11 Basic Rules of Grammar Everyone Needs to Remember [Rules with Examples]

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Date: September 28, 2023

When learning a new language, the most challenging thing to learn is its grammar rules. You cannot avoid grammar, as it is of massive value in written communication. If you are speaking a non-native language, you may be able to communicate what you are trying to say through gestures and actions. However, the reader cannot see your body language in written communication. Thus, you need to know basic English grammar rules and apply them correctly in your writing to convey your message.

You may think that learning basic grammar rules isn’t an intricate procedure, but it isn’t easy at all, as the English language alone consists of 3500 rules of grammar. However, you can communicate effectively if you become aware of the English grammatical rules and implement them correctly in your writing. If you are eager to learn these rules and expand your knowledge of the English language, then this guide is here to assist you.

In this blog, we will share 11 basic rules of English grammar that everyone needs to remember. 

Basic Grammar Rules You Need to Remember

As stated earlier, there are thousands of grammar rules in the English language. But to communicate effectively, you just need to strengthen your grip on some basic rules of grammar. 

Here are 11 basic English grammar rules that should be remembered and used precisely in textual communication. 

Rule # 1: End a Sentence With a Period, Exclamation Mark, or Question Mark

This grammar rule is quite basic, and you might already know it. To complete a sentence, you need to end it with a period, exclamation mark, or question mark. If your sentence doesn’t have any of these punctuation marks, then it is incorrect. It’s essential to end a sentence with suitable punctuation to let the readers know where they need to take a break. 

Suppose you have written a lengthy text of more than 1000 words, and there is no usage of a period, exclamation, or question mark. Whoever reads it won’t find any break between the entire text. In addition, it won’t be possible for anyone to comprehend the meaning of your writing. That’s why each sentence must end with the right punctuation mark. 

Example: 

Incorrect: How is the weather today

Correct: How is the weather today? 

Rule # 2: Subject and Verb are Compulsory to Complete a Sentence

To complete a sentence, it must contain a subject and a verb. Without a subject and verb, it won’t be possible to write a sentence that conveys your message accurately. The subject in a sentence is basically a person or a thing that is performing some sort of action. At the same time, a verb is an action that is being performed by the subject. If any of these are missed, a sentence will remain incomplete. 

Example: 

Incorrect: is having a cup of tea. (Subject is missing)

Correct: She is having a cup of tea. (She is the subject) 

Rule # 3: Subject-Verb-Object Order Should Be Used in the Sentences Containing an Object

You may have to write sentences that contain an object. For such sentences, it’s essential to follow an order called SVO or subject-verb-object. If we put it simply, an object should always come after the verb. In easy words, an object in a sentence is a person or thing on which a particular action is taking place. Hence, changing this order will make your sentence vague, and the reader won’t be able to comprehend its meaning accurately. 

Example:

Incorrect: Soccer plays my brother.

Correct: My brother plays soccer.

Rule # 4: Subject and Verb Should Agree in Number

For writing a sentence flawlessly, it’s crucial to make the subject and verb it contains agree in number. For instance, if the subject in your sentence is singular, the verb must also be singular. Similarly, the plural subjects should be denoted with plural verbs. If the subject and verb don’t agree in number in your sentence, it will be termed incorrect. 

Example: 

Incorrect: Harry play the guitar.

Correct: Harry plays the guitar. 

Rule # 5: Always Capitalize Proper Nouns

Another important rule of grammar is to capitalize proper nouns, no matter what their place in the sentence is. Writing the proper nouns in lowercase is a mistake that you must never make while writing any sort of text. A proper noun is basically a specific person, thing, or place that needs to be distinguished from the rest of the test with a capital letter.  

Example: 

Incorrect: Sara is currently living in chicago.

Correct: Sara is currently living in Chicago. 

Rule # 6: Place Adjectives Before a Noun

An adjective is a word used to denote or describe a noun in a sentence. The adjectives are widely used in the English language to portray the qualities of any person, thing, or place. The basic grammar rule related to adjectives is about their position. In a sentence, it’s essential the adjectives should be written accurately before nouns. If your sentence contains adjectives after a noun, it will be inaccurate. 

Example: 

Incorrect: She has a cat black.

Correct: She has a black cat. 

Rule # 7: Show Possessions with Apostrophe

If you are required to show possession of something or someone, you need to use apostrophes and ‘s’ with any word. The possessions are mainly of two forms, which are singular and plural. For singular words, you must use (-’s); for plural words, you must use (-s’).

Example: 

Incorrect: We are planning a surprise for Alice birthday.

Correct: We are planning a surprise party for Alice’s birthday. 

Rule # 8: Avoid Confusing Contractions with Possessives

The apostrophes are used along with words to show possession. In addition, they are used in contractions, i.e., combining two words in a shortened form. Many people do not understand the difference between contractions and possessives, so they use them inaccurately.

Example:

Today’s Ali’s birthday. 

This example contains two words with apostrophes. But both aren’t the same, as ‘today’s’ is the contraction of two words (today is). On the other hand, ‘Ali’s’ shows possession, which explains that the birthday is of Ali. 

Rule # 9: The Sentence Should Always Start with a Capital Letter

It’s a basic English rule that every sentence you write should start with a capital letter. The word at the beginning of a sentence must have the first letter capital, no matter what part of speech it is. Every word must begin with a capital letter in a sentence, whether a noun, pronoun, adjective, or preposition. 

Example:

Incorrect: today is a sunny day.

Correct: Today is a sunny day. 

Rule # 10: Use “an” for Vowel Sounds

The English language has 26 letters, out of which (a, e, I, o, and u) are vowels, and the rest are constants. So, you are required to use the ‘an’ article with the words that sound vowel. Many people confuse this rule, as they think the word must start with a vowel later. However, if the start of a word sounds like a vowel, even if the letter it starts with is a constant, you still need to use ‘an’ in this case. 

Example: 

Incorrect: Meet me in a hour.

Correct: Meet me in an hour. 

Rule # 11: Denote Countable Nouns with Indefinite Articles

When denoting countable nouns, you are required to use indefinite articles, which are ‘a’ and ‘an’. On the contrary, uncountable nouns are denoted with a definite article, i.e., ‘the.’ 

Example: 

Incorrect: Zayn is the brilliant student.

Correct: Zayn is a brilliant student.

Conclusion:

So here, this guide comes to an end. The 11 basic rules of grammar discussed in this blog should be at your fingertips. If you ignore remembering them, then you can badly fail at creating meaningful pieces of text. Understanding the basic rules of grammar in English can become easier if you learn from your mistakes.