Key Tips
63. Train your brain to recognize the
differences
between very similar sounds in English
64. Use your muscles to learn how to make a sound – your lips, tongue and vocal chords
65. Pay attention to the rhythm of a sentence as a native speaker says it, copy this rhythm
Chapter 19: Simplify Grammar – How to Eat Grammar Books for Breakfast
“Whenever you correct someone’s grammar just remember that nobody likes you.”
– Jim Gaffigan
Ok, the very first thing I have to say is that grammar is not as important as most teachers and students
think it is. What I mean is, of course that grammar is important – it’s how we make sentences – but it
is not so important to sit down with a grammar book and learn it. Especially not early on in your
English journey!
It’s far better to begin making sentences straight away. As you speak those sentences the grammar
hidden inside them is going straight into your brain. That’s how children learn to live and speak their
language, and they don’t sit down with a grammar book to conjugate verbs.
However, it is useful to
Quickly
go over the grammatical rules for certain sentences sometimes. Don’t
make it the priority of your learning, and do it the fast and effective way.
Grammar can be super-simple. When you see a new sentence structure, make a game out of it.
Quickly read it to understand what it is trying to say. Then ask yourself if you see any new words in
there. Ask yourself if you can see any new word forms in there. And ask yourself if anything about
the word order is surprising you.
So once again. Let’s call these Gabriel Wyner ’s three questions:
1. Can I see any new words here?
2. Can I see any new word forms here?
3. Is this word order surprising me?
Every new bit of grammar does one of these three things.
Quickly write down your answers on a flash card, or in your notes. Then start using it in sentences,
just like always. Make lots of large new sentences. Have fun with it. Move on.
That is the fast and furious way to destroy grammar quickly. Trust me, do grammar this way, and then
get back to the fun part of English as fast as possible – actually using it.
Make sure that before you look at a grammar book you are already making full English sentences
and speaking English already. Like we’ve spoken about many times before, old-fashioned English
classes from over 100 years ago worship English grammar. They think grammar is the foundation of
English-speaking skill. It’s not. You have to know your grammar, true. But speaking and sentence
structure is the foundation of English as a practical skill.
Make grammar the thing you do later to enhance your English and gain a deeper understanding. Just
like reading. The next chapter will show you some excellent ways to read English to improve as
quickly as possible.
Key Tips
66. Don’t overemphasize grammar, you naturally absorb a lot of it as you learn to speak,
as children do
67. When you encounter a new piece of grammar, look for new words, new word forms,
and surprises
68. Use flashcards to help remember grammar rules too
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