Simple Present Tense & Present Continuous Tense

UNIT 1

SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE & PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE A. SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

Usage:

1. To talk about habits or regular activities and situations (repeated actions).

2. To talk about things or attitudes that are generally or always true (facts).

3. To talk about verbs that describe about thinking and feeling (know, want, feel, think, like).

Adverbs of frequency used:

always usually generally frequently often

sometimes occasionally seldom rarely hardly ever

never every… (time; day; week; etc) Patterns:

➢ Active voice:

General pattern: Subject + do/does + Verb

Subject Singular : He, She, It, a thing/person

Subject Plural : I, You, They, We, more than a thing/person Affirmative

(+) Subject Singular + Vs

Subject Plural V1

Subject Plural are A: Adjective Subject Singular + is + N: Noun I am A: Adverb Examples • I enjoy math.

• Sarah enjoys math.

• We are Marine engineering students.

• Paul is smart enough to pass the exam.

Negative

(-) Subject Singular + doesn’t + V1

Subject Plural don’t

Subject Plural are A: Adjective Subject Singular + is not + N: Noun I am A: Adverb

Examples

• You don’t want to be an engineer.

• Sarah doesn’t want to be an engineer.

✓ The civil engineering students are not at campus on weekends.

✓ IT Support Technician is not the best paid job.

Interrogative (?)

Does + Subject Singular + V1

Do Subject Plural

are Subject Plural A: Adjective is + Subject Singular + N: Noun am I A: Adverb Examples ✓ Do you like the proposal?

✓ Does Paul like the proposal?

• Are the students in the class on Sunday?

• Is an IT Support Technician the best paid job?

➢ Passive voice:

General pattern: S + is/am/are + V3

Subject Plural : You, They, We Subject Singular : He, She, It

Affirmative (+)

Subject Plural are Subject Singular + is + V3

I am

• Bike bearings are made from steel.

• A torch is used to provide light.

Negative (-)

Subject Plural are

Subject Singular + is + not + V3

I am

• The screws aren’t pushed back by the ram.

• The plastic isn’t melted by the hydraulic fluid.

Interrogative (?)

Are Subject Plural is + Subject Singular + V3? am I

• Are the loaves sent to the shops?

• Is the hopper filled with plastic?

Note:

1. Active voice describes a sentence where the subject performs the action stated by the verb.

2. The verbs used in the active are either “transitive” or “intransitive”.

3. Transitive verb is a verb which is used with an object (Ex: cut, lock, dig, etc).

Intransitive verb is a verb which doesn’t need an object (Ex: fall, run, go, etc).

4. Passive voice, describes a sentence where the subject is acted upon by the verb.

5. The passive can be followed with “by” if we need to clarify who or what has caused the action.

6. In the passive, when “by” is used, it must be followed with “an object” which is called “agent”.

7. The verbs used in the passive are “transitive verbs”.

Exercise

Fill in the blanks with the correct answer!

1. Computers … in a product to be made easily.

A.

also permit changes C. permit also changes

B.

are also permitted changes D. and changes are also permitted 2. On the assembly line, computer-controlled robots … such as welding

and painting.

A.

use for tasks C. are used for tasks

B.

are using for tasks D. for tasks are used 3. Friction is the force of resistance when two surfaces …

A.

are sliding against each other. C. slide each other against.

B.

slide against each other. D. slide against the other.

4. The heat … the edges of the components being welded together, and once the material has become molten, fusion occurs.

A.

is melted C. are melted

B.

melts D. melt

5. In most cases, nuts … onto bolts by turning them anticlockwise.

A.

are screwed C. screwed

B.

is screwed D. screw

Choose the incorrect parts!

6. The AbioCor artificial heart contain a hydraulic pump and a valve which lets the

A B

hydraulic fluid move from one side of the heart to the other.

C D

7. Hydroforming are used when there is a demand for lower weight with high strength.

A B C D

8. Images and sounds often are added to games to make them more realistic and more exciting.

A B C D

9. Some materials can change shape significantly, but is not return to their original shape.

A B C D

10. The combination of wood and fiberglass give the snowboard strength with little weight.

A B C D

B. PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE

Usage:

a. To talk about things that are happening now.

b. To talk about things that are happening for a limited period of time around now.

c. To talk about things that are scheduled in the future.

Adverbs of frequency used:

#now #right now #at the moment

#at present #today #tonight

Patterns:

➢ Active voice:

General Pattern : Subject + is/am/are + Ving

Subject Plural : You, They, We Subject Singular : He, She, It

Affirmative (+)

I am

Subject Plural are Subject Singular is

• I am studying to be a surveyor.

• She is working at the Telford office today.

Negative (-)

I am

Subject Plural + are not + Ving

Subject Singular is

• They are not starting the course until September.

Interrogative (?)

Am I

Are Subject Plural + Ving? Is Subject Singular

• Is she working on this project?

➢ Passive voice:

Affirmative (+)

I am

Subject Plural are

Subject Singular is

Example • The structures are being designed by the civil engineering students.

• The briefing is being explained by the guide.

Negative (-)

I am

Subject Plural are

Subject Singular is

Example The projects are not being conducted by the Marine engineering students right now.

Interrogative (?)

Am I

Are Subject Plural Is Subject Singular

Example Is the proposal being presented before the examiners today?

EXERCISE

Choose the best answer!

1. Scientists nowadays … to understand more about how the brain works.

A.

are beginning slowly C. are slowly beginning

B.

slowly are beginning D. is slowly beginning

2. The company … a report for their most important client this week.

A.

is preparing C. prepares

B.

are preparing D. prepare

3. Accident investigators … the wreckage of the high-speed train which left the rails and overturned in northwest England last week.

A.

is still examining C. are still examining

B.

is examining still D. still are examining

4. Technicians report that they … difficulty installing the new computer system.

A.

has C. are having

B.

have D. is having

5. That sports company … new sportswear that will allow athletes to perform more efficiently this month.

A.

develops C. develop

B.

is developing D. are developing

being

being being V

3

not V

3

V

3

+ + +

Choose the incorrect answer!

6. The study researchers are now focusing on how plants is using bedrock water at their

A B

field sites as California faces severe droughts.

C D

7. Inkjet printer are being developed to form an image by spraying tiny amounts A B C of ink onto a piece of paper precisely in the right place.

D

8. Hadi Ghasemi, Cullen Associate Professor at the University of Houston, are changing A

what we know about when water freezes as he pushes the limit and gets the best look yet

B C at tiny drops of water as they freeze.

D

9. With the recent uptick in Covid-19 cases, colleges and universities across the US A

is making spring semester changes to keep the highly transmissible omicron variant B C D

away from campus.

10. An Asian American activist group is calling for an awards boycott of director Paul A B C

Thomas Anderson's "Licorice Pizza" over its use of a fake Asian accent.

D