Your comprehensive guide to mastering English grammar
Nouns are words that name people, places, things, or ideas.
General names for people, places, or things: dog, city, teacher
Specific names that always start with capital letters: London, John, Monday
Countable: one apple, two apples
Uncountable: water, information, advice
I saw a cat. (one cat, first mention)
The cat was black. (same cat, known)
She is an engineer. (vowel sound)
He is a university student. (consonant sound)
Use a before consonant sounds and an before vowel sounds. It's about the sound, not the letter!
I work every day. (habit)
She works every day. (+ s for he/she/it)
Used for habits, facts, and regular actions
I am working right now.
She is working at the office.
Used for actions happening at this moment
I have finished my homework.
She has lived here for 5 years.
Used for actions that started in the past and continue to now
I worked yesterday.
She studied all night.
Used for completed actions in the past
Regular verbs add -ed (worked, studied).
Irregular verbs change their form (go → went, see → saw, eat → ate).
Adjectives describe nouns. They answer: What kind? Which one? How many?
The beautiful flower is red.
She has three cats.
This is my book.
When using multiple adjectives, follow this order:
Opinion → Size → Age → Shape → Color → Origin → Material → Purpose
She bought a beautiful small old rectangular brown Italian leather handbag.
Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They often end in -ly.
She speaks fluently. (how)
He arrived yesterday. (when)
They sat there. (where)
at 3 o'clock | in the morning | on Monday
at night | in December | on the weekend
at the door | in the box | on the wall
at home | in London | on the table
go to school | leave from home | walk through the park
At = specific point | In = enclosed space | On = surface
Use auxiliary verbs at the beginning:
Statement: You are a student.
Question: Are you a student?
Statement: They have finished.
Question: Have they finished?
Who did you meet? (person)
What is your name? (thing)
Where do you live? (place)
When did it happen? (time)
Why are you sad? (reason)
How are you? (manner)
If + present, present
If you heat water, it boils.
If + present, will + base verb
If it rains, I will stay home.
If + past, would + base verb
If I won the lottery, I would travel.
If + had + past participle, would have + past participle
If I had studied, I would have passed.