Context

Context in grammar

In spoken languages, the meaning of a word or phrase depends on how we use it; the local context of other grammatical constructs helps clarify the intent. For example, the inappropriate pluralization of “Please give me one hamburgers!” sounds wrong (the pluralization of the noun differs from the amount), just as the incorrect gender of “la gato” (the article is feminine, but the noun is masculine) makes native speakers chuckle. Some words do double duty; one sheep is a sheep, just as two sheep are also sheep, and we program a program.

Context in Perl