Grammar Lessons
These grammar lessons explain verb tenses, the passive voice, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs and conjunctions. They cover levels A1 to C1, with most at B1. Start at your level, read each explanation slowly, then check what you learnt with the examples.
LessonA1Tenses
The Simple Present of the Verb to Be
The grammar of a language is an analysis of the various functions performed by the words of the language,…
LessonA1Tenses
The Simple Present of Verbs Other Than the Verb to Be
The Simple Present of any verb other than the verb to be is formed from the bare infinitive of the verb.…
LessonA2Nouns and pronouns
Nouns – The Formation of Plurals
A noun is a word used as the name of a person or a thing. In the following examples, the…
LessonA2Nouns and pronouns
Personal Pronouns – Grammar Lesson
Pronouns are words which can be used in the place of nouns. The personal pronouns in the following…
LessonA2Tenses
The Present Continuous Tense
In English, the Present Continuous tense is usually used to express continuing, ongoing actions which are taking place…
LessonA2Tenses
The Simple Past Tense
The uses of the Simple Past are somewhat similar to the uses of the Simple Present, except that…
LessonB1Adjectives and adverbs
Adjectives – Position In A Sentence – Grammar Lesson
Words which are used to modify nouns or pronouns are usually referred to as adjectives. For instance, the adjectives…
LessonB1Adjectives and adverbs
Adjectives Used In Comparisons – Part 1 – Grammar Lesson
As well as being used to describe persons and things, adjectives which refer to qualities can also be…
LessonB1Adjectives and adverbs
Adjectives Used In Comparisons – Part 2 – Grammar Lesson
Adjectives which follow the model of the French language do not use the endings er and est. Instead, the adjectives…
LessonB1Adjectives and adverbs
Adverbs: Position In A Sentence – Grammar Lesson
Words which are used to modify verbs or adjectives are usually referred to as adverbs. For instance, the adverbs…
LessonB1Conjunctions
Conjunctions – Grammar Lesson
A conjunction may be used to indicate the relationship between the ideas expressed in a clause and the…
LessonB1Determiners
Determiners – Grammar Lesson
As indicated in the tables below, many determiners can be used either as adjectives or as pronouns. As…
LessonB1Nouns and pronouns
Nouns Indicating Possession And Compound Subjects – Grammar Lesson
One way in which English nouns indicate possession is by means of the ending 's. e.g. the boy's hat…
LessonB1Nouns and pronouns
Other Pronouns – Grammar Lesson
Indefinite pronouns may be used without antecedents. The indefinite pronouns in the following sentences are underlined. e.g. One cannot believe…
LessonB1Nouns and pronouns
Plural Countable Nouns – Grammar Lesson
The absence of a determiner before plural countable nouns generally has the same significance as the presence of a or an before…
Questions
When do I use the simple past tense?
Use the simple past for a finished action at a definite time in the past. For example: I visited my aunt yesterday. Most regular verbs take -ed, but many common verbs are irregular, such as go and went.
What is the passive voice?
In the passive voice, the action is more important than the person who does it. We use be and the past participle. For example: The window was broken. The active form is: Someone broke the window.
What are uncountable nouns?
Uncountable nouns are things we do not count one by one, such as water, advice or information. They have no plural form and take a singular verb. For example: The information is useful. We say some advice, not an advice.