Learn English Through Pictures

Picture This - The Tenses Illustrated For 14 years Learn English has been the free and independent web site for EFL/ESL learners and teachers.

Future Tense

There is a common belief that the only way to express the future in English is to use the two little modal auxiliaries «will» and «shall». Sure they play a major part in this function but there are other ways too of expressing the future. Read 6 ways of expressing the future for details.

Below you can see a story written by Alan Townend, using some highlighted examples of how you can express the future.

Jealousy

I want you to imagine that you are about to visit a small village. It doesn't matter which country it's in because all villages are the same whichever part of the world they are in. There were only about 300 inhabitants in total in this particular village and everyone knew everybody's business. A typical street conversation would run like this: «I hear Joan's going to have a baby next year. I expect it'll be a boy this time I wouldn't be surprised. She's having a nurse come next week to help her with her 5 girls and maybe a boy will make life easier for her!» In this village people usually help each other whenever they can. Read the rest of the story of Jealusoy here.

Learning Through Stories -Present Continuous

One of the features of the English language is that there are two sides to every tense: a simple one or a continuous one (also known as progressive). The question is when do you use one and not the other? We’re looking at the Progressive Forms in general in the story entitled: Going, going, gone! and at the Present Simple in particular in the story called: ―It never gets you anywhere― and now it's the turn of the Present Continuous/Progressive and this is called: What a Performance! Which has a double meaning because it can describe a performance in the theatre and it can also describe a long and complicated process. I only hope when you are reading it, that you don't find it too complicated...

«What a Performance!»
I can't myself. Well, I just couldn't get up on the stage and take part in a play. Some people are always doing that. They do it for a hobby and are never happier than when they are declaiming other people's lines in front of a live audience. They are living in a realm of fantasy. They belong to that select world called amateur dramatics, a world that once a year invades the town where I live. Just when the weather is getting warmer the festival of amateur drama comes to our local theatre. For one entire week three separate groups are performing one play each every evening. In one mad moment a few years ago I agreed to buy a season ticket to see the different productions for all six nights and ever since then each year I get this very correctly written letter beginning: 'I am writing to inform you that the Summer Festival of Drama is taking place….'  Click here to read the rest of the story.

Learning English grammar from stories - Present simple tense (part 1 of 4)

In this story you will find many examples of how the Present Simple Tense can be used. As you know we use the present simple for things that are true in general, or for things that happen sometimes or all the time:

•  She likes black tea.

•  I start work at 9 o'clock and finish at 5:30.

• Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.

•  We usually visit our friends on the weekend.

Learning English grammar from stories - Present simple tense (part 2 of 4)

You probably remember that after he/she/it an «s» is added to the verb as in these examples:

•  She speaks excellent French.

•  He sometimes calls her «my darling».

•  It makes perfect sense to me.

Learning English grammar from stories - Present simple tense (Part 3 of 4)

When we want to make a negative sentence we use the following structure: subject (I/you/we/they) + auxiliary verb (don't) + main verb (infinitive) subject (he/she/it) + auxiliary verb (doesn't) + main verb (infinitive) Examples:

• I don't speak Chinese.

• You don't work very hard

• She doesn't call me every day.

Learning English grammar from stories - Present simple tense (Part 4 of 4)

When we want to make a question we also use don't after I/you/we/they and doesn't after he/she/it:

•  Do you speak Chinese?

•  Does she work here?

• What do you do for a living?

• How do you usually get to work?

Now enjoy the following story and find the present simple in italics: «It never gets you anywhere»