*INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS

 Descriptive grammar. A descriptive grammar is a set of rules about language based on how it is actually used. In
a descriptive grammar there is no right or wrong language. It can be compared with a prescriptive grammar, which
is a set of rules based on how people think language should be used.

 A prescriptive grammar is a set of rules about language based on how people think language should be used. In
a prescriptive grammar there is right and wrong language. It can be compared with a descriptive grammar, which is
a set of rules based on how language is actually used.

 Abstract A descriptive grammar is a study of a language, its structure, and its rules as they are used in daily life by its
speakers from all walks of life, including standard and nonstandard varieties. A prescriptive grammar, on the other
hand, specifies how a language and its grammar rules should be used. A prescriptivist view of language implies a
distinction between "good grammar" and "bad grammar," and its primary focus is on standard forms of grammar and
syntactic constructions.

 A descriptive grammar is a study of a language, its structure, and its rules as they are used in daily life by its
speakers from all walks of life, including standard and nonstandard varieties. A prescriptive grammar, on the other
hand, specifies how a language and its grammar rules should be used.

The term descriptive grammar refers to an objective, nonjudgmental description of the grammatical constructions in
a language. It's an examination of how a language is actually being used, in writing and in speech. Specialists in
descriptive grammar (linguists) examine the principles and patterns that underlie the use of words, phrases, clauses, and
sentences.

Kirk Hazen notes, "Descriptive grammars do not give advice: They detail the ways in which native speakers use their language.
A descriptive grammar is a survey of a language. For any living language, a descriptive grammar from one century will differ
from a descriptive grammar of the next century because the language will have changed." ("An Introduction to Language." John
Wiley, 2015)

"Descriptive grammar," Edwin L. Battistella notes in "Bad Language," "is the basis for dictionaries, which record changes
in vocabulary and usage, and for the field of linguistics, which aims at describing languages and investigating the nature of
language."

The term descriptive is a little bit misleading, as descriptive grammar does provide analysis and explanation of the language's
grammar and not just description of it.

Contrast Descriptive and Prescriptive Grammar

Contrast the type with prescriptive grammar, which notes how something should or should not be used, what is right and
wrong. Prescriptive grammarians (such as most editors and teachers) attempt to enforce rules concerning “correct” or
“incorrect” usage.

According to Donald G. Ellis, "All languages adhere to syntactical rules of one sort or another, but the rigidity of these rules is
greater in some languages. It is very important to distinguish between the syntactical rules that govern a language and the
rules that a culture imposes on its language. This is the distinction between descriptive grammar and prescriptive
grammar. Descriptive grammars are essentially scientific theories that attempt to explain how language works....People spoke
long before there were linguists around to uncover the rules of speaking....Prescriptive grammars, on the other hand, are the
stuff of high school English teachers. They 'prescribe,' like medicine for what ails you, how you 'ought' to speak." ("From
Language to Communication." Lawrence Erlbaum, 1999)

Examples of the Difference

To illustrate the difference between the types, for a descriptive grammarian, the sentence "I ain't going," is grammatical,
because it's spoken by someone using the language to construct a sentence that has meaning for someone else who speaks the
same language. However, to a prescriptive grammarian, it most certainly isn't a grammatical sentence, because, as the adage
says, "ain't ain't a word..." (though it is in the dictionary). And just having the word ain't in the dictionary exactly illustrates the
difference between the two types—descriptive grammar notes its use in the language, pronunciation, meaning, and maybe
even etymology, without judgment. It's prescriptive grammar that says that the term ain't shouldn't be used, especially in
formal speaking or writing.

For a descriptive grammarian to say that something is ungrammatical, the sentence would need to be something that a native
speaker just wouldn't put together. For example, someone speaking English wouldn't put two question words at the beginning
of a single sentence. The result would be unintelligible as well as ungrammatical. In that case, the descriptive and prescriptive
grammarians would agree.