There was a time, way back in the murky past, when understanding English Grammar was considered to be one of the fundamentals taught at schools in the English speaking world. For some reason, this has changed over the past few decades and a more holistic approach to literacy instruction has been advocated. However, even highly intelligent students now seem to struggle when it comes to the conventions of writing in English. Clearly, there are some things that just don’t automatically happen via exposure to language and texts. There are still some basic elements of language learning, including those pesky Grammar rules, which must be actively taught.

In fact, it is somewhat misleading to refer to English Grammar rules as ‘rules’. They are not rules in the same way that we have rules of cricket, for instance. If we wanted to know about the rules of cricket, we would simply consult the official Cricket Rule Book. However, we cannot do something similar if we want to know about English Grammar rules. There is no official English Grammar Guide that contains all the laws of the language. These rules are not so much ‘rules’ as they are ‘conventions’, agreed upon quite informally over time by the majority of those who use the language.

So if they are not really rules at all, then why do we need to follow them? It is not mandatory to follow conventions. People are allowed to differ from the norm. The supposed English Grammar rules are not laws! I will not go to jail if I tell the police, ‘I seen the man what robbed the place!’ I will not have to face an officious magistrate if I am overheard telling a friend, ‘There ain’t nothing I can do about it.’ And, assuming I was not supposed to be at work all weekend, I will not be fired if I tell a co-worker, ‘Me and Billy was just down at the pub on the weekend, wasn’t we Billy?’

The police officer, my friend and my co-worker would all understand me. They would get the message I intended to convey. Does this mean that understanding English Grammar is unnecessary? This would be the case if it were only the meaning of our communications that were important. However, this is clearly not the case. Successful communication between two people involves not only the sender of the message, but also the receiver of the message. And the perception formed by the receiver of the message can be vitally important. This perception will be influenced by the manner in which the message is sent. If the conventions of Grammar are followed, the message may well be received more favourably since both the sender and receiver of the message are using the same system for communicating.

Consider the case when the communication is not made verbally, but in writing. Writing is a far more formal medium. The expectation that goes along with this is that English Grammar rules will be followed more closely in writing than in speaking. There is no doubt that if my written statement, ‘I seen the man what robbed the place!’ was distributed to a jury, then my credibility would be somewhat reduced.

The way language is used does matter. English Grammar rules may not be rules per se, but we are still bound by them. The effective communication of our intended meaning and the perception of our message by those that receive it depend upon communicators ‘playing’ by the rules. There are times that our communications need to appear professional and credible. This is why understanding English Grammar should be reinstated as a fundamental focus of our study of language at school.

When children first begin to speak it is usually in short 2 or 3 word sentences, this is would be described as telegraphic, or short, simple sequences of words without tenses, plurals, or function. In order to develop the capability of making whole sentences children must first acquire the knowledge to to utilize other forms of speech. In the English language this means understanding how to use the correct subject verb order, as in ” Corey chased the dog.”

Grammatical skill in using morphemes is also necessary as they are the meaningful units that make up words. Morphemes have the responsibility of of marking nouns so they show possession and plurality, and verbs so that they will show tense. It should be noted the often times morphemes do make mistakes because they cannot decipher how to apply the appropriate rules at times. One example of this is that after understanding how to create the past tense verb tense using -ed or -d the rule may not be applied which can create nonwords like “beated.”

These are just a few of the fundamental elements that are necessary to understand grammar. I recommend that anyone who is truly interested in truly understanding grammar at it’s full length do a more in depth research on the topic.

So, how can a person improve their English grammar? There are several things that might help someone struggling in this area. First of all, it might help to be with people who use correct grammar when they talk and read material that uses good grammar structure within the English language. Since everyone learns his or her native language by listening, even from back to the time of infancy, it reasons that if he or she listens to and reads material with good grammatical structure, they will slowly learn the correct way to write and say things.

It may also help to study a grammar book that gives explanations for the rules of the English language, along with helpful examples. It may not be necessary to understand every detail and concept, but with good examples and practice exercises, one can learn much about correctly forming sentences that are grammatically precise. Learning rules and doing exercises can be monotonous at times, so it will take much patience to continue to learn. However, through consistent practicing, one can overcome most grammatical errors through trial and error.

One of the most helpful ways to learn and understand English grammar is to hire a tutor. In order to make progress, one needs to know when he is making mistakes. With a tutor, a person can work on sentences and phrases throughout the week and then have a tutor check them. A tutor is also helpful because he or she can force the student to be accountable so she can continue to improve her grammar skills. It is hard to learn sometimes and grammar seems to be a boring subject to many people. The personal touch of a tutor, however, can make the learning experience less stressful and more enjoyable.

Although dyslexia and other learning disabilities are difficult to overcome, there is no doubt that people with these problems have the ability to improve. There is software available today that can help those with language problems to improve their writing problems. Some programs even have personalized reports that are generated; and then each person can see what common spelling errors were made. These reports will allow students, professionals, and teachers to see the common dyslexia writing errors that are being made.

It has been considered why English grammar seems to be difficult for some people. There are many factors that can contribute to this. If a person has dyslexia or a learning disability, it could be because he was born with this problem and thus, it could not be helped. Far more often, however, are those who simply did not understand or learn grammar rules while in school. This could be due to lack of quality teachers, parental support or just laziness on the part of the student. Because some people struggle so much with grammar, many teachers will not emphasize its importance and students are pushed to the next grade.

Another issue with English grammar comes from those who have a different native tongue. If your mother-tongue is close to English in some ways, then English grammar will be easier for you. However, if your native tongue has nothing in common with English at all, it will be more difficult to learn and understand English grammar. All languages have their own idiosyncrasies and take time and patience to conquer.

Learning and understanding English grammar can be made easier or more difficult based on several factors. If a person is older, his memory may not be as good as it used to be. Some people just seem to learn easier than others and have a greater aptitude for language. Other things that can make a big difference are having consistent exercises and learning and also having confidence as you learn.

Thankfully, there are tools, books, and tutors available to help those who struggle. Many computer programs and websites give huge amounts of information and downloads that can help a person to use correct English grammar and/or learn the English language better. Even if a person continues to struggle with English grammar, there are tools available to help them correct their grammar and spelling errors so they can write without unnecessary and embarrassing mistakes.