Basic Subject/Verb Agreement
First person singular – I
Second person singular/plural – you
Third person singular – he/she/it/Jerry/Joe/Sugar/the man…
First person plural – we
Third person plural – they/ Joe and Jerry, the ladies…
Subject
I
you
Daphne
we
Joe and Jerry
simple present
am
like
are
likes
is
like
are
like
are
like
simple past
was
were
was
were
were
liked
liked
liked
liked
liked
Past or Present?
How do you decide when to use the present or when to use the past? When you
are retelling a movie, news story, historical event, or work of fiction, you may use
the present or the past. Even when the story was completed in the past the, the
people often choose to summarize in the present to draw the listener or reader
into the story. Whatever time axis you choose, present or past, stay with it
throughout your retelling unless you have a logical reason to switch.
Simple Present
It shows a present habit or something that reoccurs.
Habit: The chief of police smokes cigars everyday.
Something that reoccurs: The police shoot at them.
It describes a fact in the present.
Some men are in a hearse.
Some nouns are stative, meaning they show a state of existence instead of
action. They are not used in the progressive aspect.
know
feel
understand
believe
love
hate
like
own
belong to
hear
exist
look like
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Present Progressive
It shows an activity that is in progress at the moment. The activity may be
temporary. It is something that started in the past and will probably end in the
future.
They are wearing nice clothes.
It can also show a quick action that is in the process of being repeated.
The police are firing their guns.
Firing a gun is a short action that is not in progress for long, but the action
is repeated multiple times so we use the progressive as if it were a
continuous action.
Putting actions together
Simple present is used together with the present progressive when one action
interrupts another.
They are riding in the hearse when the police surprise them.
If you want to emphasize that two actions are taking part at the same time use
two progressives.
The gangsters in the back are shooting while the driver is trying to loose
the cops.
Simple past
The simple past is used to tell about an action that was completed in the past
and has no connection to the present.
The police chief said he was at Mozarella’s place for Grandma’s funeral.
Past Progressive
It shows an activity that was in progress in the past. It can also show a quick
action that was in the process of being repeated. It is typically used together with
a simple past verb to show how one action was taking place at the same time as
another.
The gangsters were drinking buttermilk when they were in the speakeasy.
Jerry spotted the police badge while he was playing in the band.
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