Gramática Inglesa Esencial: Tiempos Verbales, Comparativos, Condicionales y Más

Tiempos verbales en inglés

Present continuous

PC: se usa para actividades que suceden ahora.
Estructura: I am / he, she, it is / we, you, they are + -ing

Present simple

PS: se usa para rutinas y hábitos.
Estructura: I, we, you, they do / he, she, it does. Negativas: don't / doesn't. (-s) en tercera persona.

Past simple

Past simple: se usa para acciones terminadas en el pasado.
Estructura: didn't y did.

Pasado de to be

Pasado de to be: am, is → was / are → were.

Present perfect

Present perfect simple: have / has + V3 (-ed).
I, you, we, they → have (plural). He, she, it → has (singular).

Present perfect continuous: have / has been + -ing.

Past perfect

Past perfect simple: has / have + V3 (-ed). Palabras clave: already, yet, just.

Past perfect continuous: had been + -ing. Palabras clave: all day long, all night, all morning, how long, a long time.

Futuro

Futuro: will + infinitivo (simple), will be + -ing (continuo), will have + V3 (-ed) (perfecto), will have been + -ing (perfecto continuo).

Used to y would

Used to: se usa para hablar de rutinas o hábitos del pasado que ya no hacemos.
Would: se usa para hablar de cosas que hacíamos en el pasado por regla general y que ya no hacemos.

Quantifiers

• Much (mucho) — con incontables
• Little (poco) — con incontables
• Many (muchos) — con contables
• Few (pocos) — con contables

Comparativos

1. Adjetivos cortos: agregar -er (faster, taller, smaller, richer).
2. Terminación consonante-vocal-consonante (CVC): se duplica la consonante + -er.
3. Terminación en -y: se cambia por -i + -er.
4. Irregulares: good → better, bad → worse, little → less, far → farther.
5. Adjetivos de 2 o más sílabas: usar more.

Superlativos

1. Agregar -est (oldest, newest, tallest).
2. Si termina en -e: agregar -st (widest).
3. Terminación CVC: duplicar consonante + -est.
4. Si termina en -i: -i + -est.
5. De 2 o más sílabas: usar most.
6. Irregulares: good → best, bad → worst, far → farthest.

Verbos modales

Modales: must, could, may, might, can't.

• Presente simple: modal + infinitivo.
• Presente continuo: modal + be + -ing.
• Pasado simple: modal + have + V3 (-ed).
• Pasado continuo: modal + have been + -ing.

Cláusulas relativas

Se usan para referirnos a:

• Personas: who / that
• Objetos: which / that
• Posesión: whose
• Lugares: where
• Momentos: when
• Razones: why

Defining clauses: dan información necesaria para saber a qué nos referimos. No van entre comas.
Non-defining clauses: dan información adicional pero no esencial. Van entre comas.

Oraciones condicionales

Zero conditional

Estructura: if + present simple, present simple. Se usa para hechos reales.
If you heat water up to 100º, it boils.

First conditional

Estructura: if + present simple, will + infinitivo. Se usa para situaciones probables.
If I stay at home tonight, I will watch series.
If I get a promotion, I will let you know.

Second conditional

Estructura: if + past simple, would + infinitivo. Se usa para situaciones poco probables o imaginarias.
If I saw through walls, I would check out my neighbors' decoration.
If I got a promotion, I would have a bigger office.

Third conditional

Estructura: if + past perfect, would have + V3. Se usa para situaciones pasadas o arrepentimientos.
If I had studied, I would have passed the exam.
If I had left home earlier, I wouldn't have missed the flight.