Teaching grammar Helping your child What big teeth you have grammar!

What is grammar? Grammar is the study of how we make sentences. Why is it important? Grammar is what gives sense to language. Sentences make words yield up their meanings. David Crystal

Developing the concept of a sentence Bouncing ball sentences Blu-tak full stops Rainbow sentences

All sentences contain verbs. Verbs tell you what is happening. The two most common verbs are ‘to be’ and ‘to have’. The rabbit eats lettuce. Take care. I came, I saw, I conquered. Give me a good reason. Keep smiling. I like ice-cream. She meant it.

Adverbs tell us… How (manner) She swam elegantly across the pool. Where (place) I’m sure my keys were there a moment ago. When (time) Yesterday, I went shopping. How often (frequency) He seldom writes letters. How much/How far (degree) My cat is quite clever.

PhrasesClauses Phrases are groups of words (two or more) without a verb. e.g. fish and chips Clauses are groups of words containing a subject and a verb. e.g. They ate fish and chips. because they were hungry Sentences are groups of words containing at least one clause. Sentences do four things: 1)ask questions 2)give information 3)tell people what to do 4)exclaim Sentences

Sentence types Are you my friend? What a good friend you are! Be my friend! You are my friend.

Conjunctions A conjunction links two words, two phrases or two clauses together. Are two kinds of conjunction: 1.Coordinating conjunction – links two words or phrases or clauses together as an equal pair. James bought a bat and ball. Kylie is young but she can kick the ball hard. 2.Subordinating conjunction – introduces a subordinate clause. Everyone watches when Kyle does backflips. Joe can’t practise kicking because he’s injured.

Joining Dragon Facts The skin of a dragon is thick and scaly. Some dragons have more than one head. Dragons look fierce. A dragon’s skin is thick and scaly and some dragons have more than one head, which makes them look fierce.

comma, …. apostrophe full stop C’C’ ellipsis

Most of the time, travellers worry about their luggage. It ’ s common for a dog to wag its tail. Mrs Jones finds inspiration in cooking, her family and her dog. “I ’ m not sure what … ” he stammered.

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