Verb tense [The continuous (progressive)]

Verbs are words that express action (run) or a state of being (love). The action can also be
abstract rather than visible, such as the words think and decide.
Verb tense tells when an action occurred on a time line. There are three tense-
present, past, and future.
Aspect indicates whether an action is complete or not.
The simple aspect indicates that an action occurred, without an indication of when it occurred.
The continuous (progressive) aspect indicates that the action is ongoing.
These two concepts are combined to give the twelve verb 12 different verb tenses. These are:
The simple tenses- present, past, and future
The continuous tenses- present, past, and future
The perfect tenses- present, past, and future
The perfect continuous- present past, and future.

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

The present perfect continuous is formed by using: have/has + been + verb + ing ending.

Use the present perfect continuous tense:

1. When talking about events, situations, or actions that started in the past and continue

      into the present or future.
          We have been living in France for over a year.

2. When talking about how long you have done something.
          Robert has been working on that report for six weeks.

3. When talking about repeated events, situations, or actions that started in the past
      and continue to the present.
          I have been playing a lot of tennis lately.

4. When the focus of the sentence is more on the duration of the event, situation, or action
      than the result of it.
          I feel exhausted because I’ve been working all day.

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

The past perfect continuous is formed by using: had + been + verb + “ing”.
Use the past perfect continuous tense:
1. When talking about the duration of an action up to a certain time in the past.
          By the time I arrived in Seoul, it had been raining for 3 days.
2. When talking about the duration of an action before another past action.
          Robert had been studying for 30 minutes before he fell asleep.

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

The future perfect continuous is formed by using: will + have + been + verb + “ing”.

Use the future perfect continuous tense:
1. When talking about the duration of an event, action, or situation up to a certain time
      in the future.
          By December, 2009 she will have been working for the company for 12 years.
2. When talking about the duration of an event, action, or situation before another event
      in the future.
          I will have been studying for 2 hours by the time the movie ends.
Sometimes the future perfect continuous and the future perfect can be used to express
the same meaning.
When Professor Ahmad retires he will have taught for 19 years.
OR
When Professor Ahmad retires, he will have been teaching for 19 years.

Simple Past Tense

We use Simple Past Tense:

1). to describe actions and situations that happened in the past. These actions and situations were started and finished in the past at a definite time.
 The sentence often contains an adverb or adverb phrase of time, such as yesterday, the other day, last night, last week, three days ago, a few minutes ago, in (year), from (year) to (year), etc.

Examples:

We arrived at 9:00 o'clock.
This morning I went to the supermarket.
 We came here in 1980.
I worked at Johnson & Co.from 1990 to 1995.
My brother lived in London for six years. (Implication: he doesn't live there anymore)

2).  to talk about habitual or repeated actions that took place in the past
Examples
When she was young, she danced beautifully.
He played the violin when he was a child.

3). to tell a story and to express actions which follow each other in a story
It happened one night in the winter.
She opened her bag, took out the key and unlockedthe door.

4).  to refer to the historical past or to events that have happened in the distant past relative to the speaker
Examples
World War II ended in 1945.
Romans built strong bridges.

5). for reporting what someone said (converting from direct to reported speech)
Examples
David said that he was tired.
The doctor told me that I would have to stay in the hospital for a week.

6). to talk about action in the past that take place in the middle of another action
 When Peter arrived, I was reading a book.
I was having a bath when the phone rang.

References: Awdiah murabbeen resources /University of Victoria/ University of Technology Sydney

Subject Verb Agreement

Basic Principle: Singular subjects need singular verbs; plural subjects need plural verbs.

My brother is a nutritionist. My sisters are mathematicians.

1)The indefinite pronouns anyone, everyone, someone, no one, nobody are always singular and, therefore, require singular verbs. Examples:

Everyone has done his or her homework.

Somebody has left her purse.

None of you claims responsibility for this incident?

*None of the students have done their homework. (In this last example, the word their precludes the   use of the singular verb.

2). Prepositional phrases that come between the subject and the verb do not change the number of the subject. Some examples : as well as, in addition to, together with, along with, Examples:

 The teacher, as well as the students, wasworking on the problem.

The mother, together with her children, iswaiting.

3). If one subject is singular and one plural and the words are connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not only/but also, you use the verb form of the subject that is nearest the verb.When subjects are joined by words such as neither, either, not only the verb must agree with the closer subject. Examples:

Either the man or his wife knows the answer.

Either the man or his friends know the answer.

Either the children or the man knows the answer.

Either the bears or thelion has escaped from the zoo. Neither the lion nor the bears have escaped from the zoo.

4).The conjunction or does not conjoin (as anddoes): when nor or or is used the subject closer to the verb determines the number of the verb. Whether the subject comes before or after the verb doesn't matter; the proximity determines the number. Examples:

Either my father or my brothers are going to sell the house.

Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell the house.

Are either my brothers or my father responsible?

Is either my father or my brothers responsible?

5).Sometimes modifiers will get between a subject and its verb, but these modifiers must not confuse the agreement between the subject and its verb. Example:

The mayor, who has been convicted along with his four brothers on four counts of various crimes but who also seems, like a cat, to have several political lives, is finally going to jail.

6). If your sentence compounds a positive and a negative subject and one is plural, the other singular, the verb should agree with the positive subject. Examples:

The department members but not the chair have decided not to teach on Valentine's Day.

It is not the faculty members but the president who decides this issue.

It was the speaker, not his ideas, that has provoked the students to riot.

 References: Awdiah murabbeen resources/University of Victoria/ University of Technology Sydney

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions allow a writer to show which idea is more and which is less important. The idea in the main clause is the more important, while the idea in the subordinate clause (made subordinate by the subordinating conjunction) is less important.

Complex sentences with dependent adverb clauses:

Adverb clauses provide the following kind of information: when, where, why, for what purpose, and so on.

Subordinating conjunctions	Relationship	Examples
When, whenever	Used to express time (when?)	When students complete the two prerequisites, they will be eligible for the business course.
Where, wherever	Used to express place (where?)	The students need to go where the training sessions will be held.
Because, since, as	Used to express reason (why?)	The student deferred her studies because she arrived after the semester began.
Although, though, even though	Used to express contrast	Although the semester already commenced, the university was accepting late enrolments.
While, whereas	Used to express to express contrast	Second year diploma students focus on marketing and accounting, while first year study business.
So that, in order that	Used to express purpose (for what purpose?)	The parents requested students’ visas so that their children could pursue studies in Australia.

Subordinating Conjunctions usage:
Time	Reason/cause/ purpose	Concession/comparison/ contrast	Place	Condition	Manner
after before since when whenever while until as as soon as as long as once still till	because since so that in order that why as	although though even though while as as though even though just as though whereas while	where wherever	if unless until in case provided that assuming that even if	as if as though how

References: Awdiah murabbeen resources /University of Victoria/ University of Technology Sydney