Gateway to Grammar: Are tables best for learning verbs?

Believe me, I am the first to say when a way of learning English is too old fashioned and not helpful anymore. There are some really good reasons to learn verbs in a table though, and that is what I will explain today.

1. Tables show your brain what the patterns are.

When you are learning the present simple, you will find that all regular verbs have an ‘s’ at the end for “he”, “she” and “it” pronouns. Everything else is in the infinitive (normal) form with no changes. When you write this out for each verb your brain WILL learn this rule.

2. Tables show your brain when something breaks the rules.

So, after 47 regular verbs you write out the table for “to be,” an irregular verb. Your brain goes “WHAT THE HECK IS THIS? THIS DOES NOT FOLLOW THE RULES”. This is how your brain learns which verbs do not follow the normal rules.

3. Just because its in a table, doesn’t mean you can’t sing it!

It starts with a table, but that could just be the beginning. Make verb families, make songs to remind yourself of the rules for regular verbs. Draw pictures and invent games! It is all up to you. It only begins with a table.

Is it old fashioned? Yes, absolutely. Is there a better place to start than a table? Not really. Learning anything new should always include lots of different learning methods, but a written example that you can see should always be part of that.