PAST PRESENT FUTURE

SIMPLE -ed -s will + V

BE (past) + BE (present) will + be +
PROGRESSIVE -ing + -ing -ing
had + -ed/- has/have + will + have
PERFECT en -ed/-en + -ed/-en
PERFECT had + been has/have + will + have
PROGRESSIVE + -ing been + -ing + been +
-ing
1. When I came home, the children still didn’t
finish dinner

A. didn’t finish dinner C. hadn’t finished dinner

B. hasn’t finished dinner D. weren’t finished

C
Past Perfect Tense: an action in the past that
happened before some other action in the
past.
2. I studied when Martin called me.

A. have been studying C. studied

B. was studying D. am studying

B
Past Progressive Tense: an activity was
in progress at some specified time in the
past
3. Jessa is living In Manila for six years.

A. live C. has lived

B. lived D. has been living

C
Present Perfect Tense: an action that
began in the past and is still going on.
4. She had felt ill, but she feels better now.

A. feels C. had felt better

B. has been feeling D. was feeling ill

B
Present Perfect Progressive Tense:
shows incompleteness or indefiniteness
very close to the present time.
5. The obedience school trained fifty dogs by the
end of the year.

A. will train C. will have trained

B. is training D. trains

C
Future Perfect Tense: an action that
will be completed in the future.
 SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

1. INTERVENING PLURALS
* Our order for these goods (was, were) placed
yesterday.
* The mislabeling of sizes, especially
in such articles as hats, blouses,
and stockings, (is, are) most
annoying to our customers.
2. PLURAL COMPLEMENTS
* The most favorable period (is, are) the last
three weeks of the year.
* The main advantage of the new filing cabinet
(is, are) the five full-size drawers.

3. PLURAL SUBJECTS USED IN

SINGULAR SENSE
* Buy now and pay later (is, are) the
philosophy of many Filipinos.
* Two hundred pesos (is, are)
a lot of money to pay for a necktie.
4. DELAYED SUBJECT
* Still unsold from the original lot (is, are) three
generators.
* There (was, were) five packing cases in the
shipment.

5. COLLECTIVE NOUNS
* The committee (was, were) unable
to agree among themselves.
* The staff (has, have) no authority
to act.
6. WITH AND SIMILAR EXPRESSIONS
* Mr. Royo, with his lawyer, (is, are) going to
court this morning.
* Mr. Arias, together with his wife and two
children, (was, were) seen boarding the train.

7. NEGATIVE EXPLANATORY PHRASE

* The players, not the coach,
(was, were) standing on the field.
* Not Mr. Diaz but his subordinates
(was, were) reprimanded.
8. WORDS SUCH AS EACH AND EVERY
* Every farmer, laborer, and consumer (is, are)
involved.
* None of the bank’s officers (is, are) on the
platform.

9. COMPOUND SUBJECTS
* You and I (am, are) going together.
* Either the debtor or his co-singers
(is, are) required to be present
at the meeting.
10. WORDS SUCH AS SOME AND PART
* Some of the paint (has, have) been stolen.
Some of the papers (is, are) missing.
* Part of the oranges (is, are) mine.
Part of the shipment (is, are) going.

11. NUMBER AS SUBJECT

* A number of well-known
businessmen (was, were) involved
in the transaction.
* The number of people involved
(was, were) not large.
1. The students never cheated on
the examination, _______
A. is there?
B. didn’t they?
C. do they?
D. did they?

D
5. Check for three things in the sentence verb
and ending in TAG ENDINGS:
a) same PERSON?
b) same TENSE?
c) POSITIVE and NEGATIVE combination?

She’s been there before, isn’t she?

(hasn’t she)

If there is a contraction in the sentence

verb, make sure you know what the
contraction stands for.
 CASES OF PRONOUNS

Nominative Objective Possessive

Singular
1st Person I Me My/Mine
2nd Person You Your/Yours
3rd Person He/She/It Him/Her/It His
Her/Hers/ Its
Plural
1st Person We Us Our/Ours
2nd Person You Your/Yours
3rd Person They Them Their/Theirs
1. Check if the PRONOUN is the SUBJECT or
the OBJECT of a verb or preposition

All of us – Didi, Becky, and me – were late. (I)

The Subjective Case is used for subjects and

subject complements. The Objective Case is
used for direct and indirect objects, objects of
prepositions and for both subjects and objects
of infinitives. The Possessive Case is generally
used before a gerund.
2. Check if the PRONOUN and its VERB agree
in number

Alpheus is absent, but a few of the class is here.

(are)
Everyone on the project have to come to the
meeting. (has)

Singular Indefinite Pronouns: all, another, any,

anyone, anything, everybody, everyone,
everything, nobody, one, each.
Plural Indefinite Pronouns: few, many, several,
both, others
3. Check if POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS agree in
person and number

If anyone calls, take their name. (his)

4. Check if the VERB TO BE is followed by a

SUBJECT PRONOUN.

It must have been her at the door. (she)

5. Check for PARALLELISM in IMPERSONAL
PRONOUNS

One should take your duties seriously.

(one’s/his or her
You should take your duties seriously)

In forms using Impersonal Pronouns,

use either One… one’s/his or her or
You… your.
 *Adjectives but not adverbs can follow be, become: verbs of
perception.
seems sounds
appears looks
smells tastes

V Adv. Perception V Adj.

He runs quickly. He looks happy.
He sings well. It sounds good.
She cooks brilliantly. The soup smells delicious.
•Never put an adverb between a verb and its direct
object.
Typical Mistake
N V Adv. DO
Mrs. Reyes read carefully the recipe.

•Adverbs of frequency often go between the subject

and the verb.
We always go to church on
Saturday.
 * Adverbs of frequency are always after the verb to be.

He is usually hungry.

*Adverbs of frequency should always go between the main verb

and its auxiliary verb or between two auxiliaries.

I have never been to Rome.

I should never have listened to him.
Typical Mistakes
I go always to the movie house.
They usually are at home.
I always have enjoyed singing.
I never should have eaten much.
1. Arrange the following adjectives in correct order.

food

C
some
American
inexpensive
delicious

A. Delicious inexpensive some American food

B. Some American inexpensive delicious food
C. Some delicious inexpensive American food
D. Some inexpensive delicious American food
 ORDER OF ADJECTIVES
Determiner:
Articles, Demonstratives, Possessives, Indefinite
Adjectives, Numeral

Observation
Opinion, Facts

Physical Description:
Size, Shape, Age, Color

Origin

Material

Qualifier

Head Noun
4. Arrange the following adjectives in correct order.
Mexican
comfortable

B
that
chair
little
rocking

A. that little Mexican comfortable rocking chair

B. that comfortable little Mexican rocking chair
C. that Mexican comfortable little rocking chair
D. that little rocking chair Mexican comfortable
 Check for UNNECESSARY MODIFIERS

He drove in a careful way. (carefully)

The new innovations were startling. (Ø new)
That depends on the state of the general
condition of the situation. (on the situation)

The more simply an idea is stated, the better

it is. An adverb or adjective can often
eliminate extraneous words.
Beware of words with the same meaning in
the same sentence.
Beware of general wordiness.
 Check for MISUSED WORDS and
PREPOSITIONAL IDIOMS

They came despite of the rain.

(in spite of/ despite)
The two expressions are
synonymous; use either one or the
other.
I hardly never see him. (hardly ever)
He has scarcely no money. (scarcely any)

Both mean “almost not at all”; do

not use a negative with them.
PREPOSITIONS
 PREPOSITIONS OF
PLACE
IN
Use 'in' with spaces:
 in a room / in a building
 in a garden / in a park

Use 'in' with bodies of water:

 in the water
 in the sea
 in a river
 Use 'in' with lines:
 in a row / in a line
 in a queue

AT
Use 'at' with places:
 at the bus-stop
 at the door
 at the cinema
 at the end of the street
 Use 'at' with places on a page:
 at the top of the page

 at the bottom of the page

Use 'at' in groups of people:

 at the back of the class

 at the front of the class

ON
Use 'on' with surfaces:
 on the ceiling / on the wall / on the floor
 on the table
Use 'on' with small islands:
 I stayed on Maui.
Use 'on' with directions:
 on the left
 on the right
 straight on
 PREPOSITIONS OF TIME AND DATE

IN
Use 'in' months and years and periods of time:
 in January

 in 1978

 in the twenties

Use 'in' a period of time in the future:

 in a few weeks

 in a couple of days
AT
Use 'at' with precise time:
 at six o'clock
 at 10.30
 at two p.m.
ON
Use 'on' with days of the week:
 on Monday
 on Fridays
Use 'on' with specific calendar days:
 on Christmas day
 on October 22nd
IMPORTANT NOTES

in the morning / afternoon / evening - at night

 We say in the morning, afternoon or evening

BUT we say 'at night'

 at on in during
for since by until
1. Jack has gone away. He’ll be
back ____ a week.
2. We’re having a party ____
Saturday. Can you come?
3. I’ve got an interview next
week. It’s ___ 9:30 ____
Tuesday morning.

4. Susan isn’t usually here

____ weekends. She goes
away.
5. The train service is very
good. The trains are
nearly always ___ time.

6. It was a confusing
situation. Many things are
happening ____ at the
same time.
7. I couldn’t decide whether
or not to buy the shirt.
___ the end I decided to
leave it.

8. The road is busy all the

time. Even ____ night.
9. I met a lot of nice people
_____ my stay in New
York.

10. I saw Helen ____ Friday,

but I haven’t seen her
_____ then.