Before we can discuss grammar for writing, we need to define the
term grammar so we are both singing from the same piece of
sheet music.
Grammar definition
Grammar is the name we give to the complex system
of interrelated elements that make up language. Grammar describes
how the system works. Every language has its own grammar, even if
the language is not written down.
As with any system, each grammatical element is defined with
reference to other elements. That interdependency makes grammar
study difficult unless the student has grown up among people who
use that language.
It is impossible, for example, to define a sentence without using
the term subject, and equally impossible to define subject
without using the term sentence.
Written languages have two ways of knowing grammar. To teach grammar
for writing efficiently, you need to understand how the two differ.
"Given" grammar
To a great extent, teachers do not need to teach grammar to native
speakers. Rather, they need to make students consciously aware of
the grammar they have unconsciously absorbed.
Everyday exposure to a language gives a child a foundation in the
language that isn't easily duplicated by grammar study. Children
may not know the formal terms for grammatical elements and relationships,
but they understand grammar in a basic and pragmatic way.
By the time a child who grows up in an English-speaking household
learns to walk, that child knows the normal English sentence
pattern is subject - verb - object. Children can live happy,
productive lives without ever learning those grammatical terms.
They can even become fine speakers and writers without learning
those terms.
For convenience, I'll call this basic, unwritten knowledge of
grammar given grammar. It isn't too much of a stretch
to say that given grammar is the lowest-common-denominator of a
language. It contains the language elements used routinely by both
the poorest peon and the head honcho.
Studied grammar
For lack of any better term, I'm going to use studied grammar
to refer to the rules of grammar found in English textbooks
and grammar books.
Studied grammar is not merely descriptive. It is also prescriptive.
It not only describes what how native speakers use language, but
attempts to elevate language use by ordinary people.
Remember Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady teaching Eliza Doolittle
to speak correct English so he could pass her off as an aristocrat?
That's what studied grammar is all about. You might call it upwardly
mobile grammar.
Studied grammar, like designer clothes, is primarily
a tool for getting ahead socially and economically. It has relatively
little to do with clear communication.
Studied English grammar, for example, attempts to teach everyone
to use whom correctly. Ordinary people almost never speak
or write a sentence that requires use of whom. The only people
who regularly use whom, and use it correctly, are typically
highly educated, affluent, socially prominent individuals.
Implications for teaching writing
To teach grammar for writing efficiently you must identify
........
-
Given grammar you do not need to teach.
-
The fewest grammar rules you do need to teach.
-
The most basic grammar terms you can use to teach those
few essential grammar rules.
Knowing
grammar for writing enables writers to employ proper grammar.
