lexis terminology Flashcards
(in)definite article
A or an (indefinite); definite = the
1st person pronoun
I, we, and us
abstract noun
a noun denoting an idea, quality or state rather than a concrete object
adjective
a word or phrase naming/describing an attribute
adverb
a word or phrase that modifies or qualifies an adjective, verb or other adverb
antithesis
a person or thing that is the exact opposite of something/someone else
auxiliary verb
a verb used in forming the tenses, moods and voices of other verbs e.g. have, will, am
collective pronoun
collection of people/things as a whole
colloquial language
informal language, often using slang
comparative adjective/adverb
a comparative compared to another adjective/adverb e.g smoother
compound adjective
adjectives made up of more than one word
concrete noun
a noun denoting something material (not abstract)
conjunction
a word which joins two clauses
determiners
one/a group of words that begin noun phrases
dynamic verb
a verb that denotes an action, sensation or process
emotive language
language that provokes an emotional response in the reader/audience
formal register
a more professional-sounding style of language/grammar/words
high-frequency lexis
words that are commonly used
idiolect
a form of language that a particular person speaks
informal register
a more conversational style of language/grammar/words
intensifiers
adverbs that make words stronger or more emphatic
juxtaposition
two things being seen or placed close together with opposite or contrasting effect
low-frequency lexis
words that are less commonly used
modal verb
an auxiliary verb that expresses necessity or possibility e.g. should, will
neologism/coinage
a newly invented word or phrase
non-standard english
an informal version of English, usually containing slang and colloquialisms not used in formal settings
possessive pronouns
a pronoun used to express ownership or possession
post modifier
often adverbs, prepositional phrases or certain types of clause
pre modifier
a descriptive word/phrase placed before the subject of a sentence
preposition
indicate relationships between other words in a sentence e.g. telling you where something is or when it happened.
qualifiers/mitigators
used to attribute a quality to another word, especially a noun
quantifiers
shows how many things are being talked about
semantic field
a lexical set of semantically related items
sociolect
a form of language that someone from a particular social group or class speaks
stative verb
a verb that describes a state of being
superlative language
the highest quality or degree
taboo language
refers to words and phrases that are generally considered to be rude and out of place in a polite setting
tense
a verbal category relating the time of a narrated event to the time of the speech event
tmesis
the separation of parts of a compound word by (an) intervening word(s)
verb
a word used to describe an action, state or occurrence
