English Dexway - 2B - IOC - Institut Obert deCatalunya

EOI

GRAMMARLEVEL: 1A_1B_2A_2B

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GRAMTICA IOC IDIOMES (DEXWAY)

Nivell 1A

Subject Pronouns

This refers to the person who does the action indicated by the verb:

ENGLISHI

You

He

She

It

We

You (pl.)

They

In English, there are three different forms for third person singular:

1. Masculine, referring to the person he

2. Feminine, referring to the person she

3. Neutral, referring to animals or things it

BUT: When we have an affectionate relationship with an animal, we can refer to it as he or she, depending on the gender.

The Verb to be

The verb To Be has many different meanings, depending on the context. It is an important

verb and is the most used in the English language:

INGLSI am

You are

He is

She is

It is

We are

You are

They are

1.

The Verb To Be in contracted form

There are very few verbs in English which allow contraction, but it is quite common to

come across them as they are used frequently, especially in conversation and sometimes

in informal texts.

TO BEIm

Youre

Hes

Shes

Its

Were

Youre

Theyre

Note that it is very important to always include the subject of the verb at all times.

Age

In English, the way to ask someones age is:

How old are you?

The fixed structure we follow is: How old + the verb to be in question form ?

To answer this question we use the verb to be followed by the years (number) plus the

form years old.

I am ten years old.

Numbers 1-30

one 1

two 2

three 3

four 4

five 5

six 6

seven 7

eight 8

nine 9

ten 10

eleven 11

twelve 12

thirteen 13

fourteen 14

2.

fifteen 15

sixteen 16

seventeen 17

eighteen 18

nineteen 19

twenty 20

twenty-one 21

twenty-two 22

twenty-three 23

twenty-four 24

twenty-five 25

twenty-six 26

twenty-seven 27

twenty-eight 28

twenty-nine 29

thirty 30

Occupations

When we want to talk about occupations it is important to use the indefinite article a/an, and then the trade or job in question.

Eg.: She is a teacher.

He is an engineer.

Articles

We first need to distinguish between definite and indefinite articles.

1. Definite articles. In English we use the article the, both in singular and in plural.

There is a difference in meaning between the definite article the and the indefinite article a/an.

The article a/an is used to refer to something which is not specific or particular.

Eg.: I have a letter for you

I have a pencil

The article the is used to refer to specific or particular things or places, i.e. when we know what we are talking about or referring to.

Eg.: Is that the pencil? (we are referring to a specific pencil: the one you gave me, the one I was looking for, etc)

That is the key (the key for this door)

He is the mayor (the only mayor in this town)

2. Indefinite articles: the indefinite article a/an in English is used in singular.

3.

A is placed in front of a singular noun that does not begin with a vowel sound.

It is a book.

That is a house.

He is a doctor.

An is used before a sungular noun which begins with a vowel sound.

It is an aeroplane. This is an e-mail.

Demostratives

Demonstratives are used to determine the space that exists between the speaker and the

referred object or person.

This (singular)

Eg.: This is my sisters house.

These (plural)

Eg.: These are my favourite shoes.

That (singular)

Eg.: That was my teacher last year.

Those (plural)

Eg.: Those are my friends.

Plurals

Plural is normally formed by adding an s to the end of a noun:

dog - dogs, day - days, house - houses

Nouns ending in -o, -ch, -sh, -ss form the plural by adding -es to the end of the word:

tomato - tomatoes, box - boxes, brush - brushes

Nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant, form the plural by omitting the letter -y and

4.

adding -ies:

baby - babies, country - countries, lady - ladies

Nouns ending in y preceded by a vowel, form the plural adding an -s:

boy - boys, day - days, way - ways

Nouns ending in f or fe form the plural by omitting the letter/s -f or -fe and adding -ves:

wife - wives, knife - knives, wolf - wolves

To Be (negative form)

In English, the particle used to form the negative is not; however, we should bear in mind that the word order is different, as we place the verb first and then the particlenot.

In the same way as with the affirmative, we can contract the verb in spoken English. It

does not matter which form we use, i.e. we can contract the subject with the verb or the

verb with the negative particle. Below we can see it more clearly:

I am not / Im not / Im not

You are not / Youre not / You arent

He is not / Hes not / He isnt

She is not / Shes not / She isnt

It is not / Its not / It isnt

We are not / Were not / We arent

They are not / Theyre not / They arent

To Be (interrogative)

When using the interrogative form we need to be aware, that the logical word order is

reversed, being verb plus subject.

Am I?

Are you?

Is he?

Is she?

Is it?

Are we?

Are they?

In English it is quite normal to respond to questions with short answers to avoid repetition. In

these short answers we use the subject and the auxiliary in negative form or in affirmative

depending on the original sentence.

5.

Eg.: Are you married?

Yes, I am / No, I am not.

Is she Susan?

Yes, she is / No, she is not.

To Be (interrogative)

When using the interrogative form we need to be aware, that the logical word order is

reversed, being verb plus subject.

Am I?

Are you?

Is he?

Is she?

Is it?

Are we?

Are they?

In English it is quite normal to respond to questions with short answers to avoid repetition. In

these short answers we use the subject and the auxiliary in negative form or in affirmative

depending on the original sentence.

Eg.: Are you married?

Yes, I am / No, I am not.

Is she Susan?

Yes, she is / No, she is not.

There is - There are

We use there is and there are when we want to say that something exists. If we are talking

in singular, we usethere is and in plural, there are. They can be both used in affirmative, as

well as in negative and interrogative forms.

Affirmative:

There is a book

There are some books

Interrogative:

Is there a book?

Are there any books?

Negative:

There is not a book

There are not any books

There isnt a book

6.

There arent any books

When answering, we tend to use the short form, i.e. the form there followed by is/are in

affirmative or negative, in singular or plural. This way of answering is a lot more common in

English.

Eg.: Are there any books?

Yes, there are. / No, there arent.

Is there a book?

Yes, there is. / No, there isnt.

With these expressions we normally use the determinerssome and any.

Possessive Adjectives

my book / my books

your book / your books

his book / his books

her book / her books

its book / its books

our book / our books

their book / their books

Interrogative Pronouns

What?

Where?

When?

How?

Who?

Why?

Which?

Whose?

These pronouns are placed at the beginning of interrogative sentences. Each one of

them refers to different things:

1.-What? Is used to refer to things.

Eg.: What is this?

2.-Where? Is used to refer to places.

Eg.: Where is the chair?

7.

3.-When? Is used to refer to time.

Eg.: When is the party?

4.-How? Is used to refer to way, manner or degree.

Eg.: How do you say that?

5.-Who? Is used to refer to people.

Eg.: Who is she?

6.-Why? Is used to refer to the cause, reason or aim.

Eg.: Why are you there?

7.-Which? Is used to refer to people or things of delimited number.

Eg.: Which chair do you want?

8.-Whose? Is used to refer to possession.

Eg.: Whose is this?

Genitive

In English, when we talk about possession referring to people, i.e. when something belongs

to someone, we use, what we call, the Genitive. This consists of placing first the person

that owns what follows, and then adding the form s, and the possessed object.

Owner + s + the possessed object

If we say, for example, The house of Mary, in this case, the person that owns the object is

Mary and the object possessed is the house. The correct form would be:Marys house.

When the owner is singular or does not end in s, the genitive is formed with s, but if the owner is in plural or ends in s, the genitive if formed only with .

Eg.: My fathers wife

My parents car

On the other hand, when the owner is a thing, we can express the idea of possession with

the preposition of.

Eg.: The capital of France

Also and Too

Also is used in sentences with positive meaning to add a thought of agreement and is used after the verb to be or any other verb used as an auxiliary. In these cases, the

subject cannot be separated from the verb.

Suject + verb To be + also + ...

8.

Eg.: I am also a doctor

However, when we use any other verb, also is placed between the subject and the verb.

In this case, we can separate the subject from the verb.

Suject + also + verb + ...

Eg. I also study

Too has the same meaning as also but it occupies a different place in positive sentences, as it is placed at the end, regardless of the verb used.

Eg.: I am a doctor, too

I study, too

Some and Any

These are determiners that are used with uncountable and plural nouns (and have more

or less the same meaning as the indefinite article a/an). They mean a certain quantity of

something. Some can be used to generalize, in the same way as a/an and one.

Eg.: There are some biscuits

Some: is used in affirmative sentences.

Eg.: There is some milk in the fridge

You have some friends

Any: is used in negative and interrogative sentences.

Eg.: There isnt any sugar in the cupboard

Are there any oranges on the table?

I dont have any brothers

Infinitive

In English we know if a verb is in infinitive form when the verb is preceded by the

particle to:

Eg.: To read

To be

To go

Present Simple

Present Simple is used to talk about ideas or actions which are repeated or frequent. It is

formed with the subject plus the infinitive without the particle to.

Eg.: the verb to eat

I eat

9.

you eat

he eats

it eats

we eat

they eat

Verbs in present simple only change in third person singular by adding, in these cases, an s.

Eg.: to make he makes

to read he reads

to eat he eats

Verbs ending in -s, -x, -sh, -ch, or in -o add -es instead of -s.

Eg.: to watch he watches

to go he goes

to mix he mixes

to do he does

Verbs ending in y:

a) If the letter y is preceded by a vowel, an s is added as usual.

Eg.: to play he plays

b) If the y is preceded by a consonant, the y changes to an i and we add es.

Eg.: to study he studies

The verb To have has an irregular form for third person singular:

to have he has

The article

Up until now we have seen all the different forms of articles in English:

Definite article: The

The definite article the can sometimes be omitted in sentences. Lets see when:

Omission of the article the.

When we refer to things in general we can omit the article the.

I like dogs.

Books are interesting.

10.

Life is beautiful.

Indefinite article singular:

A (placed before consonant sounds) / An (placed before vowel sounds)

A house / An animal

Indefinite article plural:

Some (in affirmative sentences) /

Any (in negative and interrogative sentences)

I have some pens /

Do you have any pens?

This table shows in a clear and summarized way all the previously mentioned rules:

A/ AN THE

Zeroarticle

Singular

countabl

e

A pencil Thepencil ------

Plural

countabl

e

Somepencils

Thepencils

Pencil

s

Uncounta

bleSomemilk The milk Milk

Adjectives

In English, adjectives are placed in front of the noun.

He is a small boy.

It is a black dog.

He is an ugly man.

Adjectives in English are invariable, i.e. they do not change regardless of number and

gender.

He is a tall boy.

She is a tall girl.

They are tall boys.

11.

They are tall girls.

Present simple negative

To form the negative of present simple in English with any verbs that are not auxiliary verbs,

we use the particle do (or does in third person singular) followed by the negative particle not plus the infinitive of the verbwithout the particle to. The fixed structure to follow is:

SUBJECT + DO / DOES + NOT + VERB

We should note that we will use either do/does or notto form the negative form of the present tense, where the main verb will always remain the same.

If the affirmative is created by adding an s to form third person singular, in the negative

form we use doesinstead of do, and therefore we do not add s to the end of the main verb.

For example, with the verb to eat.

I do not eat

You do not eat He does not eat

She does not eat

It does not eat

We do not eat

They do not eat

Like we have seen before with other verbs, this verb form can also be contracted, in fact it

is more common in spoken English:

I dont eat

You dont eat

He doesnt eat

She doesnt eat

It doesnt eat

We dont eat

They dont eat

Present simple interrogative

In the same way as the verb to be, we can invert the word order of subject plus verb, for

verb plus subject, with present simple but using the particle do/does. The main verb

remains, in this case, in the same place.

DO / DOES + SUBJECT + VERB ?

Lets see it better with an example:

Do I eat?

12.

Do you eat?

Does he eat?

Does she eat?

Does it eat?

Do we eat?

Do they eat?

With present simple, the short form (more common in answers) is constructed with the

corresponding subject plus the auxiliary, either in negative or in affirmative form, as

required. Therefore, if we ask:

Do you like cats?

We could answer yes or no:

Yes, I do. No, I dont.

With third person singular, it is the same:

Does she speak English?

Yes, she does. No, she doesnt.

In English we can also use the auxiliary do/does in affirmative sentences, but in these

case what we intend is to emphasize the action.

When we use the auxiliary in affirmative sentences the word order does not vary and in

this case we do not need to add the s to the end of third person singular, as it is already

expressed by does.

Eg.: I do like football

She does look like me

Numbers

40 forty

50 fifty

60 sixty

70 seventy

80 eighty

90 ninety

100 one / a hundred

Nivell 1B

The verb Can

13.

This verb is a modal verb and, therefore, does not have an infinitive form, we simply

say can, and we never say *to can.

It means to be able to and is linked with the idea of possibility and ability.

As any other modal verb or auxiliary (just like, the verb to be), this verb:

1. Does not add an s to the third person singular.

Eg.: He can

She can

2. Does not use do/does to form the interrogative and negative.

Eg.: I can not

She can not

Can you speak English?

3. Is followed by an infinitive without to.

Eg.: You can eat

They can read

Affirmative:

I can

You can

He can

She can

It can

We can

They can

Negative:

To form the negative with the verb can, we add the particle not. However, we can find itwritten in two different ways (cant, cannot). These forms mean the same and do not vary.

Cannot

I cannot

You cannot

He cannot

She cannot

It cannot

We cannot

They cannot

14.

Cant

I cant

You cant

He cant

She cant

It cant

We cant

They cant

Interrogative:

Can I?

Can you?

Can he?

Can she?

Can it?

Can we?

Can they?

Regarding the meaning (and as we have mentioned before), this verb can

indicate possibility and ability.

Possibility:

Eg.: She can come

We can go

Ability:

Eg.: I can drive

She can cook

When answering it is more common to use the short form, that consists of placing the

subject plus the verb can in negative or affirmative, depending on the context.

Eg.: Can you come?

Yes, I can. / No, I cannot.

Colours

red

orange

15.

yellow

green

blue

brown

black

white

Body Parts

Frequency Adverbs

always at all times

usually normally

16.

often frequently

a lot as large amount, a great quantity

sometimes on some occasions

occasionally now and again

never not ever

Word order of frequency adverbs: frequency adverbs are used in sentences in the following way:

1. After the verb to be.

subject + to be + adverb + ...

Eg.: He is always at home.

2. Between the subject and the verb, with any normal verb.

subject + adverb + verb + ...

Eg.: She never eats at home.

3. With compound tenses, i.e. with present continuous, past continuous, or when two verbs

are used together, the adverb is placed between the two of them.

subject + verb + adverb + verb + ...

Eg.: You can always stop.

Prepositions of place

17.

The verb to haveThe verb To have has several different meanings:

1. The most common meaning of the verb to have is possession.

Eg.: I have a dog

She has a pencil

2. To have can be used as an auxiliary verb to form the present and past perfect (as we

will see in more advanced levels).

3. To have can also mean to take something with the meaning of to eat or drink, etc.

Eg.: I have a sandwich

I have an orange juice for breakfast

4. To have can also be used to talk about illnesses and ailments.

Eg.: I have a headache

I have a pain in my leg

The verb to have with the meaning of possession is exchangeable with the verb to have

got.

Eg.: They have a sister

They have got a sister

However, there are some differences when conjugating the verb to have and the verb

to have got:

1. When we want to use the affirmative form, the difference appears when we use the

particle got.

You have got two brothers

You have two brothers

She has got some books

She has some books

2. When using the negative form, the verb to have needs the auxiliary do/does, but the

verb to have got uses the particle not for its negative form.

I have not got any brothers

I do not have any brothers

She has not got any books

She does not have any books

3. In the interrogative form the same thing happens, as the verb to have needs the

18.

auxiliary do/does and the verb to have got is used in questions by inverting the

word order.

Have you got a brother?

Do you have a brother?

Has she got any books?

Does she have any books?

We will now show you bother verbs conjugated in all their forms, including contracted,

that are most used in the colloquial and spoken English.

To have

- Affirmative

I have

You have

He has

She has

It has

We have

They have

- Negative ContractedI do not have I dont have

You do not have You dont have

He does not have He doesnt have

She does not have She doesnt have

It does not have It doesnt have

We do not have We dont have

They do not have They dont have

- InterrogativeDo I have?

Do you have?

Does he have?

Does she have?

Does it have?

Do we have?

Do they have?

To have got

19.

- Affirmative Contracted

I have got Ive got

You have got youve got

He has got hes got

She has got shes got

It has got its got

We have got weve got

They have got theyve got

- Negative: ContractedI have not got I havent got

You have not got You havent got

He has not got He hasnt got

She has not got She hasnt got

It has not got It hasnt got

We have not got We havent got

They have not got They havent got

- Interrogative

Have I got?

Have you got?

Has he got?

Has she got?

Has it got?

Have we got?

Have they got?

ImperativeThe imperative in English has exactly the same form as the infinitive, but without the

particle to. This tense is used to give orders, instructions, suggestions, etc.

1. The imperative is used without a subject.

Eg.: Come here.

Give the handbag to John.

2. It can be accompanied by an exclamation mark at the end of the sentence.

Eg.: Go out!

Be quiet!

20.

3. Negative imperatives are formed using dont or do not, which we place before

the infinitive (without to).

Eg.: Dont cry.

Dont move.

4. In English there is an imperative form which is used to suggest that a group of people do

something, as a plural imperative. To express this idea we use the structure Lets (let us) +

infinitive without to.

Eg.: Lets go home!

Lets see the film!

Negative ImperativeLets revise how we form the negative imperatives. They are formed by using dont or

do not followed by an infinitive (without the particle to).

Eg.: Dont cry.

Dont move.

Quantity AdjectivesEnough: means as much or as many as necessary; the amount needed. This adjective is normally placed before the noun.

There are four chairs and there are four people.

There are enough chairs.

Plenty (of): means more than enough, a great or sufficient amount. When plenty accompanies a noun, it is followed by the preposition of.

There are five chairs and there are four people.

There are plenty of chairs.

How much money do you have?

Dont worry, I have plenty.

or I have plenty of money.

A little: means to a small extent, a few. It is used with non-countable nouns, such as rice or sand or with things that are measured by amounts, such as liquids (milk, water,

juice, etc.). A little is also used when we talk about the concept of time (a little time) or

money (a little money).

There is a little juice.

There is a little time before the film.

There is a little money in the bank account.

A few: has a similar meaning to a little. It is used with countable nouns, such as objects (pens, paper) and things that are measured in units and not by amounts. A few is used

when we want to talk about specific things, such as minutes (a few minutes) or dollars (a

few dollars).

21.

There are a few pens on the table.

There are a few minutes before the film.

There are a few bottles in the fridge.

Compare:

We have a little money.

We have a few Euros.

22.

Nivel 2A

There was (singular) / There were (plural):

There was/there were work in the same way as there was/there were but these are used in the past. We use there was when we refer to something in singular and there

were for plural reference.

There was a chair next to the table

There were some chairs next to the table

To form the negative we add the particle not to the verb.

There was not / wasnt a chair next to the table.

There were not / werent any chairs next to the table.

For the interrogative form, we change the word order and place the verb first, followed by

the subject.

Were there any chairs next to the table?

Past Simple of the Verb To be

In English, when we talk about the past, we refer to actions that are completed or

finished. The verb to be in the past tense is created using the form was for the first and

third person singular and for the rest, we use were.

I was

You were

He was

She was

it was

We were

They were

The negative is formed by adding the particle not to the verb.

I was not

You were not

He was not

She was not

It was not

We were not

They were not

Contracted:

I wasnt

1.

You werent

He wasnt

She wasnt

It wasnt

We werent

They werent

Interrogative: when using the interrogative form, the word order is reversed.

Was I?

Were you?

Was he?

Was she?

Was it?

Were we?

Were they?

How many / How much:

How much and How many are interrogative adverbs used to ask the quantity or amount

of something. They are placed at the beginning of a sentence in the same way as other

interrogative adverbs and they do not modify the sentence structure. However, the use of

one or another will depend on the context.

How much? Is used with non-countable nouns (things that cannot be counted), such as rice, sand; or things that are measured by amounts, for example liquids(milk, water, juice, etc.). How much? Is also used when we talk about time concepts (How much time?) or money(How much money?).

How much money do you have?

How much juice do you want?

How many? Is used with countable nouns (things that can be counted), like objects (pens,paper) and things that can be measured in units and not by amounts. How many? is usedwhen we talk about specific things such asminutes (How many minutes?) or dollars (How many dollars?).

How many Euros do you have?

How many oranges do you want?

Past simple

In English we can distinguish between regular and irregular verbs.

Regular: regular verbs are easy to recognize because they form the past simple by adding ed to the end of a verb infinitive.

E.g.: to work + -ed worked

2.

In English, regular verbs in past simple do not change, i.e. all subjects have the same

ending. Therefore, we can conjugate the past tense in the following manner:

I worked

You worked

He worked

She worked

It worked

We worked

They worked

Verbs that end in y preceded by a consonant, change into i and we add -ed.

Eg.: cry cried

try tried

fry fried

In the following example we can see the verb to want, conjugated in the past:

Affirmative:

I wanted

You wanted

He wanted

She wanted

It wanted

We wanted

They wanted

Past simple, negative and interrogative forms

The negative form for this tense is created by using the particle did, adding the negative

particle not followed by the verb in infinitive without to. By placing the auxiliary in the

past tense we dont need to use the main verb in the past tense as well.

SUJECT + DID + NOT + VERB IN INFINITIVE FORM

Eg.: I did not / didnt work

The interrogative form in the past tense is also made with did and along with the infinitive

form of the main verb. However, just like we have seen so far, with other interrogative

forms, we invert the word order.

DID + SUJECT + VERB IN INFINITIVE?

Eg.: Did you work?

In the following example we can see the verb to want conjugated in the past tense in all

3.

forms:

Affirmative:

I wanted

You wanted

He wanted

She wanted

It wanted

We wanted

They wanted

Negative: Contracted:

I did not want I didnt want

You did not want You didnt want

He did not want He didnt want

She did not want She didnt want

It did not want It didnt want

We did not want We didnt want

They did not want They didnt want

Interrogative:

Did I want?

Did you want?

Did he want?

Did she want?

Did it want?

Did we want?

Did they want?

When answering we tend to use the short form to avoid repetition. This short form consists

of answering using the subject followed by the particle in the past, i.e. did in affirmative

or in negative, as required. This form is more common in colloquial and spoken English.

Eg.: Did you go to the party?

Yes, I did. No, I didnt.

Up until now we have seen the past tense of regular verbs, but in English there are also

irregular ones, which do not add ed to the end to form the past tense, but have different

endings. These verbs dont have a specific rule for when forming the past tense; one

simply has to learn them, although with time and use they can be acquired quite easily.

Object Pronouns

4.

In English, we use the following pronouns for direct and indirect complements:

me

you

him

her

it

us

them

Eg.: Give me the book.

She buys it.

Write to him.

I see her.

Comparatives

Comparatives are used to say that a thing is related to another object in some way. In

English we have to distinguish between short adjectives and long adjectives.

1. To form the comparative with adjectives of one or two syllables (short), we add the

suffix er, to the adjective, followed by the conjunction than when necessary.

Eg.: slow + -er slower

This car is slower than my car.

If the adjective ends in y, the letter y changes to i and we add -er.

Eg.: happy happier

heavy heavier

early earlier

I am happier than you.

If the adjective ends in a consonant + vowel + consonant and the vowel is accentuated,

the last consonant will be repeated (except words that end in w):

Eg.: hot hotter

big bigger

thin thinner

That house is bigger than your house.

2. To form the comparative with adjectives of more than two syllables (long) the structure

would be more + adjective + than (if necessary).

more + adjective + (than)

5.

Eg.: difficult more difficult

dangerous more dangerous

beautiful more beautiful

Anna is more beautiful than Jane.

This exercise is more difficult.

Ordinal Numbers

In English ordinal numbers are used to express the date and also to indicate the order in

which things are presented.

First 1st

Second 2nd

Third 3rd

Fourth 4th

Fifth 5th

Sixth 6th

Seventh 7th

Eighth 8th

Ninth 9th

Tenth 10th

Eleventh 11th

Twelfth 12th

Thirteenth 13th

Fourteenth 14th

Fifteenth 15th

Sixteenth 16th

Seventeenth 17th

Eighteenth 18th

Nineteenth 19th

Twentieth 20th

Twenty-first 21st

Twenty-second 22nd

Twenty-third 23rd

Twenty-fourth 24th

Thirtieth 30th

Fortieth 40th

6.

Fiftieth 50th

Irregular Comparatives

good better

bad worse

far farther / further

little less

Past simple: Irregular Verbs

Below we can see listed several irregular verbs in the past tense. We must remember that

this form of the past tense in only used in affirmative, therefore, in negative and

interrogative the written form is different following the same rule. In the past tense all the

persons have the same form.

Irregular Past simple:

to go went

to eat ate

to see saw

to buy bought

to meet met

to leave left

to take took

to read read

to come came

to think thought

Eg.:

I ate

I did not / didnt eat

Did I eat?

She saw

She did not / didnt see

Did she see?

Present continuous

Present continuous is formed with the verb to be conjugated, followed by the main verb

in gerund form, i.e. with ing.

Suject + verb to be + verb + ing

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Eg.: I am reading

She is swimming

Gerunds in English are formed by adding ing to the infinitive:

to look look- + -ing = looking

In cases where a verbs ends in an unpronouncede, first we omit the letter e and then

we add the ing form.

to have hav- + -ing = having

Verbs that end in consonant + vowel + consonant and the vowel is accentuated, the last

consonant is doubled before adding the ing suffix.

to stop stopp- + -ing = stopping

to run runn- + -ing = running

to swim swimm- + -ing = swimming

Below we can see an example of all the different forms of present continuous of the verb

to eat.

Affirmative:

I am eating

You are eating

He is eating

She is eating

It is eating

We are eating

They are eating

Negative:

I am not eating Im not eating

You are not eating youre not eating you arent eating

He is not eating hes not eating he isnt eating

She is not eating shes not eating she isnt eating

It is not eating its not eating it isnt eating

We are not eating were not eating we arent eating

They are not eating theyre not eating

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they arent eating

Interrogative:

Am I eating?

Are you eating??

Is he eating?

Is she eating?

Is it eating?

Are we eating?

Are they eating?

The ing strucuture and its uses

In English, we use the ing construction very often. There are two types of words that use

this ing structure: the gerund and the participle. The construction is the same, but they

differ in usage.

A gerund in English is a verb which uses the ing construction but acts as a noun.

Swimming, for instance, is a gerund. However, it is used as a participle along with

another verb, either in present, past or future, in order to create a verb in present

continuous.

In any case, the construction is the same. In general, we simple add ing to the verb

infinitive and that is it.

Eg.: walk walk + -ing walking

play playing

see seeing

teach teaching

But, of course, there are exceptions and rules to follow.

1. If a word ends in an unaccentuated e, we remove the e and add ing.

Eg.: have have + -ing having

take take + -ing taking

2. If the verb ends in ie we remove the ie and add y followed by -ing.

Eg.: die die + y + -ing dying

3. For monosyllabic verbs we have a vowel followed by a consonant (except w,y, or x),

the last consonant is repeated and then we add ing.

Eg.: get get + t + ing getting

run run + n + ing running

swim swim + m + ing swimming

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4. For two syllabus verbs that have a single vowel followed by a consonant and the

second syllable is emphasized, we have to repeat the last consonant and add ing.

Eg.: admit admit + t + -ing admitting

prefer prefer + r + -ing preferring

5. For verbs that end in c, we add a k and then ing.

Eg.: panic panic + k + -ing panicking

traffic traffic + k + -ing trafficking

Now lets see some examples:

1) My favorite sport is swimming.

Here swimming is a gerund, an ing verb that is acting as a noun (sport).

Here we have more sentences using the same ing form as a gerund:

Marketing is a very important tool for every business.

In this building, smoking is prohibited.

I love dancing with my friends on the weekend.

2) I was swimming yesterday in my neighbors pool.

In this example, swimming is a participle, as it operates next to was to form the past

continuous tense.

I have been waiting for you for ten minutes.

She was asking me for directions to the post office.

Tomorrow I am going to the park with my nieces.

Difference between present simple and present continuous

As we have seen up until now, there are two ways of talking about the present tense.

Present simple (I eat) and present continuous (I am eating). However, there are

differences in meaning between these two tenses:

The present continuous is used for talking about actions that are happening at the

moment of speaking.

Eg.: I am eating.

She is studying.

The present simple is used to talk about things that happen in general or things that are

repeated, i.e. regularly.

Eg.: I eat dinner at six oclock.

She studies at home.

To be going to

This tense is used to talk about the future, more specifically to express the intention of

10.

carrying out an activity. It is also known as future of intention. It is formed with the verb to

be conjugated followed by the gerund of the verb to go plus the infinitive form of the

main verb with to.

TO BE + GOING + TO + INFINITIVE

The form going to never changes and we only have to conjugate the verb to be, for

both affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences.

I am going to go home

I am going to eat dinner

She is not going to work

We are not going to come

Are you going to study?

Is he going to read?

When answering we also use the short form, avoiding, therefore, repetition. This form

consists of answering with the subject followed by the verb to be in affirmative or

negative, depending on the context.

Eg.: Are you going to see the film?

Yes, I am. No, I am not.

Nivell 2B

Past simple

In English we need to distinguish between regular and irregular verbs.

1.- Regular verbs: the past simple of these verbs is formed by adding -ed to the infinitive

of the verb.

Eg.: to work + -ed worked

We use the context of the sentence to tell us when an event happened.

The past simple doesnt change form, regardless of the person or people we are referring

to. It is conjugated like this:

I worked

You worked

He worked

It worked

We worked

They worked

For verbs that end in -y after a consonant, change the -y to i and add -ed.

11.

Eg.: cry cried

try tried

fry fried

The negative of this tense is formed by using the particle did and adding the negative particle not, followed by the verb in infinitive without to. After putting the auxiliary in the past, theres no need to change the main verb.

SUBJECT + DID + NOT

+ VERB IN INFINITIVE

Eg.: I did not / didnt work.

The interrogative of the past simple is also formed using did and the infinitive of the main verb but, as with all interrogative forms, by reversing the order.

DID + SUBJECT +

VERB EN INFINITIVE ?

Eg.: Did you work?

In the following examples we see the verb to want conjugated in all its past forms:

Affirmative:

I wanted

You wanted

He wanted

She wanted

It wanted

We wanted

They wanted

Negative:

I did not want

You did not want

He did not want

She did not want

It did not want

We did not want

They did not want

Negative short form:

I didnt want

You didnt want

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He didnt want

She didnt want

It didnt want

We didnt want

They didnt want

Interrogative:

Did I want?

Did you want?

Did he want?

Did she want?

Did it want?

Did we want?

Did they want?

Short answers

To respond, we normally use the short form in order to avoid repetition. This short form is

made by using the subject followed by the particle used in the past, or did, in positive or

negative. This form is most common in spoken and colloquial language.

Eg.: Did you go to the party?

Yes, I did. No, I didnt.

Until now we have seen the past simple form of regular verbs, but in English there are also

irregular verbs which are not formed by adding ed to the infinitive of the verb but by

making other changes. These verbs do not have any rule to follow we simply have to learn

them, although with regular practice we can learn then quite easily.

2.- Irregular verbs: Below is a list of irregular verbs with the corresponding past forms. We

should remember that we only use the past form in affirmative sentences. In negative and

interrogative phrases we follow the same structure as with the regular verbs. In the past

simple the conjugation is the same for all persons.

Irregular verbs in the past simple

to go went

to eat ate

to see saw

to buy bought

to meet met

to leave left

to take took

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to read read

to come came

Eg.: I ate

I did not / didnt eat

Did I eat?

She saw

She did not / didnt see

Did she see?

Present continuous

The present continuous is formed with the conjugated form of the verb to be followed

by the main verb in the gerund, with -ing.

Subject + verb to be

+ verb + ing

Eg.: I am reading

She is swimming

In English the gerund is formed by adding -ing to the infinitive:

to look: look + -ing = looking

In cases where the verb ends in a silent e, we remove the e and add ing:

to have: hav- + -ing = having

With verbs that end in consonant + vowel + consonant and the vowel is stressed, we

double the final consonant before adding ing.

to stop: stopp- + -ing = stopping

to run: runn- + -ing = running

to swim: swimm- + -ing = swimming

Below we can see an example of the verb to eat conjugated in all its forms:

Affirmative:

I am eating

he is eating

she is eating

it is eating

we are eating

they are eating

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Negative:

I am not eating Im not eating

You are not eating Youre not eating You arent eating

He is not eating Hes not eating He isnt eating

She is not eating Shes not eating She isnt eating

It is not eating Its not eating It isnt eating

We are not eating Were not eating We arent eating

They are not eating Theyre not eating They arent eating

Interrogative:

Am I eating?

Are you eating?

Is he eating?

Is she eating?

Is it eating?

Are we eating?

Are they eating?

Going to

We use going to to talk about two possible future situations:

1. When we want to express intention:

Im going to study harder next term.(Ive decided to do it)

2. When we are predicting the immediate future, often from visual evidence:

Hes going to fall.(I can see that he is very close to the edge)

Present simple: affirmative form

The present simple is used to talk about things which are done habitually or with a certain

frequency. It is formed by using the subject and the infinitive without to.

To eat (comer):

I eat

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you eat

he eats

she eats

it eats

we eat

they eat

Verbs in the present simple only change in the third person singular. In this case we add -s.

to make he makes

to read he reads

to eat he eats

Verbs ending in -s, -x, -sh, -ch, o en -o take -es and not-s.

to watch he watches

to go he goes

to mix he mixes

to do he does

Verbs ending in -y:

a) If the -y is after a vowel we add -s as usual.

Eg.: to play he plays

b) If the -y follows a consonant it changes to -i and after we add -es.

Eg.: to study he studies

Present simple: negative form

To form the present simple negative of English verbs, which are not auxiliary verbs, the

particle do is used (ordoes in third person singular) followed by the negative particle not plus the infinitive of the verb without to. The basic model to follow is:

SUBJECT + DO / DOES

+ NOT + VERB

Pay attention to the fact that we always make changes to the particles do / does y not,

while the main verb remains the same.

If we add -s to the third person singular, in the negative we use does instead of do, and sowe do not need to add -s to the verb.

Lets look at the verb to eat as an example:

I do not eat

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You do not eat

She does not eat

It does not eat

We do not eat

They do not eat

As with the other verbs we have seen until now, this verb form can be shortened; in fact

the short form is more common in spoken English.

I dont eat

You dont eat

He doesnt eat

She doesnt eat

We dont eat

They dont eat

Present simple: questions

As with the verb to be we invert the order of subject plus verb, for verb plus subject but

in this case using the particles do / does. The main verb stays the same. The model to follow is:

DO / DOES + SUBJECT + VERB ?

An easier way of illustrating this is to put the particle do / does in front of the affirmative form, taking into account that in the third person singular we dont add -s or -es.

We can see this with an example:

Do I eat?

Do you eat?

Does he eat?

Does she eat?

Does it eat?

Do we eat?

Do they eat?

Short answers

In the present simple, the short form (most commonly used when answering) is formed with

the corresponding subject and the auxiliary verb in the positive or negative form. So, if we

ask:

Do you like cats?

We can answer yes or no:

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Yes, I do. No, I dont.

In the third person singular we do the same:

Does she speak English?

Yes, she does. No, she doesnt.

In English we can also use the auxiliary do, does in positive sentences, but in these cases it is to add extra emphasis on the action. When we use the auxiliary in the

affirmative the order doesnt change and in the case of third person singular we do not

need to add -s, as the auxiliary uses does in place of do.

Eg.: I do like football.

She does look like me.

Past simple of verb To be

In English, when we refer to the past we dont make a distinction about the amount of

time that has passed since the event; we use the context to find out when something

happened.

To be

The past tense of the verb to be takes the form of wasfor first and third person, and were for all the rest.

I was

you were

he was

she was

it was

we were

they were

The negative form uses the particle not.

I was not

you were not

he was not

she was not

we were not

they were not

Contracted forms:

I wasnt

you werent

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he wasnt

she wasnt

it wasnt

we werent

they werent

Questions:

We reverse the order to make the interrogative form.

was I?

were you?

was he?

was she?

was it?

were we?

were they?

The weather

In English we generally use the same question to ask about the weather:

What is the weather like?

The shortened form:

Whats the weather like?

To reply we use the impersonal pronoun it and the verb in third person singular, followed

by an adjective which describes the weather or the continuous form of a verb which

describes the weather.

It is sunny

It is windy

It is raining

It is snowing

It is foggy

It is cloudy

It is hot

Present perfect

Form: The present perfect is formed with the present simple of the verb to have, used as an auxiliary, and followed by the past participle of the main verb

The affirmative form is made like this:

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SUBJECT + TO HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE

The past participle of regular verbs has the same form as the past simple, in irregular verbs

it can vary.

The verb to have is conjugated in the same way as always (with the third person singular

changing to has and all the other conjugations being have).

The past participle does not change at all.

I have called

you have called

he has called

she has called

it has called

we have called

they have called

We use the particle not to make the negative; as always it is placed after the verb to have as this is the verb that is conjugated. We can use the long or short form.

The negative form of the present perfect is made like this:

SUBJECT + TO HAVE +

NOT + PAST PARTICIPLE

I have not called

you have not called

he has not called

she has not called

it has not called

we have not called

they have not called

The short form:

I havent called

you havent called

he hasnt called

she hasnt called

it hasnt called

we havent called

For the interrogative form we only need to invert the order of subject + to have to to

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have + subject.

The structure of the interrogative form of the present perfect is:

TO HAVE + SUBJECT + PAST PARTICIPLE ?

Have I called?

Have you called?

Has he called?

Has she called?

Has it called?

Have we called?

Have they called?

To make short answers we only need to use the appropriate subject followed by the verb

to have in affirmative or negative.

Eg.: Have you written the letter?

Yes, I have.

No, I havent.

Use: This tense is a mixture of past and present. There is always an implied connection to

the present; in fact, we can usually transmit the same message using the present simple.

Eg.: Someone has put the cat in.

The cat is in.

This tense is often used in conversations, newspapers, television and radio etc.

The present perfect is used in two cases:

a) Past actions and situations without a specific time reference.

Eg.: Ive lived in Spain.

b) With the adverb just, to indicate that an action has finished recently. With unfinished actions or situations that started in the past but continue to the present.

Eg.: Ive just had breakfast.

For / Since

For: We use for to refer to a period of time or duration. When used with the present perfect for refers to a period of time which starts in the past and continues to the present.

They have studied German for two years.

Since: We use since to specify a point in time when something started. It is always used with the present perfect and is usually followed by a month, year or concrete date but

21.

can also be followed by a phrase.

I havent seen him since January.

I havent seen him since we studied together.

The following illustration shows the relationship and use of since and for with reference tothe time we are speaking:

I have lived here for five days.

I have lived here since Saturday.

Have been / Have gone

There can be some confusion about the use of these two structures as they are similar.

To have been:

We use have been when someone has been somewhere and has returned.

To have gone:

We use have gone when someone has gone somewhere but has not returned.

She has gone to the chemists.(She hasnt returned)

She has been to the chemists.(She has returned)

In these cases we use the preposition to with the verb to go as well as with the verbs to be.

She has been to the shop.

She has gone to the shop.

Prepositions of movement

In English there are many prepositions which, depending on the context, have one

meaning or another.

22.

The following prepositions are accompanied by verbs which indicate movement and as

such are considered prepositions of movement.

In this case we have used one of the most common verbs of movement, the verb to go.

to go up

to go down

to go past

to go under

to go around

to go through

to go over

Although the verb may change, we can deduce the meaning from the preposition that

accompanies it. The most common prepositions are:

Up

Down

Past

Under

Around

Through

Over

Agreements

These are short phrases which indicate that we agree with the other person. The phrases

can be positive or negative.

The form we use depends on whether the phrase we are responding to is positive or

negative.

We form the affirmative like this:

SO + AUXILIARY VERB + SUBJECT

The negative is formed like this:

NEITHER + AUXILIARY + SUBJECT

1. Affirmative meaning

The structure is fixed and we only change the auxiliary verb (depending on the verb

tense) and the subject in question.

If the sentence is in present simple, to agree with someone we use the auxiliary do /

does, which is the auxiliary we use for the present simple.

23.

I play football.

So do I.

When we are speaking about the past, we use the auxiliary verb we did, as always with

the past.

I played football.

So did I.

When the sentence already has an auxiliary verb (to be,to have) or a modal (can, must, should, etc.), we simply repeat the auxilary or modal with the corresponding subject.

I can swim.

So can I.

I am hungry.

So am I.

She has eaten.

So has he.

They are reading.

So are we.

2. Negative meaning

As we have seen, we make affirmative sentences with so; negative sentences are

made in the same way but using neither, the rest of the structure remains the same.

So, for the present we use do / does, for the past did, and for auxiliary verbs and modals to be, to have, can, ...

I dont like football.

Neither do I.

I cant swim.

Neither can I.

Im not hungry.

Neither am I.

She hasnt eaten.

Neither has he.

They arent reading.

Neither are we.

As we can see, although the sentence is in the negative form, the response, where we

express agreement, is affirmative and the particle neither indicates the negative.

24.

Have you ever ...? No, (Ive) never

Ever refers to a persons life until the point of speaking. It is used in questions and placed between the subject and the past participle.

Eg.: Have you ever eaten chips?

Has he ever been there?

Never is used in negative sentences but with the auxiliary in affirmative because in English we cannot use more than one negative in a sentence. Never is placed between

the auxiliary and the past participle.

Eg.: I have never eaten chips.

We have never been to Yorkshire.

Present perfect + Yet / Already

Yet and already are adverbs of time.

Present perfect + yet:

Yet is used with the present perfect to refer to, or ask about, if something has happenedor been done before the time of speaking.

Yet is normally used in questions and negative sentences and is placed at the end of a phrase.

Have you eaten yet?

I havent eaten yet.

Present perfect + already:

Already is used to state that an action has happened or been completed before it was expected to be done. Already is used in affirmative sentences. When it is used with the

present perfect it is placed between the auxiliary verb have and the past participle of

the main verb.

Have + already + past participle

I have already eaten.

He has already arrived.

Too much / Too many / Not enough

Too much means that there is an unwanted excess of an uncountable noun. Too many means the same but is used with countable nouns.

Too much: Too much is used with uncountable nouns and so we use the verb in the singular form. It is placed before the noun that it refers to.

There is too much water (rice, time, money,...)

Too many: Too many is used with countable nouns. We use the plural of the noun being

25.

referred to because we assume that there is an excess of the thing being discussed. It is

placed before the noun that it refers to.

There are too many chips (hats, pens,...)

Not enough: Not enough is used to indicate that there is a lack or shortage of something; or that we need more. It can be used with countable and uncountable nouns.

There isnt enough water.

There arent enough chips.

In reality the not doesnt go with enough but with the verb in the sentence:

We havent got enough water.

Something, anything, nothing

Something: Something is used in affirmative sentences to refer to an undefined entity.

Eg.: I want something to eat.

Anything: Anything is used in questions and negative sentences and can mean the

same as something in questions and expresses an absence or lack in negative

sentences.

Eg.: Do you want anything to eat?

I havent got anything to eat.

Nothing: Nothing is used in affirmative sentences and indicates absence or a lack of

something. In English we cant use two negatives together and so if the verb is affirmative

we use nothing and if the verb is in the negative we use anything.

Eg.: I dont want anything to eat.

I want nothing to eat.

She doesnt want anything.

She wants nothing.

The same rules apply to other groups of words formed with some-, any- and no-, like:

Somebody Someone Somewhere

Anybody Anyone Anywhere

Nobody No-one Nowhere

etc.

Present perfect vs. Past simple

Present perfect

The Present perfect is used:

26.

When we are referring to an unfinished period of time.

Eg.: I have read two books this week. (Today is still Friday)

When we refer to any point in the past up to the time of speaking without specifying the

exact time. It is usually accompanied by an unspecific time

expression: ever,never, before, already, yet, etc.

Eg.: Have you ever been to New York?

I have already tried Indian food.

Past simple

The Past simple is used:

When we refer to actions that are already finished and that took place in a time that is

also finished.

Eg.: I read two books last week. (Today is Monday)

When we specify a time or moment when an action took place. It is usually accompanied

by a definite time expression: last week, yesterday, three years ago, etc.

Eg.: I visited New York last summer.

I tried Indian food yesterday.

Just

We use just to indicate that something happened moments before the present time. We

use the particle just with the present perfect and place it between the auxiliary have

and the past participle of the main verb.

Have + just + past participle

Eg.: I have just eaten.

I have just been to Austria.

She has just arrived.

27.