ACT English Test PrepLesson 3

Hanyang University GACInstructor: Samuel Kim

Review

Punctuations – Usage of Colon, Semi-Colon and Apostrophe

- Colon: Used before introducing more infor-mation on the subject

- Semi-Colon: Used to separate two ideas in a sentence where there is no conjunction

- Apostrophe: Used to indicate possession

Verb – Tenses and Moods

Correct verb usage is crucial because:

1) it tells us the time of the action described in the sentence

2) depending on the mood it takes, various emotions can be conveyed through sen-tences.

Verb - Tenses

There are three types of tenses:

Past / Present / Future

In three forms:

Regular / Perfect / Progressive

Verb - Tenses

Three regular tenses:

I eat. / I ate. / I will (shall) eat.

Three perfect tenses:

I have eaten. / I had eaten. / I will eat.

Verb - Tenses

Six progressive tenses (3 regular + 3 perfect)

Present progressive: I am eating.Past progressive: I was eating.Future progressive: I will be eating.

Present perfect progressive: I have been eat-ing.Past perfect progressive: I had been eating.Future perfect progressive: I will have been eating.

Verb - Tenses

Distinguishing Present Perfect Progressive from Past Perfect Progressive:

I have been dating her for a little bit over two years now. (action started in the past and is still on going)

I had been dating her for a little bit over two years when I proposed to her. (two actions: 1 – action started in the past and ended, 2 – ac-tion that interrupted action 1)

Verb - Tenses

Mistakes to watch out for:

1. When two events happen simultaneously, the same tense must be used.

Mary fell asleep when the movie started.

2. If events happened at different times, the tenses must reflect the difference.

He just got here and now he is leaving!

Verb - Tenses

3. If events happened at different times in the past, the past perfect must be used for the event that happened first, and the past tense for the event that happened later.

He had arrived before you arrived.  4. If events take place at different times in the fu-ture, the future perfect must be used for the event that will happen first, and the future tense for the event that will happen later.

I will play tennis tomorrow, when the rain will have passed.

Verb - Moods

There are three moods in English:

Indicative / Imperative / Subjunctive

Indicative: shows facts (factual)

He is not a nice person.  Imperative: commanding/ordering someone to do sth.

Do this at once!

Verb - Moods

Subjunctive: showing doubts, wishes, and require-ments (usually used in conditionals – if …)

1. Subjunctive form of the verb ‘to be’: I/you/he/she/they/we were

I wish I were a celebrity.

If he were rich, he would probably help the poor.

2. Subjunctive form of all other verbs: omit ‘s’

The doctor suggested that she rest at home.

Review

Verb Tenses

Progres-sive

Perfect

PastPresentFuture

Review

Subjunctive: ‘to be’ -> ‘were’

Other verbs -> drop ‘s’

Next Lesson: Subject-Verb Agree-ment, Parallel Structure