What context can I use each word in?
Learn when and how to use these words with these examples!
syntactic
Example
The syntactic structure of this sentence is incorrect. [syntactic: adjective]
Example
She is studying the syntactic rules of English grammar. [syntactic: adjective]
grammatical
Example
The sentence is grammatically correct. [grammatical: adjective]
Example
He is learning the grammatical rules of French. [grammatical: adjective]
Good things to know
Which word is more common?
Grammatical is more commonly used than syntactic in everyday language. Grammatical is a more general term that covers a wider range of language usage, making it more versatile and applicable in various contexts.
What’s the difference in the tone of formality between syntactic and grammatical?
Syntactic is typically associated with a more technical and formal tone, while grammatical is more commonly used in everyday language and can be employed in both formal and informal contexts.