Mastering English Grammar: Tenses, Comparisons, and Conditionals
English Grammar Essentials
1. Present Simple
Particles: always, every day, every week, sometimes, ever, never, usually, often.
2. Present Continuous
Particles: at the moment, now, right now, today, these days.
3. Past Simple
Particles: last year/week/night, in the past, yesterday.
4. Past Continuous
Particles: last night, at + a specific time.
When + past simple, while + past continuous.
5. Future Tense
Will: Actions that are certain to occur.
Be going to: Future intention (later, tomorrow).
6. Present Perfect
Used
Read MoreLearning from History: Preventing Future Conflicts
It seems that with the wars unfolding, we have forgotten important lessons. It’s as if history is repeating itself. When will we learn? When will humanity wake up and realize that we cannot continue building on a sinking foundation?
If we do not learn from history, we are condemned to repeat it, as happened with Hitler and the abhorrent refugee camps for Jews, where millions died, especially children deprived of medical attention. Today, refugees are again fleeing war-torn countries due to various
Read MoreClassroom Instructions: Useful Phrases for Teachers
Common Classroom Instructions
This document provides a list of frequently used instructions in the classroom.
Getting Started
Come in / Go out | Point to… | Put… in the right order. |
Verb Alternations: Middle, Conative, and More
Verb Alternations
The Middle Alternation
The middle alternation involves a change in a verb’s transitivity (e.g., Emily broke the laptop – Laptops break easily). Verbs that allow the middle alternation express the bringing about of a change of state in the verb’s object. Verbs like “pat,” “touch,” and “see” do not allow this alternation. It derives from a transitive verb, and the verb has active morphology. The subject corresponds to the logical object of a verb (i.e., patient). Transitive
Read MoreEnglish Grammar Tenses and Verb Forms Explained
English Grammar: Tenses and Verb Forms
Present Perfect Simple
Used to describe actions or states that began in the past and continue to the present, past actions that have effects on the present, or past experiences.
Past Perfect Simple
Used to describe actions that happened before another action in the past, or to express an action that had occurred before a specific moment in the past.
Present Perfect Continuous
Used to highlight the duration of an action up to the present moment, to describe actions
Read MoreSpanish American Traits, Verbal Periphrasis, and Verbal Locutions
Traits of Spanish American Spanish
Phonetics
- Seseo: Pronunciation of c before e or i, and z as [s] (e.g., [sapato] for zapato).
- Yeísmo: Merging of the sounds of ll and y. This also occurs in most of Spain.
- Aspiration, assimilation, or loss of final or implosive s: [mismo] > [mihmo] > [mimmo].
- Aspiration of initial h (from Latin f) or initial g: hente for gente.
- In the Caribbean and Central America, confusion of r and l at the end of a syllable or word: [amol] for amor.
- Loss of intervocalic -d-,