ESSENTIALS

OF
ENGLISH
GRAMMAR
SECOND
EDITION
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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author and publisher would like to thank all

the teachers of Day Star Academy who discussed

this book in the early stages of its development, for

their help and advice.

1) Mohamed Abdi Abukar

2) Mohamud ( Daacad).

3) Abdihakin Hirabe Bukuraw

4) Abdullahi Daa uud Abdullahi

5) Omar Da ud Abdullahi

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What is grammar?
Grammar is the study of the way the sentences of a language are
constructed. There are eight common parts of English Grammar
that include: Noun (Magac), Pronoun (Magac Uyaal), Verb
(Fal), Adverb (Fakaab), Preposition (Meeleye), Conjunction
(Xiriiriye), Adjective (Sifeeye) and Interjection (Yaab).

Unit one: Pronouns.

Q: What is a pronoun?
A: a pronoun is a word used in place of a noun.
Personal Pronouns.
Personal personals are pronouns that refer to people or things.
In general, there are eight personal pronouns in English, and they
are:
1. I (Aniga) 5. They (Ayaga)
2. You (Adiga) 6. He (Asaga)
3. We (Anaga) 7. She (Ayada)
4. You (Adinka) 8. It (Ayada).
Personal pronouns have three cases: subjective case, objective
case and possessive case (possessive adjective and possessive
pronoun).
Examples include:
I go to school. (I is A subjective personal Pronoun)
He goes with me (Me is an objective personal Pronoun)
This is my pen. (My is a possessive personal Pronoun)

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 Subjective Case/Form Objective Case/Form
I Me
You You
We us
They Them
He Him
she Her
It It

Possessive case (possessive adjective and possessive

pronoun).
Possessive adjective is a pronoun that shows possession and
follows with a noun. They Include My, Our, Their and Etc.
Examples include:
 This is My pen.
 That is our Car.
Possessive pronoun is a pronoun that also shows possession
but stands alone. They include: Mine, Ours, Theirs and etc.
Examples:
 That pen is mine.
 That car is ours.

The table blow shows all the three forms of personal

pronouns.

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Subjective Objective Possessive Case Possessive Case
Case Case Possessive Possessive Pronouns
Adjective
I Me my mine
You You your yours
We us our ours
They Them their theirs
He Him His His
She Her Her Hers
It It Its ×
Persons of personal pronouns
Personal pronouns stand for three persons, first person, second
person and third person, as the following table shows:
PERSONS SINGULAR PLURAL
First Person - The Person speaking. I We
Second Person- The person spoken to You You

Third Person-The person spoken about. he/she/it They

Position of personal pronouns in a sentence.

Subjective personal pronouns go before the verb. Examples:
1. We sell apples. (We is the subject of the verb sell.)

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2. He drives a car. (He is the subject of the verb drive.)
3. I play football. (I is the subject of the verb play)
Objective personal pronouns come after Examples:
1. They know him.
2. She hates me.
Possessive adjectives come before a noun. Examples include:
1. My head is aching.
2. Her face is very beautiful.
3. His muscles are very big.
4. Its legs are broken.
Possessive pronouns stand alone and are not followed by a noun.
Examples:
1. Those books are Mine.
2. That car is his.
3. These chairs are ours.
4. This house is theirs.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
Part one: Fill in the blanks with the appropriate personal
pronouns and possessives.
1. Tina is ... sister.
2. .......... Went to the cinema yesterday
3. This car is...............
4. Look at.........!
5. ................ Brother is tall.
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6. I waited for................. Yesterday but you didn't come.
7. This letter is for..............
8. This is John's book. It is ............. book.
9. Whose bag is this? - It’s..............
10. Whose jeans are these? - They’re..............
11. Our car is bigger than..............
12. Whose dictionary is this? - It’s...............
PART TWO: COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING TABLE.
Subjective Objective Possessive Possessive
Case Case Case Case
Person Possessive Absolute
Adjective Possessive
Pronouns
First I Me ___________ Mine
Person
Singular
Second You You __________ Yours
Person
Singular
Third __________ him/her/it his/her/its _________
Person __
Singular
First We Us Our Ours
Person
Plural
Second You __________ Your _________
Person _____
Plural
Third They Them Their Theirs
Person
Plural

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Countable Nouns: are nouns that can be counted. Most nouns in
English are countable.
Examples:
 I have two dogs.
 Sandra has three cars.
 We have five students.
 They have ten tables.
Further examples: one book, three books; a leg, two legs, pen,
computer, bottle, spoon, desk, cup, television, chair and etc.

Uncountable Nouns: are nouns that cannot be counted.

Examples:
 Ali drinks a lot of water.
 Fatima gives great advice.
 We ate some rice.
Further examples: water, air, oxygen, English, Spanish, milk,
wine, sugar, rice, meat, flour, etc.

Pluralization of nouns (Wadaraynta Magacyada)

Plurals are formed in many ways. They include the following.
A) Regular plurals.
1. In general, the plural of a noun is formed by adding -S to the
noun.

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Singular Plural
Car Cars
House Houses
Book Books
Eraser Erasers
Gate Gates
Computer Computers
Lock Locks
Friend Friends
Chair Chairs

2. When the noun ends in SS, SH, CH, O or X, we add -ES to

the noun.
Singular Plural
Kiss Kisses
Wish Wishes
Match Matches
Box Boxes
Class Classes
Mango Mangoes
Mosquito Mosquitoes
Dish Dishes
Examples:
 I have a box in my bedroom.
 I have three boxes in my bedroom.

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3. When the noun ends in a VOWEL + Y, we add -S to the noun.
Singular Plural
Boy Boys
Holiday Holidays
Key Keys

4. When the noun ends in a CONSONANT + Y, we remove Y

and add -IES to the noun.
Singular Plural
Party Parties
Lady Ladies
City Cities
Baby Babies
Army Armies
Country Countries
University Universities

5. If the noun ends in F or FE, we remove the F/FE and add -

VES to the noun.
Singular Plural
Life Lives
Leaf Leaves
Thief Thieves
Wife Wives

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6. If the noun ends in IS, we change it to ES.
Singular Plural
Analysis Analyses
Basis Bases
Crisis Crises

B) Irregular plurals: There are a number of nouns that don't

follow these rules. They are irregular and you need to learn them
individually.
Singular Plural
Man Men
Woman Women
Child Children
Foot Feet
Tooth Teeth
Mouse Mice
Louse Lice
Person People
Examples:
 There is a child in the park.
 There are many children in the park.
Unchanged plurals:
A few nouns are unchanged in their plural forms:

Singular Plural

Barracks Barracks

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Deer Deer

Fish fish

Offspring Offspring

Sheep Sheep

Examples:
 I can see a sheep in the field.
 I can see ten sheep in the field.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

A: What is the correct plural of the word?

1. These (person) are protesting against the president.
2. The (woman) over there want to meet the manager.
3. My (child) hate eating pasta.
4. I am ill. My (foot) hurt.
5. Muslims kill (sheep) in a religious celebration.
6. I clean my (tooth) three times a day.
7. The (student) are doing the exercise right now.
8. The (fish) I bought is in the fridge.
9. They are sending some (man) to fix the roof.
10. Most (housewife) work more than ten hours a day at home.
11. Where did you put the (knife)? On the (shelf).
12. (Goose) like water.
13. (Piano) are expensive
14. Some (policeman) came to arrest him.

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15. Where is my (luggage)? In the car!

B: Write down the correct form of the plural:

1. City _______________________
2. House _______________________
3. Boy __________________________
4. Family ________________________
5. Life ____________________________
6. Photo ____________________________
7. Phone __________________________
8. Sandwich __________________
9. Nurse _________________________
10. Elf ___________________________
11. Phenomenon ___________________________
12. Criterion __________________________
13. Village _________________________
14. Toy -________________________________

An Article is a word that comes before a noun to show if it is

specific or general. There are three articles in English: a, an, the.
Kinds: 1. Indefinite Article: a, an.
2. Definite Article: the.

The Indefinite Articles “A” and “An”:

The indefinite article (a, an) is very common in English and is
used before a noun that is general or when its identity is unknown.

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 Uses of Article “A”
1. The article “A” is used before singular countable nouns
that begin with a consonant sound:

Have a look at the following examples:

A boy / / a brick / a cat / a chair / a fox / a flower / a horse / a

house / a man / a movie / a person / a phone.

2. The article “A” is also used before nouns that begin with vowel
letters “Eu”, “E”, or “U” when pronounced as “You”
Examples:
A eulogy / a ewe / a European / a university/ uniform / a and e.t.c

Uses of Article “An”

1. The article an, is used before singular countable nouns
that begin with a vowel sound:

Have a look at the following examples:

an apple/ an eagle / an effort/ an image / an island / an

opportunity /an uncle.

2. We also use an, before words beginning with “H” when it’s
not sounded.

Examples: an honor / an hour/ an heir/ an heiress.

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Uses of The Definite Article “The”:
1. We use definite Article “the” before singular and plural
countable nouns and before uncountable nouns.

2. It's also used when referring to a specific object that both the
person speaking and the listener know.

Examples:
 The car over there is fast.
 The president of the United States is giving a speech tonight.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

Fill in the blank with the appropriate article, a, an, or the, or

leave the space blank if no article is needed.

1. I want ____ apple from that basket.

2. ____ church on the corner is progressive.

3. Miss Lin speaks ____ Chinese.

4. I borrowed ____ pencil from your pile of pencils and pens.

5. One of the students said, "____ professor is late today."

6. Eli likes to play ____ volleyball.

7. I bought ____ umbrella to go out in the rain.

8. My daughter is learning to play ____ violin at her school.

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9. Please give me ____ cake that is on the counter.

10. I lived on ____ Main Street when I first came to town.

11. Albany is the capital of ____ New York State.

12. My husband's family speaks ____ Polish.

13. ____ apple a day keeps the doctor away.

14. ____ ink in my pen is red.

15. Our neighbors have ____ cat and ____ dog.

PART TWO: WRITE AT LEAST 10 ENGLISH LINES ABOUT

YOURSELF WITH KEEPING THE RULES OF ARTICLES

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

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Auxiliary verbs also known as helping verbs are minor verbs that
help the sentence’s main verb.

Aisha is reading our stories.

This sentence above, the auxiliary verb, is, helps out the main
verb, reading, by telling when the action is taking place—right
now.

There are two kinds of auxiliary verbs: Primary auxiliary verbs

and Modal auxiliary verbs.

The primary auxiliary verbs are: Be, Have, and Do.

A: Forms of Be: is, am, are (present), was were (past), been (past
participle), be (future)

Examples Of: verb to be present (am/is/are) as an ordinary verb.

I -am. You, they, we- are. He, she, it- is.

AFFIRMATIVE QUESTION

I am a teacher. Am I a teacher?

She is a nurse. Is she a nurse?

You are students. Are you students?

It is a big dog. Is it a big dog?

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He is a postman. Is he a postman?

NEGATIVE QUESTION WITH NEGATIVE

I am not a teacher. Am I not a teacher?
She is not a nurse. Isn’t she a nurse?
You are not students. Aren’t you students?
It is not a big dog. Isn’t it a big dog?
He is not a postman. Isn’t he a postman?

REVIEW QUESTIONS-EXERCISE.

A: Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb to be -

am/is/are.

1. I ______ a good teacher.

2. _____ we fishermen?
3. She ______ a rich woman.
4. _____ It a rainy day?
5. They ______ civil servants.
B: CHANGE THE FOLLOWING INTO QUESTION AND NEGATIVE.

1. They are milk men.

2. She is a house wife.
3. I am a cook.
4. They are soldiers.
5. He is a painter.

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2: Examples Of: verb to be past (was/ were) as an ordinary verb.

I, he, she, it= was you, we, they= were

AFFIRMATIVE QUESTION
I was a student. Was I a student?
She was a girl. Was she a girl?
It was a little dog. Was it a little dog?
They were tailors. Were they tailors?
We were preceptors. Were we preceptors?
NEGATIVE Q. WITH NEGATIVE

I was not a student. Wasn’t I a student?

She was not a girl. Wasn’t she a girl?

It was not a little dog. Wasn’t it a little dog?

They were not tailors. Weren’t they tailors?

We were not preceptors. Weren’t we tailors?

REVIEW QUESTIONS.

A: FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH THE CORRECT FORM OF

THE VERB TO BE PAST– WAS/ WERE.

1. I _____ In Mogadishu last spring

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2. We _______ at school last Saturday.
3. Tina _______ at home yesterday.
4. He ______ happy.
5. You _______ very busy on Friday.
6. They _______ in front of the supermarket.

B: CHANGE THE FOLLOWING INTO PRESENT.

1. I was a butcher.
2. She was a nurse.
3. Were they our team?
4. He was in movie last night.

3: Examples Of: verb to be future (will be, shall be) as an

ordinary verb.

I, we- shall be. You, he, and she it, we, they -will be.

AFFIRMATIVE QUESTION
I shall be a rich man. Shall I be a rich man?
We shall be farmers. Shall we be farmers?
They will be teachers. Will they be teachers?
He will be a businessman. Will he be a businessman?
It will be a sunny day. Will it be a sunny day?

NEGATIVE Q. WITH NEGATIVE

I shan’t be a rich man. Shan’t I be a rich man?

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We shan’t be farmers. Shan’t we be farmers?
They won’t be teachers. Won’t they be teachers?
He won’t be a businessman. Won’t he be a businessman?
It won’t be a sunny day. Won’t it be a sunny day?
GENERAL EXERCISE
A: CHANGE THE FOLLOWING INTO FUTURE AND PAST

1. I am teacher john. 7. Is he a post man?

2. It is your fault. 8. It is our turn.
3. Are you a baker? 9. We are security guards.
4. How are you? 10. What is your name?
5. Isn’t he my friend? 11. Where are they?
6. Will you be my assistant? 12. You are my enemy.

B: Forms of Do: (does, do), did, done. Does is for singular

pronouns or subjects, do is for plural pronouns or subjects, did
and done are for all pronouns.

I, you, we, they = do. She, he, it =does.

Did is for all pronouns.

NB: We use verb to do to make negatives (do/does + not), to

make question forms, and to make the verb more emphatic.

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Examples:

Affirmative Negative Question

He teaches English. He doesn’t teach Does he teach

English. English?

They know me. They don’t know me. Do they know me?

She spoke. She didn’t speak. Did she speak?

He smokes. He doesn’t smoke. Does he smoke?

I love you. I don’t love you. Do I love you?

I played football. I didn’t play Did I play football?

football.

EMPHATIC FORMS

We use do, does (present simple) or did (past simple) to give extra
force to the main verb.
Neutral Emphatic
I like your new jacket. I do like your new jacket!
She looks so tired. She does look so tired!
I recognized your mum. I did recognize your mum.

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C: Forms of Have: have, has (Present), Had (Past) Will have
and Shall Have (Future) and had (Past Participle) Have is for
plural. Has is for singular but had is for all pronouns whether
singular or plural.

I, you, we, they== have,

She, he, it== has

Had= for all pronouns

1: Examples of: verb to have and has in present

I, you, we, they __________________________ have

She, he, it ______________________________ has

AFFIRMATIVE QUESTION

I have a beautiful house. Have I a beautiful house?

He has a long ear. Has he a long ear?

It has four legs. Has it four legs?

We have enough time. Have we enough time?

NEGATIVE Q. WITH NEGATIVE

I have not a beautiful house. Haven’t I a beautiful house?

He has not a long ear. Hasn’t a he a long ear?

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It has not four legs. Hasn’t it four legs?
We have not enough time. Haven’t we enough time?
REVIEW QUESTIONS
A: FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH THE CORRECT FORM OF THE
VERB TO HAVE PRESENT (HAVE, HAS).
1. I _________ a passport.
2. He _______ not three sons.
3. They ________ a big dog.
4. _______ We shops?
5. _______ It a sharp tooth?
6. She ________a husband.
B: CHANGE THE FOLLOWING INTO QUESTION AND
NEGATIVE.
1. We have good teachers.
2. She has clean vessels.
3. It has a long tail.
4. Have you a nickname.
5. They have good news for you.
6. I have newspapers.

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2: Examples of: verb to have and has in past (had).
I, you, we, they, he, she, it _____________________ had.

AFFIRMATIVE QUESTION

I had a lot of money. Had I a lot of money?

They had examination. Had they examination?

She had an extra time. Had she an extra time?

We had competition. Had we competition?

It had milk to drink. Had it milk to drink?

NEGATIVE Q. WITH NEGATIVE

I had not a lot of money. Hadn’t I a lot of money?

They had not examination. Hadn’t they examination?

She had not an extra time. Hadn’t she an extra time?

We had not competition. Hadn’t we competition?

It had not milk to drink. Hadn’t it milk to drink?

REVIEW QUESTIONS
A: CHANGE THE FOLLOWING INTO QUESTION AND
NEGATIVE.

1. You had a meeting.

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2. She had a bright face.
3. They had a big industry.
4. Had we a happy day
5. He had a lot of work.
6. We had a good weather.

B: CHANGE THE FOLLOWING INTO PRESENT.

1. We had hard working students.

2. He hadn’t any beard.
3. Had they a toilet?
4. It had short legs.
5. Hadn’t he a conference?
6. My mother had a good culture.

3: Examples of: verb to have and has in future (will have/ shall
have).

I, we -------- shall have/ will have.

You, they, he, she, it -------- will have.

AFFIRMATIVE QUESTION

I shall have permission. Shall I have permission?

She will have a party. Will she have a party?

We shall have a good future. Shall we have a good future?

They will have great lessons. Will they have great lessons?

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It will have a problem. Will it have a problem?

NEGATIVE Q. WITH NEGATIVE

I shan’t have permission. Shan’t I have permission?

She won’t have a party. Won’t she have a party?

We shan’t have a good future. Shan’t we have a good future?

They won’t have great lessons. Won’t they have great lessons?

It won’t have a problem. Won’t it have a problem?

GENERAL EXERCISE

A: CHANGE THE FOLLOWING INTO FUTURE AND PAST

1. She has an important job.

2. I have a nice dress today.
3. Has Ali a chance today?
4. What have you for us?
5. He hasn’t much money

B: CHANGE THE FOLLOWING INTO PRESENT

1. She had a bad cold.

2. They won’t have a good salary
3. You had a golden chance.
4. It had a problem.
5. Won’t she have many children?

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Q: What is tense?

A: tense is the form of the verb. It helps us to know the time at

which something happened.

Examples:

 I go to school daily.
 He took a chair yesterday.
 She will arrive tomorrow.
Q: What is a verb?

A: a verb is a word that expresses an action or state.

Examples:

 Children play in the park.

 I am a hawker.
 She locked the gate.

Q: What is a subject?

A: subject is a word that shows who is doing the action of the

verb; it is the doer of the action.

Examples:

 I am watching TV.
 She is cooking the meal.

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 They drank water.
 Students go to schools.

Q: What is an object?

A: An object is a word that describes the person or thing that is

done to the verb; it is the receiver of the action.

Examples:

 We did the homework.

 The teacher explained a lesson.
 The president is holding a conference.

1: PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE (REAL

PRESENT)

DEFINITION: It is used to express a continued or ongoing

action at present time.. For example, a person says, “I am writing
a letter”. It means that he is in the process of writing a letter right
now. Such actions which are happening at time of speaking are
expressed by present continuous tense. Present Continuous tense
is also called Present progressive tense. Helping verbs of this
tense are (am, is, are).
Formula: Subject + am, is, are + verb present + ing + object.

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Examples

 I am playing cricket.
 He is driving a car
 They are reading their lessons.

Negative Sentence

Examples:
 I am not playing cricket.
 He is not driving a car
 They are not reading their lessons.

Interrogative Sentences

Examples:
 Am I playing cricket?
 Is he driving a car?
 Are they reading their lessons?

SPELLING RULES OF PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE

1: If the verb ends in the vowel (e), we drop the (e) and we add
(ing), Example: write = writing, decide = deciding, make =
making, bite = biting. But we keep a double (ee), E.g. see =
seeing, flee = fleeing, free = freeing, agree = agreeing.

2: If the verb ends in (ie), we change the ie into “Y” Then add
“Ing”. Example: lie = lying, die = dying. But y does not change.
Example: hurry = hurrying, fly = flying, cry = crying.

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3: If the verb ends in “vowel consonant” we double the final
consonant, Example: plan = planning, stop = stopping, cut =
cutting, hit = hitting, get = getting. But we don’t change if the last
consonant is “y”. Example: buy = buying, play = playing, pay =
paying, stay = staying, pray = praying.

4: All other verbs take “ing” without any change. Example: stand
= standing, cook = cooking, kill = killing.

STATE VERBS (NON CONTINOUS VERBS)

State verbs are verbs that are not usually used in any continuous
form.
The verbs in the list below are normally used in the simple form
because they refer to states, rather than actions.
 VERBS OF SENSES / PERCEPTION
Feel, hear, see, smell, taste, appear, seem, sound.
 VERBS OF OPINION
Assume, believe, consider, doubt, think, agree.
 VERBS OF MENTAL STATES
Forget, imagine, know, mean, notice, recognize, remember, and
understand.
 VERBS OF EMOTIONS / DESIRES

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Envy, fear, dislike, hate, hope, like, love, prefer, regret, want,
wish.
 VERBS OF MEASUREMENT
Contain, cost, hold, measure, weigh
OTHERS verbs
To be (in most cases)
To have (when it means "to possess”)
EXCEPTIONS
Perception verbs (see, hear, feel, taste, and smell) may be used in
the continuous form but with a different meaning
 This goat feels nice and warm.
 John's feeling much better now (his health is improving)
 She has three dogs and a cat. (Possession)
 She's having supper. (She's eating)
 I can see Anthony in the garden (perception)
 I'm seeing Anthony later (We are planning to meet)

NOTE: the non-continuous verbs become simple present.

REVIEW QUESTIONS
A: use the verbs given in brackets in present continuous tense
1. He (go) to office by bus
2. Today they (travel) on foot.
3. A postman (bring) letters from friends
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4. You always (help) his mother
5. Where you (go) now?
6. Elephants (have) strong memories.
7. They (see) any one on the road.
8. It is dark now because the moon (not shine).
9. The inspector (visit) our school next week
10. I (try) to cross the road.

B: change the following into question and negative.

1. You are doing nothing this evening.

2. She is working for us today.
3. You are telling the truth.
4. He is drying his wet clothes.

2: SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE (HABITUAL ACTION)

Definition: It is used to express an action which happens every

day. For example: a student says, “I go to school”. It is a daily
activity of a student to go to school, so such actions are expressed
by present simple tense. The helping verbs of this tense are (do &
does).
NOTE: we use these helping verbs (do &does) to form negatives
and interrogatives.
Do is used for (I, you, we, they)

Does is used for (he, she, it).

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Formula: Subject + verb + object

Positive Sentence

Note: If the subject in a sentence is “he, she, it, or singular then

“s”,” ies” or “es” is added to the verb in the sentence. Examples:

Affirmative Sentences

 we write a book
 He drinks water in the morning
 Sun rises in east.
 John reaches home.

Negative Sentences
 We do not write a letter.
 He does not drink water in the morning
 Sun does not rise in east.
 John does not reach home.

Interrogative Sentence

Examples:
 Do We write a letter?
 Does he drink water in the morning?
 Does sun rise in east?
 Does John reach home?

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RULES FOR THIRD PERSON OF SINGULAR

1: In the third person singular, a present simple verb ends in “s”.

Example: kill = kills, return = returns.
2: For verbs that end in (-O, -CH, -SH, -SS, -X, or -Z) we add
“es” in the third person. Example: she goes to school, he boxes
very well, she washes very fast, he teaches us English. It kisses its
baby, he passes, she catches, he fixes. It pushes, he buzzes for the
next patient to come in.
3: The verbs which end in “e” and “ee” are added (s). Example:
make =makes, write= writes, flee = flees.
4: The verbs which end in “Y” and is preceded by a consonant,
change “y” into (I) and add “es”. Example: marry= marries,
worry= worries, cry = cries, fly=flies, carry=carries. But we do
not change the “y” after a vowel; we only add “s”. Example:
play= plays, stay= stays, buy= buys enjoy= enjoys, say=says.

TIME EXPRESSIONS IN THE PRESENT SIMPLE

The most common time expressions in the present simple are:

usually, always, never, on Wednesdays, every Wednesday, twice a
week, once a month, in general, every other day.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

A: change the following into simple present tense

1. She is cooking the meals of the family.

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2. Are you telling the truth?
3. What is he doing?
4. They are waiting for you.
5. Is he flying to Nairobi?
6. She is not opening the window.

B: put the verbs in brackets in simple present tense

1. He (not search) for his lost book

2. She usually (go) to office by bus.
3. Green apples (be) sour
4. A gentleman never (bore) others
5. Our teacher always (carry) an umbrella
6. She (agree) with her husband.
7. You (see) any one on the road.
8. You (have) a car.
9. Good children always (obey) their parents.

VERBS AND THEIR VARIOUS FORMS

A verb is a word that expresses an action or state. It is the most

important part of a sentence and without it we can’t even make a
single sentence.

Different Types of Verbs:

There are many ways of classifying verbs. But Verbs are
subdivided into two groups, Regular verbs and Irregular verbs,
on the basis of how their second form (Past tense) and third form

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(Past participles) are formed. See below for tips on how to
distinguish between them.

Regular Verbs.

Most verbs are regular verbs. Regular verbs are those whose past
tense and past participles are formed by adding -d or -ed to the
end of the verb.
Examples:
PRESENT PAST PAST PARTICUPLE
Share Shared Shared
Scare Scared Scared
Dare Dared Dared
Like Liked Liked
Want Wanted Wanted
Shout Shouted Shouted
Kill Killed Killed

IRREGULAR VERBS
Irregular verbs are those whose past tense and past participles
are formed in different ways other than by adding “d” or “ed” to
the verb. There is no formula to predict how an irregular verb will
form its past-tense and past-participle forms. There are over 250
irregular verbs in English. Although they do not follow a formula,

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the only option for an English speaker is to commit the changes
to memory. With practice, it will become a matter of habit.

HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES:

BASE FORM PAST SIMPLE PAST PARTICIPLE
Awake Awoke Awoken
Be was, were Been
Beat Beat Beaten
Become Became Become
Begin Began Begun
Bend Bent Bent
Bet Bet Bet
Bid Bid Bid
Bite Bit Bitten
Blow Blew Blown
Break Broke broken
Bring Brought brought
Broadcast Broadcast broadcast
Build Built Built
Burn burned or burnt burned or burnt
Buy Bought bought
Catch Caught caught
Choose Chose chosen
Come Came Come
Cost Cost Cost
Cut Cut Cut
Dig Dug Dug
Do Did Done

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Draw Drew Drawn
Dream dreamed or dreamt dreamed or dreamt
Drive Drove Driven
Drink Drank drunk
Eat Ate Eaten
Fall Fell fallen
Feel Felt Felt
Fight Fought fought
Find Found found
Fly Flew Flown
Forget Forgot forgotten
Forgive Forgave forgiven
Freeze Froze frozen
Get Got got (or gotten)
Give Gave Given
Go Went Gone
Grow Grew Grown
Hang Hung Hung
Have Had Had
Hear Heard Heard
Hide Hid Hidden
Hit Hit Hit
Hold Held Held
Hurt Hurt Hurt
Keep Kept Kept
Know Knew Known
Lay Laid Laid
Lead Led Led

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Learn learned or learnt learned or learnt
Leave Left Left
Lend Lent Lent
Let Let Let
Lie Lay Lain
Lose Lost Lost
Make Made Made
Mean Meant Meant
Meet Met Met
Pay Paid Paid
Put Put Put
Read Read Read
Ride Rode Ridden
Ring Rang Rung
Rise Rose Risen
Run Ran Run
Say Said Said
See Saw Seen
Sell Sold Sold
Send Sent Sent
Show Showed showed or shown
Shut Shut Shut
Sing Sang Sung
Sit Sat Sat
Sleep Slept Slept
Speak Spoke Spoken
Spend Spent Spent
Stand Stood Stood
Swim Swam Swum
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Take Took Taken
Teach Taught Taught
Tear Tore Torn
Tell Told Told
Think Thought thought
Throw Threw Thrown
Understand Understood Understood
Wake Woke Woken
Wear Wore Worn
Win Won Won

3: SIMPLE PAST TENSE:

Definition: It is used to express an action that happened or
completed in past. The helping verb of this tense is (did).
Did is given for all pronouns.
NOTE: We use the helping verb (did) to form negatives and
interrogatives.
Formula: subject + verb (past) + object.
Positive Sentence
Examples:
 I killed a snake
 He ate a mango.
 She cooked the meal.

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 They had their lunch.
 She played the tennis.

Negative sentences
Examples:
 I did not kill a snake
 He did not eat a mango
 She did not cook the meal.
 They did not have their lunch.
 She did not play tennis.
Interrogative sentences
Example:
 Did I kill a snake?
 Did he eat a mango?
 Did she cook the meal?
 Did they have their lunch?
 Did she play tennis?

SPELLING RULES FOR REGULAR VERBS IN THE PAST

1: Add “ed” to most verbs. Example: talk = talked, employ =

employed, fail = failed, work = worked, jump = jumped, paint =
painted.
2: If the verb ends in a single consonant preceded by a single
vowel, double the last letter and then add ed. Example: stop =
stopped, top = topped, drip = dripped, plan = planned, slam =
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slammed, omit = omitted.
However, do not double the last letter if the verb ends in w, x or y.
Example: play = played, stay = stayed, mix = mixed, sew =
sewed.
3: If the verb ends in “e”, just add d. Example: create = created,
live = lived, love = loved, place = placed, tape = taped.
If the verb ends in a consonant + y, change the y to “I” and add
ed. Example: try = tried, busy = busied, pry = pried.
TIME EXPRESSIONS IN THE PAST SIMPLE
Yesterday, last week, five minutes ago, last month/year/night, on
Saturday, in the morning, before ten minutes
PAST HABITUAL
Past habitual: is used for an action someone used to do in the
past but does not do at the moment.
Formula: subject + used to + verb present + object.
POSITIVE
1. She used to watch TV every morning.
2. The doctor used to cure my right leg.
3. They used to wash the clothes.
4. He used to play football.
5. I used to play truant from school.

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NEGATIVE
1. She didn’t use to watch TV every.
2. The doctor did not use to cure my leg.
3. They did not use to wash the clothes.
4. He did not use to play football.
5. He did not use to play truant from school.
QUESTIONS
1. Did she use to watch TV every?
2. Did The doctor use to cure my leg?
3. Did they use to wash the clothes?
4. Did he use to play football?
5. Did I use to play truant from school?

NEGATIVE WITH QUESTIONS

1. Didn’t she use to watch TV every?
2. Did the doctor use to cure my leg?
3. Didn’t they use to wash the clothes?
4. Didn’t he use to play football?
5. Didn’t he use to play truant from school?

REVIEW QUESTIONS

A: Exercise with the Past Simple Tense

FILL IN THE CORRECT FORM OF THE VERB IN THE

PAST SIMPLE AS IN THE EXAMPLES.

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1. I _______ a great book last week. (read)
2. _______ Adam ______ the jacket that he _______ at the
party? (find / leave)
3. Why _______ you__________ for me at the bar yesterday
evening? (not wait)
4. I _________ for over an hour, but you never __________ up!
(wait / show)
5. My friends _________ to New Delhi via Mumbai a week ago.
(fly)

B: USE THESE SENTENCES IN PAST HABITUAL

1. We (move) to a new house. →

2. They (bring) a sandwich.
3. He (doesn’t do) the homework
4. They (sell) cars.
5. I (be) active when I was in school
6. .She (wakes up) early.
7. Does he visit his friends? →

4: SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE:

Definition: It is used to express an action which will occur in the

future. For example, “I will go to zoo tomorrow”, and the helping
verbs of this tense are: (will/shall)
Formula: subject + will/shall + verb + object

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Positive sentence
Examples:

I will buy a computer tomorrow.

They will come here.
She will meet him tomorrow.
We shall begin our lesson.

Negative sentence
To make negative sentence “not” is written after auxiliary verb in
sentence.
Examples:
I will not buy a computer tomorrow.
They will not come here.
She will not meet him tomorrow.
We shall not begin our lesson.
Interrogative sentence
Interrogative sentence starts with auxiliary verb “will/shall”
Examples:

Will I buy a computer tomorrow?

Will they come here?
Will she meet him tomorrow?
Shall we begin our lesson?
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POINTS TO REMEMBER:
1: Will is used with all persons and is shortened in’ll. The
negative form of will is won’t.

2: Shall is used with I and we, and is shortened in‘ll. The negative
form is shan’t.

CONTRACTIONS

I will = I'll
we will = we'll
you will = you'll
He will = he'll
She will = she'll
they will = they'll
Will not = won't

The form "it will" is not normally shortened.

Time Expressions: common time expressions for the future tense

include: tomorrow, at the weekend, the day after tomorrow, on
Thursday, next week/month/year, in a few days’ time, etc.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

A: Exercises – Future Simple Tense

FILL IN THE CORRECT FORM OF THE VERB WITH THE FUTURE
SIMPLE TENSE.

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1. Sam _______ the documents over to you tomorrow. (bring)

2. The managers ________ about the budget until next Thursday.

(not decide)
3. _______ Your sister ______ in a large church? (get married)
4. ________ he _____ you move to your new apartment? (not
help)
5. I _________ him this time. He mustn’t do that again. (forgive)

5: PRESENT PERFECT TENSE:

Definition: It is used to describe actions that occurred in the

past but are still relevant to the present. The helping verbs of this
tense are: (have/has)
Formula: subject +have/has + verb (past participle) +object.
Positive Sentence

Examples:
 I have eaten meal.
 She has learnt a lesson.
 We have seen the match.
 They have gone to school.
 They have bought a new car.
 I have started a job

Negative Sentence

Examples:
 I have not eaten meal.

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 She has not learnt a lesson.
 We have not seen the match.
 They have not gone to school.
 They have not bought a new car.
 I have not started a job.

Interrogative Sentences
Examples:
 Have I eaten meal?
 Has she learnt a lesson?
 Have we seen the match?
 Have they gone to school?
 Have they bought a new car?
 Have I started a job?
Time Expressions in the Present Perfect include: ever, never,
yet, already, just, this month, so far, up to now, recently, during
over the last years.
 Use ever and never to talk about your general life experience.
Example: Have you ever been to abroad? / I have never
worked abroad.
 Use already, never and just between have/has and the verb.
Example: he has already finished / I have just come.
 Use before, since, for, many times, so far, yet at the end of a
sentence or questions > Have you been there before?
 Use just for something happened a short time

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A: EXERCISES – PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE
Fill in the correct form of the present perfect simple

1. Daniel ____ that video clip at least twenty times. (see)

2. The workers _______ a break in 4 hours. (not have)
3. We ___________ them regularly over the last few years.
(visit)
4. _______ Ella _______ her driving test yet? (pass)
5. Roger _______ to Mexico several times since 2002.(be)
6. They______ to each other in ages, _______ they? (not speak)
7. Why _______ Mathew _______his job? (quit)
8. ______the nurses ______ on strike again? (go)
9. ________ they ______ the post yet? (not deliver)
10. I _____ already_______ you the answer. (tell)

6: PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS (PROGRESSIVE)

TENSE:
Definition: It is used to describe an event that started in the past
but is still happening in the present. It often emphasizes the
length of time of the action. The helping verbs of this tense are:
(have/has been).
There will be a time reference, such as “since 1980, for three
hours etc” from which the action has been started. Such time
reference is the identity of Present perfect continuous tense
because it tells that action has started from a particular time in
past. For example, “He has been studying in this school since
2005”, so this means that he has started his education in this
school in 2005 and he is studying in this school till now.

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Note: If there is not time reference or time expression then it is
not Present perfect continuous.
Formula: subject + has/have +been +verb + ing +object+ Time
reference

Positive Sentence
Examples:
 He has been watering the plants for two hours.
 I have been studying since 3 O’clock.
 It has been raining for two hours.
 They have been watching television since 6 O’clock.
 She has been working in this office since 2007.

Negative Sentence:
Examples:
 He has not been watering the plants for two hours.
 I have not been studying since 3 O’clock.
 It has not been raining for two hours.
 They have not been watching television since 6 O’clock.
 She has not been working in this office since 2007.
Interrogative Sentence:
 Has he been watering the plants for two hours?
 Have I been studying since 3 O’clock?
 Has it been raining for two hours?
 Have they been watching television since 6 O’clock?
 Has she been working in this office since 2007?

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SINCE AND FOR
“Since” or “for” is used before the “time reference” in sentence.
If the time reference refers a point of time such as 1995, 4
O’clock then “since” is used before the time in sentence. But If
the time reference refers duration of time such as three hours, six
years, four days, then “for” is used before the time reference in
sentence.

Time expressions include: all night, for years, for ages, over the
last three years, lately, since, for, recently

EXERCISES – PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE

(CONTINUOUS)
Fill in the correct for of the Present Perfect Progressive as in the
examples.
1. How long _____ the dogs ________ like that? (bark)
2. I _______ the football score. (not follow) Are we winning?
3. The students ______ plans for the school party for several
weeks. (make)
4. Rachel ________ at that studio for very long. (not dance)
5. _________ Tim _______ that book since January? (not read)
I’m waiting to borrow it.
6. The project manager ________ us to finish the work since
Tuesday. (push)
7. ________ you ________ TV all morning? (watch)
8. I_________ to Paris twice a month since the project started.
(travel)

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7: PAST CONTINUOUS (PROGRESSIVE) TENSE:

Definition: It is used to express a continued or ongoing action in

past, for example, “he was laughing.”
Past continuous tense is also called past progressive tense. The
helping verbs of this tense are (was/were).
Formula: subject +was/were + verb +ing +object.
Positive sentences
 She was crying yesterday.
 They were climbing on a hill.
 I was working home.
 you were waiting for him yesterday
 She was working in a factory.

Negative sentences)
 She was not crying yesterday.
 They were not climbing on a hill.
 I was not working home.
 you were not waiting for him yesterday
 She was not working in a factory.

Interrogative sentences
 Was she crying yesterday?
 Were they climbing on a hill?
 Was I working home?
 Were you waiting for him yesterday?
 Was she working in a factory?

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A: EXERCISES – PAST PROGRESSIVE (CONTINUOUS) TENSE

Use the verbs into the correct form (past progressive).

1. When I phoned my friends, they (play) monopoly.
2. What (you / do) yesterday?
3. Most of the time we (sit) in the park.
4. I (listen) to the radio while my sister (watch) TV.
5. When I arrived, they (play) cards.
6. We (study) English yesterday at 4:00 pm.
7. I (read) a novel when she came in.
8. She (listen) hard but she couldn’t hear anything.

8: FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE:

Definition: It is used to express a continued or an ongoing action

in future. For example, “I will be waiting for you tomorrow. The
helping verbs are: (will be, shall be).
Formula: subject + will/shall + be + verb + ing + object

Positive sentence
Examples:
I will be waiting for you.
We will be shifting to a new home next year.
He will be flying a kite.
It will be raining tomorrow.

Negative sentence
Examples:
I will not be waiting for you.
We will not be shifting to a new home next year.

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 He will not be flying a kite.
It will not be raining tomorrow.

Interrogative sentence
Examples:
Will I be waiting for you?
Will we be shifting to a new home next year?
Will he be flying a kite?
Will it be raining tomorrow?

EXERCISES – FUTURE PROGRESSIVE (CONTINUOUS)

TENSE

Put the verbs into the correct form (future progressive).

1) Tomorrow morning, we (work)
2) This time next week we (have) a party
3) At midnight I (sleep).
4) This evening we (watch) a talk show.
5) They (argue) again?

9: PAST PERFECT TENSE:

Definition: The past perfect is used to describe an action that

happened before another action in the past. It is used to show the
sequence of two events.

We use the past perfect for the earlier event and the later one is
used for simple past tense, for example, he returned the book
when he had read it. I went to sleep when my friends had left.
The helping verb of this tense is “had”
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Formula: subject +had +verb (past participle) +object

Examples:
1. He told me the truth only when his father had left.
2. I washed the floor when the painter had gone.
3. The leader sat down only after he had only completed his
speech.
4. By the time Doris got to the party, everyone had gone home.
5. After I had used the phone, I paid the bill.

Time expressions: after, once, by, already, never, meanwhile,

still, just. The word still is often used with negative forms.

EXERCISES – PAST PERFECT SIMPLE

Fill in the correct form of the past perfect simple or past simple
1. After the company _____Joe, he began to work on his first
project. (hire)
2. _____you _______ the news before you saw it on TV? (hear)
3. Michael didn’t want to see the movie because he _______ the
book yet. (not read)
4. The concert ______ already _______when we _______ the
stadium. (begin/ enter)
5. Bill __________ for years before he finally _______. (smoke/
quit).

10: PAST PERFECTCONTINUOUSTENSE:

Definition: it is used to express an action that was in progress
before another action in the past. Example: the police had been

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looking for the criminal for a year before they caught him. The
helping verb of this tense is: (had + been)

Formula: subject + had + been + present participle (verb + ing)

+ object

Examples:
1. Ben had been working for three hours when Rachel came
home.
2. By the time Sam found an umbrella, it had been raining for
ten minutes.
3. By the time Yusuf got to the office, the client had been waiting
for an hour.
4. I had been feeding the dogs when I tripped and fell.
5. Simon had not been expecting a positive answer when he got
a job.

EXERCISES – PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Put the verbs into the correct form (past perfect progressive).

1. We (sleep) for 12 hours when he woke us up.

2. They (wait) at the station for 90 minutes when the train finally
arrived.
3. I (not / walk) for a long time, when it suddenly began to rain.
4. How long (learn / she) English before she went to London?
5. Frank Sinatra caught the flu because he (sing) in the rain too
long.
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11: FUTURE PERFECT TENSE:
Definition: it is used to explain an activity that will be completed
by a certain time in the future. We add time expressions such as
by the time, by then, by the year 2008, by March 25th to describe
these kinds of activities. For example, “John will have gone
tomorrow”. It shows a sense of completion of an action (go)
which will occur in future (tomorrow). the helping verbs are:
(will, shall + have).

Formula: subject + will/shall + have +past participle + object.

Positive sentence
Examples:
 She will have finished the work by Wednesday.
 I will have left for home by the time he gets up.
 I will have left by the time you read this.
 He will have finished his work by March 25th.
 You will have made new chairs by Thursday.

Negative sentence
Examples:

 She will not have finished the work by Wednesday.

 I will not have left for home by the time he gets up.
 I will not have left by the time you read this.
 He will not have finished his work.
 You will not have made new chairs by Thursday.

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Interrogative sentence
Examples:
 Will she have finished the work by Wednesday?
 Will I have left for home by the time he gets up?
 Will I have left by the time you read this?
 Will he have finished his work?
 Will you have made a new chair?

EXERCISES – FUTURE PERFECT TENSE

Fill in the blanks with the correct future perfect tense form of
the verb (in parentheses):

EX: By this time tomorrow, I will have read (read) the book.
1. By the time you get here, I (finish) watching the movie.
2. By the time he graduates, Tom (take) all the necessary classes.
3. By this time next year, Nancy (move) to a new apartment
4. By this time tomorrow, we (put) all the furniture in the
basement.
5. By the time my wife gets home, I (prepare) supper.
6. By this time next week, we (buy) all the Christmas presents.
7. By this time tomorrow, the teacher (speak) to her about her
grades.
8. By the time you wake up, your brother (go) to work.
9. By the time we get to Chicago, we (drive) for 10 hours.
10. By the time my friends arrive, I (do) my homework.

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12: FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE:
Definition: It is used to express an action which is expected to
be continuing by certain point of time in the future.
Formula: subject + will/shall + have + been + verb + ing +
object

Positive Sentence

Examples:
 I will have been waiting for him for one hour.
 She will have been playing football since 2015.
 I will have been living in America since 2003.
 He will have been playing cricket for two hours.
Negative Sentence

To make negative sentence, the word “not” is added inside

auxiliary verb, so it becomes “will not have been”.

Examples:
 I will not have been waiting for him for one hour.
 She will not have been playing football since 2015.
 I will not have been living in America since 2003.
 He will not have been playing cricket for two hours.

Interrogative Sentence
Interrogative sentence starts with auxiliary verb “will” and
auxiliary verb “have been” is used after subject in sentence.

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Examples:
 Will I have been waiting for him for one hour?
 Will she have been playing football since 2015?
 Will I have been living in America since 2003?
 Will he have been playing cricket for two hours?
More Examples

1. He will have been driving for an hour by the time he gets

home.
2. In November, we will have been living in Spain for eleven
years.
3. In December, I will have been working here for two years.
4. They will win that contest because they will have been
practicing for months.
5. Next year we’ll have been manufacturing the sane model for
ten years.
EXERCISES – FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

Put the verbs into the correct form (future perfect continuous).

1. By the end of the month I (live) in this town for ten years.
2. By the end of this week we (work) on the project for a month.
3. By July the fifth they (study) English for 3 years.
4. By 10 o'clock she (watch) TV for 4 hours.
5. She (sleep) for 10 hours by 11 o'clock.
6. We (look for) him for 40 days by next Saturday.
7. They (wait) for the president for 5 hours.

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8. We (use) all our oil in fifty years time.
9. When he comes back, I (build) this house.
10. By the time you get there, the meeting (complete).

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