It’s no secret that my grammar sucks. From the onset of publishing one post, every day; my grammar has improved. It needs more work though. I keep getting messages and emails, telling me what I am doing wrong with respect to my grammar and this blog. All those emails and messages have been of great help. One of the most common traits in those messages and emails is, that I am inventing new rules with my usage of commas.
This month, I was thinking of learning Japanese. I let that thought go. Instead, I will be learning English Grammar. It will be a self study project. Everyday, spending one hour learning English grammar. To that effect, before I ordered some course material, I wanted to search for some free resources which, I could use to learn and/or look up.
Some free resources for learning English grammar online.
1. The Comma Queen Series by The New Yorker: Thank you, to a friend for pointing this one out (tons of hand waving here). Since my usage of commas suck, let’s start with commas. It’s a series, as in an online series by The New Yorker. The host - Mary Norris a.k.a Comma Queen , talks about commas and other stuff related to the English language and all its facets. It started recently, so there are only three episodes available for now.
Comma Queen: Series Première.
Comma Queen: Possessed.
Comma Queen: Let’s Get Restrictive.
2. The Oxford Comma: Before watching the TED-Ed video below, I was not aware of what an Oxford comma is and the controversy surrounding it. Thanks to the video, now I know.
The Oxford Comma.
3. Free English grammar briefs and videos by GCFLearnfree.org: A great resource to touch up some topics and/or to demystify some others.
Me or I?
4. 38 Common Spelling and Grammar Errors: This video is good. The only down part is, the pace of the video is somewhat fast. I am guilty of making several mistakes mentioned in this one.
Common Spelling and Grammar Errors.
5. Quick Fix Your Grammar: A funny one. This video mentions some of the most common mistakes made, and proposes the needed corrections.
Fix your grammar.
6. Engvid.com: The site is solely meant for learning the English language, both, to speak and to write. It has tons of videos, from many tutors. They have a corresponding youtube channel.
5 'World' Idioms.
7. Grammar Nazis: A satirical take on English grammar and Nazis, by CollegeHumor. It may offend some people. It does come across as funny, though.
This video may offend some people.
8. “Weird Al” Yankovic - Word Crimes: Extremely funny! Watch it, if only for the sake of a good laugh.
Where to next?
Apart from hunting videos and learning grammar online, I decided to invest in some offline resources too. Mostly books on English grammar. Starting with an old time favorite - Wren and Martin’s High School English Grammar and Composition. Followed up with Essential English Grammar by Raymond Murphy, Intermediate English by Raymond Murphy and Advanced English Grammar by Martin Hewings.
