Grammar Central
The only way I know of improving your grammar is to start from the ground up and then notice and identify constructs all around you. To do this, I am in the process of creating what I consider a streamlined, foundational approach to grammar, one which relies heavily on diagramming at first, and then branches out to issues of style and purpose. I'm currently piloting this program with my ninth graders, but seniors would probably benefit just as much from the lessons below.
Each lesson takes you through a few new concepts, starting with two-word sentences and getting progressively more complex, and thus more expressive. In the left column you will find video tutorials for each concept. In the right column, you will find PDF copies of the lesson basics.
To get even more depth, I highly recommend Warriner's English Grammar, one of the most boring books ever written. It also happens to be one of the most useful. The tricky thing with Warriner's is that the order of information seems a bit off; they introduce new ideas before you have learned the prerequisites necessary to understand them. My hope is that the order I present will be more logical and useful for absolute beginners. Once you've been through my stuff, Warriner's should make perfect sense, and with it, you will be able to delve even deeper into the quagmire that is English Grammar.
Each lesson takes you through a few new concepts, starting with two-word sentences and getting progressively more complex, and thus more expressive. In the left column you will find video tutorials for each concept. In the right column, you will find PDF copies of the lesson basics.
To get even more depth, I highly recommend Warriner's English Grammar, one of the most boring books ever written. It also happens to be one of the most useful. The tricky thing with Warriner's is that the order of information seems a bit off; they introduce new ideas before you have learned the prerequisites necessary to understand them. My hope is that the order I present will be more logical and useful for absolute beginners. Once you've been through my stuff, Warriner's should make perfect sense, and with it, you will be able to delve even deeper into the quagmire that is English Grammar.
Lesson 1: Subjects and Predicates
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Lesson 2: Compound subjects and predicates
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Lesson 3: Modifiers (adjectives and adverbs)
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Lesson 4: direct and indirect Objects; also Yay! for interjections
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Lesson 5: Linking verbs and subject complements
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Lesson 6: Phrases and prepositions
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Review
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NOTE: I'm not sure what was going on in my brain in the picture to the left. I guess I don't write and speak at the same time very well, but here are two problems:
1. I left the second O out of Romeo. That's just kind of a dumb mistake. The second mistake could mess you up, though. 2. See the preposition "of his life?" I have "life" written twice for some inexplicable reason. The word hanging off of "life" should be "his" because "his" tells us which "life" we are talking about. Ummm... oops... |
Lesson 7: Verb Phrases and tenses
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