8 Ways to Make Learning English Grammar Easier

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The topic for today is “How do I learn English grammar from the basics?”   Learning should be for life. Every moment of every day we are being presented with new and important lessons. Here we will present you one handpicked new and important lesson every day from smart brains and experts around the world.

English grammar isn’t too complicated, but it’s easy to make mistakes. There are very few rules, but lots of exceptions. Let Thorley Russell shares with you 8 ways to make learning English grammar easier.

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8 Ways to Make Learning English Grammar Easier

8 Ways to Make Learning English Grammar Easier | Thanks, Thorley Russell.

8 Ways to Make Learning English Grammar Easier

Thorley Russell

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The Best Way To Learn English Grammar | English Grammar Hacks

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8 Ways to Make Learning English Grammar Easier

Answer by Thorley Russell (Managing Director at @ Learn Hot English, 20 years + working in the English language learning world.), All credit goes to Welder Stephanie, Thank you!

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QUESTION: How do I learn English grammar from the basics?

English grammar isn’t too complicated, but it’s easy to make mistakes. There are very few rules, but lots of exceptions. For example, most comparative adjectives have –er at the end, but NOT all of them: short-shorter, long-longer… good-worse!

For every simple rule, there are several exceptions. Many past simple verbs end in –ed: work-worked, talk-talked, rain-rained, but there are lots of irregular past tense verbs: see-saw, buy-bought, take-took!

So, what can you do? You could do lots of written grammar exercises. But they’re boring, and they won’t really help when you speak English. For example, you might be able to conjugate a verb on paper, but can you do it quickly when you’re speaking?

So, what’s the solution?

In order to help, we’ve created 8 top tips that will help you speak more fluently, confidently and accurately!

We’ll teach you some simple tricks and techniques for learning English grammar the easy and fast way! And they’ll help you when you’re speaking too!

By applying these 8 simple tricks, you’ll be able to form correct phrases, create sentences effortlessly and speak correctly.

We’ll show you how you can use verb tables to help, how to avoid common mistakes, and how to learn English grammar fast!

These 8 top tips will really teach you English grammar, and help you speak more confidently, fluently and accurately!

Eight ways to learn English grammar!

How useful is grammar for learning a language? And what can you do to improve your knowledge of it?

Grammar alone isn’t going to help you speak a language. However, learning some basic patterns can be useful. For example, if you know the negative past tense is formed with didn’t + a verb, you can produce hundreds of useful sentences: I didn’t go, she didn’t see it, we didn’t do it…” So, what can you do to improve your knowledge of grammar? There are two things: firstly, you need to learn how to form sentences; secondly, you need to know how to use the structures. Here are 8 things you can do to achieve those two objectives:

Forming basic structures

1 Verb tenses

When it comes to studying grammar, the best thing you can do is to focus on verb tenses* as this will help you communicate in English. Firstly, you need to find out how the tenses are formed. In order to do this, simply get hold of a grammar book, choose a tense and read about it. Then, do some basic exercises online or in an exercise book to practice forming the structure.

2 Verb tables

A good way to learn how to form tenses is by memorising verb tables. A basic verb table will show you how verbs are conjugated. In order to memorise the verb tables you could study them for a bit, then try to write them out yourself without looking. Having the structures firmly in your head will make reproducing them much easier. And you won’t have to think or translate – the structures will just come out automatically.

3 Grammatical sentences

Another good method is to create a list of grammatical sentences. For example, if you were focusing on the Present Simple, you could write sentences like, “Keira lives in America”, or “Jack doesn’t like it.” Then, make a recording of the sentences (or get a native speaker to do it for you). In your freetime, you can listen to the sentences and repeat them out loud after the speaker. The idea is to practise them until you’ve learnt them by heart and you can say them without thinking.

4 Grammar drills

You can also use grammar drills to develop your ability to form negatives or questions. You can do them on your own, with a friend or with your teacher. Simply say a sentence in a particular tense, then create the negative or question forms. For example: She went to the shops. / She didn’t go to the shops. / Did she go to the shops? You could use your list of grammatical sentences from the previous paragraph for this.

Understanding how to use basic structures

Now comes the hard part: learning how to use the structures.

5 An overview

The first thing you want to do is to get a quick overview of how the verb tenses are used. For example, most basic grammar books will tell you that the Present Simple is sometimes used for giving opinions: I think it’s good / We don’t like it. Most verb tenses have a few basic “rules” of usage like this that you can learn in a matter of minutes.

6 Using the language

Once you’ve got a basic understanding of the tenses, you need to practise using them when you’re speaking or writing. You also need to read and listen to lots ofEnglish so you can see the language in context.

7 Common mistakes

As you’re speaking or writing, make a note of any mistakes you make, or ask a teacher or friend to help you. Then, work on trying to eliminate these mistakes. For example, if you keep saying, “He like it” instead of “He likes it”. Try repeating the sentence 10 times a day until you’ve got it firmly implanted in your mind.

8 Reading & listening

However, the best way to improve your knowledge of grammar is by reading and listening. Children learn their first language without studying any grammar – they simply pick it up naturally by being exposed to it. You can do the same if you read and listen to English enough. In fact, the more you read and listen, the more language you’ll absorb, and the more you’ll see how the language fits together (which is what grammar is all about). So, read articles in English, watch TV series, listen to the news, read a magazine, watch YouTube videos, read a graded reader, listen to audio files from language courses… the options are limitless!

Language is all about communication – it isn’t a set of rules. And the end objective isn’t to have perfect “grammar”, it’s to communicate effectively. Grammar has its part to play, but it shouldn’t be the central focus of your learning. It’s interesting to find out about the order of adjectives, the use of articles, or the position of adverbs. However, you’ll learn much more through reading, listening, writing and speaking the language!

*Verb tenses

The main verb tenses in English are: the verb to be, the Present Simple, the Present Continuous, the Past Simple, the Present Perfect, the Present Perfect Continuous, Future forms (will + a verb; be + going to + a verb), the Future Continuous, the Future Perfect, Modal verbs, the Past Continuous, Passive forms, the Past Perfect and Conditionals (zero, I, II, III).

Glossary

■ grammar n = the way that words are combined or joined to make sentences
■ a pattern n = a “pattern” is the way something happens again and again or many times
■ to memorise vb = if you “memorise” something, you learn it so that you can remember it exactly
■ to conjugate vb = if you “conjugate” a verb, you create the different forms: I run, you run, she runs, etc.
■ to learn by heart exp = if you “learn something by heart”, you learn it so you can say it exactly without having to read it
■ to pick up phr vb = to learn
■ to expose vb = if you’re “exposed” to language, you hear it or see it
■ to absorb vb = if you “absorb” information, you learn and understand it
■ to fit together exp = the way a language “fits together” is the way that the words join or combine to form sentences, phrases, expressions, etc.

8 Ways to Make Learning English Grammar Easier

Reference:  Thorley Russell.  “How do I learn English grammar from the basics?” originally appeared on Quora, the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.

8 Ways to Make Learning English Grammar Easier

8 Ways to Make Learning English Grammar Easier

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