Unit 1 · Grammar

Grammar is how we combine, organise and change parts of words, words and groups of words to make meaning — used unconsciously when we speak, listen, read or write, and deliberately as teachers to describe language through its forms and uses.

◆What is grammar?

Grammar refers to how we combine, organise and change parts of words, words and groups of words to make meaning. We use grammar unconsciously when we speak, listen, read or write. We also use it, particularly as teachers, to describe language. We do this by referring to its forms and its uses. Grammar includes a large number of forms and uses.

◆Key concepts — what are grammatical forms?

What are grammatical forms?

These refer to how words are made up and presented in speech or writing. For example, the form of the pluralSee noun. click to keep open · see glossary of regular nouns in English is 'base word + s'; the form of the gerundA form of a verb that ends in –ing and functions as a noun, e.g. I hate shopping. click to keep open · see glossary is 'infinitive + ing'.

We can identify grammatical forms in parts of speech, grammatical structures and words that contain prefixes (a group of letters added at the beginning of a base word) and suffixes (a group of letters added at the end of a base word).

There are nine parts of speech in English: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, determiners, prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions and exclamations. A part of speech or word classOne of the grammatical groups into which words are divided depending on their use, such as noun, verb and adjective. Similar to part of speech. See part of speech. click to keep open · see glossary describes how words behave in sentences, i.e. how they operate and combine grammatically with other words. For example, in English:

• a noun can act as the subject of a verb but an adjective by itself cannot e.g. The tall girl ran very fast (✓) but not Tall ran very fast (✗)
• an adverb can combine with an adjective but an adjective cannot combine with another adjective e.g. well organised (✓), good organised (✗)
• a noun can combine with another noun e.g. a car park

The form of some parts of speech varies according to the function the parts of speech have in a sentence. For example, these two sentences show different forms of the adjective old: The boy thought he would never grow old; he's older than most of his friends.

The table above shows the functions of the different parts of speech and how most of them can be broken down into subcategories.

We also see different grammatical forms in a grammatical structure, i.e. the arrangement of words into patterns which have meaning. There are many grammatical terms to describe different grammatical structures:

As we can see from this table, we find grammatical structures not just in different forms of the parts of speech but also at the level of sentences, phrases and clauses.

We can also talk about how words are formed through word buildingMaking new words from existing ones, e.g. by adding prefixes and suffixes or by compounding. click to keep open · see glossary. One important way in which English forms words is through the use of two kinds of affixes (a group of letters added to the beginning or end of a base word which change its meaning): prefixes and suffixes. Affixes can give grammatical information, showing whether a verb is singular, for example, or marking a tense, parts of verbs, the plural of nouns, possessives, e.g. talked, goes, going, books, girl's. Many other prefixes and suffixes are used in English to make new words, by changing their part of speech and adding a meaning to the base word, e.g. disappear, careful, friendly. Some common prefixes in English are un-, dis-, re-, im-, in-, over-, mis-, pre-. Some common suffixes are -ment, -ous, -able, -less, -ful, -tion, -ly.

◆What are grammatical uses?

What are grammatical uses?

Grammatical usesGrammatical uses refer to how grammatical structures are used to convey (or communicate) meaning. click to keep open · see glossary refer to how grammatical structures are used to convey (or communicate) meaning. A particular grammatical structure, e.g. the present continuous (or progressiveSee tense. click to keep open · see glossary), does not always have the same meaning. Its meaning or use comes from the context1. The situation in which language is used or presented; e.g. a story about a holiday experience could be used as the context to present and practise past tenses. Photographs can help to provide a context for a magazine article. 2. The words or phrases before … click to keep open · see glossary in which it is used. For example She is doing her homework might mean:

• she is doing her homework now/at the moment: the present continuous used for actions at the moment of speaking;
• she has decided to do her homework at a specific time in the future. The reader or listener understands from the context that this refers to an arrangement for the future, e.g. the question What is she doing this evening?, the present continuous used for firm plans and intentions;
• she has improved her study habits and regularly does her homework, which she didn't do before: the present continuous used for temporary actions happening around the time of speaking.

Many grammatical forms have more than one use, as shown above.

◆Key concepts and the language teaching classroom

Read these tips and tick the ones which are most important for you:

• Grammar rules describe the way that language works, but language changes over time, so grammar rules are not fixed. They change, too. But grammar rules and grammar books don't always change as quickly as the language, so they are not always up-to-date. For example, some grammar books say that we should use whom rather than who after prepositions. But in fact, except in some situations, who is generally used, with a different word order, e.g. 'I've just met the girl who I talked to on Friday' is much more common and accepted than 'I've just met the girl to whom I talked on Friday'. Teachers need to keep up-to-date with what parts of the language are changing and how.
• Grammar rules traditionally describe written language rather than spoken language. For example, repetition, exclamations and contractionsA shorter form of a group of words, which usually occurs in auxiliary verbs, e.g. you have = you’ve; it is = it’s. See abbreviation. click to keep open · see glossary (two words that are pronounced or written as one, e.g. don't, isn't, won't) are common features (important parts) of spoken language, but they are not always described in grammar books. Some grammar books are now available which describe spoken language, too.
• Very often, speakers of a language can speak and write it well without consciously knowing any grammatical rules or terms.
• Teachers need to consider whether it is helpful to teach grammar to learners simply by making them aware of patterns and practising them, or by also teaching them grammar rules and some grammatical terms. Learning some grammatical rules and terms makes language learning easier for some learners. Other learners, e.g. young children, may not find it useful at all.
• Just learning grammatical rules, terms and structures doesn't teach learners how to communicate, which is the main purpose of language. So, much language teaching nowadays also focuses on functions, language skills, fluencyOral fluency – being able to speak at a natural speed without stopping, repeating, or self-correcting. In oral fluency activities, learners are encouraged to focus on communicating meaning and ideas, rather than trying to be correct. click to keep open · see glossary and communication.
• It is important that exercises and activities focus on form and use to give students practice of both, e.g. how the second conditional is formed, and that the second conditional is used to talk about situations that are unlikely to happen. Learners need to develop accuracyThe ability to do something without making mistakes. Accuracy is the use of correct forms of grammar, vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation. In an accuracy activity, teachers and learners usually focus on using and producing language correctly. See fluency. click to keep open · see glossary in both form and use.

✎Follow-up activity

💡Reflect

🔍Discovery activities

✎TKT practice tasks

These multiple-choice tasks are exactly as in the book, but interactive: pick your answers, check your score, and retry anytime. The scoring uses the official answer key from the back of the book.

📖Glossary terms in this unit

Key terms highlighted in this unit — study them on the flashcards page.