Grammar Flashcards
morphology
the study of word formation
syntax
the study of how words form larger structures such as phrases, clauses and sentences
descriptive
taking an approach to language study that focuses on how language is actually used
prescriptive
taking an approach to language study that focuses on rules and notions of correctness
root
a morpheme that can stand on its own and can usually form a word in its own right
affix
the overall term for an addition to a root (prefix or suffix) to modify its meaning or create a new word
prefix
a morpheme that goes before a root word to modify its meaning
suffix
a morpheme that comes after a root word to modify its meaning
infix
an affix inserted inside a root word to create a new word or modify its meaning
inflectional function
the way that an affix shows a grammatical category such as a verb tense or a plural noun
derivational function
the way that an affix helps form a new word by attaching itself to a root
noun phrase
a group of words built around a noun
verb phrase
a group of words built around a head (main) verb
head word
the main noun/verb in the phrase
pre-modifier
a word that goes before the head noun to add detail or clarify some aspect of it
qualifier
Qualifiers and intensifiers are words or phrases that are added to another word to modify its meaning, either by limiting it (He was somewhat busy) or by enhancing it (The dog was very cute).
post-modifier
Postmodifiers always come after the noun they describe. For example, in “the tall girl standing up,” “standing up” is the postmodifier for the noun “the girl.” We know it’s the postmodifier because it follows the noun and describes what the girl’s doing.
primary auxiliary verb
What is primary auxiliary verb with examples?
The primary auxiliary verbs are ‘be’, ‘have’ and ‘do’. These verbs modify other verbs in a full verb phrase, e.g. ‘is going’, ‘has gone’, or ‘did go’.
modal auxiliary verb
used along with a main verb to express possibility, ability, permission, or necessity.
For example, in the statement ‘you must leave’, ‘must’ is a modal verb indicating that it’s necessary for the subject (‘you’) to perform the action of the verb (‘leave’).
clause
A clause is a group of words that has both a subject and a predicate. Every complete sentence is made up of at least one clause.
Michael bought a new computer.
subject
The subject is the ‘doer’ of the action. For example, take the sentence “We are watching Netflix.” Here, the subject is the pronoun ‘we
object
we use the word ‘object’ to talk about the thing/person that the action is done to. Or, the one who receives the action
complement
A complement can be a noun, pronoun, or adjective that renames or describes the subject of the sentence, and depending on the part of speech, these have different names.
adverbial
words that we use to give more information about a verb.
They can be one word (angrily, here) or phrases (at home, in a few hours)
coordination
syntactic structure that links together conjuncts and conjoins.
The presence of coordination is often signaled by the appearance of a coordinator (coordinating conjunction), e.g. and, or, but (in English)
subordination
combining two sentences or ideas in a way that makes one more important than the other
For example Dakhon was hurrying, and he cut his finger. Subordination: Because Dakhon was hurrying, he cut his finge
adverbial clause
a clause containing a subject and verb that acts as an adverb to modify the main clause of a sentence.
noun clause
A noun clause is a subordinate clause that takes the place of any noun in the sentence, whether they are subjects, objects, or subject complements.
For example: She was saddened by what she had read.
active voice
active voice asserts that the person or thing represented by the grammatical subject performs the action represented by the verb.
For example He had watched a movie. VS A movie had been watched by him.
passive voice
When the action expressed by the verb is received by the subject, it is passive voice. Passive voice is used when the doer of the action is not known and the focus of the sentence is on the action and not the subject
Passive Voice Examples: Eggs are laid by hens VS hens lay eggs
orthographic sentence
a sentence, typically written, that when well-formed consists of a string of text that follows punctuation rules of having its first letter capitalised and ending in a terminal mark
interrogative
Interrogative sentences typically feature a word order with the predicate and primary verb before the subject.
For example, in the sentence “Who was the last speaker?”
exclamative
exclamation mark m8
declarative
A declarative sentence states a fact. This word can be used to describe any action or speech that makes a statement.
“I love the Red Sox!” is a declarative sentence — you’re claiming or asserting something.
