Grammar

But most linguists use grammar objectively as a descriptive term, referring to the way in which words are changed in form and put together to form meaningful sentences. Grammar is traditionally sub-divided into morphology and syntax.

Morphology-Morphology is to do with the actual form or structure of words, and how such word –forms fit into patterns. Thus in Present – Day English, for instance, we distinguish between the singular and plural forms of some words, such as book as opposed to books, and between the present and past tenses of verbs, Such as I Love, I Loved, I shall love and so on.

Syntax-Syntax is to do with relationships between words. Thus in a sentence such as Jill loves Jack, Jill is “governing the action” of the verb loves and is therefore the ‘subject’ of the sentence, whereas Jack ‘suffers the action’ of the verb and is therefore the ‘object’ of the sentence. The order that words are placed in is very important in Present-Day English; if we put Jill in place of Jack then the meaning of the sentence would change.

How has English Grammar changed?

The grammar of English has changed greatly since OLD ENGLISH times. Word-order was less important then, because many more relationships between words were marked by special endings, known as inflections, attached to words. A few such inflections remain in Present-Day English. These endings can be added to words. Some Present-Day English pronouns still vary considerably depending on their role in sentences, see, for instance, the different uses for I, me, my and mine. There were many more inflections in the Old English form of the language.