A short course in English grammar. English grammar: basic concepts

27.09.2019 Ornamental crops for the garden

In recent years, learning English has become so popular that some are sometimes even surprised that someone does not know it. This is not surprising, since English can be considered the most "international", it is spoken in almost all countries of the world (of course, in addition to the native language). Those who want further career prospects for themselves strive to learn it in the first place, and only then can they, if desired, start learning other languages. Of course, this is not easy, because the rules of the English language, its grammar, are strikingly different from those inherent in a person's native language. And, in addition to them, you need to learn a lot of foreign words in order to be able to express yourself so that you will be understood. But, suppose that you have already begun to study a long time ago, and you need a list of the most common mistakes made when speaking or writing text. We suggest that you take note of the basic rules of the English language, in which mistakes are most often made.

Present Simple verbs (present indefinite tense): they are used when it comes to any action (I do - I do) that occurs at all. For example: I drive a bus - I drive a bus. That is, this action does not necessarily take place at this moment, it happens in general, constantly. Remember that such verbs are used in their "pure" form only in relation to the pronouns I, we, you, they (I, we, you, they). With the pronouns he, she, it (he, she, it), the ending -s- is added to the verbs, for example: Henry works in a bank - Henry works in a bank.
The rules of the English language state that the auxiliary verb will (in this case is not translated), which serves to form the future tense, is not used with words such as while, when, after, before, as soon as, till, until time like, when, after, before, as soon, bye, until then.
to and must, despite the similarity of meaning, still differ in meaning. Thus, I have to do it means “I must / have to do it”, and I must to do it should be understood as “I have to do it”.
Studying further the rules of the English language, note that verbs with the ending -ing- are used before at, in, of, with, for, instead of, about, in spite of (in, in, from, with, to, a, approximately despite) and after after, before (after, before). For example: are you interested in reading of this book - are you interested in reading this book?

In addition, you need to remember about the correctness of the construction of sentences. We are accustomed to the fact that the Russian language is so large and powerful that it allows an arbitrary rearrangement of words among themselves, and the meaning of the sentence will not change from this and will be understandable. In English, everything is not so: if you rearrange it as you like, then you get nothing more than an ordinary set of words that have no connection. It is for this reason that it is important to learn the rules of the English language, in which there are nine types of sentences, each of which is built according to its own laws. The classification of species is as follows:

1) narrative (subject - simple predicate - other parts of speech);

2) interrogative (built based on the expected answer: general questions that can be answered "yes, no"; special ones that require only a full answer; choice questions; dividing ones, consisting of a sentence and the question itself);

3) imperative (the only one who has no subject);

4) exclamatory (in structure they are identical to the narrative, but with greater expression and intonation);

5) negative (have only one negation);

6) answers to questions (built depending on the question asked);

7) (nominal and verbal, for example: it is cold - cold, or it's getting warm - it's getting warm);

8) indefinitely personal (one can do it easily - it can be done easily);

9) complex sentences (consist of several independent sentences).

Of course, all this is just a brief basics of the English language, because, in fact, there are much more rules. But, as you know, nothing is impossible. Therefore, if the desire to learn English is very great, in addition to the rules, do not forget that you need to communicate in this language. The fact is that, having learned a language only on paper, you can hardly understand it in colloquial speech without practice. If there is no one to communicate in English, the solution is simple: watch films without translation and try to catch intonation, pronunciation of words and other nuances. This way you will start thinking faster and, therefore, speak English as fluently as possible.

It is one of the most difficult questions in training. Any English learner naturally tries to master its grammar based on knowledge of the grammar of their language. And often difficulties are caused by those grammatical structures that have no analogues in the Russian language. For example, it is difficult for a Russian-speaking student to understand why there are more than a dozen different tenses in the English language, although in Russian we get along just fine with three.

It is in such cases that English grammar comes to the rescue in tables, where you can clearly trace common features and differences in different grammatical forms. Teachers note that English grammar in tables and diagrams is much easier to store in memory and later turns out to be easier to use in practice.

So let's put together a table for the nine main tenses of the English language. Before proceeding directly to the table, you need to know a few basic rules that apply to any time in the English language.

At any time of the English language there is auxiliary in addition to main verb (predicate).
In a negative sentence of any time, the not particle is added to auxiliary verb and is placed before main verb - predicate.
In any question of any time, the English language is necessarily used auxiliary, which is placed before the subject.

There are three main groups of tenses of the English language:

Simple (or Indefinite) - simple,
Continuous (or Progressive) - long,
Perfect - completed.

Each of these groups has its own
Present - Present,
Past - Past and
The future is Future.

Thus, in our table there will be nine times of the English language - three times in three groups. Consider first the three times of the group Simple, then Continuous and, finally, Perfect. In the process of studying the tables, pay attention to the general features of each group of tenses, as well as the form of the main verb in the tenses of each group.

English grammar in tables

Group	Simple
Time	Present		Past	Future
How is it formed	1 the formverb ... (I, you, we, they)	1 the formverb.+ s (es) (he, she, it)	2 form verb	*will* + 1 verb form
Will help. verb	do	do es	*did*	*will*
Affirmative form	They walk in the parkevery day. They walk in the park every day.	He walk s in the parkevery day. He walks in the park every day.	They walk ed in the park yesterday. They walked in the park yesterday.	They *will* walk in the park tomorrow. They will be walking in the park tomorrow.
negative form	They do not walk in the parkevery day	He do es not walk _ in the parkevery day.	They *did* not walk_ in the park yesterday.	They *will* not walk in the park tomorrow.
General question	Do they walk in the parkevery day?	*Do es* he walk _ in the parkevery day?	*Did* they walk_ in the park yesterday?	*Will* they walk in the park tomorrow?
Special question	Where do they walk every day?	Where do es he walk _ every day?	Where *did* they walk _ yesterday?	Where *will* they walk tomorrow?
Description	Indicates actions that occur regularly, usually not tied to the moment of speech. Clue words - every (day, year, week), usually, always, often, etc.		Indicates an action that happened sometime in the past and the time for its commission has already passed. Clue words - yesterday, last (week, year, month ...), ago etc.	Indicates an action that will occur in the uncertain or distant future. Clue words - tomorrow, next (year, month…) etc.

Group	Continuous
Time
How is it formed	am, is, are +verb . ing	was, were + verbing	*will* + be + verb ing
Will help. verb	*am, is, are*	*was, were*	*will*
Affirmative form	They *are* walk ing in the park now. They are walking in the park now.	They *were* walk ing in the park when he saw them yesterday. They were walking in the park when he saw them yesterday.	They *will* be walk ing in the park at this time tomorrow. They will be walking in the park this time tomorrow.
negative form	They *are* not walk ing in the park now.	They *were* not walk ing in the park when he saw them yesterday.	They *will* not be walk ing in the park at this time tomorrow.
General question	*Are* they walk ing in the park now?	*Were* they walk ing in the park when he saw them yesterday?	*Will* they be walk ing in the park at this time tomorrow?
Special question	Where *are* they walk ing now?	Where *were* they walk ing when he saw them yesterday?	Where *will* they be walk ing at this time tomorrow?
Description	Indicates actions that occur at the time of speech. Clue words - now, at the moment, Look! Listen! etc.	Indicates an action that took place at a specific point in the past. Or an action, against the background of which another action took place, which necessarily must be expressed Past Simple.	Indicates an action that will occur at a certain moment or period in the future. Hint words - can be combinations of words - designations of the future tense and a certain moment - at this time tomorrow, at six o'clock next Friday etc.

Group
Time
How is it formed	*have* + 3 the formverb ... (I, you, we, they)	*ha s* + 3 the formverb ... (he, she, it)	*had* + 3 form verb	*will* + *have* + 3 form verb
Will help. verb	*have*	ha s	*had*	*will*
Affirmative form	They *have* already walk ed in the park. They have already taken a walk in the park.	He *ha s* already walk ed in the park. He has already taken a walk in the park.	They *had* already walk ed in the park before he came. They had already walked in the park before he arrived.	They *will* *have* already walk ed in the park by 2 p.m. tomorrow. They will already take a walk in the park until two in the afternoon tomorrow.
negative form	They *have* not walk ed in the park yet.	He ha s not walk ed in the park yet.	They *had* not walk ed in the park yet before he came.	They *will* not *have* walk ed in the park by 2 p.m. tomorrow.
General question	*Have* they walk ed in the park yet?	*Ha s* he walk ed in the park yet?	*Had* they walk ed in the park before he came?	*Will* they *have* walk ed in the park by 2 p.m. tomorrow?
Special question	Where *have* they walk ed ?	Where *ha s* he walk ed ?	Where *had* they walk ed before he came?	Where *will* they *have* walk ed by 2 p.m. tomorrow?
Description	Indicates an action that has completed and is connected with the present through the result. The place and time of the performed action is not important in this case. Clue words - ever, never, just, already, yet; since		Indicates an action that ended before some point or other action in the past. Clue words - before, by (the time) etc	Indicates an action that will complete at some point in the future or before some other action in the future.

Thus, from these tables it can be understood that each group has common feature both in meaning and in the form of the times included in it.

The times of the Simple group are undefined actions not related to any moment.
The times of the Continuous group are long-term actions, process. In form, all tenses of this group use the verb be in the present, past or future, and the ending -ing in the main verb.
The times of the Perfect group are completed actions implying a result. All times of this group use verb have in the present, past or future, and the third form of the semantic verb.

Also, pay attention to the fact that the auxiliary verb will is common to all groups in the form of the future tense.

Present Perfect Continuous, Past Perfect Continuous, Future in the Past Continuous

Long times are not something easy, however, you can understand their structure if you understand how they are formed and what functionality they perform.

We present to your attention a detailed table that reveals in detail the essence of these complex grammatical phenomena. This is a kind of "memo for dummies", helping out when you urgently need to remember this grammatical rule.

Group	Continuous
Time	Present perfect continuous	Past Perfect Continuous	Future in the past
How is it formed	to the form have, has + been a verb with " ing" at the end	modal verb had + been combined with the verb " ing" at the end	the form would + be with the verb with " ing" at the end
Will help. verb	to be in Present Perfect ( have, has + been)	to be in Past Perfect ( had + been)	would + be
Affirmative form	Eva has been stand ing on this place for 2 days. The translation of the sentence is as follows: Eve stood here for two days.	Peter had been wait ing for this airship for 2 days when it was announced about delay. Translation: Peter had been waiting for this airship for 2 days when it was announced that it would be delayed.	She said they would be work ing the whole night. It translates as follows: She said they would work all night.
negative form	Eva has not been stand ing on this place for 2 days.	Peter had not been waiting for this airship ...	She said they wouldn't be work ing the whole night.
General question	Has Eva been stand ing on this place 2 days?	Had he been wait ing for this airship for 2 days, when it was announced about delay?	Did she say, they would be work ing the whole night?
Special question	Where has Eva been stand ing 2 days?	How long had he been wait ing for this airship, when it was announced about delay?	What did she say, they really would be work ing the whole night?
Description	Used to indicate a process. Indicates an action whose beginning is in the past. It also continued in the past. The end of the process happened either immediately before the conversation or at the time of the conversation.	The presence of such a time in a sentence indicates that the action indicated by Past Perfect Continuous began and continued in the past. Its end could also take place before some event in the past, or it did not take place before some moment in the past.	Used when it comes to some kind of ongoing action in the future. Reception discussed it in the past. Help words in this case are all day, from..till, during. A feature of sentences with Future in the Past is their structure: in the first part, the past simple tense is used, and in the second, the long future.

Tables of the tenses of the English language help you easily understand the logic of constructing various grammatical structures of the English language and is a good help in performing the exercises.

You can apply the acquired knowledge in practice and continue your training on our website. Here you will find all the basic rules, practice using them in unique exercises, get real pleasure from professionally voiced texts of various levels and you will be able to choose the learning material that is right for you.

English grammar exercises

After you have studied the English grammar tables, try the exercises to consolidate your knowledge.

Complete the sentence with the missing word

Insert suitable words in the blanks

Arrange the words in the correct order

Summer go every we usuallyevery camping usually ... summer go every we usuallyevery camping usually ... summer go every we usuallyevery camping usually ... summer go every we usuallyevery camping usually ... summer go every we usuallyevery camping usually ... summer go every we usuallyevery camping usually.

Uncle to year Spain last went my ... uncle to year Spain last went my ... uncle to year Spain last went my ... uncle to year Spain last went my ... uncle to year Spain last went my ... uncle to year Spain last went my ... uncle to year Spain last went my.

Friends, each language has its own basic rules for grammar, spelling, syntax, etc. English is no exception. On the pages of our site you can find a detailed description of each section of grammar, reading rules, syntactic rules, speech patterns of the English language.

In this article, we will not dwell on each section of the language in detail.

Our today's material is intended specifically for beginners in learning a language, for those who took up English from scratch. We want to present you with the most basic, most important and necessary rules of the English language, which 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 relate to grammar and speech and syntax and much more. All you need to do is read the rules carefully and thoughtfully, pay attention to the examples and, of course, memorize! Optionally, you can rewrite this information in your English notebook or notebook. Thus, you can always remind yourself of what you need in a particular exercise.

Rule # 1

After modal verbs, the 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 by Sunday?

And we in no way say: must to learn; should to listen; may to take etc.

Rule # 2

You cannot use a definite / indefinite article with a pronoun:

I love my mother... - I AMI lovemymom.
Where is your friend now? - Wherenowis yoursfriend?
Yesterday I met Tom and his wife... “I met Tom and his wife yesterday.

It cannot be said: the my mother or my the mother; the your friend or your the friend... You can immediately see how absurd it looks, and even more so, sounds. It hurts your ears!

Rule # 3

Adverbs of the English language (to the question "how?") Are formed according to the scheme: adjective + ending ly:

Perfect - perfect ly- excellent, wonderful, wonderful
Quick - quick ly- fast, agile
Rapid - rapid ly- quickly
Quiet - quiet ly- quiet
Nice - nice ly- cute
Easy - easi ly- easily
Beautiful - beautiful ly- beautiful

He entered the room quietly... - Hequiethas enteredvthe room.
Tom did his homework perfectly fine! - Volumedidmyhomeexcellent work (incredibly good)!
Suelooksbeautifully today. - Sue looks pretty today.

Rule No. 4

Use PresentSimple, after alliances if,assoonas,before,when,till,until,after,incase in time sentences and conditions referring to the future:

When I finish school, I will go to my grandparents in the countryside. - WhenI amfinishschool, I amI will goTomygrandfatherandgrandmothervthe village.
After you study your family tree, you will find out where you descend from. - AfterTogo, howyoustudygenealogicaltreeyourfamilies, youdiscover, fromwhomyouhappen.
Your elder brother will certainly help you if you ask- Is yoursolderbrothernecessarilywill helpyou, ifyouhisask.

Rule No. 5

The word order in an English sentence is as follows:

Subject + predicate + direct object + indirect object + circumstance

Subject + predicate + direct object + indirect object + adverbal modifier

Isentyoualetterlastweek. “I sent you a letter last week.
I saw Mike in the club. - I AMsawT-shirtvclub.
It was sunny yesterday. - YesterdayIt wassunny.

In the Russian sentence, liberties are allowed, and there is no definite word order in it, it all depends on the emotion embedded in it. Everything in the English sentence 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- watch; to look for- search

To put- put, put; to put on- put on

Compare:

Put the plates on the table, please. - Putplatesontable, please.
It is cold outside; put on your coat. - Onthe streetcold, put 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. - I AMseegirl... The girl walking down the street is very pretty.

Rule No. 8

The ending - ed typical for past tenses only regular verbs. Irregular verbs have their own 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. - Wewalkvtheatreeverysaturday.

General(general): Do we go to the theater every Saturday? -Wewalkvtheatreeverysaturday?
Special(special): Where do we go every Saturday? -Wherewewalkeverysaturday?
Alternative(alternative): Do we go to the theater every Saturday or every Sunday? -WewalkvtheatreeverysaturdayoreverySunday?
Disjunctive(separating): We go to the theater every Saturday, don’t we? -Wewalkvtheatreeverysaturday, notSowhether?

Rule No. 10

To form an impersonal sentence, you need a pronoun It:

It is cold today. - Todaycold.
It is morning. - Morning.
It is difficult to translate this text. - Thistexthardtranslate.

The rule № 11

After alliances asif,asthough(as if, as if, as if, as if) in the conditional mood, the verb tobe in the 3rd person singular takes the form were:

She speaks so proudlyas if she weren’t guilty. - She speaks so proudly, as if it is not her fault.
Tom looks as though he were rich. - Volumelooks likeSoas ifherich.

Rule No. 12

Conditional incentive sentences in the 1st and 3rd person are formed using the word Let:

Let me have a look at these pictures. - Let me take a look at these pictures.
Let him sleep, he is tired. - Givehissleep, hetired.

Rule No. 13

Everybody knows what the word is many is used with countable nouns, and the word much- with uncountable ones. But, if suddenly, you find it difficult, in doubt, forgot the rule or do not understand which noun is in front of you, feel free to use a combination of words alotof... It works for both kinds of nouns.

Many birds - a lot of birds
Much sugar - a lot of sugar

Rule No.14

Many English words are polysemic, that is, they can have several meanings. It depends on the context and meaning of the sentence. To better understand the translation, you should refer to the dictionary and clarify in what context the word is used.

Toshoot- shoot on video; toshoot- fire
Country- country; country- village, village

Rule No. 15

Verb do can replace the main verb in a sentence. For example.

What does English grammar look like by level?

In this post, we will discuss in detail what grammar is taught at different levels of English learning - 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.

And how good it would be - I learned grammar and, consider myself, mastered English))

English grammar by level

You will find that the same grammar is often repeated at different levels. For more information on why this is happening, see. In short:

not all grammatical constructions 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 construction has nuances and subtleties about which the insidious teachers are silent for the time being so as not to create confusion

English grammar by level - in different textbooks - it looks about 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. Take a look at any section and see if you understand sentences with grammar examples? But - more importantly - do you use such constructs in speech? If not, it may not be your level yet. If so, go to the next level and do the same.

English grammar level - a short way to the desired section:

Beginner / Starter level grammar

At the Beginner level, the basics of the basics are passed - the simplest constructions. At the same time - and 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 automatism in simple things like I am, you are, he is. Beginner-level grammatical constructions are mostly treated separately to avoid confusion of comparisons and nuances.

What grammar pass at the level Beginner / Starter	Example grammar

approval denials 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?
Possessive 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
approval denials 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 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 future tense	I "m arriving in Venice on April 10. Where are you staying?

Elementary grammar

The Elementary level is very similar to the previous level. I will say more, often instead of Beginner, my students and I take Elementary right away, we just go through it a little more thoroughly.

The Elementary grammar repeats almost one-to-one the grammar of the previous level.

What grammar pass at the level Elementary	Examples of grammar

to be: am / is / are approval denials 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?
Possessive 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 inclination (imperative) Let "s	Open the door / Sit down / Turn off your mobile. Let "s take a break / Let" s go to the cinema.
approval denials 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 (incorrect chap.)	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 predictions	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 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	Example grammar

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.
alliances	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.
Possessive 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 subsidiary verbs	How many people came to the meeting? Who invented the radio?

Intermediate grammar

At the Intermediate level, familiar phenomena are also compared with each other and, of course, new ones are studied.

What grammar pass at the level Intermediate	Example grammar

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 guesses	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 grammar

To the advanced level Upper-intermediate usually comes the enlightenment of the foundations of the foundations already passed. It remains to repeat them a little and proceed to the interesting and intricacies of grammar.

What grammar pass at the level Upper-intermediate	Examples of grammar

Question formation (word order in questions)	Are you talking about me? What are you talking about? What time does it open? Do you know what time it opens?
Auxuliary verbs (auxiliary verbs)	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, order of adjectives)	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, most passengers 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 conditionals	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 opposites and goals)	I went to work even though I wasn "t feeling well. Although I was tired, I didin "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 sets. 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	Examples of grammar
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 ligaments)	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. Every night my mom would tell me a bedtime story.
Get The 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 Guesses 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 of 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 conditionals	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 weeeks, which is a bit worrying.

That's all English grammar by level.

Does English grammar end after the Advanced level? No, of course not)) If you look at the levels, there is also the Proficiency level, but the lines of conversational courses really end 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 stay 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 are thinking about a more practical and targeted use of English - for example, preparing for international exams (IELTS, TOEFL and others) or specialized courses in the profession

And there are still a lot of subtleties even after the Advanced level!

How do you like English grammar by levels?

Did you manage to determine your level with her help? Share in the comments!

English differs significantly from Russian. In general, there are no languages in the world that are very similar to each other, just as there are no similar people. Even close linguistic relatives differ from each other. Each language is unique, and it is especially unique in grammar. This should be taken into account when translating phrases and texts.

English has its own grammar. To some, it may seem simple, to others, difficult. But in general, if we take the Russian language in comparison, then the grammar of the English language is quite simple.

What is the simplicity of English grammar?

Let's look for compelling arguments.

1. In practice, we can say that nouns in English do not have gender, do not have case, do not have differential endings. This naturally simplifies the language. For example, let's take the word son and its equivalent in English son. Russian language: “I am going to my son”, “My son is a student”, “I love my son”. English language: “I’m going to my son”, “My son is a student”, “I love my son”. Look, in Russian a noun has so many different endings, in English we always deal with one unchangeable word son. No need to memorize unnecessary endings for each person, declension, number, case.

2. There are fewer words in English. And all this happens because in English one word can be simultaneously a noun, and an adjective, and a verb. There are a lot of such words. For example, the word drink can be translated as the noun "drink" or the verb "to drink." The word like can be translated as the verb “to like”, as the adjective “similar”, as the noun “taste”, not to mention the fact that this word can act as a preposition.

3. In the English language there is a fixed and rather simple word formation order. Remember the verb to differ and the adjective suffix -ent, and when you come across the word different, it’s easy to guess that the adjective is “different”. A little analytical thinking, and it is not at all necessary to know all the English words!

However, one can still talk and talk about the simplicity of grammar. However, this does not mean that grammar can be mastered in an hour. To write and speak English without mistakes, you need to do more than one exercise, to consolidate the learned rules. Learning any foreign language requires a lot of work.

Sentence structure

The grammar in English is strict. If English speakers didn't follow grammar, they wouldn't understand each other. The English language is analytical. This means that in English, word order is important. Russian is a synthetic language, in which we can change the order of words as we like. You can't do this in English. Therefore, we will start learning grammar from word order. The word order in different sentences can be different. In a typical declarative sentence, the word order is:

1. Circumstance of place or time. When? Where?

2. Subject. Who? What?

3. Predictable. What is he doing? What did you do? etc.

4. Addition. To whom? What? etc.

5. Circumstances. Where to? etc.

With a subject or object, there may also be a definition that is placed before the word. For clarity, here's an example: "Max writes interesting stories to his father." In this sentence, we can change some words in places, they will understand us, and there will be no mistake. In English, there is only one version of the translation: "Maks is writing the interesting stories to his father". We cannot change the word order.

The word order in interrogative sentences is different. First comes the auxiliary verb, then the subject, followed by the predicate, and then the addition and circumstance. "Have you seen this report?" - "Have you seen this report?"

Verbs in English

What's the hardest part about English grammar? Perhaps this is a verb. It has many times. If in Russian there are only 3 times, then in English there are more. Verbs can be basic (drink, sing) or auxiliary (with the help of which questions and tenses are formed, be, have, do, will, shall). Verbs can be transitive or intransitive. The peculiarity of the transitive verb is that it requires a direct object. Also, verbs can be correct or irregular. The table of irregular verbs must be memorized. To form the past tense and the past participle, the ending -ed is added to regular verbs. For example, the word "play": play - played - played. Irregular verbs can have different endings. Example: write - wrote - written. Another feature of the English language is the presence of modal verbs. This is a special type of verb. Such verbs can express ability, necessity, duty, advice, etc. Basically, they do not require a to particle after themselves. They also do not change their shape at different times. Example: He must call. There is no ending -s, which must be there, because the pronoun he (he) is a 3rd person pronoun.

Tenses in English

Now let's talk about English times.

1. Present time. There are four present tenses in total.

Present simple... This is an easy time. We should use it when we are talking about some regular action in the present tense or some fact. For example: “He likes to swim”. “I usually drink coffee” - “I usually drink coffee”. This tense is formed simply - an ordinary verb is used, and in the 3rd person singular (he, she, it) the ending -s is added to the verb.

Present continuous... This is a long time, created to express the action taking place at a given moment in time. "He's writing an article now" - "He is writing an article now." The tense is formed by adding the ending –ing to the stem of the verb and using the auxiliary verb to be (I am, you are, he is, we are, they are).

Present perfect... This is an action that has already taken place. It would be more correct to call it the past. "He has just written". This tense is formed with the help of the auxiliary verb to have (which in the singular of the 3rd person has the form has) and the past participle. If this regular verb, the ending -ed is added, and if it is incorrect, then the form of the verb needs to be remembered. In the above example, we are dealing with just an irregular verb.

Present perfect continious... This time serves to express such an action that has lasted until now. “I have been working for 3 months” - “I have been working for three months”.

2. Elapsed time. The past time is three.

Past simple... This tense is ordinary, simple, indicating an action that occurred in the past. "He arrived 2 hours ago" - "He arrived 2 hours ago". Education - the ending -ed is simply added to the verb (if the verb is irregular, then the past tense form is used).

Past Continuous... The elapsed time is long. “I was writing for 3 hours” - “I was writing for 3 hours”.

Past perfect... It is a past, already completed action in the past. She has written the article by 9 a.m. yesterday ".

3. Future times. There are two future tenses.

Future simple. The future is simple. The usual future tense, formed with the help of the auxiliary words shall (for 1 person) and will. "I shall write tomorrow". Recently, the form shall is rarely used.

Future continuous... The future is long. Used when we want to say that the action will continue sometime in the future. She will be writing a letter at 2 tomorrow.

Active and passive voice

Above are the times of active voice. But there is also a passive voice in English. This is such a pledge when you need to show that the action is performed by someone. Examples: “He has not published his article yet” (asset), “His article has not been published yet” (liability). - “He hasn’t published his article yet” (active), “His article hasn’t been published yet” (passive). This is an overview of the verb system in English. In general, it requires more careful study.

English articles

It is also worth noting the existence of articles in English. These are the indefinite article a and the definite the. They are used with nouns. The article is one of the difficult phenomena in the English language. Although in fact, there is nothing complicated about them, we just do not come across them in Russian, so for us the articles seem foreign. The definite article is used when we are talking about a certain subject: "Give me a glass" (it is clear which glass, it is on the table). But let's take a similar example: “Give me a glass of water” (it is not clear which glass, the person just wanted to drink). In this case, the indefinite article is used.

We briefly got acquainted with some of the features of the grammar of the English language. Knowing the grammar of any language is very important. Without grammar there can be no language, it is impossible to understand what has been said, which is why so much time is devoted to grammar when studying foreign languages!

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