Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just speak and write as you like, without having to learn the rules of grammar?

When you have something to express, you want to express it accurately, don’t you? You don’t want to be misunderstood. If everybody spoke and wrote perfect English, and everything you heard and read was expressed in perfect, accurate English, you probably wouldn’t have to study grammar! Grammar teaches you what corrections to make in your speech and writing and why the corrections should be made. And the study of grammar helps you improve the way you express yourself by using English which is accurate, clear, varied, and interesting.

Correct grammar differs, of course, according to the language. Even the basic principles of grammar are different for different languages. But it goes beyond that. Language is a living thing, changing with the years. When certain forms of speech are “worn out,” they are thrown away and no longer used. When the needs of people change, the grammar changes.

In other words, grammar grows and changes, and there is no such thing as correct use of English for the past, the present, and the future. For example, in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, there is the line: “The door is broke.” Today, only an uneducated person would say, “My arm is broke.” Yet this would have been correct in Shakespeare’s time!

All the words that man has invented are divided into eight classes, which are called parts of speech. These are: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. By studying grammar, you learn how to use each of these correctly and effectively.

Grammar may seem like a nuisance to study, but it will help you to express yourself better and more accurately.