Grammar Topics
Browse and filter all grammar topics by level or category.
134 topics found
Register and Formality
How grammar choices differ across formal, neutral, and informal registers — and how to shift between them.
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.
Participle Clauses (Sentence Shortening)
Reducing clauses with -ing, -ed, or having + past participle: Walking home, I saw an accident.
The Unreal Past (Beyond 'Wish' and 'If')
Expressing unreality with: it's time, I'd rather, as if/as though, would sooner, had better.
Advanced Passive (Infinitive, Gerund, and Reporting Structures)
Passive infinitives (to be done), gerunds (being done), and complex reporting passives (believed to have been).
Free Relatives (whoever, whatever, wherever)
Clauses with whoever, whatever, whenever, wherever, however that act as noun or adverb phrases.
Advanced Reported Speech Structures
Nuanced reporting: mixed time references, reporting verbs + gerunds, distancing and hedging in formal contexts.
Advanced Noun Phrases
Complex noun phrases with pre- and post-modification, nominalization, and dense noun stacking in academic and professional English.
What-Clauses
Noun clauses with what as subject or complement: What surprised me was her reaction. What I need is help.
Fronting
Moving a non-subject element to the front of a sentence for emphasis or contrast: This I did not expect.