The subject of Teaching Grammar is often discussed and there are many different views and approaches. New teachers often feel that to properly teach a language they must teach grammar. However this is not the case. Background In the past it was thought that students must be given explicit grammatical […]
Continue ReadingTag Mix
Tag Mix is a straightforward way to practice question tags with your class. It is all about having students identify the two parts of the sentence (the statement and the tag) and then mixing and matching them. As an activity it works best with intermediate and above students; the level […]
Continue ReadingSyntax in English
Simply put, Syntax is the collection of rules which go together to form sentences and phrases in a language. For example, the rules of syntax say that an English sentence can be formed thus: {subject} + {verb} + {object} Michael + rowed + the boat The rules of syntax say […]
Continue ReadingSVO – Subject Verb Object
Sentences English important words is order of in the. or better: The order of words in English sentences is important. We need to get word order right in English. The arrangement makes all the difference. Get it wrong and it just ends up a mess which no one understands. But […]
Continue ReadingDependent Clauses in English Grammar
A Dependent Clause (aka Subordinate Clause) is a clause that doesn’t make sense fully on its own and always needs an independent clause to express a complete thought and make a complete sentence. These, for example, are dependent clauses: * whenever I see her * rather than take the bus […]
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