Language Terms - Techniques Flashcards
Collective noun
a count noun that denotes a group of individuals
e.g. assembley
Common noun
a noun denoting a class of objects or a concept as opposed to a particular individual e.g. girl
Proper noun
a name used for an individual person, place, or thing
e.g. Jane
Concrete noun
can be identified in the five senses
Pronoun
a word that can function as a noun on its own
e.g. she
Abstract noun
a noun denoting an idea, quality, or state rather than a concrete object
e.g. truth
Personal pronoun
comprising a set that shows contrasts.
e.g. person, gender, number, and case.
Noun
a word used to describe any class of people or place
Verb
a doing or being word that has a tense
e.g. quickly
Modal verb
a verb that expresses necessity or possibility
e.g. must
Adverb
a word that modifies the meaning of an adjective
e.g. gently
Adjective
a word that describes a place, person or thing
e.g. sweet
Alliteration
When two words near or next to each other that sound the same or start with the same letter
e.g. sweet birds sang
Onomatopoeia
When a word is associated with the sound it makes
e.g. cuckoo
Personification
when human characteristics are given to a non living thing
e.g. the stars winked at me
Main Clause
a clause which can be put together with a subordinate clause but makes sense on its own
Similie
Comparing something using the words like and as
Oxymoron
When two words not normally put together are brought together
e.g. bitter sweet
Metaphor
A word or phrase used to imply figurative, not literal or ‘actual’. resemblance.
e.g. he flew into the room
Irony
The humorous or sarcastic use of words or ideas, implying the opposite of what they mean
Lexis
A total stock of words in a language
e.g. I laughed.
Monologue
A long speech at the start of a play done by an actor in a play to show his thoughts
Sentence Fragment
A group of words that make an improper sentence
e.g. he was blown away
Determiner
A person or thing that determines what you do
e.g. he walked fast
Semantic Field
A group of words put together
e.g. the sheep came together as a flock
Symbolism
the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.
Motif
a pattern or recurring idea in an artistic work.
Slang
Informal words used mostly in speech written in a particular social group
Jargon
Specialist language
Narrative Writing
Narrative writing tells a story or part of a story.
Descriptive writing
Descriptive writing vividly portrays a person, place, or thing in such a way that the reader can visualize the topic and enter into the writer’s experience.
Synonyms
Words that mean the same thing or something similar
Syntax
The order and arrangement of words and phrases to create sentences
