Grammar

 Saturday, May 14,2022

Wish Clauses 

Form 

I WISH / IF ONLY + PAST SIMPLE 

Use 

A situation the speaker is unhappy about in the present.

I wish / if only our town had more parks. 

Form 

I WISH / IF ONLY + PAST PERFECT  SIMPLE 

Use 

Regret about a past action or situation.

I wish / if only we had gone on the tour. 

Form 

I WISH / IF ONLY +  COULD/ WOULD  +  BASE FORM 

Use 

A hope for something in the future.

I wish we could do something to help.

If only people would stop eating meat. 

Friday, May 13,2022

Causative 

Form

have/get + object+ past participle 

Use

We use the causative when we refer to an action that is done for us by somebody else. There is no difference between have and get, but get is more informal. 

They have/get their chicks raised by other birds.

We had/got the animals trained by professionals.

Saturday, April 30, 2022

Relative Clauses 

• Defining relative clauses

We use defining relative clauses to give essential information about someone or something – information that we need.

We usually use a relative pronoun (e.g. who, that, which, whose, and whom) to introduce a defining relative clause.

Example: 
They’re the people who she met at Jon’s party.

Here are some cells which the researcher has identified.

• Non-Defining relative clauses 

We use non-defining relative clauses to give extra information about the person or thing. It is not necessary information. We don’t need it to understand who or what is being referred to.

We always use a relative pronoun (who, which, whose or whom) to introduce a non-defining relative clause.

Example: 
His brother, who works at the supermarket, is a friend of mine.

It’s hoped that we will raise £10,000 for local charities, which help the homeless.

Friday,April 22,2022

Relative Pronouns

We use relative pronouns to introduce relative clauses. Relative clauses tell us more about people and things:

When=is used when referring to a period of time.

There was when I realized the gravity of the situation.

Where= is used when referring to a place.

We don't remember the name of the restaurant where we went last month.

What= is used in actions or situations.

She knows what she did, but she will not admit it. 

That=is used to refer to people and things indifferently.

I live in an apartment that has two bedrooms and one bathroom.

Who= is used when referring to someone. 

My uncle Juan, who is a Doctor in the United States, wants to move back to Spain.

Which= is used only with animals, things, or objects. 

Where is the magazine which I bought yesterday?

Whose= is used with persons and this expresses possession. 

Yesterday, I had a dinner with a man whose mother knows.

I have done a small exercise in which you only have to change the underlined words by a relative pronoun.

Claudia is an English teacher. Claudia was born in Spain. She has two daughters, Laura and Elena. Laura is 6 years old and Elena is 4 years old. Claudia is not married yet, but she lives with a special man. His name is Roberto. She met him in Venezuela. Claudia and Roberto are buying a new house. The house has three floors and a big garden with a pool. Laura and Elena are very excited about their new home. They want to have a dog. They want him to play in the garden with them.

 Saturday, April 16, 2022

Passive Voice 

We use the passive voice when we want to focus on the action, not the agent, and also when the agent is obvious or unknown. 

Active Voice           Passive Voice

Present Simple         

Foster parents buy up the chicks. The chicks are brought up

by foster parents.     

Past Simple

Someone invited John to speak at the conference. John was invited to speak at the                                                                                                 conference.

Present Continuous   

He is cleaning the carper right now. The carpet is being cleaned right now.

Past Continuous     

I was writing a letter. A letter was being written.

Present Perfect Simple

I have read an interesting novel. An interesting novel has been read.

Past Perfect Simple

Sam had cooked the food. The food had been cooked by Sam.

      

Future                 

Ann will sing a beautiful song.    A beautiful song will be sung by Ann.

Future Perfect

They will have built the bouse by 2023. The house will have been built by 2023.

Be going to

His teacher is going to explain the rule. The rule is going to be explained by his teacher.

 Friday, April 8,2022

Conditional 

1. Zero Conditional 

Condition                                                                                         Result

IF/UNLESS/WHEN+ PRESENT SIMPLE                                    PRESENT SIMPLE

Use 

• a general truth or fact.

        If you use a solar energy, you save money.

       2. First Conditional 

Condition                                                                                           Result

IF/ UNLESS + PRESENT SIMPLE                                                WILL/MODAL + VERB                                                                                                           IMPERATIVE                                              
Use 

• a future possibility.

        If we fine people, it will help 

• advice or suggestion in the form of a command.

        If you go out, put the bottles in the recycling bin. 
        3. Second Conditional

Condition                                                                                             Result 

IF/UNLESS + PAST SIMPLE                                                            WOULD/MODAL +                                                                                                                 VERB

Use 

• an imaginary or hypothetical situation. 

        If we bought a smaller car, we would/could save petrol.
        
        If I were you, I would get solar panels. 

        4. Third Conditional 

 Condition                                                                                     Result

IF + PAST PERFECT SIMPLE                                                   WOULD                                                                                                                                      HAVE/MODAL                                                                                                                          PERFECT  +  PAST                                                                                                                  PARTICIPLE 
Use 

• an impossible or unfulfilled situation in the past.

           You would/could have visited a recycling plant if you had gone on the tour. 

 Sunday, March 20,2022

Reported Speech 

Direct Speech         Reported Speech 

Present Simple         Past Simple

“We live in the city”.         She said they lived in the city.

Present Continuous Past Continuous 

“I’m waiting for Tina”. He said he was waiting for Tina.

Present Perfect         Past Perfect

“I’ve worked here for ten years”. He said he had worked there for ten

years.

Past Simple         Past Perfect

“We spoke to Tim after school”. He said they had spoken to Tim after 

                school.

Past Continuous         Past Perfect Continuous

“I was lying”.         He said he had been lying.

Future                 Would 

“I’ll meet you at 6.30”. She said she would meet me at 6.30.

The modal verbs must/can/may can are reported in these ways:

I can sing well.             She said she could sing well.

I may be late.             He said he might be late.

You must work harder.             He said we had to work harder.  

Reported Question

• Yes/No Question: we use if/whether

“Do you speak Spanish?”.

He asked me if/whether I spoke Spanish. 

“Are you listening to me?”.

The teacher asked if/whether I was listening his/her. 

• Question with a word such as where, when, how, who, etc. : we use ask/want to know

“What are you doing ?”.

The teacher asked me what I was doing. 

“Where do you live?”.

The teacher asked me where I lived.

Commands & other speech acts 

“I’ll help you”.

She offered to help me. 

“I will kill you ”.

She threatened to kill me. 

• Report. Verb + to infinitive

                                                            〉“Let’s have a party”.  → She suggested having a 

party.

• Report. Verb + verb-ing 

1. Other changes we may have to make are:

• to pronouns and possessive adjectives.

“I’ve forgotten your phone number”.

He said he had forgotten my phone number. 

• to this/that/these /those . We sometimes replace them with the.

“This article is very interesting”.

He said that the article was very interesting.

• to words and phrases indicating time and place. 

Direct speech Reported Speech 

now         then

today that day

tomorrow the next/following day

yesterday the previous day/the day before

the day after tomorrow in two days’ time

three days ago three days before/earlier

next week the next/following week

                last month         the previous month/the month                                                  before

this morning that morning

here         there

come go

 

Sunday, February 13,2022

 Future Continuous  

• Form: 

will be  + verb +-ing .

• Uses:

                                                                              

1.  an action in progress at a specific time in the future .

 E.x.:  At this time tomorrow I will be travelling to Dubai;( A esta hora mañana estaré volando a Dubai ). 

• Structure: 

Affirmative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	will be	playing studying loving
Negative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	will  not  be	playing studying loving
Interrogative	Will	I, you, we, they she, he, it	playing be studying? loving

•  Expression of time: at this time tomorrow, next, on Monday, in the next decade. 

Friday, February 4, 2022

Future Perfect Simple

• Form:

            will have + verb +-ed irregular verbs .

• Uses:

                                                                                                           

1.  an action completed at a specific time in the future .

 E.x.:  By this time next week  I will have arrived from Dubai;(A esta altura de la semana próxima habré llegado de Dubai). 

• Structure: 

Affirmative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	will have	played studied loved
Negative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	will  not  have	played studied loved
Interrogative	Will	I, you, we, they she, he, it	played have studied? loved

•  Expression of time: by this time next week, by July, by 2 o’clock, by then, in six months. 

Friday, January 28,2022

 Be going to 

• Form:

am / is / are going to  + verb 

• Uses:

                                                                                                           

1.  a future plan.

 E.x.:  We are going to go to the beach on Sunday;( Vamos a ir a la playa el domingo). 

2. a prediction based on present evidence. 

E.x.:  The sky is cloudy. It 's going to rain;( El cielo está nublado.Va a llover ).

 

Attention! Use the present simple to talk about the  future when talking about future events in a timetable. 

E.x.: The train leaves at 3.54 p.m.;( El tren sale a las 3.54 p.m. ).

Furthermore we use the present continuous to talk about a definite plan for the near future.

 

E.x.: We’re setting off tomorrow morning;( Salimos mañana por la mañana ).   

• Structure: 

Affirmative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	am  is     going to            are	play study love
Negative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	am  is  not going to         are	play study love
Interrogative	Am  Are  Is	I, you, we, they she, he, it	play going to study? love

•  Expression of time: tomorrow, at 7 o’ clock, later, next week / month, soon, in a few minutes, in the future,on 3rd June. 

Saturday,January 15, 2022  

Future Simple 

• Form: 

will + verb 

• Uses:

                                                                                                           

1.  a future prediction .

 E.x.:  It will rain tomorrow ;( Lloverá mañana ). 

2. a spontaneous decision. 

E.x.: I will  a drink a coffee with you ;( Tomaré un café contigo ). 

3. future events in a timetable. 

E.x.: The match will start at 9.00 p.m.;( El partido empezará a las 9.00 p.m. ).

• Structure: 

Affirmative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	will	play study love
Negative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	will not	play study love
Interrogative	Will	I, you, we, they she, he, it	play study     ? love

I leave you this small multiple-choice exercise: 

Exercise

 Friday, January 7, 2022

Past Perfect Continuous

• Form: 

had + been + verb +-ing .

• Uses:

                                                                                                           

1.  an action that continued for some time up to another past action.  

 E.x.:  They had been travelling for weeks without a problem; 

( Ellos habían estado viajando durante semanas sin  problemas ). 

• Structure: 

Affirmative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	had  been	playing  studying loving
Negative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	had  not  been	playing studying loving
Interrogative	Had	I, you, we, they she, he, it	playing been studying  ? loving

•  Expressions of time: for hours, since last March, all night / morning / day / week, when, until, before. 

We will do activities about all the tenses you can review the lessons: 

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

 Present Perfect Continuous 

• Form: 

have / has + been + verb +-ing .

• Uses:

                                                                                                           

1.  an action that started in the past and is still going on at the present moment or whose results are still apparent. 

 E.x.:  The students have been studying for  their exams for three weeks; 

( Los estudiantes han estado estudiando para sus exámenes durante tres semanas ). 

• Structure: 

Affirmative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	have                  been  has	playing  studying loving
Negative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	have not                 been   has not	playing studying loving
Interrogative	Have  Has	I, you, we, they she, he, it	playing been studying? loving

•  Expressions of time: for a month / year, since 2015, all night / morning / day / week, How long…?

Monday, December 27, 2021

Past Perfect Simple 

• Form: 

had + verb + -ed / irregular verbs.

• Uses: 

1. an action that took place before a specific moment in the past. 

                       

 E.x.: The child had died before the doctor arrived ; ( El niño había fallecido antes de que el médico llegara ).

• Structure:

Affirmative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	had	played  studied  loved
Negative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	had  not	played  studied loved
Interrogative	Had	I, you, we, they she, he, it	played  studied? loved

•  Expression of time: already, by the time, after, before, until, never, just, when, as soon as. 

I propose you one exercise for this lesson.

Exercise

Saturday, December 25, 2021  

Present Perfect Simple 

• Form: 

    have / has + verb +-ed / irregular verbs.

• Uses:

                                                                                                           

1.  an action that started in the past and continues until the present.

 E.x.:  The police have been here since 6.00 ;( La policía ha estado aquí desde las 6.00 ). 

2. an action that took place at an unspecified time in the past and is relevant to the present. 

E.x.: I have bought tomatoes for a soup ;( He comprado tomates para una sopa ). 

• Structure: 

Affirmative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	have has	played studied loved
Negative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	have not  has not	played studied loved
Interrogative	Have  Has	I, you, we, they she, he, it	played studied? loved

•  Expressions of time: never, ever, already, just, yet, recently, lately, in recent years, for, since, How long…?

I propose you one exercise for this lesson.

Exercise 1

Now that we have learnt the present simple, past simple, present continuous and past continuous we're going to make exercises mix.

Present simple VS Present continuous

Past Simple VS Past Continuous

Thursday, December 23, 2021

Past Continuous

• Form: 

was / were + verb + -ing

• Uses: 

1. an action in progress in the past.

                       

 E.x.: I was studying  English at 7.00; ( Estaba estudiando  Inglés a las 7.00 ).

2. an action in progress interrupted by another action.

 E.x.: I was studying when the match started; ( Estaba estudiando cuando el partido comenzó ). 

3. Two actions in progress at the same time in the past.

E.x.:  When I was studying the match was starting; ( Cuando estaba estudiando el partido estaba comenzando ). 

4. a description of a scene. 

E.x.: They were trying to solve the problem;( Ellos estaban intentando solucionar el problema ).

• Structure:

Affirmative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	was were, was	working
Negative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	was not were not was not	working
Interrogative	Was Were, Was	I, you, we, they she, he, it	working?

•  Expression of time: while, last night,/week, at 3.00, when, as. 

Today you're lucky, we don't have exercises but always revise the lesson.

Friday, November 19,2021

Present continuous

• Form: 

am / is / are + verb + -ing

• Uses: 

1. an action happening now.

                       

 E.x.: We are learning English; ( Nosotros estamos aprendiendo Inglés ).

2. a temporary action.

 E.x.: She is working in a cafe this month; ( Ella está trabajando en un café este mes ). 

3. a definite plan for the near future.

E.x.:  We are going to the beach this weekend; ( Nosotros iremos a la playa este fin de semana ). 

• Structure:

Affirmative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	am are, is	working
Negative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	am not are not is not	working
Interrogative	Am Are, Is	I, you, we, they she, he, it	working ?

•  Expression of time: now, right now, at the moment, this year, at the present, today, these days, this evening, tonight, tomorrow, next Sunday / week/year.

Today I propose two exercises the second is a little more fun.

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Saturday, November 13, 2021

Past simple 

• Form:

verb +-ed / irregular verbs.

• Uses:

   

1. a completed action in the past.

 E.x.:  Last Sunday  I played football. ( El domingo pasado jugué al fútbol. )

2. consecutive actions.

 E.x.:  I went to the beach and I ate at a restaurant. ( Fui a la playa y comí en un restaurante )

• Structure:

Affirmative	I, you, we, they she, he, it		played studied loved
Negative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	did not	play study love
Interrogative	Did	I, you, we, they she, he, it	play study     ? love

Have, do, go and be are irregulars:

have → had do → did go → went be → was / were  

The verb ends in -e, we just add -ed: 

close → closed                                 talk → talked

hope → hoped                                   watch → watched 

The verb ends in a vowel + -y we just add -ied:

study → studied                               try → tried 

marry → married                              carry → carried 

The verb ends in consonant + vowel + consonant we just double the last consonant and add -ed: 

travel → travelled cancel → cancelled 

ban → banned level → levelled 

• Expressions of time: yesterday, last week / year, two days ago, in 2004, in the 15th century, when, then. 

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Friday, November 12, 2021

 Present Simple

• Form: 

base form / verb + -s for the third person singular 

• Uses:

1.  an action that happens regularly.

                        E.x.:  She wakes up at 7.00 every day. ( Ella se levanta a las 7. 00 todos los días )

2. a general truth.

E.x.:  The water boils at 100 º. ( El agua hierve a 100 º )

3. a thought, feeling, or expectation ( a stative verb ).

E.x.:  Do you want to buy a laptop ? ( ¿ Quieres comprarte un ordenador ?)

• Structure:

Affirmative	I, you, we, they she, he, it		work works
Negative	I, you, we, they she, he, it	do not does not	work
Interrogative	Do  Does	I, you, we, they she, he, it	work?

Most  verbs we add -s to the  base form to  make she, he, it ( third-person ) form:

come → comes                eat → eats              travel → travels          walk → walks 

know → knows                play → plays            want → wants            move → moves 

Have, do, go and be are irregulars:

have → has                      do → does               go → goes                be → is 

The verb ends in -ch, - ss, -sh, - x or - zz we add -es:

watch → watches            miss → misses         wash → washes        buzz→ buzzes 

The verb ends in a consonant + -y we change - y to -i and add -es: 

study → studies             reply → replies 

The verb ends in a vowel + -y we just add -s: 

buy → buys                   pay → pays                       enjoy → enjoys 

 

• Expressions of time: always, usually, regularly, generally, often, frequently, sometimes,  occasionally, rarely, seldom, never, every day / week / months, on Mondays, once a month, at 1.00, at night, in the morning, how often…?.

Present Simple 1

Present Simple 2

Friday, November 12, 2021

Suffixes

A suffix is a letter or group of letters added at the end of a word that changes a word and makes a new word.
Nouns often end with suffixes such as -ness, -ship, -ment, -hood, -ity, -tion / -sion, -ance, -ence. 
Adjectives often end with suffixes such as -al, -able / -ible, -ous, -ive, -ing, -ed, -ful and -less. 

 

Nouns	Adjective	Verb
Finance	Financial	Finance
Worth	Worthless
Impression	Impressive	Impress
Variety	Various	Vary
Generosity	Generous
Hardship	Hard	Harden
Suitability	Suitable	suit
Sensive	Sensitive	Sense
Weakness	Weak	Weaken
Education	Educated	Educate
Miss	Missing	Miss
Valuation	Valuable	Valuate
Assignment		Assign
Attendance		Attend
Excellence	Excellent	Excel
Doubt	Doubtful/Doubtless	Doubt
Assessment	Assessable	Assess
Demand	Demanding	Demand
Application	Applicated	Apply
Concer	Concerned	Concern
Help	Helpful/Helpless	Help
Intention	Intentive	Intent
Introduction	Introductive	Introduce
Child	Childhood
Neighbour	Neighbourhood

Exercise 1

Exercise 2