8 Universal Rules of English Grammar

Rule #1: Subject-Verb Agreement

All verbs are naturally plural by nature. Examples: play, run, fly, eat, jump, sing, dance, write.

Basic Sentence Structure

Every sentence can be formed using one fundamental structure:

Subject + Verb = Sentence

Later, we can enhance sentence complexity by adding prepositions, adjectives, adverbs, and conjunctions to create compound, complex, and various other sentence types. But for now, let's focus on basic sentences that require one subject and one verb.

Understanding Singular and Plural Verbs

Singular verbs: Used when the subject is one person, thing, or idea (he runs, she walks).

Plural verbs: Used when the subject refers to multiple people, things, or ideas (they run, we walk).

Subject-Verb Agreement Visual Guide

PLURAL	SINGULAR
We, They, You ↓ are, have, were	He, She, It ↓ is, has, was

Practice Examples

• Correct: She is reading a book. → (Singular subject "She" + singular verb "is")
• Correct: They are playing football. → (Plural subject "They" + plural verb "are")
• Correct: He has completed his homework. → (Singular subject "He" + singular verb "has")
• Correct: We have finished our project. → (Plural subject "We" + plural verb "have")
• Special case: I am learning English. → ("I" + special verb form "am")

Quick Test

Try to identify if these sentences follow the subject-verb agreement rule:

• The cat runs fast. ✓
• Dogs bark loudly. ✓
• She have a pen. ✗ (Should be "has")
• They is coming. ✗ (Should be "are")

Rule #2: Auxiliary Verbs (Do, Does, Did)

Auxiliary verbs are special helper words that can work as either a main verb or a helping verb based on the conditions in a sentence.

When Auxiliary Verbs Work as Main Verbs

When auxiliary verbs function as main verbs, they carry their actual meaning:

• Example: They do this work every day. → (performing the work)
• Example: She does the task honestly. → (completing the task)
• Example: I did it for you. → (performed it for you)

When Auxiliary Verbs Work as Helping Verbs

When auxiliary verbs function as helping verbs, they come with a main verb to identify the tense and support the main verb.

Conditions for Auxiliary Verbs as Helping Verbs

1. Negative Sentences

Used to make sentences negative by adding "not" after the auxiliary verb.

• She does not support us. → (Main verb "support" in V1 form)
• They did not come to the party. → (Main verb "come" in V1 form)
• I do not help her. → (Main verb "help" in V1 form)

2. Interrogative Sentences (Questions)

Used to form questions by placing the auxiliary verb at the beginning of the sentence.

• Do you like coffee? → (Main verb "like" in V1 form)
• Does she study English? → (Main verb "study" in V1 form)
• Did they arrive on time? → (Main verb "arrive" in V1 form)

3. Emphasise (जोर देना / ભાર મૂકવો)

Emphasise means giving special importance or stress to an action to make it stronger or more convincing.

• I do study! → (Emphasizing that I really study)
• She did love me, but she did not marry me. → (Emphasizing past love)
• He does work hard! → (Emphasizing his hard work)

Practice Examples

• Main Verb: We do exercise daily. → (do = perform exercise)
• Helping Verb (Negative): She does not eat meat. → (does not + V1 "eat")
• Helping Verb (Question): Did you finish your homework? → (did + V1 "finish")
• Helping Verb (Emphasise): I do care about you! → (do + V1 "care" for Emphasise)

Quick Test

Identify whether the auxiliary verb is working as a main verb or helping verb:

• They do their homework. → Main Verb ✓
• Does she like pizza? → Helping Verb (Question) ✓
• He did the cleaning yesterday. → Main Verb ✓
• I do not knows English. → ✗ (Should be "know" - V1 form)
• We do believe in you! → Helping Verb (Emphasise) ✓

Rule #3: Auxiliary Verbs (Have, Has, Had, Having)

These auxiliary verbs have different forms and can work as either main verbs or helping verbs based on the context.

When Auxiliary Verbs Work as Main Verbs

When these auxiliary verbs function as main verbs, they show their actual meanings such as: obtain, get, eat, drink, possess, understand, etc.

• Go out and have fun! → have = do
• I just had dinner after she arrived. → had = ate/consumed
• They have a lot of money with them. → have = possess/own
• She has a clear understanding of the topic. → has = possesses
• Can I have some water? → have = get/obtain

When Auxiliary Verbs Work as Helping Verbs

When auxiliary verbs function as helping verbs, they always take V3 (third form) of the main verb.

• Have you joined the new course? → (joined = V3)
• She has received the joining letter. → (received = V3)
• They had left before I reached. → (left = V3)

Hypothetical means imaginary or unreal situations. (काल्पनिक / કાલ્પનિક)

Rule: Hypothetical sentences always use past verbs (were/had) irrespective of any noun or subject!

Question: If I _______ a chef, I would create dishes that tell stories of tradition.

Example: If Rani were a queen, I would marry her.

Because this is a hypothetical sentence!

Question: I wish I _______ a lot of money.

More Examples:

• • If she were here, we would complete the work.
• • I wish I had more time to study.
• • If he were taller, he could play basketball.

Key Rule: If the subject performs BOTH actions → use V3

If someone else does the first action → use BEEN + V3 (Passive Voice)

Find the error in the statement:

Question: Having helped, she decided to thank the generous man.

Action 1 done BY others → Use BEEN + V3

Action 2 done BY her → Normal sentence

Hindi: मदद मिलने के बाद, उसने उदार आदमी को धन्यवाद देने का फैसला किया।

Gujarati: મદદ મળ્યા પછી, તેણીએ ઉદાર માણસનો આભાર માનવાનું નક્કી કર્યું.

Concept: When we use “having + V3”, it shows that the subject has completed an action before doing something else. If both actions are done by the same person, we use the normal having + V3. But if one action is done by someone else and the other action is done by the subject, we use having been + V3. For example, “Having been helped, she thanked her friend”—she didn’t do the helping herself, so we use the passive form.

We learn active and passive voice in further concepts in more detail. But for now, I hope you got this point.

Question: Having been promoted, she threw a party for her friends.

Question: Having been arrested, the police sent him to jail.

Master these concepts: 1) Hypothetical = Past tense always | 2) who is doing the action