METALANGUAGE : Syntax

Question 1

Clause

Answer 1

Usually contains a verb. It may stand alone as a simple sentence or be part of a compound or complex sentence
e.g “I went to the shop”

Question 2

Sentences

Answer 2

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Question 3

Sentence Type: Declarative

Answer 3

Usually makes a statement. Uses the structure of a basic clause
e.g “I like ham sandwiches”

Question 4

Sentence Type: Imperative

Answer 4

A sentence type used to express a command

e.g “Look at me”, “Go away”

Question 5

Sentence Type: Interrogative

Answer 5

A type of sentence usually used to ask questions

e.g “How are you?”, “What is the weather like?”

Question 6

Sentence Type: Exclamitive

Answer 6

A sentence that begins with either what or how as an exclamation
e.g “What a fantastic sunset!”

Question 7

Clause Structure: Subject

Answer 7

The part of the sentence that is doing the action denoted by the verb

Question 8

Clause Structure: Object

Answer 8

The part of a sentence affected by the verb

Question 9

Clause Structure: Complement

Answer 9

The part of a sentence which includes the verb and object

e.g In the sentence ‘I like to eat out’, ‘like to eat out’ is the complement

Question 10

Clause Structure: Adverbial Clause

Answer 10

A dependent clause in a sentence used to indicate time, place, condition or contrast

e. g (capitals=adverbial words/clauses)
- My sister USUALLY visits ON SUNDAY.
- WHEN SHE ISN’T WORKING, my sister visits ON SUNDAYS.
- My sister visits ON SUNDAYS WHEN SHE ISN’T WORKING.

Question 11

Sentence Fragments

Answer 11

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Question 12

Sentences: Simple

Answer 12

A sentence with only 1 clause

e.g “I have a pet cat”

Question 13

Sentences: Compound

Answer 13

A sentence with multiple main clauses, usually joined by a conjunction
e.g “We had a dinner party last night and it was a success.”

Question 14

Sentences: Complex

Answer 14

A sentence containing at least 1 main and subordinate clause
e.g ‘Computers have come a long way since they first came on the market.’
This example begins with an independent clause (subject ‘computers’ and verb ‘have come’) that forms a complete thought, followed by a dependent clause (subject ‘they’ and a verb ‘came’).

Question 15

Sentences: Compound-Complex

Answer 15

A sentence which contains more than 1 independent clause and at least 1 dependent clause
e.g ‘Because I paid attention, I got an A on the test and I was so happy’

Question 16

Ellipsis

Answer 16

Omission of information from discourse because it is already understood. used to help with cohesion
e.g “Does anyone here do Methods?” “I do” (it is understood that only someone who is actually doing Methods would answer, thereby eliminating the need to specify= “I do Methods/it”)

Question 17

Nominalisation

Answer 17

The conversion of a verb or adjective into a noun

e.g ‘innocent’ to ‘innocence’, ‘running’ to ‘going for a run’

Question 18

Coordination

Answer 18

The relationship between two language units of the same sort, such as phrases or clauses, that are joined together by means of a coordinating conjunction such as ‘and’, ‘or’, and ‘but’
e.g “I wanted to watch TV but I had to finish my homework”

Question 19

Subordination

Answer 19

The combination of clauses that are syntactically non-equivalent; a subordinate clause is part of another clause (the main clause) and is introduced by a subordinator
e.g “I bought a book because I liked it” (‘because I liked it’ is the subordinating clause)

Question 20

Voice: Active

Answer 20

A grammatical ‘voice’ in which the agent appears as the subject (object)- the actor is in front of the under-goer
e.g “The dog ate the homework”

Question 21

Voice: Passive

Answer 21

A grammatical ‘voice’ in which the patient or ‘undergoer’ appears as the subject instead of the agent or ‘doer’. If the agent is there at all it is in a prepositional phrase beginning with ‘by’
e.g “The homework was eaten by the dog”

Question 22

Antithesis

Answer 22

The placement of 2 clauses together which have clearly opposite meanings
e.g ‘It was a happy time, but also a sad time’

Question 23

Listing

Answer 23

A stylistic technique in which a number of items are placed in succession of each other
e.g ‘He dropped his pens, papers, pencils and rulers’

Question 24

Parallelism

Answer 24

A stylistic technique where identical syntactic structures are used in close succession
e.g ‘Like father, like son’, ‘Easy come, easy go’, ‘We lived and laughed and loved and left’

Question 25

Phrases

Answer 25

A small group of words that behave like a structural unit. It is named by the head (the core or the most important word of the phrase)
e.g noun phrase, verb phrase, etc.

Question 26

Syntax

Answer 26

The study of how words, phrases and clauses are put together into sentences