The completed report is: "During the chase, the suspect threw a jelly donut directly at me, completely ruining my brand new suit. Although I tried to run after him, I slipped on the jelly, and the only footprints left at the crime scene were mine."
Here is how the forms work in this story:
- me: Used after prepositions like "at" or "to" (at me).
- my: Used before a noun to show who owns it (my suit).
- I: Used as the subject performing the verb (I tried).
- mine: Used alone to replace "my + noun" (the footprints were mine = the footprints were my footprints).
Pronoun
Pronoun vs noun: nouns name explicitly (Sarah, the book). Pronouns substitute and point back (she, it). Pronouns are a closed class (you can't invent new ones easily), while nouns are open (new ones appear constantly). The main complication: pronouns still carry case marking that nouns have lost.
A pronoun replaces a noun or noun phrase. Types: personal, demonstrative, relative, interrogative, reflexive, indefinite.
Diagnostic: every pronoun must have a clear antecedent (the noun it replaces). If the reader can't tell which noun a pronoun refers to → ambiguity error.
Possessive
Noun possessive vs pronoun possessive: nouns ADD an apostrophe for possession (Sarah's, students'). Pronouns NEVER use apostrophes (its, yours, theirs — no apostrophe). This contradiction is why its/it's is the most common error in English writing.
The possessive marks ownership: 's for singular nouns, s' for plural nouns ending in s, and special pronoun forms (my/mine, their/theirs).
Diagnostic: is it a noun? → add 's or s'. Is it a pronoun? → use the built-in possessive form (NO apostrophe). Specifically its (possessive) vs it's (it is).
Subject
Subject vs object: the subject does or is; the object receives. She (subject) hit him (object). In English, position decides: subject comes before the verb, object after. Unlike inflected languages, English rarely marks subjects with case (exception: pronouns — I vs me).
The subject = who/what the sentence is about. Controls verb agreement. Usually a noun/pronoun before the verb.
Diagnostic: ask "who or what [verb]s?" The answer is the subject. The list of items is wrong — what is wrong? The list. That's your subject.
Object
Object vs subject: the subject does the action; the object receives it. The cat (subject) chased the mouse (object). In English, word order (SVO) determines which is which — subject before verb, object after.
An object is the entity a verb acts upon: direct (I read the book), indirect (I gave her a book), or prepositional (I waited for him).
Diagnostic: ask "[verb] what/whom?" after the verb. The answer is the direct object. Ask "to/for whom?" for the indirect object. After a preposition? Prepositional object.
Determiner
Determiner vs adjective: both appear before a noun, but determiners specify which/how many while adjectives describe what kind. Determiners come first: the big cat (✅) vs big the cat (❌). You can stack adjectives (big fluffy cat) but generally only one determiner per noun.
A determiner is a function slot before a noun filled by articles, demonstratives, possessives, or quantifiers.
Diagnostic: does the word tell you which one or how many rather than what kind? → determiner. Does it describe a quality? → adjective.
A1 | Elementary | Beginners
A1 vs A2: A1 covers isolated survival phrases (Where is…?, I am…, How much?). A2 handles connected sentences about familiar routines and simple past events. If you can manage short fixed phrases but not string together original sentences about your day, you're still A1.
A1 is the entry level of the CEFR: greetings, introductions, numbers, basic present tense, and core function words.
Diagnostic: can you describe yesterday using past tense? No → A1. Yes → you're moving into A2.
Medium
Medium vs Easy: Easy has one obviously correct answer and clearly wrong distractors. Medium has one correct answer but plausible distractors — you need to actually know the rule, not just guess from sound.
The Medium tag filters for A2–B1 challenges with realistic difficulty: one rule per question, plausible alternatives, everyday contexts.
Diagnostic: if you're scoring 90%+ on Easy, move here. If you're below 60% on Medium, go back to Easy for that topic. Target 70–80% accuracy for maximum learning.