Pronunciation: CAN

Pronunciation: CAN'T

(Nível 5) Present Perfect

This is a nice way of looking at the Present Perfect:

(Level 5) Gerunds x Infinitives

(taken from englishpage.com)

1. A gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding "-ing." The gerund form of the verb "read" is "reading." You can use a gerund as the subject, the complement, or the object of a sentence.

Examples:

• Reading helps you learn English. subject of sentence
• Her favorite hobby is reading. complement of sentence
• I enjoy reading. object of sentence

Gerunds can be made negative by adding "not."

Examples:

• He enjoys not working.
• The best thing for your health is not smoking.

2. Infinitives are the "to" form of the verb. The infinitive form of "learn" is "to learn." You can also use an infinitive as the subject, the complement, or the object of a sentence.

Examples:

• To learn is important. subject of sentence
• The most important thing is to learn. complement of sentence
• He wants to learn. object of sentence

Infinitives can be made negative by adding "not."

Examples:

• I decided not to go.
• The most important thing is not to give up.

3. Both gerunds and infinitives can be used as the subject or the complement of a sentence. However, as subjects or complements, gerunds usually sound more like normal, spoken English, whereas infinitives sound more abstract. In the following sentences, gerunds sound more natural and would be more common in everyday English. Infinitives emphasize the possibility or potential for something and sound more philosophical. If this sounds confusing, just remember that 90% of the time, you will use a gerund as the subject or complement of a sentence.

Examples:

• Learning is important. normal subject
• To learn is important. abstract subject - less common
• The most important thing is learning. normal complement
• The most important thing is to learn. abstract complement - less common

4. As the object of a sentence, it is more difficult to choose between a gerund or an infinitive. In such situations, gerunds and infinitives are not normally interchangeable. Usually, the main verb in the sentence determines whether you use a gerund or an infinitive.

Examples:

• He enjoys swimming. "Enjoy" requires a gerund.
• He wants to swim. "Want" requires an infinitive.

5. Some verbs are followed by gerunds as objects. List of Verbs Followed by Gerunds

Examples:

• She suggested going to a movie.
• Mary keeps talking about her problems.

6. Some verbs are followed by infinitives. List of Verbs Followed by Infinitives

Examples:

• She wants to go to a movie.
• Mary needs to talk about her problems

7. Remember that there are many "adjective + preposition" combinations and "noun + preposition" combinations in English as well. These are also followed by gerunds. List of Adjective + Preposition Combinations Followed by Gerunds and List of Noun + Preposition Combinations Followed by Gerunds. Once again, you don't have to memorize these resources, you just need to remember that gerunds are used after prepositions!

Examples:

• Sandy is scared of flying. adjective + preposition
• Nick is anxious about taking the examination. adjective + preposition
• His interest in becoming a professional snowboarder was well known. noun + preposition
• Thomas' story about seeing a grizzly bear was really exciting. noun + preposition

8. Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive with little difference in meaning. List of Verbs Followed by a Gerund or Infinitive (Similar Meaning)

Examples:

• She likes swimming.
• She likes to swim

Prepositions: AT IN ON

Click here for more information on prepositions

Top Notch 2: Present Perfect

Hey! This is for my Top Notch 2 students (or level 5). Enjoy this big post about the Present Perfect. Make sure to check out the video at the end of the post and try some exercises :)

If you want, you can take this big quiz before you study the rules. Let´s see how much you remember: CLICK HERE.
Lembrem-se que ele se chama Present Perfect por uma razão: tem sempre algo relacionado com o presente de quem fala ou da situação da qual se fala. Comecemos com alguns exemplos:
I have lost my car keys. (Perdi as chaves do meu carro. Não estou com elas agora, portanto não posso entrar no carro.)
Have you done your homework? (Fizeram a tarefa? – Pergunta a professora querendo ver a tarefa feita agora.)
I have broken a glass. (Quebrei um copo. Há cacos de vidro por todos os lugares.)
Why can´t John buy that new car? – He has lost his job. (Por que John não pode comprar aquele carro novo? – Ele perdeu seu emprego. Agora não tem dinheiro para comprar o carro.)
Viram a conexão entre o passado e o presente?
Let´s continue …
O Present Perfect também é usado com uma série de advérbios:
JUST: indica que a ação acabou de acontecer. He has just finished doing his homework. (Ele acabou de terminar de fazer sua tarefa.)
EVER: alguma vez na vida. Have you ever gone hiking in the mountains? (Você já foi fazer trilha nas montanhas?)
ALREADY: já (nas frases afirmativas). I have already been to China. (Eu já estive na China.)
NEVER: nunca. I have never seen such a beautiful thing. (Nunca vi coisa tão Linda.)
YET: 1. já (quando se espera que a resposta seja afirmativa) – Have you done the dishes yet? (Já lavou a louça? – Era esperado que você a lavasse.) – 2. ainda (em frases negativas) – No, I haven´t done the dishes yet. (Não, não lavei a louça ainda.)
SINCE – desde. I have been a teacher since 1992. (Sou professor desde 1992.)
FOR – há, por, faz. I haven´t seen him for a long time. (Não o vejo há/por/faz muito tempo.)
DICAS:
1. Quando a pergunta contiver WHEN nunca use o Present Perfect, sempre use o Simple Past: When did you start studying English?
2. O Present Perfect também é usado para indicar a quantidade de vezes que a pessoa faz algo. Por exemplo: This is the first time I´ve come here. (É a primeira vez que venho aqui.) – She hasn´t been here lately. (Ela não tem vindo aqui ultimamente.)
For exercises, click HERE and HERE.
Check out this cool video about the Present Perfect:

TN2: Present Perfect (aula com áudio)

I love these audio classes...I hope you love them too :)

Clique AQUI para ir à página com o áudio e depois clique no botão play.

Clique AQUI para baixar o material auxiliar com exercícios (arquivo em pdf)

P.S. Aconselho que vocês, ao clicarem nos links, façam-no com o botão direito do mouse e abram em uma nova janela.

Dicas de inglês no Facebook

Você pode curtir a página English Tips do Facebook para receber dicas de inglês:

Click: English Tips