The importance of English grammar

Why English Grammar is Very Important

There is a widespread belief that grammar is not as important when learning a foreign language. This incorrect assertion has gained considerable attention.

Neglecting grammar rules will lead to illiteracy. Language students are primarily interested in language practice rather than correct writing or listening. However, all aspects of a language are interconnected. It is impossible to build accurate spoken language skills without a solid foundation in grammar.

Even with a sufficient vocabulary, it is impossible to speak correctly without knowing grammatical structures. Therefore, it is important to master grammar to the point of automaticity. Grammar is studied from Elementary to Advanced levels. At the beginning levels, you lay the foundation, which is then strengthened and expanded with new structures at higher levels. It may seem pointless to go over the same formulas repeatedly, but this practice is meant to make them a natural part of your thought process, so you construct sentences directly in English rather than translating from Russian.

On international language exams such as IELTS and TOEFL, your performance in all four parts of the exam—speaking, writing, listening, and reading—is assessed based on your grammar knowledge. Mistakes in grammar affect your score more than a weak vocabulary or hesitant speech.

To speak English fluently, you need to master grammar so well that you don't need to think about which of the eight tenses to use in a sentence.

Good news! English grammar is much simpler than Russian grammar, and it will take you significantly less time to learn it.

Knowledge of grammar rules affects how well you understand spoken and written English.

For example:

He said that the weather was fine - past simple

He is said that the weather was fine - passive voice

These sentences sound similar, but their meanings are different. The first sentence means that he said the weather was fine, while the second sentence means that he is told that the weather was fine.

You can see that changing the structure can drastically alter the meaning of a sentence.

Not knowing the rules will lead to misunderstandings between you and your interlocutor, no matter how extensive your vocabulary is.

In conclusion:

Speaking - grammar mastered to automaticity plus vocabulary. They go hand in hand. The same applies to other aspects of the language.