A Closing Poem from Thomas, “Cascadian Lyric”
To close out this month’s Ask Cozy Grammar session, Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma reads a poem called “Cascadian Lyric.”
Category: Creative Writing
Need Grammar Help? | Resources for Students Learning at Home
With so many of us now learning from home, have you found yourself needing grammar help, resources, ideas, or support for your kids? Do you want to learn or teach language in ways that inspire creativity and confidence? Send us your question and we’ll answer it in a video!
What Is Your Teaching Experience and Background?
Dennis E. asks, “What is your teaching experience and background?” Here Thomas describes his experience with grammar and language, explaining how he brings his life’s work as a writer to his work for Cozy Grammar.
How To Rewrite A Sentence Without Changing The Meaning
A student recently asked, “How do we rewrite a sentence without changing the meaning?” Here Thomas shares three simple tips for how to rewrite a sentence without changing the meaning but making it stronger at the same time.
How to Speak Fluently and Grammatically From an Early Age
Thomas answers a question about how to encourage students and children to speak fluently and grammatically from an early age.
What Writing Exercises to Use for Practicing Grammar
Taranindya asks, “What writing exercise can we use for practicing English grammar with a 9-year-old at home?” Here are some tips from Thomas.
How Can We Grow Our Children’s Writing Habits?
Here’s a wonderful question from a reader: How do we grow our children’s writing habits, especially for students who might be in the elementary level and who might be learning English as a second or as a foreign language? How do we encourage students to love writing? Here are five things that occurred to me.
The Dots, Lines, and Squiggles of Punctuation
Punctuation can often seem intimidating. Everywhere we look, there appear to be different and contradictory rules about how we’re supposed to use all these dots, lines, and squiggles in our writing. But as Marie explains, punctuation is simply a tool to clarify meaning and prevent misunderstanding.
The Gift of the Present Tense
This month we wanted to talk about the hidden gift of the present tense and make a special announcement about our new PDF workbooks. Take a peek at her lesson on the present tense, then I’ll explain what I mean by the hidden gift of the present tense.
Gratitude and Grammar
What could be more surprising and helpful than talking about grammar and gratitude? We tend to think of grammar as dry and even lifeless, but properly taught, grammar can be an extraordinary and powerful tool for increasing awareness, unleashing creativity, and fostering true success. Take a peek at this month’s free videos to learn more!
The Power of Pronouns
Despite their humble appearance, pronouns are one of a writer’s most useful tools and can even unleash great comedy. To show you what I mean—and to prepare you for a fun activity with language—take a peek at this month’s free excerpts. Just so you know, you may find yourself laughing!
Grammar, Love, and Colloquial Language
As we embrace the new year, we wanted to share a helpful rule from Marie about colloquial language and good grammar. Although it makes a simple and easy-to-follow point, her rule also speaks to the love that lies behind all of Marie’s courses. We’d like to share it with you.
A Secret About Adjectives
As the year draws to a close, we wanted to offer two video excerpts on adjectives. How to describe the delights of the season vividly and memorably? That’s what both of our videos address. We also have a creative writing exercise and a holiday gift to share. Read on to learn more!
What Are Adverbs?
This month we wanted to offer two video excerpts on adverbs and a writing activity. The topic of adverbs can sometimes seem confusing, but as Marie points out, adverbs are simply words that describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. And of these uses, the most important by far is describing verbs. You can see it in the word itself: ad-VERB!
Subjects, Predicates & Spooky Tales
As the leaves start to turn our thoughts often turn to the coziness of a fire and the warmth of our homes. It’s a great time for getting back to basics. This month we wanted to share how getting back to grammatical basics and understanding main subjects and main predicates can help us in our storytelling.
What Are Conjunctions?
This month we wanted to share a video excerpt from Marie about conjunctions, as well as a companion video from Thomas about clauses. Both videos are set on Marie’s favorite Eagle Rock and give a sense for how the sea and the natural world around Marie’s Cozy Beach Cottage form an important part of Marie’s lessons.