Grammar Topics
Browse and filter all grammar topics by level or category.
23 topics found
Modal Perfect for Deduction (must have, can't have, might have)
Master the full spectrum of modal perfects for past deduction: must have (near-certain), can't have (impossible), might have (uncertain), should have (expected), and modal perfect continuous.
Future Perfect
The Future Perfect (will have + past participle) describes an action that will be completed before a specific future point in time.
Future Perfect Continuous
The Future Perfect Continuous (will have been + -ing) emphasises the ongoing duration of an activity up to a future point.
Semi-Modals (be about to, be supposed to, be bound to)
Semi-modals like be about to, be supposed to, be bound to, and had better express nuanced modal meanings around timing, expectation, certainty, and obligation that core modals cannot.
Habitual Past (Used To vs Would)
Both 'used to' and 'would' describe past habits and states, but they differ: 'used to' covers states and habits; 'would' covers habitual actions only.
Complex Connectors and Cohesion Devices
Advanced cohesive devices: reference chains, lexical cohesion, substitution, ellipsis across sentences.
Complex Word Formation
Compounding (notebook, sunflower), blending (brunch, smog), clipping (photo, ad), and acronyms.
Register and Formality
How grammar choices differ across formal, neutral, and informal registers — and how to shift between them.
Nominalizations (Deverbal and Deadjectival Nouns)
Creating abstract nouns from verbs (decide → decision) and adjectives (happy → happiness) for formal writing.
Advanced Phrasal Verbs (Multi-Word Verbs and Idiomatic Usage)
Three-part phrasal verbs (look forward to, put up with) and idiomatic multi-word verbs in natural speech.
Hedging and Approximation
Language that softens claims: apparently, seemingly, about, roughly, tend to, seem to, it appears that.
Advanced Conditionals (Inversion, Supposing, Assuming)
Formal conditional inversion (Had I known…), and conjunctions: supposing, assuming, given that.