Grammar: A Way of Thinking About Language
Grammar: Like formal logic, grammar is a method of critical thinking. It allows us to build good sentences that are consistent and logically valid.
Grammar lets us think about language by giving us names for different kinds of words and for the different ways that words represent our thoughts and feelings. Without grammar, we can't discuss language problems, compare writing styles, or resolve language dilemmas, and it is more difficult to sort ideas into clear and distinct groups of words. For these reasons, grammar is fascinating and worthwhile.
Punctuation is a Function of Grammar: Punctuation is the art of marking the four levels of grammar so that written ideas and parts of ideas do not become confusing. In other words, when we punctuate, we separate the groups of grammar from each other. Since it is grammar we punctuate, it is impossible to punctuate unless we first see the grammatical structures, such as phrases, subordinate clauses, and compound sentences. You can't punctuate a introductory adverb clause if you don't know it's there.
Four Levels of Grammar: We will approach grammar in four approaches or levels. They are the parts of speech, parts of sentence, phrases, and clauses. When we analyze the grammar of a sentence, that is what we do: a four-level analysis.
These four levels give us four different views of each sentence. The parts of speech level shows us each word, one at a time, asking, "What is the word doing?" The parts of sentence level shows us the architecture of the idea, asking, "What is being said about what?" The phrase level shows us the little groups of words in the sentence, groups that pretend to be a single part of speech, asking "What part of speech is this group of words doing?' And the clause level shows us whether or not more than one idea is drawn into the sentence's design, asking "How may different ideas are connected together in this sentence?"
If you have ever had the sinking feeling that grammar is an endless subject, you should notice a secret (shhhhh): most grammar books are thick only because they are packed with hundreds of pages of exercises. The actual content of grammar it tiny. It is very learnable.
Grammar lets us think about language by giving us names for different kinds of words and for the different ways that words represent our thoughts and feelings. Without grammar, we can't discuss language problems, compare writing styles, or resolve language dilemmas, and it is more difficult to sort ideas into clear and distinct groups of words. For these reasons, grammar is fascinating and worthwhile.
Punctuation is a Function of Grammar: Punctuation is the art of marking the four levels of grammar so that written ideas and parts of ideas do not become confusing. In other words, when we punctuate, we separate the groups of grammar from each other. Since it is grammar we punctuate, it is impossible to punctuate unless we first see the grammatical structures, such as phrases, subordinate clauses, and compound sentences. You can't punctuate a introductory adverb clause if you don't know it's there.
Four Levels of Grammar: We will approach grammar in four approaches or levels. They are the parts of speech, parts of sentence, phrases, and clauses. When we analyze the grammar of a sentence, that is what we do: a four-level analysis.
These four levels give us four different views of each sentence. The parts of speech level shows us each word, one at a time, asking, "What is the word doing?" The parts of sentence level shows us the architecture of the idea, asking, "What is being said about what?" The phrase level shows us the little groups of words in the sentence, groups that pretend to be a single part of speech, asking "What part of speech is this group of words doing?' And the clause level shows us whether or not more than one idea is drawn into the sentence's design, asking "How may different ideas are connected together in this sentence?"
If you have ever had the sinking feeling that grammar is an endless subject, you should notice a secret (shhhhh): most grammar books are thick only because they are packed with hundreds of pages of exercises. The actual content of grammar it tiny. It is very learnable.