Basic Details
Word: Grammatical
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Following the rules of grammar, or to do with grammar.
Synonyms: correct
Antonyms: ungrammatical
How to Spell Grammatical
Syllables: gram - mat - i - cal
Tricky part: There is a double m, then a, then a single t. Grammar ends in -ar, but grammatical changes it to -at.
Watch out for: gramatical, grammaticle, grammertical
Memory tip: Gram + mat + ical: two m's meet because gram ends in m and mat starts with one.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Every sentence in Tara's essay was grammatical, though some were rather long.
Example 2: The editor fixed a few grammatical slips in our school magazine.
Example 3: A grammatical sentence needs a subject and a verb.
Fun Fact
Panini's Ashtadhyayi, a grammar of Sanskrit written around the fourth century BCE, has close to 4,000 rules and is still studied today.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
grammattical
a) c
b) a
c) t
d) m
Show answer
c) t. Only the m is doubled; the t that follows is single.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of 'grammatical' as it is used in the sentence:
The judges praised Ravi's speech because every sentence was grammatical and clear.
a) accurate
b) correct
c) faulty
d) proper
Show answer
c) faulty. Correct, accurate and proper all praise the speech; faulty sentences break the rules.
Mingle-Mangle
Unscramble the jumbled word in the sentence and choose the correct word:
Please correct the tacrimgalma errors in this paragraph before you hand it in.
a) grammarian
b) grammatical
c) programmatic
d) mathematical
Show answer
b) grammatical. Mathematical needs an h and an e, grammarian an n and an r, and programmatic a p and an o.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which sentence is grammatical?
a) She going to school by bus.
b) She goes to school by bus.
c) She go to school by bus.
d) She goed to school by bus.
Show answer
b) She goes to school by bus.
2. A grammatical error is a mistake in ____.
a) the handwriting
b) the way words are put together
c) the colour of the ink
d) the size of the paper
Show answer
b) the way words are put together
