simple past tense, simple future tens, simple present tens

1. Simple Past Tense The Simple Past Tense, often just called the Past Tense, is easy to use in English. If you already know how to use the Present Tense, then the Past Tense will be easy. In general, the Past Tense is used to talk about something that started and finished at a definite time in the past. How to form the Past Tense in English The main rule is that for every verb in English, there is only one form of it in the past tense. (The exception is the Past tense of To Be, which has two forms: was and were) This is totally different from other languages such as Spanish, French, Italian etc. where you change the verb ending for every subject. For example: The past tense of the verb want is wanted. Wanted is used as the past tense for all subjects/pronouns. • I wanted • You wanted • He wanted • She wanted • It wanted • We wanted • They wanted So you just have to learn one word to be able to use it in the past tense. In this case we just needed to learn the one word wanted which can be used for all subjects (or people). Past Tense Regular Verbs To change a regular verb into its past tense form, we normally add –ED to the end of the verb. • play – played • cook – cooked • rain – rained • wait – waited There are some exceptions with a slight change in spelling which you can see here: Spelling of words ending in ED. Examples of sentences using regular verbs in the past tense • Last night I played my guitar loudly and the neighbors complained. • She kissed me on the cheek. • It rained yesterday. • Angela watched TV all night. • John wanted to go to the museum. Note: There are three different ways of pronouncing the –ed at the end of a verb in the past tense. We recommend reading our guide about the pronunciation of –ED at the end of words. Negative sentences in the Past Tense We use didn’t (did not) to make a negative sentence in the past tense. This is for regular AND irregular verbs in English. (Exception is To Be and Modal Verbs such as Can) Compare the following: Present: They don’t live in Canada. Past: They didn’t live in Canada. The main verb (live in the example above) is in its base form (of the infinitive). The auxiliary DIDN’T shows that the sentence is negative AND in the past tense. NOTICE: The only difference between a negative sentence in the present tense and a negative sentence in the past tense is the change in the auxiliary verb. Both don’t and doesn’t in the present tense become didn’t in the past tense. Compare the negative sentences in the examples below: Present: You don’t need a mechanic. Past: You didn’t need a mechanic. Present: You don’t walk to work. Past: You didn’t walk to work. Present: He doesn’t speak Japanese. Past: He didn’t speak Japanese. Examples of negative sentences in the Past Tense • I didn’t want to go to the dentist. • She didn’t have time. • You didn’t close the door. • He didn’t come to my party. • They didn’t study so they didn’t pass the test. • We didn’t sleep well last night. 2. Simple Future Tense Definition: A verb tense (or form--see Rissanen's note below) indicating action that has not yet begun. There is no separate inflection (or ending) for the future in English. The simple future is usually expressed by placing the auxiliary willor shall in front of the base form of a verb ("I will leave tonight"). Other ways to express the future include (but are not limited to) the use of: 1. a present form of be plus going to: "We are going to leave." 2. the present progressive: "They are leavingtomorrow." 3. the simple present: "The children leave on Wednesday." Examples and Observations: • "Never believe any war will be smooth and easy." (Winston Churchill) • "Nothing will work unless you do." (Maya Angelou) • "I will not charge admission to the bathroom." (Bart Simpson, The Simpsons) • "I'll be back." (Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Terminator) 3. Simple Present Tanse The simple present tense in English is used to describe an action that is regular, true or normal. We use the present tense: 1. For repeated or regular actions in the present time period. • I take the train to the office. • The train to Berlin leaves every hour. • John sleeps eight hours every night during the week. 2. For facts. • The President of The USA lives in The White House. • A dog has four legs. • We come from Switzerland. 3. For habits. • I get up early every day. • Carol brushes her teeth twice a day. • They travel to their country house every weekend. 4. For things that are always / generally true. • It rains a lot in winter. • The Queen of England lives in Buckingham Palace. • They speak English at work. Verb Conjugation & Spelling We form the present tense using the base form of the infinitive (without the TO). In general, in the third person we add 'S' in the third person. Subject Verb The Rest of the sentence I / you / we / they speak / learn English at home he / she / it speaks / learns English at home The spelling for the verb in the third person differs depending on the ending of that verb: 1. For verbs that end in -O, -CH, -SH, -SS, -X, or -Z we add -ES in the third person. • go – goes • catch – catches • wash – washes • kiss – kisses • fix – fixes • buzz – buzzes 2. For verbs that end in a consonant + Y, we remove the Y and add -IES. • marry – marries • study – studies • carry – carries • worry – worries NOTE: For verbs that end in a vowel + Y, we just add -S. • play – plays • enjoy – enjoys • say – says Negative Sentences in the Simple Present Tense To make a negative sentence in English we normally use Don't or Doesn't with all verbs EXCEPT To Beand Modal verbs (can, might, should etc.). • Affirmative: You speak French. Negative: You don't speak French. You will see that we add don't between the subject and the verb. We use Don't when the subject is I, you,we or they. • Affirmative: He speaks German. Negative: He doesn't speak German. When the subject is he, she or it, we add doesn't between the subject and the verb to make a negative sentence. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the negative sentence. We will see the reason why below. Negative Contractions Don't = Do not Doesn't = Does not I don't like meat = I do not like meat. There is no difference in meaning though we normally use contractions in spoken English. Word Order of Negative Sentences The following is the word order to construct a basic negative sentence in English in the Present Tense using Don't or Doesn't. Subject don't/doesn't Verb* The Rest of the sentence I / you / we / they don't have / buy eat / like etc. cereal for breakfast he / she / it doesn't * Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part. Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc. Examples of Negative Sentences with Don't and Doesn't:. • John doesn't speak Italian. • We don't have time for a rest. • They don't want to go to the party. • She doesn't like fish.

short story

Lake Toba

In the northern area of Sumatra Island, lived a young man. Everyday, he work hard as a farmer. One day in the morning, the young man went fishing in a river. Not so long after he threw the bait, it was bitten by a fish. He pulled the fishing rod and was amazed by the fish he caught. It was a golden fish. “Wait, please don’t eat me,” the fish suddenly spoke to the young man. Startled, the young man dropped the golden fish and it suddenly turned into a beautiful girl. “I must have been dreaming,” the young man said to himself. “Don’t afraid, Sir. I was a princess cursed by the gods because a mistake I did. You’ve save me,” said the girl. “As my gratitude, I’m willing to be your wife.” The young man was so amazed to see the beauty of the girl, so he accepted her as his wife. They became man and wife but with one condition, the young man promised not to mention about the fish form of the girl. Terrible disaster will happen if the promise is broken. A year passed, the young man and his wife already had a son. They were so happy. Their son grew up as a healthy boy. But he was a little naughty. He also had a habit, he was always hungry. One day, the wife asked their son to deliver lunch to his father. But, the son ate the food on his way to the fields. The father had been working since morning. He was so hungry. Finding that there’s no food left for him, he said angrily, “Stupid boy! You little fish boy!” He didn’t realize that he broke the promise. After he said those words, his son and wife mysteriously disappeared. From their footstep on the ground, there’s water bursting out. The water kept coming out and started to flood the area. The whole village and the surrounding area became a lake. There’s a small island in the middle of the lake, known as Samosir Island. And the lake is known as Lake Toba.