How to learn grammar in English. Crazy English grammar

“How to learn English grammar? What algorithm should those people who learn English on their own follow?”, – I asked the head of the methodology department, Olga Sinitsyna.

“It’s not worth learning grammar separately at all; it needs to be practiced in conjunction with everything else.”

“Hmm, unfortunately, it didn’t become clearer to me. What does this look like in practice?

And Olga answered me. 🙂 As a result, this article was born - a mini-instruction on how to learn English grammar on your own. So much so that you don’t just “know the rules” – but in order to SPEAK.

To prepare this instruction, I enlisted the help of another expert (and another Olga) - Olga Kozar from. The result was 5 succinct tips + a small musical cheat sheet on English grammar. Let's get started!

For those who love the video format - a video from Dima More on this topic

1. Practice grammar as a whole - what does this mean?

Let's open a lesson in some good textbook and take a look. For example, the conversational English course for adults and teenagers “Innovations”.

Let's open the very first unit from the book for beginners and take a look. Topic: What’s your name – it would seem far from grammatical. So, first task.

Look at the photo. Listen, and then practice the dialogue with your partner:

– Hello, I'm Dan. What's your name?
-Rebecca Hi.

The next task is to repeat the same dialogue, but using your name.

Pay attention: students practice the conversational structure they need - how to introduce themselves and how to find out the name of another person, while they get acquainted with the forms of the verb to be in English(here it is - grammar!). When completing tasks, several skills are involved: listening, reading, speaking.

Another task from the same section: combine the name of the country with its flag. And in the next task, students will have to conduct a dialogue with a partner using these names of countries.

Pay attention: students replenish their vocabulary with the names of countries, get acquainted with constructions that are important to them - question-answer questions about where they come from, while re-working the verb to be in the Present Simple. And again, several skills are involved: listening, reading, speaking + vocabulary acquisition.

So, the entire unit is built on a variety of tasks: listen to the dialogue and write down the missing words, translate sentences, answer questions, etc.

But pay attention:

1. all tasks “revolve” around one topic - an important situation for the student of meeting new people and talking about himself,
2. all sentences are constructed in Present Simple, in addition, tasks go from simple to complex,
3. tasks involve all skills: both passive - listening, reading, and active - speaking, writing + vocabulary is replenished (= vocabulary).

This is “teaching in a comprehensive manner.” Don't just learn that Present Simple = Subject + initial verb + other words, but analyze this formula in phrases that will be useful to you in life, while using all the skills.

ADVICE: learn and practice English grammar, using all skills comprehensively: speaking, writing, listening, reading + dictionary; with examples that will be useful to you in life.

English grammar textbooks: which one to choose, where to download

You will find these comprehensive exercises on English grammar in special textbooks. There are textbooks built according to the type “from simple to complex”, where you must clearly follow from section to section and complete all tasks, like Innovations, which we just watched.

This is Round-up, a manual originally created for children and teenagers, but perfect for adults, or Grammarway. Such textbooks are suitable for beginners, because the compilers of the textbooks, in fact, made a learning plan for them.

Another type of textbooks - reference books on topics with practical tasks, for example, English Grammar in Use (the famous textbook by Raymond Murphy) or Oxford Practice Grammar. Such complexes are suitable for those who already have a foundation, but want to brush up on certain topics. By the way, I would also recommend to non-beginners the Collection of exercises edited by Yu. B. Golitsynsky, in order to hone all the rules in practice.

If you don’t have much time and would like to combine grammar with studying vocabulary for work, then choose Market Leader Grammar and Usage, MacMillan Business Grammar builder or Collins Business Grammar and Practice.

2. Answer yourself the question: why do I need this rule?

Ronnie from engVid in her video talked about three pillars on which the study of any grammatical topic is built. One of them is a clear understanding of why you need this or that design.

This video has clickable subtitles

For example, why do you need to know the Present Continuous? In what life situation will you (yes, EXACTLY YOU) use this time?

You can learn about the exact situation in which this or that grammatical construction is usually used from textbooks (I listed several above, and in the link you will find another one - A. Vasilyev’s textbook).

BUT! After you have received the explanations and examples from the textbook, be sure to transfer this English grammar to your own experience. I read a sentence in a textbook - make up another one about yourself or about things that are important to you.

ADVICE: Don’t mindlessly learn grammar rules just to “learn.” First of all, figure out when and why you will need this grammatical structure. Imagine in what situations you will use it.

By the way, in order to better understand English grammar, we advise you to compare it with the structure of your native language. To do this, read the articles: , .

3. Come up with your own examples

In principle, I just talked about this, but I want to emphasize again : Never limit yourself to textbook examples. Come up with your own to better understand the essence of the rule and quickly remember its structure. Immerse this boring grammar in the context that is relevant specifically to YOUR LIFE, your interests.

For example, for me, as a fan of Gaidai’s films, for better memorization, I can translate this phrase using the 2nd conditional (conditional sentence of the 2nd type). 🙂

ADVICE: Learn grammar in the context of specific situations that are important to you. Come up with and compose your own sentences to quickly remember and understand the rule.

4. As your level increases, switch to English-language reference books

First of all, I mean the most amazing channel with videos about grammar and more - engVid (you will find these videos with subtitles). By studying video lessons with native speakers, you will improve your listening comprehension and vocabulary along with your grammar.

You can also use online grammar references from Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Dictionary. With them, again, you will simultaneously develop other skills: vocabulary and reading. In addition, you can be sure of the reliability of the information presented on these sites. And don’t be afraid to encounter unfamiliar words there – it will be translated in two clicks.

ADVICE: When your English allows it, use English grammar reference books more often. By the way, this also applies to dictionaries: one English-English explanatory dictionary costs 10 English-Russian ones.

5. Use vivid examples to remember

It would seem that you understood and remembered everything. But then a situation comes when you still need to use, say, the Present Perfect Continuous. But you completely forgot how it is formed! This is where a musical hint comes to the rescue:

Londonbeat – I've Been Thinking About You

Such memorable lines from songs and movies:

Firstly, they literally stick into your memory.

Have + been + Verb + ing (long and painful formula)
I’ve Been Thinking About You (will be remembered much faster)

Secondly, it will help you keep in mind not only the formula, but also the meaning of the grammatical structure, since you will remember the context from which this line was taken (provided that you have studied the lyrics of the song).

6. Bonus: song cheat sheet from Lingualeo!

I took the liberty of compiling a small list of phrases from songs for you as a cheat sheet. I found phrases for verb tenses and types of conditional sentences (perhaps the most painful topics). You can use this list until you create your own. 🙂

English Grammar: Times in Songs

Present Simple

And I will always love you.
I will always love you.

Present Continuous – Past Continuous

I was crying when I met you
Now I'm trying to forget you

Separately, the song “Present Continuous” is also ideal: its entire text, in fact, is built on this tense.

I'm sitting here in the boring room
It's just another rainy Sunday afternoon
I'm wasting my time, I got nothing to do
I'm hanging around , I'm waiting for you.

Future Continuous

I want to know
Have you ever seen the rain?
I want to know
Have you ever seen the rain?

And I've never seen that dress you're wearing
Or that highlights in your hair that catch your eyes
I have been blind

Past Perfect

While I was putting together this cheat sheet, I discovered a huge number of videos where examples of songs had already been selected for you and me! Here is a video about Past Perfect.

So you can easily find other examples (if mine doesn’t suit you). The main thing is to Google in English. For example like this: past perfect examples in songs.

Future Perfect

I will have held you
I will have kissed you
I will have claimed you

Present Perfect Continuous

I've been thinking about you,

I've been thinking about you,
I've been thinking about you!

Past Perfect Continuous

Again, I suggest looking at a whole selection of examples.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any examples of the Future Perfect Continuous. Still, the form is used very rarely. If you know an example, be sure to write in the comments!

Conditional sentences in songs: how to remember the rules of the English language

First Conditional

So I shot – I shot – I shot him down
And I say:
If I am guilty
I will pay

If you say run I'll run with you
If you say hide we'll hide

Second Conditional

If only I knew what I know today
I would hold you in my arms
I would take the pain away
(in the first verse)

If I had just one more day
I would tell you how much that I've missed you
Since you've been away
(in the third verse)

Another song entirely built on this turn is .

Would you know my name, if I saw are you in heaven?
Would it be the same if I saw are you in heaven?

Please note that both songs are tragic (about people who have passed away), because they tell about imaginary and unreal situations.

Third Conditional

It will help you remember the most complex formula:

If + Past Perfect (had + Verb3) = Unreal condition
Future Perfect in the Past (modal verb + have + Verb3) = Unreal result

I should have changed that stupid lock
I should have made you leave your key
If I had known for just one second you’d be back to bother me.

Conditional sentence with wish

In addition to the one already named, the band’s song is ideal for this construction, since it is entirely built on this turn.

I wish I was a neutron bomb for once I could go off
I wish I was a sacrifice but somehow still lived on
I wish I was a sentimental ornament you hung on

I think you understand the principle :) Write out phrases from your favorite songs yourself, or look for ready-made collections (but Google them in English).

Let's summarize: how to learn English grammar correctly

1. To truly master English grammar, you need to learn it in conjunction with all other skills and with examples that will be useful to you in life.
2. Be sure to answer yourself the question: in what situation will I use this design? Why do I need it? Study guides will help you answer.
3. After you have analyzed a rule, come up with your own example for it (or better yet, 20), based on your life experience. Speak them and write them down.
4. Slowly start using English grammar reference books.
5. Find for yourself lines from famous, favorite, memorable songs (or films) so that the grammatical rule does not fly out of your head.

And do grammar exercises in , so that the correct formulas are forever etched in your memory. 🙂

Idea Hunter Method

After school, my English was at zero level: I only knew “ah like” and “hello”. Now the problem is obvious to me: we were punished for mistakes! Moreover, the class mocked me when I made a mistake, the more advanced students constantly made satirical jokes about my accent, and the teacher gave unsatisfactory grades. All these factors gave rise to the desire to speak a foreign language as little as possible. But this closeness is the main enemy of the student.

From 5th grade of secondary school to 3rd year of university my English remained at the same low level, but I really wanted to just talk to foreigners on the streets of my native St. Petersburg! Instead, I just smiled at them, and that was the end of our communication.

In my third year, I started traveling, first through student programs, then on my own. Now I’m telling you how to quickly acquire new knowledge in my video course “33 steps to become more successful in life.”

I remember the very first experience of communication. I tried to talk about myself and made a lot of mistakes: I didn’t use prepositions, I used tenses incorrectly, and all this was covered in a “Hard Russian accent.” What happened next? What happened when kids from other countries heard me speak? Instead of generating jokes, they tried to understand me! They just asked: say it differently, explain to us what you want to say! Then I realized what I was losing.

In the first year, my English improved tenfold! I began to understand! Understand most of what is said to me. There were so many emotions. It's a new world!

to talk easily and not be embarrassed:

1) Stop taking English courses! They are useless!
2) Learn meaningful words, especially verbs
3) Stop being ashamed of your mistakes. Based on the set of words, they will definitely understand you, but with competent sentences, but with a meager vocabulary, you will feel defenseless.
4) Watch your favorite TV series and movies in English! Try to understand first with subtitles, and then without. Don't try to translate every word - understand the general meaning
5) Practice! Surround yourself with interesting people who do not speak Russian (international organizations, communities on the Internet, for example, online chat with foreigners Verbling).
6) And, of course, travel!

What are the advantages of knowing English?

You can understand not only 300 million people from the CIS, but more than 5 billion interesting people from all over the planet!
+ You will travel and explore world without borders and fears of getting lost
+ You can watch films in the original language (and the original intonation is the main thing in the film)
+ You will be able to lead international Business
+ You can make friends all over the world!

Moreover: learning a language forces the brain to work hard, but the brain, like the whole body, needs constant charging.

You will also be interested in the bright moments of my life, which I publish in juicy videos on your YouTube channel.

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Learning English is always painstaking work, requiring a sincere desire to master the necessary knowledge. Without motivation, learning new information is impossible even with the best teachers and textbooks. Have you definitely decided that you want to know English? Congratulations, everything is easier with the right attitude.

What for?

Think about why you need English: for work, study, passing an exam, traveling abroad, reading books in the original, translating texts, communicating with foreigners, self-improvement... The more reasons, the greater the likelihood of success. The global goal (to learn English) must be supplemented by a number of intermediate tasks. For example, by Monday I will understand English word order and learn how to construct different types of sentences. Always try to keep the promises you make to yourself, because even a small success gives rise to enthusiasm and a great craving for a new language in your soul.

Where to begin?

Of course, the foundation of any language is grammar. Without grammatical rules, even the most extensive vocabulary in a foreign language becomes useless. Without basic knowledge of the structure of a language, no one could speak, read, or translate, since grammar focuses its attention on the patterns of constructing correct speech segments that carry a certain meaning. It is important that, once you understand English grammar, you will be able to freely construct sentences, intuitively guess the appropriate tense form, etc. According to traditional methods, at the beginning of learning the rules are memorized, a skill is gradually developed, which means that knowledge is applied in practice automatically, without thinking. The more you study, the more effective and faster the educational process goes.

How to choose a grammar textbook?

Studying grammar always involves working more with written exercises than speaking. This is why it is so important to choose the right study guide. Before purchasing a publication, make sure that it clearly outlines the rules, examples, and provides a variety of exercises to reinforce the material. For people completely unfamiliar with English, it is better to choose a textbook with rules in Russian. Ideally, at the end of the book there will be “keys” with answers; colorful illustrations, diagrams and tables are also welcome. The choice of textbook is always individual - the publication must meet your requirements and be interesting for you.

Many modern American, British and domestic textbooks are designed specifically for beginners, and each of them has its own advantages. All of them include a fairly wide range of topics or, conversely, have a narrow specialization for specific purposes. The most popular publications these days are:

• Headway
• Round Up
• Face2Face
• Streamline
• Cutting Edge

Of the Russian authors, it is worth noting such as Galitsinsky, Bonk, Vereshchagina. One of the most popular among those who begin to study English grammar is Essential Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy. This is one of the best publications not only for beginners, but also for everyone who wants to have a good understanding of the basic rules of the language. However, this standard tutorial is written entirely in English and is not entirely suitable for the very first lessons.

Selecting tasks

Priorities in choosing tasks should be set depending on what goals you set for yourself (fluent, grammatically correct oral speech or error-free written grammar). If speaking is more important to you, practice your communication skills in English as much as possible. If correct writing is required, focus on writing exercises. However, do not forget that the “golden mean” gives the best effect.

Performing written exercises helps to bring knowledge to automatism, but oral practice should not be overlooked. Agree, while writing there is a second to think, calculate options, but in a conversation such a hitch will be strange. Constant application of new knowledge in speech is the key to better memorization and fluency in grammatical structures.

Reading English literature, even in an adapted version, opens up a lot of learning opportunities. And it’s not for nothing that it is recommended to read as much as possible to develop foreign language literacy! Books are an excellent example of the correct use of lexical and grammatical forms.

Listening also plays a significant role in understanding English grammar. Watching authentic films, listening to songs and audio books contributes to a correct understanding of the scope of use of a particular construction or grammatical phenomenon and expands the boundaries of “book” knowledge.

Grammar and vocabulary

Of course, grammar is inextricably linked with vocabulary, and “plunging headlong” into only one of them is inappropriate. If vocabulary is a layer of knowledge that is constantly in need of updating and expansion, then English grammar is a static concept that has a rather limited range of rules. In this regard, at the initial stage of learning, you should pay doubly careful attention to the grammatical structure of the English language.

Everything ingenious is simple!

English is considered one of the easiest languages ​​to learn as it has a clear structure and strict rules. Being an analytical language, English, unlike synthetic Russian, most often uses the initial form of the word. Grammatical relations in an English sentence are carried out precisely through syntax, that is, through word order and function words, and not through changing words through dependent morphemes.

English grammar for beginners seems like an overwhelming task, but in reality everything is simpler than it seems. Moreover, you are probably interested in gaining knowledge about the basic grammatical rules without going too deep into the “wild” of exceptions. Decide how far you need to go in the initial learning phase, and remember that learning everything is inappropriate. It is much better to study what you will really need. For example, in real life it is absolutely not necessary to know all the intricacies of using English articles - the basic rules will be enough to get started.

Study methods

Every person is faced with the choice of a suitable method of learning a foreign language. Some people prefer group lessons, others prefer individual lessons with a tutor, while others want to “overcome” the material on their own.

Be that as it may, the most common remains the traditional method, which is based on a thorough study of grammar, memorizing words, rules, and exceptions. It is mandatory to compose dialogues, carry out question-and-answer sentences, and retell the text. This method provides more fundamental knowledge, but, unfortunately, is not suitable for learning a language in a short time.

The non-traditional method, on the contrary, sets itself the task of teaching students to understand and reproduce grammatical structures in speech. Most often it involves learning in a relaxed atmosphere, role-playing games, and communication in a foreign language. Knowledge in this case is not supported by a sufficient amount of theory, and therefore remains rather superficial. Plus - thanks to the intensity of practical classes, communication skills are developed quite quickly.

The word order is not random!

You should start learning English grammar with the basics. The first is the word order in an English sentence. Since the syntactic connections between them are of paramount semantic importance, the order must be observed exactly. In any English sentence there is always a strict order of words, breaking which means making a serious mistake. That is why it is worth starting to study grammar with the basics of the structure of narrative and interrogative sentences.

Oh times...

One should not be surprised by the huge number of tenses and some suspicious “pledges”, examples of which seem to be a meaningless set of words. When starting to study English grammar, stop at Present Simple, Past Simple and Future Simple. These rather simple temporary forms will become the basis on which the rest of English tenses will subsequently be built in neat bricks. When exploring the boundaries between similar tense forms, one should also take into account additional cues that directly or indirectly influence the choice of grammatical structure, such as tense circumstances.

One two three four five...

At the same time, it is recommended to pay attention to English numerals, personal pronouns and studying the verb to be, which has many functional meanings, so it is important to understand this diversity from the very beginning.

Differences between English and Russian grammar

1. The form of the word does not change depending on the gender. The exception is nouns with the so-called “feminine” suffix, for example, waitress - waitress, as well as words that inherently already belong to a certain gender, for example, boy - boy, mother - mother.

2. General and possessive - only these two cases are used with English nouns. As a rule, nouns are used in the general case, that is, in the form indicated in the dictionary.

3. English adjectives do not change form depending on the number and gender of nouns and are always used the same way.

Pitfalls in the sea of ​​English grammar

Very often articles become a stumbling block for Russians in learning English grammar. We don’t have them in our language, and we don’t understand their purpose. However, the correct use of the article carries an important semantic load, while the incorrectly used article distorts the sentence and instantly reveals a person’s ignorance of grammatical basics.

In addition, due to the inconsistency with Russian rules, the use of some English prepositions can cause difficulty, and the discovery of the existence of twelve tense forms instead of the simple and familiar three tenses can cause a feeling of complete hopelessness. However, any difficulties can be overcome with enough desire to learn.

Thus, the grammar of the English language at first glance seems incredibly complex, but once you start studying it, you will soon realize that the intricate constructions are not at all random, and their choice is provided for by strict rules. Mastering the grammatical base is the most important stage in learning English, and there is no way to do without this knowledge. We wish you good luck so that your learning is fast and effective, and your knowledge deep and useful!

When learning English, the biggest challenge for many people is grammar. It is boring, incomprehensible, and sometimes it seems that it is not possible to understand all the variety of tenses, articles and verbs. In fact, grammar helps to understand the logic of relationships between language units. In order to master it, first of all, you need to learn not to speak, but to think in English. Build sentences based on the peculiarities of English speech, rather than trying to translate Russian phrases into another language.

There are many approaches and techniques on how to learn English grammar. We will try to talk about all aspects of learning that should be paid attention to in order to achieve success in mastering a foreign language.

Where to begin?

Find a good textbook

First of all, you need to acquire high-quality teaching aids. It is best if this is material published and compiled by an English-language publishing house. Unlike their Russian-language counterparts, they are quite simple and do not contain elaborate explanations. Pay attention to such manuals as "Essential Grammar in Use" or "Grammarway". These publications allow you to work both independently and with a teacher. Focus on your level of language knowledge and follow the principle “from simple to complex.” As a rule, the content is structured in such a way that each subsequent material refers to the previous one, so even if the topic seems complicated and uninteresting to you, you don’t need to slack yourself and skip it. For those who are already familiar with the English language, the textbooks “Grammar in Use Intermediate” by Raymond Murphy, “Round Up” by Jenny Dooley are suitable.

Place accents

When starting to learn a language, many people ask a logical question: what to do first. Try taking a few tests to identify gaps in your knowledge. For example, Study Guide in any of the textbooks in the Grammar in Use series. You will learn which topics you should pay attention to first, with references to specific units. To test your knowledge and track your progress, it is useful to take tests or quizzes on various sites. This will allow you to identify shortcomings in mastering the material and work on individual points.

Read, read and read again

Don't limit yourself to textbooks, try to read as many different texts in English as possible. By using your visual memory, you will remember the construction of phrases, and by reading aloud you will train your pronunciation. While learning English, everyone has encountered the problem that native speakers speak very quickly, merging words so that it seems completely impossible to understand them. When reading aloud, you should not think about the construction of what you are about to say. Simply reproduce the finished text, working exclusively on the speed and quality of speech.

Reading aloud allows you to use 3 speech skills at once. You see the text, you reproduce it, you hear it. This means you learn information comprehensively, developing pronunciation and expanding your vocabulary.

When reading literature, we often remember phrases or interesting expressions we liked, which we later use in everyday speech. This works great when learning a language too! It is possible that reading books by the same author, after a while you will begin to speak in his manner and style.

New technologies

Video

Today you can find many videos online about how to easily learn English grammar. These could be special training programs, professional lessons or videos from bloggers. One of the main advantages of videos is a simple and accessible explanation from native speakers. You can review the recording several times, returning to the most difficult moments and understanding the nuances. In addition, thanks to modern technologies, you can study English at any time convenient for you, viewing lessons on your phone, tablet or laptop.

Mobile applications

Today, a huge number of mobile applications have been developed that allow you to quickly master English grammar. With their help, it is convenient to study new material or repeat what you have covered while traveling on public transport, traveling, or just while away the time in line. Many of them are completely free and do not require Internet access.

5 Useful Apps for Learning English Grammar

Duolingo- a simple application that allows you to train your writing and speaking skills, reading and listening. The entire course is designed from simple to complex.

Lingualeo- is a system that allows you to identify your knowledge gaps and create a suitable program. Here you can hone your grammar, learn new words,

Words- the application for Apple products contains more than 8 thousand words and is available to work without a network connection. Its main advantage is the ability to adapt to the user, offering tasks to practice those moments in which the largest number of errors previously occurred.

English Grammar in Use Activities- an application developed specifically by Cambridge University Press, aimed exclusively at learning grammar.

Voxy- an interesting application that allows you to study the material you need here and now. Native speakers will help you prepare for an interview and tell you the right phrases when going to the store or traveling around the country.

Social media

No matter what good textbook you choose, learning a language without direct communication with a native speaker is impossible. To do this, you can use various groups on social networks, special sites for finding interlocutors, such as SharedTalk, polyglotclub or italki, or simply find sociable colleagues who speak English. By chatting on Skype you will improve your speaking skills and increase your vocabulary, and by chatting you will also improve your spelling and grammar. It's also a great way to make new friends and help others learn your native language.

Don't let yourself get bored

To ensure that language learning does not turn into a routine, try to look for new, unusual techniques and teaching methods.

Music

When listening to songs by English-speaking performers, pay attention to the lyrics. This will allow you not only to better understand the meaning of the composition, but also to improve your knowledge. Write down interesting phrases, grammatical structures and individual words with articles. By periodically re-reading your notes and listening to your favorite tunes, over time this information will be stored in your memory and expand your vocabulary.

Books

We have already mentioned the benefits of reading various literature in the target language. But writing texts will be no less useful. In order to learn English grammar, find an interesting book and start rewriting it. This will help to use not only the visual, but the mechanical component of memory. That is why when learning a language you should not limit yourself to tests. You will remember not only the grammatical structures themselves, but also be able to use them in writing.

Tongue Twisters

Remember, back in school, the teacher told us funny rhymes and tongue twisters to remember words and rules? Rhyming phrases are easy to remember and remain in memory for a long time. With their help you can learn irregular verbs, rules for using articles and much more.

Games

Video games are so addictive and immersive in the virtual world that you will be constantly motivated to learn new words in order to move on to new and new game levels. Of the variety of video games, everyone will find something that will be most interesting to them: hidden object games, RPGs where the hero needs to complete certain tasks, or MMO games like World of Warcraft, Lineage II, Crowfall and others, which are role-playing games with many participants from every corner of the planet who are forced to constantly communicate and develop strategies to achieve new levels.

We looked at the main ways to speed up the process of learning English, making it interesting and exciting. You can independently come up with a technique that will make it easy for you to learn new words, remember rules and grammatical structures. It doesn’t matter which method you use, the main thing is the result!

The content of the article:

Learning a foreign language with a sufficient level of motivation is a fascinating and interesting process, until it comes to grammar. It is this that becomes a stumbling block on the path of knowledge. We will talk further about how to cope with grammatical difficulties and choose the right learning strategy.

Parkinson's Law and Foreign Language

It would seem that where is the connection between Parkinson's empirical law and English grammar. This connection was developed as a strategy by Ollie Richards, a man who speaks seven languages ​​and runs his own personal linguistic blog.

The law itself sounds like “Work increases in volume, trying to fill the time allotted for it.” If we translate it into linguistic material, we get the following: “The more you immerse yourself in grammar, the more material you have.”

According to Ollie Richards, grammar should be studied without fail, but chances are that at this stage you are not doing it the right way and all you get as a result is a complete lack of desire to learn.

Choose communication as your main activity, and grammar, as they say, will take care of itself. It is important to understand and remember that information is transmitted using words even without grammatical structures. Let's give a small example: “I go to park last Sunday”, is this sentence correct from a grammatical point of view? No, but it is quite understandable.

Stop worrying about correct grammatical structures, it will free up a huge part of your brain that can be used for more useful things, such as observation.

Always watch, when you talk, watch a movie or listen to a song, watch what grammar is involved in transmitting information - this is the main strategy from Ollie Richards.

He views the grammar of each language as a code in which it is necessary to find a pattern. Let's give a small example with the need to remember a series of numbers - 0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13... Yes, perhaps now you will spend a few minutes and remember them, but how long can you keep them in your memory?

It’s much more interesting to find a pattern, come on, test your deductive abilities, did it work? Now we can say with confidence that if you need to reproduce a series of numbers, you will do it without error. After all, you got to the bottom of it.

Luca Lampariello's strategy is a complete orderliness of grammatical structures, which will certainly appeal to practical people.

Start learning grammar with vocabulary

When following this strategy, it is important to understand that you cannot use grammar without sufficient vocabulary. Until you accumulate it, you will not be able to find a use for grammar.

Imagine that language learning is the freeway, your mind is the car, and grammar is the engine, then words will act as the fuel needed for a successful trip.

Benny Lewis has the same opinion on the issue of learning grammar, who considers grammar a way to put things in order in the language, but if you have nothing to put things in order yet, you can temporarily put aside the rules and start replenishing your vocabulary.

Secrets and lifehacks from Cornelius S. Kubler

1. As an example for learning grammar, choose audio recordings of native speakers and repeat them many times. With this you will kill two language “birds with one stone” - learn grammatical structures and form the correct pronunciation.
2. Be sure to practice using grammar; choose a native speaker as your interlocutor who can stop the conversation in case of a grammatical error and explain its essence.
3. Grammatical structures should not be studied separately from the context; dialogues and situational monologues were and remain the most effective.

Kerstin Hammes on grammar

If you are a fearless practitioner who is able to bravely rush into dialogue without fear of possible mistakes, choose a communication strategy.

If you are an introverted perfectionist who is unable to voice sentences without carefully working out its grammatical structure, you cannot do without grammar. Choose a method of language formulas that help you create order and use the appropriate sequence depending on the situation.

Top 5 grammar questions

1. Who is better to learn grammar with? When you are at the first stage of studying, choose a Russian-speaking teacher or a foreigner who is fluent in Russian as a mentor. If you have already taken the path of using grammar in speech, it is better to involve a native speaker.

   But if you take on the grammatical “load” on your own, there is a high probability of encountering the notorious language barrier.

2. How many exercises will be required to master the rule? Of course, there is no specific universal figure, and their number is largely determined by the individual abilities of the student. As practice shows, in most cases, 10–20 exercises and further use in oral speech are sufficient.
3. How long will it take? It would be fair to note that we do not even have a thorough command of the grammar of our native language. If your goal is to prepare for an exam, it may take one to one and a half years of intensive work.
4. What topics are the most difficult for Russian-speaking students? When it comes to the complexities of grammar, all the variety of tenses immediately comes to mind. In particular, many difficulties arise with the identification of the Present Perfect and Past Simple, as well as the Gerund and Conditionals sections.
5. Which English textbook should you choose? Experts do not recommend using one textbook. In most cases, it contains fairly similar tasks, so choose several sources for yourself. The following received excellent feedback from students and teachers:
   • Raymond Murphy "English Grammar in Use"
   • English Grammar in Context Macmillan
   • Oxford Practice Grammar
   • Grammarway
   • Round Up

Let's summarize a little grammar

Grammar learning should be inextricably linked to context and vocabulary.

Everything that has already been put into your head should be systematized in tables. To prevent learning from seeming boring to you, accompany your tables with small drawings, for example, depict the Present Simple as rain, symbolizing a tedious routine. For the Present Perfect, a watermelon crust is suitable, which will show that the action has already been completed and the fragrant watermelon has been eaten.

The set of your exercises must necessarily include those that compare Russian sentences and their translation into English. After you understand the “temporal” subtleties, take on the transformation of one sentence into all tenses.

We offer you a small check list:

• choose a pace and learning style that is convenient for you;
• do not take grammatical material out of context;
• make visual illustrations and tables your constant companions;
• use foreign textbooks as a source;
• Adhere to a communicative approach to learning.