Standard Deviants TV - Grammar Pitfalls (Learn English Grammar)

I would recommend this to any parent with a student struggling in grammar. I've since purchased many others for my kids.


Explains some grammar problems, but raises others   March 10, 2003
 17 out of 17 found this review helpful

I am teaching a grammar course and looking for another explanation of common grammar problems to recommend to my students. After I found this in a video search, I grabbed a copy to see if this would do. Although this is easy to understand, defines terms, and gives examples, I found that other errors crept in which would likely distract some students from following the explanations.

This particular tape discusses subject-verb agreement, fragments, comma splices, run-on sentences, tense shifts, vague pronoun reference, and faulty parallels. Also, it discusses some errors that are acceptable in some forms of writing. Examples here are split infinitives, contractions, and sentences ending with a preposition.

One of the errors I found is the use of single quotes, which are used in American English within double quotes. Knowing my classes, they would pick up on this discrepancy right away. Another of the errors was in correcting a comma splice. The video mentions using a coordinating conjunction, but in the example, the comma is dropped. This would also attract my students' attention.

The video is a mixture of computer animation, skits, and explanation. I think the explanations are great, but you may want to use all of them since I believe each video builds on the others. If nothing else, students will get some good information and can use the errors for discussion points in class.