grammatical
Americanadjective
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of or relating to grammar.
grammatical analysis.
-
conforming to standard usage.
grammatical speech.
adjective
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of or relating to grammar
-
(of a sentence) well formed; regarded as correct and acceptable by native speakers of the language
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of grammatical
1520–30; < Latin grammatic ( us ) (< Greek grammatikós knowing one's letters, equivalent to grammat-, stem of grámma letter + -ikos -ic ) + -al 1
Explanation
If your know-it-all friend advises you not to say, "Me and John went...," she is giving you grammatical advice. In other words, she's correcting your terrible grammar. (BTW, it should be "John and I...") The adjective grammatical comes up most often in English classes, since it describes anything having to do with parts of speech, syntax, and other elements of a well-written sentence. The Latin root word is grammaticalis, meaning "of a scholar," which in turn comes from the word grammaticus, "pertaining to grammar." If you're an authority on the English language, you can feel free to describe yourself as a grammatical scholar.
Vocabulary lists containing grammatical
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gram
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Yale Grammatical Diversity Project, where I’m a member of the research team, performs large-scale surveys exploring nonstandard grammatical constructions and where in America they are used.
From Slate • Jul. 20, 2018
The first volume of his three-volume grammar and spelling series for schoolchildren, A Grammatical Institute of the English Language, appeared in 1784.
From Time • May 12, 2015
Grammatical inquiries arrive, one signed "Perplexed in Pittsburgh."
From Time Magazine Archive
Grammatical complexity, meanwhile, was an indicator of how well memory was functioning.
From Time Magazine Archive
Grammatical adverbs are those which are formed by adding E to a root, grammatical termination, or affix.
From The International Auxiliary Language Esperanto Grammar and Commentary by Cox, George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
