Download Grammar!!!

Grammar!!!
Are Grammar Lessons
Enough?
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A solid body of scholarly research has
demonstrated that knowledge of grammar will
not, of itself, improve writing style.
Occasionally, where grammar lessons
replaced time spent teaching composition
directly, the grammar classes registered less
gain.
Can Students Make the Link?
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Transference from fact-based grammar to
more organic prose does not always take
place, nor should it be expected to.
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Peter Rosenbaum writes, “we might as well
expect instruction in the Newtonian
description of the mechanics of the forward
pass to make the quarterback a good passer
as expect instruction in grammar to improve
performance in the literate skills."
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Research shows that student writing skills
most improve when incidental grammar
training is used.
Total reliance on incidental training can leave
students feeling that there is a gap in their
intellectual development, and that they have
not received adequate academic instruction.
A Solution…
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The pedagogical solution to this problem is to
limit writing-related teaching of grammar to
stylistic areas, where it can succeed.
In most classrooms, there are two times
when stylistic considerations come to the
foreground: when we teach editing, the last
step in the revising stage of the composing
process, and when we teach writing style as
a discrete skill.
Teachers, Keep This in Mind:
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When considering your grammar lessons,
ask yourself:
Are students applying grammar to a real
communication context?
Does the lesson take audience and purpose
into consideration?
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Will the lesson broaden the student’s
understanding of and respect for different
varieties of English? Different languages?
Are students using grammatical terminology
correctly?
Grammar Superstitions: The
Never-Never Rules
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Many professional writers break the “NeverNever” rules in their writing assignments, but
many English teachers force students to
follow those rules in their essays.
“Either all of those [professional writers] are
wrong and never learned their sentencestarting rules, or there must be some kind of
graduate club of writers that students are
denied access to” (GA 73).
The Dreaded Sentence-Ending
Preposition
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Superstition
Never end a sentence with a preposition.
Preposition
A structure-class word that combines with a
nominal (a word that serves as a noun
phrase) to form a prepositional phrase that
functions adjectivally or adverbially.
above, at, in, of, for, from, to, on
Phrasal Verb
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A verb that consists of a verb plus a particle that
serves as a preposition.
A Verb with Different Particles
Phrasal verbs are formed from one verb.
take after take apart take
back
take down take for
take
in
take off
take on
take
out
A phrasal verb is an “essential component of
smooth, informal English prose” (GA 72).
The Abhorred Split Infinitive
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Superstition
Never use split infinitive in a sentence.
Split Infinitive
To split an infinitive in a sentence is to insert
an adverb between to and the verb.
to boldly go
to firmly lay
The Contraction of Ill-Repute
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Superstition
Never use a contraction in a sentence.
Contraction
A shortening of a word or word group by omission of
a sound or letter.
can’t, won’t, doesn’t, we’ll
“Contractions soften the writer’s voice. To write
without contractions is to deliver a standoffish,
unrhythmical, overly formalized style that won’t ease
the reader’s journey to understanding.” (GA 73)
Three Little Words: And, But,
So
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Superstition
Never begin a sentence with a coordinating
conjunction.
Coordinating Conjunction
A structure-class word that connects two
words, phrases, or clauses as equals.
and, but, so, because, yet
The Impudent I
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Superstition
Never use first person (I) in a sentence.
Avoiding first person in sentences leads to
“ineffective use of the passive voice, the
stuffy use of ‘one’ or ‘an individual,’ and other
distancing mechanisms leading to such
clunkers” (GA 73).
Helpful Grammar Rules:
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Well is an adverb, good is an adjective
(exception: when well means healthy it is an
adjective)
Who vs. Whom
he
him
she
her
they
them
Some Troublesome Verbs:
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Infinitive
Past Past Participle
Participle
Burst
burst
burst
Lay (to put or place) laid
laid
Lie (to rest)
lay
lain
Lie(to speak falsely) lied
lied
Sit (to rest)
sat
sat
Set (to put or place) set
set
Raise (to lift)
raised
raised
Rise (to ascend)
rose
risen
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(Class Notes for English 302: Professor Noguchi)
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Present
bursting
laying
lying
lying
sitting
setting
raising
rising
Teaching Grammar: Form
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One can distinguish what part of speech a
word is not only because of its meaning, but
also because its form can be changed in
certain ways: nearly all nouns can take
endings that show plurality and possession.
Ex: dog, dogs, and dog’s are all nouns both
because of meaning and because of the
endings (GA24).
Frame:
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One can help clarify what part of speech a
word is by the word that frames it.
Ex: a word that stands alone after a
determiner such as the, a, my, or this is a
noun: the dog, a dog, my dog, this dog (GA
24).
Function:
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“When a word is used in a sentence, it takes
on another vital characteristic: its function”
(GA 24)
Function overrides form:
ex: the noun school when used in the school
cafeteria is by form still a noun, but since it
functions adjectivally here, it is an adjective.
The Form, Frame, Function
Tests:
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Check for meaning
Look at the form: what a word looks like, the
endings that can be added to it
Look at the words that frame it: the words
that form a setting in which a word or type of
word can fit
Look at the function: what the word does in
the sentence
Practice and Application:
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For younger students: hunt for simple
structures such as a noun series or a
prepositional phrase
For older students: look for structures such
as parallelism (ex: “Give me liberty or give
me death”)
Useful Websites for Teachers:
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http://www.pacificnet.net/~sperling/quiz/#gra
mmar
http://www.suelebeau.com/
http://kimskorner4teachertalk.com/grammar/
menu.html
http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content4
/grammar.morph.html
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www.schoolexpress.com
www.dyetub.com
www.mygradebook.com
www.puzzlemaker.com
www.easytestmaker.com