The English Grammar Police’s Notorious 5

Grammar was long taught since students picked their way to school pavements. However, its dynamism in use and the inherent progression students experience per passing it did not make it any better for students to avoid committing several violations to the conventions of even the most basic of English grammar.

Why is it that despite of relentless writing and speaking exercises and practices students continue to suffer from grammar maladies? Enlisted below are probable answers:

1. Other priorities. In doing courseworks, students aim to hunt for the correct answer and nail it in paper. However, executing the former takes more time; hence, students put less emphasis in their English grammar. This is the common case for almost all types of time-pressured activity.
2. Unstable foundation. This is one of the most prevalent culprits of grammar-based errors. Some students are able to pass their English grammar lessons without actually integrating them in their systemic writing and speaking. The case is that either a student keeps on forgetting the rules, or is ignorant in terms of actual grammar use.
3. Lack of double-checking habits. Students still resolve to stash away right after finishing a coursework, regardless of the simplicity of this measure. They tend to forget that reviewing their work saves more points and optimises the edge of getting the accurate answer.
4. Fail to exhibit keenness to composition’s details. Without the vaguest idea of how the work is to be read or written, students inevitably neglect to spot the details that require a grammar police.
5. Constant flash-writing. When students consistently do their courseworks under a rapid clocked pace, students will consequently lose their grammar bearings. They will write at top speed and forget grammar rules.

Students exhibiting any of these probabilities miss one thing about grammar – its significance in communicating.

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Four Ways to Improve English Grammar

One of the many tasks and activities that a student has to accomplish in college is to write academic papers. These academic papers include but are not limited to essays, reviews, term papers, theses and dissertations. Quality academic papers mean high grades for a student. Thus, a student should always strive to write only quality academic papers that are void of grammar mistakes. Mastering English grammar may sound easy, but even native speakers also experience some difficulties in mastering their own language. To start off, one should first think of ways on how to improve their grammar.

1. You need to get a general overview of English grammar from a reliable and credible resource like textbooks, grammar books as well online writing laboratories. Indentify and take note of your grammar weaknesses and develop a plan to get rid of them. Make a plan to improve you grammar through time.
2. Finding someone who has mastered the English language to serve as your tutor could work to your advantage. Some students fail to identify their grammar weaknesses, and other people are in the better position to spot them. They could give advices and pointers that could help one improve his grammar and eventually master it.
3. The best way to improve your English grammar is to practice them. You could practice them while talking to another person. You could also practice them by taking written grammar exercise that could found on grammar books and online writing laboratories. There exist hundreds of web sites that offer free grammar quizzes.
4. Reading aloud is also a good way to improve your grammar. By reading an English essay or any composition aloud, you will find it easier to practically remember the grammar rules. Reading aloud will also boost your capacity to retain read information.

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Why is English grammar important?

Students are always reminded by their professors and teachers that English grammar should be strictly observed and followed when writing their academic papers. Students are often warned about not using the correct grammar in writing their compositions. But what is grammar? Why is grammar important?

According to Oxford Dictionaries Online, grammar is the “whole system and structure of a language or of languages in general, usually taken as consisting of syntax and morphology.” In more understandable terms, grammar could be defined as a systematic study of a language. Thus, English grammar deals with the adherence to the set of rules governing the syntax and structure of the English language. These rules allow an individual or a group to learn the language systematically.

Grammar is particularly important because it sets the rules that allow people to speak and write with clarity and discernment. From the moment a person is born, he is exposed to the language of the people around him. Eventually he has to learn to speak and write, which is just usage. However, to properly speak and write is a different thing – this is grammar. Proper use of grammar allows a person to understand and be understood in the most precise manner. Grammar dictates how language can be used in the most understandable and effective manner.

Knowing how to use English grammar is different from just using the language. Usage has no boundaries, making it subject to confusion. Grammar, meanwhile, sets the limits while connecting the dots between the different aspects of the language. It tries to eliminate confusion while making communication clearer and more effective.

English is not the only language that its own grammar. Even other languages like Japanese, German and French have their own grammar. Grammar allows these languages to flourish throughout the years they exist.

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Difficulties in Learning English: English Grammar

          Learning the English language can present people with difficulties, whether they are non-native English speakers wishing to learn English as a second language or even native speakers who wish to learn the formal type of English (as opposed to slang) which are used in academia and in transacting with government institutions. One of the problems that confound learners concerns English grammar. This is because the grammatical structure of English is unlike other languages, even those that are closely related to it or where it has borrowed large groups of vocabulary. Adding to this difficulty is the presence of a number of irregularities that exist in English.

          It is important to understand features of the language such as English grammar, vocabulary, and spelling especially for non-native speakers so they can grasp the nuances of the language better. For native speakers, it may help them understand why learning English can be difficult. Below are some of the problems of learning English in relation to English grammar:

• Plural Nouns. Most nouns in English simply add “s” to its singular to create its plural counterpart. However, there are also words which do not conform to this rule. Examples are words ending in “f” or “fe” such as wife (plural is wives), words ending in “y” such as spy (plural is spies), words that have a change in their interior vowel sounds such as man (plural is men), and Old English word plurals such as child (plural is children) and ox (plural is oxen).

• English has many verb tenses which its speakers have to master in order to effectively communicate different shades of meaning. Complicating this difficulty is the fact that English also uses auxiliary words in place of verbal inflection in creating its varied tenses.

• Irregular Verbs. There are many irregular verbs in English which may be altered radically in conjugation or may not change at all.

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How Foreign Students Can Improve Their English Grammar Skills

        International or foreign students who are planning to take up undergraduate courses in universities and colleges in the United States should first make concerted efforts in developing and improving their English grammar and writing skills before they actually study in a higher education level institution in the U.S. Even if those students are not native English speakers, it is essential that they should improve their grammar and writing skills in English because it would help them in overcoming some of the challenges they would face in their English verbal and written communications.

        If you are a foreigner planning to study at a higher education level institution in the U.S., it is important that you engage in some activities that would help you in improving your English grammar and writing skills. Improving grammar and writing skills in English is essential because it would help an international student in adjusting to the American university or college setting, in communicating with native English speakers at the campus, and in the various academic writing tasks that have to be written in English.

        There are several activities that a prospective international student could do in improving his skills for English grammar and writing. The activities include taking up a short-term course in English reading and writing that you could take before you study in the U.S., or during your university studies. When you are already studying in the U.S., you could take the short-term course in the university where you are studying or as online course offered by an online school.

        Another important activity is regular reading of written materials such as books, newspaper, and magazines since reading those materials would expose you to both the formal and informal styles of writing in English. Watching English language television shows and films would expose you to the common style of English that is used in everyday conversation.

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Study Tips to Learn English Grammar

        Learning the aspects of a language can be a difficult experience for most because of the sheer volume of words and rules that the learner has to familiarise with and eventually commit to memory. For individuals wanting to learn English, these aspects include English grammar, spelling and vocabulary. English grammar is particularly challenging to learn especially if the learner is has already been exposed to a different language system and is only learning English as a second language. However, below are several tips that will make it easier for a learner of English grammar:

• Set targets. Do not view the learning process as a huge task especially if there is a big assessment that you will need to take as proof that you have really learned. Instead, break it down into doable chunks by setting small targets such as learning a set number of new English words everyday. Another thing that you can do is observe which aspects of English grammar you are most often committing mistakes in and concentrate on correcting it within the week. Being able to reach the small targets you set makes you proud of your accomplishments and keeps your morale for studying higher than ever before.

• Try to find pleasure in the activities you are doing as you learn English grammar. Being motivated because you actually want to acquire the skill instead of other reasons like merely passing an aptitude test will ensure that you actually retain the knowledge even when the test is over. As such, you will have to incorporate learning English grammar in the daily activities you enjoy such as reading novels, stories, poems or even song lyrics. You may also read up about a subject that interests you—written in an English article. This will expose you to reliable reading sources that all demonstrate proper English grammar, spelling and usage.

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Why It Is Important to Study English Grammar

Knowing English grammar involves being able to form words into combinations that will produce sentences whose meaning can be understood by someone who knows how to speak English. Knowing grammar is basic to studying any language, because it allows the learner to understand the relationships between words and how they interact with each other to produce meaning. Below are reasons for which studying English grammar is important:

• To accept the challenge of expanding our knowledge and testing our ability to learn as human beings. People constantly show curiosity in the world they live in. One important aspect of life is using language, in which grammar is an important aspect. Grammar is no different from any other knowledge domain in this respect. Importance
• As human beings, language plays a paramount role in the way we show our emotions or convey instructions to one another. At the heart of understanding a language such as English is to understand and be knowledgeable about English grammar as well.
• To explore and enhance our creative abilities. One of the ways that we can express our creativity aside from creating things with out hands is to put down our thoughts on paper or on some other medium that can display and store textual information. Thus, we write songs, poems, stories, publish books and print novels using language to communicate our ideas to readers so that they may either adopt our perspective or at least be stimulated to think about the subject.
• To solve problems we face as humans. Whether it is to resolve a dispute between two warring factions, passing on knowledge from a learned person to a student, or to combat the harmful effects of human activities on the environment, we will always need language in our everyday lives to relate with other people and communities. Since English is the most popular language in the world, being knowledgeable in English, and by extension English grammar will give us the edge to better communicate with more people and find solutions to our common problems as humans.

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