Another way to study grammar--Animations (cartoons)!

Here is a link to ESL Blues, a website that offers a lot of lessons and quizzes (at different levels) for people studying English:

ESL Blues

 It also teaches grammar lessons by animations. An animation is a drawing or picture that seems to move. We watch animated tv shows called cartoons. We also see animation in computer games and in videos. Turning a positive statement into a question or into a negative statement requires changing the normal English word order, adding a helping verb or negative word, and/or changing the tense of the main verb. For example: He walked yesterday. Did he walk yesterday?He did not walk yesterday. 

Animation lets you watch the words in a sentence move around as these changes occur. Seeing words float into and out of a sentence is another way to help you remember the changes that occur when we make a positive statement into a negative statement or a question.

My suggestion: Click on the "ESL Blues" link above. After the page loads, look at the Alphabetical Index on the left side. Click on Animated Grammar Tutorials and then choose some of the links to watch. Or just use the links below to watch two of these "anigrams" (the ESL Blues website's name for these animated videos):

Past Tense: Negative Forms
Past Tense: Yes/No Questions 

Forming Questions--Read More Than One Explanation

Learning how to ask questions in English is confusing. Sometimes you change the word order of subject and verb:  
Bob is tall. (statement word order is subject + verb)  
Is Bob tall? (question word order is verb + subject).
When the verb is a form of "to be" in simple present tense (am, is, are) or simple past tense (was, were), subject and verb change places to make a question.

In other types of questions, you leave the word order the same and put a question word such as where or why, plus a helping verb such as do, does (present tense) or did (past tense) at the beginning:  
Bob walked to work yesterday. Why did Bob walk to work yesterday? Where did Bob walk today?  
For questions in the simple past tense, the main verb changes from past tense (walked) to the base form (walk), and the helping verb did takes on the job of showing past tense.

However, if the subject of the sentence is the same as the answer to the question, you don't need a helping verb and the main verb stays in the past tense:
Who walked to work yesterday? Bob. Bob walked to work yesterday.
What made that squeaking noise? A mouse. A mouse made that squeaking noise. 

A different person's way of explaining how to ask questions might make more sense to you. Try reading several explanations of how to form questions in English.

My suggestion: Click on the three links below to read different explanations of how to ask questions. (these lessons may include types of questions we have not studied yet in class). Each link has exercises you can try after you read the lesson. 

WH Questions            Asking Questions              An Easy Way to Form Questions

 

Third Person Singular Present Tense Verbs--That Pesky "S"

Last week we reviewed spelling rules for adding the final -s to 3rd person singular verbs in the present tense. English language learners have a lot of trouble with that final -s. Grammarbank.com has some good exercises on the 3rd person singular of simple present tense verbs. Again, beware of clicking on buttons which are actually links to downloads or advertisements, not grammar lessons or quizzes. Instead, scroll down to the numbered questions.

My suggestion: Click on the links below to practice using the correct person and number of present tense verbs. You'll also get a little practice with questions and negative statements in the present tense.

NOTE: If the sentence is a negative statement or question, type in the complete verb, including what is in parentheses, not just do or does, or your answer will be marked incorrect. Also, use a capital letter if the blank is at the beginning of the sentence. 

Example: ______ (Mark/like) cookies?
Correct answer: Does Mark like
Incorrect answers: Does, does, does Mark like, Do, do, Do Mark like

LINK: Practice simple present tense, 3rd person singular

LINK: More practice with simple present tense

Remember, simple present tense is used to give information (facts) or to talk about usual habits or activities. If you need to review the grammar of the simple present tense, click this link:

LINK: Review of simple present tense with frequency adverbs

Practice Short Answers in the Simple Present and Simple Past Tenses

Today in class we did a quick exercise on answering yes/no questions with the "short answer" form. If you want more quick practice--

My suggestion: Click on the first link below to go to a short answer practice page at Englishgrammarsecrets.com. When you type your answer in the box provided, remember not to begin with a space. Make sure you type only one space between words in your answer, or the computer may read your answer as wrong even if you get it right.  Click on the second link to practice matching questions with their correct short answers. For both of these exercises, you can either check your answers as you go or check them after you've finished all of the questions.

LINK: Short answer practice (present tense) at Englishgrammarsecrets.com

LINK: Drag the answers at right to the questions they match (various verb tenses) 

Click on the link below to practice short answers in the simple past tense:

 LINK: Short answers in the past tense

Quiz on Do, Does, or Did

This week we practiced asking questions with do, does (present tense), and did (past tense). Today's quiz at the Daily Page for ESL students gives you practice in using these words correctly, but in statements, not in questions.

My Suggestion: Try the quiz at this link--

LINK: Quiz for the Day: Do, Does, or Did

Review: Negative Statements and Questions in the Past Tense

This week we galloped (look it up, galloped) through some review exercises on forming questions and negative statements. Here is a link to my post from last year on practicing negative statements and questions in the past tense:

My suggestion: Click on the link below, read the post, then click on the links provided and do the suggested exercises.

LINK: Practice Simple Past Tense: Negatives and Questions

Practice Simple Past Tense--Negatives and Questions

Recently we have worked on the simple past tense. We use did as a helping verb to make a negative statement in the past tense (in the present tense, we use do or does). You have a handout on forming statements, negative statements, yes/no questions, and short answers in the past tense. Please practice asking questions in the past tense, both by writing them and saying them aloud.

My Suggestions: Practice writing sentences and questions in the past tense by clicking the first link below. Each question gives you words for a sentence, with only the simple base form of the verb. If it is a positive statement, you have to change the base form of the verb to the simple past form.. If the word not is next to the verb you are given, make the sentence negative, whether it is a statement or a question. If the sentence is a question or is negative, you have to add the helping verb (did) and use the BASE form of the verb. When you type the sentence, be sure to put the words in the correct order, capitalize the first word, and put the correct punctuation mark at the end. Read the directions carefully--do not include extra spaces in your answer, or the computer will read it as incorrect:

LINK: Practice making simple past sentences at Englishlearner.com 

Here are 25 practice exercises on making questions in the past tense:

LINK: 25 Practice Exercises on Questions in the Simple Past Tense
  
For "listen and repeat" practice in making questions in several verb tenses (present continuous, past, present, and future), click on this link:

LINK: Listen to Questions and Answers in 4 Verb Tenses 

Simple Past Tense--Links to Lessons and Exercises

This week we began studying the simple past tense. If you missed class, I have handouts and exercises for you, but below are some links to websites with good lessons on the simple past tense of verbs. There are also links to grammar exercises and quizzes on the simple past. You should study the past form of irregular verbs to prepare for the exercises. I gave you lists of irregular verbs in class, but you can also click on the tab for "Irregular Verbs" at the top of this blog and explore the posts that come up. They all have links to websites with more information about (or practice with) irregular verb forms.

My Suggestion: If you want more lessons on the simple past tense, try the links below.

If you want to practice listening and repeating verbs and sentences in the simple past tense, click on this link:

LINK: Practice saying past tense verbs in questions and answers

We can use the past tense with today to talk about what we did EARLIER in the day: "Today I went to school and then rode the bus home."

LINK: Practice saying what you did today

If you want exercises or quizzes, click on the link below. Remember--don't type extra spaces in your answer, or the computer will read it as the wrong answer, even if you typed the correct word.

LINK: Simple Past Tense Exercises

Here is an exercise that gives you two sentences and asks you to click on the sentence that is written in past tense (the other sentence is written in either present tense or in future tense with will--will eat, will go, etc.).

LINK: Choose the sentence in past tense

Another Way to Study Questions and Negatives--Link to Older Post

Here's a unique way to learn how to make negative statements and questions--animations! Animations are cartoons, and last year I posted a link that can provide a unique review of what we did in class this week with negatives and questions.

My suggestion: Click on the link below to read the post and watch some of the animated grammar tutorials.

Animations--negative statements and questions in the past tense