Grammar Patterns Across Languages
Understand how a new language is built: gendered nouns, verb endings that change with the speaker, and word-order patterns; use these patterns to build new sentences and compare how the new language and English do things differently
What a learner can do afterwards
- Spot that nouns in the new language have gender and choose the matching article (e.g. 'le chat' but 'la table')
- Change a verb ending to match who is doing the action (e.g. 'je joue' vs 'nous jouons')
- Point out a pattern that works differently from English (e.g. adjectives coming after the noun)
1 · Read
Every language has its own building rules, called grammar patterns. They often work differently from English. Once you spot a pattern, you can build brand new sentences instead of memorizing each one.
One pattern is noun gender. Many languages label nouns masculine or feminine, and the word for 'the' has to match. In French, 'chat' (cat) is masculine, so you say 'le chat'. 'Table' is feminine, so you say 'la table'.
Marco is learning French. He wants to say 'the dog'. 'Chien' (dog) is masculine, so he picks 'le': 'le chien'. Then he wants to say 'the house'. 'Maison' (house) is feminine, so he switches to 'la': 'la maison'.
Verbs change their ending to match who is doing the action. The French verb 'jouer' means 'to play'. 'I play' is 'je joue', but 'we play' is 'nous jouons'. Swap the subject, and the ending swaps too.
Look for a noun's gender, a verb's changing ending, and where words sit in the sentence, then use those patterns to build your own.
2 · Watch
Take it off screen
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.