GRAMMAR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does grammar mean? 

• GRAMMAR (noun)
  The noun GRAMMAR has 1 sense:

1. the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology (and sometimes also deals with semantics)

  Familiarity information: GRAMMAR used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GRAMMAR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology (and sometimes also deals with semantics)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("grammar" is a kind of...):

descriptive linguistics (a description (at a given point in time) of a language with respect to its phonology and morphology and syntax and semantics without value judgments)

Domain category:

linguistics (the scientific study of language)

Domain member category:

aoristic (of or relating to the aorist tense)

infinite; non-finite; nonfinite ((of verbs) not having tense, person, or number (as a participle or gerund or infinitive))

intransitive (designating a verb that does not require or cannot take a direct object)

transitive (designating a verb that requires a direct object to complete the meaning)

asyndetic (lacking conjunctions)

syndetic (connected by a conjunction)

nonrestrictive (not limiting the reference of a modified word or phrase)

limiting (strictly limiting the reference of a modified word or phrase)

strong (of verbs not having standard (or regular) inflection)

weak ((used of verbs) having standard (or regular) inflection)

correlative (expressing a reciprocal or complementary relation)

unrestricted (not restricted or modified in meaning)

qualified; restricted (restricted in meaning; (as e.g. 'man' in 'a tall man'))

illative (expressing or preceding an inference)

attributively (in an attributive manner)

nominal (pertaining to a noun or to a word group that functions as a noun)

nominative (serving as or indicating the subject of a verb and words identified with the subject of a copular verb)

accusative; objective (serving as or indicating the object of a verb or of certain prepositions and used for certain other purposes)

genitive; possessive (serving to express or indicate possession)

scopal (of or relating to scope)

future (a verb tense or other formation referring to events or states that have not yet happened)

optative (relating to a mood of verbs in some languages)

subjunctive (relating to a mood of verbs)

imperative (relating to verbs in the imperative mood)

declarative; indicative (relating to the mood of verbs that is used simple in declarative statements)

interrogative (relating to verbs in the so-called interrogative mood)

participial (of or relating to or consisting of participles)

substantival (of or relating to or having the nature or function of a substantive (i.e. a noun or noun equivalent))

gerundial (relating to or like a gerund)

passive (expressing that the subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb)

head; head word ((grammar) the word in a grammatical constituent that plays the same grammatical role as the whole constituent)

quantifier ((grammar) a word that expresses a quantity (as 'fifteen' or 'many'))

grammatical category; syntactic category ((grammar) a category of words having the same grammatical properties)

subject ((grammar) one of the two main constituents of a sentence; the grammatical constituent about which something is predicated)

object ((grammar) a constituent that is acted upon)

constituent; grammatical constituent ((grammar) a word or phrase or clause forming part of a larger grammatical construction)

clause ((grammar) an expression including a subject and predicate functioning as a part of a complex sentence)

article ((grammar) a determiner that may indicate the specificity of reference of a noun phrase)

modify; qualify (add a modifier to a constituent)

parse (analyze syntactically by assigning a constituent structure to (a sentence))

agree (show grammatical agreement)

active; dynamic ((used of verbs (e.g. 'to run') and participial adjectives (e.g. 'running' in 'running water')) expressing action rather than a state of being)

stative ((used of verbs (e.g. 'be' or 'own') and most participial adjectives) expressing existence or a state rather than an action)

active (expressing that the subject of the sentence has the semantic function of actor:)

finite ((of verbs) relating to forms of the verb that are limited in time by a tense and (usually) show agreement with number and person)

attributive; prenominal (of adjectives; placed before the nouns they modify)

attributive genitive (a word in the genitive case used as an attributive adjective)

predicative (of adjectives; relating to or occurring within the predicate of a sentence)

reflexive; self-referent (referring back to itself)

coordinating; coordinative (serving to connect two grammatical constituents of identical construction)

subordinating; subordinative (serving to connect a subordinate clause to a main clause)

copulative (syntactically connecting sentences or elements of a sentence)

contrastive (syntactically establishing a relation of contrast between sentences or elements of a sentence)

independent; main ((of a clause) capable of standing syntactically alone as a complete sentence)

dependent; subordinate ((of a clause) unable to stand alone syntactically as a complete sentence)

normative; prescriptive (pertaining to giving directives or rules)

endocentric (fulfilling the grammatical role of one of its constituents)

exocentric (not fulfilling the same grammatical role of any of its constituents)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "grammar"):

descriptive grammar (a grammar that is produced by descriptive linguistics)

prescriptive grammar (a grammar that is produced by prescriptive linguistics)

syntax (studies of the rules for forming admissible sentences)

morphology (studies of the rules for forming admissible words)

Derivation:

grammatic (of or pertaining to grammar)

grammatical (conforming to the rules of grammar or usage accepted by native speakers)

grammatical (of or pertaining to grammar)

 Context examples 

"You'll find it all in the grammar," she went on.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

A general deficiency of subject, a total inattention to stops, and a very frequent ignorance of grammar.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

A test that assesses a respondent's knowledge of grammar.

(Grammatical Impairment, NCI Thesaurus)

“Hump, I have studied some grammar in my time, and I think your tenses are tangled. ‘Was mine,’ you should have said, not ’is mine.’”

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

I did; but the Captain was a Captain and a hero, in despite of all the grammars of all the languages in the world, dead or alive.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

True, I know the grammar and the words, but yet I know not how to speak them.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

I tried both ways, and when it came to a sniff or utter mortification and woe, he just threw the grammar on to the floor and marched out of the room.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

These could already read, write, and sew; and to them I taught the elements of grammar, geography, history, and the finer kinds of needlework.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

If you feel a course in grammar or creative writing would help, then by all means sign up, and study on weekends or nights.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Dr Worthington is an Assyriologist who specialises in Babylonian, Assyrian and Sumerian grammar, literature and medicine.

(‘Trickster god’ used fake news in Babylonian Noah story, University of Cambridge)