Some people may think English grammar is important. To make a grammatically correct sentence, you need to learn grammar such as verb tenses, prepositions, countable/uncountalbe nouns, collocations and so on - it definitely takes a lot of time and effort to learn all of them. And, if you want to pass an English test such as TOEFL, IELTS, you also need to learn grammar. Thus, people here (where I live) usually spend a lot of time learning grammar and they may start to learn it from the very beginning of their learning of English.
Some other people, however, insist that taking so much time to learn grammar is useless or just a waste of time. They reason that a child who lives in an English-speaking country can speak fluently and understand what others are saying very well, but they may not know much grammar.
I'm reading another English grammar book enthusiastically.
Do you find grammar important?
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Comments
1. Grammar may help you enjoy others' writing
If you have mastered grammar, you can enjoy reading others' articles and find how good the writing is. You can also spot your/others' grammar mistakes easily and improve your writing skills.
2. Mastering grammar doesn't necessarily mean writing well or correctly
After mastering grammar, you could write a grammatically correct sentence. But, you could still make other mistakes such as spelling, collocation. And, mastering grammar doesn't ensure you could write good writing. You still need other writing skills, need to know idiomatic expressions, and may need a little talent.
What your point of view?
Hi sijoy, I see your point now. You really gave a good example - 'children'. Yes, children in English-speaking countries can speak English very well. It's really a natural or ideal way to learn English - grow up in an English -speaking country. But, in terms of writing, I'm not sure the children can write well without learning any grammar.
Hi Linda, you find grammar difficult and boring. You are not alone - many people do. So the problem with that is to find a fun/interesting way to learn grammar. There are so many good grammar books (in English or in your mother tongue) available for learners to learn. There are a lot of good reasons for you to take time and pain to learn grammar, even though I really agree that listening to the BBC, VOA or English music, and watching English movies are all good ways to learn English.
Hi dayana2, you can say that again. And, I think you may find it's worth all the effort to learn grammar.
Thanks again!
it's a good question. If you want to write and speak english well, you first have to know those basic tenses. and then you have to practice again and again to make you speak fluently, so does writing.
to be honest, i think grammar is difficult and boring, even let me disappointed about study english. if some friends like me, i suggest you to read, listen, speak more often like listening BBC , VOA radio or music, watching Engish movie etc.
that's all.
Many people may suggest you just ignore grammar when you write or speak English. But I doubt it. In my opion, practice doesn't necessarily make perfect.
Actually, I find most of the mistakes learners may make are grammar ones - mostly with the use of adjectives or adverbs, dependent/independent clauses, countable/uncountable nouns, and so on. I don't think you could ignore all of these and really improve your English.
Happy to know you find grammar important. Yes, grammar can be fun. Actually, I've already read several excellent grammar books. It doesn't mean I'm going to take any English test or I'm teaching English. I'm just an English fan.
Just as Salim said, learning grammar can be fun. Grammar books are getting more interesting and easier to read. A good grammar book not only presents all the rules, but also provides all the useful example sentences for us. The more grammar you learn, the more confident you are when you write or speak.
I'd say some parts of English grammar such as tenses are hard to grasp. You'll probably spend more time learning them. And, it's also true, even though you know all the grammar rules, you'll still make some mistakes when you write something in English, but you can spot the mistakes and correct them and improve your English - 'learn from the mistake'
PS: Some useful grammar books for you: Practical English Usage, Oxford Practice Grammar, Longman English Grammar.
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