tense / Affirmative/Negative/Question / Use / SignalWords
Simple Present / A:He speaks.
N:He does not speak.
Q:Does he speak? /
  • action in the present taking placeregularly, never or several times
  • facts
  • actions taking place one after another
  • action set by a timetable or schedule
/ always, every…, never, normally, often, seldom, sometimes, usually
if sentences type I (If Italk,…)
PresentProgressive / A:He is speaking.
N:He is not speaking.
Q:Is he speaking? /
  • action taking place in the moment of speaking
  • action taking place only for a limited period of time
  • action arranged for the future
/ at the moment, just, just now, Listen!, Look!, now, right now
Simple Past / A:He spoke.
N:He did not speak.
Q:Did he speak? /
  • action in the past taking placeonce, never or several times
  • actions taking place one after another
  • action taking place in the middle of another action
/ yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday
if sentence type II (If Italked,…)
PresentPerfect Simple / A:He has spoken.
N:He has not spoken.
Q:Has he spoken? /
  • puttingemphasisontheresult
  • action that is still going on
  • actionthatstoppedrecently
  • finished action that has an influence on the present
  • action that has taken place once, never or several times before the moment of speaking
/ already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now
PresentPerfectProgressive / A:He has been speaking.
N:He has not been speaking.
Q:Has he been speaking? /
  • putting emphasis on thecourse or duration(not the result)
  • action that recently stopped or is still going on
  • finished action that influenced the present
/ all day, for 4 years, since 1993, how long?, the whole week
PastPerfect Simple / A:He had spoken.
N:He had not spoken.
Q:Had he spoken? /
  • action taking place before a certain time in the past
  • sometimes interchangeable with past perfect progressive
  • putting emphasis only on thefact(not the duration)
/ already, just, never, not yet, once, until that day
if sentence type III (If Ihad talked,…)

Zero Conditional

for certainty

If you heat ice, it melts.

We use the so-calledzero conditionalwhen the result of the condition is always true, like a scientific fact.

Take some ice. Put it in a saucepan. Heat the saucepan. What happens? The ice melts (it becomes water). You would be surprised if it did not.

if / condition / result
Present Simple / Present Simple
If / youheat ice, / itmelts.

Notice that we are thinking about a result that is always true for this condition. The result of the condition is an absolutecertainty. We are not thinking about the future or the past, or even the present. We are thinking about a simple fact. We use thePresent Simpletense to talk about the condition. We also use thePresent Simpletense to talk about the result. The important thing about the zero conditional is thatthe condition always has the same result.

Look at these example sentences:

if / condition / result
Present Simple / Present Simple
If / I miss the 8 o'clock bus, / I am late for work.
If / I am late for work, / mybossgetsangry.
If / peopledon'teat, / theygethungry.
If / youheat ice, / doesitmelt?

First Conditional

for real possibility

If I win the lottery, I will buy a car.

We are talking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition or situation in the future, and the result of this condition. There is a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this afternoon. But there are some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. Whatwillyou do?

if / condition / result
Present Simple / will + base verb
If / itrains, / Iwill stayat home.

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. It is not raining yet. But the sky is cloudy and you think that it could rain. We use thePresent Simpletense to talk about the possible future condition. We usewill + base verbto talk about the possible future result. The important thing about the first conditional is thatthere is a real possibility that the condition will happen.

Here are some more examples (do you remember the two basic structures: [ifcondition result] and [resultifcondition]?):

if / condition / result
Present Simple / will + base verb
If / I see Mary, / I willtellher.
If / Tara is free tomorrow, / hewill invite her.
If / they do not pass their exam, / their teacher will be sad.
If / itrainstomorrow, / will you stay at home?
If / itrainstomorrow, / whatwillyou do?

GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES

What are Gerunds?

Agerundis a verb in its ing (present participle) form that functions as a noun that names an activity rather than a person or thing. Any action verb can be made into a gerund.

Gerund Examples

Gerunds can appear at the beginning of a sentence when used as a subject:

  1. Joggingis a hobby of mine.

Gerunds can act as an object following the verb:

  1. Daniel quitsmokinga year ago.

Gerunds can serve as an object after a preposition:

  1. I look forward tohelpingyou paint the house.

Note: The same spelling rules that apply to the progressive tenses also apply to gerunds.

Some verbs and verb phrases are directly followed a gerund:

  1. Paul avoidsusingchemicals on the vegetables he grows.

Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive without causing a change in meaning:

  1. Some people prefergetting upearly in the morning.
  2. Some people preferto get upearly in the morning

Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or infinitive but with a change in meaning:

  1. He rememberedsendingthe fax. (He remembered the act of send the fax)
  2. He rememberedto sendthe fax. (He remembered the fax and sent it.)

What are Infinitives?

An infinitive is a verb form that acts as other parts of speech in a sentence. It is formed with to + base form of the verb. Ex: tobuy, towork.

InfinitiveExamples

Infinitives can be used as:

an object following the verb:

  1. Jimalwaysforgetstoeat

a subject at the beginning of a sentence:

  1. To travelaround the world requires a lot of time and money.

an adverb modifying a verb:

  1. You promisedto buyme a diamond ring.

an adjective modifying a noun:

  1. Tara has the abilityto succeed.

Some verbs are directly followed by an infinitive:

  1. Do you wantto callyour family now?

Some verbs are directly followed by a noun or pronoun and then by an infinitive:

  1. I convinced Catherineto becomevegetarian.
  2. He advised meto sellall my shares of stock.

Some verbs can be followed by an infinitive or a gerund without causing a change in meaning:

  1. Will you continueworkingafter you give birth?
  2. Will you continueto workafter you give birth?

Some verbs can be followed by an infinitive or a gerund but with a change in meaning:

  1. He stoppeddrinkingcoffee. (He never drank coffee again.)
  2. He stoppedto drinkcoffee. (He stopped what he was doing and drank some coffee.)

Reference Lists – Gerunds and Infinitives

Common verbs and phrases that are followed by a gerund

Reference Lists – Gerunds and Infinitives

Common verbs and phrases that are followed by a gerund

  • admit
  • advise
  • avoid
  • be used to
  • can’t help
  • can’t stand
  • consider
  • deny
  • discuss
  • dislike
  • end up
  • enjoy
  • feel like
  • finish
  • forget
  • getusedto
  • give up
  • goon
  • havedifficulty
  • haveproblems
  • havetrouble
  • imagine
  • it’s no use
  • it’sworthwhile
  • keep
  • look forward to
  • mention
  • mind
  • miss
  • recommend
  • remember
  • quit
  • spend time
  • stop
  • suggest
  • understand
  • waste time
  • work at

Common verbs that can be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive without causing a change in meaning

  • begin
  • continue
  • hate
  • intend
  • like
  • love
  • prefer
  • start

Common verbs that can be followed by a gerund or infinitive but with a change in meaning

  • forget
  • remember
  • stop

Common verbs that are followed by an infinitive

  • afford
  • agree
  • appear
  • arrange
  • ask
  • care
  • decide
  • demand
  • expect
  • fail
  • forget
  • hope
  • learn
  • manage
  • mean
  • offer
  • plan
  • prepare
  • pretend
  • promise
  • refuse
  • remember
  • seem
  • stop
  • volunteer
  • wait
  • want
  • wish

Common verbs that are directly followed by a noun or pronoun and then by an infinitive

  • advise
  • allow
  • ask
  • cause
  • challenge
  • command
  • convince
  • expect
  • forbid
  • force
  • hire
  • instruct
  • invite
  • order
  • pay
  • permit
  • program
  • remind
  • teach
  • tell
  • urge
  • want