Essential English Reference: Vocabulary & Grammar
Technology & Gadgets Vocabulary
- Keyboard: teclado
- Plug (for device): enchufe-conector
- Screen: monitor
- Socket (wall): enchufe-pared
- Switch: interruptor
- Adapter: adaptador
- Headphones: auriculares
- Remote control: mando a distancia
- Mouse: ratón
- Speaker: altavoz
- USB cable: cable USB
Common Verbs
- Turn on / Turn off
- Set (program)
- Unplug (desenchufar)
- Switch
Places Vocabulary
- Football pitch: campo de fútbol
- Ground floor: planta baja
- Speed camera: radar de velocidad
- Profile picture: foto de perfil
- Petrol station: gasolinera
House Vocabulary
- Gate: portal / verja
- Path: camino
- Roof: techo / tejado
- Steps: escaleras / escalones
- Wall: pared
- Basement: sótano
Adjectives and Adverbs
- Luck (noun): suerte
- Adjective: lucky / unlucky (afortunado / desafortunado)
- Adverb: luckily / unluckily (afortunadamente / desafortunadamente)
- Fortune (noun): fortuna / suerte
- Adjective: fortunate (afortunado)
- Adverb: fortunately (afortunadamente / por suerte)
- Comfort (noun): comodidad
- Adjective: comfortable (cómodo)
- Adverb: comfortably (con comodidad)
- Patience (noun): paciencia
- Adjective: patient (paciente)
- Adverb: patiently (pacientemente)
- Care (noun): cuidado
- Adjective: careful (cuidadoso)
- Adverb: carefully (cuidadosamente)
Nouns from Suffixes
-ATION
- Compensation
- Demonstration
- Exploration
-MENT
- Achievement
- Agreement
- Attachment
- Payment
Other Vocabulary
- Choice
- Argued
- Complaint
- Deliverables
- Correspondence
- Sale
- Loss
Phrasal Verbs & Work Vocabulary
- Applied for: solicitar
- Got promoted: conseguir ascenso
- Resign: renunciar
- Retire: retirado / jubilarse
- Sacked: despedido
- Set up: preparar / montar
- Part-time: media jornada
- Self-employed: autónomo
- Temporary: temporal
- Unemployed: desempleado
- Well qualified: bien cualificado
Work-Related Nouns
- Promotion
- Application
- Retirement
- Employment
- Qualification
- Resignation
Verb Tenses
Present Perfect
Structure: I / You / We / They have + past participle (-ed or 3rd form)
Structure: He / She / It has + past participle (-ed or 3rd form)
Meaning: Yo he…
Keywords: never, this year, today, how long, just, already, yet, for, since, ever, probably.
Present Perfect Continuous
Structure: Subject + have / has been + verb-ing
Meaning: Yo he estado…
Keywords: already, yet, for, since, how long.
Past Continuous
Structure: Subject + was / were + verb-ing
Meaning: Estaba…
Past Perfect
Structure: Subject + had + past participle (-ed or 3rd form)
Meaning: Había…
Used To
Use ‘used to‘ + infinitive for past habits or states.
In questions and negatives with ‘did’, use ‘use to‘:
Example: Did you use to live here? / I didn’t use to like coffee.
Conditionals
First Conditional
Structure: If + Present Simple, … Future Simple (will + infinitive)
Example: If you work hard, you will pass.
Note: Use the Present Simple after time conjunctions like unless, as soon as, when, until, before when referring to the future in conditional sentences.
Example: I will call you when I finish.
Second Conditional
Structure: If + Past Simple, … would / wouldn’t + infinitive
Example: If I had a job, I would get my own flat.
Enough
Use enough + noun (e.g., enough money) or adjective + enough (e.g., old enough).
Passive Voice
- Present Simple: Active: makes → Passive: are made (son hechos)
- Past Simple: Active: wrote → Passive: was written (fue escrito)
- Present Perfect: Active: have read → Passive: have been read (han sido leídos)
- Present Continuous: Active: is eating → Passive: is being eaten (está siendo comido)
- Past Continuous: Active: was/were eating → Passive: was being eaten (estaba siendo comido)
- Future Simple: Active: will drink → Passive: will be drunk (será bebido/leído)
- Modal (have to): Active: has/have to make → Passive: has/have to be made (tiene que ser hecho)
Prepositions of Place: IN / ON
- in the country
- on the outskirts
- in a village / town / city
- on the east coast (or in the east)
- on the second floor
- in a suburb
Pronunciation Examples (Vowel Sounds)
/ɔː/ (like ‘horse’)
- raw, score, floor, bald, wall, prawns, draw, warm, course, thought, caught, audience, board
/ʌ/ (like ‘up’)
- money, public, subject, ugly, duck, hurry, rush, tongue, someone, enough, touch, couple, luck, tough
/ɜː/ (like ‘girl’ or ‘bird’)
- girl, golf, grilled, colleague, forget, aggressive, luggage, plug, gadget, programme
- term, prefer, dirty, circuit, nursery, learn, work, world, worse, journey, murder, turner, perfect
/iː/ (like ‘tree’)
- beef, speed, peach, team, refund, medium, people, magazine, key, niece, receipt, speaker, screen
/uː/ (like ‘boot’)
- fruit (oo, u, ew spellings)
/əʊ/ (like ‘phone’)
- owe (o, oa, ow, ou, au spellings)
Comparatives and Superlatives
- Regular (short adj.): tall → taller (than) → the tallest
- Regular (long adj.): modern → more modern (than) → the most modern
- Irregular:
- good → better → the best
- bad → worse → the worst
Verbs Followed by Gerunds (-ING) or Infinitives (TO)
Verbs + Gerund (-ING)
admit, avoid, deny, dislike, enjoy, feel like, finish, hate, keep, like, love, mind, miss, practise, prefer, recommend, spend time, stop, suggest, give up, go on
Verbs + Infinitive (TO + verb)
afford, agree, decide, expect, forget, help, learn, need, offer, plan, pretend, promise, refuse, remember, seem, try, want, would like
Note: For negative infinitives, use not to + verb (e.g., He decided not to go.)