(a) Grammatical Construction
This process consists in memorizing ‘dictionary words’ (the infinitives of verbs, the nominative singular of nouns, the masculine nominative singular of adjectives, etc.) and of forming sentences from them (with or without the intervention of translation) by means of applying the various rules of accidence, syntax, derivation, and composition.
The following is a typical example of the process. An English student wishes to form as constructed matter the German sentence: Ich habe mit grösstem Vergnügen seinen freundlichen Vorschlag angenommen, from the previously memorized units ich, haben, mit, gross, Vergnügen, sein, freundlich, Vorschlag, annehmen. Besides having to determine (in accordance with rules of word-order) the relative position of the nine primary units, he has to perform the twelve following operations:
(1) Choose the appropriate form of the pronoun of the first person singular.
(2) Choose the appropriate tense of the verb annehmen.
(3) Derive the present tense first person singular form of haben.
(4) Determine the case governed by the preposition mit.
(5) Derive the superlative form of the adjective gross.
(6) Determine the gender of the noun Vergnügen.
(7) Derive the masculine dative singular form of the superlative adjective grösst—when not preceded by a determinative.