English
Spanish
Russian
Vietnamese
Turkish
Portuguese
French
Italian
Polish
Indonesian
Arabic
German
Korean
Hungarian
Thai
Dutch
Japanese
Czech
Swedish
HindiGrammar For English Speaking?
Grammar For English Speaking?
A universal truth that we cannot ignore about language learning is that all of us learned to speak before we learned grammar. So if you are a non-native English speaker trying to learn or improve English, focus on speaking and listening first. Once, you understand the right language patterns through listening and speaking, you will understand the fundamentals of grammar is a simple, intuitive way.
It is important also note the relationship between grammar and speaking is not a two way street. Improvements you make in English speaking will help you improve grammar. However, improving grammar will not make help you improve English speaking. Think of friends who moved to an English speaking country and started not only speaking but also writing with improved grammar.
So what basic grammar do you need to know to start speaking? What is the minimum you should know? That’s what we are going to discuss today. There are only 4 basic concepts that you should really know in grammar to get started. They are 1) subject 2) predicate 3) verb 4) article. Learn these 4 concepts and you can study more advanced grammar topics once you become better at speaking.
1.) Subject – every sentence needs one!
The subject in a sentence is who or what you are talking about. Every sentence must have a subject.
See below some examples of how subjects are used in sentences:
My cat is full of energy
That building is very old
We are going to the concert
2.) Predicate – what the subject is doing
The predicate informs what the subject is or what it is doing. It is a phrase that contains a verb.
See below some examples of how predicates are used in sentences:
My cat is full of energy
That building is very old
We are going to the concert
3.) Verb = action
A verb is an action. Some common verbs are: run, talk, watch, eat, sleep, laugh, wash, cry, smile etc
See below some examples of how verbs are used in sentences:
Mike is riding his bike
Can Ann stop crying?
He can swim fast
4.) Article – A, An or The
“A”, “An”, and “The” are all articles.
See below some examples of how verbs are used in sentences:
John saw a chicken cross the road.
I read an awesome book over the weekend.
I’m going to the market to buy some fish.
(There are some differences between a,An and The that we are not going to get to here)
And that’s it. These are the 4 building blocks for any sentence you are going to ever build. There are many more grammar rules but writing about all of that in this post is only going to confuse readers. Most importantly, you will never need to know all of those rules to start speaking English!
Disclaimer:
Of course, if you are studying for an exam like IELTS or TOEFL (or the GRE or GMAT) you will need to learn advanced grammar concepts. The purpose of our program is not to cover those.
April 9, 2015 