GRAMMAR

There are three tenses (present, past, future) and four aspects (simple, continuous, perfect, perfect
continuous); so, there are 12 tenses in total.

SIMPLE CONTINUOUS PERFECT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

PRESENT Present simple Present continuous Present perfect Present perfect continuous
PAST Past simple Past continuous Past perfect Past perfect continuous
FUTURE Future simple Future continuous Future perfect Future perfect continuous

We make the present simple tense with a subject + a verb in the present form. We use it to talk about habits,
routines, facts; if the subject is he/she/it you have to add the -s to the verb.
• I drink coffee every morning (habit)
• Water boils at 100° C (fact)

We make the present continuous tense with a subject + am/is/are + a verb in the -ing form. We use it to
talk about actions happening now, at the time of speaking; to talk about temporary activities; to talk about
changes that are taking place. The present continuous is not normally used with state verbs, that are verbs that
describe thoughts (to think), feelings (to love), senses (to feel), possession (to own), description (to seem).
• I am drinking coffee right now (action happening at the time of speaking)
• I am watching an interesting TV series at the moment (temporary activities)
• Scientist say that the Earth is getting warmer (changes taking place now)

We make the past simple tense with a subject + a verb in the past form. We use it to talk about completed
actions in the past or to talk about long-term situations in the past which are no longer true. We make the past
form by adding -ed to it. We do it for most verbs, but some verbs (the irregular ones) have a special form. For
example, the past form of the verb give is gave.
• I drank coffee yesterday (actions completed in the past)
• My grandfather built his house in 1968 (actions completed in the past - irregular verb)
• I worked for the police force for 17 years (long-term situation that is no longer true)

We make the past continuous tense with a subject + was/were + a verb in the -ing form. We use it for
ongoing or unfinished action in the past. We often use words like when, while and as.
• I was drinking coffee this morning when I received a call from my boss (unfinished action)
• It was raining when I finished my workout (ongoing action)

To talk about past repeated actions, we use used to + infinitive or would + infinitive. Would is unusual in the
negative form and in Yes/No questions. We don’t use would with state verbs.

Comparison: present and past, simple and continuous

1) I drink coffe every morning (habit)
2) I am drinking coffe righ now (action that is happening at this moment)
3) I drank coffee yesterday (action completed in the past)
4) I was drinking coffee when my brother phoned me (unfinished continuous action)
We make the present perfect simple tense with a subject + have/has + a verb in the past participle form.
We use it to talk about experiences in continuing time periods; if the period is finished, we use the past simple.
We use it also to talk about recent actions or event.
• I have seen two movies this month (experience in a continuing period)
• I have taught music to many students (experience in a continuing period)
• I have finished my homework (recent action)

We make the present perfect continuous tense with a subject + have/has been + a verb in the -ing form.
We use it to talk about actions that started in the past and are still continuing.
• I have been waiting to drink my coffee for half an hour (action started in the past but still continuing)
• He has been studying the piano since he was a child (action started in the past but still continuing)
• I have been waiting to see the doctor for two hours (action started in the past but still continuing)
We can’t say I am waiting to see the doctor for two hours; we can say I am waiting to see the doctor, but if we
mention the amount of time (like two hours) we have to use present perfect continuous tense.

We make the past perfect tense with a subject + had + a verb in the past participle form. When we have two
or more past action we use the past perfect tense if we want to clearly indicate which happened first. We use it
to avoid confusion in the order of the events.
• When we arrived at the cinema, the movie had started (the movie started, then we arrived)
We make the past perfect continuous tense with a subject + had been + a verb in the -ing form. We use it
to talk about a continuous action in the past before another finished action.
• She had been waiting for two hours when the doctor finally arrived (the doctor arrived, but before
that point, the girl had been waiting for two hours)

Comparison: the perfect tenses

1) Present perfect: I have washed the dishes
2) Present perfect continuous: I have been washing the dishes for half an hour
3) Past perfect: when I left for work, I had washed the dishes
4) Past perfect continuous: when the phone rang, I had been washing the dishes for half an hour
The 1) is focused on the completion of the action and doesn’t’ mention the exact time, but the action is
completed. In the 2) the action is not completed. The 3) means that first I finished washing the dishes, and
after that I left for work. The 4) means that the phone rang in the past but half an hour before that I started
washing the dishes and I was still ding that (when the phone rang).
There are different forms of future simple tense. The three most important are going to, present continuous
and will.
We use going to to express plans and intentions. We make it with a subject + am/is/are going to + a verb in
the base form.
If there is more than plan; if there are fixed arrangements, we use the present continuous. So, it is stronger
than going to.
Will is used to express three things: instant decision, offers, promises. We make this form with a subject + will
+ a verb in the base form.

• I am going to buy a new car (intention, plan)

• I am having lunch with my friends tomorrow (fixed plan, arrangement)
• The phone is ringing. I will get it (instant decision)
• This translation is really difficult. I will help you (offer)
• Thank you for your email. We will respond within two weeks (promise)
To make predictions about the future, we can use both will and going to. These two forms are interchangeable,
but there is a little difference. We normally use will to make prediction based on our knowledge or our personal
experience. We use going to to make prediction based on something in the present.
• You should listen to Mozart. I’m sure you will love his music (personal knowledge)
• Look at the sky. It is going to rain soon (something in the present)

We make the future continuous tense with subject + will be + a verb in the -ing form. It expresses an action
that will be ongoing the future, that will be on progress in the future. We can use it also for fixed or routine
events (like future simple with present continuous).
• Do you want to come with us to the movies on Saturday evening? I can’t. I will be working until late

We make the future perfect tense with a subject + will have + a verb in past participle form. We use it to talk
about completed actions in the future.
• By august, I will have saved €300 (action completed in the future)

We make the future perfect continuous tense with a subject + will have been + a verb in the -ing form. We
use it to talk about ongoing action in the future (with duration).
• By August, I will have been saving money for 3 months (action on progress in the future with
duration)
MODALS
Modal verbs (can, could, may, might, must, will, would, shall, should, ought to, need) are auxiliary verbs that
give information about ability, possibility or necessity. They are followed by the infinitive without to and their
form doesn’t change for the third person.
We use the following verbs to talk about ability:
Present Can, can’t, be able to, manage to I can’t swim
Past Could, couldn’t, be able to, manage to They weren’t able to find out his name
Perfect Be able to, manage to Have you managed to finish the report yet?
Future Be able to, manage to I won’t be able to meet you later
It is more common to use can/could to talk about general ability in the present and past the be able to.

We use must, ma, might, could, couldn’t, can’t when there is some evidence, information or belief that
something is probably or possibly true (or not true). The modal verb we choose depends on the strength of
the evidence we have to support our ideas.
Very likely Must
Possible Might, may, could, may not, might not
Very unlikely Can’t, couldn’t

We use could, may and might to express degrees of possibility. Many native speakers disagree on which one
expresses more or less certainty.
The restaurant may close. It is likely that the restaurant will close.
The restaurant could close. It is less likely that the restaurant will close.
The restaurant might close. There is only a possibility that the restaurant will close but no one is very
sure.

To talk about possibility in the present we use can, might, could, must + infinitive without to.
• It can’t be very easy living with someone who doesn’t clean the house.
We use may, might, could, must + be + -ing form to talk about things possibly happening at the time of
speaking.
• They must be having a difficult time.
To talk about possibility in the past we use may, might, could, must, + have + past participle.
• He could have had a wife and children.
We use may, might, could, must + have been + -ing form to talk about things possibly happening in the past.
• He might have been trying to run away from his past.
We can use may, might, could + infinitive without to to talk about possibility or uncertainty in the future-
• He could make a total recovery one day.
We can use may, might, could, must, can’t + be + -ing form to talk about things possibly happening at a time
in the future.
• I might be meeting John later.
The verbs must, have to, have got to, need express obligation and necessity. Must is a modal verb and its
form doesn’t change. Have to is more common in spoken English than must. Must is generally used on signs,
notices and printed information. We use have to or need to with past and future tenses.
VERB WHEN EXAMPLE
Must He must try a bit harder When the obligation comes from the speaker
Have to You have to get a work permit before When there is an institutional rule or a law
you go

We can use modal verbs should and ought to to make suggestions or give advice.
• You should try it.
• You outght to take lots of passport photos with you.
Adverbs like also, always, never, sometimes, just, only come after modal verbs.

CONDITIONALS
Conditional sentences talk about a condition (usually introduced by if) and a possible result or consequence.
The if-clause can be before or after the result clause, but when the if-clause comes first, we use a comma
between clauses.
We make zero conditional with if + present tense in the if-clause and present tense in the result clause. We
use it to talk about fact or general truth. If it is no longer a fact we use the past tense.
• If you heat water to 100° C, it boils.
• When I was a child, if I helped my mother, she gave me extra pocket money.
We make first conditional with if + present tense in the if-clause and will/won’t/might/could/going + verb
to in the result clause. We use it to talk about something we feel is a probable future result. We can use might,
could, may instead of will to suggests something is less probable or can to mean sometimes.
• If you leave your money in the bank, you won’t earn any interest (probable future result)
• If you invest your money, you might lose it all (less probable)
• If you travel at rush hour, the trains can be very crowded (this sometimes happen)
We make second conditional with if + past tense in the if-clause and would/might/could + verb in the
result clause. We use it to talk about imaginary, impossible or unlikely situations in the present or future. The
past tense doesn’t refer to past time.
• If I went travelling, I woulnd’t have any money left over.

We can use other words such as when, as soon as, unless, in case, so/as long as instead of if in zero, first and
second conditional sentences.

We make third conditional with if + past perfect in the if-clause and would have + past participle in the
result clause. We use it to talk about hypothetical situations in the past. We can use might or could instead of
would to say that something was less certain.

• If I’d bought a second-hand car, I woulnd’t have taken out this big bank loan.
• If I’d saved more money, I might have gone on that college trip last week.