Grammar

In linguistics, grammar (from Ancient Greek γραμματική) is the set of structural rules governing the composition of clauses, phrases and words in a natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules and this field includes phonology, morphology and syntax, often complemented by phonetics, semantics and pragmatics.

Fluent speakers of a language variety or lect have a set of internalized rules which constitutes its grammar.[1] The vast majority of the information in the grammar is – at least in the case of one's native language – acquired not by conscious study or instruction but by hearing other speakers. Much of this work is done during early childhood; learning a language later in life usually involves more explicit instruction.[2] Thus, grammar is the cognitive information underlying language use.

The term "grammar" can also describe the rules which govern the linguistic behavior of a group of speakers. For example, the term "English grammar" may refer to the whole of English grammar; that is, to the grammars of all the speakers of the language, in which case the term encompasses a great deal of variation.[3] Alternatively, it may refer only to what is common to the grammars of all or most English speakers (such as subject–verb–object word order in simple declarative sentences). It may also refer to the rules of one relatively well-defined form of English (such as standard English for a region).