The Tenses & Adverb


The Tenses
Tenses means time, but time is different from tenses.
1.      Time refers to: now, past, and future.
2.      Tenses is a verb from or series of verb forms.
There are 3 main tenses in English:
1.      The Present Tense
2.      The past tense
3.      The Future Tense
And each of them has four forms:
1.      Simple
2.      Continuous
3.      Perfect
4.      Perfect Continuous
A.       Simple Present Tense
Use:
(a)   To denote habituel action or every day action.
e.g:      I pray  everyday.
           He Usually gets up early.
(b)   To denote general truths or unchanging truths about the universe or nature.
e.g:      The sun  rises  in the East and  sets  in the West.
           A week has seven days.
B.       Simple Past Tense
Use:
(a)   To express an activity in adefinite time in the past.
e.g:      He was born in 1964.
           She came  here yesterday.
(b)   To express past habitual activities.
e.g:      Ali always worked hard when he was young.
We always played Basket ball  during our academic years.
C.       Present Continuous Tense
Use:
It is used to denote an action which is still in progress at the moment of speaking.
e.g:      The sun is shining  now.
           They are Studying English now.
           She is reading now.
D.      Present Perfect Tense
Use:
(a)   To express an activity which is just finish and usually without any adverb of time.
e.g:      they  have finished  their homework.
           We  have discussed  our lesson.
(b)   To express an activity which is done some time in the past an go on until now.
e.g:      She has thought  English since last year.
They  have lived here for two years.
E.       Past Perfect Tense
Use:
To express an activity which is complited before another activity in the past.
e.g:      He had arrived  at the home before it rained
           Angie went home after she  had bought same books.
           I had copied my leasson before the exam began.
F.       Past Continuous Tense
Use:
(a)   To express an activity in the past which is interrupted by another activity.
e.g:      they were watching  TV when somebody knocked at the door.
           While I was bathing  in the river I heard a fearful cry.
(b)   To express an activites in the past that happens in the same time.
e.g:      Ali was reading  a magazine while Johan was writing letters.
           When you called me, I was listening to the Radio.
G.       Present Future Tense
Use:
(a)   To express an action that takes place at some definite future time.
e.g:      I shall write a letter tomorrow.
           I shall go to campus to night.
(b)   To express a future habitual action or future state.
e.g:      He will go to school by bus next month.
           She will play a badminton next week.
H.      Future Continuous Tense
Use:
(a)   To express an action / activity that will be in progress at a specific time in the near future.
e.g:      Came to my house at seven o’clock tomorrow, I shall be waiting for you.
           They will be studying at this school in a few years.
(b)   To express duration of some specific future action/activity.
e.g:      We shall be working on out project for the next two weeks.
           I shall be speaking English for the next month.
I.         Future Perfect Tense
Use:         
(a)   It is used to express an action which will be completed at the certain time in the future.
e.g:      Deni will have written all the letters before she comes.
           I will have meet my loyal friend by next week.
(b)    It is used to express an action or state that will be completed in the future prior to some other future time or event.
e.g:      He will have been here for one month at the end of this week.
           They shall have been here for one year at the end of this month.
J.        Present Perfect Continous Tense
Use:
(a)   To express a situation or habit in the past that continous up to the present.
e.g:      We have been living here for 5 years.
           I have been waiting for you since 8 o’clock.
(b)   To express the incompleteness of an activity in progress.
e.g:      She has been reading newspaper.
           I have been remaining here.
K.      Past Perfect Continous Tense
Use:
(a)   To express an action/activity or habit that takes place over a period of time in the past prior to some other past event.
e.g:      Ahmad had been playing in the garden the whole morning, before their mother called them.
           Before he entered the exam, he had been studying hard for a month.
(b)   To express a past activity / action that is in progress gets interrupted by another past action.
e.g:      He had been playing football when it rained so hard.
           They had been studying  English when I called them.
L.       Future Perfect continous Tense
Use:
It is to express a durative or habitual action that is takinh place in the present and that will continue into the future up until or through a specific time.
e.g:           I shall have been watching TV for two hours by the time my father gets home from his office.
                 On the New Year she will have been living with us for five month.
                 By the end of this year we shall have been studying japanes for two years.
ADVERB
An adverb is a word which is used for qualifiying the meaning of a verb, an adjective, other adverbs, a preposition or a conjunction.
There are three kinds of adverb:
A.       Simple Adverb
1.      Adverb of Time
The most inportant use of adverb of time: now, then, since, before, ago, already, soon, immediately, instantly, presently, late, lately, early, afterwards, today, yesterday, tomorrow, yet, still, ect.
e.g:           I will go to Bali tomorrow.
                 Yesterday, she met me at Jakarta.
2.      Adverb of Place
The most inportant use of adverb of place are: here, there, above, below, in, out, inside, outside, within, without, far, near, anywhere, everywhere, up, down, ect.
e.g:           You may stay here.
                 My home is near the market.
3.      Adverb of Number
The most common of an adverb of number are: once, twice, thrice, again, firstly, secondly, thirdly, always, never, often, seldom, some times, ect.
e.g:           I have a gathering twice a week.
                 My teacher always speaks English.
4.      Adverb of  Manner, Quality Or State
The most commonly used adverb of manner, quality or state are: badly, thus, so, hard, fast, quickly, well, fluently, bravely, ect.
e.g:           Dedi did his work quickly.
                 All students study hard for the examination.
5.      Adverb of Quantity, Extent, or Degree
The most important use of an adverb of quantity, extent, or degree are: very, too, quite, much, almost, completely, little, somewhat, rather, so, half, partly, wholly, entirely, totally, ect.
e.g:           Emi sings very well.
                 Give me a little water.
B.       Interrogative Adverb
An interrogative adverb is dividied into five kinds.
1.      Adverb of Time
e.g:           When did you go to Bali?
2.      Adverb of Place
e.g:           Where do you say prayer?
3.      Adverb of Manner, Quality, or State
e.g:           How did you do the pilgrimage?
4.      Adverb ofQuantity or Degree
e.g:           How far was that news true?
5.      Adverb of Cause or Reason
e.g:           Why did Johan Study seriusly?
C.        Relative Adverb
A relative adverb establishes a relationship between one sentence or clause and the preceding sentence or clause. The most commonly used relative adverbs are: therefore, accordingly, moreover., beside, however, nevertheless, otherwise, the, when, ect.
e.g:      We need much time, besides money.
            Ely is clever, furthermore she is friendly.
            Nita was given an instruction and acted accordingly.




Reference:       Basic English grammar, Drs Ahmad Izzan, M.Ag
                        English For Islamic Studies, Sachri Ramdhan
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google
  • Furl
  • Reddit
  • Spurl
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati

Leave a comment