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What is Grammar?
Grammar is the system of a language. People sometimes describe grammar
as the "rules" of a language; but in fact no language has rules*. If we use the
word "rules", we suggest that somebody created the rules first and then spoke
the language, like a new game. But languages did not start like that. Languages
started by people making sounds which evolved into words, phrases and sentences.
No commonly-spoken language is fixed. All languages change over time. What we
call "grammar" is simply a reflection of a language at a particular time.
Do we need to study grammar to learn a language? The short answer is "no". Very
many people in the world speak their own, native language without having studied
its grammar. Children start to speak before they even know the word "grammar".
But if you are serious about learning a foreign language, the long answer is
"yes, grammar can help you to learn a language more quickly and more
efficiently." It's important to think of grammar as something that can help you,
like a friend. When you understand the grammar (or system) of a language, you
can understand many things yourself, without having to ask a teacher or look in
a book.
So think of grammar as something good, something positive, something that you
can use to find your way - like a signpost or a map.
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