Essential English Tenses, Modals & Clauses
Verb Tenses and Forms
Below are common verb tenses and their basic forms:
- Present simple: Infinitive (3rd person singular -s)
- Present continuous: be + -ing
- Past simple: Infinitive + -ed (irregular verbs have different forms)
- Past continuous: was/were + verb + -ing
- Present perfect simple: have/has (3rd person) + past participle
- Past perfect simple: had + past participle
- Future simple: will/won't + infinitive
- Future continuous: will/won't + be + -ing
- Future perfect: will/won't + have + past participle
- Future perfect continuous: will/won't + have + been + -ing
- Present perfect continuous: have/has + been + verb + -ing
- Past perfect continuous: had + been + verb + -ing
Conditionals
- Zero conditional (0): If/when + present simple ... present simple
- First conditional (1): If/when/as soon as/in case/unless/as long as/after + present simple ... will/won't + infinitive
- Second conditional (2): If + past simple ... would/wouldn't + infinitive
- Third conditional (3): If + past perfect ... would/wouldn't + have + past participle
Time clauses: when, while, before, after, etc. + clause
Wish clauses: For present wishes use past tense (I wish/if only + past). For past regrets use past perfect (I wish/if only + had/hadn't + past participle).
Modals
- Can / could / be able to: ability, request, possibility
- Can't: inability, disbelief, prohibition
- May / might: possibility, permission
- May / could / would: formal request or offer
- Must / have to / need to: obligation, necessity
- Must: strong belief
- Mustn't: prohibition
- Needn't / don't have to: lack of necessity
- Should / ought to: advice
- Shall: suggestion, offer
- Modal perfects: modal + have + past participle
Reported Speech
Tense changes in reported speech:
- Present simple → Past simple
- Present continuous → Past continuous
- Past simple → Past perfect
- Present perfect → Past perfect
- Past perfect → Past perfect
- Can → could
- Will → would
Relative Clauses
Defining and non-defining relative clauses: who, which, that, whom, whose
- Defining: identifies who or what we are speaking about
- Non-defining: gives extra information about who or what we are speaking about
Passive, Causative and Participles
- Passive voice: subject + be + past participle
- Causative: have/get + past participle
- Past participle: regular verbs: -ed; irregular verbs: different forms