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Use greetings to start a conversation and farewells to end one. They set the tone of any interaction.

• Greetings: Hi, Hello, Good morning, Good afternoon, Good evening
• Farewells: Bye, Goodbye, See you later, Take care, Good night
• Semi-formal: How are you? / Nice to meet you. / Have a good day.

Subject pronouns replace names as the subject of a sentence. The verb 'to be' connects the subject to a description or state.

• I am / You are / He is / She is / It is / We are / They are
• Contraction: I'm, You're, He's, She's, It's, We're, They're
• Negative: I am not (I'm not) / He is not (He isn't) / They are not (They aren't)
• Question: Am I? / Are you? / Is he/she/it? / Are we/they?

Articles indicate whether a noun is specific (the) or general/unspecified (a/an).

• A — before singular nouns starting with a consonant sound: a book, a car, a university
• An — before singular nouns starting with a vowel sound: an apple, an hour, an umbrella
• The — before specific nouns already known: the teacher, the book on the table
• Zero article — for general plural or uncountable nouns: I like music. Dogs are friendly.

Use 'to be' + adjective to describe people, places, and things.

• Structure: Subject + to be + adjective: She is tall. They are happy. It is cold.
• Common adjectives: tall/short, young/old, happy/sad, hot/cold, big/small, beautiful, intelligent, tired
• Intensifiers: He is very intelligent. She is really tired.

Use the Simple Present to talk about habits, routines, and facts. In the 1st person (I/we), the verb has no changes.

• Affirmative: I work / I study / I live / We eat / We play
• Negative: I don't work / I don't study / We don't eat
• Structure: Subject + do not (don't) + base verb

Use routine verbs to describe daily activities. Use 'What time...?' to ask about schedules.

• Routine verbs: wake up, get up, have breakfast, go to work, have lunch, come home, have dinner, go to bed
• Time: It's + [time] / at + [time]
• O'clock, half past, quarter past, quarter to
• Question: What time do you…? — I … at [time].

• AT — specific times and fixed expressions: at 7 o'clock, at noon, at midnight, at night
• ON — days and dates: on Monday, on my birthday, on March 15th
• IN — months, years, seasons, and parts of the day (except night): in January, in 2025, in the morning, in summer

• Days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
• On + day: I work on Monday. / I rest on Sunday.
• Every + day: I study every day. / She works every weekend.
• On weekdays / on weekends / on the weekend

Possessive adjectives show who something belongs to. They always come before a noun.

• My / Your / His / Her / Its / Our / Their
• Structure: Possessive Adjective + Noun
• My book. Your car. His teacher. Her phone. Its name. Our class. Their house.

• This (singular, near): This is my book.
• That (singular, far): That is your car over there.
• These (plural, near): These are my notebooks.
• Those (plural, far): Those are the students in the other room.

In the 3rd person singular (he/she/it), the verb gets an -s or -es ending in affirmative sentences.

• Most verbs + -s: work→works, play→plays
• -ch/-sh/-x/-o + -es: watch→watches, go→goes
• Consonant + y → -ies: study→studies
• Negative: He doesn't work (no -s on the main verb!)

• Do + I/you/we/they + base verb? — Do you work here?
• Does + he/she/it + base verb? — Does she study English?
• Short answers: Yes, I do. / No, I don't. / Yes, she does. / No, she doesn't.

• Negative: isn't / aren't / 'm not
• Questions: Am I...? / Is he...? / Are they...?
• Short answers: Yes, I am. / No, he isn't. / Yes, they are.

• Physical: tall, short, thin, heavy, young, old, beautiful, handsome, bald, curly/straight hair
• Personality: friendly, shy, funny, serious, kind, generous, lazy, hardworking, creative
• Position: adjective BEFORE noun (a tall man) or AFTER to be (He is tall)

• always (100%) — usually (80%) — often (60%) — sometimes (40%) — rarely (20%) — never (0%)
• Position: BEFORE main verb but AFTER to be
• I always wake up early. / She is always happy.

• AND — to add information: I work and study.
• BUT — to contrast: I like coffee but I don't like tea.
• SO — to show result: I was tired, so I went to bed early.
• AFTER THAT — to show sequence: I have lunch. After that, I go back to work.

• WHO — person: Who is she? Who do you work with?
• WHAT — thing/information: What is this? What do you study?
• WHEN — time: When do you go to the gym?
• WHAT TIME — specific hour: What time does the class start?
• HOW OLD — age: How old are you?

• Object pronouns: me, you, him, her, it, us, them
• Replace the object of the verb: I like Ana → I like her.
• Subject pronouns come before the verb; object pronouns come after.

• There is (singular) / There are (plural)
• Negative: There isn't / There aren't
• Question: Is there...? / Are there...?
• Short answers: Yes, there is. / No, there aren't.

• Affirmative: Subject + verb-ed: I worked. She studied. They watched TV.
• Spelling: most verbs + -ed | verbs ending in -e → +d | consonant+y → -ied | short vowel+consonant → double+ed
• Negative: Subject + didn't + base verb
• Time expressions: yesterday, last week, last night, in 2020, two days ago

Common irregular past forms — must be memorized:

• go→went, have→had, get→got, make→made, take→took, come→came
• see→saw, buy→bought, eat→ate, drink→drank, meet→met, tell→told
• Negative: always use 'didn't' + BASE form: 'I didn't go' (NOT 'I didn't went')

• Countable: have singular and plural: a book / two books
• Uncountable: no plural form: water, money, information, advice, furniture, traffic, news, rice, bread, music
• Use 'a piece of' with uncountable: a piece of advice, a glass of water, a loaf of bread

• SOME — affirmative, offers: I have some money. Would you like some coffee?
• ANY — questions and negatives: Is there any milk? I don't have any money.
• NO — negative meaning without 'not': There is no milk. I have no time.
• EVERY — all members: Every student passed. I work every day.

Use 'used to' to talk about past habits or states that no longer exist.

• Affirmative: Subject + used to + base verb: I used to wake up late.
• Negative: Subject + didn't use to + base verb: I didn't use to like vegetables.
• Question: Did + subject + use to + verb?: Did you use to play sports?

• Structure: Subject + was/were + verb-ing
• I was working. / She was sleeping. / They were playing.
• Use: actions in progress at a specific moment in the past; background action interrupted by Simple Past.
• Time expressions: at 8 pm, when you called, while

• Affirmative: Subject + will + base verb: I'll call you.
• Negative: won't + base verb: I won't forget.
• Uses: predictions, spontaneous decisions, promises, offers

• Introducing opinion: I think… / I believe… / In my opinion… / I feel that…
• Agreeing: I agree. / That's a good point. / Exactly! / Absolutely.
• Disagreeing politely: I'm not sure about that. / I see your point, but… / I disagree.
• Asking for opinion: What do you think? / Do you agree?

• GOING TO — prior plans & predictions based on evidence: I'm going to visit my parents this weekend. Look at those clouds — it's going to rain!
• WILL — spontaneous decisions, predictions, promises, offers: A: The phone's ringing! B: I'll get it!

• CAN — ability: I can speak English. / She can't drive.
• CAN — permission: Can I leave early? / You can park here.
• COULD — past ability: I could swim when I was 6.
• COULD — polite request: Could you help me? / Could I have the bill?
• COULD — possibility: It could be true. / He could be at home.

• MUST — strong obligation: You must wear a seatbelt.
• MUST — logical deduction: She must be tired — she's been working all day.
• SHOULD — advice: You should see a doctor. She should study more.
• HAVE TO — external obligation: I have to finish this by 5 pm. She has to go.

• Short adjectives + -er + than: tall→taller, fast→faster, big→bigger, happy→happier
• Long adjectives: more + adjective + than: more expensive, more interesting
• Irregular: good→better, bad→worse, far→farther/further
• Equal: as + adjective + as: She's as tall as her brother.

• Short adjectives: the + adjective + -est: the tallest, the fastest, the biggest
• Long adjectives: the most + adjective: the most expensive, the most interesting
• Irregular: good→the best, bad→the worst, far→the farthest/furthest
• Use 'in' or 'of' after superlatives: the best student in the class / the worst day of my life

• Gerund as subject: Swimming is great exercise.
• Gerund after prepositions: I'm good at cooking. She's interested in learning.
• Gerund after: enjoy, avoid, suggest, consider, practice, keep, finish, mind
• Infinitive after: want, decide, need, plan, hope, promise, agree

• Structure: Subject + have/has + past participle
• I have finished. / She has arrived. / They have seen that movie.
• Key adverbs: EVER (questions), NEVER (negative), ALREADY (sooner than expected), YET (questions/negatives)
• For / Since: 'I've worked here for 3 years' / 'since 2021'

• Structure: Subject + have/has + been + verb-ing
• I have been working. / She has been studying.
• Focus: duration and process (not just completion)
• Time expressions: for, since, all day, all morning, lately, recently

• Give up — stop trying: Don't give up!
• Find out — discover: I found out the truth.
• Look up — search for: Look it up online.
• Come up with — think of: She came up with a great idea.
• Run out of — have no more: I've run out of milk.
• Get along with — have a good relationship: Do you get along with your colleagues?

• WILL — predictions, spontaneous decisions, promises
• GOING TO — plans, predictions based on evidence
• PRESENT CONTINUOUS — fixed future arrangements: I'm meeting Sarah tomorrow at 3.
• SIMPLE PRESENT — scheduled events (timetables): The train leaves at 6.
• FUTURE CONTINUOUS — action in progress at a future moment: I'll be sleeping at midnight.

• MAY — possibility (~50%): It may rain later. She may be at home.
• MIGHT — possibility (~30%): I might come to the party. He might know.
• MAY — formal permission: May I come in?

• Hypothetical: I would travel more if I had time.
• Polite request/offer: Would you like some coffee? Would you mind helping me?
• Past habit: When I was a child, I would read every night.
• Indirect speech: She said she would come.

• Subject + am/is/are + used to + noun or gerund
• I'm used to waking up early. (it's normal for me now)
• She's accustomed to working under pressure.
• Get used to = process of becoming accustomed

• ZERO — facts: If + simple present, simple present. If you heat water to 100°C, it boils.
• FIRST — real future: If + simple present, will + base verb. If it rains, I'll take an umbrella.
• SECOND — hypothetical: If + simple past, would + base verb. If I had more time, I would travel more.
• 'Unless' = 'if not': Unless you study, you won't pass.

• I wish + simple past (present wish): I wish I spoke better English.
• I wish + would (about others): I wish he would stop talking!
• I wish + past perfect (past regret): I wish I had studied harder.
• If I were you, I would/wouldn't…

• Structure: Subject + had + past participle
• I had finished when she arrived. / She hadn't eaten before the meeting.
• Key connectors: before, after, when, already, by the time, never…before
• Past Perfect = the earlier of two past actions

• Structure: If + past perfect, would have + past participle
• If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam.
• 'Could have / might have' can replace 'would have'

• Structure: Subject + will have + past participle
• I will have finished by 5 pm. / She will have graduated by next year.
• 'By' introduces the deadline — the action will be complete before that time.

• COULD HAVE + pp — past possibility/ability not realized: She could have been a doctor.
• MIGHT HAVE + pp — past possibility (uncertain): He might have forgotten.
• SHOULD HAVE + pp — criticism/regret (past obligation not fulfilled): You should have called.
• MUST HAVE + pp — strong deduction: She must have worked all night.
• WOULD HAVE + pp — hypothetical past result: I would have helped.

• Structure: Subject + to be (conjugated) + past participle (+ by + agent, optional)
• Simple Present: Coffee is grown in Brazil.
• Simple Past: The building was destroyed.
• Present Perfect: The project has been completed.
• Modal: This must be done immediately.

• Statements: Simple Present → Past | Will → Would | Can → Could
• Yes/No questions: asked if/whether: 'Are you ready?' → She asked if I was ready.
• WH-questions: 'Where do you live?' → He asked where I lived. (statement word order!)
• Commands: told/asked + object + to + infinitive: 'Leave!' → She told me to leave.

• Take on — accept a responsibility: She took on more projects.
• Bring up — raise a topic: Don't bring up the salary issue now.
• Back down — stop asserting: He finally backed down after the debate.
• Set up — establish/arrange: They set up a new company.
• Wrap up — finish: Let's wrap up the meeting.
• Look into — investigate: We need to look into this further.

• Sit on the fence — avoid taking sides
• Read between the lines — understand hidden meaning
• Play devil's advocate — argue the opposite for discussion
• See eye to eye — agree with someone
• Cut corners — do something poorly to save time/money
• Hit the ground running — start something energetically
• Get the ball rolling — start something
• Bite the bullet — do something difficult you've been avoiding