Grammar is the ways that words can be put together in order to make sentences.
He doesn't have mastery of the basic rules of grammar.
...the difference between Sanskrit and English grammar.
Synonyms: syntax, rules of language More Synonyms of grammar
2. uncountable noun
Someone's grammar is the way in which they obey or do not obey the rules of grammar when they write or speak.
His vocabulary was sound and his grammar excellent.
...a deterioration in spelling and grammar among teenagers.
3. countable noun
A grammar is a book that describes the rules of a language.
...an advanced English grammar.
4. variable noun
A particular grammar is a particular theory that is intended to explain the rules of a language.
Transformational grammars are more restrictive.
English Easy Learning GrammarParts of speechSentences are made up of words. A sentence can be made up of any number of words. He left us. The man in the corner lowered his newspaper. Whenever I see ... Read more
grammar in British English
(ˈɡræmə)
noun
1.
the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology, sometimes also phonology and semantics
2.
the abstract system of rules in terms of which the mastery of one's native language can be explained
3.
a systematic description of the grammatical facts of a language
4.
a book containing an account of the grammatical facts of a language or recommendations as to rules for the proper use of a language
5.
a.
the use of language with regard to its correctness or social propriety, esp in syntax
the teacher told him to watch his grammar
b.
(as modifier)
a grammar book
6.
the elementary principles of a science or art
the grammar of drawing
Derived forms
grammarless (ˈgrammarless)
adjective
Word origin
C14: from Old French gramaire, from Latin grammatica, from Greek grammatikē (tekhnē) the grammatical (art), from grammatikos concerning letters, from gramma letter
grammar in American English
(ˈgræmər)
noun
1.
that part of the study of language which deals with the forms and structure of words(morphology), with their customary arrangement in phrases and sentences (syntax), and now often with language sounds (phonology) and word meanings (semantics)
2.
the system of a given language at a given time
3.
a body of rules imposed on a given language for speaking and writing it, based on the study of its grammar (sense 2) or on some adaptation of another, esp. Latin, grammar
4.
a book or treatise on grammar
5.
one's manner of speaking or writing as judged by prescriptive grammatical rules
his grammar was poor
6.
a.
the elementary principles of a field of knowledge
b.
a book or treatise on these
Word origin
ME gramer < OFr gramaire < L grammatica (ars, art) < Gr grammatikē (technē, art), grammar, learning < gramma, something written (see gram1): in L & Gr a term for the whole apparatus of literary study: in the medieval period,specif., “the study of Latin,” hence “all learning as recorded in Latin” (cf. grammar school in Brit usage), and “the occult sciences as assoc. with this learning”: see gramarye, glamour
Examples of 'grammar' in a sentence
grammar
The 7,000 or so natural languages spoken in the world today differ radically in vocabulary and grammar.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Currently only 3 % of grammar school pupils come from families with incomes so low that they qualify for free school meals.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We live in Kent, one of only a few counties with a full grammar school system.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Together they took her in hand, corrected her terrible spelling and grammar, and got her to rewrite her earlier attempts at fiction.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
That brings me to the wider issue of the uses of grammar.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
You may want to show employers you can spell and use grammar and punctuation correctly.
The Sun (2010)
There will be calls for a return to the grammar school system.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
This branch of grammar is called syntax.
Harris, Marvin Cultural Anthropology (1995)
One possibility is that all pupils in grammar school areas should be automatically entered for the test.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Universities have long complained that modern students need lessons in grammar and spelling when they arrive.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
My daughter is attending her local grammar school sixth form.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Labour has previously been accused of using grammar schools as a political ploy.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
All languages have grammar in immense complexity.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The sound system and the grammar changed a good deal.
Goshgarian, Gary Exploring language (6th edn) (1995)
All these young men and women were former grammar school pupils.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
People are not likely to welcome being helped with their spelling and grammar.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
It failed to end selection at the local grammar school.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Here is something else that we write frequently and that is bad grammar as well as poor style.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
When you learn a foreign language, it makes no sense to study vocabulary without grammar.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Ihave just published a book about English grammar.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
There is inevitably less appreciation of English vocabulary and grammar.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Tougher standards for spelling, punctuation and grammar are also being introduced.
The Sun (2011)
Ignore the glut of grammar books out there, pick this one.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
It's like learning the basic grammar and structure of a new language.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
A sentence can have perfectly correct grammar but lousy syntax.
Porush, David A Short Guide to Writing About Science (1995)
A mature learner himself, he promoted primary education, and was keen on proper grammar.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Quotations
When I split an infinitive, God damn it, I split it so it will stay splitRaymond ChandlerLetter to Edward Weeks
This is the sort of English up with which I will not putWinston Churchill
In other languages
grammar
British English: grammar /ˈɡræmə/ NOUN
Grammar is the ways that words can be put together in order to make sentences.
He worked hard on his grammar.
American English: grammar
Arabic: نَحْو
Brazilian Portuguese: gramática
Chinese: 文法
Croatian: gramatika
Czech: gramatika
Danish: grammatik
Dutch: grammatica
European Spanish: gramática
Finnish: kielioppi
French: grammaire
German: Grammatik
Greek: γραμματική
Italian: grammatica
Japanese: 文法
Korean: 문법
Norwegian: grammatikk
Polish: gramatyka
European Portuguese: gramática
Romanian: gramatică
Russian: грамматика
Latin American Spanish: gramática
Swedish: grammatik
Thai: ไวยากรณ์
Turkish: gramer
Ukrainian: граматика
Vietnamese: ngữ pháp
All related terms of 'grammar'
case grammar
a system of grammatical description based on the functional relations that noun groups have to the main verb of a sentence
grammar book
the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology , sometimes also phonology and semantics
pivot grammar
a loose grammar said to govern two-word utterances by children
formal grammar
a set of syntactically valid formation rules of a formal language
grammar checker
a utility that allows the user to check a document for errors of grammar
grammar school
A grammar school is a school in Britain for children aged between eleven and eighteen who have a high academic ability .
surface grammar
grammar understood at the level of normal communication , rather than at the underlying level of 'deep' semantic and syntactic analysis
valency grammar
a system of linguistic syntax , conceived by analogy with chemical valency , according to which verbs have valencies dependent on the number of noun phrases with which they combine
categorial grammar
a theory that characterizes syntactic categories in terms of functions between classes of expressions . The basic classes are names ( N ) and sentences ( S ). Intransitive verbs are symbols for functions which take a name and yield a sentence (written S/N ), adverbs form compound verbs from verbs (for example , run fast ) and so are ( S/N )/( S/N ), etc
dependency grammar
a type of generative grammar in which grammatical structure is determined by the relationship between a governor and its dependents
generative grammar
a description of a language in terms of explicit rules that ideally generate all and only the grammatical sentences of the language
Montague grammar
a model-theoretic semantic theory for natural language that seeks to encompass indexical expressions and opaque contexts within an extensional theory by constructing set-theoretic representations of the intension of an expression in terms of functions of possible worlds
systemic grammar
a grammar in which description is founded on the relationships among the various units at different ranks of a language, and in which language is viewed as a system of meaning-creating choices
universal grammar
(in Chomskyan transformation linguistics ) the abstract limitations on the formal grammatical description of all human languages, actual or possible , that make them human languages
descriptive grammar
an approach to grammar that is concerned with reporting the usage of native speakers without reference to proposed norms of correctness or advocacy of rules based on such norms
finite state grammar
a simplified form of transformational grammar devised by Noam Chomsky
stratificational grammar
a theory of grammar analysing language in terms of several structural strata or layers with different syntactic rules
transformational grammar
a grammatical description of a language making essential use of transformational rules . Such grammars are usually but not necessarily generative grammars
phrase-structure grammar
a grammar in which relations among the words and morphemes of a sentence are described , but not deeper or semantic relations
transformational (generative) grammar
a system of linguistic analysis consisting of a set of rules that generate basic syntactic structures, in the form of simple independent clauses , and a set of transformational rules that operate on those structures so as to produce questions , complex sentences, etc. and thus to account for every possible sentence of a language
elementary school
An elementary school is a school where children are taught for the first six or sometimes eight years of their education.
Chinese translation of 'grammar'
grammar
(ˈɡræməʳ)
n(u)
(= rules of language) 语(語)法 (yǔfǎ)
(= use of rules) 语(語)法运(運)用 (yǔfǎ yùnyòng)
(noun)
Definition
the rules of a language, that show how sentences are formed, or how words are inflected
the basic rules of grammar
Synonyms
syntax
rules of language
see also subject word lists:
See Grammatical cases
Quotations
When I split an infinitive, God damn it, I split it so it will stay split [Raymond Chandler – Letter to Edward Weeks]This is the sort of English up with which I will not put [Winston Churchill]