Grammar and Punctuation: Lesson 1, Part 1 · 8:13pm Oct 26th, 2016
Grammar's Working Parts
In This Lesson, We'll Discuss:
• Why so many people hate grammar
• Good grammar and good writing
• The eight parts of speech
Language is the subtlest, most useful tool ever invented. Grammar is a set of specifications we use to show how that tool works and should be used. This tool called "language" has many different working parts, known as the parts of speech. This first lesson will introduce each of them.
But first, let's go exorcise some grammar demons. We can best deal with these "demons" by dragging them out into the open and talking about them in detail.
Getting Started with Grammar
Grammar is a set of conventions that structure a language. All languages have grammar, so everyone who learns to speak a language learns to use that language's grammar more or less well, whether or not they ever studied grammar formally. This means that if you're a human being, you have an innate capacity to make and use a language according to its grammatical principles, even if you're not consciously aware of them. Practice and study can help make you overtly conscious of that grammar you already use. That consciousness enables you to fix or avoid grammatical mistakes more easily and efficiently as well as speaking and writing with greater clarity. Go, grammar!
Yet many people would rather go to the dentist than study the parts of speech. If you have a deep-seated aversion to grammar, go ahead and think about why. People who aren't crazy about grammar cite many reasons for their dislike, including, but not limited to the following:
• Schools sometimes overemphasize grammar.
• Grammar norms can exacerbate cultural and political divisions in society.
• Snobs sometimes harp on grammatical correctness to make ordinary people feel stupid or inadequate.
Let's think about each of these problems.
Back to School
Sometimes, schools just seem to overemphasize grammar. To many schools, the rules of grammar loom as arbitrary obstacles that stand in the way of doing the real work of thinking, writing, and learning. After all, writing is a tremendously complicated skill that takes many years of practice to develop and mature. Thus, writing, rather than grammar per se, merits far more hours of work.
Note:
For centuries, Latin grammar was a mainstay of the curriculum for English school boys (enrolled in grammar school), while the teaching of English grammar was modeled after Latin.
In fact, a piece of writing can show weakness for any number of reasons apart from grammatical issues. Poor writing may very well be banal and simplistic, it may lack coherence, and it may be filled with misstatements and confusion---all problems difficult for students to overcome without those precious years of reading and study. Some teachers, however (and school curricula), turn to grammar as a quick fix for all kinds of writing problems.
Sometimes this supposed "quick fix" can actually get in the way of learning to write better and lead to more complications. In fact, when people try to write about things they don't understand very well, their grammar tends to break down quickly and reveal their weaknesses. They often lose track of the rules of grammar when groping for a way to express unfamiliar ideas. In other words, grammar problems are frequently symptoms, rather than causes, of the confusion or uncertainty on the part of a speaker or writer.
If you have to write a paper on a really difficult, somewhat unfamiliar topic, any difficulty you have in explaining things can lead you to make grammatical errors you may or may not ordinarily make. In cases like this, fixing your grammar may not necessarily solve the bigger problem of analyzing and explaining complicated issues. If you have to spend some valuable time fixing grammar mistakes in a paper that had more serious issues, you'll likely feel frustrated and dissatisfied in the end.
Note:
Students who have a difficult time reading and writing often find themselves relegated to remedial grammar classes. These classes, often boring and unproductive, may cause students to feel they're being punished for their supposed stupidity, rather than taught or instructed in useful skills.
"Standard" English: Depends on Where You Learned It
Regional and cultural variations greatly affect languages. Speakers of the English language may speak differently in various parts of the world. American English differs somewhat from British English and from Australian English. Linguistic differences stem from different regions within American as well. In addition to this, people who come from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds tend to speak English in different ways than others.
To a degree, variation lends richness to the language, but it can also induce confusion and misunderstanding. In the interest of clarity and consistency, language professionals, including those teaching or in publishing, rely on the idea of Standard English, a universally accepted norm that provides guidance on the proper way to say or write things.
Language, however, reflects political and cultural values. Different regions of society endorse different ways of speaking and writing as more or less polite, proper, and correct. As a result, certain non-standard usages garner more criticism as "errors" than do others for reasons that have little to do with consistency and clarity. Consciously or unconsciously, some folks use the "rules" of grammar as excuses for snobbery and prejudice.
Note:
Many native speakers of English have a tougher time learning to correct their grammatical errors than those learning English as a second language because the "mistakes" native speakers make sound correct to them because of the way they learned to speak growing up.
Because their own speech patterns sound right to them, English often have trouble learning the rules of Standard English. As a result, students who grew up speaking non-standard English sometimes have more difficulty in English class than many non-native speakers (English-as-a-second-language [ESL] speakers).
The point is that cultural issues can help explain why good, Standard English grammar is a cakewalk for some students; a difficult but surmountable challenge for others; and a perplexing, impenetrable mystery for still others. If you've been struggling with cultural issues, keep in mind that you may need to come to terms with two different sets of grammar rules: the standard set most people use, and the set you grew up using.
Variations in Theme
Linguists and English teachers have only recently come to realize that non-standard regional and cultural variants of the English language have their own particular grammatical structure. In fact, some of these variants can do things grammatically that Standard English cannot. How about a plural form of the second-person pronoun, you? In Standard English, it's simply you. There's no distinction between the singular and the plural form.
Some non-standard English variants, however, inflect the plural form. In the South and in many African American communities, folks say "y'all," as in, "Y'all have a different way of speaking." In certain neighborhoods in the Northeast, people say "youse," as in "Youse guys have a different way of speaking." Clearly, non-standard English obeys non-standard rules of grammar.
The most widely recognized variant of English is "Black English", or Ebonics, as it has come to be called. Ebonics grammar books exist, so take a look at them if you're interested.
Note:
A thorny controversy mushroomed in 1996, when the Oakland [California] Public School Board voted to recognize Ebonics both as a legitimate language and as the primary language of most African American students. The move, intended to acknowledge and respect the special cultural heritage of African Americans, instead generated fear that focusing on Ebonics would draw energy and attention away from the study and teaching of Standard English. Link here for more information.
Upgrade Your Grammar
If your grammar isn't perfect (and whose is?), you can improve it without going back to school. One way is to learn to identify the kinds of mistakes you tend to make. Chances are, you don't do everything wrong, so you need not re-learn everything. Most people keep making the same mistakes until they learn to fix them. The trick is to find out which sort of mistakes you make.
To determine your common grammar mistakes, do some writing and have someone who really knows how to identify and correct grammatical errors look over your work. If you're already enrolled in a school where English is taught, you should be able to find a qualified teachers easily. You could also test yourself, using a workbook or webpage that has exercises on common problems and mistakes.
In addition, or instead, actually, you could read through the lessons I provide.
They will give you a good, broad sense of what grammar is all about, as well as offer an intimate look at a whole slew of specifics.
In the next part of this lesson, we will go over the parts of speech, and discuss the impacts they have on the English language. Hope to see you there!
So you's saying we's need to rite beter?
4272547
Lol. I dunno, do ya?
You might wanna fix that.
4273053
Heh.
Truth to this already.
4273110 So true haha. Mistakes happen from time to time, right?
I really hate to see a silly typo in any of my stories when I publish them, even after I've gone over them a couple of times.
4273117
I usually edit my own work, but mistakes slip through from time to time.
(I just went through this lesson again and found several more errors. 
)
4273119 Yeah, I only edit and proofread my own stuff nowadays. In the past when I was still working out the kinks, I gained a lot of help from proofreaders and editors, but now, I just like to do it myself as I feel it helps me grow as a writer. If I want to publish a real book after this fandom dies out/I quit, then I cannot depend on others to fix my mistakes for me.
4273123
Very true and fair enough. I suppose the only person one can truly count on in that given circumstance is themselves.
I know I've never had much luck with editors.
4273128 You just have to find the right one. Friends tend to help a lot.
4273130
I used to have those, friends. Now I'm just a lonely lone loner.
4273131 Time to make some new friends, then!
I opened a discord chat for my followers so I could get to know some of them better. Could work for you if you made one of your own.
4273132
Hmm... I'll have to give that a try.
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