Master English Grammar
fully & permanently
Eight deep lessons with rich explanations, annotated examples, and common-mistake analysis — each followed by a 50-question exam with full answer explanations.
Nouns & Pronouns
A noun names a person, place, thing, idea, feeling, or concept. Almost every sentence contains at least one. Understanding nouns deeply means understanding how English organises reality into language.
Types of nouns
Names a general category. Not capitalised (unless starting a sentence).
Names a specific, unique person, place, or organisation. Always capitalised in English.
Names an idea, quality, or feeling that cannot be physically touched. Critical in academic English.
Names a group as a single unit. Verb agreement depends on whether the group acts together or separately.
Can be counted. Has singular and plural. Uses many/few. Can use a/an.
Cannot be counted individually. No plural. No a/an. Uses much/little.
Two or more words functioning as one noun. One word, hyphenated, or separate.
These NEVER take a/an or -s. Use: a piece of advice, some information.
Noun plurals — rules and exceptions
| Rule | Examples | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Add -s | book→books, cat→cats | Default plural for most nouns. |
| Add -es (s,sh,ch,x,z) | bus→buses, dish→dishes | Added for pronunciation ease. |
| -f/-fe → -ves | leaf→leaves, wife→wives | But: roof→roofs, belief→beliefs. |
| Consonant+y → -ies | city→cities, baby→babies | Vowel+y: just add s (day→days). |
| Irregular | man→men, child→children, tooth→teeth | Must memorise. No pattern. |
| Unchanged | sheep, deer, fish, aircraft, species | Context tells singular or plural. |
| Latin/Greek | criterion→criteria, datum→data | Common in academic English. |
Pronouns
A pronoun replaces a noun to avoid repetition. The noun it replaces is the antecedent.
Change form based on subject/object position.
Stand alone without a noun. Mine (not my) on its own.
Subject and object are the same person. Also used for emphasis.
Introduce relative clauses. Who/whom for people; which/that for things.
This/these = near; that/those = far. Must agree in number with the noun.
Non-specific. Most are singular: everyone is, not everyone are.
✓ Between you and me, the plan works. (me, not I, after prepositions)
✓ The person whom I called is my brother. (whom = object of "called")
Tip: if you can replace with "he" → who. If "him" → whom.
- ✓ "Every student must bring his or her own laptop." (traditional formal)
- ✓ "All students must bring their own laptops." (clearest: make plural)
- ✓ "Everyone raised their hand." (widely accepted modern usage)
Verbs & Auxiliary Verbs
A verb expresses an action, occurrence, or state of being. Every complete sentence must contain a verb. Verbs change form to show tense, person, number, mood, and voice.
Types of main verbs
Describes something the subject does. Can be used in continuous tenses.
Describes a state, not an action. NOT used in continuous tenses: ❌ "I am knowing."
Requires a direct object to complete its meaning.
Does not take a direct object. The action is complete without one.
Connects the subject to a subject complement (adjective or noun).
Verb + particle with a new, often idiomatic meaning. Very common in speech.
| Form | Regular (work) | Irregular (go) | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base (infinitive) | work | go | After modal verbs, to + verb, imperatives |
| Third person singular | works | goes | Present simple: he/she/it + verb + s/es |
| Past simple | worked | went | Completed actions in the past |
| Past participle | worked | gone | Perfect tenses, passive voice |
| Present participle (-ing) | working | going | Continuous tenses, as adjective/noun |
✓ She has a car. (stative: possess) vs She is having dinner. (dynamic: experiencing)
Auxiliary verbs — primary and modal
Forms continuous tenses and passive voice.
Forms perfect tenses: have worked, had finished.
Forms questions, negatives, and emphasis.
Can=present ability. Could=past/polite. May/might=possibility.
Must=strong obligation. Should=advice. Ought to=duty (formal).
Will=future/decision. Would=conditional/polite. Shall=formal future.
| Modal | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| can | Ability / informal permission | She can speak Arabic. Can I leave? |
| could | Past ability / polite request | He could swim at four. Could you help? |
| may | Formal permission / likely possibility | You may leave. It may rain. |
| might | Less certain possibility | She might come. That might not work. |
| must | Strong obligation / deduction | You must wear a seatbelt. He must be tired. |
| should | Advice / expectation | You should see a doctor. She should be home. |
| will | Future / instant decision / promise | I will call you. I'll have the soup. |
| would | Conditional / polite / past habit | I would help if I could. Would you wait? |
✓ "She can swim." / "You must go." / "He should study."
You have to submit the form. (external obligation)
You should submit the form. (advice — it would be wise to)
Verb Tenses
English has 12 main tenses, organised by time (past/present/future) and aspect (simple/continuous/perfect/perfect continuous). Each has a specific meaning telling not just when, but how an event relates to other events.
- Simple: complete fact or habit — "I work here."
- Continuous: ongoing or temporary — "I am working."
- Perfect: connection to another time — "I have worked here."
- Perfect continuous: duration of ongoing — "I have been working here for years."
Present tenses
| Tense | Structure | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | V / V+s | Habits, facts, schedules | She works at a hospital. Water boils at 100°C. |
| Present Continuous | am/is/are + V-ing | Now / temporary / future plans | He is studying. We are leaving tomorrow. |
| Present Perfect | have/has + past participle | Experience / result / unfinished | I have visited Paris. She has just arrived. |
| Present Perfect Continuous | have/has been + V-ing | Duration of ongoing action | They have been waiting for two hours. |
Past tenses
| Tense | Structure | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Past Simple | V+ed / irregular | Completed action at specific time | She called me yesterday. He went to Rome in 2019. |
| Past Continuous | was/were + V-ing | Ongoing past / background | It was raining when I left. |
| Past Perfect | had + past participle | Before another past action | He had left when I arrived. |
| Past Perfect Continuous | had been + V-ing | Duration before another past event | They had been talking for hours before she came. |
Future tenses
| Tense | Structure | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Future Simple | will + V | Decision now / prediction / promise | I will help you. It will rain tomorrow. |
| Future Continuous | will be + V-ing | Ongoing future action at a time | I will be working at 8pm. |
| Future Perfect | will have + past participle | Completed before a future point | By Friday I will have finished the report. |
| Future Perfect Continuous | will have been + V-ing | Duration up to a future point | By 2026, she will have been teaching for 20 years. |
✓ I saw that film last Tuesday. (specific time → past simple ONLY)
✓ She has lived here for ten years. (still living here — unfinished)
✓ She lived here for ten years. (no longer here — finished)
Continuous (was reading) = background action in progress.
Simple (rang) = sudden interruption.
✓ "I think it will rain later." (general prediction)
✓ "I am going to study medicine." (plan decided)
✓ "I will carry that for you!" (instant decision)
"Have you ever been to Japan?" "She hasn't called yet." "I've worked here since 2020."
Any specific past time reference forces past simple. "I went there last year."
Adjectives
An adjective modifies a noun or pronoun, giving more information about its quality, quantity, size, colour, or type. English adjectives have strict ordering rules and three degrees of comparison.
Describe a quality or characteristic. Most common type.
-ing = describes the cause. -ed = describes the feeling. The most confused type.
Indicate quantity. Some/any follow affirmative/negative/question rules.
Show belonging. Always precede the noun. Its (no apostrophe) = possessive; it's = it is.
- ✓ "a lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife"
- ✓ "a beautiful new Italian leather bag"
- ❌ "an Italian new beautiful leather bag"
Degrees of comparison
| Type | Short adj (1-2 syllables) | Long adj (3+ syllables) | Irregular |
|---|---|---|---|
| Positive | fast, big, happy | beautiful, intelligent | good, bad, far |
| Comparative | faster, bigger, happier | more beautiful, more intelligent | better, worse, farther |
| Superlative | the fastest, the biggest, the happiest | the most beautiful, the most intelligent | the best, the worst, the farthest |
I was bored. (I felt boredom) → -ed describes the feeling
❌ "I was very interesting in the lecture." → should be "interested"
✓ This is more difficult than the last exam.
✓ The more you practise, the better you become.
✓ She is twice as tall as her sister.
✓ She is not as confident as she used to be.
Predicative (after linking verb): the children seemed happy.
Position-restricted: "He is asleep." (predicative only — not "the asleep man")
Adverbs
An adverb modifies a verb, adjective, another adverb, or an entire clause. Adverbs answer: How? When? Where? How often? How much? Correct placement is a mark of fluency.
Describes how an action is performed. After verb or object.
Before main verb, after be/auxiliaries. She always arrives early. He is never late.
Modify adjectives/adverbs. "Enough" comes AFTER: fast enough, old enough.
Modifies whole sentence. Usually followed by a comma: "Fortunately, no one was hurt."
- Frequency adverbs: BEFORE main verb, AFTER be/auxiliaries
- Manner adverbs: AFTER verb + object
- Degree adverbs: BEFORE the adjective/adverb they modify
- "Enough" is different: comes AFTER — "She's fast enough."
- "Too" + adj = excess (a problem): "too hot to swim" ≠ "very hot"
✓ He has never been to Australia.
✓ They are usually on time.
❌ "Always I drink coffee." / "I drink always coffee."
✓ She sings well. (adverb modifying verb)
❌ "She sings good." / "He performed bad."
✓ It's too hot to work outside. (excessive — causes a problem)
✓ It's hot enough to swim. (sufficient — right amount)
✓ The soup smells good. (linking verb → adjective, not "well")
✓ I feel bad about it. (linking verb → adjective, not "badly")
Prepositions
A preposition links a noun, pronoun, or phrase to other words, expressing relationships of time, place, direction, cause, and manner. Many prepositions must be memorised in their collocations.
Prepositions of place
| Preposition | Use | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| in | Enclosed space / city / country | in the box, in London, in France, in the kitchen |
| on | Surface / transport / floor | on the table, on the bus, on the third floor |
| at | Specific point / address / event | at the door, at 10 Park Road, at the concert |
| between | In the middle of two things | between the sofa and the wall |
| among | In the middle of many things | among the students, among the papers |
Prepositions of time
| Preposition | Use | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| at | Specific time / holidays | at 6 o'clock, at midnight, at Christmas |
| on | Days / dates / specific day | on Monday, on 5th April, on my birthday |
| in | Months / years / seasons / periods | in January, in 2024, in the summer, in the morning |
| for | Duration (length of time) | for three hours, for a decade |
| since | Point in time (perfect tenses) | since 2018, since morning |
| by | Deadline (not later than) | submit by Friday, home by 10pm |
| until/till | Up to a point in time | until you return, open till 9pm |
Rule: at (point) → on (day/date) → in (period/month/year/season)
✓ I have studied English since 2019. (point — start time)
✓ I studied English during the summer. (within a named period)
❌ "since five years" / ❌ "for 2019"
✓ good at / ❌ good in
✓ married to / ❌ married with
✓ depend on / ❌ depend to
✓ arrive in a city / arrive at a place / arrive on an island
Articles: a / an / the
Articles seem simple but are among the most difficult aspects for non-native speakers. English has three: a (indefinite), an (indefinite before vowel sounds), and the (definite). Always based on SOUND, not spelling.
"University" starts with /j/ sound → a university. "Useful" → a useful tool. Sound, not letter.
"Hour" starts with /a/ (H is silent) → an hour. "MBA" = /em bi eɪ/ → an MBA.
Introduce with a/an; use the on second mention (listener now knows which one).
Only one exists. Or both speaker and listener know which: "Close the door."
- Uncountable in general: Happiness is important. Water is essential.
- Plural countable in general: Dogs make good pets. Books are important.
- Proper nouns: She lives in France. He studies at Oxford University.
- Meals, languages, sports: I eat breakfast at 7. She speaks Arabic. He plays football.
- By + transport: I travel by train. She went by car.
- Institutions (primary purpose): go to school, go to hospital, go to church
❌ "She is the best student in a class." ✓ "...in the class."
❌ "He went to the school." ✓ "He went to school." (as a student)
❌ "Life is the beautiful." ✓ "Life is beautiful."
✓ She went to the school to speak to the principal. (the specific building)
✓ Mount Everest, Lake Victoria, Oxford Street (no article)
✓ The Sahara (desert), the Amazon (river)
Sentence Structure
A sentence contains at least one subject and one verb and expresses a complete thought. Understanding sentence structure enables clarity, avoids errors, and builds sophisticated expression.
Subject + Predicate. "The dog barked." Can have compound subjects or verbs.
For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So. "She studied, so she passed."
Subordinating conjunctions: although, because, when, if, while, unless. "Although she was tired, she finished."
"Although it was raining, she went for a walk, and she enjoyed it."
- ✓ "The list of items is on the table." (subject = list, not items)
- ✓ "Each of the students has a book." (each = singular)
- ✓ "Neither the teachers nor the principal was informed." (verb agrees with nearer subject)
- ✓ "The news is surprising." (news is always singular)
- ✓ "Mathematics is my favourite subject." (-ics subjects are singular)
- ✓ "Five hundred dollars is a lot of money." (sums are singular)
Compound: The scientist discovered a cure, but it was expensive.
Complex: Although the cure was expensive, it saved thousands of lives.
Compound-complex: Although the cure was expensive, it saved thousands of lives, and governments began funding it.
✓ Although she studied hard, she failed. (contrast)
✓ If she studies hard, she will pass. (condition)
✓ Unless she studies, she will fail. (negative condition)
✓ Fix: "She left early because she was tired."
❌ Run-on: "She was tired she went to bed."
✓ Fix: "She was tired, so she went to bed."
✓ "She likes swimming, running, and dancing." (all gerunds)
❌ "He promised to study, to sleep early, and that he would eat well."
✓ "He promised to study, to sleep early, and to eat well."