The Future Perfect Tense

The future perfect tense is use for an action, which at some designate future time, will be a past action, the time markers generally used are : By, When, Till, Until, Before.

S + shall/will + have + V3 + O (+)

Shall/will + S + have + V3 + O (?)

S + shall/will not + have + V3 + O (-)

Note : for the future prefect tense “shall” and “will” are used. There are two forms :

1.  Which just states future time
2.  Which states future time and expresses a promise, a command or determination.

Example :

1.      will have done my work before he arrives
2.       shall have gone before it rains
3.       The doctor will have written down all the suggested treatments for the patient when you arrive this morning
4.        Mr. James will have retired by the end of this year
5.        He won’t have returned from England until he finishes his studies

Reading

Mr. Ontoseno had a server heart attack. His wife and two children are going to take him to a cardiologist. It will take them about an hour to reach the doctor’s clinic. It is one o’clock now and Mr. Ontoseno and his family are at the hospital. At this time tomorrow, Mr. Ontoseno will be lying in bed at the coronary care unit. Perhaps he will be sleeping soundly because by then he will have been given sedative in order to provide him with enough sleep. The nurses will have given him morphine sulphate to reduce pain.

By Friday next week he will have regained his strength. If the symptoms do not recur, he will come in about two weeks. He can go back to work. Of course, he should not work too hard.

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The Future Perfect Continuous Tense

The future prefect continuous tense emphasizes the duration of an activity that will be in progress before another time or event in the future

S + shall/will + have + been + V1 + ing + O (+)

Shall/will + S +have + been + V1 + ing + O (?)

S + shall/will not + have + been + V1 + ing  + O (-)

Reading

Never too old to learn

I have just received a letter from my old school informing me that my former head master,  Mr. Reginald Page, will be retiring next week. Pupils of the school, old and new, will be sending him a present to mark the occasion. All those who have contributed towards the gift will sign their names in a large album which will be sent to the headmaster’s home. We shall all remember Mr. Page for his patience and understanding and for the kindly encouragement he gave us when we went so unwillingly to school.

A great many former pupils will be attending a farewell dinner in his honor next Thursday. It is a curious coincidence that the day before his retirement, Mr. Page will have been teaching for a total of forty years. After he has retired, He will devote himself to gardening. For him, this will be an entirely new hobby. But this does not matter, for, as, he has often remarked one is never too old to learn.

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The Future Tense

The future tense is also expressed with to + going + to + verb. This time markers for this type of future tense are similar to those used in the future tense with “will”. This describes the action activities and condition in future. Time markers are used: Next,….tomorrow, soon, in the future.

S + shall/will + V1 + O (+)

shall/will + S +V1 + O (?)

S + shall/will not + V1 + O (-)

Listening

It’ll work perfectly

Neil : there! It’s ready

Linda : it’s a clock work alarm-clock and tea-marker

Neil : it’ll work perfectly

Linda : it won’t work at all!

Neil : look! It’s ready. But what’ll it do?

Neil : it’ll boil water

Linda : boil water?

Neil : yes, it’ll make tea

Linda : make tea?

Neil : then a bell will ring

Linda : a bell will ring?

Neil : and it’ll wake us up

Linda : wake us up? I don’t believe it. It won’t work

Neil : all right! We’ll go to sleep now, and we’ll see in the morning

Linda : it won’t work.

Neil  : it’ll work perfectly. I’ll just turn the key once more

Linda : goodnight

Neil : goodnight

Linda : Neil, I heard a noise

Neil : eh?

Linda : wake up, Neil!

Neil : What’s wrong?

Linda : your clockwork alarm-clock and tea-marker

Neil : oh, it’ll work perfectly. Go to sleep

Linda : listen!

Neil : it’s alright. The water’s boil in the morning

Linda : the water’s boiling now!

Neil : what time is it?

Linda : it’s two o’clock in the morning…oh, stop it! Stop it! It’s dangerous.

Neil : it’ll be all right

Linda : it won’t be all right

Neil : it’ll!

Linda : something horrible is going to happen

Neil : it’s all right. Nothing will happen at all

Linda : now who’s right? It won’t make any tea.

Neil : but it has wakened us up

Linda : yes, it has wakened us up-at two o’clock in the morning.

Reading

Across the channel

Erna Hart is going to swim across the English channel tomorrow, she is going to set out from the French coast at five o’clock I the morning. Erna is only fourteen years old and she hopes to set up a new world record. She is a strong swimmer and many people feel that she is sure to succeed. Erna is father will set out with her in a small boat. Mr. Hart has trained his daughter for years. Tomorrow he will be watching her anxiously as she swims the long distance to England. Erna intends to take short rest every two hours. She will have something to drink but she will not eat any solid food. Most of Erna is school friends will be waiting for her on the English coast. Among them will be Erna’s mother, who swam the channel herself when she was a girl.

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The Past Continuous Tense

The past continuous tense is used in combination with an event in the past. Both the past continuous and the past tense are seldom used alone in sentences. They are generally tied to an event in the past which is stated or simply implied. The following are examples of the three uses of the past continuous tense.

S + was/were + VI + ing + O (+)

Was/were  + S + VI + ing + O (?)

S + was/were not + VI + ing +  (-)

Listening

Mr. Johnson       : pass me the sugar please, dear.

Mrs. Johnson     : Oh…thank you. Is something wrong, dear?

Mrs. Johnson     : oh no,

Mr. Johnson       : oh come on-what is it?

Mrs. Johnson     :  where are you yesterday afternoon?

Mr. Johnson       : yesterday afternoon? Well, I was at the Bank, in my office

Mrs. Johnson     : oh yes. What are you doing?

Mr. Johnson       : at what time?

Mrs. Johnson     : oh about three o’clock

Mr. Johnson       : I-I was working in my office

Mrs. Johnson     : oh yes?

Mr. Johnson       : yes. Pass me the milk please, dear

Mrs. Johnson     : I was sitting at my desk, and I was signing some papers

Mrs. Johnson     : were you?

Mr. Johnson       : yes I was

Mrs. Johnson     : you weren’t

Mr. Johnson       : what?

Mrs. Johnson     : you weren’t working in your office. In fact, you weren’t working al all

Mr. Johnson       : wasn’t I?

Mrs. Johnson     : no, you were in the park

Mr. Johnson       :  was I?

Mrs. Johnson     : yes

Mr. Johnson       :  oh….oh yes! Of course, I was sitting in the park. Of course I was! Yes it was very hot-too hot to work. I was having a late lunch in the park….pass me the marmalade please, dear

Mr. Johnson       :  yes I was sitting in the park and I was eating some sandwiches

Mrs. Johnson     : you were not sitting in the park, George. When I saw you, you were walking in the park, and you were not walking alone. When I saw you…

Mr. Johnson       :  Just a minute! You saw me?

Mrs. Johnson     : yes George, I saw you

Mr. Johnson       : what were you doing in the park yesterday afternoon?

Mrs. Johnson     : Me?

Mr. Johnson       : yes

Mrs. Johnson     : oh, I was talking a walk with…with the dog

Mr. Johnson       : the dog?

Mrs. Johnson     : yes?

Mr. Johnson       : Margaret, we haven’t got a dog

Mrs. Johnson     : Ah…pass me the butter please, dear

Mr. Johnson       : so you were in the park yesterday afternoon too

Mrs. Johnson     : Er…yes I was talking a walk with…

Mr. Johnson       : yes

Mrs. Johnson     : I was just walking in the  park. It was very  hot –too hot to stay at home, so-just a minute! I was asking the question. You were walking in the park with someone

Mr. Johnson       : was I really?

Mrs. Johnson     : yes with a girl

Mr. Johnson       : all right. I was with a girl. It was my secretary, miss Jones, she works for me, that’s all

Mrs. Johnson     : and I suppose you were working in the park

Mr. Johnson       : yes that’s right. It was too hot at the bank

Mrs. Johnson     : who was looking after the office, while you were working  in the park?

Mr. Johnson       : Mr. Brown

Mrs. Johnson     : Mr. Brown was looking after the office

Mr. Johnson       : Mr. Brown

Mrs. Brown        : Mr. Brown was looking after the office

Mr. Johnson       : yes

Mrs. Johnson     : George, that’s not true. Mr. Brown wasn’t looking after the office

Mrs. Johnson     : yes, he was

Mrs. Johnson     : no, he wasn’t

Mr. Johnson       : yes, he was

Mrs. Johnson     : he was not

Mr. Johnson       : how do you know?

Mrs. Johnson     : because Mr. Brown was walking in the park with mw…oh

Mr. Johnson       : ah, ha! So Mr. Brown was walking in the park with you

Mrs. Johnson     : er…yes. I was looking for you….and …er …Mr. Brown was helping me…

Mr. Johnson       : was he really?

Mrs. Johnson     : yes. Yes, he was. Er…more tea, dear?

Reading

The plane was late and Detective were waiting at the airport all morning. They were expecting a valuable parcel of diamonds from South Africa. A few hours earlier, someone had told the police that thieves would try to steal the diamonds. When the plane arrived, some of the Detective were waiting on the airfield. Two men took the parcel off the plane and carried it into the Customs House. While two Detectives were keeping guard at the door, two others opened the parcel. To their surprises, the precious was full of stones and sand.

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The Past Perfect Continuous Tense

The past prefect continuous tense emphasizes the duration of an activity that was in progress before another activity or time in the past

S + had + been + V1 + ing + O (+)
had + S + been + V! + ing + O (?)
S + hand not + been + V1 + ing + O (-)

Example

The police had been looking for the criminal for two years before they caught him (+)

Had the patient been waiting in the emergency room for almost an hour before a doctor finally treated her (?)

Mrs. Handoko hadn’t been buying the new furniture for more than 10 years (-)

Reading

After the fire

Fireman had been fighting the forest fire foe nearly three weeks before they could get it under control. A short time before, great trees had covered the countryside for miles around. Now, smoke still rose-up from the warm ground over the desolate hills. Winter was coming and the hills threatened the surrounding villages with destruction, for heavy rain would not only wash the sort but would cause serious floods as well. When the fire had at last been put out the forest authorities ordered several tones of a special type grass-seed which would grow quickly. The seed was sprayed over the ground in huge quantities by airplanes.

The planes had been planting seed for nearly a month it began to rain. By then, however, in many places the grass had already taken root. In place of the great trees which had been growing there for centuries, patches of green had begun to appear in the blackened soil.

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The Past Perfect Tense

The past prefect tense is used to show an action which has completed before a certain event in the past. In a sentence, the past prefect tense is generally combined with the past time, since both refer to two events in the past, this is often related with before and after.

S + had + PP + O (+)

Had + S + PP + O (?)

S + Had not + PP + O (-)

Example

The nurse had taken the patient’s temperature before she went home (+)

Had he smoked three cigarettes before she returned (?)

We hadn’t drunk small cups of coffee after we finished dinner (-)

Listening

I’d already picked it up

Henry    : did you did Marocco ?

Gilbert  : oh yes I came back by plane

Henry    : did you have a good flight?

Gilbert  : yes…and no, I dropped my case

Henry    : what?

Gilbert  : I dropped my case

Henry    : when you were getting onto the plane?

Gilbert  : no, I’d already got onto the plane, I was looking for my seat

Henry    : when you dropped your case?

Gilbert  : yes

Henry    : did it fall open?

Gilbert  : no. I’d locked it carefully

Henry    : before

Gilbert  : Pardon?

Henry    : before, you’d locked it carefully before. Before the flight

Gilbert  : oh oh yes, yes. Then I saw the stewardess-

Henry    : and you asked her to pick up

Gilbert  : what?

Henry    : you asked the stewardess to pick up your case

Gilbert  : no, I’d already picked it up. I asked her-

Henry    : to show you your seat

Gilbert  : what?

Henry    : you asked the stewardess to show you your seat

Gilbert  : no I’d already found my seat

Henry    : oh what did you ask her?

Gilbert  : I asked her to open the window

Henry    : you asked her  to open the window?

Gilbert  : yes I said “ could you open the window, please?”

Henry    : oh an airplane?

Gilbert  : yes

Henry    : you can’t open the window on airplane

Gilbert  : I didn’t know. It was my first flight. I’d never been in an airplane before.

Reading

Everything except the weather

My old friend, Harrison, had lived in the Mediterranean for many years before he returned to England. He had often dreamed of retiring in England and had planned to settle down in the country. He had no sooner returned than he bought a fine house  and went to live there. Almost immediately he began to complain about the weather, for even though it was still summer, it rained continually and it was often bitterly cold.

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The Present Continuous Tense

The present continuous tense describes present time, it is used for actions which are happening in the present, and for a period of time which includes the present, and for a period of time which includes the present. Sometime markers generally used for present time are ; now, to day, at this moment. Some words in combination with “this” such as this week, these days etc.

S + is/am/are + V1 + ing + O (+)

Is/am/are + S + V1 + ing + O (?)

S + is/am/are not + V1 + ing + O (-)

Example

The baby is having a bowel movement now (+)

Are you reading a book ? (?)

She isn’t looking for the job (-)

Listening

Jane    : Dear Derek, I’m writing this letter at home. At the moment,  I’m sitting alone in the  kitchen.    I’m listening to the radio. I’m drinking some tea, and I’m thinking about you, I. .

Jane   :  I’m going to. . . .I’m going to see. . .oh!

Jane   :  hallo,

Derek : hallo 634-5019?

Jane : yes.

Derek : Can I speek to Jane please ?

Jane : speaking

Derek : oh, hallo Jane. It’s Derek

Jane : Derek ! hallo ! how are you ?

Derek : oh, I’m fine. Er, Jane….listen-

Jane : yes I’m listening

Derek : Jane, I’m-

Jane : yes ?

Derek : Yes, I’m going away.

Jane : Going away?

Derek : Yes, I’m going away to Brazil.

Jane : Oh, are you going. . .alone?

Derek : Well, as amatter of fact, I’m not going alone. I’m going whit Susan. We are going now. . .Jane ? Jane ? Jane ?

Jane : Hmmmm

Jane : at the moment I’m sitting alone in the kitchen. I’m listening to the radio. I’m drinking some tea, and I’m thinking ab. . .

Jane : Hmmmm now listen Derek. If you’re going to Brazil, go !

Albert : Jane ? Albert here.

Jane : Oh, er. . .Hallo, Albert, How are you ?

Albert : Oh, I’m very well.

Jane : Good.

Albert : Um. . .How are you?

Jane : Oh, I’m very well, too

Albert : Oh, good, Er. Jane. . .listen-

Jane : Yes, I’m listening.

Albert : are you busy at the moment ?

Jane : No, no. as a matter of fact, I’m sitting in the kitchen, and I’m writing a letter.

Albert : Oh, are you writing to Derek?

Jane : Oh ? no, Derek’s going away.

Albert : Going away?

Jane : Yes. To Brazil. I’m writing a letter to you.

Albert  : To me?

Jane : Yes.

Derek : Ah.

Jane : Albert, are you at the airport ?

Albert : Well, as a matter of fact, I am at the airport. I’m. . .Jane ? Jane ? Jane ?

Jane : Dear Michael. . .

READING

The best art critics

I am an art student and I paint a lot of pictures. Many  people pretend that they understand modern art. They always tell you what a picture is about. Of course, many pictures are not about anything. They are just pretty patterns. We like them in the same way that we like pretty curtain material. I think that young children often appreciate modern picture better than anyone else. They notice more. My sister is only seven, but she always tells me whether my picture are good or not. She came into my room yesterday.

“What are you doing ? “she asked. “ I’m hanging this picture on wall “ I answered. . .

“It’s a new one. Do you like it ?” She looked at it critically for a moment. “It’s all right” she said, “but isn’t it upside-down ? “ I looked at it again. She was right ! It was !

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