English Grammar Cheat Sheet: Second Conditional, Modals, and Vocabulary

People

Which / That

Use "which" or "that" to talk about things. Use "where" to talk about places. They usually come after the noun they refer to.

Omit "which" or "that" if they are followed by a personal pronoun or noun.

Second Conditional

Use the second conditional to talk about:

• Imaginary situations in the present:
  Example: If I were rich, I would live in a huge house.
• Improbable events in the future:
  Example: If he left home earlier, he would never be late for work.

Was I/he/she/it

Were you/we/they

Modal Verbs for Obligation and Permission

Obligation or Necessity

• Have/Has to
• Need/Needs to
• Must

Not Necessary

• Don't/Doesn't have to
• Don't need/Doesn't need to
• Needn't

Permitted

• Can

Not Permitted

• Can't
• Mustn't

Vocabulary

Work + Preposition

• I'm + job
• I'm/I work in + area of business
• I work in/at + place
• For + type of company or a person
• For/at + named company

Phrasal Verbs

• Carry on = continue
• Get into = get a place
• Get along with = be friendly with
• Get up = get out of bed
• Meet up with = see somebody
• Put on = start wearing
• Take off = remove

Education

• Classmate = a person from your class
• Compulsory = mandatory
• Demanding = busy and tiring
• Take class
• Do a subject = study a subject
• Has dropped a subject = stop doing a subject
• Learn by heart = memorize
• Pass an exam / study for an exam
• Skip a class

Get

• Get + adj/past part = become
  Examples: better, cold, dark, ready, late, tired
• Get + noun = obtain/receive
  Examples: a present, a reply, a text message, a good job, good grades
• Get (to) + noun = arrive
  Examples: there, to London, to work, to the (place), to school, get home