For students looking to improve their English grammar, the best free courses are Glasscock's Grammar and Mechanics, Small Talk and Conversational Vocabulary, and English Composition. All of these courses offer the opportunity to learn from experts in the field and to apply their language knowledge to practical, real-world situations.
Coursera offers some of the best English grammar courses for beginners, including the Learn English: Beginning Grammar specialization and the Academic English specialization. For those interested in STEM, there is "STEM Writing and Communication" course. Communications professionals, on the other hand, can benefit from Writing and Editing with Words and the Effective Business Communication specialization.
For advanced English grammar practice, UCI's specializations in Advanced Grammar and Punctuation and Learning English Writing & Grammar: Complex Sentences are excellent. Additional courses include Perfect Tenses & Modals and The Glasscock Project for a comprehensive overview of grammar. Finally, Verb Passives offers an in-depth look at the different verb forms.
English grammar is the system of rules and principles that specify how to arrange and use words within the English language. The study of grammar includes parts of speech, word structure, sentence structure, punctuation, and verb tenses. Other aspects of grammar include word order within a sentence and agreement of subjects and predicates or pronouns and their antecedents.
Understanding English grammar can improve your ability to communicate in English. This is especially helpful for English language learners who may not be familiar with the sentence construction and word order forms used in English. Like all languages, English has guidelines that define its syntax. For example, sentences in English typically follow the order of subject-verb-object, similar to Swahili and Thai but different from Japanese and Irish, according to the Linguistic Society of America.
You can use online courses to improve your understanding of English grammar. Courses may cover foundational topics like verb tenses and how to use commas or more advanced subject matter like adjective and adverb clauses or how to write academic reports and papers. You can choose to take individual courses to brush up on your knowledge of a specific skill or sign up for a course that addresses broader issues such as intermediate grammar or academic writing.
Learning English grammar may be right for you if you want people to understand you when you speak and write. This can be helpful when you’re interviewing for a job and want to show the boss that you can carry on conversations with your co-workers and customers. You may also find that following common usage rules shows you pay attention to detail, a skill that many employers find attractive. If you’re an English language learner, improving your knowledge of English grammar can help you avoid making mistakes that lead to misunderstandings.