A reader wrote with this question:
“I have learned English for many years. I known about grammar, but I can’t speak. My mouth can not open when I want to talk. I think about everything in my brain. However, I can’t make a sentence. What do I do?”
This reminded me of a famous quote by the American baseball player and coach Yogi Berra:
“How can you think and hit at the same time?”
The answer is, you can’t.
The ball is moving too fast.
You also can’t think and speak.
Conversation is too fast.
Your English teacher is patient and will wait for you to find the correct verb tense in your mental grammar book, but someone at a business event will think you’re a weirdo, say he has to go to the bathroom, and never return.
Better to swing and miss.
…try to hit the ball, even if it’s going fast.
…say something immediately, even if it’s not correct.
Native speakers will forgive grammar mistakes. But silence in a conversation makes everyone uncomfortable.
And if you’ve got a solid, daily routine, then your mistakes will become fewer and fewer.