Make sense of
English grammar.

Grammar is the system we use to put words together so that other people understand us. Most English sentences need a subject and a verb.

• The subject tells us who or what the sentence is about.
• The verb expresses an action or a state.

Many sentences also have an object, which receives the action:

A common word order is:

Some verbs connect the subject to a description:

In these sentences, “happy” and “a teacher” describe the subject. English usually requires a subject:

These are called parts of speech.

Look at this sentence:

“My” is a determiner; “younger” is an adjective; “sister” is a noun; “speaks” is a verb; “English” is a noun; “very” and “clearly” are adverbs.

Singular means one. Plural means more than one. Usually, add -s:

Other common patterns include:

Nouns can be countable or uncountable.

With uncountable nouns, use a unit when you need to count:

Some nouns can be countable or uncountable depending on meaning:

The articles are a, an, and the. Use a/an with one nonspecific, singular countable noun:

Choose a or an according to the next sound:

Use the when the reader or listener can identify what you mean:

Use no article with plural or uncountable nouns when speaking generally:

A singular countable common noun usually needs a determiner:

Other useful determiners include this, that, these, those, my, your, some, any, many, and much.

• Many goes with plural countable nouns: many books.
• Much goes with uncountable nouns: much time.
• A lot of works with both: a lot of books; a lot of time.
• Some is common in positive statements: I have some money.
• Any is common in negatives and questions: I don’t have any money. Do you have any money?

These are common patterns, with exceptions: Would you like some tea?

Use a subject pronoun as the subject:

Use an object pronoun after a verb or preposition:

Compare possession:

Reflexive pronouns include myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves. Use them when the subject and object refer to the same person or thing:

These are especially important because they can be main verbs or helping verbs.

Be

Have

Do

In the present simple, most verbs add -s or -es with he, she, or it:

The subject and verb must agree:

With be, add not for negatives and move be before the subject for questions:

With most other verbs in the present simple, use do/does:

After does, use the base verb:

In the past simple, use did with the base verb:

If there is already a helping verb, use it:

Put most question words before the helping verb:

When who or what is itself the subject, we usually do not add do: Who called you?

Verbs have several forms. Learn these before the tense patterns.

Regular verbs usually use -ed for the past and past participle. Irregular verbs must be learned individually.

The past participle is the form used after have/has/had:

Tense relates an action to time. Aspect shows how we view the action: as a whole, in progress, or connected to another time.

These are the twelve common patterns taught to English learners:

The building patterns are:

• Continuous: be + verb-ing.
• Perfect: have + past participle.
• Perfect continuous: have + been + verb-ing.

Start by mastering these distinctions:

Do not normally use the present perfect with a finished past time such as yesterday:

Some verbs, such as know, own, need, and believe, usually use simple forms when describing states:

English also uses other forms for the future:

An adjective describes a noun. An adverb can describe how an action happens:

Adjectives usually come before nouns or after linking verbs such as be, seem, and look:

Adjectives do not become plural:

Many adverbs end in -ly, but some do not:

Compare good and well:

Words such as always, usually, often, and never usually come before the main verb, but after be:

To compare things:

Use than for a comparison:

Do not combine two comparative forms: better, not “more better.”

Common time patterns:

Common place patterns:

Movement:

For expresses a duration; since identifies a starting point:

Some prepositions belong to particular expressions, so learn the whole phrase:

Modal verbs include can, could, may, might, must, should, will, and would. A modal is followed by the base form:

Do not add -s or to after these modals:

An important difference:

To discuss the past:

A clause typically contains a subject and a verb. An independent clause can stand alone. A dependent clause needs another clause:

Useful connectors include:

• and: adds information.
• but: shows a difference or contrast.
• because: gives a reason.
• so: introduces a result.
• although: introduces something unexpected.
• if: introduces a condition.

Avoid doubling the connector:

A relative clause describes a noun:

Use who for people and which for things. That can introduce many clauses that identify which person or thing you mean.

Commas mark extra information:

A verb’s -ing form can function like a noun. This use is often called a gerund:

An infinitive commonly uses to + base verb:

The form often depends on the earlier verb:

After a preposition, use -ing when a verb follows:

Sometimes changing the form changes the meaning:

The main meanings are:

• Zero: general facts or regular results.
• First: a possible future situation.
• Second: an imagined or unlikely present/future situation.
• Third: an imagined change to the past.

In an ordinary first conditional, use the present form after if:

The same pattern commonly applies after future time expressions such as when:

In the active voice, the subject performs the action. In the passive voice, the subject receives the action:

Use it when the action or receiver matters more than the person doing it, or when that person is unknown:

Reported speech tells someone what another person said:

The tense often moves back when reporting from a later time:

Pronouns and time words may also change. These changes depend on the situation; a tense change is not always necessary when the information is still true.

Reported questions use statement word order:

Start sentences with a capital letter. Always capitalize I, language names, names of people and places, days, and months:

• A period/full stop ends a statement: “I am ready.”
• A question mark ends a direct question: “Are you ready?”
• An apostrophe marks contractions and possession.
• A comma separates list items and certain clauses.

Contractions:

Possession:

Do not use an apostrophe for an ordinary plural:

Keep these words separate:

Do not join two complete sentences with only a comma: