How To Learn English Grammar Easily
Grammar is sometimes confusing even in your mother tongue. Many people speak English very well, but most likely still feel uncertain about how to use certain grammar rules correctly. In this article, I will explain how to learn English grammar easily.
What is grammar?
Grammar is how you connect words into phrases, and phrases into sentences. Every time you connect two words you are using grammar. Understanding the parts of speech is the most important step towards learning grammar. Every single word can be categorised into one of 8 words groups, or so-called »parts of speech. Those are:
- Nouns;
- Pronouns;
- Verbs;
- Adjectives;
- Adverbs;
- Prepositions;
- Conjunctions;
- Interjections.
Esl.com has a great article about what grammar is.
Today I want to show you 5 easy steps you can take right now to get a better understanding of English grammar. These are:
1. FIND YOUR ERRORS AND WEAKNESSES
2. LISTEN TO OTHERS
3. READ AND WRITE
4. PRACTICE
5. PROOFREAD OUT LOUD
Are you confused about your grammar or writing?
Try to follow these steps and spent some time learning and improving your English grammar daily.
Below are 5 ways to learn English grammar easily.
1. FIND YOUR ERRORS AND WEAKNESSES
You need to know where to begin. You need to set goals and establish priorities for your studies. Make a list of grammar problems/mistakes you have. Maybe, you already know some of the mistakes you make. The best way to detect your grammar mistakes is through writing. Write something and ask your teacher or somebody with excellent English knowledge to correct your grammar mistakes. See which mistakes you are making the most often. If you aren’t studying with a teacher you can use a grammar book which has exercises and an answer key. Choose a few topics you think you will find difficult. Do the exercises and check your answers. If you made a lot of mistakes, then you know you need to do more work on these topics.
One more option is that you find yourself a short text that is not too difficult for you to understand. Read the text two to three times. Then try to rewrite the text without looking at it. Afterward, compare your text to the original. Where did you make mistakes? The basic mistakes in grammar are usually with not understanding form or function. Now that you know where your mistakes are you can try to fix them.
2. LISTEN TO OTHERS
We all know and can use the grammar of our mother tongue very well even if we never spent time studying it. As a matter of fact, children start to speak before they even know the word "grammar". As a child, we learn the grammar of our native language through practical examples. We also use it only when we feel we really need it or if we are corrected by our parents. The good part here is that you can use this same method to learn English grammar or any language grammar. You simply need to learn it in context, the way a child learns when he or she is first beginning to speak. Instead of spending hours obsessed with grammar textbooks, first, try reading and listening to as much English as possible in natural contexts.
3. READ AND WRITE
Reading may be the number one way you can improve your grammar skills because when you read, you reinforce correct grammar in your mind.
Let’s look at an example where we want to express a large quantity. Here we have two sentences as an example: "the big brown bear" and "the brown big bear". We can see that the word order is different, but do we know which one is correct? The right answer is the first example. There's a grammar rule for that, but it's somewhat not easy to remember. Now let's say you are reading a book in English and you come across these three sentences "the small white cottage", "the short blue trousers", "the large grey cliff". You know for sure that these three sentences are all correct because you read them in an English book. After reading similar sentences a few times, your brain will remember the patterns of what goes and what doesn’t go together and also the right order in a sentence.
I advise you to take a book that is written in English (not translated into it). Try to read about 50 pages a day. Each time try to find new words and phrases. Then try to use them at least three times in different situations. It is most likely that you will remember them for good.
The key elements are that you read a lot, that you pay attention to grammar structures that the author uses and that you try to copy them in your own writing or speaking. Reading will not only help you improve your grammar, but it will also help you to improve all parts of the English language – vocabulary, spelling, and writing.
4. PRACTICE
There are many excellent resources, for improving your grammar skills, both online and in print. A quick internet search will reveal plenty of websites that offer grammar games and exercises. If you found out in point number 1 that you struggle with grammar, set aside a few minutes each day to complete grammar exercises. Even the simple act of taking a few English practice tests of any level can help you improve your grammar skills.
Another tip I can give you is to practice a grammar rule when you feel you cannot express yourself without it. For example, instead of learning the future tense and then waiting months or weeks to actually use it, wait to learn it until you feel that you need to speak in the future tense. Putting the rule into practice immediately will help you memorise it. So, learn while using the language, not before.
When you feel like you’re still not understanding a concept, you can consult grammar rules, but you’ll see that if you really put yourself into this grammar hacks, you won't need to consult your grammar books very often.
Here are two grammar books (well same book but one includes interactive e-book) which are really good to for improving your grammar by yourself.
5. PROOFREAD OUT LOUD
Reading out loud is a highly effective proofreading method used by many writers. No matter how long is your text, reading out loud forces your eyes to slow down and keep pace with your voice. When you slow down, you're more likely to catch errors.
Usually, when we re-read pieces we have written, our brain fills in the gaps of missing information. It’s not likely that we always catch our own mistakes when we proofread. Reading what you have written out loud, preferably to someone else, is an efficient way to evaluate if you have used correct grammar. You're more likely to notice your errors if you read the content aloud, rather than in your head. If you realise you haven’t taken a breath in a while it could mean you discovered a run-on sentence that needs splitting up.
We all have words that we can’t help to use over and over again. The first time I tried this technique I realised I had repeated the same word in three consecutive sentences. When you read aloud, those words become easier to spot and fix. You can always find a better alternative or synonym.
I hope you find those five steps on how to learn English grammar easily useful. First, find your errors and weaknesses, so you can try to fix them. Don’t be too harsh on yourself, it isn’t just about perfection. It’s about growing and developing your skills. It’s not about pointing out your flaws but rather becoming more confident in using correct grammar. Listen to others, read and write as much as possible and when you write, try to proofread out loud. Stay tuned, shortly we will talk about how to improve your grammar skills even more.
FAQ
