Grammar unit 1
The present tenses
To describe the events in a scene, you use the present simple and the present continuous.
- We use the present continuous to talk about long actions going on at the moment.
We see the girl is lying on the floor. She is bleeding. The man is standing
over her.
- We use the present simple to talk about a sequence of events.
Another man comes into the room. He sees the body. He gets really angry.
He takes out a gun.
The past tenses
We use the past simple to talk about:
- actions that clearly took place in the past
Margaret’s husband died in 2007.
- actions in the past happening one after another
First she went to the station and then she waited for the voice.
- regular, repeated events and habits in the past
She went to the station every day.
We use the past continuous to talk about:
- long actions going on in the past
She was waiting for the train to stop.
- long actions that were going on in the past when something else happened
She was waiting for the voice when she suddenly heard a woman’s voice.
past continuous past simple
Linking words
When telling a story you can use linking words to connect ideas.
- linking words expressing reason or cause
The boy was unhappy, because he didn’t have a good friend.
As it was really nice outside, the boy decided to go for a walk.
- linking words expressing effect or result
The boy was playing his game. Therefore, he ignored the dog.
His mum wanted to help him, so she bought a dog.
- linking words expressing contrast – concession (toegeving)
The boy wasn’t interested at first, but the dog didn’t give up.
The boy didn’t give up, although the boy ignored him.
The boy kept playing his game. However, the dog didn’t give up.
Even though the boy wasn’t happy with his present at first, he opened up
to the puppy.
- linking words expressing purpose or goal
The boy’s mum had bought the dog in order to get her son from behind his
game.
The dog and the boy went outside to play with the ball.
! Therefore and however are adverbs. You can’t use them to combine two clauses (bijzinnen) into
one sentence.
The present tenses
To describe the events in a scene, you use the present simple and the present continuous.
- We use the present continuous to talk about long actions going on at the moment.
We see the girl is lying on the floor. She is bleeding. The man is standing
over her.
- We use the present simple to talk about a sequence of events.
Another man comes into the room. He sees the body. He gets really angry.
He takes out a gun.
The past tenses
We use the past simple to talk about:
- actions that clearly took place in the past
Margaret’s husband died in 2007.
- actions in the past happening one after another
First she went to the station and then she waited for the voice.
- regular, repeated events and habits in the past
She went to the station every day.
We use the past continuous to talk about:
- long actions going on in the past
She was waiting for the train to stop.
- long actions that were going on in the past when something else happened
She was waiting for the voice when she suddenly heard a woman’s voice.
past continuous past simple
Linking words
When telling a story you can use linking words to connect ideas.
- linking words expressing reason or cause
The boy was unhappy, because he didn’t have a good friend.
As it was really nice outside, the boy decided to go for a walk.
- linking words expressing effect or result
The boy was playing his game. Therefore, he ignored the dog.
His mum wanted to help him, so she bought a dog.
- linking words expressing contrast – concession (toegeving)
The boy wasn’t interested at first, but the dog didn’t give up.
The boy didn’t give up, although the boy ignored him.
The boy kept playing his game. However, the dog didn’t give up.
Even though the boy wasn’t happy with his present at first, he opened up
to the puppy.
- linking words expressing purpose or goal
The boy’s mum had bought the dog in order to get her son from behind his
game.
The dog and the boy went outside to play with the ball.
! Therefore and however are adverbs. You can’t use them to combine two clauses (bijzinnen) into
one sentence.
