📘 English grammar

am/is/are now, was/were in the past + a noun, adjective or place — saying who, what or where something is

there is/are + noun — saying that something exists or is somewhere

have/has got + noun — having or owning something

I work, she works, do you work?, he doesn't — habits, routines and things that are always true

am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now

I work vs I'm working; know, want, like rarely take -ing — a habit or a fact vs what is happening now

do/does/did + subject + verb — asking a question in the simple tenses

So do I, Neither can I, I think so, I hope not — short replies with an auxiliary or so/not

Let's + verb, Don't + verb — suggesting or telling someone what to do

can/could + verb — what someone is able to do, or could do in the past

be able to + verb — ability, in any tense

worked, did you work?, didn't work — a finished action at a time in the past

went, saw, took… — a finished action in the past, with an irregular verb

was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past

I–me–my–mine, Lan's, a friend of mine, my own — who does something and whose it is

myself, yourself, themselves, by myself, each other — the same person as the subject

this book, those shoes, the blue one — pointing at things near and far without repeating the noun

a/an for one of many or something new, the for the one both people already know

a car, two cars vs water, advice, information — which nouns take a/an and a plural -s

some in positive sentences, offers and requests, any in most questions and negatives — an amount you don't name

a few / a little, much / many, a lot of, plenty of, none of — saying how much or how many

at 7 o'clock, on Monday, in the morning / in 2020 — which word goes with which time

in the box, on the wall, at the door, next to, between, opposite — saying where something is

go to work, arrive at / in, get into the car, out of the room — saying where something goes

and adds, but contrasts, or gives a choice, so gives a result, because gives a reason

am/is/are + -ing + a future time — something already arranged

The bus leaves at 8. The class starts on Monday — fixed times and schedules in the future

be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see coming

will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction

would like / 'd like + to-verb — a polite way to say what you want

Could you…? Would you mind…? Can I…? Would you like…? — asking politely

Shall we…? Why don't we…? How about -ing? — suggesting what to do

should + verb — saying what is a good idea

saying that something is necessary

don't have to / don't need to / needn't + verb — something is not necessary

how to…, what to…, where to… — a question word followed by to

Who called you? vs Who did you call? — when who/what is the subject, there is no do/does/did

-er than / more … than — comparing two things

much better, a bit cheaper, far more expensive — how big the difference is

the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group

the best … I've ever…, the biggest in the world, the most … of all

as + adj + as — saying two things are equal

too + adj + to-verb, adj + enough + to-verb — more or less than what is needed

have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now

have just / already / never + V3, haven't … yet — how recent a finished action is, or whether it has happened at all

for + a period, since + a starting point, a time + ago — how long, from when, how long before now

I've lost my key (it matters now) vs I lost it yesterday (a finished time)

have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on

had + past participle — an action finished before another past moment

had been + -ing — an activity that went on for a while up to a moment in the past

used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true

would for imagined situations, polite wishes, past habits and the future seen from the past

was/were going to + verb — a plan in the past, often one that did not happen

will be + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the future

will have + V3 — an action finished before a moment in the future

when / as soon as / until + present, … will — the present tense after these words with a future meaning

if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result

might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain

must be / can't be — being sure something is or is not true

be supposed/about/likely to + verb — expectation, the near future, or probability

would rather + verb, had better + verb — preference and strong advice

be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it

get + V3 — got fired, get paid: something happens to someone

have/get + object + V3 — arranging for someone else to do it

said / told sb (that) + clause, asked if — repeating what someone said

Do you know where … is? I wonder what … — a question inside a sentence keeps statement word order

…, isn't it? / …, don't you? — a short question at the end to check or agree

enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form

decide / manage / seem / try + to-verb — verbs followed by to

remember doing vs remember to do — verbs that change meaning with -ing or to

want/ask/tell + person + to-verb — what you want someone to do

make/let + person + verb — causing or allowing someone to do something

see/hear/watch + person + verb or -ing — noticing someone's action

by / without / before / after + -ing — a verb after a preposition takes -ing

be/get used to + -ing or noun — being familiar with something

it's hard to…, I'm happy to…, nice to meet you — an adjective followed by to

in order to, so as to, so that + can/will — saying why someone does something

it takes + time/effort + to-verb — what something needs

The thing is…, What I mean is…, It's worth -ing — set phrases that frame a sentence

children vs the children, school vs the school, the old, play the guitar — general vs specific

Vietnam vs the USA, Mount Fansipan vs the Alps, Hang Bai Street vs the Hilton — which names take the

the police are, a pair of jeans, the news is, two hundred dollars is — nouns with a surprising number

a bus driver, a ten-minute walk, a coffee cup — one noun describing another

my sister's name, the end of the film, today's news — showing who or what something belongs to

There's no milk, none of them, any colour you like, nobody came — zero, and 'it doesn't matter which'

most people vs most of the people, all of us, none of them — how much of a group

both … and, either … or, neither … nor, both/either/neither of — two things together

every day vs all day, each of them, the whole book — a whole group or one by one

bored vs boring, interested vs interesting — how you feel vs what causes it

a nice new red car; you look tired, it smells good — where adjectives go

quick vs quickly, good vs well, hard vs hardly — describing a thing vs describing how something is done

quite good, pretty easy, rather cold, fairly sure — less than very

I like coffee very much; we went to Hue last year; she always / often / never…

still waiting, not any more, not yet, already done, even on Sundays — time and surprise

on time = not late, in time = early enough; at the end of = the last part, in the end = finally

by car, by mistake, by 5 o'clock, a book by Nguyen Du, by the window — the main uses of by

good at, interested in, afraid of, worried about — adjectives with a fixed preposition

depend on, listen to, wait for, deal with — verbs with a fixed preposition

the reason for, a solution to, an increase in — nouns with a fixed preposition

give up, find out, end up, come up with — a verb + particle with its own meaning

who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing

whose + noun, the place where…, the day when…, the reason why… — more ways to describe a noun

so + adj + that, such a + noun + that — a cause and its result

although/even though + clause, despite/in spite of + noun or -ing — a contrast

As I was leaving, the phone rang. As it was late, we took a taxi.

like = similar to, as = in the role of: she works as a nurse; she sings like a bird

as if / as though + clause — how something seems

during + noun, while + clause — at the same time as

by + time (no later than), until + time (all the time up to), by the time…

unless, in case, as long as, provided that, even if — other ways to state a condition

if + past, would + verb — an imagined situation now or in the future

if + had + V3, would have + V3 — an imagined past and its result

wish / if only + past or past perfect — a regret or a wish about something unreal

must / might / should + have + V3 — guessing or judging a past event

it is said/believed that…, be thought/known to… — reporting what people say or think

the + comparative, the + comparative — two things that change together

not only … but (also) … — adding a second, stronger point

Never have I…, Had I known… — auxiliary before the subject for emphasis

What I need is…, It was X that… — putting the focus on one part

Having finished…, Looking at… — a shorter clause starting with -ing or having + V3