Language patterns

Content Forum
1

I am thinking of developing a new kind of content which I would call language patterns. It will consist of groups of 6 lines or sentences on a common theme. There will be beginner patterns and intermediate patters. I will add them as I think of them.

Hopefully it will eventually amount to about 30-40 minutes of continuous audio. Learners can do individual lessons or download the whole series and listen to it continuously. It should represent a combination of the most common patterns in the language. Please have a look and let me know of the patterns in English that cause trouble, or that you think should be included, or else just do your own.

I would also like to see if others can do this for other languages. We could even try to get parallel patterns in different languages. What do you think? Here is what I just quickly wrote down. This is just a beginning. The beginner patterns come first.

Beginner patterns:

My name is Steve.
Her name is Mary.
We are happy.
He is a happy man.
They are young girls.
There are many young girls here.

I have a book.
They have a lot of time.
He has no time.
She has a book in her bag.
You have a lot of work to do.
There is a lot of work to do.

He reads every day.
What do you eat for breakfast every day.
I know your name.
We go to school every morning.
I make breakfast in the morning.
We all eat breakfast every morning.

I am reading this book now.
What are you doing now?
I am washing the dishes now.
What are you writing now?
I am writing a letter now.
He is also writing a letter now.

When did you visit your friend?
I visited my friend last week.
When did it snow?
It snowed all last week.
I watched the football game on television.
He walked to work in the rain yesterday.

What were you doing yesterday when I called?
I was working yesterday when you called.
When were you watching television?
I was watching television in the evening.
He was sleeping when I phoned.
I was listening when he was speaking.

I will go to work tomorrow morning.
You are going to move to a new house next month.
He will not like the news.
She is going to start a new book.
She will stop playing soon.
When will you stop talking?

Are you happy?
Yes I am happy.
Why are you happy?
I am happy because I saw my friend.
Do you like your friend?
Yes I like my friend.

I don’t like that person.
He does not like reading.
That is not a good book.
He isn’t a happy person.
Don’t go!
I don’t want to go.

Why do you work?
I work in order to make money.
Why do you want to make money?
I need to make money in order to support my family.
Why do you talk so much?
I don’t think I talk too much.

……
Intermediate patterns:

When I visited Japan I ate a lot of raw fish.
Whenever I visit Japan, I always eat a lot of raw fish.
When I visit Japan, I always eat a lot of raw fish.
Whenever I sit in my car, I listen to my language lessons.
When I sat in Tom’s car, I fell asleep.
When I sit in cars, I often fall asleep.

He traveled from New York to Boston by train.
I got this present from him.
She was sick from Friday to Monday.
From here to there.
From my point of view, he is wrong.
He took money out of his bank account.

If I like a person, I will try to help him or her.
If I like people, I try to help them.
If he knew the whole story, he would be surprised.
If you are not happy at work, you should change jobs.
If you would only try harder, you would do better.
If they were studying so hard, why did they fail?

Even though you think you are right, I think you are wrong.
Even though you may like your work, I do not think you are doing a good job.
Although other people don’t agree, I just can’t accept this explanation.
Even though it is raining, I think we should still go for a walk.
Although it is still a little early, I think we should leave.
Let’s go home,…although, on the other hand, it is still early, so let’s stay.

Ever since he joined the company we had lots of trouble.
It has been cold since early November.
Ever since the new bridge was built we have had a lot of traffic here.
I have been studying German for four months, ever since August.
Since yesterday, I have been feeling sick.
Since when do you think you can just do what you want?

2

Cool idea Steve!

Can this help in other languages too?

3

Well I think it can. I find it difficult to focus on grammar explanations, especially if they are part of lessons. On the other hand if I can hear a summary list of the main patterns, listen to them over and over, I think this helps in my grasp of the language.

I am hoping we can build these for all languages. Why not add some patterns for English or suggest some that you would like to see in other languages. Let’s see if we can make this a joint project. Of course if people put these into our library, and if they are popular, which I think they will be, they can earn points by doing so.

4

Another good pattern might involve something like

I have school today.
I had school today.
I would go to school, but I have to work during the day.
I would have gone to school, but I missed the bus.
I would have had school, but the school caught on fire!
In May, I will have been in college almost two years.
By my next birthday, I will have had enough schooling to receive my degree.

Anything that goes through the tenses like that would be useful, I think. I would definitely welcome such a thing in German.

5

I think that different people can make these patterns in different ways. We can either go through the tenses or else just stay with one tense at a time. My preference is for lessons with patterns that repeat one just one pattern.

For going through the different tenses the “points of view” lessons that Alsuvi created for Spanish are excellent. A series of simple stories, where only the verb tense, or point of view, changes.

But this is up to each content creator. Go for it!

6

My name is Steve.
Her name is Mary.
We are happy.
He is a happy man.
They are young girls.
There are many young girls here.

This is the first pattern that came to mind? Is Mary a young girl and is that why Steve is happy? More importantly, what does Carmen think?

7

When you are a professional you do not notice these things. Shame on you “not”, for your thoughts and for trying to shame me-:slight_smile:

8

Ever since he joined the company we had lots of trouble."

I would use a different tense for the second part of the sentence.

“What do you eat for breakfast every day?” (I added a question mark.)

“Let’s go home,…although, on the other hand, it is still early, so let’s stay.”

I would use “on the other hand” without “although” here. I don’t see the need for it.

“Since yesterday, I have been feeling sick.”

I prefer this: “I have been feeling sick since yesterday.”

I don’t understand your remark about being a professional, Steve. I was joking, of course.

9

Of course you were joking and I had a good laugh. I was also joking and added a smile as you saw.

Re patterns, all corrections additions and revisions are welcome.

10

Oh, I saw the smile, but the shame is so great…

11

I offer my help with German.

@Commasplice: I read your text. It’s interesting. Funny is that two or three weeks ago I thougt about such short pieces of content demonstrating these structures :slight_smile: I just started to write some samples, but then other ideas comes to my mind and I worked on other texts. I’m sure I’ll come back to this idea later. If you send my examples (written in English) I’m willing to translate and record them and add them to the library.

12

Hi,

This thread reminds me an article Moses McCormick wrote at:
http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=18808&PN=1

I am not familiar with his tecnhique, but as far as I know he tries to learn the next expressions for every language he studies to get a basic foundation of the language:

(Who)

  • Who’s teaching you the language?
  • Who taught you the language?
  • Who did you learn the language from?
  • Who is your teacher?
    *And any other questions using ‘‘who’’

(What)

  • What is your name?
  • What’s your reason for learning the language?
  • What is your job?
  • What do you do?
  • What is your age?
  • What do you do in your spare time?
  • What does this mean?
  • What time is it?
  • What is today’s date?
  • What are your hobbies?
    *And any other questions using ‘‘what’’

(When)

  • When did you start learning the language?
  • When did you go to the country?
  • When will you go to the country?
    *And any other questions using ‘‘when’’

(Where)

  • Where are you from?
  • Where did you learn the language?
  • Where in the country have you been?
  • Where in the country will you go?
  • Where is your hometown?
  • Where do you want to go
    *And any other questions using ‘‘where’’

(Why)

  • Why are you interested in the language?
  • Why did you choose to learn the language?
  • Why do you think the language is interesting?
  • And any other questions using ‘‘why’’

(How)

  • How did you learn the language?
  • How long have you learned the language?
  • How much time do you spend studying the language?
  • How do you say(…)
  • How do you write (…)
  • How are you learning the language?
  • And any other questions using ‘‘how’’

(Which)

  • Which countries have you been to?
  • Which books are you using to learn the language?
  • Which city do you live in?
  • Which language you enjoy learning the most
  • Which languages are you learning?
    *And any other questions using ‘‘which’’

(What kind)

  • What kind of food do you like?
  • What kind of books are you using?
  • What kind of audio are you using for the language?
  • And any other questions using ‘‘what kind’’

Other important questions that will be asked:

(Have you ever been to the country?)
-Have you ever been to China before?

  • I’ve never been to China before, (but) (I’m sure) one day I will get the opportunity to go there.
    (Do you think the language is difficult?)
    (Do you think the language is difficult?)

ROAD RUNNING KEY WORDS:

Although, But, even if, if, when (when something occurs), and, now, other, told me,
Moreover, whenever, or, also, now, because, after, before, to think, very, is that so,
than, as long as, continue, still, probably, maybe, usually, sometimes, ok, I see, to make(make something happen) once in a while, always, especially, like this, like that, must, simply, Yet, feel, Hope that ,just, just(a minute ago), for example, as soon as, believe, with, at least, more and more, Most interesting of all, seems, I’m sure that, in order to, for me, more, the more…the, easiest-Most difficult (Superlative),too(excessive), also, in comparison to, certainly, in my opinion, to me, in my point of view, soon, as a matter of fact, honestly, Actually, already, Heard that, for sure, better (I’d better), about, even.

  • One should incorporate these key terms as much as possible with everything
    learned. Here’s a list of examples using them with interrogatives:
  • WHO’S TEACHING YOU THE LANGUAGE

I’m learning the language on my own (now), (but),(although) I’m learning on my
own, I don’t (think) it’s a difficult task. (As long as) I (continue) to work hard,I will be successful.

  • WHICH LANGUAGES ARE YOU LEARNING?

(Now) I’m learning Chinese (and) Japanese, (but) I will (probably) start learning (other)languages (because) I (Believe) learning (many) languages is very enriching. (Although) it (may) be difficult for an individual, (at least) the learning process will be fun.

13

I will try complete this list of what I consider to be the core patterns in English within a few days and ask for comments and corrections. It would be great if others would volunteer to translate these and do the same in their native language, including recording and loading the lessons. Ideally we will have more or less the same phrases in all languages.

If there are phrases that arise because they are a part of the core in other languages I would want to add them back into the English. Eventually we could have this “core” or “foundation” list for all languages, with the translation into the languages of the learners. It might even help to have the translation consist of the target language phrase and the native language phrase interspersed. This could then be printed and regularly reviewed.

I think that this “core” could be a place to start in a language and something to review regularly, both reading the list, and listening to the audio regularly. This should be like a summary of the key issues in a language, the core ways in which ideas are expressed. The vocabulary used should can be quite limited, since the regular content at LingQ or from elsewhere provide the opportunity to acquire vocabulary. This “core” is more about the patterns of the language.

This is a different project from the points of view approach that Alsuvi started for Spanish, Adalberto has now done for Italian, and which Vera is now preparing to do in German.

14

I’m a beginner and I like the idea of Steve on language patterns. Thanks to OscarP for his post. I’m going to use the information from OscarP and follow the advice of Steve on a regular review of language patterns.I think it’s very important for beginners don’t forget to repeat language patterns.

15

I like the idea Steve! That is, as far as I can see, how kids learn their native language. They hear a lot of repetition of the same or very similar ideas, using very similar language. Then they don’t have to study the rules of grammar, just get there head around the permissible variations on a theme.

When I was a kid, reading schemes were organised like that. You would get a Ladybird book with text like “Here is Peter. Here is Jane. Here are Peter and Jane. Look at Peter. Look at Jane. Look at Peter and Jane.” Then educators decided that that approach was tedious and they changed it.

Now that our little boy is learning to read, My husband has found him some of these 50-year old Ladybird books, and he loves the simple repetition!

By the way some kind soul has done some “verb pattern” lessons for the LingQ Japanese library. They are excellent, thank you very much! They have saved me from having to go and read a grammar book to see how verbs work.

16

I took Steve’s suggestions and translated them into German. I made some changes belonging to the order of the sentences and I built other groups of sentences. I’ve recorded and uploaded the lessons.
Here is the link to the collection:
http://www.lingq.com/learn/de/store/53931/

Here is the text. I hope my translation is proper, but I’m not sure.

01 Mein Name - German
Mein Name ist Anna.
Ihr Name ist Tina.
Sein Name ist Peter.
Tina ist glücklich.
Ich bin auch glücklich.
Wir sind glücklich.

English
My name is Anna.
Her name is Tina.
His name is Peter.
Tina is happy.
I’m happy, too.
We are happy.

02 Sie ist glücklich - German
Sie ist eine glückliche Frau.
Er ist ein glücklicher Mann.
Sie haben zwei Mädchen.
Laura und Marie sind klein.
Sie sind kleine Mädchen.
Es gibt hier viele kleine Mädchen.
Sie sind glücklich.

English
She is a happy woman.
He is a happy man.
They have two girls.
Laura and Marie are young.
They are young girls.
There are many young girls here.
They are happy.

03 Bist du glücklich? - German
Bist du glücklich?
Ja, ich bin glücklich.
Warum bist du glücklich?
Ich bin glücklich, weil ich meinen Freund sah.
Magst du deinen Freund?
Ja, ich mag meinen Freund.
Gehe nicht!
Ich will nicht gehen.

English
Are you happy?
Yes I am happy.
Why are you happy?
I am happy because I saw my friend.
Do you like your friend?
Yes I like my friend.
Don’t go!
I don’t want to go.

04 Ich habe ein Buch - German
Ich habe ein Buch.
Ich lese gern.
Ich lese jeden Tag.
Er hat auch ein Buch.
Wir lesen gerne.
Ich habe viel Zeit.
Ich lese viel.
Er hat wenig Zeit.
Er liest wenig.
Er liest beim Frühstück.

English
I have a book.
I like reading.
I read every day.
He has a book, too.
We like reading.
I have a lot of time.
I read a lot.
He has no time.
He reads a little.
He is reading during breakfast.

05 Ich mag ihn nicht - German
Ich mag diesen Menschen nicht.
Er mag Lesen nicht.
Er ist kein glücklicher Mensch.
Sie hat ein Buch in ihrer Tasche.
Es ist kein gutes Buch.
Sie mag Lesen.
Sie ist ein glücklicher Mensch.

English
I don’t like that person.
He does not like reading.
He isn’t a happy person.
She has a book in her bag.
That is not a good book.
She likes reading.
She is a happy person.

06 Frühstück - German
Was isst du jeden Tag zum Frühstück?
Ich mache morgens das Frühstück.
Jeden Morgen frühstücken wir.
Wir essen Brot.
Dann gehen wir zur Schule.

English
What do you eat for breakfast every day.
I make breakfast in the morning.
We eat breakfast every morning.
We eat bread.
We go to school then.

07 Was machst du gerade? - German
Was machst du gerade?
Ich lese gerade dieses Buch.
Was machst du jetzt?
Ich schreibe gerade.
Was schreibst du gerade?
Ich schreibe gerade einen Brief.
Er schreibt auch gerade einen Brief.
Wir schreiben beide gerade einen Brief.
Ihr schreibt beide gerade einen Brief.

English
What are you doing now?
I am reading this book now.
What are you doing now?
I am writing now.
What are you writing now?
I am writing a letter now.
He is also writing a letter now.
We both are writing a letter now.
You both are writing a letter now.

08 Warum arbeitest du? - German
Warum arbeitest du?
Um Geld zu verdienen.
Warum willst du Geld verdienen?
Ich brauche Geld, um meine Familie zu ernähren.
Warum redest du so viel?
Ich glaube nicht, dass ich zu viel rede.
Du hast viel Arbeit zu erledigen.
Es gibt viel Arbeit zu erledigen.

English
Why do you work?
I work in order to make money.
Why do you want to make money?
I need to make money in order to support my family.
Why do you talk so much?
I don’t think I talk too much.
You have a lot of work to do.
There is a lot of work to do.

09 Dein Freund - German
Wann hast du deinen Freund besucht?
Ich habe meinen Freund letzte Woche besucht.
Was hat er gemacht?
Er schaute die ganze Zeit Fußball am Fernseher.
Gestern ging er im Regen zur Arbeit.
Wann hat es geschneit?
Es schneite die ganze letzte Woche.

English
When did you visit your friend?
I visited my friend last week.
What was he doing?
He watched the football game on television.
He walked to work in the rain yesterday.
When did it snow?
It snowed all last week.

10 Wann hast du Fernsehen geschaut? - German
Wann hast du Fernsehen geschaut?
Ich habe am Abend Fernsehen geschaut.
Was hast du gestern gemacht als ich anrief?
Gestern war ich arbeiten als du anriefst.
Was hat Peter getan als du telefoniertest?
Er hat geschlafen als ich telefonierte.
Dann hat Peter telefoniert.
Ich habe zugehört als er gesprochen hat.

English
When were you watching television?
I was watching television in the evening.
What were you doing yesterday when I called?
I was working yesterday when you called.
What was Peter doing when you phoned?
He was sleeping when I phoned.
Then Peter phoned.
I was listening when he was speaking.

11 Zur Arbeit gehen - German
Morgen werde ich zur Arbeit gehen.
Nächsten Monat wirst du in ein neues Haus ziehen.
Er wird die Nachrichten nicht mögen.
Sie wird mit einem neuen Buch beginnen.
Sie wird bald mit spielen aufhören.
Wann wirst du mit dem reden aufhören?

English
I will go to work tomorrow morning.
You are going to move to a new house next month.
He will not like the news.
She is going to start a new book.
She will stop playing soon.
When will you stop talking?

17

@Vera
Das ist genial Vera!
Es ist einfach unglaublich, was Du alles machst für Lingq.
Ich bewundere Dich!
Manchmal frage ich mich ,ob Dein Tag mehr als 24 Stunden hat!!!
Du hast einen unglaublichen Power!!
Vielen ,vielen Dank!!
Wenn Deutsch nicht meine Muttersprache wäre,würde ich sofort mit Lernen beginnen!
Deine Lektionen sind einfach super!
Bis bald! jolanda

18

Jolanda hat bereits alles gesagt!

19

Thank you, both of you. Such nice comments are what motivates me to continue.
No, my day hasn’t more than 24 hours. But today we had Blizzard ice (Blitzeis), and I wasn’t able to go to my job. So I took a day off work. (I have a plus of hours)

20

I like the language patterns suggestions. They would be good for reviewing a language, too. I enjoyed reading the German ones. I’m concentrating on French and just don’t have much time to work on German right now.

Vera, it seems like this is the week for stormy winter weather. I live on the northern edge of the central section of the U.S. that received so much snow this week. Although we did get some snow, it wasn’t that bad, and I’m glad the sun is shining today. Perhaps the snow will melt soon!