Simple Future Tense

Sentences in the simple future tense have the following structure:

Subject + will/shall + present tense form of the verb

Simple past

The simple past tense has the following structure:

Subject + past tense form of the verb.

Rule 7

‘dis’ and ‘mis’

Never double the ‘s’ of these prefixes. When a second ‘s’ occurs, it is the first letter of the next syllable.

So we have

Rule 2

Short monosyllables always double their final consonant.

Shop, shopping (NOT shoping)
Let, letting (NOT leting)

Rule 3

‘ie’ and ‘ei’

English is said to have one of the most difficult spelling systems in the world. There are several reasons for this. 1) The pronunciation of many words has changed over the years, but not their spellings. For example, the ‘k’ in ‘knife’ and ‘gh’ in ‘right’ were pronounced during the Middle English Period (12th to 15th century). 2) Vowels have also changed their pronunciation over the years. 3) The spellings of many words have changed but not their pronunciation. For instance, the word ‘doubt’ used to be pronounced as ‘doute’. The ‘b’ was later inserted because the word had its origin in the Latin word ‘dubitare’ which had ‘b’ in it.

The present continuous tense indicates the continuity of an action which is going on at the present moment.

Form: Subject + is/are/am + -ing form of the verb.

Simple present

The simple present tense has the following structure:

Subject + present tense forms of the verb (bare infinitive)

The sun rises in the east.
The cow eats grass.