English Grammar Essentials: Tenses, Modals, and Vocabulary

Relative Clauses: Key Usage

• Who / That: People
• Which / That: Things
• Where: Places
• When: Times
• Whose: Possession

Example: Arguiñano, where I celebrated my event, is a great restaurant (extra information).

Defining Clauses

She is the girl who I met in N.Y.; She is the girl whose father…; She is the girl that…

Non-Defining Clauses (Extra Information)

These complement another sentence and are set off by commas.

Modal Verbs: Functions and Usage

• Ability in the Past: (was/were) Be able to; Could
• Advice: Should
• Obligation: Must; Have to
• Lack of Obligation: Don’t have to
• Certainty: True (Must) / Impossible (Can’t)
• Possibility: May; Might; Could
• Polite Request: Would you...?
• Prohibition: Mustn't
• Permission: Can I...?; May I...?; Could I...?

Modals in the Past: Modal Perfect

Structure: Subject + Modal + have + Past Participle (P.P.)

• He + modal + have + P.P. → He shouldn't have drunk so much.
• He + modal + have + P.P. → He can't have been in Paris yesterday.
• He + modal + have + P.P. → He must have stayed in bed.

English Verb Tense Forms

• Present Simple: I eat
• Present Continuous: I am eating
• Present Perfect: I have eaten
• Present Perfect Continuous: I have been eating
• Past Simple: I ate
• Past Continuous: I was eating
• Past Perfect: I had eaten
• Past Perfect Continuous: I had been eating
• Future Simple: I will eat
• Future Continuous: I will be eating
• Future Perfect: I will have eaten
• Future Perfect Continuous: I will have been eating

Essential Vocabulary and Definitions

• Overrated: Sobrevalorado (Overvalued)
• Come out: Salió (Released)
• Stared in: Disappointment
• Appeals to: Attracts
• Venue: A place where you can see football
• Audience: Público
• Remake: Rehacer (To remake)
• Worth seeing: Merece la pena de ver (Worth watching)
• Catchy: Enganchar (Appealing)
• Related to: Relacionado con
• Dreadful: Horrible
• Stunning: Alucinante (Amazing)
• Broadcast: Emitted (or transmitted)
• Long-running: Aspaditik (Long-lasting)
• Outstanding: Muy bien (Excellent)
• On location: Same place (Filmed in the actual setting)
• Drag: Obligar (To force)
• Hold onto: Guardar (To keep/retain)
• Outsider: Not part of the group
• Rely on: Fiarse (To trust)
• Outrageous: Unusual
• Footage: Part of a film showing an event.

Common Verb-Preposition Combinations

• Concentrate ON
• Searching FOR
• Compare WITH
• Stare AT
• Success IN
• Rely ON
• Prepare FOR

Common Prefixes

• MEGA: Megastar
• OVER: Overthink
• UNDER: Underestimated
• RE: Rerated
• MISS: Misunderstood

Tense Usage and Time Markers

• Present Simple: Always, Everyday, Now, At this moment...
• Present Continuous: Is happening now.
• Past Simple: Have finished; When, ago, last year...
• Past Continuous: Was doing something; While, as...
• Present Perfect Simple: Has something done; Just, yet, still, ever...
• Past Perfect Simple: Had something done; Past in; Just, yet, still, ever...
• Future Simple: Will happen; Tomorrow...
• Future Perfect: Will have happened; By this time...