Author Archive for: mybestgrammar

Tag questions Tag questions (or question tags) turn a statement into a question. They are often used for checking information that we think we know is true. Tag questions are made using an auxiliary verb (for example: be or have) and a subject pronoun (for example: I, you, she). Negative question tags are usually contracted: It’s warm today, isn’t it (not ‘is it not’) Usually if

What is a relative clause? A relative clause is one kind of dependent clause. It has a subject and verb, but can’t stand alone as a sentence. It is sometimes called an “adjective clause” because it functions like an adjective—it gives more information about a noun. A relative clause always begins with a “relative pronoun,” which substitutes for a noun,

page(401-444) These three structures are a common part of English, and are all composed of groups of words. Clauses, phrases and sentences are very similar, but they do have different roles. Learning the difference between them will help you make a lot more sense of English grammar, and will be very useful to improve your written English. What is a

page(396-400) Chapter 18 Sequence of Tense Sequence of Tenses–Grammar Rules The rules governing verb tenses are dictated by logic; an action in the future obviously cannot happen before an action in the past. In writing, it’s a matter of looking at your clauses and sentences and determining when each action is happening relative to everything else. The past must come

page(379-395) Chapter 17 If-Sentence and Subjective The subjunctive is an English verb form that does not express reality but unreal facts, such as wishes or possible events. Insofar, it is a peculiarity because its occurrence in modern English is rather rare. The subjunctive is a reasonably formal expression, which means that it is usually used in written language. The subjunctive is not a tense like the past simple or

A nonfinite verb is a verb that is not finite. Nonfinite verbs cannot perform action as the root of an independent clause. Most nonfinite verbs found in English are infinitives, participles and gerunds. (They are sometimes called “verbals”, but that term has traditionally applied only to participles and gerunds.) Additional nonfinite forms found in some other languages include converbs, gerundives and supine. Nonfinite verbs typically are not inflected by grammatical tense, and they have little inflection for other grammatical categories.

page (316-344) Direct and indirect speech Direct and indirect speech can be a source of confusion for English learners. Let’s first define the terms, then look at how to talk about what someone said, and how to convert speech from direct to indirect or vice-versa. You can answer the question What did he say? in two ways: by repeating the words spoken

page(301-315) Chapter 14 Active and Passive Voice Active voice means that a sentence has a subject that acts upon its verb. Passive voice means that a subject is a recipient of a verb’s action. You may have learned that the passive voice is weak and incorrect, but it isn’t that simple. When used correctly and in moderation, the passive voice is fine. In

page(262-300) Chapter 13 Verb Tenses Verbs come in three tenses: past, present, and future. The past is used to describe things that have already happened (e.g., earlier in the day, yesterday, last week, three years ago). The present tense is used to describe things that are happening right now, or things that are continuous. The future tense describes things that have

page(248-261) Chapter 12 SUBJECT, VERB, AND PRONOUN AGREEMENT All parts of a sentence should agree. In general, if the subject is singular, the verb and any pronouns referring to the subject should be singular; if the subject is plural, the verb and any pronouns referring to the subject should be plural. Changing a subject from singular to plural may change