Course Overview:
This course is designed to provide students with a thorough understanding of English grammar. It covers essential grammar rules, sentence structure, and punctuation, enabling learners to communicate effectively and confidently in both written and spoken English. The course is divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels, catering to learners at different stages.
Beginner Level (A1-A2)
1. Parts of Speech
- Nouns: Definition, types (common, proper, abstract, concrete), singular/plural, countable/uncountable.
- Pronouns: Subject, object, possessive, reflexive.
- Verbs: Main, auxiliary, linking, regular/irregular.
- Adjectives: Comparative, superlative, and descriptive.
- Adverbs: Manner, place, time, frequency.
- Prepositions: Time, place, direction.
- Conjunctions: Coordinating, subordinating, and correlative.
- Interjections: Expressing emotions (e.g., wow, ouch).
2. Sentence Structure
- Subject and Predicate: Identifying subject, predicate, and objects.
- Simple Sentences: Constructing simple, complete sentences.
- Word Order: Basic sentence structure (S-V-O: Subject-Verb-Object).
3. Articles and Determiners
- Definite and Indefinite Articles: When to use “the,” “a,” or “an.”
- Demonstratives: This, that, these, those.
- Quantifiers: Much, many, few, some, any.
4. Punctuation Basics
- Period (.), Comma (,), Question Mark (?), Exclamation Mark (!)
- Introduction to capitalization rules.
Practice Exercises:
- Fill-in-the-blank worksheets.
- Sentence correction.
- Identifying parts of speech.
Intermediate Level (B1-B2)
1. Verb Tenses
- Present Tenses: Simple, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous.
- Past Tenses: Simple, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous.
- Future Tenses: Will, going to, future continuous, future perfect.
2. Modal Verbs
- Can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, must: Uses and functions.
- Modal expressions for permission, obligation, possibility, and advice.
3. Sentence Types
- Compound Sentences: Using coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS).
- Complex Sentences: Using subordinating conjunctions.
- Conditional Sentences: Zero, first, second, and third conditionals.
- Questions: Forming yes/no questions, wh-questions, and tag questions.
4. Passive Voice
- Active vs. Passive: Understanding and converting sentences.
- When to use passive voice: Emphasizing action over the subject.
5. Punctuation Rules
- Apostrophes (‘s) for possession and contractions.
- Quotation Marks (“”): Direct speech, quotations, and titles.
- Semicolons (;) and Colons (:): How and when to use them.
Practice Exercises:
- Verb tense worksheets.
- Rewriting sentences in passive voice.
- Creating complex sentences using conjunctions.
Advanced Level (C1-C2)
1. Advanced Verb Structures
- Perfect and Perfect Continuous Tenses: Mixed tense usage.
- Causatives: Get/have something done.
- Reported Speech: Changes in tense, pronouns, and time expressions.
2. Clauses
- Relative Clauses: Defining and non-defining clauses (who, which, that).
- Adverbial Clauses: Time, cause, condition, contrast.
- Noun Clauses: Acting as subjects or objects.
3. Subjunctive Mood
- Hypothetical situations: Wishes, suggestions, and recommendations.
- Forming subjunctive: Using verbs like “suggest,” “recommend,” “wish.”
4. Advanced Punctuation
- Dash (—) vs. Hyphen (-): Differences and proper usage.
- Parentheses ( ) and Brackets [ ]: Adding additional information.
- Ellipsis (…): Indicating omission or unfinished thoughts.
5. Common Grammar Mistakes
- Subject-Verb Agreement: Singular/plural nouns and verbs.
- Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement: Matching pronouns with their nouns.
- Parallelism: Keeping sentence elements consistent.
- Dangling Modifiers: Correcting misplaced modifiers.
Practice Exercises:
- Rewriting complex sentences.
- Correcting grammar mistakes in texts.
- Advanced sentence transformation tasks.
Final Assessment
- Written Exam: Multiple-choice and short-answer questions covering all levels.
- Essay Writing: Students will write a short essay, focusing on sentence variety and grammatical accuracy.
- Oral Presentation: Demonstrate correct grammar usage in spoken English.
Supplemental Resources
- Grammar Books: English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy, Advanced Grammar in Use by Martin Hewings.
- Online Tools: Grammarly, Cambridge Dictionary.
- Practice Websites: English Grammar Online, BBC Learning English.
This comprehensive course will enable students to master English grammar, providing them with the tools to communicate accurately and effectively.
