Generally, English tenses can be classified into simple tenses, progressive tenses, perfect tenses and perfect progressive tenses. One of my common grammar mistakes is perfect progressive tenses.
Perfect progressive tenses are used when indicating ongoing actions that will be completed at some definite time. They can be further classified into present perfect progressive, past perfect progressive and future perfect progressive. Firstly, present perfect progressive tense shows an action that began in the past, continues in the present and may continue into the future. For example, the sentence “My family has been planning to move to Australia” tells us that the plan has started and is still ongoing.
One of the common mistakes in my essays is that I do not know how to differentiate between present perfect progressive tense and past perfect progressive tense. After doing some reading, I found out that the latter describes a past and ongoing event that was completed before another past event. For example, the sentence “Before I matriculated in the National University of Singapore, my family had been planning to move to Australia” indicates that the plan had came into place before the matriculation.
Thirdly, we have the future perfect progressive tense that describes an ongoing event that will occur before another event in the future. For example, in the sentence “By the year 2015, my family will have been moving to Australia,” we know that the migration will take place in the future but before the year 2015.
In conclusion, I should do more exercises related to perfect progressive tenses to improve on the quality of my essays.
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Practice Exercise on Tenses
Fill in the blanks with appropriate forms of the verbs in parentheses. In some cases, more than one verb form may be appropriate. In these cases, you should be able to explain any differences in meaning that may occur.
Rats!
Of all man’s natural enemies, the one which has caused him more trouble than any other must be the common rat. For centuries, man (1) has been trying (try), in vain, to solve the problem of rats. The ancient Egyptians (2) were (be) probably the first people to try to get rid of them with poison, and this method (3) is still being used (still be used) today. This says a great deal about how effective this method (4) has been (be). We have set innumerable and ingenious traps, from simple wires to complicated machines which drowned the rats in beer! We (5) have used (use) gas, water and fire. We have tried to electrocute them and to infect them with specially developed germs. We've even tried to breed super‑cats to kill them. However, we are still losing the battle.
One of the first records we have of the problem of rats was in 1347 when some Italian ships (6) carried (carry) rats from the Black Sea back to Italy. Soon, the citizens (7) were complaining (complain) of painful dark marks on their skin. Soon after that, they were dead. This was the beginning of the 'Black Death' which killed 25 million people in only three years. For centuries, the same disease, also called the plague, would wipe out thousands of people from time to time and in different places. Thankfully, this is a problem that man (8) has almost overcome (almost overcome). Plague today (9) is (be) not the threat it used to be. Only a few countries in the world (10) still have (still have) an occasional death caused by the plague. However, the rat is still alive and healthy.
Although the problem of plague has been contained, the rat is still man’s number one enemy. This year, in the United States alone, rats will bite thousands of humans, causing disease, despair and terror. They (11) will destroy (destroy) well over a billion dollars worth of property. In a world constantly suffering from famine, rats will destroy approximately a fifth of all food crops planted. In India alone, they (12) will deprive (deprive) hungry people of enough grain to fill a train more than 2,000 kilometres long. In all of Asia, rats (13) eat (eat) 48 million tons of rice a year, enough food to feed a quarter of a billion people. Around the world, rats will spread at least 20 kinds of disease, and in several tropical countries their population will suddenly explode and completely destroy the land.
'When we speak of rats,' (14) explained (explain) one leading scientist, 'we are speaking of the most numerous and successful mammal on earth, perhaps including man! When we talk about rat control, we're talking about human survival.'
So why can't man, with all his scientific knowledge, manage to overcome a mere animal like the rat? The answer is simply that the rat isn't a 'mere' animal ‑ it (15) is (be) a very special kind of animal. An average rat can: wriggle through a hole no larger than a S$1 coin; climb a brick wall as if it (16) were climbing (climb) steps; swim for one kilometre and then tread water for three days; chew through lead pipes and metal bars with teeth that can exert an unbelievable 1,691 kilograms per square centimetre; happily leave a building by being flushed down the toilet, and then return the same way; jump from a fifth storey window and run away unharmed; and last but certainly not least, multiply so rapidly that a single pair could have 15,000 babies in one year!!
Perhaps the best example of how 'special' these creatures (17) are (be) is found on the island of Engebi, in the Western Pacific. For many years, the United States tested its nuclear weapons on this island. The rat was “completely” destroyed by repeated nuclear explosions. A few years after the explosions (18) had stopped (stop), scientists visited the island and found it was alive with rats. The rats were not injured or weakened in any way. On the contrary, their life spans were longer and, if anything, they were larger and stronger than other rats. It (19) seems (seem) that the most deadly weapon that people can create actually (20) improves (improve) the health of our oldest enemy!
In addition to all these physical qualities, we also have the problem that rats are rather good at (21) not getting caught (not get caught). They seem to have an almost supernatural ability to sense when food (22) has been poisoned (be poisoned) (even as little as one part in a million) and a suspicious rat will starve before it (23) eats (eat) poisoned food. They also seem to be able to recognize a trap with no real difficulty.
To overcome these abilities of the rat, we now use a huge variety of weapons, both sophisticated and simple. We (24) are experimenting (experiment) with chemicals, radiation, high‑frequency sound, and even super‑glue! There is now a machine on the market which (25) claims (claim) to grab the rat, electrocute it and neatly seal it in a plastic bag. However, the simplest method (26) is (be) probably also the oldest, a strong wooden club. It (27) has proved (prove) very effective in Bombay, India. Every night, the rat‑catchers take to the streets armed with such a club. They find a rat with the beam of their torch, crack it over the head, pick it up with their toes and drop it into a sack. In total, they (28) kill (kill) 4,000 a night, which (29) is (be) a mere drop in the ocean. One thing (30) looks (look) certain, we had better find a way to defeat these small brown creatures soon, or it may be too late. In the age‑old battle between rats and people, the rats are perhaps beginning to win!
Perfect progressive tenses are used when indicating ongoing actions that will be completed at some definite time. They can be further classified into present perfect progressive, past perfect progressive and future perfect progressive. Firstly, present perfect progressive tense shows an action that began in the past, continues in the present and may continue into the future. For example, the sentence “My family has been planning to move to Australia” tells us that the plan has started and is still ongoing.
One of the common mistakes in my essays is that I do not know how to differentiate between present perfect progressive tense and past perfect progressive tense. After doing some reading, I found out that the latter describes a past and ongoing event that was completed before another past event. For example, the sentence “Before I matriculated in the National University of Singapore, my family had been planning to move to Australia” indicates that the plan had came into place before the matriculation.
Thirdly, we have the future perfect progressive tense that describes an ongoing event that will occur before another event in the future. For example, in the sentence “By the year 2015, my family will have been moving to Australia,” we know that the migration will take place in the future but before the year 2015.
In conclusion, I should do more exercises related to perfect progressive tenses to improve on the quality of my essays.
**********************************************************************************
Practice Exercise on Tenses
Fill in the blanks with appropriate forms of the verbs in parentheses. In some cases, more than one verb form may be appropriate. In these cases, you should be able to explain any differences in meaning that may occur.
Rats!
Of all man’s natural enemies, the one which has caused him more trouble than any other must be the common rat. For centuries, man (1) has been trying (try), in vain, to solve the problem of rats. The ancient Egyptians (2) were (be) probably the first people to try to get rid of them with poison, and this method (3) is still being used (still be used) today. This says a great deal about how effective this method (4) has been (be). We have set innumerable and ingenious traps, from simple wires to complicated machines which drowned the rats in beer! We (5) have used (use) gas, water and fire. We have tried to electrocute them and to infect them with specially developed germs. We've even tried to breed super‑cats to kill them. However, we are still losing the battle.
One of the first records we have of the problem of rats was in 1347 when some Italian ships (6) carried (carry) rats from the Black Sea back to Italy. Soon, the citizens (7) were complaining (complain) of painful dark marks on their skin. Soon after that, they were dead. This was the beginning of the 'Black Death' which killed 25 million people in only three years. For centuries, the same disease, also called the plague, would wipe out thousands of people from time to time and in different places. Thankfully, this is a problem that man (8) has almost overcome (almost overcome). Plague today (9) is (be) not the threat it used to be. Only a few countries in the world (10) still have (still have) an occasional death caused by the plague. However, the rat is still alive and healthy.
Although the problem of plague has been contained, the rat is still man’s number one enemy. This year, in the United States alone, rats will bite thousands of humans, causing disease, despair and terror. They (11) will destroy (destroy) well over a billion dollars worth of property. In a world constantly suffering from famine, rats will destroy approximately a fifth of all food crops planted. In India alone, they (12) will deprive (deprive) hungry people of enough grain to fill a train more than 2,000 kilometres long. In all of Asia, rats (13) eat (eat) 48 million tons of rice a year, enough food to feed a quarter of a billion people. Around the world, rats will spread at least 20 kinds of disease, and in several tropical countries their population will suddenly explode and completely destroy the land.
'When we speak of rats,' (14) explained (explain) one leading scientist, 'we are speaking of the most numerous and successful mammal on earth, perhaps including man! When we talk about rat control, we're talking about human survival.'
So why can't man, with all his scientific knowledge, manage to overcome a mere animal like the rat? The answer is simply that the rat isn't a 'mere' animal ‑ it (15) is (be) a very special kind of animal. An average rat can: wriggle through a hole no larger than a S$1 coin; climb a brick wall as if it (16) were climbing (climb) steps; swim for one kilometre and then tread water for three days; chew through lead pipes and metal bars with teeth that can exert an unbelievable 1,691 kilograms per square centimetre; happily leave a building by being flushed down the toilet, and then return the same way; jump from a fifth storey window and run away unharmed; and last but certainly not least, multiply so rapidly that a single pair could have 15,000 babies in one year!!
Perhaps the best example of how 'special' these creatures (17) are (be) is found on the island of Engebi, in the Western Pacific. For many years, the United States tested its nuclear weapons on this island. The rat was “completely” destroyed by repeated nuclear explosions. A few years after the explosions (18) had stopped (stop), scientists visited the island and found it was alive with rats. The rats were not injured or weakened in any way. On the contrary, their life spans were longer and, if anything, they were larger and stronger than other rats. It (19) seems (seem) that the most deadly weapon that people can create actually (20) improves (improve) the health of our oldest enemy!
In addition to all these physical qualities, we also have the problem that rats are rather good at (21) not getting caught (not get caught). They seem to have an almost supernatural ability to sense when food (22) has been poisoned (be poisoned) (even as little as one part in a million) and a suspicious rat will starve before it (23) eats (eat) poisoned food. They also seem to be able to recognize a trap with no real difficulty.
To overcome these abilities of the rat, we now use a huge variety of weapons, both sophisticated and simple. We (24) are experimenting (experiment) with chemicals, radiation, high‑frequency sound, and even super‑glue! There is now a machine on the market which (25) claims (claim) to grab the rat, electrocute it and neatly seal it in a plastic bag. However, the simplest method (26) is (be) probably also the oldest, a strong wooden club. It (27) has proved (prove) very effective in Bombay, India. Every night, the rat‑catchers take to the streets armed with such a club. They find a rat with the beam of their torch, crack it over the head, pick it up with their toes and drop it into a sack. In total, they (28) kill (kill) 4,000 a night, which (29) is (be) a mere drop in the ocean. One thing (30) looks (look) certain, we had better find a way to defeat these small brown creatures soon, or it may be too late. In the age‑old battle between rats and people, the rats are perhaps beginning to win!
1 comment:
Hi,
Now I know whether to put 's' after certain words or not to put.
By practising what you have published, I am sure we will improve in our writing.
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