Grammar Topics

All Levels

1 Parts of Speech

The foundation of English grammar. Every word belongs to a part of speech that determines its function in a sentence.

"The beautiful (adjective) cat (noun) quickly (adverb) ran (verb) away (adverb)."
Each word has a specific grammatical role
Coming Soon

2 Word Forms

Learn how words change their form to express different meanings and grammatical functions.

Beauty (noun) → Beautiful (adjective) → Beautifully (adverb)
Same root word, different functions
Learn Word Forms

3 Prefixes & Suffixes

Word building blocks that change meaning and create new words. Essential for vocabulary expansion.

Un-happy, Pre-view, Wonder-ful, Care-less
Prefixes come before, suffixes come after
Learn Prefixes & Suffixes

4 Word Families

Groups of words that share the same root but have different forms and meanings.

Act family: act, action, active, activity, actor, activate
All related words from one root
Learn Word Families

5 Sentence Structure

The building blocks of communication. Learn how to construct clear, effective sentences.

Subject + Verb + Object: "She reads books."
Basic sentence pattern in English
Learn Sentence Structure

6 Clauses & Phrases

Groups of words that work together. Master clauses and phrases to write complex, sophisticated sentences.

"When it rains (clause), I stay inside (clause)."
Dependent clause + independent clause
Learn Clauses & Phrases

7 Tenses & Aspects

Express when actions happen and how they relate to time. Master all 12 English tenses and their aspects.

"I work" (simple) vs "I am working" (continuous)
Different aspects show different perspectives on time
Master All Tenses

8 Modal Verbs

Express possibility, necessity, permission, and ability. Essential for polite and precise communication.

"You should study" (advice) vs "You must study" (obligation)
Different modals express different meanings
Learn Modal Verbs

9 Conditionals

Express hypothetical situations and their consequences. From real possibilities to impossible dreams.

"If it rains, I will stay home." (real possibility)
If + present, will + verb (First Conditional)
Learn Conditionals

10 Passive Voice

Focus on the action rather than who performs it. Essential for formal writing and describing processes.

Active: "They built the house." → Passive: "The house was built."
be + past participle
Learn Passive Voice

11 Reported Speech

Report what someone said without using their exact words. Essential for storytelling and communication.

Direct: "I am tired." → Reported: "She said she was tired."
Tense changes when reporting past speech
Learn Reported Speech

12 Questions & Negation

Ask questions and make negative statements correctly. Master question formation and negative structures.

Statement: "You like coffee." → Question: "Do you like coffee?" → Negative: "You don't like coffee."
Use auxiliary verbs for questions and negatives
Learn Questions & Negation

Articles (a, an, the)

Beginner

1 Indefinite Articles (a, an)

Use "a" before consonant sounds and "an" before vowel sounds for singular, countable nouns.

"I need a pen."
Consonant sound
"She is an engineer."
Vowel sound
"It's an hour's drive." / "It's a university."
Sound matters, not spelling

2 Definite Article (the)

Use "the" for specific items that both speaker and listener know about, unique items, and superlatives.

"The book on the table is mine."
Specific book
"The sun rises in the east."
Unique items

3 Zero Article

Don't use articles with plural countable nouns (general), uncountable nouns (general), proper nouns, and abstract concepts.

"Books are important." (general)
General plural noun
"Water is essential for life."
Uncountable noun (general)

Nouns & Countability

Beginner

1 Countable vs Uncountable Nouns

Countable nouns can be counted (book/books). Uncountable nouns cannot be counted directly (water, advice, information).

"I have three books." (countable)
Can use numbers
"I have three waters."
Say "three bottles of water"

2 Quantifiers

Use "many/few" with countable nouns, "much/little" with uncountable nouns, "some/any" with both.

"How many students?" / "How much time?"
Many = countable, Much = uncountable
"Do you have any money?" / "I have some friends."
Some/any work with both types

3 Plural Forms

Regular plurals add -s/-es. Irregular plurals change form (child/children, mouse/mice). Some nouns are always plural (scissors, glasses).

"These scissors are sharp."
Always plural, use "are"
"The children are playing."
Irregular plural

Prepositions

Intermediate

1 Prepositions of Time

Use "in" for months/years, "on" for days/dates, "at" for specific times.

"I was born in 1990."
Year
"The meeting is on Monday."
Day of the week
"Let's meet at 3 PM."
Specific time

2 Prepositions of Place

Use "in" for enclosed spaces, "on" for surfaces, "at" for specific locations or points.

"She lives in New York."
City (enclosed area)
"The book is on the table."
Surface
"I'll meet you at the station."
Specific point

3 Prepositions of Movement

Use "to" for direction, "from" for origin, "through" for passing within, "across" for crossing.

"I'm going to the office."
Direction
"She walked through the park."
Passing within

Pronouns

Beginner

1 Subject and Object Pronouns

Subject pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, they) perform the action. Object pronouns (me, you, him, her, it, us, them) receive the action.

"He called me yesterday."
"He" is subject, "me" is object
"Between you and I..."
Should be "between you and me"

2 Possessive Pronouns and Adjectives

Possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) come before nouns. Possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs) replace nouns.

"This is my car. That car is yours."
"My" + noun, "yours" replaces noun
"The dog wagged it's tail."
Should be "its" (no apostrophe)

3 Reflexive Pronouns

Use reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves) when the subject and object are the same.

"I taught myself to play guitar."
Subject and object are the same person
"She did it by herself." (alone)
Emphasis on doing something alone

Adjectives & Adverbs

Intermediate

1 Adjective Order

When using multiple adjectives, follow this order: Opinion, Size, Age, Shape, Color, Origin, Material, Purpose + Noun.

"A beautiful small old round red Chinese wooden jewelry box"
Follows the correct order
"An expensive new Italian sports car"
Opinion + Age + Origin + Purpose + Noun

2 Adjectives vs Adverbs

Adjectives describe nouns. Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Most adverbs end in -ly.

"She is a careful driver." (adjective)
Describes the noun "driver"
"She drives carefully." (adverb)
Describes how she drives

3 -ed vs -ing Adjectives

-ed adjectives describe how someone feels. -ing adjectives describe what causes the feeling.

"I'm bored." / "This movie is boring."
Person feels bored, movie causes boredom
"She's excited about the trip." / "It's an exciting trip."
Person feels excited, trip causes excitement

Comparatives & Superlatives

Intermediate

1 Comparative Forms

Short adjectives: add -er (tall → taller). Long adjectives: use "more" (beautiful → more beautiful). Use "than" for comparisons.

"She is taller than her sister."
Short adjective + -er + than
"This book is more interesting than that one."
Long adjective + more + than

2 Superlative Forms

Short adjectives: add -est (tall → tallest). Long adjectives: use "most" (beautiful → most beautiful). Always use "the" before superlatives.

"She is the tallest in the class."
The + short adjective + -est
"This is the most beautiful painting here."
The + most + long adjective

3 Irregular Forms

Some adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms: good/better/best, bad/worse/worst, far/further/furthest.

"This is better than I expected."
Good → better (not "more good")
"This is more good than that."
Should be "better"

Conditional Sentences

Advanced

1 First Conditional

Use "if + present simple, will + base verb" for real future possibilities.

"If it rains, I will stay home."
Real possibility

2 Second Conditional

Use "if + past simple, would + base verb" for unreal present situations.

"If I won the lottery, I would travel the world."
Unreal/imaginary situation

Passive Voice

Advanced

1 Formation

Form: be + past participle. Use when the action is more important than who does it.

"The house was built in 1950."
Focus on the house, not the builder
"English is spoken worldwide."
General fact

Reported Speech

Advanced

1 Tense Changes

When reporting speech, tenses usually move one step back in time. Present becomes past, past becomes past perfect.

Direct: "I am tired." → Reported: "She said she was tired."
Present continuous → Past continuous
Direct: "I have finished." → Reported: "He said he had finished."
Present perfect → Past perfect

2 Reporting Questions & Commands

Use "asked" + if/whether for yes/no questions, "asked" + question word for wh-questions, "told/asked" + to infinitive for commands.

"Are you coming?" → "She asked if I was coming."
Yes/no question
"Close the door!" → "He told me to close the door."
Command

Relative Clauses

Intermediate

1 Defining Relative Clauses

Use "who" for people, "which" for things, "that" for both people and things, "where" for places, "when" for times.

"The man who lives next door is a teacher."
Person as subject
"The book that I read was fascinating."
Thing as object

2 Non-defining Relative Clauses

Add extra information with commas. Cannot use "that". Often used with proper nouns or unique references.

"My brother, who lives in Tokyo, is visiting."
Extra information with commas
"My brother, that lives in Tokyo, is visiting."
Cannot use "that" in non-defining clauses

Question Formation

Intermediate

1 Yes/No Questions

Use auxiliary verbs (do/does/did, am/is/are/was/were, have/has/had, will/would/can/could) + subject + main verb.

"Do you like coffee?" / "Are you coming?"
Auxiliary + subject + verb
"You like coffee?"
Need auxiliary verb for questions

2 WH- Questions

Start with question words (what, where, when, why, how, who, which) + auxiliary + subject + main verb.

"What did you do yesterday?"
WH- word + auxiliary + subject + verb
"Who is calling?" (who as subject)
No auxiliary when WH- word is subject

3 Tag Questions

Add a short question at the end. Positive statement → negative tag. Negative statement → positive tag.

"You're coming, aren't you?"
Positive statement + negative tag
"You don't like it, do you?"
Negative statement + positive tag

Negation

Beginner

1 Basic Negation

Use "not" after auxiliary verbs (am/is/are, do/does/did, have/has/had, will/would, can/could, etc.).

"I don't like coffee." / "She isn't coming."
Auxiliary + not + main verb
"I no like coffee."
Don't use "no" before verbs

2 Double Negatives

Avoid double negatives in English. Use "any" instead of "no" after negative verbs.

"I don't have any money." / "I have no money."
Both correct: don't + any OR have + no
"I don't have no money."
Double negative (incorrect in standard English)

3 Negative Prefixes

Use negative prefixes (un-, in-, im-, dis-, ir-) to make adjectives and some nouns negative.

"impossible, irregular, dishonest, uncomfortable"
Different prefixes for different words
"It's unfair" vs "It's not fair"
Both possible, slightly different emphasis

Phrasal Verbs

Advanced

1 Separable Phrasal Verbs

The object can go between the verb and particle, or after the particle. With pronouns, the object must go between.

"Turn off the light" / "Turn the light off"
Both positions correct with noun
"Turn it off"
Pronoun must go between
"Turn off it"
Incorrect with pronoun

2 Common Phrasal Verbs

Learn common phrasal verbs and their meanings. Many have multiple meanings depending on context.

"I need to look up this word." (search for information)
Research/investigate
"The meeting was called off." (cancelled)
Cancel

Gerunds & Infinitives

Advanced

1 Verbs + Gerunds

Some verbs are followed by gerunds (-ing form): enjoy, finish, avoid, mind, suggest, consider, practice.

"I enjoy reading books."
Enjoy + gerund
"She finished working at 6 PM."
Finish + gerund

2 Verbs + Infinitives

Some verbs are followed by infinitives (to + base form): want, need, hope, plan, decide, agree, refuse, promise.

"I want to learn Spanish."
Want + infinitive
"They decided to move to Canada."
Decide + infinitive

3 Verbs with Different Meanings

Some verbs can take both gerunds and infinitives but with different meanings: remember, forget, stop, try.

"I remembered to call her." (didn't forget)
Remember + infinitive = didn't forget to do
"I remember calling her." (recall past action)
Remember + gerund = recall doing

Subjunctive Mood

Advanced

1 Present Subjunctive

Used after verbs of suggestion, demand, or importance. Use the base form of the verb for all persons.

"I suggest that he study harder."
Base form after "suggest"
"It's important that she be on time."
Base form "be" not "is"

2 Hypothetical Situations

Use "were" for all persons in hypothetical situations with "if" or "wish."

"If I were you, I would apologize."
"Were" not "was" in hypothetical
"I wish I were taller."
Wish + were for unreal situations

Sentence Structure

Intermediate

1 Simple, Compound, Complex Sentences

Simple sentences have one main clause. Compound sentences join two main clauses. Complex sentences have a main clause and subordinate clause.

"She reads books." (Simple)
One main clause
"She reads books, and he watches TV." (Compound)
Two main clauses joined by "and"
"She reads books when she has time." (Complex)
Main clause + subordinate clause

2 Subject-Verb Agreement

The verb must agree with the subject in number. Singular subjects take singular verbs; plural subjects take plural verbs.

"The student is studying."
Singular subject + singular verb
"The students are studying."
Plural subject + plural verb
"The students is studying."
Plural subject cannot take singular verb

3 Parallel Structure

When listing items or using correlative conjunctions, maintain the same grammatical form throughout.

"I like reading, writing, and swimming."
All gerunds (parallel)
"I like reading, writing, and to swim."
Mixed forms (not parallel)

Comprehensive Grammar Practice

Choose the correct modal verb:

Select the correct relative pronoun:

Punctuation

Intermediate

1 Commas

Use commas to separate items in a list, before coordinating conjunctions in compound sentences, and to set off non-essential information.

"I bought apples, oranges, and bananas."
Series comma (Oxford comma)
"I was tired, so I went to bed early."
Comma before coordinating conjunction

2 Apostrophes

Use apostrophes for possession (John's book) and contractions (don't, it's). Don't use for plural nouns or possessive pronouns.

"The dog's tail" / "The dogs' tails" (multiple dogs)
Singular vs plural possession
"Apple's for sale" / "The book is your's"
Don't use apostrophes for plurals or "yours"

3 Semicolons and Colons

Semicolons join related independent clauses. Colons introduce lists, explanations, or examples.

"I love coffee; it keeps me awake."
Semicolon joins related clauses
"I need three things: milk, bread, and eggs."
Colon introduces a list

Collocations

Advanced

1 Verb + Noun Collocations

Some verbs naturally go with certain nouns. Learn these common combinations to sound more natural.

"make a decision, take a break, do homework"
Natural verb-noun combinations
"do a decision, make homework"
Unnatural combinations

2 Adjective + Noun Collocations

Certain adjectives commonly pair with specific nouns. These combinations sound natural to native speakers.

"heavy rain, strong coffee, fast food"
Common adjective-noun pairs
"big rain, powerful coffee, quick food"
Grammatically correct but unnatural

3 Verb + Preposition Collocations

Many verbs require specific prepositions. These must be memorized as fixed combinations.

"depend on, listen to, apologize for, agree with"
Fixed verb-preposition combinations
"depend of, listen at, apologize by"
Wrong prepositions

Discourse Markers

Advanced

1 Connecting Ideas

Use discourse markers to show relationships between ideas: addition (furthermore, moreover), contrast (however, nevertheless), result (therefore, consequently).

"The weather was terrible. However, we still enjoyed our trip."
Shows contrast between ideas
"She studied hard. Therefore, she passed the exam."
Shows cause and effect

2 Organizing Information

Use markers to organize your thoughts: sequencing (first, next, finally), listing (to begin with, in addition), summarizing (in conclusion, to sum up).

"First, heat the oil. Next, add the vegetables. Finally, season with salt."
Clear sequence of actions
"To begin with, it's expensive. In addition, it's unreliable."
Adding supporting points

3 Expressing Attitude

Some markers express your attitude or opinion: emphasis (indeed, certainly), uncertainty (perhaps, presumably), surprise (surprisingly, remarkably).

"The project was indeed challenging."
Emphasizes the difficulty
"Surprisingly, he arrived on time."
Expresses unexpected outcome