Library / English Dictionary

GRAMMAR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (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)

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)

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

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)

attributively (in an attributive manner)

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:)

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

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)

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)

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)

Credits

 Context examples: 

One day, about the time of our Cliffe Royal adventure, I was seated in the cottage looking round at the curios which my father had fastened on to the walls, and wishing, like the lazy lad that I was, that Mr. Lilly had died before ever he wrote his Latin grammar, when my mother, who was sitting knitting in the window, gave a little cry of surprise.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

When she returned with the grammar, she drew a chair near his—he wondered if he should have helped her with the chair—and sat down beside him.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Then there were a number of grammars, such as Metcalf’s, and Reed and Kellogg’s; and I smiled as I saw a copy of The Dean’s English.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

The new master came from a grammar school; and before he entered on his duties, dined in the parlour one day, to be introduced to Steerforth.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The one with red cheeks is called Miss Smith; she attends to the work, and cuts out—for we make our own clothes, our frocks, and pelisses, and everything; the little one with black hair is Miss Scatcherd; she teaches history and grammar, and hears the second class repetitions; and the one who wears a shawl, and has a pocket-handkerchief tied to her side with a yellow ribband, is Madame Pierrot: she comes from Lisle, in France, and teaches French.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

After that we got on better, and now I read my lessons pretty well, for this way of studying suits me, and I can see that the grammar gets tucked into the tales and poetry as one gives pills in jelly.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

But did you finish grammar school?

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

It is a question neither of grammar nor ethics, but of fact.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Perhaps it is a grammar, perhaps a history, or geography.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

One evening, while, with her usual child-like activity, and thoughtless yet not offensive inquisitiveness, she was rummaging the cupboard and the table-drawer of my little kitchen, she discovered first two French books, a volume of Schiller, a German grammar and dictionary, and then my drawing-materials and some sketches, including a pencil-head of a pretty little cherub-like girl, one of my scholars, and sundry views from nature, taken in the Vale of Morton and on the surrounding moors.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)