Essential English Grammar: Tenses, Conditionals, and Connectors
English Verb Tenses: Active Voice Formulas
Present Simple Tense
Formula: verb + (e)s (3rd person singular)
- I play tennis.
- She plays tennis.
- Do you play tennis?
Simple Past Tense
Formula: verb + ed (or irregular form)
- I saw you.
- Did you see Debbie?
- No, I didn't see her.
Present Perfect Tense
Formula: have/has + past participle
- You have seen that movie.
Past Perfect Tense
Formula: had + past participle
- I had never seen such a beautiful girl before I met her.
Future Tenses
Formulas:
- will + verb
- am/is/are + going to + verb
- I'm going to watch that movie ASAP.
Future Perfect Tense
Formulas:
- will have + past participle
- am/is/are + going to have + past participle
- You will have improved your English.
Present Continuous Tense
Formula: am/is/are + present participle
- You're watching TV at the moment.
Past Continuous Tense
Formula: was/were + present participle
- You were studying when she called.
Present Perfect Continuous Tense
Formula: has/have + been + present participle
- You have been waiting here for two hours.
The Passive Voice
General Formula: Thing receiving action + be + past participle of verb + by + thing doing action.
Passive Present Simple
- Once a week, the house is cleaned by Tom.
Passive Simple Past
- The car was repaired by Sam.
Passive Past Perfect
- Many cars had been repaired by George.
Passive Future Simple
- The work will be finished by 5:00 PM.
Passive Future Perfect
- The project will have been completed before the deadline.
Passive Present Continuous
- Right now, the letter is being written by Sarah.
Passive Past Continuous
- The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the store.
Passive Present Perfect Continuous
- Recently, the work has been being done by John.
Conditional Sentences
First Conditional
Formula: If + Present Simple, Will + Infinitive (or vice versa).
Second Conditional
Formula: If + Past Simple, Would + Infinitive (or vice versa).
Third Conditional
Formula: If + Past Perfect, Would Have + Past Participle (or vice versa).
Relative Clauses
Defining Relative Clauses
These clauses are essential to the meaning of the sentence.
- Who / That: People
- Which / That: Things
- Whose: Possession
- Where: Places
- When: Time
Non-defining Relative Clauses
The sentence still makes sense without this clause. Use commas to separate it.
- Example: My friend, who is a fan, asked for Raúl's autograph.
Useful Linkers and Connectors
A list of common linkers and their meanings:
- However: (sin embargo)
- On the one hand... on the other hand
- But
- Despite / In spite of: (a pesar de)
- Although: (aunque)
- In the beginning
- First of all
- Next
- Secondly
- Moreover: (por otra parte)
- What's more
- Furthermore: (además)
- Therefore: (por lo tanto)
- In addition: (además de)
- As a result
- So
- Because of
- Due to: (debido a)
- Finally
- To sum up
- In conclusion
- To conclude
- All in all
Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)
When reporting what someone said, the tense usually shifts backward.
- Direct Speech: "I try," she said.
- Reported Speech: She said that she tried.