Meaning & use
syntactical
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivebefore a nountechnical
Relating to the arrangement of words and phrases to form grammatically correct sentences.
Grammar: Used before a noun: syntactical rules, syntactical analysis. The shorter form 'syntactic' is more common.
Patterns
- syntactical rules
- syntactical analysis
- syntactical structure
The teacher explained the syntactical rules of the language.
The essay was clear, but it had a few syntactical problems.
Modern linguists prefer 'syntactic' to 'syntactical'.
Common combinations
- syntactical rules
- Every language has its own syntactical rules.
- syntactical analysis
- The students performed a syntactical analysis of the poem.
- syntactical error
- The editor fixed several syntactical errors in the draft.
Synonyms and how they differ
- syntactic
- Syntactic is the standard modern term; syntactical is a variant that sounds slightly older or more formal.
- grammatical
- Grammatical is broader and also means 'correct according to grammar'; syntactical is more technical.
Word family
- syntax noun
- The rules for arranging words into sentences.
- syntactically adverb
- In a way that relates to sentence structure.
Commonly confused: syntactical or semantic?
syntactical vs semantic
Semantic is about meaning; syntactical is about word order and sentence structure.
Practice
Which word is the more common modern form?
Choose one answer.
Syntactic is the standard form in modern linguistics. Syntactical is a valid variant but less common. Syntaxical and syntaxis are not standard English words.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “syntactical”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.