Lesson 9: The Past and Future Tenses | Easy English Subject

The past tense is used to express an action which took placeat a specific past time.

Example:

He was reading when I saw him.



The auxillary verb did is used with the present tense of the main verb in making negative statements and asking questions in the past tense.

Example:

Did you eat at twelve o'clock?



The used to form denotes a habitual action performed in the past but no longer done in the present. When you say "I used to go to the movies every Sunday," you mean that you no longer go to movies every Sunday.



The principal parts of irregular verbs are the present tense, past tense, and past participle. There are not many irregular verbs in English. The following are some of them.

Present                  Past              Past Participle

am, is                     was              been
are                          were            been
bear                       bore             borne
become                 became        become
begin                     began           begun
bite                        bit                 bitten
blow                      blew             blown
break                    broke           broken
bring                     brought       brought
burst                     burst            birst
buy                        bought         bought
build                     built              built
catch                     caught          caught
choose                  chose            chosen
come                     came            come
creep                    crept             crept
dive                      dived, dove  dived
do                         did                  done
drink                   drank             drunk
eat                        ate                  eaten
fall                        fell                 fallen
feel                       felt                 felt
flee                       fled                fled
fly                         flew               flown
freeze                  froze              frozen
get                        got                  gotten, got
give                      gave               given
go                         went              gone
grow                    grew              grown
hang (suspend)  hung              hung
hang (execute)   hanged          hanged
hide                      hid                 hidden
keep                     kept                kept
know                   knew              known
lay                        laid                 laid
lead                      led                  led
leave                    left                  left
lie (recline)         lay                  lain
lie (falsehood)    lied                 lied
lose                       lost                 lost
ride                       rode               ridden
ring                      rang               rung
rise                       rose                risen
run                       ran                 run
see                        saw                seen
shrink                 shrunk           shrunk
send                     sent                sent
sing                      sang               sung
sink                      sank               sunk
sit                         sat                  sat
speak                   spoke             spoken
spring                  sprang          sprung
steal                     stole              stolen
strike                   struck           struck
swim                   swam             swum
swing                  swung            swung
take                      took               taken
teach                    taught           taught
think                    thought         thought
throw                  threw             thrown
wear                    wore              worn
weave                  wove             woven
win                       won               won
write                    wrote            written



The sign of the future tense is the auxillary verb shall or will. A more generally used form to express the future tense is the going to form.

Example:

I will stay home night.
I am going to stay home night.


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Lesson 8: The Present Tense | Easy English Subject

The present tense is used (1)  to express an action which takes place at the present time, (2) to express a general truth, (3) to express habitual action, and in some instances (4) to express simple future time.



The third person singular number of a verb in the present tense ends in s. This form is called the s form.



Does is used in the negative form of the present tense as a helping verb with the third person singular; do is used as a helping verb with all other persons.



In asking questions in the present tense, does is used as the helping verb in the thord person singular number; do is used as the helping verb in the other persons.



The progressive form of the present tense is used to show that the activity is taking place while the person is speaking.

Examples:

I am eating. (now)
I am studying. (now)



If you don't mean now, use the ordinary form of the present tense.


Next Lesson 》The Past and Future Tenses 》


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Lesson 7: Clause Modifiers | Easy English Subject

A clause modifier may be adjectival or adverbial depending on the word it modifies.



*A clause which modifies a noun or which belongs to a noun cluster is an adjectival clause. It is often introduced by the conjunctions who, that, which.



The conjunction who always refer to persons, places, or things. The conjunction which never refers to persons; it refers only to obkexts or animals.



Note the use of who, that, and which in the following:

1. The girl who (that) is speaking is my sister.
2. The dog that (which) is barking is mine.
3. The book that (which) she is reading is mine.



Next Lesson 》The Present Tense | Lesson 8 》



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Lesson 6: Verb Clusters | Easy English Subject

Verb Clusters are similar to noun clusters. They are composed of a headword which is a verb plus word, phrase, or clause modifiers.


A verb cluster is a group of words in which the principal word is a verb.

Examples:

1. He spoke eloquently. (word modifier-word verb cluster)
2. He spoke with great eloquence. (phrase modifier-phrase verb cluster)
3 . He spoke when he was moved to speak. (clause modifier-clause verb cluster)


All these modifiers refer to spoke and form verb clusters. Note the position of pretty and tall, gracefully and very well in the following sentences:

1. The pretty girl danced gracefully.
2. The tall boy spoke very well.



Pretty and tall come before girl and boy, respectively. They are adjectives denoting quality. Gracefully and very well come after danced and spoke, respectively. They are adverbs denoting manner.



The modifying word or phrase in a verb cluster may denote a place or tell where.

Examples:

1. He went there. (word)
2. He hid under the table. (phrase)


The modifying word or phrase may denote time or express when.

Examples:

1. He came yesterday. (word)
2. He came in the morning. (phrase)


The modifying word or phrase may denote manner or tell how.

Examples:

1. He walks fast. (word)
2. He works with great energy. (phrase)



Word and phrase modifiers may be found after the head verb or after the object.

Examples:

1. He speaks very politely.
2. He takes his lunch at the cafeteria.


Expressions of place come before expressions of time.

Examples:

He eats here (place) at twelve o'clock. (time)



Frequency adverbs, such as often, never, usually, seldom, generally, and the like, come after forms of the verb to be; but they come before other verbs and between verb phrases.

Examples:

1. She is never late.
2. She never comes late.
3. She has never come late.



Expressions of manner generally come after expressions of place but not afyer expressions of time.

Examples:

He came here walking last night.



Next Lesson 》Clause Modifiers | Lesson 7 》



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Lesson 5: Word and Phrase Modifiers | Easy English Subject

We have so far studied the basic pattern of sentences in English. We have seen how sentences may be expanded by adding modifiers. Modifiers may be words, phrases, or clauses. Modifiers may be added to nouns. When this is done, such a group of words is called a noun cluster.



A noun cluster is a group of words in which the principal word (headword) is a noun. The words found next to the noun are its modifiers. The modifiers may be words, phrases, or clauses.

Example:

The tall, lovely lady on my left, who is about to sing, is a movie personality.



The headword (head noun) is lady. Tall and lovely are word modifiers of the noun. With the noun they form a word noun cluster.

On my left is the phrase modifier of the noun. With the noun it forms a phrase noun cluster.

Who is about to sing is the clause modifier of the noun. With the noun it forms a clause noun modifier.

All these modifiers refer to lady and describe the noun lady.




Word modifiers com before the nouns they modify. Observe the position of graceful, hardworking, responsible, and beautiful in the following sentences.

1. The graceful dancers waved to us.
2. The hardworking employees stayed behind.
3. Teachers like responsible students.
4. We admire beautiful flowers.

Graceful and hardworking (called adjectives) are placed before the nouns dancers and employees in the subject position. The adjectives responsible and beautiful are placed before the nouns students and flowers in the object position.



A noun may give information about another noun and thus form a word noun cluster.

Examples:

1. The school bus is late.
2. That is a stone fence.
3. They enjoyed a pleasant home life.



If word modifiers in a series from a noun cluster, they are arranged in a specific manner: determiners-intensifiers-quality-shape-color-another noun-headword noun.



Study the following examples of word modifiers forming a noun cluster.

1. Determiners

     - a dozen
     - the
     - a

2. Intensifiers

     - very
     - rather
     - somewhat

3. Quality

     - pretty
     - bold
     - strict

4. Shape

     - tiny
     - little

5. Color

     - blue

6. Another noun

     - city
     - school

7. Headword noun

     - flowers
     - girl
     - teacher




A phrase modifier comes after the noun it modifies. Phrase noun modifiers are of three kinds: prepositional, infinitive, and participial.



A prepositional phrase is a group of two or more words of which the first word is a preposition abd the last word is a noun.

Example:

The flowers in the vase are lovely.
                          P-phrase
The symbol for the prepositional phrase is P-phrase.



An infinitive phrase is a group of two or more words of which the first word is the preposition to and the last word is a verb.

Example:

The work to be done seems interesting.
                       To - V
The symbol for the infinitive phrase is To - V.


A participial phrase is a group of two or more words beginning with a participle. A participle is a verb + ing (e.g., cry + ing, stay + ing, talk + ing).

Example:

A girl wearing a new dress walked in.
             V - ing
The symbolbfor forthe participial phrase is V-ing.



Next Lesson 》Verb Cluster | Lesson 6



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Lesson 4: Kinds of Sentences | Easy English Subject

There are four general kinds of sentences: declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory.



The declarative sentence states a fact. A period ends a declarative sentence.

Example:

We all want to be happy.



The interrogative sentence ask a question. A question mark ends interrogative sentence.

Example:

Do we all want to be happy?



The imperative sentence expresses a command. A period ends an imperative sentence.

Example:

Everyone, strive to be happy.



The exclamatory sentence expresses a strong feeling. An exclamation point ends an exclamatory sentence.

Example:

How we all want to be happy!


The interrogative sentence follows a definite pattern. Statements with is, are, was, and were may be changed into questions by exchanging the positions of the subject and the predicate.

Examples:

          S    V
1. Mario is a student.
    V       S
    Is Mario a student?


               S        V
2. The boys were present.
         V              S
     Were the boys present?



Statements indicating present time and using verbs other than is and are are changed into questions by placing does (singular) or do (plural) as the first word to signal the question.

Examples:

         S          V
1. Myrna works hard.
                  S          V
    Does Myrna work hard?

                      S          V
2. The students work hard.
                        S            V
     Do the students work hard?



Note that in this form, the s form of the verb is assumed by does.

Statements indicating past time and using verbs other than was and were are changed into questions by placing did at the beginning to signal the question. The principal verb after the auxillary verb did is always in the infinitive form.

Example:

  S       V
Ely went home.
         S       V
Did Ely went home?



Statement with verb phrases (verbs of more than one word) are changed into questions by placing the subject after the forst helping verb.

Example:

                   S                    V
1. The students will come soon.
                            S           V
     Will the students come soon?

                  S                                   V
2. The students should have done well. (two helping verbs)
                                S                     V
     Should the students have done well?

                   S                         V
3. The students haven't seen her. (helping verb contracted with not)
                                 S           V
     Haven't the students seen her?



In the imperative sentence, the subject is always the personal pronoun you which may be merely understood. A statement may be changed into an imperative sentence by omitting the subject.

Statement: You keep quiet.
Imperative: Keep quiet!



The negative form of the imperative sentence is formed by placing do not before the verb.


Examples:

1. I am / tired.
    How tired / I am!

2. She is / a pretty girl.
    What a pretty girl / she is!

3. He shouted / loudly.
    How loudly / he shouted!


The negative form of questions is formed by inserting not after the subject.

Example:

1. Is she pretty?
    Is she not pretty?

2. Did she go?
    Did she not go?

3. Have you seen her?
    Have you not seen her?



Next Lesson 》Word and Phrase Modifiers | Lesson 5 》



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Lesson 3: Tag Questions | Easy English Subject

Study the following positive statements:

     You were a sophomore,         weren't you?
     You are a junior,                     aren't you?
     He is a student,                       isn't he?
     He was a student,                   wasn't he?
     They are present,                   aren't they?
     They were present,                weren't they?
     They will go,                           won't they?
     He studies well,                     doesn't he?
     They study well,                     doesn't they?
     They study well,                     don't they?
     They studied well,                 don't they?
     They studied well,                 didn't they?


Then compare them with these negative statements:


     You're not a junior,                are you?
     You weren't a sophomore     were you?
     He's not a student,                 is he?
     He wasn't a student,              was he?
     They aren't present,              were they?
     They weren't present,           were they?
     They won't go,                        will they?
     He doesn't study well,           does he?
     They don't study well,           do they?
     He did not study well,           did he?



The tag question is in its negative form when the first part od the sentence is positive; it is in the positive form when the first part of the sentence is negative.


If the verb in the first part of the sentence is a form of the verb to be, the  tag question repeats the verb.


If the verb in the first part of the sentence is not a form of the verb to be in the present tense, the tag question uses the verb does (singular) or do (plural).


If the verb in the first part of the sentence is any other verb in the past tense, the tag question uses the verb did.


When the sentence with the tag question is in the present perfect or past perfect tense, the verb in the tag question repeats the has, have, or had used in the first part of the sentence.


When the first part of the sentence uses can, could, may, might, will/would, or should, the tag question repeats these verbs.


Examples:

a. They have seen you, haven't they?
b. They had seen you, hadn't they?
c. He has lost a book, hasn't he?
d. They can do it, can't they?
e. She could walk, couldn't she?




Next lesson 》Kind of Sentences | Lesson 4 》



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