I'm going to the phisiotherapist (for a few sessions"
• The crisis is ravaging the economy

• Tendency, trend
• "More and more citizens are raising concern"
• Annoyance/ amusement: (w/ always, constantly, all the time…)
• "You're constantly interrupting me!"
• Temporariness. Compare:
• I’m living in Zizur (may move soon) vs. I live in Zizur (no intention of moving)

Present continous: am/is/are +ing

• future meaning: arrangement, organised plan.
• I'm meeting the clients at 17:00 (I know the time, some details have been arranged).
• Compare with: "I'm going to be a doctor" (it's an intention, not a fixed arrangement).
• Describe pictures.
• "The woman in black seems to be petting an otter"
• Clothes
• "I'm wearing a black T-shirt"
• Adverbs of time: currently, for the moment, right now, at present, for the time being...

The filthy-rich bragging clubYou are all disgustingly wealthy. And you have made arrangements, so it's time to brag about them. Try to outbrag each other tho (use the present continuous for plans)

Stative verbs

• Some stative verbs may be used with continous forms, but only when they have a different meaning implied. They often describe actions, rather than states:
• Appeal, be consider, depend, feel, have, incude, look mean...
• Compare:
• "I have a dog" (posession, stative)
• "I'm having a latte" (drinking, action)

• Some verbs don't allow us to use continuous forms:
• States, conditions (fit, belong, be, seem, appear, think, believe, concern, trust, agree, understand…)
• Possession (have, own…)
• Emotional states, likes and dislikes (adore, love, hope, like).
• Exception: "I’m loving it": expression of joy
• Producing sensations
• Stance (lie, live, stand...):
• simple = permanent

• continuous= temporary

Destination C1 & C2, unit 1, exercise D

Present perfect: have/has + participle

• Indicates link between a past event and how it affects the present make-up (situation):
• Experiences (don’t specify when they happened)
• "I've been to Canada" vs "I went to Canada last year"
• How many times you’ve done something.
• "I've visited you three times so far"
• Started in the past and is still true
• "I've been a member for 4 years" (I still am) vs "I was a member for 4 years" (you're not anymore)

• Also used for the future: "Tell me when you've finished"
• w/ As soon as, when...

• Watch out with the difference between been/ gone
• "He's been to Portsmouth" (and returned)

• "He's gone to Portsmouth" (hasn't returned)
• Time expressions:
• for, since, just, already, never, ever, yet, still

Present perfect continuous: have/has + been + ing

• We are more concerned about the duration (how long?)

• "I've been waiting for you under the rain for 1 hour!" (the duration is important, I emphasise it)
• "I've waited for you" (the action is important)
• Often used with "for" (a period of time)/ "since" (a point in time)
• "I've been studying for 3 hours"
• "I've been studying since 8 PM"
• It may have finished or may continue. We don't know.
• "I've been painting the room (have I finished?)"
• I've painted the room (I've finished)"
• Often used as an excuse
• "I've been experiencing problems. Sorry for the delay."

In groups, write a dialogue using:1- Present continous for annoyance2- Present continuous + state verb for politeness2- Present simple for anecdotes3- Present perfect continuous for excuses 4- An emphatic auxiliary (I DO think that...!) 5- Present continous for tendencies/ trends (w/ more and more)

NEVER HAVEI EVER...

NEVER HAVEI EVER...

Past forms

Past simple: 2nd column/ didn't + inf

• It happened before now, so there is no continuity in the present
• We need to specify time or the manner ("I played basketball yesterday" vs "I have played basketball")
• Unless it is obvious, already said, or common knowledge ("The Prussian Empire lost the war")
• The past simple is a form, but doesn't need to indicate past time!:
• 2nd conditional: imaginary, hypothetical present ("If I were you I'd get a haircut…")
• Desire, regret: I wish/ If only I were taller (in general).
• it’s high/about time we left (now).
• Preference:
• I’d sooner/ I’d rather + OBJECT+ past simple ("I’d rather YOU left")
• I'd sooner / I'd rather + infinitive: ("I’d rather go")
• "He behaves As if/ as though he were a celebrity, but he ain't one"

Destination C1 & C2, unit 2, exercise A, H

Past continuous: was/ were + ing

• For actions in progress in a moment in the past.
• "I was pretending to study that night"

• We often use the Past continuous (as a background action) + past simple (what happened during that time-span)
• "I was explaining (background action) sthg. when the door slammed" (it interrupted my explanation) (Past continuous interrupted by past simple)
• If we use Past simple + past simple… it would denote a sequence. The actions don't interrupt each other ("First I opened the door. I walked in and sat down")
• We may use the past continuous + past continuous when 2 or more actions happen at the same time, without interruption:
• I was having a shower while you were preparing lunch"
• Like with the present continuous, together with "always/ constantly…", it expresses annoyance:
• "You were constantly picking your nose"

Past continuous: was/were + ing

• For actions in progress in a moment in the past.
• "I was pretending to study that night"

• We often use the Past continuous (as a background action) + past simple (what happened during that time-span)
• "I was explaining (background action) sthg. when the door slammed" (it interrupted my explanation) (Past continuous interrupted by past simple)
• If we use Past simple + past simple… it would denote a sequence. The actions don't interrupt each other ("First I opened the door. I walked in and sat down")
• We may use the past continuous + past continuous when 2 or more actions happen at the same time, without interruption:
• I was having a shower while you were preparing lunch"
• Like with the present continuous, together with "always/ constantly…", it expresses annoyance or amusement:
• "You were constantly picking your nose"
• We may talk about the future, seen from the past: "I was travelling the following Friday" (a plan)

Past perfect: had+ participle

• It's "the past of the past". We often underuse it!
• We normally use it w/ the past simple. To indicate that something happened before sthg. else, both events in the past:
• "I had already finished (1st event) when you asked me (2nd event)" (both happened yesterday)
• Can also have a distant past meaning. In that case the past simple is not necessary:
• "I had worked there for a long time" vs "I worked there for a long time". The first is more distant.

• Denotes unrealised hope, ambition or expectation:
• "I had wanted to visit you (but my plans fell through)"
• The past perfect may be continuous: had + been + ing
• When a perfect tense is continous we highlight the duration:
• "I had been waiting for 3 hours before you came"
• It indicates how long sthg lasted before another event. Both in the past.
• It may be used as an excuse: "I had been trying to call you (but you didn't)!"

• Think of a story (a film, tale, book, legend...)
• Tell it to each other
• Do it backwards tho!
• You must use the past forms
• past simple: 0 points
• past continuous: 0 points
• past perfect: 1 point
• past perfect continuous: 2 points

WHO WON?

Sit in a circle and choose a starting sentence for the story. For example: "Yesterday, I went to the park and saw a strange man walking his dog." The aim of the game is to get around the entire circle without making a mistake. If a student makes a mistake, the whole group must start over again from the beginning with a new story.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME

• ...you said no?
• ... you hurt yourself?
• ...you thought to yourself, ‘never again’
• ... you felt on top of the world?
• ...someone shouted at you?

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME

• ...you received some bad news?
• ... you changed your plans for your life?
• ...you were lost?

• In pairs: read your statement.
• The other needs to use an auxiliary to ommit repeating the info.
• Use "so" and "neither" ("so did I", "neither...")
• Tell the class what you have in common and what you don't: "I don't like reggaeton and neither does Ana"

ALIBI

FRUSTRATED PLANSWe use Past Perfect with report verbs and with hope, intend, expect, etc. to talk about plans that have not yet been fulfilled. Had is usually stressed in speech with this use:

• I had hoped to talk to him but he was too busy to listen.
• I had thought of phoning him but decided against it.

Missed Job Opportunity: Student A had an excellent job opportunity that they missed. Student A needs to explain the situation to Student B. "I had hoped to... but"

Abandoned Travel Plans:Student A and Student B had planned a trip to a foreign country, but they had to cancel it. Student A needs to explain the situation. "I had intented to... but"

Past habits

• Used to + inf / Didn't use to + inf:
• We may use it in positive and negative statements, as well as questions.
• It allows any kind of verb (stative or non-stative).
• "I used to be a cheerful kid" (stative verb)
• "I used to misbehave in class" (dynamic, non-stative verb)
• CAREFUL!: do not mistake it w/ "be used to" or "get used to"
• "I AM used to waking up early" (present habit)
• "I got used to waking up early when i started working in a factory" (acquiring a past habit)
• Would + inf:
• Same meaning as "used to". We normally state the time.("I would go fishing w/ my grandpa every Sunday")
• It only allows positive sentences. Only with actions (not stative verbs like "be, own, have...").
• Adds an element of nostalgia.

"We used to be so young"1) Compare your habits then and now. 2) Use "used to", "would" and "will"

Question tags

Thank you