English Grammar Guide
English grammar is the backbone of clear, confident communication - whether you're writing an email, studying for a test, or simply expressing yourself.
This guide covers every major grammar topic with clear explanations, practical examples, and links to deeper reading. Use the sections below to find what you need, or read through from the start to build a solid foundation.
| Section | What It Covers |
| Tenses | Past, present, and future forms — when and how to use each. |
| Parts of Speech | Nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs — the word categories that build every sentence. |
| Vocabulary | Word choice, synonyms, antonyms, connotations, and nuance. |
| Grammar Conventions | Articles, quantifiers, and punctuation — the shared rules behind clear writing. |
| Sentence & Vocabulary | Clauses, sentence construction, conditionals, and writing styles. |
| Voice and Speech | Infinitives, passive voice, and reported speech. |
Explore all the sections
Tense tells us when an action takes place - in the past, present, or future - and whether it is simple, continuous, or perfect in aspect. English has twelve distinct tenses. This is fewer than you might think but more than many other languages require.
The present simple describes habits, facts, and general truths. The present continuous describes actions happening right now or temporary situations. The present perfect connects past actions to the present moment - "I have lived here for three years" says something different from "I lived here for three years," and the difference matters.
The past simple describes completed actions. The past continuous shows actions in progress at a past moment. The past perfect sequences events, describing what had already happened before something else occurred. Think of it as grammar's way of saying "backstory."
English expresses the future through will, going to, the present continuous, and even the present simple - each carrying a different shade of intention, certainty, or arrangement. Choosing the right one is less about following a rule and more about understanding what you're really trying to say.
Every word in English belongs to a category called a part of speech. The part of speech tells you what role a word plays in a sentence - whether it names something, describes it, shows action, or connects ideas. Knowing parts of speech is key to learning grammar. Every other rule relies on this basic framework.
Nouns name people, places, things, and ideas. They can be singular or plural, countable or uncountable, and they often serve as the subject or object of a sentence.
Pronouns replace nouns, allowing us to avoid repetition. Choosing the right pronoun depends on who or what is being replaced and its grammatical role in the sentence. Common confusion points include who vs. whom, which vs. that, and me vs. I.
Adjectives describe nouns, telling us about size, colour, opinion, origin, and more. When comparing things, adjectives take comparative and superlative forms - good, better, best. Native speakers follow a clear order for many adjectives before a noun. For example, "lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife" sounds right. But switching those words feels off, even if you can't say why.
Adverbs change verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. They describe how, when, where, how often, and to what degree something happens. English has several types: manner, time, place, degree, certainty, and viewpoint. Each type has its own rules for placement.
Verbs express actions, states, and occurrences. They are the engine of every sentence - without one, you don't have a sentence at all, a collection of words waiting to mean something.
Prepositions show the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence. They say location, direction, time, and manner. Common pairs like "like" and "such as," as well as "to" and "for," often confuse and are important to master.
Comparatives and superlatives let us compare two or more people, places, or things. Comparatives compare two items; superlatives compare three or more.
Building strong English vocabulary isn't just about memorising lists - it's about understanding how words connect, how they're built and how style shapes what you say.
We've grouped the essentials into three guides covering key topics:
- synonyms, antonyms, connotation, semantics, homographs
- contractions, linking words, filler words, eggcorns, eye dialect, compound nouns
- morphology, prefixes, suffixes, root words, syllables, consonants, vowels
Clear definitions, real examples and tips you can use straight away.
Every clear English sentence rests on three quiet systems: articles, quantifiers, and punctuation. Together, these grammar conventions turn a string of words into something anyone can follow. English has around 170,000 words in use, but the grammar organising them is compact - a handful of articles, two dozen common quantifiers, and fourteen punctuation marks do most of the structural work.
"A dog" and "the dog" describe the same animal but tell different stories - one introduces, the other identifies. Determiners (this, that, my, each, another) pin a noun down in space, time, or ownership. Get them wrong and meaning blurs fast.
Quantifiers - some, many, few, several, enough - let you talk about quantity without counting. They follow patterns based on whether a noun is countable (many books) or uncountable (much water), and whether the sentence is positive, negative, or a question.
Punctuation does in writing what pauses and emphasis do in speech. A comma slows you down; a semicolon links related thoughts; an apostrophe marks possession. A misplaced comma can change meaning entirely.
From the words you choose to the sentences you build, every layer of English shapes how clearly your message lands. This section covers synonyms and connotations, conditionals, writing styles, clauses, and sentence construction - the tools that turn correct English into confident, expressive writing.
Words rarely mean just one thing. Synonyms offer shades of meaning, antonyms create contrast, and connotations carry the feelings a word quietly suggests. In this section, you'll learn to choose words with precision - picking the term that fits your tone, your context, and the exact impression you want to leave.
Conditionals let you talk about possibility, consequence, and imagination - if this happens, that follows. English has four main types: zero, first, second, and third. Here you'll learn how each is formed, when to use it, and how mixed conditionals express more complex links between time and outcome.
Writing style is how you say something, not just what you say. Formal, informal, academic, creative, persuasive - each context calls for a different voice. In this section, you'll explore the main styles of English writing and learn how to adapt tone, structure, and word choice to your reader.
A clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb. Some stand alone (She writes); others depend on a main clause (…because she enjoys it). Here you'll explore independent, dependent, relative, and conditional clauses - and see how they combine to create fluent prose.
Sentence construction is the art of arranging words, phrases, and clauses into clear English. In this section, you'll learn how simple, compound, and complex sentences are formed, how to vary rhythm for impact, and how to avoid common pitfalls like run-ons and fragments that weaken writing.
How you frame an action - and how you retell what others have said - quietly shapes the tone of everything you write. Section Voice & Speech covers infinitives, the passive voice, and reported speech: the structures that let you shift focus, sound natural, and pass on information with precision.
The infinitive is the base form of a verb, usually with to - to learn, to travel. It follows certain verbs, adjectives, and nouns, and sometimes competes with the -ing form. In this section, you'll learn when to use the to-infinitive, the bare infinitive, and how each shapes meaning.
The passive voice shifts focus from the doer to the action. The chef baked the cake becomes The cake was baked. Here you'll learn how to form the passive in every tense, when it's the better choice, and how to use it for objective, formal, or diplomatic writing.
Reported speech is how we retell what someone said without quoting directly. "I'm tired," she said becomes She said she was tired. In this section, you'll learn how tenses shift, how to report questions and commands, and when to keep the original tense for facts still true.