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BASIC ENGLISH GRAMMAR TOPICS

Do you have difficulty with any of the following grammar points? Would you like an explanation and a little practice?

These lessons are based on the excellent textbook, Essential Grammar in Use, by Raymond Murphy, published by Cambridge University Press.

Please choose one, two, or three of these topics and we can look at them together. Please let me know before the lesson which topics you have chosen, because I need a little time to prepare.

If there is some other grammar point not mentioned here that you would like me to explain and illustrate, please tell me what it is. I will research that topic and prepare a lesson for you.

If you would like a little homework after the lesson, please tell me. I will give you a few grammar exercises to do.

These lessons are aimed at students who are beginners—but not absolute beginners. Students will benefit from these lessons if they have already studied English for a year or two.

Children and adults are welcome.

Topics for you to choose:

1) I am …/ He, She, It is …/ You are …

2) Am I? / Is he, she, it? / Are you? / Are we?

3) I am …ing / He, She, It is …ing. (present progressive)

4) Am I …ing? / Is he, she, it …ing? / Are we …ing? (present progressive questions)

5) I go / You work/ He likes (simple present)

6) I don’t go / You don’t work / He doesn’t like (simple present negative)

7) Do I go? / Do you work? / Does he like? (simple present questions)

8) I am working / I work. You are trying / You try. / She is sleeping / She sleeps. (present progressive compared with simple present)

9) I have blue eyes. / I’ve got blue eyes. / She doesn’t have a car. / She doesn’t have a car.

10) I was tired. I wasn’t tired. Was I tired? / You were tired. You weren’t tired. Were you tired?

11) I worked. / You went. / We enjoyed. (Simple past tense; regular and irregular verbs)

12) I didn’t work. / You didn’t go. / We didn’t enjoy. // Did I work? / Did you go? / Did we enjoy? (Simple past tense negative; simple past tense questions)

13) I was going. / She wasn’t sleeping. / What were you doing? (Past progressive tense, positive and negative; past progressive tense, questions)

14) I was going. <> I went. (past progressive <> simple past)

15) I have eaten breakfast. (present perfect tense)

16) I’ve just eaten. / I’ve already eaten. / I haven’t eaten yet. (present perfect tense)

17) Have you ever eaten sushi? (present perfect tense)

18) I have lived in New York for five years. / How long have you lived in Tokyo? (present perfect tense)

19) for / since / ago

20) I have eaten. <> I ate. (present perfect tense <> simple past tense)

21) Germany manufactures great cars. <> Great cars are manufactured in Germany. (active voice <> passive voice)

22) The house is being painted. / The house has been painted. (passive voice, progressive and perfect)

23) be + …ing; be + past participle; have/has + past participle; do/does + infinitive (present and past tense, active and passive voice)

24) kiss-kissed-kissed / go-went-gone (regular verbs + irregular verbs)

25) What are you doing tomorrow? (plans for the near future)

26) I’m going to stay home this evening. (prediction / determination to do something)

27 + 28) will/shall (future tense)

29) might (possibility)

30) can / could (ability, capacity)

31) must / mustn’t / don’t need to (necessity)

32) should (obligation, duty, advisable action)

33) I have to … (requirement, obligation)

34) Would you like some coffee? / I’d like to rest this weekend. (Polite offers / polite expressions of what we desire.)

35) Do this! Don’t do that! / Let’s do this! (Commands / suggestions)

36) I used to like chocolates. (habitual or repeated action in the past)

37) there is … / there are …

38) there was/were — there has/have been — there will be

39) It …: It’s three o’clock. It’s raining. It’s a long way to the moon.  It’s nice to see you.

40) I am … / I do …: ‘I am tired.’ ‘Really? I’m not.’ / ‘I don’t like dogs.’ ‘Really? I do.’

41) Have you? Are you? Don’t you?

42) I like cats. I like them too. / I don’t like cats. I don’t like them either. / I’m tired. So am I. / I don’t watch TV. Neither do I.

43) isn’t, haven’t, don’t (negative statements)

44) Is it…? Have you…?  Do they…? (questions)

45) Who saw you? Who did you see? (questions)

46) Who is she talking to? What is it like? (questions)

47) What…? Which…? How…? (questions)

48) How long does it take…?

49) Do you know where…? I don’t know what …. (direct and indirect questions)

50) She said that… He told me that… (reported speech)