Parts of speech identify the job each word performs in a sentence, while tenses show when an action happens. Strong grammar questions depend on recognizing both the word's role and the time relationship between events.

1. Main parts of speech

• Noun: names a person, place, thing, or idea, such as teacher, city, book, or freedom.
• Pronoun: replaces a noun, such as he, she, it, they, or which.
• Verb: expresses an action, occurrence, or state, such as write, became, or is.
• Adjective: describes a noun or pronoun, such as bright, careful, or three.
• Adverb: modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb, such as quickly, very, or often.
• Preposition: shows a relationship, such as in, on, under, between, or after.
• Conjunction: joins words or clauses, such as and, but, because, or although.

2. Core tense forms

• Simple present: habits and facts: She walks every day.
• Present continuous: an action happening now: She is walking.
• Simple past: completed past action: She walked yesterday.
• Past continuous: an ongoing past action: She was walking when it rained.
• Present perfect: a past action connected to now: She has walked three miles.
• Simple future: a future action: She will walk tomorrow.

3. Subject-verb agreement

A verb must agree with its true subject, not with a nearby noun. Singular subjects take singular verbs, while plural subjects take plural verbs. Ignore phrases introduced by of, with, along with, and as well as when identifying the main subject.

4. A reliable solving method

1. Find the main subject and main verb first.
2. Ask what role the target word plays in that sentence.
3. Use time markers such as yesterday, since, now, and by next week to identify the tense.
4. Check whether related verbs describe events at compatible times.
5. Read the completed sentence aloud to confirm that the grammar and meaning both work.

Common mistakes

• Matching a verb with the nearest noun instead of its actual subject.
• Using an adjective where an adverb is needed to describe an action.
• Mixing past and present forms without a change in time.
• Using simple past instead of present perfect when the action has relevance now.
• Using a pronoun whose reference is unclear or grammatically mismatched.

Quick revision summary

• Identify word function from its use in the sentence.
• Match the verb to the true subject.
• Use time markers to select the correct tense.
• Keep verb tenses consistent unless the time changes.