Inglês

Gramatica

Present perfect simple

It’s used to emphasise the result of a past action in the present.
“I have understood this grammar topic really well!”
Form:
Affirmative Negative Interrogative
Subject + have/has + Subject + have not Have/Has + subject +
past participle (haven’t)/ has not past participle?
(hasn’t) +past participle
Time expressions: Just, since, for, already, yet, lately, ever, never, today, how
long…?, recently, so far.

Present Perfect Continuous

It’s used to emphasise the duration or the process of an action that began in the
past and continues in the present.
“I have been studying for 2 hours now.”
Affirmative Negative Interrogative
Subject + have/has been Subject + have not Have/Has + subject + -
+ -ing form (haven’t) been/ has not ing form?
(hasn’t) been + -ing form
Time expressions: For, since, all morning/day/week/year, while, the whole day
how long…?

Past Perfect Simple

It’s used to refer to an action that happened before another action in the past.
“I had written my essay when my mother called me for dinner.”
Affirmative Negative Interrogative
Subject + had + past Subject + have not Had + subject + past
participle (hadn’t) + past participle participle?
Time expressions: Already, just, never, after, before, when, until, by, by the time
Past Perfect Continuous
It’s used to emphasize the duration of the first past action.
Affirmative Negative Interrogative
Subject + had been + -ing Subject + had not Had + subject + been + -
form (hadn’t) been + -ing form ing form?
Time expressions: Since, for, all day/night/morning/ week…

Connectors of contrast
Although / Even though / Though
They can be used:
• at the beginning of the sentence (with a comma after the contrast clause);
Although people try to act in climate friendly ways, they harm the environment.
• between clauses (no comma necessary):
People harm the environment even though they try to act in climate friendly ways.
*Though is a shortened form of although. It is used in informal speech rather than
in writing and it can come at the end of a sentence: People try to act in climate
friendly ways. They harm the environment though.

While / Whereas
They can be used:

• at the beginning of the sentence (with a comma after the contrast clause):
While / Whereas weather is measured over a short period of time climate is
measured over a long period of time.
• between clauses (with a comma before the contrast clause):
Weather is measured over a short period of time, while / whereas climate is
measured over a long period of time.

In spite of / Despite
They can be used:
• with a noun or a noun phrase:
In spite of / Despite the excellent work, they alone aren't going to change the climate
threat.
• with a gerund (-ing form of a verb):
In spite of /Despite doing an excellent work they alone aren't going to change the
climate threat.
In spite of the fact that and despite the fact that are usually followed by a clause:
In spite of the fact that / Despite the fact that sea level rise is inevitable, we still have
time to reduce its impact.

However, / Nevertheless,
• They are usually used in initial position in a sentence and followed by a
comma:

Climate change is worse than we thought. However, / Nevertheless, demand for coal
and natural gas is rising.

But
• But is always used before the second clause:
Zero carbon emissions might be possible by 2050, but we will still need to address
harmful climate impacts.

Yet
• Yet is usually used between clauses and preceded by a comma:
Limiting temperature rise to 1.5 °C would prevent the worst effects of climate change,
yet global warming is projected to be around 3.2 °C.

On the one hand, / On the other hand,

• They are usually used in initial position in a sentence and followed by a
comma:
On the one hand, most governments want to reduce carbon emissions. On the other
hand, many still support fossil fuel production and usage.

Modal verbs
Are auxiliary verbs that help to change the meaning of the verbs they precede.
Form: modal verb + main verb in the bare infinitive
“We can meet every Monday.”
In the 3rd person singular, the modal verb has no -s ending because it is invariable:
“Greta might win the Nobel Peace Prize someday.”
Past Modals
There are two main past modal forms:
Can > Could – “Even as a child Greta could understand what was happening to the
planet.”
Will > Would – “When he was younger, he would participate in every demonstration
possible.”
The other past modals are formed as follows:
Modal verb + Perfect Infinitive (have + main verb in past participle)
“You should have signed the petition.”

Had better vs Would rather

We use had better for present or future advice that should be implemented to
avoid a problem or danger.
“You had better reduce your carbon footprint”.
We use would rather to express a preference.
“I’d rather buy an electric car.”
When the subjects in both clauses are different, the second verb is conjugated
in the past.
“Greta would rather global leaders passed more sustainable laws.”
Affirmative form:
Had better/would rather + bare infinitive
Negative form:
Had better /would rather + not + bare infinitive
Interrogative form:
Had/Would + subject + better/ rather + bare infinitive?

I wish/ If only
Can be used to express a wish for a present situation to be different.
“If only politicians didn’t lie about their intentions.”
Form: I wish / If only + subject + Past simple
I wish and if only can also express a wish for a future change.
“I wish people would stop using plastic containers.”
Form: I wish / If only + subject + could/would + bare infinitive
I wish and if only can also be used to express a regret about a past situation.
“If only Portuguese activists had joined the march in Belgium.”
Form: I wish / If only + subject + Past perfect
Lastly, I wish can be used to express annoyance about someone or something
that is unlikely to change.
“I wish my parents would adopt a zero-waste lifestyle.”
Form: I wish + subject + would + bare infinitive

Future
We can use different tenses to talk about the future. We use the future with will for:
1. Predictions based on opinion or intuition
Scientists think genetic manipulation in the food industry will solve world hunger in
the near future.
2. Plans or on-the-spot decisions made at the time of speaking
“Both of the specials sound really good, but I will have the chicken.”
3. Invitations, requests and offers
“Will you help me persuade my friends to join WWF? We should all take a stand!”
4. Promises, fears, hopes and threats
“Our local politicians promised that they will only build green homes from now on.”
Form: will + main verb (infinitive without to)
We use be going to for:
1. Predicted events that are very near
“They are going to raise a lot of money in the campaign this weekend.”
2. Predictions that are based on visible proof/ evidence that something
will definitely happen
“The volcano is erupting! Its ashes and hot lava are going to destroy the entire
island.”
3. Plans and decisions that have previously been decided
“Greta is going to return to her hometown.”
4. Intentions
“My friends are going to sign the “Stand Up for Nature” petition tomorrow”.
Form: be going to + infinitive
We use present continuous for personal arrangements and fixed plans when we
know the time/place
“World leaders are presenting the climate study tomorrow at 3.00 pm.”
We use present simple for timetables and scheduled events
“The UN conference on climate change is in November.”
Time expressions: Tomorrow, next week, in an hour, soon, in the near future…

Future time clauses

We use future time clauses:
1. After the time expressions until, when and as soon as, a present tense is
used to refer to future time.
Form: Until/ When/ As soon as + Present tense
“Greta will have to wait for the COP26 climate summit when world leaders gather to
discuss the future of the planet.”
2. To emphasize that an event has been completed in the future, we use the
present perfect.
“Many young activists will wait until the climate summit has finished.”