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We often think of learning a language as being like doing a big jigsaw puzzle. That is correct. But also incorrect.
When we do a puzzle the pieces have to fit together perfectly. That is what grammar is for. Grammar creates the connections between the words which gives us a perfect picture. Grammar is essential. However, when we speak we often don’t think in words, we think in groups of words. Rather than doing a jigsaw puzzle, it is more like putting picture cards in an order.
Let’s take a closer look.
“I like” is something we say often. We don’t think “ ’I’ is first person singular so I need to conjugate the verb ‘to like’ without an ‘s’”. We have “I-like” recorded in our heads as one word. It is the same for “I-don’t-like”. We don’t think about it because it is just one word in our heads. We don’t need conjugation or grammar rules.
How can we use this knowledge to help us learn a language?
Easy. Start with something you will say often. Let’s look at our profession. “What’s your job? What do you do?” For me, the answer is ‘teacher’. Using a full grammatically correct sentence: I am a teacher. What I say is “I’m-a-teacher” all one word! Equally, we say “he’s-a-doctor”. We do not think “pronoun+verb+article+noun”
Once we have learnt these simple sentences we can change them REALLY easily.
He’s a doctor/he’s a teacher/he’s a nurse
And not just for jobs. (Check out our jobs page here to learn some more vocabulary)
We can also describe personality or behaviour.
She’s a nuisance / she’s an angel / she’s a pain / she’s a gem / she’s a monkey.
This is how you take one simple structure and can use it in limitless ways.