Words and grammar in prose texts I

Abstract

Jonathan Swift defines a style as ‘proper words in proper places’. Words alone do not make up language, or communicate to others, except in restricted texts consisting simply of lists. The ‘proper places’ for words implies that there is an ordering of words which we recognise as making sense. The rules which underlie correct and acceptable word order make up the grammar or syntax of the language. And just as different words have different meanings and connotations, so differences in the choices we make from the rules of the grammar affect the meaning and style of what we say.

Proper words in proper places, make the true definition of a style. (Jonathan Swift, Letter to a Young Gentleman in Holy Orders, 1721)