Master English Grammar: Tenses, Conditionals, & More

Posted on Mar 14, 2025 in English

Past Simple vs. Present Perfect

Past Simple: Used for finished actions. Common time expressions include yesterday, last week/year, two days ago, when, then.

Present Perfect: Used for actions that started in the past and continue to the present. Common time expressions include never, ever, already, just, yet, lately, for, since.

Change a negative sentence to a positive one in the same tense.

So, Such, Too, and Enough

So: Subject + verb + so + adjective + phrase. Used with an adjective.

Such: Subject + verb + such + adjective + noun + phrase. Used with a noun.

Too: Indicates a negative quantity. Subject + verb + too + adjective + phrase.

Enough: Indicates sufficiency. Adjective + enough or enough + noun.

Questions

(Wh-word + verb to be + subject + verb + phrase)

Maintain the same tense.

Used to, Get Used to, Be Used to

Be used to: Means “to be accustomed to”. Followed by a verb in the -ing form.

Get used to: The verb “get” is conjugated according to the tense in the original sentence.

Used to: Means “used to” in the past. Followed by an infinitive.

Conditionals

  • 0 Conditional: If + present + present (rules or laws)
  • 1st Conditional: If + present simple + will + verb (-ing) (present/future possibility/something certain)
  • 2nd Conditional: If + past simple + would + verb (infinitive) (present/imagining hypothetical situations)
  • 3rd Conditional: If + past perfect simple + would have + verb (past participle) (past/impossible situations)

Wish / If Only

  • I wish / If only + subject + past simple (wish – present to past)
  • I wish / If only + subject + past perfect simple (past simple to past perfect – regret)
  • I wish / If only + subject + could/would + verb (-ing) (something annoying)

Reported Speech

Tense changes:

  • Present Simple – Past Simple
  • Present Continuous – Past Continuous
  • Past Simple – Past Perfect
  • Present Perfect – Past Perfect
  • Past Perfect – Past Perfect (no change)
  • Can – Could
  • Will – Would
  • Must/Have to – Had to
  • May – Might
  • Should, Would, Could (no change)

Time/Place changes:

  • This – That
  • Here – There
  • Today – That day
  • Yesterday – The day before
  • Tomorrow – The next day
  • Tomorrow morning – The next morning
  • Yesterday afternoon – The afternoon before
  • Next week – The following week
  • Last week – The previous week
  • Tonight – That night

Reported Questions

Wh-questions: Remove the auxiliary verb “do”.

She asked, “Where do you live?” — She asked where I lived.

Yes/No questions: Add “if” before the verb.

He asked, “Can I open the window?” — He asked if he could open the window.

Reported Commands and Requests

Use the infinitive form. Verbs do not change tense.

Use “to” or “not to” before the verb. Common verbs: tell, ask, warn, advise, order.

She said to Jack, “Open the door, please.” — She asked Jack to open the door.

Reported Suggestions

Use the -ing form of the verb after “suggested”.

Common phrases: Let’s, What about, Why don’t we

We suggested making reservations.

Passive Voice

Subject + verb “to be” (in the tense of the main verb) + main verb (past participle)

  • Present Simple: is/are/am + past participle
  • Present Continuous: is/are/am + being + past participle
  • Present Perfect: have/has + been + past participle
  • Present Perfect Continuous: have/has + been + being + past participle
  • Past Simple: was/were + past participle
  • Past Continuous: was/were + being + past participle
  • Past Perfect Simple: had + been + past participle
  • Past Perfect Continuous: had + been + being + past participle
  • Will: will be + past participle
  • Modal: modal + be + past participle
  • Going to: is/are/am + going to be + past participle

Gerunds

  • At the beginning of a sentence when functioning as the subject.
  • After prepositions and expressions.
  • After the following verbs: admit, delay, escape, give up, avoid, deny, fancy, imagine, mind, appreciate, enjoy, finish, keep on, practice, postpone, miss, risk, like, dislike, prefer, love.

Infinitives

  • Without “to”: After modal verbs (can, could, will, have to, might, may, should, would, ought to, be able to)
  • With “to”: After these verbs: afford, agree, appear, arrange, attempt, beg, choose, dare, decide, demand, deserve, fail, hope, learn, manage, mean, need, offer, plan, prepare, promise, refuse, want, wish, would like, would love

Essay Writing

Opinion Essay

  1. Introduction (discuss the topic)
  2. First reason
  3. Second reason
  4. Conclusion (your opinion)

Example introduction: “Nowadays, [discuss topic]… In my opinion, [short opinion].”

Narrative Essay

  1. Introduction
  2. Development (what happens)
  3. Development (what happens)
  4. Conclusion

For and Against Essay

  1. Introduction
  2. Arguments in favor
  3. Arguments against
  4. Conclusion

Example structure:

  1. “These days, we live in a world where there are people who believe that [introduce topic]. But the question is…”
  2. “On the one hand, some people think that [noun] are [adjective]… They claim that [opinion].”
  3. “On the other hand, others believe that [noun] are [adjective]…”
  4. “To sum up, I feel that although…”