English course Key English Grammar

1. Active and Passive Voice

In this lesson we shall look at the two voices in English:... more In this lesson we shall look at the two voices in English: active and passive. The active voice is used when the action is done by the subject: The dog ate my homework. The passive voice (BE + V+-ed/-en/-t) is used when the action of the sentence is not being done by the subject: My homework was eaten by the dog. less

2. Adverbs and Adjectives

Learn the basic rules for using adjectives and adverbs in... more Learn the basic rules for using adjectives and adverbs in English. Rule: Adverbs are often formed by adding -ly to an adjective Rule: Adjectives describe nouns. less

3. Articles

In this lesson we look at the use of Articles in English -... more In this lesson we look at the use of Articles in English - Definite Article – ‘The’ Indefinite Article – ‘A’ or ‘An’. In particular we shall look at the use of articles with countable and uncountable nouns which can be misleading even for Advanced speakers of English. less

4. Conditionals

Conditionals are sentence structures that explain a... more Conditionals are sentence structures that explain a particular situation of circumstance. If this happens, then that happens. Conditionals are commonly referred to as if sentence structures because they often contain the word if. There are four main conditionals that are used most commonly in the English language: first conditional, second conditional, third conditional and zero conditional. less

5. Contractions

Learn about the common contractions we use in the English... more Learn about the common contractions we use in the English language. less

6. How to form questions in English

In this lesson we shall look at the different ways of... more In this lesson we shall look at the different ways of forming questions in English. We can usually form questions by taking a statement and changing the word order. Specifically, we put an auxiliary before the subject. For example, "Profits have increased." becomes "Have profits increased?" We shall also look at question tags, and WH questions. less

7. How to link your sentences

Practice using relative clauses and linkers of contrast,... more Practice using relative clauses and linkers of contrast, addtion (conjunctions) and comparison. less

8. I haven't seen John for ages

For and since are two words which are often used in present... more For and since are two words which are often used in present perfect sentences when saying how long something has been happening. In this lesson we learn how to use the different words. less

9. Indirect Speech (reported speech)

In English we can report what another person says in two... more In English we can report what another person says in two ways:By using the exact words of the speaker. Example: – He said to me, “Be careful!” This is the Direct Speech. or by using our own words to repeat what the speaker said. Example – Direct: He said to me, “Be careful!” Indirect: less

10. Mixing tenses

In this lesson we look at how we mix tenses in English.... more In this lesson we look at how we mix tenses in English. Sometimes we mix tenses when speaking. We do this when we mix cause and effect. Examples: I can type because I learned at school (present/past) less

11. Modal Verbs

In the English language, a modal verb is an auxiliary verb... more In the English language, a modal verb is an auxiliary verb that can be used to change the grammatical mood of a sentence. In this lesson we will practice the use of the following modal verbs: shall and should , will and would , may and might , can and could , must less

12. Parts of speech

Parts of speech are the basic types of words that English... more Parts of speech are the basic types of words that English has. Most grammar books say that there are eight parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions and interjections. In this lesson we must name the verbs, nouns and adjectives. Good luck ! less

13. Possession

There are three kinds of Possession: Possessive Nouns,... more There are three kinds of Possession: Possessive Nouns, Possessive Adjectives and Possessive Pronouns. We shall look at examples of these in this lesson. less

14. Prepositions - at,on & in

In this lesson we focus on basic prepositions used in... more In this lesson we focus on basic prepositions used in English. less

15. Regular and Irregular Verbs

Practice tricky irregular verbs in this lesson. There are... more Practice tricky irregular verbs in this lesson. There are two groups of verbs, termed regular or irregular, and are identified by how their simple past and past participle are formed. less

16. Root Words

A root word is a word that has a prefix, suffix, or both... more A root word is a word that has a prefix, suffix, or both added to it less

17. Spelling rules

Writing (and therefore spelling) is a representation of the... more Writing (and therefore spelling) is a representation of the spoken word. The spoken word is not a representation of writing. English spelling therefore often appears to be totally illogical. The following rules can help you to decode the mysteries of English spelling. But remember, even the best rules have their exceptions. less

18. The English Tense System

In this lesson we look at the 12 basic tenses. We look at... more In this lesson we look at the 12 basic tenses. We look at two aspects of each tense: Structure: How do we make the tense? Use: When and why do we use the tense? Present Tense I do do, I do Present Continuous Tense I am doing, I am doing tomorrow Present Perfect Tense I have done Present Perfect Continuous Tense I have been doing Past Tense I did do, I did Past Continuous Tense I was doing Past Perfect Tense I had done Past Perfect Continuous Tense I had been doing Future Tense I will do Future Continuous Tense I will be doing Future Perfect Tense I will have done Future Perfect Continuous Tense I will have been doing less

19. Used to

We can use the expression “used to” when we wish to... more We can use the expression “used to” when we wish to refer to a past habit which has now stopped. Example: I used to go to that shop but now I don’t go there anymore. less

20. Verbs followed by gerunds

Sometimes we use a verb-ing as an object after the main... more Sometimes we use a verb-ing as an object after the main verb in a sentence, we call these objects gerunds. Ex: I enjoy playing the piano. less

Course plan

Skills involved