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Tenses Used in This Story

This story uses two types of present tense, two types of past tense, and two types of future tense: 

  1. the simple present tense is the most common present tense. It describes actions happening now or actions that happen regularly: She walks slowly. I walk to school every day. He is tall.
  2. the present continuous tense describes actions that are happening around (and including) the time when you are speaking:
    I am walking to the store now.
  3. the simple past tense describes an activity that took place (was completed) in the past: I walked to school yesterday.
  4. the past continuous tense describes an activity that was ongoing in the past at the time you are talking about: I was walking to school when I started to feel sick.
  5. the simple future tense describes an activity that you will complete in the future: I will eat some sushi when I’m on vacation.
  6. the future continuous tense describes an activity that will be ongoing at the point you’re talking about in the future: I will be eating sushi tonight when you call me.

Special Note on Present Continuous

Present continuous tense statements like ‘I am going to school’ can be used in present and future contexts, or to describe a trend.

Present Context

  • I am going to school. (I am on my way to school as I say this.)

Future Context

  • I’m going to the beach tomorrow. (I will go to the beach tomorrow.)

Describing a Trend

  • More and more people are becoming vegetarians.

Story

Anna’s mother was furious. “There are too many changes happening in our town!” she said angrily.

“What do you mean?” Anna asked her. The two of them were having lunch in a restaurant in their town. They were sitting near a window.

Anna’s mother pointed out the window. “They are building another apartment building. Our town has too many of those already.”

“People need places to live,” Anna said.

“That is true,” her mother agreed. “But I think the town looks nicer when they build more houses.”

“Houses are bigger and more expensive,” Anna said. “Some people like apartments better.”

“Is that your friend Belinda?” Anna’s mother asked her.

“Hi, Belinda!” Anna called out to her friend.

“Hi, Anna!” Belinda said. “Did you already eat?”

“Yes,” Anna said. “I had a soup and a salad for lunch. We will be shopping for the rest of the day.”

“That sounds great!” Belinda said. “What kind of soup did you have?”

“I had the cheese soup,” Anna said. “It was great.”

“I will have that for my lunch,” Belinda said. “Did you see the new apartments? They are building them so quickly. Soon they will be finished! My parents and I are so excited.”

“Why are you excited?” Anna asked.

“We will be moving into one of those apartments when they are ready,” Belinda said. “We will finally have a place to live that is just the right size for our small family.”

“That is wonderful news,” Anna’s mother said to Belinda.

Anna smiled at her mother. Anna was right. The new apartments were going to be just perfect for some of the families in their town.

Questions

Try to answer the questions with complete sentences. Example: Who was eating lunch with Anna? Don’t just answer ‘Her mother’. Answer with a complete sentence: ‘Anna was eating lunch with her mother.'

  1. Who was eating lunch with Anna?

  2. Where were they eating lunch?

  3. What did they see from where they were sitting?

  4. What did Anna’s mother think about the new apartment building?

  5. What does Anna think about apartments?

  6. Who came into the restaurant?

  7. What did Anna have for lunch?

  8. What will Belinda have for lunch?

  9. Who will be moving into one of the new apartments?

  10. Why will they move into one of the new apartments?