University of Ain Témouchent
Faculty of Social Sciences, Letters and Languages
Department of Spanish Language
Module: English
Level: Second year (Licence)
Lesson One: English Tenses
Tenses denote the time of action. They show when the work is done. They are:
(1)Present Tense
(2) Past Tense
(3)Future Tense
They are further divided into:
(1)Simple Present- It is used to denote scientific facts, universal truths and work done on daily basis. Rule: sub + V1 + s/es + object
Example – She writes a letter.
Present Continuous– It is used to express an action taking place at the time of speaking. Rule: sub + is/am/are + v1 + ing + object
Example – she is writing a letter.
Present Perfect– It is used to show an action that started in the past and has just finished. Rule: sub + has/have + v3 + object
Example- She has written a letter.
Present Perfect Continuous
This tense shows the action which started in the past and is still continuing. Rule: sub + has/have + been + v1 + ing + object
Example – She has been writing a letter.
(3) Past tense
Simple Past Used to indicate an action completed in the past. It often occurs with adverb of time. Sometimes it is used without an adverb of time.
I played football when I was a child.
Rule: Subject + stem (verb ed)
Past Continuous Tense Used to denote an action going on at some time in the past. Rule: was/were + ing
e.g. I was driving a car.
Past Perfect Tense Used to describe an action completed before a certain moment in the past, usually a long time ago. If two actions happened in the past, past perfect is used to show the action that took place earlier.
Rule: Subject + had + Verb + Object
e.g. The patient had died before the doctor came.
Past Perfect Continuous Tense Used to denote an action that began before a certain point in the past and continued up to some time in past.
Rule: Subject + had been +Verb + ing + Object
e.g. I had been learning English in this school for 20 days;
(3)Simple Future
This tense tells us about an action which has not occurred yet and will occur after saying or in future Rule – Will/Shall + Verb (Ist form)
In Future Tense helping verb ‘Shall’ is used with ‘I’ and ‘We’. Helping verb ‘Will’ is used with all others. When you are to make a commitment or warn someone or emphasize something, use of 'will/shall' is reversed. ‘Will’ is used with ‘I’ & ‘We’ and 'shall' is used with others.
Rule;Subject + Will/Shall + Verb (Ist form) + Object
She will write a letter.
Future Continuous Tense It is used to express an ongoing or continued action in future.
Rule: subject + Will/Shall + Be + Verb + Ing
e.g. He will be distributing sweets in temple tomorrow at 12 o'clock.
Future Perfect Tense It is used to express an action which will happen/occur in future and will be completed by a certain time in future. We use the future perfect to say that something will be finished by a particular time in the future.
Rule: Will/Shall + Have + Verb
e.g. They will have shifted the house by Sunday morning
University of Ain Témouchent
Faculty of Social Sciences, Letters and Languages
Department of Spanish Language
Module: English
Level: Second year (Licence)
Lesson Two: Phrases and Clauses
Every sentence is constructed of a clause and/or phrase. A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb. Whereas, a sentence is a group of words that contain a subject a verb.
Before travelling, he prepares the baggage.
Phrase Independent clause
Before he travels, he prepares the baggage.
Dependent clause Independent clause
Wherever you go, I will follow you.
Dependent clause Independent clause
Types of phrases
Noun phrase: it functions like a noun in the sentence; it includes the noun and the adjective to describe the noun, e.g., The pretty little flowers are blossoming in the garden.
Verb phrase: it contains a verb and its modifier, e.g., I have been working non-stop today.
Gerund phrase: it uses an “ing verb” as a noun, e.g., I love swimming in the ocean.
Prepositional phrase: it starts with the infinitive, e.g., To understand clauses Vs phrases, you should practise.
Types of clauses
Clauses are the main part of the sentence.
Independent/ Main clause: is a complete thought that makes sense on its own.
Dependent/ subordinate clause: it depends on the main clause with a subordinating or coordinating conjunction.
Relative clause: it starts with a relative pronoun, e.g., The ceremony which several celebrities attended, received widespread media coverage.
Adjective clause: it acts like an adjective in, it describes a noun by using a subject and a verb, e.g., The dress that you bought for me fits perfectly.
Adverbial clause: it starts with a subordinating conjunction like: because, unless, if, when, although…, e.g., Although she worked harder, she failed.
University of Ain Témouchent
Faculty of Social Sciences, Letters and Languages
Department of Spanish Language
Module: English
Level: Second year (Licence)
Lesson Three: Model verbs
Introduction
In English, we have auxiliaries (to be and to have) and principle verbs ( to live, to work) and model verbs.
Can: ability/ permission/ request.
Could: suggestion/ future ability.
May: permission possibility in the present and future.
Might: possibility in the past, present, and future.
Must: obligation/ necessity.
Shall: offer/ suggestion/ future promise/ offering help.
Should= ought to: obligation
Will: willingness/ interest/ intention/ prediction/ decision
Would: request/ invitation/ possibility
|
Affirmative form |
Negative form |
|
must |
Must not / musn’t |
|
might |
Might not |
|
may |
May not |
|
could |
Could not / couldn’t |
|
can |
Cannot/ can’t |
|
Will/ ‘ll |
Will not / won’t |
|
Would / ‘d Should shall |
would not / wouldn’t should not/ shouldn’t shall not/ shan’t |
We can fix the problem
Can I go to my friend’s home?
If she practised more, she could sing beautifully
May I come in?
He might have seen the movie before he read the book.
Will you open the window please?
Would you prefer coffee or tea?
The package shall be delivered on Thursday.
You should try again.
Asking questions
Can I go? (Model+ subject+ verb+…)
When will you work? (WH+ model+ subject+ verb).
University of Ain Témouchent
Faculty of Social Sciences, Letters and Languages
Department of Spanish Language
Module: English
Level: Second year (Licence)
Lesson Four: Adjectives and Adverbs
1/Adjectives
We use adjectives to describe nouns and pronouns. Adjectives can come before nouns or after linking verbs. Linking verbs are verbs like (be, become, seem…) which are not actions but link the subject to its adjective or a noun that give us more information about the subject.
Before nouns:
I have a white cat.
What a beautiful view!
After a linking verb:
He seems tired.
The view is beautiful.
May cat is white.
2/ Adverbs
Adverbs are used to describe verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. They are generally made by adding “ly” to the adjective.
I walked slowly. / I work quickly.
Careful (adj): he is always careful./ carefully (adv): she puts the glasses down carefully.
Bad(adj): this coffee is bad./ badly (adv): he sings badly.
Irregular forms
If the adjective ends with “y”, we change “y” to “i” and add “ly”.
If the adjective ends with “le”, we delete “e” and add “y”.
Happy (adj) she looks very happy. / Happily (adv) she songs happily.
Gentle (adj) she is gentle. / gently (adv) she stroked the cat gently.
There are some exceptions (fast/ early late/ hard) they can be used as adjectives and adverbs.
University of Ain Témouchent
Faculty of Social Sciences, Letters and Languages
Department of Spanish Language
Module: English
Level: Second year (Licence)
Lesson Five: Expressing wishes
We have three types to express wishes.
Past wish (regret)
I wish+ subject+ past perfect (had + pp)
I wish I had studied harder when I was at the university.
They wish they hadn’t consumed so much money.
Present wish (present regredt)
I wish+ subject +past simple
She wishes she knew the answer.
I wish I were able to study another foreign language.
Note: we often say “were” instead of “was” even with she/he/it.
Future wish
I wish+ subject( we/I)+ could+ stem.
I wish+ subject+ (they/you/she/he/it)+ would+ stem.
I wish I could succeed in my exams.
I wish you would give me more support.