ENGLISH GRAMMAR

1. Parts of Speech

Parts of speech are the building blocks of grammar. They define the role that words play in a sentence.
Here’s a breakdown of the main ones:

 Nouns: A noun is a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea.

o Example: dog, city, happiness

 Pronouns: A pronoun takes the place of a noun to avoid repetition.

o Example: he, she, it, they

 Verbs: A verb expresses an action or state of being.

o Example: run, is, write, seem

 Adjectives: An adjective modifies or describes a noun or pronoun.

o Example: happy, tall, blue, interesting

 Adverbs: An adverb modifies or describes a verb, adjective, or other adverb. They often end in “-
ly”.

o Example: quickly, very, soon, carefully

 Prepositions: A preposition shows the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and another
word in the sentence.

o Example: on, in, under, beside, during

 Conjunctions: A conjunction connects words, phrases, or clauses.

o Example: and, but, or, because, although

 Interjections: An interjection expresses strong emotion and is often followed by an exclamation

mark.

o Example: Wow!, Oops!, Hey!

2. Sentence Structure

The structure of a sentence refers to how the words are arranged to convey meaning. English sentences
are generally built around a subject (the doer of the action) and a predicate (what is being done).
Sentences can be classified as follows:

 Simple Sentences: A sentence with only one independent clause.

o Example: She ran. (Subject + Verb)

  Compound Sentences: A sentence with two or more independent clauses, connected by a
conjunction.

o Example: I wanted to go for a walk, but it started raining.

 Complex Sentences: A sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent
(subordinate) clause.

o Example: Although it was raining, I went for a walk.

 Compound-Complex Sentences: A sentence with two or more independent clauses and at least
one dependent clause.

o Example: I wanted to go for a walk, but because it was raining, I stayed inside.

3. Tenses

Tenses indicate the time when an action occurs. English has three main tenses: past, present, and future,
each with simple, continuous (progressive), perfect, and perfect continuous aspects.

 Present Tense: Describes actions happening now or habitual actions.

o Example: She reads every day. (simple)

o Example: She is reading right now. (progressive)

o Example: She has read the book. (perfect)

o Example: She has been reading for an hour. (perfect progressive)

 Past Tense: Describes actions that happened before the present time.

o Example: She read the book yesterday. (simple)

o Example: She was reading when I called her. (progressive)

o Example: She had read the book before I called. (perfect)

o Example: She had been reading for an hour when I called. (perfect progressive)

 Future Tense: Describes actions that will happen in the future.

o Example: She will read the book tomorrow. (simple)

o Example: She will be reading at 8 PM. (progressive)

o Example: She will have read the book by then. (perfect)

o Example: She will have been reading for an hour by 8 PM. (perfect progressive)

4. Subject-Verb Agreement
In English, the verb must agree with the subject in terms of number (singular or plural) and person (first,
second, third).

 Singular subject, singular verb:

o Example: She runs every day.

 Plural subject, plural verb:

o Example: They run every day.

 For third-person singular subjects, add “-s” to the verb in the present tense:

o Example: He reads the book.

5. Articles

Articles are words that define a noun as specific or unspecific.

 Indefinite Articles: "A" and "an" refer to non-specific items.

o Example: I saw a dog. (any dog)

o Example: She ate an apple. (any apple)

 Definite Article: "The" refers to a specific item.

o Example: I saw the dog you mentioned.

6. Punctuation

Punctuation helps clarify meaning in written language. Here are some key punctuation marks:

 Period (.): Used at the end of a declarative sentence.

o Example: I like ice cream.

 Comma (,): Used to separate items in a list or to separate clauses.

o Example: I bought apples, oranges, and bananas.

 Question Mark (?): Used at the end of a direct question.

o Example: What is your name?

 Exclamation Mark (!): Used to express strong emotion.

o Example: Wow, that’s amazing!

 Semicolon (;): Connects closely related independent clauses.

o Example: I like tea; she prefers coffee.

  Colon (:): Introduces a list, explanation, or quote.

o Example: There are three things I love: reading, writing, and cooking.

7. Conditionals

Conditionals describe situations that depend on a particular condition. They are formed with "if" clauses.

 Zero Conditional: Used for facts or situations that are always true.

o Example: If you heat water to 100°C, it boils.

 First Conditional: Used for real future possibilities.

o Example: If it rains tomorrow, I will stay home.

 Second Conditional: Used for hypothetical situations in the present or future.

o Example: If I were rich, I would travel the world.

 Third Conditional: Used for situations that did not happen in the past (regret or missed
opportunities).

o Example: If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam.

8. Pronouns

Pronouns are used to replace nouns and help avoid repetition. They can be categorized as follows:

 Personal Pronouns: Represent people or things.

o I, you, he, she, it, we, they

 Possessive Pronouns: Show ownership.

o mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs

 Reflexive Pronouns: Refer back to the subject of the sentence.

o myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves

 Demonstrative Pronouns: Point to specific things or people.

o this, that, these, those

 Relative Pronouns: Introduce relative clauses and connect them to the rest of the sentence.

o who, whom, whose, which, that

9. Prepositions
Prepositions describe the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in the sentence.
They often answer the questions "where?" or "when?"

 Place: in, on, under, between, beside

o Example: The book is on the table.

 Time: at, on, in, during, before

o Example: I will see you in the morning.

 Direction: to, into, onto, toward

o Example: She walked into the room.

1. Tenses in English

Tenses are used to convey the time of an action or state. English has three main tenses: present, past,
and future. Each of these tenses has different aspects, which describe the way an action unfolds over
time.

Present Tense

 Simple Present: Used to describe general facts, routines, or habits.

o Example: She writes every day.

 Present Continuous (Progressive): Used for actions happening right now or for temporary
actions.

o Example: She is writing a letter.

 Present Perfect: Describes actions that happened at an unspecified time before now, or actions
that started in the past and continue in the present.

o Example: She has written five letters today. (focus on result)

 Present Perfect Continuous: Describes actions that started in the past and are still continuing, or
actions that have just finished but have a connection to the present.

o Example: She has been writing for an hour. (focus on duration)

Past Tense

 Simple Past: Describes completed actions or events in the past.

o Example: She wrote a letter yesterday.

 Past Continuous (Progressive): Describes actions that were ongoing at a specific point in the
past.
 o Example: She was writing when I called her.

 Past Perfect: Describes actions that were completed before another action or event in the past.

o Example: She had written the letter before she went to bed.

 Past Perfect Continuous: Describes actions that were ongoing in the past up until a certain point.

o Example: She had been writing for an hour before I called her.

Future Tense

 Simple Future: Describes actions that will happen in the future.

o Example: She will write the letter tomorrow.

 Future Continuous (Progressive): Describes actions that will be happening at a specific time in
the future.

o Example: She will be writing at 10 AM tomorrow.

 Future Perfect: Describes actions that will be completed before a certain point in the future.

o Example: She will have written the letter by noon.

 Future Perfect Continuous: Describes actions that will be ongoing until a specific time in the
future.

o Example: By next week, she will have been writing for two months.

2. Articles in English

Articles are used before nouns to indicate whether the noun is specific or unspecific. There are two
types: definite and indefinite articles.

Indefinite Articles (a, an)

 "A" is used before words that begin with a consonant sound.

o Example: I saw a dog in the park. (unspecific dog)

 "An" is used before words that begin with a vowel sound.

o Example: She ate an apple for breakfast. (unspecific apple)

Definite Article (the)

 "The" is used to refer to something specific or known to both the speaker and the listener.

o Example: The dog I saw yesterday was brown. (specific dog)

Note: In some cases, articles are omitted (known as "zero article").

 Example: She likes swimming. (no article before a general activity)

3. The Passive Voice

In the passive voice, the object of the action becomes the subject of the sentence, and the focus shifts
from the doer of the action to the recipient of the action. The passive voice is formed with the verb "to
be" + the past participle of the main verb.

How to Form the Passive Voice:

 Subject + to be (in the appropriate tense) + past participle + (by + agent)

 Present Simple: The letter is written by Jane.

 Past Simple: The letter was written by Jane.

 Present Continuous: The letter is being written by Jane.

 Past Continuous: The letter was being written by Jane.

 Present Perfect: The letter has been written by Jane.

 Past Perfect: The letter had been written by Jane.

The agent (the person performing the action) can be omitted if it is unknown or unimportant.

 Example: The letter was written. (agent not mentioned)

Passive voice is commonly used when the focus is on the action or the recipient, rather than the doer. It’s
more common in formal or academic writing.

4. Relative Clauses

Relative clauses give more information about a noun in the sentence. They are introduced by relative
pronouns like who, which, that, whom, and whose.

Types of Relative Clauses:

 Defining Relative Clauses: Provide essential information about the noun. They are not set off by
commas.

o Example: The book that you gave me was amazing. (which book?)

 Non-defining Relative Clauses: Provide additional, non-essential information. They are set off by
commas.

o Example: My friend, who lives in New York, is visiting tomorrow. (extra information about
the friend)

Relative Pronouns:

 Who: Refers to people.

 o Example: The man who is sitting there is my father.

 Which: Refers to animals, things, or ideas.

o Example: The car which broke down is mine.

 That: Can refer to people, animals, or things in defining relative clauses.

o Example: The book that she recommended is great.

 Whom: A formal version of “who,” used when referring to the object of the verb.

o Example: The woman whom I met yesterday is a doctor.

 Whose: Shows possession.

o Example: The girl whose book was lost is my sister.

5. Prepositions

Prepositions are words that link nouns, pronouns, or phrases to other words within a sentence. They
often show relationships in time, place, or direction.

Types of Prepositions:

 Prepositions of Place: Indicate location or position.

o Examples: in, on, under, above, beside, between, at

o Example: The book is on the table.

 Prepositions of Time: Indicate when something happens.

o Examples: in, on, at, before, after

o Example: We meet at 3 PM.

 Prepositions of Direction/Movement: Indicate movement toward or away from something.

o Examples: to, into, onto, toward, through

o Example: She walked into the room.

 Prepositions of Manner: Indicate how something is done.

o Examples: by, with, like

o Example: She travels by car.

Common Prepositional Phrases:

 In front of (location): The car is in front of the house.

 In addition to (adding): In addition to the cake, she brought cookies.

  On behalf of (representing): He spoke on behalf of the team.

 Due to (reason): The match was canceled due to rain.

6. More Advanced Topics in Grammar

 Conditionals: Describing hypothetical situations and their possible outcomes (zero, first, second,
third conditionals).

o Example of the third conditional: If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam.

 Modal Verbs: Words like can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might are used to express
ability, possibility, permission, obligation, or advice.

o Example: You should study for your exams. (advice)

 Direct and Indirect Speech: Direct speech quotes the exact words, while indirect speech reports
the words.

o Direct: He said, "I am going to the store."

o Indirect: He said that he was going to the store.