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The past tense in English is a common challenge for my students. The past tense is typically formed by adding the suffix “-ed” to the end of a verb. Simple!
However, many irregular verbs complicate things by not following this rule. These verbs often lack the “-ed” ending and take various forms (e.g., eating, sleeping, or purchasing).
Some verbs even retain the same form in the past tense (e.g., divide, cut, bet, or let). English grammar can certainly be perplexing!
The importance of grammar in the English Language cannot be overstated. Grammar is the foundation upon which any language is built, helping to ensure effective communication.
English is a blend of various languages. Old French and Latin significantly influenced English, while its roots lie primarily in the languages of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes.
These populations arrived in Britain more than a thousand years ago, long before the country was known as “Britain” or even “England.”
Some grammatical conventions come from one language, while others are borrowed from different sources. For various reasons, English grammar and spelling were never fully standardized, making the language uniquely complex.
Table of Contents
Is It Not Possible To Learn English Without Studying Grammar Rules?
The answer is both yes and no.
Native English speakers are not explicitly taught grammar rules until they start school.
However, a child’s learning process differs from that of an adult. Grammar serves as a tool to help anyone speak more accurately and avoid errors in written English.
While it’s not advisable to “learn English by solely mastering grammar rules,” incorporating grammar practice into a study routine is essential.
People should avoid relying exclusively on tools like Grammarly for corrections. Instead, they should dedicate time to practicing grammar.
The pointers in this post offer practical, actionable grammar lessons to help improve your skills.
Modal Verbs: When And How To Use Them
Modal verbs often have unique forms and require special rules for creating negative and interrogative phrases.
Here’s a quick look at the verb to be:
- Be: The infinitive form, used when discussing the verb generally (e.g., “The verb to be is essential”) or in specific compound tenses.
- Am/Is/Are: These are the present tense forms:
- Am: First-person singular (e.g., I am).
- Is: Third-person singular (e.g., he is, she is, it is).
- Are: First-person plural (e.g., we are), second-person singular and plural (e.g., you are), and third-person plural (e.g., they are).
- Was/Were: These forms are used in the past tense:
- Was: First-person singular (e.g., I was) and third-person singular (e.g., he/she/it was).
- Were: First-person plural (e.g., we were), second-person singular/plural (e.g., you were), and third-person plural (e.g., they were).
- Being: The present participle, often used in continuous tenses (e.g., “I am being,” “she was being”) or with a subject (e.g., “Being a polyglot is an asset”).
- Been: The past participle, used in perfect tenses (e.g., “I have been,” “she had been”).
At this stage, don’t worry too much about mastering all these forms. They will be explained in detail in later sections, along with guidance on when and how to use them.
Understanding “Has / Have / Had”
Humans use different English tenses for specific purposes, with some being more common than others:
- In the present perfect tense, the auxiliary verb is always have (for I, you, we, or they) or has (for he, she, it).
- In the past perfect tense, the auxiliary verb is always had.
Conclusion
Grammar’s use of tenses is crucial. Since tenses are based on time, they enable us to describe events in relation to when they occurred.
The three primary tenses—past, present, and future—are further divided into various forms to express specific timelines. However, many of us face challenges with forms like has, have, and had.
By practicing regularly and understanding the rules outlined here, you can improve your command of English grammar and communicate more effectively.
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