English Grammar Modules

• Nouns.
• Pronouns.
• Subjects.
• Verbs.
• Possessive Case.

GRAMMAR (no, don't run, I want to be your friend!)

Ahh, Grammar -- that wonderful word you heard in elementary and junior high school that immediately made you wonder what you'd done wrong. It gave you a queasy feeling in your stomach (like when you heard the words "Latin and Greek roots"). Nouns, definite pronouns, indefinite pronouns, infinitives, verbs, adverbs, "conjunction junction," conditional clauses . . . it's enough to make you take a vow of silence.

What's worse is that (probably) no one ever told you why you were learning it. What's the big deal? You could already speak English just fine. Well, now you're learning another language, which means that you must learn the grammar. It also means that you need to understand why you need to know it.

We study grammar to understand why we say and write words the way that we do. In this case, we study the grammar of other languages to understand their words. That's it. That's the big secret. We study grammar because it makes learning other languages easier and it gives us the tools to really manipulate the language intentionally in order that we may say what we really mean.

But why in the world do you want that degree of exactness? Well, here are a few analogies as to why:

ART: At the turn of the century a young painter was starting a career that would re-shape the entire world of art. Picasso developed new styles that still captivate audiences and open the critic world to lively discussion. But Picasso didn't just jump straight in and start cubism‹his father, an art teacher, developed Picasso's traditional art skills first. Here are two self portraits, one at the beginning of his career, and one nearly 75 years later.

Self Portrait with Uncombed Hair (1896) (thanks www.artchive.com)

Self Portrait (1972) (thanks www.artchive.com)

The difference is pretty amazing. Picasso's contributions to the art world, and to the world in general, would not be so amazing, except that he first proved that he knew all of the rules of the traditional styles, first built his name, and then developed these amazing new styles.

MATH: Okay, you can intuit math (I can even count to ten; twenty when I'm in sandals), but it's only when you are given formulas that you can really start doing amazing things. The Pythagorean Theorem, Einstein's Theory of Relativity, would be non-existent without basic algebra.

MUSIC: Often times, one person can teach a piece of music to the next person. But if you don't have someone to teach you, you have to resort of sheet music, that wonderful way of recording all of the instructions to play a song just like the composer intended. Now go ahead and try playing a new piece off of sheet music when you donąt know keys, time signatures, note durations, sharps and flats. Doesn't work too well, does it? One recent major influence, Jimi Hendrix, wouldn't have made such a big impact on modern music if he hadn't known the proper way of playing his guitar before he decided to play it with his teeth.

ENGLISH: Click here for a poem by e.e. cummings.

Had e. e. cummings not been familiar with traditional poetic style, his poetry would not have impressed so many people. He would have been considered nothing more than a person with very poor grasp on grammar and the English language. As it was, he held an M.A. from Harvard, so when he chose to start experimenting, people paid attention because he, like Picasso and Hendrix, knew exactly what he was doing.

Within grammar lies the power of expression. Understand grammar, and you will understand just how amazing a language is. You uncover the magician's tricks, you find the inner workings of not only your own language, but you can also see how it is different from the language you're studying. You will find that different languages are better for expressing different ideas, and you will be able to make conscious decisions about how you communicate. Grammar gives you the formula, the canvas, or the blank notation sheet that you then choose which variables, paints, or notes you want to put down. Once you know how to use each part of speech, you will be able to expand outside of the box and express yourself in ways that no one has ever expressed themselves before. A solid understanding of the grammar of a language gives you the skeleton, and your words bring it to life.

That is why we study grammar.