Grammar Reference

Verb Tenses
Simple Present Present or Action Condition

General Truths

I hear you. Here comes the bus. I like music. I run on Tuesdays and Sundays.

There are thirty days in September.

Non-action; Habitual Action

Future Time

The train leaves at 4:00 p.m.

Present Progressive Activity in Progress

Verbs of Perception

I am playing soccer now.

He is feeling sad.

Simple Past Completed Action

Completed Condition

We visited the museum yesterday.

The weather was rainy last week.

Past Progressive Past Action that took place over a period Past Action interrupted by another of time

They were climbing for twentyseven days.

We were eating dinner when she told me.

Future With will/won't Activity or event that will or won't exist or happen in the future

With going to future in relation to circumstances in the present

I'll get up late tomorrow. I won't get up early

I'm hungry. I'm going to get something to

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eat.

Present Perfect With verbs of state that begin in the past and lead up to and include the present

To express habitual or continued action

He has lived here for many years

He has worn glasses all his life.

With events occurring at an indefinite or unspecified time in the past with ever, never, before

Have you ever been to Tokyo before?

Present Perfect Progressive To express duration of an action that began in the past, has continued into the present, and may continue into the future.

David has been working for two hours, and he hasn't finished yet.

Past Perfect To describe a past event or condition completed before another event in the past

In reported speech

When I arrived home, he had already called.

Jane said that she had gone to the movies.

Future Perfect To express action that will be completed by or before a specified time in the future

By next month we will have finished the job. He won't have finished his work until 2:00.

Passive Voice
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Grammar Reference
The passive voice is less usual than the active voice. The active voice is the "normal" voice. But sometimes we need the passive voice. In this lesson we look at how to construct the passive voice, when to use it and how to conjugate it. The structure of the passive voice is very simple: subject + auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (past participle) The main verb is always in its past participle form. Look at these examples: subject Water 100 people I We Are auxiliary verb (to be) is are am are they main verb (past participle) drunk employed paid not paid paid by everyone. by this company. in euro. in dollars. in yen?

Use of the Passive Voice We use the passive when:

we want to make the active object more important we do not know the active subject

subject give importance to active object (President Kennedy) active subject unknown President Kennedy My wallet

verb was killed has been stolen.

object by Lee Harvey Oswald. ?

Note that we always use by to introduce the passive object (Fish are eaten by cats). Conjugation for the Passive Voice www.blazeconsultoria.com.br

Grammar Reference
We can form the passive in any tense. In fact, conjugation of verbs in the passive tense is rather easy, as the main verb is always in past participle form and the auxiliary verb is always be. To form the required tense, we conjugate the auxiliary verb. So, for example:

present simple: It is made present continuous: It is being made present perfect: It has been made

Here are some examples with most of the possible tenses: INFINITIVE present SIMPLE past future conditional present CONTINUOUS past future conditional present PERFECT SIMPLE past future conditional present PERFECT CONTINUOUS past future conditional to be washed It is washed. It was washed. It will be washed. It would be washed. It is being washed. It was being washed. It will be being washed. It would be being washed. It has been washed. It had been washed. It will have been washed. It would have been washed. It has been being washed. It had been being washed. It will have been being washed. It would have been being washed.

Conditional
Here is a chart to help you to visualize the basic English conditionals. Do not take the 50% and 10% figures too literally. They are just to help you. www.blazeconsultoria.com.br

Grammar Reference
Probability 100% 50% 10% 0% Conditional Example Time any time

zero conditional If you heat ice, it melts. first conditional second conditional third conditional

If it rains, I will stay at home. future If I won the lottery, I would buy a car. If I had won the lottery, I would have bought a car. future past

1. First Conditional: real possibility We are talking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition or situation in the future, and the result of this condition. There is a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this afternoon. But there are some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. What will you do?

IF

condition present simple

result WILL + base verb I will stay at home.

If

it rains

2. Second Conditional: unreal possibility or dream The second conditional is like the first conditional. We are still thinking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition in the future, and the result of this condition. But there is not a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, you do not have a lottery ticket. Is it possible to win? No! No lottery ticket, no win! But maybe you will buy a lottery ticket in the future. So you can think about winning in the future, like a dream. It's not very real, but it's still possible. IF condition past simple result WOULD + base verb

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If I won the lottery I would buy a car.

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. We use the past simple tense to talk about the future condition. We use WOULD + base verb to talk about the future result. The important thing about the second conditional is that there is an unreal possibility that the condition will happen. 3. Third Conditional: no possibility The first conditional and second conditionals talk about the future. With the third conditional we talk about the past. We talk about a condition in the past that did not happen. That is why there is no possibility for this condition. The third conditional is also like a dream, but with no possibility of the dream coming true.

Last week you bought a lottery ticket. But you did not win. :-(
condition Past Perfect If I had won the lottery result WOULD HAVE + Past Participle I would have bought a car.

Notice that we are thinking about an impossible past condition. You did not win the lottery. So the condition was not true, and that particular condition can never be true because it is finished. We use the past perfect tense to talk about the impossible past condition. We use WOULD HAVE + past participle to talk about the impossible past result. The important thing about the third conditional is that both the condition and result are impossible now.

4. Zero Conditional: certainty We use the so-called zero conditional when the result of the condition is always true, like a scientific fact. Take some ice. Put it in a saucepan. Heat the saucepan. What happens? The ice melts (it becomes water). You would be surprised if it did not. IF condition present simple result present simple

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Grammar Reference
If you heat ice it melts.

Notice that we are thinking about a result that is always true for this condition. The result of the condition is an absolute certainty. We are not thinking about the future or the past, or even the present. We are thinking about a simple fact. We use the present simple tense to talk about the condition. We also use the present simple tense to talk about the result. The important thing about the zero conditional is that the condition always has the same result.

Reported Speech
1) If the sentence starts in the present, there is no backshift of tenses in Reported speech. Example: Susan: "I work in an office." Susan says that she works in an office. 2) If the sentence starts in the past, there is often backshift of tenses in Reported speech. Example: Susan: "I work in an office." Susan said that she worked in an office. Backshift of tenses TO FROM Simple Present Simple Past Simple Past Present Perfect Past Perfect Past Perfect will would Progressive forms am/are/is was/were was/were has been had been had been Backshift of tenses FROM TO Peter: "I work in the garden." Peter said that he worked in the garden. Peter: "I worked in the garden." Peter: "I have worked in the Peter said that he had worked in the garden." garden. Peter: "I had worked in the garden." Peter: "I will work in the garden." Peter said that he would work in the www.blazeconsultoria.com.br

Grammar Reference
garden. Peter said that he could work in the Peter: "I can work in the garden." garden. Peter said that he might work in the Peter: "I may work in the garden." garden. Peter said that he would work in the Peter: "I would work in the garden." garden. (could, might, should, ought to) (could, might, should, ought to) Progressive forms Peter said that he was working in the Peter: "I'm working in the garden." garden. Peter: "I was working in the garden." Peter: "I have been working in the Peter said that he had been working in garden." the garden. Peter: "I had been working in the garden." If the sentence contains an expression of time, you must change it as well. Peter: "I worked in the garden yesterday." Peter said that he had worked in the garden the day before.

Shifting of expressions of time this (evening) today/this day these (days) now (a week) ago last weekend here next (week) tomorrow Note: In some cases the backshift of tenses is not necessary, e.g. when statements are still true. that (evening) that day those (days) then (a week) before the weekend before / the previous weekend there the following (week) the next/following day

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Grammar Reference
John: "My brother is at Leipzig university." John said that his brother was at Leipzig university. or John said that his brother is at Leipzig university. or Mandy: "The sun rises in the East." Mandy said that the sun rose in the East. or Mandy said that the sun rises in the East.

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