Grammar and Syntax: Understanding Their Differences and Interrelatedness

Abstract

Many scholars affirm that syntax is a part of grammar. Some others illustrate it by saying that grammar is a book and syntax is a chapter of this book. This fact has attracted my attention to the extent that I attempt to answer the question: is it true that syntax is a part of grammar and grammar is not a part of syntax? To answer this question, I collected different ideas from scholars who write about grammar and syntax so as to analyze them. Therefore, this article aims at explaining that grammar is grammar and syntax is syntax although they share some common points. In general, sciences are interrelated. Although sciences are interrelated, each science distinguishes itself from other sciences by its properties, characteristics, methods, and subjects of study. Having this in mind, it is clear that grammar and syntax are interrelated and each of them is a particular discipline. This is to say that syntax is a discipline different from grammar which is also another discipline. A discipline cannot be a part of another discipline. If a discipline is a part of another discipline, therefore that discipline is not a discipline. It is not justifiable to say that syntax is a part of grammar and deny that grammar is not a part of syntax since a whole is made of parts. If syntax is a part, grammar is also a part. It means that grammar without syntax, grammar is no longer grammar because its part that makes a whole is missing. If this is true, syntax is a part of grammar, and grammar is a part of syntax. In fact, grammar and syntax are distinct disciplines.