Mastering English Grammar: Present Continuous, 'Gibt's', Countable Nouns, and Simple Past

Unit 4: Present Continuous

Affirmative

• Ich spiele
• Sie spielen
• Er spielt
• Sie spielt
• Ist es ein Spiel
• Wir spielen
• Sie spielen
• Sie spielen

The Present Continuous is formed with the simple present of the auxiliary verb 'be' and the -ing form of the main verb.

Negative

• Ich spiele
• Sie spielen nicht
• ER IST NICHT SPIELEN
• SIE IST NICHT SPIELEN
• ES IST NICHT SPIELEN
• Wir spielen nicht
• Sie spielen nicht
• THEY ARE PLAYING NOY

The negative is formed by placing 'nicht' after the verb 'be'.

Interrogative

• Spiele ich?
• SIND SIE SPIELEN?
• Spielt er?
• IST SIE SPIELEN?
• IST ES SPIELEN?
• Spielen wir?
• Spielst du?
• Spielen sie?

The interrogative is formed by placing 'am', 'sind', 'ist' before the subject.

-ING Form:

1. With most verbs, add -ing to the infinitive.
   PLAY = PLAYING
2. With verbs ending in -e, remove the -e and add -ing.
   WRITE = WRITING
3. With verbs ending in a consonant preceded by a single vowel, double the consonant and add -ing.
   RUN = RUNNING

Unit 5: Gibt's / Es gibt

Affirmative, Negative, and Interrogative

In Spanish, a single word (Hay) expresses both the singular and plural, as well as the verb 'haber' in English. In contrast, there is a form for the singular.

• IST ES AUCH EIN Bleistift auf den Tisch (There is a pencil on the table)
• Es gibt keinen CINEMA In This Town (There is no cinema in this town)
• ES GIBT einer Bibliothek in Ihrer Schule? (Is there a library in your school?)
• Gibt es zwei Supermärkte IN MEINE STADT (There are two supermarkets in my city)
• Es gibt keine Tische in der Klasse. (There are no desks in the classroom)
• GIBT ES KEINE CD'S auf dem Stuhl? (Are there any CDs on the chair?)

Imperative:

The affirmative is formed with the infinitive of the verb without 'zu'. It does not have a subject and has a single form for both singular and plural.

• SIT DOWN: SIENTATE
• Close The Door: CIERRA LA PUERTA
• DO NOT RUN: NO corras
• DO NOT EAT MY SANDWICH: NO TE COMAS MI SANDWICH
• Don't Be Late: NO LLEGES TARDE

Unit 6: Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Countable nouns have singular and plural forms. The verb agrees with them in number. The articles 'a' / 'an' are used before countable nouns.

Uncountable nouns cannot be accompanied by the articles 'a' / 'an'.

Einige and Any

'Einige' and 'any' are used with countable or uncountable nouns.

• Es gibt nur etwas Zwieback'S GIBT ES KEINE KÄSE
• 'Einige' is used in affirmative sentences. It means 'some'.
• 'Alle' is used in negative or interrogative sentences. In the negative, it means 'none', and in the interrogative, it means 'some'.

Present Continuous:

The Present Continuous can be used to describe future plans. These types of sentences usually include temporal expressions, for example: TOMORROW.

Indefinite Pronouns:

The indefinite pronouns 'someone' and 'anyone' are used to refer to people. 'Someone' is used in affirmative sentences and means 'someone'. 'Anyone' is used in negative sentences and means 'nobody'. 'Anyone' is also used in interrogative sentences.

The indefinite pronouns 'something' and 'anything' are used to refer to things. 'Etwas' is used in affirmative sentences and means 'something'. 'Anything' is used in interrogative sentences. 'Anything' is used in negative sentences and means 'nothing'.

Unit 8: Simple Past

Affirmative

• Ich beobachtete
• Sie beobachtet
• ER SIE Watchet sah es Watchet
• WE Watchet
• SIE Watchet
• SIE Watchet

The past form of regular verbs is the same for all persons of the verb.

Simple Past

1. With most verbs, add -ed to the infinitive of the verb without 'zu'.
   START = STARTED
2. With verbs ending in -e, add -d.
   DANCE = DANCED
3. With verbs ending in -y, replace -y with -ied.
   Carry = CARRIED
   Exception: PLAY = PLAYED
4. With verbs ending in a consonant preceded by a single vowel, double the consonant and add -ed.
   STOP = STOPPED

Irregular Past

There are irregular verbs that do not form the past by adding -ed to the infinitive without 'zu'. The form is the same for all persons of the verb. GO = WENT