Every language has unique traits that make it different from other languages. That means learning a new language is exciting, but there are a lot of rules to learn along the way. Think of studying English grammar rules like a puzzle. You can see all the pieces individually (like letters and words), but putting them together requires understanding how they work.
There’s more than one step in how to learn English, and after you review these nine essential rules, use your new knowledge to learn English in different ways! Set goals, polish your pronunciation, and immerse yourself in the English language.
Table of Contents
1. English statement word order is subject-verb-object (SVO)
One of the most important grammar rules for English involves word order in sentences. To understand basic English word order, you need to understand three more basic English grammar terms: subject, verb, and object.
- subject: The person or thing doing the action of the sentence.
- verb: An action word or phrase (there are many types of verbs in English).
- object: The thing (usually a noun) the action is being done to.
A basic English statement (or declarative sentence) is made up of those three parts. The subject goes first, then the verb, and then the object at the end.
Look at these three sentences:
- I speak Chinese.
- He is washing his hair.
- I have a suitcase.
In each statement, a person (I or he) is doing an action (speak, is washing, and have). The three objects (Chinese, his hair, and a suitcase) are being acted upon by the subjects in each sentence.
More complex statements in English add other parts parts of speech, but most English sentences still have a subject, verb, and object.
2. English question word order uses a verb or question word at the beginning
English questions (or interrogative sentences) change the word order a little bit. Instead of starting with the subject, you’ll put a helper (auxiliary) verb at the beginning of the question, like do or are.
- Do you like waffles?
- Yes, we like waffles.
Without the word do, this sentence would be a statement, You like waffles, because the subject, verb, and object are still in the same order.
You can also add a question word (like who or what) before the helper verb to ask a more specific question.
- Why do you like waffles?
- I like waffles because they’re sweet.
However, if the main verb of a statement is a “to be” verb (like am, is, or are), then the subject and verb switch places in the related question.
- You are American. → Are you American?
- She is from New York. → Where is she from?
3. Subjects and verbs must agree in number
The rule of subject-verb agreement is a fancy way to say that the subject of a sentence should match the verb conjugation. To do subject-verb agreement correctly, ask these things about the subject:
- Is the subject singular (like person) or plural (like people)?
- Who is doing the verb?
Both of these questions will answer what kind of verb conjugation in English you need to use. Use these guidelines to help you master this rule:
- If the subject is singular, the verb should also be singular.
- Correct: The woman walks to work.
- Incorrect: The woman walk to work.
- If the subject is plural, the verb should also be plural.
- Correct: Those library books are overdue.
- Incorrect: Those library books is overdue.
- Some nouns are collective nouns. Collective nouns use one word in the singular form to represent many people. The verb that goes with collective nouns should also be singular.
- Correct: The baseball team in my city is very good.
- Incorrect: The baseball team in my city are very good.
4. Articles a/an and the describe different types of nouns
English articles are short words that describe a general or a specific noun. More specifically, there are two types of articles in English:
- definite article: the
- indefinite article: a/an
The difference between a and an is the sound at the beginning of the noun after it. If the noun starts with a consonant sound, you’ll use a (like a cat). If the noun starts with a vowel sound, you’ll use an (like an apple or an hour). If you have trouble hearing the difference, comparing English pronunciation to the English alphabet can help.
The article the is used to describe a specific noun. For example, you’re reading this article about English grammar right now. If you use the, you’re talking about this article on Rosetta Stone’s website.
- You are reading the article about English grammar by Rosetta Stone.
- The fourth rule is about English articles.
If you use an indefinite article (a or an) before a noun, you could be talking about any type of that noun. You would have to explain further if you wanted to talk about something specific.
- I would like a job in education. → I would like the English teacher job at Lakeland Elementary School.
- I am eating an egg. → I am eating the egg that my chicken laid this morning.
5. English capitalization rules
Rules about capitalization (capital letters) vary between languages. For example, the first letter of German nouns is capitalized. Meanwhile, days and months are not capitalized in Spanish. Here’s a list of common capitalization rules you should remember about English:
- The first letter of a sentence is capitalized.
- My favorite food is bread. However, my sister’s favorite food is mac and cheese.
- Titles that go before names are capitalized.
- Mr. Green met President Roosevelt.
- Family names like mom and dad are capitalized if you use them instead of the person’s name or before their name.
- My mom is Aunt Alice’s sister, and Grandma is their mom.
- The first letter of a quoted sentence is capitalized, even if it’s in the middle of the entire sentence.
- She said, “Don’t forget your lunch.”
- Titles of books, movies, and other works of art have complicated capitalization rules. Usually, all words are capitalized except for articles (a, an, the), conjunctions (like but, and, and or), and the word to unless they’re at the beginning of the title.
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- The Hobbit
- How to Train Your Dragon
Most proper nouns are capitalized. Use this chart as a reference if you’re not sure if a proper noun counts!
| Proper Noun | English Example |
| brand and company names | Burger King, Google, Aldi |
| holidays | Labor Day, Halloween, New Year’s Day |
| months | January, February, March |
| days of the week | Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday |
| countries | United Kingdom, Japan, Sudan |
| races and nationalities | Hispanic, Canadian, Polish |
| cities, states, and other territories | San Francisco, Colorado, Nova Scotia |
| organizations and institutions | Harvard University, United Nations |
| natural and manmade landmarks | Pacific Ocean, Mount Etna, Taj Mahal |
Names of people are also proper nouns. Usually, the first letter of each name is capitalized (such as Billy Joel). However, names can come from any language. As a result, some names don’t follow standard English capitalization rules even when they’re used in an English sentence.
- Ronald McDonald is the mascot of the McDonald’s restaurant franchise.
- Leonardo da Vinci was a famous artist.
- Sandra Day O’Connor was a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
6. Words that end in –ing can act as verbs, nouns, or adjectives
There are many verbs that end in -ing in English. These words function as the action in a sentence.
- present tense: I am reading a book now.
- past tense: I was jumping in the lake yesterday.
- future tense: I will be cleaning my room tomorrow.
Verbals (words based on verbs) ending in -ing can also be used as nouns. These are called gerunds. You probably hear them every day without realizing it! You can use gerunds to talk about hobbies, jobs, and actions when the verb ending in -ing isn’t the main verb.
- I like reading.
- She’s going swimming.
- I was caught sleeping.
- Speaking in English is a good way to improve your pronunciation.
Some English adjectives also look like verbals that end in -ing, but they will describe a noun in the sentence.
- Her house has running water.
- He watched the singing bird outside.
- I like to take pictures of falling leaves.
7. Subject pronouns replace a subject and object pronouns replace an object
Pronouns (one of the parts of speech in English) are used to replace nouns (like names) with a more general word. For example, these sentences have the same meaning, except the name has been replaced with a pronoun:
- Mary went to the grocery store. → She went to the grocery store.
However, two types of English pronouns are easy to confuse. You use subject pronouns when replacing a noun that’s the subject of a sentence, and you use object pronouns when replacing a noun that’s the object of a sentence (which usually goes after an action verb).
| Subject Pronoun | Object Pronoun |
| I | me |
| you | you |
| we | us |
| he | him |
| she | her |
| they | them |
| it | it |
You can see the difference between subject and object pronouns in these example sentences:
- John drives to school.
- He drives to school.
- That car belongs to him.
- The book is on the desk.
- It is on the desk.
- The desk is where I left it.
- My friends gave a birthday present to my sister.
- They gave a birthday present to her.
- She got a birthday present from them.
If you want to practice, try out this quiz from IXL to choose between subject and object pronouns!
8. Quotation marks have a few specific uses
English uses a lot of punctuation marks, but quotation marks (“) and apostrophes (‘) are especially easy to confuse. Quotation marks look like double apostrophes, but the truth is that they’re different punctuation marks and different keystrokes on a keyboard.
The good news is that quotation marks don’t have many different uses. Here are the most common ways to use quotation marks:
- When writing down what somebody said in a quote, one quotation mark goes in the top left of the quote and another goes in the top right of the quote. The second quotation mark will look like a reflection of the first one turned upside down.
- He said, “What are we having for dinner?”
- In some examples of American publishing, the titles of movies, books, plays, and other works of writing or art use quotation marks. You may also see them written in italics instead, but not both at the same time.
- I recently watched “Titanic” for the first time.
- When you want to emphasize a word, you can use quotation marks.
- I looked up the definition of “grammar” in the dictionary.
9. Apostrophes are used in many ways
Compared to quotation marks, you’ll see apostrophes much more often. For example:
- When making a noun possessive (belonging to someone or something), you add an apostrophe and an “s” at the end of the word in most cases. If the word ends in an “s,” add the apostrophe at the end of the word instead. Possessive pronouns don’t need an apostrophe. There are some rare exceptions to these rules.
- That cat belongs to my mother. → That cat is my mother’s.
- The spines on a cactus are sharp. → A cactus’ spines are sharp.
- This is my grandmother’s recipe. → This recipe is hers.
- In English, a contraction is when you take two words and combine them to make one new word. Use an apostrophe to separate where the two words come together (in other words, where letters were erased). Some of the most common contractions include words like I’m (for I am) and it’s (for it is).
- They do not have socks. → They don’t have socks.
- They are drinking coffee. → They’re drinking coffee.
- When you want to talk about multiple of a single letter (make it plural), you add an apostrophe and an “s.”
- I got straight A’s in school last year.
- To talk about only the last numbers of a year or decade, add an apostrophe before the number.
- I was born in the 1990s. → I was born in the ‘90s.
- She moved here in 2008. → She moved here in ‘08.
Learn English grammar effectively with Rosetta Stone
Knowing how to learn English grammar rules includes practicing English in different ways. Speaking and listening will help you understand the word order difference between statements and questions. However, you’ll need to read and write to practice capitalization and punctuation.
Find a variety of methods that work for you! Try watching your favorite movie in English, changing the language settings on your phone, or use the Rosetta Stone App. No matter how you choose to practice, stay curious about English grammar.
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