Grammar 5V

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

What is grammar?

Grammar = 

set of rules

structure of language

verbs and tenses

"the study of words and the rule for their formation and their relationships to each other in sentences" 

"the whole system and structure of a language or of languages in general, usually taken as consisting of syntax and morphology (including inflections) and sometimes also phonology and semantics."

Do you think your English grammar is good?

Yes

No

Do you know the rules? 

Or do you go by your feeling? 

Or do you struggle? Are you not always sure whether the sentence you have written is correct? 

(Intro lesson triggers prior knowledge and introduces the topics of the upcoming lessons)

Programme

• Introduction to English grammar
• Verb tenses
• Irregular verbs (Wednesday)
• Building sentences (Wednesday)
• Test (Thursday)

The tenses

How many are there?

What do we know about them?

Let the students make columns for each tense in their notebooks. The teacher makes columns on the board and fills in together with the students what they know (prior knowledge). 

The teacher will not fill in the holes. Holes will be filled in throughout the grammar lessons.

3 tenses:

• Present
• Past
• Future

4 aspects:

• Simple
• Progressive 
• Perfect
• Perfect progressive

Aspect = the verb form that indicates completion, duration, or repetition of an action

English has only two ways of forming a tense from the verb: the past and the present. For example, we drove and we drive.

To form other verb tenses, you have to add a form of have, be or will in front of the verb. These are called auxiliary verbs.

If you have to add have, what kind of aspect does it become? Simple, perfect or progressive?

How about adding be?

And will? Does will affect the tense or aspect? 

PRESENT

Simple	Perfect	Progressive
verb + ‑s or ‑es (regular verbs)	to have + verb	to be + verb- ing
universal, timeless truths	continuative sense	current action, an action in progress or an unfinished action
habits	the time preceding the present is indefinite/unclear	definite near future plans
momentary state of affairs	recall of experience	expression of irritation
performative utterance	signifiers: for/since, always, never, ever (not) yet, already, just

students take over notes so they memorize it better (not allowed to take a picture) 

Mention the "Gerund": I like traveling as an example sentence. Ask students what tense aspect this is. Explain traveling is not a verb, but a noun.

PAST

Simple	Perfect	Progressive
verb + -ed (regular verbs)	had + verb	was/were + verb + - ing
time adverb	finished action	ongoing activity in the past
imagined, unreal states of affairs	action that happened before a specific time in the past	ongoing activity before another activity
habits that are over ( used to/would )	cause and effect (combination with past simple)	parallel action
		past habit (signifiers: always, forever, constantly, at that time )

Future forms

will + lexical verb: "I will see you tomorrow."

will + be + lexical verb-ing:  "We will be working in the library all afternoon."

be going to:  "I am going to marry the girl next door."

be to:  "The buildings are to be demolished."

the present progressive: "Edward is emigrating to Australia."

the simple present: "The boss retires next year."

be about to: "I am about to leave for Istanbul." 

Game Time

hand out cut outs and start the game. If a student gives an incorrect answer, they have to start over. 

They have to fast!

Homework

Practice all the tenses on the website. Click on the exercise link. 

https://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.html 

Programme

• Regular and irregular verbs (first hour)
• Assignment
• Word order / Sentence building (second hour)
• Homework (study and practice for the test)

Regular and Irregular verbs

Rule of thumb regular verbs: The "usual" rule is to add "-ed" or "-d" to the base form of the verb to create the past forms.

Examples of irregular verbs:

To say

To pay

To read

To burst

To quit

Last year, students made a lot of mistakes with irregular verbs in their essays and tests. 

First, regular verbs. Students take over the spelling rules in their notebooks. 

Then:

Do the irregular verbs on the board together. 

Assignment: worksheet (more irregular verbs they have to conjugate)  do this together till there is 7 minutes left of the lesson

Assignment

1. Take out your notebook and pen
2. Write down the answers (pronoun and verb) 

Students have 3 minutes to write down their answers before checking them together.

Fill in the answers together (students spell their answers)

https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/irregular-verbs-exercise-1.html 

Homework

Study the worksheet and practice online.  

practice online, next lesson they will be tested

Dictation exercise

Which word order is correct?

1. Time + place + subject + verb
2. Subject + verb + time + place
3. Subject + verb + place + time
4. Place + subject + verb + time

Word order

Place (usually) comes before time:

I went to London last year. 

I went last year to London. (Dutch order) 

Adverbs of frequency as always/never/sometimes/often/rarely go before the verb:

Sarah often goes shopping. 

Sarah goes often shopping.

However, with the verb to be they go after the verb:

She is rarely late.

Word order (adjectives)

Determiner - Observation - Physical description - Origin - Material - Qualifier - Noun

Physical description: Size - Shape - Age - Color

Qualifier: attributes a quality/function

How would you describe these rings?

The beautiful/ugly + big + square + old + green rings

Students make three of their own sentences (mention 

Word order (adjectives)

Students check whether their sentences are in line with these

Teacher writes down their sentences to use them in the test. 

Handout

1. Have a close look at the handout
2. Compare the Dutch and English sentences to see the difference

Side note

Your writing should flow, it should be easy to read. 

Meaning:

your paragraphs should not exist out of sentences that are muddled together. 

Link your thoughts (not only with linking words (furthermore, so)

Jim says: “I am often marked down in English because my teacher says that my expression is unclear or clumsy. I thought ideas were the thing that mattered.” 

Dear Jim • “This is a very common problem and you are by no means alone. Your teacher is drawing your attention to the fact that there is a link between good expression and good ideas/clear thought processes. • If you are consistently losing marks in English, it is often because you have awkward phrases/expression. If the entire essay consists of clumsy, clunky grammar, it is hard to achieve an A.” 

Writing Better Sentences • Sentences are the building blocks of each of your paragraphs. • If words and phrases are put together in a muddled way, the sentence, and hence your message, will be unclear.

Game Time

Dictation game

https://www.english-4u.de/en/grammar/word-order.html

Exercise 1

Present and past simple exercise