SWAHILI CLUB ---- BEGINNERS" NOTES.

Swahili Club – Beginners’ Notes

Pronunciation

Handily, the Swahili alphabet is essentially the same as our own, and all Swahili words are very phonetic.  One thing to note is that the stress of each word always goes on the penultimate syllable e.g. asANte (meaning thank you) or karIbu (meaning welcome).

‘Swahili’ in Swahili = Kiswahili

Greetings

If you have been to East Africa before you will have undoubtedly heard ‘jambo’ being used as ‘hello’.  In fact this is a very touristy way of greeting someone! The correct form is:

Hujambo – with the reply being sijambo.

Or, if talking to more than one person:

Hamjambo – with the reply being hatujambo.

A more informal way of greeting people would be Mambo! Or Vipi! Or even Mambo vipi!, to which there are endless ways of replying, the most common being:

poa – cool

safi – great (safi sana – lit. very great)

poa kichizi kama ndizi – cool crazy like a banana!

mzuka – this has no literal meaning but is heard in response to Mambo around the Arusha area of Tanzania

Habari? is one way of saying ‘How are you?’ but can be used with several other words to mean ‘How is…?’ :

Habari gani? – How are you?

Habari yako? – How are you? (to one person only)

Habari zenu? – How are you? (to more than one person)

Habari za kazi? – How’s work?

Habari za familia? – How’s your family?

Habari za leo? – How’s your day? (lit. how is today?)

Habari za asubuhi? – How’s your morning? (often used to mean ‘Good morning’)

etc…

The most likely responses to ‘habari’ questions are:

nzuri – fine

njema – great

salama – lit. peaceful

safi - great

Karibu – Welcome (to one person)

Karibuni – Welcome (to more than one person)

Asante – thank you (to one person)

Asante sana – thank you very much

Asanteni – thank you (to more than one person)

Kwaheri – good bye (to one person)

Kwaherini – good bye (to more than one person)

Shikamoo – lit. ‘My respects!’ and is a polite way to greet someone who is older/of a higher social status e.g. children would say it to their teacher at the start of the day (but only once at the start of the day!)

The correct response is Marahaba.

You are most likely to hear Shikamoo – Marahaba in Tanzania and on the coast of Kenya.

Introductory phrases

Jina lako nani? – What is your name? (lit. jina = name, lako = your, nani = who)

Jina langu… - My name is… (lit. jina = name, langu = my)

Unatoka wapi? – Where are you from?

Ninatoka… - I come from…

                                                Uingereza       – England

                                                Skotlandi        – Scotland

                                                Marekani       – America

                                                Ujerumani      – Germany

                                                Kenya             – Kenya

                                                Tanzania        – Tanzania

Unaishi wapi? – Where do you live?

Ninaishi… - I live… (no need for ‘in’ in this situation e.g. ninaishi London = I live in London)

Umezaliwa wapi? – Where were you born?

Nimezaliwa… - I was born in…

Note that in Swahili the question word always goes at the end of the sentence, e.g. in ‘unatoka wapi?’, wapi  means ‘where’.

Constructing verbs

Constuctingverbs in Swahili is a bit like playing with Lego – you just add bits together and see what happens!  As you will see, changing tense is surprisingly simple.

A constructed verb consists of three parts – the person/thing that is doing the verb, the tense, and what is known as the ‘verb stem’.  In Swahili, all infinitives (i.e. to do, to play, to see) start with ku-             e.g.      kufanya – to do

                                                            kucheza – to play

                                                            kuona – to see

Since all verbs start with the same two letters, this would make looking them up in the dictionary somewhat impractical! So instead we use the ‘verb stem’ which is essentially the verb minus the ‘ku-‘…e.g.

                        -fanya – to do

                        -cheza – to play

                        -ona – to see

It is this, the verb stem, that is used when constructing verbs, and is therefore the most important part of the verb.

Below is an example of a constructed verb using ­–soma­ i.e. to read/study.

Subject             tense                verb stem

   ni         +         na          +        soma                         = ninasoma (I am reading/studying)

   u          +         na          +        soma             = unasoma  (you are reading/studying)

   a          +         na          +        soma                         = anasoma  (he/she is reading/studying)

   tu         +         na          +        soma                         = tunasoma (we are reading/studying)

   m         +         na          +        soma                         = mnasoma  (you (pl) are reading/study)

   wa       +         na          +        soma                         = wanasoma (they are reading/studying)

From this you can see that the subject markers are as follows:

ni – I

u – you (singular)

a – he/she

tu – we

m – you (plural)

wa – they

And that the marker for the present tense = na

So you can see how easy it would be to change tense once you know what the markers for the other tenses are.

The tense marker for the future tense = ta

            e.g. nitasoma = I will read/study

The tense marker for the past tense = li

            e.g. nilisoma = I read/studied

The tense marker me is a difficult one to define.  It has been described as the past continuous tense (i.e. something that happened and is still happening) however this definition does not always make sense!  You will learn that some verbs tend to take me and most don’t, so don’t worry too much about this tense! Here are some examples of the tense marker me being used:

            Nimezaliwa – I was born (in)             -zaliwa = to be born

            Umechoka – You are tired                 -choka = to be tired

            Ameshiba – He/she is full                  -shiba = to be full

It should be fairly straightforward for you to construct verbs now, the only thing you need to know is the Swahili for the verb stems.  Here are some useful verbs:

-rudi – to return                                                          -hitaji – to need

-toka – to come from                                                  -jua – to know

-lala – to sleep                                                             -kumbuka – to remember

-fika – to arrive                                                           -sahau – to forget

-ondoka – to leave                                                      -ishi – to live

-taka – to want                                                           -shinda – to win

-penda – to love                                                         -shindwa – to lose

There are a few verbs in Swahili that are constructed slightly differently, in that they keep the ku- that would come before the verb stem.  These verbs are known as the monosyllabic verbs because the verb stem has only one syllable, e.g.

             -la – to eat                                                      -ja – to come

            -nywa­ – to drink                                             -enda – to go (although this stem has two syllables, it acts as a monosyllabic verb!)

Here are some examples of constructed monosyllabic verbs:

Ninakula ndizi – I am eating a banana/bananas

Watakuja kesho – They will come tomorrow

Tulikunywa pombe – We drank beer

Anakwenda Nairobi – He/she is going to Nairobi

It is easy to change he/she to someone’s name, e.g.

Joe anakwenda Nairobi – Joe is going to Nairobi

or

Joe na Fred wanatoka Uingereza – Joe and Fred come from England

‘To be’

The verb ‘to be’ is fairly complex in Swahili.  We will deal with the other tenses later, but for now the present tense is constructed in a completely different way to the verbs we have looked at so far.  Essentially, in the present tense, the word ‘ni’ means is or are interchangeably, e.g.

            Joe ni mwalimu – Joe is a teacher

            Amy ni Mwingereza – Amy is English

The words for I, you, he/she etc., when used in this situation, are as follows:

            mimi – I

            wewe – you (singular)

            yeye – he/she

            sisi – we

            nyinyi – you (plural)

            wao – they

And therefore:

Mimi ni Mkenya – I am Kenyan                   Sisi ni wazungu – We are white people!

Wewe ni mtoto – You are a child                  Nyinyi ni watoto – You are children

Yeye ni mwanafunzi – He is a student         Wao ni wanafunzi – They are students

SINTAKSIA

SINTAKSIA.

MIKABALA YA TAALUMA YA SARUFI.

(a)          Sarufi ubongo

(b)          Sarufi kama kaida za kiisimu.

(c)    Sarufi kama tafiti na uchambuzi wa miundo inavyooneka kwenye lugha.

UTANGULIZI WETU UTAZINGATIA MAMBO YAFUATAYO

·        Maana ya sarufi.

·        Mkabala wa kimapokeo.

·        Mkabala wa kisasa.

MJADALA WETU UTAJIKITA KATIKA VIPENGELE VIFUATAVYO

·        Ufafanuzi wa sarufi ubongo

·        Ufafanuzi wa sarufi kama kaida za kiisimu

·       Ufafanuzi wa sarufi kama tafiti na uchambuzi wa miundo inavyooneka kwenye lugha.

·        Tofauti zilizopo katika mikabala hii.

Katika mjadala huu, kwanza kabisa tutaanza kwa kuangalia dhana muhimu ambazo zimejitokeza katika mada yetu, ambazo ni sarufi, mkabala wa kimapokeo pamoja na mkabala wa kisasa. Kisha tutangalia kwa kujadili kiini cha mada, ambapo tutaangalia jinsi sarufi ubongo, sarufi kama kaida za kiisimu na sarufi kama tafiti na uchambuzi wa miundo inavyooneka kwenye lugha na inaangukia katika mkabala upi na inatofautiana vipi.

Tukianza na maana ya sarufi kwa mujibu wa wataalamu mbalimbali kama vile:-

Kihore na wenzake (2005) wakimnukuu Gaynor (1968:88), wanaeleza kuwa sarufi ni sayansi ya muundo wa lugha pamoja na sheria, kanuni na matumizi yake ambayo kwa kawaida hukubalika kwa watumiaji wake.

Vile vile Mdee (1999) anafasili sarufi kama mfumo wa kanuni za lugha zinazomwezesha mzungumzaji kutunga sentensi nyingi sahihi na zenye kukubaliwa na wazawa wa lugha.

Pia Massamba na wenzake (1999:31) katika mtazamo wa pili wa kufasili dhana ya sarufi wanaeleza kuwa sarufi ni kanuni sheria au taratibu za uchambuzi zinazotawala lugha.

Hivyo basi wanasarufi hawa wanaonekana kukubaliana kwamba sarufi ni kanuni, sheria na taratibu zinazotawala lugha. Lakini kwa kiasi kikubwa tunakubaliana na fasili iliyotolewa na Mdee kutokana na kwamba ameweza kutufafanulia vizuri kanuni hizo na taratibu za lugha ndizo zinazomwezesha mzungumzaji kutunga sentensi nyingi, sahihi na zenye kukubaliwa na wazawa wa lugha.

Kwa mfano:- sentensi za kiswahili zina muundo wa

                     N + V + T + E

Mtoto mzuri anacheza uwanjani. 

  N         V          T             E

Baada ya kuangalia dhana ya sarufi kwa mujibu wa wataalamu mbalimbali sasa tunaweza kuangalia mikabala mikuu miwili ya sarufi ambayo ni:-

i.             Mkabala wa kimapokeo

ii.            Mkabala wa kisasa.

Kwa kuanza na mkabala wa kimapokeo kwa mujibu Khamisi na Kiango (2002), wanaeleza kuwa hii ni sarufi ya kale, wataalamu wanaohusishwa na mkabala huu walijitokeza kuanzia karne ya 5 kabla ya kristo na katika karne ya 18 na karne ya 19 baada ya kristo, wataalamu hao ni kama vile Plato, Aristotle, Panin, Protagoras ambao walijihusisha na lugha kwa kutaka kujua asili yake ikiwa ni sehemu ya uchunguzi wa asili ya maumbo hususani walitaka kujua kama lugha ni tukio la maumbile au tukio la unasibu.

Pia Massamba na wenzake (wameshatajwa) wanaeleza kwamba sarufi mapokeo zilikuwa ni sarufi elekezi ambazo zilisisitiza kanuni na nini cha kusema na wajua lugha. Watu wasiojua kanuni za lugha wanapaswa kujifunza kutoka kwa wanaojua sarufi ya lugha. Wanaendelea kusema kuwa, wanaojua lugha hupaswa kutunga kanuni za sarufi.

Vile vile Habwe na Karanja (2004:124), wanadai kuwa mitazamo hii ya wanasarufi hawa wa kimapokeo iliathiri mbinu na njia za kuangalia lugha kwani sarufi mapokeo ilijikita katika lugha za kiulaya kama vile kiyunani na kilatini.

Sifa mbalimbali za lugha hizi ambazo ziliaminiwa kuwa bora, zilichunguza kilatini na kiyunani zilielezwa kuwa ni lugha duni na kutwezwa na kudhalilishwa

Sarufi mapokeo ilielekeza watu jinsi ya kutumia lugha, uelekezi huo hata hivyo ulijikita kwenye sheria za lugha ya kilatini kwa mfano sentensi haikupaswa kuishia na kihusishi wala kuanza na kiunganishi.

Udhaifu mkubwa wa sarufi mapokeo ni kwamba, taratibu za uchanganuzi wa lugha hazikuzingatia lugha ya kuzungumza kama ilivyo leo. Wanasarufi mapokeo walienzi na kuchunguza lugha ya maandishi. Hivyo basi ni dhahiri kwamba mkabala huu unaangukia katika mitazamo ya kifalsafa.

Hivyo basi ni wazi kuwa katika sarufi hii ya mapokeo tunakutana na mikabala miwili inayoangukia katika mkabala huu ambayo ni sarufi ubongo na sarufi kama kaida za kiisimu.

Mkabala wa pili, ni mkabala wa kisasa, unaoongozwa na wanasosiolojia ambao unahusisha sarufi mbalimbali kama vile :-

i.             Sarufi msonge

ii.            Sarufi miundo virai

iii.           Sarufi geuza maumbo zalishi

iv.          Sarufi husiano

Katika mkabala huu ndipo tunapata mkabala wa sarufi kama tafiti na uchambuzi wa miundo inavyooneka kwenye lugha.

Hivyo basi baada ya kujadili mikabala mikuu miwili ambayo ni mkabala wa kimapokeo na mkabala wa kisasa, zifuatazo ni sifa muhimu za sarufi ubongo, sarufi kama kaida za kiisimu na sarufi kama tafiti na uchambuzi wa miundo inavyooneka kwenye lugha ambazo kwazo tutaona jinsi kila moja inavyotofautiana na nyingine.

Kwa kuanza na sarufi ubongo, kwa mujibu wa Nordquist (2012), anaeleza kuwa sarufi ubongo ni sarufi endelevu ambayo inamwezesha binadamu kuzalisha lugha ambayo inaweza kueleweka kwa wengine

Pia Sharpe (2006), anaeleza kuwa sarufi hii hufananishwa na umilisi, anaendelea kueleza kuwa sarufi hii humwezesha mtu kuweza kusikia na kutambua kama sentensi hiyo ni sahihi au si sahihi.

Chomsky (1957), anaeleza kuwa kila binadamu amezaliwa na uwezo wa kuzalisha tungo mbalimbali zisizo na ukomo ambazo humpatia uwezo au uzoefu wa sarufi ya lugha. Pia anafafanua kwamba kila binadamu huzaliwa na kifaa katika ubongo wake ambacho kinamwezesha kuamili lugha ya aina yoyote, amekiita kifaa cha uamiliaji lugha (KIULU). Kwa mfano mtoto mdogo mwenye umri chini ya miaka saba anaweza kuamili lugha yoyote na mahali popote.

Mgullu (1999), anaeleza kuwa sarufi ubongo huchunguza jinsi binadamu anavyojifunza lugha kwa mfano hatua mbalimbali ambazo hupitia wakati anajifunza lugha yake ya kwanza.

Kwa hiyo tunakubaliana na fasili zote zilizotolewa na wataalamu hapo juu kutokana na kwamba sarufi ubongo, hii ni sarufi ambayo inachunguza jinsi binadamu anavyoweza kuamili lugha na kujifunza lugha pia kuweza kuzalisha sentensi mbalimbali ambazo anaweza kuzitumia katika mawasiliano.

Vile vile wataalamu wa mkabala huu hueleza kuwa upo uhusiano mkubwa kati ya akili, kufikiri na lugha bila shaka uhusiano huu ni ule wa taathira ya lugha yaani dhana inayoeleza kuwa kwa kawaida kila lugha huathiri watumiaji wake kwa kiasi kikubwa.

Vile vile wataalamu wa mkabala huu wanaeleza jinsi watu wanavyojifunza lugha ya pili au lugha ya tatu.

Kwa kifupi mkabala huu hujihusisha na mambo kadha kama vile:-

(i)    Kumwezesha binadamu kuweza kuzalisha au kutunga sentensi mbalimbali.

(ii)       Sarufi ubongo huusika na uamiliaji wa lugha na ujifunzaji wa lugha.

(iii)   Sarufi hii huwakilisha maarifa ya mzungumzaji wa lugha (umilisi alionao mzungumzaji).

Mkabala mwingine wa sarufi ambao unaangukia katika mkabala wa sarufi mapokeo ni sarufi kama kaida za kiisimu.

Kwa mujibu wa Encyclopedia (1970), wanaeleza kuwa sarufi kaida ni mpangilio unaoonyesha au kueleza kanuni za kisarufi katika lugha ambazo hushughulika na kanuni za uundaji wa maneno, maumbo ya maneno, miundo ya maneno, miundo ya sentensi, vile vile inahusisha taarifa maalumu kuhusu fonetiki na fonolojia (taaluma inayohusika na utamkaji sahihi unaokubalika)

Pia kwa mujibu wa Babylon Dictionary (1997), wanaeleza kuwa sarufi kaida ni mfumo wa kisarufi ambao unafafanua kipi sahihi na kipi si sahihi katika lugha, pindi mzungumzaji anapozungumza, amezungumza sahihi au si sahihi.

Kwa hiyo tunaweza kueleza kuwa sarufi kaida hujishughulisha sana na:-

i.           Kuelekeza namna ya matumizi sahihi ya lugha.

ii.         Wataalamu wa lugha ndio wanaounda kanuni na miongozo ya lugha ambayo inatakiwa kufuatwa na wale wasiojua lugha.

Kwa mfano:- kanuni mojawapo ya miundo ya sentensi za Kiswahili huwa na muundo wa kiima na kiarifu.

Vile vile sentensi nyingi za Kiswahili huwa na muundo wa kirai nomino na kirai kitenzi.

Hivyo basi katika mkabala huu wa sarufi watu wasiojua lugha wanapaswa kufuata kanuni na taratibu zilizoundwa na wanaojua lugha kwa mfano wanasarufi.

Pia mkabala mwingine wa sarufi ambao unaangukia katika mkabala wa kisasa ni sarufi kama utafiti na uchambuzi wa miundo inayoonekana katika lugha.

Kwa mujibu wa Besha (2007), anaeleza kuwa huu ni mkabala unaohusika hasa na uchambuzi wa muundo wa lugha, sauti za lugha, muundo wa sentensi na hata maana za tungo za lugha.

Pia mgullu (1999), anaeleza kuwa lengo la mkabala huu ni kufafanua vipengele vyote vya lugha fulani kama vilivyo hivi sasa au vilivyokuwa wakati fulani.

Hivyo basi Besha na Mgullu wanakubaliana kuwa huu ni mkabala unaofafanua namna au jinsi watu wanavyozungumza lugha na sio kuwaelekeza waizungumze vipi lugha yao. 

Hivyo basi kwa ujumla mkabala huu unajihusisha na mamba yafuatayo:-

i.             Hautilii mkazo mabadiliko yaliyotokea katika lugha hata kama mabasiliko hayo yapo.

ii.            Mkabala huu hauamuru watu waseme vipi na vipi wasiseme.

Kutokana na sifa mbalimbali zilizojitokeza katika mikabala hii, tumeweza kubaini tofauti zilizopo baina ya mikabala hii mitatu ambazo ni kama zifuatazo:-

Sarufi ubongo, sarufi kama kaida za kiisimu zinajitokeza katika mkabala wa kimapokeo wakati sarufi kama tafiti na uchambuzi wa miundo inavyooneka kwenye lugha inajitokeza katika mkabala wa kisasa.

Vilevile sarufi ubongo humwezesha binadamu kuweza kuzalisha miundo mbalimbali ya tungo wakati sarufi kama kaida za kiisimu haijihusishi kabisa na masuala ya ubongo bali yenyewe hujihusisha na mazoea ya kawaida ya watumiaji wa lugha ambapo kunakuwa na makosa ambayo huwafanya wataalamu kuunda kanuni za lugha ambazo zinatakiwa kufuatwa na wasiojua lugha hii inatofautiana na sarufi kama tafiti na uchambuzi wa miundo inavyoonekana kwenye lugha kwa kuwa haihusiani na masuala ya ubongo wala kaida, bali yenyewe hujihusisha na utafiti na ufafanuzi wa miundo ya lugha kama inavyotumika na wazungumzaji wa lugha na haiwaelekezi jinsi ya kuzungumza.

Kwa kuhitimisha tunaweza kusema kwamba pamoja na tofauti hizo zilizojitokeza katika mikabala hiyo mitatu, mikabala hii inaonekana kufanana kwani yote inajihusisha na lugha ya binadamu, pia mikabala hii imechangia kwa kiasi kikubwa katika maendeleo ya taaluma ya isimu na ndio imekuwa darajia kwa wataalamu mbalimbali katika kufanya tafiti zao kwa mfano baada ya kushindwa kwa sarufi ubongo na sarufi kama kaida za kiisimu ndipo kukazaliwa kwa sarufi kama tafiti na uchambuzi wa miundo inavyooneka kwenye lugha.

MAREJEO

Babylon Dictionary. (1997). Translation and Information Platform. Babylon Ltd.

Besha, R.M. (2007). Utangulizi wa lugha na Isimu. Macmillan Aidan Ltd. Dar es Salaam.

Chomsky, N. (1957). Syntactic Structures. Mouton The Hague.

Khamis, A.M na John G.K (2002). Uchanganuzi wa sarufi ya Kiswahili. TUKI. Dar es salaam.

Habwe, J na Peter K (2007). Msingi ya sarufi ya Kiswahili.Phoenix Publishers. Nairobi.

Kihore, Y.M na wenzake. (2008). Sarufi Maumbo ya Kiswahili Sanifu (SAMAKISA):Sekondari na Vyuo. TUKI. Dar es Salaam.  

Massamba, D.P.B. na wenzake. (2009). Sarufi Miundo ya Kiswahili Sanifu (SAMIKISA): Sekondari na Vyuo. TUKI.

Mgullu, R.S. (1999). Mtalaa wa Isimu: Fonetiki, Fonolojia na Mofolojia ya Kiswahili. Longhorn Publishers Ltd. Nairobi.

Sharpe J. P (2006). Barron’s How to prepare for the TOEFL IBT. Barron’s Educational Series.

The  Great Soviet Encyclopedia. (1970). (3^rd ). The Gale group. Moscow.

ENGLISH TENSES

The Tenses in English Grammar - Reference

One sentence is put into different tenses. You can see how the meaning changes.
The words in green are signal words. They tell you which tense you have to use.

Tense	Example	Explanation
Simple Present	I play football every week.	Here you want to say that it happens regularly.
Present Progressive	I'm playing football now.	Here you want to say that it is happening at the moment.
Simple Past	I played football yesterday.	You did it yesterday, it happened in the past.
Past Progressive	I was playing football the whole evening.	You were doing it in the past. It's not sure whether the action was finished or not.
Present Perfect	I have just played football.	You have just finished it. So it has a connection to the present. Maybe your clothes are dirty.
Present Perfect Progressive	I have been playing football for 2 hours.	You want to say how long you have been doing it. (You started in the past and it continues up to the present.
Past Perfect	I had played football before Susan came.	The two actions are related to each other: you had finished to play football and after that the girl arrived.
Past Perfect Progressive	I had been playing football for two hours when Susan came.	Here you want to point out how long you had been doing it before the girl came.
will-future	I will play football next week.	This is a prediction, you can probably do something else.
going to-future	I'm going to play football this afternoon.	This is a plan you've made.
Future Progressive	I will be playing football next Sunday.	You do it every Sunday (as usual)
Future Perfect	I will have played football by tomorrow.	You will have done it before tomorrow.
Conditional Simple	I would play football.	You'll probably do it.
Conditional Progressive	I would be playing football.	You'll probably do it. Here you concentrate more on the progress of the action.
Conditional Perfect	I would have played football.	You'll probably have finished playing football at a special time in the future. Here you concentrate on the fact (football).
Conditional Perfect Progressive	I would have been playing football.	You'll probably have finished playing football at a special time in the future. Here you concentrate on the progress of playing (football).

Negations of the sentences

Tense	Example
Simple Present	I do not play football every week. I don't play football every week.
Present Progressive	I am not playing football now. I'm not playing football now.
Simple Past	I did not play football yesterday. I didn't play football yesterday.
Past Progressive	I was not playing football yesterday. I wasn't playing football yesterday.
Present Perfect	I have not played football. I haven't played football. I've not played football.
Present Perfect Progressive	I have not been playing football. I haven't been playing football. I've not been playing football.
Past Perfect	I had not played football. I hadn't played football. I'd not played football.
Past Perfect Progressive	I had not been playing football. I hadn't been playing football. I'd not been playing football.
will-future	I will/shall not play football next week. I won't play football next week.
going to-future	I am not going to play football this afternoon. I'm not going to play football this afternoon.
Future Progressive	I will/shall not be playing football. I won't be playing football.
Future Perfect	I will/shall not have played football. I won't have played football.
Conditional Simple	I would not play football. I'd not play football.
Conditional Progressive	I would not be playing football. I wouldn't be playing football. I'd not be playing football.
Conditional Perfect	I would not have played football. I wouldn't have played football. I'd not have played football.
Conditional Perfect Progressive	I would not have been playing football. I wouldn't have been playing football. I'd not have been playing football.

Questions

Tense	Example
Simple Present	Do you play football?
Present Progressive	Are you playing football?
Simple Past	Did you play football?
Past Progressive	Were you playing football?
Present Perfect	Have you played football?
Present Perfect Progressive	Have you been playing football?
Past Perfect	Had you played football?
Past Perfect Progressive	Had you been playing football?
will-future	Will you play football?
going to-future	Are you going to play football?
Future Progressive	Will you be playing football?
Future Perfect	Will you have played football?
Conditional Simple	Would you play football?
Conditional Progressive	Would you be playing football?
Conditional Perfect	Would you have played football?
Conditional Perfect Progressive	Would you have been playing football?

VERB TENSE TUTORIAL ------- ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

VERB   TENSE   TUTORIAL Verb tenses are tools that English speakers use to express time in their language. You may find that many English tenses do not have direct translations in your language. That is not a problem. By studying this verb tense tutorial, you will learn to think like a native English speaker. If you prefer to use the verb tense pages as a reference only and do not want to complete the tutorial, Click Here. The tutorial should be completed as follows: 1. Read this introduction page. 2. Prepare for the exercises by reading: Types of Verbs,  Active vs. Passive, and the verb tense descriptions that you want to practice. 3. Complete the exercises below. After each exercise, we have listed the tenses covered. Just click on the name of a tense to learn more about its use. EXERCISES TOPICS COVERED Verb Tense Exercise 1 Simple Present and Present Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 2 Simple Present and Present Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 3 Simple Past and Past Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 4 Simple Past and Past Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 5 Simple Past and Present Perfect Verb Tense Exercise 6 Simple Past and Present Perfect Verb Tense Exercise 7 Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 8 Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 9 Present Continuous and Present Perfect Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 10 Present Continuous and Present Perfect Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 11 Simple Past and Past Perfect Verb Tense Exercise 12 Simple Past, Present Perfect, and Past Perfect Verb Tense Exercise 13 Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 14 Present Perfect, Past Perfect, Present Perfect Continuous, and Past Perfect Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 15 Present Continuous, Simple Past, Present Perfect Continuous, and Past Perfect Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 16 Present and Past Tenses with Non-Continuous Verbs Verb Tense Exercise 17 Present and Past Tense Review Verb Tense Exercise 18 Will and Be Going to Verb Tense Exercise 19 Will and Be Going to Verb Tense Exercise 20 Will and Be Going to Verb Tense Exercise 21 Simple Present and Simple Future Verb Tense Exercise 22 Simple Present and Simple Future Verb Tense Exercise 23 Simple Future and Future Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 24 Simple Present, Simple Future, Present Continuous, and Future Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 25 Simple Future and Future Perfect Verb Tense Exercise 26 Future Perfect and Future Perfect Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 27 Future Perfect and Future Perfect Continuous Verb Tense Exercise 28 Future Continuous and Future Perfect Continuous Verb Tense Practice Test Cumulative Verb Tense Review Verb Tense Final Test Cumulative Verb Tense Review

Verb Tense Overview with Examples

Simple Present	Simple Past	Simple Future
I study English every day.	Two years ago, I studied English in England.	If you are having problems, I will help you study English. I am going to study English next year.
Present Continuous	Past Continuous	Future Continuous
I am studying English now.	I was studying English when you called yesterday.	I will be studying English when you arrive tonight. I am going to be studying English when you arrive tonight.
Present Perfect	Past Perfect	Future Perfect
I have studied English in several different countries.	I had studied a little English before I moved to the U.S.	I will have studied every tense by the time I finish this course. I am going to have studied every tense by the time I finish this course.
Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous	Future Perfect Continuous
I have been studying English for five years.	I had been studying English for five years before I moved to the U.S.	I will have been studying English for over two hours by the time you arrive. I am going to have been studying English for over two hours by the time you arrive.

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