universal grammar

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noun Linguistics.

a grammar that attempts to establish the properties and constraints common to all possible human languages.

an innate system of principles underlying the human language faculty.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

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Words nearby universal grammar

Universal City, universal class, universal donor, universal gas constant, universal gas law, universal grammar, universalism, universalist, universality, universalizability, universalize

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use universal grammar in a sentence

Was there something linked to something a little more universal as far as experiences are concerned?
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire|William O’Connor|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“I care about what the universal sense of the film is,” she says.
Brie Larson’s Hollywood Transformation|Marlow Stern|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The courage of this husband and father is a constant reminder of how much some sacrifice for exercising universal rights.
Behind Bars for the Holidays: 11 Political Prisoners We Want to See Free In 2015|Movements.Org|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And this song is just absolute genius and totally universal.
Yes, I Like Christmas Music. Stop Laughing.|Michael Tomasky|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Most people know the Universal Life Church as a quick and easy place to get ordained without leaving your couch.
The Daily Beast’s Best Longreads, Dec 15-21, 2014|William Boot|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Vine is a universal favorite, and rarely out of view; while it often seems to cover half the ground in sight.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
“Well, mistakes is humant,” sighed Sol, taking advantage of that universal absolution.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
The universal ignorance of the working class broke down the aspiring force of genius.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
It stands very much in the way of that universal adult education which is our present concern.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
Wheat gives place to Rye about the same time, and the Potato, at first comparatively rare, becomes universal.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley

British Dictionary definitions for universal grammar

universal grammar

noun

linguistics (in Chomskyan transformation linguistics) the abstract limitations on the formal grammatical description of all human languages, actual or possible, that make them human languages

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012