Basic English Grammar Lessons

1. Singular and Plural Nouns - A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea.

Usually, the first page of a grammar book tells you

about nouns. Nouns give names of concrete or abstract things in our lives.
As babies learn "mom," "dad," or "milk" as their first word, nouns should be
the first topic when you study a foreign language.

For the plural form of most nouns, add s.

 bottle – bottles
 cup – cups
 pencil – pencils
 desk – desks
 sticker – stickers
 window – windows

For nouns that end in ch, x, s, or s sounds, add es.

 box – boxes
 watch – watches
 moss – mosses
 bus – buses

For nouns ending in f or fe, change f to v and add es.

 wolf – wolves
 wife – wives
 leaf – leaves
 life – lives

Some nouns have different plural forms.

 child – children
 woman – women
 man – men
 mouse – mice
 goose – geese
Nouns ending in vowels like y or o do not have definite rules.

 baby – babies
 toy – toys
 kidney – kidneys
 potato – potatoes
 memo – memos
 stereo – stereos

A few nouns have the same singular and plural forms.

 sheep – sheep
 deer – deer
 series – series
 species – species

[Quiz 1.1]

Choose the correct form of the noun in each sentence.

1)I have three (child, children).

2)There are five (man, men) and one (woman, women).
3)(Baby, Babies) play with bottles as toys.
4)I put two big (potato, potatoes) in the lunch box.
5)A few men wear (watch, watches).
6)I put a (memo, memos) on the desk.
7)I saw a (mouse, mice) running by.
8)There are few (bus, buses) on the road today.
2. Count Nouns vs. Non-Count Nouns - Count Nouns vs.
Non-Count Nouns
Count nouns
Can be counted as one or more.

 pen, computer, bottle, spoon, desk, cup, television, chair, shoe, finger, flower, camera, stick,
balloon, book, table, comb, etc.

Take an s to form the plural.

 pens, computers, bottles, spoons, desks, cups, televisions, chairs, shoes, fingers, flowers,
cameras, sticks, balloons, books, tables, combs, etc.

Work with expressions such as (a few, few, many, some, every, each, these, and the number of).

 a few pens, a few computers, many bottles, some spoons, every desk, each cup, these
televisions, the number of chairs, a few shoes, a few fingers, many flowers, some cameras,
every stick, each balloon, these books, the number of tables, many combs, etc.

Work with appropriate articles (a, an, or the).

 a pen, the computer, a bottle, the spoon, a desk, the cup, a television, the chair, a shoe, the
finger, a flower, the camera, a stick, the balloon, a book, the table, a comb, etc.

Do NOT work with much (for example, you would never say much pens or much computers).
Non-count nouns
Cannot be counted. They usually express a group or a type.

 water, wood, ice, air, oxygen, English, Spanish, traffic, furniture, milk, wine, sugar, rice,
meat, flour, soccer, sunshine, etc.

Generally cannot be pluralized.

Work both with and without an article (a, an, or the), depending on the context of the sentence.

 Sugar is sweet.
 The sunshine is beautiful.
 I drink milk.
 He eats rice.
 We watch soccer together.
 The wood is burning.

Work with expressions such as (some, any, enough, this, that, and much).

 We ate some rice and milk.

 I hope to see some sunshine today.
 This meat is good.
 She does not speak much Spanish.
 Do you see any traffic on the road?
 That wine is very old.
Do NOT work with expressions such as (these, those, every, each, either, or neither).

[Quiz 2.1]

Choose all of the non-count nouns in the following list:

wine, student, pen, water, wind, milk, computer, furniture, cup, rice, box, watch, potato, wood
3. Possessive Nouns - Possessive nouns are used to indicate ownership.

Possessive nouns usually are formed by adding an apostrophe (') and s.

 John's book
 Kerry's car
 Grandma's mirror

When a noun is plural and ends in s, just add an apostrophe (').

 The kids' toys

 My parents' house
 The teachers' lounge

If two people own one thing, add the apostrophe and s to the second person
only.

 John and Mary's new house

 David and Sue's wedding
 Tom and Doug's car

If two people own separate things, add the apostrophe and s for each person.

 Susan's and Beth's books

 Jean's and Dan's pants
 Ben's and Jim's offices

[Quiz 3.1]

Which of the following is not correct?

1)Dr. Hunts has a new computer.

2)Dr. Hunts's new computer is working well.
3)Dr. Hunts' computer is new…
4. Pronouns -
A pronoun takes the place of a noun.

Example story:

Mary is one of the heads of the ToJi Corporation. Mary works with Mr. James
and Mr. James' son Tom. Mr. James and Mr. James' son Tom are experts in
biochemistry. Mary, Mr. James, and Tom researched and invented a drug for
cancer treatment.

If the story above is written using pronouns:

Mary is one of the heads of the ToJi Corporation. She works with Mr. James
and his son Tom. He and his son Tom are experts in
biochemistry. Theyresearched and invented a drug for cancer treatment.

Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns refer to a person:

 I go to school.
 You are a student.
 They are Koreans.
 He works here.
 We gave her food.

The word ‘it' refers to an object:

 I drank it.
 It is big.
 They cut it into halves.

Memorize the personal pronouns:

Third
First Second
Male Female Neutral

Singular Subject I you he she it

Singular Object me you him her it

Singular Reflexive myself yourself himself herself itself

Plural Subject we you they

Plural Object us you them

Plural Reflexive ourselves yourselves themselves

[Quiz 4.1]

Write the correct pronoun in each blank.

1)I ate an apple. was delicious.

2)You look tired. should rest.
3)She is a teacher. I gave a book.
4)They are my friends. I like very much.
5)He saw the movie. was fun.
5. 'Be' Verbs -
A verb shows action or a state of being.

I go home. Home is my place to rest. I like the smell of my house.

I feel totally relaxed. Home refreshes me. At home, I get ready for a new day.

"Be" verbs indicate a state of being.

Verbs must match subjects.

 I am a doctor.
 He is sleepy.
 We are here.

Negative sentences need ‘not' after the verb.

 I am not a doctor.
 He is not sleepy.
 We are not there.

The verb comes first in interrogative sentences.

 Am I a doctor?
 Is he sleepy?
 Are we there?

"Are not" (is not) can be shortened to "aren't" (isn't).

 He isn't sleepy.
 We aren't there.

Remember the variations of "be" verbs:

Present Negative Interrogative

I am I am not Am I?
You are You are not (aren't) Are you?
He is He is not (isn't) Is he?
She is She is not (isn't) Is she?
It is It is not (isn't) Isn't it?
We are We are not (aren't) Are we?
You are You are not (aren't) Are you?
They are They are not (aren't) Are they?

[Quiz 5.1]

Which of the following sentences are written correctly?

1)I am thirsty.
2)You are kind.
3)He am not sad.
4)She are not tall.
5)It is not moving.
6)We aren't tired.
7)Is they running?
8)Are you ready?
6. Action Verbs - Action verbs express action and are the most common
verbs.

Action verbs need s at the end with third-person, singular subjects.

 He eats bread.
 She walks to the station.
 It floats on the sea.

Negative sentences need do not, does not, or did not.

 I do not eat bread.

 He does not eat bread.
 You did not walk to the station.
 It does not float on the sea.

Interrogative sentences begin with do, does, or did.

 Do you eat bread?

 Does he eat bread?
 Does she walk to the station?
 Did they finish it?

Do not can be shortened to don't, does not to doesn't, and did not to didn't.

 I don't eat bread.

 She doesn't walk to the station.
 It doesn't float on the sea.
 They didn't finish it.

Remember the variations of action verbs:

Affirmative Interrogative
Negative Sentence
Sentence Sentence
I sing a song. I do not (don't) sing a song. Do I sing a song?
You sing a song. You do not (don't) sing a song. Do you sing a song?
He (she) sings a He (she) does not (doesn't) sing Does he (she) sing a
song. a song. song?
We sing a song. We do not (don't) sing a song. Do we sing a song?
 They did not (didn't) sing a
They sang a song. Did they sing a song?
song.

[Quiz 6.1]

Correct the verb errors in the sentences below. Some sentences may be
correct as is.

1)I runs a marathon.

2)You look sleepy.
3)She do not dance.
4)Does you leave today?
5)We don't stay here.
6)It come with rice.
7. Adjectives - Adjectives describe or modify nouns.

I like fairy tales. A fairy tale is an imaginary story that

has unrealisticcharacters in a fantastic background. It makes me forget about
the real world and refreshes my tired mind.

Adjectives generally appear immediately before the noun.

 A pretty girl
 Red flowers
 A long stick
 Heavy boxes
 Warm weather

Commonly, adjectives of opposite meaning are formed by adding a prefix

such as un, in, or dis.

 clear – unclear, important – unimportant, predictable – unpredictable,

believable – unbelievable, common – uncommon, aware – unaware,
ambiguous – unambiguous, conventional – unconventional, certain –
uncertain
 definite – indefinite, correct – incorrect, comparable – incomparable,
complete – incomplete, evitable – inevitable, expensive – inexpensive
 able – disable, assemble – disassemble, content – discontent, similar –
dissimilar

When using a string of adjectives, they should appear in a set order:

size/shape + age + color + origin + material.

 A big brown house

 A small old English desk
 A beautiful black Italian leather purse
 Delicious Chinese food

The + adjective describes a class or group of people and acts as a noun.

 the old, the young, the poor, the rich, the oppressed, the homeless,
etc.
 This popular TV show is loved by the old.

[Quiz 7.1]

Write opposite adjectives using the appropriate prefix.

1) Clear –
2) Definite –
3) Correct –
4) Expensive –
5) Complete –
[Quiz 7.2]

Underline all adjectives in the following sentences.

In the spring, red roses blossom in my cute small garden. The beautiful birds
also sing in the big oak tree.
8. Comparative and Superlative Adjectives - Comparative adjectives
compare two things. Superlative adjectives compare more than two things

Commonly, adjectives that contain only one syllable or end in 'y' use 'er' to
form comparatives and 'est' to form superlatives. For adjectives ending in y,
change the 'y' to 'i' before adding the 'er' or 'est'.

 old – older – oldest

 young – younger – youngest
 pretty – prettier – prettiest
 long – longer – longest
 short – shorter – shortest
 bright – brighter – brightest
 close – closer – closest
 happy – happier - happiest

Adjectives with two or more syllables do not change but instead add more to
form comparatives and most to form superlatives.

 respectable – more respectable – most respectable

 beautiful – more beautiful – most beautiful
 preferable – more preferable – most preferable
 hardworking – more hardworking – most hardworking

Some adjectives have different forms of comparatives and superlatives.

 good – better – best

 bad – worse – worst
 little – less – least
 much (many) – more – most
 far – further - furthest

The word than typically appears in comparative sentences.

 Amy is smarter than Betty.

 Chad is stronger than Dan.
 Greg is more diligent than his brother.
 I have more apples than he.
 She likes him more than me.

Superlatives are typically accompanied by the word the.

 Tom is the oldest man in town.

 Paul is the tallest boy in the neighborhood.
 That shade of blue is the most beautiful color.
 This is the longest song that I have ever heard.

[Quiz 8.1]
Write the appropriate comparative or superlative form of the word cold in
each blank.

Yesterday was a cold day. Today is than yesterday. Tomorrow

will be the day yet.

[Quiz 8.2]

Which of the following sentences is incorrect?

1)Mary is shorter than Jane.

2)The moon is more closer to the earth than the sun.
3)I have the best score on the exam.

[Quiz 8.3]

Fill in the blanks.

1)My friend has a pretty purse, but I have a one.

2)The weather is yet to come!
3)Today's sunshine is beautiful than yesterday's.
9. Adverbs - Adverbs modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

An adverb tells more about a verb in the sentence.

 The fire engine runs fast.

 Listen to his speech carefully.
 I browse the web frequently.
 It rained hard.

An adverb describes more about an adjective in the sentence.

 The news is very surprising!

 The coffee is extremely hot, so be careful.
 Nature is really amazing!

An adverb modifies another adverb in the sentence.

 It rains very hard.

 Computers run much faster these days.
 I clean my room less frequently because I am busy.

Commonly, adjectives can be changed to adverbs by adding 'ly'.

 slow – slowly
 quick – quickly
 comfortable – comfortably
 loud – loudly
 clear – clearly

To change adjectives ending in 'y' into adverbs, change the 'y' to 'i' and add
'ly'.

 happy – happily
 easy – easily

[Quiz 9.1]

Choose the correct word form in the following sentences.

1)I spoke to you (careful, carefully) last time.
2)We talked about it (clear, clearly).
3)I sat on the (comfortable, comfortably) sofa.
4)My dog runs very (fast, faster).
5)Let’s install the new program (quick, quickly).
10. Simple Tense
11. Progressive and Perfect Tense
12. Perfect Progressive Tense
13. Irregular Verbs
14. Gerunds
15. Infinitives 1
16. Infinitives 2
17. Active Voice and Passive Voice
18. Indicative, Imperative, Subjunctive Mood
19. Auxiliary Verbs - 'Be,' 'Do,' 'Have'
20. Auxiliary Verbs - 'Will/Would,' 'Shall/Should'
21. Auxiliary Verbs - 'Can/Could,' 'May/Might/Must'
22. Prepositions - 'On,' 'At,' 'In'
23. Prepositions - 'Of,' 'To,' 'For'
24. Prepositions - 'With,' 'Over,' 'By'
25. Conjunctions - Coordinating and Correlative
26. Conjunctions - Subordinating
27. Conjunctive Adverbs
28. Articles - Indefinite and Definite
29. Interjections
30. Capitalization