Tenses

- The term Tense is the grammatical

term for time

The present tense- Is used when referring

to the present time, i.e. now. (I love grammar)NOTE! There are cases where Swedish uses the past tense and English uses the present tense

English Swedish

O It´s kind of you to remember

me.O That´s a good idea, but I can´t

afford it.O I´m glad to hear that you´re

safe.

O Det var snällt av dig att.O Det är/var en bra idé...O Det var skönt att höra...O Is that all?

The present tense

"The present tense always occurs with

either of the aspects: The simple form or the

progressive (-ing) form, mainly depending

on whether something is going on at the

time of speaking or not" (Maria Estling

Vannestål)

O Ex: I wish I lived in Canada where I

always heard it snows a lot (simple form)

O Ex: It´s snowing (progressive form).

The past tense - Refers to something that happened at a certain time in the past

I loved grammar

O Last Christmas I gave you my heart.

O Note! The past tense can also be used to express politeness

O Ex: Could you pass me the sugar, please?

O Ex: I was wondering if you could tell me how to get to the train station. (Was is used since it is more polite than just saying I am wondering)

The past tense is used…...after the

expressions

it´s/high/time

in Swedish we use the

present tense

Eng: It´s high time we

spent more time

focusing on the task

ahead.

O Det är dags att vi

lägger mer tid på...

The present perfectI have always loved grammar…

O ...is mainly used to describe something that has (or has not) happened at an unspecified time in the past and is often related in some way to the present

O Ex: Fox reports that the plane has landed (The present perfect, relation to the present: The plane is here now)

O Ex: Oh, have you been to Sara? (The present perfect, relation to the present: Have you been there yet?)

The present perfect

O ...sometimes indicates that something is still the case

O Ex: I have lived in New York jut over four years (and I still do = The present perfect)

O Ex: We have produced the best vine for more than 50 years. (And we still do = The present perfect)

NOTE!

O The past tense is used in English to

describe that something has happened

but is definitely over, whereas in Swedish

you can use the present perfect instead

O Eng: Betty lived in London for six years

O Swe: Betty har bott i London i sex år

The past perfectI had always loved grammar…

O the past perfect (pluskvamperfekt) is used to talk about something that had (or had not) happened, often before something else.

O Ex: About the time I had finished cooking supper the thunder began.

O ...it also occurs in indirect speech, when someone talks about something that had happened:

O Ex: She later told us she had never once suspected a thing

O ...it is also used to express conditions and wishes

O Ex: If I had seen my boyfriend, I would have strangled him

The futureSoon you will love grammar too…

O There is no tense called future in the

English

language. Instead, different constructions

are used in order to express intention,

planned arrangements etc.

O The two most frequent ones being:

O Shall/Will and Be going to. Shall/Will is

considered being a bit more formal than

be going to.

Note!

O When the English language uses a construction in order to talk about something in the future the Swedish language sometimes uses the present tense.

O Eng: I will call you tomorrow (future using the word will)

O Swe: Jag ringer dig imorgon (presens)

Conditional constructionsI would love grammar if...

O A conditional construction is used to talk about something which could or would happen provided a certain condition is fulfilled.

O These are the three main types of conditional constructions in English

1) A construction with shall/will

2) A construction with would

3) A construction with would have

O Ex: I would have brought you flowers if I hadn't forgotten my wallet

Fill in the blanks, please.

1) This ______________(var) interesting

2) I___________________ (kommer) and see you next week.

3) My mother _______________(är född) in Germany.

4) I__________(skriver) a letter, when I get there.

5) She______________(har bott) in Denmark for twenty years but she wants to move.

Key

1) is

2) will come

3) was born

4) will write

5) has lived (has been living)

Question…

O Can anyone tell me the difference

between

irregular verbs and regular verbs?

Regular verbs are inflicted (böjda) in the

same way, whereas irregular verbs are not.

If you find it difficult to use the right verb

form when you write, please revise in the

grammar section on the web/cd.