MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THE STUDY

OF SYNTAX AND GRAMMAR

Teaching Grammar in Context
Jill Kerper Mora
San Diego State University

Dear Educators,

Teacher credential candidates who are preparing for the RICA exam
should be familiar with these grammatical terms and their definitions.
These concepts are part of RICA Domain IV Content Area 13.1.

These concepts of grammar are important for two reasons:

1) Knowledge of help teachers to assess and remediate the errors and

error patterns of second-language learners.

2) The points of grammar can be used as the basis for teaching sentence
structure and vocabulary.

This web page includes a description of how to teach an explicit

grammar lesson and grammar-based literacy teaching activities. Click
here to go directly to the following topics contained in this instructional
module:

Components of grammar and syntax

Structure of a grammar lesson

Sentence transformation

Using sentence transformation to teach specific points of grammar

Sentence recombination

Teaching grammar in situation contexts

Other resources available on

Dr. Mora's website:
Click here for further information on the grammar-translation
method and other grammar-based methods for second-language
teaching.

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Click on the hot-text for a discussion of the role of syntactic knowledge
in reading and assessment of grammar in second-language writing.

Components of Grammar and Syntax

1. The principle elements of the sentence

• Subject
• Verbs and verb phrases
• Direct and indirect object(s)
• Complements with verbs that express
feeling, appearing, being and seeming
• Modifiers
• Clauses
• Phrases

2. Parts of speech and their functions within sentences

• Nouns and nominals (infinitives, gerunds,

etc.)
• Articles
• Verbs
• Pronouns
• Adjectives
• Adverbs
• Prepositions
• Conjunctions
• Interjections

3. Types of sentences and their syntax

• Simple
• Compound
• Complex
• Basic & variations on basic sentence
patterns
• Sentence structure: Complete, incomplete,
run-on, coordination of verb tenses

4. Verb Usage

• Agreement
• Tense
• Mood

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 • Active or passive voice
• Sequence and consistency of tenses
• Modals
• Phrasal verbs

5. Word usage or lexicon

• Idiomatic constructions
• Formulaic expressions
• Use of phrases within sentences

An excellent resource for definitions and examples of these

points of grammar is Research & Education Association (1996).
REA's Handbook of English Grammar, Style and Writing.
Piscataway, NJ: Author. ISBN No. 0-87891-552-4.

Steps in Presenting Points of Grammar Using

Direct Instruction in ESL and Foreign Language
Instruction
1. Motivate the teaching of structures by showing how they are
needed in real-life communication.

2. State the objective of the lesson.

3. Review the familiar items, e.g. calendar, time, name of objects,

auxiliary verbs in the target language that will be needed to
introduce, explain, or practice the new item.

4. Use the new structure (adjective of color, for example) in a

brief utterance in which all the other words are known to the
students.

5. Model the utterance several times.

6. Engage in full class, half-class, group and individual repetition

of the utterance.

7. Give several additional sentences in which the structure is

used. Class and groups will repeat with you.

8. Write two of the sentences on the board. Underline the new

structure and (where relevant) use curved arrows or diagrams to

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illustrate the relationship of the structure to other words and/or
parts of the sentence.

9. Point to the underlined structure as you ask questions that will

guide students to discover the sounds, the written form, the
position in the sentence and the grammatical function of the new
structure. ("What does it tell us?")

10. Help students (age 11 or older) to verbalize the important

features of the structure. Use charts and other aids to relate to
other familiar structures such as verb tenses.

11. Engage the students in varied guided oral practice.

12. Require students to consciously select the new grammatical

item from contrasting one learned in the past.

13. Have the students use the structure with communicative

expressions and familiar or new notions.

14. Where feasible, do a translation exercise (provided this will

not promote interference from L1).

Click here for more hints on effective grammar teaching in ESL

and foreign language classrooms. This lesson on the present
perfect is an example.

Sentence Transformation: From Basic to

Complex Sentences
1. Take a basic sentence:

Juan lost his book.

2. Expand on it:

Juan lost his science book.

3. Expand again with additional information:

Juan lost his science book at the playground.

4. Combine two sentences:

Juan lost his science book. He was playing on the swings.

Juan lost his science book while playing on the swings.

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Juan lost his science book while playing on the swings at the
playground.

5. Make substitutions:

Juan lost his science homework ...

Juan lost his math book...etc.

6. Transform a sentence to elaborate or link ideas:

Juan lost his math book. Did Juan lose his science book, too?

7. Add information and construct a short narrative around the

sentences students have created:

Juan was playing on the swings at the playground when he lost

his math book. Juan also lost his science homework because it
was in his math book.

Sentence Transformation
Focusing on Specific Points of Grammar
Subject pronouns

I, you, he, she, we, they

Forms of verb to be

_____ are running down the hill.

_____ is going to school.

_____ was at the school play.

_____ were not at the school play.

Changes in verb tense

Bill is sitting down. Bill will sit down.

Mary walks too fast. Mary walked too fast.

"When" clauses

Mr. Black will sit down. Mr. Black will take off his coat.
When Mr. Black sits down, he will take off his coat.
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The girls will arrive at school. The bell will be ringing.
When the girls arrive at school, the bell will be ringing.

Relative Clauses

The book is on the desk. The book is red.

The book that is on the desk is red.

The girl is in the kitchen. The girl is my sister.

The girl who is in the kitchen is my sister.

Negatives

He likes to go for a walk after dinner.

He doesn't like to go for a walk after dinner.

Mary likes to go for a walk after dinner.

She isn't thinking about her homework.

Interrogatives ((Is/Are)

John is running away from the wolf.

Is John running away from the wolf?

Interrogatives (Do/Does)

We walk to the market every afternoon.

Do we walk to the market every afternoon?
Do you walk to the market every afternoon?

Interrogatives (Modals-Can)

(Can) My brother can ride his bike to school.

Can my brother ride his bike to school?
What can your brother do on his bike?

Sentence Recombination
Sentence recombination is an effective activity for teaching
sentence structure, paragraph structure, punctuation, transition
and coherence, and parts of speech. Students must also use
critical thinking skills to cluster and organize ideas and
concepts. Sentence recombination exercises are thematic and
can be easily constructed in advance by the teacher or as a
group activity with the students. Here is an example.

Combine these sentences into a passage by using compound

subjects, compound predicates and other compound sentence

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elements. In rewriting, be sure to include introduction and
transition sentences so the passage flows smoothly.

1. People all over the world build houses.

2. People all over the world like their homes.

3. Houses are built in many shapes.

4. Houses are built in many sizes.

5. Houses are built of grass.

6. Houses are built of palm leaves.

7. Houses are built of wood.

8. Houses are built of steel.

9. Houses are built of stone.

10. Houses are built of adobe.

11. Houses are built of plaster.

12. Houses are built of concrete.

13. Houses are built of other materials.

14. The construction may be simple.

15. The construction may be complex.

16. Construction must be adapted to the climate.

17. Construction must be adapted to the materials

available.

18. Construction must be adapted to the skills of the

workers.

There are many variations on the paragraph or composition that

students can create in this exercise. Evaluate the product based
on linguistic and conceptual complexity and coherence.

Teaching Grammar in Situational Contexts

Situation or Context Points of Grammar

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Follow a recipe or instructions Imperative verb form
from a boxed cake mix to bake a
cake. Present continuous tense

Give directions to another Present tense

person to get to a store, the post
office, or a bank using a map. Non-referential it

Discuss plans for a class field Future tense

trip to the zoo.
If-clauses

Conditional tense

Describe a past vacation, Simple past tense

weekend, etc.
Question formation

Forms of verb to do

Word order in negation

Role play a shopping trip to buy May, might

a gift for a family member or
friend. Collective nouns and quantifiers (any,
some, several, etc.)

Indirect object

Answer information questions: Present tense of verb to be

Name, address, phone number,
etc. Possessive adjectives

Tell someone how to find an Locative prepositions

object in your kitchen.
Modal verbs (can, may, should)

Fill out a medical history Present perfect tense

form. Then role play a
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medical interview on a visit
with a new doctor. Present perfect progressive

Make a daily weather report Non-referential it

Forms of verb to be

Idiomatic expressions

Report daily schedules of people Habitual present

(in the class, buses in the city,
airline schedules, trains, etc.) Personal pronouns

Demonstrative adjectives

Extend an invitation over the Would like…Object-Verb word order

telephone to someone to come
to a party Interrogative pronouns

Explain rules and regulations to Modal verbs: Can, must, should, ought
someone, i.e. rules for the to
school cafeteria; doctor’s
instructions to a sick patient Adverbs of time & frequency

Report a historical or actual past Past conditional and past perfect

event and discuss conditions tenses
under which a different outcome
might have resulted If clauses
React to the burglary of your Present perfect tense
house or apartment in the
presence of another person Contrast between active and passive
upon discovery (active voice) voice
and in making a police report
(passive voice) Direct and indirect object

Additional resources:

Click here for a checklist of grammar and syntax for discerning

patterns of usage in students' oral and written production.

Click here for a roadmap to effective English language

development instruction.
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Here is a link to guided writing in L2 classrooms.

Click here for a step by step plan for guided story construction
for L2 learners.

Click here for a sampling of grammar lesson's from Karin's

Grammar Teaching Page.

Click below to navigate Dr. Mora's CLAD Website

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