Even the brightest students of English grammar can become confused about whose or who’s. In fact, a student from Kahului, Maui, recently asked me to clarify the difference in an Ask Cozy Grammar video. After you take a peek, I’ll share three keys I’ve discovered to remembering grammar easily, keys you can easily use with your students.
Anita C. from Garrettson, SD, asks, “What is the best way to make this course effective and yet run independently for my teen?” Here are three sets of suggestions that address each of these two things: the effective teaching—the effective learning—part of the question, as well as the independent part of the question—the honoring of independence.
Crystal from Belfast writes, “We don’t have a question in particular, but were curious to see how the Q & A sessions go, so we can be prepared for when we do have a question.” So here’s a brief overview as to how Ask Cozy Grammar works.
A topic that can sometimes intimidate students (or their teacher or parents!) is how to use quotation marks in a sentence. Everything seems fine till you need to combine quotation marks with other kinds of punctuation marks, like periods and commas. Does the final period go inside or outside the quotation marks? Here’s our answer.
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.
Marie and I have both long believed that grammar can enhance creativity. We’re therefore particularly delighted to share a poem written by one of Cozy Grammar’s students, Miguel Gonzalez Del Castillo. Miguel wrote the following poem in response to a creative writing assignment in the Basic Cozy Grammar Course.
Do you remember the first time you discovered exclamation marks? How powerful! And how fun! These marks can serve powerfully, especially when used adeptly. But using exclamation marks adeptly can take some practice. That’s why we wanted to share two free excerpts from our Basic Cozy Punctuation Course.
Thomas gives a simple way to remember the difference between there, their, and they’re. THERE has to do with WHERE. THEIR is a possessive pronoun like OUR and YOUR. THEY’RE always expands into THEY ARE. Remember this and you’ll always remember the difference.
What is a dangling participle? Or modifier? Or participial phrase? These terms can appear quite confusing, but there’s a simple way to think about them. A dangling participle, modifier, participial phrase is simply a piece of description that isn’t clearly connected to what it’s describing.
Lewis W. asks, “What does verb tense consistency mean?” Here’s a simple and direct answer from Thomas and Ask Cozy Grammar.
A parent asks, “How do we get kids to write? How do you teach creative writing in primary school ages? Kids are always running from writing.” In this Ask Cozy Grammar session, Thomas suggests “writing out loud.”
Akshay from Malaysia asks, “Are there any tricks to remember grammar concepts?” In this quick introduction, Thomas explains three easy and effective ways to remember grammar rules.
Advay from Noida, India, asks, “How to learn prepositions?” In this quick introduction, Thomas gives examples of prepositions of time, place, and the secret preposition OF.
Taranindya from Indonesia asks, “How to Help Your Kids Love and Enjoy Grammar?” Here Thomas shares he gives three practical tips for helping young people not only understand but enjoy grammar and the study of language.
Thomas answers a question about how to encourage students and children to speak fluently and grammatically from an early age.
Juanita B. from Vancouver, BC, asks, “What is the different between then and than?” The secret is to remember that THEN has to do with TIME and THAN has to COMPARISON. If you remember the E in TIME and the A in COMPARISON, you’ll never confuse THEN and THAN again.