The grammar of a language is a dynamic, constantly changing set of habit patterns that allows people to communicate with one another. For some reason, many in academia and language teaching seem to have lost sight of this common sense truth, preferring to treat grammar as though it were an object, outside of human beings in society, consisting of absolute categories and rules. This misperception has led to a deep tension between theoreticians and the practical needs of language teachers, whose students often come to believe that grammar is a tedious classroom subject, to be endured as a kind of rite of passage, rather than a key to the amazing world of human communication.

In recent years linguistics has begun to recognize the importance of language in use to general understandings of human cognition, communication, and culture. This orientation, combined with developments in computational technology, has led to more pragmatic, data-driven, theoretical perspectives as linguists look at the way people actually communicate rather than the ideal systems enshrined in countless textbooks of the last century. This book attempts to bring current linguistic understandings to bear on practical tasks, such as language teaching, learning, and translating. It attempts to balance systematicity with creativity, absolutism with flexibility. It takes into account the fact that grammar is thoroughly human, deeply linked with culture and identity, and stunningly complex.