Lexicology Flashcards
What is a lexeme?
A lexeme is the fundamental unit of meaning in a language. It represents a set of related word forms that share a common meaning but may differ in grammatical form. For example, “run” is a lexeme that includes “runs,” “ran,” and “running.”
What are open class/content words?
Open class/content words are words that carry significant meaning and can easily accept new additions into the language. They include nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Examples: “dog,” “jump,” “beautiful,” “quickly.”
What is a noun?
A noun is a lexical category that identifies people, places, things, concepts, or ideas. Nouns can be classified as proper (e.g., “London”), common (e.g., “dog”), abstract (e.g., “freedom”), or concrete (e.g., “apple”). They can function as subjects, objects, or complements in sentences and often take plural and possessive forms.
What is a verb?
A verb is a word that expresses an action, occurrence, or state of being. Verbs are essential to sentence structure, typically functioning as the predicate. They can be categorized as dynamic (e.g., “run,” “write”) or stative (e.g., “seem,” “belong”). Verbs also show tense (e.g., “walked,” “will walk”) and aspect (e.g., “is running,” “has run”).
What is an infinitive?
An infinitive is the base form of a verb, often preceded by “to,” that functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb in a sentence. It can express an action without specifying tense, person, or number. Examples: “to eat,” “to run,” “to study.” Infinitives can be used to indicate purpose (e.g., “She went to the store to buy milk”) or as subjects and objects (e.g., “To read is enjoyable”).
What is conjugation?
Conjugation is the process of changing a verb form to express different grammatical features such as tense, person, number, mood, or aspect. This involves altering the verb to agree with the subject in terms of these features. For example, in English:
“to walk” becomes “walked” (past tense),
“I walk” (1st person singular) vs. “They walk” (3rd person plural).
Conjugation helps convey when an action takes place, who is performing it, and its relationship to other actions.
What does “lexical” mean?
“Lexical” refers to anything related to the vocabulary or words of a language. It pertains to the content words in a language, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, which carry meaning. For example, “book,” “run,” and “happy” are lexical items because they convey specific meanings. Lexical terms are contrasted with grammatical or function words (e.g., “and,” “but,” “in”), which serve to structure sentences rather than carry core meaning.
What is an auxiliary verb?
An auxiliary verb, also known as a helping verb, is a verb used in combination with a main verb to form various tenses, moods, voices, or aspects. Common auxiliary verbs include “be,” “have,” and “do.” For example:
“She is running” (present continuous),
“They have finished” (present perfect),
“He does not like coffee” (negation).
Auxiliaries provide grammatical structure and help convey more precise meaning about time, manner, or emphasis.
What is a modal auxiliary verb?
A modal auxiliary verb is a type of auxiliary verb that expresses necessity, possibility, ability, permission, or likelihood. Modal auxiliaries are used alongside main verbs to indicate the mood or attitude of the speaker toward the action. Common modals include “can,” “could,” “may,” “might,” “will,” “would,” “shall,” “should,” “must,” and “ought to.” For example:
“She can swim” (ability),
“You must study” (necessity),
“It might rain” (possibility).
Modals do not change form according to the subject and are followed by the base form of the main verb.
What is an adjective?
An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun, providing more detail about its qualities, appearance, quantity, or state. Adjectives can indicate characteristics such as size, color, shape, and feelings. For example:
“The blue sky” (color),
“A tall building” (size),
“An interesting book” (opinion).
Adjectives typically come before the noun they modify (attributive) or after a linking verb (predicative), as in “The book is interesting.”
What is an adverb?
An adverb is a word that modifies or qualifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb, providing additional information about how, when, where, to what extent, or under what conditions something happens. Adverbs can describe actions, qualities, or other adverbs. Examples include:
“She sings beautifully” (modifies the verb “sings”),
“It is incredibly hot” (modifies the adjective “hot”),
“He ran quite quickly” (modifies the adverb “quickly”).
Many adverbs end in “-ly,” but some do not, such as “often,” “soon,” and “fast.”
What is an interjection?
An interjection is a word or phrase that expresses strong emotion, surprise, or reaction, often standing alone outside the grammatical structure of a sentence. Interjections can convey feelings such as excitement, frustration, or disbelief. They are typically followed by an exclamation mark. Examples include:
“Wow! That’s amazing!”
“Oh no! I missed the bus!”
“Hey! Wait for me!”
Interjections can also be less intense and used in casual speech, like “uh,” “um,” or “well.”
What are closed class/function words?
Closed class/function words are words that belong to grammatical categories which rarely accept new members. These words help structure sentences and establish relationships between other words. They include conjunctions (e.g., “and,” “but”), prepositions (e.g., “in,” “on”), pronouns (e.g., “he,” “they”), determiners (e.g., “the,” “a”), and auxiliary verbs (e.g., “is,” “have”). Unlike open class/content words (e.g., nouns, verbs), closed class words have a functional role in grammar rather than carrying substantial meaning.
What is a pronoun?
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun to avoid repetition or provide clarity. Pronouns can refer to people, things, or concepts already mentioned or understood in the context. There are several types of pronouns:
Personal pronouns (e.g., “he,” “she,” “they”) refer to specific people or things.
Possessive pronouns (e.g., “mine,” “yours,” “his”) show ownership.
Demonstrative pronouns (e.g., “this,” “those”) point to specific items.
Relative pronouns (e.g., “who,” “which,” “that”) connect clauses.
Pronouns help to make sentences less repetitive and more efficient.
What is a determiner?
A determiner is a word that introduces a noun and provides information about its reference, such as quantity, possession, or specificity. Determiners help clarify whether a noun is specific or general, and they are typically placed before the noun. Common types of determiners include:
Articles (e.g., “a,” “the”)
Demonstratives (e.g., “this,” “those”)
Possessives (e.g., “my,” “her”)
Quantifiers (e.g., “some,” “many,” “few”)
Interrogatives (e.g., “which,” “what”)
Determiners are crucial in specifying the noun’s context and relationship to the speaker or listener.
