English Grammar Mastery: Tenses, Modals and Syntax

Posted on Jun 21, 2026 in English

Past Tenses

Past Simple

Used for finished actions (Acción acabada). Form: Verb + -ed or 2nd column.

  • (+) I wrote an essay.
  • (-) I didn’t play football.
  • (?) Did you have a match?

Past Continuous

Used for actions in progress in the past (Acción en progreso en el pasado). Form: Was/Were + V-ing.

  • (+) I was studying biology.
  • (-) They weren’t studying.
  • (?) Were they studying?

Past Perfect Simple

Used for the “past of the past,” an action before another past action. Form: Had + Past Participle (3rd column).

  • (+) She had finished her work.
  • (-) They hadn’t eaten.
  • (?) Had you seen that film?

Past Perfect Continuous

Used for a continuous action before another action in the past. Form: Had been + V-ing.

  • (+) She had been studying for hours.
  • (-) They hadn’t been working.
  • (?) Had you been waiting long?

Time Clauses: While vs. When

  • While + Past Continuous (Long action): While I was driving, my phone rang.
  • When + Past Simple (Short interrupting action): I was studying when you arrived.

Common Verb Usage

  • GO: Used for -ing activities.
  • DO: Used for tasks and jobs.
  • GET: Meaning to obtain or become (conseguir/ponerse).
  • MAKE: Meaning to produce or make a decision.

Adjectives Ending in -ed and -ing

  • -ED: Describes how a person feels (State). I am bored (Estoy aburrido).
  • -ING: Describes the cause of the feeling (Action/Thing). The movie is boring (La película es aburrida).

Future Tenses

Future Simple (Will)

Used for momentary decisions, promises, and predictions without evidence. Form: Will + Base Verb.

  • (+) I’ll call you.
  • (-) She won’t come.
  • (?) Will they help?

Be Going To

Used for decided plans and predictions with evidence. Form: Am/Is/Are + going to + Base Verb.

  • (+) We’re going to travel.
  • (-) He isn’t going to buy.
  • (?) Are you going to study?

Present Continuous (Future)

Used for fixed arrangements with a specific time or place. Form: Am/Is/Are + V-ing.

  • (+) I’m meeting Julia at 6.
  • (-) We aren’t leaving.
  • (?) Are you coming?

Present Simple (Future)

Used for official schedules, transport, and programs. Form: Present Verb (-s in 3rd person).

  • (+) The train leaves at 9:30.
  • (-) The shop doesn’t open.
  • (?) Does it start?

Future Continuous

Used for an action in progress at an exact moment in the future. Form: Will be + V-ing.

  • (+) This time tomorrow I’ll be flying.
  • (-) She won’t be working.
  • (?) Will you be joining?

Future Perfect

Used for an action finished before a specific future moment. Form: Will have + V3/-ed.

  • (+) By 2026 I’ll have finished.
  • (-) He won’t have completed.
  • (?) Will they have arrived?

Note: After When, As soon as, Until, Before, and After, never use will; use the Present Simple.

Reflexive Pronouns

Used when the subject performs and receives the action.

  • I → myself
  • You → yourself
  • He → himself
  • She → herself
  • It → itself
  • We → ourselves
  • You (plural) → yourselves
  • They → themselves

Phrasal Verbs for Socializing

  • Bump into: To meet someone by chance.
  • Call round / Come over / Come round: To visit someone briefly at their home.
  • Come along (with): To accompany or go with someone.
  • Drop somebody off: To leave someone at a place (by car).
  • Pick somebody up: To collect someone (by car).
  • Go along (with): To accept or agree with an idea.
  • Go out: To go out for socializing or partying.
  • Stay in: To stay at home.
  • Have somebody round: To invite someone to your home.
  • Meet up (with): To meet or gather with someone.

Professions and Suffixes

  • -IST: Psychologist, scientist.
  • -ER: Employer, builder, designer, gamer, baker, writer.
  • -OR: Operator, controller.
  • -IAN: Technician.

Modal Verbs

Present and Future Modals

  • Can/Could: Ability, permission, or requests (informal/formal).
  • May/Might: Formal permission or possibility.
  • Must / Have to: Obligation.
  • Mustn’t: Prohibition (Prohibición).
  • Don’t have to: No necessity/obligation (No es necesario).
  • Should / Ought to: Advice.
  • Deduction (Certainty): Must (Sure it is) / Can’t (Impossible it is).

Modal Perfects (Past)

Form: Modal + have + V3/-ed

  • Must have: Deduction of a past certainty (Debió pasar).
  • Can’t have: Impossible that it happened (No puede haber pasado).
  • May/Might/Could have: Past possibility (Puede que pasara).
  • Should have: Regret or criticism (Debiste haber hecho).
  • Shouldn’t have: Should not have been done (No debió hacerse).
  • Could have: Could have happened but didn’t (Pudo pasar pero no pasó).

Conditionals

  • Zero Conditional: If + Present Simple, Present Simple (General truths/Science).
  • 1st Conditional: If + Present Simple, WILL + Infinitive (Real future possibility).
  • 2nd Conditional: If + Past Simple, WOULD + Infinitive (Hypothesis/Advice).
  • 3rd Conditional: If + Past Perfect, WOULD HAVE + V3 (Impossible past change).

Reported Speech

Tense Shifts

  • Present Simple → Past Simple
  • Present Continuous → Past Continuous
  • Past Simple / Present Perfect → Past Perfect
  • Past Continuous → Past Perfect Continuous

Modal and Time Shifts

  • Will → Would | Can → Could | Must → Had to
  • Now → Then | Today → That day | Tonight → That night
  • Here → There | This → That | Ago → Before
  • Tomorrow → The following day | Yesterday → The day before

Reporting Verbs

  • TELL + Person: Tina told me to phone.
  • SAY + (that): Tom said he was tired.
  • ASK + Person + If: For Yes/No questions.
  • ASK + Person + To + Inf: For requests.

Passive Voice

Structure: Object + BE + Past Participle (V3).

  • Present Simple: English is spoken here.
  • Present Continuous: The house is being painted.
  • Past Simple: The cake was eaten.
  • Future: The meeting will be held tomorrow.
  • Impersonal Passive: It is said that she is intelligent.

Adjective Categories

  • Measure / Size
  • Shape
  • Material
  • Power
  • Other