tense - present and past progressive by eguriase s.m. okaka

TENSES - PRESENT PROGRESSIVE AND PAST PROGRESSIVE

BY EGURIASE S. M. OKAKA Tense refers to the time the action of a verb took place or is taking place whether in the present or in the past or in the future. We identified the various types of tenses and how they are used in everyday speech or conversation. However we shall concentrate more on the three basic types of tenses- the present, past and future tense-in the progressive form. In this article, we shall refresh our memory on what we have learnt before. Present progressive The present progressive tense expresses actions that happen at the time of speaking. We also use it to say someone does something every time, always, regularly, and so on? Look at these sentences. They are all simple sentences. • Olu sings beautifully. • I go to school every weekday. • I watched cartoons every Saturday morning at 7 o’clock. • She lives close by. • Plants take their food from the sun. All the sentences above are written in the present tense, but consider the following sentences. • Olu always plays football every Wednesday afternoon. • The sun always sets in the west. • She irons her school uniform every day. • Olu is playing football in the backyard. • I am eating rice with my friends. • We are doing our school assignments. In the first three sentences above, the italicized verbs are in the present tense because they occurs at the time of speaking and do say anything definite about the completeness and incompleteness of the actions. But look at the last three sentences. Do you notice any form of change? Yes, the italicized verbs express actions that at the time of speaking are still unfolding / occurring and are not yet completed. But there is a clear understanding that at a particular time in future, it will stop. For example, the first of the three sentences: • Olu is playing ball in the backyard, shows that Olu, at the time of speaking, is playing football, but at a time in the future, he will stop playing ball and do something else. We will call this type of sentence present progressive. Exercise Change the bracketed verbs in the following sentences to appropriate present progressive verbs. One has been done for you. • I (swept) the floor. Answer: I am sweeping the floor. a) Ade (sings) beautifully. b) Chidi and Ngozi (jump) the fence. c) They (swim) in the lake. d) She (shouted) her name. e) The baby (cries) loudly. f) The boy (sleeps) peacefully. g) I can see Olu (hug) Vicky. h) Chinwe (closed) the door. i) She (enjoys) the music. Put the sentences below in the appreciate column. Nos a & c have been done for you. a) Olu sings in the bedroom. b) She is buying yam for lunch. c) My mum is cooking fried rice for our guest. d) Fatima is sleeping. e) I play football every morning. f) Water flows downward. g) They are playing in the rain. h) I am praying for them to win the match. i) We sing carols at Christmas. j) The boys walked very hard. Simple present tense Present progressive tense Olu sings in the bathroom My mum is cooking fried rice for our guest. Past progressive tense We also learnt about the past tense in our previous write-ups. The past expresses actions that have occurred earlier or before now. That is, they took place in the past and it is definitely / completely finished at the time of speaking the sentence. Look at the sentences below: • I saw Shade at the cinema last week. • I bought the dress last year. • They stole her phone yesterday. • The teacher left the class hours ago. • I watched the cartoon last week. All the sentences above, of course, happened in the past. They express actions that occurred at a time in the past and had finished occurring at the time of speaking. But consider the following sentences. • Last year, Olu ran for my school. • The thief jumped over the fence. • Ade rescued the boy. • Shade was washing her father’s car. • You were painting the wall then. • She was sleeping in the room. In the above sentences, sentence 1-3 express actions that had occurred in the past and are completely finished at the time of speaking. But sentences 4-6 express actions that occurred in the past, probably were interrupted by action but are now complete. This type of tense is called the past progressive. These sentences express actions that were continuing in the past. Exercise 1 Change the verbs in the sentences below into the past progressive tense. One has been done for you. 1. She sits by the road. Answer: She was sitting by the road. • She stood by the car. • The child cries loudly. • They climbed the ladder. • He ran from the scene. • We lived at Pako bus-stop. • She reads her books. • Olu kicked a ball. • She baked a cake for the party. • They jumped the fence. Exercise 2 Choose the correct form of the past progressive tense for the following sentences. One has been done for you. 1. She had / was running to school. Answer: she was running to school. • Mary could not go to the party because she cooks / was cooking rice. • I have / was searching everywhere for her. • I could not write the story because I had / was looking for the materials. • They saw Shade when they were coming / came from church. • I heard the voice when I was / had planting the seeds. • Joseph did not see the thief because he read / was reading the newspaper. • I was / were having my bath when he walked in. • You were / was listening to the news when she came. • The animal looks / was looking at the cat. Exercise 3 In the sentence below, one of the bracketed verbs is supposed to be in the simple past tense while the other is supposed to be in the past progressive tense. Correct these errors and make sure you get them right in the appropriate order. One has been done for you. 1. She (read) the novel when she (hear) the noise. Answer: she was reading the novel when she heard the noise. • They (search) the cupboard when the police (arrive). • When I (fall) asleep I (dream) of my dad. • I (sleep) because he (keep) my bag. • He (arrange) the card when his father (come) in. • It (rain) when she (find) it. • She (take) the call because it (ring). • She (address) the audience when the chairman (enter). • The gardener (cut) the grass when he (hear) the news. • She (watch) the scene as it (unfold). Exercise 4 From the words lettered A – D, choose the word or group of words that best completes each of following sentences. • My mother and my sisters -------------------- travelling to Kano next week. A is B was C are D am • You ---------------- well today. A is looking B were looking C am looking D are looking • We have to leave now. It ------------------- late. A is getting B was getting C got has D has got • They ------------------ their homework when they fell asleep. A is doing B are doing C were doing D did • He -------------- his leg when he was playing soccer. A hurts B was hurting C is hurting D hurt Future progressive tense The future progressive tense describes or expresses actions that will occur or happen at a particular time in the future and at the time of speaking the action has not yet taken place. Take a look at the following examples: • Classes begin tomorrow. • I will come next week. • They will pay before the end of the day. • We shall win the race. • She will attend the party. The sentences above are in the future tense. The events have not yet happen or taken place at the time of speaking, but there is an assurance that the actions will occur at a particular time in the future. Now let us consider the following sentences. • She will be moving here after she has completed her terms. • They will be punishing the thief by the time he arrives tomorrow. • We shall be proceeding from where they found us. • I shall be distributing the girls strictly according to the list. • They will be handing over the company next week after the formal presentation. If you look at the above sentences carefully, all of them express actions that describe or refer to the future but they are slightly different from the earlier examples. These new sentences describe not one action but two that will occur in the future. They also indicate which action will occur before the other or at which point one action will interrupt the other in the future. Exercise 5 Complete the sentences below by choosing the correct form of the modal verb that is most suitable for the future tense. One has been done for you. 1. We will / shall go to market. Answer: we shall go to market. • They will / shall be going to the party. • The train shall / will move through Yaba. • Ade will / shall go to live in Abuja next year. • Everyone will / shall discover the truth. • There will / shall be no meeting today. • Taiwo shall / will need extra income for her rent. • We will / shall solve the equation. • He shall /will be punished for the crime. • The game shall / will be over soon. Exercise 6 Change the bracketed verbs to the future progressive tense. Make sure you use the correct form of the verb. One has been done for you. 1. Ojo (run) for the school at the international festival. Answer: Ojo will be running for the school at the international festival. • Bola (kicked) the ball at the stadium. • He (reports) the matter to the police. • She (stops) halfway along the runway. • I (travel) to the United States • Shola (marked) her birthday on Wednesday. • They (charge) them heavily for the service. • You (experience) the difference with our organization. • We (moved) from house to house. • I (saw) him. By Eguriase S. M. Okaka.