ENNglish

There are two tenses in English present and past. I was shocked when I read this sentence on British Council’s Webpage. I thought there must have been a mistake, committed intentionally to get the attention of readers. I read the full article but it was not explained how it was. I Emailed and also post a question. Within some hours they replied (as they usually do) ----   Hi Prakash, It's a good question. First, I should define what a  tense  is: it is  a form of a verb that expresses time . For example,  take  and  took  are the present tense and past tense of the verb  take. Technically speaking,  will take  is not a form of the verb  take , because it is not made by changing the form of  take  itself. Instead, it is made by adding another verb ( will ) which supplies the future time meaning. That's why we can't call  will take  a tense. However, in common and non-technical speaking, people do commonly say that  will +  infinitive verb is the "future tens

 “QUITE A FEW” AND “QUITE A BIT (OF)” FOR BIG QUANTITIES The phrases “quite a bit of” and “quite a few” are understatements that actually mean “a lot” or “many.” Quite a few = Many The park is home to quite a few species. Quite a bit of = a lot of There is quite a bit of open space for the animals. --- Quite a few of the students in my class don’t like History. There are quite a few books that I’d like to read. There’s still quite a bit of snow on the ground. She ate quite a bit of cake at her birthday party.  

 SAYING NUMBERS   In US English, people say “zero” for the number “0,” whereas in UK English, other words for “0” are possible.   When listing repeated numbers, for example, part of a phone number, in US English each number is said individually. In UK English, other expressions are possible.  0 Zero (UK) Oh (UK) Nought   44 Four four (UK) Forty-four (UK) Double four   555 Five five five (UK) Treble five (UK) Triple Five (UK) Five double five   LARGE NUMBERS You can say “one hundred” or “a hundred.” Both are correct. Don’t add “s” to “hundred,” “thousand,” or “million.” 100 One hundred A hundred   1000 One thousand A thousand 1000000 One million A million   101 One hundred and one 1200 One thousand, two hundred   1,300,000 One million, three hundred thousand   200 Two hundred (No “s” at the end.) 3000 three thousand   40,000,000 Forty million (Commas are used to separate long rows of figures.)  

  AGREEMENT AFTER “EITHER… OR” AND “NEITHER... NOR” When “either… or” or “neither… nor” are used to join two nouns, the verb usually agrees with the second noun. Either a tablet or a laptop is needed for the course. (The verb agrees with the second, singular noun.) Neither the teacher nor the children were happy. (The verb agrees with the second, plural noun.) If the second noun is singular and the first is plural, either a singular verb or a plural verb can be used. Neither the classrooms nor the office have/has internet access. (The verb can be singular or plural.)

  COMMON MISTAKES  “MUST NOT” AND “DON’T HAVE TO” “Must not” and “don’t have to” do not mean the same thing.  “Must not” is used to give an instruction that forbids someone from doing something. “Don’t have to” is used to tell someone that it is not necessary that they do something. You must not use a calculator during this exam.  (it is against the rules to use a calculator during this exam.) You don't have to use a calculator, but it might be useful.  (You are allowed to use a calculator, but it is not required.) ENNglish.com

Learn about the different verb forms you can use to talk about the past . Past events and situations   We use the  past simple  to talk about: something that happened  once in the past : The film  started  at seven thirty. We  arrived  home before dark. something that  was true for some time in the past : Everybody  worked  hard through the winter. We  stayed  with our friends in London. ---- When we talk about something that happened  several times in the past , we use the  past simple : Most evenings, we  stayed  at home and watched DVDs. Sometimes they  went  out for a meal. or  used to : Most evenings, we  used to stay  at home and watch DVDs. We  used to go for  a swim every morning. or  would : Most evenings, he  would take  the dog for a walk. They  would  often  visit  friends in Europe.   We do not normally use  would  with  stative verbs . We use the  past simple  or  used to  instead: He  would   looked  much older than

Learn about the different verb forms you can use to talk about the present.   We use the  present simple  to talk about: something that is  true  in the present: They  live  next door to us. He  works  for the Post Office. something that  happens regularly  in the present: The children  come  home from school at about four. We often  see  your brother at work. something that is  always true : Water  boils  at 100 degrees Celsius. The Nile  is  the longest river in Africa. ------- We use the  present continuous  to talk about: something happening at the moment of speaking: I can't hear you. I' m listening  to a podcast. Please be quiet. The children  are sleeping . something happening regularly in the present  before and after a specific time : I 'm  usually  having  breakfast at this time in the morning. When I see George he 's  usually  reading  his Kindle. something in the present w

Learn about the different verb forms you can use to talk about the future.   When we  know about the future , we normally use the  present tense . 1. We use the  present simple  for something  scheduled : We  have  a lesson next Monday. The train  arrives  at 6.30 in the morning. The holidays  start  next week. It 's  my birthday tomorrow. 2. We can use the  present continuous  for  plans or arrangements : I 'm playing  football tomorrow. They  are coming  to see us tomorrow. We 're having  a party at Christmas. 3. We use  will : when we express beliefs about the future: It  will be  a nice day tomorrow. I think Brazil  will win  the World Cup. I'm sure you  will enjoy  the film. to mean  want to  or  be willing to : I hope you  will come  to my party. George says he  will help  us. to  make offers and promises  : I 'll  see you tomorrow. We 'll send  you an email. to  talk about offers and prom