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The first published English grammar was a Pamphlet for Grammar of 1586, written by William Bullokar with the stated goal of demonstrating that English was just as rule-based as Latin. Bullokar's grammar was faithfully modeled on William Lily's Latin grammar, Rudimenta Grammatices (1534), used in English schools at that time, having been ...
1688. Guy Miège: The English Grammar. [34] 1693. Joseph Aickin: The English grammar. [34] 1700. A. Lane: A Key to the Art of Letters. [34] 1745. Ann Fisher A New Grammar. [35] 1761. Joseph Priestley: The Rudiments of English Grammar:Adapted to the Use of Schools. 1762. Robert Lowth: A short introduction to English grammar: with critical notes ...
In both British and American English, a person can make a decision; however, only in British English is the common variant take a decision also an option in a formal, serious, or official context. [38] The British often describe a person as tanned, where Americans would use tan. For instance, "she was tanned", rather than "she was tan". [39]
Grammar guides typically cover terminal punctuation and the proper construction of sentences—but not the spacing between sentences. [65] Moreover, many modern grammar guides are designed for quick reference [ 66 ] and refer users to comprehensive style guides for additional matters of writing style. [ 67 ]
The term grammar can also describe the linguistic behaviour of groups of speakers and writers rather than individuals. Differences in scale are important to this meaning: for example, English grammar could describe those rules followed by every one of the language's speakers. [2]
Recognizing postpositive adjectives in English is important for determining the correct plural for a compound expression. For example, because martial is a postpositive adjective in the phrase court-martial, the plural is courts-martial, the suffix being attached to the noun rather than the adjective.
References on English usage strongly criticize the phrase as "ugly" [2] and "Janus-faced". [4] William Strunk, Jr., and E.B. White, in their classic The Elements of Style–recognized by Time one of the 100 best and most influential non-fiction books written in English since 1923, [6] say and/or is "A device, or shortcut, that damages a sentence and often leads to confusion or ambiguity". [3]
In the English language, there are grammatical constructions that many native speakers use unquestioningly yet certain writers call incorrect. Differences of usage or opinion may stem from differences between formal and informal speech and other matters of register, differences among dialects (whether regional, class-based, generational, or other), difference between the social norms of spoken ...