THREE-
DIMENSIONAL
GRAMMAR
FRA MEWORK
When it comes to grammar and
grammar instruction there are three
foci you need to constantly keep in
view and those are MEANING, FORM
and USE.
MEANING
- Semantics
- What the grammar communicates
FORM
- Grammar charts or formulas
- Pronunciation
USE
- When/how used to communicate within
a meaningful context
PRESENT SIMPLE
• Meaning
- Repetitive actions/habits
-Generalizations, facts, beliefs
-Near future scheduled events
PRESENT SIMPLE
• Form
- I/You/They/We + verb
- He/She/ It + verb + s
EXAMPLE: I love banana.
She writes a novel.
PRESENT SIMPLE
Some ideas for Use
- Describe yourself (friend, family member and so on)
- Personal habits: What do you do every morning/day/night? What is
your favorites day of the week? Why?
EXAMPLE: On Saturdays, I get up and do things like drink my coffee
in the morning and get outside in the sun with my family.
PAST CONTINOUS
MEANING PROGRESSIVE
- Specific time as interruption
EXAMPLE: Last night, I was sleeping.
- Past action interrupted (with past simple)
EXAMPLE: When you called me, I was sleeping.
- Parallel past actions (two verbs in this tense)
EXAMPLE: I was walking while I was talking on my phone.
PAST CONTINOUS
FORM PROGRESSIVE
- I/He/She/It + was + verb + -ing
You/They/We + were + verb + -ing
- Unlike with the present continuous, we don’t use
contractions
EXAMPLE: He was playing basketball at the college
tournament.
PAST CONTINOUS
PROGRESSIVE
USE
- What were you doing at specific times yesterday?
- A personal story (funny, sad, embarrassing, etc.)
- Describe your best travel experience.
EXAMPLE: The sun was bright and I was swimming in the
ocean
ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY
MEANING
- The frequency (or lack thereof) of
actions/habits.
ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY
FORM
- Pre- or post-position of sentence
EXAMPLE: Often, I go to beach.
I go to beach often.
- Position before verbs for simple verbs.
EXAMPLE: I often go to the beach.
- Between auxiliary verbs and main verbs
EXAMPLE: You should never give up.
I am always jogging at 6AM.
ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY
USE
- It’s the same in a present simple but with added
information.
THAT’S ALL!
