20 Grammar Rules

1. A sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a period/full

stop, a question mark or an exclamation mark.

 The fat cat sat on the mat.

 Where do you live?
 My dog is very clever!

Sentence - a set of words that is complete in itself, typically

containing a subject and predicate, conveying a statement,
question, exclamation, or command, and consisting of a main
clause and sometimes one or more subordinate clauses.

Subject - a person or thing that is being discussed, described, or

dealt with.

Predicate - the part of a sentence or clause containing a verb and

stating something about the subject

Clause - A clause is a group of words that includes a subject and a

verb. (A clause functions as an adjective, an adverb, or a noun.)

2. The order of a basic positive sentence is Subject-Verb-Object.

(Negative and question sentences may have a different order.)

 John loves Mary.

 They were driving their car to Bangkok.

3. Every sentence must have a subject and a verb. An object is

optional. Note that an imperative sentence may have a verb only,
but the subject is understood.
John teaches.

John teaches English.

Stop! (ie You stop!)

4. The subject and verb must agree in number that is a singular

subject needs a singular verb and a plural subject needs a plural
verb.

John works in London.

That monk eats once a day.

John and Mary work in London.

Most people eat three meals a day.

Subject-Verb Agreement

Agreement (noun): in language, the form of one word being decided

by the form of another word. Also known as "concord"

In a sentence, the verb must agree in number with the subject. If

the subject is singular, the verb must be singular. If the subject is
plural, the verb must be plural. For example:

SUBJECT VERB

SINGULAR HE IS THAI

PLURAL THEY ARE THAI

In the very simple example above↑ it is clear that the subject He is
singular and the subject They is plural. And it is clear that the verb
agrees in each case. But in some sentences, it is not always so easy.
The guidelines below will help you decide how to make a verb agree
with its subject.

Compound subjects

A compound subject has two or more simple subjects, usually

joined by and or or.

and

If the compound subject is made from simple subjects joined by

and, use a plural verb:

He and his daughter are Chinese.

Jack and Jill go up the hill.

Phrases such as together with, as well as, accompanied by and

including are not the same as and. They do not make compound
subjects. The verb must still agree with the simple subject:

John, as well as his wife, is coming to the party.

Visitors, including government employees, have to register.

or

If the compound subject is made from simple subjects joined by or

or nor, use a singular verb:
The girl or the boy is going to help.

Neither he nor his sister is at home.

Midsentence words

Don't be confused by words that come between the simple subject

and the verb. The verb must agree with the simple subject, not with
any words between them:

 One of my friends is coming.

 My teacher, who has six brothers, has no sisters.
 All the cars owned by the Russian man are leading.

Singular/plural nouns

A few nouns can be used only as singular or as plural.

Always singular

Some nouns are always singular, even though they end in -s and
look plural. They must take a singular verb, for example:
economics, maths, physics, gymnastics, aerobics, news

 Maths was my worst subject at school.

 The news is not good.

Always plural

Some nouns have only plural form and always take a plural verb,
for example: glasses, scissors, trousers, shorts, belongings, goods

 My new sunglasses are missing.

  The goods have already been shipped.

Inverted subjects

Normal word order in English is subject-verb-object (SVO).

Sometimes, however, the subject and verb are exchanged or
inverted (VSO). This typically happens in questions and there is/are
sentences. Be careful to identify the real subject.

 Where are the girls playing tennis?

 Here are my keys.
 There is a car outside.

Subject-Verb Agreement: there is, there are

The structure of there is/there are is very simple:

verb be subject

there is singular subject

there are plural subject

Notice that normal word order (subject-verb) is reversed or inverted

(verb-subject). The word there is not the subject. It is important to
identify the subject and make sure that the verb agrees with it.

Look at these examples with singular subject and singular verb:

there verb be not singular there

+ There is still a problem.

 There 's some milk in the
fridge

- There is n't any money in the

bank.

? Is there a G in
"Bangkok"?

Here are examples with plural subject and plural verb:

here verb be not plural

subject
+ There are two boys in the
garden.

There are many questions to answer.

-
There are n't any students in class.

?
Are there any taxis waiting?

Notice that we can use the there is/are construction in other

tenses, and the same agreement is needed, for example:

 There was a noise in the night.

 There were lots of people at the party.
 There have been complaints about you recently.
  There will have been lots of people at the party so you'll need
to tidy the room in the morning.

There is with singular subject series

We use there is before a series of singular subjects. Look at these

examples:

 There is fruit, bread and wine on the table.

 There's a cup of coffee and some sugar on the table.
 There's a red car and a blue car outside.

The phrase "fruit, bread and wine" refers to three things, so why do
we use the singular there is? The reason is ellipsis (where we cut
out words that are repeated). So...

There is fruit, bread and wine on the table.

really means

There is fruit, there is bread and there is wine on the table.

There is/are with mixed subject series

Sometimes we have a series of subjects that are mixed - singular

and plural. In informal speech, the verb then agrees with the
nearest subject. Look at these examples:

 There's a girl and two boys outside.

 There are two boys and a girl outside.
 There's some wine and two apples on the table.
 There are two apples and some wine on the table.
Note that this is common usage in informal speech only. It is not
recommended for formal English such as essay-writing in an
exam.

There is/are + lots of

Do we use there is or there are with lots of or a lot of? It depends

on the noun: if it is singular, use there is; if it is plural, use there
are:

 There are lots of dogs in the street.

 There's a lot of snow outside.

Note that in everyday English, many people use there's with a

plural subject:

 There's two boys in the garden.

 There's two boys and a girl outside.
 There's a lot of dogs in the street.

This is increasingly common in British and American English, but it

is not recommended in formal situations.

Collective nouns

Collective nouns are words that refer to a group of people, such as:
team, committee, family, company. Generally, we treat collective
nouns as singular to emphasize the single group, or plural to
emphasize its individual members. (Note that some writers of
American English routinely treat collective nouns as singular.)

 The committee was set up in 1910.

  The committees are eating sandwiches for lunch.

Subject-Verb Agreement: collective nouns

 The committee was formed in 2012.

 The committees are having sandwiches for lunch.

We often use singular nouns that refer to groups of people (for

example: team, government, committee) as if they were plural. This
is because we often think of the group as people, doing things that
people do (eating, wanting, feeling etc). In such cases, we use a
plural verb. (We also then need to make sure that other words agree
- they instead of it, who instead of which.)

Here are some examples:

 The committee have asked for sandwiches for lunch. They

have to leave early.
 My family, who do not see me often, have asked me home for
Christmas.
 The team hope to win next time.

Here are some examples of words and expressions that can be

considered singular or plural:

choir, class, club, committee, company, family, government, jury,

school, staff, team, union, the BBC, board of directors, the
Conservative Party, Manchester United, the Ministry of Health

But when we consider the group as an impersonal unit, we use

singular verbs (and singular pronouns):
  The new company is the result of a merger.
 An average family consists of four people.
 The committee, which was formed in 2012, is made up of four
men and four women.

Notice that this is often a question of style and logic. The important
thing is to be consistent.

Indefinite pronouns

Singular

Some indefinite pronouns are always singular and need a singular

verb, for example: anyone, anything, everyone, no-one, someone

 Is anybody listening?
 When I call, nobody answers.

Plural

Some indefinite pronouns are always plural and need a plural verb,
for example: both, few, many, others, several

 I invited Kid and Nid and both want to come.

 Many have already left.

Singular or plural

Some indefinite pronouns can be singular when referring to an

uncountable subject and plural referring to a countable subject, for
example: all, any, more, most, none, some

 All is forgiven. All have arrived.

  Here is some. Some are leaving.

5. When two singular subjects are connected by or, use a singular

verb. The same is true for either/or and neither/nor.

 John or Mary is coming tonight.

 Either coffee or tea is fine.
 Neither John nor Mary was late.

6. Adjectives usually come before a noun (except when a verb

separates the adjective from the noun).

 I have a big dog.

 She married a handsome Italian man.
 (Her husband is rich.)

7. When using two or more adjectives together, the usual order is

opinion-adjective + fact-adjective + noun. (There are some
additional rules for the order of fact adjectives.)

I saw a nice French table.

That was an interesting Shakespearian play.

8. Treat collective nouns (eg committee, company, board of

directors) as singular OR plural. In BrE a collective noun is usually
treated as plural, needing a plural verb and pronoun. In AmE a
collective noun is often treated as singular, needing a singular verb
and pronoun.

The committee are having sandwiches for lunch. Then they will go
to London. (typically BrE)
The BBC have changed their logo. (typically BrE)

My family likes going to the zoo. (typically AmE)

CNN has changed its logo. (typically AmE)

9. The words its and it's are two different words with different
meanings.

The dog has hurt its leg.

He says it's two o'clock.

10. The words your and you're are two different words with different
meanings.

Here is your coffee.

You're looking good.

11. The words there, their and they're are three different words with
different meanings.

There was nobody at the party.

I saw their new car.

Do you think they're happy?

12. The contraction he's can mean he is OR he has. Similarly, she's

can mean she is OR she has, and it's can mean it is OR it has, and
John's can mean John is OR John has.

He is working
He has finished.

She is here.

She has left.

John is married.

John has divorced his wife.

13. The contraction he'd can mean he had OR he would. Similarly,

they'd can mean they had OR they would.

He had eaten when I arrived.

He would eat more if possible.

They had already finished.

They would come if they could.

14. Spell a proper noun with an initial capital letter. A proper noun
is a "name" of something, for example Josef, Mary, Russia, China,
British Broadcasting Corporation, English.

We have written to Mary.

Is China in Asia?

Do you speak English?

15. Spell proper adjectives with an initial capital letter. Proper

adjectives are made from proper nouns, for example Germany →
German, Orwell → Orwellian, Machiavelli → Machiavellian.

London is an English town.

Who is the Canadian prime minister?

Which is your favourite Shakespearian play?

16. Use the indefinite article a/an for countable nouns in general.
Use the definite article the for specific countable nouns and all
uncountable nouns.

I saw a bird and a balloon in the sky. The bird was blue and the
balloon was yellow.

He always saves some of the money that he earns.

17. Use the indefinite article a with words beginning with a

consonant sound. Use the indefinite article an with words beginning
with a vowel sound. see When to Say a or an

a cat, a game of golf, a human endeavour, a Frenchman, a

university (you-ni-ver-si-ty)

an apple, an easy job, an interesting story, an old man, an umbella,

an honorable man (on-o-ra-ble)

18. Use many or few with countable nouns. Use much/a lot or little
for uncountable nouns. see Quantifiers

How many dollars do you have?

How much money do you have?

There are a few cars outside.

There is little traffic on the roads.

19. To show possession (who is the owner of something) use an
apostrophe + s for singular owners, and s + apostrophe for plural
owners.

The boy's dog. (one boy)

The boys' dog. (two or more boys)

20. In general, use the active voice (Cats eat fish) in preference to
the passive voice (Fish are eaten by cats).

We use active in preference to passive.

Active is used in preference to passive.