Structure 3: Words and grammar points
Quick one-rule questions: subject–verb agreement, articles, prepositions, pronouns, word forms and comparison.
Quick one-rule questions: subject–verb agreement, articles, prepositions, pronouns, word forms and comparison.
Prepositions of time and place
| Preposition | Time | Place |
|---|---|---|
| in | in May, in 2020, in the morning | in Riyadh, in the room |
| on | on Monday, on 5 May | on the table, on the wall |
| at | at 7 o’clock, at night, at noon | at the bus stop, at the door |
Comparatives and superlatives
| Adjective | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| short: tall | taller than | the tallest |
| ending in -y: easy | easier than | the easiest |
| long: expensive | more expensive than | the most expensive |
| irregular: good / bad / far | better / worse / farther | the best / the worst / the farthest |
Question patterns
Subject–verb agreement
One of + plural takes a singular verb; everyone / each are singular.
Articles
an before a vowel sound (an hour, an orange); a before a consonant sound (a university).
Prepositions
Learn in / on / at and common verb + preposition pairs: wait for, look at, depend on, interested in.
Relative pronouns
who for people, which for things, whose for possession, where for places.
Gerund or infinitive
agree / decide / want / hope + to; enjoy / finish / avoid / mind + -ing.
Quantifiers
many / few with countable nouns; much / little with uncountable nouns.
Comparison
With the … ever or of all use the superlative.
-ed and -ing adjectives
-ed = how a person feels; -ing = what causes the feeling.
Adjective or adverb
An adverb describes a verb: quick → quickly; irregular: good → well, fast → fast, hard → hard.
Question tags
Positive sentence → negative tag with the same helping verb, and the reverse.
Indirect questions
After Do you know / Can you tell me use statement order: subject, then verb.
Pronouns
Use a reflexive pronoun when subject and object are the same: myself, yourself, ourselves, themselves.
Word forms
Check the slot: after an article or adjective → noun; before a noun → adjective; after a verb → adverb.