Practical tools for learning and teaching grammar

part they play in forming meaningful language without a naming 
procedure.
It is impossible, for example, to offer a meaningful explanation 
for why we say ‘did it well’ rather than ‘did it good’ if there is no 
shared understanding of the language for talking about language – 
to explain that ‘good’ being an adjective qualifies a noun, e.g. ‘He 
did a good job,’ but ‘well’, an adverb, is used for adding meaning 
to a verb, e.g. ‘He did it well.’
The history of grammar
Whatever subject we are teaching, it becomes more interesting 
and meaningful, both to us and to our students, when we know 
something about its origin and history. This is no less true of 
grammar.
The word ‘gramma’ meaning ‘letter’ has come down to us 
in a path through several languages. In early times, the craft of 
using letters and constructing messages with the use of symbolic 
markings was seen to indicate magical powers, causing some early 
1 Crystal, D., 1995, 
The Cambridge encyclopaedia of the English language
, 
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
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scholars to be seen as dealers in witchcraft and consequently eyed 
with suspicion. The word ‘glamour’, meaning a deceptive charm, 
derived from the same source. However, in modern usage this 
word has lost much of its detrimental connotation.
Of course, no one invented grammar – it was there all along, 
an intrinsic part of the first meaningful speech uttered by human 
beings and, likewise, of their first meaningful writings. But at 
some point, interested scholars were inspired to make a study of 
it and its systems, both for their own better understanding and to 
enhance the language skills of their students – the same aim that 
we, as teachers, have today.
The study of grammar is believed to have its origins in both 
India and Greece. In India it was for the study of recited forms of 
Sanskrit, and in Greece for the study of written language. It is the 
latter that provides the source of our own studies.
Grammar and literacy are intrinsically bound. One of the first 
to formulate a system of grammar was Dionysus Thrax, from 
Alexandria. His ‘The Art of Letters’ required students to first learn 
their letters in strict order (just as we do with our alphabet), then 
proceed to letter combinations, forming syllables in increasing 
length, from simple to complex word forms. Thrax’s grammar, 
which he defined as ‘technical knowledge of the language of poets 
and writers’, established a model for the teaching of all European 
languages. 
Through the following centuries, various scholars have set 
their own mark on the development of grammatical thought. 
Philosophers such as Aristotle and Socrates realised the impor-
tance of grammar for all forms of language expression, particularly 
public speaking (rhetoric) and debate. A Roman, Marcus Varre, 
produced 25 volumes on the subject, translating the Greek and 
then applying the grammar to Latin. Interest then spread around 
the world, with grammarians of other countries comparing the 
features of their languages with those of Latin.
The best-known early English grammarian was Ben Jonson, 
who also based his work on Latin. He made a particular study 
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of punctuation for which he had his own rather heavy versions 
adhering to the theory that one should punctuate as one wishes 
one’s work to be read or orally delivered, as well as to determine 
meaning in a logical way. 
Then the 1760s ‘witnessed a striking outburst of interest in 
English Grammar’
2
and among the best-known grammars was that 
of Robert Lowth, a clergyman and later Bishop of London. Lowth 
sought to remedy the dearth of simple grammar textbooks, but he 
earned criticism for judging the language as well as describing it. 
His pedantic approach led to such oft-quoted prescriptions as the 
inappropriateness of ending a sentence with a preposition. 
Lowth’s work was followed by others, giving rise to the form-
ulation of basic grammar principles and agreement on some points 
of usage. The principle of the supremacy of usage, which is still 
supported today, was established by Joseph Priestley, who stated: 
‘It must be allowed that the custom of speaking is the original and 
only just standard of any language.’
3
In 1898, Nesfield and Wood co-authored the 
Manual of 
English Grammar and Composition
which ran concurrently with 
Nesfield’s 1900 text 
An Outline Of English Grammar
. Certainly 
these would appear dull and tedious to most modern students, but 
they do, nevertheless, provide excellent detailed explanations for 
those of more linguistic bent.
2 Baugh, Albert C, & Cable, Thomas 1987, 
A history of the English language
, 
Routledge & Kegan Paul, London.
3 ibid.
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Teaching strategies
for the contemporary 
classroom
Definitions and explanations
We know it – can we explain it? Because we know something, it 
does not follow that we can explain it to others – especially to 
a child who may learn in quite a different way from you – his 
teacher. For example, take the concept of a syllable. Most of us 
have some understanding of what a syllable is, but when asked 
to show how one would explain it to students you might get 
something like this:
‘It’s part of a word.’
But so is a letter!
‘It’s when you break it up …’
Similarly for a letter. ‘Try again,’ you say. 
‘It’s got a vowel in it.’
Better, but so has any word!
Eventually you put it all together to give an accurate definition: 
a unit of speech (consisting of) a word, or part of a word, containing 
one sounded vowel. Or for adult students: a segment of speech, 
uttered with one emission of breath (the breath is emitted with the 
sounding of the vowel).
…
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So, to teach about syllables we need first to be sure that we 
understand what they are ourselves; then we need to put that 
information across in the best way to suit the age and stage of 
the students. This will require a full explanation of the definition, 
which can be done with practical demonstrations such as clapping, 
or feeling when the jaw drops for the utterance of the vowel. 
Rule 1: