When we speak or write, we use words in order to express our thoughts. These words are not spoken at random. They are arranged according to certain rules, so that others may understand what we mean clearly and correctly. The study of these rules is called Grammar.
What is Grammar?
Grammar may be defined simply as the art of writing and speaking rightly. It does not invent language, but observes how language is used and explains why certain forms and arrangements are correct while others are not. A person may speak correctly by habit, without knowing grammar explicitly, but grammar teaches us why speech is correct and how to avoid error when habit fails us.
The purpose of grammar, therefore, is not merely to avoid mistakes, but to train the mind to observe order, relation, and meaning in language. For this reason, grammar has always held a central place in classical education. It prepares students not only to use their own language well, but also to understand other languages with intelligence and precision.
In this course, we study English grammar, but we study it in a particular way. Our aim is not only to speak and write English correctly, but to prepare the mind for the later study of Latin and Greek. These classical languages express grammatical relations more clearly and fully than English does, but the relations themselves already exist in English. By learning to recognize them here, students will later find them familiar rather than foreign.
The Parts of Grammar
From ancient times, grammar has been divided into four principal parts. These divisions help us understand the different aspects of language and the different kinds of rules that govern it.
The first part is called Orthography. Orthography is concerned with the correct writing of words. It teaches us what letters belong to each word and how those letters are arranged. When we learn spelling, capitalization, and the written form of words, we are studying orthography. In short, orthography is the way of writing rightly, by which we are taught with what letters every word is to be formed.
The second part of grammar is Etymology. Despite its name, etymology here does not mean the history of words, as it often does in modern usage. In grammar, etymology means the study of the forms of words. It teaches how words are made and how they change their form to express different meanings. This includes the study of the parts of speech—such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and pronouns—and the different forms these words take, such as number, tense, and case. Etymology, therefore, is the way of forming rightly the parts of speech and their cases.
The third part of grammar is Syntax. Syntax is concerned not with individual words, but with how words are joined together. It teaches the right composition and combination of the parts of speech, and the proper order in which they are placed to express complete thoughts. When we learn how subjects and verbs relate to one another, how objects depend on verbs, and how clauses are connected within a sentence, we are studying syntax. Syntax, then, is the right composition and combination of the parts of speech according to the right order of grammar.
The fourth part of grammar is Prosody. Prosody concerns the right pronunciation of words. In English, this includes correct accent, emphasis, and rhythm in speech. In classical languages, prosody also includes the study of quantity and meter, especially in poetry. While prosody is an important part of grammar, it plays a smaller role in this course and will be treated only as needed.
Another term that is often used in grammar, especially in older books, is accidence. Accidence refers to the changes that words undergo to express different grammatical meanings. For example, a noun may change form to show number, or a verb may change form to show time. These changes are not random; they follow rules. The study of these changes belongs chiefly to etymology, but the word accidence is often used to refer to the study of word forms as a whole, especially in contrast to syntax.
Studying Grammar
In this course, we will follow a careful and orderly plan. We will begin by studying the forms of words, learning to recognize the parts of speech and the ways in which words change their form to express meaning. This part of grammar lays the foundation for everything that follows. After this, we will study syntax, learning how words are joined together to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. Along the way, we will also give attention to correct spelling, pronunciation, and usage, as they arise naturally from the subject.
Throughout the course, we will proceed slowly and clearly. New terms will be introduced only after the ideas they express are understood. Examples will be drawn from ordinary English usage, so that grammar is seen not as something artificial, but as an explanation of what we already do when we speak and write well.
By the end of this study, students should not only understand English grammar more clearly, but also be well prepared to approach Latin and Greek with confidence. Grammar trains the mind to see order in language, and this habit of order will serve students in every further study they undertake.
