In this lesson you will learn what Grammar is, why it is called an art, and why it is the first study you take up.
I. Why a Man Studies a Language He Already Speaks
You already speak a language. You have spoken English since you were small, and you learned it by hearing it, without being taught any rules at all. So it is fair to ask why anyone should study a thing he can already do.
Speaking a Language and Knowing a Language Are Not the Same
The answer is that speaking a language and knowing a language are two different things. A child can say a sentence correctly without being able to say why it is correct, just as he can walk without knowing anything about bones. But when he wants to write well, or to read something difficult, or to learn a language he has never heard, then he needs to know the rules, and not merely to follow them by habit. Grammar is the study of those rules.
II. The Definition of Grammar
Grammar is the art of writing and speaking rightly. In Latin this is said:
Grammatica est recte scribendi atque loquendi ars.
Grammar is the art of writing and speaking rightly.
That one sentence is the whole definition, and every word in it does work.
III. Exposition of the Definition
“Art” — A Body of Rules That Can Be Taught
Consider first the word art. An art is a body of rules for doing some particular work well. A builder has an art, and so his houses stand. A physician has an art, and so his medicines heal. The rules of an art are not guesses; they have been gathered and tested by many people over a long time, and they can be taught to someone who does not yet know them. That is what makes an art different from a knack. A knack cannot be handed on. An art can.
So when we say Grammar is an art, we are saying that writing and speaking rightly can be taught by rule, and that you can learn it deliberately rather than picking it up by chance.
“Rightly” — Correctness, Not Mere Intelligibility
Consider next the word rightly. Grammar is not the art of writing and speaking so as to be understood. You can be understood while speaking badly. Grammar is the art of writing and speaking correctly, according to the way the language is actually built. There is a difference between a sentence that gets your meaning across and a sentence that is right, and Grammar is concerned with the second.
“Writing and Speaking” — The Full Scope of the Art
Consider last the words writing and speaking. Grammar governs both. It tells you which letters a word is spelled with, how a word changes its form, how words are joined into sentences, and how syllables are measured when they are spoken aloud. Nothing that words do is outside its care.
IV. Every Language Has a Grammar of Its Own
Every language has a grammar. English has one, Latin has one, and so does every other tongue that men speak. The rules are not the same from one language to another, because languages are built differently, but every language is built somehow, and the study of how a language is built is the grammar of that language. This course teaches the grammar of Latin. That means it will teach you what a Latin word is, how a Latin word changes, and how Latin sentences are put together.
V. Why Grammar Is the First of the Arts
Grammar is also the first art. It is placed first not because it is the smallest but because everything else depends on it. Every other study you will ever take up — history, philosophy, mathematics, theology — comes to you in words, and is written down in words, and is argued in words. A man who is careless with words will be careless with everything he learns through them. So the tradition has always begun here, and we begin here too.
In the next lesson you will learn the four parts of Grammar, and what each of them studies.
VI. Memory Work
- Grammar is the art of writing and speaking rightly.
- In Latin: Grammatica est recte scribendi atque loquendi ars.
- An art is a body of rules for doing some work well.
- Every language has a grammar of its own.
- Grammar is the first art, because every other study comes to us in words.
Key Concepts in This Lesson
Grammar (Grammatica) — The art of writing and speaking rightly, which treats of letters, the forms words take, the joining of words into sentences, and the measure of syllables.
Art (Ars) — A body of rules for doing some particular work well, gathered and tested over time, and therefore capable of being taught to one who does not yet possess it.
Knack — A facility for doing something well that rests on habit rather than rule, and which for that reason cannot be handed on to another.
Rightly (Recte) — Correctly, according to the way a language is actually built, as distinguished from merely being understood.
The First Art — Grammar’s place at the beginning of the order of studies, held not for its smallness but because every other study is received, recorded, and argued in words.
How to Cite This Reference:
Classical Liberal Arts Academy. “What Is Grammar? The Art of Writing and Speaking Rightly (TRV-121 Lesson 001).” CLAA Library, 2026. https://classicalliberalarts.com/what-is-grammar-art-of-writing-and-speaking-rightly.
MLA: Classical Liberal Arts Academy. “What Is Grammar? The Art of Writing and Speaking Rightly (TRV-121 Lesson 001).” CLAA Library, 2026, classicalliberalarts.com/what-is-grammar-art-of-writing-and-speaking-rightly.
This article is drawn from a lesson in the Classical Liberal Arts Academy. While this text provides the core conceptual material, formal enrollment provides students with access to full course content, assessments, records and support. To join us for classical studies, please contact us.
