Skip to main content
grammar

grammar

106 1.1
Rules of a language that show how words form sentences
  • noun
  • /ˈɡræmər/
translation icon : gramática
  • My mother worked as a teacher at St. Charles Grammar School during the war.
  • English grammar
  • correct grammar
  • grammar and spelling

The bad news was they had to correct the grammar, which they did.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • She struggled with grammar during her English lessons, but never gave up.

  • After the first draft was finished, they would work on grammar problems that had surfaced.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • The bad news was they had to correct the grammar, which they did.

  • Notice that my grammar is in fact still correct.

  • So the choice is health, grammar, knowledge, or money.

  • My brothers are still in grammar school.

  • Well, as children, we were taught grammar and syntax.

  • Nevertheless, Hamilton did not oppose the study of grammar, only its timing.

    Academic text (2008)
  • In order to write clearly, you must have a good grasp of grammar.

  • His knowledge of grammar helped him write essays with better structure.

Compounds

A guide about how to form sentences and use words correctly

Wrong use of language rules when speaking or writing

grammar school
  • Archaic
1 5.3

A secondary school that teaches Latin and Greek to prepare students for university

1 1.1

A school for young children covering the first six or eight grades

descriptive grammar
  • Specialized
5.7

A description of how people actually use a language, not how they should speak

generative grammar
  • Specialized
8.4

A theory that explains how rules make all correct sentences and shows their structure

grammar cop
  • Informal
7.3

A person who often corrects other people's grammar in a strict way

grammar Nazism
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who is too strict about language rules and harshly corrects small mistakes

prescriptive grammar
  • Specialized
7.3

A set of rules saying how people should use a language rather than how they actually speak

Surface Forms

grammar singular
grammars plural

Etymology

Grammar comes from the Greek word gramma, which means 'letter' or 'writing' and is the same root you see in telegram. It first meant the study of letters and writing, so grammar now means the rules about how words and sentences work in a language.