Pre-A1 Starters Grammar List: The First 11 Structures, Explained for Parents

Pre-A1 Starters Grammar: The First 11 Structures

Pre-A1 Starters is the first Cambridge YLE level. These are its 11 key grammar structures, each explained in plain words with exam-style examples. Your child never has to name them; the exam only checks they can understand and use them.

Based on the “Grammar and structures list” in the official Cambridge English YLE Handbook for Teachers: YLE Handbook for Teachers (PDF)

The 11 Starters structures

Present simple

Simple everyday sentences with be, have got and common verbs — how children first say who people are, what they have and what they do.

I have got two sisters.
The cat is black and white.

Present continuous

Describes what is happening right now, using am/is/are + -ing.

Look! The boy is playing football.
The baby is sleeping now.

Imperatives

Short instructions like 'Listen!' or 'Open your book' — the Listening paper is full of them.

Open your book, please.
Look at the picture.

Can — ability and permission

Says what someone is able to do, or asks politely for permission.

I can swim.
Can I have an apple, please?

Possessives — 's, my/your/his/her

Shows who something belongs to, with 's and words like my, your, his and her.

This is Kim's ball.
Her bag is blue.

Prepositions of place

Little words like in, on, under and next to that say where things are — tested constantly in picture tasks.

The ball is under the table.
The dog is next to the tree.

Articles — a / an / the

The small words a, an and the that go before nouns.

She has an orange and a banana.
The sun is in the sky.

Plurals

More than one of something — regular plurals like cats plus common irregular ones like men and fish.

There are two cats and three mice.
The children are in the garden.

Question words

Words like what, who, where and how many that start questions.

What is your name?
How many birds can you see?

There is / There are

Says that something exists or is in a place — the classic way to describe a picture.

There is a fish in the water.
There are four books on the desk.

Conjunctions — and, but

Joins two ideas together with and or but.

I like apples and bananas.
He has a bike, but he hasn't got a kite.

Frequently asked questions

Does my child need to know grammar terms like "present perfect"?

No. The Cambridge YLE exams never ask children to name a tense or explain a rule — they test whether a child can understand and use these structures in real sentences, pictures and stories. The terms on this page are for you, the parent; your child just needs plenty of practice hearing and building sentences.

Which parts of the Pre-A1 Starters exam test grammar?

Grammar is tested indirectly everywhere, but it is most visible in the Reading & Writing paper — the gap-fill and sentence-copying parts require children to choose or copy grammatically correct words. In Listening and Speaking, children mainly need to understand the structures when they hear them. There is no separate grammar paper and no pass or fail: children earn up to five shields per skill.

How should a child aged 6–12 practice these structures?

Not with drills or worksheets. At this age grammar sticks through use: reading simple stories, listening, and building sentences in games. Ten minutes a day of playful sentence-building beats an hour of exercises — that is exactly what FlyersEnglish games like Sentence Builder are designed for.

This page is a parent-friendly summary of the “Grammar and structures list” in the official Cambridge English YLE Handbook for Teachers. FlyersEnglish is not affiliated with or endorsed by Cambridge; the official handbook is available from Cambridge English at cambridgeenglish.org.