Tenses

Simple Present Tense Present Continuous Tense (Progressive)

Fact: I am a student It is an action that is happening at the moment of
Habit: I play football every weekend speaking. It started in the past, is in progress now
General Truth: the Earth is round and will end in the future)
E.g. I am studying English at the moment
Time: All the time
Type of verb: All verbs Time: Time being (now)
Type of Verb: (Action verbs that take time)
Exception: He seems happy
(the time is now but the verb is a non-action verb) I am writing a book (an action that takes a very
long time/ it doesn’t mean writing it every single
minute)

Non Action Verbs

Some verbs cannot be used in the progressive tenses. They are called non-action verbs.
Non-action verbs indicate state, sense, desire, possession, or opinion. The most common non-action verbs
are:

be* seem appear* (existence)

look* sound* smell* taste* feel* (senses)

like want prefer love* (desire)

have* own possess (possession)

think* believe consider* (opinion)

Note the usage in the following sentences:

Mr. Tactful is seeming like a nice guy. (Wrong)

Mr. Tactful seems like a nice guy. (Correct)

This salad is tasting delicious. (Wrong)

This salad tastes delicious. (Correct)

I am liking banana cream pie. (Wrong)

I like banana cream pie. (Correct)

Some verbs have both action and non-action meanings. They are indicated by an asterisk* in the table
above. The situation determines whether the action or non-action form of the verb is used.

Those flowers look beautiful. (Non-action)

Flora is looking out the window. (Action)

I think that’s a great idea. (Non-action)

I am thinking about my upcoming speech. (Action)

We have a brand new car. (Non-action)

We are having a party this weekend. (Action)

Craig is a real estate agent. (Non-action)

Billy is being naughty today. (Action)

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs in parentheses (simple present and present
progressive)

1. She ________________ (not eat) pizza very often.

2. What computer game ________________ you ________________ (play) now?
3. I ________________ (not like) traditional music. It’s boring!
4. They ________________ (play) football in the park every weekend.
5. Mark ________________ (watch) TV at the moment.
6. What time ________________ she ________________ (finish) school today?
7. What time ________________ she ________________ (start) school every day?
8. Our teacher always ________________ (give) us a lot of homework.
9. What ________________ they ________________ (do) at the moment?
10. Mark ________________ (not watch) TV, he's reading.
11. He ________________ usually ________________ (not listen) to classical music.
12. We ________________ (not go) to the park because it’s raining.
13. How often ________________ you ________________ (go) to the gym?
14. She ________________ (cry) because the film is very sad.
15. He ________________ (wash) his car every Saturday.
 Questions
Yes/No Questions
1. 1 verb in the sentence (verb to be)  She is happy Is she happy?
S + Main Verb V(to be)+ C V(to be) + S+ C
2. 1 verb in the sentence (not verb to be)  She Likes Sports
Add V (To do): Does she like sports?
S + Main V (Not verb to be) + C V (To do) + S+ MV+C  She Climbed the wall
Did she climb the wall?
3. 2 verbs in the sentence (Helping verb/ Modal + Main verb)  He is dancing
Use the Heling verb or Modal. Is he dancing?
S + HV/ M+ MV + C HV/ M+ S+ MV+ C  She has arrived early
Has she arrived early?
 She will finish soon
Will she finish soon?
Note: Helping verbs or modals carry the tense so
Rememebr to put the main verb in the base form when you add verb to do

Wh- Questions/ Information Questions

1. Ask about (Subject animate or inanimate) Who/ What  Tom lives in Spain
Who/ What replace the subject Who lives in Spain?
 The Book is on the table
What is on the table?
2. Ask About (possessive adjective/ adjective) Whose/ Which  He broke her pen
(Wh + Noun) + Yes/No Question Did he break her pen?
Which Pen did he break?
 Samar bought the blue dress
Did Samar buy the blue dress?
Which dress did Samar buy?
3. Ask about all the other components of the sentence  They Left at 6:00
(what/ whom/ when/ where/ why/ how) Did they leave at 6:00
Wh + Yes/No Question When did you leave?

Exercise1: Change the following sentences into yes/no questions. Then ask Wh- questions (information
questions) about the underlined words.
1. The skyscraper is 98 floors high.
2. Sam Left Cairo because it is so crowded.
3. I forgot Sam’s phone number.
4. They are walking in the park.
5. My parents will arrive in the next flight.
Base form Past tense Past participle

be was/were been
begin began begun
break broke broken
bring brought brought
buy bought bought
build built built
choose chose chosen
come came come
cost cost cost
cut cut cut
do did done
draw drew drawn
drive drove driven
eat ate eaten
feel felt felt
find found found
get got got
give gave given
go went gone
have had had
hear heard heard
hold held held
keep kept kept
know knew known
leave left left
lead led led
let let let
lie lay lain
lose lost lost
make made made
mean meant meant
meet met met
pay paid paid
put put put
run ran run
say said said
see saw seen
sell sold sold
send sent sent
set set set
sit sat sat
speak spoke spoken
spend spent spent
stand stood stood
take took taken
Base form Past tense Past participle

teach taught taught

tell told told
think thought thought
understand understood understood
wear wore worn
win won won
write wrote written

Comparative
1-syllable adjectives: add -er to the adjective

 My sister is much taller than me.†

 It's colder today than it was yesterday.

Note: If the word ends: consonant-vowel-consonant, then the last consonant is usually doubled in the comparative.
Examples: big-bigger, fat-fatter, hot-hotter.

2-syllable adjectives ending in -y: change the -y to -ier

 She's looking happier today.

 This grammar topic is easier than the last one.
 Why is everyone else luckier than me? †

Beware: Do not confuse adjectives and adverbs. 2-syllable adverbs ending in -y must be compared with the word more.
Example: I drive more quickly (quicklier) than my brother.

Other 2-syllable adjectives: use more with the unchanged adjective

 The shops are always more crowded just before Christmas.

 Is there anything more boring than reading about grammar?
 My sister is more careful with her writing than I am with mine.

Note: The comparative of some shorter 2-syllable adjectives can be formed with -er. Examples: simple-simpler, clever-
cleverer, narrow-narrower. To be sure which comparative method to use, you will need to consult a good dictionary.

Adjectives with 3 or more syllables: use more with the unchanged adjective

 Russian grammar is more difficult than English grammar.

 My sister is much more intelligent than me.†
  I find math lessons more enjoyable than science lessons.
 The older you get, the more irritating you become.

Superlative
In the superlative you talk about one thing only and how it is the best, worst, etc. You do not
compare two things. The following guidelines apply to the superlative:

1-syllable adjectives: add -est to the adjective (plus the)

 My sister is the tallest in our family.

 Yesterday was the coldest day of the year so far.

Note: If the word ends: consonant-vowel-consonant, then the last consonant is usually doubled in the superlative.
Examples: big-biggest, fat-fattest, hot-hottest.

2-syllable adjectives ending in -y: change the -y to -iest (plus the)

 The richest people are not always the happiest.

 Which do you think is the easiest language to learn?
 She's the luckiest person I know.

Beware: Do not confuse adjectives and adverbs. 2-syllable adverbs ending in -y form their superlative with the words the
most. Example: Of all the people I know my father drives the most quickly (quickliest).

Other 2-syllable adjectives: use the most with the unchanged adjective

 The most boring thing about ESL class is doing grammar exercises.
 My sister is the most careful person I know.

Note: The superlative of some shorter 2-syllable adjectives can be formed with -er. Examples: simple-simplest, clever-
cleverest, narrow-narrowest. To be sure which superlative method to use, you will need to consult a good dictionary.

Adjectives with 3 or more syllables: use the most with the unchanged adjective

 Some people think that Russian is the most difficult language.

 Albert Einstein was the most intelligent person in history.
 My most enjoyable class is English.
 You are the most irritating person I have ever met!

Following are two common irregular comaparative/superlative forms:

 good-better-the best
  bad-worse-the worst

The following guidelines apply to the comparative/superlative of most adverbs:

1-syllable adverbs: add -er/-est

 I can run faster than you. / I can run the fastest in my class.
 She works harder than me.† / She works the hardest of all students.

Other adverbs: use more / the most*

 She ran more quickly than me.† / Of all the students she ran the most quickly.

* In informal English it is common to hear the adjectival comparative/superlative form of two-syllable adverbs. For
example: She ran quicker than me.† | She ran the quickest.

Put the adjectives between brackets in the correct form

1. My brother has a (tidy)______________________________ room than me.

2. Australia is (big) ______________________________than England.
3. I'm (good) ______________________________ now than yesterday.
4. She's got (little) ______________________________ money than you, but she doesn't care.
5. He thinks Chinese is (difficult) ______________________________ language in the world
6. Valencia played (bad) ______________________________ than Real Madrid yesterday.
7. Cats are not (intelligent) ______________________________ as dogs.
8. Show me (good) ______________________________ restaurant downtown.
9. (hot) ______________________________ desert of all is the Sahara and it's in Africa.
10. Who is (talkative) ______________________________ person in your family?

Simple past Past Progressive/ Past Continous

Time: Specific time in the past Time: Very specific time in the past
Type of verbs: All verbs Type of verbs: Actions verbs that take time
E.g. I did my homework yesterday 1. 1 verb at a very specific time in the past
E.g I was watching a movie at 7:00 pm
yesterday
2. 2 action verbs that take time + while
E.g. I was watching the movie while my
brother was studying for his test
 3. 1 action verb that takes time plus 1 action
verb that doesn’t take time + when/ while
e.g. I was watching a movie when Robert
arrived

Exercise 1: Fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the verbs in parentheses (simple past/ Past
progressive)

1. We (sit) __________________ at the breakfast table when the doorbell (ring)

__________________.
2. He (meet) __________________a lot of friendly people while he (work) __________________ in
California.
3. When they (leave) __________________ the museum, the sun (shine) __________________.
4. The students (play) __________________ cards when the teacher (come) __________________in.
5. While the children (sleep) __________________, their parents (watch) __________________ TV.
6. Sam (drive) __________________ to Beirut yesterday at 4:00 pm.
7. It (start) __________________ to rain while she (water) __________________ the flowers in her
garden.
8. When I (open) __________________ the door, it (rain) __________________.
9. While Henry (have) __________________ a drink at the bar, his wife (swim)
__________________ in the sea.
10. During the evening on Monday, Mr. Clark (grade) __________________ the midterm exams.
11. He (hear) __________________a loud bang while he (talk) __________________ to his friend.
12. While he (take) __________________a shower, his dogs (eat) __________________ his steaks.

Vocabulary lesson 1 Architect

Types of Structures: airport, building, high-rise, hospital, office building, parking structure,
residence, school, skyscraper, structure, warehouse.
General Vocabulary:
Nouns/noun phrases: Career, degree, variety, project, city
Adjectives: sleek, professional, current, new, local
Verbs: design, learn, work, consult, teach
Language: You worked as…. Right? / I designed the…. / that is one of the most…

Vocabulary lesson 1 Engineering

Engineer, design, inspect, machines, disciplines, mathematics, physics, develop, technology

Vocabulary lesson 2 Architect

Parts of a Building: attic, basement, bathroom, bedroom, closet, door, garage, kitchen, laundry room,
living room
General Vocabulary:
Nouns/noun phrases: model, couple, family, entry hall, storage space
Adjectives: open, spacious, roomy convenient, elegant, bright
Verbs: feature, enjoy, need, make, advertise
Language: I saw the memo about… / They used to be…. / what about…?

Vocabulary lesson 3 Architect

Parts of a Building: conference room, elevator, entrance, fire escape, floor, hallway, lobby, office,
stairwell, vestibule, window.
General Vocabulary:
Nouns/noun phrases: proposal, design, change, area, question, restroom
Adjectives: only, easily, quickly, next to, behind
Verbs: receive, switch, expand, find, move
Language: I have a question about / The…. needs to be / You want to…?