Mastering Tenses, Reported Speech, and Phrasal Verbs

Informal Vocabulary and Formal Equivalents

This section lists common informal phrases and their definitions or formal equivalents:

• Fall out with somebody: Perder el contacto con alguien (To argue and stop being friends).
• Be up for: To feel well enough to do something.
• Have some people around: To invite people to visit you.
• In ages: For a long time.
• Mad: Angry.
• Boss: Employer.
• Now and again: Sometimes.
• To drop in: To spend a short visit.
• A mean (food or drink): A really good one.
• Catch up with: To go as fast (as someone else).
• Cheer up: To become happier.
• Fed up with: Exasperated.
• Tired: Weary.
• Here and there: In various places.
• Actually: In fact.
• Anyway: In any case.
• To discuss: To argue with somebody about something.
• To say sorry: To apologize for something.
• To warn someone about something: To inform.
• To quarrel with a friend: To fall out with (them).
• Profile: Information about (someone/something).
• To agree with somebody (on) something: To share an opinion.
• Extremely: Highly.
• To help: To assist.
• Worried: Anxious.
• To communicate: To get across (an idea/message).
• Breakdown: A type of failure in a relationship or system.
• To phone: To make a call.
• To stop: To prevent.
• Assignment: Task, piece of work.
• Multi-tasking: Doing several things at once.
• Illiterate: Uneducated.
• To make a difference: To have an effect or a significant impact.
• Interaction: Two-way communication.
• To encourage: To give support.
• Sympathy: Compassion, sorrow.
• Fed up: Tired out.
• To invite people to visit: To have some people around.
• To complain: To express dissatisfaction with something.
• To deny: To say no, refuse.

Reported Speech Structures

Reported speech is used to convey what someone else said.

Verbs Followed by To-Infinitive

• He agreed to lend me the money.
• He claimed to have seen the robbers.
• He demanded to be given the money.
• He offered to help me.
• He refused to call her.

Verbs Followed by Object + To-Infinitive

• He advised me to eat more fruit.
• He asked me to do him a favor.
• He begged them not to hurt him.
• He invited me to his wedding.
• He ordered me to go to my room.
• He warned me not to touch the iron.

Verbs Followed by the Gerund (-ing Form)

• He admitted giving away my secret.
• He apologized for being late.
• He boasted about being the best student in his class.
• He complained of having noisy neighbors.
• He denied using my computer.
• He insisted on paying by Friday.
• He suggested going out to dinner.

Verbs Followed by a That-Clause

• She explained that she didn't like him because he was rude.
• He informed us that the result would come out the next day.

English Verb Tenses and Conjugation

A reference list of the main English verb tenses, their Spanish equivalents, and structures:

Present Simple

Yo vivo (Auxiliary: do/does)

Present Continuous

Yo estoy viviendo (Structure: to be + -ing)

Present Perfect

Yo he vivido (Structure: has/have + past participle)

Past Simple

Yo viví (Auxiliary: did)

Past Continuous

Yo estaba viviendo (Structure: was/were + -ing)

Past Perfect

Yo había vivido (Structure: had + past participle)

Past Perfect Continuous

Yo había estado viviendo (Structure: had been + -ing)

Future Continuous

Yo estaré viviendo (Structure: subject + will + be + -ing)

Future Perfect

Yo habré vivido (Structure: subject + will + have + past participle)

Present Perfect Continuous

Yo he estado viviendo (Structure: have/has been + -ing)