English Grammar Cheatsheet

📚 Grammar

English Grammar

Parts of speech, tenses, sentence structure, punctuation, and common errors — your complete grammar reference.

📖 6 sections

⏰ 18 min read

✅ Quizzes included

01Parts of Speech▼

Part	Function	Examples
Noun	Names person, place, thing, idea	Ali, London, table, freedom
Pronoun	Replaces noun	he, she, it, they, who, which
Verb	Action or state	run, think, is, become, have
Adjective	Modifies noun	big, beautiful, Pakistani, three
Adverb	Modifies verb/adjective/adverb	quickly, very, well, always
Preposition	Shows relationship	in, on, at, by, with, under, between
Conjunction	Joins clauses/words	and, but, or, because, although, since
Article	Specifies nouns	a, an, the

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FANBOYS = coordinating conjunctions: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So. Use a comma before FANBOYS joining two independent clauses.

02Verb Tenses▼

Tense	Form	Example
Simple Present	V / V+s	She studies every day.
Present Continuous	am/is/are + V-ing	She is studying now.
Present Perfect	have/has + V-past	She has studied French.
Past Perfect	had + V-past	She had studied before the test.
Simple Past	V-past	She studied yesterday.
Past Continuous	was/were + V-ing	She was studying at 8pm.
Future Simple	will + V	She will study tomorrow.
Future Perfect	will have + V-past	She will have studied by then.
Conditional	would + V	She would study if she had time.

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Signal words: Always/usually/often = simple present. Now/currently = continuous. Since/for/already/yet = perfect.

03Sentence Structure▼

Simple sentence

One independent clause. Subject + Verb + Object. "Ali reads books."

Compound sentence

Two independent clauses joined by FANBOYS or semicolon. "Ali reads, but Sara writes."

Complex sentence

Independent + dependent clause with subordinating conjunction. "Although Ali reads, he prefers films."

Compound-complex

Two+ independent + one+ dependent. "Ali reads books that Sara recommends, but he rarely finishes them."

Subject-verb agreement

Singular subject = singular verb. "The team is ready." (team = singular)

Parallel structure

List items must match grammatically. "She likes reading, writing, and coding." Not "...to code."

GRAMMARCommon sentence errors

WRONG: Running quickly, the bus was caught by Ali.   (dangling modifier)
RIGHT: Running quickly, Ali caught the bus.

WRONG: Ali went to the shop, he bought milk.  (comma splice)
RIGHT: Ali went to the shop. He bought milk.
RIGHT: Ali went to the shop, and he bought milk.

WRONG: Each student must submit their own work. (was debated)
RIGHT: Each student must submit his or her own work. (formal)
ALSO RIGHT: All students must submit their own work.

04Articles & Determiners▼

A / An

Indefinite. First mention or non-specific. "I saw a cat." Use AN before vowel sound: an hour, an MBA.

The

Definite. Specific, mentioned before, unique. "The cat I saw was black." "The sun rises in the east."

No article

Plural generalisations: "Cats are cute." Proper nouns: "Pakistan is beautiful." Meals, sports: "after breakfast", "playing football."

Some / Any

Some = positive. Any = questions/negatives. "I have some money." "Do you have any questions?"

❓ Quiz

Which sentence uses the correct article?

"The" is used for unique items (superlatives like "best" make something unique in its class). "The best student" is correct.

05Punctuation▼

Mark	Use	Example
Comma (,)	Lists, clauses, after intro	I bought apples, oranges, and mangoes.
Semicolon (;)	Join related sentences	I came; I saw; I conquered.
Colon (:)	Introduce list or explanation	She had one goal: to succeed.
Apostrophe	Possession or contraction	Ali's book. It's raining. Don't go.
Quotation marks	Direct speech or titles	"Help!" she cried. Read "1984".
Hyphen (-)	Compound adjectives	A well-known author. Twenty-three.
Dash (—)	Emphasis or interruption	She was right — as always.
Ellipsis (...)	Trailing off or omission	He hesitated... then spoke.

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Its vs It's: "Its" = possessive (the dog wagged its tail). "It's" = it is (It's raining). This is one of the most common errors in English.

06Common Errors & Word Choice▼

GRAMMARFrequently confused words

AFFECT vs EFFECT:
  Affect = verb (to influence): "Rain affects mood."
  Effect = noun (result): "Rain has an effect on mood."
  Exception: "to effect change" (verb = to bring about)

THAN vs THEN:
  Than = comparison: "better than"
  Then = time: "first this, then that"

THEIR / THERE / THEY'RE:
  Their = possessive: "their books"
  There = place/existence: "over there", "there is"
  They're = they are: "they're ready"

LAY vs LIE:
  Lay = to place (transitive): "Lay the book down."
  Lie = to recline (intransitive): "I need to lie down."

WHO vs WHOM:
  Who = subject: "Who called?" (He called)
  Whom = object: "Whom did you call?" (You called him)

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Simple test for who/whom: replace with he/him. If "he" fits, use who. If "him" fits, use whom.