science

Pattern grammar

Pattern grammar is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Pattern grammar rather than just read about it. In short: Pattern Grammar is a model for describing the syntactic environments of individual lexical items, derived from studying their occurrences in authentic linguistic corpora. It was developed by Hunston, Francis, and Manning as part of the COBUILD project.

Key takeaways

Pattern grammar belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pattern grammar to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pattern grammar from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Pattern Grammar is a model for describing the syntactic environments of individual lexical items, derived from studying their occurrences in authentic linguistic corpora. It was developed by Hunston, Francis, and Manning as part of the COBUILD project. It is a highly informal account that suggests a linear view of grammar (as opposed to phrase-structure or dependency grammars). Each word has a set of patterns assigned to it which describe typical contexts in which they are used. Often these are separate for different word senses.

Pattern Notation Patterns are given as sequence of lower-case grammatical elements, with the central element of the pattern in upper case. The elements are either labels for grammatical categories ('v' for verb, 'n' for noun group, 'prep' for preposition) or actual lexical items (for example specific prepositions).

Examples: SKIM The word skim includes the following patterns in the COBUILD dictionary:

V n off/from n Skim is a verb, and as the pattern describes its behaviour it is in upper case. The verb is then followed by a noun group, a preposition (either off or from) and a second noun group. This pattern applies for example to "She skimmed the cream off the milk". The choice of preposition is limited to those two options, which is why they are specified directly instead of using the broader category 'prep'.

V n This pattern describes the use of skim in "...re-surface all the walls by skimming the surface smooth ready for painting..."

V over/across n "I was wondering if someone who speaks French could skim over it for me and correct it."

V through n "You can skim through our step-by-step guide and find out why"

References

Further reading Francis, Gill; Hunston, Susan; Manning, Elizabeth, Collins COBUILD Grammar Patterns 1: Verbs, HarperCollins, 1996. Francis, Gill; Hunston, Susan; Manning, Elizabeth, Collins COBUILD Grammar Patterns 2: Nouns and Adjectives, HarperCollins, 1997. Hunston, Susan; Francis, Gill, Pattern Grammar: A corpus-driven approach to the lexical grammar of English, John Benjamins, 2000. ISBN 90-272-2273-8

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pattern grammar

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pattern grammar claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pattern grammar before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pattern grammar ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pattern grammar

In research: Pattern grammar appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pattern grammar in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pattern grammar is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Grammar frameworks, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pattern grammar outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Pattern grammar in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pattern grammar means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Pattern grammar out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pattern grammar in simple terms?

Why does Pattern grammar matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pattern grammar?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pattern grammar.