grammar
/ˈɡɹæm.ɚ/ noun A1- A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general.
- The study of such a system.
- Actual or presumed prescriptive notions about the correct use of a language.
- A book describing the grammar (noun sense 1 or noun sense 2) of a language.
- A formal system specifying the syntax of a language.
- A formal system defining a formal language.
- The basic rules or principles of a field of knowledge or a particular skill.
- A set of component patterns, along with the rules for connecting them, which can be combined to form more complex patterns such as large still lifes, oscillators, and spaceships.
Plural grammars
From the library
Carrie Sloane cried into her grammar all the afternoon and felt that life was not worth living.
A lump came into her throat, and she hastily retired behind the pages of her uplifted Latin grammar to hide the tears in her eyes.
I am very tired of swimming about here, O Mouse!” (Alice thought this must be the right way of speaking to a mouse: she had never done such a thing before, but she remembered having seen in her brother’s Latin Grammar, “A mouse—of a mouse—to a mouse—a mouse—O mouse!”) The Mouse looked at her rather inquisitively, and seemed to her to wink with one of its little eyes, but it said nothing.
Beyond grammar, the everyday vocabulary of Ireland is heavily peppered with words that reflect the older cultural traditions.
Learn grammar in real texts
With a free account, hover any word in the library for its meaning, hear it read aloud, save words for review timed to your memory, and see how much of each book you already know.