This paper explains the main concepts of communicative grammar and provides a detailed view of how communicative grammar analyses language at various levels. Language is discussed in terms of communication; the central elements in the analysis are those that carry information. Communicative grammar seeks to describe the process of the linguistic formulation of a thought. Details for analysis are provided here along with examples. Implications for theoretical, applied, and computational linguistics, language instruction, and translation are noted. A bibliography is included. (VM)