Mastering English Grammar: Conditionals, Tenses, and Passive Voice

First Conditional

Structure: If + simple present + simple future

• If I study for the exam, I will get a good grade.
• If it rains today, I'll stay at home. (Si llueve hoy, me quedaré en casa)
• If it is cold, you must wear warm clothes. (Si hace frío, debes usar ropa abrigada)
• If he is busy now, I will come back tomorrow. (Si está ocupado ahora, regresaré mañana)

Question Tags

If a statement is positive, it should be tagged with a negative statement, and vice versa.

• All of you will take an exam after holidays, won't you?

Questions and Negatives

• Question: If Clara is free tomorrow, will he invite her? (¿Si Clara está libre mañana, la invitará él?)
• Negative: If Clara isn't free tomorrow, he won't invite her. (Si Clara no está libre mañana, él no la invitará)

To Be Allowed To vs. Let

Both are used for permissions; here is how to use each one:

To Be Allowed To

Used for permissions considered a right.

• All my students are allowed to take an exam when they get back from holidays.
• You are not allowed to bully at our school.
• I am allowed to ride my horse here.
• Karen is not allowed to go out if she hasn't finished her homework.

Let

Used for permission granted by someone in specific contexts.

• I won't let any student cheat during the exam!
• John's parents let him have an expensive and comfortable holiday.
• The guards don't let visitors in after dusk.
• The hotel management lets us use the minibar in our room.

Present Perfect Tense

Structure: Subject + have/has + main verb in past participle + complement

• She has studied for this exam during vacations.
• I have been to Tokyo. (He ido a Tokio)
• How many times have you been to Tokyo? (¿Cuántas veces has ido a Tokio?)
• She has learned to speak Russian. (Ella ha aprendido a hablar ruso)
• Stacy has become very successful. (Stacy se ha hecho muy exitosa)

Present Simple Passive Voice

Used when it does not matter who performs the action.

• Active: Esther answers the exam.
• Passive: The exam is answered.
• The table is set by us. (We set the table)
• A picture is drawn by me. (I draw a picture)
• The letter is not written by you. (You do not write the letter)