Prescriptive Grammar 2nd half of the 18th —

Prescriptive Grammar

2nd half of the 18th - 1900 R.Lowth «Short Introduction to English Grammar» (1762) The aim was to reduce the English language to rules and to set up a standard of correct usage.

Changes • Lowth adopted a two-case system for nouns and a three-case system for pronouns, and the term "possessive case", which is extremely popular now.

The principal parts of the sentence Lowth distinguished: an agent, an attribute (i. e. the predicate) an object The object was defined as the thing affected by the action of the verb.

The theory of the compound sentence, dating from the beginning of the 18th century, was during this period at an absolute standstill

The principal feature of a compound sentence The principal feature of a compound sentence is that it comprises more than one subject or nominative word and verb, expressed or understood. All conjunctions were divided according to their meaning, but without regard to their syntactic nature, into copulatives

Prescriptive Grammars in the Modern Period The sentence has four distinct parts: the Subject Adjuncts to the Subject (Attributive Adjuncts, sometimes called the Enlargement of the Subject) the Predicate Adjuncts of the Predicate (Adverbial Adjuncts)

What Is the Difference Between Descriptive and Prescriptive Grammar? Descriptive grammar: the systematic study and description of a language. Descriptive grammar refers to the structure of a language as it is actually used by speakers and writers. Prescriptive grammar: a set of rules and examples dealing with the syntax and word structures of a language, usually intended as an aid to the learning of that language. Prescriptive grammar refers to the structure of a language as certain people think it should be used.

Examples 1) using 'they/their/them' to mean 'he or she/his or her/him or her' is a common piece of descriptive grammar. 2) I graduated Japan university. I graduated from Japan university. (standard usage) Example of Prescriptive grammar news media persons say 'a million and a half dollars' when they mean 'one and a half million dollars'