How good is your grammar?

Fashion Words
You did it! You have come to the end of this great journey. Now, you just need to take the next step. It’s time to show how much you have learnt. Let's make a review and put into practice your knowledge. Good luck!

1 | Basic uses of the Present Simple

Use it for facts, or things that always happen.

  • Cell phones are a great advancement of the modern age.
  • Technology helps us make our lives easier.

Use it for routines and habits.

  • Whales return to Baja California every year.
  • Mexicans always celebrate their Independence Day on September 15th.

Remember that the verb to be in present tense can also be used to talk about: age, occupation, price, time, feelings and states, nationality, and color.

  • Kary is 25 and her children are 8.
  • Gabriel is a famous writer.
  • A subway ticket is 5 pesos.
  • It is 7 o’clock.
  • My nephews are always hungry and sleepy.
  • Alejandra is Argentinian. She was born in Avellaneda.
  • My girlfriend’s eyes are blue.

Do you remember the spelling for he, she, it in present? If you don’t remember, take a look at this!

Most verbs: add -s live - lives / buy - buys

Verbs ending in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, -ss: add -es miss - misses / search - searches

Verbs ending in a consonant followed by -y: change the -y to -ie and add -s carry - carries / study - studies

Verbs such as: be and have are irregular have - has / be - is (am-are depending on the subject)

2 | Basic uses of the Past Simple

Use it for finished states, events, and actions.

  • We needed coins to make phone calls a long time ago.
  • Dr. Martin Cooper made the first public mobile phone in 1973.

Remember that there are irregular and regular verbs. So, how is the past simple formed? Study the following chart!

Regular Verbs Irregular Verbs Verb to be
  • Most verbs: add -ed wish - wished / fill - filled
  • Verbs ending in -e add -d date - dated / close -closed
  • Verbs ending in a consonant followed by -y: change the -y to -ied carry - carried / study - studied
  • Verbs ending in a single vowel followed by a single consonant, double the consonant and add -ed. fit - fittted / tap tapped
There is no rule and you have to learn their past by heart.
  • go - went
  • have - had
  • take - took
  • see - saw
  • write - wrote
  • read - read
The past simple of the verb to be has two forms and depends on the subjects.
  • was - were
  • I, he, she, it was
  • You, we, they were

It's very important to underline that with most verbs, an auxiliary verb is used to make negative and interrogative sentences; however, when the verb to be is used, that auxiliary verb is not needed. Take a look at these examples:

Regular verbs Verb to be
Negative Interrogative Negative Interrogative
The marathon did not become an Olympic sport until 1896. Did you pay the debts last month? She was not at home a week ago. Were they at the movies yesterday afternoon?
We didn't agree on the price. Did he run a marathon a month ago? We weren't angry with you. Was Motorola the first company to mass produce the first handheld cell phone?

3 | Time expressions. Present and Past.

Present Tense Past Tense
Adverbs of frequency Other expressions Expressions
  • Always
  • Usually
  • Normally/Generally
  • Often/Frequently
  • Sometimes
  • Occasionally
  • Seldom
  • Rarely
  • Never
  • Every day, every week, every month, every year, every Tuesday, etc.
  • Once a week, twice a month, three times a year, etc.
  • In the morning/afternoon/evening, in Spring/Summer, in March/December, etc.
  • On Monday, on Saturdays, on weekdays, on the weekend, etc.
  • At night, at 9:00, at 10:30, every now and then, at the weekend, etc.
  • Yesterday, yesterday morning/afternoon, evening.
  • The day before yesterday.
  • Last night, last Wednesday, last week/month/year.
  • This morning
  • An hour ago, a day ago, a week/month/year, ago, long time ago.
  • Recently
  • In 1985, in 2020, in the 90s.
  • On March 27th, on September 15th.

4 | Past Simple vs Past Continuous

Past Simple Past Continuous
We use it to:
  • Talk about finished states, events, and actions.
It is used to:
  • Talk about events that were in progress at a particular time in the past.
  • Set the background to a story.
  • Give the reason for a Past event.

When vs While

When we use the Past Continuous and the Past Simple together, we often use WHILE or WHEN. In this case, the Past Continuous describes background events, and the Past Simple describes interruptions.

Example:

While we were doing our English exam, an earthquake took place.

When her brother broke her window, she was making an important call.

Use while with the past continuous for the time the event was happening.

Use when with the past simple for actions.

Let's make this clearer!

When While
We use WHEN in sentences written in the Past Simple. We use WHILE in sentences written in the Past Continuous.
For example,
  • It was snowing when I woke up this morning.
  • When I saw Kary in her car, I was walking to work.
  • When my boss phoned, I was doing my chores.
For example,
  • While I was living in Spain, I ate at 9 or 10 o'clock in the evening.
  • David and Susy came round for a coffee while I was cleaning the house.
  • While I was shopping this morning, I met Nicole.
WHILE can be used to express that two activities were in progress at a specific time in the past.
For example,
  • While I was watching TV, my sister was doing her homework.
  • Kary was reading a novel while her son was playing video games.
  • While they were traveling to Cancun, their children were traveling to Huatulco.
IMPORTANT: If when or while is written at the beginning of a sentence, a comma is used to separate the two sentences.
REMEMBER!
We often use the Past Simple and the Past Continuous together to say that something happened in the middle of something else: But we use the Past Simple to say that one thing happened after another:
For example,
  • Roberto phoned while we were having dinner.
  • It was raining when I got up.
  • I saw you in the park yesterday. You were sitting on the grass and reading a book.
  • I hurt my back while I was working in the garden.
For example,
  • I was walking along the road when I saw Dave. So I stopped, and we had a chat.
COMPARE!
  • When Karen arrived, we were having dinner. (= we had already started before she arrived)
  • When Karen arrived, we had dinner. (= Karen arrived, and then we had dinner)

5 | Be going to vs Will

To talk about future actions we use mainly two structures: be going to and will, but they are not used for the same purposes.

Uses
Be going to Will
To talk about plans in the future (Prior Plans)
  • Kary is going to have a pool party in Cuernavaca next Saturday.
  • I am going to visit Los Cabos in Summer.
To talk about predictions based on personal opinions or experiences, usually with the verbs think, believe, I’m sure, I guess and as far as I can see.
  • I think my favorite soccer team will lose the next match.
  • Mobile payment technologies will transform smartphones into credit card and contactless payment devices.
To talk about predictions based on evidence
  • Look at that boy! He’s going to fall into the pool! Somebody, help him!
  • Look at those cars. They are going to crash.
To talk about that something is about to happen
  • Continue cheering! Our team is going to win the championship.
  • Get back! The bomb is going to explode.

6 | Time expressions. Future.

  • Today, tonight.
  • Tomorrow, tomorrow morning/afternoon, evening.
  • The day after tomorrow.
  • Next day, next week, month, year.
  • In an hour, in a /week/month/year.
  • This morning/afternoon, evening.
  • This week/weekend/month/year
  • In the near future.
  • On Monday, in August, in 2025.
Choosing exercise

Read carefully the following sentences and tick the best option.

  Daily Activities Past events/actions Plans or Predictions
My brother plays basketball on the weekends.
Their cousins ran marathons every six months.
Kary's sister is going to attend Bad Bunny’s concert in Mexico City. She already has the tickets.
Iker thinks he will fail Maths and Chemistry. He doesn’t understand the main concepts.
When Andy's family traveled to Oaxaca, they always ate grasshoppers.
Saray's best friend often goes to church on Sundays.
Select exercise

Read carefully the following sentences and choose the correct option.

1 | I heard a weird noise, I was studying in my bedroom.

2 | he was studying in his bedroom, he heard a weird noise.

3 | They were cooking their sister was watching TV.

4 | I was watching my favorite TV show the electricity went off.

5 | A parade was taking place in the town I was visiting it.

6 | my family visited Xcaret, I was working at home.

Writing exercise

Now that you have completed the previous exercise. Read the sentences again and write the correct answer.

1 | In this sentence "When I heard a weird noise, I was studying in my bedroom.", which action happened first?

2 | In this sentence "They were cooking while their sister was watching TV.", did the two actions happen at the same time?

3 | In this sentence "I was watching my favorite TV show when the electricity went off.", which action interrupted the other?

4 | In this sentence "A parade was taking place in the town while I was visiting it.", which action happened first?

5 | In this sentence "When my family visited Xcaret, I was working at home.", which action interrupted the other?

Writing exercise

Now that you have completed the previous exercise. Read the sentences again and write the correct answer.

1 | When I to Oaxaca last year, I ate grasshoppers and other kinds of insects.

2 | Helen five kilometers every other day.

3 | Roberto a smartphone in the near future.

4 | Kary an autobiography in August.

5 | Maria and José an episode of “Stranger Things” every Saturday.

6 | Susana married ten years ago.