To speak and write correctly at work, you need the main tenses (temps). This chapter reviews the present and the past. (Les explications sont en anglais ; quelques mots-clés sont traduits entre parenthèses.)
| Tense | Form | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present simple | I work / he works ; do you work? ; he does not (doesn't) work | Facts, habits, routines, timetables, states (like, know, want) | The office opens at 8.30. She usually checks her e-mails first. |
| Present continuous | am / is / are + verb-ing | Actions happening now ; temporary situations ; future arrangements | I'm writing a report at the moment. We're meeting the client on Friday. |
Signal words: always, usually, often, every day (simple) ; now, at the moment, today, this week (continuous).
| Tense | Form | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Past simple | verb-ed or irregular form (went, wrote, sent) ; did you…? ; didn't + verb | Finished actions at a known time in the past | We sent the invoice yesterday. He didn't attend the meeting. |
| Past continuous | was / were + verb-ing | An action in progress in the past, often interrupted | I was typing a letter when the phone rang. |
© TSC COMMERCE – OTHMAN ZT · Cours protégé, reproduction interdite
| Tense | Form | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present perfect | have / has + past participle | Past action with a result now ; experience ; unfinished period (this year, since, for, yet, already, just) | I have already booked the hotel. Have you received our offer yet? |
| Present perfect continuous | have / has been + verb-ing | An action that started in the past and is still going on | She has been working here for five years. |
| Past perfect | had + past participle | An action before another past action | When I arrived, the meeting had already started. |
Past simple with a finished time (yesterday, last week, in 2023, ago) ; present perfect without a finished time (ever, never, yet, already, since, for). « I sent it yesterday » but « I have just sent it ».
| Base | Past | Past participle | Français |
|---|---|---|---|
| be | was / were | been | être |
| buy | bought | bought | acheter |
| give | gave | given | donner |
| go | went | gone | aller |
| make | made | made | faire, fabriquer |
| meet | met | met | rencontrer |
| pay | paid | paid | payer |
| send | sent | sent | envoyer |
| sell | sold | sold | vendre |
| take | took | taken | prendre |
| write | wrote | written | écrire |
© TSC COMMERCE – OTHMAN ZT · Cours protégé, reproduction interdite
Put the verbs in the right tense: 1. It is 7.30 a.m. and I (have) my breakfast. 2. Every morning at 7.30 a.m. I (have) breakfast. 3. At the moment, it (rain). 4. What (John, do) right now? 5. Quiet, please! (you, not, know) how late it is? 6. Look! The police (arrest) someone next door.
1. am having ; 2. have ; 3. is raining ; 4. is John doing ; 5. Don't you know (state verb : simple) ; 6. are arresting.
1. It's 9 a.m. ; (the postman, come) yet this morning? 2. When I was a teenager, I (play) football every Saturday. 3. No, I (not, see) that film yet. 4. My keys are missing: (you, see) them? 5. When I asked him for time off, he (say) "No". 6. When I went to the car park, I found that my car (steal). 7. They were angry because they (wait) for too long.
1. Has the postman come ; 2. played ; 3. haven't seen ; 4. Have you seen ; 5. said ; 6. had been stolen ; 7. had been waiting (or had waited).
Complete the e-mail: « Dear Mr Lee, thank you for your message. I (1. receive) your order this morning and our team (2. prepare) it now. We (3. send) the first part last week, and the rest (4. leave) our warehouse on Monday. »
1. received (« this morning » is finished) or have received (if it is still the morning) ; 2. is preparing ; 3. sent ; 4. leaves (timetable) or is leaving (arrangement).
Les vidéos de ce chapitre seront bientôt disponibles.