Earn your black belt in English grammar
The English Dojo drills the points that learners of English actually get wrong. 88 short lessons across five belts: the rule, the mistakes it causes, and the practice that fixes them.
$49 one-time, plus applicable taxes · Full access
Try 5 lessons free — no account neededlessons, each on one thing learners get wrong
practice drills, with model answers and explanations
five belts, from elementary to full proficiency
Figures describe the contents of this course.
What's a dojo?
A dojo is the hall where a martial art is practiced, where you repeat small forms until they no longer need any thought. Grammar rewards exactly that, so this course borrows the shape: nothing physical, no martial arts required. These are the words it uses.
- Dojo道場dōjō
- The hall where a discipline is trained: a “place of the way.”In this course: The course itself. “Stepping onto the mat” just means starting a lesson.
- Kata型
- A set form, repeated until you perform it without thinking.In this course: The eight drills that close every lesson — 704 in all.
- Belt帯obi
- The colored sash a student wears to show their rank.In this course: The five ranks you work through, white (A2) up to black (C2).
- Kyu and dan級 · 段kyū · dan
- The student grades below black belt, and the degrees above it.In this course: The label over the belt path below — the climb from novice to black belt.
How we train
Mastery isn't memorizing rules — it's repetition until grammar becomes instinct.
Try a kata
Spot the mistake
Each sentence below has one error, the kind learners keep making for years. Find it, then check your answer. They all come from the free first lesson of each belt.
White beltA2 · Elementary
She is wanting a new phone.
Show answer
She wants a new phone.
Want is a state verb, so it doesn't take the -ing form.
Free lesson: Present Simple vs. Present ContinuousYellow beltB1 · Intermediate
I have seen him yesterday.
Show answer
I saw him yesterday.
Yesterday is finished time, so it needs the past simple, not the present perfect.
Free lesson: Past Simple vs. Present PerfectGreen beltB2 · Upper-intermediate
I have been calling my sister three times this week.
Show answer
I have called my sister three times this week.
Counting finished events (three times) needs the simple form, not the continuous.
Free lesson: Present Perfect Simple vs. ContinuousBrown beltC1 · Advanced
Never I have seen such a mess.
Show answer
Never have I seen such a mess.
A fronted never swaps the subject and the auxiliary, just as in a question.
Free lesson: Inversion after Negative AdverbialsBlack beltC2 · Proficiency
Not until the lights went out we noticed the storm.
Show answer
Not until the lights went out did we notice the storm.
Not until + a time clause inverts the main clause, not the time clause.
Free lesson: Advanced Inversion
級 → 段 · Kyū to Dan
The path to mastery
Step onto the mat at white belt, or at whichever belt matches your level. Each rank maps to a real proficiency level, so you always know how far you've come — and what comes next.
- White beltA2 · Elementary15 lessonsThe everyday foundations: present and past tenses, articles, quantifiers, and the prepositions that trip everyone up.
- Yellow beltB1 · Intermediate19 lessonsThe present perfect, conditionals, reported speech, and the modals of obligation and advice.
- Green beltB2 · Upper-intermediate20 lessonsPerfect aspect, the passive, relative clauses, and the finer shades of modality.
- Brown beltC1 · Advanced18 lessonsInversion, cleft sentences, participle clauses, and the discourse markers of formal writing.
- Black beltC2 · Proficiency16 lessonsEllipsis, aspect subtleties, register shifts, and collocation, where grammar becomes instinct.
Find your starting belt
Nothing is locked, so you can begin at any belt. Work down from white belt, fixing each sentence and saying why it's wrong. The first belt where you miss one is your starting point.
- White beltA2 · Elementary
- She is teacher.
- I don't have many money.
- I didn't saw the movie.
Check your answers
- She is a teacher.A singular job needs a or an.
- I don't have much money.Money is uncountable, so it takes much, not many.
- I didn't see the movie.After didn't, the main verb stays in its base form.
- Yellow beltB1 · Intermediate
- I have known him since five years.
- If I would have more money, I would travel.
- It's Sunday, so you mustn't go to work.
Check your answers
- I have known him for five years.Five years is a length of time, so it takes for; since marks a starting point.
- If I had more money, I would travel.The if-part of an unreal condition takes the past simple, never would.
- It's Sunday, so you don't have to go to work.Don't have to means there's no obligation; mustn't means it's forbidden.
- Green beltB2 · Upper-intermediate
- I wish I would speak French.
- Despite it was raining, we played.
- On the way home I stopped buying some milk.
Check your answers
- I wish I could speak French.For an ability you lack, use could; would can't refer to yourself.
- Although it was raining, we played.A full clause (it was raining) needs although; despite takes a noun or an -ing form.
- On the way home I stopped to buy some milk.Stop to means pausing in order to do something; stop buying means quitting.
- Brown beltC1 · Advanced
- The committee recommends that he resigns immediately.
- It's time we leave; the train arrives soon.
- The soup was very delicious.
Check your answers
- The committee recommends that he resign immediately.After recommend that, use the base form, with no third-person -s.
- It's time we left; the train arrives soon.It's time + subject takes the past tense, even though the meaning is present.
- The soup was absolutely delicious.Delicious is already extreme, so it takes absolutely, not very.
- Black beltC2 · Proficiency
- Even though I were rich, I wouldn't buy that car.
- Unless he hadn't warned us, we'd have crashed.
- He suggested me to apply for the grant.
Check your answers
- Even if I were rich, I wouldn't buy that car.Were marks an imagined condition, which needs even if; even though is for facts.
- If he hadn't warned us, we'd have crashed.Unless isn't used in an unreal past (third) conditional.
- He suggested that I apply for the grant.Suggest takes a that-clause, not an object + infinitive.
What's in every lesson
The same five parts, every time. You always know where to look.
- Quick answerThe rule in a sentence or two, before anything else.
- In depthThe full explanation — the logic, and the exceptions.
- Right vs. wrongA table of real mistakes beside their corrections, with the reason.
- Common pitfallsThe traps that catch learners on exactly this point.
- Practice drillsEight katas to close the lesson, with model answers to check yourself against.
One price, every belt
No subscription, no upsells. One payment, full access.
Frequently asked questions
What level do I need to start?
Around A2 — you can already form basic sentences in the present and past. If you're comfortably beyond that, start at the belt that matches your level; nothing is locked in order, so you can jump straight to B2 or C1. The “Find your starting belt” check above shows you where you fit.
How is this different from a grammar app or a textbook?
A general textbook or app covers the whole of English grammar, so the points that cause real trouble get the same space as everything else. This course covers only those points — 88 of them, each a mistake learners keep making — and teaches every one through the mistake itself: the wrong sentence, the fix and the reason, then eight drills with explained answers.
Is this a course for speaking, or for grammar?
Grammar, specifically the points learners get wrong. It doesn't teach vocabulary or pronunciation — it fixes the accuracy problems that hold your speaking and writing back.
Is there audio, video or speaking practice?
No. The course is entirely written: explanations, tables of right and wrong sentences, and drills you answer yourself before checking the model answers. But the grammar you fix here is the same grammar you use when you speak.
Is it American or British English?
American: the spelling (color, center), the vocabulary (apartment, vacation) and the examples. British spelling isn't a mistake, just a different standard, and examiners accept either as long as you're consistent. Where British grammar differs on a point a lesson teaches, such as the present perfect with “yet,” the lesson says so in a short note. The course overview lists the common spelling and vocabulary differences.
How long does it take?
Each lesson takes about 12 minutes, including its eight drills, so a belt is a few hours and the whole course about 17.5 hours. We recommend one lesson a day rather than a binge — repetition is the point.
Do I get the answers to the drills?
Yes. Every drill has a model answer and a short explanation, tucked behind a “Show answers” toggle inside the lesson so you can test yourself honestly first.
Can I try it before I buy?
The first lesson of every belt is free, from A2 right up to C2 — so you can see the format and check the level before paying anything.
Do I need an account for the free lessons?
No. The free lessons are open to everyone, drills and answers included. If you'd like to check them off as you go, sign in with your email — that's free too — and your progress is saved to your account.
How do payment and access work?
One payment unlocks all 88 lessons. There's no subscription and no renewal, your progress is saved to your account, and any lessons added later are included.
Ready to step onto the mat?
$49 one-time, plus applicable taxes, every belt. 88 lessons and 704 drills.