Why is syntax important for elt?

Answer 1

Syntax refers to the rules on how words are arranged. In any language, this is important to learn, as the order of words can sometimes change the meaning of a sentence, or otherwise make the sentence confusing and hard to understand.

Answer 2

If by ELT you mean "English Language Teaching," then syntax is important because the structure of a sentence gives it meaning. Two sentences can be similar in the words it uses but the way the sentence is structured can vastly change the sentence's meaning. For instance:

The car was pushed by the football player.

The football player pushed the car.

The first uses the passive voice, thus making the car the focus, but the seconds uses the active voice, making the football player the focus. Both say essentially the same thing, but the structure imparts different understandings.

Answer 3

Syntax helps to keep the text cohesive. It is important to reading and writing because the reader needs to understand what is written, and a writer wants to make sure the reader understands.

For example: "I went into town yesterday" would make less sense to a reader if it was written as "town into yesterday went I", even though lots of the meaning is still there.

This differs depending on the language. "I went into town yesterday" in German is "Gestern, bin ich in die stadt gegangen", which directly translated into English would mean "Yesterday am I in the town went".

Answer 4

Syntax ius one of the most important aspect of language that should be known by all the learners.