English Verb Tenses and Grammar

Posted on Jan 4, 2025 in Spanish

Present Simple

Present Simple indicates actions that happen regularly, not necessarily at this moment.

Examples:

• I play tennis.
• Do you play tennis?
• I don’t play tennis.
• He works in an office.

Present Continuous

Present Continuous describes things that are happening at the moment of speaking.

Examples:

• I am speaking English.
• You are dancing in the street.
• Am I playing football?
• I’m not playing this.

Present Perfect

Present Perfect describes actions that happened in the past but have a connection to the present.

Examples:

• I have sent the letter.
• She has lost the keys.
• I haven’t bought a new dress.

Past Simple

Past Simple describes completed actions in the past.

Examples:

• I played.
• Did I play?
• I didn’t play.
• I broke the window.
• I cleaned the window.

Future Simple

Future Simple describes actions that will happen in the future, without specifying the exact time.

Examples:

• I will dance.
• Will you dance?
• I will not dance.

Future Perfect

Future Perfect expresses situations that will be completed by a certain point in the future.

Examples:

• By the afternoon, I will have arrived home.
• Will she have prepared the dinner by 9 o’clock?
• By 9 o’clock, she will not have prepared the dinner.

Future Continuous

Future Continuous describes an action in progress in the future that is interrupted by another action.

Examples:

• I will be studying when you call me.
• Will you be waiting for her?

Zero Conditional

Zero Conditional describes situations that are always true.

Examples:

• If I work too much, I get tired.
• If you freeze water, it turns into ice.

Structure: If + present tense.

First Conditional

First Conditional describes real or possible situations.

Examples:

• If he is busy now, I will come back tomorrow.
• If it rains today, I’ll stay at home.

Structure: If + present tense + will, can, may.

Second Conditional

Second Conditional describes hypothetical situations.

Examples:

• If I were in Brazil, I would go to Rio de Janeiro.
• If I were you, I would buy that car.

Structure: If + past simple + would, could, etc.

Personal Pronouns

I, my, mine; you, your, yours; he, his, his; she, her, hers; it, its, its; we, our, ours; you, your, yours; they, their, theirs.

Comparative Tense

Examples:

• My dog runs faster than Jim’s dog.
• My house is larger than hers.
• My hair is longer than yours.

Superlative Tense

Examples:

• My dog is the smallest pet in the park.
• They are the tallest runners in the world.
• My hair is the longest in the country.

Would and Used To

• Would: Used for repeated past actions (only with action verbs). Example: When I was a boy, I would play football with my friends.
• Used to: Used for past habits or states (with all types of verbs). Example: They used to have a boat.

Relative Clauses or Pronouns

These are phrases that add information to the main clause and are connected by relative pronouns:

• That (that)
• Which (which/that)
• Who (who/that)
• Whose (whose)
• Where (where)
• When (when)
• Why (why)

Reported Speech

Used to convey the idea or words that someone else has said.

Examples:

• Direct: “You need to take the medicine.” Reported: The doctor said that I needed to take the medicine.
• Direct: “You aren’t very sick.” Reported: The doctor told me I wasn’t very sick.
• Direct: “He went to Malaga last year.” Reported: She said that I went to Malaga last year.
• Direct: “I’ve known my girlfriend for three years.” Reported: He said he’d known his girlfriend for three years.

Modal Verbs

• Can: Ability or possibility (I can)
• Could: Past possibility (I could)
• May: Future possibility (you may)
• Might: Present or future possibility (It might rain later)
• Will: Future tense
• Should: Obligation or recommendation (I should call)
• Ought to: Synonym of should
• Must: Obligation or prohibition (You must read)
• Would: Polite requests (Would she like to go to the cinema with me?)
• Have to: Obligation or prohibition