1. Grammar Guide
Inglés 4
Núcleo de Idiomas

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Índice
Contenido
Índice................................................................................................................................................... 2
The Past Simple................................................................................................................................... 3
Past Tense of Be.................................................................................................................................. 7
‘Used to + infinitive’ ............................................................................................................................ 9
Be going to ........................................................................................................................................ 11
Present continuous for future arrangements................................................................................... 12
Will .................................................................................................................................................... 14
The Present Perfect—Contractions and Negatives........................................................................... 16
Adding an Adverb.............................................................................................................................. 17
The Present Perfect vs. the Simple Past............................................................................................ 19
The Present Perfect and the Present Perfect Continuous ................................................................ 22
English Modal Verb Review............................................................................................................... 23
Fill in the gaps with a modal verb. .................................................................................................... 25
The Passive Voice—An Overview...................................................................................................... 26
Key/Respuestas................................................................................................................................. 28
Referencias bibliográficas ................................................................................................................. 30
Para mayor ayuda, puedes usar el diccionario Cambridge online:
http://dictionary.cambridge.org

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The Past Simple
Regular and Irregular verbs.
Positive forms
A regular past form ends in –ed.
 It happened very quickly.
 The van crashed into the cat.
 I posted the letter yesterday. We once owned a caravan.
Some verbs have an irregular past form.
 The car came out of a side road. Vicky rang earlier.
 I won the game.
 I had breakfast at six. The train left on time. We took some photos.
The past simple is the same in all persons.
Negative and Questions
We use did in negatives and questions.
NEGATIVE QUESTION
I/you/he/she/it/we/they did not stop.
Or didn't stop.
Did I/you/he/she/it/we/they stop?
e.g. The car did not stop. The driver didn't look to his right.
What did you tell the police? - Nothing. Did you ring home? - Yes, I did.

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We do not use a past form such as stopped or rang in negatives and questions.
e.g. The car didn't stopped and NOT Did you rang?
Use
We use the past simple for something in the past which is finished.
Example:
 Emma passed her exam last year. We went to the theatre on Friday. Elvis Presley
died in 1977.
 I knew what the problem was. When did you buy this car? - About three years
ago.
Exercises: Fill in the blanks with the past tense of the verb in parentheses ( ).
Example: The Wright brothers’ father gave them a flying toy. (give)

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Exercise 1
Complete the sentences and questions with the correct conjugation.
1. I ________________ tennis at the weekend with Alex. (play)
2. We _______________ ancient history when we were at school. (study)
3. She ________________ her studies at university last year. (begin)
4. They _______________ the match yesterday. (lose)
5. The plane ________________ 20 minutes ago. (land)
6. We ________________ the car this morning. (not/wash)
7. We _______________ together at the ceremony. (not/sit)
8. ___________you __________ to the party on Saturday? (go)
9. ______________ he _______________ a new car? (buy)
10. ______________ the manager ______________ your proposal? (understand)

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Past Tense of Be
The verb be has two forms in the past: was and were.
Study the table below.

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Exercise 2
Complete the text with was, wasn’t, were or weren’t.
Class reunion
Last night I went to a class reunion party and had a great time. Many of my friends
1………………. there, but my best friend 2………………. She said she 3……………… feeling sick, so
she couldn’t go. Many of my old school mates 4…………………. there too, which I hadn’t seen
for a long time. Even one of our teachers 5…………………… there, Mr. Jones our music
teacher. He 6………………….. there for too long; he left early. I 7……………….. very happy to see
all these people and I guess they 8……………………. happy to see me, or maybe they
9………………………. (?).

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‘Used to + infinitive’
We use this expression to talk about habits or repeated actions we did in the past which
we don’t do in the present. We also use it to talk about states in the past which are no
longer true.
For example:
• I used to have long hair (but now I have short hair).
• He used to smoke (but now he doesn’t smoke).
• They used to live in India (but now they live in Germany).
Watch out! With the negative and the question, it’s ‘use’ and not ‘used’:
• Did you use to be a teacher?
• Did he use to study French?
• She didn’t use to like chocolate, but she does now.
• I didn’t use to want to have a nice house.

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Exercise 3
Complete then sentences with used to, didn’t use to or did …. use to.
1. I ___________________________ (play) hide and seek.
2. Ten years ago I _____________________________ (live) in an apartment.
3. When I was young I___________________________________ (not/have) a car.
4. My grandpa _________________________ (not/use) a computer at the age of 10.
5. _______________ you _________________ walk to school?
6. _______________ you __________________ (share) a room with your brother?

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Be going to
1. We often use 'be going to' to talk about our future intentions and plans. We have usually made
our plans before the moment of speaking.
e.g. A: We've run out of milk.
B: I know; I'm going to buy some.
0. We can also use 'be going to' to make a prediction about the future. Often it's
possible to use both 'be going to' and 'will' but it's more common to use 'be going
to' if we can see evidence in the present.
e.g. Look at those boys playing football! They're going to break the window.
The sky is getting darker and darker. It's going to rain.

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Present continuous for future arrangements
We form the present continuous with to be in the present and an –ing verb.
There are three primary uses for the present continuous tense:
■ happening right now for a short time.
■ happening for a longer time but still temporary.
■ talking about future arrangements.

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Exercise 4
Are these sentences talking about the present or future arrangements?

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Will
1. We use the future simple with 'will' to predict the future. It is the basic way we
talk about the future in English, and we often use it if there is no reason to use
another future tense. We can use it for future facts and for things that are less
certain.
e.g. The sun will rise at 7am.
I think the Conservatives will win the next election.
2. Promises / requests / refusals / offers.
e.g. I'll help you with your homework.
Will you give me a hand?
I won't go!
In a similar way, we often use 'will' when we're talking about a decision at the moment of
speaking. We are usually making an offer or promise or talking about something that we
want to do.
e.g. A: I'm cold.
B: I'll close the window.
3. We use the simple future with 'will' in the first conditional, and in other sentences
that have a conditional feeling.
e.g. If it doesn't rain, we'll go to the park.
Let's arrive early. That will give us time to relax.

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Exercise 5
Put in will or be going to.
1. A: I don’t have any ice.
B: Don’t worry. I ___________________ get some from the corner shop.
2. A: Why is Vilma packing a bag?
B: She _________________________ go to Chiloe tomorrow.
3. A: I can’t lift this box. It’s too heavy.
B: Really? I __________________ help you.
4. _______________ you ______________ buy that computer?
5. I think I _____________________ married in 10 years time.
6. I think our sales ________________ grow next year.
7. ___________________ Harry ___________________ start a college degree?
8. ___________________ Sandra and Betty ___________________ work together?

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The Present Perfect—Contractions and
Negatives
We use the present perfect tense to show that an action or state started in the past and
continues to the present. We form the present perfect with have or has + the past
participle.

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Adding an Adverb

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Exercise 6
Order the words to make sentences or questions.
1. written I emails have 23.
_______________________________________________________
2. seen has She the times movie 10.
______________________________________________
3. planned her Monica hasn’t yet holidays.
_______________________________________
4. The football boys weeks haven’t three played for. _____________________________
5. spoken you to your Have boss?
________________________________________________
6. Where been have you?
_________________________________________________________
7. the had How long has car he?
__________________________________________________
8. me Why called haven’t you?
____________________________________________________

19. The Present Perfect vs. the Simple Past
*Do not confuse the present perfect with the simple past.
Exercise 7
Choose the correct response.
1. Your house is finished.
A How long you worked on it?
B How long did you work on it?
C How long have you worked on it?
2. We live in a village now.
A. But we lived in a big city for 5 years.
B But we have lived in a big city for 5
years.
C But we lived in a big city lately.
3. Can I borrow your car?
A. Did you ever drive a car?
B Did you drive a car yet?
C Have you ever driven a car?
4. Where is Elizabeth?
A. She went to school already.
B She has already gone to school.
C She already went to school.

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5. I have had good lunch today.
A Where had you the lunch?
B Where did you have the lunch?
C Where have you had the lunch?
6. Do you think you can do it for me?
A. I'm sorry, I didn't understand.
B I'm sorry, I haven't understood.
C I'm sorry, I didn't understood.
7. Do you know James Stuart?
A Yes, I have known him since 1997.
B Yes, I knew him since 1997.
C Yes, I have known him from 1997.
8. Peter is back from London.
A. Did he bring me any postcards?
B Did he bring any postcards for me?
C Has he brought me any postcards?

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The Present Perfect and the Present Perfect
Continuous
Exercise 8
Complete the sentences using the verb in brackets in the present perfect simple or
continuous.
1. I _______________ (write) five emails today.
2. Sorry the kitchen's a mess. Ollie _______________ (cook).
3. Sorry I'm late! Have you _______________ (wait) long?
4. He _______________ (learn) English for six years.
5. I _______________ (see) that film! It was terrible.
6. They've been playing for forty minutes but no one _______________ (score) a goal yet.

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English Modal Verb Review
Modal
verb
Use Example
CAN
ability
 I can do several things
at the same time.
when something is possible  Miracles can happen.
permission  You can go now.
informal requests  Can you come for a minute?
COULD
past form of "can"
 She said she could pay
for us as well.
polite requests
 Could you move
your bag, please?
possibility
 It could be that he
missed the train.
MAY
possibility  It may rain tomorrow.
ask or give
permission (formal)
 May I speak?
MIGHT
past form of "may"
 He said he might
change his mind.
possibility  This might fail.
MUST
you have to do it  You must obey the law
it's very logical or
very likely to happen
 They left so early, they
must be home by now.

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MUST
NOT/
MUSTN’T
you are not
allowed to do it
 You mustn't smoke in here.
SHALL
future for "I" and "we"  I shall see him tomorrow.
questions and suggestions
for "I" and "we"
 Let's continue, shall we?
SHOULD
the right thing to do
 She should call the police.
Advice
 What should I do?
 You should stop
thinking about it.
what is likely or
expected to happen
 We should be
back by midnight.
WILL
future action or states
(not plans)
 Prices will go up
next summer.
promises and intentions  It's alright, I'll pick it up.
WOULD
past form of "will"  He told me he would come.
imagined situations
 What would you do
if you were him?
for polite requests, offers
and invitations
 Would you please sit down?
 Would you like some tea?
 We are meeting with Sarah
next Saturday, would you like to come
along?
to say what you
want to do or have
 I would like a piece of cake.

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OUGHT
TO
the right thing to do  You ought to apologize.
Exercise 9
Fill in the gaps with a modal verb.
1. You ____________ fall asleep when you are driving.
2. You ____________ feed the cat, it isn't hungry.
3. ____________ you help me move the furniture?
4. A fish ___________ swim, but it ____________ fly.
5. The children ____________ leave school early tomorrow.
6. You ____________ wait any longer, you ____________ go now.
7. The fire spread quickly but everyone ____________ escape.
8. You ____________ drive so fast, we're not late.
9. ____________ we go climbing? - No, let's go swimming.
10. You can only smoke in the canteen, you ____________ smoke in this room.
11. You ____________ leave medicines in places where children can get hold of them.
12. My grandfather was very clever, he ____________ speak four languages.
13. I'm hungry. - Don't worry, I ____________ make a sandwich for you.
14. You ____________ shout, I can hear you.
15. She's got temperature, she ____________ go out today, she ____________ stay in
bed.

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The Passive Voice—An Overview
We use the passive voice when the subject of the sentence is the receiver of the action.
Compare active voice and passive voice in different tenses.

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Exercise 10
Read the following sentences. Decide if the underlined verb is active (A) or passive (P).
Example: The actress received an Oscar. A
The actress was given an Oscar. P
1. The actress wore a beautiful gown.
2. Halle Berry presented an Oscar.
3. Halle Berry has been seen in many movies.
4. The director has been nominated many times.
5. Old movies were filmed in black and white.
6. Many actors live in California.
7. Many movies are made in Hollywood.
8. The names of the winners will be printed in tomorrow’s newspaper.
9. The actress thanked all the people who helped her win.
10. The actress was driven to the ceremony in a white limousine.
11. Hollywood was built at the beginning of the twentieth century.
12. Hollywood has become the movie capital of the U.S.

28. Key/Respuestas
Exercise 1
1. played 2. studied 3. began4. lost 5. Landed 6. Didn’t wash
7. didn’t sit 8. Did you go 9. Did he buy 10. Did the manager understand
Exercise 2
1. were 2. Wasn’t 3. Was 4. Were 5. Was
6. wasn’t 7. Was 8. Were 9. Weren’t
Exercise 3
1. used to play
2. used to live
3. didn’t use to have
4. didn’t use to use
5. Did you use to
6. Did you use to
Exercise 4
1. P 2.F 3. P 4. F 5. F
Exercise 5
1. will
2. is going to
3. will
4. Are you going to
5. will
6. will
7. Is Harry going to
8. Are Betty and Sandra going to
Exercise 6
1. I have written 23 emails.
2. She has seen the movie 10 times.
3. Monica hasn’t planned her holidays yet.
4. The boys haven’t played football for three weeks.
5. Have you spoken to your boss?
6. Where have you been?
7. How long has he had the car?
8. Why haven’t you called me?
Exercise 7
1. c
2. a
3. c
4. b
5. b
6. a
7. a
8. b.

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Exercise 8
1. have been writing
2. has cooked
3. been waiting
4. has been learning
5. have seen
6. has scored
Exercise 9
1. mustn’t 2. needn’t 3. Can / Could 4. can – can’t 5. will be allowed to 6.
needn’t – can 7. was able to 8. needn’t 9. Could 10. can’t
11. mustn’t 12. could 13. can 14. needn’t 15. mustn’t – must
Exercise 10
1. A 2. A 3. P 4. P 5. P 6. A 7. P 8. P 9. A 10. P
11. P 12. A

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Referencias bibliográficas
Adaptado de Education First. Recuperado de http://www.ef.com/english-
resources/english-grammar/simple-present-tense en abril de 2017.
Adaptado de ejercicio de ingles.com Recuperado de
http://www.ejerciciodeingles.com/expresiones-cantidad-ingles-some-any en abril
de 2017.
Adaptado de Learn English Language. Recuperado de
http://www.englishlanguage.com/blog/aprenda-ingles/gramatica/preguntas-
informativas en abril de 2017.