English Grammar Basic

Indians have great love and admiration for English language. This is, in spite of the onslaught by various Governments in Independent India, giving importance to native languages. English teachers are one of the most respected lots among the society. Each teacher has his technique in teaching English. The author of this article, as a freelance teacher to adults has some methods to teach Grammar. Nine of them are listed in the following paragraphs.

I. Parts of Speech compared to Parts of Human Body:

The author used to compare the 8 parts of speech to a gorgeously dressed woman as follows:

1. Nouns and Pronouns: Head.

2 adjectives and adverbs: Garments and ornaments.

3. Prepositions and conjunctions: Various joints of the body.

4. Interjections: Footwear.

5. Verbs: The LIFE in the human body...

Head is the most important part of the physical body. Likewise nouns (and pronouns) form the subject and object of a sentence and lead the sentences in active and passive voices respectively. The subject noun is the Karta (doer, owner) of the sentence which it leads. & it determines the nature of the verb depending on numbers (singular or plural),

Adjectives and adverbs are like ornaments and garments adding lustre and beauty to a sentence. A garment is not a part of the physical body but required to glorify a sentence. A person who knows the best use of adjectives stands unique in writing and speaking English. The problem with Indians lies mainly with usage of adjectives. They wish to speak impressive English and most of the time they fail because of lack of vocabulary in adjectives and adverbs.

Prepositions and conjunctions are like internal joints, joining various parts and positioning them. The body cannot function properly without these joints. A sentence will be complete only when conjunctions and prepositions are properly formed. Otherwise one has to depend upon sign language only.

Thus, we have briefly seen a comparison of parts of speech to parts of human body leaving discussions about VERBS to the following paragraphs.