Grammar essentials
English grammar is relatively simple compared to many languages.
Sentence structure
English uses Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order:
- "The company launched a new product."
- "She manages the engineering team."
Articles
| Article | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a/an | Indefinite, singular | "a meeting," "an idea" |
| the | Definite, specific | "the CEO," "the report" |
| (none) | Plural/uncountable general | "Meetings are important." |
A vs An
Use "an" before vowel sounds:
- an hour (/aʊər/)
- a university (/juːnɪˈvɜːrsɪti/)
Nouns
Plural forms
| Rule | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Add -s | report | reports |
| -s, -x, -ch, -sh → -es | box | boxes |
| Consonant + y → -ies | company | companies |
| -f/-fe → -ves | life | lives |
| Irregular | person | people |
Countable vs Uncountable
| Countable | Uncountable |
|---|---|
| a meeting, meetings | information |
| an employee, employees | advice |
| a report, reports | equipment |
Pronouns
| Subject | Object | Possessive adj. | Possessive pronoun |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | me | my | mine |
| you | you | your | yours |
| he | him | his | his |
| she | her | her | hers |
| it | it | its | — |
| we | us | our | ours |
| they | them | their | theirs |
Adjectives
Adjectives don't change form and come before nouns:
- "a successful launch"
- "the new strategy"
Order of adjectives
Opinion → Size → Age → Shape → Color → Origin → Material → Purpose
- "a beautiful small old rectangular blue French silver serving tray"
In practice, rarely more than 2–3 adjectives are used.
Comparatives and superlatives
| Adjective | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| fast | faster | fastest |
| important | more important | most important |
| good | better | best |
| bad | worse | worst |
Questions
| Type | Formation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Yes/No | Aux + Subject + Verb | "Did you finish?" |
| Wh- | Wh-word + Aux + Subject + Verb | "What did you finish?" |
| Tag | Statement + opposite tag | "You finished, didn't you?" |
Negation
Add "not" after the auxiliary verb:
- "I do not understand." / "I don't understand."
- "She has not finished." / "She hasn't finished."