Grammar and Morphology

Question 1

auxiliary verb

Answer 1

A verb that precedes the lexical verb in a verb phrase e.g. I DO believe in fairies. He MAY visit. DO you want me to come? Peter HAS finished the book. The rain WAS falling all day. She DID not run yesterday.

Question 2

clause

Answer 2

a group of phrases which usually has a tensed verb phrase.

Question 3

complex sentence

Answer 3

A sentence made up of one main clause and at least one subordinate clause e.g. CHOOSING STONE FOR THE GARDEN WALL (subordinate clause) WAS (main clause verb phrase) very complicated BECAUSE THERE WERE SO MANY OPTIONS IN THE GARDEN CENTRE (subordinate clause)

Question 4

compound

Answer 4

A word or phrase made up of at least two free morphemes e.g. wallpaper, small-talk

Question 5

compound sentence

Answer 5

a sentence made up of at least two main clauses linked by a cord dating conjunction e.g. The sky was dark (main clause) and the wind whipped our hair (main clause)

Question 6

declarative

Answer 6

A grammatical mood where the subject is followed by the verb in a sentence which expresses a statement e.g. the balloon flew over the mountain.

Question 7

ellipsis

Answer 7

the omission of part of a sentence that can be understood by the context. e.g. The sprinter had broken the world record, (/) reached a new PB and (/) charmed the crowds.

Question 8

head word

Answer 8

the main linguistic item in a phrase.

Question 9

imperative

Answer 9

the grammatical mood expressing a directive using a verb in the base form with no subject e.g. sit. don’t eat it. stop.

Question 10

interrogative

Answer 10

A grammatical mood expressing a question, in which the subject and the verb are inverted e.g. has she got a cat? would they buy a book? Des he want to come?

Question 11

main clause

Answer 11

a clause that can stand alone, has a tensed verb phrase, and makes sense

Question 12

minor sentence

Answer 12

A sentence or utterance that lacks one or more of the clause elements, often formulaic in structure.

Question 13

morpheme

Answer 13

The smallest unit of meaning e.g. dog (free), re-(bound)

Question 14

morphology

Answer 14

The study of the structure of words in terms of morphemes

Question 15

noun phrase

Answer 15

A phrase which usually has noun as its head, that can function as a subject, object, complement or adverbial in a clause.

Question 16

phrase

Answer 16

a group of words that has no finite verb (except for a verb phrase) e.g. a sleeping dog (noun); very clear blue (adjective; really soon (adverb); is going (verb)

Question 17

post-modification

Answer 17

lexical items that follow the head in a phrase e.g. the horse THAT BITES; very happy TO SEE YOU

Question 18

pre-modification

Answer 18

lexical items that precede the head in a phrase e.g. QUITE sad; APPLE tree.

Question 19

sentence

Answer 19

A grammatical structure made up of one or more clauses, marked by a capital letter and a full stop in written language (called an utterance when spoken).

Question 20

simple sentence

Answer 20

a sentence made up of one main clause e.g. the atronaught fastened his seat belt

Question 21

subordinate clause

Answer 21

a clause that can not stand alone so needs another clause to complete it e.g. BECAUSE I WAS TIRED, I went to bed early.

Question 22

syntax

Answer 22

the study of the grammatical relationships between words in sentences

Question 23

tag questions

Answer 23

An interrogative structure that is attached to the end of a statement to encourage a reply e.g. it’s good, isn’t it? I don’t like it, do you?

Question 24

tense

Answer 24

A change in the form of a verb to indicate timescale e.g. he walkS (present) he walkED (past).

Question 25

verb phrase

Answer 25

A phrase made top of a single lexical verb, or up to four auxiliaries and a lexical verb e.g. follows, was following, should have been following, may have been being followed