Prescriptive and Descriptive Grammar

As we mentioned in a previous article, grammarians can be either prescriptive or descriptive. What does this mean? Well, there are two major "types" of grammar: prescriptive grammar and descriptive grammar. As you probably figured out, prescriptive grammarians uphold prescriptive grammar, while descriptive grammarians support descriptive grammar.

Prescriptive grammar has its basis in the technical rules of grammar. The supposedly "correct" grammar that a grammar teacher will encourage you to use is prescriptive grammar. On the other hand, descriptive grammar is the kind of grammar we are more likely to use in speech. Native speakers of English will often break all sorts of rules when speaking, despite their fluency in the language. This is descriptive grammar, the foundation of dialect. 

When are you supposed to use prescriptive grammar and descriptive grammar? When writing formally, it is almost always better to use prescriptive grammar. When speaking, both prescriptive and descriptive grammar are perfectly fine! Most people use descriptive grammar in speech, merely because it is easier and less strict, but some of our staff members often use prescriptive grammar in speech! You should feel free to use whatever you want when speaking.