GramStar

An English grammar game for iPhone

Fill the gap. Learn why.

GramStar is a little game for anyone learning English. Each sentence has one word missing. You pick it from four tiles, and the app tells you why it fits. Pick the wrong one, and it tells you why that word doesn’t fit. Either way, you learn something.

Coming soon to the App Store

Get GramStar on the App Store

Try a sentence right here
GramStar on iPhone, in the middle of an Intermediate run. The sentence reads: Wouldn’t life be easier if we all, gap, the same language? Under it are a 15-second timer and four word tiles: will speak, had spoken, speak and spoke.
A real screen from the app: sentence 3 of 10 in an Intermediate run. The glowing bar is the 15-second timer.

Try one.

Here’s a real sentence from GramStar’s Intermediate level. Go on, tap the word you think fills the gap.

Pick the word that fills the gap. I have a friend  blankwhose mother is a judge.

Pick a word, and its why shows up here.

Yes! Why it works

The mother is the friend’s, so whose links them.

With GramStar Nova, you’d also see examples:

  • the man whose car broke
  • a girl whose dad flies
  • Whose bag is this

Not quite. Why not “who’s”?

who’s = who is or who has — Who’s coming? Who’s got the key?

With GramStar Nova, you’d also see the right word’s rule:

The mother is the friend’s, so whose links them.

Not quite. Why not “which”?

which refers to a thing and doesn’t show who owns something — the car which I bought

With GramStar Nova, you’d also see the right word’s rule:

The mother is the friend’s, so whose links them.

Not quite. Why not “who”?

who stands for a person but shows no ownership — the man who called.

With GramStar Nova, you’d also see the right word’s rule:

The mother is the friend’s, so whose links them.

Every wrong word has its own why. Tap them all, if you’re curious.

That was one of 49,976 sentences in GramStar. They cover 170 grammar points, and every one comes with its why.

A run is ten sentences.

It takes about two minutes, so it fits into a coffee break.

  1. Find the gap.

    Each sentence has one word missing. Four words wait underneath.

  2. Pick a word.

    Tap the one that fits, or drag it into the gap. Intermediate and Advanced have a timer. Beginner doesn’t.

  3. Read the why.

    A right answer gets a card called “Why it works”. A wrong one gets “Why not…?” and the reason. This is the part where you learn.

  4. Get your medal.

    After ten sentences, you get a grade. Six or more right wins a medal: C for 6, B for 7, A for 8 or 9, and S for all 10.

A wrong answer in GramStar. The gap shows the right word, moved, and a chip says: You chose has moved, struck through. The card below reads: Why not has moved? has moved links to now, but three years ago is a finished time.
A miss. The right word goes in the gap, and the card says why yours doesn’t fit.
The end of an Intermediate run: a big S grade with 10 of 10 right, a row of C, B, A and S medals with S marked You, and tiles for rating, best combo and points.
Ten out of ten. That’s an S.
GramStar’s Home screen: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced tiles along the top, with Intermediate selected, a rating card showing B2, the Daily Grammar card, and a Start run button.
Home. The three levels sit along the top.

Pick the level that feels right.

There are three. Not sure which one is yours? A two-minute placement test finds it for you. You can switch whenever you like, and each level keeps its own rating.

  • Beginner

    A1–A2 No timer

    Everyday basics: tenses, a/an/the, in/on/at.

    A sentence from this level

    At night, I look at the moon through my telescope.

    Why: We have only one moon, so use the.

  • Intermediate

    B1–B2 15 seconds a sentence

    Work and exam English: conditionals, the passive, reported speech.

    A sentence from this level

    Our dog howls whenever he hears a siren.

    Why: “Whenever” shows a repeated event, and “he” (the dog) is singular: hears.

  • Advanced

    C1+ 10 seconds a sentence

    Polish and nuance: inversion, the subjunctive, formal linking.

    A sentence from this level

    Seldom have we spotted so many shooting stars in a single night.

    Why: “Seldom” begins the clause, so the present perfect inverts: have we spotted.

The timer keeps things lively. If you’d rather take your time, you can turn it off in Settings.

Small reasons to come back tomorrow.

Grammar sticks when you come back often, even for two minutes. So GramStar keeps a few things going for you. Here they are in alphabetical order, because this is a grammar game.

badge noun
There are 19 to collect. Spark is for playing 3 days in a row. Supernova, the rarest, is for a 5-year streak. Each badge tells you how to earn it.
daily goal noun
How many runs you’d like to play each day: Casual is 1, Steady is 2, and Intense is 5 (with Nova). GramStar tells you when you’ve done it.
daily puzzle noun
Five sentences, the same for everyone at your level that day. It’s free, and it comes on top of your runs.
medal noun
Your prize for 6 out of 10 or better: a bronze C, a silver B, a gold A, or a platinum S for a perfect run.
practice noun
Five quick questions on the weakest topic from the run you just played. It uses one of the day’s runs.
streak noun
How many days in a row you’ve played. A day counts when you finish a run or the daily puzzle.
streak freeze noun
It covers a day you miss, so your streak keeps going. You earn one for every 7 days of streak, and you can hold 2 (or 5 with Nova).
title noun
A name you earn with a perfect run: Stargazer in Beginner, Rising Star in Intermediate, Supernova in Advanced. Once it’s yours, it stays yours.
topic mastery noun
A bar of ten parts for each grammar point. It shows how many of your last ten answers on that topic were right.
The daily puzzle result in GramStar: 5 of 5, five green dots, and the line: Same five sentences for everyone today.
The daily puzzle, all five right.
The Badges screen: 2 of 19 earned, a Next goal card for Chain Reaction that says 10 more right in a row, and streak badges such as Spark and Comet, each with how to earn it.
Badges. Each one tells you how to earn it.

What’s free, and what Nova adds.

GramStar is free to play. Every day you get 2 runs and the daily puzzle. There are no ads, on either plan.

GramStar Nova is the paid plan. It comes as Monthly or Yearly, which renew until you cancel, or as Lifetime, which you pay for once. Prices are different in each country, so we don’t list them here. The app shows you yours, in your own currency.

What you get for free, and what GramStar Nova adds
Free Nova
Runs a day 2 Up to 30: 15 Beginner, 10 Intermediate, 5 Advanced
The daily puzzle Yes Yes
A why after every answer Yes Yes, and fuller: the right word’s rule after a miss, plus example phrases
A review deck of your mistakes No Yes
Streak freezes you can hold 2 5

Coming soon to the App Store.

GramStar isn’t out yet. Until it is, you can say hello on Instagram at @gramstar.app, or write to hello@gramstar.app.

GramStar is on the App Store.

It’s free to play on iPhone, with 2 runs and the daily puzzle every day.

Get GramStar on the App Store