SUGGESTED SEQUENCE FOR INTRODUCING GRAMMAR

I. THE VERB "TO BE"

(Topics for: visible, countable objects in the room. Students can (1) identify objects,           (2) describe the colour and size.)

A. Statements

1. Identification: This is a book.

2. Description: The book is red.

3. Location: The book is on the table.

B. Yes-No Questions

1. Invert subject and verb: Is this a book?

2. "It" as subject pronoun: Yes, it is.

C. Negatives

  "Not"- This is not a book.

   2. Contractions: This isn't a book.

D. Wh- questions

   1. What's this? (Noun phrase answer)

   2.  What colour is this? (Adjective answer)

   3.  Where's the NOUN? (Locative answer)

E. Plurals

     1. This/These and That/Those

     2.  Pronunciation of plurals

     a) Voiceless final = voiceless /s/

     b) Voiced final voiced /z/

     c) Syllabic /ez/ required of nouns ending with /s/, /z/, /s/, /z/, /ts/, /dz/: churches, pages      classes.

F. Other pronoun subjects: he, she, you, etc. (Topics: professions, work, jobs.)

G. Possessive + noun:

    John's book.   (Topics: family relationships.)

H. Telling time and weather

    1. Include variations in expressing time before and after the hour., ten to six vs ten before six; five past four vs. five after four.

    2. International time form

I. Non-count nouns: homework, information, milk, ink.

    1. Non-count nouns often classify a group of count nouns: furniture/chair, sofa, table; equipment/computer, microscope, engine.

    2. Topics: food, things found in different rooms in a house.

J. Present continuous: be + -ing

    1. Introduce verbs that can be either intransitive or transitive: study, read, bum.

    2. Introduce statement, questions and negative forms

K.   Planning future: present + be + going to: I am going to go to the beach tomorrow.

II.  HABITUAL (OR RECURRING) PRESENT: She drinks tea.

    A. Note third person singular "-s".

    B. Review voicing (I.  E).

    C. Teach question and negative forms.

III. SIMPLE PAST

    A. Rules for pronunciation: /t/d/ed/

    B. Tense carried by "did" in questions and negative:

             He ran home.   He did not run home.       Did he run home?

IV. IRREGULAR VERBS

Teach them in sets of similar formations:

    1. All three principal parts the same: quit quit quit

    2. Last two parts the same: have had had

    3. All three parts different: go went gone

V. BEGIN TEACHING MODAL'S (and never stop!!):

         can, could, shall, should, may, might, ought.

VI. PASSIVE VOICE: be + past participle (third principal part)                                       The ball was hit by the boy

    A. Introduce, passive in all tenses.

    B.   Introduce statements, questions and negatives.

VII.   PERFECT TENSES

    A. Present perfect: I have seen that movie.

    B. Present perfect progressive: I have been studying English.

    C. Past perfect: I had heard of him before.

    D. Future perfect: I will have been here 2 years in May.

VIII.  CLAUSES

    A. Independent clauses

     1. Simple sentences: She went to work.

     2. Compound sentence (two independent clauses joined by a coordinating                      conjunction): She went to work, and he went to the market.

    B. Dependent clauses

    1 Complex sentences: independent+ dependent

      a. Relative clauses

      • i) Who, whose, whom, which, that
      • ii) Restrictive vs. nonrestrictive

             b. Adverbial clauses

      • ii) Time
      • ii) Place
      • iii) Reason
      • iii) Manner

     2. Compound-complex sentences

     3. Conditional clauses