Grammar

Present simple for habits, routines and facts. Present continuous (am/is/are + -ing) for what's happening now or temporarily.

• She works in a bank.Rutina/hecho → present simple.
• She's working from home today.Ahora/temporal → continuous.

Pistas de simple: always, usually, every day. De continuous: now, at the moment.

For finished actions in the past. Regular verbs add -ed; many common verbs are irregular (go→went, have→had).

• I watched a film last night.Regular: watch → watched.
• We went to Rome in 2019.Irregular: go → went.

En negativo/pregunta se usa 'did' + base: I didn't go / Did you go?

'a/an' for one non-specific thing, 'the' for something specific or already known. 'an' goes before a vowel SOUND.

• She's an honest person.'h' muda → suena a vocal → an.
• I bought a house. The house is old.1ª mención: a; ya conocido: the.

Por el sonido: an hour, a university.

'there is' + singular, 'there are' + plural. Use 'some' in affirmatives, 'any' in negatives and questions.

• There are some apples.Plural + afirmativo → are + some.
• There isn't any milk.Negativo → any.

Countable nouns: many, a few. Uncountable nouns (milk, money, time): much, a little. 'a lot of' works with both.

• There isn't much milk.incontable → much.
• There aren't many cars.contable → many.

Short adjectives: -er/-est (fast→faster→the fastest). Long adjectives: more/most. Never combine both.

• This route is faster than the other.corto → -er.
• It's the most interesting book.largo → most.

❌ more faster. Es 'faster' a secas. Irregular: good→better→best.

at + hours/points (at 6, at night); on + days/dates (on Monday); in + months/years/parts of day (in May, in the morning).

• The meeting is on Monday morning.día → on.
• I get up at 7 in the morning.hora → at; parte del día → in.

'be going to' for plans and intentions already decided. 'will' for instant decisions, offers and predictions.

• I'm going to study tonight.Plan decidido → going to.
• I'll help you with that.Decisión del momento → will.

Present perfect (have/has + participle) for past actions connected to now (no finished time). Past simple for finished moments.

• I have lived here since 2019.Sigue siendo verdad → present perfect.
• I lived in Paris in 2018.Terminado → past simple.

Señales: since, for, ever, never, already, yet.

Past continuous (was/were + -ing) for a longer action in progress; past simple for the shorter action that interrupts it.

• I was cooking when the phone rang.En progreso + interrupción.

First (real future): if + present, will + verb. Second (unreal/imaginary): if + past, would + verb.

• If it rains, we'll stay home.Real → first.
• If I had more time, I would travel.Imaginario → second.

'used to + base verb' = past habits/states no longer true. (≠ 'be used to + -ing' = be accustomed.)

• I used to play tennis.Hábito pasado que ya no hago.
• I'm used to waking up early.Estoy acostumbrado (otra estructura).

Negativo/pregunta: didn't use to / did you use to (sin -d).

must/have to = obligation; mustn't = prohibited; don't have to = optional; should = advice; can/could = ability/permission.

• You mustn't smoke here.Prohibido.
• You don't have to come.Opcional (no obligatorio).

mustn't ≠ don't have to: uno prohíbe, el otro libera.

Some verbs take -ing (enjoy, avoid, look forward to), others to + verb (want, decide, hope). After prepositions → -ing.

• I enjoy reading.enjoy + -ing.
• I want to learn English.want + to + verbo.

who → people, which → things, that → both, where → places, whose → possession.

• That's the woman who helped me.persona → who.
• The town where I grew up is small.lugar → where.

Many adjectives/verbs take a fixed preposition you learn as a block; after it, verbs take -ing.

• I'm good at remembering names.good at + -ing.
• It depends on the weather.depend on.

will (predictions/decisions), going to (plans/evidence), present continuous (fixed arrangements with people/times).

• I'm meeting Sara at 5.Cita acordada → present continuous.
• Look at those clouds — it's going to rain.Evidencia → going to.

have/has been + -ing: emphasises the duration of an action continuing up to now (often still happening).

• I've been studying for three hours.Duración hasta ahora.
• It's been raining all day.Acción prolongada y reciente.

Continuous = cuánto tiempo; simple (I've done) = resultado/cantidad.

had + past participle: an action that happened BEFORE another past action. Adds order to the story.

• By the time we arrived, the film had started.Empezó antes de llegar.
• She had never seen snow before that trip.Anterior a otro momento pasado.

be + past participle. Use it when the action matters more than who did it. Add 'by' only if the agent is important.

• The bridge was built in 1890.Importa la acción, no quién.
• English is spoken here.Agente irrelevante.

Third conditional (unreal past): if + past perfect, would have + participle. 'wish + past perfect' = regret about the past.

• If I had studied, I would have passed.Pasado imposible de cambiar.
• I wish I had said yes.Arrepentimiento del pasado.

Tenses shift back (is→was, will→would). Questions keep statement word order (no auxiliary); commands use 'tell sb to'.

• “I'm tired.” → He said he was tired.is → was.
• “Where do you live?” → She asked where I lived.Pregunta → orden de afirmación.

must have (sure it happened), can't/couldn't have (sure it didn't), might/may/could have (possible).

• She must have left already.Deducción casi segura.
• He can't have known.Imposible que lo supiera.

have/get + object + past participle = you arrange for someone else to do it for you.

• I had my car repaired.Otro reparó mi coche (yo lo gestioné).
• She's getting her hair cut.Alguien le corta el pelo.

so + adjective; such + (a) + noun phrase. too = more than needed; enough = the right amount. as…as = equality.

• It was so cold that we left.so + adjetivo.
• It's not big enough.enough va tras el adjetivo.

will have + participle = finished before a future point. will be + -ing = in progress at a future point.

• By 2030 I'll have graduated.Completado antes de 2030.
• This time tomorrow I'll be flying.En progreso en ese momento.

After negative adverbials at the start (Never, Hardly, No sooner, Not only), invert subject and auxiliary like a question.

• Never have I seen such a mess.Never + auxiliar + sujeto.
• No sooner had I sat down than it rang.Estructura no sooner…than.

Suena formal/enfático. No sooner… than; Hardly… when.

Split a sentence to stress one part: 'It was X that…' or 'What I need is…'.

• It was John who broke it.Enfatiza quién.
• What I need is a break.Enfatiza el objeto.

Mix times: past condition → present result (if + past perfect, would + verb), or present condition → past result.

• If I had saved money, I'd be rich now.Pasado → presente.
• If I were taller, I would have made the team.Presente → pasado.

Link ideas precisely: despite/in spite of + noun/-ing; although + clause; however/nevertheless (contrast); whereas (comparison).

• Despite the rain, we went out.despite + sustantivo/-ing.
• He's quiet, whereas she's outgoing.whereas = contraste paralelo.

despite + sustantivo; although + sujeto+verbo. No '❌ despite of'.