How can I practice English using apps?
RULES to Learnt
Start speaking as soon as possible. ...
Make yourself accountable. ...
Learn whole sentences.
Watch English movies and TV shows
Start reading. ...
Set more useful targets than “I will become fluent” ...
Watch English videos about your interests. ...
Test your grammar with online English quizzes
8 English Grammar Rules to Remember
1. Adjectives and adverbs.
- He’s a slow driver. (adjective)
- He drives slowly. (adverb).
Most adverbs are created by adding -ly to an adjective as in the example, but a few adverbs are irregular, such as:
fast (adjective) – fast (adverb)
hard (adjective) – hard (adverb)
good (adjective) – well (adverb)
For example, Your English is good. You speak English well.
2. Pay attention to homophones.
- they’re – their – there
- you’re – your
- it’s – its
- I – eye
- here – hear
- break – brake
- flower – flour
- our – hour
3. Use the correct conjugation of the verb.
- She has two cats. RIGHT
- She have two cats. WRONG
- There is a sofa, some chairs and a table.
- There are some chairs, a table and a sofa.
4. Connect your ideas with conjunctions.
- She has two cats. RIGHT
- She have two cats. WRONG
I’m studying English. English is important.
becomes:
I’m studying English because it’s important.
The most common conjunctions are:
and – addition
because – to give the reason
but – to express contrast
so – to describe a consequence
or – to describe an alternative
- He likes football and he plays in a team.
- We’re going out because we’re bored.
- She wants to study more but she doesn’t have time.
- Kim is coming round so I’m cleaning my flat.
- Would you like tea or coffee?
5. Sentence construction.
Generally speaking, sentences in written English are not particularly long. This is good news for English learners because it means you don’t need to worry about writing long, complex sentences. A sentence usually has two, or possibly three, clauses (subject + verb + object), linked by a conjunction (see above).
A good way to make your sentences even clearer is to add commas. Commas help the reader understand where one phrase finishes and another begins. The most common occasions where it’s recommended to put a comma are:
- between two clauses. For example, If the weather is nice tomorrow, we’re going to the park.
- to separate items in a list. For example, Our kids like swimming, skiing, ice-skating and cycling.
- after some conjunctions. For example, Our holiday was great and the hotel was wonderful. However, the weather was awful.
- for extra information in the middle of a sentence (a non-defining clause). For example, My neighbor, who’s from Brazil, is really good at cooking.
I’m studying English. English is important.
becomes:
I’m studying English because it’s important.
The most common conjunctions are:
and – addition
because – to give the reason
but – to express contrast
so – to describe a consequence
or – to describe an alternative
- He likes football and he plays in a team.
- We’re going out because we’re bored.
- She wants to study more but she doesn’t have time.
- Kim is coming round so I’m cleaning my flat.
- Would you like tea or coffee?
6. Remember the word order for questions.
In English, the structure of questions is different to the affirmative form. So make sure you remember to change the order of the words or add the auxiliary ‘do’. There are four ways to make questions in English:
- ‘to be’ – for questions using the verb ‘to be’, invert the subject and verb. For example, Are you a student?
- all other verbs – to make questions for all other verbs, add the auxiliary ‘do’. For example, Do they work here?
- modal verbs – to make questions with modal verbs, invert the modal verb and the subject. For example, Can he play the piano?
- auxiliary verbs – for sentences containing an auxiliary verb, like ‘’have’ in the present perfect, invert the auxiliary verb and the subject. For example, Have you seen Bob?
These rules still apply when you add a question word like what, how, why. For example:
Where are you from?
When can we meet?
Why have they left?
7. Use the right past form of verbs.
Speaking about the past in English is not particularly difficult. Every subject uses the same word to express the past, so you don’t have to worry about learning six different words as in some languages. However, many verbs are irregular and don’t follow the regular form of adding -ed. You don’t need to know all of these, but try to learn the most common ones (approximately 20). For example,
Go – went
Have – had
Make – made
For example,
- We went to the cinema last Saturday.
- They had a party to celebrate Tom’s birthday.
- I made a cake this morning.