Lumiere English Academy - How to use Verbs and their Tenses correctly (2)

Lumiere English academy

A Basic Grammar

Studying English

THE PRESENT INDEFINITE TENSE 
I love
We use this tense when we talk about something that always exists, e.g. , Peter is very absentminded, or Peter is not very absentminded
Also in the headlines of newspapers, Shopping Mall opens the gates
Also about things that usually happen; Once a week we attend Worship Service

EXERCISE:
1. We all (know) ....................... that Marianne is going to get engaged (know)
2. New gaffe (spark) ................................. off protests (sparks)
3. It (be) ...................... generally accepted that correct diet (be) ................. important 
(is)  (is)       
4. Christmas (fall) ............................... on 25 December (falls)
5. Steady leader (revive) ............................... teams' flagging spirits (revives)
6. (be) ............................. you aware that a healthy mind (need) .............. a fit body?
(Are) (needs)
7. In the morning some people (have) only toast and coffee (have)
8. Police called in as Mary (confront) ....................... furious fans (confronts)
9. Sometimes Janine (make) ........................ her own clothes (makes)
10. Every few weeks James (have) ........................ a professional haircut (has)
11. Before Christmas and Easter we always (clean) ..................... the house from top to bottom
(clean)
12. As soon as Mother (come) .................... home, we all have supper (comes)
13. Father (do) ..................................... not believe in buying goods on credit (does)
14. Neither Paul nor Jim (be able) ................................. to sing in tune (is able)
15. Shakespeare's plays still (continue) ............................. to create interest (continue)
16. At Christmas we (sing) ........................ carols and (decorate) ................... the tree
(sing) (decorate)
17. Percy never (forget) ................................. anyone's birthday (forgets)
18. A mother's love (be) ................................ a blessing (is)

THE PAST INDEFINITE TENSE
I loved
We use this tense when we talk about something that always existed in the past, e.g., Peter was very absentminded (until he went to memory improvement classes)
Also about events that took place but are now finished, e.g. in 2001 I graduated from college
When I was small I always rode my bicycle to school
Also used in newspaper heading; Philanthropist always kept an open purse for the poor

EXERCISE
1.   In days gone by, the ladies (wear) ............... crinolenes and towering hairdos. (wore)
2.   At that time, the teacher (say) .............. to his disciples. (said)
3.   In my time children (respect) ........................ their parents and elders. (respected)
4.   When I was living with my parents, I (manage) .................. to save a part of my salary.
(managed)
5.   The customer (express) ...................... his appreciation of the professional service.
(expressed)
6.   When I was young I (have) ...................... plenty of hair.
(had)
7.   I was happy when I (obtain) ......................a study bursary.
(obtained)
8.   Whenever I went out, I always (take).................... a packed lunch to save expense.
(took)
9.   Studying night and day (help) ........................ me to pass the examinations. (helped)
10. Eating the wrong kind of food and smoking (destroy) ................ my health. (destroyed)
11. I never (leave) ....................... my parents' home until I turned twenty-one. (left)
12. Father always (be) ..................... the first to wake up in our house. (was)
13. Singing at our place of worship as a child (be) .......... a much favoured pastime. (was)
14. Long ago there (live) ........................ a little princess in a big castle. (lived)
15. When she (stop) ................... trying to make trouble, I breathed a sigh of relief. (stopped)
16. The doctor who (examine) ............................. me said I was suffering from bronchitis. 
(examined)
17. Father never (earn) .................... enough money to give us luxuries. (earned)
18. Years ago Grandmother always (cook) .................................. for us. (cooked)
19. At the end of last month the supermarket (be) ..................... full of customers. (was)
20. Last year we (go) .......................... to Durban on holiday. (went)
21. My youngest brother was born when I (be) .......................... ten years old. (was)

Dr. Luky Whittle

Lumiere English Academy - How to use Verbs and their Tenses correctly

Precious student, show some sense

About tenses don't get tense

Until you know how to decline the most basic auxiliary (helper) verbs, you cannot hope to use verbs and their tenses correctly.

First, however, a word of advice. Please don't get tense about the tenses. 
Tense just means time, from temps, the French word for time. 
The tenses are not nearly as frightening as we tell ourselves. 
Half of them are second nature to us already, while we're not even aware of it.

In English we do not simply use one verb at all times as we do in some other languages. 
At certain times in the positive and nearly always in the negative use of our verbs we help ourselves by the use of auxiliary verbs. 
This word auxiliary is derived from the Latin "auxilium" which means help. 
The auxiliary verbs are the ones which help us.

FIRST CHECK THE MOST GENERAL AUXILIARY (help) VERBS

Infinitive         Present       Past         Present Participle       Past Participle

To be               I am            I was        I am being                 I have been
To do               I do             I did          I am doing                I have done
To have           I have         I had         I am having              I have had

HAVE CAN ALSO MEAN: TO EAT OR DRINK, E.G.
I was having breakfast         I was having my omelette        I was having my sandwiches
Would you like to have some tea?

AND WE CAN SAY
I was having problems         I was having a good time        I was having visitors
BUT WE CANNOT SAY:
I was having a headache.
INSTEAD WE SAY:
I had a headache
THOUGH WE CAN SOMETIMES SAY:
I was being careful      AS WELL AS   I was careful

Always remember that after using the present and past tenses of to do, we use the infinitive "did think" whereas after the present tense of "to have", we follow it up with the past participle: "have had". 
After auxiliary verbs like may, can, must, we also use the infinitive: "I may think" but past tense "I might have thought", "I can think" but I "could have thought", "I must think" but "I must have thought".

SO WE SAY:
I did (not) do              I did go            I did sing           I did read        I did obey
BUT
I have (not) done       I have gone     I have sung       I have read     I have obeyed

LEARN THE DIFFERENCE TO ENHANCE YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF ENGLISH

Dr Luky Whittle

Happy Hannukah

The blessed Festival of Hannukah begins tonight at sundown. 

A candle has been lit by Lumiere Charity in remembrance of the Festival.

A peaceful and blessed Hannukah to all. 

Lumiere English Academy - Participles and a List of Principal Parts

Lumiere English academy

A Basic Grammar

Studying English

Dear student,

Teachers will cast verbal darts

Till you know your principal parts

Before any real study of English can commence, students should be aware of the principal parts of the verb, for without these students will betray an ignorance of English at every turn. As the jingle states, however, this is not nearly as formidable a task as we tend to convince ourselves it is while we are studying at school. Relax, seat yourself comfortably and meet the challenge head on. If you find the principal parts tricky to memorise, read them into your tape recorder. Listening to the repetition while you are washing the dishes, changing a tyre or driving a car will soon help you to memorise them. Even after the third or fourth playing of the tape, you will find yourself answering some of them in unison with the recorded words. If you can tape them yourself, all the better, for there is something reassuring about the sound of one's own voice.

THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE

This is the same for regular and irregular verbs. It always ends with -ING, e.g. loving. The only thing to remember about the present participle is that you use the infinitive, but lop off the unsounded E at the end if there is one, before adding the ING. So, in the case of words such as love, leave, derive, deride, you use lov, leav, deriv, derid, before adding ING, i.e. loving, leaving, deriving, deriding. When the word ends on a consonant, e.g. look, you just add plain ING, SO look-ing. To repeat: Never have an E before the ING of a present participle, NOT DERIVE-ING but DERIVING.

THE PAST PARTICIPLE

In the case of regular verbs, the past participle is formed by adding a D to a word ending on an unsounded vowel, e.g. love-D, and by adding ED to a word ending on a consonant, e.g. look-ED.

THE PRINCIPAL PARTS OF REGULAR VERBS

There are three principal parts of verbs given and they should be memorised from the outset, for until you know your principal parts you will not be able to deal correctly with your verb tenses (i.e. times, yesterday, today and tomorrow). The principal parts are given for the present, the past indefinite and the past participle, e.g. I love, I loved, I have loved. The past participle is the same for the past perfect tense, I had loved as for the present perfect tense I have loved. 

The present perfect is easily explained by saying that the verb to have is used in the present tense, while loved is in the past or perfect, whereas the past perfect gives us the past tense of the verb to have followed by the perfect for the verb to love. An inability to understand this basic rule accounts for many mistakes made by second language English speakers. More of this later. First the spadework: the principal parts.

The principal parts of regular verbs are quite predictable. In the case of regular verbs the past indefinite tense is formed exactly as is the past participle explained above, i.e. we add an ED when the verb ends with a consonant, e.g. look-ED, while we simply add a D to the unsounded vowel, e.g. love-D. In the case of regular verbs, the past participle is the same as the past indefinite tense.

EXAMPLES OF SOME REGULAR VERBS

Infinitive        Present         Past Indefinite       Present Perfect

To smile        I smile          I smiled                I have smiled

To laugh        I laugh          I laughed              I have laughed
To frown       I frown          I frowned              I have frowned

PRINCIPAL PARTS OF SOME VERBS ENDING WITH A "Y" OR A "Y" SOUND

This is slightly more complicated but not when you remember that when a word ends on a y, this may be changed to an ie when a d is added, although this is not the case when a word ends on an unsounded y, e.g. obey, convey, in which case it is followed by -ed.

Infinitive       Present         Past Indefinite            Past Participle     
To convey     I convey       I conveyed                  I have conveyed
To cry          I cry             I cried                        I have cried
To deny        I deny           I denied                     I  have denied
To desire      I desire         I desired                    I have desired
To obey        I obey           I obeyed                     I have obeyed
To rely         I rely             I relied                      I have relied
To stay         I stay             I stayed                     I have stayed
To sigh         I sigh             I sighed                     I have sighed
I vie             I vie               I vied                        I  have vied
To shy          I shy              I shied                       I have shied

In the case of irregular verbs, the past participle, while it is often the same as the past tense, sometimes varies. So it has to be learnt and memorised.

EXAMPLES OF PRINCIPAL PARTS OF SOME MORE COMMON 
IRREGULAR VERBS

Infinitive, Present, Past Perfect, Past Participle, Past Perfect Participle

To be              I am              I was                    I have been         I had been
To bear           I bear            I bore                   I have borne       I had borne
To begin,         I begin          I began                 I have begun       I had begun
To bid,            I bid             I bade                   I have bidden      I had bidden
(order)
To bind,          I bind            I bound                I have bound       I had bound
To bite,           I bite             I bit                     I have bitten        I had bitten
To break,        I break          I broke                 I have broken      I had broken
To bring          I bring          I brought              I have brought     I had brought
To buy            I buy             I bought                I have bought      I had bought
To catch          I catch          I caught                I have caught       I had caught
To choose        I choose       I chose                  I have chosen      I had chosen
To cling           I cling          I clung                  I have clung         I had clung
To do              I do              I did                     I have done          I had done
To draw           I draw          I drew                   I have drawn        I had drawn
To drink          I drink          I drank                 I have drunk        I had drunk
To eat             I eat              I ate                      I have eaten        I had eaten
To feel            I feel             I felt                     I have felt            I had felt
To fight           I fight            I fought                I have fought        I had fought
To find            I find            I found                  I have found        I had found
To fly              I fly              I flew                    I have flown         I had flown
To forbid         I forbid         I forbade               I have forbidden  I had forbidden
To forget         I forget          I forgot                 I have forgotten   I had forgotten
To get             I get              I got                      I have got           I had got
To give           I give            I gave                    I have given        I had given

To go              I go              I went                    I have gone          I had gone
To grind          I grind          I ground                I have ground       I had ground
To grow          I grow          I grew                    I have grown        I had grown
To hid             I hide           I hid                       I have hidden      I had hidden
To hold           I hold           I held                     I have held          I had held
To keep           I keep          I kept                     I have kept          I had kept
To know          I know         I knew                    I have known       I had known
To lay             I lay             I laid                      I have laid           I had laid
(bricks)
To lay             The hens lay They laid                They have laid     They had laid
(eggs)
To lead           I lead            I led                      I have led            I had led

To light           I light           I lit                        I have lit             I had lit
To lose            I lose           I lost                      I have lost           I had lost
To make          I make         I made                   I have made         I had made
To mean          I mean         I meant                  I have meant        I had meant
To play            I play           I played                 I have played       I had played
To ride            I ride           I rode                    I have ridden        I had ridden
To ring            I ring           I rang                    I have rung           I had rung
To run             I run            I ran                      I have run           I had run
To see             I see             I saw                     I have seen          I had seen
To seek           I seek           I sought                 I have sought        I had sought
To sell             I sell            I sold                    I have sold            I had sold
To shake          I shake         I shook                 I have shaken        I had shaken
To shrink         I shrink        I shrank                I have shrunk        I had shrunk 

To sing            I sing           I sang                     I have sung          I had sung
To sit              I sit              I sat                       I have sat             I had sat
To sleep          I sleep          I slept                    I have slept          I had slept
To speak         I speak          I spoke                  I have spoken       I had spoken
To spin           I spin            I spun                    I have spun          I had spun
To spring        I spring         I sprang                 I have sprung       I had sprung
To stand          I stand          I stood                   I have stood         I had stood
To string         I string          I strung                 I have strung        I had strung
To strive         I strive          I strove                  I have striven       I had striven
To sweep        I sweep          I swept                  I have swept         I had swept
To swim          I swim           I swam                  I have swum        I had swum
To swing         I swing          I swung                  I have swung       I had swung
To take           I take            I took                    I have taken         I had taken
To teach          I teach          I taught                  I have taught       I had taught
To tear            I tear            I tore                     I have torn          I had torn
To tell             I tell             I told                     I have told           I had told

To think          I think          I thought                I have thought      I had thought
To thrive          I thrive         I throve                 I have thriven       I had thriven
To tread           I tread          I trod                    I have trodden     I had trodden
To understand  I understand  I understood         I have understood I had understood
To wake           I wake          I woke                   I have woken        I had woken
To wear           I wear           I wore                   I have worn           I had worn

To weave         I weave         I wove                   I have woven        I had woven 
To wind           I wind           I wound                 I have wound       I had wound
To wring          I wring         I wrung                  I have wrung        I had wrung
To write           I write          I wrote                   I have written       I had written 

VERBS THAT EITHER DO NOT CHANGE, 
OR HARDLY CHANGE THEIR TENSES 

To beat           I beat           I beat                    I have beaten        I had beaten
To bend          I bend          I bent                    I have bent           I had bent
To bet             I bet            I bet                      I have bet             I had bet
To build          I build         I built                    I have built           I had built
To cut             I cut            I cut                      I have cut             I had cut
To hit              I hit            I hit                       I have hit              I had hit
To hurt            I hurt          I hurt                    I have hurt            I had hurt
To lend            I lend         I lent                     I have lent             I had lent

BUT

To mend        I mend         I mended                I have mended      I had mended

To read          I read           I read                    I have read           I had read

*Pronunciation is as follows; to read (pronounce 'to reed', I read (pronounce as 'I reed'.

 I read past perfect is pronounced as 'I red', I have read is pronounced as 'I have red,'

 and I had read is pronounced as 'I had red.'                   

To rend          I rend          I rent                       I have rent           I had rent

(This is in the case where I rend garments, i.e. I tear material of clothing)

BUT

To rent          I rent           I rented                   I have rented          I had rented

(This is the case where I rent a room or house)

To send         I send           I sent                       I have sent             I had sent
To set            I set            I set                          I have set               I had set
To shed         I shed          I shed                       I have shed             I had shed

To shut          I shut           I shut                       I have shut             I had shut

To spill          I spill           I spilled                   I have spilt             I had spilt

To spread      I spread       I spread                   I have spread          I had spread

ONCE YOU HAVE MEMORISED THE PRINCIPAL PARTS YOU WILL BE READY TO LEARN THE VARIOUS TENSES.

Dr Luky Whittle

CHRISTMAS AND THE AGONY OF CRIME

Crime leads to untold agony for both victims and their families; and for the families of those who carried out the crime. It is the deed that never stops giving - pain and deep grief.  As a victim of crime on a few occasions, I know the long term results and health costs that arise from crime. 
If you are contemplating carrying out a crime and read these words, the best advice is Don't. Just don't.  

Right now, millions of children have a mom or dad in prison. Angel Tree have a program that assists these little ones. This Christmas, in the spirit of Lumiere, why not help a little child crying at home for his or her mom or dad who aren't able to be with them. 
And if you are in an area where there is no help for children of families affected by crime, why not start a group to assist them?

As Angel Tree tells us, the challenges of a prison sentence don't stop at the gate. When parents go to prison, their children also partake of their punishment, often struggling with poverty, shame, anger, abandonment and loneliness. Prison Fellowship's Angel Tree program delivers Christmas gifts and a personal message of love to children on behalf of the Mom or Dad behind bars. 

CEO Jim Liske of Prison Fellowship Ministries sends regular bulletins to Lumiere Charity of the inspired work the Fellowship does. Among the wonderful ways Prison Fellowship ministers, is Angel Tree. Many children have an empty place at the table this Christmas; perhaps Divine Providence is calling on you to touch the lives of one of these innocent ones with a gift that will bring gladness in a season of joy...

For more information on Angel Tree, see link
http://www.prisonfellowship.org/programs/angel-tree/

PJM Angel Tree

Angel tree helping children
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ7RlORvKGk&feature=watch-vrec

Angel Tree

*With thanks to PrisonFellowship.org Angel Tree,Youtube

Hurricane Sandy - a candle has been lit

A candle has been lit by Lumiere Charity in remembrance of all who have suffered and lost their lives in Hurricane Sandy. Devastation and loss have been experienced by so many - in the spirit of Lumiere, is there any way you could help?

Christmas is coming - ideas on how to celebrate!

Desperately in need

Mark holding hailstone which hit the Coronation Camp recently

Christmas is coming soon and Lumiere Charity is gearing up to celebrate! Since the first of January we have been buying items on sales/ bulk offers for cheap prices/ special offers from book stores. Our large cardboard boxes have been packed, and we are packing them ready to go. For a number of years now Lumiere has been sending gifts in the Christmas spirit to children we have been helping over the world; India, Romania, Ireland, Uganda, South Africa. In the spirit of Lumiere, why not pack your own shoebox size gift, or big box if you have the means, and give it/ send it to someone really in need. And sometimes the person most in need may be in your own family, in your neighbourhood or in your village/ town/ city's poorer areas. 

Things that are useful for Christmas gift boxes are schoolbooks; schoolclothes; combs; toiletries; books; clothing and underwear; suitable shoes for the climate; fees for the child's schooling or for the older youth's schooling/ graduation/ post graduation education. Food and/or subsidised meals for the child/ family are most helpful. I know that the recession has hit us all hard. But the beautiful result of the recession has been that the oldfashioned values of pulling together as a community, watching out for each other, learning to make do and to be thrifty are thriving and strong. Friendships are growing as we reach out to each other for help and support. If you can afford a small box to help someone in need, please think of this gift at Christmas. If you do not have the finances necessary for this, please support from your spiritual wealth with a prayer, a kind smile or a good deed in the spirit of Christmas. These are emotional and social sources of wealth in our communities. 

Among the many projects which Lumiere Charity supports is that of Coronation Park, where Mark van der Walt ministers among the poor and destitute. The people in the area have been suffering greatly in the last few months. Since our last blog post, the camp was hit by hailstones with massive damage being caused at the Camp to the already poor dwellings. The camp has 240 residents with 76 children all in need of assistance; the youngest is three months old. 

Finances have become so tight for Mark and his team of volunteers that they are battling to honour their commitments to the families they support.  As well as assisting at Coronation Park, they assist in other areas, including;
Tearfull Eye - a creche which looks after children so that their parents are able to go and work
Doulos Ministries - care for ill and terminally HIV/ Aids positive children in Meyerton, South Africa
St Laurence's Children's Haven 
Avril Elizabeth Home
Further blog posts will tell you more about these deserving ministries.
Why not make a donation towards Mark and his team's work this Christmas? Funds are tight and many are in need, especially children at their most vulnerable.
You can contact Mark at email
markvanderwalt@telkomsa.net
or
lumierecharity@yahoo.co.uk

*First photograph taken by Catherine Nicolette with permission, second and third photographs from 
Mark van der Walt