Grammar

By is a versatile preposition which can be used in a number of situations. Today we take a look at some of its basic uses:

The way something is done

We use by to show how something is done:

We send a postcard or a letter by post.

We contact someone by phone or by email.

'The woman climed over the wall.'

It's about time that we took another look at some prepositions, isn't it? Here we have a list of all the major prepositions used in English. As prepositions can have more than one meaning it would be impossible to explain them all here.

There is a quiz for you to try at the bottom.

'They love it' or 'They are loving it'?

When a verb describes a state and not an action  we do not use the continuous tense. For example, 'play' is an action so we can say 'playing' whereas 'be' is a fixed state which does not change: 'To be, or not to be'.

 'Chillies taste hot.'

‘It gets hectic around here at lunchtime’ Is 'hectic' a verb, noun or adjective?

English speech can be separated into eight basic categories:

'It's my brother who lives in Brighton.'

We use relative clauses to give extra information about something. We can get more information into a sentence without the need to start a new one.

There are two types of relative clauses: defining and non-defining:

"We all love English grammar...don't we?'

Today let's review your understanding of verb tenses. The best way to do this is to practise!  Read  through  the sentences  below and choose the correct form.

If you have any questions about this exercise please add a comment and  we'll help.

Good luck!

'I wish I had studied harder in school'

Using wish for past regrets

To regret means that we now feel sorry for something which happened (or didn’t happen) in the past

For example:

'___  section of the orchestra does the flute belong?'

It was very popular the last time, so today we take another look at  'Wh...' questions.

To review, 'Wh...' words are what, when, why, where, which, which and how.

Please choose the correct 'Wh' form to complete the questions below. Pay close attention to prepositions eg on, in and at.