grammar goof ups- fix them once and for all
TRANSCRIPT
Grammar Goof-Ups:
Fix Them Once and For All!
U.S. Department of StateEnglish Language Fellow
Secretaría de Educación Pública, La Paz, Baja California Sur
México
Supported by:
Why Study
Grammar?
To understand how a language
works
To communicate effectively with
others
To sound intelligent in a foreign
language
To teach students the correct
usage
To fulfill an interest
Other reasons….
Baby Talk...is it ok?
Is there something wrong
with this sentence?
“I wented to the store and
mommy buyed me lots of
candies.”
How we learn grammar
incorrectly in a foreign
language...
We are not corrected by anyone
Our teachers use incorrect grammar
Our peers use incorrect grammar
We are actually using fossilized
mistakes over and over without
realizing it
Does
Grammar
Matter?
TED-Ed
Andreea S.
Calude
https://youtu.be/Wn_eBrIDUuc?t=36
Is this
sentence
correct?
I don’t know
where is my
bag?
The correct
way to say
this is…
You can
avoid “is” →
The verb comes at the end of this
sentence in English.
1. I don't know where my bag is.
2. I can’t find my bag, I wonder
where it is.
3. My bag is missing, where do you
think it is?
Can you help me find my missing
bag?!
What’s the
difference
between
see, look, &
watch?
Follow These Guidelines:
See General
Look Specific
Watch In Progress
Say these
words out
loud.
Posted
Played
Added
Worked
The -ed
rule for
words
ending in
‘t’ or ‘d’
If the verb stem ends in the letter ‘t’
or ‘d’ you make the strong -ed sound
like the name Ed.
Examples:
Post has a ‘t’ at the end of the stem
so it is read/said as posted
Add has a ‘d’ at the end of the stem,
so it is read/said as added
When asking a do or does
question:
Remember:“Did does all the work” in a question, so
the main verb can remain in the present
tense because “Did does all the work” in
forming the tense for a question.
Did you go to the party last night?
Therefore...
Do (present) you like to eat (present)
tacos?
Present tense + Present tense= Present
Did (past) you eat (present) many tacos
last night? (past)
Past tense + Present Tense= Past
Tense
Is this
correct?
Let’s make a
photo!
Let’s take a
photo!
or
Let’s take a
selfie!
Remember this:
A funny (adjective) man who tells lots
of jokes always has more fun (noun)!
Only boring (adjective) people get
bored (adjective) easily.
Rules for
Comparatives
&
Superlatives
An easier way
to remember
how to use
them.
A general rule to follow is to look at
the number of syllables in the
adjective to tell how to correctly form
the comparative and superlative.
1 syllable
rule
nice nicer the nicest
2 syllable
rule
pret-ty prettier the most
pretty/the
prettiest
3 syllable
rule
beau-ti-ful more
beautiful
the most
beautiful
So
vs.
Too
It is so cold in Finland in the winter!
It is too cold in Finland in the winter!
I like the Finnish winters
so much. OK
I like the Finnish winters
too much. Not OK
So= very, a lot, able to handle it,
bearable
Too= too much, not able to handle,
unbearable
Wait me.
The mistake many non-native speakers
make when they want to say wait for
me.
“I will be done with this assignment in
two minutes, I want to go with you to
eat, wait for me.”
Thank God we are almost
done...not thanks God we
are almost done…
But, thanks to you I have learned a lot
about grammar and how to use it and
teach it!
And thank you for being such great
participants!
Useful Resources:
Azar Grammar website:
http://www.azargrammar.com/
Grammar resources - University of
Chicago Writing Program
http://writing-
program.uchicago.edu/resources/gram
mar.htm
The Blue Book of Grammar and
Punctuation