Grammar Guide

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE

Do you have a question about the correct usage of the semicolon or how to place adverbs in a sentence? If so, you've come to the right place. Edufind.com is a complete English grammar guide filled with the rules of English usage. Each grammatical rule is explained in plain English with several examples, and when needed, counter-examples. The grammatical rules covered by this guide are categorized below. English grammar is not always easy to understand, but by using this guide you should be able to remind yourself of the rules of English usage and speak or write English with confidence.

NOUNS

Nouns are people, places, or things, They tell us what we are talking about. The words cat, Jack, rock, Africa, & it are nouns.

ADJECTIVES

Adjectives modify, or describe, nouns. The words tall, beautiful, irresponsible, & boring are adjectives.

ADVERBS

Adverbs modify adjectives, verbs, or other adverbs. They tell us how, when, and where things happen. They express quantity, intensity, frequency, and opinions.

 

DETERMINERS

Articles, quantifiers, and other determiners modify nouns. They ressemble adjectives in that way. Determiners help us say what we are talking about.

VERBS & VERB TENSES

Verbs are action words. They tell us what is happening and when (past, present, future). Verbs can also express possibilities and conditions.

SPEECH

When we report what someone says, we can cite the person directly or indirectly. Indirect speech rules are an important area of grammar.

 

PUNCTUATION

Punctuation is not part of oral grammar, but it is essential to master in written English.

RELATIVE CLAUSES

We use relative clauses in English to create more complex and more precise sentences.

 

Continue reading →

Tenses

The concept of time can be split into:

1. The Present - What you are currently doing.

I eat, I am eating

2. The Past - What you did some time back.

I ate, I was eating

3. The Future - What you will do later.

I will eat, I will be eating

In the English language, tenses play an important role in sentence formation.

The tense of a verb shows the time of an event or action.

There are four types of tenses. Simple, Perfect, Continuous and Present Perfect Continuous and each of these has a present, past and future form.

PRESENT TENSES

SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

In Simple Present, the action is simply mentioned and there is nothing being said about its completeness.

I eat.
I sleep.
I play.

PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE

In Present Continuous, the action is on-going/ still going on and hence continuous.

I am eating.
I am sleeping.
I am playing.

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

In Present Perfect, the action is complete or has ended and hence termed Perfect.

I have eaten.
I have slept.
I have played.

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

In Present Perfect Continuous, the action has been taking place for some time and is still ongoing.

I have been eating.
I have been sleeping.
I have been playing.

PAST TENSES

SIMPLE PAST TENSE

In Simple Past, the action is simply mentioned and understood to have taken place in the past.

I ate.
I slept.
I played.

PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE

In Past Continuous, the action was ongoing till a certain time in the past.

I was eating.
I was sleeping.
I was playing.

PAST PERFECT TENSE

Past Perfect is used to express something that happened before another action in the past.

I had eaten.
I had slept.
I had played.

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

Past Perfect Continuous is used to express something that started in the past and continued until another time in the past.

I had been eating.
I had been sleeping.
I had been playing.

FUTURE TENSES

SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE

Simple Future is used when we plan or make a decision to do something. Nothing is said about the time in the future.

I will eat.
I will sleep.
I will play.

FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE

The future continuous tense is used to express action at a particular moment in the future. However, the action will not have finished at the moment.

I will be eating at 9 a.m.
I will be sleeping when you arrive.
I will be playing at 5 p.m.

FUTURE PERFECT TENSE

Future Perfect expresses action that will occur in the future before another action in the future.

I will have eaten before 10 a.m.
I will have slept before you arrive.
I will have played before 6 p.m.

FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

Future Perfect Continuous is used to talk about an on-going action before some point in the future.

I will have been sleeping for two hours when you arrive.
I will have been playing for an hour when it is 5 p.m.

Continue reading →