Business English: Tenses, Conditionals & Prepositions

Business Collocations

Common business collocations and verb + noun combinations:

• do business; do a job
• make money; make a loss
• launch a product; launch a campaign
• cut costs; cut jobs
• reach a decision; reach a target
• run a business; run a company

Past Simple — Time Expressions

Typical markers for the past simple include:

• Yesterday
• Last week/month/year, etc.
• Ago
• In/at/on + time (e.g., on Monday)

Present Perfect — Time Expressions

Common words and phrases used with the present perfect:

• Since
• For
• Yet
• Already
• Just
• So far / up to now
• Always / ever / never

Exercises

Choose the correct time expression or option for each sentence:

1. The staff training programme was upgraded.
   Options: a) Last year   b) in the late 1990s
2. The first computer was invented.
   Options: a) In the 20th century   b) many years ago
3. It has been a difficult year in Portugal.
   Options: a) so far   b) till now
4. They have ______ met their targets.
   Options: a) already   b) never
5. How many new products have they launched?
   Options: a) Since last summer   b) this year?

Prepositions of Time

• In — for long periods (e.g., in March).
• At — for short or specific points (e.g., at the weekend).
• On — for days (e.g., on Monday).
• Last / this / next — no preposition is used (e.g., last week).

Prepositions of Place

• In — geographical references (e.g., in Lisbon); also for specific enclosed locations (e.g., in the classroom).
• At — general references (e.g., at work).
• On — contact of two surfaces (e.g., on the table).

We also use on with many forms of transport, and in expressions such as on the coast, at sea, on the island.

Conditionals

Three main conditional types are used to express different degrees of possibility or hypothetical situations:

• Type 1 — a possible future.
  Structure: If + present tense, future (will).
  Example: If you study, you will get good results.
  Note: Unless = if not (Example: You won’t get good results unless you study.)
• Type 2 — a hypothetical present or future.
  Structure: If + past, would + base verb.
  Example: If your English were perfect, you wouldn’t need to study.
  Notes: Alternatives to if include: as long as, on condition that, providing that.
• Type 3 — hypothesising about the past.
  Structure: If + past perfect, would have + past participle.
  Example: If we hadn’t made a risky investment, we wouldn’t have lost all our money.

Expressing Change and Amounts

• From — to (Example: VAT rose from 21% to 23%).
• Between — and (Example: The price ranges between €50 and €70).
• By — after a verb to indicate the difference between two points (Example: The price fell by €10).
• Of — after a noun to indicate the difference between two points (Example: There was a fall of €10).
• At — when there is no movement (Example: In January, sales stood at €5m).
• We also use up and down when describing stock price changes (Example: Shares closed the day up/down at 1.55 per share).