Language Terminology Flashcards
(150 cards)
0
Q
What is an active verb form?
A
An active verb is one like breaks, told, will help.
1
Q
Abstract noun
A
The name of something which we experience as an idea
2
Q
Who is usually the subject of an active verb?
A
The person or thing that does the action, or that is responsible for what happens.
3
Q
Adjective
A
A word like green, hungry, impossible, which is used when we describe people, things, events. Adjectives are used in connection with nouns and pronouns.
4
Q
Adverb
A
A word like tomorrow, once, badly, there, also, which is used to say, for example, when, where, or how something happens.
5
Q
Adverb particle
A
A short adverb like up, out, off, often used as part of a phrasal verb (e.g. clean up, look out, tell off)
6
Q
Affirmative
A
Sentence that makes a positive statement.
I agree (affirmative) vs. I don’t agree (negative)
7
Q
Agent
A
In a passive sentence, the agent is the expression that says who or what an action is done by.
Example: This picture was probably painted by [a child].
8
Q
Article
A
[A, an, and the] are called ‘articles’.
9
Q
Indefinite article
A
[A/an]
10
Q
Definite article
A
[the]
11
Q
Aspect
A
Grammarians prefer to talk about the progressive and perfective aspect, rather than progressive and perfect tense, since these forms express other ideas besides time (e.g. continuity, completion).
12
Q
Attributive
A
Adjectives placed before nouns are in ‘attributive position’.
Example: a [green] shirt; my [noisy] son.
13
Q
Auxiliary verb
A
A verb like [be, have, do], which is used with another verb to make tenses, passive forms etc.
14
Q
Clause
A
A part of a sentence which contains a subject and a verb, usually joined to the rest of a sentence by a conjunction.
Example: Mary said [she was tired].
15
Q
Clause (2)
A
The word clause is also sometimes used for structures containing participles or infinitives with no subject or conjunction.
Example: [Not knowing what to do], I telephoned Robin.
16
Q
Cleft sentence
A
A sentence in which special emphasis is given to one part (e.g. the subject or object) by using a structure with [it] or [what].
Examples: [It] was you that caused the accident; [What] I need is a drink.
17
Q
Collective noun
A
A singular word for a group.
18
Q
Comparative
A
The form of an adjective or adverb made with [-er] (e.g. older, faster); also the structure [more + adjective/adverb], used in the same way (e.g. more useful, more politely)
19
Q
[more + adjective/adverb] - What kind of form does this structure signify?
A
Comparative
20
Q
Complement (1)
A
A part of a sentence that gives more information about the subject (after [be, seem, and some other verbs]), or, in some structures, about the object.
Examples: You’re [the right person to help; She looks [very kind]; They elected him [President].
21
Q
Complement (2)
A
A structure of words needed after a noun, adjective, verb, or preposition to complete its meaning.
Examples: the intention [to travel]; full [of water]; try [phoning]; down [the street].
22
Q
Compound
A
A compound noun, verb, adjective, preposition etc)is one that is made of two or more parts.
Examples: bus driver; get on with; one-eyed.
23
Q
Concrete noun
A
The name of something which we can experience by seeing, touching, etc.
24
Conditional (1)
A verb form made by using the auxiliary [would] (also [should] after [I] and [we].
Examples: I would run; She would sing; We should think.
25
Conditional (2)
A clause or sentence containing if (or a word with similar meaning), and perhaps containing a conditional verb form.
Examples: If you try you'll understand; I should be surprised if she knew; What would you have done if the train had been late?
26
Conjunction
A word like [and, but, although, because, when, if], which can be used to join clauses altogether.
Example: I rang [because] I was worried.
27
Continuous
The same as [progressive]
28
Determiner
One of a group of words that begin noun phrases.
Determiners include a/an, the, my, this, each, either, several, more, both, all.
29
Direct object
Most often refers to a person or thing affected by the action of the verb.
Take [the dog] for a walk.
[the dog] is the direct object.
30
Direct speech
Speech reported 'directly', in the wirds used by the original speaker (more or less), without any changes of tense, pronouns etc.
Example: She looked at me and said 'This is my money'.
31
Discourse marker
A word or expression which shows the connection between what is being said and the wider context. A discourse marker may, for example, connect a sentence with what comes before or after, or it may show the speaker's attitude to what he/she is saying.
Examples: on the other hand; frankly; as a matter of fact.
32
Duration
How long something lasts. The preposition [for] can be used with an expression of time to indicate duration.
33
Ellipsis
Leaving out words when their meaning can be understood from the context.
34
Emphasis
Giving special importance to one part of a word or sentence (for example by pronouncing it more loudly; by writing it in capital letters; by using [do] in an affirmative clause; by using special word order).
35
Emphatic pronoun
Reflexive pronoun ([myself, yourself, etc]) used to emphasize a noun of pronoun.
Examples: I'll tell him [myself]; I wouldn't sell this to the king [himself]."
36
Ending
Something added to the end of a word, e.g. [-er, -ing, -ed].
37
First person
The person(s) speaking.
38
Formal
The style used when talking politely to strangers, on special occasions, in some literary writing, in business letters, etc.
For example, [commence] is a more formal word than [start]
39
Frequency
Adverbs if frequency say how often something happens.
Examples: often; never; daily; occasionally.
40
Fronting
Moving a part of a clause to the beginning in order to give it a special emphasis.
Example: [Jack] I like, but his wife I can't stand.
41
What is the structure for the future verb form?
The auxiliary ['shall/will'] + [infinitive without 'to']
42
What is the structure for the future perfect verb form?
The auxiliary [shall/will] + [have] + [past participle]
43
What is the structure for the future progressive verb form?
A verb form made with the auxiliary [shall/will] + [be] + [...ing].
Example: I [will be needing] the car this evening.
44
Gender
The use of different grammatical forms to show the difference between [masculine, feminine, and neuter, or between human and non-human].
Examples: he; she; it; who; which.
45
Gradable
Things that can be more or less.
[Pretty, hard, or cold] are gradable adjectives.
46
Grammar
The rules that show how words are combined, arranged, or changed to show certain kinds of meaning.
47
Hypothetical
Some words and structures (e.g. Modal verbs, if-clauses) are used for hypothetical situations - that is to say, situations which may not happen, or are imaginary.
Example: What would you do if you had six months free?
48
Identifying relative clause
A relative clause which tells us which person or thing is being talked about.
Example: There's the woman [who tried to steal your cat]. (The relative clause [who tried to steal your cat] identifies the woman - it tells us which woman is meant.)
49
Imperative
The form of a verb used to give orders, make suggestions, etc.
Examples: [Bring] me a pen; [Have] a good holiday.
50
Indirect object
The indirect object usually refers to a person ( or people) who receive(s) the direct object.
In the sentence "Ann gave [me a watch], the indirect object is [me], and the direct object is [watch].
51
Indirect speech
A structure in which we report that somebody said by making it part of our own sentence (so that the tenses, word order, and pronouns and other words may be different from those used by the original speaker).
Compare: He said 'I'm tired' (the original speaker's words are reported in direct speech) and He said [that he was tired] (the original speaker's words are reported in indirect speech).
52
Infinitive
The 'base' form of a word (usually with [to]), used after another verb, after an adjective, noun, or as the subject or complement of a sentence.
Examples: I want [to go] home; It's easy [to sing]; I've got a plan [to start] a business; [To err] is human, [to forgive] divine.
53
Informal
The style used in ordinary conversation, personal letters, etc, when there is no special reason to speak politely or carefully. [I'll] is more informal than [I will]; [get] is used mostly in an informal style; [start] is a more informal word than [commence].
54
-ing form
The form of a verb ending in -ing.
Examples: finding; keeping; running.
55
Initial
At the beginning. [Sometimes] is an adverb that can go in initial position in a sentence.
Example: [Sometimes] I wish I had a different job.
56
Interrogative
These types of structures and words are used for asking questions. In an interrogative sentence, there is an auxiliary verb (or non-auxiliary [be]) before the subject (e.g. [Can you swim?; Are you ready?). [What, who, and where] are interrogative words.
57
Intonation
The 'melody' of spoken language: the way the musical pitch of the voice rises and falls to show meaning, sentence structure, or mood.
58
Intransitive
An intransitive verb is one that cannot have an object or be used in the passive.
Examples: smile; fall; come; go
59
Inversion
A structure in which an auxiliary or other verb comes before its subject.
Examples: Never [had she] seen such a mess; Here [comes John].
60
Irregular
Not following the normal rules, or not having the usual form. An irregular verb has a past tense and/or past participle that does not end in [-ed] (e.g. swam, taken).; [children] is an irregular plural.
61
Link verb (or copular verb)
[be, seem, feel, and other verbs] which link a subject to a complement that describes it.
Examples: My mother [is] in Jersey; He [seems] unhappy; This [feels] soft.
62
Main clause, subordinate clause
Some sentences consist of a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses. A subordinate clause acts like part of the main clause (e.g. like a subject, or an object, or an adverbial).
Example: [Where she is] doesn't matter (the subordinate clause [Where she is] is the subject of the main clause); I told you [that I didn't care] (the subordinate clause [that I didn't care] is the direct object in the main clause); You'll find friends [wherever you go] (the subordinate clause [wherever you go] acts like an adverb in the main clause; compare "You'll find friends [anywhere].")
63
Main verb (or full verb)
A verb phrase often contains one or more auxiliary verbs together with a main verb. The main verb is the verb that expresses the central meaning; auxiliary verbs mostly add grammatical information (for instance they may show that a verb is progressive, future, perfect, or passive).
Examples: is [going]; will [explain]; has [arrived]; would have been [forgotten].
64
Manner
An adverb of manner describes how something happens.
Examples: well; suddenly; fast.
65
Mid-position
If an adverb is in mid-position in a sentence, it is with the verb.
Example: I have [never] been to Africa.
66
Misrelated participle (hanging or dangling)
A participle which appears to have a subject which is not its own.
Example: [Looking] out of the window, the mountains appeared very close. (This seems to say that the mountains were looking out of the window.) The structure is usually avoided in careful writing because of the danger of misunderstanding.
67
Modal auxiliary verb
One of the verbs [can, could, may, might, must, will, shall, would, should, ought].
68
Modify
An adjective is said to ['modify'] the noun it is with: it adds or defines its meaning.
Examples: a [fine] day; my [new] job
An adverb can modify a verb (e.g. run [fast]), an adjective (e.g. [completely] ready) or other words or expressions. In [sports] car, the first noun modified the second.
69
Negative
A negative sentence is one in which the word [not] is used with the verb.
Example: I did[n't] know.
70
Nominal relative clause
A relative clause (usually introduced by [what]) which acts as the subject, object, or complement of a sentence.
Example: I have him [what he needed].
71
Non-affirmative (non-assertive)
Words like [Any, anybody, anywhere, etc.]
Other words are [yet and ever].
72
non-identifying (or non-defining) relative clause
A relative clause which does not identify the noun it refers to (because we already know which person or thing is meant).
Example: There's Hannah Smith, [who tried to steal my cat]. (The relative clause, [who tried to steal my cat], does not identify the person - she is already identified by the name Hannah Smith.)
73
Noun
A word like oil, memory, arm, which can be used with an article. Nouns are most often the names of people or things.
Personal names (e.g. George) and place names (e.g. Birmingham) are called 'proper nouns'; they are usually used without articles.
74
Noun phrase
A group of words (e.g. article + adjective + noun) which acts as the subject, object or complement in a clause)
75
Number
The way in which differences between singular and plural are shown grammatically. The difference between house and houses, mouse and mice, this and these are differences in number.
76
Object
A noun phrase or pronoun that normally comes after the verb in an active clause.
The direct object most often refers to a person or a thing affected by the action of a verb.
The indirect object usually refers to a person (or people) who receive(s) the direct object.
77
Participle
A non-finite form of a verb; in English it is used adjectivally and to form compound tenses.
78
Participle clause
A clause-like structure which contains a participle, not a verb tense
Examples: [Discouraged by his failure], he resigned from his job; [Having a couple of hours to spare], I went to see a film.
79
Passive
A passive verb form is made with [be + past participle]
Examples: [is broken]; [was told]; [will be helped] (but not [breaks, told, will help], which are active verb forms).
The subject of a passive verb form is usually the person or thing that is affected by the action of the verb.
Compare: [They sent Lucas to prison for five years (active) and Lucas was sent to prison for five years (active) and [Lucas was sent to prison for five years] (passive)
80
Past participle
A verb form like [broken, one, stopped] which can be used to form perfect tenses and passives, or as an adjective. (The meaning is not necessarily past, in spite of the name.)
81
Past perfect
A verb for made with [had + past participle].
Examples: [I had forgotten]; The children [had arrived]; She [had been working]; It [had been raining].
The first two examples are simple past perfect; the last two (with [had been + ...ing) are past perfect progressive (or continuous).
82
Past progressive
A verb form made with [was/were + ...ing].
Examples: I [was going]; They [were stopping.]
83
Perfect
A verb form made with the auxiliary [have + past] participle.
Examples: I [have forgotten]; She [had failed]; [having arrived]; [to have finished].
84
Perfect conditional
[Should/would have + past participle]
Examples: I [should/would have agreed]; He [would have known].
85
Perfect infinitive
[(to) have + past participle]
Example: to have arrived.
86
Person
The way in which, in grammar, we show the difference between first, second, and third person. The differences between [I and you], or between [am, are, and is], are differences of person.
87
Personal pronouns
The words [I, me, you, he, him, etc.]
88
Phrase
Two or more words that function together as a group.
Examples: dead tired; the silly old woman; would have been repaired; in the country.
89
Phrasal verb
A verb form that is made up of two parts: verb + adverb particle.
Examples: fill up; run over; take in.
90
Plural
Grammatical form used to refer to more than one person or thing.
91
Possessive
A form used to show possession and similar ideas.
Examples: John's; our; mine
92
Possessive pronoun
[My, your, his, her etc]
[Mine, yours, his, hers, etc]
These stand for the 'speaker's', 'the hearer's', 'that person's' etc.
[My, your, etc] are used without following nouns.
93
Postmodifier
A word that comes after the word which is modifies, e.g. [invited] in The people [invited] all came late.
94
Predicative
Adjectives placed after a verb like [be, seem, look] are in predicative position.
Examples: The house is [enormous]; She looks [happy].
95
Prefix
A form like [ex-, anti-, or un-], which can be added to the front of a word to give an additional or different meaning.
Examples: [ex-]wife, [anti-]British, [un]happy.
96
Premodifier
A word that comes before the word which it modifies.
Example: [invited] in "an [invited] audience.
97
Preparatory subject, preparatory object
When the subject of a sentence is an infinitive or a clause, we usually put it towards the end of the sentence and use the pronoun [it] as a preparatory subject.
Example: [It] is important [to get enough sleep].
[It] can also be used as a preparatory object in certain structures.
Example: He made [it] clear [that he disagreed].
[There] is used as a kind of preparatory subject in [there is...] and similar structures.
98
Preposition
A word like [on, off, of, into, normally followed by a noun or pronoun.
99
Prepositional verb
A verb form that is made of of two parts:
[verb form + preposition]
Examples: insist on; care for; listen to.
100
Present participle
The form of a verb ending in [-ing], used as an adjective, a verb or part of a verb.
Examples: a [crying] baby; [Opening] his newspaper, he started to read; She was [running] (The meaning is not necessarily present, in spite of the name.)
101
Present perfect
A verb form made with [have/had + past participle].
Examples: I [have forgotten]; The children [have arrived]; I'[ve been working] all day; It has [been raining].
The first two examples are simple present perfect; the last two (with [have been + ...ing) are preent perfect progressive (or present perfect continuous)
102
Present progressive
A verb form made with [am/are/is + ...ing].
Examples: I [am going]; She [is staying] for two weeks.
103
Progressive
A verb form made with the auxiliary [be + ...ing]
Examples: to [be going]; We [were wondering]; I'll [be seeing] you.
104
Progressive infinitive
A form like to [be going]; to [be waiting]
105
Pronoun
A word like [it, yourself, their, which is used instead of a more precise noun or noun phrase (like [the cat, Peter's self, the family's]).
The word "pronoun" can also be used for a determiner when this includes the meaning of a following noun which has been left out.
106
Proper noun
A noun (most often with no article) which is the name of a particular person, place, organization, etc.
Examples: Andrew, Brazil; the European Union.
107
Quantified
A determiner like [many, few, little, several] which is used in a noun phrase to show how much or how many we are talking about.
108
Question tag
An expression like [do you?] or [isn't it?], consisting of an auxiliary verb (or non-auxiliary [be or have]) + pronoun subject, put on to the end of a sentence.
Examples: You don't eat meat, [do you?]; It's a nice day, [isn't it?]
109
Reflexive pronoun
[myself, yourself, himself, etc]
Example: I cut [myself] shaving this morning.
110
Regular
Following the normal rules of having the usual form.
[Hoped] is a regular past tense; [cats] is a regular plural
111
Relative clause
A clause which modified a noun, usually introduced by a relative pronoun like [who or which].
Example: I like people [who like me].
112
Relative pronoun
A pronoun used to connect a relative clause to its noun.
[Who, whom, whose, which, and that] can be used as relative pronouns, and sometime also [when, where, and why].
113
Reply question
A question (similar in structure to a question tag) used to reply to a statement, for instance to express interest.
Example: I've been invited to spend the weekend in London.~[Have you, dear?]
114
Second person
The person spoken to
115
Sentence
A group of words that expresses a statement, command, question, or exclamation.
A sentence consists of one or more clauses and usually has at least one subject and verb.
In writing, it begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark.
116
Short answer
An answer consisting of a subject and an auxiliary verb (or non-auxiliary [be] or [have]).
Examples: Has anybody phoned the police?~[John has.]; Who's ready for more?~[I am.]
117
Simple past (or past simple)
A past verb form that has no auxiliary verb in the affirmative.
Examples: I [stopped]; You [heard]; We [knew].
118
Simple present (or present simple)
A present verb form that has no auxiliary verb in the affirmative.
Examples: He [goes] there often; I [know]; I [like] chocolate.
119
Simple
A verb form that is not progressive
120
Singular
A grammatical form used to talk about one person, thing, etc, or about an uncountable quantity or mass.
Examples: me; bus; water; is; much; this.
121
Slang
A word, expression or special use of language found in very informal speech, often in the usage of particular groups of people.
Examples: thick (=stupid); lose one's cool (=get upset); sparks (=electrician).
122
Split infinitive
A structure in which an adverb comes between [to and the rest of the infinitive]
Example: to easily understand
123
Standard
A standard form of a language is one that is most generally accepts for use in government, the law, business, education, and literature.
124
Statement
A sentence which gives more information; not a question.
examples: I'm cold; Philip didn't come home last night.
125
Stress
A sentence which gives one or more parts of a word, phrase, or sentence are made to sound more important than the rest by using a louder voice and/or higher pitch. In the word [particular], the main stress is on the second syllable (parTIcular); in the sentence "Where's the new secretary?" there are three stresses (WHERE'S the NEW SEcretary?).
126
Strong form
Words that are pronounced slowly and carefully with the vowel that is written.
127
Subject
A noun phrase or pronoun that normally comes before the verb in an affirmative clause. It often says (in an active clause) who or what does the action that the verb refers to.
Examples: [Helen] gave me a wonderful smile; [Oil] floats on water.
128
Subjunctive
A verb form used in certain structures.
Examples: If I [were] you...; It's important that he [be] informed immediately; We prefer that he [pay] in cash.
129
Subordinate clause
A clause which functions as part of another clause, for example as subject, object, or adverbial in the main clause of a sentence.
Examples: I thought [that you understood]; [What I need] is a drink; I'll follow you [wherever you go.]
130
Suffix
A form like [-ology, -able, or -ese], which can be added to the end of a word to give an additional or different meaning.
climat[ology]; understand[able]; Chin[ese]
131
Superlative
The form of an adjective or adverb made with the suffix [-est] (e.g. oldest, fastest); also the structure [most + adjective/adverb], used in the same way (e.g. most intelligent; most politely)
132
Swearword
A taboo word used (usually with a change of meaning to express strong emotion or emphasis
Example: Fuck!
133
Syllable
Normally has a vowel, and usually one or more consonants before and/or after it. Sometimes the consonant sounds [l, m, and n] can act as syllables (for instance in the words [bottle, capitalism, button]).
134
Taboo word
A word connected with a subject (such as sex) which is not talked about freely, so that some of its vocabulary is considered shocking. Taboo words are not used in formal speech or writing, and are avoided altogether by many people.
135
Tag
A short phrase (e.g. [pronoun subject + auxiliary verb]) added on to the end of a sentence, especially in speech.
Examples: He likes to talk; [John does]; You can't swim, [can you?]; Very noisy, [those kids].
136
Tense
A verb form that shows the time of an action, event, or state.
Examples: will go, is sitting, saw.
137
Third person
The person (or people) or thing(s) spoken about.
138
Transitive
A transitive verb is one that can have an object.
Examples: eat (a meal); drive (a car); give (a present)
139
Uncountable noun
A noun which has no plural form and cannot normally be used with the article a/an.
Examples: mud; rudeness; furniture.
140
Verb
A word like [ask, wake, play, be, an] which can be used with a subject to form the basis of a clause. In clauses, verbs often consist of an [auxiliary verb + infinitive or participle] (e.g. will go; has spoken). Most verbs refer to actions, events, or states.
141
Verb phrase
A verb that has more than one part.
Example: would have been forgotten
142
Vowel
The letters [a, e, i, o, u] and their combinations, and their usual sounds.
143
Weak form
Certain words with a quicker pronunciation with the vowel /ə/ or /ɪ/
144
Consonant
For example, the letters [b, c, d, f, and g] and their usual sounds.
145
Contraction
A short form in which a subject and an auxiliary verb, or an aux verb and the word [not], are joined together into one word. Contractions are also made with non-auxiliary [be] and [have].
Examples: I'm; who've; John'll, can't
146
Co-ordinate clause
One of two or more main or subordinate clauses of equal 'value' that are connected.
Examples: [Shall I come to your place] or [would you like to come to mine]?; [It's cooler today] and [there's a bit of wind]; she said [that it was late] and [that she was tired].
147
Countable noun
A noun like [car, dog, idea] which can have plural form and can be used with the indefinite article [a/an].
148
Declarative question
A question that has the same grammatical form as a statement.
Example: That's your girlfriend?
149
Demonstrative
This, these, those
