You Can Teach Grammar

Breaks down mandatory and optional sentence elements, the five simple sentence structures, and the four sentence types — with classroom approaches for each.

• 2.1 Mandatory elements: subject, predicate, clause, phrase
• 2.2 Optional elements: object, complement, adverbial
• 2.3 Simple sentence structure (S+V, S+V+O, S+V+Comp…)
• 2.4 Variations: cleft sentences, preparatory it, non-referential it and there
• 2.5 Sentence types: declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory

Noun forms, the functions nouns can play in a sentence, and the often-tricky territory of countability, concreteness, commonality, and inflection.

• 3.1 Noun forms
• 3.2 Functions of nouns in a sentence
• 3.3 Noun placement
• 3.4 Noun types: common/proper, concrete/abstract, countable/uncountable, plus number, gender, and case

A complete guide to pronoun forms and the six pronoun types — personal, reflexive, reciprocal, indefinite, relative, interrogative, and demonstrative — with reference tables for every category.

• 4.1 Pronoun forms by number, gender, and case
• 4.2 Pronoun types: personal (subjective, objective, possessive, reflexive), reciprocal, indefinite, relative, interrogative, demonstrative

From basic adjective forms to participial adjectives and the rules for adjective ordering — the kind of rules native speakers apply automatically but can't explain to students.

• 5.1 Adjective forms: suffixes, prefixes, compound and participial
• 5.2 Adjective types: limiting and descriptive (qualifying, classifying, intensifying)
• 5.3 Position: attributive vs. predicative
• 5.4 Order of adjectives in attributive position
• 5.5 Adjective vs. adverb

A deep dive into determiners — including quantifiers and the notoriously difficult definite, indefinite, and zero articles that trip up every ESL student.

• 6.1 Structural: predeterminers, central determiners, postdeterminers
• 6.2 Functional: definiteness and magnitude
• 6.3 Quantifiers: quantifying determiners, partitives, agreement
• 6.4 Articles: definite (a, an, the), indefinite, and zero article

Adverb forms, adverbials, and adverbs classified by meaning — with detailed sections on frequency, time-duration, and the over-use of very.

• 7.1 Adverb forms and spelling
• 7.2 Adverbials: phrases, clauses, particles vs. prepositions
• 7.3 Classified by meaning: manner, place, time, frequency, assertion, degree, quantity

From equality and inequality structures to comparative and superlative spelling rules — including irregular forms, syllable-count problems, and adverbs that emphasise comparatives.

• 8.1 Expressing equality and inequality
• 8.2 Gradability of adjectives and adverbs
• 8.3 One-, two-, three-syllable, compound, and irregular forms
• 8.4 Uses, structures, and intensifying adverbs

Tackles preposition forms, prepositional phrases, and the meaning subtleties of in, on, at for place and time — including the mother-tongue translation problems your students will hit.

• 9.1 Forms: simple and complex prepositions
• 9.2 Prepositional phrases: structures and functions (adjectival, adverbial)
• 9.3 Meanings of prepositions (place, time)
• 9.4 Prepositional patterns and pronunciation

Explains conjunction forms and types, the four sentence types (simple, compound, complex, compound-complex), transition signals, and the punctuation that goes with each.

• 10.1 Conjunction forms: single-word, phrases, pairs
• 10.2 Sentence types: simple, compound, complex, compound-complex
• 10.3 Conjunction types: coordinating, correlative, subordinating, complementizers, transition signals
• 10.4 Punctuation rules for linking nouns, verbs, clauses, and transitions

A thorough look at finite and non-finite verb forms, four ways to classify verbs, the four moods, and the distinction between verb phrases and phrasal verbs.

• 11.1 Verb forms: non-finite (base, infinitive, participle, gerund) and finite, with spelling rules
• 11.2 Classifications: general, morphological, semantic (dynamic/stative), syntactic (transitive/intransitive)
• 11.3 Mood: indicative, infinitive, imperative, subjunctive
• 11.4 Verb phrases and phrasal verbs (intransitive vs. transitive)

The structure and meaning of auxiliary and modal verbs — from be, do, have through modality, certainty, necessity, requests, offers, permission, and prohibition.

• 12.1 Auxiliary verbs: be, do, have (and their main-verb uses)
• 12.2 Modal auxiliary verbs: similarities, differences, semi-modals, modal phrases
• 12.3 Modality: ability, advice, suggestion, certainty, assumption, probability, possibility, necessity, requests, offers, permission, prohibition, preference, promises

One of the most challenging areas for ESL learners: gerunds, infinitives, their functions, and the verbs that take one, the other, or both — sometimes with a change in meaning.

• 13.1 Functions of gerunds in a sentence
• 13.2 Gerundial forms
• 13.3 Other uses of gerunds: after certain words, possessives, leisure/hobby/job nouns
• 13.4 Functions of infinitives in a sentence
• 13.5 Infinitival forms
• 13.6 Other uses of infinitives: as adverbs, adjectives, after wh-words
• 13.7 Verbs followed by gerunds or infinitives — with meaning changes (remember, forget, stop, regret, mean)

A complete reference for English tenses, covering all twelve aspects in active and passive voice — with form tables, classroom strategies, and quizzes for every group.

• 14.1 Forms of tenses: affirmative, negative, interrogative, active vs. passive
• 14.2 Present tenses: simple, progressive, perfect, perfect progressive
• 14.3 Past tenses: simple, progressive, perfect, perfect progressive
• 14.4 Future tenses: simple, progressive, perfect, perfect progressive
• 14.5 Tenses tree — the master reference diagram

A short but practical guide to interjection forms, placement, and how to teach them — useful for conversation classes and beginner pronunciation work.

• 15.1 Interjection forms
• 15.2 Interjection placement

More than 30 pages of reference appendices and an answer key for every quiz in the book.

• I Irregular verbs
• II Ditransitive verbs
• III Transitive complex verbs
• IV Ergative verbs
• V Phrasal prepositional verbs
• VI Intransitive phrasal verbs
• VII Separable transitive phrasal verbs
• VIII Inseparable transitive phrasal verbs
• + Answer key, bibliography, and full subject index