What’s the easiest English grammar rule in the world?
It’s probably on Page One of your elementary school English book.
It’s so easy you can learn it in five seconds and remember it forever.
Here it is:
Say, “I go” and “you go.”
But with “he” “she” or “it” you say “goes.”
For example, “He goes to work at 8.”
Simple, right?
I run.
She runs.
I work.
It works.
No problem at all.
I think you’re ready to pass your grammar test!
The Most Common Grammar Mistake
Can you guess what one of the most common mistakes is in English?
A mistake English teachers hear every day?
It is…
“He go.”
“She run.”
“It work.”
Hmm.
So what’s going on here?
If it’s the easiest rule, why do so many students not remember it?
Conscious Learning Is For Tests. Unconscious Learning Is For Life.
It’s because rules are learned consciously.
We decide to learn a rule.
We focus on the rule.
We study the rule.
And finally, we take a test to prove we know the rule.
But speaking is a skill.
And like most skills, you should learn them (mostly) unconsciously.
You learn the basics consciously.
In tennis: Put your hands here. Hit the ball there.
In English: The subject goes here. The verb goes there.
But then you need to start doing it so your unconscious can start learning.
When you learn unconsciously, you don’t realize you’re learning.
When you learn unconsciously, it doesn’t feel like you’re learning.
But when you finally do learn it, you use the skill automatically and you
remember it longer.
Just like riding a bicycle.
Just like driving a car while talking on the phone.
Or just like speaking your first language.
How do you learn English unconsciously?
By Doing English.
That means reading, listening, watching TV, and of course, speaking.
I am a black African man