Past Perfect
Introduction
The past perfect tense is often used in English when we are relating two events which happened in the past. It helps to show which event happened first. This page will explain the rules for forming and using the tense.
The perfect is a verb form found in certain languages. The exact meaning of the term differs depending on which language is being described, but in principle the perfect is used to indicate that an action or circumstance occurred earlier than the present time (or other time under consideration), often focusing attention on the resulting state rather than on the occurrence itself. An example of a perfect construction is given by the English sentence I have made dinner: although this gives information about a prior action (my making the dinner), the focus is likely to be on the present consequences of that action (the fact that the dinner is now ready). The word perfect in this sense means "completed" (from Latin perfectus, which is the perfect passive participle of the verbperficere "to finish").
In traditional grammar, particularly with regard to Latin and Ancient Greek, the term perfect is used for a particular conjugated verb form, traditionally considered to be one of the tenses, although in modern analysis it is seen as combining the expression of tense (time reference) with aspectual information. The Greek perfect contrasted with the aorist and the imperfect, and thus referred to completed events with present consequences like the English "have/has (done something)". The Latin perfect contrasted only with the imperfect (used for past incomplete actions or states), and was thus used to mean both "have/has done something" and "did something" (the preterite use). Other related forms are the pluperfect, denoting an event prior to a past time of reference, and thefuture perfect, for an event prior to a future time of reference.
In modern grammars, particularly of English, the term perfect is often used to denote an aspect independent of tense – the form corresponding to the traditional perfect (I have done) is then called the present perfect, while that corresponding to the pluperfect (I had done) is called the past perfect (there are also additional forms such as future perfect, conditional perfect and so on). The formation of perfect constructions as found in English, using forms of an auxiliary verb (have) together with the past participle of the main verb, is paralleled in a number of other modern European languages.
Perfect can be denoted by the glossing abbreviation perf or prf. It should not be confused with the perfective aspect, which refers to the viewing of an action as a single (but not necessarily prior) event. To avoid confusion with the perfective, the perfect is occasionally called the retrospective (ret).
Forming the past perfect tense
This tense is formed using two components: the verb HAVE (in the past tense), and the past participle form of a verb. With a regular verb the past participle ends with -ED (just like the simple past). Irregular verbs have a special past participle form that you have to learn. Here are the rules, using the regular verb "arrive" and the irregular verb "eat":
Subject
|
HAVE
|
Past Participle
|
Contraction
|
I
|
had
|
arrived.
eaten. |
I'd arrived.
I'd eaten. |
You
|
had
|
arrived.
eaten. |
You'd arrived.
You'd eaten. |
He
|
had
|
arrived.
eaten. |
He'd arrived.
He'd eaten. |
She
|
had
|
arrived.
eaten. |
She'd arrived.
She'd eaten. |
It
|
had
|
arrived.
eaten. |
It'd arrived.
It'd eaten. |
We
|
had
|
arrived.
eaten. |
We'd arrived.
We'd eaten. |
They
|
had
|
arrived.
eaten. |
They'd arrived.
They'd eaten. |
Using the Past Perfect
The past perfect is used to show you which of two events happened first. Imagine that two things happened in the past:
Past Event
|
I went to see the movie.
|
Past Event
|
We discussed the movie in class.
|
Here, we don't know which order the events happened in. That may be important -- perhaps I went to see the movie after the discussion, or maybe I saw the movie before the discussion. There are many ways to make this sequence clear, and the past perfect is one of them. This is how we do it:
I went to see the movie. We had discussed the movie in class.
|
Here, we know that the discussion took place first — even though the sentence describing it comes afterwards. We discussed the movie, and then I went to see it. This can be very useful when you are telling a story or relating a sequence of events. At any point in your story, you can jump back to a previous event, and your reader will not be confused because the past perfect will make it clear that the event happened previously.
Here is another example:
Simple
Past |
I wanted to live in a foreign country, so I applied for a job in Japan. Judy lived in Japan, so I called her to find out more about the culture and lifestyle there.
(Judy was probably still living in Japan when I called her.)
|
Past
Perfect |
I wanted to live in a foreign country, so I applied for a job in Japan. Judy had lived in Japan, so I called her to find out more about the culture and lifestyle there.
(Judy no longer lived in Japan — she returned from there before I applied for the job.)
|
Past Perfect
FORM
[had + past participle]
Examples:
· You had studied English before you moved to New York.
· Had you studied English before you moved to New York?
· You had not studied English before you moved to New York.
USE 1 Completed Action Before Something in the Past
The Past Perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past.
Examples:
· I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Kauai.
· I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet.
· Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times.
· Had Susan ever studied Thai before she moved to Thailand?
· She only understood the movie because she had read the book.
· Kristine had never been to an opera before last night.
· We were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in advance.
· A: Had you ever visited the U.S. before your trip in 2006?
B: Yes, I had been to the U.S. once before.
B: Yes, I had been to the U.S. once before.
USE 2 Duration Before Something in the Past (Non-Continuous Verbs)
With Non-Continuous Verbs and some non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use the Past Perfect to show that something started in the past and continued up until another action in the past.
Examples:
· We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
· By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years.
· They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than forty years.
Although the above use of Past Perfect is normally limited to Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, the words "live," "work," "teach," and "study" are sometimes used in this way even though they are NOT Non-Continuous Verbs.
IMPORTANT Specific Times with the Past Perfect
Unlike with the Present Perfect, it is possible to use specific time words or phrases with the Past Perfect. Although this is possible, it is usually not necessary.
Example:
· She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.
MOREOVER
If the Past Perfect action did occur at a specific time, the Simple Past can be used instead of the Past Perfect when "before" or "after" is used in the sentence. The words "before" and "after" actually tell you what happens first, so the Past Perfect is optional. For this reason, both sentences below are correct.
Examples:
· She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.
· She visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.
HOWEVER
If the Past Perfect is not referring to an action at a specific time, Past Perfect is not optional. Compare the examples below. Here Past Perfect is referring to a lack of experience rather than an action at a specific time. For this reason, Simple Past cannot be used.
Examples:
· She never saw a bear before she moved to Alaska. Not Correct
· She had never seen a bear before she moved to Alaska. Correct
ADVERB PLACEMENT
The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.
Examples:
· You had previously studied English before you moved to New York.
· Had you previously studied English before you moved to New York?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
· George had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license. Active
· Many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's license. Passive
Referensi:
Future Tense
Future: Forms
Introduction
In English, there are many ways of talking about events in the future. Many students find it difficult to decide which form to use in a particular situation. This page explains the differences between main forms which we use when talking about future time.
In grammar, a future tense is a verb form that generally marks the event described by the verb as not having happened yet, but expected to happen in the future. An example of a future tense form is the French aimera, meaning "will love", derived from the verb aimer ("love"). English does not have a future tense formed by verb inflection in this way, although it has a number of ways of expressing futurity, particularly the construction with the auxiliary verb will or shall, and grammarians differ in whether they describe such constructions as representing a future tense in English, one and all.
The "future" expressed by the future tense usually means the future relative to the moment of speaking, although in contexts where relative tenseis used it may mean the future relative to some other point in time under consideration. Future tense can be denoted by the glossing abbreviationfut.
1. Basic meanings of the forms
Most students know that “will” and “going to” are used to talk about future time in English. However, we also use the present progressive (“be” + ING) and the present simple tense. Here are the basic rules.
Form
|
Meaning / Usage
|
Example
|
“Will”
|
volunteering to do something
deciding at the time of speaking to do something |
Angelo: I need a pencil.
Sarah: I'll lend you mine. |
“Going to”
|
talking about something that is already decided
|
Angelo: Have you registered for the class yet?
Sarah: Not yet. I'm going to register tomorrow. |
Present Continuous
|
talking about something that is already arranged
|
Angelo: Do you want to go to the movies tonight?
Sarah: Sorry, I can't. I'm playing soccer. |
Present simple
|
talking about a schedule, timetable or program
|
Angelo: What time does the next bus leave?
Sarah: It leaves at six. |
2. Predicting the future
When you are predicting what you think will happen in the future, you should choose the form based on how certain you are. If you're not too sure, it's fine to use “will”, but if you're nearly certain about something, it's best to use “going to”.
I think it will rain.
(I'm not sure, but it looks like it might.)
It's going to rain.
(I'm sure it's going to rain — I can see black clouds in the sky.)
(I'm not sure, but it looks like it might.)
It's going to rain.
(I'm sure it's going to rain — I can see black clouds in the sky.)
Simple Future
Simple Future has two different forms in English: "will" and "be going to." Although the two forms can sometimes be used interchangeably, they often express two very different meanings. These different meanings might seem too abstract at first, but with time and practice, the differences will become clear. Both "will" and "be going to" refer to a specific time in the future.
FORM Will
[will + verb]
Examples:
· You will help him later.
· Will you help him later?
· You will not help him later.
FORM Be Going To
[am/is/are + going to + verb]
Examples:
· You are going to meet Jane tonight.
· Are you going to meet Jane tonight?
· You are not going to meet Jane tonight.
USE 1 "Will" to Express a Voluntary Action
"Will" often suggests that a speaker will do something voluntarily. A voluntary action is one the speaker offers to do for someone else. Often, we use "will" to respond to someone else's complaint or request for help. We also use "will" when we request that someone help us or volunteer to do something for us. Similarly, we use "will not" or "won't" when we refuse to voluntarily do something.
Examples:
· I will send you the information when I get it.
· I will translate the email, so Mr. Smith can read it.
· Will you help me move this heavy table?
· Will you make dinner?
· I will not do your homework for you.
· I won't do all the housework myself!
· A: I'm really hungry.
B: I'll make some sandwiches.
B: I'll make some sandwiches.
· A: I'm so tired. I'm about to fall asleep.
B: I'll get you some coffee.
B: I'll get you some coffee.
· A: The phone is ringing.
B: I'll get it.
B: I'll get it.
USE 2 "Will" to Express a Promise
"Will" is usually used in promises.
Examples:
· I will call you when I arrive.
· If I am elected President of the United States, I will make sure everyone has access to inexpensive health insurance.
· I promise I will not tell him about the surprise party.
· Don't worry, I'll be careful.
· I won't tell anyone your secret.
USE 3 "Be going to" to Express a Plan
"Be going to" expresses that something is a plan. It expresses the idea that a person intends to do something in the future. It does not matter whether the plan is realistic or not.
Examples:
· He is going to spend his vacation in Hawaii.
· She is not going to spend her vacation in Hawaii.
· A: When are we going to meet each other tonight?
B: We are going to meet at 6 PM.
B: We are going to meet at 6 PM.
· I'm going to be an actor when I grow up.
· Michelle is going to begin medical school next year.
· They are going to drive all the way to Alaska.
· Who are you going to invite to the party?
· A: Who is going to make John's birthday cake?
B: Sue is going to make John's birthday cake.
B: Sue is going to make John's birthday cake.
USE 4 "Will" or "Be Going to" to Express a Prediction
Both "will" and "be going to" can express the idea of a general prediction about the future. Predictions are guesses about what might happen in the future. In "prediction" sentences, the subject usually has little control over the future and therefore USES 1-3 do not apply. In the following examples, there is no difference in meaning.
Examples:
· The year 2222 will be a very interesting year.
· The year 2222 is going to be a very interesting year.
· John Smith will be the next President.
· John Smith is going to be the next President.
· The movie "Zenith" will win several Academy Awards.
· The movie "Zenith" is going to win several Academy Awards.
IMPORTANT
In the Simple Future, it is not always clear which USE the speaker has in mind. Often, there is more than one way to interpret a sentence's meaning.
Like all future forms, the Simple Future cannot be used in clauses beginning with time expressions such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc. Instead of Simple Future, Simple Present is used.
Examples:
· When you will arrive tonight, we will go out for dinner. Not Correct
· When you arrive tonight, we will go out for dinner. Correct
ADVERB PLACEMENT
The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.
Examples:
· You will never help him.
· Will you ever help him?
· You are never going to meet Jane.
· Are you ever going to meet Jane?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
· John will finish the work by 5:00 PM. Active
· The work will be finished by 5:00 PM. Passive
· Sally is going to make a beautiful dinner tonight. Active
· A beautiful dinner is going to be made by Sally tonight. Passive
Referensi:
Simple Past Tense
Simple Past: Regular Verbs
Introduction
The simple past tense is one of the most common tenses in English. Its form is the same with all subjects. It is usually formed by adding -ED to the verb. This page will explain the rules for forming the tense with regular verbs.
The past tense is a grammatical tense whose principal function is to place an action or situation in past time. In languages which have a past tense, it thus provides a grammatical means of indicating that the event being referred to took place in the past. Examples of verbs in the past tense include the English verbs sang, went and was.
In some languages, the grammatical expression of past tense is combined with the expression of other categories such as mood and aspect (see tense–aspect–mood). Thus a language may have several types of past tense form, their use depending on what aspectual or other additional information is to be encoded. French, for example, has a compound past (passé composé) for expressing completed events, an imperfect for expressing events which were ongoing or repeated in the past, as well as several other past forms.
Some languages that grammaticalise for past tense do so by inflecting the verb, while others do so periphrastically using auxiliary verbs, also known as "verbal operators" (and some do both, as in the example of French given above). Not all languages grammaticalise verbs for past tense – Mandarin Chinese, for example, mainly uses lexical means (words like "yesterday" or "last week") to indicate that something took place in the past, although use can also be made of the tense/aspect markers le and guo.
The "past time" to which the past tense refers generally means the past relative to the moment of speaking, although in contexts where relative tense is employed (as in some instances ofindirect speech) it may mean the past relative to some other time being under discussion.[1] A language's past tense may also have other uses besides referring to past time; for example, in English and certain other languages, the past tense is sometimes used in referring to hypothetical situations, such as in condition clauses like If you loved me ..., where the past tense loved is used even though there may be no connection with past time.
Some languages grammatically distinguish the recent past from remote past with separate tenses. There may be more than two distinctions.
1. Forming the simple past tense
With most verbs, the simple past is created simply by adding -ED. However, with some verbs, you need to add -D or change the ending a little. Here are the rules:
Verb ending in...
|
How to make the simple past
|
Examples
|
e
|
Add -D
|
live
liveddate dated |
Consonant +y
|
Change y to i, then add -ED
|
try
triedcry cried |
One vowel + one consonant
(but NOT w or y) |
Double the consonant, then add -ED
|
tap
tappedcommit committed |
anything else including w
|
Add -ED
|
boil
boiledfill filledhand handedshow showed |
Simple Past: Irregular Verbs
Introduction
Although many verbs in English form their past tense with -ED, some do not. These are called irregular verbs, and they include some of the most basic verbs in English. This page will explain some of the most important patterns in forming the past tense. However, the only way to know how an irregular verb will change in the past tense is to learn all of the important verbs.
1. The three most important irregular verbs
The three most important irregular verbs are BE, HAVE, and DO. The simple past forms for BE are different depending on the subject.
Pronoun
|
BE
|
HAVE
|
DO
|
I
|
was
|
had
|
did
|
You
|
were
|
had
|
did
|
He / she / it
|
was
|
had
|
did
|
We
|
were
|
had
|
did
|
They
|
were
|
had
|
did
|
2. Other irregular verbs
Other irregular verbs fall into three main categories:
Category
|
Examples
|
Verbs which don't change
|
cut - cut
hit - hit fit - fit |
Verbs which change their vowel
|
get - got
sit - sat drink - drank |
Verbs which change completely
|
catch - caught
bring - brought teach - taught |
FORM
[VERB+ed] or irregular verbs
Examples:
· You called Debbie.
· Did you call Debbie?
· You did not call Debbie.
USE 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.
USE 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?
USE 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?
B: We waited for one hour.
B: We waited for one hour.
USE 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.
USE 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
Referensi:
Simple Present Tense
Introduction
The simple present tense is one of the most common tenses in English. This page will explain the rules for forming the tense with regular verbs.
The present tense is a grammatical tense whose principal function is to locate a situation or event in present time.[1] The term "present tense" is usually used in descriptions of specific languages to refer to a particular grammatical form or set of forms; these may have a variety of uses, not all of which will necessarily refer to present time. For example, in the English sentence My train leaves tomorrow morning, the verb form leaves is said to be in the present tense, even though in this particular context it refers to an event in future time. Similarly, in the historical present, the present tense is used to narrate events that occurred in the past.
1. Forming the simple present tense
There are only two basic forms for the simple present tense; one ends with -s and the other doesn't. Here are the rules, using the example verb "sing":
Subject
|
Verb Form
|
Example
|
I
|
simple form
|
I sing
|
You
|
simple form
|
You sing
|
He
|
simple form + S
|
He sings
|
She
|
simple form + S
|
She sings
|
It
|
simple form + S
|
It sings
|
We
|
simple form
|
We sing
|
They
|
simple form
|
They sing
|
In other words, only THIRD PERSON SINGULAR subjects (he, she and it) have to have a verb with -S.
2. -s or -es ?
With most verbs, the third person singular form is created simply by adding -S. However, with some verbs, you need to add -ES or change the ending a little. Here are the rules:
Verb ending in...
|
How to make the 3rd person singular
|
Example
|
s
|
Add -ES
|
He passes
|
z
|
Add -ES
|
She waltzes
|
sh
|
Add -ES
|
She wishes
|
ch
|
Add -ES
|
He watches
|
x
|
Add -ES
|
She mixes
|
o
|
Add -ES
|
He goes
|
consonant + y
|
Change Y to I, then add -ES
|
It flies
|
[anything else]
|
Add -S
|
He sings
|
FORM
[VERB] + s/es in third person
Examples:
· You speak English.
· Do you speak English?
· You do not speak English.
USE 1 Repeated Actions
Use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is repeated or usual. The action can be a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that often happens. It can also be something a person often forgets or usually does not do.
Examples:
· I play tennis.
· She does not play tennis.
· Does he play tennis?
· The train leaves every morning at 8 AM.
· The train does not leave at 9 AM.
· When does the train usually leave?
· She always forgets her purse.
· He never forgets his wallet.
· Every twelve months, the Earth circles the Sun.
· Does the Sun circle the Earth?
USE 2 Facts or Generalizations
The Simple Present can also indicate the speaker believes that a fact was true before, is true now, and will be true in the future. It is not important if the speaker is correct about the fact. It is also used to make generalizations about people or things.
Examples:
· Cats like milk.
· Birds do not like milk.
· Do pigs like milk?
· California is in America.
· California is not in the United Kingdom.
· Windows are made of glass.
· Windows are not made of wood.
· New York is a small city. It is not important that this fact is untrue.
USE 3 Scheduled Events in the Near Future
Speakers occasionally use Simple Present to talk about scheduled events in the near future. This is most commonly done when talking about public transportation, but it can be used with other scheduled events as well.
Examples:
· The train leaves tonight at 6 PM.
· The bus does not arrive at 11 AM, it arrives at 11 PM.
· When do we board the plane?
· The party starts at 8 o'clock.
· When does class begin tomorrow?
USE 4 Now (Non-Continuous Verbs)
Speakers sometimes use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is happening or is not happening now. This can only be done with Non-Continuous Verbsand certain Mixed Verbs.
Examples:
· I am here now.
· She is not here now.
· He needs help right now.
· He does not need help now.
· He has his passport in his hand.
· Do you have your passport with you?
ADVERB PLACEMENT
The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.
Examples:
· You only speak English.
· Do you only speak English?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
· Once a week, Tom cleans the car. Active
· Once a week, the car is cleaned by Tom. Passive
Referensi:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Present_tense
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