English Grammar Tenses
English Grammar Tenses The English Language, as with ALL languages allows us to describe the world around us. Nouns, describe things. Adjectives and adverbs describe the nature of things and the way we do things, respectively. The main difference between most languages is the Grammar; The language system. Typically, the nouns, adjectives, adverbs and prepositions are directly translatable. The difficulty most people have is understanding the Grammar Tenses – the time when events are described: I eat, I am eating I ate, I will eat and I have eaten etc. The English Grammar Tenses describe: Facts: What things are – It is a car (state). What things do -I eat cake (event). and Actions – I’m talking to you. Facts: The state of a thing – be (is am are) The verb be, together with adjectives describe what a thing is: Is your car a big car? Yes, it is big. It’s a big, blue car. and Events (what we do) – do (do – eat – talk etc) All verbs, and do describe events I live in Edinburgh, I work in London, I drive a lot. I do my homework when I get home from school. Don’t do that! Don’t do what? Don’t talk and eat at the same time. Sorry! There are two things in English: Facts and Actions: Facts: State – What a thing is ((to) be) London is a wonderful city. I’m tall, but you’re taller Events – What a thing does ((to) do) I have / own a big blue car, I drive it every day. I play tennis, do you like tennis? No, I don’t, I prefer rugby. and Actions: Events that are temporary (the verb be (is am are) + verb + ING). I am not driving at the moment so I can speak to you. Hello! I’m talking to you, are you listening to me? Importantly: When we describe general Facts and routines it is best to use the present simple tense. This is a nice cake. I love cake, I like biscuits too. I work in the city. I usually leave for work at 7 am. The Moon goes around the earth, and the Earth circles the sun. When we describe Actions or temporary events it is best to use only the continuous tense. I am driving and can’t speak to you now. I’m enjoying your cake. Mmm it’s delicious, I love it. Are you enjoying the ‘James Bond’ film on your new tele ? No, I’m watching a football match at the moment. Conjugating the verb and using Auxiliary verbs help us to describe events across time. Present simple I am bored You are tired He / She / It is big I eat / speak / walk / call Present continuous You are being silly I am eating / doing Past I was / We were late I ate / spoke / walked / called Future I will be late I will eat / speak/ walk / call Present perfect I have been to India twice I have eaten / spoken / walked Time: We can introduce time by conjugating the verb and using the auxiliary verb will (future). I eat cake: I atethe whole cake (past) / I will eat it all(future) / I have eaten too much cake (present perfect) Time words: Each grammar tense uses particular Time words and phrases to help us describe when events and actions take place. Time words include: nouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and phrases: at 7 always yesterday in the future Some Time words and phrases clearly describe the time in which an event happens, such as: tomorrow now today last week next month at the moment Some...
Read MoreThe English Language
The English Language The popularity of English A lot has been written about The English Language and its the popularity. English does appear to be an extremely popular language and is studied all over the world. Business people require English in order to communicate with foreign partners, students study English to complement their studies, and people who travel seem to like English in order to be able to communicate in another language other than the language of their destination. English appears to be the ‘lingua franca’* of the world at this time. There are various points of view around the usefulness and the politics of the use of English. We should note that the English language is not the language spoken by most people in the World, but it has grown to become the language most widely spoken across the World. * Lingua Franca – a common language adopted by speakers of different languages. A few brief facts: About 400 million people speak English as their first language. Perhaps 300 Million people speak English as their second language. A billion people are learning English at this time. Nearly half of the world has been exposed to English. The reason why English is the most widely spoken language across the World may have a lot to do with the history of the English language itself. English has not always been the English we speak and read today. A little about the history of The English Language The Celts and Romans Before the invasion of the Romans in AD 43, Britain was an island populated by Celtic tribes who had arrived from Europe around 500 years earlier. When the Romans arrived in Britain the Celtic ‘Britons’ would have spoken one of a handful of Celtic or early English languages. Britons would have had their own dialects – lexicon and pronunciation (words and the sounds of words). Interestingly, today within the British Isles we still possess diverse regional dialects and accents and may on occasion have difficulties understanding each other. Most of those countries that people recognise as speaking English as a first language: America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have very distinct accents too, and may also have difficulties understanding one another. The ‘Celtic’ languages that existed across the British Isles did not die out with the invasion of the Romans in AD 43 (the Romans had originally invaded in 55 BC). Effectively, the Country was then governed in Latin, and people would have come to understand Latin for administration purposes; they would have continued their daily lives in their local languages or dialects. After nearly 500 years in Britain the Romans left (440 AD), they left behind a distinct Romano-British culture and the addition of the Latin language to that of the domestic ‘Brittonic’ languages. Latin would have a continued influence after that time with the conversion of Britain to ‘Roman’ Christianity. The Danes and Vikings – Ye Olde English Many people believe that the ‘English’ language originated from West Germanic dialects, which came to the British Isles with invaders. After the Romans left Britain, Britain, which had always had trading relationships with its Scandinavian and European neighbours, fell to invasion by them. Between 440 AD and 1066 AD, invasions, initially by tribes called ‘Angles’ and ‘Saxons’ from what is now Northern Germany and Denmark brought further languages to Britain. The Anglo-Saxon tribes colonised the South East and East of Britain, replacing the British tribes who had lived there. It would be the ‘Angles’ who would give their name to ‘English’, and England. Later invasions...
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