Rules of Grammar

Here are some sets of rules that you need to follow in order to avoid mistakes in English grammar.

Rule 1: Every sentence should start with a Capital letter in the first word.
In the English Language, when you are starting a sentence, then make sure that you capitalize the first letter of
the first word. Also, remember that you need to capitalize even when you start a new paragraph.

Example Statements:

 Incorrect: my best friend’s name is Rohan. he is a good boy. (X)

 Correct: My best friend’s name is Rohan. He is a good boy. (_/)

 Incorrect: i live in Mumbai. it is a wonderful place. (X)

 Correct: I live in Mumbai. It is a wonderful place. (_/)

Rule 2: Every sentence should either end with a full stop (or) a question
mark (or) an exclamation mark.
If you want to end a sentence, then make sure that you need to use a full stop (.), a question mark (?) or an
exclamation mark (!) based on the type of the sentence.

The above, any of the three mentioned should be used depending on the situation of the sentence. For example,
let us consider a few examples with its usages (purpose).

1) Full Stop/Period (.):

Here, the full stop is used when a sentence completes a proper message (meaning). The symbol used for the full
stop is (.).

Example Statements:

 John loves to play football. He dreams to become a football player.

 I am living in London for 2 years.
 I purchased a new car. It is very expensive.

2) Question Mark (?):

Question marks are used only for questioning (or) interrogating sentences. It is used at the end of the sentence,
to make it questionable. The symbol used for questioning is “?”.

Example Statements:

 Which college are you studying from?

 Do you know who I am?
 Where do you live?
 Are you still playing these old games?
 Do you know how to swim?
3) Exclamation Mark (!):
An Exclamation Mark is used when you are expressing your feelings or emotions. So, when you are expressing it
in a sentence, you need to remember that exclamation should be done at the end.

The symbol which is used for the sentence is “!”.

Example Statements:

 She actually won the lottery!

 Wow, such a wonderful place it is!
 You are late again!
 You did a great job!

Rule 3: Every sentence should have SVO (Subject – Verb – Object).

The basic rule of grammar in the English Language is that you must include Subject and Verb. The object is
optional depending on the usage.

This order is only applicable for positive sentences, not for sentences with negatives or question marks (?) or
exclamation marks (!) because they may have different orders.

The Subject usually plays a major role in the entire sentence. It helps you to give an idea of who is performing an
action, who is talking to whom, etc.

The verb is usually the action which is performed by the Subject, and the object is usually on which the action is
performed.

Sometimes, a few sentences don’t mention the subject. Actually, it has a subject, and it is understood even if it is
not shown. For example, consider the word “Stop!” – which means that you must stop (here “you” is hidden).

Example Statements:

 Mary loves to play with cats. (S – Mary, V – play, O – cats)

 Michael teaches French. (S – Michael, V – teaches, O – French)
 We are planning to visit Singapore. (S – We, V – planning, O – Singapore)
 I am happy. (S – I, V – am, O – happy)
 Come here! (It means – “You come here!”) (Here, the subject is hidden)

Rule 4: The Subject and Verb forms are interrelated in the sentence.
If you are using a singular Subject, then you need to use a singular Verb for the whole sentence and if you want to
use a Plural subject, then you must use a plural verb.

If you are using he/she/it as a Subject, then use its corresponding verb and when using we/they/I/you, then use
its verb.

Example Statements:

 Harry wants to buy a new bike.

 We are going to a restaurant this weekend.
 We don’t like to go to the library.
 They are watching a football match on TV.
 She likes to stay in London.
 They want to have coffee this evening.

Rule 5: Use Either – or (or) Neither – nor depending on the Sentence while
using singular nouns.
In English sentences, Either – or and Neither – nor is used when two singular nouns are connected. These two
are different in usage. Also, remember that the singular verb is used for singular nouns.

Either – or:
Either – or is used when any one of the two cases is true. This means that either this must be true or that.

Example Statements:

 Raju and Srikanth must be either friends or enemies.

 I want either Tea or Coffee.
 I think either Team A or Team B will win this match.

Neither – or:
Neither – or is used when two of the (subject) cases are false. This means that both are false.

Example Statements:

 Neither I nor you broke the vase.

 Neither John nor Mike are late today.
 Neither I nor you must win this game.

Rule 6: Proper Nouns should be capitalized anywhere in the sentences

(including at the beginning) when used.
It is important to capitalize on the words which are Proper Nouns. This can be at the beginning, middle and end
of the sentences (in short, anywhere in the sentence).

Example Statements:

 I love to drink coffee at Starbucks.

 I will eat only high-protein foods.
 I have final exams from tomorrow.
 Mount Everest is the highest mountain located in Nepal.

Rule 7: Common Nouns should be capitalized only at the beginning of the

sentences.
When common nouns are used, then you need to capitalize them only at the beginning of the sentences.

Example Statements:
 I have beautiful flowers in my garden.
 I love to read books in the library.
 My school is located near the railway station.
 Tina went to a supermarket to buy groceries.

Rule 8: The words its – it’s, and you’re – your are not the same.
Some words in the English Language look like they are the same, but they have different meanings. Now let us
take some examples to understand the concept well.

Here, the main difference between its and it’s is,

1. its: It is a Possessive determiner and used to say that it belongs (holds or refers to) something.
2. it’s: Here “it’s” is the short form of “it is” and is used to mention things.
Example Statements (for its):

 This fish is too big for its aquarium.

 This bread has passed its expiration date.
 The dog has hurt its tail.
Example Statements (for it’s):

 It’s taking so much time to prepare this presentation.

 It’s always raining here.
 It’s good to know the current politics of your area.
 It’s been a wonderful day!

Rule 9: Use Indefinite Articles for Countable Nouns and Definite with
specific Countable & all Uncountable Nouns.
The Indefinite Articles (a/an) are used mostly for Countable nouns. Definite Articles (the) are used for a few
Countable nouns and mostly for Uncountable nouns.

Example Statements:

 I saw an eagle which is flying very high in the sky.

 The principal asked a student about his performance.
 Arun is a brilliant student in the class.
 An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
 Hari is a good boy. He likes to help others.
 I want to buy an iPhone this month.

Rule 10: Use the article “a” for Consonant sounds and “an” for vowel
sounds.
Use the article “a” for the words which sound Consonant at the very beginning. For example, consider the below
table.

Consonant Sounded Words With Article (a)

bat a bat
cat a cat

dog a dog

fish a fish

gun a gun

hat a hat

jug a jug

kite a kite

lemon a lemon

mat a mat

Use the article “an” for the words which sound Vowel at the very beginning. For example, consider the below
table.

Vowel Sounded Words With Article (an)

apple an apple

eagle an eagle

elephant an elephant

orange an orange

umbrella an umbrella

igloo an igloo

apron an apron

Note: When you’re using “a” or “an” then make to focus on pronunciation rather than the word’s spelling. Few
words look like consonants, but it actually pronounces like vowels. For example, “an hour”.

If you want to read more about Articles, then click on the button below or read from the suggestion link.

Read More

Also Read: What are Articles in English Grammar? | (with easy examples)

Rule 11: Use Apostrophe to show Possessions.

Possession is something which is usually owned by a person, place, thing, etc. It has two forms, which are
Singular and Plural.

For Singular use (-‘s) and for plural use (-s’).

Example Statements:

 Boy’s car (Singular)

 Boys’ car (Plural)

 Raju’s car got damaged last night.

 Ravi’s friend came to Europe to visit Ravi.
Also Read: What is a Possessive Noun? (with examples) | Best Guide 2021

Rule 12: Active voice is more preferred than Passive voice in the English
Language.
Most of them recommend writing Active voice rather than Passive voice while writing articles, letters, etc.

In simple terms, an Active voice is a sentence in which the subject performs an action (verb). Whereas in Passive
Voice, the Verb (action) is displayed first and then the Subject.

Example Statements:

 Passive Voice: Football was played by Raju.

 Active Voice: Raju plays football.

What is the order of an English sentence?

Overall, the sentence structures in English are very flexible. Which structure you use depends on context and
personal preference, although Subject + Verb + Object (SVO) is the most common structure. For example:

“I pet the cat.“

It’s also possible to form very simple sentences with only the subject and verb as long as they form a complete
thought (SV):

“He ran.“

That said, there are four types of sentence structures that are commonly used in English.

1- The Four Types of Sentence Structures

Before we go any further, you need to know the difference between dependent and independent clauses. 

1. Dependent vs. Independent

Dependent: 

A dependent clause is one that requires an independent clause to be a complete sentence. Dependent clauses
do not contain enough information (a subject, verb, and complete idea) to be a sentence. An example would be
the clause “Since Kaitlyn didn’t come.” 

This clause leaves the listener wanting more information. What was the result of Kaitlyn not coming? 

Independent:

An independent clause is one that can be used by itself and contains all the information it needs to be complete.
An example would be the clause “I felt lonely.” 
Although we don’t have tons of information available to us, the above clause represents a complete idea. It has a
subject (I), a verb (felt), and a word that adds necessary information to the verb (lonely).

Putting Them Together:

Remember how I said that a dependent clause needs an independent clause to be complete? Check this out:

“Since Kaitlyn didn’t come, I felt lonely.”

Now we have an answer to what was previously a dependent clause. And now we have even added more
information to the already-completed independent clause. It’s a win-win! 

2. What are Four Types of Sentence Structures?

There are four basic English sentence structure types (simple, compound, complex, compound-complex). We’ve
outlined them below.

Definition Examples
“I worked.” OR “I worked on the
book.”
Requires a subject and a verb. 
He proposed. OR “He proposed to
Simple Consists of one independent clause.
her.”
Sometimes it has an object as well.
“She smiled.” OR “She smiled at
him.”
Consists of two (or more) independent
“I worked, and then I made dinner.”
clauses.
“He proposed, and she said yes.”
Compound The independent clauses are usually
connected by a linking word or phrase
“She smiled and (she) took his
(as shown in these examples), a
hand.”
semicolon, or a colon.
“I worked, even though I was tired.“

Consists of one independent clause and “Though nervous, he proposed.“

Complex
one dependent clause.
“Because she smiled, he was
happy.“
Compound- Consists of two independent clauses and “I worked, even though I was
Complex one dependent clause. tired, and then I made dinner.“

“Though nervous, he proposed, and

she said yes.“

“Because she smiled, he was happy;

Definition Examples
then she took his hand.“

This is just an overview. In the following sections, I’ll go into more detail about how these sentence
transformations work, starting with the basics of word order in English.

2. Basic Sentence Structure Rules

As mentioned earlier, in English, you only need two words to create a whole sentence: The subject (S) and the
verb (V). This is the SV sentence structure.

“Sarah writes.“

You can add more information to this simple sentence by adding an object (O) to the end. This becomes the SVO
sentence structure.

“Sarah writes poetry.“

The SV and SVO sentence structures are the most common structures in the United States. The only real
exception is when people are giving a command or asking a question. In this case, they may be able to get away
with using one word or an incomplete thought:

 “Peter!” (S)
 “Stop!” (V)
 “The book!” (O)
 “Why?” (Question)

In the cases above, the context will help you determine the meaning. 

In all other situations, it’s most proper to use the SV or SVO structure (unless you want to talk like Yoda with
OSV).

3. Let’s Add Prepositional Phrases

1- The Basics

What happens to a sentence when you add a prepositional phrase? What does that look like?

A prepositional phrase adds information to simple sentences. Often, it answers the questions of where, when,
how, and why something happened. 

Here are four examples of prepositional phrases:

 In the park (Where)
“Sarah writes poetry in the park.”

 At night (When)

“Sarah writes poetry at night.”

 By herself (How)

“Sarah writes poetry by herself.”

 Because it’s fun (Why)

“Sarah writes poetry because it’s fun.”

2- Position in a Sentence

In the above examples, the prepositional phrases are at the end of the sentence. But, a prepositional phrase can
also come at the beginning of a sentence, although this is less common. The order you choose depends on what
you want to emphasize in your sentence.

For example, if you want to emphasize what time Sarah writes poetry, you could say: 

“At night, Sarah writes poetry.“

This indicates when Sarah chooses to write. It also suggests that when she writes is more important than the fact
that she writes poetry in general.

3- What to do with Multiple Prepositions

What if you wanted to tell someone all the information above in one sentence? Well, here are a few different
ways:

 “Sarah writes poetry in the park by herself at night because it’s fun.“

 “In the park, Sarah writes poetry at night by herself because it’s fun.“
 “At night, Sarah writes poetry in the park by herself because it’s fun.“
 “Sarah writes poetry by herself in the park at night because it’s fun.“
 “At night, in the park by herself, Sarah writes poetry because it’s fun.“

Note that, usually, the why prepositional phrase comes at the end of the sentence. It tends to sound better there,
and people are still able to emphasize it when it’s at the end through tone of voice. 

As you can see, the word order in English sentences for prepositional phrases is flexible. In general, you can
choose the order that makes the most sense to you. 
And don’t worry too much. In most cases, people don’t use sentences this long in conversations! Instead, you’re
more likely to hear a simple: “Sarah writes poetry in the park at night.“

4. Modifiers
A modifier is a word that modifies (adds info or meaning to) another word, usually a noun or verb. Below is an
English word order chart describing each type of modifier with examples.

Definition Examples Usage Placement

1. “It was a hot 1. Before the noun it
Hot day.”  describes.
Words that describe a
Adjectives
noun. 2. After the noun it
Easy 2. “The describes, with a “be”
test was easy.” verb in between.
Quickly 1. “Quickly, I ran.”
1. Beginning of a
sentence.
Carefully 2. “She put the knife
2. End of a sentence.
down carefully.”
Words that describe a
Adverbs 3. After the verb it
verb. 3. “The cat followed
describes.
Hopefully hopefully after its
owner.”
4. After the subject
4. “I currently don’t
performing the verb.
Currently own a cat.”
1. “This is good.”
This 1. Beginning of a
sentence.
2. “He didn’t know
That 2. End of a sentence.
Words that indicate that.”
Determiners which of something
3. Before a noun.
you’re talking about. 3. “These cookies are
These
delicious.”
4. After a verb and
4. “Aren’t those
Those before an adjective.
strange?”
1. “One more,
One
please.” 1. Beginning of a
sentence.
Numbers that 2. “Can I have two?”
Numerals Two
describe how many. 2. End of a sentence.

3. “I want three 3. After a verb.

Three
donuts.”
Possessors Words that indicate His 1. “That book is his.” 1. End of a sentence.
who possesses
Definition Examples Usage Placement
2. Before a noun,
something. 2. “Where’s her
usually an object.
Her backpack?”
That I
ordered 1. “That I ordered a
bicycle is strange.”
1. Beginning of a
sentence.
[uncommon]
That he 2. “Where’s the
saw squirrel that he
2. End of a sentence.
A series of words that saw?”
Relative
add information to a
Clauses
sentence. 3. “The flower was
3. After a be verb and
Of the of the colour red.”
before an adjective.
colour
4. After a noun,
4. “The dress that
usually an object.
she wore was very
That she pretty.”
wore

Confused about how a relative clause differs from a prepositional phrase? You can find more information on this
page.

1- Using Multiple Modifiers

What happens if you need to use more than one modifier in a sentence? 

Key: Adjective, Adverb, Possessor, Relative Clause.

I quickly sat on the green grass and dropped my book beside me.

I dropped my book beside me and quickly sat on the green grass.

The two sentences above use all the same words, but the two clauses are in a different order. Yet, note that the
order of the modifiers within those clauses remains the same, even though the order of what happens in the
sentence differs. 

 The adjective is before the noun it describes (green grass).

 The adverb is before the verb it describes (quickly sat).
 The possessor is before the object that’s owned (my book).
 The relative clause explains where the book was dropped (beside me).

Note that for the adverb, one could also say “sat quickly,” and it would be correct.

5. Sentence Transformations! 
Okay. So how do you use this information to create longer, more specific sentences? 

Because the English language is flexible with its word order, there are no solid rules for how to do this. The word
order of modifiers and prepositional phrases often depends on the context. 

Below are a couple of English word order exercises to show you how this works. 

—1) Let’s take a look at this simple S + V sentence, and go from there.

“Carol ate.“

2) Add an object to create an SVO sentence. This will let the reader know what Carol ate.

“Carol ate soup.“

3) Now, how much soup did Carol eat?

“Carol ate three bowls of soup.“

4) When did Carol eat the soup?

“Carol ate three bowls of soup yesterday.“

5) What kind of soup did Carol eat?

“Carol ate three bowls of minestrone soup yesterday.“

Keep in mind that this is only one example of how you can transform a sentence. For example, you could also
say, “Yesterday, Carol ate three bowls of minestrone soup.” And it would mean the same thing.

Now let’s look at another example:

1) Wendy played.

2) Wendy played chess.

3) Wendy played two games of chess.

4) Wendy played two games of chess last night.

5) Wendy played two difficult games of chess last night. 

Here, we did exactly the same thing, except in the final step when we added the modifier “difficult.” Instead of
saying “the chess” was difficult, we said that the games of chess were difficult, which sounds more natural in
English. 

1- Bonus: Making it a Yes-or-No Question

You’ve learned about simple and complex sentences, but what about English word order in questions? 

There are two main ways that you can turn sentences into simple questions. 

Option 1

1) Add the appropriate verb to the very beginning of the sentence. 

2) Conjugate the verb accordingly.

3) Put a question mark at the very end of the sentence.

Here’s how this would look using our example sentences:

Did Carol eat three bowls of minestrone soup yesterday?

Did Wendy play two difficult games of chess last night?

You may be wondering why the verbs are in the present tense in the questions, instead of the past tense.
Although the events took place in the past (yesterday and last night), when asking a question about past events,
the verbs should be in the present tense. 

For a more detailed explanation of how to conjugate verbs, make sure to visit my article on English verb
conjugation! 

Option 2

1) Simply put a question mark at the end of the original sentence.

Carol ate three bowls of minestrone soup yesterday?

Wendy played two difficult games of chess last night?

This option is a little less formal than the first option. It’s typically used when you’re astonished or amazed at
something. In the first example, you may emphasize “three bowls” because that’s a lot of soup! 

6. Final Thoughts
Because there are so many ways you can compose sentences in English, you may feel overwhelmed. Even
though flexibility can be handy, it can take a long time to get used to English sentence structures. 
The word orders I outlined in this article are the most commonly used ones and are what you should focus on
when you start learning English. Review the examples as many times, and as often, as you need to. The more
you expose yourself to these sentence structures, the more familiar you’ll become with them. 

In the meantime, don’t be afraid to practice! You may want to start by writing or typing out simple sentences, and
then expanding them step-by-step as I did above. And once you’re comfortable with the process, try using longer
sentences in conversations with friends or family! 

A part of speech is a term used in traditional grammar for one of the nine main categories into which words are
classified according to their functions in sentences, such as nouns or verbs. Also known as word classes, these are the
building blocks of grammar.

Parts of Speech
 Word types can be divided into nine parts of speech:
 nouns
 pronouns
 verbs
 adjectives
 adverbs
 prepositions
 conjunctions
 articles/determiners
 interjections
 Some words can be considered more than one part of speech, depending on context and usage.
 Interjections can form complete sentences on their own.

Every sentence you write or speak in English includes words that fall into some of the nine parts of speech. These
include nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, articles/determiners, and interjections.
(Some sources include only eight parts of speech and leave interjections in their own category.)

Learning the names of the parts of speech probably won't make you witty, healthy, wealthy, or wise. In fact, learning just
the names of the parts of speech won't even make you a better writer. However, you will gain a basic understanding of
sentence structure and the English language by familiarizing yourself with these labels.

Open and Closed Word Classes

The parts of speech are commonly divided into open classes (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs) and closed
classes (pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, articles/determiners, and interjections). The idea is that open classes can
be altered and added to as language develops and closed classes are pretty much set in stone. For example, new nouns
are created every day, but conjunctions never change.

In contemporary linguistics, the label part of speech has generally been discarded in favor of the term word
class or syntactic category. These terms make words easier to qualify objectively based on word construction rather
than context. Within word classes, there is the lexical or open class and the function or closed class.

The 9 Parts of Speech

Read about each part of speech below and get started practicing identifying each.

Noun

Nouns are a person, place, thing, or idea. They can take on a myriad of roles in a sentence, from the subject of it all to
the object of an action. They are capitalized when they're the official name of something or someone, called proper
nouns in these cases. Examples: pirate, Caribbean, ship, freedom, Captain Jack Sparrow.
Pronoun

Pronouns stand in for nouns in a sentence. They are more generic versions of nouns that refer only to people.
Examples: I, you, he, she, it, ours, them, who, which, anybody, ourselves.

Verb

Verbs are action words that tell what happens in a sentence. They can also show a sentence subject's state of being
(is, was). Verbs change form based on tense (present, past) and count distinction (singular or plural). Examples: sing,
dance, believes, seemed, finish, eat, drink, be, became

Adjective

Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns. They specify which one, how much, what kind, and more. Adjectives allow
readers and listeners to use their senses to imagine something more clearly. Examples: hot, lazy, funny, unique, bright,
beautiful, poor, smooth.

Adverb

Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, and even other adverbs. They specify when, where, how, and why something
happened and to what extent or how often. Examples: softly, lazily, often, only, hopefully, softly, sometimes.

Preposition

Prepositions show spacial, temporal, and role relations between a noun or pronoun and the other words in a sentence.
They come at the start of a prepositional phrase, which contains a preposition and its object. Examples: up, over,
against, by, for, into, close to, out of, apart from.

Conjunction

Conjunctions join words, phrases, and clauses in a sentence. There are coordinating, subordinating, and correlative
conjunctions. Examples: and, but, or, so, yet, with.

Articles and Determiners

Articles and determiners function like adjectives by modifying nouns, but they are different than adjectives in that they
are necessary for a sentence to have proper syntax. Articles and determiners specify and identify nouns, and there are
indefinite and definite articles. Examples: articles: a, an, the; determiners: these, that, those, enough, much, few, which,
what.

Some traditional grammars have treated articles as a distinct part of speech. Modern grammars, however, more often
include articles in the category of determiners, which identify or quantify a noun. Even though they modify nouns like
adjectives, articles are different in that they are essential to the proper syntax of a sentence, just as determiners are
necessary to convey the meaning of a sentence, while adjectives are optional.

Interjection

Interjections are expressions that can stand on their own or be contained within sentences. These words and phrases
often carry strong emotions and convey reactions. Examples: ah, whoops, ouch, yabba dabba do!

How to Determine the Part of Speech

Only interjections (Hooray!) have a habit of standing alone; every other part of speech must be contained within a
sentence and some are even required in sentences (nouns and verbs). Other parts of speech come in many varieties and
may appear just about anywhere in a sentence.

To know for sure what part of speech a word falls into, look not only at the word itself but also at its meaning, position,
and use in a sentence.

For example, in the first sentence below, work functions as a noun; in the second sentence, a verb; and in the third
sentence, an adjective:
 Bosco showed up for work two hours late.
 The noun work is the thing Bosco shows up for.
 He will have to work until midnight.
 The verb work is the action he must perform.
 His work permit expires next month.
 The attributive noun [or converted adjective] work modifies the noun permit.

Learning the names and uses of the basic parts of speech is just one way to understand how sentences are constructed.

Dissecting Basic Sentences

To form a basic complete sentence, you only need two elements: a noun (or pronoun standing in for a noun) and a verb.
The noun acts as a subject and the verb, by telling what action the subject is taking, acts as the predicate. 

 Birds fly.

In the short sentence above, birds is the noun and fly is the verb. The sentence makes sense and gets the point across.

You can have a sentence with just one word without breaking any sentence formation rules. The short sentence below is
complete because it's a command to an understood "you".

 Go!

Here, the pronoun, standing in for a noun, is implied and acts as the subject. The sentence is really saying, "(You) go!"

Constructing More Complex Sentences

Use more parts of speech to add additional information about what's happening in a sentence to make it more complex.
Take the first sentence from above, for example, and incorporate more information about how and why birds fly.

 Birds fly when migrating before winter.

Birds and fly remain the noun and the verb, but now there is more description. 

When is an adverb that modifies the verb fly. The word before is a little tricky because it can be either a conjunction,
preposition, or adverb depending on the context. In this case, it's a preposition because it's followed by a noun. This
preposition begins an adverbial phrase of time (before winter) that answers the question of when the
birds migrate. Before is not a conjunction because it does not connect two clauses.