關於tenses,gerunds,infinitive,used to一問

Present Perfect Tense (現在完成式):

Subject + have/has + past participle of verb (過去分詞)

a. 一件事開始時是過去, 一直持續到現在
She has worked on the same job for 20 years.
(佢20年前開始做呢份工,做到今日仲做緊, 所以用現在完成式)

b. 一件事在過去已經完成, 但可能會再發生
We have had three tests this semester.
(由學期開始到而家已經有3 個測驗, 由於學期未結束, 可能仲有更多測驗)

c. 一件事在過去已經完成, 但無確實講明係幾時完成(或根本唔重要)
I have seen that movie.
He has read that book.

但當如果有問幾時, 個答案就會變成簡單過去式. 如:
A: I have seen that movie.
B: When?
A: I saw it yesterday.



Past Perfect Tense (過去完成式):

Subject + had + past participle of verb (過去分詞)


過去完成式用來比較過去兩個動作的先後次序
第一件發生的事用過去完成式, 第二件發生的事用過去式. 不論句子先後次序如何, 例句:

By the time I got home, my mother had already cooked dinner.
(兩件事都係過去發生, 但例句:我回家的時候, 我媽媽已經煮好晚餐.
用past perfect 可以清楚表明較早發生的事件,而past tense用來後來發生的事.)

The thief simply walked in. Someone had forgotten to lock the door.
(有人忘記鎖門在先, 賊輕易入屋在後. 所以賊係用過去式, 而鎖門用過去完成式)

Sandy had already left when Ann got there.
(Ann 來到時, Sandy 已經走左, 所以Ann 用過去式, Sandy 用過去完成式)

要注意:
a.兩件事件必需係過去發生, 其中一件係將來式現在發生也不能用過去完成式.
b.兩件事情必需發生在過去唔同既時期. 而唔係過去同一個時段發生.

錯誤示範:
Last weekend I had gone to a party. I had met some new people. It had been interesting.
應該改成:
Last weekend I went to a party. I met some new people. It was interesting.
因為去party, 認到新朋友, 同個party 好interesting等都係同一個時期.

Past Continuous (過去進行式):

Subject + was/were + verb (動詞+ing)

a. 表示過去正在做一個動作時, 被另一個動作中止左.
I was cooking dinner when my husband came home.
They were playing football before it started to rain.

b. 在一個指定時間發生緊的事情.
At 9:00 last night we were watching TV.
At midnight, I was getting ready for bed.

c. 當兩個過去的動作同時間一齊發生
She was studying while her mother was cleaning house.

d. 表示一個在過去動作已持續了一段長時間
I was reading all day on Sunday.

2007-04-20 07:13:51 補充：
什麼是動名詞 Gerund?動名詞由動詞的原式 ing構成. 這類詞既有動詞的特性,亦有名詞的特性。此外, 動名詞加賓語或修飾語, 構成動名詞短語 Gerund Phrase。1. 作主語Speaking rudely is wrong.2. 作賓語I like drinking coffee.3. 作補語My hobby is taking pictures.4. 放在介詞後面構成介詞短語We cannot hope to learn a foreign language well without making efforts.

2007-04-20 08:06:51 補充：
不定詞 Infinitive 的一般形態是: to verb (原式)如: I go to swim.I go to school."to swim" 是不定詞, "to school" 不是.不定詞可以有自己的賓語, 亦可以被副詞修飾.不定詞加上賓語或副詞所構成的短語, 稱"不定詞短語" Infinitive Phrase.

2007-04-20 08:07:10 補充：
1. 作名詞To smoke is a bad habit.2. 作形容詞Has he no house to live in?「原裝」：He has no house in which to live.「變裝」：He has no house which to live in.「簡裝」：He has no house to live in.3. 作副詞It is a good idea, to be sure!不定詞短語 "to be sure" 形容整個句子 "to be sure".

第1,2,3題，你可以到這個網站看有關的topic，這個網站簡單介紹英文文法，並且中文解釋
http://www.npc.edu.hk/staff/~ngtungying/english_grammar/

而至於第４題：
used to為表示「過去常．．．」之過去習慣，或與現在對照之過去的狀態
１） 過去習慣
He used to call on me every sunday（他過去每星期日常來拜訪我）（註：但現在已沒有）
２）過去的狀態
There used to be a cinema there.（以前那裏有一家電影院）

但be used to是解作「習慣於．．．」的意思
He is used to hard work.（他習慣於辛苦的工作）
I am used to a hot climate．（我習慣於炎熱的氣候）

不但used to，與be used to在意思上有這麼大的分別，而且used to後面要跟原形動詞，而be used to後面就要跟名詞，或動名詞，或名詞片語等等，而不可跟動詞。