1.
Tenses: How to Talk About Time
Simple Present: Used for habits and facts.
o Formula: Subject + Verb (add -s/-es for he/she/it).
o Example: "The sun rises in the east."
Present Continuous: Used for actions happening now or future plans.
o Formula: Am/Is/Are + Verb-ing.
o Example: "We are studying for the exam."
Present Perfect: Connects the past and the present. It’s for actions that just finished or
continue to matter.
o Formula: Has/Have + Past Participle (V3).
o Example: "I have already finished my lunch."
Simple Past: For actions that started and ended in the past.
o Formula: Verb-ed (Regular) or Irregular form.
o Example: "She visited the museum yesterday."
Past Perfect: Describes an action that happened before another action in the past.
o Formula: Had + Past Participle (V3).
o Example: "The train had left when I arrived at the station."
💡 Quick Tip: Look for "signal words." Yesterday usually means Simple Past, while Already or
Yet often means Present Perfect.
2. The Concluding Sentence
A concluding sentence wraps up a paragraph. It should:
Summarize: Restate the main point of the paragraph in a new way.
Stay Relevant: Never introduce a brand-new idea.
Use Transitions: Start with words like In summary, Therefore, Overall, or As a result.
3. Mastering Punctuation
Comma (,): Used to pause. Use it in lists (Apples, pears, and grapes) or after
introductory words (Suddenly, it rained).
Colon (:): Use this to introduce a list or an explanation. (Bring three things: a pen, a
notebook, and a ruler.)
Semicolon (;): Stronger than a comma but weaker than a full stop. It connects two
complete, related sentences. (I love soccer; it is my favorite sport.)
Exclamation Mark (!): Adds emotion or volume. (Watch out!)
Apostrophe ('): Shows possession (Abebe’s book) or creates contractions (don’t).
4. Changing Sentences
Negative Sentences & Yes/No Questions
In the Simple Past, we use the helper verb "Did."
Statement: He played football.
Negative: He did not play football. (Note: "played" changes back to "play").
Yes/No Question: Did he play football?
Wh- Questions
These ask for specific information using Who, What, Where, When, Why, or How.
Example: "Where did you go?" or "What are they doing?"
Passive Voice
Use this when the action is more important than the person doing it.
Active: "The chef prepared the meal."
Passive Formula: Object + Form of to be + Past Participle (V3).
Passive Result: "The meal was prepared by the chef."
💡 Practice Trick: When changing to passive voice, the object of the active sentence "jumps" to
the front to become the new subject!