What is English Grammar?
Grammar is the system of a language.
People sometimes describe grammar as the "rules"
of a language; but in fact no language has rules. If we use
the word "rules", we suggest that somebody created
the rules first and then spoke the language, like a new game.
But languages did not start like that. Languages started by
people making sounds which evolved into words, phrases and
sentences. No commonly-spoken language is fixed. All languages
change over time. What we call "grammar" is simply
a reflection of a language at a particular time.
Do we need to study grammar
to learn a language? The short answer is "no".
Very many people in the world speak their own, native language
without having studied its grammar. Children start to speak
before they even know the word "grammar". But if
you are serious about learning a foreign language, the long
answer is "yes, grammar can help you to learn a language
more quickly and more efficiently." It's important to
think of grammar as something that can help you, like a friend.
When you understand the grammar (or system) of a language,
you can understand many things yourself, without having to
ask a teacher or look in a book.
So think of grammar as something good, something positive,
something that you can use to find your way - like a signpost
or a map.
Glossary
of English Grammar Terms Click Here
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