Chapters 13-16 Flashcards
When is the passive voice actually a useful construction?
Sometimes it helps us maintain continuity of subject. Sometimes we don’t know the agent responsible for action. Academic/scientific writing.
What are subordinating conjunctions?
Words that connect clauses such that one is dependent on another. “If it snows tomorrow, we probably won’t run.”
What kind of words are “so” and “yet”?
Sometimes called marginal coordinators. “So” can’t typically connect words or phrases, only clauses.
Example of an adverb modifying adverbs
really stupidly, ridiculously slowly.
Example of an adverb modifying verbs
go quickly, protest peacefully.
What was the initial response to passive progressive construction on the part of language guardians?
They hated it. Instead of “my house being built.” It should be “my house is building.”
What are flat adverbs?
Adverbs that have the same form as their adjective counterparts such as “fast”, “up”, “down” and “soon.”
What is a passive progressive construction?
My house is being built.
What is the classic prescriptive rule for “like”?
It should only be a preposition not a subordinating conjunction. You should not use like to mean “as if” or “as.”
Example of an adverb modifying a clause or sentence.
Frankly, this situation with adverbs is a mess.
What’s the classical ad, using the word “like” that raised some hackles?
Winston tastes good, like a cigarette should.
What are coordinators?
words like “and” and “but” that join two units of equal status such as two nouns or noun phrases.
What’s particularly interesting about the evolution of slash as a word?
It’s a function word. They are hard to add to the language.
What are examples of coordinators using phrases?
“the young and the restless”; “reading books and writing essays”
Give a Jane Austen sentence in which the sentence reflects a usage before the passive progressive came into use.
Northanger Abbey: “The clock struck ten while the trunks were carrying down.”
