English Review by ChatGPT

english_review.md

English Grammar Review (by ChatGPT 5) TODO: TOC

🕒 1. TENSES (core timeline)

Present Simple (habit / fact)

I work every day.

Present Continuous (right now / temporary action)

I’m working right now.

Present Perfect (past → present result)

I’ve finished my homework. (the result affects the present)

Present Perfect Continuous (started in past, still continuing)

I’ve been studying English for three years.

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Past Simple (finished past event)

I visited London last year.

Past Continuous (ongoing action in the past)

I was reading when you called.

Past Perfect (before another past event)

I had already eaten when she arrived.

Past Perfect Continuous (ongoing action before another past event)

I had been working for two hours before the meeting started.

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Future Simple (will — prediction / decision)

I’ll call you tomorrow.

Be Going To (planned future / strong intention)

I’m going to start a new project next week.

Future Continuous (action in progress at a future time)

This time tomorrow, I’ll be flying to Japan.

Future Perfect (will have + past participle — completed before a future point)

By next month, I’ll have finished the book.

Future Perfect Continuous (ongoing action up to a future point)

By next year, I’ll have been living here for a decade.

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💭 2. CONDITIONALS & HYPOTHETICALS

Zero Conditional (general truth / fact)

If you heat water, it boils.

First Conditional (real future possibility)

If it rains, I’ll stay home.

Second Conditional (unreal present/future)

If I had a car, I would drive to work. (but I don’t have one)

Third Conditional (unreal past)

If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam.

Mixed Conditional (past cause → present result)

If I had taken that job, I’d be living in Paris now.

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Wishes & Regrets

Wish + past simple (present unreal wish):

I wish I were taller. (but I’m not)

Wish + past perfect (past regret):

I wish I had studied medicine.

Wish + would (annoying repeated actions / future hope):

I wish it would stop raining.

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“If only” (stronger emotion than “wish”)

If only I hadn’t said that! If only she were here.

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Hope (real future expectation)

I hope she passes the test. (different from “wish” because it’s realistic)

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⚙️ 3. MODAL VERBS (necessity, ability, etc.)

Meaning	Present/Future	Past
Ability	can	could
Permission	may / can	could
Obligation	must / have to	had to
Advice	should / ought to	should have
Possibility	might / could / may	might have / could have
Deduction (certainty)	must / can’t	must have / can’t have

Examples:

• You must finish this today. (necessity)
• You should see a doctor. (advice)
• He might come later. (possibility)
• She must have left early. (deduction about the past)

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📦 4. PASSIVE VOICE

Used when the receiver of the action is more important than the doer.

Structure: be + past participle

Tense	Example (Active → Passive)
Present Simple	They make cars. → Cars are made.
Past Simple	They built the bridge. → The bridge was built.
Present Perfect	They have repaired the road. → The road has been repaired.
Future Simple	They will announce the results. → The results will be announced.

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🗣 5. REPORTED SPEECH (Indirect Speech)

When telling what someone said, we shift tenses back (usually one step).

Direct	Reported
“I am tired.”	He said he was tired.
“I have finished.”	She said she had finished.
“I will go.”	He said he would go.
“I can help.”	She said she could help.

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🧩 6. NOUN / VERB PATTERNS

Gerunds (V + ing)

I enjoy reading. He admitted stealing the car.

Infinitives (to + V)

I want to learn more. She promised to call me.

Gerund or Infinitive (depends on meaning)

I stopped smoking. (quit the habit) I stopped to smoke. (stopped in order to do it)

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🔗 7. RELATIVE CLAUSES

Defining (essential info):

The man who lives next door is a doctor.

Non-defining (extra info):

My brother, who lives in London, is an engineer.

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⚡ 8. PARTICIPLE CLAUSES (advanced, compact style)

Walking down the street, I saw an old friend. (= While I was walking) Having finished his work, he went home. (= After he finished)

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🧠 9. INVERSION (formal / emphatic structures)

Never have I seen such chaos. (instead of “I have never seen”) Had I known, I would have helped. (= If I had known)

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🕰 10. TALKING ABOUT THE FUTURE FROM THE PAST

(being in the past but referring to the future)

Use would, was/were going to, or was/were about to.

I knew I would see her again someday. I was going to call you, but I forgot. I was about to leave when he arrived.

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✅ Summary of Categories

Category	Examples of Key Forms
Present	Simple / Continuous / Perfect / Perfect Continuous
Past	Simple / Continuous / Perfect / Perfect Continuous
Future	Simple / Continuous / Perfect / Perfect Continuous
Conditionals	Zero / First / Second / Third / Mixed
Modal Verbs	can, could, should, must, might, etc.
Voice	Passive (be + past participle)
Speech	Reported / Indirect
Other Structures	Gerund, Infinitive, Relative, Participles, Inversion

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Excellent question, Gholamreza — you’re already thinking like someone aiming for mastery, not just memory. Since your goal is to remember every English grammar structure from easy to advanced, the best approach combines active recall, pattern recognition, and contextual practice — not just reading.

Here’s a detailed roadmap of what to add to your review plan 👇

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🗣 Transformation Drills

• Base: I eat breakfast at 8.
• Past Simple: I ate breakfast at 8.
• Future Perfect: I’ll have eaten breakfast by 8.
• Passive: Breakfast is eaten at 8.
• Conditional: If I eat breakfast, I feel good.
• Reported: He said he ate breakfast at 8.

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📚 Group Grammar by Meaning Function, Not Tense Name

Native-like intuition comes from recognizing meaning, not labels. Examples:

Function	Common Forms
Talking about ongoing actions	present continuous, past continuous
Talking about experiences	present perfect
Talking about cause/effect in time	past perfect, conditionals
Talking about expectation / plan	will, be going to, be about to
Talking about unreal ideas	2nd & 3rd conditionals, wish, if only
Giving opinions / deductions	must, might, can’t
Talking formally / compactly	participle clauses, inversion

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🎯 Focus on Contrastive Pairs

Study pairs that learners often confuse — they build the deepest understanding:

Pair	Key Difference
Present Perfect vs Past Simple	connection to present vs finished past
Will vs Be Going To	decision vs plan
Must vs Have To	internal vs external obligation
Used To vs Would	past habit (used to = state too; would = actions only)
Say vs Tell	tell + person; say + words

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🧩 Create a “Grammar Mind Map”

Use a mind-mapping app (e.g., Obsidian, Miro, or XMind) to visualize relationships:

TENSES
 ├── Present
 │    ├── Simple → habits
 │    ├── Continuous → now
 │    └── Perfect → experience/result
 ├── Past
 │    ├── Simple → finished event
 │    └── Perfect → before another past
 └── Future
      ├── Will → decision/prediction
      ├── Going to → plan
      └── Perfect → before a future point

This mental map helps you recall instantly by function → form rather than memorizing tables.

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🧾 COMMONLY MISSPELLED WORDS

(Grouped by pattern — you’ll see the logic behind each group)

1. Double letters

Correct	Common Wrong	Tip
accommodation	accomodation	double c + m
occurred	occured	double r
unnecessary	unecessary	double n, double s
committee	commitee	double m, double t
embarrassment	embarassment	double r, double s
beginning	begining	double n before -ing

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2. Vowel confusion (ei/ie, a/e, o/u)

Correct	Wrong	Tip
believe	beleive	i before e except after c
receive	recieve	after c → ei
separate	seperate	think “a rat” → separate
definitely	definately	“finite” is inside it → definitely
privilege	priviledge	ends with “-lege”
necessary	neccessary	one c, two s

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3. Extra / missing letters

Correct	Wrong	Tip
occasionally	ocasionally	two c, two l
maintenance	maintainance	“maintain + ance” not “ain”
government	goverment	keep the n
environment	enviroment	keep the n
occurred	occured	double r
separate	seperate	watch that a again

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4. Common mix-ups

Word	Often Confused With	Difference
affect	effect	affect = verb, effect = noun
lose	loose	lose = not win, loose = not tight
than	then	comparison vs time
their	there / they’re	possessive vs place vs “they are”
advice	advise	noun vs verb
practice	practise	UK: noun vs verb; US: both “practice”

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5. Tricky advanced words

Correct	Wrong	Tip
noticeable	noticable	keep the e before able
occurrence	occurance	double r, ends with -ence
perseverance	perseverence	ends with -ance
indispensable	indispensible	use a, not i
supersede	supercede	only word ending -sede, not -cede
threshold	treshold	don’t drop the h

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⚙️ COMMON GRAMMAR & USAGE MISTAKES

(With corrections, explanations, and mini-examples)

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🔤 1. Subject–Verb Agreement

Wrong	Correct	Rule
She go to school every day.	She goes to school every day.	3rd person singular → add -s
The data is reliable.	The data are reliable.	data = plural (formal English)
None of them are coming.	None of them is coming.	None = singular in formal English (both accepted informally)

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🕒 2. Tense Confusion

Wrong	Correct	Rule
I am studying English since 2010.	I have been studying English since 2010.	Use present perfect continuous for “since/for”.
When I will arrive, I’ll call you.	When I arrive, I’ll call you.	No will in if/when clauses.
I wish I will be taller.	I wish I were taller.	“Wish” + past for present unreal.

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🗣 3. Articles (a/an/the/Ø)

Wrong	Correct	Rule
She is the teacher.	She is a teacher.	“a/an” for one of many; “the” for specific.
I love the nature.	I love Ø nature.	No article with uncountable concepts.
He plays a guitar.	He plays Ø guitar.	No article after “play” + instrument (British: “the guitar” also okay).

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📍 4. Prepositions (frequently missed or misused)

Wrong	Correct	Rule/Tip
Married with someone	Married to someone	always “to”
Different than	Different from	“from” for difference
Depend of	Depend on	“depend on”
Complain for	Complain about	“about” for subject
Discuss about	Discuss (no preposition)	“discuss something”
Arrive to	Arrive at/in	at = small place, in = city/country
Good in math	Good at math	always “at” for skills
Responsible of	Responsible for	always “for”
Interested on	Interested in	always “in”
Congratulate for	Congratulate on	always “on”

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🧱 5. Countable vs Uncountable

Wrong	Correct	Rule
Many informations	Much information	uncountable nouns: info, advice, furniture
A luggage	A piece of luggage	use “piece of” with uncountables
Few money	Little money	“few” for countable, “little” for uncountable

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🔄 6. Word Order

Wrong	Correct	Rule
I only drink coffee on weekends.	I drink coffee only on weekends.	“Only” should be near the word it modifies.
She always is late.	She is always late.	Adverbs of frequency go after “be” or before main verbs.
I don’t know who is he.	I don’t know who he is.	No inversion in indirect questions.

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🧩 7. Common Collocation Errors

Wrong	Correct	Explanation
Do a mistake	Make a mistake	“make” → creation; “do” → activity
Do homework	✅ Do homework	correct!
Take a decision	Make a decision	“make” for result decisions
Strong rain	Heavy rain	“heavy rain” is natural collocation
Big damage	Serious / severe damage	“damage” ≠ “big”

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🗣 8. Too / Enough / Very

Wrong	Correct
She’s not enough tall.	She’s not tall enough.
It’s too much expensive.	It’s too expensive.
He’s very tired.	✅ Correct usage of “very”.

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📚 9. Redundant Words

Wrong	Correct	Note
Return back	Return	“back” already implied
Repeat again	Repeat	“again” is redundant
More better	Better	“better” already comparative
Each and every	Either “each” or “every” (avoid in formal writing)

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💬 10. Common Spoken Grammar Traps (okay in speech, avoid in writing)

Spoken (OK informal)	Formal Written
Me and John went there.	John and I went there.
There’s lots of people here.	There are lots of people here.
Ain’t got no time.	I don’t have any time.
She don’t like it.	She doesn’t like it.

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