Improve Vocabulary and Grammer

Improve Vocabulary and Grammer

How to Improve Your Grammar

Grammar is the system that structures a language, and every language has its own guidelines. But grammar isn’t so much about rules as it is the conventions that determine how we speak and write, and it includes things like spelling, inflecting words for different purposes, and the way words are arranged to form sentences. While it’s good to remember that languages are living things that constantly change, it’s also important to know that proper grammar is still necessary for communication. Luckily, there are plenty of resources available to help people who want to improve their grammar

Know the parts of speech.

 These are the types of words that make up the language, and they are nouns, adjectives, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, interjections, and sometimes articles. To put sentences together properly, you must understand what the parts of speech are and how they function in sentences.

·                                 Nouns are the elements that usually perform the action in a sentence, such as a person, place, thing, idea, emotion, animal, or event. Nouns include Sally, Paris,sand , philosophy , happiness,  and birthday.

·                                 Adjectives modify nouns, and describe aspects or characteristics about nouns. Adjectives include red, funny, lazy, large, and short.

Recognize points of view.

 In terms of grammatical person, English has three points of view, and each of those can be either singular or plural. The points of view are: singular or plural first-person, singular or plural second-person, and singular or plural third-person. The appropriate pronouns are:

·                                 First-person singular: I

·                                 Second-person singular: you

·                                 Third-person singular: he (masculine) / she (feminine) / it (neuter)

·                                 First-person plural: we

·                                 Second-person plural: you

·                                 Third-person plural: they

Use proper word order.

 English sentences are structured following the subject–verb–object order the door, Run to In general, articles come before adjectives, and adjectives come before the nouns they modify. Modifiers should always be placed as close to their nouns as possible.

Read children’s books.

 While children’s books may not be grammar textbooks, they are designed to teach the basics of language, including fundamental words and spelling, regular and irregular nouns and verbs, simple conjugation, and sentence structure. Children aren’t often explicitly taught the grammar and mechanics of their native tongues, but instead pick them up by reading and listening to other native speakers.

Read a variety of material.

 Improve your grasp of grammar by learning how other authors use language. Focus on reading different genres and styles of writing, such as classic literature, textbooks, science-fiction, science books, biographies, essays, and articles Pay attention to how sentences are structured, word order, spelling, and creative variations the authors use.Try reading aloud so that you also get an idea of how the language sounds in conversation.Keep a dictionary and thesaurus handy while reading.Read newspapers as well, listen to news radio, and watch televised news programs daily.

Pay attention to how other speakers talk.

 Listen to how other people construct sentences, where they place words in sentences, how they say common phrases, and the vocabulary they use. English has many rules and exceptions, so don’t be afraid to ask questions if you have any.

·                                 Try parroting what other people say by repeating it in order to understand how sentences are formed and to expand your vocabulary.

·                                 Be warned that some English speakers, even native ones, don’t have a grasp of proper grammar.

lay word and grammar games. 

There are many online games and applications you can download on your computer or phone that will test your grammar skills in a fun way. Since these games are educational, they’ll often provide explanations for wrong answers so you can learn from your mistakes.

·                                 Libraries, book stores, and online resources will also offer grammar lessons, practice exercises, and quizzes

Practice writing every day.

 Improve your grammar by writing and practicing any new rules or words you've learned. Keep a journal, write short stories, or even just email back and forth with friends or family. Concentrate on improving any problem areas you might have or mistakes you often repeat.

·                                 Don’t rely solely on grammar checkers. For one, they can be wrong. Second, you won’t learn from your mistakes if you don’t correct work yourself. If you do employ a grammar check or proofreading services, take the time to look over what changes were made so that you can learn what you did wrong.

Se the active voice.

 In an active construction, the subject is the thing that performs the action; in a passive construction, the subject is acted upon by an outside force. While there’s nothing wrong with the passive voice, it’s less forceful and can make sentences unclear. Therefore, you should use the active voice more often, but it’s acceptable to use the passive voice from time to time, especially to emphasize something. For example, consider how these active and passive sentences place emphasis on different elements of the sentence:

·                                 The active “I paid the bill” places the emphasis on what the subject did.

·                                 The passive “The bill was paid by me” places the emphasis on who paid the bill.

Take a class or see a tutor or teacher.

 One of the best ways to ensure you understand the basic grammatical elements of a language is by seeking the help of someone who’s qualified to teach you. Many community colleges offer language courses, or you can ask around at your local high school or college to see if any English students want to make some extra money tutoring you.

Read style guides and grammar books. 

Grammar and style guides come in two forms: descriptive guides that describe how people do speak, and prescriptive guides that tell people how they should speak. But language changes and evolves, and the rules of English aren’t always set in stone. There are many style guides that recommend different ways of approaching grammar, and it’s a good idea to read several of them. This will provide an idea of the different ways to approach spelling (such as American versus British), syntax, and style, give you a better idea of the fundamentals of grammar, and show you where the language is adaptable and where it’s inflexible.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary is all about words — the words in a language or a special set of words you are trying to learn. Vocabulary is so important; we even created a web site to help expand yours.

Types of vocabulary:

There are 4 types of vocabulary:

·       Listening

·       Speaking

• Reading
• Writing

The first two constitute spoken vocabulary and the last two, written vocabulary. Children begin to acquire listening and speaking vocabularies many years before they start to build reading and writing vocabularies. Spoken language forms the basis for written language. Each type has a different purpose and, luckily, vocabulary development in one type facilitates growth in another.

Listening Vocabulary:

 Speaking Vocabulary:

 The words we use when we speak. Our speaking vocabulary is relatively limited: Most adults use a mere 5,000 to 10,000 words for all their conversations and instructions. This number is much less than our listening vocabulary most likely due to ease of use. Reading Vocabulary:

The words we understand when we read text. We can read and understand many words that we do not use in our speaking vocabulary. This is the 2nd largest vocabulary IF you are a reader. If you are not a reader, you can not “grow” your vocabulary

 Writing Vocabulary:

 The words we can retrieve when we write to express ourselves. We generally find it easier to explain ourselves orally, using facial expression and intonation to help get our ideas across, then to find just the right words to communicate the same ideas in writing. Our writing vocabulary is strongly influenced by the words we can spell. Think about it: When reading, a child with hearing will say all the phonemes related to a word to sound it out. They will then guess a word they know. This is dependent upon their lexicon (mental dictionary).

Children would not guess a word they didn’t know. Deaf students do not use auditory memory to sound out a word. They mostly memorize spelling patterns. Therefore, students who are deaf typically use a reduced variety of words in writing while they are learning. How many words are needed for Vocabulary Knowledge?

 The English Language has a very large vocabulary, estimated to between 450,000 and 750,000 words (Stahl, 1999; Tompkins, 2005). English has evolved from contact with Anglo-Saxon English, Spanish, French, Greek and Latin to name a few. Vocabulary learning can be

Skip the dictionary!

 Typically words used in the dictionary to explain the target word are even harder to explain. Use student friendly definitions from context. Use Tier 1 vocabulary to explain a Tier 2 word. For more information, check out The Bridge of Vocabulary. Myth: There is such a thing as “grade level” vocabulary Fact: Students learn words based on their experiences not based on their age or grade. A 2- year-old can know “periwinkle” from a crayon box (exposure). Give your child as much vocabulary exposure as you can to help grow their vocabulary Another Book suggestion: Bringing Words to Life, written by Beck, McKeon, (2002).

How to improve your vocabulary?

There are several ways to improve and expand your English vocabulary. Reading, for example, is great way to learn new words. There are plenty of other methods too.

Create Vocabulary Themes:Vocabulary themes are a great way to enrich your vocabulary. Create themes that include words, their definition and example sentences.

Watch English films:

Watch English TV channels and films. They will help you to understand native English speakers. You will also learn many new words used in context.

Use Specific Vocabulary Lists:

Instead of studying a long list of unrelated words, use specific vocabulary lists that will help you learn the kind of vocabulary you need for your work or school.

Word Formation Charts:

 Use word formation charts. Knowing how words are formed will help you score high marks in advanced level examinations like TOEFL and IELTS. A word formation chart will show the noun, adjective, verb and other forms of the key words in alphabetical order. 

Visual Dictionaries:

Visual dictionaries are great tools for learning vocabulary. Plenty of English learner visual dictionaries are available on the internet.

Learn Collocations:

Collocations are common word combinations that always go together. Learning some of the most important collocations is essential to sound natural.

Read, read, and read:

The more you read -- especially novels and literary works, but also magazines and newspapers -- the more words you'll be exposed to. As you words.

read and uncover new words, use a combination of attempting to derive meaning from the context of the sentence as well as from looking up the definition in a dictionary.