Understanding English grammar

Compared to the grammar of other languages, English grammar is simpler to learn. Below, you'll find a quick summary of the key areas of English grammar. This overview should improve your comprehension of English grammar and make it simpler for you to develop a learning strategy.

We'll examine each English part of speech individually before delving into its tenses. The English tenses in particular are a crucial component of English grammar. As a result, you should thoroughly research this subject. We will aid in your comprehension of English grammar.


Understand basic concepts of English grammar

It's crucial to understand some fundamental English grammar terms in order to comprehend English grammar rules more clearly. Knowing these words will make it much simpler for you to understand the explanations and put the rules into practice. As a result, we advise you to comprehend the terms and their meanings by using the corresponding parts of speech. We'll go over each of the nine English word categories you'll need to learn in order to comprehend English grammar.

Click here for explanations of English parts of speech »


Understand the tenses of English grammar

Because there are so many different forms and usages, English tenses can be difficult for beginners. It's important to move systematically and examine each tensile in turn in order to comprehend the tenses of English grammar.

To begin, it is a good idea to become familiar with the fundamental tenses. The simple present, simple past, present continuous, past continuous, present perfect, past perfect, future simple, and future perfect are among the basic tenses of the English language. Understanding the rules and usages for each tense is necessary.

It can be challenging to comprehend the usages and rules, but with time and effort, you can gain a solid understanding of English tenses. To get a sense of the various tenses, it can be beneficial to regularly converse with native English speakers or read English-language texts.

You need a solid grasp of English grammar, particularly verbs and their conjugations, in order to comprehend the rules of tenses. We have provided you with an explanation of each English tense in order to assist you in doing that. Look over the description of the tense you are focusing on and learn English grammar with us.

The three English tenses at a glance


The sentence structure of the English language

English grammar has a set of standardized rules and patterns for sentence construction. You should become accustomed to these English grammar rules. English grammar has specific rules that must be followed.

To help you write flawless sentences in English, we'll go over proper grammar usage and sentence construction in the sections below. The SPO rule is generally followed in English sentences. This grammatical idea will now be explained to you.

What does the SPO rule in English grammar mean?

The SPO rule essentially dictates how sentences in English are put together. In terms of their individual parts, English sentences are put together according to the SPO rule. The standard subject-predicate-object order in English grammar is subject-predicate-object. The simple English sentence example that follows shows how to structure a sentence using the SPO rule.

For instance, Paul (subject) is learning English (predicate/verb).

About 35% of all languages use this sentence structure. The SPO rule is particularly used in some European languages.

English sentences with place and time and manner

The rule "place before time" applies to place and time information in English sentences. This rule states that if the place and time are at the end of the sentence, place information must always be placed before time information. The following example sentence illustrates the rule.

Here is an example: I have studied English in Frankfurt since 2022.

Here you can see that the place information Frankfurt is placed before the time information since 2022. So the rule "place before time" is fulfilled with this English sentence. If you want to describe something in your English sentence (How is something), you usually mention the information at the end of the sentence. However, you should keep in mind that the information must be placed before the place and time information. It is best to remember the grammatical rule "How follows Where follows When" for descriptions in combination with place and time information. Below you will find an example sentence that implements this scheme.

Example sentence: We were studying together in Malta since the beginning of summer.

In this example sentence, the word together is the descriptive part of the sentence. Thus, the word together describes the way studying was done. According to the English grammar rule "How - Where - When" the rule "place before time" follows next. Thus, the place Malta comes before the time beginning of summer.

Information on English sentence structure's frequency

You should pay attention to the predicate in English sentences if you want frequency information. If your English sentence's subject consists of just one word, the frequency information must come before the subject. The following example demonstrates this:

Example sentence: I always take my bike.

As you can see in this illustration, the frequency information is always put before the predicate take. If your English sentence's predicate consists of two words or more, the situation changes. The frequency information in this situation must come before the predicate's first word.

Example sentence: I will never miss a train.

You can see from this example that the frequency information is never placed before the predicate's first word.

English grammar guidelines for questions

There are several different ways to form questions in the English language. But there are some fundamental guidelines and structures that are applied when creating questions. The top five considerations for creating English questions are listed below. Below, we'll outline these points for you.

Use the question words of the English language

The English language has 6 distinct question words. These are the questions "who," "what," "where," "when," "why," and "how." These question words are typical starting points for English questions. A different piece of information is requested depending on the question word.

Implementing Inversion

The subject-verb order is reversed when certain adverbs and expressions are used, such as "never," "rarely," "seldom," "hardly," "barely," or "not only." "Never have I seen such a beautiful sunset," and "Not only did he finish the race, but he also won it" are two examples of inverted interrogative sentences in English.

Questioning with modal verbs

Modal verbs are frequently used in English to form questions. The modal verb is put in front of the subject when it is used with modal verbs like "can," "should," "must," "will," or "would." Two examples of questions using modal verbs are as follows: Please assist me, and should I contact a doctor?s

Auxiliary verb usage

In English, auxiliary verbs are frequently used to form questions. Here are two more examples of questions that form the sentence with auxiliary verbs: "Do you like pizza?" "Are you attending the party?"

Types of grammar questions in English

English Explanation  
Question with question word An open question in which the W question words are used. Where are you travelling to this summer?
Question tag Question to confirm a statement. The weather is nice, isn't it?

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The basic rules of comma placement in English grammar

Commas in English grammar are occasionally difficult to understand and can be confusing. Therefore, it is wise to keep in mind some fundamental English comma placement guidelines. These will assist you in determining where the comma should go in your English sentences. You can get a sense of the fundamental principles of English comma placement from the overview that follows.

Commas between two main clauses

Two main clauses must always be separated by a comma. A main clause is one that allows the sentence to stand alone without sacrificing its meaning. A comma must be inserted between two main clauses that are connected by another. The example that follows shows this.

Example sentence: Linda traveled to Malta, and enjoyed her summer while learning English.

Comma placement in sentence insertions and subordinate clauses

English sentence structure requires a comma to be placed before any insertions or subordinate clauses. The main clause makes sense without the information in the subordinate clause or insertion, which would be how you might spot a subordinate clause. Here is an illustration of how to use an English comma.

Example: Linda, who spent her holiday in Malta, has significantly improved her English.

Comma setting for bulleted lists

There should be a comma after any group of more than two adjectives or three or more main clauses, phrases, or words. Look at the following illustration of comma usage in a list of bullet points for a better understanding.

Example sentence: He packed his suitcase, went to the airport and took a flight to Malta.

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