Is knowing the vocabulary of another language more useful than knowing the grammar?

Personally, I feel vocabulary is more immediately useful than grammar when you're starting out. The main reason is that even with basic words, you can communicate needs and understand simple things - whereas perfect grammar without key words leaves you stuck. For example, when I was learning French, just knowing "pain" and "fromage" let me order a sandwich in a café, even though my sentence structure was terrible. That being said, grammar becomes crucial later for proper conversations - you can't have a real discussion just pointing at objects. So it's about stages - words help you survive first, then grammar helps you actually connect with people.