Easy Grammar with Hamsters, or Welcome to GrammArea!

To MGs with love and gratitude.

To Masha, who is much better at poetry than me, and Katya, a real wizard of illustration, and Dina, the most patient sister in the whole wide world.

Hello, my friend! Me and my friends-hamsters are glad to meet you! Now we are ready to start our wonderful journey, only please have in mind what the following words mean:

Talk! – Answer the given questions, talk about yourself, etc.

Play! – Let’s play a game!

Note! – Read the given rule and try to memorize it.

Zoo! – Stories, exercises and poems about Homya from the Zoo and his friends.

Look at the picture below, my friend. Can you see the two hamsters? Their names are Hammy and Homiq. They are good old friends. They like travelling very much.

Talk! Do you like hamsters, my friend? What pets do you like best? Do you like travelling? What country would you like to travel to? Is it a magic country? What do you like most about it?

There is a place Homiq and Hammy want to visit very much. It’s called GrammArea and it’s a magic country! Wherever you go there, you learn magic words and become a Magician in the end. Let’s travel with our friends and do magic together!

We start with the Hymn of GrammArea which should take us there! Homiq and Hammy know it by heart:

The Hymn of GrammArea

GrammArea! GrammArea!

That’s where we want to be!

GrammArea! GrammArea!

All hamsters here are free!

We come to you, GrammArea,

And go until the end!

Meet me in GrammArea

And let me be your friend!

Now you need to think about someone who would like to travel with you, Hammy and Homiq. It can be anyone whom you like best, for example, your pet – a cat, a dog, a parrot or a goldfish. Let’s call him or her – Your Magic Friend and he (she) will travel with us everywhere!

Now wave your magic wand and say the spell:

One, two, three – travel with me!

By car or by bus – travel with us!

Where are Hammy and Homiq? They are on the lawn in front of a house. They are delighted that the magic hymn works! Can you draw your Magic Friend and yourself near the house in the picture below?

Talk! Would you like to live in a city or in a village? What do you like best – country-houses or flats? Why?

Now that we’re here, let’s look around! There’s something written on the house. Probably, it’s the first magic words! Let’s say them together! PRESENT SIMPLE! What does it mean? Hammy thinks that the owners of the house have got a Simple Present for us! What else can it be? Let’s find out!

There are six hamsters in front of the house. Maybe, they will teach us magic! Look at the picture below.

Can you say the hamsters’ names out loud? Which hamster do you like best? What do they hold in their paws? Why? We may find the answer if we ask the hamsters.

– Our names are Always, Often, Sometimes, Never, Every Day and Usually. We live in Present Simple. We are very busy. We do SIMPLE things in PRESENT. We’d like to share our favourite poem with you.

Hamsters’ Present Simple poem

From day to day, from day to day

We always, always do the same!

I always wash the dishes!

I often wash the floor!

I never go to market!

I sometimes close the door!

I find the way to the bay every day, every day!

And I usually eat the lunch: crunch-crunch, crunch-crunch!

Do you like this poem, my friend?

Now let’s see how often the hamsters really do what they talk about. Look attentively at the table below. It’s actually the hamsters’ weekly schedule! Do you have a schedule, by the way?

Play! Now tick the things in the box below, which YOU do always, often, never and so on. Then read it out loud, for example: I always help my Mom. You can add your own ideas here:

Note! As you see, we use Present Simple to talk about things or actions that we do always, usually, every day, sometimes, from day to day and so on. So, they happen quite regularly: