Cheatsheet A0–A1

Foundations

The Alphabet

Point	Rule	Example
26 letters	vowels a, e, i, o, u; 21 consonants; y works as both	yes / my
A H J K	names have the sound /eɪ/	H /eɪtʃ/ · J /dʒeɪ/ · K /keɪ/
B C D E G P T V	names end in /iː/	B /biː/ · C /siː/ · T /tiː/
F L M N S X	names start with /e/	F /ef/ · M /em/ · X /eks/
I Y	names end in /aɪ/	I /aɪ/ · Y /waɪ/
O R Z	each name is its own	O /əʊ/ · R /ɑː/ · Z /zed/
Q U W	names end in /juː/; W is double U	Q /kjuː/ · U /juː/ · W /ˈdʌbəljuː/
Name and sound	a letter's name can differ from its sound in a word	A /eɪ/ ≠ apple /æ/
US	Z is /ziː/ and R is /ɑːr/	Z /ziː/ · R /ɑːr/
Trap	the name's vowel tells G from J and E from I	G /dʒiː/ · J /dʒeɪ/ · E /iː/ · I /aɪ/

Sounds and IPA

Point	Rule	Example
IPA	one symbol for each sound, written between slashes	book /bʊk/
Spelling and sound	spelling and sound often differ: photo has no /p/ and no /h/	photo /ˈfəʊtəʊ/
ː / ˈ	ː makes a vowel long; ˈ comes before the stressed syllable	food /fuːd/ · teacher /ˈtiːtʃə/
Consonant symbols	some symbols differ from the spelling: ch → /tʃ/, j → /dʒ/, y → /j/	chair / job / yes
A1Stress in two syllables	most nouns and adjectives: first syllable; many verbs: second	ˈteacher / beˈgin
A1-tion / -sion / -ic	stress the syllable before the ending	inforˈmation / fanˈtastic
A1Weak vowel	unstressed vowels are often the weak /ə/	about /əˈbaʊt/
A1US	/ɒ/ becomes /ɑː/, /əʊ/ becomes /oʊ/, and /r/ is pronounced after vowels	hot /hɑːt/ · car /kɑːr/
A1Trap	short /ɪ/ and long /iː/ make different words	ship /ʃɪp/ · sheep /ʃiːp/
A1Trap	th is /θ/ or /ð/	think /θɪŋk/ · this /ðɪs/

Numbers

Point	Rule	Example
0–12	each has its own word; -teen starts at 13	zero / eleven / twelve
-teen	13–19 add stressed -teen; 13, 15 and 18 change their first part	thirteen /θɜːˈtiːn/ · fifteen · eighteen
-ty	tens end in -ty and the stress is on the first part	thirty /ˈθɜːti/ · forty
21–99	ten + hyphen + unit	twenty-one / forty-five
hundred, thousand, million	they stay singular after a number; and comes after hundred	two hundred and fifty / five million
Ordinals	the order of things: first, second, third; from 4 add -th	My flat is on the second floor. / the fourth of July
Short ordinals	number + the last two letters of the word	1st / 2nd / 3rd / 4th
Compound ordinals	only the last word changes	twenty-first / a hundred and second
Phone numbers	say each digit; 0 is oh; two equal digits are double	077 → oh double seven
Comma and point	a comma separates thousands; a point separates decimals	1,500 / 2.5 → two point five
Trap	five, nine, twelve and twenty change their spelling in ordinals	fifth / ninth / twelfth / twentieth
Trap	forty drops the u that fourteen keeps	fourteen ≠ forty

Days, Months and Dates

Point	Rule	Example
Days	Monday to Friday are weekdays; Saturday and Sunday are the weekend	Monday / Friday / the weekend
Months	twelve months, from January to December	January / June / December
Day of the month	say the day as an ordinal, then of and the month	5 May → the fifth of May
Date order	day, month, year (US: month, day, year)	04/07/2026 = 4 July
Years	two pairs of digits; 00 is hundred, 01–09 take oh	nineteen ninety-nine / nineteen hundred / nineteen oh five
After 2000	2000–2009: two thousand (and) + unit; from 2010 both forms are common	two thousand and eight / twenty twenty-six
Asking the date	ask What's the date today? and answer with an ordinal	It's the tenth of October.
Capitals	days and months start with a capital letter	Monday / June
Trap	the first d in Wednesday is silent	Wednesday /ˈwenzdeɪ/

Telling the Time

Point	Rule	Example
Asking	answer with It's + the time	What time is it? — It's seven thirty.
Numbers	say the hour, then the minutes; 1–9 minutes take oh	7:05 → seven oh five
o'clock	a full hour takes o'clock	seven o'clock
A1past	minutes 1–30: past the hour	five past three / (a) quarter past three / half past three
A1to	minutes 31–59: to the next hour; say the minutes first	twenty to four / (a) quarter to four
A1minutes	minutes that are not 5, 10, 15… add minutes	three minutes past six
A1a.m. / p.m.	a.m. is midnight to midday; p.m. is midday to midnight	seven a.m. / three p.m.
A1Parts of the day	add the part of the day after the time	seven in the morning / three in the afternoon / eight in the evening / eleven at night
A124 hours	speech uses 12 hours; timetables use the 24-hour clock	19:30 → nineteen thirty
A1US	use after for past and of for to	a quarter after three / ten of four
Trap	minutes replace o'clock	seven fifteen

Nouns and determiners

Articles: a, an, the

Point	Rule	Example
Form	a before a consonant sound, an before a vowel sound	a book / an apple
a / an	one thing, a job, or a first mention	She's a doctor.
the	a thing we both know, or already mentioned	There's a cat. The cat is black.
the	the only one; superlatives and ordinals	the sun / the best / the first time
No article	plural and uncountable nouns in general; meals; names	I like dogs. / We have lunch at two.
Trap	the first sound decides, not the letter	a university / an hour
Trap	most countries take no article	I live in Spain.

Plurals

Point	Rule	Example
Most nouns	+ s	two books
-s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -z	+ es	bus → buses / box → boxes
consonant + y	y → ies	city → cities
vowel + y	+ s	boy → boys
A1-o / -f / -fe	some + es; -f / -fe → ves	potato → potatoes / knife → knives
Irregular	no -s: man, woman, child, person	three children
A1foot, tooth, mouse	irregular	feet / teeth / mice
A1jeans, trousers, glasses	plural only, plural verb	My jeans are new.
A1Sound of -s	/s/ after voiceless sounds, /z/ after voiced sounds, /ɪz/ after /s z ʃ tʃ dʒ/	cups /kʌps/ · dogs /dɒɡz/ · buses /ˈbʌsɪz/
Trap	people takes a plural verb	The people are nice.
A1Trap	sheep and fish keep one form	two sheep

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Point	Rule	Example
Countable	a / an in the singular, -s in the plural	a book / two books
Uncountable	masses, materials, ideas: no a / an, no plural	I like music.
Verb	a singular verb, also for news	The water is cold. / The news is good.
Unit	count it with a unit; the unit takes the plural	a glass of water / a piece of advice / two cups of coffee
Trap	advice and information: some, or a piece of	a piece of advice / some advice
Trap	work is uncountable; a job is countable	She has a good job.

Quantifiers: some, any, much, many

Use	Plural countable noun	Uncountable noun
Affirmative	some apples / a lot of apples	some milk / a lot of milk
Negative	not any apples / not many apples	not any milk / not much milk
Question	any apples? / many apples?	any milk? / much milk?
How…?	How many apples?	How much milk?

This, That, These, Those

Use	Near	Far
Before a singular noun	this bag	that bag
Before a plural noun	these shoes	those shoes
Alone, with is	This is my bag.	That is my bag.
Alone, with are	These are my keys.	Those are my shoes.
Introducing people	This is Ana.	—
On the phone	Hi, this is Tom.	Is that Ana? (US: Is this Ana?)
A1Instead of a known noun	I like this one.	I like that one.
A1Time: now / then	this morning	that day
A1Something just said or done	—	That's great!

Possessive 's

Point	Rule	Example
Singular noun	+ 's	Ana's car
Plural in -s	+ '	my parents' house
Irregular plural	+ 's	the children's room
Two owners	's on the last name	Tom and Ana's flat
's or of	's for people and animals, of for things	the end of the film
Without the noun	someone's home or shop	at the doctor's
Word order	owner first, thing after, no article	my sister's phone
Trap	Whose asks about the owner; Who's means who is	Whose bag? ≠ Who's there?

Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

Point	Pronouns	Rule	Example
Subject	I / you / he / she / it / we / they	goes before the verb	She's a teacher.
A1Object	me / you / him / her / it / us / them	goes after a verb or a preposition	Can you help me?
Possessive + noun	my / your / his / her / its / our / their	goes before a noun, with no article	My name is Tom.
A1Possessive alone	mine / yours / his / hers / ours / theirs	stands alone, without a noun	This bag is mine.
Weather, time	it	no real subject: it fills the place	It's cold today.
Trap	its	its has no apostrophe; it's = it is	The dog wants its food.
A1Trap	yours / hers / ours / theirs	no apostrophe	Is this yours?

Verbs

To be

Tense	Question			Statement			Negative
Tense	Verb	Subject	Rest	Subject	Verb	Rest	Subject	Verb	Rest
Present	Am	I	late?	I	am	late.	I	am not	late.
	Are	you		You	are		You	aren't
	Is	he		He	is		He	isn't
		she		She			She
		it		It			It
	Are	we		We	are		We	aren't
	Are	they		They	are		They	aren't

A1Past	Was	I	late?	I	was	late.	I	wasn't	late.
	Were	you		You	were		You	weren't
	Was	he		He	was		He	wasn't
		she		She			She
		it		It			It
	Were	we		We	were		We	weren't
	Were	they		They	were		They	weren't

Have and Have Got

Form	have	have got
Affirmative: I / you / we / they	I have a car.	I've got a car.
Affirmative: he / she / it	She has a car.	She's got a car.
Negative: I / you / we / they	I don't have a car.	I haven't got a car.
Negative: he / she / it	He doesn't have a car.	He hasn't got a car.
Question: I / you / we / they	Do you have a car?	Have you got a car?
Question: he / she / it	Does she have a car?	Has she got a car?
Short answer	Yes, I do. / No, I don't.	Yes, I have. / No, I haven't.
Actions: only have	I have breakfast at 8.	—
Style	neutral, also in writing	informal, mostly speech

There Is and There Are

Form	Singular	Plural	Uncountable
Affirmative	There is a park.	There are two parks.	There is some milk.
Short form	There's a park.	—	There's some milk.
Negative	There isn't a park.	There aren't any parks.	There isn't any milk.
Question	Is there a park?	Are there any parks?	Is there any milk?
How many, how much	—	How many parks are there?	How much milk is there?
Short answer	Yes, there is. / No, there isn't.	Yes, there are. / No, there aren't.	Yes, there is. / No, there isn't.

Imperative

Point	Rule	Example
Affirmative	the base verb for every person, with no subject and no -s	Open the door.
Negative	Don't + V, also before be	Don't be late.
Suggestion	Let's + V: includes the speaker, invites others to join	Let's go to the beach.
Negative suggestion	Let's not + V	Let's not wait.
Use	instructions, directions, orders	Turn left and go straight on.
Use	invitations, offers, warnings	Come in. / Look out!
Politeness	please at the start or the end makes a request friendly	Please sit down.
Trap	after Don't and Let's: the base verb, no to	Don't open it. / Let's go.

Irregular Verbs Table

Pattern	Base form	Past simple	Past participle
All three forms are the same	put	put	put
-ought / -aught	buy	bought	bought
Past and participle end in -d	make	made	made
/iː/ shortens to /e/	meet	met	met
Vowel changes, past = participle	sit	sat	sat
Participle = base form	come	came	come
i → a → u	drink	drank	drunk
Participle in -en	take	took	taken
participle in -n / -ne	go	went	gone
Use	—	finished actions: I went to Madrid.	after have: I have gone there.

Tenses

Tense map

Tense	Form	Meaning	Example
Present simple	V / V-s	habits, facts, permanent states	I always walk to work.
Present continuous	am / is / are + V-ing	now, temporary situations	I'm working now.
Past simple	V-ed / irregular	finished events	I worked yesterday.
Going to	am / is / are going to + V	plans, predictions with evidence	We're going to cook tonight.
Present continuous for the future	am / is / are + V-ing	arrangements	I'm leaving tomorrow.

Simple Tenses

Tense	Question			Statement			Negative
Tense	Helper	Subject	Verb	Subject	Helper	Verb	Subject	Helper	Verb
Present	Do	I	work?	I		work.	I	don't	work.
	Do	you		You		work.	You	don't
	Does	he		He		works.	He	doesn't
		she		She			She
		it		It			It
	Do	we		We		work.	We	don't
	Do	they		They		work.	They	don't

Past	Did	I	work?	I		worked.	I	didn't	work.
		you		You			You
		he		He			He
		she		She			She
		it		It			It
		we		We			We
		they		They			They

Continuous Tenses

Tense	Question			Statement			Negative
Tense	Helper	Subject	Verb	Subject	Helper	Verb	Subject	Helper	Verb
Present	Am	I	working?	I	am	working.	I	am not	working.
	Are	you		You	are		You	aren't
	Is	he		He	is		He	isn't
		she		She			She
		it		It			It
	Are	we		We	are		We	aren't
	Are	they		They	are		They	aren't

Future Forms

Point	Rule	Example
am / is / are going to + V	plans and intentions; predictions with evidence	We're going to visit Granada. / Look at those clouds. It's going to rain.
am / is / are + V-ing	present continuous: a fixed arrangement, with a future time	I'm seeing the dentist on Friday.
Trap	plans take going to	I'm going to buy a car tomorrow.

Modal verbs

Can and Could

Point	Rule	Example
Form	subject + can + base verb; one form for every subject	She can swim.
Negative	can't; the full form is cannot, one word	I can't swim.
Question	Can + subject + base verb; no do	Can you swim?
Ability	can for skills	I can cook pasta.
Permission	can allows, can't forbids; ask with Can I…?	You can park here. / Can I open the window?
Request	Can you…? asks for help	Can you help me, please?

Would

Point	Rule	Example
Want	would like + noun / to base verb; short form 'd	I'd like a coffee, please. / I'd like to book a table.
Question and offer	Would + subject + V; no do	Would you like some cake?

Sentence building

Word Order

Point	Rule	Example
Order	subject + verb + object + place + time	My sister buys bread in the shop every day.
Subject	the subject is always present	It is cold.
Adjective	comes before the noun	I have a red car.
A1Time first	a time phrase can start the sentence, often with a comma	Last summer, we went to Italy.
A1Frequency adverb	before the main verb, after be	I always eat breakfast. / She is always late.
A1Trap	place comes before time	I went to London yesterday.

Questions and negatives

Point	Rule	Example
Negative: be, modals	subject + be / modal + not	They are not at home. / He can't drive.
Question: be, modals	be / modal + subject	Are they at home? / Can he drive?
Negative: other verbs	subject + don't / doesn't / didn't + base verb	He doesn't like jazz.
Question: other verbs	do / does / did + subject + base verb	Did you call her?
do, does, did	I / you / we / they → do, he / she / it → does, past → did	Do you like jazz?
Wh-question	wh-word + auxiliary + subject + base verb	Where do you live? / Where are you from?
Subject question	no do / does / did; the verb takes the tense	Who called you?
Short answer	repeat the be, modal or auxiliary verb	Yes, she can. / No, she can't.
Trap	after do / does / did the verb is the base form	Did you go?

Conjunctions and Linkers

Point	Rule	Example
and, or	and adds an idea, or gives a choice; usually no comma before them	I like tea and coffee. / Do you want tea or coffee?
but, so	but contrasts, so gives a result; usually a comma before them	I like tea, but I don't like coffee. / I'm tired, so I go to bed.
because	gives the reason; a clause follows	I'm tired because I work late.

Adjectives and adverbs

Adjectives and Adjective Order

Point	Rule	Example
adjective + noun	the adjective goes before the noun	She has a new phone.
verb + adjective	the verb is be, look, feel, sound, taste or smell	You look tired.
Trap	one form for singular and plural	two red cars

Adverbs of frequency and manner

Point	Rule	Example
Frequency	how often: always (100%), usually, often, sometimes, never (0%)	I always walk to work.
How often?	frequency expressions go at the end	How often do you swim? — I swim every day.
Frequency: position	before the main verb, after be	I often walk. / She is always late.

Prepositions

Time: In, On, At

Point	Rule	Example
at	clock times, night, midday, Christmas, Easter	at 9:30 / at night
on	days, dates and a day with its part of the day	on Monday morning / on 5 May
in	months, seasons, years, morning, afternoon, evening	in January / in summer
Length	the period gets longer from at to on to in	at 7 o'clock / on Monday / in July
No preposition	before this, next, last, every, today, tomorrow	I'm busy this week. / I walk every morning.
Trap	dates take on, months take in	My birthday is on 5 May. / It's cold in January.
Trap	the weekend takes at	We relax at the weekend. (US: on the weekend)

Place and Movement

Point	Rule	Example
in	inside a space, in a town or country	in the bag / in Madrid
on	touching a surface	on the table / on the wall
at	a point or a place for its purpose	at the door / at home
Fixed phrases	without the: at home, at work, in bed, to school	She's at work. / I go to work.
behind, near	go straight before the noun	I live near the park.
to / from	movement to and from a place; home follows go directly	We go to the beach. / I go home.
Trap	next to and in front of keep to and of	next to the café / in front of the school