Word Order

The primary word orders that are of interest are

• the constituent order of a clause, namely the relative order of subject, object, and verb;
• the order of modifiers (adjectives, numerals, demonstratives, possessives, and adjuncts) in a noun phrase;
• the order of adverbials.

Constituent word order is defined in terms of a finite verb (V) in combination with two arguments, namely the subject (S), and object (O).

There is a difference between grammatical word order and natural word order. In many languages, topicalization and questions can change the grammatical word order.

Examples

A: [Kate loves who/Who does Kate love?] (SVO/OSV)
B: [She loves Mark/Mark is who she loves.] (SVO/OSV)

In the (A) sentences, the first one is used when putting emphasis on who Kate loves, and the second is used with more of a quizzical tone. English uses stress and tone to emphasize different aspects of the sentences, which can also change the word order, as shown above.

In the (B) sentences, the first one is more likely to be used by a native English speaker. The second sentence is grammatical as well, but less likely to be said in natural speech. This is because English uses the SVO structure in regular sentences, but is able to answer questions using the same structure that was used in the sentence.

In English, you can change the word order depending on what you want to emphasize.

Preposition

Prepositions form a closed word class, although there are also certain phrases that serve as prepositions, such as in front of.

A single preposition may have a variety of meanings, often including temporal, spatial and abstract. Many words that are prepositions can also serve as adverbs. Examples of common English prepositions (including phrasal instances) are of, in, on, over, under, to, from, with, in front of, behind, opposite, by, before, after, during, through, in spite of or despite, between, among, etc.

A preposition is usually used with a noun phrase as its complement.

A preposition together with its complement is called a prepositional phrase.

Examples are in England, under the table, after six pleasant weeks, between the land and the sea.

A prepositional phrase can be used as a complement or post-modifier of a noun in a noun phrase, as in the man in the car, the start of the fight; as a complement of a verb or adjective, as in deal with the problem, proud of oneself; or generally as an adverb phrase.

English allows the use of "stranded" prepositions. This can occur in interrogative and relative clauses, where the interrogative or relative pronoun that is the preposition's complement is moved to the start (fronted), leaving the preposition in place. This kind of structure is avoided in some kinds of formal English.

For example:

• What are you talking about? (Possible alternative version: About what are you talking?)
• The song that you were listening to ... (more formal: The song to which you were listening ...)

Notice that in the second example the relative pronoun that could be omitted.

Stranded prepositions can also arise in passive voice constructions and other uses of passive past participial phrases, where the complement in a prepositional phrase can become zero in the same way that a verb's direct object would: it was looked at; I will be operated on; get your teeth seen to.

The same can happen in certain uses of infinitive phrases: he is nice to talk to; this is the page to make copies of.

Adverb

An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, determiner, clause, preposition, or sentence. Adverbs typically express manner, place, time, frequency, degree, level of certainty, etc., answering questions such as how?, in what way?, when?, where?, and to what extent?. This function is called the adverbial function, and may be realized by single words (adverbs) or by multi-word expressions (adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses).

Adverbs are traditionally regarded as one of the parts of speech. However, modern linguists note that the term "adverb" has come to be used as a kind of "catch-all" category, used to classify words with various different types of syntactic behavior, not necessarily having much in common except that they do not fit into any of the other available categories (noun, adjective, preposition, etc.)

Verb

A verb is a word that expresses an action, a state, or an occurrence — and it's the engine of every English sentence. Understanding how verbs work is foundational to everything else in English grammar, from forming questions to building complex sentences.

Verb Forms

Most English verbs have five inflected forms:

• Base form (go, write, climb) — used as an infinitive, imperative, present subjunctive, and present indicative in all persons except third-person singular.
• -s form (goes, writes, climbs) — used for the present tense, third-person singular (she writes).
• Past tense (went, wrote, climbed) — also called the preterite.
• Past participle (gone, written, climbed) — identical to the past tense for regular verbs, but often different for irregular verbs.
• -ing form (going, writing, climbing) — serves as the present participle and gerund.

The verb be is a special case with more forms than any other English verb (am, is, are, was, were, been, being). Modal verbs like can, must, and should have fewer forms than typical verbs.

Main Verbs and Auxiliaries

Verbs in English often appear in combinations: one or more auxiliary verbs paired with a main verb.

• The dog was barking very loudly.
• My hat has been cleaned.
• Jane does not really like us.

The first verb in the combination is the finite verb (it carries tense and agrees with the subject). The rest are nonfinite (infinitives or participles). Notice that these verbs don't always sit next to each other — as in does not really like.

Tense, Aspect, and Mood

English expresses tense (time reference), aspect (how an action unfolds over time), and mood (the speaker's attitude toward the action) mostly through verb combinations rather than word endings. That's why you'll encounter labels like "present progressive" or "conditional perfect" — these are specific tense–aspect–mood combinations built with auxiliaries.

Self-check: If you can change the time of a sentence by swapping one word (She runs → She ran), that word is the verb.

Keep Practising

To build your verb skills from the ground up, try these challenges: Basics. "To be" in Present Tense, Basics. Common Uses of Auxiliary Verbs, and Transitive and Intransitive Verbs.

Collocations

Collocations are combinations of words that are frequently used together in a particular order, forming a natural-sounding expression. These word pairs or groups often sound more natural to native speakers than other possible combinations of the same words. Understanding collocations is important for language learners because they help you sound more fluent and natural when speaking or writing.

B1 | Intermediate

B1 is the intermediate level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). It marks the point where you move beyond survival English and start expressing yourself with real independence — describing experiences, explaining opinions, and handling everyday situations without a script.

What a B1 user can do

At this level, you're expected to:

• Understand the main points of clear, standard speech and writing on familiar topics — work, school, travel, hobbies.
• Handle most travel situations in English-speaking environments.
• Produce simple connected text on topics you know or care about.
• Describe experiences, events, hopes, and plans, and give brief reasons and explanations for your opinions.
• Communicate in routine tasks that require a straightforward exchange of information.

What B1 grammar looks like

B1 is where grammar starts to get more layered. You're not just forming basic sentences anymore — you're combining ideas, using different tenses with more precision, and starting to handle structures like the passive voice, modal verbs for necessity and possibility, and gerunds vs. infinitives. You're also expected to build complex sentences with linking words and dependent clauses.

Typical B1 grammar areas include:

• Future tenses — distinguishing will, going to, and the present continuous for future plans
• Passive voice — The report was written yesterday.
• Modal verbs — You should apply early. / She might be late.
• Used to — I used to live in Berlin.
• Verb patterns — knowing whether a verb takes a gerund, an infinitive, or both (I enjoy reading vs. I decided to leave)

What B1 doesn't mean

B1 speakers still hesitate, make grammatical errors, and sometimes struggle with less familiar topics. That's normal. The key difference from A2 is that you can keep a conversation going and get your point across even when things aren't perfect. The step up to B2 involves handling more abstract topics, understanding nuance, and producing more complex, accurate language.

Self-check: Can you tell a friend about a recent trip — what happened, what you liked, and what you'd do differently — without switching to your native language? If yes, you're likely operating at B1 or above.

Ready to find out where you stand? Try Are you B1/Intermediate? Test your English CEFR Level to figure out!, then build your skills with challenges like Basics. Passive Voice, Basics. Modal verbs, and Used to.

Difficulty: Medium

Medium difficulty. Difficulty levels represent author's opinion about how hard a question or challenge is.