GRAMTICA IOC IDIOMES (DEXWAY)

Nivell 1A
Subject Pronouns
This refers to the person who does the action indicated by the verb:
ENGLISH
I
You
He
She
It
We
You (pl.)
They
In English, there are three different forms for third person singular:
1. Masculine, referring to the person he
2. Feminine, referring to the person she
3. Neutral, referring to animals or things it
BUT: When we have an affectionate relationship with an animal, we can refer to it as he
or she, depending on the gender.

The Verb to be
The verb To Be has many different meanings, depending on the context. It is an important
verb and is the most used in the English language:

INGLS
I am
You are
He is
She is
It is
We are
You are
They are

1.

The Verb To Be in contracted form

There are very few verbs in English which allow contraction, but it is quite common to
come across them as they are used frequently, especially in conversation and sometimes
in informal texts.
TO BE
Im
Youre
Hes
Shes
Its
Were
Youre
Theyre

Note that it is very important to always include the subject of the verb at all times.
Age
In English, the way to ask someones age is:
How old are you?
The fixed structure we follow is: How old + the verb to be in question form ?
To answer this question we use the verb to be followed by the years (number) plus the
form years old.
I am ten years old.
Numbers 1-30
one
two
three
four
five
six
seven
eight
nine
ten
eleven
twelve
thirteen
fourteen

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

2.

fifteen
sixteen
seventeen
eighteen
nineteen
twenty
twenty-one
twenty-two
twenty-three
twenty-four
twenty-five
twenty-six
twenty-seven
twenty-eight
twenty-nine
thirty

15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

Occupations
When we want to talk about occupations it is important to use the indefinite article a/an,
and then the trade or job in question.
Eg.:

She is a teacher.

He is an engineer.
Articles
We first need to distinguish between definite and indefinite articles.
1. Definite articles. In English we use the article the, both in singular and in plural.
There is a difference in meaning between the definite article the and the indefinite
article a/an.
The article a/an is used to refer to something which is not specific or particular.
Eg.:

I have a letter for you

I have a pencil
The article the is used to refer to specific or particular things or places, i.e. when we know
what we are talking about or referring to.
Eg.: Is that the pencil? (we are referring to a specific pencil: the one you gave
me, the one I was looking for, etc)
That is the key
(the key for this door)
He is the mayor
(the only mayor in this town)
2. Indefinite articles: the indefinite article a/an in English is used in singular.

3.

A is placed in front of a singular noun that does not begin with a vowel sound.
It is a book.
That is a house.
He is a doctor.
An is used before a sungular noun which begins with a vowel sound.
It is an aeroplane.

This is an e-mail.

Demostratives
Demonstratives are used to determine the space that exists between the speaker and the
referred object or person.
This (singular)
Eg.: This is my sisters house.
These (plural)
Eg.: These are my favourite shoes.
That (singular)
Eg.: That was my teacher last year.
Those (plural)
Eg.: Those are my friends.

Plurals
Plural is normally formed by adding an s to the end of a noun:
dog - dogs, day - days, house - houses
Nouns ending in -o, -ch, -sh, -ss form the plural by adding -es to the end of the word:
tomato - tomatoes, box - boxes,
brush - brushes
Nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant, form the plural by omitting the letter -y and

4.

adding -ies:
baby - babies, country - countries,
lady - ladies
Nouns ending in y preceded by a vowel, form the plural adding an -s:
boy - boys, day - days, way - ways
Nouns ending in f or fe form the plural by omitting the letter/s -f or -fe and adding -ves:
wife - wives, knife - knives, wolf - wolves

To Be (negative form)
In English, the particle used to form the negative is not; however, we should bear in mind
that the word order is different, as we place the verb first and then the particlenot.
In the same way as with the affirmative, we can contract the verb in spoken English. It
does not matter which form we use, i.e. we can contract the subject with the verb or the
verb with the negative particle. Below we can see it more clearly:
I am not / Im not / Im not
You are not / Youre not / You arent
He is not / Hes not / He isnt
She is not / Shes not / She isnt
It is not / Its not / It isnt
We are not / Were not / We arent
They are not / Theyre not / They arent
To Be (interrogative)
When using the interrogative form we need to be aware, that the logical word order is
reversed, being verb plus subject.
Am I?
Are you?
Is he?
Is she?
Is it?
Are we?
Are they?
In English it is quite normal to respond to questions with short answers to avoid repetition. In
these short answers we use the subject and the auxiliary in negative form or in affirmative
depending on the original sentence.

5.

Eg.: Are you married?

Yes, I am / No, I am not.
Is she Susan?
Yes, she is / No, she is not.
To Be (interrogative)
When using the interrogative form we need to be aware, that the logical word order is
reversed, being verb plus subject.
Am I?
Are you?
Is he?
Is she?
Is it?
Are we?
Are they?
In English it is quite normal to respond to questions with short answers to avoid repetition. In
these short answers we use the subject and the auxiliary in negative form or in affirmative
depending on the original sentence.
Eg.: Are you married?
Yes, I am / No, I am not.
Is she Susan?
Yes, she is / No, she is not.
There is - There are
We use there is and there are when we want to say that something exists. If we are talking
in singular, we usethere is and in plural, there are. They can be both used in affirmative, as
well as in negative and interrogative forms.
Affirmative:
There is a book
There are some books
Interrogative:
Is there a book?
Are there any books?
Negative:
There is not a book
There are not any books
There isnt a book

6.

There arent any books

When answering, we tend to use the short form, i.e. the form there followed by is/are in
affirmative or negative, in singular or plural. This way of answering is a lot more common in
English.
Eg.:

Are there any books?

Yes, there are. / No, there arent.

Is there a book?
Yes, there is. / No, there isnt.
With these expressions we normally use the determinerssome and any.
Possessive Adjectives
my book / my books
your book / your books
his book / his books
her book / her books
its book / its books
our book / our books
their book / their books
Interrogative Pronouns
What?
Where?
When?
How?
Who?
Why?
Which?
Whose?
These pronouns are placed at the beginning of interrogative sentences. Each one of
them refers to different things:
1.-What? Is used to refer to things.
Eg.:

What is this?

2.-Where? Is used to refer to places.

Eg.:

Where is the chair?

7.

3.-When? Is used to refer to time.

Eg.:

When is the party?

4.-How? Is used to refer to way, manner or degree.

Eg.:

How do you say that?

5.-Who? Is used to refer to people.

Eg.:

Who is she?

6.-Why? Is used to refer to the cause, reason or aim.

Eg.:

Why are you there?

7.-Which? Is used to refer to people or things of delimited number.

Eg.:

Which chair do you want?

8.-Whose? Is used to refer to possession.

Eg.:

Whose is this?

Genitive
In English, when we talk about possession referring to people, i.e. when something belongs
to someone, we use, what we call, the Genitive. This consists of placing first the person
that owns what follows, and then adding the form s, and the possessed object.
Owner + s + the possessed object
If we say, for example, The house of Mary, in this case, the person that owns the object is
Mary and the object possessed is the house. The correct form would be:Marys house.
When the owner is singular or does not end in s, the genitive is formed with s, but if the
owner is in plural or ends in s, the genitive if formed only with .
Eg.:

My fathers wife

My parents car
On the other hand, when the owner is a thing, we can express the idea of possession with
the preposition of.
Eg.:

The capital of France

Also and Too

Also is used in sentences with positive meaning to add a thought of agreement and is
used after the verb to be or any other verb used as an auxiliary. In these cases, the
subject cannot be separated from the verb.
Suject + verb To be + also + ...

8.

Eg.:

I am also a doctor

However, when we use any other verb, also is placed between the subject and the verb.
In this case, we can separate the subject from the verb.
Suject + also + verb + ...
Eg.

I also study

Too has the same meaning as also but it occupies a different place in positive sentences,
as it is placed at the end, regardless of the verb used.
Eg.:

I am a doctor, too

I study, too
Some and Any
These are determiners that are used with uncountable and plural nouns (and have more
or less the same meaning as the indefinite article a/an). They mean a certain quantity of
something. Some can be used to generalize, in the same way as a/an and one.
Eg.:

There are some biscuits

Some: is used in affirmative sentences.

Eg.:

There is some milk in the fridge

You have some friends

Any: is used in negative and interrogative sentences.
Eg.:

There isnt any sugar in the cupboard

Are there any oranges on the table?

I dont have any brothers
Infinitive
In English we know if a verb is in infinitive form when the verb is preceded by the
particle to:
Eg.:

To read

To be
To go
Present Simple
Present Simple is used to talk about ideas or actions which are repeated or frequent. It is
formed with the subject plus the infinitive without the particle to.
Eg.:

the verb to eat

I eat

9.

you eat
he eats
it eats
we eat
they eat

Verbs in present simple only change in third person singular by adding, in these cases, an s.
Eg.:

to make

to read
to eat

he makes

he reads
he eats

Verbs ending in -s, -x, -sh, -ch, or in -o add -es instead of -s.
Eg.:

to watch

he watches

to go

he goes

to mix

he mixes

to do

he does

Verbs ending in y:
a) If the letter y is preceded by a vowel, an s is added as usual.
Eg.:

to play

he plays

b) If the y is preceded by a consonant, the y changes to an i and we add es.

Eg.:

to study

he studies

The verb To have has an irregular form for third person singular:
to have

he has

The article
Up until now we have seen all the different forms of articles in English:
Definite article: The
The definite article the can sometimes be omitted in sentences. Lets see when:
Omission of the article the.
When we refer to things in general we can omit the article the.
I like dogs.
Books are interesting.

10.

Life is beautiful.

Indefinite article singular:

A (placed before consonant sounds)
/ An (placed before vowel sounds)
A house / An animal
Indefinite article plural:
Some (in affirmative sentences) /
Any (in negative and interrogative sentences)
I have some pens /
Do you have any pens?
This table shows in a clear and summarized way all the previously mentioned rules:

A/ AN

THE

Zero
article

Singular
countabl
A pencil
Thepencil -----e
Plural
Somepencil Thepencil Pencil
countabl
s
s
s
e
Uncounta
Somemilk
The milk
Milk
ble

Adjectives
In English, adjectives are placed in front of the noun.
He is a small boy.
It is a black dog.
He is an ugly man.
Adjectives in English are invariable, i.e. they do not change regardless of number and
gender.
He is a tall boy.
She is a tall girl.
They are tall boys.

11.

They are tall girls.

Present simple negative
To form the negative of present simple in English with any verbs that are not auxiliary verbs,
we use the particle do (or does in third person singular) followed by the negative
particle not plus the infinitive of the verbwithout the particle to. The fixed structure to
follow is:
SUBJECT + DO / DOES + NOT + VERB
We should note that we will use either do/does or notto form the negative form of the
present tense, where the main verb will always remain the same.
If the affirmative is created by adding an s to form third person singular, in the negative
form we use doesinstead of do, and therefore we do not add s to the end of the main
verb.
For example, with the verb to eat.
I do not eat
You do not eat
He does not eat
She does not eat
It does not eat
We do not eat
They do not eat
Like we have seen before with other verbs, this verb form can also be contracted, in fact it
is more common in spoken English:
I dont eat
You dont eat
He doesnt eat
She doesnt eat
It doesnt eat
We dont eat
They dont eat
Present simple interrogative
In the same way as the verb to be, we can invert the word order of subject plus verb, for
verb plus subject, with present simple but using the particle do/does. The main verb
remains, in this case, in the same place.
DO / DOES + SUBJECT + VERB ?
Lets see it better with an example:
Do I eat?

12.

Do you eat?
Does he eat?
Does she eat?
Does it eat?
Do we eat?
Do they eat?

With present simple, the short form (more common in answers) is constructed with the
corresponding subject plus the auxiliary, either in negative or in affirmative form, as
required. Therefore, if we ask:
Do you like cats?
We could answer yes or no:
Yes, I do.

No, I dont.

With third person singular, it is the same:

Does she speak English?
Yes, she does.

No, she doesnt.

In English we can also use the auxiliary do/does in affirmative sentences, but in these
case what we intend is to emphasize the action.
When we use the auxiliary in affirmative sentences the word order does not vary and in
this case we do not need to add the s to the end of third person singular, as it is already
expressed by does.
Eg.:

I do like football

She does look like me

Numbers
40

forty

50

fifty

60

sixty

70

seventy

80

eighty

90

ninety

100

one / a hundred

Nivell 1B
The verb Can

13.

This verb is a modal verb and, therefore, does not have an infinitive form, we simply
say can, and we never say *to can.
It means to be able to and is linked with the idea of possibility and ability.
As any other modal verb or auxiliary (just like, the verb to be), this verb:
1. Does not add an s to the third person singular.
Eg.:

He can

She can
2. Does not use do/does to form the interrogative and negative.
Eg.:

I can not

She can not

Can you speak English?
3. Is followed by an infinitive without to.
Eg.:

You can eat

They can read

Affirmative:
I can
You can
He can
She can
It can
We can
They can
Negative:
To form the negative with the verb can, we add the particle not. However, we can find it
written in two different ways (cant, cannot). These forms mean the same and do not vary.
Cannot
I cannot
You cannot
He cannot
She cannot
It cannot
We cannot
They cannot

14.

Cant
I cant
You cant
He cant
She cant
It cant
We cant
They cant
Interrogative:
Can I?
Can you?
Can he?
Can she?
Can it?
Can we?
Can they?
Regarding the meaning (and as we have mentioned before), this verb can
indicate possibility and ability.
Possibility:
Eg.:

She can come

We can go
Ability:
Eg.:

I can drive

She can cook

When answering it is more common to use the short form, that consists of placing the
subject plus the verb can in negative or affirmative, depending on the context.
Eg.:

Can you come?

Yes, I can. / No, I cannot.

Colours
red
orange

15.

yellow
green
blue
brown
black
white

Body Parts

Frequency Adverbs
always

at all times

usually

normally

16.

often

frequently

a lot

as large amount, a great quantity

sometimes

on some occasions

occasionally

now and again

never

not ever

Word order of frequency adverbs: frequency adverbs are used in sentences in the
following way:
1. After the verb to be.
subject + to be + adverb + ...
Eg.:

He is always at home.

2. Between the subject and the verb, with any normal verb.
subject + adverb + verb + ...
Eg.:

She never eats at home.

3. With compound tenses, i.e. with present continuous, past continuous, or when two verbs
are used together, the adverb is placed between the two of them.
subject + verb + adverb + verb + ...
Eg.:

You can always stop.

Prepositions of place

17.

The verb to have

The verb To have has several different meanings:
1. The most common meaning of the verb to have is possession.
Eg.:

I have a dog

She has a pencil

2. To have can be used as an auxiliary verb to form the present and past perfect (as we
will see in more advanced levels).
3. To have can also mean to take something with the meaning of to eat or drink, etc.
Eg.:

I have a sandwich

I have an orange juice for breakfast

4. To have can also be used to talk about illnesses and ailments.
Eg.: I have a headache
I have a pain in my leg
The verb to have with the meaning of possession is exchangeable with the verb to have
got.
Eg.:

They have a sister

They have got a sister

However, there are some differences when conjugating the verb to have and the verb
to have got:
1. When we want to use the affirmative form, the difference appears when we use the
particle got.
You have got two brothers
You have two brothers
She has got some books
She has some books
2. When using the negative form, the verb to have needs the auxiliary do/does, but the
verb to have got uses the particle not for its negative form.
I have not got any brothers
I do not have any brothers
She has not got any books
She does not have any books
3. In the interrogative form the same thing happens, as the verb to have needs the

18.

auxiliary do/does and the verb to have got is used in questions by inverting the
word order.
Have you got a brother?
Do you have a brother?
Has she got any books?
Does she have any books?
We will now show you bother verbs conjugated in all their forms, including contracted,
that are most used in the colloquial and spoken English.
To have
- Affirmative
I have
You have
He has
She has
It has
We have
They have
- Negative
I do not have

Contracted
I dont have

You do not have

You dont have

He does not have

He doesnt have

She does not have

She doesnt have

It does not have

It doesnt have

We do not have

We dont have

They do not have

They dont have

- Interrogative
Do I have?
Do you have?
Does he have?
Does she have?
Does it have?
Do we have?
Do they have?
To have got

19.

- Affirmative

Contracted

I have got

Ive got

You have got

youve got

He has got

hes got

She has got

shes got

It has got

its got

We have got

weve got

They have got

theyve got

- Negative:
I have not got

Contracted
I havent got

You have not got

You havent got

He has not got

He hasnt got

She has not got

She hasnt got

It has not got

It hasnt got

We have not got

We havent got

They have not got

They havent got

- Interrogative
Have I got?
Have you got?
Has he got?
Has she got?
Has it got?
Have we got?
Have they got?
Imperative
The imperative in English has exactly the same form as the infinitive, but without the
particle to. This tense is used to give orders, instructions, suggestions, etc.
1. The imperative is used without a subject.
Eg.:

Come here.

Give the handbag to John.

2. It can be accompanied by an exclamation mark at the end of the sentence.
Eg.:

Go out!

Be quiet!

20.

3. Negative imperatives are formed using dont or do not, which we place before
the infinitive (without to).
Eg.: Dont cry.
Dont move.
4. In English there is an imperative form which is used to suggest that a group of people do
something, as a plural imperative. To express this idea we use the structure Lets (let us) +
infinitive without to.
Eg.:

Lets go home!
Lets see the film!

Negative Imperative
Lets revise how we form the negative imperatives. They are formed by using dont or
do not followed by an infinitive (without the particle to).
Eg.:

Dont cry.

Dont move.
Quantity Adjectives
Enough: means as much or as many as necessary; the amount needed. This adjective is
normally placed before the noun.
There are four chairs and there are four people.
There are enough chairs.
Plenty (of): means more than enough, a great or sufficient amount. When plenty
accompanies a noun, it is followed by the preposition of.
There are five chairs and there are four people.
There are plenty of chairs.
How much money do you have?
Dont worry, I have plenty.
or I have plenty of money.
A little: means to a small extent, a few. It is used with non-countable nouns, such
as rice or sand or with things that are measured by amounts, such as liquids (milk, water,
juice, etc.). A little is also used when we talk about the concept of time (a little time) or
money (a little money).
There is a little juice.
There is a little time before the film.
There is a little money in the bank account.
A few: has a similar meaning to a little. It is used with countable nouns, such as objects
(pens, paper) and things that are measured in units and not by amounts. A few is used
when we want to talk about specific things, such as minutes (a few minutes) or dollars (a
few dollars).

21.

There are a few pens on the table.

There are a few minutes before the film.
There are a few bottles in the fridge.
Compare:
We have a little money.
We have a few Euros.

22.

Nivel 2A
There was (singular) / There were (plural):
There was/there were work in the same way as there was/there were but these are
used in the past. We use there was when we refer to something in singular and there
were for plural reference.
There was a chair next to the table
There were some chairs next to the table
To form the negative we add the particle not to the verb.
There was not / wasnt a chair next to the table.
There were not / werent any chairs next to the table.
For the interrogative form, we change the word order and place the verb first, followed by
the subject.
Were there any chairs next to the table?
Past Simple of the Verb To be
In English, when we talk about the past, we refer to actions that are completed or
finished. The verb to be in the past tense is created using the form was for the first and
third person singular and for the rest, we use were.
I was
You were
He was
She was
it was
We were
They were
The negative is formed by adding the particle not to the verb.
I was not
You were not
He was not
She was not
It was not
We were not
They were not
Contracted:
I wasnt

1.

You werent
He wasnt
She wasnt
It wasnt
We werent
They werent
Interrogative: when using the interrogative form, the word order is reversed.
Was I?
Were you?
Was he?
Was she?
Was it?
Were we?
Were they?
How many / How much:
How much and How many are interrogative adverbs used to ask the quantity or amount
of something. They are placed at the beginning of a sentence in the same way as other
interrogative adverbs and they do not modify the sentence structure. However, the use of
one or another will depend on the context.
How much? Is used with non-countable nouns (things that cannot be counted), such
as rice, sand; or things that are measured by amounts, for example liquids(milk, water,
juice, etc.). How much? Is also used when we talk about time concepts (How much
time?) or money(How much money?).
How much money do you have?
How much juice do you want?
How many? Is used with countable nouns (things that can be counted), like objects (pens,
paper) and things that can be measured in units and not by amounts. How many? is used
when we talk about specific things such asminutes (How many minutes?) or dollars (How
many dollars?).
How many Euros do you have?
How many oranges do you want?
Past simple
In English we can distinguish between regular and irregular verbs.
Regular: regular verbs are easy to recognize because they form the past simple by adding
ed to the end of a verb infinitive.
E.g.: to work + -ed

worked

2.

In English, regular verbs in past simple do not change, i.e. all subjects have the same
ending. Therefore, we can conjugate the past tense in the following manner:
I worked
You worked
He worked
She worked
It worked
We worked
They worked
Verbs that end in y preceded by a consonant, change into i and we add -ed.
Eg.:

cry

cried
try

tried

fry

fried

In the following example we can see the verb to want, conjugated in the past:
Affirmative:
I wanted
You wanted
He wanted
She wanted
It wanted
We wanted
They wanted
Past simple, negative and interrogative forms
The negative form for this tense is created by using the particle did, adding the negative
particle not followed by the verb in infinitive without to. By placing the auxiliary in the
past tense we dont need to use the main verb in the past tense as well.
SUJECT + DID + NOT + VERB IN INFINITIVE FORM
Eg.:

I did not / didnt work

The interrogative form in the past tense is also made with did and along with the infinitive
form of the main verb. However, just like we have seen so far, with other interrogative
forms, we invert the word order.
DID + SUJECT + VERB IN INFINITIVE?
Eg.:

Did you work?

In the following example we can see the verb to want conjugated in the past tense in all

3.

forms:
Affirmative:
I wanted
You wanted
He wanted
She wanted
It wanted
We wanted
They wanted
Negative:

Contracted:

I did not want

I didnt want

You did not want

You didnt want

He did not want

He didnt want

She did not want

She didnt want

It did not want

It didnt want

We did not want

We didnt want

They did not want

They didnt want

Interrogative:
Did I want?
Did you want?
Did he want?
Did she want?
Did it want?
Did we want?
Did they want?
When answering we tend to use the short form to avoid repetition. This short form consists
of answering using the subject followed by the particle in the past, i.e. did in affirmative
or in negative, as required. This form is more common in colloquial and spoken English.
Eg.:

Did you go to the party?

Yes, I did.

No, I didnt.

Up until now we have seen the past tense of regular verbs, but in English there are also
irregular ones, which do not add ed to the end to form the past tense, but have different
endings. These verbs dont have a specific rule for when forming the past tense; one
simply has to learn them, although with time and use they can be acquired quite easily.
Object Pronouns

4.

In English, we use the following pronouns for direct and indirect complements:
me
you
him
her
it
us
them
Eg.:

Give me the book.

She buys it.

Write to him.
I see her.
Comparatives
Comparatives are used to say that a thing is related to another object in some way. In
English we have to distinguish between short adjectives and long adjectives.
1. To form the comparative with adjectives of one or two syllables (short), we add the
suffix er, to the adjective, followed by the conjunction than when necessary.
Eg.:

slow + -er

slower

This car is slower than my car.

If the adjective ends in y, the letter y changes to i and we add -er.
Eg.:

happy

happier

heavy

heavier

early

earlier

I am happier than you.

If the adjective ends in a consonant + vowel + consonant and the vowel is accentuated,
the last consonant will be repeated (except words that end in w):
Eg.:

hot

hotter

big

bigger

thin

thinner

That house is bigger than your house.

2. To form the comparative with adjectives of more than two syllables (long) the structure
would be more + adjective + than (if necessary).
more + adjective + (than)

5.

Eg.:

difficult

more difficult

dangerous
beautiful

more dangerous
more beautiful

Anna is more beautiful than Jane.

This exercise is more difficult.
Ordinal Numbers
In English ordinal numbers are used to express the date and also to indicate the order in
which things are presented.
First
Second

1st
2nd

Third

3rd

Fourth

4th

Fifth

5th

Sixth

6th

Seventh

7th

Eighth

8th

Ninth

9th

Tenth

10th

Eleventh
Twelfth

11th
12th

Thirteenth

13th

Fourteenth

14th

Fifteenth

15th

Sixteenth

16th

Seventeenth

17th

Eighteenth

18th

Nineteenth

19th

Twentieth

20th

Twenty-first

21st

Twenty-second

22nd

Twenty-third

23rd

Twenty-fourth

24th

Thirtieth

30th

Fortieth

40th

6.

Fiftieth

50th

Irregular Comparatives
good
bad

better
worse

far

farther / further

little

less

Past simple: Irregular Verbs

Below we can see listed several irregular verbs in the past tense. We must remember that
this form of the past tense in only used in affirmative, therefore, in negative and
interrogative the written form is different following the same rule. In the past tense all the
persons have the same form.
Irregular Past simple:
to go

went

to eat

ate

to see

saw

to buy

bought

to meet

met

to leave

left

to take

took

to read

read

to come
to think

came
thought

Eg.:
I ate
I did not / didnt eat
Did I eat?
She saw
She did not / didnt see
Did she see?
Present continuous
Present continuous is formed with the verb to be conjugated, followed by the main verb
in gerund form, i.e. with ing.
Suject + verb to be + verb + ing

7.

Eg.:

I am reading

She is swimming
Gerunds in English are formed by adding ing to the infinitive:
to look

look- + -ing

= looking

In cases where a verbs ends in an unpronouncede, first we omit the letter e and then
we add the ing form.
to have

hav- + -ing

= having

Verbs that end in consonant + vowel + consonant and the vowel is accentuated, the last
consonant is doubled before adding the ing suffix.
to stop

stopp- + -ing

= stopping

to run

runn- + -ing

= running

to swim

swimm- + -ing

= swimming

Below we can see an example of all the different forms of present continuous of the verb
to eat.
Affirmative:
I am eating
You are eating
He is eating
She is eating
It is eating
We are eating
They are eating
Negative:
I am not eating

Im not eating

You are not eating youre not eating

you arent eating
He is not eating
hes not eating
he isnt eating
She is not eating
shes not eating
she isnt eating
It is not eating

its not eating

it isnt eating

We are not eating

were not eating
we arent eating
They are not eating

theyre not eating

8.

they arent eating

Interrogative:
Am I eating?
Are you eating??
Is he eating?
Is she eating?
Is it eating?
Are we eating?
Are they eating?
The ing strucuture and its uses
In English, we use the ing construction very often. There are two types of words that use
this ing structure: the gerund and the participle. The construction is the same, but they
differ in usage.
A gerund in English is a verb which uses the ing construction but acts as a noun.
Swimming, for instance, is a gerund. However, it is used as a participle along with
another verb, either in present, past or future, in order to create a verb in present
continuous.
In any case, the construction is the same. In general, we simple add ing to the verb
infinitive and that is it.
Eg.:

walk walk + -ing walking

play playing
see seeing
teach teaching

But, of course, there are exceptions and rules to follow.

1. If a word ends in an unaccentuated e, we remove the e and add ing.
Eg.:

have have + -ing having

take take + -ing taking

2. If the verb ends in ie we remove the ie and add y followed by -ing.
Eg.:

die die + y + -ing dying

3. For monosyllabic verbs we have a vowel followed by a consonant (except w,y, or x),
the last consonant is repeated and then we add ing.
Eg.:

get get + t + ing getting

run run + n + ing running
swim swim + m + ing swimming

9.

4. For two syllabus verbs that have a single vowel followed by a consonant and the
second syllable is emphasized, we have to repeat the last consonant and add ing.
Eg.:

admit admit + t + -ing admitting

prefer prefer + r + -ing preferring

5. For verbs that end in c, we add a k and then ing.
Eg.:

panic panic + k + -ing panicking

traffic traffic + k + -ing trafficking

Now lets see some examples:
1)

My favorite sport is swimming.

Here swimming is a gerund, an ing verb that is acting as a noun (sport).

Here we have more sentences using the same ing form as a gerund:
Marketing is a very important tool for every business.
In this building, smoking is prohibited.
I love dancing with my friends on the weekend.
2) I was swimming yesterday in my neighbors pool.
In this example, swimming is a participle, as it operates next to was to form the past
continuous tense.
I have been waiting for you for ten minutes.
She was asking me for directions to the post office.
Tomorrow I am going to the park with my nieces.
Difference between present simple and present continuous
As we have seen up until now, there are two ways of talking about the present tense.
Present simple (I eat) and present continuous (I am eating). However, there are
differences in meaning between these two tenses:
The present continuous is used for talking about actions that are happening at the
moment of speaking.
Eg.:

I am eating.

She is studying.
The present simple is used to talk about things that happen in general or things that are
repeated, i.e. regularly.
Eg.:

I eat dinner at six oclock.

She studies at home.

To be going to
This tense is used to talk about the future, more specifically to express the intention of

10.

carrying out an activity. It is also known as future of intention. It is formed with the verb to
be conjugated followed by the gerund of the verb to go plus the infinitive form of the
main verb with to.
TO BE + GOING + TO + INFINITIVE
The form going to never changes and we only have to conjugate the verb to be, for
both affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences.
I am going to go home
I am going to eat dinner
She is not going to work
We are not going to come
Are you going to study?
Is he going to read?
When answering we also use the short form, avoiding, therefore, repetition. This form
consists of answering with the subject followed by the verb to be in affirmative or
negative, depending on the context.
Eg.:

Are you going to see the film?

Yes, I am.

No, I am not.

Nivell 2B
Past simple
In English we need to distinguish between regular and irregular verbs.
1.- Regular verbs: the past simple of these verbs is formed by adding -ed to the infinitive
of the verb.
Eg.:

to work + -ed

worked

We use the context of the sentence to tell us when an event happened.

The past simple doesnt change form, regardless of the person or people we are referring
to. It is conjugated like this:
I worked
You worked
He worked
It worked
We worked
They worked
For verbs that end in -y after a consonant, change the -y to i and add -ed.

11.

Eg.:

cry

cried

try

tried

fry

fried

The negative of this tense is formed by using the particle did and adding the
negative particle not, followed by the verb in infinitive without to. After putting the
auxiliary in the past, theres no need to change the main verb.
SUBJECT + DID + NOT
+ VERB IN INFINITIVE
Eg.:

I did not / didnt work.

The interrogative of the past simple is also formed using did and the infinitive of the main
verb but, as with all interrogative forms, by reversing the order.
DID + SUBJECT +
VERB EN INFINITIVE ?
Eg.:

Did you work?

In the following examples we see the verb to want conjugated in all its past forms:
Affirmative:
I wanted
You wanted
He wanted
She wanted
It wanted
We wanted
They wanted
Negative:
I did not want
You did not want
He did not want
She did not want
It did not want
We did not want
They did not want
Negative short form:
I didnt want
You didnt want

12.

He didnt want
She didnt want
It didnt want
We didnt want
They didnt want
Interrogative:
Did I want?
Did you want?
Did he want?
Did she want?
Did it want?
Did we want?
Did they want?
Short answers
To respond, we normally use the short form in order to avoid repetition. This short form is
made by using the subject followed by the particle used in the past, or did, in positive or
negative. This form is most common in spoken and colloquial language.
Eg.:

Did you go to the party?

Yes, I did.

No, I didnt.

Until now we have seen the past simple form of regular verbs, but in English there are also
irregular verbs which are not formed by adding ed to the infinitive of the verb but by
making other changes. These verbs do not have any rule to follow we simply have to learn
them, although with regular practice we can learn then quite easily.
2.- Irregular verbs: Below is a list of irregular verbs with the corresponding past forms. We
should remember that we only use the past form in affirmative sentences. In negative and
interrogative phrases we follow the same structure as with the regular verbs. In the past
simple the conjugation is the same for all persons.
Irregular verbs in the past simple
to go

went

to eat

ate

to see

saw

to buy

bought

to meet

met

to leave

left

to take

took

13.

to read

read

to come
Eg.:

came
I ate

I did not / didnt eat

Did I eat?
She saw
She did not / didnt see
Did she see?
Present continuous
The present continuous is formed with the conjugated form of the verb to be followed
by the main verb in the gerund, with -ing.
Subject + verb to be
+ verb + ing
Eg.:

I am reading

She is swimming
In English the gerund is formed by adding -ing to the infinitive:
to look:

look + -ing = looking

In cases where the verb ends in a silent e, we remove the e and add ing:
to have:

hav- + -ing = having

With verbs that end in consonant + vowel + consonant and the vowel is stressed, we
double the final consonant before adding ing.
to stop:

stopp- + -ing = stopping

to run:

runn- + -ing = running

to swim:

swimm- + -ing = swimming

Below we can see an example of the verb to eat conjugated in all its forms:
Affirmative:
I am eating
he is eating
she is eating
it is eating
we are eating
they are eating

14.

Negative:
I am not eating

Im not eating

You are not eating Youre not eating

You arent eating
He is not eating
Hes not eating
He isnt eating
She is not eating
Shes not eating
She isnt eating
It is not eating

Its not eating

It isnt eating

We are not eating

Were not eating
We arent eating
They are not eating Theyre not eating
They arent eating
Interrogative:
Am I eating?
Are you eating?
Is he eating?
Is she eating?
Is it eating?
Are we eating?
Are they eating?
Going to
We use going to to talk about two possible future situations:
1. When we want to express intention:
Im going to study harder next term.
(Ive decided to do it)
2. When we are predicting the immediate future, often from visual evidence:
Hes going to fall.
(I can see that he is very close to the edge)
Present simple: affirmative form
The present simple is used to talk about things which are done habitually or with a certain
frequency. It is formed by using the subject and the infinitive without to.
To eat (comer):
I eat

15.

you eat
he eats
she eats
it eats
we eat
they eat
Verbs in the present simple only change in the third person singular. In this case we add -s.
to make

he makes

to read

he reads

to eat

he eats

Verbs ending in -s, -x, -sh, -ch, o en -o take -es and not-s.
to watch

he watches

to go

he goes

to mix

he mixes

to do

he does

Verbs ending in -y:

a) If the -y is after a vowel we add -s as usual.
Eg.:

to play

he plays

b) If the -y follows a consonant it changes to -i and after we add -es.

Eg.:

to study

he studies

Present simple: negative form

To form the present simple negative of English verbs, which are not auxiliary verbs, the
particle do is used (ordoes in third person singular) followed by the negative
particle not plus the infinitive of the verb without to. The basic model to follow is:
SUBJECT + DO / DOES
+ NOT + VERB
Pay attention to the fact that we always make changes to the particles do / does y not,
while the main verb remains the same.
If we add -s to the third person singular, in the negative we use does instead of do, and so
we do not need to add -s to the verb.
Lets look at the verb to eat as an example:
I do not eat

16.

You do not eat

She does not eat
It does not eat
We do not eat
They do not eat
As with the other verbs we have seen until now, this verb form can be shortened; in fact
the short form is more common in spoken English.
I dont eat
You dont eat
He doesnt eat
She doesnt eat
We dont eat
They dont eat
Present simple: questions
As with the verb to be we invert the order of subject plus verb, for verb plus subject but
in this case using the particles do / does. The main verb stays the same. The model to
follow is:
DO / DOES + SUBJECT + VERB ?
An easier way of illustrating this is to put the particle do / does in front of the affirmative
form, taking into account that in the third person singular we dont add -s or -es.
We can see this with an example:
Do I eat?
Do you eat?
Does he eat?
Does she eat?
Does it eat?
Do we eat?
Do they eat?
Short answers
In the present simple, the short form (most commonly used when answering) is formed with
the corresponding subject and the auxiliary verb in the positive or negative form. So, if we
ask:
Do you like cats?
We can answer yes or no:

17.

Yes, I do.

No, I dont.

In the third person singular we do the same:

Does she speak English?
Yes, she does.

No, she doesnt.

In English we can also use the auxiliary do, does in positive sentences, but in these
cases it is to add extra emphasis on the action. When we use the auxiliary in the
affirmative the order doesnt change and in the case of third person singular we do not
need to add -s, as the auxiliary uses does in place of do.
Eg.:

I do like football.

She does look like me.

Past simple of verb To be
In English, when we refer to the past we dont make a distinction about the amount of
time that has passed since the event; we use the context to find out when something
happened.
To be
The past tense of the verb to be takes the form of wasfor first and third person,
and were for all the rest.
I was
you were
he was
she was
it was
we were
they were
The negative form uses the particle not.
I was not
you were not
he was not
she was not
we were not
they were not
Contracted forms:
I wasnt
you werent

18.

he wasnt
she wasnt
it wasnt
we werent
they werent
Questions:
We reverse the order to make the interrogative form.
was I?
were you?
was he?
was she?
was it?
were we?
were they?
The weather
In English we generally use the same question to ask about the weather:
What is the weather like?
The shortened form:
Whats the weather like?
To reply we use the impersonal pronoun it and the verb in third person singular, followed
by an adjective which describes the weather or the continuous form of a verb which
describes the weather.
It is sunny
It is windy
It is raining
It is snowing
It is foggy
It is cloudy
It is hot
Present perfect
Form: The present perfect is formed with the present simple of the verb to have, used as
an auxiliary, and followed by the past participle of the main verb
The affirmative form is made like this:

19.

SUBJECT + TO HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE

The past participle of regular verbs has the same form as the past simple, in irregular verbs
it can vary.
The verb to have is conjugated in the same way as always (with the third person singular
changing to has and all the other conjugations being have).
The past participle does not change at all.
I have called
you have called
he has called
she has called
it has called
we have called
they have called
We use the particle not to make the negative; as always it is placed after the verb to
have as this is the verb that is conjugated. We can use the long or short form.
The negative form of the present perfect is made like this:
SUBJECT + TO HAVE +
NOT + PAST PARTICIPLE
I have not called
you have not called
he has not called
she has not called
it has not called
we have not called
they have not called
The short form:
I havent called
you havent called
he hasnt called
she hasnt called
it hasnt called
we havent called
For the interrogative form we only need to invert the order of subject + to have to to

20.

have + subject.
The structure of the interrogative form of the present perfect is:
TO HAVE + SUBJECT + PAST PARTICIPLE ?
Have I called?
Have you called?
Has he called?
Has she called?
Has it called?
Have we called?
Have they called?
To make short answers we only need to use the appropriate subject followed by the verb
to have in affirmative or negative.
Eg.:

Have you written the letter?

Yes, I have.
No, I havent.
Use: This tense is a mixture of past and present. There is always an implied connection to
the present; in fact, we can usually transmit the same message using the present simple.
Eg.:

Someone has put the cat in.

The cat is in.

This tense is often used in conversations, newspapers, television and radio etc.
The present perfect is used in two cases:
a) Past actions and situations without a specific time reference.
Eg.:

Ive lived in Spain.

b) With the adverb just, to indicate that an action has finished recently. With unfinished
actions or situations that started in the past but continue to the present.
Eg.:

Ive just had breakfast.

For / Since
For: We use for to refer to a period of time or duration. When used with the present
perfect for refers to a period of time which starts in the past and continues to the
present.
They have studied German for two years.
Since: We use since to specify a point in time when something started. It is always used
with the present perfect and is usually followed by a month, year or concrete date but

21.

can also be followed by a phrase.

I havent seen him since January.
I havent seen him since we studied together.
The following illustration shows the relationship and use of since and for with reference to
the time we are speaking:

I have lived here for five days.

I have lived here since Saturday.
Have been / Have gone
There can be some confusion about the use of these two structures as they are similar.
To have been:
We use have been when someone has been somewhere and has returned.
To have gone:
We use have gone when someone has gone somewhere but has not returned.
She has gone to the chemists.
(She hasnt returned)
She has been to the chemists.
(She has returned)
In these cases we use the preposition to with the verb to go as well as with the verbs
to be.
She has been to the shop.
She has gone to the shop.
Prepositions of movement
In English there are many prepositions which, depending on the context, have one
meaning or another.

22.

The following prepositions are accompanied by verbs which indicate movement and as
such are considered prepositions of movement.
In this case we have used one of the most common verbs of movement, the verb to go.
to go up
to go down
to go past
to go under
to go around
to go through
to go over
Although the verb may change, we can deduce the meaning from the preposition that
accompanies it. The most common prepositions are:
Up
Down
Past
Under
Around
Through
Over
Agreements
These are short phrases which indicate that we agree with the other person. The phrases
can be positive or negative.
The form we use depends on whether the phrase we are responding to is positive or
negative.
We form the affirmative like this:
SO + AUXILIARY VERB + SUBJECT
The negative is formed like this:
NEITHER + AUXILIARY + SUBJECT
1. Affirmative meaning
The structure is fixed and we only change the auxiliary verb (depending on the verb
tense) and the subject in question.
If the sentence is in present simple, to agree with someone we use the auxiliary do /
does, which is the auxiliary we use for the present simple.

23.

I play football.
So do I.
When we are speaking about the past, we use the auxiliary verb we did, as always with
the past.
I played football.
So did I.
When the sentence already has an auxiliary verb (to be,to have) or a modal
(can, must, should, etc.), we simply repeat the auxilary or modal with the corresponding
subject.
I can swim.
So can I.
I am hungry.
So am I.
She has eaten.
So has he.
They are reading.
So are we.
2. Negative meaning
As we have seen, we make affirmative sentences with so; negative sentences are
made in the same way but using neither, the rest of the structure remains the same.
So, for the present we use do / does, for the past did, and for auxiliary verbs and
modals to be, to have, can, ...
I dont like football.
Neither do I.
I cant swim.
Neither can I.
Im not hungry.
Neither am I.
She hasnt eaten.
Neither has he.
They arent reading.
Neither are we.
As we can see, although the sentence is in the negative form, the response, where we
express agreement, is affirmative and the particle neither indicates the negative.

24.

Have you ever ...? No, (Ive) never

Ever refers to a persons life until the point of speaking. It is used in questions and placed
between the subject and the past participle.
Eg.:

Have you ever eaten chips?

Has he ever been there?

Never is used in negative sentences but with the auxiliary in affirmative because in
English we cannot use more than one negative in a sentence. Never is placed between
the auxiliary and the past participle.
Eg.:

I have never eaten chips.

We have never been to Yorkshire.

Present perfect + Yet / Already
Yet and already are adverbs of time.
Present perfect + yet:
Yet is used with the present perfect to refer to, or ask about, if something has happened
or been done before the time of speaking.
Yet is normally used in questions and negative sentences and is placed at the end of a
phrase.
Have you eaten yet?
I havent eaten yet.
Present perfect + already:
Already is used to state that an action has happened or been completed before it was
expected to be done. Already is used in affirmative sentences. When it is used with the
present perfect it is placed between the auxiliary verb have and the past participle of
the main verb.
Have + already + past participle
I have already eaten.
He has already arrived.
Too much / Too many / Not enough
Too much means that there is an unwanted excess of an uncountable noun. Too
many means the same but is used with countable nouns.
Too much: Too much is used with uncountable nouns and so we use the verb in the
singular form. It is placed before the noun that it refers to.
There is too much water (rice, time, money,...)
Too many: Too many is used with countable nouns. We use the plural of the noun being

25.

referred to because we assume that there is an excess of the thing being discussed. It is
placed before the noun that it refers to.
There are too many chips (hats, pens,...)
Not enough: Not enough is used to indicate that there is a lack or shortage of
something; or that we need more. It can be used with countable and uncountable nouns.
There isnt enough water.
There arent enough chips.
In reality the not doesnt go with enough but with the verb in the sentence:
We havent got enough water.
Something, anything, nothing
Something: Something is used in affirmative sentences to refer to an undefined entity.
Eg.:

I want something to eat.

Anything: Anything is used in questions and negative sentences and can mean the
same as something in questions and expresses an absence or lack in negative
sentences.
Eg.:

Do you want anything to eat?

I havent got anything to eat.

Nothing: Nothing is used in affirmative sentences and indicates absence or a lack of
something. In English we cant use two negatives together and so if the verb is affirmative
we use nothing and if the verb is in the negative we use anything.
Eg.:

I dont want anything to eat.

I want nothing to eat.

She doesnt want anything.
She wants nothing.
The same rules apply to other groups of words formed with some-, any- and no-, like:
Somebody

Someone

Somewhere

Anybody

Anyone

Anywhere

Nobody

No-one

Nowhere

etc.
Present perfect vs. Past simple
Present perfect
The Present perfect is used:

26.

When we are referring to an unfinished period of time.

Eg.: I have read two books this week.
(Today is still Friday)
When we refer to any point in the past up to the time of speaking without specifying the
exact time. It is usually accompanied by an unspecific time
expression: ever,never, before, already, yet, etc.
Eg.:

Have you ever been to New York?

I have already tried Indian food.

Past simple
The Past simple is used:
When we refer to actions that are already finished and that took place in a time that is
also finished.
Eg.: I read two books last week.
(Today is Monday)
When we specify a time or moment when an action took place. It is usually accompanied
by a definite time expression: last week, yesterday, three years ago, etc.
Eg.:

I visited New York last summer.

I tried Indian food yesterday.

Just
We use just to indicate that something happened moments before the present time. We
use the particle just with the present perfect and place it between the auxiliary have
and the past participle of the main verb.
Have + just + past participle
Eg.: I have just eaten.
I have just been to Austria.
She has just arrived.

27.