The Challenge of Teaching English Grammar
One of the most intimidating requirements for many English teachers is teaching English grammar. This is due to the many components of English grammar, including, but not limited to, parts of speech, as well as past, present, and perfect tenses. Conditionals, direct and reported speech, modals, and phrasal verbs all fall under the English grammar umbrella.
Table of Contents
Understanding the Components of Grammar
Navigating Tenses and Verb Forms
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are solely those of the author, an alumni of ITTT (International TEFL and TESOL Training). They do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of ITTT. The content provided in this post is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as official endorsement or representation by ITTT.
Understanding the Components of Grammar
Parts of Speech: The parts of speech are the components that make up a sentence, including nouns, adjectives, articles, verbs, adverbs, gerunds, pronouns, prepositions, and conjunctions. A noun can represent a person, place, or thing, while adjectives serve as descriptors and can be comparative or superlative. Verbs are action words, describing someone doing something, and they can be either transitive or intransitive. Articles can be indefinite or definite, depending on whether you are referring to any member of a group or a specific member.
Adverbs and Prepositions: Adverbs have five main types: manner, place, time, degree, and frequency. An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Prepositions have only three main types: movement, time/date, and place/position. Prepositions show the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word, while conjunctions are used to join words or groups of words in a sentence.
Navigating Tenses and Verb Forms
Mastering Verb Tenses: Another facet of grammar that can be confusing is using tenses in the English language, such as past, present, and future tenses. There are three different tenses in English, with each tense also being a time, and each tense/time having four aspects: simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous. The usage of past perfect is like the past version of the present perfect. There is only one past simple irregular verb, and it has two forms depending on the person.
Present Tenses and More: Once you have a good grasp of present tenses, past tenses shouldn't be too confusing, although there are more of them. The seven main ones include Future Simple, Future Continuous, Future Perfect, Future Perfect Continuous, Be Going + Infinitive, The Present Simple, and The Present Continuous. Future Perfect is used when looking back at the past from a future point of view, while Future Perfect Continuous is used to indicate how long something will have continued by a certain time. Present simple and present continuous use the present tense and can be employed to suggest a more formal situation, for definite arrangements, and for decisions and plans that don't have a specific time frame.
Exploring Voices and Modals
Active and Passive Voice: There are two main voices in the English language: active and passive. With the active voice, the focus is on the agent, while with the passive voice, it is on the subject. Passive voice is commonly used when the performer of an action is unknown, while active voice is used when the performer is known.
The Role of Modals: Modals are words placed before other verbs to exemplify different ideas, such as permission and prohibition. Modals also add depth to verbs and can be used to express varying levels of formality.
Mastering English Grammar
In conclusion, teaching English grammar can seem daunting, even when covering the basics. It's important to have a solid foundation of basic grammar knowledge, as that alone can take you a long way. Figuring out the complexities of English grammar relies heavily on remembering the rules and structures for components such as parts of speech and different tenses. With practice and repetition, any student can gain a strong grasp of English grammar, thereby enabling them to communicate with greater confidence and fluency.
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