Speaking or Grammar: Which Comes First?
Speaking. Before you can use any grammar, you first have to SAY something. If you never say anything, you will never know whether your grammar is correct.
Here’s an analogy:
Grammar is the skeleton of a language. Just as the skeleton is essential for the human body, grammar is essential for a language. But before a skeleton even exists, there is already pulsating life inside an embryo. The same is true when learning a language:
- In an embryo, the live, the heart develops first → speaking. Then the skeleton develops → grammar.
Something has to exist before grammar can come into play. And that something is SPEAKING.
Anyone who claims that you must learn grammar first is, biologically speaking, asking for a skeleton to float in mid-air without a beating heart or any muscles. There is simply nothing that could support the skeleton. A person first has to “say something” (form cells, create a heartbeat) before what has been said can be structured by the skeleton—grammar.
But here’s the important part: The moment you say your very first words, you also need grammar. As soon as the skeleton begins to develop, all the other processes happen at the same time. The skeleton and everything else. Grammar and speaking. You can no longer separate the two. Speaking and grammar happen SIMULTANEOUSLY.
An example:
At first I say: Ich… Franziska. The next step is: Ich bin Franziska. Now I need grammar. If I want to say it correctly, I have to conjugate the verb “to be.”
This question of what comes first is a bit like asking: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Today we know that the egg had to come first. But before the egg, there was already “a dinosaur.” One cannot exist without the other.
Speaking needs grammar, and grammar needs speaking so that it can actually be used.
However, there are two ways of thinking that can stop you from really learning German:
- The desire for perfect grammar.
- The belief that “grammar isn’t that important.”
Both mindsets can be fatal. Here’s why.
Why the Desire for Perfect Grammar Keeps You from Speaking
If you’re waiting for perfect grammar, you’re scoring an own goal. You will NEVER really start speaking. The fear of opening your mouth remains, and that fear is the biggest obstacle of all. You MUST make mistakes so that you can correct them later. The only way to overcome your fear is to simply start speaking.
One of my students once said: “I’ll only speak German with my boyfriend once I’ve reached B1.” That means she will probably never speak German with him. Because how is she supposed to reach B1 if she only speaks her native language with him until then?
During all the time she keeps speaking her native language with him, that language becomes even more deeply rooted in her brain, leaving German with very little chance to grow.
You have to use what you learn in your German course—including the grammar. And the only way to use grammar is to actually use the language. With a language “using” means only ONE thing: SPEAKING. You MUST make mistakes. And you’ll only notice your mistakes once you actually SPEAK.
Learning German without actually using it in everyday life gets you nowhere. However, that does NOT mean grammar isn’t important.
Why You Need a Solid Grammar Foundation If You Want to Speak
You won’t learn German if you never learn grammar.
Some learners can communicate in German without ever having studied grammar properly. They can hold conversations, but their grammar is fundamentally incorrect. Later on, it becomes extremely difficult for them to correct these fossilized mistakes.
👉 Reading tipp: If you’d like to know which grammar you learn in an A1 German course—and therefore what you should be able to do—read our blog article “How Long Does an A1 German Course in Frankfurt am Main Take and What Will I Learn?“
👉 Reading tipp: If you’d like to know which grammar you should already know BEFORE starting a B2 German course (but not perfectly!), also read our blog article “Do You Want to Learn German Really Well? Here’s What You Should Know About a B2 German Course”.
How Much Grammar Do You Really Need to Speak German?
You need as much grammar as your speaking requires. It’s really that simple. Only then can you continue building on it. The more you speak, the more complex the grammar you’ll need. In the beginning, you only need simple sentence structures and the most important verb tenses. With every conversation, every new situation, and every higher language level, additional grammar topics naturally become necessary. You do not need to master every grammar rule perfectly in order to communicate well in German.
What really matters is that you learn the grammar appropriate for your current level and use it regularly while speaking. That way, your grammar grows naturally together with your language skills.
Remember: The skeleton (grammar) develops AT THE SAME TIME as the organs, cells, and functions (speaking, listening, vocabulary).
💡 If humans didn’t speak, grammar wouldn’t exist.
💡 If grammar didn’t exist, we wouldn’t be able to express ourselves clearly.
E basta.
Do You Want to Speak German Confidently Right from the Start?
In our A1 German courses in Frankfurt am Main, the main focus is SPEAKING. You don’t learn new grammar in isolation by working through one exercise after another in a coursebook. Instead, you learn it actively through conversations with your classmates and interactive activities where you HAVE TO speak and exchange ideas. This helps you build confidence from your very first lesson and overcome your fear of speaking much more quickly.
👉 Discover our A1 German courses in Frankfurt am Main today.
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