English grammar can be as much of a mystery for native English speakers as it can be for foreign learners. There are two main problems with English grammar study as encouraged abroad and in American secondary schools. First, the grammar rules taught are rarely practical. In other words, taught grammar is aimed predominantly at the nuances of the literary, especially scholarly, language. Unfortunately, these grammar rules do not accurately mirror the spoken language used today. This makes grammar and even exam study much more difficult than it should be since it attempts to teach the more difficult and narrow grammar rules without providing an adequate base. Second, grammar is normally taught through the method of rote memorization. Foreigners learning by themselves usually have no other recourse than to learn by pure memorization since they lack native English speakers to converse with. The retarding impact of caused by the lack of actual practice is difficult to overcome but can be substantially minimized by use of ample examples commonly encountered in daily life.

Our grammar section particularly addresses questions that arise in everyday usage and on standardized exams. We always provide at least one example, usually two and sometimes three, since this example-based approach is much more effective than pure memorization.