Second Lesson 16/10/08

Group 14, Level B2+ Teacher = Sean

Overview of the English Tense System
Listening and Pronunciation

We analyzed the differences between the Italian and the English tense system, and we arrived at the conclusion that the English tense system is easier than ours because of the lack of different coniugations ( except for the 3rd ones) and the absence of many difficult tenses such as the future.

In the English system there are 2 elements of meanings :



Time : which for English is much more flexible than Italian

The meeting starts at 9.00 tomorrow ( present tense referring to the future)
I was i could swim ( past tense referring to the present)
I could buy it next week if you like. ( past tense referring to the future)




Aspect : Simple, continuous, perfect

Simple - complete, finished, formal ( i look forward to see you, master), permanent ( i love Roma and live there forever), emphasises amount ( i read ten times this books)

Continuous - duration, in progress, temporary, surprise, irritation, informal ( i am looking forward to see you, brother)

Perfect- completed before another time, action producing a result relevant to a later situazion. Shows the relationship between different times.

Each of these aspects adds another layer of meaning to the verb
Choosing the right tenses depends on many factors-


We must consider :

1. The Nature of the action or event ( What is going on- situation)
2. How the speaker sees the event ( point of view)
3. The nature of the verb ( a verb may indicates a state or a duration. Ex. to own indicates a state, to wait indicates a duration)