Gramática Inglesa: Tiempos Verbales, Vocabulario y Ejemplos Prácticos

Present simple

Affirmative: I/you/we/they run
He/she/it runs

Negative: I/you/we/they don't run
He/she/it doesn't run

Question form: Do I/you/we/they run?
Does he/she/it run?

We use the present simple to talk about:

• regular habits and routines
• things that are always or generally true
• general and scientific facts

Present continuous

Affirmative: We're reading

Negative: She isn't reading

Question form: Are they reading?

Vocabulary

Build

Stocky, strong, thin, well-built

Height

Medium-height, short, tall

Hair

Bald, blonde, curly, dark, fair, long, medium-length, short, spiky, straight, wavy

General

Attractive, cute, good-looking, gorgeous, plain, pretty

Personality

Affectionate, arrogant, artistic, bossy, cheerful, clever, confident, determined, easy-going, energetic, generous, hard-working, impatient, likeable, sensible, sensitive, serious, shy (tímido), talkative (hablador), tidy (ordenado), well-organised.

Synonyms and partial synonyms

Attractive, beautiful, bright, calm, cheerful, childish, clever, cute, difficult, easy-going, elderly, energetic, friendly, generous, glad, good-looking, gorgeous, handsome, happy, hard, immature, intelligent, kind, lively, old, outgoing, pretty, relaxed, slim, sociable, thin

Past simple

Affirmative: I walked to school yesterday

Negative: You didn't run yesterday

Question form: Did he run yesterday?

We use the past simple to:

• describe finished actions or situations in the past
• say that one thing happened after another

Past continuous

Affirmative: He was going

Negative: They weren't going

Question form: Were you going?

We use the past continuous to:

• talk about activities in progress at a moment in the past
• describe scenes in a story or give a description
• talk about an activity in progress when another, shorter activity happened or interrupted it
• We often use while and as with the past continuous

Past perfect

Affirmative: She had left the station

Negative: They hadn't travelled far

Question form: Had you bought a ticket?

We use it to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past.

Used to and would

Affirmative: I used to/would play a lot when I was small.

Negative: She didn't use to have so many exams

Question form: What did you use to do?

We use them to talk about past habits, things we did regularly in the past, but not now.

Be used to

Affirmative: I am used to walking to school.

Negative: He isn't used to getting up early at the weekend.

Question form: Are you used to this weather?

We use it to talk about things that are normal or familiar to us.

Vocabulary

Types of transport

Cable car, coach, cruise ship, ferry, helicopter, hot-air balloon, jet ski, lorry/truck, motorbike, plane, scooter, skateboard, spacecraft, tram, underground/subway, van, yacht

Travel

Arrivals, bus stop, cancel, car park, catch, coach/train station, delay, departures, fare, information screens, lost property office, luggage, miss, platform, return, service station, single, taxi rank, ticket office, waiting room

Accommodation

Bed and breakfast, campsite, caravan, holiday home/apartment, homestay, hostel, motel, tent

Phrasal verbs connected with travel

Break down, check in, get away, get back, get in, get into/get off, get on/off, go on, set off, take off

Present perfect simple

Affirmative: subject + have/has + past participle (She has gone home)

Negative: We haven't seen him

Question form: Have you been there?

We use it to talk about:

• an experience in someone's lifetime
• recent events which have a result in the present
• actions or situations that began in the past but continue in the present

Ever, never, for, since, just, already, yet

Have you ever been to Japan? We can use never in negative sentences: I've never lived in a big city.

We use for and since with past actions or situations: I've lived here for three months / since January.

We use just to emphasise that something happened very recently: We've just arrived.

We use already for something that has happened earlier than we expected: The train has already left.

We use yet in questions and negative sentences.

Present perfect continuous

Affirmative: subject + have/has + been + -ing (She has been living)

Negative: We haven't been studying French

Question form: Have you been reading?

We use it when we want to emphasise the process and duration of an action.

Vocabulary

Houses and homes

Bungalow, cottage, detached house, flat/block of flats, houseboat, mansion, semi-detached house, terraced house

Places in a city

Art gallery, bridge, castle, city centre, factory, fountain, housing estate, market, museum, outskirts, palace, park, port, skyscraper, square, statue, suburbs, theatre, town hall