I Swear English › Grammar Structures
How English grammar fits together
English grammar looks complicated at first, but almost everything is built on a few clear patterns. Once you can see the pattern, you can build thousands of correct sentences yourself. This is your map to the grammar taught on I Swear English.
The basic English sentence
Most English sentences follow one simple order: Subject + Verb + Object (“I like coffee”). To make a negative, we add an auxiliary verb and not (“I do not like coffee”). To make a question, we put the auxiliary verb first (“Do you like coffee?”). Every tense below is just a new way to build those three forms.
Explore English grammar by topic
Verb tenses
Present, past and future — simple, continuous, perfect and conditional. 16 clear lessons.
Modal verbs
Can, could, must, have to, may, might and should for ability, obligation and possibility.
Pronunciation
The tricky English vowel sounds, explained one at a time with example words.
Phrasal verbs
Verb + particle combinations that change meaning: be off, carry on, kick off and more.
Vocabulary A-Z
Useful and unusual words, each with meaning, examples and a short video.
IELTS practice
Put your grammar to work for the IELTS exam — the four skills and how to prepare.
Grammar questions learners ask
In what order should I learn English grammar?
A good order is: the present simple and present continuous first, then the past tenses, then the present perfect, then the future forms, and finally the conditionals. Learn the modal verbs alongside them. Our verb-tense course follows exactly this order.
What is the difference between a tense and a structure?
A tense tells you the time and aspect of a verb (past, present, future; simple or continuous). A structure is any fixed grammar pattern — a question form, a conditional sentence, or a modal verb pattern. Tenses are one kind of structure.
How can I stop making grammar mistakes when I speak?
Learn one pattern at a time, say lots of example sentences out loud, and don't be afraid to make mistakes — they're how the pattern becomes automatic. Little and often beats long, rare study sessions.