Important Grammar Rules Cheat Sheet

Important Grammar Rules Cheat Sheet

Use this sheet for quick revision before an English exam or practice session.

1. Parts of Speech

2. Basic Sentence Structure

Common patterns

Subject + Verb
She runs.

Subject + Verb + Object
She reads books.

Subject + Verb + Complement
He is happy.

Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object
She gave me a book.

Remember

A complete sentence normally needs a subject + finite verb.

❌ He going to school. ✅ He is going to school.

3. Subject-Verb Agreement

The verb must agree with the subject in number and person.

Singular subject → singular verb

• He works hard.
• She plays tennis.
• The boy is ready.

Plural subject → plural verb

• They work hard.
• The boys are ready.

Important rule

Words such as each, every, everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, anyone, anybody, neither, either generally take a singular verb.

• Each student has a book.
• Everyone is ready.
• Neither answer is correct.

4. Use of Articles

A

Use a before a singular countable noun beginning with a consonant sound.

• a boy
• a university
• a European

An

Use an before a singular countable noun beginning with a vowel sound.

• an apple
• an hour
• an honest man
• an MBA

The

Use the for a specific or already-known person/thing.

• I saw a dog. The dog was black.

Also commonly used with:

• the Sun
• the Moon
• the Earth
• the Ganges
• the Himalayas
• the United States

5. Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Countable

Can be counted individually.

• one book
• two books
• many students

Use:

• many
• few
• a few
• several
• number of

Uncountable

Generally cannot be counted individually.

• information
• advice
• furniture
• knowledge
• luggage
• equipment

Use:

• much
• little
• a little
• amount of

Common mistakes

❌ advices ✅ advice

❌ informations ✅ information

❌ furnitures ✅ furniture

6. Pronoun Rules

A pronoun should clearly agree with its antecedent in number and person.

• Every student must bring his or her admit card.
• The boys completed their work.

Pronoun case

Examples:

• She helped me.
• This book is mine.
• That is their house.

7. Adjective vs Adverb

Adjective

Describes a noun or pronoun.

• He is a quick runner.
• She is beautiful.

Adverb

Usually describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb.

• He runs quickly.
• She sings beautifully.

Common mistake

❌ He runs quick. ✅ He runs quickly.

8. Adjective Order

When several adjectives describe one noun, a common order is:

Opinion → Size → Age → Shape → Colour → Origin → Material → Noun

Example:

a beautiful small old round red Italian wooden table

In normal sentences, only the required adjectives are usually used.

9. Comparison of Adjectives

Positive

• tall
• beautiful

Comparative

Used to compare two.

• taller
• more beautiful

Superlative

Used to compare more than two.

• tallest
• most beautiful

Important

❌ more better ✅ better

❌ most best ✅ best

10. Tense Basics

There are three main time categories:

Each can have four forms:

• Simple
• Continuous
• Perfect
• Perfect Continuous

Quick examples

Present Simple:
I work.

Present Continuous:
I am working.

Present Perfect:
I have worked.

Present Perfect Continuous:
I have been working.

Past Simple:
I worked.

Past Continuous:
I was working.

Past Perfect:
I had worked.

Future Simple:
I will work.

11. Do / Does / Did

Present

Use do with I, you, we, they.

• They do their work.

Use does with he, she, it.

• He does his work.

Past

Use did for all subjects.

• She did the work.
• They did the work.

Important

After do/does/did, use the base form of the main verb.

❌ He does not goes. ✅ He does not go.

❌ Did you went there? ✅ Did you go there?

12. Modal Verbs

Common modals:

can
could
may
might
shall
should
will
would
must
ought to

A modal is generally followed by the base form of the verb.

• He can swim.
• You should study.
• They must leave.

❌ He can swims. ✅ He can swim.

13. Gerund and Infinitive

Gerund

Verb + -ing used as a noun or after certain verbs/prepositions.

• Swimming is good exercise.
• I enjoy reading.

Infinitive

to + base verb

• I want to study.
• She decided to leave.

Common patterns

enjoy + V-ing
avoid + V-ing
finish + V-ing
mind + V-ing

want + to + V1
decide + to + V1
hope + to + V1
plan + to + V1

14. Preposition Basics

At

Specific point/time:

• at 5 PM
• at the station
• at night

On

Days and dates:

• on Monday
• on 15 August
• on the table

In

Months, years, longer periods, and enclosed places:

• in January
• in 2026
• in the morning
• in Delhi

Since vs For

Since → starting point

• since Monday
• since 2020

For → duration

• for two days
• for five years

15. Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions

FANBOYS

For
And
Nor
But
Or
Yet
So

Example:

He worked hard, but he failed.

Common subordinating conjunctions

• because
• although
• if
• unless
• while
• when
• before
• after

16. Active and Passive Voice

Active

The subject performs the action.

The teacher praised the student.

Passive

The subject receives the action.

The student was praised by the teacher.

Basic principle

Active Object → Passive Subject
Active Verb → appropriate form of be + V3
Active Subject → by + object

17. Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct speech

The exact words are reported.

He said, "I am busy."

Indirect speech

The statement is reported without quoting the exact words.

He said that he was busy.

Common changes

am/is → was
are → were
was → had been
were → had been
will → would
can → could
may → might

The exact change depends on the reporting verb, tense, context, and meaning.

18. Common Conditional Patterns

Zero Conditional

General truth:

If you heat ice, it melts.

First Conditional

Real/possible future:

If you work hard, you will succeed.

Second Conditional

Unreal/hypothetical present or future:

If I were rich, I would travel.

Third Conditional

Unreal past:

If he had studied, he would have passed.

19. Some Important Correlative Conjunctions

Use the pairs correctly:

either ... or
neither ... nor
both ... and
not only ... but also
whether ... or

Examples:

• Either Ravi or Amit is coming.
• Neither the teacher nor the students were ready.
• Both Ram and Shyam are present.
• She is not only intelligent but also hardworking.

20. Common Grammar Errors

21. Quick Revision Rules

1. Subject and verb must agree.
2. After do/does/did → use V1.
3. After modal verbs → use V1.
4. Each/every/everyone → generally singular verb.
5. One of + plural noun.
6. Since → point of time.
7. For → period of time.
8. A/an depends on sound, not just spelling.
9. Comparative degree → generally used for two.
10. Superlative degree → generally used for more than two.
11. Enjoy/avoid/finish → generally followed by V-ing.
12. Want/decide/hope/plan → generally followed by to + V1.
13. Advice, information, furniture, luggage → normally uncountable.
14. Do not use double comparatives such as "more better".
15. Do not use a plural noun after "each" when it directly modifies the noun.

22. Exam Revision Checklist

Before answering an English grammar question, quickly check:

• [ ] Subject-verb agreement
• [ ] Tense
• [ ] Article
• [ ] Preposition
• [ ] Pronoun
• [ ] Singular/plural noun
• [ ] Adjective/adverb
• [ ] Modal verb
• [ ] Gerund/infinitive
• [ ] Active/passive structure
• [ ] Direct/indirect speech
• [ ] Conjunction
• [ ] Comparative/superlative
• [ ] Common usage/error

Quick Tip: In competitive exams, first identify the subject, main verb, tense, and grammatical structure of the sentence. This often helps eliminate incorrect options quickly.