Everyday Business English Structures
Speaking practice cards with key verbs highlighted for positive (+), negative (-), and question (?) forms.
Part 1: Simple Forms
1
Present Simple
+We usually discuss the figures on Thursday.
-She doesn’t visit the Zurich office very often.
?Does Thomas organise the meetings?
2
Past Simple
+We discussed the figures yesterday.
-She didn’t visit the Zurich office last week.
?Did Thomas organise the meeting?
3
Present Perfect Simple
+We have discussed the figures with the manager.
-She hasn’t visited the Zurich office yet.
?Has Thomas organised the meeting?
4
Past Perfect Simple
+We had discussed the figures before the meeting.
-She hadn’t visited the Zurich office before then.
?Had Thomas organised everything before they arrived?
5
Future Simple – Will
+We will discuss the figures on Thursday.
-She won’t visit the Zurich office this month.
?Will Thomas organise the next meeting?
6
Future – Going to
+We are going to discuss the figures tomorrow.
-She isn’t going to visit the Zurich office this week.
?Is Thomas going to organise the presentation?
7
First Conditional
+If they accept the price, we will sign the contract.
-We won’t change the offer if they agree to these terms.
?Will you visit Zurich if they arrange a meeting?
8
Second Conditional
+If they reduced the price, we would place a larger order.
-We wouldn’t change suppliers if the service were better.
?Would you accept the position if they offered you more money?
9
Third Conditional
+If they had accepted the price, we would have signed the contract.
-We wouldn’t have changed suppliers if they had improved the service.
?Would you have visited Zurich if they had arranged a meeting?
10
Have Something Done
+We have the equipment serviced every six months.
-We don’t have the documents translated here.
?Do you have the accounts checked every month?
11
Have Someone Do Something
+We have our assistant organise the meetings.
-We don’t have the trainees answer customer complaints.
?Do you have Thomas prepare the monthly figures?
12
Future Perfect Simple
+We will have finished the project by Thursday.
-They won’t have delivered the equipment by then.
?Will you have signed the contract by Friday?
Part 2: Progressive / Continuous Forms
1
Present Progressive
+We are discussing the figures with the manager.
-She isn’t visiting the Zurich office this week.
?Is Thomas organising the meeting?
2
Past Progressive
+We were discussing the figures when he called.
-She wasn’t working in the Zurich office last week.
?Was Thomas organising the meeting when you arrived?
3
Present Perfect Progressive
+We have been discussing the new contract all morning.
-She hasn’t been working with the Zurich team recently.
?Has Thomas been organising the meetings?
4
Past Perfect Progressive
+We had been discussing the problem for several weeks.
-She hadn’t been working there for very long.
?Had Thomas been dealing with the customer before you arrived?
5
Future Progressive
+We will be discussing the figures on Thursday.
-She won’t be working in the Zurich office next week.
?Will Thomas be attending the meeting tomorrow?
6
Going to + Progressive
+We are going to be working with a new supplier.
-She isn’t going to be attending the meeting tomorrow.
?Is Thomas going to be managing the new project?
7
First Conditional – Progressive
+If negotiations are going well, we will be discussing prices tomorrow.
-If they are having problems, we won’t be increasing the order.
?Will you be attending the meeting if they are discussing the new contract?
8
Second Conditional – Progressive
+If we had more staff, we would be working on more projects.
-We wouldn’t be discussing this problem if the system were working properly.
?Would you be working in Zurich if they offered you the position?
9
Third Conditional – Progressive
+If they had accepted our offer, we would have been working together by now.
-We wouldn’t have been discussing these problems if they had followed the plan.
?Would you have been working in Zurich if they had offered you the position?
10
Have Something Done – Progressive
+We are having the equipment serviced this week.
-We aren’t having the documents translated at the moment.
?Are you having the accounts checked this week?
11
Have Someone Do Something – Progressive
Here "have" becomes progressive; the verb after the person remains the infinitive without "to."
+We are having our assistant organise the meeting.
-We aren’t having the trainees deal with customer complaints.
?Are you having Thomas prepare the figures?
12
Future Perfect Progressive
+We will have been working on the project for six months by Thursday.
-They won’t have been working with us for very long.
?Will you have been managing the department for five years by then?