Mastering English Tenses and Vocabulary for Effective Communication

English Tenses and Vocabulary

Past Continuous

The past continuous is used to describe the context of past actions, to describe what was happening at a specific time, and to describe two events or actions that were happening simultaneously. Examples: I was living, you weren't. Common time expressions used with the past continuous include: as, while, when, at nine o'clock, last night, and all the time that.

Past Perfect Simple

The past perfect simple is used to indicate that one action happened before another action in the past. Examples: I had lived, he hadn't been. (past participle). Common time expressions used with the past perfect simple include: already, just, not yet, after, as soon as, by the time, and not…until.

Present Perfect Simple

The present perfect simple is used to describe very recent actions, to introduce new actions, and to talk about an action in the past that has relevance in the present. Examples: I have lived, he has lived. (past participle). Common time expressions used with the present perfect simple include: just, already, yet, not..yet, still ..not, recently, lately, this is the first time that…, today, this morning, week, year, before, once, never, and it's a long time since.

Present Perfect Continuous

The present perfect continuous is used to describe a continuation or repetition of a recent action from the past. Examples: I have been living, he has been living. Common time expressions used with the present perfect continuous include: lately, recently, today, this morning, week, and year.

Essential Vocabulary

Community and Integration

• Closed community: comunidad cerrada
• Come to terms with: llegar a un acuerdo con
• Country of origin: país de origen
• Get on well with: llevarse bien con
• Get to know: llegar a conocer
• Language barriers: problemas con el idioma
• Make friend with: hacer amigos
• Miss: añorar
• Misunderstandings: malentendidos
• Send back: enviar de vuelta
• Settle: asentarse
• Successful integration: exitosa integración
• Way of life: estilo de vida
• Work papers: papeles de trabajo

Digital and Internet Vocabulary

• Bookmark: marcador
• Broadband: ancho de banda
• Browse: navegar
• Web (browser): navegador
• Click on: hacer click
• Digital device: dispositivo digital
• Download (noun): descargado
• Download: descargar
• Drop-down menu: menú desplegable
• Email (noun): enviado
• Email: enviar
• FAQs: preguntas frecuentes
• Laptop: portátil
• Layout: diseño
• Load: carga
• Log on to: ingrese a
• Multitask: multitarea
• Refresh: actualización
• Reload: recargar
• Scroll down: desplazar hacia abajo
• Site map: mapa de sitio
• Smartphone: teléfono inteligente
• Social network: red social
• Surf: navegar
• Tablet: tableta
• Update (noun): actualizado
• Update: actualizar
• Upload (noun): subido
• Upload: subir
• Web surfer: internauta