Grammar Lessons
Master grammar patterns used in real news articles, organized by CEFR level.
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-ing spelling: double consonant after short vowel
“The cat is sitting on the chair.”
-ing spelling: drop silent e
“She is making a cake.”
-ing spelling: ie → ying
“The baby is lying on the bed.”
A lot of + countable and uncountable nouns
“She has a lot of friends.”
Adverbs of frequency: position with be
“He is always late.”
Adverbs of frequency: position with main verbs
“I always eat breakfast.”
Any: negative sentences and questions
“I don't have any brothers.”
Basic word order: SVO
“The cat (S) eats (V) fish (O).”
Can: ability
“I can swim.”
Can: negative (can't)
“I can't drive.”
Can: permission
“Can I open the window?”
Common greetings and responses
“How are you?”
Common polite expressions
“Excuse me, where is the station?”
Conjunction: and
“I have a dog and a cat.”
Conjunction: because
“I'm happy because it's Friday.”
Conjunction: but
“I like tea, but I don't like coffee.”
Conjunction: or
“Do you want tea or coffee?”
Conjunction: so
“It's raining, so I need an umbrella.”
Countable nouns
“I need a chair.”
Days of the week and months
“I start work on Monday.”
Definite article: the
“The book on the table is mine.”
Demonstratives: these / those (plural)
“These shoes are new.”
Demonstratives: this / that (singular)
“This book is interesting.”
Have/has got: affirmative
“I have got two brothers.”
Have/has got: negative
“I haven't got any money.”
Have/has got: questions
“Have you got a pen?”
Imperatives: affirmative
“Open the door.”
Imperatives: negative
“Don't touch that!”
Indefinite article: a / an
“She is a student.”
Let's + base verb (suggestions)
“Let's go to the cinema.”
Like / love / hate / don't like + -ing
“I like swimming.”
Like / love / hate / don't like + noun
“I love chocolate.”
Many + countable nouns
“How many students are in your class?”
Much + uncountable nouns
“How much money do you have?”
Need + noun / infinitive
“I need help.”
Numbers 1–100
“There are twenty-five students in my class.”
Object pronouns
“Can you help me?”
Ordinal numbers (1st–31st)
“My birthday is on the third of June.”
Plural nouns: -es after s, sh, ch, x, z
“She washed all the dishes and the glasses.”
Plural nouns: common irregular forms
“There are three children in the park.”
Plural nouns: more irregular forms
“My feet are cold.”
Plural nouns: regular -s
“Two cats are sleeping on the sofa.”
Possessive 's: singular nouns
“The girl's book is on the table.”
Possessive adjectives
“This is my phone.”
Possessive pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs
“Whose bag is this?”
Possessive s': regular plural nouns
“The students' books are in the classroom.”
Prepositions of place: behind, in front of, near, opposite
“The garden is behind the house.”
Prepositions of place: in, on, at
“The keys are in my bag.”
Prepositions of place: under, next to, between
“The cat is under the table.”
Prepositions of time: at
“The meeting is at 3 o'clock.”
Prepositions of time: in
“She was born in April.”
Prepositions of time: on
“I have English on Monday.”
Present continuous: affirmative
“I am reading a book right now.”
Present continuous: negative
“She isn't sleeping.”
Present continuous: questions
“Are you listening to me?”
Present continuous: uses (actions happening now)
“Look!”
Present continuous: uses (temporary situations)
“I'm staying with my friend this week.”
Present simple: affirmative (non-be verbs)
“I work in an office.”
Present simple: be (affirmative)
“She is a teacher.”
Present simple: be (negative — contraction with be)
“They aren't at home.”
Present simple: be (negative — contraction with subject)
“I'm not hungry.”
Present simple: be (negative — full form)
“He is not a doctor.”
Present simple: be (short answers)
“Are you tired?”
Present simple: be (yes/no questions)
“Is she your sister?”
Present simple: negative (don't / doesn't)
“I don't like coffee.”
Present simple: short answers (do/does)
“Do you like pizza?”
Present simple: third person -s
“She plays the guitar.”
Present simple: yes/no questions (do/does)
“Do you speak French?”
Question words: how
“How are you?”
Question words: how many, how much
“How many languages do you speak?”
Question words: how old, how often
“How old are you?”
Question words: what, where, when
“What is your name?”
Question words: who, why, which
“Who is that man?”
Some: affirmative sentences
“I have some friends in Paris.”
Some: offers and requests
“Would you like some tea?”
Subject pronouns
“They live in London.”
Telling the time
“It's half past nine.”
There is / there are (affirmative)
“There is a park near my house.”
There is / there are (negative)
“There isn't a hospital in this town.”
There is / there are (questions)
“Is there a supermarket near here?”
Third person -s spelling: -es after s, sh, ch, x, z
“He watches TV every evening.”
Third person -s spelling: consonant + y → -ies
“She studies English every day.”
Third person -s spelling: vowel + y → -ys
“He plays football on Saturdays.”
Uncountable nouns
“I'd like some water.”
Want + noun / infinitive
“I want a coffee.”
Wh-question formation with do/does
“Where does she work?”
Whose + noun (asking about possession)
“Whose book is this?”
Would like + noun / infinitive (polite requests)
“I'd like a glass of water.”
Yes/no question formation with do/does
“Do you like chocolate?”
Zero article: uncountable nouns and generalizations
“Water is important.”
Adverbs of manner: adjective + -ly
“She spoke quietly.”
As...as: equality comparisons
“She's as tall as her brother.”
Both...and, either...or, neither...nor
“Both Tom and Sarah speak French.”
Comparative adjectives: irregular (better, worse, farther)
“Her English is better than mine.”
Comparative adjectives: long adjectives (more...than)
“This book is more interesting than the film.”
Comparative adjectives: short adjectives (-er than)
“My brother is taller than me.”
Could: past ability
“I could swim when I was five.”
Could: possibility and polite requests
“It could be true.”
Don't have to: no obligation
“You don't have to come if you don't want to.”
Enough + noun / adjective + enough
“She's old enough to drive.”
First conditional: If + present simple, will + base verb
“If it rains, I'll stay home.”
First conditional: variations and negative forms
“If you don't hurry, we won't catch the train.”
Gerund as object
“I enjoy reading.”
Gerund as subject
“Swimming is good exercise.”
Going to: future plans and intentions
“I'm going to visit Paris next summer.”
Going to: negative and questions
“She isn't going to come.”
Going to: predictions based on evidence
“Look at those dark clouds.”
Have to: external obligation
“I have to wear a uniform at work.”
Indefinite pronouns + adjective: something interesting, nothing new
“I want to do something interesting this weekend.”
Infinitive of purpose
“I went to the shop to buy some milk.”
Irregular adverbs of manner: well, fast, hard
“She speaks English well.”
Might/may: possibility
“It might rain tomorrow.”
Must vs have to
“I must remember to call Mum.”
Must: strong obligation
“You must wear a seatbelt in the car.”
Mustn't: prohibition
“You mustn't use your phone during the exam.”
Past continuous: affirmative
“I was reading a book at eight o'clock last night.”
Past continuous: interrupted action with 'when'
“I was reading when the phone rang.”
Past continuous: negative and questions
“She wasn't sleeping.”
Past continuous: simultaneous actions with 'while'
“While I was cooking, my sister was doing her homework.”
Past simple irregular: buy → bought, eat → ate, drink → drank
“We bought some food, ate lunch, and drank coffee at the café.”
Past simple irregular: come → came
“My friends came to visit me last Saturday.”
Past simple irregular: do → did
“She did her homework after dinner.”
Past simple irregular: feel → felt, leave → left, lose → lost
“I felt tired, so I left the party early.”
Past simple irregular: get → got
“I got a new phone for my birthday.”
Past simple irregular: give → gave, find → found, tell → told
“He gave me a book, and I found a note inside.”
Past simple irregular: go → went
“We went to the beach last weekend.”
Past simple irregular: have → had
“They had a wonderful holiday in Spain.”
Past simple irregular: make → made
“My grandmother made a delicious cake.”
Past simple irregular: meet → met, pay → paid, sell → sold
“We met some old friends.”
Past simple irregular: run → ran, write → wrote, read → read
“She ran five kilometres, then wrote in her diary and read a chapter of her book.”
Past simple irregular: say → said, know → knew, think → thought
“She said that she knew the answer, but I thought it was wrong.”
Past simple irregular: see → saw
“I saw a beautiful rainbow this morning.”
Past simple irregular: send → sent, sit → sat, stand → stood
“She sent me a message.”
Past simple irregular: speak → spoke, bring → brought, begin → began
“He spoke to the teacher, brought his project, and began the presentation.”
Past simple irregular: take → took
“He took the bus to work yesterday.”
Past simple irregular: win → won, wear → wore
“Our team won the match.”
Past simple of be: questions
“Was he at the meeting?”
Past simple of be: was/were – affirmative
“I was happy.”
Past simple of be: wasn't/weren't – negative
“She wasn't tired.”
Past simple vs past continuous
“It was raining when we arrived at the restaurant.”
Past simple: negative with didn't
“I didn't see the film last night.”
Past simple: regular verbs (-ed)
“I walked to school yesterday.”
Past simple: short answers with did/didn't
“Did you finish your homework?”
Past simple: spelling – consonant + y → -ied
“He studied English for three hours.”
Past simple: spelling – double consonant
“She stopped the car suddenly.”
Past simple: yes/no questions with Did
“Did you enjoy the concert?”
Phrasal verbs (inseparable): look after, look for, get on/off, get up, go on, come back, run out of
“She looks after her grandmother.”
Phrasal verbs (separable): turn on/off, pick up, put on, take off, give back, throw away, fill in, find out, look up, try on
“Turn off the light.”
Possessive pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs
“This book is mine.”
Prepositions of movement: to, from, into, out of, through, across, along, up, down, past, towards
“She walked across the bridge, through the park, and along the river towards the station.”
Present perfect vs past simple
“I've been to Rome.”
Present perfect with already and yet
“I've already eaten lunch.”
Present perfect with ever/never
“Have you ever tried sushi?”
Present perfect with for (duration)
“I've lived here for five years.”
Present perfect with just
“He has just arrived home.”
Present perfect with since (starting point)
“She has worked here since 2020.”
Present perfect with still
“I still haven't received his email.”
Present perfect: affirmative with have/has
“I have visited Paris twice.”
Present perfect: negative and questions
“She hasn't finished yet.”
Reflexive pronouns: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves
“I taught myself to play guitar.”
Relative clauses with where (places)
“That's the restaurant where we had dinner last week.”
Relative clauses with which (things) and that (both)
“The book which I bought is very good.”
Relative clauses with who (people)
“The woman who lives next door is a teacher.”
Should/shouldn't: giving advice
“You should drink more water.”
So/such for emphasis
“It's so cold today!”
Superlative adjectives: irregular (best, worst)
“This is the best restaurant in town.”
Superlative adjectives: long adjectives (the most)
“It's the most beautiful city in the world.”
Superlative adjectives: short adjectives (the -est)
“She is the tallest student in the class.”
Too + adjective
“This coffee is too hot to drink.”
Used to: past habits and states
“I used to live in London.”
Verb + gerund or infinitive (different meaning): remember, forget, stop, try
“I remember locking the door.”
Verb + gerund or infinitive (same meaning): like, love, hate, start, begin, continue
“I like swimming.”
Verb + gerund: enjoy, finish, avoid, suggest, mind, keep, practice, consider
“I enjoy cooking.”
Verb + infinitive: want, need, hope, decide, plan, learn, promise, agree, offer, refuse
“I want to travel.”
Will vs going to
“I'm going to study medicine.”
Will: negative and questions
“He won't agree.”
Will: predictions and beliefs about the future
“I think it will be sunny tomorrow.”
Will: promises and offers
“I'll help you with your bags.”
Will: spontaneous decisions
“The phone is ringing.”
Would like: polite want
“I'd like a coffee, please.”
Although / though / even though + clause
“Although it was raining, we went for a walk.”
Articles: the + nationality groups and unique nouns
“The French are known for their cuisine.”
Articles: zero article with abstract concepts
“Happiness is more important than money.”
As long as / provided that / on condition that
“You can borrow my car as long as you drive carefully.”
Be allowed to: passive permission
“Students aren't allowed to use phones in class.”
Be used to / get used to + noun/-ing vs used to + base verb
“I'm used to waking up early.”
Causative get: get something done
“I need to get my phone repaired.”
Causative have: have something done
“I had my hair cut yesterday.”
Could have: past possibility not taken
“We could have taken the train, but we drove instead.”
Defining relative clauses: who, which, that
“The woman who lives next door is a doctor.”
Despite / in spite of + noun or -ing
“Despite being tired, she finished the report.”
I wish + past perfect: past regrets
“I wish I had listened to your advice.”
I wish + past simple: present wishes
“I wish I had more free time.”
If only + past perfect: past regrets (emphatic)
“If only we had booked earlier!”
If only + past simple: present wishes (emphatic)
“If only I spoke Japanese!”
In case + present simple: precaution
“Take an umbrella in case it rains.”
Indirect questions: Can you tell me...?
“Can you tell me where the nearest bank is?”
Indirect questions: Do you know if...?
“Do you know if the shop is open on Sundays?”
It's time + past simple / would rather + past simple
“It's time we left.”
Let someone do: permission
“My parents let me stay out until midnight.”