Grammar Questions & Answers

The following observations on language, drawn from the works of various writers and scholars, take us beyond simple definitions. Approaching the subject from different metaphorical perspectives, sometimes in contradictory ways, these quotations should serve as points of departure for your own exploration of the mystery of language.

What was the first language? How did language begin--and where and when? It's hard to imagine a cultural phenomenon that's more important than the development of language. And yet no human attribute offers less conclusive evidence regarding its origins. Over the centuries, many theories have been put forward--and just about all of them have been...

"Descriptive grammar" refers to the structure of a language as it is actually used by speakers and writers. "Prescriptive grammar" refers to the structure of a language as certain people think it should be used.

The following comments--from linguists, lexicographers, grammarians, and journalists--are offered in the spirit of fostering discussion rather than resolving all the many complex issues that surround the term "Standard English."

In his preface to "The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language," David Crystal offers six good reasons for studying the English language.

Professor George Krapp's engaging response to the question "What is good English?" remains as provocative as when it was first published in 1909.

I've been thumbing through old books on business writing and office etiquette to find a reasonable definition of "good English." What I found, however, was a greater interest in good looks than in good language.

From the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), a lucid and sensible position statement on the value of teaching grammar in American schools.

In "The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language," David Crystal opens his chapter on "Grammar Mythology" with a list of six good reasons to study grammar.

"Descriptive grammar" refers to the structure of a language as it is actually used by speakers and writers. "Prescriptive grammar" refers to the structure of a language as certain people think it should be used.

Grammar is the rationale of a language; usage is the etiquette.

After reading this article, decide if you are a SNOOT: one of "the Few, the Proud, the More or Less Constantly Appalled at Everyone Else."

An alternative to traditional forms of grammar instruction, sentence combining gives students practice in manipulating a variety of basic sentence structures.

In these ten sets of questions and answers, you'll find simplified definitions and brief examples of key verb-related terms in English.

Verbing is a time-honored way of coining new words out of old ones, the etymological process of conversion (or functional shifting). Sometimes it's also a kind of word play.

"Weak verbs" (also called regular verbs) form the past tense by adding -ed, -d, or -t to the base form. "Strong verbs" (also called irregular verbs) form the past tense or the past participle (or both) in various ways but most often by changing the vowel of the present tense form.

An appositive is a word or group of words that renames another word in a sentence. Here we'll look at some of the ways in which George Orwell uses appositives in his essay "A Hanging."

The sentence adverb has served a useful function in English since the 14th century. In the past few decades, however, one sentence adverb in particular has come in for a lot of criticism. Here we'll look at some examples of sentence adverbs and consider what--if anything--is wrong with the ever-optimistic adverb "hopefully."

Although the double genitive may appear overly possessive, the construction has been around for centuries and it's perfectly correct.

In one respect, the present participle is a simple, straightforward construction. Whether "laughing" or "crying," "rising" or "falling," it's formed by adding "-ing" to the base form of a verb. No exceptions. But after that, it gets a bit more complicated.

Find out what distinguishes a present participle ("singing," for instance) from the present progressive tense ("is singing").

The Oxford (or serial) comma is the comma that precedes the conjunction before the final item in a list of three or more items.

If you grew up using a typewriter, you were probably taught to put two spaces after a period. But like the typewriter itself, that custom went out of fashion many years ago.

A placeholder (also known as a tongue-tipper) is a word used by speakers to signal that they don't know or can't remember a more precise word for something--a "thingie," for instance, or a "thingamabob."

An eponym is a word derived from the proper name of a person or place. Some eponyms ("sandwich" and "valentine," for instance) are well known. But there are hundreds of other eponyms whose etymologies are less familiar. Here are a few.

Style guides disagree on which words to capitalize in a title (of a book, article, essay, movie, song, or video game). Here's a basic guide to the two most common methods: sentence case and title case.

In my job, I frequently have to write the abbreviation for "United States." What is the preferred way to write the abbreviation: "U.S." or "US"?

As it happens, there's more than one preferred way to write the abbreviation for United States.

It has been common practice to begin sentences with a conjunction since at least as far back as the 10th century.

Quite simply, no. A preposition is not a bad word to end a sentence with. Even in your grandparents' day a preposition was not a bad word to end a sentence with.

The so-called "split infinitive" is a construction in which one or more words come between the particle "to" and the verb. And there's nothing wrong with it.

The loss of the first "r" in the pronunciation of "February" is the result of a process called "dissimilation," where one of two similar sounds in a word is sometimes changed or dropped to avoid the repetition of that sound.

Family slang refers to words and phrases (neologisms) created, used, and generally understood only by the members of a family. As a rule, these coinages do not appear in any conventional dictionary.

The NATO phonetic alphabet is a spelling alphabet used by airline pilots, police, the military, and other officials when communicating over radio or telephone.