English Verb Tenses: Present Simple, Continuous & Key Vocabulary

Present Simple Tense

Affirmative

• I, You, We, They + verb (e.g., I work, You work, We work, They work) - Without 's' or 'es' at the end of the verb.
• He, She, It + verb + s/es (e.g., He works, She works, It works) - With 's' or 'es' at the end of the verb.

Negative

• I, You, We, They + don't + verb (e.g., I don't work)
• He, She, It + doesn't + verb (e.g., He doesn't work) - No 's' or 'es' is added to the main verb because 'doesn't' already includes it.

Time Expressions

• Always
• Every (day, week, month, year...)
• Once (a day, a week...)
• Twice (a day, a week...)
• Never
• Normally
• Often
• Seldom
• Sometimes
• Usually
• Generally
• Rarely

Present Continuous Tense

Affirmative

• I + am + verb + -ing (e.g., I'm working)
• You, We, They + are + verb + -ing (e.g., You are working, We are working, They are working)
• He, She, It + is + verb + -ing (e.g., He is working, She is working, It is working)

Negative

• I + am not + verb + -ing (e.g., I'm not working)
• You, We, They + aren't + verb + -ing (e.g., You aren't working, We aren't working, They aren't working)
• He, She, It + isn't + verb + -ing (e.g., He isn't working, She isn't working, It isn't working)

Time Expressions

• At the moment
• Just
• Just now
• Now
• Right now
• Today
• This evening

Vocabulary

Nouns

• Acquaintance: conocido/conocida (someone you know, but not a close friend)
• Clue: pista (a piece of evidence or information)
• Disorder: trastorno/dolencia (an illness or condition that disrupts normal physical or mental functions)
• Injury: lesión/herida (harm or damage to a person's body)
• Suit: traje (a set of outer clothes made of the same fabric)

Verbs

• Cope with: poder con/hacer frente a/solucionar (to deal effectively with something difficult)
• Pretend: fingir (to behave as if something is true when it is not)
• Realise (UK) / Realize (US): darse cuenta de (to become aware of something)
• Remind: recordar a alguien (to cause someone to remember something)
• Reply: contestar/responder (to answer)
• Share: compartir (to have or use something with others; to tell others about something)

Phrasal Verbs

• Look away: apartar la mirada (to turn your eyes away)
• Look through: ignorar/fingir no ver a alguien; mirar a través de (to ignore someone; to examine something quickly)
• Look up: buscar (información); visitar (a alguien); mejorar (una situación) (to search for information; to visit someone; for a situation to improve)
• Run after: perseguir (to chase)
• Run into: tropezar con/encontrarse con (to meet by chance; to collide with)
• Run off with: llevarse/escaparse con (to leave secretly with someone or something)

Adjectives

• Bossy: mandón/mandona (fond of giving orders)
• Calm: tranquilo/tranquila (not agitated)
• Chubby: gordito/gordita, regordete/regordeta (plump and rounded)
• Confident: seguro de sí mismo/segura de sí misma (self-assured)
• Considerate: considerado/considerada, atento/atenta (thoughtful of others)
• Curly: rizado/rizada (hair with curls)
• Dark: oscuro/oscura (hair, eyes, or skin of a dark shade)
• Fair: justo/justa (equitable); rubio/rubia (light-colored hair or skin)
• Generous: generoso/generosa (willing to give)
• Good-looking: guapo/guapa, atractivo/atractiva (physically attractive)
• Gorgeous: guapísimo/guapísima, espléndido/espléndida (very beautiful or attractive)
• Helpful: servicial, amable, útil (willing to help; useful)
• Impulsive: impulsivo/impulsiva (acting without forethought)
• Muscular: musculoso/musculosa (having well-developed muscles)
• Nosy: entrometido/entrometida, curioso/curiosa (en exceso) (overly inquisitive about other people's affairs)
• Petite: menudo/menuda (attractively small and dainty, typically for a woman)
• Plain: sencillo/sencilla, liso/lisa (sin adornos) (simple, not decorated)
• Romantic: romántico/romántica (expressive of love or romance)
• Selfish: egoísta (concerned primarily with oneself)
• Single: soltero/soltera; solo/sola, único/única (unmarried; one only)
• Skinny: flaco/flaca, muy delgado/delgada (very thin)
• Slim: delgado/delgada, esbelto/esbelta (gracefully thin)
• Spiky: de punta (hair that stands up stiffly)
• Straight: liso/lisa (hair that is not curly or wavy)
• Stubborn: testarudo/testaruda, terco/terca (determined not to change one's attitude)
• Talkative: hablador/habladora, conversador/conversadora (fond of talking)
• Unattractive: poco atractivo/poco atractiva (not pleasing to look at)
• Wavy: ondulado/ondulada (hair with slight curves)
• Big-headed: creído/creída, engreído/engreída (conceited)
• Broad-shouldered: ancho de espaldas/ancha de espaldas (having wide shoulders)
• Kind-hearted: bondadoso/bondadosa, de buen corazón (having a kind nature)
• Long-legged: de piernas largas (having long legs)
• Old-fashioned: anticuado/anticuada, pasado de moda (no longer current)
• Open-minded: abierto de mente/abierta de mente, tolerante (willing to consider new ideas)
• Short-tempered: de mal genio, irascible (easily angered)
• Shoulder-length: a la altura de los hombros (hair that reaches the shoulders)