Present Tenses

1. Present Simple

Form

+	verb / verb + (e)s	He buys a new game.
–	do / does not + verb	I don’t play Wii.
?	Do / Does … + verb?	Do you play games?

 

When to use

• to talk about regular habits or repeated actions:
• I get up early every day.
• I buy a new game every week. (not me)
• Words that describe how often or when are often used (e.g. always, generally, normally, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, never, every …).
• to talk about permanent situations:
• My father own the company.
• If we want to say how long something has continued, we use present perfect instead.
• to talk about facts or generally accepted truth.
• I am a boy.
• The following words are often used: generally, mainly, normally, usually, traditionally.
• to give instructions or directions:
• First, you unpack the box. Then …
• to tell stories and talk about films, books, and plays:
• In the film, the man falls in love with his son. ( – -“ )

2. Present Continuous

Form

+	am/is/are + verb + -ing	You are reading my blog.
–	am/is/are not + verb + -ing	I’m not talking but typing.
?	Am/Is/Are … + verb + -ing?	Are they learning?

 

When to Use

• to talk about temporary situations:
• I’m studying really hard for my IELTS.
• Following words are often used: at the moment, currently, now, this week/month/year
• to talk about actions happening at the moment of speaking:
• I’m typing the blog.
• to talk about trends or changing situations:
• The price of RAM is rising dramatically.
• to talk about things that happen more often than expected, often to show envy or to criticize with words like always, constantly, continually, forever:
• My mum’s always saying I don’t exercise enough! (complaint)
• He’s always buying new hardware! (envy)

3. State verbs

The present continuous is not normally used with state verbs!!
These verbs describe thoughts, feelings, senses, possession and description.

Example:

• thoughts: agree, assume, believe, disagree, forget, hope, know, regret, remember, suppose, think, understand
• feelings: adore, despite, dislike, enjoy, feel, hate, like, love, mind, prefer, want
• senses: feel, hear, see, smell, taste
• to talk about something happening now we use can;
• I can smell bla bla bla. (NOT I’m smelling …)
• possessions: have, own, belong
• descriptions: appear, contain, look, look like, mean, resemble, seem, smell, sound, taste, weigh.

!Some state verbs can be used in the continuous form when the meaning is temporary.
She’s having a great time. (is having = is experiencing, not possession)
What are you thinking about? (now)

Source: Diana Hopkins, and Pauline Cullen. Grammar for IELTS, Cambridge : University Press, 2007.

Mental and Physical Development

Early development stage in childhood
Infant / Toddler / Middle childhood

acquired – learned (a skill)

imitating – copying people

unassisted / without support – without help

spontaneously – in a natural, unforced way

mastered – developed a skill to a high level

stage / period – phase

keep an open mind – try not to judge before you know the facts.

bear in mind – remember

have something in mind – have an idea.

have something on your mind – be worried about something.

my mind went blank – I couldn’t remember a thing.

it slipped my mind – I forgot.

put your mind at ease – stop you from worrying.

broaden in mind – increase your knowledge

Verb	Noun	Adjective
develop	development	developed
grow	growth	fully-
mature / reach maturity	maturity	mature

 

Prefix	in front of	ex.
im	b, m, p	immature, impossible
ir	r	irregular
il	l	illegal
in	other words	insensitive

form the opposite or to show that something is lacking

Common MISTAKE

• Grow can be used with plant or with things.
  • The business is growing rapidly.
• Grow up can only be used with people and cities. Grow up is intransitive, which means it cannot be used with an object.
  • The city grew up from a small group of house near the river.
  • The government grew up the city.
• Remember – to have a memory in your mind.
  • I remember my first day at school.
• Remind – someone or something helps you to remember something. Remind is not usually used with subject.
  • It reminds me of when I lived in Thailand.
  • You remind me of my sister.
  • I remind of when …
  • I remind me of …

Source: Cullen, Pauline. Vocabulary for IELTS, Cambridge : University Press, 2008.

Growing Up

hood is used to form a noun and show something belongs to a particular group or has reached a particular stage (adulthood = the stage of being an adult).

co- often means with or together. (correlation or cooperate)

inter- often means between. (interact or intercity)

nurture – help someone/something develop and grow.

accommodating – agreeing to demand.

sibling – brother and sister.

relate – respond to somebody.

adolescence – the stage between childhood and adulthood.

rewarding – giving a lot of pleasure.

interaction – communication.

bond – usually used to describe a very close relationship between people.

Remark – relationship

Verb	build a relationship develop a relationship establish a relationship form a relationship have a relationship
Adjective	a close relationship a long-standing relationship a working relationship a successful relationship
Preposition	a relationship with someone a relationship between two things or people (NOT relationship to someone)

Common MISTAKES

1. I am writing in relation to/with your job advertisement. NOT in relation of …
2. My relationship with my parents is very strong. NOT My relation with my parents …

Source: Cullen, Pauline. Vocabulary for IELTS, Cambridge : University Press, 2008.