What is “grammar,” really?

“What is ‘grammar’?” series: Part 1

Everyone is familiar with the term “grammar,” but in its everyday usage, its definition and scope are often loose and inconsistent—and, as such, not very helpful to us if we want to learn a foreign language with as much clarity and precision as possible.

However, linguists are scholars who study language scientifically, and, to them, the term “grammar” has a consistent definition and scope that they apply across the board.

If we were to use a basic understanding of the science of language to inform our foreign language learning, we must start by clarifying what “grammar” really is.

So, what exactly is “grammar” to linguists?

Simply put, “grammar” is the set of systematic rules that bind a language, regulating how its elements, i.e. words, can be combined to form longer units and, thereby, express infinite meaning.

Every language is bound by its own set of systematic rules—by its own “grammar.”

The key concept to understand about grammar in the scientific sense is that it is “systematic.” What does “systematic” mean?

“Systematic” means that these rules are applied universally to all sentences (or parts of sentences, like phrases) produced in that language in the same way.

If a “systematic” rule applies to one sentence with a certain set of conditions, the same rule must also apply to another sentence with the same set of conditions.

As a simplified example, a “systematic” rule in English grammar is that words called “prepositions” form longer phrases with nouns (or units that function as nouns):

✓ I went there with my friend.

(“with” is a preposition; “my friend” is a noun phrase)

Because this rule is a “systematic” rule of English grammar, it would always apply as long as the conditions are the same:

✓ I did this for him.

✓ The car was parked by the curb.

(“for” and “by” are prepositions; “him” and “the curb” are nouns)

If we understand this rule and know that it “systematically” applies to English sentences, we would naturally know that any unit formed by a preposition with a non-noun is incorrect. For example:

X I am saving some money by book online*.

Since “book online” is not a noun phrase, we cannot use it to form a longer unit with the preposition “by”, as this would violate a “systematic” rule of English grammar.

If we understand this, we would not need a teacher or someone else to point out to us that “by book online*” is incorrect in English grammar.

With this simple knowledge, not only would we be able to tell that “by book online*” is incorrect in English grammar, we would also find it clearer to learn why, in order form a unit with a preposition and an “action,” we must first turn the verb representing that action into a noun:

✓ I am saving some money by booking online.

In English grammar, verbs turn into noun forms when we add the ending “-ing” to them. This is also a “systematic” rule—that means it is applied to all verbs.

As such, “booking online” has now been turned into a noun phrase, and “by booking online” is now a unit that conforms to the systematic rules of English grammar.

The examples above are not meant to explain these particular rules of English grammar but rather to illustrate the crucial point that grammar, in the sense of Linguistics, is systematic.

Understanding the systematic nature of grammar allows us to—no surprise!—learn it more systematically and effectively as well.

"What is 'grammar'?": part 2

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