Free Online English Grammar Courses

All languages have grammar, which is the name of the system that structures the language and the rules for how words are put in order. English grammar is sometimes thought to be difficult to learn because there are lots of exceptions to the rules and numerous ways sentences can be structured and still make sense. Here are three courses to get you started:

1. Fundamentals of English Grammar

This course explains punctuation, tenses and parts of speech for English. Once you have a thorough understanding of these building blocks, English grammar will be much easier to learn.

2. English Idioms and Grammar for Beginners

Even if you grasp English grammar quickly, idiomatic English can be confusing. Idioms are expressions that aren’t literal, like saying ‘I’m over the moon’ when you’re excited or ‘She spilt the beans’ when she revealed a secret. No-one is really behind the moon or dropping beans - this course explains 72 common English idioms and how to use them correctly. You’ll have a whale of a time learning them!

3. English Grammar: Comparisons and Word Order 

Once you’ve completed the beginner courses, move up a notch and tackle this intermediate course that goes into more depth on grammar, idiom and comparative forms (is it ‘more happy’ or ‘happier’? ‘Tastier’ or ‘more tasty’?).

English is a global language and if you want to travel or work outside your home country, knowing English will be a huge help. If you can write emails, apply for jobs or speak using grammatically correct English, more people will be able to understand you and more opportunities will open up. If other English speakers find you difficult to understand, you will find it harder to communicate effectively. Knowing the rules is important to using English correctly.

While only about 350 million people speak English as their native language, at least 1.35 billion people speak it across the world as a second or third language. This may not seem impressive when almost 1.2 billion speak Mandarin and nearly 600 million speak Hindi.

The difference is that the vast majority of Mandarin and Hindi speakers live in specific areas of the world while English speakers are spread out across the globe. You may not find someone who speaks Mandarin in Namibia but you will find someone who speaks English. You may not find someone who speaks Hindi in Argentina but many will speak English. This is what makes English a truly global language and so useful to learn.