Mastering English Tenses and Clauses for Effective Communication

Present Simple (Egunerokoa ordutegia adierazteko)

Afirmative: I/you work, she/it works

Negative: I/you don’t work, he/she doesn’t work

Interrogative: Do you work? Does she work?

Present Continuous (Now, at the moment, this year)

Afirmative: You are singing, she is singing

Negative: You aren’t singing

Past Simple (Complete action in the past) (last year, two days ago…)

Afirmative: I, you, she finished; I went to Paris last year

Negative: I, you, she didn’t finish

Interrogative: Did you finish?

Past Continuous: They were skiing when their parents arrived at the resort. (Incomplete action in progress at a specific time in the past)

Afirmative: I, she, it was writing; you, we were writing

Negative: She, I wasn’t writing

Interrogative: Was I writing?

Past Perfect Simple: By the time he arrived, the train had already left

Afirmative: I, you, he, we had arrived

Negative: I, she, we hadn’t arrived

Interrogative: Had I arrived?

Present Perfect Simple: (Iragana hasi eta oraindik jarraitzen dute) I have lived in York for two years (Never, ever, yet, for, since…)

Afirmative: I, you, we have lived; she has lived

Negative: You, we haven’t lived; she hasn’t lived

Interrogative: Have I lived?

Gerund: I like playing rugby

Infinitive: He woke up early to go fishing

Future Simple: Prediction, finkatutako ordutegia hitz egin (The TV program will start at 5 o’clock)

Afirmative: I, she, we will recycle

Negative: I, she, we won’t recycle

Be Going To: Mike is going to buy a hybrid car next year (Plan en un future)

Afirmative: We, you are going to buy; she is going to buy

Negative: You, we aren’t going to buy

Interrogative: Are you going to buy?

Future Continuous: Lo que está pasando en un future (At this time tomorrow, Jack will be arriving in London)

Afirmative: I, she, we will be traveling

Negative: I, she, we won’t be traveling

Interrogative: Will you be traveling?

Future Perfect Simple: I will have eaten by 3 o’clock (Etorkizunean une zehatz batean ekintza amaituta egongo dela adierazteko)

Afirmative: I, she, we will have eaten

Negative: She won’t have eaten

Interrogative: Will she have eaten?

Defining Relative Clauses: (who, which, where, whose, when) This is the man whose laptop I bought

Non-Defining Relative Clauses: (My brother, who is an engineer, designs robots)

First Conditional: (if + present simple)

If you give me a hand, I will be really grateful.

If you don’t finish your homework, you can’t go out.

If you don’t make a daily backup copy, you will lose all the information.

Second Conditional: (if + past simple) / would + base form

If they had enough money, they would buy this laptop.

If I were you, I’d buy a new computer.

Third Conditional: (if + past perfect) / would have + past participle

If I had read her e-mail, I would have gone on the date.

Question Tags:

She isn’t here today, is she?

They live in Ankara, don’t they?

You’ll be OK, won’t you?

Quantifiers: A lot of, many (countable), much (uncountable)

There’s enough room.

I know very few people.

My niece isn’t old enough.

Reported Speech:

He works as an editor – she said that he worked as an editor.

He is working as an editor – she said that he was working as an editor.