Peter on Grammar

Why is grammar important? What, in fact, is grammar? How important is grammar?

What is grammar? I think grammar is the way that people use the words in their language to share ideas. I don't think it is a book, although some patterns are common enough that they can be written down in a book. Those books are useful for checking how people actually use their language, but they do not make it right or wrong. And of course, grammar changes. The way people speak and write English today is very different to how it was used by Shakespeare. In fact, even in my life time, things are changing. Twenty years ago, no one in academic writing would start a sentence with the words and or but, but both are now common. I even see the word so at the start of a sentence sometimes, although I think that is wrong and would not do it myself. On the other hand, I do start sentences with so in my less formal writing, and in class discussions, we often begin sentences, especially questions, with so. According to the grammar books, including Quest, words like and, but, and so are all coordinating conjunctions and must not be used to start a sentence, so are we all wrong? I don't think so, but please don't start your sentences with so in the academic writing assignments! (I will mark that wrong, although and and but might be OK, depending on the context.)