Imagine that you need to start something completely new to you right now. For example, driving a car, baking pies for the first time, giving a newborn a bath. Where do you start? Options:
1. I’ll take it and do it, what’s the problem.
2. First, I’ll read on the Internet or in books how to do it.
3. Call a friend who is experienced in this matter.
4. Help from the audience (I’ll ask someone else).
5. Learn from a professional.
6. I won't do it.
The option you choose characterizes you very clearly. When it comes to English grammar, depending on which method you chose above, the following is expected:
1. Bugaga (the teachers and English people who heard you speak in English are laughing).
2. Adding patience and time to this, you will learn all the rules on your own.
3. Add to this the patience of a friend and his time, under his guidance you will learn all the rules.
4. You won't learn anything, but you will listen to how others do it.
5. Add money to this and you will learn all the rules.
6. You will be able to ski, meet friends in a cafe, sleep, eat - in general, life is good.
As you can see, to understand English grammar, you need, in theory, only three things: a source of rules, time and patience. The first is offered to you in these articles, but you will have to deal with the other two components on your own.
Thus, we give you a fishing rod, and you will catch the fish yourself. What is the beauty of our fishing rod? The fact is that it is light, convenient and easy to use. We will not load you with scary grammar terms, torment you with long lists, flickering arrows, A4 diagrams and other tricks that scare some English teachers.
There is nothing particularly complex about English grammar, unlike many other European languages (not to mention Eastern and African). You can simply read these articles like a fiction book. Even if you master the minimum, at the finish line you will find that you master most of the rules that previously seemed overwhelming.
As an example, let's do something already in the introductory part. What does speech consist of? From phrases. What does the phrase consist of? From the proposals. What does the proposal consist of? Stop! Let's clarify: what does an ENGLISH sentence consist of? Subject and predicate. Usually this is a noun and a verb (just don’t say that you don’t remember these words): the dog is running, the passer-by is screaming, the dog is barking, the owner is yelling. True, a noun can be successfully replaced by a pronoun: she runs, you scream, she barks, I yell.
You have just listened to a news briefing lecture on parts of speech. What do you remember? At a minimum, the words “noun” and “verb” for you are already associated with grammar, and not with cooking or construction work. And for now you don’t need more. Are you ready to continue at the same pace?
Follow me (follow me).
Parts of speech:
1. Numerals(The Numeral)
1.1 Cardinal and ordinal numbers
2. Pronouns(The Pronoun)
2.1 Personal and possessive pronouns
2.2 Demonstrative and negative pronouns
2.3 Indefinite and reflexive pronouns
5. Adjective(The Adjective)
5.1 Degrees of comparison of adjectives
7. Noun(The Noun)
7.1 Noun in English. Classification of nouns
8. Verb(The Verb)
8.1 Verbs in English. General information about verbs
8.2 Regular and irregular English verbs
8.3 Semantic and auxiliary verbs
8.4 Modal and linking verbs
“I don’t want to speak intelligently. I want to speak like a lady,” these words belong to Eliza Doolittle, the heroine of Bernard Shaw’s famous play “Pygmalion.”
Eliza may not have wanted to learn to speak correctly, but without grammar she would not have been able to speak at all. We are now talking about grammar as a system of words and syntactic structures inherent in a particular language. Grammar in this sense is “our main asset,” emphasized Eliza’s mentor, Professor Henry Higgins.
But this is not the only definition of grammar. The systematic study and description of a language or group of languages is also grammar, descriptive grammar. Professor Higgins was mainly concerned with just one aspect of it - phonetics, or the study of speech sounds. Henry Higgins recorded the conversation of ordinary people in his notebook - this is very exact image of what descriptive grammar is.
And yet, for most, “speaking like a lady” means speaking correctly, as prescribed, speaking in accordance with the linguistic norm. Bernard Shaw spoke about the importance of prescriptive grammar when he wrote in the preface to Pygmalion: “The English do not respect their native language and stubbornly refuse to teach their children to speak it.” It is about the need for a prescriptive approach that Rex Harrison, who played the role of Professor Higgins in the musical “My Fair Lady,” said: “And there are places where our language has already been reduced to nothing. It hasn’t been in use in America for God knows how long!”
Why do we need to learn English grammar?
Grammar is a tool that can be used to describe any language. Grammar gives names to words and word groups that make up sentences. Already in early childhood we learn to compose sentences - the grammar of our native language is subject to everyone. Studying English at school, university, with a tutor or on the Internet, we are faced with the need to once again independently and consciously go through this path. And here we need to have an idea of the types of words and phrases and how they form sentences.
Literate people are more likely to succeed in relationships with the opposite sex
According to an online survey in which 1,700 people took part, 43% of users on dating sites consider a low level of literacy to be a significant disadvantage to attractiveness.
More than a third (35%) say literacy is sexy. The survey also showed that women are more demanding of their partner’s literacy than men (Michael Sebastian, “43 Percent of Singles Say Bad Grammar Is a Turnoff”).
Parts of speech in English grammar
Depending on their function in a sentence, words are assigned to one or another part of speech. There are 8 parts of speech in English. Just by learning their names, you certainly will not become an English grammar professor. But you will have a basic understanding of the English language and will be ready to start reading other articles on our site - and these articles will help you make significant progress in learning English grammar.
Remember: if a sentence consists of one word, only an interjection can act as that word.
Other parts of speech - nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions - appear in combinations. To understand which part of speech a word belongs to, we must look not only at the word itself, but also at its meaning, place and role in the sentence.
Let's consider three proposals:
- Jim showed up for work two hours late. (Jim showed up at work two hours late).
Here work is what Jim came to work for. - He will not have to work overtime. (He will have to work overtime).
And here work is the action that Jim will carry out. - His work permit expires in March. (His work permit expires in March.)
Finally, here work denotes the attribute of the noun permit.
In the first sentence the word work acts as a noun, in the second as a verb, and in the third as an adjective.
We hope you are not confused yet? Let's see what functions the 8 parts of speech perform in English.
|
Part of speech |
Main function |
|
|
noun |
names an animate object, place, or thing |
pirate, Caribbean, ship |
|
pronoun |
replaces a noun |
I, you, he, she, it, ours, them, who |
|
expresses an action or state |
sing, dance, believe, be |
|
|
adjective |
denotes a noun attribute |
hot, lazy, funny |
|
denotes the attribute of a verb, adjective |
softly, lazily, often |
|
|
shows the relationship between a noun (pronoun) and other words in a sentence |
up, over, against, for |
|
|
connects words, parts of complex sentences and |
and, but, or, yet |
|
|
interjection |
expresses emotions |
ah, whoops, ouch |
NB! Articles (the, a/an) were once considered a separate part of speech. Nowadays they are more often classified as defining words or determiners.
What do we use to make proposals?
TOP 18 grammatical terms with film examples
Brush up on your English grammar with memorable quotes from your favorite movies and show off your knowledge in an interview or exam! We have compiled a “dossier” on 18 of the most common grammatical terms with rather unusual examples:
1. Active voice - Active Voice
A form of a verb that denotes an action performed by the subject (that is, the main character of the sentence, expressed by the subject). In other words, we are talking about how someone does something, produces, accomplishes something, that is, acts actively.
This construction is the opposite of the passive (passive) voice (see below).
|
“We buy things we don"t need, with money we don"t have, to impress people we don"t like.” |
We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like. |
|
It is important to learn how to build big from small: putting words in the correct form and combining them into phrases, arranging parts of a sentence so as to get a meaningful statement. 8556In contact with Classmates | |
Tables and diagrams with comments can be of great help when studying English grammar. Grammar in tables and diagrams helps to see all the grammatical subtleties and intricacies in the system. You can print the tables and have them always at hand, using them when necessary.
Nouns are words that make up one of the main parts of speech. They designate an object and answer the question “who?” So what?". On the one hand, there should be no problems with English nouns, because... Many categories of nouns that play a fundamental role in other languages have no practical meaning in English grammar. For example, in German The gender of the noun is of great importance (the type of article and its change by case depend on this). But in English, you can pay absolutely no attention to the gender of the noun, since it affects almost nothing. On the other hand, English nouns have many other nuances that you should know. Therefore, we invite you to the section where you can learn all the intricacies of this part of speech.
We practice basic grammatical structures to music in short rhyming songs. This method is very effective, as it combines educational language material with a clear rhythm and simple melody.
Understanding English tenses means mastering the English language by 60%. Now you can master English tenses (Present Simple, Present Continuous, etc.) in detail.
There are only two articles in English - the definite the and the indefinite a(n), but they cause so much trouble! It is with the use of articles that the majority of mistakes made by English language learners are associated. To master this topic, take a look at our special section.
Adjectives are one of the main parts of speech in the English language. Here we study all the topics related to this part of speech: degrees of comparison, prefixes and suffixes of adjectives and other topics. You will also learn which English adjectives, according to scientists, should be learned first.
We propose to understand all the intricacies of using English prepositions. You will learn the basic rules for using prepositions, as well as all the nuances that should be taken into account in order to make your speech correct and beautiful.
Modal verbs in English grammar are different from regular verbs. Welcome to the section with all the site materials about modal verbs in English.
Phrasal combinations (take over, run down, look out for, etc.) consist of several components, the main of which is a verb called phrasal. The tricky thing about phrasal verbs is that often by itself it has one meaning, but in combination with a subsequent preposition or adverb it has a completely different meaning. For example, look - look, but look out for - beware. This section presents rules and exercises with answers to phrasal verbs.
Adverbs are words that most often answer the question “how?”: good, bad, often, excellent, etc. Adverbs are very common in the English language, so we recommend paying special attention to them.
Interjections are used mainly to express various feelings and emotions. Oh, ah, uh, etc. - all these are interjections.
Numerals are intended mainly to indicate the number of objects or their order when counting. In this section you can learn all the rules for the formation and use of English numerals.
The main function of pronouns is to indicate an object, and not to directly name it. For example, the noun house (house) directly names an object of reality, and the pronoun this (this) only indicates something nearby.
English pronouns are divided into a number of categories: personal, possessive, demonstrative, etc. All the features of this group of words are outlined in this section.
Friends, every language has its own basic rules regarding grammar, spelling, syntax, etc. English is no exception. On the pages of our website you can find a detailed description of each section of grammar, reading rules, syntactic rules, and speech patterns of the English language.
In this article we will not dwell in detail on each section of the language.
Our material today is intended specifically for beginners in learning the language, for those who have taken up English from scratch. We want to introduce you to the most basic, most important and necessary rules of the English language that you will encounter everywhere while mastering this language. If you are ready, then 15 basic rules are waiting for you!
You need to know these rules!
So, dear readers, now you will get acquainted with the basic rules of English from different sections of the language. They concern grammar, speech, syntax and much more. All you need is to read the rules carefully and thoughtfully, pay attention to the examples and, of course, remember them! If you wish, you can copy this information into your English notebook or notepad. This way, you can always remind yourself of what you need in a particular exercise.
Rule #1
After modal verbs there is a particle to not used. We are speaking:
- Imust learn Englishmodalverbs. — I have to learn English modal verbs.
- You should listen to your parents. “You should listen to your parents.”
- May I take yournotebooktillSunday? — Can I borrow your laptop until Sunday?
And in no case do we say: must to learn; should to listen; may to take etc.
Rule No. 2
You cannot use the definite/indefinite article with a pronoun:
- I love my mother. - II loveminemom.
- Where is your friend now? - WhereNowis yoursFriend?
- Yesterday I met Tom and his wife. — Yesterday I met Tom and his wife.
You can't say: the my mother or my mother; the friend or your friend. You can immediately see how absurd this looks, and even more so, how absurd it sounds. It really hurts my ears!
Rule No. 3
Adverbs of the English language (for the question “how?”) are formed according to the scheme: adjective + ending ly:
- Perfect - perfect ly- excellent, wonderful, wonderful
- Quick - quick ly- quickly, nimbly
- Rapid - rapid ly- fast
- Quiet - Quiet ly- quiet
- Nice - nice ly- cute
- Easy - easy ly- easily
- beautiful - beautiful ly- Beautiful
- He entered the room quietly. - Hequiethas enteredVroom.
- Tom did his homework perfectly fine! - Volumedidmyhomeexcellent job (incredibly good)!
- Suelooksbeautifully today. — Sue looks beautiful today.
Rule No. 4
Use PresentSimple, after unions if,assoonasbeforewhen,till,until,after,incase in sentences of time and conditions relating to the future:
- When I finish school, I will go to my grandparents in the countryside. - WhenII'll finishschool, II'll goTominegrandfatherAndgrandmaVvillage.
- After you study your family tree, you will find out where you descend from. - AfterTogo, HowYouyou will studygenealogicaltreeyoursfamilies, Youyou will find, fromwhomYouhappening.
- Your elder brother will certainly help you if you ask- Is yoursseniorBrotherNecessarilywill helpyou, IfYouhisask.
Rule No. 5
The word order in an English sentence is:
Subject + predicate + direct object + indirect object + adverbial
Subject + predicate + direct object + indirect object + adverbal modifier
- Isentyoualetterlastweek. — I sent you a letter last week.
- I saw Mike in the club. - IsawMikeVclub.
- It was sunny yesterday. - Yesterdaywassunny.
In a Russian sentence, liberties are allowed, and there is no specific word order in it, everything depends on the emotion embedded in it. In an English sentence, everything is clear and strict.
Rule No. 6
Phrasal verbs (verb + preposition) of the English language have their own separate meaning and their own translation. For example:
To look- look; to look for- search
To put- put, put; to put on- put on
Compare:
- Put the plates on the table, please. - Put itdishesontable, Please.
- It is cold outside; put on your coat. - OnstreetCold, put it oncoat.
Rule No. 7
The most general rule for the definite and indefinite articles of the English language: the indefinite article is placed where nothing is known about the subject; The definite article is used where something is known about the subject.
- I see a The girl walking down the street is very beautiful. - II seegirl. The girl walking down the street is very beautiful.
Rule No. 8
Ending - ed characteristic of the past tenses of only regular verbs. Irregular verbs have a different form for each past tense. For example:
Look -looked BUT! Bring -brought —brought
Rule No. 9
There are 4 types of questions in English:
We go to the theater every Saturday. - Welet's goVtheatereverySaturday.
- General(general): Do we go to the theater every Saturday? —Welet's goVtheatereverySaturday?
- Special(special): Where do we go every Saturday? —WhereWelet's goeverySaturday?
- Alternative(alternative): Do we go to the theater every Saturday or every Sunday? —Welet's goVtheatereverySaturdayoreachSunday?
- Disjunctive(separating): We go to the theater every Saturday, don’t we? —Welet's goVtheatereverySaturday, NotSowhether?
Rule No. 10
To make an impersonal sentence, you need a pronoun It:
- It is cold today. - TodayCold.
- It is morning. - Morning.
- It is difficult to translate this text. - Thistextdifficulttranslate.
Rule № 11
After alliances asif,asthough(as if, as if, as if, as if) in the conditional mood, verb tobe in the 3rd person singular takes the form were:
- She speaks so proudlyas if she wasn't guilty. “She speaks so proudly, as if she’s not guilty.”
- Tom looks as though he were rich. - VolumelooksSoas ifHerich.
Rule No. 12
Conditional incentive sentences in the 1st and 3rd person are formed using the word Let's:
- Let's I have a look at these pictures. - Let me look at these photographs.
- Let's him sleep, he is tired. - Giveto himsleep, Hetired.
Rule No. 13
Everyone knows what the word is many is used with countable nouns, and the word much- with the uncountable. But, if suddenly you find it difficult, doubt, forgot the rule or don’t understand what noun is in front of you, feel free to use a combination of words alotof. It applies to both types of nouns.
- Many birds a lot of birds
- Much sugar - a lot of sugar
Rule no.14
A bunch of English words- polysemic, that is, they can have several meanings. It depends on the context and meaning of the sentence. To more accurately understand the translation, you should consult a dictionary and clarify in what context the word is used.
- Toshoot- shoot on video; toshoot- fire
- Country- a country; country- village, village
Rule No. 15
Verb do can replace the main verb in a sentence. For example.
What does it look like English grammar by levels?
In this post we will discuss in detail what grammar is covered at different levels of learning English - from beginner to advanced. Let's see examples of this grammar and do a little test.
Just in case, let me remind you that grammar is just one aspect of language learning. Necessary, useful, yes. But far from the only one.
How nice it would be if I learned grammar and, consider myself, mastered English))
English grammar by level
You will see that the same grammar is often repeated at different levels. Read more about why this happens. In short:
- not all grammatical structures are learned the first time (repetition is the mother of learning)))
- at low levels phenomena are considered separately from each other, and at higher levels they are compared with each other
- As the level of English improves, it turns out that each grammatical structure has nuances and subtleties, which insidious teachers are silent about for the time being, so as not to create confusion
English grammar by level - in different textbooks - looks approximately the same. Therefore, I will take as a basis one of the most popular textbooks - English File.
By the way, this English grammar by levels can be a kind of test. Look at any section and see if you understand sentences with grammar examples? But - more importantly - do you use such constructions in your speech? If not, it may not be your level yet. If yes, go to the next level and do the same.
English grammar by level - a short way to the desired section:
Beginner/Starter level grammar
The Beginner level covers the basics - the simplest constructions. At the same time, they are also the most important, because all the complex grammar of higher levels will be based on them.
At this level, a lot of attention is paid to forms - again, to achieve a certain automaticity in simple things, like I am, you are, he is. Grammatical constructions at the Beginner level are mainly treated separately from each other to avoid confusion of comparisons and nuances.
| What grammar pass at the level Beginner/Starter | Grammar Example
|
| statements denial questions | I"m from Russia / You"re in class 2 / He"s 30 years old. I"m not from Moscow / You aren't late / He isn't French. Am I late? Are you from the UK? Is he French? How are you? Where is he from? |
| The only and plural number | a book - books a watch - watches an umbrella - umbrellas |
| this, these that, those | What's that? What are those? |
| Possessives pronouns | he - his / she - her / it - its |
| Possessive "s | Maria"s children, John"s birthday, my parents" car |
| Adjectives | It"s a fast car - This car is fast They"re expensive shoes - These shoes are expensive |
| statements denial questions | I have breakfast at home / She lives in a flat. I don"t go to work by bus / She doesn"t have a pet. Do you understand me? /Does she work here? Where do you live? / When does she start work? |
| Adverbs (adverbs of frequency) | always, usually often, sometimes, hardly ever, never |
| Questions with be and do | Where are you from? /Where do you live? |
| can, can"t | I can play the guitar / I can"t sing. / Can I park here? |
| like, love, hate with gerund | I like swimming / I love reading I hate doing housework |
| Present Continuous | I"m driving to the airport at the moment What are you doing? |
| There is / there are | There is a bar in this hotel but there aren't any restaurants. |
| Past Simple: was / were regular verbs (regular verbs) irregular verbs (Irregular Verbs) | I was born in 1988. Where were you at 7 o"clock last night? I arrived in Stockholm early in the morning. What time did you arrive? I bought some souvenirs. What did you buy? |
| Present Continuous for the future tense | I"m arriving in Venice on April 10. Where are you staying? |
Elementary level grammar
The Elementary level is very similar to the previous level. I will say more, often instead of Beginner, my students and I take on Elementary right away, we just go through it a little more carefully.
The Elementary grammar is almost identical to the grammar of the previous level.
| What grammar pass at the level Elementary | Grammar Examples
|
| to be: am / is / are statements denial questions | My name"s Anna / You"re early / My email address is... I"m not English / It isn"t far Where are you from? / What's your phone number? How old are you? |
| Possessives pronouns | I - my / you - your / we - our / they - their he - his / she - her / it - its |
| The only and plural number | a book - books / a watch - watches an umbrella - umbrellas a man - men, a woman - women, a person - people |
| this, these that, those | What's this? What are these? How much is this bag? What's that? What are those? |
| Adjectives | It"s an empty box- This box is empty. They"re cheap / quite cheap / really cheap |
| Imperative imperative Let's | Open the door / Sit down / Turn off your mobile. Let's take a break / Let's go to the cinema. |
| statements denial questions | I wear glasses / They drink tea / It rains a lot I don"t have children / They don"t live here / It doesn't work Do you live in a flat? / Does she speak German? What time does it open? |
| Possessive "s Whose | Justin Bieber's sister, George Clooney's father Whose bag is it? |
| Prepositions of time and places | at 7am, in the morning, at the weekend, in March on Monday, at school, in the park |
| Adverbs | always, usually, often, sometimes, hardly ever, never every day, twice a week, three times a year |
| can/can't | Where can I park? / I can't hear you. |
| Present Continuous | What's happening? What are you looking at? |
| Object pronouns | I - me / we - us / they - them he - him / she - her / it - it |
| like/love/enjoy don't mind hate with gerund | I like / love / enjoy reading in bed. I don't mind cooking. I hate getting up early. |
| | Are you a fan of any band? When do you usually listen to music? |
| Past Simple was / were regular verbs (regular verbs) irregular verbs (wrong verbs) | Where were you? I was at a party last weekend / They were angry They chatted and listened to music. What did they do? I wore a black dress. What did you wear? |
| there is / there are some/any | There's a dining room. There are three bedrooms. Are there any neighbors? There are some paintings. |
| there was / there were | Was there a mini-bar in your room? There were 3 other guests. |
| Countable and uncountable nouns | an apple, a banana some sugar, some rice We need some sugar / There isn't any milk. |
| How much / how many a lot of, some, none | How much free time do you have? How many friends do you have on Facebook? |
| Comparative adjectives | A proton is heavier than an electron. Mosquitoes are more dangerous than sharks. good - better / bad - worse / far - further |
| Excellent adjectives | It's the longest river in the world. It's the most popular art gallery in the world. |
| Going to for plans | I'm going to travel round Europe. |
| Going to for forecasts | You're going to like it. |
| Adverbs | speak fast, know him well, drive carefully |
| Verbs with infinitive | want to talk to you, would like to learn to cook need to stop |
| Articles | I"m a student / It"s the oldest university in Europe. |
| Present Perfect | I"ve seen Harry Potter but I haven"t read the book. Have you ever eaten sushi? |
Pre-intermediate level grammar
At the Pre-intermediate level they are already beginning to compare different designs with each other and find out the nuances. Why is it better to say somewhere I study economics, and somewhere - I'm studying economics.
| What grammar pass at the level Pre-intermediate | Grammar Example
|
| Word order in questions | Do you speak English? What languages do you speak? Did you go out last night? Where did you go? |
| Present Simple | She has a lot of hobbies. We don't get on very well. |
| Present Continuous | John is wearing a suit today! He usually wears jeans. |
| Past Simple | Where did you go on holiday last year? We went to Italy. |
| | When you called me, I was talking to my boss. |
| unions | although, but, so, because |
| Going to plans forecasts | What are you going to do when you leave school? We are going to be late for work! |
| Present Continuous for future agreements | I"m meeting Joe at 3 o"clock. When are you coming back? |
| Relative clauses | This is the restaurant where they make great pizza. |
| Present Perfect yet, just, already | I"ve just started a new job. I"ve already seen this film. / Have you finished yet? |
| Present Perfect and Past Simple | Have you ever been to Mexico? When did you go there? |
| something/anything nothing (where / one) | Did anyone phone? No, no one. Is there anywhere to park? |
| Comparative adjectives and adverbs | Driving is more dangerous than flying. I"m as tall as my brother. Can you speak more slowly, please? |
| Excellent adjectives | It's the best film I've seen this year. It's the worst meal I've ever eaten. |
| Quantifiers | how much / how many / too / enough |
| will / won't / shall forecasts, spontaneous decisions promises, etc. | Shall I open the window? You'll like it. I think I"ll go home now. I"ll always love you. |
| Use infinitive | Try not to talk about politics. I came to this school to learn English. Be careful not to drive too fast. |
| Using -ing form (gerund) | Waking up early in the morning makes me happy. He left without saying goodbye. |
| Modal verbs have to, don't have to must, mustn't | I have to get up at seven every day. I don't have to wear a uniform. You mustn't leave your bags here. |
| should | What do you think I should do? You should see a doctor. |
| First Conditional (first conditional) | If I miss the last train, I"ll get a taxi. |
| Possessives pronouns | mine, yours, theirs, ours his, hers, its |
| Second Conditional (second conditional) | I"d do more exercise if I had more time. What would you do if you won a million dollars? |
| Present Perfect for, since | How long have you lived here? I "ve known her for 15 years / since we were children. |
| Passive present and past | Nowadays a lot of toys are made in China. This morning I was woken up by the neighbor's dog. |
| used to | She used to wear glasses. |
| might | She might come with us, she"s not sure yet. |
| | into, out of, over, along, across, through |
| So do/am/did I Neither do / am / did I | I "m married. - So am I. I don't know him. - Neither do I. |
| Past Perfect | The show had already finished by the time I arrived. |
| Reported speech (indirect speech) | He said that he was hungry. She told me that her car had broken down. |
| Questions without auxiliary verbs | How many people came to the meeting? Who invented the radio? |
Intermediate Grammar
At the Intermediate level, they also compare already familiar phenomena with each other and, of course, study new ones.
| What grammar pass at the level Intermediate | Grammar Example
|
| action / non-action | I never cook vs What are you cooking? I have a dog vs I"m having lunch I think it "s a good idea vs I"m thinking about you |
| Future: will/won't going to Present Continuous | I"ll help you. Do you think it"ll rain? You"ll love this film! I"m going to buy a new car. Barcelona are going to win. They are getting married in October. |
| Present Perfect vs Past Simple | I"ve been to London before. He hasn"t found a new job yet. When did you go there? How did the interview go? |
| Present Perfect Pres. Perf. Continuous for, since | They"ve known each other for 5 years / since 2010. I"ve been studying English for 10 years. How long have you been waiting? |
| Degrees of comparison adjectives (comparative adj., superlative adj.) | My brother is a bit / much taller than me. This chair isn't as comfortable as that one. It's the most expensive city in the world. He"s the smartest person I"ve ever met. |
| Articles | I saw a nice house with a fancy porch. The porch was decorated with plants. |
| can, could, be able to | I can sing. I could swim when I was 4. I"ve never been able to dance. I"d like to be able to draw. |
| must / mustn't have to / don't have to should/shouldn't | You must wear a seatbelt / You mustn"t exceed the speed limit. Do I have to pay now? / You don't have to come. You should stop smoking / You shouldn't drink so much coffee. |
| Past Simple Past Continuous Past Perfect | When I got home, my family had dinnner. When I got home, my family were having dinner. When I got home, my family had dinner. |
| usually vs used to | I usually get up at 6am. I used to get up at 11 when I was unemployed. |
| The Passive (all times) | A lot of films are shot on location. The film is being shot. The film has been shot. The film will be shot on location. |
| might, must, can("t) for guesswork | She might like the idea. This must be difficult for you! You can't be serious! |
| First Conditional Future time clauses | The boss won't be happy if you are late for work again. As soon as you get your exam results, call me. |
| Second Conditional | What would you do if you met a celebrity? If I were you, I"d buy a new car. |
| Reported speech (indirect speech) | I asked him if he wanted to join us. She told me she had lost her wallet. |
| Gerund and infinitive (gerund and infinitive) | I"m not good at remembering names. I don"t mind getting up early. Shopping is my favorite pastime. I don't know what to do. My house is easy to find. Try not to make a noise. |
| Third Conditional | If I had known about the party, I would have gone. |
| Quantifiers | I eat a lot of chocolate. She earns a lot. We have plenty of time. There aren't enough parks. There's too much traffic. |
| Relative clauses | That's the house where I was born. |
| Question tags | They live in New York, don't they? You aren't angry, are you? |
Upper-intermediate level grammar
By the advanced Upper-intermediate level, enlightenment usually sets in; the basics have already been covered. All that remains is to repeat them a little and move on to the interesting and subtleties of grammar.
| What grammar pass at the level Upper-intermediate | Grammar Examples
|
| Question formation (word order in questions) | Are you talking about me? What are you talking about? What time does it open? |
| Auxiliary verbs (auxiliary gverbs) | I like dogs, but my wife doesn't. - I loved the film! - So did I. - I've finished. - Have you? |
| the...the... comparatives | The sooner, the better. The longer you wait, the worse it gets. |
| Present Perfect vs Present Perfect Continuous | She has been writing novels since she was a student. She"s written 30 novels. |
| Adjectives as nouns Adjective order (adjectives as nouns, adjective order) | The Chinese invented paper. The poor are getting poorer. They need to create more jobs for the unemployed. I bought a beautiful Italian leather bag. |
| Narrative tenses: Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect Past Perfect Continuous | We had been flying for about two hours when suddenly the captain told us to fasten our seat belts because we were flying into a thunderstorm. When this happened, passengers most hadn't finished their meals yet. |
| so...that such...that | There was so much traffic that we nearly missed the flight. It was such a great show that I want to see it again. |
| Position of adverbs and adverbial phrases (adverbs) | He walks slowly. I've almost finished. Ideally, we should leave at 8. |
| Future Perfect Future Continuous | They will have finished painting the house by Monday. Don't phone between 6 and 7, we'll be having dinner then. |
| Zero and First Conditionals Future time clauses | If you haven"t been to Paris, you haven"t lived. If we are lucky, we"ll have sold the house by Christmas. I"ll call you as soon as I"ve talked to the boss. |
| Unreal conditions | If you exercised more, you"d be much healthier. He would have died, if he hadn't been wearing a helmet. |
| Constructions with wish | I wish I was 20 years younger! I wish I hadn't bought this car! / If only I hadn't bought ... I wish you would stop calling me at night. |
| Gerunds and infinitives (gerund and infinitive) | Remember to lock the door VS I remember locking the door. I stopped to smoke VS I stopped smoking. |
| Used to, be used to, get used to | I used to live in the countryside. I was used to the peace and quiet. I can"t get used to the noise of the city. |
| must have been/done might have been/done can"t have been/done | It must have been difficult for you. They might have left. I can't have lost it. |
| Verbs of the senses (verbs of perception) | It smells good. It feels comfortable. You look tired. Sounds interesting. |
| (passive voice) + it is said that... + have something done | My car has been stolen. You can be fined for making noise. The church was being renovated when I last saw it. The criminals are believed to have fled the country. I need to have my car fixed. |
| Reporting verbs | He persuaded me to quit my job. She apologized for not being on time. |
| Clauses of contrast and purpose (subordinate clauses oppositions and goals) | I went to work even though I wasn't feeling well. Although I was tired, I didn't want to go to bed. In spite of / Despite the fact that she"s 85, she"s very active. I went to the bank in order to speak to my bank manager. I wrote it down so as not to forget. |
| whatever, whenever whoever | Have a seat wherever you like. Whatever happens, stay calm. |
| Uncountable and plural nouns (uncountable nouns and noun in multitudes. number) | I need some advice. I"ll give you two pieces of advice. It"s made of glass. Can I have a glass of water? The hotel staff is very friendly / The hotel staff are very friendly. The police are canvassing the area. |
| Quantifiers | All fruit contains sugar VS All the animals in this zoo look sad. She wanted to study either physics or mathematics. |
| Articles | My father is in hospital. They"re building a new hospital. |
Advanced Grammar
| What grammar pass at the level Advanced | Grammar Examples
|
| Have - auxiliary or main verb (have like auxiliary and main verb) | Do you have any money on you? Have you got any cousins? I haven't a clue. Do I have to pay now? I need to have my eyes tested. |
| Discourse markers and linkers (conjunctions and connectives) | Despite / In spite of her age, she"s still very active. Despite / In spite of the fact that she"s 85, she"s very active. I keep checking my email in case there"s an urgent message. |
| Pronouns (pronouns) | They say it's never too late to change your life. We decorated the house ourselves. |
| Past events: habitual or specific Habitual and single events in past | I"d wanted to buy a new car for a long time. I"d been saving up for 2 years and when I finally bought it, I was over the moon. I used to have a car but I don"t anymore. |
| Get Values and use | Let"s get a taxi. / It"s getting dark. / He might get sacked. I need to get my passport renewed. Get Jane to call me. |
| Discourse markers: adverbial expressions | As a matter of fact, I don't like football. On the whole, I believe women are better drivers than men. As far as the price is concerned... |
| Speculation and deduction Guess and assumptions | I must have forgotten to lock the door. You might have been injured. It can't have been easy. It ought to have arrived by now. |
| Inversion (change order words in a sentence) | Never have I heard such a ridiculous argument. Not only is he attractive, (but) he"s also smart. Little did I know. |
| Distancing | It appears that the situation is going to get worse. There seems to be a mistake in the bill. There is thought to be some tension between them. |
| Unreal uses of past tenses | If only you hadn't forgotten the map! I"d rather you left the dog outside. It's time we stopped arguing. |
| Verb + object + infinitive/gerund | We expect the bus to arrive at 7. I want Real Madrid to win. |
| Conditional sentences + mixed conditions | They won't get a table unless they've booked it in advance. Provided the bank lends us the money, we"re going to buy it. If I"d listened to your advice, I wouldn"t be in trouble now. |
| Permission, obligation necessity | You don"t need to take a jacket VS You needn"t lock the car. You aren't supposed to park here. |
| Verbs of the senses | You seem to have made a mistake. I saw him cross the street VS I saw him crossing the street. |
| Complex gerunds and infinitives | She thanked him for having helped her. By the time I"m 30, I hope to have started a family. |
| Future plans and arrangements | My brother is due to arrive at 8. I am about to get promoted. The Prime Minister is to visit India next week. |
| Ellipsis | - You must see his latest film. - I already have. He did it even though I told him not to. - It wasn't my fault. - Well, if you say so... |
| Nouns -s" of compound nouns | I borrowed my mother's car / She's at the hairdresser's. She "s got ten years" experience. Can you remember the name of the film? I opened the car door, got in and fastened the seat belt. |
| Adding emphasis (gain) Cleft sentences | What I need is some rest. What happened was we left our umbrellas in the taxi. The reason why I bought it was because it was cheap. |
| Relative clauses | My brother who lives in Australia is a programmer. VS My brother, who lives in Australia, is a programmer. I haven't seen him for 2 weeks, which is a bit worrying. |
That's all English grammar by levels.
Does English grammar really end after the Advanced level? No, of course)) If you look at the levels, there is also the Proficiency level, but the line of conversation courses really ends at the Advanced level.
Perhaps this is because:
- even an ambitious user of English rarely needs a level higher than Advanced (not to mention the average learner who stays in the Intermediate area)
- at high levels, people already know how to find the necessary authentic materials on their own and independently organize their training
- at high levels, many people think about a more practical and targeted use of English - for example, preparation for international exams (IELTS, TOEFL and others) or specialized courses in the profession
And there are still a lot of subtleties left even after the Advanced level!
How do you like English grammar by levels?
Did you manage to determine your level with its help? Share in the comments!