📚 English Grammar Revision
English Grammar Revision Set
Complete review of essential grammar topics. Use ← → arrow keys or buttons to navigate.
Table of Contents
1. Parts of Speech
Definition: Words are categorized into parts of speech based on their function in a sentence. There are 8 main types.
| Part of Speech | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | Names person, place, thing | teacher, city, book |
| Pronoun | Replaces a noun | he, she, they, it |
| Verb | Shows action or state | run, is, think |
| Adjective | Describes a noun | happy, blue, tall |
| Adverb | Describes verb/adj/adv | quickly, very, well |
| Preposition | Shows relationship | in, on, at, under |
| Conjunction | Joins words/clauses | and, but, because |
| Interjection | Expresses emotion | Wow! Oh! Hey! |
Examples:
- The quick (adj) brown fox (n) jumps (v) quickly (adv) over (prep) the lazy dog.
- Wow! (interj) She (pronoun) and (conj) I went to the park.
- He is a very (adv) talented (adj) musician (n).
Practice Questions
1. Identify the parts of speech in: "She quickly wrote an excellent essay."
She (pronoun), quickly (adverb), wrote (verb), an (article/determiner), excellent (adjective), essay (noun)
2. Which word is an adverb? "They spoke softly during the movie."
"softly" is the adverb - it describes how they spoke
2. Tenses (All 12)
Key Concept: English has 3 times (Past, Present, Future) × 4 aspects (Simple, Continuous, Perfect, Perfect Continuous) = 12 tenses.
Present Tenses
| Tense | Structure | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | base / base+s | Habits, facts | I work. He works. |
| Present Continuous | am/is/are + V-ing | Now, temporary | She is working. |
| Present Perfect | has/have + V3 | Past to present | We have finished. |
| Present Perfect Cont. | has/have been + V-ing | Duration to present | I've been waiting. |
Past & Future Tenses
| Tense | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Past Simple | V2 | I worked yesterday. |
| Past Continuous | was/were + V-ing | She was working at 5pm. |
| Past Perfect | had + V3 | We had finished before he came. |
| Past Perfect Cont. | had been + V-ing | I had been waiting for hours. |
| Future Simple | will + base | They will arrive soon. |
| Future Continuous | will be + V-ing | I'll be working at 8pm. |
| Future Perfect | will have + V3 | She'll have finished by 6pm. |
| Future Perfect Cont. | will have been + V-ing | I'll have been studying for 3 hours. |
Practice Questions
1. Choose correct tense: "By next year, I _____ (live) here for a decade."
will have been living - Future Perfect Continuous for duration up to a point in future
2. "She _____ (study) when I called her." What tense fits?
was studying - Past Continuous for action in progress when interrupted
3. Subject-Verb Agreement
Core Rule: A singular subject takes a singular verb. A plural subject takes a plural verb.
Key Rules
- Basic: He plays tennis. They play tennis.
- Each/Every/Everyone: Singular. Every student has a book.
- Either...or / Neither...nor: Verb agrees with closest subject. Either Tom or his friends are coming.
- Collective nouns: Usually singular in AmE. The team is winning.
- Indefinite amounts: Ten dollars is too much. Five miles is far.
- Phrases between subject & verb don't change agreement: The box of apples is heavy.
Tricky cases: "There is/are", "a number of" (plural), "the number of" (singular)
Examples:
- The news is good today. (Uncountable - singular)
- Mathematics is my favorite subject.
- A number of students are absent. / The number of students is 30.
Practice Questions
1. Everyone in the class _____ (has/have) submitted the assignment.
has - "Everyone" is always singular
2. The list of items _____ (is/are) on the desk.
is - The subject is "list" (singular), not "items"
4. Articles: a / an / the
Indefinite Articles: a / an
Use a/an for singular, countable nouns when mentioning for the first time or when not specific.
a + consonant sound | an + vowel sound
a + consonant sound | an + vowel sound
- a book, a university (yoo-sound), a one-time event
- an apple, an hour (h is silent), an MBA (em-sound)
Definite Article: the
Use the when the noun is specific, unique, or already mentioned. Also with superlatives, ordinals, and some proper nouns.
- The sun, the internet, the best student
- The United States, the Pacific Ocean, the Eiffel Tower
- I saw a dog. The dog was barking.
Zero Article (no article)
No article with: general plural/uncountable nouns, names of people/countries, days/months, meals, languages, school subjects.
Examples:
- Dogs are loyal. Water is essential. Love is important.
- She lives in Canada. He speaks French. We eat breakfast at 8.
- But: The dogs in my street are noisy. (specific dogs)
Practice Questions
1. Fill in: He is ___ honest man from ___ UK.
an honest man from the UK (h is silent in honest; UK is specific country group)
2. Which is correct: "I love the music" or "I love music" for music in general?
"I love music" - no article for general uncountable nouns. "The music" = specific music
5. Prepositions of Time & Place
Prepositions of Time: at / on / in
| Prep | Use | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| at | Specific times, holidays | at 5pm, at noon, at night, at Christmas |
| on | Days, dates | on Monday, on July 4th, on my birthday |
| in | Months, years, periods | in June, in 2024, in the morning, in winter |
Prepositions of Place: at / on / in
| Prep | Use | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| at | Point, specific address | at the bus stop, at 123 Main St, at home |
| on | Surface, street | on the table, on the wall, on Oxford Street |
| in | Enclosed space, area | in the box, in London, in the car, in bed |
Important exceptions: in the morning/afternoon/evening BUT at night. on the train/bus/plane BUT in a car/taxi.
More Examples:
- I'll meet you at 3pm on Friday in July.
- She's in her office at work, on the second floor.
- We arrived in Paris at the airport on time.
Practice Questions
1. Choose: Meet me ___ the library ___ 4pm ___ Tuesday.
at the library, at 4pm, on Tuesday
2. "in" or "at": I was born ___ 1998 ___ New York.
in 1998, in New York (or "at hospital" if specific point)
6. Conditionals 0-3 + Mixed
Conditionals express if-then relationships. The condition is in the if-clause.
| Type | Structure | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Zero | If + Present Simple, Present Simple | General truths, facts |
| First | If + Present Simple, will + base | Real future possibility |
| Second | If + Past Simple, would + base | Unreal present/future |
| Third | If + Past Perfect, would have + V3 | Unreal past |
| Mixed | If + Past Perfect, would + base | Past condition, present result |
Examples:
- Zero: If you heat water to 100°C, it boils.
- First: If it rains tomorrow, we will stay home.
- Second: If I won the lottery, I would travel the world.
- Third: If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam.
- Mixed: If I had taken that job, I would be rich now.
Note: Use "were" for all persons in 2nd conditional: If I were you, I'd apologize.
Practice Questions
1. Complete 3rd conditional: If she _____ (know) earlier, she _____ (come).
If she had known earlier, she would have come.
2. Which type: "If I were a bird, I would fly south."?
Second Conditional - unreal/imaginary present situation
7. Active vs Passive Voice
Active: Subject does the action. Passive: Subject receives the action.
Passive = be + past participle (V3). Use when actor is unknown/unimportant or you want focus on action.
Passive = be + past participle (V3). Use when actor is unknown/unimportant or you want focus on action.
Form Changes
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | They make cars. | Cars are made. |
| Past Simple | She wrote the book. | The book was written. |
| Present Continuous | They are building it. | It is being built. |
| Present Perfect | He has finished it. | It has been finished. |
| Future Simple | We will deliver it. | It will be delivered. |
When to use Passive:
- Actor unknown: My wallet was stolen. (by someone)
- Actor unimportant: The road is being repaired.
- Formal/scientific: The experiment was conducted in 2020.
- Focus on object: America was discovered in 1492.
Practice Questions
1. Change to passive: "The company will launch a new product next month."
A new product will be launched by the company next month.
2. Change to active: "The cake was eaten by the children."
The children ate the cake.
8. Reported Speech
Reported Speech = telling what someone said without quoting exactly. Usually backshift tenses if reporting verb is past.
Tense Changes (Backshift)
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|
| Present Simple → | Past Simple |
| Present Continuous → | Past Continuous |
| Past Simple → | Past Perfect |
| Present Perfect → | Past Perfect |
| will → | would |
| can → | could |
Other Changes
- Pronouns: I → he/she, my → his/her, we → they
- Time/Place: now → then, today → that day, tomorrow → the next day, here → there
- Questions: Use if/whether for yes/no. No question order. "Are you OK?" → She asked if I was OK.
- Commands: Use to/not to. "Don't touch!" → He told me not to touch.
Examples:
- Direct: "I am tired," she said. → Reported: She said that she was tired.
- Direct: "We will come tomorrow," they said. → Reported: They said they would come the next day.
- Direct: "Where do you live?" → She asked me where I lived.
Practice Questions
1. Report: Tom said, "I have never been to Paris."
Tom said that he had never been to Paris.
2. Report: "Can you help me?" she asked him.
She asked him if/whether he could help her.
9. Modal Verbs
Modals add meaning to main verbs: ability, permission, obligation, possibility. Structure: modal + base verb (no -s, -ing, to).
| Modal | Uses | Example |
|---|---|---|
| can/could | Ability, permission, request | I can swim. Could you help? |
| may/might | Possibility, permission | It may rain. May I come in? |
| must | Obligation, deduction | You must stop. He must be tired. |
| have to | External obligation | I have to wear a uniform. |
| should | Advice, expectation | You should rest. It should arrive soon. |
| would | Polite request, hypothetical | Would you mind? I would go if... |
| shall | Offer, suggestion (formal) | Shall we begin? |
Perfect Modals
modal + have + V3 = past meaning. must have = strong past deduction, should have = past advice/regret, could have = past possibility
Examples:
- She must have been here. (I'm sure she was)
- You should have called. (but you didn't)
- They might have left already. (possible)
- I could have helped if I had known. (but I didn't)
Practice Questions
1. Which modal shows obligation: "You _____ wear a seatbelt."?
must / have to - both show obligation. "must" is stronger/more personal
2. "He _____ left. His car is gone." What modal fits for deduction?
must have - strong logical deduction about the past
10. Punctuation Rules
Essential Marks
| Mark | Name | Main Use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| . | Period | End statements | She went home. |
| , | Comma | Lists, clauses, intro phrases | After dinner, we left. |
| ; | Semicolon | Join related independent clauses | I came; he left. |
| : | Colon | Introduce list/explanation | Bring: pen, paper, book. |
| ' | Apostrophe | Possessive, contraction | John's car, don't |
| "" | Quotation marks | Direct speech, quotes | She said, "Hello." |
| ? | Question mark | End questions | Are you coming? |
| ! | Exclamation | Strong emotion | What a day! |
Key Comma Rules
- Lists: I need apples, oranges, and bananas. (Oxford comma optional but clearer)
- Compound sentences: I called, but no one answered.
- Intro phrases: After the movie, we went home.
- Non-essential info: My brother, who lives in Paris, is visiting.
- Direct address: Let's eat, Grandma!
Common errors: its (possessive) vs it's (it is), your vs you're, their/there/they're. Don't use commas to join sentences without a conjunction = comma splice.
Practice Questions
1. Add punctuation: Lets eat grandma
Let's eat, Grandma! - Without comma it means to eat grandmother!
2. Correct: Its a beautiful day but its going to rain.
It's a beautiful day, but it's going to rain. (both are "it is")
11. Common Grammar Mistakes
Top 10 Errors to Avoid
| Incorrect | Correct | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Me and John went | John and I went | Subject form: I. Put yourself last |
| She don't like it | She doesn't like it | 3rd person singular needs doesn't |
| Its raining | It's raining | It's = it is. Its = possessive |
| There house is big | Their house is big | Their = possessive. There = place |
| Could of gone | Could have gone | Modal + have, not "of" |
| Less people | Fewer people | Fewer = countable, Less = uncountable |
| I am agree | I agree | Agree is verb, don't use "am" |
| More better | Better | Better already comparative |
| Did you went? | Did you go? | After did, use base form |
| I have 20 years | I am 20 years old | Age uses "be" in English |
More Fixes:
- Double negative: I don't need no help → I don't need any help.
- Affect vs Effect: Affect = verb. Effect = noun. The weather affects my mood. The effect was strong.
- Who vs Whom: Who = subject. Whom = object. Who called? To whom did you speak?
Practice Questions
1. Fix: "Me and him was playing in the park."
He and I were playing in the park. (Subject pronouns, plural verb)
2. Choose: "There are (less/fewer) cars today."
fewer cars - cars are countable
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English Grammar Revision Course
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