English Corner
Thursday, 13 December 2012
Present and Past Continuous Tense
The continuous
tense is formed by adding ‘ ing’ to the
verb:
Present Continuous Tense [is / are / am] + [verb + ing]
Past Continuous Tense [was / were] + [verb + ing]
The present continuous tense is used to
show a continuous action that is still
going on at the time of speaking.
I
|
am
|
|||
He
|
||||
She
|
is
|
|||
It
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sleeping on a mat now.
|
|||
You
|
||||
We
|
are
|
|||
They
|
The past continuous tense is used to show a continuous action that was going on in
the past.
I
|
||||||
He
|
||||||
She
|
was
|
|||||
It
|
eating when Suzie entered the
kitchen.
|
|||||
You
|
||||||
We
|
were
|
|||||
They
|
Exercise
Choose the correct
answer.
1.
The dog ( is barking , are
barking ) at the boys now.
2.
The goats ( is grazing ,
are grazing ) on the field.
3.
She ( is singing , were
singing ) on the stage now.
4.
Mei Lin ( is drawing , are
drawing ) a picture now.
5.
The carpenter ( is making
, was making ) a chair now.
6.
The children ( was playing
, are playing ) on the slide.
7.
The ducks ( is swimming ,
are swimming ) in the pond now.
8.
The aeroplane ( is taking
, were taking ) off from the lane.
9.
My friends ( is coming ,
are coming ) to my house for tea now.
10. Puan Mona ( is watering , are watering ) the
plants in the garden.
Answer:
1.
is barking 6. are playing
2.
are grazing 7. are swimming
3.
is singing 8. is talking
4.
is drawing 9. are coming
5.
is making 10. is watering
Simple Past Tense
The simple past tense is used
for actions which took place at a given
time in the past (yesterday, last night, last week, just now, etc)
Actions that denote the past can be in the regular form or irregular
form.
e.g.
Regular Verb
|
Irregular Verb
|
smile – smiled
roll
– rolled
open –
opened
wash -
washed
|
throw – threw
catch
– caught
sleep – slept
give
– gave
|
The simple past tense of regular verbs can be formed in several ways:
(a)
by adding ‘ed’ to
the verbs;
e.g. jump –
jumped
help – helped
(b)
by adding ‘d’ to
verbs that end wth an ‘e’;
e.g. bake –
baked
close – closed
(c)
If the verb ends
with a ‘y’ and a consonant precedes the ‘ y’, change the ‘y’ to ‘ied’.
e.g. cry – cried
fry – fried
Some verbs remain unchanged.
e.g. cut – cut
hit
– hit
Exercise
Choose the correct answer.
1.
It ( rained , rain ) heavily last night.
2.
We ( help , helped ) the old lady to cress the road just
now.
3.
The policeman ( arrested , arrest ) the thief last night.
4.
She ( drink , drank ) a glass of milk this morning.
5.
My father ( take , took ) us fishing last week.
6.
It ( is , was ) already eleven thirty when we ( reach ,
reached ) home last night.
7.
The eagle ( swooped , swoops ) down and ( caught , catch )
the hare just now.
8.
Sook Man ( bake , baked ) an orange cake an hour ago.
9.
I ( forget , forgot ) to lock the door last night.
10.
The gardener ( chop , chopped ) down the tree yesterday.
Answer:
1.
rained 6. was; reached
2.
helped 7.
swooped; caught
3.
arrested 8. baked
4.
drank 9.
forgot
5.
took 10.
chopped
Simple Presesnt
Tense
The simple
present tense is used to show:
(a)
An action done at the present time;
e.g. The baby cries for milk.
(b)
Something that is a fact or the truth;
e.g. A tortoise crawls slowly.
(c ) a habitual action.
e.g. I usually get up at 6 o’clock.
Notes
·
A singular subject (he, she, a boy, etc) takes a singular
verb
(cooks, visits, etc)
·
A plural subject ( they, we, you, the boys, etc) takes a
plural verb
(walk, play, etc)
·
The pronoun “I” takes a plural verb.
Exercise
Choose the correct answer.
1.
Dr. Tan ( ) in
Kuala Lumpur General Hospital. work
2.
The children ( )
at the playground every evening. play
3.
My mother ( )
to the market every morning. go
4.
We usually ( )
to school. walk
5.
The hawker ( )
noodles at the hawker centre every evening.
sell
6.
Uncle Wong always (
) the chicken in the morning. feed
7.
The maid ( )
clothes every morning. wash
8.
The pupils ( )
in the classroom every day. study
9.
The farmer ( )
the vegetables once every three months. manure
10. Both my brother and I (
) cycling. enjoy
Answer:
1.
works 6.
feeds
2.
play 7.
washes
3.
goes 8.
study
4.
walk 9.
manures
5.
sells 10.
enjoy
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
The Life cycle of A Frog
The life cycle of a frog begins when a
male frog and female frog mate. This usually happens in the water. As the
female frog lays its eggs, the male frog will fertilize them. The floating
clumps of eggs are called frog spawn.
Between six and 21 days after the eggs
are fertilized, they begin to hatch. The tadpoles feed on the remaining yolk.
They have gills, a mounth and a tail. They stick themselves onto floating weeds
or grass in the water. Then seven to ten days later, they begin to swim and eat
algae.
Within six to nine weeks, their feet
appear. They begin to eat dead insects and plants. After nine weeks, they look
like a small frog with a long tail. After 12 weeks, their tails will disappear.
Frogs live mostly on land. Sometimes, they swim. These little frogs will start
to feed on insects and worms. Later, they will find a mate and the whole
life cycle begins again.
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