The simple past

I worked in the morning.

John broke another window yesterday.

The past continuous tense

I was working in the morning.

She was crying.

The present perfect tense

I have finished the work.

She has written a novel.

The present perfect continuous tense

I have been working since morning.

She has been knitting for two hours.

The past perfect tense

He had finished.

She had arrived.

The past perfect continuous tense

I had been working.

She had been teaching.

The differences between these tenses are quite complicated. The most important rules for progressive and perfect forms are given below.

Continuous forms

Continuous verb forms are used especially when we describe a past event as going on or continuing at a particular time, or up to a particular time.

When you phoned, I was having a bath.

I was tired because I had been running for hours.

Perfect forms

Perfect forms are used when we want to suggest a connection between a past event and the present, or between an earlier and a later past event.

After I had known him for a few weeks, I felt he was the right guy for me.

Perfect forms can also suggest completion.

The baby is…

We were …

Neither sentence expresses a complete thought. Some word or words have to be supplied to complete their meaning.

The baby is hungry.

We were shocked.

Such verbs which do not express a complete thought are called verbs of incomplete predication. The chief verb of incomplete predication is be.

The verb to be is followed by a subject complement. The subject complement may be a noun, an adjective, an adverb or adverbial phrase.

Some intransitive verbs too are followed by subject complements. Examples are: remain, look, appear, turn, sound, feel, go, run, act etc. Here also the subject complement may be a noun, an adjective, an adverb or an adverbial phrase.

The complement of the intransitive verb always describes the subject and is therefore called subject complement.

Sentence beginnings

I am interested

You don’t look

I am anxious

It is important

He is a difficult person

It was so warm a day

The Irish are very proud

We have been living here

All that happened was that

Even though I didn’t understand a word,

We will have to put off

Sentence endings

that I could hardly work.

since about eight years ago.

our visit to Scotland.

I kept smiling.

he went to sleep.

of their sense of humor.

happy to see me.

in learning to cook.

that everybody should feel comfortable.

for her to get a good job.

to work with.

Answers

I am interested in learning to cook.

You don’t look happy to see me.

I am anxious for her to get a good job.

It is important that everybody should feel comfortable.

He is a difficult person to work with.

It was so warm a day that I could hardly work.

The Irish are very proud of their sense of humor.

We have been living here since about eight years ago.

All that happened was that he went to sleep.

Even though I didn’t understand a word, I kept smiling.

We will have to put off our visit to Scotland.

Study the following examples.

Compound: He must run fast or he will not catch the train.

Simple: He must run fast to catch the train.

Compound: The sun rose and the sky cleared.

Simple: The sun having risen the sky cleared.

Compound: He repeatedly failed but he did not give up.

Simple: In spite of his repeated failures, he did not give up.

Compound: They not only looted the shop, but also set it on fire.

Simple: Besides looting the shop, they set it on fire.

Compound: He was lazy; therefore he failed.

Simple: Being lazy he failed.

Compound: They did not have sufficient funds. They had to abandon the project.

Simple: Owing to the lack of funds, they had to abandon the project.

Compound: The sky was clear. We resumed our journey.

Simple: The sky being clear we resumed our journey.

Compound: The child found her mother absent. She began to cry.

Simple: Finding her mother absent, the child began to cry.

Compound: He not only recommended me to several employers, but lent me some money also.

Simple: Besides recommending me to several employers, he also lent me some money.

The patient had died before the doctor arrived.

The train had left before we reached the station.

After he had finished his studies he went to Germany.

As soon as I had put the phone down it started ringing again.

Note that the past perfect tense is not always necessary in these cases. We can usually use time conjunctions (e.g. before, after, when, as soon as) to express the idea that one action had completed before another began.

That means the sentence ‘The patient died before the doctor arrived’ means more or less the same as ‘The patient had died before the doctor arrived’. Traditional grammarians, however, insist that the past perfect tense should be used in such cases.

Two simple past tenses are preferred when we want to suggest that the first action ‘leads into’ the other. In such cases the past perfect tense should be avoided.

When I threw a stone at the dog it ran away. (NOT When I had thrown a stone at the dog it ran away.)

Here two simple past tenses are preferred because the first action leads into the second.

When I opened the window, the cat jumped out. (NOT When I had opened the window, the cat jumped out.)

Compare:

He has no desire for name or fame.

He is desirous of becoming a great actor.

Similarly we say:

Confidence in but confident of

He has great confidence in his abilities.

He is confident of winning.

Sensible of but sensitive to

He is sensible of the danger he faces.

The eyes are sensitive to light.

Fond of but fondness for

She is fond of his daughter.

She has great fondness for her daughter.

Dispense with but dispose of

I intend to dispense with the service of my servant.

I intend to dispose of my old car.

Neglectful of but negligent in

A good worker is never neglectful of his duty.

He was found to be negligent in his work.

Note the correct use of prepositions in the following expressions.

Incorrect: Stand from constituency

Correct: stand for a constituency

Incorrect: meet success

Correct: meet with success

Incorrect: Professor in Stanford University

Correct: Professor at Stanford University

Verbs of motion require the preposition to after them.

He went to the garden. (NOT He went in the garden.)

Throw the ball to me.

But when some injury is meant, to is replaced by at

The dog ran at me. (= The dog attacked me.)

He threw the stone at the dog. (= He threw the stone at the dog with the objective of injuring it.)

She is taller than him. (NOT She is taller as me.) (NOT She is taller that me.)

She earns more than I do. (NOT She earns more as I do.) (NOT She earns more that I do.)

As is used to say that two people or things are equal in some way. It is used in the structure as…as and the same…as.

Than and that are not used in comparisons of equality.

The baby’s eyes are the same color as yours. (NOT The baby’s eyes are the same color than yours.) (NOT The baby’s eyes are the same color that yours.)

As and than can introduce clauses in which there is no subject or object pronoun. In this case, they act like relative pronouns.

The meeting was as successful as had been expected. (NOT The meeting was as successful as it had been expected.)

You worry more than is good for you. (NOT You worry more than it is good for you.)

Don’t forget to take your ticket to the airport, as I did last year. (NOT Don’t forget to take your ticket to the airport, as I did it last year.)

Students are often discouraged by the length of time it takes to learn a second language. (More natural than ‘The length of time it takes to learn a second language often discourages students.’)

Because of this we usually use a structure with ‘preparatory it’ in order to move a longer clause or infinitive structure to the end of a sentence.

It worried me that she hadn’t written in a long time. (More natural than ‘That she hadn’t written in a long time worried me’.)

It was a difficult business starting a car with such a weak battery. (More natural than ‘Starting a car with such a weak battery was a difficult business.’)

It is just silly throwing away your chances like that. (More natural than ‘Throwing away your chances like that is just silly.’)

She made it clear that she was not interested in the offer. (More natural than ‘She made that she was not interested in the offer clear.’)

Position of adverbs

We do not usually put an adverb between a verb and its object. However, if the object is very long it may come after a short adverb.

Compare:

She speaks English very well. (Here the adverbs go after the object English.)

She speaks very well almost any language you may have heard of. (More natural than ‘She speaks almost any language you may have heard of very well.’)

1. He gave me details of all the monuments he had visited while he is on an official tour.

a) gave b) had visited c) is d) an

2. The process was too simple and easy to understand that it hardly took five minutes for us to learn it.

a) too b) to c) that d) for us

3. What to make people angry or tense is actually a mystery which is difficult to explain.

a) to make b) tense c) a mystery d) to explain

4. I was surprised when I heard the news that he was won the prestigious award.

a) was surprised b) heard c) that d) was won

5. It is strange that even after studying English for three years, he still can’t write a sentence correct.

a) strange b) studying c) for d) correct

Answers

1. is (The sentence should read: He gave me details of all the monuments he had visited while he was on an official tour.)

2. too (The sentence should read: The process was so simple and easy to understand that it hardly took five minutes for us to learn it.)

3. to make (The sentence should read: What makes people angry or tense is actually a mystery which is difficult to explain.)

4. was won (The sentence should read: I was surprised when I heard the news that he had won the prestigious award.)

5. correct (The sentence should read: It is strange that even after studying English for three years, he still can’t write a sentence correctly.)

He said that he wanted money. (NOT He said that he wants money.)
She replied that she was feeling better. (NOT She replied that she is feeling better.)
He replied that he would come. (NOT He replied that he will come.)
They climbed higher so that they might get a better view. (NOT They climbed higher so that they may get a better view.)

There are some exceptions to this rule.

A past tense in the principal clause may be followed by a present tense in the subordinate clause when the subordinate clause expresses a universal truth.

Galileo always maintained that the earth revolves around the sun.
Euclid proved that the three angles of a triangle are equal to two right angles.
The teacher said that honesty is the best policy.

When the subordinate clause is introduced by than, it can be followed by any tense.

I then saw him oftener than I see him now.
He liked your company more than he likes mine.

A present or future tense in the principal clause may be followed by any tense in the subordinate clause.