A Look Back at 2021: Grammar and the Passing Seasons

As 2021 comes to an end, we leave behind a wonderful year of English grammar.

This year, we explored many areas – adjectives, phrasal verbs, determiners and more.

We also explored many areas of popular culture – films, songs, and even sports.

But one theme stood out this past year: the passing of the seasons.

With the changing seasons – and the passing of days – the Everyday Grammar team explored the connections between grammar and time.

As 2021 comes to an end, let's explore how the passing seasons played an important part in our programming this year.

Spring

With the arrival of Spring in 2021, the Everyday Grammar team wrote about phrasal verbs with the term spring.

Examples included spring on, spring from, and spring up.

All of these phrasal verbs have different meanings. But the central point of that report was to show you how these phrasal verbs – and the noun spring, the season – carry or suggest the idea of a beginning, growth, movement or change.

Summer

In North America's summer months, we did three reports that had some connection with the season. These included verbs and summer weather, grammar for rest and relaxation, and grammar for planning summer trips.

In terms of verbs, linking verbs played an important part in the way we taught how to describe summer weather.

These linking verbs included feel, look, and get, as in "It feels humid," "The clouds look scary," or "It's getting hot."

In our grammar and relaxation report, we explored the structure have + a noun phrase, as in "have lunch," "have plans," or "have a blast," meaning to have a lot of fun.

And in our planning summer trips report, we explored how Americans talk about future time – will and be going to.

Autumn

The seasonal change to autumn, also known as fall, gave the Everyday Grammar team a chance to explore descriptions. Descriptions are important for autumn: It is a time of wonderful colors, cooler temperatures, and tasty seasonal treats.

We explored adjectives, noun phrases and determiners. We taught how to create descriptions of a happy fall day.

Winter

As our year comes to an end, you might wonder about our current season in the United States: winter.

Winter is a time of cold temperatures, grey skies, and yet warm feelings and celebrations such as Christmas and the New Year.

We will end this report with a question for our readers and listeners around the world. If you had to connect the winter season with a subject within grammar, what subject would that be? Why?

The Everyday Grammar team connected spring with phrasal verbs, summer with linking verbs, and fall with adjectives. But what about winter?

Let us know what you think in the comments section of our website. And have a safe, healthy, and happy 2022.

I'm John Russell.

John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

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determiner – n. grammar : a word (such as "a," "the," "some," "any," "my," or "your") that comes before a noun and is used to show which thing is being referred to

theme – n. a particular subject or issue that is discussed often or repeatedly

relaxation – n. a way to rest and enjoy yourself