Abstract: Techniques are described for an automated grammar teaching system that displays sentences and allows a user to identify preposition errors within the sentences, if any. The sentences may be presented as single sentences or as part of a paragraph. The user may be asked to determine whether the sentences are correct or incorrect, to identify the locations of missing or incorrect prepositions, to provide a new correct preposition, and to identify a correct preposition usage category for the new preposition. To guide the user, an incorrect user response may trigger the display of remediation information, which may include identifying one or more grammar elements of the sentences that are relevant to identifying the preposition errors. New sentences in the teaching system may be selected based on historical data maintained for the user.

Abstract: Techniques are described for an automated grammar teaching system that displays sentences and allows a user to identify comma errors within the sentences, if any. The sentences may be presented as a set of sentences or a paragraph. When presented as a set, the sentences may employ similar or contrasting sentence structures to emphasize the application of the comma rules. The user may be asked to determine whether the sentences are correct or incorrect, to identify the locations of missing or extraneous commas, and in a sentence with a coordinating conjunction, to determine whether the conjunction joins two independent clauses. To guide the user, multi-level hints may be provided on request, and an incorrect user response may trigger the display of remediation information or a just-in-time hint. New sentences in the teaching system may be selected based on historical data maintained for the user.

Abstract: A grammar teaching system provides adaptive practice to build students' grammar skills with respect to verb tense errors. The system displays a sentence to a user, and allows the user to identify the locations of verbs within the sentence and tenses of the identified verbs. The system reinforces correct designations of verbs using visual cues. If a user incorrectly identifies a term as a verb within a sentence, then the system displays information to help the user understand the nature of the incorrectly designated term. The system allows the user to determine whether the sentence includes a verb tense error and to select a particular verb in the sentence to replace in order to correct any verb tense error. The system allows the user to obtain help in correcting a verb tense error by providing optional tasks that step the user through the reasoning needed to correct the error.