Embarrassing grammar problem

[Tiff in TX]

Here is the low down… my grammar knowledge stinks. I can remember language arts classes from 7th grade and learning about direct objects, indirect objects, present participles and all that stuff, but I never understood it. I’m college educated, but grammar just leaves me confused and frustrated.
I really want to have a firm knowledge of grammar when I start to teach my DD, so I figure I should start now.
Any suggestions for a grown-up who wants to study grammar?

[Linda in NM]

I just bought a second copy of Our Mother Tongue from Amazon for $20...I think it's an excellent review from a classical perspective (our original copy is packed somewhere--it's a long story). I'm a professional editor, and I'm more concerned with practical application of grammar than with identification of obscure grammatical constructs (ablative case, for example)...

HTH,

[plansrme]

Painless Grammar. It's entertaining, accurate and thorough--a tough combination to find in a grammar book. It has a narrative description of the rules and a few practice exercises on each topic, but not as many as a full textbook. It is available in the usual bookstores (B&N, Borders), and I frequently see it at Sam's.

Terri

[April in CA]

Don't be embarrassed, Tiff!
I am also college-educated, and I struggled with understanding grammar rules and identifying parts of speech, even though I was a competent writer. My high-school grammar class was very helpful, but I had an a-ha moment when my son was in 3rd grade (at public school, before we started homeschooling and I became a grammar queen (grin)). We were watching School House Rock, and I finally understood what the predicate of a sentence was when the cartoon guy sang "Mr. Morton is the subject of the sentence, and what the predicate says, he does!" Eureka! I got it! I think I was sick the day in MY 3rd grade year when the teacher (Mrs Loomis...she lives on in terrifying memory...) introduced the concept of predicate. I somehow thought the word "the" was the predicate for years. But, thankfully, School House Rock came to my rescue. Obviously, SHR will not teach you everything you need to know about grammar, but you and your two year old might enjoy watching it and learning about the parts of speech. It really is amazing what we can remember when information is set to music, isn't it? Now, after SHR and severaly years of Rod and Staff grammar with my boys (now in high school), I feel pretty snappy in the grammar department!

Blessings to you as you seek to educate yourself while education your little one!
April

[Garga]

Do you need a crash course? Or can you just learn one step ahead of your kids? Use their books to learn it as you all go.

[OLG]

Grammar Works is a fun way to do it!

[LizzyBee]

This is not systematic like a textbook would be, but Grammar Girl is a genuinely fun podcast. Each episode is about 5 minutes long, so it's short and painless.

[stripe]

Clean, Well-Lighted Sentences: A Guide to Avoiding the Most Common Errors in Grammar and Punctuation (http://www.amazon.com/Clean-Well-Lighted-Sentences-Avoiding-Punctuation/dp/0393067718/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244666811&sr=8-1) by Janis Bell is nice too.