Grammar Difficulties
·
Grammatically, English can be a very difficult language to learn. There
are more grammatical nuances in English than languages such as French or
Spanish, and learning to be proficient in grammar is something that even native
English speakers struggle with. For example, many people have issues
understanding past and present tense (played and plays) in English, which can
be rather confusing at times. Without a doubt, the best way to internalize
English grammar is to read as much English text as possible.
·
English grammar is particularly confusing to Spanish
speakers. Because Spanish has more verbs endings than English, a complete
sentence in Spanish does not always need a subject. Because of this, Spanish
speakers often omit subject pronouns from their English sentences. They tend to
copy Spanish word order, departing from the required subject-verb-object order
of English structure. Forming negatives and questions with "do"
presents difficulties since Spanish negatives and questions do not require
helping verbs. Spanish speakers also sometimes have trouble using the correct
gender for third person singular possessive adjectives, since Spanish can use
"su" for "her," "him" or "its."
Here are some
tips for you learn grammar, good luck !
PASSIVE VOICE
We use the
active form to say what the subject does. For example:
·
I speak English every day at work.
·
I repaired the flat tire on the car.
We use the
passive form to say what happens to people and things, to say what is done to
them. For example:
·
English is spoken here.
·
The car is being repaired.
We use the
passive form when we don't know who did the action. For example:
·
The car was damaged while it was parked on the
street.
·
The shirts were made in Turkey.
We use the
passive form when what was done is more important than who did it. For example:
·
It was approved by Gerry last week.
·
I was informed by the Human Resources Manager only
two days ago.
Exercises:
PRESENT PERFECT
We use the
present perfect when we want to look back from the present to the past.
We can use it
to look back on the recent past.
·
I've broken my watch so I don't know what time it
is.
·
They have cancelled the meeting.
·
She's taken my copy. I don't have one.
·
The sales team has doubled its turnover.
When we look
back on the recent past, we often use the words 'just' 'already' or the word
'yet' (in negatives and questions only).
·
We've already talked about that.
·
She hasn't arrived yet.
·
I've just done it.
·
They've already met.
·
They don't know yet.
·
Have you spoken to him yet?
·
Have they got back to you yet?
It can also be
used to look back on the more distant past.
·
We've been to Singapore a lot over the last few
years.
·
She's done this type of project many times before.
·
We've mentioned it to them on several occasions
over the last six months.
·
They've often talked about it in the past.
When we look
back on the more distant past, we often use the words 'ever' (in questions) and
'never'.
·
Have you ever been to Argentina?
·
Has he ever talked to you about the problem?
·
I've never met Jim and Sally.
·
We've never considered investing in Mexico.
Exercises:
PAST CONTINUOUS
We use the past
continuous to talk about past events which went on for a period of time.
We use it when
we want to emphasize the continuing process of an activity or the period of
that activity. (If we just want to talk about the past event as a simple fact,
we use the past simple.)
·
While I was driving home, Peter was trying
desperately to contact me.
·
Were you expecting any visitors?
·
Sorry, were you sleeping?
·
I was just making some coffee.
·
I was thinking about him last night.
·
In the 1990s few people were using mobile phones.
We often use it
to describe a "background action" when something else happened.
·
I was walking in the street when I suddenly fell
over.
·
She was talking to me on the phone and it suddenly
went dead.
·
They were still waiting for the plane when I spoke
to them.
·
The company was declining rapidly before he took
charge.
·
We were just talking about it before you arrived.
·
I was making a presentation in front of 500 people
when the microphone stopped working.
Exercises:
IRREGULAR VERBS
All new verbs
in English are regular.
·
I photocopied the report.
·
She faxed it to me.
·
They emailed everybody about it.
·
I googled my name and got more than 20 000
responses.
There are
approximately 180 irregular verbs. You don't need to learn all of them because
some of these are very rare but many others are very useful and you do need to
know them.
What's the easiest way to learn them? Some people think you should learn a list 'by heart'. Others think you should not learn them at all – you will just gradually acquire them over time.
One useful method is to note down new irregular verbs as you meet them. It is useful to write these verbs (or any vocabulary you want to learn) in sentences and learn those rather than the individual word.
Which is easier to learn?
·
stick stuck stuck
·
I stuck the photo into my album.
Another
technique is to classify the irregular verbs into 4 categories.
1. All forms the same
·
set set set
·
cost cost cost
2. Similar sound groups
·
beat beat beaten
·
eat ate eaten
·
blow blew blown
·
throw threw thrown
·
drink drank drunk
·
sing sang sung
·
speak spoke spoken
·
wake woke woken
3. The second
and third forms are the same.
·
bend bent bent
·
sleep slept slept
·
spend spent spent
·
bring brought brought
·
buy bought bought
·
teach taught taught
·
have had had
·
pay paid paid
·
say said said
4. The "unclassifiables"
·
come came come
·
do did done
·
go went gone
·
show showed show
As you meet new
irregular verbs, try to decide in which category they fall.
Exercises:
WISH
Let's start off
with the easy part. ' I wish to' can mean the same as 'I want to' but it is
much, much more formal and much, much less common.
·
I wish to make a complaint.
·
I wish to see the manager.
You can also use
'wish' with a noun to 'offer good wishes'.
·
I wish you all the best in your new job.
·
We wish you a merry Christmas.
Notice that
when you want to offer good wishes using a verb, you must use 'hope ' and not
'wish'.
·
We wish you the best of luck.
·
We hope you have the best of luck.
·
I wish you a safe and pleasant journey.
·
I hope you have a safe and pleasant journey.
However, the
main use of 'wish' is to say that we would like things to be different from
what they are, that we have regrets about the present situation.
·
I wish I was rich.
·
He wishes he lived in Paris.
·
They wish they'd chosen a different leader.
Notice that the
verb tense which follows 'I wish' is 'more in the past' than the tense
corresponding to its meaning.
·
I'm too fat. I wish I was thin.
·
I never get invited to parties. I wish I got
invited to parties.
·
It's raining. I wish it wasn't raining.
·
I went to see the latest Star Wars film. I wish I
hadn't gone.
·
I've eaten too much. I wish I hadn't eaten so much.
·
I'm going to visit her later. I wish I wasn't going
to visit her later.
In the case of
'will' , where 'will' means 'show willingness' we use 'would'.
·
He won't help me. I wish he would help me.
·
You're making too much noise. I wish you would be
quiet.
·
You keep interrupting me. I wish you wouldn't do
that.
Where 'will'
means a future event, we cannot use 'wish' and must use 'hope'.
·
There's a strike tomorrow. I hope some buses will
still be running.
·
I hope everything will be fine in your new job.
In more formal
English, we use the subjunctive form 'were' and not 'was' after 'wish'.
·
I wish I were taller.
·
I wish it were Saturday today.
·
I wish he were here.
Exercises:
