E-mail/Letter of Application

 

A. Reading

1) What job is this person applying for?
2) How did she know about the position?

3) According to Lena, which are the necessary qualities for that job? What qualifications does she mention?

4) Does she include any negative aspect about her as an applicant? Why? Should she?

B. Analysis

1) Read "Key things to remember"
2) Identify all the key thing mentioned in the letter of application.

Online practice (includes future)

 Mixed tenses online practice

Tenses Explanation (REVISION ON FUTURE TENSES USES)

Future "will"

USES

"Will" often suggests that a speaker will do something voluntarily: offers, requests, promises (or commitment), spontaneous decisions.   It is also used for predictions,  when these are not based on evidence.

Examples:

• I will send you the information when I get it. (request)
• I will translate the email, so Mr. Smith can read it. (offer)
• Will you help me move this heavy table? (request)
• Will you make dinner? (request)
• I will not do your homework for you.  (commitment)
• I won't do all the housework myself!   (commitment) 
• A: I'm really hungry.
  B: I'll make some sandwiches.(spontaneous decision) 
• A: I'm so tired. I'm about to fall asleep.
  B: I'll get you some coffee. (spontaneous decision) 
• A: The phone is ringing.
  B: I'll get it. (spontaneous decision) 

Promises

• I will call you when I arrive.
• If I am elected President of the United States, I will make sure everyone has access to inexpensive health insurance.
• I promise I will not tell him about the surprise party.
• Don't worry, I'll be careful.
• I won't tell anyone your secret.

Future "Be going to"

to Express a Plan

"Be going to" expresses that something is a plan (Just the opposite of a spontaneous decision). It expresses the idea that a person intends to do something in the future. It does not matter whether the plan is realistic or not.

Examples:

• He is going to spend his vacation in Hawaii.
• She is not going to spend her vacation in Hawaii.
• A: When are we going to meet each other tonight?
  B: We are going to meet at 6 PM.
• I'm going to be an actor when I grow up.
• Michelle is going to begin medical school next year.
• They are going to drive all the way to Alaska.
• Who are you going to invite to the party?
• A: Who is going to make John's birthday cake?
  B: Sue is going to make John's birthday cake.

"Will" or "Be Going to" to Express a Prediction

Future will is used for predictions based on no evidence.

On the contrary, Future going to is used for predictions based on evidence. 

Online worksheet. When you finish, press send. You can work in groups

Will v Going to

Online activities

Theory on all tenses + examples




Theory + activities on PAST PERFECT



In my opinion, this one is great! You can practice all tenses separately or in contrast:
Click here to open

PRACTICE INTEGRATED PAST AND PRESENT TENSES: CLICK TO OPEN

Tenses Explanation ( REVISION ON PAST TENSES USES)

Simple Past

The simple past (also called past simple) is used to show that a completed action took place at a specific time in the past. The simple past is also frequently used to talk about past habits and generalizations.

Simple Past Uses

USE 1 Completed Action in the Past

To express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.

Examples:

• I saw a movie yesterday.
• I didn't see a play yesterday.
• Last year, I traveled to Japan.
• Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.
• Did you have dinner last night?
• She washed her car.
• He didn't wash his car.

USE 2 A Series of Completed Actions

To list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd

Simple Past

The simple past (also called past simple) is used to show that a completed action took place at a specific time in the past. The simple past is also frequently used to talk about past habits and generalizations.

Simple Past Uses

USE 1 Completed Action in the Past

To express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.

Examples:

• I saw a movie yesterday.
• I didn't see a play yesterday.
• Last year, I traveled to Japan.
• Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.
• Did you have dinner last night?
• She washed her car.
• He didn't wash his car.

USE 2 A Series of Completed Actions

To list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd,, 4th, and so on.

Examples:

• I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim.
• He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00.
• Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?

USE 3 Habits in the Past

To describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.

Examples:

• I studied French when I was a child.
• He played the violin.
• He didn't play the piano.
• Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?
• She worked at the movie theater after school.
• They never went to school, they always skipped class.

USE 4 Past Facts or Generalizations

The simple past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true.

Examples:

• She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.
• He didn't like tomatoes before.
• Did you live in Texas when you were a kid?
• People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.

 

Past Continuous

The past continuous (also called past progressive) is used to show that an ongoing past action, which usually interrupted, was happening at a specific moment, , or that two or more ongoing actions were happening at the same time.

Past Continuous Uses

USE 1 Ongoing Action in the Past (usually interrupted)

Use the past continuous to indicate that an action was taking place in the past. This action is usually interrupted. The interruption is often a shorter action in the simple past.

Examples:

• I was watching TV when she called.
• When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.
• While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.
• What were you doing when the earthquake started?
• I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.
• You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off.
• While John was sleeping last night, someone stole his car.
• Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane.
• While I was writing the email, the computer suddenly went off.
• A: What were you doing when you broke your leg?
  B: I was snowboarding.

USE 2 Parallel Actions

When you use the past continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the idea that both actions were happening at the same time. The actions are parallel.

Examples:

• I was studying while he was making dinner.
• While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching television.
• Were you listening while he was talking?
• I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several mistakes.
• What were you doing while you were waiting?
• Thomas wasn't working, and I wasn't working either.
• They were eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time.

USE 3 Repetition and Irritation with "Always"

The past continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happened in the past.

Examples:

• She was always coming to class late.
• He was constantly talking. He annoyed everyone.
• I didn't like them because they were always complaining.

Past Continuous Tips: While vs. When

"when" is most often followed by the verb tense simple past, whereas "while" is usually followed by past continuous. "While" expresses the idea of "during that time."

Example:

• I was studying when she called.

Past Perfect Simple

The past perfect is used to show that an action took place once or many times before another point in the past.

Past Perfect Uses

USE 1 Completed Action Before Something in the Past

The past perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past.

Examples:

• I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Kauai.
• I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet.
• Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times.
• Had Susan ever studied Thai before she moved to Thailand?
• She only understood the movie because she had read the book.
• Kristine had never been to an opera before last night.
• We were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in advance.
• A: Had you ever visited the U.S. before your trip in 2006?
  B: Yes, I had been to the U.S. once before.

USE 2 Duration Before Something in the Past (State Verbs)

With non-continuous verbs (or state verbs), we use the past perfect to show that something started in the past and continued up until another action in the past.

Examples:

• We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
• By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years.
• They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than forty years.

Although the above use of past perfect is normally limited to non-continuous verbs and non-continuous uses of mixed verbs, the words "live," "work," "teach," and "study" are sometimes used in this way even though they are NOT non-continuous verbs.

List of Irregular Verbs

Infinitive	Simple Past	Past Participle	Spanish
arise	arose	arisen	surgir
be	was / were	been	ser
beat	beat	beaten	golpear
become	became	become	convertirse
begin	began	begun	comenzar
bet	bet/betted	bet/betted	apostar
bite	bit	bitten	morder
bleed	bled	bled	sangrar
blow	blew	blown	soplar
break	broke	broken	romper
bring	brought	brought	traer
build	built	built	construir
buy	bought	bought	comprar
catch	caught	caught	atrapar
choose	chose	chosen	elegir
come	came	come	venir
cost	cost	cost	costar
creep	crept	crept	arrastrarse
cut	cut	cut	cortar
deal	dealt	dealt	dar, repartir
do	did	done	hacer
draw	drew	drawn	dibujar
dream	dreamt/dreamed	dreamt/dreamed	soñar
drink	drank	drunk	beber
drive	drove	driven	conducir
eat	ate	eaten	comer
fall	fell	fallen	caer
feed	fed	fed	alimentar
feel	felt	felt	sentir
fight	fought	fought	pelear
find	found	found	encontrar
flee	fled	fled	huir
fly	flew	flown	volar
forget	forgot	forgotten	olvidar
forgive	forgave	forgiven	perdonar
forsake	forsook	forsaken	abandonar
freeze	froze	frozen	congelar
get	got	got	tener, obtener
give	gave	given	dar
go	went	gone	ir
grind	ground	ground	moler
grow	grew	grown	crecer
hang	hung	hung	colgar
have	had	had	tener
hear	heard	heard	oír
hide	hid	hidden	esconderse
hit	hit	hit	golpear
hold	held	held	tener, mantener
hurt	hurt	hurt	herir, doler
keep	kept	kept	guardar
kneel	knelt	knelt	arrodillarse
know	knew	known	saber
lead	led	led	encabezar
learn	learnt/learned	learnt/learned	aprender
leave	left	left	dejar
lend	lent	lent	prestar
let	let	let	dejar
lie	lay	lain	yacer
lose	lost	lost	perder
make	made	made	hacer
mean	meant	meant	significar
meet	met	met	conocer, encontrar
pay	paid	paid	pagar
put	put	put	poner
quit	quit/quitted	quit/quitted	abandonar
read	read	read	leer
ride	rode	ridden	montar, ir
ring	rang	rung	llamar por teléfono
rise	rose	risen	elevar
run	ran	run	correr
say	said	said	decir
see	saw	seen	ver
sell	sold	sold	vender
send	sent	sent	enviar
set	set	set	fijar
sew	sewed	sewn/sewed	coser
shake	shook	shaken	sacudir
shine	shone	shone	brillar
shoot	shot	shot	disparar
show	showed	shown/showed	mostrar
shrink	shrank/shrunk	shrunk	encoger
shut	shut	shut	cerrar
sing	sang	sung	cantar
sink	sank	sunk	hundir
sit	sat	sat	sentarse
sleep	slept	slept	dormir
slide	slid	slid	deslizar
sow	sowed	sown/sowed	sembrar
speak	spoke	spoken	hablar
spell	spelt/spelled	spelt/spelled	deletrear
spend	spent	spent	gastar
spill	spilt/spilled	spilt/spilled	derramar
split	split	split	partir
spoil	spoilt/spoiled	spoilt/spoiled	estropear
spread	spread	spread	extenderse
stand	stood	stood	estar de pie
steal	stole	stolen	robar
sting	stung	stung	picar
stink	stank/stunk	stunk	apestar
strike	struck	struck	golpear
swear	swore	sworn	jurar
sweep	swept	swept	barrer
swim	swam	swum	nadar
take	took	taken	tomar
teach	taught	taught	enseñar
tear	tore	torn	romper
tell	told	told	decir
think	thought	thought	pensar
throw	threw	thrown	lanzar
tread	trode	trodden/trod	pisar
understand	understood	understood	entender
wake	woke	woken	despertarse
wear	wore	worn	llevar puesto
weave	wove	woven	tejer
weep	wept	wept	llorar
win	won	won	ganar
wring	wrung	wrung	retorcer
write	wrote	written	escribir

Tenses Explanation (REVISION ON PRESENT TENSES USES)

Simple Present

The simple present (also called present simple or present indefinite) is used to show repetition, habit or generalization. It is also used to express states and facts/general truths. Less commonly, the simple present can be used to talk about scheduled actions in the near future.

USE 1 Repeated Actions

Use the simple present to express the idea that an action is repeated or usual. The action can be a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that often happens. 

Examples:

• I play tennis.
• She does not play tennis.
• Does he play tennis?
• The train leaves every morning at 8 AM.
• The train does not leave at 9 AM.
• When does the train usually leave?
• She always forgets her purse.
• He never forgets his wallet.
• Every twelve months, the Earth circles the Sun.
• Does the Sun circle the Earth?

USE 2 Facts or Generalizations

The simple present can also indicate the speaker believes that a fact was true before, is true now, and will be true in the future.

Examples:

• Cats like milk.
• Birds do not like milk.
• Do pigs like milk?
• California is in America.
• California is not in the United Kingdom.
• Windows are made of glass.
• Windows are not made of wood.
• New York isn't a small city.

USE 3 Scheduled Events in the Near Future

This is most commonly done when talking about public transportation, but it can be used with other scheduled events as well.

Examples:

• The train leaves tonight at 6 PM.
• The bus does not arrive at 11 AM, it arrives at 11 PM.
• When do we board the plane?
• The party starts at 8 o'clock.
• When does class begin tomorrow?

USE 4 State verbs (Non-Continuous Verbs)

This can only be done with non-continuous verbs and certain mixed verbs.

Examples:

• I am here now.
• She is not here now.
• He needs help right now.
• He does not need help now.
• He has his passport in his hand.
• Do you have your passport with you?

Present Continuous

The present continuous (also called present progressive) is used to show that an ongoing action is happening now, either at the moment of speech or now in a larger sense. The present continuous can also be used to show that an action is going to take place in the near future.

USE 1 Now

The present continuous expresses the idea that something is/isn't happening now, at this very moment.

Examples:

• You are learning English now.
• You are not swimming now.
• Are you sleeping?
• I am sitting.
• I am not standing.
• Is he sitting or standing?
• They are reading their books.
• They are not watching television.
• What are you doing?
• Why aren't you doing your homework?

USE 2 Longer Actions in Progress 

In English, "now" can mean: this second, today, this month, this year, this century, and so on. Sometimes, we use the present continuous to say that we are in the process of doing a longer action which is in progress; however, we might not be doing it at this exact second.

Examples: (All of these sentences can be said while eating dinner in a restaurant.)

• I am studying to become a doctor.
• I am not studying to become a dentist.
• I am reading the book Tom Sawyer.
• I am not reading any books right now.
• Are you working on any special projects at work?
• Aren't you teaching at the university now?

USE 3 Near Future

Sometimes, speakers use the present continuous to talk about future arrangements.

Examples:

• I am meeting some friends after work.
• I am not going to the party tonight.
• Is he visiting his parents next weekend?
• Isn't he coming with us tonight?

USE 4 Repetition and Irritation with "Always"

The present continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happens. Notice that the meaning is like simple present, but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and "verb+ing."

Examples:

• She is always coming to class late.
• He is constantly talking. I wish he would shut up.
• I don't like them because they are always complaining.

Present Perfect

The present perfect is used to show that an action has taken place once or many times before now. The present perfect is most frequently used to talk about experiences or changes that have taken place, but there are other less common uses as well.

Unspecified Time Before Now

We use the present perfect to say that an action happened at an unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important. You CANNOT use the present perfect with specific time expressions such as: yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I was a child, when I lived in Japan, at that moment, that day, one day, etc. We CAN use the present perfect with unspecific expressions such as: ever, never, once, many times, several times, before, so far, already, yet, etc.

Examples:

• I have seen that movie twenty times.
• I think I have met him once before.
• There have been many earthquakes in California.
• People have traveled to the Moon.
• People have not traveled to Mars.
• Have you read the book yet?
• Nobody has ever climbed that mountain.
• A: Has there ever been a war in the United States?
  B: Yes, there has been a war in the United States.

An Uncompleted Action You Are Expecting

We often use the present perfect to say that an action which we expected has not happened. Using the present perfect suggests that we are still waiting for the action to happen.

Examples:

• James has not finished his homework yet.
• Susan hasn't mastered Japanese, but she can communicate.
• Bill has still not arrived.
• The rain hasn't stopped.

Time Expressions with Present Perfect

When we use the present perfect it means that something has happened at some point in our lives before now. Remember, the exact time the action happened is not important.

Sometimes, we want to limit the time we are looking in for an experience. We can do this with expressions such as: in the last week, in the last year, this week, this month, so far, up to now, etc.

Examples:

• Have you been to Mexico in the last year?
• I have seen that movie six times in the last month.
• They have had three tests in the last week.
• She graduated from university less than three years ago. She has worked for three different companies so far.
• My car has broken down three times this week.

NOTICE

"Last year" and "in the last year" are very different in meaning. "Last year" means the year before now, and it is considered a specific time which requires simple past. "In the last year" means from 365 days ago until now. It is not considered a specific time, so it requires present perfect.

Examples:

• I went to Mexico last year.
  I went to Mexico in the calendar year before this one.
• I have been to Mexico in the last year.
  I have been to Mexico at least once at some point between 365 days ago and now.

Duration From the Past Until Now (Non-Continuous Verbs)

We use the present perfect to show that something started in the past and has continued up until now. "For five minutes," "for two weeks," and "since Tuesday" are all durations which can be used with the present perfect.

Examples:

• I have had a cold for two weeks.
• She has been in England for six months.
• Mary has loved chocolate since she was a little girl.