Use grammar resources for adult ESL students to help them create a strong foundation that will equip them for eloquent and accurate expression. Scroll to scan through the various concepts I’ve covered so far, or click here to go directly to my TpT store and use the custom categories to find exactly what you want.
Clicking on a “LEARN MORE” button will take you to that resource’s page on TpT where you can see thumbnails, a preview, and read a more detailed description. You’ll also see what bundles it might be a part of and what other resources I have for that concept.
The resources below are in alphabetical order except for the verb tenses, which are in their own section at the end. Jump to the verb tenses.
Active & Passive Voice
Passive voice? Active voice? Which is which and which is better? Understanding the difference between active and passive voices can pose a significant challenge for ESL students, despite how innately familiar that difference is to native speakers. If you’re an instructor guiding adult ESL or secondary English students, this is tailor-made to demystify these linguistic structures.
Adjective Clauses
Make adjective clauses easily understood and used with this informative and engaging grammar resource! This zero-prep grammar guide & worksheet set is perfect for exploring how to use adjective clauses to improve writing. Make adjective clauses something they can cross off their list of difficult grammar concepts because this is going to make it so much easier for them!
Adjectives
Adjectives, often a labyrinth of confusion for ESL students, pose a unique challenge, particularly when their native language boasts contrasting adjective rules. That’s why you need (and want) this comprehensive adjectives grammar guide and accompanying worksheets!
Adverb Clauses
“Time clauses give me a headache,” said one of my ESL students, and that’s precisely why I created this comprehensive grammar guide. It simplifies and clarifies adverb clauses of time, using a color-coded approach (black and white also included) and various subordinating conjunctions—after, when, until, before, once, while, as soon as, whenever, & by the time—making complex sentence construction a breeze.
Articles
Articles, often a stumbling block for international students, are integral to English. But these “little banes of my existence” (according to one of my former students) don’t need to confuse your adult ESL students any longer! Help your students say farewell to confusion with this comprehensive grammar guide and activities, specifically designed to clarify the usage of “a,” “an,” “the,” and the absence of articles with singular nouns, plural nouns, and noncount nouns.
Causative Verbs
Causatives let us express how actions are initiated or directed by someone or something else, offering a nuanced understanding of cause-and-effect relationships in language. When you guide your students into mastering causatives, you empower them to articulate complex ideas, convey responsibilities, and navigate interpersonal interactions with precision and clarity. (That made you feel a bit like a superhero, didn’t it?)
Comparative Adjectives
This comprehensive resource offers a robust 3-page grammar guide that intricately explores the use of -er and more forms (and more), accompanied by engaging exercises in printable and digital EASEL formats.
Comparative Adverbs
Looking for a complete grammar guide and worksheet set that helps students understand how adverb comparisons work? You’ve found it! Understanding comparative adverbs helps adult ESL students with effective communication and writing.
Conditionals
Ever wanted to explore the “what ifs” of language with your adult ESL students? Conditionals are your gateway! Conditionals—where possibilities unfold and hypothetical scenarios take shape, empowering students to express, imagine, and communicate with finesse.
Coordinating Conjunctions
Tailored for self-study sessions, group engagements, or as a supplementary resource for lessons focusing on compound sentences and the intricacies of coordinating conjunctions, this guide equips ESL students with the tools needed to wield language with finesse. Watch your students learn to craft eloquent compound sentences using coordinating conjunctions.
Count & Noncount Nouns
Yes, mastering count and noncount nouns is a challenge for ESL students, but this comprehensive resource is here to change that. This three-page grammar guide, accompanied by worksheets and engaging activities, makes understanding and correctly using count and noncount nouns pretty much a done deal! With the included interactive EASEL version, learning becomes interactive and enjoyable!
Frequency Adverbs
Offering a wealth of worksheets and a detailed grammar guide designed to make grasping adverbs of frequency in the simple present tense a cinch for your students, this will also make your teaching life easier. With nothing to assemble, you just print and go. (Or use the digital version–no printing needed.)
Gerunds & Infinitives
This gerunds and infinitives resource offers a comprehensive grammar guide complemented by exercises designed to reinforce understanding and application. Teachers need a resource that clarifies these linguistic concepts and engages students effectively, making learning interactive and enjoyable. This is it!
Linking Verbs
Inside this comprehensive linking verbs pack, you’ll find a wealth of resources designed to make using linking verbs almost come naturally. From identifying and differentiating between linking and action verbs to understanding the nuances of linking versus auxiliary verbs, this guide provides clear explanations and practical exercises.
Modal Auxiliaries
Modals enable students to express possibilities, abilities, permissions, obligations, and more with precision. Use this modals grammar guide and worksheet packet to help your students articulate thoughts, intentions, and actions more effectively with the correct use of modals.
Noun Clauses
Tired of searching for comprehensive resources for noun clauses that truly dig into the versatility of noun clauses beyond the basics? Look no further! While many textbooks merely skim the surface, leaving students wanting more, this grammar resource fills the gap by offering an extensive array of example sentences showcasing the myriad uses of noun clauses.
Plural Nouns
Making singular nouns plural can be a perplexing challenge for adult ESL learners, especially depending on their language background. This all-encompassing plural nouns grammar guide and worksheet pack is ready to come to your rescue.
Possessive Adjectives
This possessive adjectives grammar guide and worksheet pack transforms what might seem complex into an enjoyable learning experience. Whether you’re a seasoned educator seeking engaging teaching aids or a new teacher craving a deeper understanding, this pack is your key to making learning possessive adjectives easy for your students.
Possessive Nouns
Possessive nouns are a key element of clear and effective communication in English. They denote ownership and relationships, essential for articulating thoughts, describing connections, and expressing ownership gracefully. After all, you don’t want your students to continue using overly complicated sentences like, “The roommate of my brother borrowed the car of my sister.” (That may not be a direct quote, but I’ve absolutely had students who talked like that.)
Possessive Pronouns
Crafted specifically for beginner-level adult ESL learners, this resource can also help secondary students more accurately express ownership with possessive pronouns. From describing relationships to expressing possession with brevity, possessing a firm grasp of these pronouns enriches spoken conversation and written expression. So, how is this resource going to help you help your adult ESL students with all that? Click to find out!
Subject-Verb Agreement
Is subject-verb agreement tripping up your students? Get ready to tackle it with them! This grammar guide will lay it all out for them, and the accompanying subject-verb agreement worksheets will give them the practice they need. Whew. No more scouring the internet. All you have to do is buy it and print it! ^_^
Superlative Adjectives
Well, if your adult ESL grammar class needs an introduction to or more practice with superlative adjectives, you’ve found just what you need! Sit back and relax after buying this and enjoy a little free time because everything you need is right here.
Tag Questions
While constructing tag questions is a breeze, answering them can pose challenges, especially considering language backgrounds. This grammar guide and worksheet pack offers invaluable practice, providing a comprehensive understanding of tag question mechanics and nuances in simple, progressive, and perfect tenses.
Grammar Resources for Adult ESL
Irregular Simple Past
We don’t want our students to feel like they’re being driven mad, so let’s help them make the irregular simple past easier to take in. This irregular simple past grammar pack might be tailored explicitly for adult ESL educators, but secondary teachers will love it as well!
Regular Simple Past
The simple past tense acts as a time machine, enabling students to recount past events, narrate stories, and describe completed actions. Yet, mastering this grammatical structure, with its varied verb endings and sentence forms, can present hurdles for ESL learners.
Simple Present
Inside this simple present pack, there’s a simple present treasure trove created for adult ESL. The grammar guide, available in color and printer-friendly black & white, breaks down the details of the simple present tense in a way that simplifies learning. And the worksheets? You’ll love them!
There is / There are
“There is” and “There are” are fundamental in English as they describe existence and presence. However, whenever we reached that point in our textbooks, my students always needed more…more explanation and lots more practice. Once I created this grammar resource, “more” became “enough” and “plenty.”
Simple Future
Within this comprehensive grammar resource lies a two-page grammar guide tailored as a quick, simple future reference for your students. Alongside this, an array of engaging worksheets awaits, designed to reinforce understanding and application in practical scenarios.
Past Progressive
Teaching the past progressive is no longer a hassle. Say hello to your go-to grammar guide compacted into two convenient pages for front-back printing, designed to streamline learning the past progressive tense. And wait until you find out what else is included!
Present Progressive
Mastering the present progressive is paramount for your adult ESL students. Have you been looking for a comprehensive grammar guide, accompanied by an assortment of engaging worksheets, tailored precisely for adult students who need to master the present progressive tense? Well, congratulations, because that’s what you’ve found!
Simple Past vs. Present Progressive
Help your adult ESL students understand the distinction between the simple present and present progressive tenses. Knowing the difference is vital as it separates habitual actions or facts (simple present) from ongoing actions or temporary situations (present progressive).
Future Progressive
Sure, the future progressive is an often overlooked verb tense. Yet, it is significant for intermediate to high-level ESL students preparing for English proficiency exams. So, let’s dig into this essential grammar structure with this comprehensive pack with worksheets created for secondary to adult learners.
Past Perfect & Past Perfect Progressive
Want to empower your adult ESL students to communicate intricate timelines and connections in English fluently? Enter this comprehensive 3-in-1 grammar guide pack—a crucial tool for ESL students striving to wield the past perfect and past perfect progressive with confidence and accuracy.
Present Perfect
This comprehensive present perfect pack of worksheets and a grammar guide is tailored explicitly for teachers guiding intermediate-level adult ESL students. With it and the accompanying worksheets and activities, they will navigate confidently through affirmative and negative statements, questions, and nuanced inquiries, equipped with detailed explanations and varied exercises.
Present Perfect vs. Present Perfect Progressive
You need this comprehensive resource, which provides a detailed two-page grammar guide that covers the nuanced differences and interchangeability of the present perfect and present perfect progressive. It features numerous sentence examples and explanations. It also includes engaging worksheets to facilitate students’ practice and grasp of these essential tenses.
Future Perfect & Future Perfect Progressive
Often overlooked or purposely left out of grammar lessons, the future perfect and future perfect progressive tenses are essential tools for advanced ESL students. These advanced tenses enable students to convey nuanced ideas, predict outcomes, and craft more intricate narratives, elevating their language proficiency to an advanced level.
Read about teaching grammar in adult ESL
- The Present Perfect Survival Guide: A Detailed Overview
- 6 Exciting Subject-Verb Agreement Games & Activities for Adult ESL
- 2 Fun Activities for Reviewing Prepositions of Time
