Present simple
Positive : S + V1 (s/es)
Negative : S + DO/DOES + NOT + V1
Question : DO/DOES + S + V1
We use the simple present tense when:
•the action is general
•the action happens all the time, or habitually, in the past, present and future
•the action is not only happening now
•the statement is always true
Ex: John drives a taxi.
(It is John's job to drive a taxi. He does it every day. Past, present and future)
•Am I right?
•Tara is not at home.
•You are happy.
(The situation is now.)
•I am not fat.
•Why are you so beautiful?
•Ram is tall.
(The situation is general. Past, present and future)
Present Continuous
Positive : S + To be + V-ing
Negative : S + To be+ Not+ V-ing
Question : To be + S + V-ing
1.We use the Present Continuous Tense to talk about activities happening now.
Examples:
•The kids are watching TV.
•I am sitting down, because I am tired.
•I am not learning German, because this is an English class.
•Who are you writing to?
2.We can also use the Present Continuous Tense to talk about activities happening around now, and not necessarily this very moment.
Examples:
•Sally is studying really hard for her exams this week.
•I am reading a really interesting book now.
•How are you brushing up on your English for the trip?
•We aren't working hard these days.
3.The Present Continuous Tense is also used to talk about activities happening in the near future, especially for planned future events.
Examples:
•I am seeing my dentist on Wednesday.
•Polly is coming for dinner tomorrow.
•Are you doing anything tonight?
•We aren't going on holiday next week.
*We use the Present Continuous tense to speak about things which are happening now or things which are temporary.
I am not working now. I am on holiday.
Sally is listening to a new CD.
Who are you phoning?
*The Present Simple tense describes usual, repeated and permanent things - for example, always, usually, often, sometimes, never.
I work as an accountant.
John doesn't know German.
How often do you play tennis?
*Compare how these two tenses are used.
Why are you walking to work? Don't you usually go by bus?
I live in Kharkiv, but now I am living in Moscow.
Usually we have dinner at 7, but today we are having it at 9.
Some verbs are not normally used in the Continuous Tense. They are called "state" verbs. If you need to practice such verbs. Present Continuous and Present Simple to talk about the future.
*We use the Present Continuous Tense for plans and arrangements.
What are you doing tonight?
I'm seeing a very important customer in my office at 4 o'clock.
We are going to the see for our holiday.
Where are you staying in Vienna?
I'm not going anywhere. It is final.
*We use the Present Simple in the conditional clauses after if, when, as soon as, until etc, and when we talk about timetable, schedules, itineraries etc.
What will you do if you fail your exam?
We will wait, until she comes.
My plane takes off at 9.00.
The President arrives in Norway on 17 September.
What time does your train leave?
Past Tense
Positive : S + V2
Negative : S + did not + V1
Question : Did + S + V1
Examples:
•You called Debbie.
•Did you call Debbie?
•You did not call Debbie.
1.Completed Action in the Past
Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.
Examples:
•I saw a movie yesterday.
•I didn't see a play yesterday.
•Last year, I traveled to Japan.
•Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.
•Did you have dinner last night?
•She washed her car.
•He didn't wash his car.
2.A Series of Completed Actions
We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.
Examples:
•I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim.
•He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00.
•Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?
3.Duration in Past
The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.
Examples:
•I lived in Brazil for two years.
•Shauna studied Japanese for five years.
•They sat at the beach all day.
•They did not stay at the party the entire time.
•We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.
•A: How long did you wait for them?
4.Habits in the Past
The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.
Examples:
•I studied French when I was a child.
•He played the violin.
•He didn't play the piano.
•Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?
•She worked at the movie theater after school.
•They never went to school, they always skipped class.
5.Past Facts or Generalizations
The Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true. As in USE 4 above, this use of the Simple Past is quite similar to the expression "used to."
Examples:
•She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.
•He didn't like tomatoes before.
•Did you live in Texas when you were a kid?
•People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.
IMPORTANT When-Clauses Happen First
Clauses are groups of words which have meaning but are often not complete sentences. Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when I dropped my pen..." or "when class began..." These clauses are called when-clauses, and they are very important. The examples below contain when-clauses.
Examples:
•When I paid her one dollar, she answered my question.
•She answered my question when I paid her one dollar.
When-clauses are important because they always happen first when both clauses are in the Simple Past. Both of the examples above mean the same thing: first, I paid her one dollar, and then, she answered my question. It is not important whether "when I paid her one dollar" is at the beginning of the sentence or at the end of the sentence. However, the example below has a different meaning. First, she answered my question, and then, I paid her one dollar.
Example:
•I paid her one dollar when she answered my question.
ADVERB PLACEMENT
The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.
Examples:
•You just called Debbie.
•Did you just call Debbie?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
•Tom repaired the car. Active
•The car was repaired by Tom. Passive
Past Continuous
Positive : S + was/were + V-ing
Negative : S + was/were + NOT + V-ing
Question : Was/Were + S + V-ing
Examples:
•You were studying when she called.
•Were you studying when she called?
•You were not studying when she called.
1.Interrupted Action in the Past
Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time.
Examples:
•I was watching TV when she called.
•When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.
•While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.
•What were you doing when the earthquake started?
•I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.
•You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off.
•While John was sleeping last night, someone stole his car.
•Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane.
•While I was writing the email, the computer suddenly went off.
2.Specific Time as an Interruption
In USE 1, described above, the Past Continuous is interrupted by a shorter action in the Simple Past. However, you can also use a specific time as an interruption.
Examples:
•Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
•At midnight, we were still driving through the desert.
•Yesterday at this time, I was sitting at my desk at work.
IMPORTANT
In the Simple Past, a specific time is used to show when an action began or finished. In the Past Continuous, a specific time only interrupts the action.
Examples:
•Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner.
I started eating at 6 PM.
•Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
I started earlier; and at 6 PM, I was in the process of eating dinner.
3.Parallel Actions
When you use the Past Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the idea that both actions were happening at the same time. The actions are parallel
Examples:
•I was studying while he was making dinner.
•While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching television.
•Were you listening while he was talking?
•I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several mistakes.
•What were you doing while you were waiting?
•Thomas wasn't working, and I wasn't working either.
•They were eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time.
4.Atmosphere
In English, we often use a series of parallel actions to describe the atmosphere at a particular time in the past.
Example:
•When I walked into the office, several people were busily typing, some were talking on the phones, the boss was yelling directions, and customers were waiting to be helped. One customer was yelling at a secretary and waving his hands. Others were complaining to each other about the bad service.
5.Repetition and Irritation with "Always"
The Past Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happened in the past. The concept is very similar to the expression "used to" but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and "verb+ing."
Examples:
•She was always coming to class late.
•He was constantly talking. He annoyed everyone.
•I didn't like them because they were always complaining.
While vs. When
Clauses are groups of words which have meaning, but are often not complete sentences. Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when she called" or "when it bit me." Other clauses begin with "while" such as "while she was sleeping" and "while he was surfing." When you talk about things in the past, "when" is most often followed by the verb tense Simple Past, whereas "while" is usually followed by Past Continuous. "While" expresses the idea of "during that time." Study the examples below. They have similar meanings, but they emphasize different parts of the sentence.
Examples:
•I was studying when she called.
•While I was studying, she called.
Zero Conditional: certainty
We use the so-called zero conditional when the result of the condition is always true, like a scientific fact.
Take some ice. Put it in a saucepan. Heat the saucepan. What happens? The ice melts (it becomes water). You would be surprised if it did not.
Example
If I miss the 8 o'clock bus, I am late for work.
If I am late for work, my boss gets angry.
If people don't eat, they get hungry.
If you heat ice, does it melt?
First Conditional: real possibility
Form: if + Simple Present, will-Future
Example
If I see Mary, I will tell her.
If Tara is free tomorrow, he will invite her.
If they do not pass their exam their teacher will be sad.
If it rains tomorrow, will you stay at home?
If it rains tomorrow, what will you do?
Second Conditional: unreal possibility or dream
Form: if + Simple Past, Conditional I (= would + Infinitive)
Example:
If I married MaryI, would be happy.
If Ram became richshe, would marry him.
If it snowed next July, would you be surprised?
If it snowed next July, what would you do?
Third Conditional: no possibility
Form: if + Past Perfect, Conditional II (= would + have + Past Participle)
Example:
If I had seen Mary, I would have told her.
If Tara had been free yesterday, I would have invited her.
If they had not passed their exam, their teacher would have been sad.
If it had rained yesterday, would you have stayed at home?
If it had rained yesterday, what would you have done?
Direct Speech / Quoted Speech
Saying exactly what someone has said is called direct speech (sometimes called quoted speech)
Here what a person says appears within quotation marks ("...") and should be word for word.
For example:
She said, "Today's lesson is on presentations."
or
"Today's lesson is on presentations," she said.
Indirect Speech / Reported Speech
Indirect speech (sometimes called reported speech), doesn't use quotation marks to enclose what the person said and it doesn't have to be word for word.
When reporting speech the tense usually changes. This is because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past (because obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past). The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too.
For example:
Direct speech Indirect speech
"I'm going to the cinema", he said. He said he was going to the cinema.
Phrasal Verbs List
This is a list of about 200 common phrasal verbs, with meanings and examples. Phrasal verbs are usually two-word phrases consisting of verb + adverb or verb + preposition. Think of them as you would any other English vocabulary. Study them as you come across them, rather than trying to memorize many at once. Use the list below as a reference guide when you find an expression that you don't recognize. The examples will help you understand the meanings. If you think of each phrasal verb as a separate verb with a specific meaning, you will be able to remember it more easily.
Like many other verbs, phrasal verbs often have more than one meaning. As well as learning their meanings, you need to learn how to use phrasal verbs properly. Some phrasal verbs require a direct object (someone/something), while others do not. Some phrasal verbs can be separated by the object, while others cannot. Review the grammar lesson on phrasal verbs from time to time so that you don't forget the rules!
Most phrasal verbs consist of two words, but a few consist of three words, which always stay together.
Expression Language
Expression Language (EL) is a scripting language which allows access to Java components (JavaBeans) through JSP. Since JSP 2.0, it has been used inside JSP tags to separate Java code from JSP, and to allow easier access to Java components (than in Java code).
Evolution of EL occurred to make scripting easier for web-content designers who have little or practically no knowledge of the core Java Language. This scripting language makes JSP a scripting language in the true sense. Before EL, JSP consisted of some special tags like scriptlets, expressions etc within which Java code was written explicitly. With EL the web-content designer needs only to know how to make proper calls to core Java methods and can enjoy the true scripting flavour of a scripting language.