A basic English grammar curriculum for adults should cover five areas: parts of speech, phrases, clauses, sentence structure and usage. Parts of speech show the function of individual words. Phrases are groups of words used as one part of speech. Clauses are groups of words with a subject and verb. Clause combinations create different types of sentences. Usage instruction deals with the correct use of the language, such as tense, correct pronoun case or subject and verb agreement.

A basic English grammar curriculum for adults should cover five areas: parts of speech, phrases, clauses, sentence structure and usage. Parts of speech show the function of individual words. Phrases are groups of words used as one part of speech. Clauses are groups of words with a subject and verb. Clause combinations create different types of sentences. Usage instruction deals with the correct use of the language, such as tense, correct pronoun case or subject and verb agreement.

Parts of Speech

The best way to teach parts of speech is by word function. Even though there are eight parts of speech, there are only six ways that words function. An adult grammar curriculum should teach these functions. Nouns and pronouns name. Adjectives and adverbs describe or add to meaning. Verbs link or show action. Prepositions show relationships. Conjunctions join, and interjections show emotion. Also, if the adult student is learning English as a second language, she should spend some time learning the irregular participle forms of verbs.

Phrases

Once students master the parts of speech, they are ready to learn phrases. Since students have learned prepositions, a good starting point is studying prepositional phrases. Students need to learn that a relationship started with a preposition is completed with a noun or pronoun known as the object. Instructors can then review the function of adjectives and adverbs, because all prepositional phrases describe. Next, students learn about noun phrases known as appositive phrases. Finally, the grammar curriculum should present verbal phrases, including participial, gerund and infinitive phrases.

Clauses

After teaching the five types of phrases, an adult grammar curriculum should move to clauses. Instructors should teach the difference between an independent clause and a dependent clause. The three dependent clauses---adverb, adjective and noun---are next in the grammar curriculum. This is an excellent time to review the concept of function. Also, while students are learning the types of clauses, comma usage rules should be taught. For example, if a student uses an introductory adverb clause, he needs to be taught that a comma is needed at the end of the clause.

Sentences

After learning clauses, students need to recognize the different types of sentences: simple, compound, complex and compound-complex. Also, instructors should discuss how a knowledge of sentence structure can aid in writing. For example, if a student is joining ideas of equal importance, a compound structure would be more appropriate than a complex one. Another good technique to teach is how using a variety of sentence structures, such as alternating short and long sentences, makes reading more enjoyable.

Usage

The study of usage involves using grammar correctly in writing and speaking. Subject and verb agreement, using the correct tense of verbs and correct comma usage are key areas that should be taught. In written communication, teachers should mark errors. If the same mistake is made frequently, mark several but do not cover the page with error marks. This can be discouraging and may limit writing attempts.

In oral communication, do not directly correct the error. For example, if a student says, "I write a paper in my history class yesterday." The teacher should respond,"You wrote a paper yesterday. What topic did you choose?" This provides a model of correct usage without discouraging communication with students.