English Grammar basics

• English grammar is the body of rules that describe the structure of the English language
• It includes the structure of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences
• Grammar is not about prescribing what is "correct" versus "incorrect" language use
• Instead, it is about describing how the language is actually used

Parts of Speech

• Nouns: Words that represent people, places, things, or ideas (e.g., cat, city, happiness)
• Pronouns: Words that replace nouns (e.g., he, she, it, they)
• Verbs: Words that describe actions or states of being (e.g., run, is, become)
• Adjectives: Words that modify nouns (e.g., big, red, interesting)
• Adverbs: Words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs (e.g., quickly, very, well)
• Prepositions: Words that show the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in the sentence (e.g., in, on, at, to, from)
• Conjunctions: Words that connect words, phrases, or clauses (e.g., and, but, or, so)
• Interjections: Words that express strong emotion (e.g., Wow! Ouch!)

Sentence Structure

• A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought
• Basic sentence structure: Subject + Verb (+ Object/Complement)
• Subject: The noun or pronoun that performs the action of the verb
• Verb: The action word
• Object: The noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb
• Complement: A word or group of words that provides more information about the subject or object

Types of Sentences

• Simple sentence: Contains one independent clause (e.g., The cat sat on the mat.)
• Compound sentence: Contains two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (e.g., The cat sat on the mat, and the dog slept on the rug.)
• Complex sentence: Contains one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses (e.g., Because it was raining, the cat sat on the mat.)
• Compound-complex sentence: Contains two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses (e.g., Because it was raining, the cat sat on the mat, and the dog slept on the rug.)

Phrases

• A phrase is a group of related words that does not contain a subject and a verb
• Noun phrase: Functions as a noun (e.g., the big red ball)
• Verb phrase: Includes the main verb and any auxiliary verbs (e.g., is running)
• Adjective phrase: Functions as an adjective (e.g., very beautiful)
• Adverb phrase: Functions as an adverb (e.g., very quickly)
• Prepositional phrase: Begins with a preposition and modifies a noun or verb (e.g., on the table)
• Gerund phrase: Begins with a gerund (verb ending in -ing that functions as a noun) (e.g., Reading books is fun.)
• Infinitive phrase: Begins with an infinitive (to + verb) (e.g., To learn English is important.)
• Appositive phrase: Renames or identifies a noun (e.g., My friend, John, is a doctor.)

Clauses

• A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb
• Independent clause: Expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence (e.g., I went to the store.)
• Dependent clause: Does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone as a sentence. It relies on an independent clause to make sense (e.g., Because I needed milk.)
• Adjective clause: Modifies a noun or pronoun (e.g., The book that I borrowed is interesting.)
• Adverb clause: Modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb (e.g., I went to the store because I needed milk.)
• Noun clause: Functions as a noun (e.g., I know what you did.)

Verb Tenses

• Simple Present: Describes habitual actions or facts (e.g., I eat breakfast every day.)
• Present Continuous: Describes actions happening now or around now (e.g., I am eating breakfast now.)
• Simple Past: Describes actions that happened in the past (e.g., I ate breakfast yesterday.)
• Past Continuous: Describes actions that were in progress in the past (e.g., I was eating breakfast when you called.)
• Simple Future: Describes actions that will happen in the future (e.g., I will eat breakfast tomorrow.)
• Future Continuous: Describes actions that will be in progress in the future (e.g., I will be eating breakfast at 8 a.m. tomorrow.)
• Present Perfect: Describes actions that started in the past and continue to the present or have a result in the present (e.g., I have eaten breakfast.)
• Past Perfect: Describes actions that happened before another action in the past (e.g., I had eaten breakfast before you arrived.)
• Future Perfect: Describes actions that will be completed before a specific time in the future (e.g., I will have eaten breakfast by 8 a.m. tomorrow.)
• Present Perfect Continuous: Describes actions that started in the past and continue to the present, emphasizing the duration (e.g., I have been eating breakfast for an hour.)
• Past Perfect Continuous: Describes actions that had been in progress before another action in the past (e.g., I had been eating breakfast for an hour when you arrived.)
• Future Perfect Continuous: Describes actions that will have been in progress before a specific time in the future (e.g., I will have been eating breakfast for an hour by 8 a.m. tomorrow.)

Subject-Verb Agreement

• Singular subjects take singular verbs (e.g., He eats.)
• Plural subjects take plural verbs (e.g., They eat.)
• Compound subjects joined by "and" usually take a plural verb (e.g., John and Mary eat.)
• Collective nouns (e.g., team, family) take a singular verb when referring to the group as a whole and a plural verb when referring to the individual members

Pronoun Agreement

• Pronouns must agree in number and gender with the nouns they replace (e.g., The dog wagged its tail.)
• Indefinite pronouns (e.g., everyone, someone, anyone) usually take singular verbs and pronouns

Articles

• Definite article: the (refers to a specific noun)
• Indefinite articles: a, an (refer to a non-specific noun)
• Use "a" before words that begin with a consonant sound (e.g., a cat)
• Use "an" before words that begin with a vowel sound (e.g., an apple)

Punctuation

• Period (.): Marks the end of a declarative sentence
• Question mark (?): Marks the end of an interrogative sentence
• Exclamation point (!): Marks the end of an exclamatory sentence
• Comma (,): Separates items in a list, clauses, and phrases
• Semicolon (;): Connects two independent clauses
• Colon (:): Introduces a list, explanation, or example
• Apostrophe ('): Indicates possession or contraction
• Quotation marks (""): Enclose direct quotations
• Hyphen (-): Joins words or parts of words
• Dash (—): Indicates a break in thought or emphasis
• Parentheses ( ): Enclose additional information
• Brackets [ ]: Enclose editorial comments or clarifications within quotations

Common Grammatical Errors

• Subject-verb disagreement
• Pronoun disagreement
• Misplaced modifiers
• Dangling modifiers
• Incorrect verb tense
• Run-on sentences
• Comma splices
• Fragments
• Incorrect word choice (e.g., their/there/they're)

Active and Passive Voice

• Active voice: The subject performs the action (e.g., The dog chased the ball.)
• Passive voice: The subject receives the action (e.g., The ball was chased by the dog.)
• Use active voice for clarity and directness.
• Use passive voice when the action is more important than the actor, or when the actor is unknown.

Conditionals

• Zero conditional: Describes general truths (e.g., If you heat water to 100 degrees Celsius, it boils.)
• First conditional: Describes possible future events (e.g., If it rains, I will stay home.)
• Second conditional: Describes hypothetical or unlikely situations (e.g., If I won the lottery, I would travel the world.)
• Third conditional: Describes hypothetical past events (e.g., If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam.)
• Mixed conditional: Combines elements of different conditionals

Direct and Indirect Speech

• Direct speech: Reports the exact words spoken (e.g., She said, "I am going to the store.")
• Indirect speech: Reports the meaning of what was said without using the exact words (e.g., She said that she was going to the store.)
• When changing from direct to indirect speech, verb tenses and pronouns may need to be adjusted.

Modal Verbs

• Modal verbs: auxiliary verbs that express possibility, necessity, permission, ability, or obligation (e.g., can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would)
• Each modal verb has specific uses and connotations.

Determiners

• Words that introduce and modify nouns
• Articles: (a, an, the)
• Possessives: (my, your, his, her, its, our, their)
• Demonstratives: (this, that, these, those)
• Quantifiers: (some, any, many, few, several, much, little, all, no)
• Numbers: (one, two, three, etc.)

This resource teaches you basic of English Grammar. Learn the different parts of speech, including nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections.