Guide to grammar   "Grammar is the glue that makes your words stick together instead of just falling out of your mouth" Elisabet Lindqvist

Why study grammar?

There are two great reasons for studying grammar; it speeds up your your learning and it develops your thinking.   Grammar is a tool and a way to please your brain's thirst for structure and meaning. In other words, it will help you achieve your goals faster and easier. As a self-reliant and efficient student, you should look at the study of grammar as a wonderful time-saving tool. All kinds of effective learning involves thinking and understanding. Even very basic grammar skills provide such understanding and boost your thinking. All kinds of effective learning also involve repetition, working with your exercises over and over again. The idea is to become fluent, with correct sentences coming out of your mouth automatically. It is important that you really understand what you are doing. Studying grammar develops your learning awareness. Even very basic grammar skills boost your awareness. An extra bonus is that you automatically pick up a lot of new words and phrases while working on your exercises.

Some practical advice

Use a grammar book in your own language. Learn to use it to your advantage, so that you become comfortable with the table of contents, get to know how to find explanations to grammatical terms, and when to consult your grammar book Study introductions to exercises carefully. As soon as you don't understand why you are making a mistake, use your grammar book. Revise continually in order to help your brain remember the correct structure. Learn to become aware of grammar structures when reading, listening, and writing. That will boost your learning awareness Assess your progress continually, using the | Design | function in the exercise section. Reflect over your results, your "grammatical thinking", and evaluate your working routines. Always bear in mind that the verb function is the key to grammar skills