Was/were + present participle
You were reading when I walked in.
Were you studying when I called you?
You were not working when I called you.
The Past Continuous has 4 main uses/functions:
Here is a list of the most common irregular verbs. This list is by no means the complete list of irregular verbs in English but the most regularly used.
The functions of the Present Continuous can be divided into four but the form is the same:
...am/is/are + present participle (i.e. -ing)
You are reading 'War and Peace'.
Are you reading 'War and Peace'?
You are not reading 'War and Peace'.
We use the present continuous with verbs that express actions to express the idea that something is happening now, at the very moment of speaking.
The Present Perfect Continuous is formed with – has/have + been+ present participle
You have been waiting long.
Have you been waiting long?
You have not been waiting long.
The Present Simple has four main functions (uses). With regard to its form, remember that in the third person singular 's/es' is added to the verb.
I speak English. / He speaks English.
Question forms with the Present Simple need the auxiliary 'do', as do short replies:
Do you speak English? / Does he speak English?
Yes, I do. / Yes, he does?
No, I don't / No, he doesn't?
There are several uses (functions) of the Past Simple:
Use the Past Simple (VERB+ed or irregular verbs) to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. It is not necessary to mention the specific time but it is implied in the verb form.
The Past Real Conditional describes what you used to do in particular real-life situations. It suggests that your habits have changed and you do not usually do these things today.
If I went out with my friends, I usually spent the whole night out. I can’t do that anymore.
When I had time off, I always travelled. Now I’m too busy.
When he was younger, he walked everywhere. Now he uses his car.
I had more time for my hobbies when I was younger.
There are different forms of the future unreal conditional.
If ... Past Simple ..., ...would + verb - ...would + verb... if ... Simple Past
( this form looks the same as the present unreal conditional)
Lesson by Tristan, teacher at EC Malta English school
The future real conditional describes what the speaker will do in a specific situation in the future. Although we do not know what will happen in the future the future real conditional is called 'real' because it refers to a possible action that could occur.
Lesson by Tristan, teacher at EC Malta English school
Verbs that take a gerund or an infinitive with different meanings:
When 'begin' is used in non-continuous tenses, you can use a gerund or an infinitive: She began singing. She began to sing.
When 'begin' is used in continuous tenses, an infinitive is used:
She is beginning to sing.
