 was initially based on European languages,

particularly on Latin and Greek. It is the

most widespread and elaborate grammar
and is widely used in language teaching,
thus termed pedagogic grammar.
 A pedagogic grammar is a description of how to
use the grammar of a language to communicate,
for people wanting to learn the target language.
It can be compared with a reference grammar,
which just describes the grammar of the
language. Pedagogic grammars contain
assumptions about how learners learn, follow
certain linguistic theories in their descriptions,
and are written for a specific target audience.
 is the collection of prescriptive rules and concepts about
the structure of language that is commonly taught in schools.

 Traditional English grammar (also known as school grammar) is

largely based on the principles of Latin grammar, not on current
linguistic research in English. In linguistics, a traditional
grammar is a framework for the description of the structure of
language. Traditional grammars are commonly used in
language education.
 "We say that traditional grammar is
prescriptive because it focuses on the
distinction between what some people do
with language and what they ought to do
with it, according to a pre-established
standard. . . . The chief goal of traditional
grammar, therefore, is perpetuating a
historical model of what supposedly
constitutes proper language."
Concepts treated in traditional grammars include:

• Subject Noun
Predicate • Adjective

Object Determiner

Predicative • Verb

Adverbial and adjunct • Adverb

Sentence • Preposition

Clause Conjunction

• Phrase Pronoun
 The primary purpose of speaking and writing is to communicate
with others. Grammar is simply the commonly accepted
methods of organizing and expressing words and phrases so
that the intended meaning is easily and successfully
communicated. As long as accepted grammar rules are
followed, the communication can be successful. However,
when the grammar rules are not followed fairly closely, it can
become awkward for the listener to hear the intended
message. It is as if they are having to walk through a verbal
obstacle course to reach the destination, the meaning of the
communication. Misuse of grammar can also convey to the
reader or listener that the communicator is not educated or not
intelligent. Improper use of grammar is used by writers when
they are attempting to show a lack of refinement in their
characters.
 Firstly, it is prescriptive in nature, attempting to lay down rules for speakers
of a language.
 Secondly, its grammatical categories are merely based on European
languages and are found inadequate in describing other languages.
 Thirdly, it lacks a theoretical framework and thus fails to account for the
nature of language.
 It has given a distorted view of what language is, placing priority on rules
rather than on functions of communication.
 Language is not a math. (Is there such a thing a 'traditional grammar'?)
Though grammar can help, in the same way maths can help in Biology or
other sciences.
 The grammar of English is constantly changing (oxymoronically). Though,
one could argue that there is a universal grammar, as was thought in the
Baroque and Classical eras, more esp. with music.
 In spite of focusing on functional grammar Traditional
grammar being full of short comings is still in use because of
our system being based on it and. To sum up I would like to
quote Fries who says about Traditional grammarians thus:
 “Not insightful, prescientific, prescriptive
and having a literary bias, they are full of
inadequacies there may be about 200
definitions of a sentences yet they are not
able to differentiate between “The dog is
barking and The barking dog.”
 James D. Williams, The Teacher's Grammar Book.
Routledge, 2005.
 David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the
English Language. Cambridge University Press,
2003.
 George Hillocks, Research on Written Composition:
New Directions for Teaching. National Council of
Teachers, 1986.
 Brian Brooks, James Pinson, and Jean Gaddy
Wilson, Working with Words. Macmillan, 2005.
 Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft
Corporation.
 Grammar Code 5657 AIOU Islamabad.