G Tense overview a) Talking about the present Present simple How to use it The sun rises in the east. Money doesn’t grow on trees. • You use the present simple when you want to express facts or what people accept as true. A: The Jacksons often go to Scotland in winter. B: It doesn’t usually snow much there, or does it? A: Well, places higher up are sometimes snowed in for days. • The present simple expresses that something happens regularly or a permanent state. • Signal words: often, usually, sometimes, always, regularly, never, etc. In William Golding’s Lord of the flies a group of English pupils land on a Pacific island after their plane is shot down. What first looks like paradise soon becomes hell when the boys start fighting each other. • You can also use the present simple to describe a series of actions or events that happened one after another. It is often used in sports commentaries, in comments on texts and in summaries. Present progressive How to use it I’m just reading a very interesting article. It says that the oceans are rising more quickly than previously predicted. Unfortunately, too little is being done at the moment to stop this development. • You use the present progressive to express activities that are happening at the moment, and for gradual developments. • Signal words: just, at the moment, right now, etc. b) Talking about the past and the present The present perfect connects the past to the present. The past perfect goes back furthest into the past. Present perfect simple How to use it A: Have you ever been to America? B: Yes, I’ve visited my relatives in Florida twice. But I’ve never been to New York. • The present perfect simple is used to express experiences. Signal words: ever, never, before, yet, already, so far, etc. I’ve already heard the news. So you needn’t tell me again. Tom and Sally have just split up. They’re no longer together. I’ve been told this at least three times. I’m familiar with all the details of the story now. • The present perfect simple is used when you want to stress the result () of an activity. The activity itself happened in the past, but the result is still relevant in the present. Signal words: already, just, (not) yet, ever, never, so far, for, since; expressions of frequency, e.g. three times. A: Would you like a cup of tea? B: No, thanks, I have just had a cup of coffee at the restaurant. • The present perfect simple is used to express that something has just finished. Signal word: just. She’s known him for at least three years. The palace has belonged to the family since the Middle Ages. • With stative verbs the present perfect simple can express duration, a state that began in the past and still continues in the present. For is used for a period of time (for hours, etc.). Since is used for a point in time (since she got up this morning, etc.) G 2 170 Grammar for reference (2) Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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