When most students hear that they need to study grammar, they cringe. Grammar is connected to feelings of boredom and fear. Grammar does not need to be boring, nor does it need to inspire feelings of fear. Grammar is an important part in any language; the more you practice your grammar and get it right, the smarter you will sound and the more your level of proficiency will improve.

Let’s look at three tips for learning English grammar.

Tip #1: Read, Read, Read

The more you read, the more you are exposed to correct grammar structures. This will help with your own writing and speaking skills, as knowing and remembering correct grammar structures will aid you in expressing your ideas and also when you need to check your own work.

Tip #2: Notice Similarities and Differences

English grammar is going to have both similarities and differences with your own native language. Noticing these will make it easier to learn English grammar, especially if knowing that to express an idea in English, for example, is nearly the same as in German.

Tip #3: Know What You Struggle With

It is important to not spend too much time on the English grammar that you already know or that you understand and get right when putting it into practice. Rather, spend more time on the grammar that you find difficult. When writing, specifically focus on changing verb tenses to the past form if you need to practice the past simple tense. Or when speaking, keep reminding yourself to use the –ed form of the verb or the irregular one. If you are speaking with a friend whose native language is English, you can easily ask this person to check your use of the past simple. Or write a paragraph about your day yesterday and check your use of the past simple afterward.

What English grammar tips do you have? Keep an eye out for Part 2 for more English grammar learning tips!

About the Author

Denine Walters is currently a freelance writer, editor/proofreader and ESL teacher. Previously, she taught online English lessons to students from all around the world and, before that, she lived and taught English to young learners in Taiwan. In her free time, she likes to read, do scrapbooking and grammar quizzes, and travel.