6 Grammar Rules that every Advanced English Student should know
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English grammar has so many rules that learning them can seem impossible. But if you’re already well on your way to learning English and are an advanced English student., you probably have a decent command of the basic rules. We’ve identified six of the trickier ones where errors are particularly noticeable in Spoken English.
Like versus as
This is a rule that many native English speakers also struggle with. The best way to remember which word to use when making a comparison is this: if the part of the sentence that comes after like or as contains no verbs, use the word like. If it does, use the word as (sometimes adding if or though).
For example: You look like a monkey. (No verb after like.) He came home on time, as he always does. (The verb does follows as.)
Correct use of articles
Articles are a kind of adverb that identifies a noun. There are only three articles in English: a, an, and the. The is used when the noun being referred to is specific, and a/an are used when it is not. (We use a before a word that begins with a consonant and an before a word that begins with a vowel.) Examples: The book I am reading is excellent. (The sentence is referring to one specific book.) Reading a book is a great way to spend your time. (Any book, not a specific one.)
Articles are an essential part of English. It is not correct to say “I am reading book.” The speaker must identify the noun in some way, whether it is general (I am reading a book) or specific (I am reading the book you gave me). This is a common mistake even advanced English students make.
Forming gerunds
A common error for newer English speakers is to use the infinitive form of the verb when referring to something they are doing right now (I eat lunch). A gerund is the verb form that indicates the action is in progress. It is formed by adding the letters –ing to the end of the verb. For example: I am talking to my friend. We are eating lunch. He was practicing English with his teacher. If you’re doing something right now or you’re referring to something that is or was in progress, you should use the gerund form.
In Spoken English, adding –ing is enough. In writing, there are a number of rules for spelling the gerund form of the verb properly which you can research on your own.
I’m an Advanced English Student and know all these Grammar Rules. But I still can’t speak fluently?
Forming the possessive
In English, we add an apostrophe plus the letter s to the noun to indicate when something belongs to or is associated with a person or thing. In many other languages you might use a phrase like “the restaurant of Mary” but in English you can simply say Mary’s restaurant. This applies to both physical and intangible objects: Jason’s ball, Kevin’s name, Laurie’s idea. You can also indicate that something belongs to something else: the school’s principal, Canada’s flag, the house’s door. When pronouncing a possessive, the final s sounds like a z.
Forming and using adverbs
An adverb is a word that describes another word or part of speech, usually a verb. Adverbs can often be constructed by adding the letters –ly to an adjective. The purpose of adverbs is to add detail or emphasis to a sentence. Examples: She is completely finished her work. His arm was badly broken. Her dress is beautifully made. A frequent error that even advanced English students make is simply adding the adjective to the sentence without turning it into an adverb (“His arm was bad broken”).
Adverbs can also indicate place, time, frequency, and purpose. He went upstairs. She fell down yesterday. Michael always orders pizza. Joe likes her because she is nice. These adverbs are used quite often in English and should be committed to memory.
Forming plurals correctly
When you want to indicate that there is more than one of something, you use a plural form of the noun. Most of the time you just add the letter s to the end of the word (like the possessive form, it is pronounced like a z). Shoe/shoes; table/tables; teacher/teachers.
There are several slight changes in pronunciation when the noun ends in a certain letter. For example, if the last letter is an s or sh, you double the s if it ends with an s and add –es, which you pronounce ez. Kiss/kisses; floss/flosses; bush/bushes. If the last letter of the noun is an f, you change it to a v and add –es, but pronounce it vz. Hoof/hooves; wife/wives; elf/elves.
There are also a few weird irregular plural forms which will need to be memorized. The most common you are likely to come across are man/men, woman/women, and tooth/teeth (not mans, womans, or tooth). If you want to become an advanced English student, you should spend some time learning these.
Following these grammar rules will help you become an Advanced English speaker and show off your polished English skills! Improving your conversational English is best done through real-world practice. Find out more about how Spoken English Practice can turn your English from okay to awesome!
Prepositions
The last half of this blog post will be dedicated o prepositions. Prepositions need an article on it’s own as they can easily confuse even advanced English students and even native English speakers.
Native English speakers take prepositions for granted. They use these prepositions, which include the words at, for, on, in, near and to, numerous times on a day to day basis .
The Oxford Dictionary describes a preposition as “a word governing usually preceding a noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or element in the sentence”. Even advanced learners of English find that these prepositions do not translate in the same way from their own language into English. Most of the mistakes made with prepositions are due to English learners being confused with the usages of these words.
Here are 10 preposition rules that confuse even the most advanced English student:
In and into
In refers to location whereas into refers to motion.
Examples: He swam in the sea
Look in the cupboard
She walked into the school building
He dived off the diving board into the swimming pool
In also refers to periods of time during the day, or in months, years or centuries.
Examples: He will arrive sometime in the morning
We will go on holiday in June
We moved house in 2012
In the twentieth century technology started to be developed
In also refers to time.
Example: The bus will leave in 5 minutes.
He will arrive in 30 minutes.
In also refers to where we live.
Examples: I live in London.
I also live in Switzerland.
On
On refers to a certain day or date.
Examples: On Christmas Day we will go to church
I work on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays
On the 1st July they will go on holiday
On the 10th September, he will celebrate his 30th birthday.
For
For refers to the measurement of time.
Example: She has been traveling on her gap year for 4 months now.
Since
Since refers to a specific amount of time.
Examples: He has been working for the company since 2015.
I have lived here since 2010.
At
At refers to a holiday (with no specific day) or a time
Examples: At Christmas many people visit their families
The train will leave at 10.30
At also refers to a specific point or place.
Examples: He will meet you at the train station.
You will find my office at the corner of Oxford Street and Bond Street
They arrived at the school at 8.30
From
From indicates where a person is from or refers to a general period of time.
Examples: I come from Bristol, England.
From time to time, they meet for lunch.
Beside and besides
Beside refers to position. It means next to an object so both beside or next to can be used to define position.
Examples: He sat beside his sister when they were eating lunch.
He sat next to his sister.
He left his mobile phone beside his bed.
He left his mobile phone next to his bed.
Besides means in addition to something.
Examples: Besides playing the piano, she is also learning to play the flute.
Besides oranges, we need sugar so we can make orange marmalade.
Among
Among refers to a position within a certain number (not counted) of objects or people.
Examples: Among all the people in the room, I could not see my friend.
I found the paper among the documents on the table.
Between
Between is often confused with among as it appears they have similar meanings so it is important to learn the differences. Between shows a definite position between two or more objects or people.
Examples: Between us, we will sort out this problem.
The child sat between his parents.
Around and about
Around and about can both be used to tell a position or a movement of a person or object.
Examples: We wandered around Paris when we visited last month.
We wandered about the town so we could learn to find our way around more easily.
Around and about also can refer to approximately the number of people involved.
Examples: Around 50 people entered the competition.
About 50 people entered the competition.
Bonus tip if you are a beginner level English student
Remember a preposition tells us when and where an event happened as well as how it occurred. It is important to remember that prepositions do not go at the end of sentences and try not to use too many prepositions in any one sentence.
To help learn these prepositions listen to English as much as possible together with reading as often as you can and note the correct usage of these words. The best method to learn prepositions naturally is practicing speaking with Native English teachers.
Title of post: 6 Grammar Rules that every Advanced English Student should know
Keywords: Advanced English student, Grammar for advanced English student
