230508 Grammar (S) (SoSe 2009)

From the grammar lessons you had at school, you might have got the impression that English grammar is a relatively tame beast with predictable habits. In this course, which is aimed at students in their first and second semesters, you might discover that it is stranger - and more interesting - than you thought. We will concentrate particularly on aspects of English grammar that pose problems for learners, particularly advanced learners, of English. In addition to verbs (complementation, conditionals, tense and aspect, modals, phrasal and prepositional verbs), we will also review problematic aspects of nouns, adverbs and adjectives, determiners, prepositions, relative clauses, etc. The course will include a wide variety of tasks and exercises (based on "real-life" language use) designed to identify problem areas, improve control and provoke discussion. At the same time, you will be gaining an overview of grammar books and online grammar resources of all kinds, from academic accounts of specific areas to simply-written pedagogical grammars for the general user. Participants will be asked to compare the differing approaches to various aspects of grammar in different kinds of materials, and be encouraged to think critically about good and bad "rules", and about which approaches are most useful to them. There will be short written tasks and exercises to do at home and the opportunity to check your progress under test conditions.