Here are some links to free online grammar practice activities to help you or your students get additional grammar help eliminating grammar errors. Online activities provide instant feedback, which helps learners know what they are doing right and what they need to improve. These activities are best done on a computer rather than on the small touchscreen on a phone or tablet.
They are organized under headings. I have more, and I will post more links when I have time. In the meantime, share them far and wide if you find them useful.
However, if you want to check your own grammar for common errors, you can learn more about the Virtual Writing Tutor Grammar Checker or go directly to the home page and start checking your writing for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and word choice errors. If you want an offline activity for the classroom, I have a free error correction card game that you might like.
Online quizzes
Adjectives
These online activities help learners master comparative adjectives. ESL learners often need help with this grammar point. You can link directly to this list of activities by putting #adjectives at the end of the URL of this page.
- Comparative Adjectives — Matching Activity
- Comparative Adjectives — Fill in the Blanks #1
- Comparative Adjectives — Fill in the Blanks #2
- Comparative Adjectives — Fill in the Blanks #3
- Comparative Adjectives — Fill in the Blanks #4
Adverb grammar exercises
Adverb word order can be a challenge for some. English puts adverbs of frequency (always, sometimes, never, etc.) before action verbs but after the verb to be.
These online adverb practice activities provide opportunities to notice adverbs in context, and then find and correct adverb errors. You can link directly to this list of free activities by putting #adverbs at the end of the URL of this page.
Articles
ESL students sometimes find English articles difficult. Some languages don’t use articles, so missing articles can be a problem. Other languages like French use the definite article before unrestricted abstract nouns–something you can’t do in English. Another common error for many language learners is using a/an with an uncountable noun. The practice activities below can help with these types of error.
You can link directly to this list of free online error-find and error-correction activities by putting #articles at the end of the URL of this page.
- Abstract Noun with Article Errors — Error Find
- Abstract Noun with Article Errors — Error Correction
- Uncountable Nouns with Indefinite Articles — Error Find
- Uncountable Nouns with Indefinite Articles — Error Correction
Capitalization practice activities
With the rise of messaging apps on phones, capitalization can be a mystery for ESL students. You can link directly to this list of free activities by putting #capitalization at the end of the URL of this page.
Cegep program name practice activities
These activities will be of special interest to college students doing a field-related English course in Quebec, Canada, who need to know how to refer to their programs in English.
College teachers can send the students directly to this list of free grammar practice activities using this link: #program-names.
- Cegep Program Names Match #1
- Cegep Program Names Match #2
- Cegep Program Names Match #3
- Cegep Program Names Match# 4
- Cegep Program Names Match #5
- Cegep Program Names Review Quiz
Comma error correction exercises
Commas are confusing, and so students make many comma errors. Some languages like French and Bulgarian permit joining two sentences with a comma. In English, joining two sentences with a comma but without a coordinating conjunction is called a comma-splice error. Some students mistakenly believe that since we use a comma in quoted speech, we should use a comma with reported speech, too.
Below is a list of free grammar practice activities to help learners develop the revision strategies needed to eliminate common errors related to commas. To link to it directly, use the URL of this page with #comma-errors at the end.
- Find comma splice errors
- Correct comma splice errors
- Missing comma before introductory phrase error correction exercise
- Comma error find.
- Comma error correction practice.
Conditional practice activities
The simplest definition of conditionals is that conditional sentences are complex sentences with “if.” Of course, you can make conditional sentences with “unless” and even use subject-verb inversion instead (If I had known >> Had I known).
Instead of laboring over low-frequency examples of conditional sentences, I figure the best way to get students to learn conditionals is to show them how conditional sentence grammar is used in in the wild, for example in learning English through music videos.
Below is a list of conditional practice activities that combine YouTube videos with fill-in-the-blank quizzes. You can link to this list of activities by putting #conditionals at the end of the URL to this page. Share if you care.
- Beyonce vocabulary matching activity
- Second Conditionals: Beyonce — If I were a Boy
- Beyonce Parody: If I were a Girl
- Coldplay: What if
- Jason Derulo: What if
- The Maine
- If I only had a brain
- Conditional grammar quiz
Contractions — online practice activities
English is full of contractions. Although we are often told to avoid them in academic English, conversational English requires them. If you can’t contract and understand contractions, you’l have difficulty communicating with most people most of the time.
Share this list on free online grammar practice activities by appending the hashtag #contractions to the end of the URL of this page.
- Contractions Match 1
- Contractions Match 2
- Contractions Match 3
- Contractions Match 4
- Contractions Match 5
- Contractions Match 6
- Contractions Match 7
- Contractions Match 8
- Contractions Match 9
- Contractions match 10
- Contractions QUIZ
Family Vocabulary Practice
Learning the vocabulary used to discuss family members and relations takes time, so it is helpful to have free online grammar practice activities to help learners master them quickly. You can link to this list using the hashtag #family at the end of the URL of this page.
- Talking about family part 1
- Talking about family part 2
- Talking about family part 3
- Talking about family part 4
- Talking about family part 5
- Talking about family part 6
- Talking about family part 7
- Talking about family part 8
- Talking about family part 9
- Talking about family part 10
Intensifiers
Intensifiers like really and very can be tricky for some. However, there is a simple rule that can help: use very to intensify adjectives, and use really with adjectives, adverbs, and verbs.
You can link to this short list of intensifier practice activities directly by adding #intensifiers to the end of the URL of this page.
Listening online practice activities
You can find more music videos for learning English in the conditionals section above. Alternatively, here is a more complete list of online activities for learning English through music videos.
- Listening Activity: Tracy Chapman — Fast Car
- Listening Activity: Tracy Chapman — Promise
- Listening Activity: Enrique Iglesias — Little Girl
Modal Auxiliaries in Online Quizzes
Free grammar practice activities like the ones listed below can help
- Modal Uses
- Modal for Sports
- Modal for Jobs
- Modal Comic #1
- Modal Comic #2
- Modal Comic #3
- Modal Comic #4
- Modal Comic #5
- Modal Comic #6
- Modal Error Correction #1
- Modal Error Correction #2
- Modal Error Correction #3
- Modal Error Correction #4
- Modal Error Correction #5
- Modal Error Correction #6
- Modal Error Correction #7
- Modal Error Correction #8
- Modal Error Review Quiz
- Modals: 5 Meanings of Can — Match #1
- Modals: 5 Meanings of Can — Match #2
- Modals: Pocoyo Listening
- Modals: Probability Matching Exercise
- Modals: French Translation Matching Exercise #1
- Modals: French Translation Matching Exercise #2
- Modals: French Translation Matching Exercise #3
- Modals: French Translation Matching Exercise #3
- Modals: Herman Fill-in-the-blank #1
- Modals: Herman Fill-in-the-blank #2
- Modals: Herman Fill-in-the-blank #3
- Modals: Herman Fill-in-the-blank #4
- Modals: Herman Fill-in-the-blank #5
- Modals: Herman Fill-in-the-blank #6
- Modals: Herman Fill-in-the-blank #7
- Modals: Herman Fill-in-the-blank #8
- Modals: Herman Fill-in-the-blank #9
- Modals: Probability Matching Exercise
- Modals: Polite Requests and Offers — Fill the Blanks 1
- Modals: Polite Requests and Offers — Fill the Blanks 2
- Modals: Polite Requests and Offers — Fill the Blanks 3
- Modals: Polite Requests and Offers — Fill the Blanks 4
- Modals: Polite Requests and Offers — Fill the Blanks 5
- Modals: Polite Requests and Offers — Fill the Blanks 6
- Modals: Polite Requests and Offers — Fill the Blanks 7
- Modals: Polite Requests and Offers — Fill the Blanks 8
- Modals: Polite Requests and Offers — Fill the Blanks 9
Negation practice activities
The most common error that native speakers and second language learners make with negative verb forms is to use a double negative to intensify the negative polarity. For other types of errors people make with negative forms, see the list of negation error examples here.
You can link directly to this list with the hashtag #negation after the URL of this page.
- Negation: Double Negative Errors — Error Find
- Negation: Double Negative Errors — Error Correction
- Past Tense Negative Quiz
- Match Affirmative to Negative Verb Forms
- Match Negative Verb Forms to Affirmative Verb Forms
Past Perfect grammar practice
The Past Perfect tense is useful for describe the past before the past. Why is is the Past Perfect called perfect? in this case, perfect means finished. So in other words, the Past Perfect describes an event that was finished at a time in the past.
Past Progressive practice activities
The Past Progressive is very useful for describing an ongoing event in the past.
Pen Pals
The Virtual Writing Tutor grammar checker comes with a teacher-moderated pen-pal exchange system. Below is a list of practice activities that you can use to learn about pen pals, and the vocabulary used to discuss pen pal exchanges. You can link directly to this list using the hashtag #pen-pals appended to the URL of this page.
- Lifelong pen pals — numbers with fill-in-the-blanks
- Lifelong pen pals — numbers with dropdown
- Lifelong pen pals — French-English vocabulary match
- Lifelong pen pals — introduction
- Lifelong pen pals — phone interview
- Lifelong pen pals — early years
- Canadian and Ethiopian pen pals dropdown
- Canadian and Ethiopian pen pals quiz
Plurals – Irregular
Possessive Pronouns
Prepositions
Present Perfect
- For or Since with family
- For or since
- Present Perfect versus the Simple Past
- Present Perfect used when talking about pranks
- Present Perfect versus Present Perfect Progressive
Pronouns
- Indefinite Pronouns: Anybody, Everybody, Nobody
- Object Pronouns: Whom — Error Find
- Object Pronouns: Whom — Error Correct
Punctuation
- Comma Rules — Error Find
- Comma Rules — Error Correction
- Punctuation: Direct Speech — Error Find
- Punctuation: Direct Speech — Error Correction
Question Formation
- Information Question Word Order (drag and drop grammar)
- Information Questions Word Order (drag and drop #1)
- Information Questions Word Order (drag and drop #2)
- Information Questions Word Order (drag and drop #3)
- Information Questions Word Order (drag and drop #4)
- Information Questions Word Order (drag and drop #5)
- Information Questions Word Order (drag and drop #6)
- Information Questions Word Order (drag and drop #7)
- Information Questions Word Order (drag and drop #8)
- Information Questions Word Order (drag and drop #9)
- Question Formation — Virtual Medical History Interview
Quoted Speech Punctuation Errors
- Practice Finding Quoted Speech Punctuation Errors.
- Practice Correcting Quoted Speech Punctuation Errors.
Reading Activities
Simple Future
Simple Past
- The Divine Beauty Contest
- Bob Marley (You will have to allow the Flash video — it’s safe!)
- Past Tense Verbs: Irregular — Error Find #1
- Past Tense Verbs: Irregular — Error Correction #1
- Past Tense Verbs: Irregular — Error Find #2
- Past Tense Verbs: Irregular — Error Correction #2
- Past Tense Verbs: Irregular — Error Find #3
- Past Tense Verbs: Irregular — Error Correction #3
- Past Tense Verbs: Irregular — Error Find #4
- Past Tense Verbs: Irregular — Error Correction #4
- Past Tense Verbs: Irregular — Error Find #5
- Past Tense Verbs: Irregular — Error Correction #5
- Past Tense Verbs: Irregular — Error Find #6
- Past Tense Verbs: Irregular — Error Correction #6
- Past Tense Verbs: Irregular — Error Find #6
- Past Tense Verbs: Irregular — Error Correction #7
Simple Present Free Grammar Practice Activities
Slang
I prefer that students avoid using the F-word. Nevertheless, it is part of the language, and therefore if you want to master English, you should familiarize yourself with the entire language–as much as is practical
Verb Agreement Errors
If you need grammar help because of verb agreement errors in your writing, these online activities and online quizzes should help. This is such a common error that I have created a dozen activities for you to use or share. Jump directly to this list using the hashtag #verb-agreement at the end of the URL of this page.
- Verb agreement error find #1.
- Verb agreement error correction practice #1.
- Verb agreement error find #2.
- Verb agreement error correction practice #2.
- Verb agreement error find #3.
- Verb agreement error correction practice #3.
- Verb agreement error find #4.
- Verb agreement error correction practice #4.
- Choose Auxiliaries for the Present Progressive #1.
- Choose Auxiliaries for the Present Progressive #2.
- Choose Auxiliaries for the Present Progressive #3.
- Choose Auxiliaries for the Past Perfect.
Word Choice Online Activities
While not exactly a grammar problem, word choice errors can be included among the areas that students need help with. However, when you use “many” with an uncountable noun or “much” with a plural, you need grammar help. This list of online quizzes might help you or your students.
Use the hashtag #word-choice at the end of the URL of this page to jump directly here.
- The Difference Between Affect and Effect — Error Find
- The Difference Between Affect and Effect — Error Correction
- Word Choice: Much or Many — Error Find
- Word Choice: Much or Many — Error Correction
Word Order
If you are looking for the order of adjectives, look no further. If you are looking for comparative adjective error correction exercises, they are at the top of the page.
