CURIOUS USES OF TENSES

           PRESENT SIMPLE

The Present Simple is the most basic tense in the English language. It is an interesting tense because it can be used to express the future. Generally, though, we use it to describe the present activities or to talk about routines, habits, schedules.Example: 

Paul starts work at 10:00 on Friday. We understand that this is a special situation for this Friday

PRESENT PROGRESSIVE

The present continuous is used for expressing annoying habits, when we want to show that something happens too often and we don't like it. For talking about fixed plan in the near future. Example:

She is always interrupting me when I'm talking and I don't like it!

She is going to Brazil on Saturday

                             PRESENT PERFECT

This tense is called the present perfect tense. There is always a connection with the past and with the present. There are basically three uses for the present perfect tense:

Experience
Change

Continuing situation

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

The present perfect progressive is used to put emphasis on the duration of an action, so verbs such us: live, work, walk and teach; express the same in present perfect thus in present perfect progressive. Example:

I have been living here since 2001

           PAST SIMPLE

We use the past simple tense to talk about an action or a situation - an event - in the past. The event can be short or long.Example:

I used to play tennis when I was a child.

   PAST PROGRESSIVE

The Past Progressive is used when we talk about something which was happening at a special time in the past. It is also called Past Continuous

PAST PERFECT

If the Past Perfect action did occur at a specific time, the Simple Past can be used instead of the Past Perfect when "before" or "after" is used in the sentence. The words "before" and "after" actually tell you what happens first, so the Past Perfect is optional. For this reason, both sentences below are correct

She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.
She visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

The past perfect continuous tense is like the past perfect tense, but it expresses longer actions in the past before another action in the past. Example:

Ram started waiting at 9am. I arrived at 11am. When I arrived, Ram had been waiting for two hours.

SHALL USED IN FUTURE

Shall" is used to indicate future action. It is most commonly used in sentences with "I" or "we," and is often found in suggestions, such as "Shall we go?" "Shall" is also frequently used in promises or voluntary actions. In formal English, th e useof "shall" to describe future events often expresses inevitability or predestination. "Shall" is much more commonly heard in British English than in American English; Americans prefer to use other forms, although they do sometimes use "shall" in suggestions or formalized language. Examples:

Shall I help you? Suggestion

I shall never forget where I came from. Promise
He shall become our next king. Predestination
I'm afraid Mr. Smith shall become our new director. Inevitability

INMEDIATE FUTURE: USING BE ABOUT TO

The idiom be about to do something expresses an activity that will happen in the immidiate future, usually within 5 minutes. Examples:

Sally is about to open the door.

 MIXED TENSES READING

Read carefully the next text and fill the spaces with the correct form of the verb.

___________________(ever - you - fly) to America? Kevin is lucky. He_________ (can) visit his cousin Amy Baxter last year. Yesterday, while Kevin_____________(read) a book, his mother__________ (come) in and gave him a letter from Amy. He read:" Hi, Kevin, I hope you_________ (not forget) me yet. ___________ (you - remember) how much fun we ____________(have) last year? What ______________(do - you) since then? Well, let me tell you the chaotic story of my trip to the Poconos. I ____________(want) to spend a nice weekend with my friend Jane. She__________ (live) in Manhattan for some months now. "I´m sure we___________ (have) lots of fun," Jane said while I __________ (unpack) my things. "If the weather _________ (be) fine tomorrow we __________(go) on a trip to the Poconos." " I think this is a fantastic idea," I __________ (agree). "I to climb the highest mountains." When we ____________ (drive) along Interstate 95 the next day we __________ (notice) a red light in Jane´s mother´s car. "I think, if we __________ (want) to reach the Poconos we ________(need) some help first", Jane´s mother said. "I __________(read - never) the handbook, so I __________(not have) any idea what´s wrong."  We __________(leave) the expressway and soon saw the sign of a car repair garage. The mechanic quickly _________(check) the car and smiled. "Lady," he said, "I __________(see) this problem many times before.I´m sorry, but a mechanic is not what you need. If you __________(not fill) up the tank, you _____________(get - never) to the Poconos."

References:http://secondyearlevel5.blogspot.com/2008/06/tenses-extra-practice.html

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