Mastering English Grammar: Conditionals, Reported Speech & More

English Grammar Essentials

Passive Voice

• Present Simple: am, is, are + past participle
• Present Continuous: am, is, are + being + past participle
• Present Perfect: have, has + been + past participle
• Past Simple: was, were + past participle
• Past Continuous: was, were + being + past participle
• Past Perfect: had + been + past participle
• Future Simple: will + be + past participle
• Future Perfect: will + have + been + past participle

Conditionals

• Zero Conditional (Universal Truths): if + present simple, present simple
• First Conditional (Reality): if + present simple, will/can/must + verb infinitive
• Second Conditional (Unlikely): if + past simple, would/could/might + verb infinitive
• Third Conditional (Possible but Didn't Happen): if + past perfect, would/could/might + have + past participle

Reported Speech

• Present Simple → Past Simple
• Present Continuous → Past Continuous
• Present Perfect → Past Perfect
• Past Simple → Past Perfect
• Past Continuous → Past Perfect Continuous
• Past Perfect → Past Perfect (no change)
• Future (will) → Future (would)

Time and Place Changes in Reported Speech

• today → that day
• tonight → that night
• yesterday → the day before
• now → that moment
• last (week) → (week) before
• this → that
• these → those
• here → there

Gap Year Insights

1. A) The people in the gap year work in a job, are volunteers, or study.
2. B) b1- f(2-3) b2 – (3-5)
3. C) c1- c c2- b

Gap Year Questions

1. a) Why is Harvard's admission office happy to offer the benefits of a gap year to freshmen?
2. b) More requests are being received from students who have previously enjoyed a gap year by the college admissions offices at universities.
3. c) A gap year, which can last different timespans, is a break from formal education.
4. d) The dropout rate amongst US freshmen wouldn't be so high if the university wasn't so expensive.

Vocabulary

1. a) freshman
2. b) evoke
3. c) focused
4. d) benefits
5. e) trend

Personal Reflection on a Gap Year

If I take a gap year, I will use this year to learn a language and to find a job to earn money. During my gap year, I would like to find a job in Germany or the US. I would like to learn their language and traditions. Also, it would be awesome if I could study my career there. In addition, I would like to be a volunteer to help people who live in poor countries, to value life, and try to change the world a little. From my point of view, I think that the gap year is a great experience in life, and this experience helps me to learn some things that I would never learn at school.