Key Idea: These are the small words that make sentences precise: articles, pronouns, describing words and prepositions.
Articles & determiners
- a/an introduces one of many (an before a vowel sound). the points to a known thing. No article for general plurals and uncountables.
- this/that/these/those: near or far. some in positives, any in negatives and questions.
- much + uncountable, many + countable, a lot of + both.
- One determiner per noun: "my house", never "the my house".
| Word | Use it for |
|---|---|
| who | people |
| which | things |
| that | people or things (defining clauses only) |
| whose | possession |
| where | places |
Adjectives, adverbs & comparatives
- Adjective + noun: a careful driver. Adverb + verb: drives carefully. After be/seem/look use an adjective.
- Two things: -er or more + than. A group: the -est or the most + in/of.
- good → better → best, bad → worse → worst. Never "more taller".
| Family | Rule |
|---|---|
| Time | at 7pm, on Monday, in July; for + length, since + start |
| Place | at a point, on a surface, in a closed space |
| Movement | to, into, through, across, along |
| Fixed pairs | good at, interested in, depend on, afraid of, listen to, wait for |
Commas matter in relative clauses: with commas the clause is extra information, without them it is essential.
"Can you give me ___ information?" an or some? some: information is uncountable.
"The woman ___ car was stolen called the police." whose: it shows possession.
"She sings __." good or well? well: an adverb describes the verb.
"I've lived here ___ three years." for or since? for: three years is a length of time.
When can you drop who, which or that? Only when it is the object of the clause.