From geography jingles my children learned over 17 years ago, I can still remember, among other facts, the states that comprise the eastern border of the U.S.
There’s just something about poems, songs, and mnemonics that can make learning facts—and remembering them—so much easier. That’s why I’ve always liked this little poem, as it defines and illustrates many common grammar concepts.
Grammar in a Nutshell
The articles are, oh, so wee,
These little words are A, AN, THE;
The nouns are names of anything,
Like BOOK, COMPUTER, FAITH, or RING.
Pronouns are used for nouns instead—
I run, HE flies, SHE wished, THEY said.
Adjectives simply tell the kind
of everything that we may find,
Like BLUE and ROUGH and SOFT and SWEET,
RUDE and PLEASANT, WISE and NEAT.
Adverbs will tell “how,” “when,” “where,”
Like SWEETLY, NEATLY, OFTEN, THERE.
The prepositions help each day
IN our work or AT our play,
UNDER, OVER, AROUND, and THROUGH,
AMONG, ABOUT, ABOVE, and TO.
Good conjunctions join together
Man AND woman; plume OR feather.
Interjections always claim—
OH, NO! ALAS! AH, what a shame!
The verb—it helps us get along
In conversation or in song,
Since it explains the subject’s fate,
Expressing action, being, state;
You ARE friendly, I LOVE you,
EAT your breakfast, TIE your shoe.
Grammar may not seem exciting,
But it will help our speech and writing!
Author Unknown
4 comments ↓
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This is a good idea to help remember things. It would be nice to find links to some common ones.
I love this! Too cute and helpful! Thank you!
It’s the proverbial “spoonful of sugar.” Any time we introduce an element of fun, the learning process becomes a little less painful!