Sunday, July 12, 2020

TOEFL Grammar Study Guide

TOEFL Grammar Study Guide Readers of this blog will know that my preferred grammar book is English Grammar in Use (5th Edition). You can buy it on Amazon. I usually recommend it to students who want to increase their writing scores. Since the book is quite long, Ive created a list of specific units that students can focus on (along with a few notes about the reasons for my choices).Before you read the list, though, a few things should be recognized:You really should communicate with a teacher to see what units are best for you. This list is just a starting point.I think that the fourth edition of the book (from 2012) has the same unit names, so the list can be used with it.The list can probably be used with the 3rd and 4th editions of English in Use Intermediate. That is the American version of English Grammar in Use.Present and PastUnit 2 Present Simple (for talking about things in general, the state of the world and writing a thesis statement)Unit 3 Present continuous and present simple (you must underst and the difference)Unit 5 Past simple (for personal examples)Unit 6 Past continousPresent Perfect and PastUnit 7 Present Perfect 1 (for examples, advanced grammar)Unit 8 Present Perfect 2Unit 9 Present Perfect ContinousUnit 10 Present Perfect Continuous and Simple (know the difference!)Unit 12 For and SinceUnit 13 Present Perfect and Past (know the difference!)Unit 14 -Present Perfect and Past 2Unit 15 Past Perfect (useful for examples)Unit 16 Past Perfect Continuous (useful for examples)Unit 18 Used to (frequent errors)ModalsUnit 33 Should (useful for topic sentences and thesis statements)If and WishUnit 40 If I had known (useful for summing up sentences)PassiveUnit 42 Passive 1 (it is useful to know what this is because the e-rater prefers active voice)Reported SpeechUnit 47 Reported Speech 1 (know how to use it as quotes look bad in the essays)-INg and toUnit 53 Verb + -ing (everything in this heading is fundamental)Unit 54 Verb + toUnit 55 Verb (+ object)Unit 5 6 Verb +ing or to 1Unit 57 Verb +ing or to 2Unit 58 Verb +ing or to 3Unit 59 prefer and would rather (useful when writing a thesis statement or topic sentence)Unit 60 Preposition + -ingUnit 62 Preposition + -ing (very common error)Articles and NounsUnit 69 Countable and Uncountable 1 (very common errors)Unit 72 A/An and The (very common errors)Unit 73 The 1Unit 74 The 2Pronouns and DeterminersUnit 88 All/all of, most/most of, no/none ofRelative ClausesUnit 92 -Relative Clauses 1Unit 95 Relative Clauses 4Adjectives and AdverbsUnit 98 Adjective ending in -ing and -edUnit 101 Adjectives and Adverbs 2Unit 107 Comparatives 3Conjunctions and PrepositionsUnit 117 Like and AsUnit 119 During, for, while (common errors)PrepositionsUnit 125 In/at/onUnit 126 to, at, in and intoUnit 127 in/on/atUnit 130 adjective + preposition 1Unit 132 verb + preposition 1Unit 133 verb + preposition 2Unit 134 verb + preposition 3Unit 135 verb + preposition 4Phrasal VerbsStudy everything , but note that studying phrasal verbs in a grammar book has limitations.Additional ExercisesTry numbers 1, 5, 9, 29 and 32.