What is Grammar?

Grammar

In this course, Professor Bas Aarts (University College, London) provides an introduction to English grammar in context. In the first two modules, we ask the questions 'What is grammar?' and 'Why study grammar?', before turning in the third module to run through the eight word classes (or parts of speech) used in the English language: nouns, adjectives, determiners, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. In the fourth module, we look at an example of information structuring in two authors – Homer and Milton (1608-74) – before turning in the fifth module to consider some writers who broke 'the rules' of grammar to greater or lesser success – Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) and Henry James (1843-1916). In the sixth module, we think about how we can apply what we have learnt so far to our own writing. The seventh module provides some concluding thoughts for the course as a whole, as well as introducing a free English Language resource for schools: Englicious.

What is Grammar?

In this module, we ask the question 'What is grammar?', focusing in particular on: (i) the definition of grammar; (ii) the definition of a sentence; and (iii) the concept of information structuring.