Grammar questions
Our experts provide answers to all those grammar questions you've been grappling with.
Inside Grammar questions
Grammar contrasts 1: 'used to' and 'would'
An article by Tim Bowen explaining the difference between 'used to' and 'would' when talking about the past.
Grammar contrasts 2: past simple vs present perfect
An article explaining the difference between the present perfect and past simple tenses.
Grammar contrasts 3: will vs going to
An article explaining the difference between 'will' and 'going to' when talking about the future.
Grammar: adverbials and phrases
Further examples of stance markers and adverbials.
Grammar: affixes
An article offering advice and suggestions on how to teach affixes in a contextualized way.
Grammar: differences between could and can
An article discussing the differences between 'could' and 'can' when expressing possibility.
Grammar: frequency adverbs
A discussion about frequency adverbs and word order.
Grammar: gradable and non-gradable adjectives
An article offering advice and teaching suggestions on the subject of gradable and non-gradable adjectives.
Grammar: have got
Scott Thornbury explains how 'have got' came to have its modern meaning and usage.
Grammar: -ing forms and post modification
An article discussing -ing forms and post modification.
Grammar: modal verbs 'may' and 'might'
An article explaining the difference between the modal verbs 'may' and 'might.'
Grammar: mood and modality 1
Jonathan Marks explains the difference between mood and modality.
Grammar: mood and modality 2
Jonathan Marks explains the difference between mood and modality.
Grammar: passives
Some advice and suggestions for practising the passive in a conversation class.
Grammar: passives in conversation
Lindsay Clandfield offers some advice and suggestions for practising the passive in conversation classes.
Grammar: practising the present and past simple tenses
Imaginative suggestions for teaching the present and past simple tenses to children.
Grammar: regular and irregular verbs
Practical suggestions for teaching regular and irregular verbs.
Grammar: reporting verb patterns
A discussion and teaching suggestions for reporting verb patterns.
Grammar: stance markers and adverbials
An article giving examples and explaining the usage of stance markers and adverbials.
Grammar: teaching children grammar
An article discussing a communicative approach to teaching children grammar.
Grammar: teaching conditionals
An article talking about confusion with conditionals and the phrasal verb 'to put off.'
Grammar: teaching the modals 'ought to', 'should', 'must' and 'have to'.
Suggestions for teaching the modals 'ought to', 'should', 'must' and 'have to' when talking about suggestion or advice.
Grammar: the article in English
An article discussing the rules of the definite article.
Grammar: the syntactic function of -ing forms
An article discussing the syntactic function of -ing forms.
Grammar: the verb 'to be'
A discussion answer to the question "what is the verb 'to be'?"
Grammar: 'them' and 'they'
An explanation of the use of 'them' and 'they' in different contexts.
Grammar: two-syllable comparatives
An article discussing the usage of comparative and superlative forms of two-syllable adjectives.
Grammar: 'unless' and 'if'
An article explaining the difference in meaning between 'if' and 'unless' in conditional sentences.
Grammar: verbal adjectives
An article talking about the existence of verbal adjectives.
Grammar: word order in passive questions
An article offering an explanation and teaching suggestions on word order in passive questions.
