Avoiding Extra Words: Prepositions, Pronouns, and Subjects

In English, adding unnecessary words is a common grammar trap that can make your sentences sound unnatural. For example, we say discuss the plan instead of discuss about the plan, and the car I bought instead of the car I bought it.

This challenge focuses on eliminating these clunky extra words. You will practice using transitive verbs without unnecessary prepositions (like contact, call, and approach), dropping extra resumptive pronouns in relative clauses, and avoiding double subjects (e.g., The manager expects, not The manager, she expects). You'll also correct common mistakes involving extra to be verbs (such as saying I am agree) and directional adverbs like home and downtown that don't need prepositions.

You'll work through 14 questions in a mix of single-choice, multi-choice, drop-down, and drag-and-drop formats.

Try the quiz to check your knowledge!

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Correct Answers

Auxiliary verb

✅ Do you know? — ❌ Know you? (English requires do-support for questions)
✅ She has finished. — ❌ She finished has. (auxiliary before main verb)
✅ They are leaving. — ❌ They leaving. (progressive needs be)
✅ He doesn't smoke. — ❌ He smokes not. (negation needs do)

Auxiliary verbs (be, have, do, and the modals) combine with main verbs to build questions, negatives, tenses, aspects, and passive voice.

Pattern: if you need to ask a question, negate, or stack tense/aspect — you need an auxiliary. The main verb carries meaning; the auxiliary carries grammar.

Clause

I missed the bus. — ✅ independent clause (stands alone)
Because I overslept. — ❌ fragment (dependent clause, can't stand alone)
Because I overslept, I missed the bus. — ✅ dependent + independent = complete sentence
I missed the bus, and I was late. — ✅ two independent clauses joined by and

A clause is a unit built around a verb with a subject. Independent = can stand alone. Dependent = needs an independent clause to complete it.

Test: does the group of words have a subject + verb AND can it be a sentence on its own? Yes → independent clause. Has a subject + verb but feels incomplete → dependent clause.

Complex sentence

✅ Because I overslept, I missed the bus. — dependent clause (reason) + independent
✅ The man who called is my uncle. — relative clause inside the sentence
✅ If it rains, we'll stay inside. — conditional dependent + independent
❌ Because I overslept. — fragment (dependent clause alone)

A complex sentence pairs an independent clause with one or more dependent clauses linked by subordinating conjunctions (because, although, if, when) or relative pronouns (who, which, that).

Pattern: independent clause = the main point. Dependent clause = the background, reason, or condition. Move the dependent clause around for emphasis.

Conjunction

✅ I was tired, but I stayed. — coordinating (links two equal clauses)
✅ I stayed because I was needed. — subordinating (introduces dependent clause)
✅ Although it rained, we went out. — subordinating (front position)
❌ I was tired, because. — incomplete (subordinating conjunction needs a clause after it)

Conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses. Coordinating (and, but, or, so, yet, for, nor) join equals; subordinating (because, although, if, when, while) introduce dependent clauses.

Pattern: coordinating = equal partners, same grammatical weight. Subordinating = one clause depends on the other for its meaning.

Infinitive

✅ I want to go. — to-infinitive after want
✅ She can swim. — bare infinitive after modal
✅ Let me help. — bare infinitive after let
❌ I enjoy to read. — wrong (enjoy takes gerund, not infinitive)

The infinitive has two forms: to-infinitive (to go) after verbs like want, decide, plan, hope; bare infinitive (go) after modals and causatives (let, make, help).

Rule: after want, need, decide, plan, hope, expect, agree, refuse → to-infinitive. After can, will, must, let, make → bare infinitive. After enjoy, avoid, finish → gerund, NOT infinitive.

Noun

The cat sat on the mat. — concrete nouns (things you can touch)
Happiness is important. — abstract noun (idea/quality)
London is beautiful. — proper noun (specific name, capitalised)
I need some information. — uncountable noun (no a/an, no plural)

A noun names a person, place, thing, idea, or quality. Nouns determine article choice, verb agreement, and pronoun reference. Types: common/proper, concrete/abstract, countable/uncountable.

Test: can you put the or a before it? Can you make it plural? If yes to either → it's functioning as a noun.

Object

Sam fed the dogs. — direct object (what was fed)
She sent him a present. — indirect object (who received it)
She waited for Lucy. — prepositional object (after preposition)
I gave her a book. — indirect + direct object together

An object is what a verb acts on or directs its action toward. Direct = the thing affected. Indirect = the recipient. Prepositional = after a preposition.

Test: Verb + what/whom? = direct object. Verb + to/for whom? = indirect object. After a preposition? = prepositional object.

Past tense

I walked home. — simple past (completed action)
I was walking when it rained. — past progressive (in progress)
I had already left when she arrived. — past perfect (earlier past)
I had been waiting for an hour. — past perfect progressive (duration up to a past point)

Four past tense forms: simple past (done), past progressive (was happening), past perfect (had already happened), past perfect progressive (had been happening). Each encodes different timing relative to other past events.

Pattern: simple past = the story's main timeline. Past progressive = background action. Past perfect = flashback to something even earlier.

Phrase

the red car — noun phrase (functions as one noun unit)
on the table — prepositional phrase
has been running — verb phrase
very quickly — adverb phrase

A phrase is a group of words that functions as a single unit WITHOUT a subject + verb pair. Types: noun phrase, verb phrase, prepositional phrase, adjective phrase, adverb phrase.

Key distinction: a phrase lacks a subject-verb pair. If it has subject + verb → it's a clause, not a phrase. Phrases are the building blocks clauses are made of.

Preposition

✅ interested in — ❌ interested on
✅ good at football — ❌ good in football
✅ depend on — ❌ depend of
✅ arrive at the station — ❌ arrive to the station

Prepositions link nouns to the rest of the sentence: time (at 5pm), place (in London), manner (with care), abstract (afraid of). Most are idiomatic — the "correct" preposition must be memorised with each verb/adjective combination.

Rule: there is no universal rule. English prepositions are learned by combination: interested IN, good AT, depend ON, afraid OF. Your native language's equivalent will often mislead.

Present tense

I work here. — simple present (habit/permanent)
I am working now. — present progressive (happening right now)
I have lived here for 10 years. — present perfect (started past, still true)
I have been waiting for an hour. — present perfect progressive (duration up to now)

Four present tense forms: simple (habits/facts), progressive (now/temporary), perfect (past → present relevance), perfect progressive (ongoing duration). Each encodes a different relationship between the action and the present moment.

Trap: "I am living here for 10 years" ❌ — started in the past + still true = present PERFECT (have lived/have been living), not progressive.

Pronoun

✅ between you and me — ❌ between you and I (objective case after preposition)
✅ its colour — ❌ it's colour (it's = it is)
✅ She did it herself. — reflexive pronoun
✅ The person who called… — relative pronoun

Pronouns replace nouns: personal (I/me/my), demonstrative (this/that), relative (who/which/that), interrogative (who?/what?), reflexive (myself), indefinite (everyone/nobody). They carry case that nouns have lost.

Trap: pronouns are where English case still matters: I vs me, who vs whom, its vs it's. Get these wrong and it's instantly noticeable.

Relative clause

✅ The man who called is my uncle. — restrictive (essential: which man?)
✅ My uncle, who lives in Paris, called. — non-restrictive (extra info, commas)
❌ My uncle that lives in Paris — wrong (that can't introduce non-restrictive)
✅ The book that I read = The book I read — restrictive (pronoun optional)

Relative clauses modify nouns using who/whom/whose/which/that or where/when/why. Restrictive = essential, no commas, that OK. Non-restrictive = extra, needs commas, uses which/who (never that).

Rule: if you can remove the clause and still know which noun is meant → non-restrictive (commas). If removing it makes the noun ambiguous → restrictive (no commas).

Sentence

She left. — simple (one independent clause)
She left, and he stayed. — compound (two independents)
She left because she was tired. — complex (independent + dependent)
She left because she was tired, and he stayed. — compound-complex

A sentence = one or more clauses forming a complete thought, ending with terminal punctuation. Four types based on clause structure: simple, compound, complex, compound-complex.

Minimum requirement: at least one independent clause with a subject + finite verb. Without that → fragment.

Subject

✅ The list of items is wrong. — subject = list (singular), not items
❌ The list of items are wrong. — trapped by nearest noun
✅ Running is good exercise. — gerund as subject
✅ What he said surprised me. — clause as subject

The subject is the noun/pronoun/phrase before the verb that controls its number and person. Finding the true subject — especially through prepositional phrases — is the key to subject-verb agreement.

Rule: strip away prepositional phrases between subject and verb. Whatever's left is the true subject. The list (of items) is wrong.

Verb

walk → walk / walks / walked / walked / walking (5 forms, regular)
go → go / goes / went / gone / going (5 forms, irregular)
be → am/is/are/was/were/be/being/been (8 forms)
can → can / could (modal: only 2 forms, no -s, no -ing)

A verb is the one word class every English sentence requires. Carries tense (when), aspect (duration), mood (attitude), and voice (active/passive). Regular verbs add -ed; ~200 irregular verbs have unpredictable past forms.

Key insight: fix your verbs and most grammar problems disappear. Wrong tense, wrong agreement, wrong form — verb errors account for the majority of grammatical mistakes.

Simple tense

✅ I go to work every day. — present simple (habit)
✅ She went home yesterday. — past simple (completed action)
✅ I will call you later. — future simple (promise/decision)
✅ Water boils at 100°C. — present simple (general truth)

The simple aspect is the default, unmarked verb form. Present simple = habits, facts, schedules. Past simple = completed actions. Future simple = predictions, promises, decisions. No auxiliary needed (except will for future and do for questions/negatives).

Rule: if the action is a fact, habit, completed event, or scheduled future — and you don't need to emphasise it being in-progress or connected to now → simple tense.

Word order

✅ She (S) eats (V) cake (O). — standard SVO
❌ Cake eats she. — SOV (not English)
✅ a lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife — adjective order (opinion→size→age→shape→colour→origin→material→purpose)
✅ Never have I seen… — inversion after negative adverb

English word order = SVO (subject-verb-object) as default. Adjectives follow a fixed sequence (opinion→size→age→shape→colour→origin→material). Adverb placement varies by type. Deviations signal questions, emphasis, or literary style.

Rule: when in doubt, default to SVO. English position = meaning. Move a word and you change the grammar or the emphasis.

Collocations

✅ make a decision — ❌ do a decision
✅ strong coffee — ❌ powerful coffee
✅ heavy rain — ❌ strong rain
✅ highly unlikely — ❌ very unlikely (grammatical, but less natural)

Collocations are word pairs that English habitually puts together. Both options may be grammatically valid, but one sounds native and the other doesn't.

Pattern: there's no logic to predict them — you make decisions but do homework, you have strong coffee but heavy rain. They must be learned as chunks, not deduced from rules.

B1 | Intermediate

✅ If I had more time, I would travel more. — second conditional
✅ The bridge was built in 1920. — passive voice
✅ She said she was tired. — reported speech with backshift
✅ Although it rained, we enjoyed the trip. — complex sentence with concession

These are B1 patterns — the CEFR intermediate level. At B1 you link ideas, use passive voice, handle reported speech, and manage second conditional — enough for travel, work basics, and everyday independence.

Marker: if you can explain why something happened and follow a news story, you're B1.

B2 | Upper Intermediate

✅ If I had studied harder, I would have passed. — third conditional
✅ The report is being reviewed by the committee. — passive progressive
✅ Having finished the exam, she left. — participle clause
✅ He denied having taken the money. — complex verb pattern

These are B2 patterns — the CEFR upper-intermediate level. At B2 you handle mixed conditionals, all passive forms, participle clauses, and can argue a point clearly. This is the level most universities and employers require.

Marker: if you can write a structured essay and debate an abstract topic, you're B2.

Medium

If I were you, I would apologise. — one rule (second conditional), but distractors like was tempt you
Answers require active thought, not instant pattern recognition
Vocabulary and context are realistic, not artificially simplified
Usually tests one rule, but the wrong answers are plausible

Medium marks middle-difficulty challenges: A2–B1, one rule tested, but with realistic distractors that require genuine understanding.

Use "Medium" when Easy feels too obvious but Hard feels overwhelming. This is where most productive learning happens — the sweet spot of difficulty.