Verb Tenses

Intermediate

1 Present Simple

Use the present simple for habitual actions, general truths, and permanent situations.

"I work at a bank."
Permanent job situation
"She drinks coffee every morning."
Habitual action

2 Present Continuous

Use the present continuous for actions happening now or temporary situations.

"I am working on a project."
Action happening now
"I am knowing the answer."
State verbs don't use continuous form

3 Past Simple

Use the past simple for completed actions in the past with specific time references.

"I visited Paris last year."
Completed action with time reference
"She didn't come to the party."
Negative form

4 Present Perfect

Use the present perfect for actions that started in the past and continue to the present, or for past actions with present relevance.

"I have lived here for five years."
Action continuing to present
"Have you ever been to Japan?"
Experience without specific time

5 Future Forms

Use "will" for decisions made at the moment of speaking, "going to" for planned actions, and present continuous for arranged future events.

"I'll help you with that."
Spontaneous decision
"We're going to visit my parents next weekend."
Planned action

Practice Exercise

Choose the correct form:

Articles (a, an, the)

Beginner

1 Indefinite Articles (a, an)

Use "a" before consonant sounds and "an" before vowel sounds for singular, countable nouns.

"I need a pen."
Consonant sound
"She is an engineer."
Vowel sound

2 Definite Article (the)

Use "the" for specific items that both speaker and listener know about.

"The book on the table is mine."
Specific book

Prepositions

Intermediate

1 Prepositions of Time

Use "in" for months/years, "on" for days/dates, "at" for specific times.

"I was born in 1990."
Year
"The meeting is on Monday."
Day of the week
"Let's meet at 3 PM."
Specific time

2 Prepositions of Place

Use "in" for enclosed spaces, "on" for surfaces, "at" for specific locations or points.

"She lives in New York."
City (enclosed area)
"The book is on the table."
Surface
"I'll meet you at the station."
Specific point

3 Prepositions of Movement

Use "to" for direction, "from" for origin, "through" for passing within, "across" for crossing.

"I'm going to the office."
Direction
"She walked through the park."
Passing within

Pronouns

Beginner

1 Subject and Object Pronouns

Subject pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, they) perform the action. Object pronouns (me, you, him, her, it, us, them) receive the action.

"He called me yesterday."
"He" is subject, "me" is object

Conditional Sentences

Advanced

1 First Conditional

Use "if + present simple, will + base verb" for real future possibilities.

"If it rains, I will stay home."
Real possibility

2 Second Conditional

Use "if + past simple, would + base verb" for unreal present situations.

"If I won the lottery, I would travel the world."
Unreal/imaginary situation

Passive Voice

Advanced

1 Formation

Form: be + past participle. Use when the action is more important than who does it.

"The house was built in 1950."
Focus on the house, not the builder
"English is spoken worldwide."
General fact

Reported Speech

Advanced

1 Tense Changes

When reporting speech, tenses usually move one step back in time. Present becomes past, past becomes past perfect.

Direct: "I am tired." → Reported: "She said she was tired."
Present continuous → Past continuous
Direct: "I have finished." → Reported: "He said he had finished."
Present perfect → Past perfect

2 Reporting Questions & Commands

Use "asked" + if/whether for yes/no questions, "asked" + question word for wh-questions, "told/asked" + to infinitive for commands.

"Are you coming?" → "She asked if I was coming."
Yes/no question
"Close the door!" → "He told me to close the door."
Command

Relative Clauses

Intermediate

1 Defining Relative Clauses

Use "who" for people, "which" for things, "that" for both people and things, "where" for places, "when" for times.

"The man who lives next door is a teacher."
Person as subject
"The book that I read was fascinating."
Thing as object

2 Non-defining Relative Clauses

Add extra information with commas. Cannot use "that". Often used with proper nouns or unique references.

"My brother, who lives in Tokyo, is visiting."
Extra information with commas
"My brother, that lives in Tokyo, is visiting."
Cannot use "that" in non-defining clauses

Phrasal Verbs

Advanced

1 Separable Phrasal Verbs

The object can go between the verb and particle, or after the particle. With pronouns, the object must go between.

"Turn off the light" / "Turn the light off"
Both positions correct with noun
"Turn it off"
Pronoun must go between
"Turn off it"
Incorrect with pronoun

2 Common Phrasal Verbs

Learn common phrasal verbs and their meanings. Many have multiple meanings depending on context.

"I need to look up this word." (search for information)
Research/investigate
"The meeting was called off." (cancelled)
Cancel

Gerunds & Infinitives

Advanced

1 Verbs + Gerunds

Some verbs are followed by gerunds (-ing form): enjoy, finish, avoid, mind, suggest, consider, practice.

"I enjoy reading books."
Enjoy + gerund
"She finished working at 6 PM."
Finish + gerund

2 Verbs + Infinitives

Some verbs are followed by infinitives (to + base form): want, need, hope, plan, decide, agree, refuse, promise.

"I want to learn Spanish."
Want + infinitive
"They decided to move to Canada."
Decide + infinitive

3 Verbs with Different Meanings

Some verbs can take both gerunds and infinitives but with different meanings: remember, forget, stop, try.

"I remembered to call her." (didn't forget)
Remember + infinitive = didn't forget to do
"I remember calling her." (recall past action)
Remember + gerund = recall doing

Subjunctive Mood

Advanced

1 Present Subjunctive

Used after verbs of suggestion, demand, or importance. Use the base form of the verb for all persons.

"I suggest that he study harder."
Base form after "suggest"
"It's important that she be on time."
Base form "be" not "is"

2 Hypothetical Situations

Use "were" for all persons in hypothetical situations with "if" or "wish."

"If I were you, I would apologize."
"Were" not "was" in hypothetical
"I wish I were taller."
Wish + were for unreal situations

Sentence Structure

Intermediate

1 Simple, Compound, Complex Sentences

Simple sentences have one main clause. Compound sentences join two main clauses. Complex sentences have a main clause and subordinate clause.

"She reads books." (Simple)
One main clause
"She reads books, and he watches TV." (Compound)
Two main clauses joined by "and"
"She reads books when she has time." (Complex)
Main clause + subordinate clause

2 Subject-Verb Agreement

The verb must agree with the subject in number. Singular subjects take singular verbs; plural subjects take plural verbs.

"The student is studying."
Singular subject + singular verb
"The students are studying."
Plural subject + plural verb
"The students is studying."
Plural subject cannot take singular verb

Comprehensive Grammar Practice

Choose the correct modal verb:

Select the correct relative pronoun: