|
be
|
was
were
|
been
|
To be or not to be that
is the question.
|
|
|
I was in Lausanne yesterday.
|
Finished past
|
|
I have been at Gordon’s
for twenty minutes.
|
Not finished
|
|
become
|
became
|
become
|
Water becomes ice at
low temperatures.
|
General
|
|
Money only became a
problem in my life when I got married.
|
Past event
|
|
Money has become a
real problem in most peoples’ lives.
|
No time said
|
|
begin
|
began
|
begun
|
This lesson begins every
week at eleven thirty
|
Repeated action
|
|
The lesson began at
eleven thirty last week.
|
Finished past
|
|
The lesson has begun.
|
Not finished
|
|
blow
|
blew
|
blown
|
The wind always blows strongly
in Martigny
|
Every day
|
|
I blew out all the
candles on my birthday cake last night.
|
A past moment
|
|
I have blown out all
the candles on my birthday cake.
|
No time said
|
|
break
|
broke
|
broken
|
My television often breaks.
|
Repeated action
|
|
Yesterday, when I tried to repair my television, it broke.
|
Past event
|
|
My television has broken.
|
No time said
|
|
bring
|
brought
|
brought
|
I have a student who always brings me an apple.
|
Repeated action
|
|
A student brought me
an apple last week.
|
Past event
|
|
Oh look an apple! A student has brought it.
|
No time said
|
|
build
|
built
|
built
|
What do you do in life? I build houses.
|
General time
|
|
I built seven houses
last year.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have built six houses
so far this year.
|
Not finished
|
|
burn
|
burnt
|
burnt
|
Fire burns most things.
|
General truth
|
|
A fire burnt my house
last week.
|
Finished time
|
|
Fires have burnt twenty
houses in the canton so far this month.
|
Not finished
|
|
buy
|
bought
|
bought
|
People who go into shops usually buy something.
|
General time
|
|
I bought a new car
yesterday.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have bought a present
for my wife.
|
Time not said
|
|
catch
|
caught
|
caught
|
I must catch the early
train if I want to be in Geneva at seven.
|
Fut. with modal
|
|
I caught the early
train this morning and I am now in Geneva.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have only caught
the early train four times in my life.
|
Not finished
|
|
choose
|
chose
|
chosen
|
When I have the choice, I always choose the best product.
|
General time
|
|
I chose the car I wanted
to buy yesterday.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have chosen to stay
at home today.
|
Time not said
|
|
come
|
came
|
come
|
Christian always comes
to the lesson on time.
|
General time
|
|
He even came early
once.
|
Past event
|
|
So far he has never come late.
|
Not finished
|
|
cost
|
cost
|
cost
|
Pizzas cost about sixteen
francs in a restaurant.
|
General time
|
|
My car cost twenty
thousand francs.
|
Past event
|
|
My car has cost a
lot to repair so far.
|
Not finished
|
|
cut
|
cut
|
cut
|
It is better to cut
bread with a knife.
|
General time
|
|
What did you cut the bread with? ‘I cut it with a knife.’
|
Past event
|
|
I have cut twenty
loaves already, do I really need to cut any more?
|
Not finished
|
|
do
|
did
|
done
|
Do you like cheese?
|
General
|
|
Did you repair your car last week?
|
Past event
|
|
What have you done
so far today?
|
Not finished
|
|
draw
|
drew
|
drawn
|
Artists draw pictures.
|
General time
|
|
An artist drew a picture
of my wife when we were on holiday.
|
Past event
|
|
I have drawn a picture
of you.
|
Time not said
|
|
dream
|
dreamt
|
dreamt
|
I don’t often dream,
but when I do Cindy Crawford is always there.
|
Repeated action
|
|
I dreamt about Cindy
last night.
|
Past event
|
|
I have dreamt about
her ever since I can remember.
|
Not said
|
|
drink
|
drank
|
drunk
|
I always drink a small
glass of malt whisky before I go to bed.
|
Repeated action
|
|
I drank a large glass
last night.
|
Past event
|
|
I have only drunk
four bottles so far this year.
|
Not finished
|
|
drive
|
drove
|
driven
|
I drive to work every
day.
|
General Time
|
|
I drove to work yesterday.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have driven to work
every day so far this year.
|
Not finished
|
|
eat
|
ate
|
eaten
|
I eat eggs for breakfast
most days.
|
General time
|
|
I ate eggs for breakfast
yesterday.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have eaten eggs
every morning for the past six years.
|
|
fall
|
fell
|
fallen
|
If an object is heavier than air it falls to the ground.
|
General time
|
|
I fell and hurt my
leg.
|
Finished time
|
|
The Swiss franc has fallen
six times already this month.
|
Not finished
|
|
feel
|
felt
|
felt
|
I feel much better today
than I felt yesterday.
|
Present not action
|
|
Yesterday I felt terrible.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have felt ill for
almost three days now.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
find
|
found
|
found
|
Albanians find refuge
wherever they can.
|
Present not action
|
|
I found a wallet full
of money last night.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have never found
the right girl
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
fly
|
flew
|
flown
|
Birds can fly humans
cannot fly.
|
General time
|
|
A plane flew over my
house six times yesterday.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have flown to America
six times in my life.
|
Not finished
|
|
forget
|
forgot
|
forgotten
|
I always forget to pay
my tax bill.
|
Repeated action
|
|
I forgot to pay my
tax bill last year.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have forgotten to
pay my tax bill every year for the past ten years.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
get
|
got
|
got
|
The verb get is difficult
to translate to other languages.
|
General time
|
|
They got off the train
at the wrong station this morning.
|
Finished time
|
|
They have got the
wrong idea about you.
|
Time not said
|
|
give
|
gave
|
given
|
We give too much money
to the government.
|
Repeated action
|
|
We gave them too much
money last year.
|
Finished time
|
|
We have given them
money ever since money was invented.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
go
|
went
|
gone
|
I go to work every Monday
morning.
|
Repeated action
|
|
I went to work last
Monday at ten o’clock.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have gone to work
every Monday for the past fifteen years.
|
Not finished
|
|
grow
|
grew
|
grown
|
My hair grows so fast
that I must go to the hairdressers’ every month.
|
Repeated action
|
|
My hair grew almost
three centimetres last month.
|
Finished time
|
|
Your son has grown
a lot since the last time that I saw him.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
have
|
had
|
had
|
I have a dog and two
cats.
|
Present not action
|
|
I had a dog and two
cats but they all died.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have had a dog for
three years.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
hear
|
heard
|
heard
|
When I wake up in the morning I can hear birds singing.
|
Repeated action
|
|
I heard them singing
loudly yesterday.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have heard them
every morning since December.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
hit
|
hit
|
hit
|
A boxer hits his opponent
as many times as he can.
|
General time
|
|
The boxer hit his opponent
twenty-six times in two minutes.
|
Finished time
|
|
Nobody has ever hit
me. (so far)
|
Not finished
|
|
hold
|
held
|
held
|
I like to hold my wife’s
hand when we go for a walk.
|
Repeated action
|
|
I held her hand this
morning.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have held her hand
so many times that I have lost count.
|
Not said
|
|
hurt
|
hurt
|
hurt
|
A dentist usually hurts you.
|
Repeated action
|
|
The dentist didn’t hurt me yesterday.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have never hurt
an animal.
|
Not finished
|
|
keep
|
kept
|
kept
|
I always keep butter
in the fridge because it would melt if I didn’t.
|
General time
|
|
I kept my word and
didn’t tell anyone your secret.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have kept my money
in the SBS (UBS) for ten years now.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
know
|
knew
|
known
|
She has been my friend for a long time, I know
her very well.
|
Present not action
|
|
I knew her father also
but he died last year.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have known her ever
since we were small children.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
learn
|
learnt
|
learnt
|
We do not always learn
from our mistakes.
|
Repeated action
|
|
I learnt how to speak
English when I was young.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have learnt a lot
in the past year.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
leave
|
left
|
left
|
The train leaves every
morning at eight o’clock.
|
Repeated action
|
|
It left at eight o’clock
yesterday.
|
Finished time
|
|
It has left at eight
o’clock for the past twenty years.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
lend
|
lent
|
lent
|
It’s never a good idea to lend money to a friend.
|
General time
|
|
I lent my sister 5’000
francs last year.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have lent money to a lot of people in the past.
|
Not said
|
|
let
|
let
|
let
|
If we let NATO govern
the world, we might have even more problems.
|
Future speculation
|
|
I let my sister use
my car twice last week.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have let her use
it every time she has asked me.
|
Not said
|
|
light
|
lit
|
lit
|
We can use a match or a lighter to light a cigarette.
|
General time
|
|
I lit a cigarette with a match this morning.
|
Finished time
|
|
She has lit almost
twenty cigarettes today.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
fight
|
fought
|
fought
|
Intelligent people do not fight.
|
General time
|
|
The battle was fought for
a long time and nobody won.
|
Finished time
|
|
The Americans have fought
most battles in this century.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
lose
|
lost
|
lost
|
Every time I play Scrabble with my teacher, I lose.
|
Repeated action
|
|
I lost my way that’s why I am late.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have lost six kilos
so far this month.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
make
|
made
|
made
|
We all make mistakes.
|
General time
|
|
I made a lot of money
last year.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have made a lot
of mistakes in my life.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
mean
|
meant
|
meant
|
What does this word mean?
|
Present
|
|
I meant to telephone
you but I forgot. (I’m sorry)
|
Finished time
|
|
I have meant to telephone
you for ages.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
meet
|
met
|
met
|
Will you meet me tomorrow
for a drink?
|
Future with modal
|
|
I met my wife twenty
years ago in England.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have met David Bowie
twice.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
pay
|
paid
|
paid
|
We pay the rent on the
25th of every month.
|
Repeated action
|
|
We paid on the 25th
last month.
|
Finished time
|
|
We have paid thirty
thousand francs rent so far.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
put
|
put
|
put
|
Can you put the salt
on the table please?
|
Present
|
|
She put the salt on
the table and then she put the pepper.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have put everything
we need for our picnic in the car.
|
|
|
read
|
read
|
read
|
I always read the newspaper
in the morning.
|
Repeated action
|
|
I read six newspapers
yesterday.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have read today’s
newspaper.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
ride
|
rode
|
ridden
|
Jockeys ride horses.
|
General time
|
|
I rode a donkey last
weekend.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have never ridden
a horse.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
ring
|
rang
|
rung
|
A telephone rings.
|
General time
|
|
My telephone rang twice
yesterday.
|
Finished time
|
|
It has rung six times
already today.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
run
|
ran
|
run
|
It’s difficult to run when your legs are tied together.
|
General time
|
|
I ran away because I
was afraid.
|
Finished time
|
|
A man has run the
race with only one leg.
|
No time said
|
|
say
|
said
|
said
|
People say that Cindy
Crawford is beautiful.
|
Present general
|
|
What did he say? He said that you were beautiful.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have said a lot
of things that I have regretted saying in the past.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
see
|
saw
|
seen
|
We use our eyes to see
things.
|
General time
|
|
I saw a nice girl this
morning. (in my dreams)
|
Finished time
|
|
I have seen a lot
more Americans than usual this year.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
sell
|
sold
|
sold
|
It’s illegal to sell
most drugs.
|
General time
|
|
I didn’t make a profit when I sold my car.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have sold my car.
|
No time said
|
|
send
|
sent
|
sent
|
We must put a stamp on the envelopes when we send
letters.
|
General time
|
|
I sent my friend a Christmas
card at Christmas.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have sent my friend
a Christmas card.
|
No time said
|
|
shine
|
shone
|
shone
|
In Valais the sun shines more often than in Lausanne.
|
General time
|
|
The sun shone all day
on Sunday.
|
Finished time
|
|
It has shone every
day this month.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
shoot
|
shot
|
shot
|
Americans tend to shoot a
lot of people.
|
Repeated action
|
|
They shot a lot of people
last year.
|
Finished time
|
|
They have shot a lot of people so
far this year
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
show
|
showed
|
shown
|
I asked the teacher to show me the answer.
|
Present >Past asked
|
|
The teacher showed me
the answer.
|
Finished time
|
|
He has shown me every
time that I have asked.
|
No time said
|
|
shut
|
shut
|
shut
|
Shut means the same as close
|
General time
|
|
I shut the door when
I came in.
|
Finished time
|
|
Somebody has shut
the window.
|
No time said
|
|
sing
|
sang
|
sung
|
Celine Dion is a singer, she sings songs.
|
General time
|
|
She sang for Switzerland
in the Eurovision song contest in 1988.
|
Finished time
|
|
She has sung a lot
of nice songs in the past eleven years.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
sit
|
sat
|
sat
|
We use a chair to sit on.
|
General time
|
|
I sat on a chair all
morning. (it’s now afternoon)
|
Finished time
|
|
I have sat on a chair
all morning. (it’s still morning)
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
sleep
|
slept
|
slept
|
When I go to bed I always sleep immediately.
|
Repeated action
|
|
I slept for eleven hours last night.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have never slept
as well as I sleep in Neuchâtel.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
smell
|
smelt
|
smelt
|
We use our nose to smell things.
|
General time
|
|
I smelt the flowers
at the flower-show this morning.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have smelt all the
flowers.
|
No time said
|
|
speak
|
spoke
|
spoken
|
We use our mouth to speak.
|
General time
|
|
I spoke to my father
on the phone yesterday.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have never spoken
to the Queen.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
spend
|
spent
|
spent
|
When we buy something we must spend money.
|
General time
|
|
I spent too much money
last weekend.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have spent three
thousand francs so far this month.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
stand
|
stood
|
stood
|
The verb stand is conjugated
the same as the verb understand
|
General time
|
|
I fell and hurt my bottom. It was so painful that I
couldn’t sit, so I stood.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have stood on this
exact spot every day so far this year.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
steal
|
stole
|
stolen
|
If you forget to pay for something in a shop, you
steal it. (are stealing)
|
General time
|
|
Thieves stole a few
expensive paintings from my house last week.
|
Finished time
|
|
I am honest and have never
stolen anything in my life.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
swim
|
swam
|
swum
|
It is not very difficult to swim across the lake here. It is not far.
|
General time
|
|
I swam across the lake
six times last year.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have swum across
the lake thirty-two times in my life.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
take
|
took
|
taken
|
A waiter in a restaurant takes orders.
|
General time
|
|
I took my children
to the zoo last night.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have taken them
once a year since they were born.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
teach
|
taught
|
taught
|
Gordon is a teacher, he teaches English.
|
General time
|
|
I taught a class of
young children this morning.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have never taught
French.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
tear
|
tore
|
torn
|
Be careful! Roses are beautiful but they might tear
your stockings.
|
General time
|
|
I tore a hole in my
shirt yesterday.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have torn my trousers
could you lend me another pair?
|
No time said
|
|
tell
|
told
|
told
|
Every week I tell my
children not to forget to phone their mother.
|
Repeated action
|
|
Yesterday, my boss told me to sell more or else he would sack me.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have told my friend
about you.
|
No time said
|
|
think
|
thought
|
thought
|
I think Claudia Schiffer
is a very pretty lady.
|
General time
|
|
I thought about the
problem and I found a solution.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have thought about
you many times in the past week.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
throw
|
threw
|
thrown
|
I usually throw away
most of the things in my letter box.
|
Repeated action
|
|
I threw away everything
that was in my letter box this morning.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have thrown my tax
bill in the rubbish.
|
No time said
|
|
wake
|
woke
|
woken
|
My cat always wakes
me up at six o’clock in the morning.
|
Repeated action
|
|
It woke me up at six
this morning.
|
Finished time
|
|
It has woken me at
six o’clock every day this year.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
wear
|
wore
|
worn
|
I very rarely wear a
tie.
|
General time
|
|
I wore a pair of jeans
yesterday.
|
Finished time
|
|
I am a man and have never
worn a dress
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
win
|
won
|
won
|
You win a game but you
earn your salary.
|
General time
|
|
Servette won last weekend.
|
Finished time
|
|
Xamax haven’t won
a game for a long time
|
Time =ßþ now
|
|
write
|
wrote
|
written
|
Authors write books,
journalists write articles.
|
General time
|
|
I wrote a letter to
my father yesterday.
|
Finished time
|
|
I have never written
to the Queen.
|
Time =ßþ now
|
