GRAMMAR, PLAINLY.

Grammar, Plainly. — English grammar rules, made simple

START HEREThe three simple tenses live on one line
PAST
she walked
NOW
she walks
FUTURE
will walk
Past: finished, stamped with a date. I saw her yesterday.
Present: habits & facts. She walks every morning.
Future: will + verb. We will walk tomorrow.
TENSES7 RULES
RULE 01V / V-s
Present Simple
she walks · habits & facts
RULE 02V2 / -ed
Past Simple
walked · went · did
RULE 03will + V
Future Simple
will call · promises & guesses
RULE 04am / is / are + V-ing
Present Continuous
is reading · right now
RULE 05was / were + V-ing
Past Continuous
was cooking · background action
RULE 06have / has + V3
Present Perfect
has lost · result now
RULE 07time × aspect
The 12-Tense Map
all twelve on one grid
ARTICLES1 RULE
RULE 08a · an · the
Articles: a / an / the
a dog → the dog
PREPOSITIONS2 RULES
RULE 09in → on → at
in / on / at — time
in July · on Monday · at 6 pm
RULE 10in → on → at
in / on / at — place
in Milan · on the table · at the door
SENTENCES4 RULES
RULE 11S + V + O
Word order
who → does → what
RULE 12do / does / did
Questions
Does she walk?
RULE 13don't / didn't
Negatives
doesn't drink · saying no
RULE 14if + …
Conditionals
If it rains, we will stay home.
NOUNS & ADJECTIVES3 RULES
RULE 15+s / +es / -ies
Plurals
cat → cats · man → men
RULE 16many / much
Quantifiers
How many? How much?
RULE 17-er / more
Comparison
warmer · more beautiful
VERBS2 RULES
RULE 18am / is / are
to be
I'm · she's · they're
RULE 19V1 → V2 → V3
Irregular verbs
go → went → gone