Dear friends,

Lets improve our English together. Hopefully we can help each other to improve our speaking and writing skills.
[If i have made any grammatical error, kindly correct me].

I have read from somewhere saying that "if you can't speak well and write well, your windows of opportunity is closed." So, lets open the windows of the opportunity and make English as our second language..

Why i choose grammar as my topic to discuss? This is because of the importance of the grammar as part of our speaking and writing skills. Believe it or not, poor writing skills (grammar) will lead to the other weaknesses. If we are a great person but the moment we open our mouth, our language is bad (mmm...what should i say for "tunggang terbalik"?), people might lose their confident to us.

Today i would like to share about my 1st lession:

Simple test [This lesson might b very common to others but, I just want to share what I have learned today]

Form of Simple Present:
Positive: He speaks.
Negative: He does not speak.
Question: Does he speak?

Use of Simple Present:
1. Fact and situation in the present ----> Expresses a fact or given situation.
e.g. Our employee works very hard.
I do not agree with you.

2. Action in the present ----> Action that take place once, never, several time or regularly. (see also signal words)
e.g. Encik Abu never attends a meeting.
I am fluent in English.

3. Actions set by a timetable or schedule ----> Actions in the future that we cannot influence, as their course is set by a timetable or schedule.
e.g. The bus leaves at 5.30.

Signal words of Simple Presents: always, never, normally, usually, seldom, often and etc.

Practice make perfect. So, lets practice our english.

P/s: I hope kak Naj read my post and help me to improve my english. Also not to forget about kak kemang semangkuk and other friends as well...

2nd lesson: Present Progressive

Form of Present Progressive
Positive: He is speaking.
Negative: He is not speaking.
Question: Is he speaking?

Use of Present Progressive
1. Present Progressive is used for actions in the present and focusses on the course or duration of the action.

2. Action taking place now
Being in the middle of doing something at the time of speaking.

Examples:
Papamia is preparing the briefing.
I am looking for Shamsul’s phone number.

3. Action taking place for a limited period of time only.

4. Actions that don't take place regularly, but only temporarily.
Examples:
Halytobe is on sick leave, that's why I am doing his job.
Three temporary employees are helping out this month.

5. Arranged future actions
Future actions that are already arranged (and maybe even jot down in a diary)

Examples:
I am meeting Fsyukri at 5 pm.
Kak Najz is doing overtime tomorrow.

Signal Words of Present Progressive:
at the moment, just, just now, Listen!, Look!, now, right now

Exercise on Present Progressive
Complete the sentences in Present Progressive.

I (look for) _________ my pen.
Azizi (print out) _________ the contract.
As long as I am on holiday, Hanna and Johan (take care) _________ of everything.
Look! Shamil (wear) _________ a tie today.
That's because he (meet) _________ the big boss in the afternoon.
I (work / not) _________ tomorrow.
Kamarul (talk / not) _________ on the phone.
What (you / do) _________ ?
Where (Tasya / stay) _________ ?

3rd lesson

Form of Simple Past
P: He spoke.
N: He did not speak.
Q: Did he speak?

Use of Simple Past
Simple Past is used for actions and situations in the past.

Facts and situations in the past
Expresses a fact or given situation in the past.

Example:
Our secretary worked very hard.
I did not agree with you.

Actions in the past
Actions in the past that took place never, once, several times or regualary. (see also: signal words)

Examples:
Zul never attended any meeting. He always sent me.

Actions taking place one after another
Actions in the past that took place one after the other.

Examples:
Yuna came into the office, checked her mailbox and went straight to the briefing.
What a horrible day: first my computer crashed, then our best customer cancelled their order and on my way home my car broke down.

Actions taking place in the middle of another action
(Sudden) action that took place in the middle of another action. (see also: Past Progressive)

Examples:
I was sitting in a meeting, when my mobile suddenly rang.
When I came in, Johan was playing solitaire.

Signal Words of Simple Past
yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday, If Clause Type II (If I talked, …)

4th lesson

Form of Past Progressive
P: He was speaking.
N: He was not speaking.
Q: Was he speaking?

Use of Past Progressive
Past Progressive is used for actions in the past and focusses on the course or duration of the action.

Action taking place at a certain moment in the past
Being in the middle of doing something at a certain time in the past.

Examples:
At two o’clock, Karim was preparing the contract.
Yesterday I was looking for Shanti’s phone number.

Actions happening simultaneously
Actions in the past happening at the same time (over a longer period of time).

Examples:
While Nana was preparing her presentation, Tina was showing the customer around.
While Sarah was looking for the documents, I was keeping the customer on the line.

Being in the middle of an action, when another action set in
Action taking place over a longer period of time in the past when (suddenly) another (shorter) action set in. (see also: Simple Past)

Example:
I was sitting in a meeting, when my mobile suddenly rang.
When I came in, Johan was playing solitaire.

Signal Words of Past Progressive
when, while, as long as

Present simple and present continuous

What's the difference between present simple / present continuous and how to use them?

We use the present simple tense when we want to talk about fixed habits or routines - things that don't change.

We use the present continuous to talk about actions which are happening at the present moment, but will soon finish.

e.g.
Present simple: I play tennis
present continuous: I am playing tennis.

"I play tennis" tells us that playing tennis is something the speakers always does. It is part of a routine or habit. We can call this a permanent situation.

"I am playing tennis" tells us that speaker is playing tennis right now. Soon the game will be over. We can call this a temporary situation.

Present perfect simple:

Form of Present Perfect Simple
P: He has spoken.
N: He has not spoken.
Q: Has he spoken?

Use of Present Perfect Simple
Present Perfect Simple is used for actions that started in the past and stopped recently or are still going on. The focus is on the result.

Action that is still going on
Situation that is still the same as it was in the past. We want to emphasise that the situation has not changed.

Examples:
Your advice has always been extremely helpful.
We have not yet received a remittance for the goods supplied to you.

Action that stopped recently
Action that has just been completed. We want to emphasise the result.

Examples:
I have typed five letters.
I have just received your mail.

Action in the past that has an influence on the present
Action that was completed in the past, but has an influence on a present situation. Note that you must not give a certain time for the action in the past (if you want to use a time expression, you must use Simple Past).

Examples:
I have lost Misses Wilde’s phone number.
We have agreed on the following points:

Action that so far has taken place never, once or several times
Action that happened / did not happen in the past. We want to emphasise how often the action has taken place so far.

Examples:
I have never been to our New York subsidiary.
Misses Newton has already phoned three times to inquire about the delivery of her goods.

Signal Words of Present Perfect Simple
already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now