Past Continuous
The Past Continuous tense, also known as the past progressive tense, is used to describe actions or events that were happening at a specific time in the past. It is formed using the auxiliary verb be (in the past tense) followed by the present participle of the main verb (which is typically formed by adding -ing to the base form of the verb). I was eating breakfast when the phone rang. (The speaker was in the process of eating breakfast at a specific time in the past when the phone rang.) She was writing a letter when I saw [...]
Present Continuous
The Present Continuous tense, also known as the Present Progressive tense, is used to describe actions or events that are happening at the present moment or are in progress. It is formed using the auxiliary verb be (in the present tense) followed by the present participle of the main verb (which is typically formed by adding -ing to the base form of the verb). I am eating breakfast. (The speaker is in the process of eating breakfast at the present moment.) She is writing a letter. (The speaker is in the process of writing a letter at the present [...]
Future Indefinite in the Past
The Future Indefinite in the Past describes an action that was future from the point of view of the past. NOTE: In the past, this tense was commonly used by grammarians in tense classification of the English language. However, this tense is no longer used in Modern English and has been replaced by other tenses and verb forms. Despite this change, the tense form remains an important part of the history of the English language and continues to be studied by linguists and language enthusiasts. Formation of the Future Indefinite #1. The Future Indefinite in the [...]
Future Indefinite
In English grammar, the future indefinite tense, also known as the simple future tense, is used to describe an action or event that will happen in the future. It is formed using the auxiliary verbs shall and will followed by the base form of the verb. For example: I will finish my homework tonight. (The speaker will complete their homework at some point in the future.) We will have a meeting tomorrow. (The speaker and a group of people will have a meeting at some point in the future.) Here are some more examples of sentences in the future [...]
Past Indefinite
The past indefinite tense, also known as the simple past tense, is a verb tense that is used to describe actions or events that occurred in the past and have been completed. It is used to describe past habits, past facts, or past generalizations. The past indefinite tense is formed by adding -ed to regular verbs or by using the second form of irregular verbs. For example: I walked to the store. (regular verb) She ate a sandwich. (irregular verb) In each of these examples, the verb "walked" and "ate" are in the past indefinite tense because they describe [...]
Present Indefinite
In English grammar, the present indefinite tense is a verb tense that is used to describe actions that are currently happening or that are regularly occurring. It is also called the present simple tense. The present indefinite tense is formed by using the base form of the verb (also known as the infinitive form without "to") with the subject. For example: I eat breakfast every morning. (In this sentence, "eat" is the base form of the verb and is being used in the present indefinite tense to describe a regular action that is currently happening.) She speaks Spanish fluently. [...]
Modal Verbs ‘Need’
Need expresses necessity. It is mostly used in negative and interrogative sentences. You needn’t be in such a fright. Take my arm. (Shaw) NOTE: When need is used in the meaning of ‘to be in want of’ it is treated as a normal verb. e.g. He needs a new pair of shoes. Need has only one tense form — the Present. In the same way as dare, need is used as a normal and as an anomalous verb; the latter is much more common in colloquial English. One need to be careful. (Zandvoort) He did not need to be told twice. (Zandvoort) Why [...]
Modal Verbs ‘Dare’
Dare means ‘to have the courage (or impertinence) to do something’. In the negative, it denotes the lack of courage to do something. “How dare you ask the little Kelveys into the courtyard,” said her cold, furious voice. (Mansfield) The verb dare as well as need has some peculiarities which make it different from other modal verbs. It is used both as a normal verb (taking the auxiliary do in the interrogative and negative forms, - s in the third person singular, and the to-Infinitive) and as an anomalous verb (without any auxiliary in its interrogative and negative forms, [...]
Modal Verbs ‘Would’
Would was originally the past tense of will in the same way as should was the past tense of shall. But while the latter has acquired new shades of meaning, would has preserved those of will. Thus it expresses volition, and persistence referring to the past. #1. Volition. In this meaning, it is mostly used in negative sentences. She was going away and would not say where she was going. (Dreiser) #2. Persistence. I asked him not to bang the door, but he would do it. Several times Eckerman tried to get away, but Goethe would not let him [...]
Modal Verbs ‘Will’
Will is hardly ever a purely modal verb. It generally combines its modal meaning with the function of an auxiliary expressing futurity. The modal verb will expresses volition, intention on the part of the speaker, or insistence. #1. Volition, intention. In most cases, this meaning is rendered in Russian by emphatic intonation, but sometimes the verb хотеть is used. It is used with all persons but mostly with the first person. “What is this? Who is this? Turn this man out. Clear the office!” cried Mr. Fang. “I will speak,” cried the man. “I will not be turned out...” [...]