English Grammar and Vocabulary Guide: Tenses, Time Expressions, and More

Present Simple - Past Simple (2 Columns)

Present Continuous - Past Continuous

She was, were writing

Past Simple and Present Perfect Simple

She wrote, she has written

Past Perfect Simple

She had written

Future Simple

Will write

Conditional

She would write

Time Expressions

This morning, afternoon, evening, week, month, year - That

Today - That day

Tonight - That night

Next week, month, year - That

Yesterday - The day before

Last summer, week, month, year - The ... before

Now - At the time

Tomorrow - The following day

Here - There

A week, month, year ago - The week, month, year before

Verb Patterns

Verb + That

Rebeca admitted, complained, explained, mentioned, pointed out, proved, recommended, said, stated, suggested that the subject should verb.

Verb + To + Infinitive

David agreed, claimed, decided, demanded, expected, guaranteed, hoped, offered, preferred, promised, refused, swore, threatened to verb.

Verb + Object + To + Infinitive

Martha advised, allowed, asked, begged, commanded, encouraged, forbade, instructed, invited, ordered, permitted, persuaded, preferred, recommended, reminded, requested, taught, told, urged, wanted, warned her/me/him to verb.

Verb + -ing

Sam accused somebody of, admitted to, apologized for, complained about, confessed to, denied, insisted on, prohibited, recommended, suggested verbing.

Adverbs of Frequency

Continuously: continuamente - non-stop

Currently: actualmente

Eventually: finalmente - in the end

Gradually: gradualmente - little by little

Lastly: por último, para concluir - finally

Lately: últimamente - of late

Occasionally: ocasionalmente - from time to time

Previously: previamente - before now

Recently: recientemente - in recent times

Suddenly: de repente - all of a sudden

Other Useful Words and Phrases

Actually: en realidad

Afterwards: después

A fortnight: 1 quincena

At noon: a mediodía, tarde

At the precise instant: en un preciso instante

At three thirty: a las 3 y media

Beforehand: de antemano

Every now and then: de vez en cuando

Hardly ever: rara vez

The following weekend: la semana siguiente

The previous day: el dia anterior

Throughout the summer: a lo largo del verano

Phrasal Verbs

Meet up: reunirse

Go on: suceder

Turn up: aparecer

Make up: inventar

Give in: rendirse

Stand (someone or something) up: dejar plantado

Vocabulary

Angry: enfadado

A building: una construcción

Biography: biografía

Best-selling novelist

Blindly: ciegamente

Become aware of a fact: ser consciente de algo

Characteristics: características

Drama

Ending: final

Fairy tale: cuento de hadas

Fiction: ficción

Fast: rápido

Historical novel: novela histórica

Inevitable

Impossible

Know how to do something: saber cómo hacer algo

Lacking strength: carecer de fuerza

Main character: personaje principal

Poetry book: libro de poesía

Play: obra

Plot: trama

Properties: propiedades

Realize: darse cuenta

Short story

Setting: escenario

Unavoidable: inevitable

Without understanding: sin entendimiento