Comprehensive Grammar Interview Guide

1. Articles

Definition: Words used before nouns to define them as specific or

unspecific.

 Indefinite articles (a/an): Used before singular, countable nouns

when the noun is not specific.

o I saw a dog. (any dog)

 Definite article (the): Used before singular and plural nouns when
the noun is specific.

o I saw the dog we talked about.

 Zero article: Used with general plural or uncountable nouns.

o Books are useful. Water is essential.

Usage tips:

 Use an before vowel sounds: an apple.

 Use a before consonant sounds: a university ("ju" sound).

2. Pronouns

Definition: Words that replace nouns to avoid repetition.

 Subject: I, you, he, she, it, we, they

 Object: me, you, him, her, it, us, them

 Possessive adjectives/pronouns: my/mine, your/yours, his/hers,

our/ours

 Reflexive: myself, yourself, himself, etc.

 Demonstrative: this, that, these, those

 Indefinite: someone, nobody, everything, etc.

 Relative: who, which, that, whose

3. Prefixes and Suffixes

Prefixes: Added before a word to change its meaning.

 un- (unhappy), re- (redo), dis- (dislike)

Suffixes: Added at the end of a word to change form or class.

 -er (teacher), -ness (happiness), -ly (quickly)

Usage:

 Helps expand vocabulary and understand word functions.

4. State Verbs

Definition: Verbs that describe a condition or state rather than an action.

Examples:

 Like, know, believe, own, need, prefer

Usage:

 Generally not used in continuous tenses: I know the answer. (NOT: I am

knowing)

5. Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Transitive Verbs: Require an object.

 She wrote a letter.

Intransitive Verbs: Do not take an object.

 He sleeps peacefully.

Some verbs can be both:

 She runs a business (transitive) / She runs every day (intransitive)

6. Quantifiers

Definition: Words that show quantity or amount.

 For uncountables: much, little

 For countables: many, few

 For both: some, any, a lot of, plenty of

Examples:

 I have many books.

 There is little milk left.

7. While and During

 While is a conjunction followed by a clause:

o While I was eating, he called.

 During is a preposition followed by a noun:

o During the movie, she fell asleep.

8. Compound Adjectives

Definition: Hyphenated adjectives made of two or more words.

Examples:

 well-known author, part-time job, ten-minute break

Usage:

 Often before nouns and formed from adjective + noun/verb +

participle.

9. Subject and Object Questions

 Subject question: The question word is the subject.

o Who broke the window? (Who = subject)

 Object question: The question word is the object.

o What did she break? (She = subject, What = object)

10. Direct and Indirect Questions

 Direct: Where is she?

 Indirect: Can you tell me where she is? (No inversion)

Usage tip: Use polite question forms with introductory phrases.

11. Verbs with to and -ing

 stop: I stopped smoking / I stopped to smoke

 try: Try opening the jar / Try to open the jar

 remember: I remember locking the door / Remember to lock the door

 regret: I regret telling you / I regret to inform you

  forget: I forgot to call / I’ll never forget meeting her

12. Comparatives and Superlatives

 Comparatives: Compare two things.

o She is taller than me.

 Superlatives: Show the extreme quality.

o He is the smartest student.

Form:

 One syllable: tall → taller → tallest

 Longer adjectives: beautiful → more beautiful → most beautiful

13. Future Forms

 Will: spontaneous decisions or predictions.

 Going to: intentions and predictions with evidence.

 Present Continuous: planned future events.

 Present Simple: schedules and timetables.

14. Get used to / Used to / Be used to

 Used to + verb: past habit (I used to smoke.)

 Be used to + noun/ing: familiar with (I’m used to the weather.)

 Get used to: becoming familiar (He’s getting used to driving.)

15. Modal Verbs

 Express ability, obligation, permission, advice, etc.

 can, must, should, might, could, would, shall, will, may

 No -s in third person.

16. Modals of Deduction

 Must: strong belief (He must be tired.)

 May/Might/Could: possibility (He might be sleeping.)

  Can’t: negative certainty (He can’t be at home.)

17. Relative Clauses

 Defining: essential info (The man who called you is here.)

 Non-defining: extra info (John, who is a doctor, called you.)

 Use who, which, that, whose, where, when

18. Reported Speech

 Indirect reporting of what someone said.

 Change tenses, pronouns, time references.

o “I am tired.” → She said she was tired.

19. Reporting Verbs

 Common ones: say, tell, ask, suggest, recommend, advise

 say + that, tell + object + that, ask + object + to, suggest + ing

20. Conditionals

 Zero: facts (If you heat ice, it melts.)

 First: real future (If I study, I’ll pass.)

 Second: unreal present (If I were rich, I’d travel.)

 Third: unreal past (If I had studied, I’d have passed.)

 Mixed: different time conditions

21. Passive Voice

 Focus on the action, not the doer.

 Be + past participle

 The cake was baked.

22. Wish and If Only

 Present regrets: I wish I had a car.

  Past regrets: I wish I had studied more.

 Future hopes: I wish it would stop raining.

23. Causatives

 Have/get something done: I had my car repaired.

 Make someone do: She made me cry.

 Let someone do: They let us go.

24. Perfect and Perfect Continuous Tenses

 Present Perfect: I have lived here for 5 years.

 Past Perfect: I had finished before 6.

 Future Perfect: I will have completed it.

 Present Perfect Continuous: I’ve been studying.

 Past Perfect Continuous: I had been working.

 Future Perfect Continuous: I will have been working.

25. Subjunctive Mood

 Unreal or hypothetical situations.

 I suggest that he go.

 If I were you...

26. Inversion

 Formal or emphatic structure.

 Never have I seen such beauty.

 Not only did he win, but...

27. Verbs + Prepositions

 depend on, look at, think about, believe in

 Memorize correct combinations.

28. Should Have Done

 Regret or missed obligation.

 I should have studied harder.

 You shouldn’t have said that.

29. All Tenses Overview

 Present: Simple, Continuous, Perfect, Perfect Continuous

 Past: Same 4 forms

 Future: will/going to + all 4 forms

Use: Based on time, habit, ongoing/completed actions.

30. Tag Questions

 Confirming info.

 Positive → Negative tag: You’re coming, aren’t you?

 Negative → Positive: You don’t like it, do you?

 Match the auxiliary verb and tense.

Type If-Clause Main Clause Meaning

Past → If + past A past event affects a present

would + base verb
Present perfect result

Present → If + simple would have + past A present state could have

Past past participle changed the past

⚠️Common Mistakes to Avoid:

 Don't mix real and unreal time frames incorrectly.

 Watch verb tense carefully:

Not: "If I would have studied..." ❌
Correct: "If I had studied..." ✅

🧠 Key Differences

Feature Present Continuous Present Perfect Continuous

Action happening Action started in past, still

Focus
now happening or just stopped

Time now, at the moment,

for, since, lately, recently
reference currently

Example He is working. He has been working for 3 hours.

Feature Present Continuous Present Perfect Continuous

Used with
❌ Rarely ✅ Common (for/since)
duration?

Completed or Can be ongoing or recently

Usually ongoing
not? finished

🔍 Example Comparison:

 Present Continuous:
They are playing football.
👉 (Right now.)

 Present Perfect Continuous:

They have been playing football for an hour.
👉 (They started an hour ago and are still playing or just finished.)