Mastering English Tenses and Key Vocabulary

English-Spanish Vocabulary Builder

Enhance your English and Spanish vocabulary with this curated list of words, their translations, and example sentences.

Personal Update: Exams and Holiday Plans

Hi Carlos,

How's life in León? Sorry I haven't written for a while, but I've been very busy with exams. They're all finished now, so I'm just waiting for the results.

At the moment, I'm thinking about what I want to do during the holidays. Have you decided what you're going to do?

I hope your exams went well and you have a great break.

English Grammar Tenses Explained

A quick reference for common English verb tenses and their usage.

Present Simple

• Usage: For habitual actions, facts, and general truths.
• Keywords: always, often, usually, sometimes, never, every day, every week, every year, on Monday, twice a week.
• Affirmative:
  • He, she, it: Verb + -s (e.g., he works)
  • I, you, we, they: Verb remains unchanged (e.g., I work)
• Negative:
  • He, she, it: doesn't + base verb (e.g., he doesn't work)
  • I, you, we, they: don't + base verb (e.g., I don't work)
• Interrogative:
  • He, she, it: Does + subject + base verb? (e.g., Does he work?)
  • I, you, we, they: Do + subject + base verb? (e.g., Do you work?)

Present Continuous

• Usage: For actions happening now or around the moment of speaking.
• Keywords: now, at the moment, look!, listen!
• Affirmative: Subject + am/is/are + verb + -ing
  • I am working now.
  • He is working now.
• Negative: Subject + am/is/are not + verb + -ing
  • I'm not working.
  • He isn't working now.
• Interrogative: Am/Is/Are + subject + verb + -ing?
  • Am I working now?
  • Is she working?

Past Simple

• Usage: For completed actions in the past.
• Keywords: yesterday, last week/year, on Monday, (two days) ago, in 1788, on Wednesday, when...
• Affirmative:
  • Regular verbs: Verb + -ed (e.g., I worked)
  • Irregular verbs: Use the past simple form (e.g., I ate)
• Negative: Subject + didn't + base verb
  • I didn't work.
  • She didn't work.
• Interrogative: Did + subject + base verb?
  • Did you work?
  • Did she work?

Past Continuous

• Usage: For actions ongoing in the past, often interrupted by another action.
• Keywords: when, while
• Form: Subject + was/were + verb + -ing
• Affirmative:
  • I, he, she, it: was + verb + -ing (e.g., I was working)
  • You, we, they: were + verb + -ing (e.g., you were working)
• Negative: Subject + was/were not + verb + -ing
  • I was not working.
• Interrogative: Was/Were + subject + verb + -ing?
  • Were you working?

Past Perfect

• Usage: For an action completed before another action or point in the past.
• Keywords: before, after, because
• Form: Subject + had + past participle (verb + -ed for regular verbs, or third form for irregular verbs)
• Example: We had been stranded.

Present Perfect

• Usage: For actions that started in the past and continue to the present, or actions completed in the past with a present result.
• Keywords: yet, already, ever, never, just, for, since, this year, several times.
• Form: Subject + have/has + past participle
• Auxiliary Verb:
  • Have: I, you, we, they
  • Has: He, she, it

Future Continuous

• Usage: For actions that will be in progress at a specific time in the future.
• Form: Subject + will be + verb + -ing
• Example: At 8 PM, I will be working.

Future Perfect

• Usage: For actions that will be completed before a specific time in the future.
• Keywords: by (e.g., by next year)
• Form: Subject + will have + past participle (third form of verb or verb + -ed)