Discuss the Article : 8 Suggestions For Getting Over Your Fear Of English Grammar
<a href='/article/72/8-suggestions-for-getting-over-your-fear-of-english-grammar' target='_blank'>8 Suggestions For Getting Over Your Fear Of English Grammar</a>
You don’t have to be afraid when you learn English grammar. Here are some ways so stop dreading (hating to do something) or focusing too much on grammar...
The historical background for the item 6 seems to be wrong..
<em>But, it wasn’t always like this. It started out as being, If I was you, I would go to the party because I usually goes with was (e.g., I was late). But, for some reason, English speakers were saying it wrong so often that it was finally accepted as right. So, don’t get too stuck on grammar, because it can change.</em>
Here is the BBC's explanation on this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1837_aae/page3.shtml
Thank you teacher Ilene Springer, what a valuable article, that increase our confiedance in using grammer freely,
Thank you dear !!!
There's a lot of reassuring advice, but I don't see the typing errors that seem to bother John.
I would interpret <em>learn grammar from native speakers</em> to mean, <em>learn grammar by listening to native speakers</em>. We can't expect all native speakers to be able to explain the grammar patterns and rules! :) I'd even say the reality is that grammar rules come about by analysing the speaking and writing patterns of native speakers. With that in mind, "slang" speech becomes freakishly grammatically consistent.
(By the way: yes, <em>were</em> for subjunctive is historically correct; <em>was</em> is the so-called anomaly. Things change over time, and it's not easy to see them if we rely only on the modern form of the language.)
Hallo from Germany. I'm not sure, if studying grammer is important. Some linguistic professionals recomend not to study grammer, but learn it threw using the language. They discribe a language like a spider's web. The natural flow of learning your native laguage is to hear the words in some order and to learn both together. Most native speaker can't tell a single rule, but they have the feeling of right and wrong in their guts. I try to get this feeling in Eglish with learning it the natural way: read, write, listen and speak. (Honestly I read to much and speak rarely :-/)
This was a difficult topic, hard to explain :-)
Luis--that is a great and wise quote about rules. I agree! Thanks for commenting. All the best--Ilene: your American teacher in beautiful Albuquerque, New Mexico!
