GRAMMAR CONCEPT REFERENCE GUIDE
This guide explains the grammar concepts covered in the holiday homework. Reference this guide
whenever you need to understand a grammar rule better.
1. PAST SIMPLE WITH WAS/WERE
What it means: Talking about situations, states, and locations in the past.
Rules:
o Use “was” with I, he, she, it Examples: - I was happy. - She was at home. - It was cold.
o Use “were” with you, we, they Examples: - We were at school. - They were tired.
Negative form: - I was not (wasn’t) sad. - They were not (weren’t) late.
Question form: - Was she at home? - Were they happy?
2. QUESTION WORDS AND STRUCTURES TO ASK ABOUT THE PAST
What it means: Creating questions to get information about past events.
Rules:
- For yes/no questions: Start with Was/Were/Did
- For information questions: Start with a question word (What, Where, When, Why, How) +
did/was/were
Examples:
o Yes/No questions:
- Was he hungry? (Yes, he was. / No, he wasn’t.)
- Were they at school? (Yes, they were. / No, they weren’t.)
- Did you play football? (Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.)
• Information questions:
– What did she eat? (She ate pizza.)
– Where did they go? (They went to the park.)
– When was the party? (It was on Saturday.)
– Why did he cry? (He cried because he was sad.)
– How did you get there? (I got there by bus.)
Important note: After “did,” always use the base form of the verb, not the past tense:
- ✓ What did she do? - ✗ What did she did?
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3. ADVERBS OF SEQUENCE
What it means: Words that show the order of events.
Common adverbs of sequence:
1. First/First of all (for the beginning)
2. Next/Then/After that (for the middle steps)
3. Finally/Lastly/In the end (for the final step)
Examples:
- First, I woke up.
- Then, I brushed my teeth.
- After that, I got dressed.
- Finally, I went to school.
Position in sentence: Usually at the beginning of the sentence, followed by a comma.
4. USING ‘FROM’ TO INDICATE ORIGIN
What it means: Showing where something or someone comes from.
Uses:
- To show place of origin: She is from Spain.
- To show the sender/creator: This letter is from my friend.
- To show the source: The information is from a book.
Examples: - My teacher is from Canada. - This gift is from my grandmother. - I got this idea from a
movie. - The water comes from the mountains.
5. USING ‘BY’ TO INDICATE AGENT
What it means: Showing who did something, especially in passive sentences.
Examples:
- The book was written by J.K. Rowling.
- The picture was drawn by my sister.
- The cake was made by my mother.
- The window was broken by the ball.
Structure: - Passive voice: Subject + was/were + past participle + by + agent
- The agent is the person or thing that performs the action.
6. DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS
What it means: Words that replace the object of the sentence (the person or thing that receives the
action).
Object pronouns:
- me (for I)
- you (for you)
- him (for he) - I saw John → I saw him.
- her (for she) - She helped Mary → She helped her.
- it (for it)
- us (for we) - We fixed the computer → We fixed it.
- them (for they) - They met the children → They met them.
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7. COULD/COULDN’T AS PAST TENSE OF CAN
What it means: Talking about abilities in the past.
Examples:
- When I was five, I could swim.
- She couldn’t read when she was three.
- Could you ride a bicycle when you were young?
- They could speak English before they moved here.
Structure:
- Positive: Subject + could + base verb
- Negative: Subject + couldn’t + base verb
- Question: Could + subject + base verb?
8. PAST SIMPLE: REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERBS
What it means: Talking about completed actions in the past.
Rules for regular verbs:
- Add -ed to the base form: play → played, walk → walked
- If the verb ends in ‘e’, add -d: like → liked
- If the verb ends in consonant + y, change ‘y’ to ‘i’ and add -ed: study → studied
- If the verb ends in a short vowel + consonant, double the consonant and add -ed: stop → stopped
Common irregular verbs:
- go → went - come → came
- have → had - write → wrote
- see → saw - do → did
- eat → ate - read → read (same spelling but different
- make → made pronunciation)
- take → took
Structure:
- Positive: Subject + past verb e.g. - She played tennis yesterday.
- Negative: Subject + didn’t + base verb e.g. - I didn’t go to school last week.
- Question: Did + subject + base verb? e.g. - Did you watch TV last night?
9. COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES
What it means:
Comparing two things (comparative) or comparing one thing to all others in a group (superlative).
Rules for one-syllable adjectives:
- Comparative: add -er (tall → taller)
- Superlative: add -est (tall → tallest)
Rules for two-syllable adjectives ending in -y:
- Comparative: change y to i and add -er (happy → happier)
- Superlative: change y to i and add -est (happy → happiest)
Rules for longer adjectives:
- Comparative: use “more” (beautiful → more beautiful)
- Superlative: use “most” (beautiful → most beautiful)
Irregular forms: - good → better → best - bad → worse → worst - far → farther/further →
farthest/furthest - many/much → more → most - little → less → least
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Examples:
- My brother is taller than me. (comparative)
- This is the biggest house in our neighborhood. (superlative)
- That movie was more interesting than the book. (comparative)
- She is the most intelligent student in our class. (superlative)
10. QUANTIFIERS (ALL, MANY, SOME)
What it means: Words that show the amount or quantity of something.
Common quantifiers:
- all (the complete amount) e.g. - All children like ice cream., - All the books are on the shelf.
- many (a large number) e.g. - Many people were at the party.
- some (a partial amount) e.g. - Some students are absent today.
Position in sentence: Before the noun they modify.
11. PRESENT SIMPLE
What it means: Talking about habits, repeated actions, and general truths.
Rules:
- I/You/We/They + base verb: I play football.
- He/She/It + base verb + s: She plays football.
Spelling rules for adding -s:
- Add -s to most verbs: play → plays
- Add -es to verbs ending in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, -o: watch → watches
- For verbs ending in consonant + y: change y to i and add -es: study → studies
Examples:
- I go to school every day. - The sun rises in the east. - They don’t live here.
- She works in a hospital. - Does he speak English?
12. SUBJECT PRONOUNS IT AND THEY
What it means: Words that replace the subject of the sentence.
Uses:
- “It” replaces a singular noun e.g. - The book is on the table. It is interesting.
- “They” replaces a plural noun e.g. - The dogs are barking. They are hungry.
13. WHY? BECAUSE…
What it means: Asking for and giving reasons. Important note: “Because” introduces a reason and is
followed by a complete clause (subject + verb).
Structure:
- Question: Why + did/was/were + subject + verb/adjective?
- Answer: Because + subject + verb phrase
Examples:
- Why did you go to bed early? I went to bed early because I was tired.
- Why was she happy? She was happy because she got a good grade.
- Why did he miss the bus? He missed the bus because he woke up late.
- Why were they late? They were late because there was heavy traffic.
