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First of all, English is an S-V-O language. This stands for "subject," "verb," and "object." Here's an example of this structure in a sentence.
Welcome to our explanation of Basic English Grammar! Now, we know that grammar is not a favorite
among language learners, but in this lesson, we hope to bring you a general overview of some
important aspects to be aware of when you're learning English. Some of these points may be similar to
your native language, and some may be completely different.
For Example:
First of all, English is an S-V-O language. This stands for "subject," "verb," and "object." Here's an
example of this structure in a sentence.
1. "I drink coffee."
Grammar Points
"I" is the subject or the one doing the action, "drink" is the verb or the action, and "coffee" is the object
or the thing receiving the action.
Here are other example sentences.
For Example:
1. "He catches the ball."
2. "We watch the movie."
Most English sentences generally follow this sequence. Like always there are exceptions, but since this
is an overview, we won't touch upon that. Another thing to remember here is that you cannot drop the
subject in English, with a few exceptions. So avoid that temptation and mention the subject.
Let's move on to tenses. There are three tenses in English: past, present, and future. The third person
singular in the present tense is the only subject that we need to adjust the verb to.
For Example:
EnglishClass101.com
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1. "I eat lunch."
2. "He eats lunch."
The third person "he" requires an "-s" on the verb in the present tense.
Here are examples of sentences in the past and future, respectively.
For Example:
1. "She brushed her teeth."
2. "He will buy shoes."
These examples are all in the simple past. And this brings us to the next topic: aspect. Many English
learners will have learned aspect with tenses. Aspects describe the nature of the action as opposed to
the tense that describes when it happened in time. The four aspects are: simple, perfect, progressive,
and perfect progressive. You've probably heard of this before. Here's an example of a sentence in the
progressive aspect.
1. "I am brushing my teeth."
EnglishClass101.com
Learn English with FREE Podcasts
The tense is in the present, and the aspect is in the progressive. That's how we know that the person is
talking about an action that is happening in the present time frame, as well as currently or at this
moment.
For Example:
1. "I was brushing my teeth."
In this example, the action happened in the past, and the aspect informs us that it was happening over a
certain length of time.
Keep in mind that English has many irregular verbs. There is no rule that governs the spelling;
therefore, it is best to learn them individually.
Another characteristic of English is that nouns do not have gender inflections. In other words, we use
the determiners "the" and "a" for all the nouns. However, English does have count and non-count
nouns. This means that we can pluralize some nouns by adding an "-s," but not others.
For Example:
1. "an apple" - "apples"
2. "water" - not "waters" but cups of "water"
3. "mouse" - not "mouses" but "mice"
These are best learned one by one as well.
We hope that you found this lesson useful, whatever level you are in your English learning. There is so
much more to talk about, but since this is an overview, we'll leave it here. Keep these things in mind
next time you have a chance to practice your English: they may help you communicate better.
View all episodes
By EnglishStoriesWelcome to our explanation of Basic English Grammar! Now, we know that grammar is not a favorite
among language learners, but in this lesson, we hope to bring you a general overview of some
important aspects to be aware of when you're learning English. Some of these points may be similar to
your native language, and some may be completely different.
For Example:
First of all, English is an S-V-O language. This stands for "subject," "verb," and "object." Here's an
example of this structure in a sentence.
1. "I drink coffee."
Grammar Points
"I" is the subject or the one doing the action, "drink" is the verb or the action, and "coffee" is the object
or the thing receiving the action.
Here are other example sentences.
For Example:
1. "He catches the ball."
2. "We watch the movie."
Most English sentences generally follow this sequence. Like always there are exceptions, but since this
is an overview, we won't touch upon that. Another thing to remember here is that you cannot drop the
subject in English, with a few exceptions. So avoid that temptation and mention the subject.
Let's move on to tenses. There are three tenses in English: past, present, and future. The third person
singular in the present tense is the only subject that we need to adjust the verb to.
For Example:
EnglishClass101.com
Learn English with FREE Podcasts
1. "I eat lunch."
2. "He eats lunch."
The third person "he" requires an "-s" on the verb in the present tense.
Here are examples of sentences in the past and future, respectively.
For Example:
1. "She brushed her teeth."
2. "He will buy shoes."
These examples are all in the simple past. And this brings us to the next topic: aspect. Many English
learners will have learned aspect with tenses. Aspects describe the nature of the action as opposed to
the tense that describes when it happened in time. The four aspects are: simple, perfect, progressive,
and perfect progressive. You've probably heard of this before. Here's an example of a sentence in the
progressive aspect.
1. "I am brushing my teeth."
EnglishClass101.com
Learn English with FREE Podcasts
The tense is in the present, and the aspect is in the progressive. That's how we know that the person is
talking about an action that is happening in the present time frame, as well as currently or at this
moment.
For Example:
1. "I was brushing my teeth."
In this example, the action happened in the past, and the aspect informs us that it was happening over a
certain length of time.
Keep in mind that English has many irregular verbs. There is no rule that governs the spelling;
therefore, it is best to learn them individually.
Another characteristic of English is that nouns do not have gender inflections. In other words, we use
the determiners "the" and "a" for all the nouns. However, English does have count and non-count
nouns. This means that we can pluralize some nouns by adding an "-s," but not others.
For Example:
1. "an apple" - "apples"
2. "water" - not "waters" but cups of "water"
3. "mouse" - not "mouses" but "mice"
These are best learned one by one as well.
We hope that you found this lesson useful, whatever level you are in your English learning. There is so
much more to talk about, but since this is an overview, we'll leave it here. Keep these things in mind
next time you have a chance to practice your English: they may help you communicate better.
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