The word grammar came from the Latin word "grammatical" which is derived from the Greek word

"grammatikos" meaning "of letters". The first use of the word grammar in English was in 1530, and it
was used to describe the study of language. In the 1600s, grammar began to be used to refer to the
rules of a language. Grammar is one of the three liberal arts know as the "Trivium". The Trivium consists
of grammar, logic and rhetoric. Ancient Greeks considered grammar, logic and rhetoric as the
foundation of any person's education. In other words, a person's power comes from these skills. Trivium
writing was founded to bring attention to the Trivium.

A common contemporary definition of grammar is the underlying structure of a language that any
native speaker of that language knows intuitively. The systematic description of the features of a
language is also a grammar. These features are the phonology (sound), morphology (system of word
formation), syntax (patterns of word arrangement), and semantics (meaning). Depending on the
grammarian’s approach, a grammar can be prescriptive (i.e., provide rules for correct usage), descriptive
(i.e., describe how a language is actually used), or generative (i.e., provide instructions for the
production of an infinite number of sentences in a language). The traditional focus of inquiry has been
on morphology and syntax, and for some contemporary linguists (and many traditional grammarians)
this is the only proper domain of the subject. Grammar, rules of a language governing the sounds,
words, sentences, and other elements, as well as their combination and interpretation.

The word grammar also denotes the study of these abstract features or a book presenting these
rules. Grammar is the combination of how individual words and sounds are combined to express
meaning (Bates et al, 1992). Grammar rules guide how words are combined to communicate
information. Grammar includes morphology and syntax. Morphology focuses on the structure within the
word, and allows for the creation of complex words and phrases. For example, many words can be made
plural by adding “s” to the end of a word (e.g., bird and birds). Morphemes are the smallest units of
language that contain meaning. Some prefixes and suffixes of words contain their own meaning, such as
“un” or “ing” in the words, “undo,” “untie,” or “doing,” “tying.”

There are four areas in the study of language; these are the phonology, the grammar, the semantics and
the pragmatics.

Phonology

Phonology is the ability to distinguish and create the sounds of language (Bloom & Lahey, 1978).
Phonemes are the smallest units of language, representing individual sounds. For example, the word
“chip” has three phonemes: /ch/ /i/ /p/. Each of these three sounds is a phoneme. A phoneme focuses
on the sound only, without regard for the letter or letter combinations. It is simply the components of
sound that we hear in language.

Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning, including vocabulary (Bates et al., 1992). Semantics may focus on the
significance of an individual word or the meaning of particular words in the context of an entire
sentence. As an illustration, the word “friend” may be a noun, as in “I have a friend.” Friend may also be
a verb when speaking about social media, “I will friend you.” The meanings have some similarities,
representing a connection to another person, but the usage creates a difference in whether we are
speaking about the actual person or speaking about the connection to the person.

Grammar

Grammar is concern on the structure of a language consisting of two major parts namely: Syntax and
Morphology.Grammar explains the forms and structure of words (called morphology) and how they are
arranged in sentences (called syntax). In other words, grammar provides the rules for common use of
both spoken and written language so we can more easily understand each other.

It is the syntax that specifies how words are combined into the sentences.

The syntax rule is to allow us to make variations in word order allowing us to say what we want without
limitation.

Morphology is concern in the study of the smallest unit of meaning in language, called as morphemes
(prefixes, suffixes and root words).It also deals on how these small units of meaning are combined
properly.Part of the language’s morphological system are the rules for altering root words, produces
plurals, past tense, inflections and others.

Pragmatics

Pragmatics is the social or transactional use of language, including context of the conversation. It
encompasses not just what we say, but how we say it and to whom (Bates et al, 1992). Pragmatics
includes rules of courtesy, turn taking, and the practical aspect of communication. Knowing that you
should answer a question when a question is asked, is an example of pragmatics. Another instance
would be knowing that one should stay silent in particular situations or stay on topic during a
conversation. Using different communicative styles that suit different language partners is a key
component of pragmatics. One may greet a friend by saying, “Hey!” But, one greets a boss by saying,
“Good morning.”

The building blocks of grammar are the eight parts of speech:

Verbs express actions, events, or states of being.

Nouns name a person, animal, place, thing, or abstract idea.

Pronouns take the place of nouns or another pronoun.

Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns by describing, identifying, or quantifying them. An adjective

Prepositions link nouns, pronouns, and phrases to other words in a sentence and usually indicate a
relationship of time, space, or logic.

Conjunctions link words, phrases, and clauses.

Interjections are added to a sentence to convey emotion and are usually followed by an exclamation
point.

Every complete sentence has two parts: a subject (who or what the sentence is about) and a predicate
(what the subject is doing). The subject is a noun or a pronoun; the predicate is a verb. To identify the
subject of a sentence, find the verb and ask who or what. The answer is the subject.

Modifiers, phrases, and clauses add information about the subject and predicate and make the writing
more interesting and clear. A single word acting as an adjective or adverb is called a modifier; two or
more words without a subject and predicate and acting as an adjective or adverb is called a phrase; and
two or more words acting as an adjective or adverb and having a subject and predicate is a clause.

Whether single words, phrases, or clauses, modifiers should appear close to the word or words they
modify, especially if the reader might mistake what is being modified. Here is an example of a misplaced
modifier:

John could read the sign easily written in French.

In this example, it is unclear whether the adverb easily is meant to modify the way John reads the sign
or how it is written. By moving the modifier closer to the word it is modifying, the meaning becomes
clear:

John could easily read the sign written in French.

Clauses are the basic building blocks of sentences. When a sentence is formed by a single clause, it is
known as a simple sentence. Simple sentences are the most common type for spoken language, but can
make writing seem childish. Simple sentences can be made more interesting and informative by adding
modifiers and can be effective for attracting the reader’s attention when used sparingly.

Two or more clauses that are joined by a conjunction such as and, but, and, or form a compound
sentence. Compound sentences create balance or contrast between thoughts, ideas, or information of
equal importance:

Simple sentences: Molly and Emily live near each other. They are best friends.

Compound sentence: Molly and Emily live near each other, and they are best friends.
A complex sentence contains an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses that are not
equal. A complex sentence is different from a simple sentence or compound sentence because it
develops a central idea, provides background information, and clearly identifies the most important
thought.

Complex sentence: Even if Molly and Emily did not live near each other, they would still be best friends
due to their many common interests.

There are three forms of grammar: prescriptive, descriptive, and structural styles, yet, none is superior
to the others. There is no single effective method of teaching English grammar; all grammar styles have
a special role to play.Prescriptive grammar is based on the premise that everything is in black and white.
It is followed by preordained rules on how English should be and will be spoken and taught (Chambers
1).

As a rule, when English is taught in the classroom, it is taught in the prescriptive grammar form.
Prescriptive grammar focuses on the traditional language structure. This tends to ignore the fact that
language should be about communication but not rules. Descriptive grammar is a recent form of
grammar. Instead of focusing on rules and sentence structures, descriptive grammar focuses on a day-
to-day usage. It is a constantly evolving form of grammar. It enables both teachers and learners to look
at grammar in the context of either country or region of origin.

Descriptive grammar experts look at how language is used and then try to come up with rules and
regulations inherent in the language (Pullum, “Power and linguistics” 12). Structural grammar is based
on the analysis of a language structure. Like the anthropologists studying the speech of Native
Americans, the structuralists also recognize the importance of describing language on its own terms
(Kolln and Robert 46).

These 5 key principles of English grammar are:

1. WORD ORDER

As an analytic language, English uses word order to determine the relationship between different words.
In a basic declarative statement, the subject should always come first, the verb-second, and the objects
and adverbial phrases (if any) third.

Examples:

The farmer is leading a cow.

The child is playing with a Superman toy.

Changing this basic order changes the meaning of the sentences:

The cow farmer is leading.

A cow is leading the farmer.

The Superman child is playing with a toy.

2. PUNCTUATION

In written English, punctuation is used to signify pauses, intonation, and stress words. These punctuation
marks are commas, periods, question marks, exclamation points, semicolons, colons, dashes, hyphens,
brackets, braces, parentheses, apostrophes, ellipsis, and quotation marks.

Punctuation can completely alter the meaning of a sentence, as in these examples:

He came home!

He came home?

Let's cook, Garry!

Let's cook Garry!

3. TENSE AND ASPECT

Tenses signify whether a statement refers to the present, the past, or the future by applying parameters
to verbs. Likewise, aspect shows whether a statement refers to one single instant action, a regular or
repeated action, or an ongoing or progressive action or state.

Here's how tenses can completely change a sentence:

I'm a police officer.

I was a police officer.

She's drinking wine.

She drinks wine.

I'll watch that show.

I watched that show.

4. DETERMINERS

Since nouns can rarely stand on their own without prior context, determiners such as "which", "how
many", "what", "my", and so on are needed to give them meaning. Using determiners correctly is
essential in order to form meaningful questions or statements.
Here are some examples of determiners in action:

My wife.

His wife.

The restaurant over there.

The corner restaurant.

5. CONNECTORS

As their name suggests, connectors "connect" phrases, words, or clauses to one another. They can
express subordination (if, who, that, when, because, although), coordination (but, and, yet, nor), or
correlation (either, or, both, and) between the units they link.

Examples of subordination:

She's a programmer who lives in San Diego.

He wears a uniform because he's a policeman.

Examples of correlation:

You can pick either the yellow or the white dress.

We can either travel tonight or tomorrow.

Examples of coordination:

I enjoy eating popcorn and drinking soda.

I enjoy eating popcorn and drinking soda, but I don't like beer and pretzels.

Grammar is an essential part of learning English. It is the foundation for speaking and understanding
English. Learners need to know English grammar rules to use the language appropriately. Grammar is
the study of words, their structure, and function. It is essential to learn grammar because it helps
learners understand the English language better. Grammar also enables them to understand how
sentences are formed. It also allows them to write good essays and articles that can be understood by
people who do not know much about grammar. Grammar is also used in everyday life when discussing
something that happened or will happen in the future.

In conclusion, The primary purpose of grammar is to improve the speaking and writing skills of the
learner. In addition, grammar can help them become a better communicator. Grammar studies the rules
and structure of language, including parts of speech, sentence structure, and punctuation. Learning
grammar is essential because it helps one communicate clearly and effectively with others in any
situation. The key to good grammar is consistency, ensuring that the writing follows a uniform set of
rules. For example, if learners want to use a single quote mark to emphasize something, follow that style
throughout the text. If they use double quotes instead, ensure that’s the punctuation mark they use
throughout the text consistently

Reference.