Learn English Grammar from Scratch: A Beginner’s Guide 

Are you scared of learning English grammar, and wondering how to master the basic rules? If yes, then you are not alone, brushing up on the essential grammatical rule can be quite a task for anyone if it is not one’s native language. After all, English grammar is a combination of a certain set of rules and guidelines. These rules and regulations ensure the correct and standard use of the English language. Not to mention it helps to preserve the accuracy of the language. 

So, keeping in mind the importance of learning basic English Grammar, this blog post, contains an extensive list of topics that compiles free English grammar lessons for you to advance in a manageable succession. You can either follow the order of topics to learn English step by step or skip to the topics you are finding hard to excel.

What are Sentences in English Grammar?

Sentence forms an integral part of English Grammar and teaches the accurate arrangement of words to form a meaningful sentence. A sentence is a combination of subject and predicate and sometimes comprises a subject, verb, and an object. 

For example: She is eating an apple.

Types of Sentences with Examples

Assertive Sentence: It is used to declare a statement and ends with a full stop. 

For example: She is playing in the garden.

Interrogative Sentence: It is used to ask questions and ends with a question mark. 

For example: What are you doing? 

Imperative Sentence: It is used to express a command, a request, and advice to someone

and ends with a full stop. 

For example: Please close the door.

Exclamatory Sentence: It is used to express sudden feelings or emotions and ends with an exclamatory mark. 

For example: How beautiful this building is!

Find more reads on Sentences Here!

Sentence Rearrangement Tricks	Types of Sentences
Subject vs Predicate	One word Substitution

Parts of Speech

In English, every word in a sentence performs some of the other functions. So, each word in a sentence is a part of speech. There are a total of 8 parts of Speech in the English Language.

Now, let us understand each part of speech in an elaborative way with the help of examples and their usage in the sentence.

Noun and its Type

The very first part of speech in English is Nouns. They are used to define the name of the person, place, animal, thing, and ideas. In fact, they are often termed as the naming words.  

Nouns can also be used as a subject, object, or as a subject and object complement in a sentence.

For example: Sita loves her mother.

Let us understand the different types of nouns with the help of exciting examples and infographics.

Proper Noun 

Nouns that are used to name a particular person, place, animal, or thing are called proper nouns. They often begin with a capital letter.

For Example:

His name is Rahul. 

I came back from Maldives. 

H&M is a famous brand of clothing. 

Common Nouns 

Common names that are used to name a person, place, animal, or thing are called common nouns. These types of nouns are not capitalized unless they are used at the beginning of the sentence.

For Example:

She bought a pencil yesterday. 

She is going to school. 

The teacher gave us a test. 

Singular Nouns

The words that are used to define a single entity which could be a person, place, animal, thing, or object are called Singular Nouns.

For Example: 

I bought a red car. 

Plural Nouns

The words that are used to define more than one person, place, animal, thing, or object are called Plural Nouns. It uses “s”, “es”,”ves”, and “ies” to the root word to make them plural. Some of the words do not change and remain the same as singular and plural.

For example: apples, mangoes, boxes, fries, and deer.

Countable Nouns

As the name suggests countable nouns are nouns that can be measured or are countable.

For Examples: ten packets of lays, six eggs, an aeroplane

Uncountable Nouns

The words that cannot be measured or are uncountable are called uncountable nouns.

For Example:

I have a lot of homework.

She had a cup of coffee.

Collective Nouns

The words that can be used to refer to a group of people, places, animals, things, or objects together are called Collective Nouns.

For Example: a pride of lions, a bunch of grapes, a troupe of soldiers

Concrete Nouns

The words that are used to refer to the things that are concrete and can be touched by humans are called concrete nouns.

For Example: The ball is on the bed.

Abstract Nouns

The things or ideas that only can be felt by humans but cannot be touched by them are called abstract nouns.

For example: Laughter is the best medicine.

Learn more about Nouns Here!

How to Use Nouns and Prepositions Together	Noun, Verb, Adjective, & Adverb
Clauses: Meaning, Types and Examples	Nouns

Pronoun and Types 

Pronouns are the words that are used to replace nouns. It is used to avoid the repetition of nouns in the sentences. It can be both singular and plural pronouns. Some of the common examples of pronouns are he, she, it, they, them, my, and mine, etc.

There are different kinds of pronouns in English.

Relative Pronouns are used to relate one part of the sentence to another. A few examples of relative pronouns are what, whom, whose, that, where, which, etc,

Possessive Pronouns are the words that show possession. Examples of possessive pronouns are my, yours, his, hers, theirs, and its.

Reflexive Pronouns are used to refer to the subject back in the sentence. A few examples of reflexive pronouns are ourselves, themselves, and yourselves, etc.

Demonstrative Pronouns are used to point to specific objects. A few examples of demonstrative pronouns are this, that used with singular and these, and those used with plural pronouns.

Interrogative Pronouns are used to ask questions. Some examples of interrogative pronouns are who, how, what, which, where, etc.

Indefinite Pronouns do not refer to any particular person, place, or thing. Some examples of indefinite pronouns are someone, anyone, anybody, somebody, somewhere, something, etc.

Personal Pronouns are used in place of proper nouns. Some examples of personal pronouns are, I, you, we, they, him, her, he, she, us, and them.

Reciprocal Pronouns are used to define a mutual relationship. Each other and one another are examples of reciprocal pronouns.

Intensive Pronouns are the same as reflexive pronouns, the only difference between them is that the intensive pronoun can be removed from the sentence, and the sentence would still make sense. For example: I washed my utensils myself.

Also Read: 55+ Phrases with Meaning to Boost Your Vocabulary

Verb and its Type 

Verbs also form an important part of speech that denotes the action in the sentence. All the doing words or action words are called verbs that tell us about the action in the sentence. It is usually placed in the centre of the sentence, in between the subject and the object.

For example: talk, walk, laugh, dance, sing, move, etc. 

There are different kinds of verbs in the English language.

Auxiliary Verbs/ Helping Verbs: Verbs that are used before the main verb that helps to join the subject with the main verb are called auxiliary verbs or helping verbs. 

For example: is, am, are, has, have, was, were, etc.

Main Verbs: The words that highlight the action in the sentence are called the main verbs. 

For example: She is going to the temple. 

In this sentence “is” is a helping verb and going is the main verb.

Regular Verbs: The verbs that change their root form highlighting the past event or the event that is happening recently. To show past events using regular verbs we add “ed” and to express the ongoing event using regular verbs we add “ing”. 

For example: He searched his shirt everywhere.

Irregular Verbs: The verbs that do not follow the rule of regular verbs and have their unique form are called Irregular verbs. For example: I found the lost keys.

Modal Verbs: These verbs are also used as auxiliary verbs in the sentence. They are used to denote the possibility, probability, capability, or necessity of the situation. For example: can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, ought to, etc.

Quick Read: Improve your English Speaking and Listening Skills by Watching Series and Movies

Adjective and its Type

The words that qualify or modify the noun or pronoun in the sentence are called adjectives. Describing words or modifying words that add extra information about nouns or pronouns in the sentence are known as adjectives. 

For example, a red car, a hardworking man, naughty children, etc.

There are different types of Adjectives in the English language:

Adjective of Quality: The words that describe the quality of a noun or pronoun are called adjectives of quality. For example: She is a charming girl. 

Adjective of Quantity: The words that are used to describe the quantity of a thing are called adjectives of quantity. For example: She drank some milk.

Adjective of Number: The words that describe the exact number of the thing are called adjectives of number or numerical adjectives.

Possessive Adjectives: Like possessive pronouns, these adjectives are used to show possession of a quality. For example: This is my house. All the such as his, her, it, mine, their etc. are possessive adjectives.

Interrogative Adjectives: An adjective that is used for asking a question is called an interrogative adjective. For example: whose, what, and which. Which book is gifted by her?

Demonstrative Adjectives: Demonstrative adjectives are mainly used to describe the position of a subject (a noun or pronoun) in space or time. This, that, these, and those are the demonstrative adjectives in English.

Distributive Adjectives: An adjective that is used to refer to each group separately is called a distributive adjective. For example: Each student got a participation certificate.

Proper Adjectives: Adjectives that are formed from the proper nouns used to describe the noun or pronoun in a sentence are called proper adjectives. For example: Indians, Turkish, etc.

Degree of Adjectives

There are three degrees of adjectives based on the comparison:-

• Positive Degree: Positive degrees of adjectives are used when there is no comparison made between the subject of the sentence. It generally takes the original form of the adjective.

For example: She is a good girl.

• Comparative Degree: Comparative degrees of adjectives are used to make comparisons between one subject the another in the sentence. It is formed by adding “er” to the adjective. 

For example: She is better than her sister.

• Superlative Degree: Superlative degrees of adjectives are used to make comparisons with more than one person or a thing. It is formed by adding “est” to the adjective.

For example: She is the best girl in the class.

Also Read: Easy Languages to Learn for English Speakers

Adverbs and Types

Adverbs are another important part of English Grammar that provides extra information about verbs or adjectives. For example, My brother ran slowly. 

Here, the term ‘slowly’ shows us how my brother ran. Thus, it informs us a little more about the verb ‘ran.’ Therefore it is an adverb as it qualifies verb. 

The complete definition of adverbs is all those words that qualify as a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs frequently end in -ly, and even some appear identical to the adjectives. 

There are different types of adverbs you can follow hereafter while learning the essential grammar rules of adverbs. 

Adverb of Degree

The Adverbs of degree denote the intensity or the magnitude of things. They are placed before the verb, adjective, and adverb.

For example: The tea is too cold to drink.

Adverb of Frequency

Adverbs of frequency refer to the frequency of the action for how many times the thing happens or occurs. 

For example: He is always been fond of his mother.

Adverb of Manner

Adverbs of manner describe how the action occurs. They are usually placed after the main verb in the sentence. 

For example, He is running slowly.

Adverb of Place

The ‘Adverb of place’ refers to the place where an action takes place. They are usually placed after the main verb in the sentence. They do not modify adjectives or adverbs. 

For example, I am moving downstairs.

Adverb of Time

The Adverb of time denotes the time of the action. It also tells us about when an event occurred, for how long it started, and when it finished. They are placed at the end of the sentence.

For example, They will go there tomorrow.

Find more exciting reads on adverbs here!

Interrogative Adverbs	Adverbs of Frequency
Conjunctive Adverbs	Adverb of Time
Adverb of Degree	Adjective Phrases

Prepositions and Types

Prepositions are one of the integral parts of basic grammar and are placed before a noun or a noun equivalent such as a pronoun, adverb, etc. They show a relationship between that noun/pronoun and some other word in the sentence. This relationship defines time, place,  and the direction of the object in the sentence They are called prepositions because such words are always placed before (pre) a noun or noun equivalent. 

There are different types of Prepositions:-

Prepositions of Time

The prepositions of time as the name suggests indicate time. Some examples of this type are before, after, during, in, on, etc.

Preposition of Place

The Prepositions of place indicate a place/position. Some examples of these are on, at, in, under, behind, outside, etc.

Prepositions of Movement

The preposition of movement is used to denote some movement. Some examples denoting movement are to, across, through, over, past, down, etc.

Prepositions of Manner

The prepositions of manner indicate the way or how a thing is done. Some commonly used examples of these are by, with, like, etc.

Prepositions of Agent

Prepositions of an agent indicate the agent who commits any action. The most common examples of these are with and by. 

Prepositions of Measure

Prepositions of measure are those which define some quantity. Some examples of these are of and by.

Prepositions of Source

The prepositions of the source indicate the source of something. Some examples of these are by and from.

Find more reads on Prepositions here!

Rules for Prepositions	Pictures for Preposition
Prepositions of Place	Time Prepositions
Uncover 8 Types of Prepositions	Prepositions for Class 4

Conjunctions

Conjunctions are another important part of speech in English Grammar. Conjunctions are often term as the joining words that are used to join two words, phrases, or two sentences together. Some of the common examples from the list of conjunctions are or, but, for, but, so, etc.

Types of Conjunctions

Coordinating Conjunctions: Coordinating Conjunctions join equal parts of a sentence including phrases or causes. Coordinating conjunctions can be learned by memorizing the acronym FANBOYS: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So.

Subordinating Conjunctions: They help in Linking a dependent clause to an independent one. Some of the subordinating conjunctions are which, who after, when, where, while, before, though, etc.

Correlative Conjunctions: The paired Conjunctions that are placed at two different places in a sentence to join equal entities. The most common correlative conjunctions are neither.. nor, either…or, not only….but, whether.. etc.

Compound Conjunctions: The phrases that act as conjunctions are termed compound Conjunctions. Commonly compound conjunctions are so that, provided that, as well as, as soon as, such that, so that, etc.

Also Read: Improve your English Vocabulary for IELTS Writing and Speaking

Interjections

Interjections are the last part of speech used to express sudden feelings or emotions. There are no definite rules as to placing interjections in a sentence most probably they appear at the beginning of a sentence. Interjections help to form exclamatory sentences. 

Some of the examples of the interjections are,

Hurray! They won the match.

Ouch! That hurts badly.

Wow! That is beautiful scenery

Also Read: Useful Idioms for IELTS Exams That Will Boost Your Score

Tenses Rules in English Grammar

As you are well versed with the part of speech it is time for you to revise the rules of tenses that also form the fundamental part of English Grammar. They are important to learn to improve all four Linguistics Skills i.e. Listening, Reading, Speaking, and Writing.

Present Tense Rule

Tenses	Rule
Present Simple Tense	Subject + V1 + s/es + Object for singular Subject + V1 + Object for plural
Present Continuous Tense	Subject + is/am/are + V1 + ing + Object
Present Perfect Tense	Subject + has/have + V3 + Object Has- singular Have-plural
Perfect Continuous Tense	Subject + has/have+been + V1 + ing + Object+since/for

Past Tense Rule

Tenses	Rule
Past Simple Tense	Subject + V2 + Object
Past Continuous Tense	Subject + was + V1 + ing + Object with singular Subject + were + V1 + ing + Object with plural
Past Perfect	Subject + had + V3 + Object
Past Perfect Continuous	Subject + had+ been + V1 + ing + Object+since/for

Future Tense Rule

Tenses	Rule
Future Simple Tense	Subject + will/shall + V1 + Object
Future Continuous Tense	Subject + will be/shall be + ing + V1 + Object
Future Perfect Tense	Subject + will have/shall have + V3 + Object
Future Perfect Continuous	Subject + will have +been + V1 + ing + Object+since/for

Download Tenses Rules and Structure PDF

Quick Read: Tenses Rules: Charts, Examples, Types [PDF Available]

Reported Speech Rules and Types

The accurate reporting of the words is essential for effective communication. Direct and indirect speech are the tools that help us communicate information with accuracy and clarity.  There are two types of Reported Speech 

Direct Speech: The actual words spoken by the person is called direct speech. It is written inside the inverted commas. 

For example: Sumit said, “ He will attend the office tomorrow.”

In the above example, the words written inside the commas are actual words of the speaker Sumit in the sentence.

Reported Speech For Class 9	Reported Speech For Class 10
Imperative Reported Speech	Interrogative Reported Speech
50 Examples of Direct and Indirect Speech	Reported Speech For Class 12

Indirect Speech: Indirect speech includes the reporting of the words of the speaker without quoting their exact words. While reporting indirect speech we have to keep a record of the changes in the verb tense and pronouns and no use of quotation marks.

For example: Sumit said that he would attend the office the next day.

Voices and Types

Once you start learning Voice you must be aware of three things Subject, Verb, and Object in the sentence. Voice is the grammatical concept that tells the relation of the subject with an object and the object with the subject. Voice also forms a crucial part of English Grammar and if you are trying to learn English Grammar you must master this concept. Let us understand the difference between active and passive voice.

Active Voice: The sentence is said to be in active voice if the subject receives the action. For example: Anita watered the flowers.

Passive Voice: The sentence is said to be in Passive Voice if the object in the sentence or the action is emphasized more irrespective of the subject. For example: The flowers were watered by Anita.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises	Future Perfect Passive Voice
Active and Passive Voice Quiz	Active and Passive Voice For Competitive Exam
Active and Passive Voice Rules	Active and Passive Voice For Class 6

FAQs

This was all about the basic English grammar you need to master as a beginner. To advance your grammar knowledge and read more informative blogs, check out the Learn English page of Leverage Edu.

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