Question

Explain the difference between descriptive and prescriptive grammar using two or three examples from English. You may also use examples from another language.

Answer 1

Descriptive grammar is more colloquial in nature, whereas prescriptive grammar are the stipulated grammar rules which are taught by most English teachers at school. For instance, "I ain't doing" is an example of descriptive grammar. It is grammatically correct. There is nothing wrong with the sentence formation. However, this would be considered wrong in case of prescriptive grammar. You would often hear your English teacher at school say that there is no word such as "ain't" and "I am not" must be used instead. Descriptive grammar is something that a native speaker uses mostly and prescriptive grammar is mostly used by teachers .