English topics for ages 13–14
Phonics and vocabulary through to grammar, comprehension and writing that holds together — the mechanics of reading and being understood.
Early secondary. Topics carry the weight and the vocabulary of exam work, and expect a child who can hold several ideas at once.
20 topics · 120 hands-on stations · 1 free to try
Word Classes Are Jobs, Not Labels
Most grammar confusion comes from treating word classes as permanent labels stuck to words. They are not. A word class is a job description, and the same word takes different jobs in different sentences. Flip every card.
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"Round" is an adjective in a round table, a noun in the final round, a verb in round the corner carefully, and a preposition in round the back of the house. Nothing in the word itself decides this — only its function does.
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A clause contains a finite verb together with its subject. A phrase does not. Running down the road is a phrase; she ran down the road is a clause. Every grammatical sentence needs at least one clause — a string of phrases, however long, is not a sentence.
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A finite verb changes with tense and subject: she writes, they wrote. A non-finite verb does not: to write, writing, written. Only a finite verb can hold a sentence upright, which is why Having written the letter collapses on its own.
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Both end in -ing, which is why they get confused. A gerund does a noun's job: Swimming is exhausting. A present participle does an adjective's job or joins a verb phrase: the swimming pool, she was swimming. Ask what job the word is doing and the confusion disappears.
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Free printable worksheet
Ten questions from Grammar — The Advanced Review on one page, with an answer key at the bottom — a PDF you can print for homework, a car journey or a classroom. No account needed and nothing to sign up for.
⬇️ Download the Grammar — The Advanced Review worksheet (PDF)See the whole trail →
A few of the English topics at this age
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Word classes as jobs, clauses as building blocks, and the traps that catch adults
🔤 Word Classes Are Jobs, Not Labels · 🧱 Phrase, Subordinate Clause, Main Clause · 🧀 Agreement Traps That Catch Adults · 📗 The Vocabulary of Grammar · 🌱 Grow a Sentence · 🎯 Practice Zone
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Modals and Conditionals
How English encodes certainty, obligation and worlds that never happened
🔮 What a Modal Verb Really Does · 📊 The Certainty Scale · 🔀 The Four Conditionals · 🧠 What Each Conditional Claims · 🕵️ Reading the Hidden Claim · 🎯 Practice Zone
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Voice and Narration
Active and passive, direct and reported — and who gets quietly deleted
🔁 Who Is Doing What to Whom · ⚖️ Justified or Evasive? · 🔨 Converting Active to Passive · 💬 Direct to Reported Speech · 📻 The Rules Behind Reported Speech · 🎯 Practice Zone
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Sentence Transformation
Rebuilding the same meaning in a different shape — and keeping the meaning intact
🧰 Same Meaning, Different Shape · 👯 Find the Twin Sentence · 🧀 Transformations That Change the Meaning · ✂️ Complex to Simple · 🔷 One Idea, Six Shapes · 🎯 Practice Zone
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Word Roots and Etymology
Decoding words you have never met — the highest-leverage vocabulary skill there is
🏰 A Language With Two Vocabularies · 🔑 Six Roots Worth Owning · 🔍 Decode a Word You Have Never Met · 👨👩👧👦 Sort the Word Families · ⏮️ Walk a Word Backwards · 🎯 Practice Zone
…and 15 more English topics for ages 13–14 inside the app, each one a full trail of hands-on stations. Create a free account to explore them.
English at other ages
English, ages 5–6 English, ages 7–8 English, ages 9–10 English, ages 11–12
Other subjects for ages 13–14
Math
Analytical
General Knowledge
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