Grammar B1

Present Simple (yo juego)

We use the present simple to talk about regular habits and routines (I go to school every
day), permanent situations (I live in Spain) and general and scientific facts (birds fly).

Affirmative I/you/we/they play

He/she/it plays
Negative I/you/we/they don’t (do not) play
He/she/it doesn’t (does not) play
Interrogative Do I/you/we/they play?
Does he/she/it play?
Short answers Yes, I/you/we/they do.
No, I/you/we/they don’t
Yes, he/she/it does.
No, he/she/it doesn’t

Time expressions

- Always (siempre)
- Usually (normalmente)
- Often (a menudo)
- Sometimes (a veces)
- Rarely (rara vez)
- Never (nunca)
- Once/twice/three times a day/week/month/year (una vez/dos/tres al día/a la
semana/al mes/al año)
- On Mondays (los lunes)

Present Continuous (yo estaba jugando)

We use the present continuous to talk about actions that are happening now (I’m
studying right now) and temporary actions and situations (I am studying in the UK).
Affirmative I am + verb+ing
You are working
He/she/it is working
We/you/they are working
Negative I am not working
You aren’t working
He/she/it isn’t working
We/you/they aren’t working
Interrogative Am I working?
Are you working?
Is he/she/it working?
Are we/you/they working?
Answers Yes, I am/No, I am not
Yes, you are/No, you aren’t
Yes, he/she it is /No, he/she/it isn’t
Yes, we/you/they are/No, we/you/they
aren’t

State verbs

Los verbos estáticos no se usan en el presente continuo, solo en el simple:

- Belive (creer)
- Care (preocuparse)
- Hate (odiar)
- Know (saber, conocer)
- Like (gustar)
- Love (encantar)
- Need (necesitar)
- Think (pensar)
- Understand (entender)
- Want (querer)
Articles

A/an (un/una)

We use a/an with singular countable nouns (I’ve got a mountain bike/I eat an apple), to
say what somebody’s profession is (he’s a teacher).

The (el/la/los/las)

We use it to refer to something previously mentioned (I’ve got a problem. The problem
is serious), and to talk about something unique (the sun, the world).

No article

We do not use an article when we are talking about people or things in general
(education in important).

Past simple of the verb to be (yo era/estaba)

Affirmative I was
You were
He/she/it was
We/you/they were
Negative I wasn’t
You weren’t
He/she/it wasn’t
We/you/they weren’t
Interrogative Was I…?
Were you…?
Was he/she/it…?
Were we/you/they…?
Answer Yes, I was/No, I wasn’t
Yes, you were/No, you weren’t
Yes, he/she/it was/No, he/she/it wasn’t
Yes, we/you/they were/No, we/you/they
weren’t
Past simple (yo jugué)

We use the past simple to talk about finished actions (I went to Madrid).

Affirmative - Ed / 2ª columna
Negative Subject + didn’t + verb 1ª columna
Interrogative Did + subject + verb 1ª columna?
Answers Yes, subject + did
No, subject + didn’t

Past continuous (yo estaba jugando)

We use the past continuous to talk about activities in progress at a moment in the past (I
was reading yesterday at four o’clock), describe a story (the man was wearing a suit and
I was playing the guitar) and talk about an activity in progress when another interrupted
it (I was having a shower when the phone rang).

Affirmative I/he/she/it was working

You/we/you/they were working
Negative I/he/she/it wasn’t working
You/we/you/they weren’t working
Interrogative Was I/he/she/it working?
Were you/we/you/they working?
Answers Yes, I/he/she/it was/No, he/she/it wasn’t
Yes, you/we/you/they were/No,
you/we/you/they weren’t

Used to (solía jugar)

We use used to to talk about past habits and things we did in the past but not now.

Affirmative I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they used to play

Negative Subject + didn’t use to play
Interrogative What did you use to do?
Countable and uncountable nouns

Some (uncountable nouns and plural countable in affirmative) → I’ve got some free
time/I read some books

Any (uncountable and plural countable in negative and interrogative) → I haven’t got
any money/he hasn’t got any friends/have you got any free time?/are there any books?

Many (countable nouns) → I have many books [muchos]/I haven’t got many books

Much (uncountable nouns) → I have much time [mucho]/I haven’t got much time

A lot of/lots of/a lot (countable and uncountable nouns) → I have a lot of money/I have
a lot of friends

A few (countable nouns) → I have a few friends [pocos]

A little (uncountable nouns) → I have a little time [poco]

Few and little are used when we use it with a negative idea → few people went to see
the film. It was a disaster/there is little time to finish tomorrow’s homework

Defining and non-defining relative clauses

Defining (sin comas)

Who/that → quien

Which/that → que

Where → donde

When → cuando

Whose → cuyo (posesión)

Shakespeare is the person who wrote Romeo and Juliet

Non-defining (entre comas)

Shakespeare, who wrote Romeo and Juliet, was a famous writer

* Who y which no se sustituyen por that en las non-defining

Present Perfect (he jugado)

Se usa el presente perfecto para hablar de una experiencia en la vida de alguien, sin
decir cuando (I have broken my leg twice), con eventos recientes (I have studied).

+ I/you/we/you/they have studied (-ed o 3ª

columna)
He/she/it has studied
- I/you/we/you/they haven’t studied
He/she it hasn’t studied
? Have I/you/we/you/they studied?
Has he/she/it studied?
Answers Yes, I/you/we/you they have
No, he/she/it hasn’t

Time expressions

Ever (alguna vez) → have you ever broken your leg?/Nobody has ever lived on Mars

Never (nunca) → I have never been to Paris

For (durante) → I have studied for 10 years

Since (desde) → I have studied since 2003

Just (ahora mismo) → I have just rang your mum

Already (ya) → I have already finished my homework

Yet (todavía o ya) → I haven’t finished my homework yet/have you finished your
homework yet?

Cuando no decimos el tiempo específico se usa el presente perfecto, cuando decimos el

tiempo se usa el pasado simple → I have won a prize/I won a prize last year.
Comparatives

Short adjectives - Er than → I am smaller than you

Long adjectives More … than → I am more intelligent
than you

Superlatives

Short adjectives The – est → I am the smallest

Long adjectives The most → I am the most intelligent

Modifying comparatives

Much/a lot/far (mucho más) → I am much/a lot/far smaller than you

Slightly/a bit (un poco) → I am slightly/a bit smaller than you

Less (menos) → I am less small than you

As … as (tanto como) → I am as small as you

Not as… as (no tanto como) I am not as small as you

So/such (bastante)

So + adjectives → this programme is so fascinating

Such + adjectives + noun → this programme caused such interest/it’s such a popular
channel

Too/enough

Too (demasiado, pero con un aspecto negativo) → he’s too intelligent. Si queremos
decir que es muy inteligente pero positivamente utilizamos very.

Enough (suficiente) → he’s old enough to drive/it’s not good enough to win the
competition
The future

Will

Se utiliza will/won’t con predicciones, promesas y decisiones que tomamos en el

momento de hablar. También con los adverbios definitely, probably, perhaps and it’s
possible that.

- I think I will rain tomorrow (predicción)

- I promise you I will help you (promesa)
- I see you are tired. I will help you with your bag (decisión en el momento de
hablar)
- I will definitely/probably/perhaps/ be there
* Después de will el verbo se pone en infinitivo

Be going to

Se utiliza con planes e intenciones y con predicciones cuando tenemos una prueba.

- I am going to study History this year

- It is going to rain. Look at the grey clouds

Present Continuous

Planes que ya han sido confirmados → I’m leaving on the 8.00 train tomorrow morning

May/might (puede que)

Se utilizan siempre que se pueda utilizar el adverbio maybe.

+ It may/might rain tomorrow (puede que

llueva o puede que no)
- It may not/might not rain tomorrow

Después de may/might el verbo se pone en infinitivo.

Zero conditional (if + presente simple/presente simple)

El condicional cero se utiliza con cosas objetivas → if you touch the fire, you burn; if
you take a fish out of the water, it dies.

First conditional (if + presente simple/will/won’t)

Se utiliza cuando hay una consecuencia → if it rains this weekend, I won’t go out.

Modal verbs

Must/mustn’t

Must se utiliza con reglas y obligaciones → I must go to school

Mustn’t se utiliza con prohibiciones → I mustn’t cheat on exams

* Después de must y mustn’t los verbos se ponen en infinitivo

Have to/don’t have to

Se utiliza con reglas que nos imponemos nosotros mismos → I have to study/I don’t
have to go to school at weekends.

Es un semimodal, por lo que con la tercera persona se utiliza has to y doesn’t have to.

Should/shouldn’t

Se utiliza para dar consejos → you should study/you shouldn’t spend too much time on
your mobile phone.

* Después de should y shouldn’t los verbos se ponen en infinitivo

Second conditional
El segundo condicional se utiliza para cosas que nos imaginamos en el presente o en el
futuro, y es muy probable que no ocurran.

If + S + verbo en pasado, S + would → if I won the lottery, I would buy a huge house

If I didn’t go to school, I wouldn’t study as much as I do.

* Con if se utiliza “were” en vez de “was” → if I were you, I would study more

* Unless → significa “si no” y se utiliza en lugar del “if” → unless you arrive on time,
you won’t see the beginning of the film (si no llegas a tiempo, no verás el principio de
la película)

Past perfect

S + had + 3ª columna (yo había jugado)

El pasado perfecto se utiliza para una acción en el pasado que había acabado antes de
que otra acabara → I had studied when my mum came home (yo había estudiado cuando
mi madre llegó a casa. Primero terminé de estudiar, y después mi madre vino a casa).

Affirmative She had left the classroom Ella se había ido de clase
by the time the teacher para cuando el profesor
arrived llegó
Negative I hadn’t seen her by the Yo no la había visto para
time I started high school cuando empecé el instituto
Interrogative Had you finished the ¿Habías terminado el
exercise? ejercicio?

Conectores

- When → cuando
- After → después
- By the time → para cuando
- As soon as → tan pronto como
Gerunds and infinitives

Gerunds Infinitives
Como sujeto de la frase (cuando va al Explicar por qué alguien hace algo →
principio) → eating healthy is good for why do you go to the shops? To buy milk
you
Después de preposiciones → I’m Después de adjectivos → it’s good to
interested in learning languages study everyday
Después de like, love, enjoy, can’t stand Después de los verbos learn (aprender),
(no soporto), don’t mind (no me importa), want (querer), agree (estar de acuerdo),
hate → I hate cycling decide (decidir), expect (esperar), hope
(esperar), seem (parecer), try (intentar),
would like (me gustaría) → I would like
to study Chinese
Después de go → go running, go
swimming, go cycling, go shopping, go
fishing

The passive

S + verb to be + 3ª columna (by + complement agente)

Present simple → people make computers in China → computers are made in China (by
people)

Present continuous → painters are painting my house → my house is being painted

Present perfect → I have fixed my computer → my computer has been fixed

Past simple → Bill Gates created the Internet → the Internet was created by Bill Gates

Past continuous → painters were painting my house → my house was being painted

Will → people will transform the Internet → the Internet will be transformed

Going to → people are going to transform the Internet → the Internet is going to be
transformed
* Después de will y going to siempre se pone “be”

* Después de have/has/had se pone el verbo en 3ª columna

* El complemento agente cuando se sobreentiende o cuando es un pronombre no se

pone

Have something done

S + have / get + object + 3ª columna (by + complement agente)

El have something done se utiliza cuando decimos que hemos hecho algo pero en
realidad lo ha hecho otra persona (me he cortado el pelo, he arreglado el coche, he
arreglado el ordenador). Lo único con lo que hay que tener cuidado es con el tiempo del
verbo to be.

I had my hair cut this morning (me he cortado el pelo esta mañana, pero en realidad lo
ha hecho otra persona).

Last week, I got my car fixed (me arreglaron el coche la semana pasada).

Recently, they have their wedding photographs taken.