English Grammar Shortcuts

English Grammar Shortcuts

ADVERBS

Rule1: The adverb ‘too much’ is used with nouns and ‘much too’ with adjectives.

Examples:

His failure is too much much too painful for me.
His wife’s rude behaviour gives him much too too much pain.

Rule 2: Before the word ‘enough’ use an adjective under positive form.

Examples:

He is more intelligent enough to follow you.
She is enough lucky enough to get the job.

Rule 3: Do not use the adverb ‘quite’ when it means perfectly/ completely with the adjective ‘handsome’.

He is quite very handsome.

Rule 4: Adverbs ‘Late & Lately’: ‘late’ indicates time and lately means recently.
He was punished for coming late lately.

Rule 5: In a sentence that begins with ‘seldom, never, hardly, rarely, scarcely, barely, neither, never,’ use an auxiliary verb before the subject.
Hardly does he goes to school.

After only + adverbial expression

Only by working hard, he got did he get success.
Not only does she read but she also writes.

Rule 6: Use adverbial phrase ‘no less than’ with uncountable nouns and with countable nouns, use ‘no fewer than’.
No fewer less than forty people were killed in accident.

Rule 7: Don’t use adverb ‘as’ after call and consider.
Examples:
He called me as a fool.
I always consider him as my brother.

Rule 8: Don’t use very with derived adjectives e.g. interested, pleased, satisfied, etc; use ‘much’ instead.
I am very much interested to play cricket.

Rule 9: With positive adjectives use ‘very’ while with comparative adjective forms, use ‘much’ .
He is very much clever to understand it.

Rule 10: Use ‘very much’ with comparative forms.
It is very much better to stay here tonight.

Verbs

Rule 1: If the subject is of the third person, singular number (He, She, It) add ‘s’ or ‘es, ies’ to the first form of the verb to make it singular number.
Examples:
She plays violin every day.
The bird flies in the sky.

Rule 2: The following verbs are not usually used in the continuous form (except in particular cases):
see, smell, feel, hear, notice, recognize, see, think, agree, believe, consider, remember, hope, understand, mind, suppose, hate, love, know, have, want, forgive, keep, prevent, etc.
He is having has a telephone connection.
The flower is smelling smells sweet.

Rule 3: Do not use present perfect tense with adverbs indicating past time; use simple past tense instead.
I have seen saw a film last night.

Rule 4: Usage of “for and since” — use ‘for’ to indicate period of time (for 2 days, for a long time, etc.,) and since to indicate point of time (since 1996, since morning, since last week, etc).

Examples:
Out teacher is has been sick for the last two days.
It is has been raining since last night.

Rule 5: The present perfect continuous tense is also used for actions that began in the past and are still continuing.
I am have been reading this novel since morning.

Rule 6: When the first action led to the second action immediately, use simple Past Tense + Simple Past Tense formula.
When he opened the gate, they came in.

Rule 7: When the first action completed before the second one started, use Past Perfect Tense for the first finished action and the Simple Past Tense for the Second one.
The patient had died before the doctor arrived.

Rule 8: After negative sentences, the question tag used should be in an ordinary interrogative form.
She did not like that book, didn’t did she?

Rule 9: After positive statements, use negative interrogative.
He works hard, does doesn’t he?

Rule 10: When the verb in the principal clause is in a past tense, the verbs in the subordinate clauses are also in the past tense.
He said that he will would pass the examination.
They told me that they have had paid the fees.

Conjunctions

Rule 1: The co-relative conjunctions such as ‘not only – but also, either – or, neither – nor, both – and, though – yet,’ are used in pairs.
They will either do the work else or return the money.
Both Akram as well as and Zahid must finish it.

Rule 2: Do not use ‘when or before’ after the adverbs “hardly, scarcely”.
Hardly had he left the place than when the bomb exploded.

Rule 3: Use ‘than’ after ‘rather, other, the subordinating conjunction,.
I would rather buy a scooter but not than a cycle.

Rule 4: After the subordinating conjunction ‘lest’, use the auxiliary ‘should’. Lest means If it is not so.
Work hard lest you should fail.

Rule 5: The connecting word ‘that’ is used with the adjective phrase ‘the same/the only/superlative adjectives/all
This is the same book which that I wanted.

Rule 6: The conjunction ‘or’ is used with not, never.
I have never spoken to him nor or written to him.

Rule 7 : With the word ‘such’ use the connective ‘that’.
There was such a noise what that I could not hear his voice.

Rule 8: ‘Until’ denotes time and ‘unless’ denotes condition
Examples:
You will not succeed until unless you work hard.
I want to stay here unless until she speaks the truth.

Rule 9: After the connective ‘because,’ do not use ‘so, therefore or as’.
Because he came late, so he failed to see her.

Rule 10: Do not use the word ‘not’ with the connective ’till/unless/lest/until’ in that clause.
Until he does not solve solves this problem, I will stay with him.
Unless they do not work sincerely, they will not succeed.

Rule 11: When ‘since’ is used as a conjunction, it should be preceded by present perfect tense and followed by a verb in the past tense to denote point of time.
Many things have happened since I have left the school.

Rule 12: Do not use then with the conjunction ‘if’.
If you work for 8 hours a day, then you will get through the examination.

Rule 13: When two objects are joined by ‘as well, besides, along with, together with, in addition to, except, including with, the verb agrees with the first subject in number.
He as well as his students have has gone there.

Prepositions

Rule 1: Across
Across – On the opposite side of
My cousin lives across the river.
Across – From one side to another
The boy swam across the river.
Across – both sides
He threw the luggage across his shoulders
Do not use accidentally, suddenly, etc., with the phrase ‘come across’
I suddenly came across him.

Rule 2:
Between is used for two persons, things, etc. and always takes an ‘and’.
She is sitting between Ayesha and Sajida.
‘Among’ is used with more than two persons or things.
The principal distributed prizes among the winners.
Amid or amidst is used for more than two persons/things
It was hard to hear amid all the cheering.

Rule 3: During – denotes duration.
During the war, many people suffered hardship.

Rule 4: From – is used with past, future tenses.
I stayed there from Monday to Wednesday.

Rule 5: Of – denotes origin and cause.
She comes of a rich family (origin).
He died of Malaria (cause).
Off – denotes ‘separation’
He is off duty today.

Rule 6: After a preposition, use a pronoun under objective case.
He depends on I me.

Rule 7: When two words are connected by and or etc., mention clearly the prepositions to be used with them.
He was surprised at as well as pleased with her performance.

Rule 8: Don’t use a preposition with the noun ‘home’ except when it is followed by an adjective in the possessive case.
Examples:
I went to his home.
He went home.

Rule 9: After transitive verbs such as ‘discuss, describe, reach, order, tell, demand, attach, resemble, ridicule, etc. no preposition is used. The verbs directly take an object.
The poet describes about the beauty of nature.
He ordered for two cups of tea.

Rule 10 : After the verbs ‘say, suggest, propose, speak, explain, reply, complain, talk, listen, write’ the preposition “to” if any object is used.
He did not reply to me.
He suggested to her that she should eat less.

Rule 11: After the verb ‘enter’ the preposition ‘into’ should not be used except when it is used with reference to agreement or conversation.
He entered into the premises without permission.
They entered into a hot discussion.

Rule 12: Wait for – Await.
He is awaiting for the reply.
Despite – in spite of.
Despite of his hard work, he failed the examination.

Rule 13: Dispose of – sell away.
He disposed off of his scooter.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.