The Trivium: Grammar

“The greater part of the world's troubles are due to questions of grammar.” - Michel de Montaigne

Across the globe, with the advent of the written word came the rise of the formal rules and conventions that govern language use. This is also known as grammar. Grammar, derived from the Greek “γράμμα (grámma),” or letters, is the art of mastering language. It pertains to the structures and constraints that govern how we use the written and spoken word to communicate with the world around us. This mastery allows us to read, write, and communicate with clarity so that we both understand and are understood. It is the art through which we come to codify and define the greater world around us and begin the process of communicating with others. Grammar forms the foundation of the seven liberal arts and is the precursor to the arts of logic and rhetoric.

Throughout human history, understanding a shared common language has allowed the codification of knowledge, technology, wisdom, myths, and religions across all languages and cultures. In the absence of grammar, we would be bereft of the works of Shakespeare, Sophocles, Homer, Plutarch, and every great and noble thinker that has ever blessed the pages we so enjoy reading. It is this mastery of words and that shared understanding of a common language that has allowed us the preservation and communication of such brilliant works and representations of the human condition. Grammar is the art that allows us to create with words. We can write sonnets, epic poems, operas, dime-store novels, and Instagram captions through the constraints and rules imposed by grammar. We can write letters to our loved ones and express complex human emotions or something as simple as a get-well card. We use this art daily, but its mastery is so often neglected.

In English grammar, a mastery of the eight (or nine) parts of speech is critical to effective communication. We must understand nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs and how to structure our sentences with clarity. What are conjunctions, interjections, pronouns, and prepositions, and how do these parts of speech aid us in our communication efforts? While it may seem overly simple, these aspects of grammar play potent roles in how we perceive the world around us, how others perceive us and our message, and how we understand concrete and abstract ideas.

Mastery of language furnishes us with the most powerful tools to change the world: ideas. Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam: These great world religions have shaped our world through the power of their beliefs communicated through effective use of language. Capitalism, socialism, communism, anarchy: These political systems were formed through the analytical and creative exercise of language. It is a self-evident truth that we have the power to change and improve our world through the effective use of language.

Mastery of the basics is the precondition for mastery of any more complex endeavor. The same is true in the realm of language. It is impossible to reason logically and debate convincingly if this fundamental linguistic foundation is lacking. Return often to the art of grammar, continue to master it through writing, reading, and clear communication, and you will find this simple art will serve you as a boon no matter what endeavor or path you find yourselves on.