by Phil Williams | Jul 6, 2017 | Grammar, Vocabulary
I’ve been asked about the tense of “keep writing” – and how it relates to the rules and patterns we use for the present continuous form of “to be writing”. Many verbs can be followed by other verbs in an –ing form, such as “keep doing”, “enjoy doing”, “avoid doing”...
by Phil Williams | Dec 11, 2014 | Grammar
As the present simple has complex uses, often relating to timeless facts, the present continuous is the main tense we use for talking about what is happening now. It can describe temporary actions that are happening (ongoing) now, processes of change, habits, and,...
by Phil Williams | Dec 3, 2013 | Definitions, Grammar
There are 12 basic tenses in the English language. These are the most common grammatical forms for expressing time in English. It can help to view the different time expressions on one timeline, so I have created a diagram to compare all the English tenses, below....
by Phil Williams | Jun 3, 2013 | Exercises, Grammar
Continuing our look at the tenses, here’s a practice exercise to compare uses of the present simple and the present continuous tenses. These uses are covered in full detail in The English Tenses Practical Grammar Guide, but this brief summary should help....
by Phil Williams | Apr 22, 2013 | Grammar
One of the things that makes English a rich language is the variety and flexibility of the tenses. This is covered in huge detail in my book, The English Tenses Practical Grammar Guide, but this post will give you a quick introduction! The future tense is possibly the...