1 to Talk About a Habit Or Something That Happens Regularly (A Routine)

Present simple

From

Affirmative

I / Play
He/she/it / Plays
We/you/they / Play

Negative

I / Do
He/she/it / Does / Not play
We/you/they / Do

Questions

Do / I
Does / He/she/it / Play?
Do / We/you/they

Contractions

Do not > don’t
Does not > doesn’t

Uses

1  To talk about a habit or something that happens regularly (a routine).

How often do you play football?

He watches TV every evening.

2  To talk about a fact, a state, or something which is always true.

She doesn’t like coffee.

Coffee contains caffeine.

3  To talk about a future, timetabled event.

The train leaves at 9.00 tomorrow morning.

Present continuous

Form

Affirmative

I / Am
He/she/it / Is / Playing
We/you/they / Are

Negative

I / Am
He/she/it / Is / Not playing
We/you/they / Are

Questions

Am / I
Is / He/she/it / Playing?
Are / We/you/they

Contractions

I am (not) / I’m (not)
He is/she is/ it is / He’s/ she’s/ it’s
He is not/ she is not/ it is not / He’s not OR he isn’t/ she’s not OR she isn’t/ it’s not OR it isn’t
We are/ you are/ they are / We’re/ you’re/ they’re
We are not/ you are not/ they are not / We’re not OR we aren’t/ you’re not OR you aren’t/ they’re not OR they aren’t

Spelling variations

1  If a verb ends in –e:

Come > coming

2  If a verb ends in one vowel +

one consonant:

begin > beginning

Uses

1  To talk about an action happening now, at the moment of speaking.

It’s raining.

2  To talk about an action happening about now, but not necessarily at the time of speaking.

She’s learning to play the guitar.

3  To talk about a future plan.

I’m going out this evening.

Past simple

Form

Affirmative

I/ he/ she/ it / Listened
We/ you/ they

Negative

I/ he/ she/ it / Did not listen
We/ you/ they

Questions

Did / I/ he/ she/ it / Listen?
We/ you/ they

Contraction

Did not / Didn’t

Spelling variations

1  If a verb ends in one vowel + one

Consonant:

Plan > planned

Stop > stopped

Travel > travelled

2  If a verb ends in consonant + -y :

Carry > carried

Marry > married

(Only regular verbs)

Uses

We use the past simple to talk about a finished action in the past.

They left at 10.30.

She went home and had lunch.

Past continuous

Form

Affirmative

I/ he/ she/ it / Was / Listening
We/ you/ they / Were

Negative

I/ he/ she/ it / Was / Not listening
We/ you/ they / Were

Questions

Was / I/ he/she/ it / Listening?
Were / We/ you/ they

Contractions

Was not / Wasn’t
Were not / Weren’t

Uses

1  An action which was in progress at a particular time in the past.

I was having breakfast at 7.30

2  To describe an interrupted action

in the past. The longer (interrupted) action is in the past continuous, the shorter action is in the past simple.

We were watching the news when you rang.

Present perfect simple

Form

Affirmative

I / Have
He/ she/ it / Has / Changed
We/ you/ they / Have

Negative

I / Have
He/ she/ it / Has / Not changed
We/ you/ they / Have

Questions

Have / I
Has / He/ she/ it / Changed?
Have / We/ you/ they

Contractions

Have not / Haven’t
Has not / Hasn’t

Uses

1  To talk about experiences in life, but not about exactly when they happened.

Have you ever been to France?

I’ve never seen Elton John play live.

2  To talk about a situation that started in the past and continues in the present.

I’ve lived in Madrid all my life.

Have you had this bicycle for a long time?

I’ve had this CD since Christmas.

3  To talk about something that happened in the past and that has a result in the present.

“Where’s Pete?” – “He’s gone to town”. (= He isn’t here now.)

Present perfect continuous

Form

Affirmative

I / Have
He/ she/ it / Has / Been waiting
We/ you/ they / Have

Negative

I / Have
He/ she/ it / Has / Not been waiting
We/ you/ they / Have

Questions

Have / I
Has / He/ she/ it / Been waiting?
Have / We/ you/ they

Uses

1  When a recently finished (or unfinished) action has a result in the present.

It smells in here! Have you been cooking?

You look very tired. Have you been working hard?

“You’re wet!” – “Yes, it’s been raining.”

2  To talk about an action that started in the past and that has continued up to the present. We often use for and since to talk about how long the action has been continuing.

I’ve been reading this book for three weeks.

It’s been raining non-stop since last night.

I’ve been waiting at the bus-stop for an hour!

Verbs not used in continuous tenses

Some verbs are not normally used in the present continuous, present perfect continuous, or past continuous tenses:

Verbs of thinking: believe, forget, know, remember, understand

Verbs of liking and disliking: hate, like, love, prefer

Verbs of being and possession: be, own

Future: going to

Form

Affirmative

I / Am
He/ she/ it / Is / Going to come
We/ you/ they / Are

Negative

I / Am
He/ she/ it / Is / Not going to come
We/ you/ they / Are

Questions

Am / I
Is / He/ she/ it / Going to come?
Are / We/ you/ they

Uses

We uses going to talk about something we plan/ intend to do.

I’m going to visit my friends.

Future: may/ might

Form

Affirmative and negative

I/ he/ she/ it / May/ may not / Come
We/ you/ they / Might/ might not

Uses

1  We use may/ might to talk about future possibility and to make predictions about things which are uncertain.

The sky’s grey. It might rain.

They may come, but they aren’t sure.

2  We do not normally ask questions about the future using may/ might.

3  May and might have a similar meaning.

Future: will

Form

Affirmative and negative

I/ he/ she/ it / Will / Come
We/ you/ they / Will not

Questions

Will / He/ she/ it / Come?
You/ they

We do not ask questions about the future using will + I/ we.

Contractions

Will / I’ll
Will not / Won’t

Uses

1  To make predictions about the future.

I think Spain will win the European Cup.

Don’t worry – I think it’ll be fine.

2  To talk about things that are certain to happen.

I’ll be 17 next January.

Sarah won’t be at the party – she’s very ill.

Will/ shall for offers

Form

Affirmative

I/ we / ´ll / Help

Questions

Shall / I/ we / Help?

We do not form negative offers with will/ shall.

Uses

1  We use will for making offers in the affirmative.

We’ll help you with your homework.

2  We use shall for offers that are questions.

Shall I buy you a newspaper?

(Not Will I buy you a newspaper?)

Past perfect simple

Form

Affirmative

I/ he/she/ it / Had / Gone
We/ you/ they

Negative

I/ he/ she/ it / Had / Not gone
We/ you/ they

Questions

Had / I/ he/ she/ it / Gone?
We/ you/ they

Contractions

Had / ´d
Had not / Hadn’t

Uses

1  We use the past perfect simple to talk about an action that happened before another action in the past.

When I arrived at the party, William had left. (= First, William left; then I arrived.)

Pete didn’t come to the restaurant with us because he’d already eaten. (= First, Pete ate; then we went to the restaurant without Pete.)

2  We use the past perfect simple with for and since to say how long an action continued up to a point in the past.

Mick and Karen had been married for three months when they moved to Oxford. (= They were married for three months; then they moved to Oxford.)

I met James last week. I hadn’t spoken to him since Christmas. (= First, I spoke to James at Christmas; them I met him again last week.)

Reported speech

Direct speech / Reported speech
“I like chocolate” / He said that he liked chocolate
“I’m going out” / She said that she was going out
“I slept until 11.00” / He said that he had slept until 11.00

1  If the reporting verb is in the past (said, answered, etc.), we move the verb in the reported statement back a tense into the past.

Present simple / Past simple
Present continuous / Past continuous
Past simple / Past perfect simple
Present perfect simple / Past perfect simple
Will/ won’t / Would/ wouldn’t
Can/ can’t / Could/ couldn’t

2  Pronouns (I, me, you, him, etc.) and possessive adjectives (my, your, his, etc.) also change.

Ben said, “I don’t like milk.”

Ben said that he

didn’t like milk.

3  We can use other reporting verbs instead of say. They include:

agree, answer complain, explain, promise, reply, tell

Reported speech: say and tell

1  With say, we do not mention who we are speaking to.

He said that he was hungry.

2  With tell, it is necessary to mention who we are speaking to.

He told his mum that he was hungry.

3  It is not necessary to use that after say and tell, it is optional.

Paul said (that) he was thirsty.

Kate told me (that) she was ill.

First conditional

Form

If + present simple, will + infinitive

If you drop it, it’ll break.

OR

Will + infinitive + if + present simple

It’ll break if you drop it.

1  the if clause can come before or after the main clause; the meaning is the same.

If it rains, we won’t play. OR We won’t play if it rains.

2  we do not use a future tense in the if clause.

(NOT If you will drop it, it’ll break.)

Uses

We use the first conditional to talk about the result of something that may happen.

You’ll get wet if it rains.

David will be happy if he wins the race.

Second conditional

Form

If + past simple, would + infinitive

If I had $100, I’d buy a new jacket.

OR

Would + infinitive + if + past simple

I’d buy a new jacket if I had $100.

1  the if clause can come before or after the would clause; the meaning is the same.

2  After if, we sometimes use were (instead of was) with I and he/ she/ it.

If I were you, I’d phone her.

If he were here, he’d dance.

Uses

We use the second conditional to talk about situations that:

1  are unreal.

If I were you, I’d go to the doctor. (This is an unreal situation; I am not you.)

2  are improbable.

If Paul won the lottery, he’d go on an expensive holiday. (This is improbable; Paul probably won’t win the lottery.)

3  are hypothetical.

If I were on holiday, I’d play tennis. (This is hypothetical; I sometimes play tennis when I am on holiday, but I am not on holiday now.)

Third conditional

Form

If + past perfect, would have + past participle

If he had stayed at school, he wouldn’t have become a millionaire.

OR

Would have + past participle + if + past perfect

He wouldn’t have become a millionaire if he had stayed at school.

The if clause can come before or after the main clause; the meaning is the same.

Contractions

We contract both had and would to ‘d.

If I’d had enough money, I’d have bought a Porsche. (= If I had had enough money, I would have bought a Porsche.)

Uses

We use the third conditional to describe:

1  something that did not happen in the past.

If I’d gone to university, I would have bought a computer. (= This didn’t happen. The speaker didn’t go to university and didn’t buy a computer.)

2  the possible result of an unreal situation.

If I’d had enough money, I’d have lent some to you. (= This is an unreal situation. The speaker didn’t have enough money and so couldn’t lend any.)

Infinitive with to

Form

Verb + infinitive with to

1  we use the infinitive with to after certain verbs, including:

afford, be able, decide, forget, help, learn, manage, promise, refuse, want

I promise to pay you back.

I want to come with you.

2  note the negative form of the infinitive:

He decided not to go. (NOT He decided to not go.)

The –ing form

Form

Verb/ preposition + -ing

We use the –ing form:

1  after certain verbs, including: avoid, enjoy, fancy, finish, hate, keep, like, love, mind, suggest

He avoids eating beef.

2  after prepositions.

He left without paying.

Before answering, I want more information.

Infinitive with to and the –ing form

1  we use the infinitive with to after the following verbs:

agree, appear, arrange, ask, attempt, choose, demand, deserve, expect, hope, intend, need, offer, plan, pretend, seem, threaten, wish, would like, would love, would hate, would prefer

You deserve to be told the truth.

I’d like to go now.

2  we use the –ing form after the following verbs:

admit, be used to, can’t help, can’t stand, consider, deny, dislike, don’t mind, imagine, look forward to, miss, practise, regret