English Grammar Guide: Tenses, Clauses, and More

Posted on May 8, 2024 in Spanish

English Grammar Guide

Tenses

Tense	Form	Uses
Present Simple	• S + V • S + don’t/doesn’t + V • Do/does + S + V?	• Facts and states. • Habits and repeated actions. • Static verbs. • Scheduled future events.
Present Continuous	• S + am/is/are + Ving • S + am not/isn’t/aren’t + Ving • Am/Is/Are + S + Ving?	• Actions in progress at the moment. • Temporary situations. • Plans or events planned for the future.
Present Perfect Simple	• S + has/have + V3 • S + hasn’t/haven’t + V3 • Has/Have + S + V3?	• Past actions or states that continue in the present. • Past actions that have an effect on the present. • Past experiences (when not specifying exactly when they occurred).
Present Perfect Continuous	• S + has/have been + Ving • S + hasn’t/haven’t been + Ving • Has/Have + S + been + Ving?	• An action that started in the past and continues in the present. • A recently finished action that has an effect on the present.
Past Simple	• S + V2 • S + didn’t + V • Did + S + V?	• Completed actions in the past. • States in the past. • Things that happened repeatedly in the past.
Past Continuous	• S + was/were + Ving • S + wasn’t/weren’t + Ving • Was/were + S + Ving?	• Actions in progress at a specific time in the past. • Past actions interrupted by other actions.
Past Perfect Simple	• S + had + V3 • S + hadn’t + V3 • Had + S + V3?	• An action that occurred before another action in the past.
Past Perfect Continuous	• S + had been + Ving • S + hadn’t been + Ving • Had + S + been + Ving?	• An action that occurred before another action in the past.
Will	• S + will + V • S + won’t + V • Will + S + V?	• General decisions about the future, promises, offers, and warnings. • Decisions made while speaking.
Be Going To	• S + am/is/are + going to + V • S + am not/isn’t/aren’t + going to + V • Am/is/are + S + going to + V?	• Plans and intentions. • Predictions about the future based on present evidence.
Future Continuous	• S + will be + Ving • S + won’t be + Ving • Will + S + be + Ving?	• Actions or events that will be completed at a specific time in the future.
Future Perfect Simple	• S + will have + V3 • S + won’t have + V3 • Will + S + have + V3?	• Actions or events that will be completed at a specific time in the future.

Relative Clauses

• Who – Person
• Which – Animal or thing
• That – Thing, person, time
• Whose – Possession
• When – Time
• Where – Place

Defining Relative Clauses

• Essential information
• No commas
• Can use that instead of who, which, when
• Can omit who, which, when if not acting as the subject of the sentence

Non-Defining Relative Clauses

• Extra information about the antecedent
• Use commas
• Do not use that
• Cannot omit
• Acts as an appositive

Used To, Be Used To, Would

Used to	• S + used to + V • S + didn’t use to + V • Did + S + use to + V?	• Talk about repeated actions in the past. • Talk about past states that are no longer true.
Be used to	• S + is/are/am + used to + Ving • S + wasn’t/weren’t used to + Ving • Was/were + S + used to + Ving?	• Talk about activities we do regularly and/or are familiar with.
Would + infinitive	• S + would + V • S + wouldn’t + V • Would + S + V?	• Refer to repeated actions in the past, but not to these pasts.

Exclamations

• Introduced by what, how, that’s.

What + A/An + Noun or Noun Phrase

What a pity/shame/pain/wonderful world/beautiful name/lovely day!

What + A/An + Noun Phrase + Clause

What a wonderful friend he is!

• We usually use how to reply to good or bad news:

That’s + Adjective or Adjective Phrase

That’s hilarious!/so kind of you!

Reported Statements and Questions

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Present Simple	Past Simple
Present Continuous	Past Continuous
Present Perfect Simple	Past Perfect Simple
Past Simple	Past Perfect Simple
Past Perfect Simple	Past Perfect Simple
Will	Would
Can	Could
Must	Had to

• If something is still true, we don’t always change the tense of the verb. For example: The article said that cloning is a technique scientists use to make exact genetic copies of living things.

• Usually, we also change the modal verb may in direct speech to might in reported speech.

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Now	Then
Today	That day
Tonight	That night
This (morning/week/month/year)	That (=)
Yesterday	The day before
Last (week/month/year)	The (week/month/year) before
(2 days/a year) ago	(2 days/a year) earlier
Tomorrow	The next/following day
Next (week/month/year)	The next/following (week/month/year)
Here	There
This	That
These	Those

Reporting Verbs

• Reporting verbs are followed by a number of different structures. Some of these verbs might admit more than one form or structure.

• In informal situations, that is often left out.

Form	Verbs	Examples
Verb + (that) + clause	Acknowledge, admit, agree, assert, claim, complain, deny, emphasize, explain, insist, promise, recommend, repeat, reveal, say, suggest, think, warn	• The government acknowledged (that) they could have made better decisions. • I told Tom that he looked very pale today, but he insisted (that) he was okay. • Her doctor suggested (that) she should reduce her working hours. • They promised (that) they would call.
Verb + object + (that) + clause	Assure, convince, inform, promise, reassure, remind, tell, warn	• They assured us (that) we would get our money back. • Tim reminded me (that) we had an exam the following week. • She warned me that the train might be late.
Verb + object + (not) + infinitive	Advise, ask, beg, encourage, invite, order, persuade, remind, tell, urge, warn	• They advised us not to drink out of that fountain. • The teacher encouraged the students to discuss the book in class. • We were warned not to feed the squirrels.
Verb + (not) + infinitive	Agree, ask, claim, demand, offer, promise, refuse	• They agreed not to tell anyone. • She claimed to be a famous musician. • He had promised to call me every week.
Verb + perfect infinitive	Claim	• He claims to have met the president, but I don’t believe him.
Verb + -ing	Admit, deny, recommend, suggest	• She admitted being in love. • They denied breaking that window. • My cousin suggested going to that new restaurant.
Verb + object + preposition + -ing + (object)	Accuse…of, compliment…on, congratulate…, on praise… for, remind… about, talk… into, thank… for, warn… against, warn… about	• They accused them of stealing without proof. • My parents warned me against applying for a job there. • Josh thanked me for being honest with him.
Verb + preposition + -ing + (object)	Apologize for, complain about, insist on, object to, reflect on	• They apologized for being late. • The customer insisted on talking to the manager. • Nobody objected to leaving earlier.
Verb + (object) + if/whether	Ask (sb), enquire/inquire, want to know, wonder	• She asked me if I was Scottish. • John enquired whether I wanted to meet his roommate.
Verb + (ask + object) + question word	Ask (sb), describe, enquire, explain, suggest, want to know, wonder	• He asked me where I was living. • They wanted to know when the train was leaving. • I wondered how many people attended the concert.

Gerund and Infinitive

Form: Gerund: -ing Infinitive: to + verb

Examples:

Gerund	Infinitive
Trying – intentant Doing – fent Comparing – comparant Being – sent	To try – intentar To do – fer To compare – comparar To be – ser

Uses:

General rule:
– Gerund → likes and dislikes/concrete, real, completed actions
– Infinitive → plans and intentions/”future”, abstract, incompleted

Gerund

– After some verbs
– After prepositions (always)
– As a subject/object (CD)
– Preposition by → to express the method
– Processes (keep going, stop doing that…)

Infinitive

– After some common verbs (want to, need to…)
– After would like/prefer/hate/love
– Negatives in object position (not to do sth)
– With an object (with/without to) → ex. I saw him (to) jump over the fence
– After an adjective
– To indicate purpose/intention/wishes/expectations

Both

– No change in meaning
– Change in meaning

o I stopped playing basketball (he parat de fer basketball)
o I stopped to playing basketball (parar de fer algo per fer basketball)

Vocabulary

Homonyms

EN	ES	EN	ES
Drop	Descender, descenso	Gather	Recopilar, reunirse
Due	Esperarse, deberse	Last	Durar, último
Face	Afrontar, mirar	Leading	Principal, líder
Filling	Sustancioso/a, empaste	Nail	Uña, clavo
Fine	Bien, multa	Odd	Dispar, raro/a
Fly	Mosca, volar

Friendships and Relationships

EN	ES	EN	ES
Back up	Apoyar	Life and soul of the party	El alma de la fiesta
Fall out	Discutir	Look out for	Cuidar de
Finish with	Cortar con	Make up	Hacer las paces
Friendship group	Grupo de amigos	Rely on	Confiar en
Gossip about	Cotillear de	Talk behind somebody’s back	Hablar a espaldas de alguien
Hurt somebody’s feelings	Herir los sentimientos de alguien	Split up	Romper, cortar
Take an instant dislike to	Aborrecer de inmediato a	Upset	Disgustar
Let down	Decepcionar

Dependent Prepositions

EN	ES	EN	ES
Approve of	Estar de acuerdo con	Different from	Diferente de
Be ashamed of	Estar avergonzado/a de	Fearful of	Temeroso/a de
Attitude towards	Actitud hacia	Prevent from	Impedir de
Be aware of	Ser consciente de	Protect from	Proteger de
Belong to	Pertenecer a	Puzzled by	Desconcertado/a por
Bias against/towards	Preferencia por/prejuicio contra	Result in	Dar lugar a
Decrease in	Disminución en	Similar to	Similar a
Depend on	Confiar en, contar con	Typical of	Tipico/a de

Festivals and Celebrations

EN	ES	EN	ES
Bonfire	Hoguera	Hallowe’en	Halloween
Celebrate	Celebrar	Harvest	Cosecha
Costume	Disfraz	Heat	Calor
Dress up (as)	Disfrazarse (de)	Lantern	Farolillo
Dress up	Arreglarse (vestirse de manera elegante)	Mask	Máscara
Explode	Explotar	Onlookers	Espectadores/as
Feast	Festín	Parade	Desfile
Firework display	Fuegos artificiales	Roots	Orígenes
Get-together	Encuentro	Set off	Lanzar (salir/partir, comenzar un viaje o activar)

US/UK English

EN	ES	EN	ES
Autumn	Otoño	Holiday	Vacaciones
Cell phone	Teléfono móvil	Mobile	Teléfono móvil
CV	Currículum	Movie	Película
Fall	Otoño	Resume	Currículum
Film	Película	Vacation	Vacaciones

Time

EN	ES	EN	ES
Ahead of schedule	Antes de tiempo	Keep somebody waiting	Hacer esperar a alguien
The last minute	En el último minuto	Remember	Recordar
At times	A veces	Retain	Recordar
Catch up on	Ponerse al día con	Rush	Apresurarse
Deadline	Fecha límite	Slow down	Bajar el ritmo
From time to time	De vez en cuando	Take your time	Tomarse su tiempo
Get behind	Quedarse atrás	Time to spare	Tiempo de sobra
In the nick of time	Justo a tiempo	Turn up	Aparecer
In two weeks’ time	En dos semanas

Commonly Confused Words

EN	ES	EN	ES
Specially	Expresamente	Particular	Concreto/a
Especially	Especialmente	Particularly	Especialmente

Writing

For and Against

Structure

– Paragraph 1 → Introduction to the topic
– Paragraph 2 → Arguments for the statement
– Paragraph 3 → Arguments against the statement
– Paragraph 4 → Your opinion and conclusion

Media

EN	ES	ES	EN
Binge watch	Hacer un maratón	Schedule programmes	Programación de los programas
Box set	Serie completa	Status update	Actualización del estado
Breaking news	Noticia de última hora	Spoilers	“Spoiler”, destripe
Broadcast	Transmitir, emitir	Subscription streaming service	Servicio de transmisión por suscripción (Netflix, HBO…)
Catch-up TV	Ponerse al día con la tele	Trending	Tendencia, que está de moda
Live stream	Transmisión en vivo	Tweet	Pío (sonido de los pájaros), mensaje de Twitter.

Prefixes

EN	ES	EN	ES
Cooperate	Cooperar	Overcooked	Cocinado de más
Demystify	Desmitificar	Over-react	Exagerar
Disappear	Desaparecer	Reappear	Reaparecer, resurgir
Disapprove	Desaprobar, oponerse	Repost	Volver a publicar
Ill-informed	Desinformado	Republish	Volver a publicar, reeditar, reimprimir
Misleading	Engañoso, confuso	Unaccustomed	Desacostumbrado, inusual
Misinformation	Desinformado, información errónea	Unattributed	No atribuible
Misjudge	Juzgar mal	Underperform	Decepcionar, defraudar
Misread	Leer mal, leer incorrectamente	Untrue	Falso, incorrecto

Commonly Confused Words

EN	ES	EN	ES
As if	Como si	Like	Como, de la misma manera
Expect	Esperar, anticipar	Wait	Esperar
Hope	Esperar que, tener esperanza

Advertising Words

EN	ES	EN	ES
Advertising agency	Agencia de publicidad	Guerrilla marketing	Guerra de marketing
Advertising campaign	Campaña publicitaria	Luxury	Lujoso
Billboard advertising	Carteles publicitarios	Persuasive	Persuadir, convencer
Brand awareness	Conciencia de marcas	Product placement	Colocación del producto, publicidad subliminal
Catchy slogan	Un slogan pegadizo	Soar	Elevarse, planear
Celebrity endorsement	Promoción de un famoso	Target audience	Objetivo (persona) a la que se le quiere hacer llegar ese producto
Commercial break	Pausa publicitaria	Trend setter	Iniciador de una tendencia
Fashion conscious	Consciente de la moda	TV commercial	Anuncio de la tele
Fashion trend	Tendencia de moda	Word of mouth	De boca en boca
Gadget	Aparato	Viral marketing	Marketing viral

Grammar

Cleft Sentences

It	+ be	+ noun phrase	+ relative clause
It	Is	the noise of the traffic	that keeps me awake.
It	was	my little brother	who left the keys in the door

What	+ clause	+ be	+ noun phrase
What	Keeps me awake	Is	The noise of the traffic
What	Would really help	Is	If you could tidy up before people arrive

All	+ clause	+ be	+ noun phrase
All	She’d wanted to do	Was	Visit Niagara Falls

Modal Verbs

Ability

To talk about ability we use can/can’t in the present and could/couldn’t in the past.

Permission

To ask for permission we can use can, could, may or might. To give or refuse permission we use can or may (not could or might)

Prohibition

Prohibition can be expressed using can’t, mustn’t or be allowed to.

We do not usually use could:

• To talk about what someone did on one occasion in the past. Instead, we use was/were able to, managed to or succeeded in.

• To talk about permission on one occasion in the past. Instead, we use be allowed to.

Advice

Should is used for suggestion, advice and opinions.

Ought to has a similar meaning, but is less common. (formal)

Must can be used as a strong way of giving advice, as can the non-modal expression had better. Note: had better can sometimes be a threat or a warning.

Obligation and Lack of Obligation

Must and have to have a similar meaning, but sometimes we use have to when the obligation comes from someone else.

Must not means you are obliged not to do something, whereas don’t have to means you are not obliged.

When talking about obligation, the past tenses of both have to and must is had to + past participle.

Need to means something is necessary, and don’t need to or needn’t means it isn’t necessary. The past tenses of don’t need to can be didn’t need to + infinitive or needn’t have + past particle.

Possibility and Deduction

We use may/might and could to talk about possibility. When we are more sure, we can use must and can’t.

To make deductions about the past, we use modal perfects: might have, could have, must have and can’t have.

Confusing Words: Like and As If/As Though

Use

We use look like and as if/as though to make comparisons.

We use like + noun or pronoun to say that we think there is a resemblance between people or objects.

We use as if or as though to talk about an imaginary situation, or a situation that may not be true but is likely or possible. We use as if or as though after the verbs look, seem and feel.

English Grammar Guide: Tenses, Clauses, and More