The verbal group: tenses

Basic English Grammar Module: Unit 2B. Independent Learning Resources
© Learning Centre University of Sydney. This Unit may be copied for individual student use.
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In countries X and Y women are mainly responsible for purchasing and preparing food for
their family and their decisions largely influence the health and well-­‐being of a broad section
of the community. Therefore, women were considered the target group for this program.
2.
The writer uses the simple present tense in the first sentence to indicate
that this is a statement that is generally considered to be true.
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Exercise 7: Answer
There are two types of reproduction: asexual reproduction and sexual reproduction. In sexual
reproduction organisms produce special sex cells called gametes. These are male and female
and must combine in a process called fertilisation to produce new offspring. In asexual
reproduction there are no gametes produced and no fertilisation.
1.
The simple present tense is the only tense used in this text.
2.
The writer is making statements that are generally accepted as scientific
fact.
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Exercise 8: Answer
European occupation of Australia had a catastrophic impact on Aboriginal health. This
resulted in widespread population decline. The most significant cause of depopulation was
smallpox. Epidemics occurred in 1789 and 1829-­‐31. It was noted that about half of the
Aborigines in the neighbourhood of the first European settlement at Port Jackson had died
from smallpox by 1790. This is consistent with the mortality rates among previously
unexposed people in the Americas.
1.
The simple past is the tense most frequently used in this text because the
writer is describing events that occurred in the past and are completed.
2.
The writer uses the
past perfect
tense to indicate that one happening or
event in the past -­‐ the death of half the Aborigines -­‐ had taken place before
another event or happening in the past.
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