English Grammar

[LeeJUk]

Hi guys,

Well you may have seen my thread that I created earlier this week about attending seminary and undertaking Greek.

Well I've been reading up a little bit and watching a few videos here and there and it's apparent that almost everyone says you need to have your English grammar down before you attempt to learn another language or you'll just get confused and after looking at Greek lessons it's true, I'm pretty confused.

Basically at my school for some reason I didn't get taught about Grammar in terms of verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, tenses etc... etc... We sort of just read, did essays, wrote a whole lot and spoke publicly from time to time.

Sure I know some basic stuff like what nouns are, pronouns, adjectives etc... but I really don't think I have a sufficient knowledge of how my own language works and all these different words used to describe English Grammar.

So are there any websites, online videos or books that you guys can recommend so that I can gain a sufficient knowledge of my own language before I start tackling other stuff.

I'm not looking to invest a lot of money so good websites and videos would definitely be preferred.

Thanks,

Lee

 

[au5t1n]

Lee, don't be discouraged. My experience is exactly backwards. When I began learning Latin in the ninth grade, my understanding of English grammar opened up in a way it never had before. You learn your first language by experience, not by memorizing the rules, but most likely you will learn Greek primarily by learning the rules. This will have a leaking effect onto your understanding of English grammar.

I say just relax and jump in. Learning a language is difficult, but it is so much fun if you allow it to be.

---------- Post added at 09:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:49 PM ----------

I would search for educational materials that cover verb tenses (past, present, future, present perfect, past perfect, etc.) and verb moods (indicative, subjunctive, imperative). These are not difficult to learn - You use them all the time; you just may not have known they had fancy names.

 

[Scottish Lass]

Find a homeschooling family that uses Abeka for English/grammar/writing. There are usually plenty of examples, and each rule is broken down and connected to other rules. Borrow the book for the weekend and that would cover probably 75% of what you need to know. I've taught grammar for nearly a decade to all different grade levels, both public and private, and it's what I'd choose every time. Even if you can't borrow one, you could buy one new or used for less than $25.

 

[N. Eshelman]

Get the Little Brown Handbook and just start reading it. Use it often.

Amazon.com: Little, Brown Handbook (11th Edition) (9780205651719): H. Ramsey Fowler, Jane E. Aaron: Books

I had a VERY poor education from a public school that did not prepare me very well for college. I had learn in college what I should have learned in high school (or middle school). I used the Little Brown Handbook in college a lot, and it was very useful for me.

 

[O'GodHowGreatThouArt]

Those looking at Seminary from high school or undergraduate college would probably benefit from taking Latin. I'm still in a deadlock between taking that or German as my 4-course language sequence for my History B.A.

EDIT: Yes you may have to have your grammar down for that too, but once you leave, Greek is a massacre in your favor (so I'm told).

 

[Carolyn]

My English grammar experience was exactly like yours. We didn't learn grammar until we started our foreign languages in the 9th grade, or freshman year of high school. I recall how much this frustrated my German teacher!

This is my first year of teaching Latin to 4th-6th graders. Last year, I was able to start a highly structured grammar and writing program called "Shurley English" that gave the students a good grammar base and has helped them see how Latin "works" compared to how English "works".

A thought about an above post, I have really benefited from the German I learned in high school and college. That being said though, if one is going to pick up Latin at the same time as a modern language, would French be an option? Those two languages are more closely related and it could simplify the learning process. Just a thought from someone whose graduate work consists of education classes.

 

[Jimmy the Greek]

I learned more about English grammar by taking Greek than in highschool or college English. So it was doubly beneficial in that regard. But I would not let a lack of "expertise" in English grammar keep you from taking NT Greek courses. Of course when I was in highschool, we had to learn to diagram sentences. If that's not still done in school, it is a crying shame.

 

[Scottish Lass]

Of course when I was in highschool, we had to learn to diagram sentences. If that's not still done in school, it is a crying shame.

It wasn't done in any public school I taught in. For those using Abeka (private or homeschooling), it's nearly unavoidable--another reason it's my first choice.

 

[py3ak]

This would probably be a helpful resource.

 

[JennyG]

I had the good luck to go to an old fashioned Grammar School, and it wasn't called that for nothing. We learned to take apart and analyse sentences just as scientifically as if they were, I don't know, chemical compounds or dead frogs.
I almost smiled when I read,

Basically at my school for some reason I didn't get taught about Grammar

This was not just some odd fluke at your school - grammar was discontinued, with intent, in this country long since!

But I think Austin and Jim are right that you can do it the other way round. So long as you can find an old-style course which doesn't encourage you to ignore grammar and guess your way to the meaning.
You could visit a second-hand bookshop and see if they have any ancient primers. The more ancient the better. Anything published earlier than the seventies is likely to give you the nuts and bolts in a no-nonsense way.

 

[a mere housewife]

(I just love the comparison of sentences to dead frogs

 

[LawrenceU]

Do not worry about it. You will learn grammar, both English and Greek, as you study. It will be a great benefit. And, a hearty, 'Second', to the Little Brown Handbook. Everyone should have a copy and use it often.

If you do then you will be able to see a couple of intentional errors on my part in the above sentences. Spoken English and grammatically correct English are two different beasties.

 

[Ivan]

This looks interesting: The Little, Brown Handbook

 

[Edward]

In addition to basic grammar, make sure that you are familiar with all in Strunk and White as well:

The Elements of Style
Strunk, William, Jr. 1918. The Elements of Style

As for the basic grammar part, this site might be useful.

Guide to Grammar and Writing

or perhaps this:

Grammar Topics: Adverbs,verbs,adjectives,determiners,articles,conditionals, prepositions etc...