English Grammar Syllabus

-by Siddharth vaidya

1. Basics of English Grammar

• Parts of Speech: Understand the eight parts of speech:

o Nouns, Pronouns, Adjectives, Verbs, Adverbs, Prepositions, Conjunctions,

Interjections.

o Example: Identify and use them in sentences.

• Sentence Structure:

o Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) format.

o Types of sentences: Declarative, Interrogative, Imperative, Exclamatory.

2. Tenses and Their Usage

• Present Tense:

o Simple Present (I eat).

o Present Continuous (I am eating).

o Present Perfect (I have eaten).

o Present Perfect Continuous (I have been eating).

• Past Tense:

o Simple Past (I ate).

o Past Continuous (I was eating).

o Past Perfect (I had eaten).

o Past Perfect Continuous (I had been eating).

• Future Tense:

o Simple Future (I will eat).

o Future Continuous (I will be eating).

o Future Perfect (I will have eaten).

o Future Perfect Continuous (I will have been eating).

• Practical Focus: When and how to use each tense in conversations or writing.

3. Active and Passive Voice

• Active Voice: The subject performs the action. (She wrote a letter.)

• Passive Voice: The action is performed on the subject. (A letter was written by her.)
 English Grammar Syllabus
-by Siddharth vaidya
• Communication Application: Use active voice for clarity in speaking and passive voice for
formality in writing.

4. Articles

• Types:

o Definite article (the).

o Indefinite articles (a, an).

• Rules:

o When to use and omit articles.

o Common mistakes with articles.

o Example: I saw a dog. The dog was playing.

5. Modals and Auxiliary Verbs

• Common Modals:

o Can, Could, May, Might, Must, Shall, Should, Will, Would.

• Usage:

o Expressing possibility, necessity, permission, or ability.

o Example: You should practice daily to improve.

• Auxiliary Verbs: Be, Do, Have.

6. Punctuation and Capitalization

• Importance of Punctuation:

o Full stops, commas, question marks, exclamation marks, quotation marks.

• Rules for Capitalization:

o Proper nouns, sentence beginnings, "I".

• Practical Use: Writing error-free sentences.

7. Subject-Verb Agreement

• Rules:

o Singular subjects take singular verbs (He eats).

o Plural subjects take plural verbs (They eat).

 English Grammar Syllabus
-by Siddharth vaidya
• Common Errors:

o Mistakes with collective nouns, indefinite pronouns.

8. Pronouns and Their Usage

• Types of Pronouns:

o Personal (he, she, they), Possessive (his, hers), Reflexive (myself, themselves),
Relative (who, which).

• Common Mistakes:

o Pronoun-antecedent agreement.

o Example: Everyone should bring their notebook.

9. Adjectives and Adverbs

• Adjectives:

o Describing words for nouns (a beautiful day).

o Degrees of comparison: Positive, Comparative, Superlative.

• Adverbs:

o Describing words for verbs (He runs quickly).

o Types: Manner, Place, Time, Frequency, Degree.

• Practical Focus: Adding depth to communication with descriptive words.

10. Prepositions

• Common Prepositions:

o At, On, In, By, With, For, About, Between, Over, Under.

• Prepositional Phrases:

o Example: She is good at painting.

• Practical Use: Avoid prepositional errors in sentences.

11. Conjunctions and Sentence Connectors

• Types:

o Coordinating (and, but, or), Subordinating (because, although), Correlative

(neither...nor).
 English Grammar Syllabus
-by Siddharth vaidya
• Importance in Communication:

o Combine ideas smoothly in conversations and writing.

12. Vocabulary Building and Usage

• Focus:

o Synonyms and Antonyms.

o Idioms and Phrasal Verbs (break down, call off).

• Daily Practice: Learn and use 5 new words/phrases daily.

13. Conditional Sentences

• Types:

o Zero Conditional (If it rains, the ground gets wet.).

o First Conditional (If you study, you will pass.).

o Second Conditional (If I were you, I would try.).

o Third Conditional (If I had studied, I would have passed.).

• Practical Use: Hypothetical scenarios in conversations.

14. Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)

• Changes in Tense, Pronouns, and Time:

o Example: He said, "I am busy" → He said he was busy.

• Common Uses:

o Narrating stories, conveying messages.

15. Sentence Types and Structures

• Types of Sentences:

o Simple, Compound, Complex.

• Communication Application:

o Vary sentence types to make conversations and writing engaging.

 English Grammar Syllabus
-by Siddharth vaidya
16. Common Errors and How to Avoid Them

• Examples:

o Misplaced modifiers.

o Redundancy (I myself went there.).

o Mixing tenses.

• Practical Focus: Self-correcting errors in speech and writing.

17. Spoken English Practice

• Grammar in Action:

o Practice dialogues, role-plays, and scenarios to apply grammar rules.

o Example Topics: Ordering food, asking for directions, attending interviews.

18. Writing Practice

• Grammar in Writing:

o Sentence building → Paragraph writing → Essay writing.

• Focus:

o Error-free, grammatically correct writing for emails, reports, or personal notes.

Resources to Learn and Practice

1. Books:

o Wren and Martin High School English Grammar and Composition.

o English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy.

2. Apps:

o Duolingo, Grammarly, Hello English.

3. Websites:

o BBC Learning English, FluentU, Grammarly Blog.

Tip: Dedicate daily time to learning and practicing grammar while speaking or writing. Combine
this syllabus with practical application like reading, writing, and conversing in English for maximum
improvement.