Accoy Tan Why Do We Care About Grammar Summary

Kimberly Tan, the Author of “Why Do We Care About Grammar?” explains the usage and value of grammar. Tan states in her opinion about grammar that “people need to realize that grammar is there for the sole purpose of clarity and that it has no value outside of what it attempts to convey” (Tan). Tan argues that grammar should not have a set of concrete rules and that grammar is not the important part in the end, it is the content that is being expressed that truly matters. I personally agree with what Tan has said about grammar. Grammar should be used more so for clarification when writing an essay, we should be focusing more on the meaning of the essay than grammar. Tan uses Shakespeare as an example for grammar usage. Tan writes “Shakespeare broke almost every English rule imaginable, but almost no one would even dare hint that Shakespeare’s writing was subpar” (Tan). Tan is trying to show the readers that even some authors such as Shakespeare ignored rules about proper grammar usage and cared more about the content of the story. Shakespeare’s writings are impeccable but his grammar usage is
Tan says “English has been changing for hundreds of years, evolving from old English to Middle English to the more recognizable Modern English that we utilize today; throughout all this time, it has remained perfectly understandable, and it will almost certainly continue that way far into the future” (Tan). Tan explains that the English language has been changing for many years and will continue to do so, yet we are still able to understand the meaning behind the text. Grammar has been changing for many years and will most likely continue to do so. As long as we get the meaning behind the writings isn’t that all that matters? It’s been the use of grammar that has been changing over time but the meaning of the writing has not