set up syntax Flashcards
Phrase
The smallest group of words that can occupy a grammatical ‘slot’ within a sentence. It is built around a single word (or very similar, i appreciate that phrases are like big words so saying it could be something that acts as a word may not be as helpful).
All parts of it will always work together to create a coherent (probably relatively small) bigger picture.
Head Word
It’s the word that the phrase is built around with everything else just modifying that one word in some way.
In the phrase “the unusually strong creature” the word in question would be “creature” with everything else modifying it.
Hmm, what kind of phrase is this i wonder?
What is the head word? Noun- noun phrase, Verb- verb phrase, etc.
Clause
It consists of 2 or more phrases and forms coherent units of meaning.
It tells about action or state i.e. what a thing is doing or being.
TYPICALLY, it has a noun phrase and a verb phrase. maybe it would help to look for object+ finite verb combos?
Predicate
Literally everything said in a sentence or clause about its object.
eg. “The young choir boy < sang every song in the book >”.
Independent clause.
When a clause is basically acting like a simple sentence and basically just can work on its own.
Dependent/subordinate clause
clause that doesn’t make sense on its own and needs something else to make sense.
relative clause
a clause that is attached to something by a relative pronoun
bound morpheme
can only exist as part of a word
a word that links/connects an independent and a dependent clause.
subordinating conjunction
finite verb
It is attached grammaticaly to a subject word. (it has now been limited in what it can possibly mean thus making it finite- this is my inturpretation not strictly its definition)
Prepositional phrase
phrase that begins with a preposition and ends with an object such as a noun, pronoun, or noun/pronoun phrase.
They often function as adverbial phrases but can function adjectivally to add detail to a noun by post-modifying it, e.g. “The man with the wonky nose”.
The smallest group of words that can occupy a grammatical ‘slot’ within a sentence. It is built around a single word (or very similar, i appreciate that phrases are like big words so saying it could be something that acts as a word may not be as helpful).
All parts of it will always work together to create a coherent (probably relatively small) bigger picture.
Phrase
It’s the word that the phrase is built around with everything else just modifying that one word in some way.
In the phrase “the unusually strong creature” the word in question would be “creature” with everything else modifying it.
Head Word
It consists of 2 or more phrases and forms coherent units of meaning.
It tells about action or state i.e. what a thing is doing or being.
TYPICALLY, it has a noun phrase and a verb phrase. maybe it would help to look for object+ finite verb combos?
Clause
