- [Voiceover] Hi, everyone. My name is David, and
I'm here to introduce you to Grammar on Khan Academy. Welcome. I'm so glad you could join me. So, let's start by asking the question, "What is grammar?" What is this thing, why is
it worthwhile to study it, why would you wanna put
up with listening to me? Well, first of all, grammar
is a set of conventions and rules that govern language. So what's the difference
between a convention and a rule? Well, a rule is kind of
the bare minimum of what it takes to make your
language understandable by other people, right? So in order to make a
car work, for example, in order to make it move
forward as intended, the wheels have to go on the
bottom instead of the roof. That's a rule. The idea that all cars should
be painted teal, for example, is a convention. Now is that true that
all cars should be teal? No, not necessarily, but that
leads me to my second point, that grammar is context dependent. The kind of grammar that you use throughout your day changes. It depends on who you're talking to, what you're trying to say, and
how you're trying to say it. And so we use multiple
kinds of grammar throughout our days and throughout our lives. Another thing you need to
know is that you already know so much grammar. Just from living and
existing in the world and talking to other people. You know how to put a sentence together. If you can understand me, then you know so much about grammar. You know more than I can teach you. What these videos are for is to give names to the things you already know. To give you a greater command of them. And I want to say, too,
that these videos are only about a very specific kind of grammar. It's called Standard American English. But I want you to know that
there are many Englishes. And you know what? They're all great. They are all wonderful and vibrant and important and special. And what I do not want for
you to take away from these videos is that I'm trying
to teach you what is right and what is wrong. If the kind of English you
speak doesn't sound like the kind of English I speak,
that is okay, you know? You are great. What I want to do is give you
the tools to harness language. To harness English and use it any way you want. I mean, I'm saying I don't
care what color your car is. It could be pink, it could
be green, it could be purple, it could be paisley, you know. I'm just trying to make sure
your wheels are on straight. You are a grammarian. You have made a study of
grammar throughout your entire speaking and reading life. And I firmly believe that
you can learn anything. Welcome to Grammar on Khan Academy. David out.