These are sufficient to suggest several distinct notions about English
grammar--

[Sidenote: _Synopsis of the above._]

(1) It makes rules to tell us how to use words.

(2) It is a record of usage which we ought to follow.

(3) It is concerned with the _forms_ of the language.

(4) English _has_ no grammar in the sense of forms, or inflections,
but takes account merely of the nature and the uses of words in
sentences.

[Sidenote: _The older idea and its origin._]

Fierce discussions have raged over these opinions, and numerous works
have been written to uphold the theories. The first of them remained
popular for a very long time. It originated from the etymology of the
word _grammar_ (Greek _gramma_, writing, a letter), and from an effort
to build up a treatise on English grammar by using classical grammar
as a model.

Perhaps a combination of (1) and (3) has been still more popular,
though there has been vastly more classification than there are forms.

[Sidenote: _The opposite view_.]