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Pre-Course
Grammar Module
“[G]rammar provides you with the structure you need in order to organize and put your
messages and ideas across. It is the railway through which your messages will be
transported. Without it, in the same way as a train cannot move without railways, you
won’t be able to convey your ideas to their full extension.”
~ Julio Foppoli
PRE-COURSE GRAMMAR MODULE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
• Objectives
• Parts of Speech
o Nouns
o Pronouns
o Verbs
o Articles
o Adjectives
o Adverbs
o Prepositions
• Verb Tense and Aspect
o Present Simple
o Present Continuous
o Past Simple
o Past Continuous
o Present Perfect
o Present Perfect Continuous
o Past Perfect
o Past Perfect Continuous
o Future Simple
o Future Continuous
o Future Perfect
o Future Perfect Continuous
• Review Questions
• Recommended Grammar Books and Online Resources
1
“[G]rammar provides you with the structure you need in order to organize and put your messages
and ideas across. It is the railway through which your messages will be transported. Without it,
in the same way as a train cannot move without railways, you won’t be able to convey your ideas
to their full extension.”
~ Julio Foppoli
Objectives
After finishing this chapter, the reader will be able to...
1. Identify and define different parts of speech, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs,
articles, pronouns, and prepositions.
2. Differentiate between countable and uncountable nouns.
3. Summarize the differences between indefinite and definite articles.
4. Demonstrate how to form comparative and superlative adjectives.
5. Demonstrate how to form comparative and superlative adverbs.
6. Define prepositions and explain why they are difficult for ESL learners.
7. Define verbs and different verb forms, including infinitives, gerunds, present participles, past
participles, stative verbs, dynamic verbs, and auxiliary verbs.
8. Name and demonstrate the usage of the twelve tenses of English.
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Parts of Speech
Parts of speech are word categories such as nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, articles, adverbs,
prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. The first part of this chapter discusses different
parts of speech, while the second part of this chapter focuses on English tenses.
Nouns
Nouns denote a person, place, thing, quality, animal, or idea. Nouns can be divided into proper
nouns that refer to particular individuals and are capitalized (e.g. Willis Tower, Chicago,
International TEFL Academy), and into common nouns, which are not capitalized and refer to
objects in general (e.g. tower, city, or academy). In English, nouns are preceded by articles and
adjectives:
a
happy
student
article adjective noun
Countable and Uncountable Nouns: Nouns can also be divided into countable and uncountable
(or “non-count” nouns or “mass” nouns). Countable nouns can be singular or plural (e.g.
animal/animals, cat/cats, man/men, child/children), while uncountable nouns cannot be divided
into separate elements (e.g. money, furniture, coffee, and love). ESL/EFL students need to
memorize which words are countable and which ones are uncountable. Some nouns can be both
depending on their meaning. For example, “Our house has four rooms” contains a countable
version of room. However, “Is there any room for me?” uses an uncountable version of room.
The chart below further illustrates the main differences between countable and uncountable
nouns.
Countable Nouns
May be preceded by indefinite article a/an
• a banknote
Uncountable Nouns (non-count nouns)
May not be preceded by indefinite article a/an
• a money (“some money” is used)
Take final –s/-es in the plural
• 2 banknotes
Have no plural form; do not take a final –s/-es
• moneys
May be followed by a verb in singular or plural Always followed by a verb in singular form:
form:
•
Money is important.
• This banknote is green.
• These banknotes are green.
Use the following expressions:
• many, a few / few
o How many banknotes do you have?
o I have a few banknotes.
o I have few banknotes left.
Use the following expressions:
• much, a little / little
o How much money do you have?
o I have a little money.
o I have little money left.
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Regular and Irregular Plurals: All countable nouns have singular and plural forms. To make a
plural form, we usually need to add –s, for example, one apple becomes two apples; however,
some nouns have irregular plurals, for example, man becomes men. The chart below will help
you understand regular and irregular plural forms.
Regular Plural Nouns
-s
• songs, books, pencils
-es (words ending in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, -z)
• messes, brushes, churches, boxes
-es (some words ending in -o)
• potatoes, tomatoes, heroes
Irregular Plural Nouns**
• man  men
• woman  women
• child  children
• person people
• mouse  mice
• foot  feet
• tooth  teeth
• 1 goose 2 geese
• 1 deer 2 deer
• 1 fish  2 fish
• 1 sheep  2 sheep
-ies (most words ending in –y preceded by a
consonant)*
• baby  babies, sky  skies
-ves (some words ending in –f or –fe)
• knifeknives, half  halves
*Note: we do not add –ies to words that end in –y preceded by a vowel, e.g. toy becomes toys; key becomes keys.
**These are just some examples of irregular plural nouns. For a complete list, consult a comprehensive grammar
book.
Pronouns
Pronouns replace nouns in order to avoid repetition. In the sentence below, she is a pronoun that
replaces the proper noun Lizzy.
Lizzy is a happy girl. She smiles all the time.
The chart below contains personal subject pronouns.
Person
1st
2nd
3rd
Singular
I
you
she/he/it
Plural
we
you
they
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This chart shows the other types of pronouns.
Person
Subject
pronoun
1st Person
Singular
2nd Person
Singular
3rd Person
Singular (male)
3rd Person
Singular (female)
3rd Person
Singular (object)
1st Person Plural
I
Possessive
adjective
my
Possessive
pronoun
mine
Object
pronoun
me
Reflexive
pronoun
myself
you
your
yours
you
yourself
he
his
his
him
himself
she
her
hers
her
herself
it
its
its
it
itself
we
our
ours
us
ourselves
2nd Person Plural
you
your
yours
you
yourselves
3rd Person Plural
they
their
theirs
them
themselves
Verbs
Most verbs are action words (sing, watch, run, jump). Sometimes, verbs express a state of being
(be, exist) or occurrence (happen, become).
Infinitives: The base form or bare infinitive is the form of the verb that one can find in a
dictionary, e.g. walk, study, or draw. Sometimes teachers write a verb preceded by the particle to
(to walk, to study, to draw) to indicate that it is the infinitive form of the verb.
Regular and Irregular Verbs: Verbs can be divided into regular and irregular depending on
how they form the past tense. See the chart below for examples.
Regular
verbs
Infinitive
work
listen
decide
study
be (am, is, are)
have
Irregular do
verbs
eat
break
put
Past Simple
worked
listened
decided
studied
Past Participle
worked
listened
decided
studied
was/were
had
did
ate
broke
put
been
had
done
eaten
broken
put
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Gerunds and Present Participles: Other forms of verbs include gerunds and present participles.
A gerund is a verb ending with –ing that functions as a noun. A present participle has the same
form, but it functions as a verb.
Gerund = verb + -ing that functions as a noun
Present Participle = verb + -ing that functions as a verb
walk  walking
read  reading
swim  swimming
Compare:
I like reading. (Here like is a verb and reading is a noun)
Reading is my favorite leisure activity. (Here reading is a noun)
I am reading now. (Here reading functions as a verb)
I have been reading for the past three hours. (Here reading functions as a verb)
Verbs Followed by Gerunds and Infinitives: Certain verbs in English are always followed by
infinitives, while other verbs are followed by gerunds. Look at the examples below.
Infinitives vs. Gerunds
Verbs Followed by Infinitives
Verbs Followed by Gerunds
want: I want to eat.
enjoy: I enjoy eating.
decide: He decided to dance.
practice: He practiced dancing.
choose: I chose to go home.
mind: I don’t mind going home.
agree: She agreed to dance with me.
resume: We resumed dancing.
Some verbs can be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive, such as like, start, or begin.
I like to read books. / I like reading books.
We began to study. / We began studying.
It started to rain. / It started raining.
Stative and Dynamic Verbs: Stative verbs (or non-continuous verbs) are verbs that cannot be
converted to a present participle, i.e. you cannot add an –ing ending. These verbs are things you
cannot see someone doing such as emotion or abstract verbs (e.g. like, love, hate, want, need,
be), opinion verbs (e.g. know, recognize), possession verbs (e.g. possess, own, belong), and
sensory verbs (e.g. taste, smell, see).
I want some fruit now.
I am wanting some fruit now. (incorrect)
She needs your help now.
She is needing your help now. (incorrect)
He owns that car.
He is owning that car. (incorrect)
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Mixed Verbs: Some verbs can be either dynamic or stative, depending on their meaning in
context (e.g. have). These are called mixed verbs.
I have a car. (Here, have means own)
I am having fun. (Here, have means experiencing)
Auxiliary Verbs: Auxiliary verbs are helping verbs. They “help” the main verb express the tense
of the sentence. Auxiliary verbs do not carry semantic meaning. Examples of auxiliary verbs
include be, do, have, and will.
She is teaching. (Here the verb is is helping the main verb teaching, so is is an auxiliary
verb)
She is a teacher. (Here the verb is carries semantic meaning, so it is the main verb and
not an auxiliary verb)
Adjectives
Adjectives are descriptive words that modify nouns. Adjectives usually precede nouns:
This is a cute baby.
That is a beautiful flower.
She is wearing a colorful dress.
Sometimes adjectives follow a describing verb, or copula, as in the following sentences:
This baby is cute.
This flower is beautiful.
The dress is colorful.
Adjectives have three forms: the base form, a comparative used to compare two items, and a
superlative used to compare three or more items. The chart below shows how to form
comparatives and superlatives.
One syllable
Two syllables
ending in -y
Two or more
syllables
Irregular
Adjectives
Base Form of
Adjective
small
old
happy
pretty
difficult
beautiful
good
bad
Comparative
smaller
older
happier
prettier
more difficult
more beautiful
better
worse
Superlative
smallest
oldest
happiest
prettiest
most difficult
most beautiful
best
worst
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Articles
Articles are types of adjectives that give information about nouns. English has two articles: the
definite article, the, and the indefinite article, a/an. We use the to modify specific or particular
nouns, while we use a/an to refer to non-specific or non-particular nouns. When referencing
nouns in general, we do not commonly use articles (often represented with a Ø symbol).
the = definite article
a/an = indefinite article
Ø = no article (zero article)
For example, if we say, “Let’s go to the restaurant”, we mean a specific restaurant. It is a
restaurant that both the speaker and listener know. If we say, “Let’s go to a restaurant”, we
mean any restaurant, rather than a specific one. On the other hand, if we say, “Restaurants are
expensive.” We are making a generalization about restaurants and no article is used. There are
many more rules governing the use of definite, indefinite, and zero articles. Read the chart below
for a general overview of these rules.
Indefinite Article: a/an
Use a before a consonant
sound: a pear, a horse, a
university
Use an before a vowel sound:
an apple, an umbrella, an hour
Use a/an with non-specific
objects:
There is a laptop on the table.
Use a/an with singular
countable nouns: a chair, a
friend
Other Uses:
Definite Article: the
Use the before both a vowel
and a consonant sound:
the apple, the pear
Zero article: Ø
Zero articles (Ø) can be used
to reference nouns in general:
Ø Apples are red.
Ø Horses are mammals.
Use the when the noun is
specific: There is a laptop on
the table. The laptop has
many colorful stickers on it.
Use the with countable and
uncountable nouns:
the chair, the furniture
Other Uses:
Zero articles (Ø) can be used
to make generalizations:
Ø Fruit is a healthy snack.
Ø Guns shouldn’t be allowed.
Ø Articles are challenging to
learn.
Other Uses:
Membership in a group:
When the object is unique:
a teacher, an American citizen the moon, the Whitehouse
With certain proper names:
Ø Obama, Ø Uncle Mike
Expressions of quantity, with
fractions, and with certain
numbers:
a number of, a lot of, a third,
a couple, a hundred
With certain geographical
and country names:
Ø China, Ø Asia, Ø Lake
Victoria
Used as part of an
exclamatory sentence:
What a great idea!
Before superlatives:
the best, the most talented
Before ordinal numbers that
are followed by a noun:
The third day, the fourth child
With certain geographical and
country names:
the Nile, the South Pole, the
United States
With certain prepositional
phrases that do not modify
nouns:
by Ø car, on Ø time, in Ø
trouble
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Adverbs
Adverbs are describing words that usually modify verbs. Adverbs may also modify adjectives,
other adverbs, or the whole sentence.
She walked slowly.
The very old lady walked quite slowly.
Consequently, she missed the bus.
Like adjectives, adverbs have three forms: the base form, a comparative used to compare two
items, and a superlative used to compare three or more items. The chart below shows how to
form comparatives and superlatives.
Base Form of
Adjective
Adverbs formed
from adjectives
by adding -ly
Adverbs with the
same form as
adjectives
Irregular
adverbs
Base Form of
Adverb
Comparative
Adverb
Superlative
Adverb
slow
beautiful
slowly
beautifully
more slowly
more beautifully
most slowly
most beautifully
hard
fast
hard
fast
harder
faster
hardest
fastest
good
bad
well
badly
better
worse
best
worst
Prepositions
Prepositions show a relationship between words in a sentence. Prepositions of place, such as on,
in, next to, above, and below, describe the spatial relationship between two or more objects.
Prepositions of place are relatively easy to teach; however, difficulty arises when teaching higher
levels because specific words and phrases are always followed by certain prepositions. Here are
some examples:
I’m on a bus, but I’m in a car.
I’ll see you at 10:00 AM on Monday in 2015.
There is a mistake in the picture on page 12.
I’m bad at math. (NOT with math)
But I’m bad with children. (NOT at children)
I’m interested in math. (NOT at math)
She accused me of everything. (NOT for)
But she blamed me for everything. (NOT of)
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Verb Tense and Aspect
Usually when we think about tenses, we think of three basic categories: the past, the present, and
the future. English also has two aspects: perfect and progressive. Tense and aspect are often
combined to indicate a specific time reference. Tense and aspect are best understood through
examples, which will be presented in the rest of this chapter.
It’s important to remember that some languages do not have tenses as we understand them. For
example, Mandarin Chinese uses time expressions, such as yesterday or last week, to indicate
time reference. A translation from Mandarin Chinese might look like “I eat pizza for lunch
yesterday.” In English, we have to conjugate the verb (change eat to ate) to express the same
thought: “I ate pizza for lunch yesterday.”
Different languages have different numbers of tenses. English has a total of twelve tense and
tense-aspect combinations, summarized in the following table.
Simple
Continuous*
Present Present Simple:
I do my
homework on the
weekends.
Present
Continuous:
I am doing my
homework now.
Past
Past Simple:
I did my
homework
yesterday.
Past Continuous:
I was doing my
homework when
the telephone rang.
Future
Future Simple:
If I have time, I
will do my
homework
tomorrow.
Future
Continuous:
I will be doing my
homework
tomorrow
morning.
Perfect
Perfect
Continuous*
Present Perfect:
Present Perfect
I have done my
Continuous:
homework. Here it I have been doing
is.
my homework since
6:00 AM this
morning.
Past Perfect:
Past Perfect
I had done my
Continuous:
homework before I I had been doing
went to bed last
my homework for
night.
three hours before I
submitted it.
Future Perfect:
Future Perfect
I will have done
Continuous:
my homework by
I will have been
11:59 PM next
doing my
Sunday.
homework for five
hours by the time I
finish it.
*Continuous aspect is also known as progressive. They are used interchangeably. Thus, present
continuous = present progressive. Similarly, present perfect continuous = present perfect
progressive.
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Present Simple
The present simple uses the bare infinitive of the verb, except for the third person singular where
an -s/-es ending is required:
Subject + VERB (+ s/es in third person singular)
I like apples.
He likes apples.
The present simple can be used to describe the following situations as summarized in the table
below:
Description
Routines
Generalizations
Schedules
At present
(stative verbs
only)
Present Simple
Explanation
To describe repetitive personal actions or
habits.
To describe generalizations, facts, and beliefs
that are true over time.
To describe near future events governed by
timetables e.g., bus/train/plane/boat/class
schedules.
To describe events happening now, using
stative verbs
Examples
• I play football on
Sundays.
• He always wears a
tie for work.
• She is never late.
• Does he bike to
work every day?
• Birds fly.
• Cows do not fly.
• Paris is the capital
of France.
• Iron is heavy.
• Feathers are light.
• Do dogs fly?
• The train for Paris
leaves at 8:30pm.
• The flight from
Toronto arrives at
11:25 am.
• The chemistry class
begins at 9:00am.
• Does the bus from
London arrive at
10pm?
• I am here now.
• Are you warm
now?
• She does not like
broccoli.
• Tom loves icecream.
• This house belongs
to Jodi.
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Present Continuous
The present continuous uses the conjugated form of the verb to be + present participle (bare
infinitive + -ing):
Subject + am/is/are + VERB + -ing
I am eating a sandwich.
He is eating a sandwich.
The present continuous can be used to describe the following situations:
Description
At present
Present Continuous
Explanation
To describe events happening right now.
Examples
• I am listening to the radio
now.
• He is having breakfast.
• They are running.
• I am cleaning the kitchen
now.
• What are you doing?
• I am living in Chicago for the
duration of this course.
• I am taking a biology class
this semester.
• She is not reading any books
right now.
Actions in
progress
To describe actions that are temporary.
Near/
immediate
future
To describe near future events.
•
•
•
•
To describe annoying personal actions or
habits.
• She is always teasing him.
• He is constantly interrupting
me.
• They are always making me
wait.
Repetition
and irritation
I am leaving in 10 minutes.
She is going out tonight.
Is he flying to Boston today?
Are they coming for dinner
this Saturday?
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Past Simple
The past simple uses the bare infinitive of the verb + -ed or irregular verb form:
Subject + VERB + -ed or irregular form
I watched TV yesterday.
I went to the theater last Friday.
The past simple can be used to describe the following situation:
Description
Past actions
Past habits
Past Simple
Explanation
To describe an event that happened in the past.
To describe personal habits that are no longer
true.
Longer actions
in the past
To describe actions that took some time to
complete.
Sequence of
past events
To describe past actions that happened in
order.
Examples
• I watched a good
movie yesterday.
• She went shopping last
Sunday.
• They moved here from
Boston 3 years ago.
• Where did you go last
night?
• I studied Spanish in
high school.
• She played the guitar
when she was a
teenager.
• What sports did you
play when you were a
child?
• She talked to her
friend for two hours
yesterday.
• It took me two years to
learn how to play the
guitar.
• Did you really spend
seven years in Tibet?
• When I got home I had
dinner and went to
bed.
• After he finished
breakfast, he went for
a walk.
• Did you restart your
laptop after you
scanned it for viruses?
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Past Continuous
The past continuous uses the past form of the conjugated verb to be + present participle (bare
infinitive + -ing):
Subject + was/were + VERB + -ing
I was watching TV.
We were having breakfast.
The past continuous can be used to describe the following situations:
Description
Interrupted
action in the
past
Past Continuous
Explanation
To describe a longer event that was interrupted
by a shorter action.
Specific time as
an interruption
To describe a longer action at a specific time in
the past.
Parallel actions
To describe two actions which were happening
at the same time.
Repetition and
irritation
To describe irritating or annoying past habits.
Examples
• I was having breakfast
when Tom called.
• She was listening to
the radio when the
lights went out.
• They were working in
the garden when the
storm started.
• What were they doing
when the police
arrived?
• At midnight, the kids
were still playing with
their new toy.
• Yesterday at 8pm, I
was reading a book in
my bed.
• At what time were you
walking your dog
yesterday?
• The kids were setting
the table while I was
making dinner.
• What was he doing
while you were
cleaning?
• He was always
whistling. It annoyed
everyone.
• She was constantly
complaining about the
rain.
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Present Perfect
The present perfect uses the conjugated form of the auxiliary verb to have + past participle (bare
infinitive + -ed or irregular form):
Subject + have/has + VERB + ed or irregular form
I have visited Canada several times.
He has been to Paris many times.
The present perfect can be used to describe the following situations:
Description
Unspecified
time in the past
Present Perfect
Explanation
To describe a past action that happened in
unspecified or unfinished time*
1. Experience
2. Change over time
3. Achievements
4. Uncompleted action you are expecting
5. The same action repeated at different
times
Duration of past To describe actions that have started in the past
action until now
(stative verbs)
Examples
1) Experience:
• Have you ever been
to Mexico?
• I have never had
sushi before.
• He has read that
book many times.
2) Change Over Time:
• She has grown a lot
since the last time I
saw her.
3) Achievements:
• I have taught ESL
students before.
4) Uncompleted Action:
• I have not done my
homework yet.
5) Same Action:
• They have attacked
this city many times.
• I have been sick for
the last three days.
• He has been away
for five years.
• I have owned this car
since 2005.
and have continued until now, with stative verbs
To better understand the idea of unspecified time, watch the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkln8PfE1xE
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Present Perfect Continuous
The present perfect continuous uses the conjugated form of the auxiliary verb to have + been +
present participle (bare infinitive + -ing):
Subject + have/has + been + VERB + -ing
I have been watching TV for over three hours.
She has been waiting for the last hour.
The present perfect continuous can be used to describe the following situations:
Description
Duration of
action until
now
Recent events
Present Perfect Continuous
Explanation
To describe an action that started in the past and
lasted a specific amount of time until now
To describe recent events
Examples
• I have been cleaning
the kitchen for two
hours.
• He has been working
on this assignment for
two weeks.
• How long have you
been reading this
book?
• Recently, I have been
eating too much
chocolate.
• She has not been
exercising lately.
• What have you been
doing?
Past Perfect
The past perfect uses the past form of the auxiliary verb to have + past participle (bare infinitive
+ -ed or irregular form):
Subject + had + VERB + -ed or irregular form
I had lived in Boston before I moved to Chicago.
She had studied Spanish before she moved to Spain.
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The past perfect can be used to describe the following situations:
Past Perfect
Explanation
Description
Examples
Completed past To emphasize that an event happened before
action before
another event in the past.
another action
• They had lived in
Poland before they
moved to the U.S.
• She had read the
book before she saw
the screen adaptation.
Duration
To emphasize that an action started in the past
before
and continued until another past action.
something in
the past (stative
verbs)
• Olivia had owned
this car for 5 years
before she sold it.
• I had had that
necklace for many
years before it got
stolen.
Past Perfect Continuous
The past perfect continuous uses the past form of the auxiliary verb to have + been + present
participle (bare infinitive + -ing):
Subject + had + been + VERB + -ing
I had been living in Boston for 5 years before I moved to Chicago.
She had been studying Spanish for 3 years before she moved to Spain.
The past perfect continuous can be used to describe the following situations:
Past Perfect Continuous
Description
Explanation
Examples
Duration before
another action
in the past
To describe the duration of an event that
happened in the past before another past action.
• He had been driving
this car for many years
before it broke down.
• How long had you
been living in Toronto
before you moved to
Vancouver?
17
Reason for
something in
the past
To show cause and effect of actions in the past.
• I was hungry because I
had been working all
day long.
• They failed the test
because they had not
been studying.
Future Simple
The future simple uses the auxiliary verb will + the bare infinitive:
Subject + will + VERB
I will bring you some water.
Mark will help him tomorrow.
The future simple also uses the form be going to:
Subject + am/is/are going to + VERB
I am going to get some ice cream.
It is going to rain tonight.
The future simple can be used to describe the following situations:
Description
Voluntary
actions:
will
Future Simple
Explanation
To describe the speaker’s willingness to do
something.
Examples
• I will do my
homework by myself.
• He will help her
tomorrow.
• Will you go out with
me?
Promise:
will
To promise something to someone.
• I will let you know
when I get there.
• I will clean the
bathroom when I
have time.
• I will not tell anyone.
Plan:
be going to
To express one’s planned actions.
• I am going to buy
some wine for
dinner.
• I am going to be a
doctor when I grow
up.
• What are you going
to do with all those
flowers?
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Prediction:
will or
be going to
To express prediction about the future.
• It is going to rain, or
It will rain.
• In ten years’ time, the
climate is going to
get much warmer, or
In ten years’ time, the
climate will get much
warmer.
Future Continuous
The future continuous uses the auxiliary verbs will + be + present participle:
Subject + will + be + VERB + -ing
I will be travelling to Paris when the game starts.
The future continuous also uses the form be going to:
Subject + am/is/are going to + be + VERB + - ing
I am going to be travelling to Paris when the game starts.
The future continuous can be used to describe the following situations:
Description
Interrupted
future action:
will or
be going to
Time:
will or
be going to
Future Continuous
Explanation
To describe that a continuous action in the
future will be interrupted by a short event.
To describe that a continuous action in the
future will be interrupted by a specific time.
Examples
• I will be doing my
homework when you
come back from
work.
• I am going to be
sleeping when you
arrive.
• At 7 PM, I will be
having dinner.
• At noon, they will be
studying at the
library.
• What are they going
to be doing at 5:30
PM tomorrow
afternoon?
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Parallel future
actions:
will or
be going to
To describe two actions that will be happening
at the same time in the future.
• My sister will be
doing the dishes and
I will be making a
dessert.
• While she will be
reading a book, he
will be watching a
game.
• I am going to be
doing homework and
he is going to be
watching TV.
Future Perfect
The future perfect uses the auxiliary verbs will + have + the past participle (bare infinitive +
-ed or irregular form):
Subject + will + have + VERB + -ed or irregular form
By the time I move to Denver, I will have lived in San Diego for ten years.
The future perfect also uses the form be going to:
Subject + am/is/are going to + have + VERB + -ed or irregular form
By the time I move to Denver, I am going to have lived in San Diego for ten
years.
The future perfect can be used to describe the following situations:
Description
Completed
future action
before another
one
Future Perfect
Explanation
To describe an event that will have happened in
the future before another future action.
Examples
• By the time you are
50, you will have
learned from your
mistakes.
• You are going to have
saved some money by
the time you buy such
an expensive car.
• By the time I finish my
workout, I will have
burned 500 calories.
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Duration of
future action
until another
one
To highlight that an action will continue until
another future action.
• By Sunday, Tom will
have had my tennis
rackets for nearly two
weeks.
• I am going to have
learned a thousand
words by the time my
French course finishes.
Future Perfect Continuous
The future perfect continuous uses the auxiliary verbs will + have + been + the present participle
(bare infinitive + -ing):
Subject + will + have + been + VERB + ing
I will have been learning Spanish for two years by the time I arrive in
Madrid next year.
The future perfect continuous also uses the form be going to:
Subject + am/is/are going to + have + been + VERB + ing or irregular form
I am going to have been learning Spanish for two years by the time I
arrive in Madrid next year.
The future perfect continuous can be used to describe the following situations:
Description
Duration of
future action
until another
one
Future Perfect Continuous
Explanation
To highlight the duration of an action until
another future action.
Examples
• You will have been
driving for over five
hours by the time you
reach Vermont
tomorrow.
• They are going to
have been shopping
for two hours by the
time the store closes
tonight.
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Reason for
something in
the future
To highlight the cause and effect of future
actions.
• Tom will be tired by
the time he gets home
because he will have
been driving for over
five hours.
• They will win all the
games when they go
to the World Cup
because they are
going to have been
practicing for over
four years.
Review Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
What is a noun? How do we form plurals?
What are some differences between countable and uncountable nouns?
Name all the personal pronouns.
What is the difference between possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns? Form a few
sentences to illustrate the difference.
5. What part of speech do adjectives modify? How do we form comparative and superlative
adjectives?
6. What parts of speech do adverbs modify? How do we form comparative and superlative
adverbs?
7. When do we use indefinite and definite articles? Name five different rules and give
examples.
8. What are prepositions? Why are they difficult for ESL/EFL learners?
9. Define the following terms:
• verb
• infinitive
• gerund
• present participle
• past participle
• auxiliary verb
10. What are regular and irregular verbs?
11. Name a few stative verbs. How do we use them?
12. Explain the main difference between the present simple and present continuous.
13. Explain the main difference between the past simple and present perfect.
14. Explain the main difference between the past simple and past continuous. Can we use both
of these tenses in one sentence?
15. When do we use past perfect?
16. Which two present tenses can be used to talk about the future? In what situations do we use
them?
17. Give a few examples of future simple tense. When do we use this tense?
18. What is the difference between the future continuous and future perfect? Give a few
examples of sentences.
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19. Articles are one of the hardest grammar points to master for the vast majority of ESL/EFL
students. Consult your grammar book and/or online resources and search for more rules
about definite and indefinite articles.
20. Which tense/aspect is the hardest for you? Consult your grammar book and/or online
resources and search for more explanations and examples of sentences in this tense.
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Recommended Grammar Books and Online Resources:
American English grammar:
Understanding and Using English Grammar (with Answer Key and Audio CDs) by Betty
Azar
British English grammar:
English Grammar in Use with Answers and CD-ROM by Raymond Murphy
A Practical English Grammar by Audrey Thomson and Agnes Martinet
Practical English Usage by Michael Swan
Tenses: http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.html
Articles: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/540/01/
Guide to Grammar and Writing: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/index2.htm
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