English Grammar Structures Reference
English Grammar Structures
Perfect Continuous Tenses
- Present Perfect Continuous: I have been waiting.
- Past Perfect Continuous: I had been studying.
Conditional Sentences
Conditionals describe different types of hypothetical situations:
- Zero Conditional: Facts or truths. If + [simple present], … [simple present].
- First Conditional: Real possibilities in the future. If + [simple present], … will + [infinitive].
- Second Conditional: Unreal or improbable situations in the present or future. If + [simple past], … would + [infinitive].
- Third Conditional: Unreal situations in the past. If + [past perfect], … would have + [past participle].
Time Clauses
Connectors used to specify when an action occurs: When, while, as soon as, after, before, until, by the time, once…
Wish Clauses
Used to express desires or regrets:
- I wish + past simple: To talk about things we would like to change in the future, but which are unlikely to happen. Example: I wish I could come with you.
- I wish + past perfect: To talk about the past and express regret. Example: I wish I had studied harder.
- I wish + would: To express annoyance or anger about someone else’s repeated actions. Example: I wish my neighbour would stop playing music.
Passive Voice Forms
Examples using the verb ‘to make a cake’:
- Present Simple: I make a cake / A cake is made (by me).
- Present Continuous: I am making a cake / A cake is being made (by me).
- Past Simple: I made a cake / A cake was made (by me).
- Past Continuous: I was making a cake / A cake was being made (by me).
- Present Perfect: I have made a cake / A cake has been made (by me).
- Present Perfect Continuous: I have been making a cake / A cake has been being made (by me).
- Past Perfect: I had made a cake / A cake had been made (by me).
- Future Simple: I will make a cake / A cake will be made (by me).
- Future Perfect: I will have made a cake / A cake will have been made (by me).
Relative Clauses
Used to provide information about a noun:
- Defining (Essential Information):
- People: who, that
- Things: which, that
- Places: where
- Times: when
- Possession: whose
- Non-defining (Extra Information): (Requires commas, does not use that).
Modal Verbs
Examples: can, could, may, might, should, must…
- Simple Form: modal + infinitive.
- Perfect Form: modal + have + past participle. Example: They must have gone.
Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)
Changes when reporting what someone said:
- Present Simple: I like ice cream / She said (that) she liked ice cream.
- Present Continuous: I am living in London / She said (that) she was living in London.
- Past Simple: I bought a car / She said (that) she had bought a car OR She said (that) she bought a car.
- Past Continuous: I was walking along the street / She said (that) she had been walking along the street.
- Present Perfect: I haven’t seen Julie / She said (that) she hadn’t seen Julie.
- Past Perfect: I had taken English lessons before / She said (that) she had taken English lessons before.
- Will: I’ll see you later / She said (that) she would see me later.
- Would*: I would help, but… / She said (that) she would help but…
- Can: I can speak perfect English / She said (that) she could speak perfect English.
- Could*: I could swim when I was four / She said (that) she could swim when she was four.
- Shall: I shall come later / She said (that) she would come later.
- Should*: I should call my mother / She said (that) she should call her mother.
- Might*: I might be late / She said (that) she might be late.
- Must: I must study at the weekend / She said (that) she must study at the weekend OR She said she had to study at the weekend.