Grammar I

What is Grammar?

Grammar: The study or use of rules about how words change their form and combine wit
other words to make sentences.
Cambridge dictionary

Grammar: the set of rules the that describe the structure of a language and control the way
that sentences are formed.
Macmillan dictionary.

Introduction to Grammar
Grammar is used to refer to a number of different things: it can be used to refer to books that
contain descriptions of the structure of a language; it can be used to refer to the knowledge
that a native speaker has of his or her language and to descriptions of that knowledge; it can
be used to refer to a set of rules developed to control certain aspects of the usage of native
speakers; and it can be used to refer to a set of rules typically taught in school about
“appropriate usage” and about writing. We’re concerned with two of these kinds of grammars:
descriptive grammar which has as its goal a description of the usage of native speakers of a
language, and prescriptive grammar which has as its goal to control the usage of native
speakers of a language.

“A descriptive grammar is a study of a language, its structure, and its rules as they are used in
daily life by its speakers from all walks of life, including standard and nonstandard varieties. A
prescriptive grammar, on the other hand, specifies how a language and its grammar rules
should be used. A prescriptivist view of language implies a distinction between “good
grammar” and “bad grammar,” and its primary focus is on standard forms of grammar and
syntactic constructions.”

Prescriptive grammar describes when people focus on talking about how a

language should or ought to be used. One way to remember this association is to think of
going to a doctor’s office. When a doctor gives you a prescription for medication, it often
includes directions about how you should take your medication as well as what you should not
do when taking your medication. In a similar way, a prescriptive grammar tells you how you
should speak, and what type of language to avoid. This is commonly found in English classes as
well as other language classes, where the aim is to teach people how to use language in a very
particular (typically described as ‘proper’ or ‘correct’) way.

Descriptive grammar, on the other hand, focuses on describing the language as it is used, not
saying how it should be used. For example, think about a prescriptive rule like Don’t split
infinitives. A descriptive grammarian would see a sentence like “To boldly go where no man
has gone before” and would try to describe how the mental grammar can cause that ordering
of words, rather than saying that the surface form is faulty due to prescriptive rules (which
would require the sentence “To go boldly where no man has gone before”). Linguistics takes
this approach to language.

A key contrast is to be found between these two approaches. A descriptive grammarian would
say that a sentence is “grammatical” if a native speaker of the language would produce that
sentence in speaking. The descriptive grammarian would then try to describe how that
sentence is produced through theorizing about the mental processes that lead up to the
surface form. A prescriptive grammarian, on the other hand, would say that something is
grammatical only if the surface form conforms to a set of rules that the grammarian believes
should be followed in order for a certain grammar style is achieved. (Note that I have tried to
emphasize that the descriptive grammarian hears a form and tries to describe the mental
processes underneath the produced (spoken) form, while a prescriptive grammarian does not
hypothesize about the mental grammar at all, but is merely concerned with ‘editing’ the
surface form.)

Amy Reynolds

Linguistics PhD student, UNC-Chapel Hill

English Grammar
Grammar refers to the way words are used, classified, and structured together to form
coherent written or spoken communication. This guide takes a traditional approach to
teaching English grammar, breaking the topic into three fundamental elements: Parts of
Speech, Inflection, and Syntax. Each of these is a discrete, individual part, but they
are all intrinsically linked together in meaning.

Parts of Speech
In the first part of the guide, we will look at the basic components of English—words. The parts
of speech are the categories to which different words are assigned, based on their meaning,
structure, and function in a sentence. We’ll look in great detail at the seven main parts of
speech—nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions—as well
as other categories of words that don’t easily fit in with the rest, such as particles, determiners,
and gerunds. By understanding the parts of speech, we can better understand how (and why)
we structure words together to form sentences.

Inflection
Although the parts of speech provide the building blocks for English, another very important
element is inflection, the process by which words are changed in form to create new, specific
meanings. There are two main categories of inflection: conjugation and declension.
Conjugation refers to the inflection of verbs, while declension refers to the inflection of nouns,
pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Whenever we change a verb from the present tense to the
past tense, for example, we are using conjugation. Likewise, when we make a noun plural to
show that there is more than one of it, we are using declension.

Syntax
The third and final part of the guide will focus on syntax, the rules and patterns that govern
how we structure sentences. The grammatical structures that constitute syntax can be thought
of as a hierarchy, with sentences at the top as the largest cohesive unit in the language and
words (the parts of speech) at the bottom. We’ll begin the third part by looking at the basic
structural units present in all sentences—subjects and predicates—and progressively move on
to larger classes of structures, discussing modifiers, phrases, and clauses. Finally, we will end
by looking at the different structures and categories of sentences themselves. Using the three
parts together the best way to approach this guide is to think of it as a cross-reference of itself;
when you see a term or concept in one section that you’re unfamiliar with, check the other
sections to find a more thorough explanation. Neither parts of speech nor inflection nor syntax
exist as truly separate units; it’s equally important to examine and learn about the different
kinds of words, how they can change to create new meaning, and the guidelines by which they
are structured into sentences. When we learn to use all three parts together, we gain a much
fuller understanding of how to make our speech and writing not only proper, but
natural and effective.

Parts of Speech
The parts of speech are the primary categories of words according to their function in a
sentence. English has seven main parts of speech. We’ll look at a brief overview of each
below; continue on to their individual chapters to learn more about them.

Nouns
Nouns are words that identify or name people, places, or things. Nouns can function as the
subject of a clause or sentence, an object of a verb, or an object of a preposition. Words like
cat, book, table, girl, and plane are all
nouns.
Pronouns
Pronouns are words that represent nouns (people, places, or things). Grammatically, pronouns
are used in the same ways as nouns; they can function as subjects or objects. Common
pronouns include I, you, she, him, it, everyone, and somebody.
Verbs
Verbs are words that describe the actions—or states of being—of people, animals, places, or
things. Verbs function as the root of what’s called the predicate, which is required (along with
a subject) to form a complete sentence; therefore, every sentence must include at least one
verb. Verbs include action words like run, walk, write, or sing, as well as words
describing states of being, such as be, seem, feel, or sound.
Adjectives
Adjectives are words that modify (add description to) nouns and(occasionally) pronouns. They
can be a part of either the subject or the predicate. Common adjectives are red, blue, fast,
slow, big, tall, and wide.
Adverbs
Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or even entire clauses.
Depending on what they modify (and how), adverbs can appear anywhere in the sentence.
Adverbs are commonly formed from adjectives by adding “-ly” to the end, as in slowly, quickly,
widely, beautifully, or commonly.
Prepositions
Prepositions are words that express a relationship between a noun or pronoun (known as the
object of the preposition) and another part of the sentence. Together, these form
prepositional phrases, which can function as adjectives or as adverbs in a sentence. Some
examples of prepositional phrases are: on the table, in the shed, and across the field. (The
prepositions are in bold.)
Conjunctions
Conjunctions are words that connect other words, phrases, or clauses, expressing a specific
kind of relationship between the two (or more) elements. The most common conjunctions are
the coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet.
Other Parts of Speech
In addition to the seven parts of speech above, there are several other groupings of words that
do not neatly fit into any one specific category—particles, articles, determiners, gerunds, and
interjections. Many of these share characteristics with one or more of the seven primary
categories. For example, determiners are similar in many ways to adjectives, but they are not
completely the same, and most particles are identical in appearance to prepositions but have
different grammatical functions. Because they are harder to classify in comparison to the
seven primary categories above, they’ve been grouped together in this guide under the
general category Other Parts of Speech.

Complete English Grammar, Peter Herring