The key difference between grammar and vocabulary is that grammar is the set of rules in a language used for connecting words into a sentence, whereas vocabulary is the words in a language.
Both grammar and vocabulary involve the use of words. They are compulsory for clear communication and the improvement of the four language skills. Grammar and vocabulary go hand-in-hand because you cannot learn one without the other. However, you should always learn to use sentences instead of learning words separately; only then will you learn the proper usage of that particular language.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Grammar
3. What is Vocabulary
4. Grammar vs Vocabulary in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Grammar vs Vocabulary
What is Grammar?
Grammar is the underlying structure of a language that helps people to arrange the words in a sentence to convey the proper meaning. It is also identified as a set of rules about the syntax and word structures of a language used in learning a language. Generally, every language has its own grammar.
There are nine types of grammar: descriptive, prescriptive, comparative, generative, mental, performance, traditional, transformational, and universal grammar.
- Descriptive grammar is about language structure and how it is used by people. There is no right or wrong in it.
- Prescriptive grammar is about language structure and how it should be used.
- Comparative grammar is about comparing and analyzing grammar structures of the language.
- Generative grammar is about the structure of the native speaker’s language.
- Mental grammar is the generative grammar that is stored in the human brain. This helps a person produce meaningful grammar.
- Performance grammar is used to indicate the real usage of grammar in concrete situations.
- Traditional grammar is the grammar taught in schools.
- Transformational grammar is about the construction of grammar by phrases and linguistic structures.
- Universal grammar says that principles shared by all languages are innate.
The origins of grammar can be traced to about 100 BC Greece. The Romans adopted Greek grammar to create Latin grammar. Later on, it spread across Europe and became the bases for the Spanish and French languages. Finally, Latin became the base of English grammar in the 11th century. Grammar rules changed over time from the 15th century because of the development of various linguistics studies like phonology and morphology to what we learn today.
What is Vocabulary?
Vocabulary is the set of words known by a person. It is necessary for you to expand your knowledge through effective communication. Usually, vocabulary improves with age and usage. The term vocabulary is used to refer to all the words in a language or the words in a specific context, or words an individual knows.
There are various types of vocabulary depending on the language skill we use. When it comes to speaking, vocabulary is about words that we speak aloud for communication and giving instructions. This involves about 5000-10,000 words. In listening, it is the words we hear when others speak. Reading is about how many words we understand while reading. Reading helps you a lot to improve your vocabulary. Finally, writing is about the words we spell and use in the proper context. This is generally smaller than people’s speaking and listening vocabulary.
There are various levels of vocabulary. Basic vocabulary involves simple words with a single meaning. Next comes high-frequency vocabulary, which has words with multiple meanings, and lastly, low-frequency vocabulary, which is also called topic vocabulary, where words are used only for a specific topic.
What is the Difference Between Grammar and Vocabulary?
The key difference between grammar and vocabulary is that grammar is the set of rules in a language used for connecting words into a sentence, whereas vocabulary is the words in a language. Generally, the vocabulary of a language changes much faster than its grammar.
Below is a summary of the difference between grammar and vocabulary in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Grammar vs Vocabulary
Grammar is the underlying structure of a language that helps people to arrange the words in a sentence to convey the proper meaning. We can learn grammar using grammar books, and it is limited, challenging, and evolve very rarely. Vocabulary is the set of words known by a person. We can improve our vocabulary by reading and referring to dictionaries. It is expandable and unlimited, unlike grammar. So, this is the summary of the difference between grammar and vocabulary.
Reference:
1. “Grammar.” Wikipedia. Wikipedia Foundation.
2. “Vocabulary.” Wikipedia. Wikipedia Foundation.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Was, Were – Grammar Structure for Verb To Be in Past Simple” By Goose friend – Own work (CC0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Dictionary” (CC0) via Pixabay