grammatical
A2Pronunciation
UK
- /ɡrəmˈætɪkəl/
US
- /ɡrəˈmætəkəl/
- /ɡrəˈmætɪkəl/
Description
- Relating to grammar
- following language rules
- correct sentence structure
If you describe something as "grammatical," you mean that it follows the rules of grammar and is put together in a way that makes sense in the language. A grammatical sentence sounds right to a fluent speaker and is easy to understand. You might say a teacher corrected a student's grammatical errors, or that a piece of writing is grammatical but still a little awkward. It is mostly about using words, verb forms, and sentence structure in the right way.
"Grammatical" describes anything related to grammar, or anything that follows the rules that shape a language. It is often used to talk about whether a sentence, phrase, or word form is correct in structure. This is not only about punctuation or small classroom mistakes. It also includes how words change form, how they fit together in phrases, and how sentences are built.
You might describe a sentence as "grammatically correct" if it follows these rules. A "grammatical error" is a mistake in language use, such as the wrong verb tense, missing agreement between subject and verb, or a sentence pattern that does not work in that language. But the word can also be used more broadly. Linguists talk about grammatical forms, grammatical patterns, and grammatical systems when they study how a language works.
The term is not limited to writing. Spoken language has grammar too, and native speakers usually follow many of its rules without thinking about them. A skilled writer or speaker may be praised for strong grammatical control, meaning they use the language in a clear and correct way.
Sometimes, people break grammatical rules on purpose for style, especially in poetry, song lyrics, or informal speech and writing. Even then, the idea still points back to the normal rules of the language. So whether you are checking an essay, studying sentence patterns, or trying to speak clearly, "grammatical" is about the rule-based side of how language is formed and used.
Examples
- 1
Essay feedback
The teacher marked the grammatical errors in my essay.
- 2
Word order
This word order is grammatical in English, but not in French.
- 3
Standard English
I'm not sure whether "informations" is grammatical in standard English.
- 4
Naturalness
His answer was grammatical, but it didn't sound natural.
Phrase
grammatical but not natural
correct by the rules, but not the usual way people speak
- 5
Casual conversation
In casual conversation, people often use short replies that aren't fully grammatical.
Forms and spellings
1 form open this card.
Main spelling
- grammaticaladjective