English Grammar Notes Review

A set of vocabulary flashcards based on English grammar definitions and rules.

in-/im-

Prefix that modifies words starting with p, b, or m to become im- (e.g. impossible, immaterial).

quite / quiet

'Quite' means 'rather, to a certain degree', whereas 'quiet' means silent.

Doubling of final consonants

Final consonant is doubled when preceded by a single vowel and not followed by another consonant, particularly with certain suffixes.

there / their

'Their' is a possessive adjective indicating belonging to them, while 'there' refers to a place.

adjectives ending in 'y'

Change 'y' to 'i' before suffixes when they become adverbs or change for comparative and superlative forms.

The plural of nouns ending in 'y', 'f/fe', and 'o'

Nouns ending in 'y' change to 'ies', those ending in 'f/fe' typically take 's', with some exceptions like 'wives' for 'wives'.

months / days / nationalities / languages

Always capitalized in English, unlike in Dutch.

words ending in 'll'

Retain both 'l's when used independently but drop one 'l' in compound words.

lose / loose

'Lose' means to no longer have something, while 'loose' means not tight.

choose / chose / chosen

'Chose' is the simple past of 'to choose', and 'chosen' is the past participle.

then / than

'Than' is used for comparisons; 'then' indicates time.

choosing / choosing's

Never add or subtract letters at a join; keep original forms intact.

to / too

'Too' means 'also' when spelled with 'oo'.

nouns ending in 'our'

Drop the 'u' when adding 'ous' to form adjectives.

adjectives ending in 'ic'

Change to 'ally' when becoming adverbs.

genitive case

Singular nouns take 's' in the genitive. Plurals take an apostrophe or 's' depending on the ending.

one's / ones

'One's' is the possessive form, while 'ones' is the plural form.

it’s / its / who’s / whose

'It's' is the contraction of 'it is'; 'its' is possessive. Similarly, 'who's' is 'who is', while 'whose' is possessive.

of / off

'Off' indicates a distance; 'of' denotes possession.

x and xc between vowels

[ks] is written as 'xc'; [gz] is written as 'x'.

s and ss between vowels

[s] is written as 'ss'; [z] is written as 's'.

-ible / -able

Differ in pronunciation; -ible is [ɪbəl], while -able is [əbəl].

-ice / -ise

'Ice' is common in nouns; 'ise' is used more in verbs.

Linking words

Used to connect sentences; can provide extra information, contrast, purpose, reason, etc.