Syntax? Flashcards
Phrase
The smallest group of words that can occupy a grammatical ‘slot’ within a sentence. It is built around a single word (or very similar, i appreciate that phrases are like big words so saying it could be something that acts as a word may not be as helpful).
All parts of it will always work together to create a coherent (probably relatively small) bigger picture.
Head Word
It’s the word that the phrase is built around with everything else just modifying that one word in some way.
In the phrase “the unusually strong creature” the word in question would be “creature” with everything else modifying it.
Hmm, what kind of phrase is this i wonder?
What is the head word? Noun- noun phrase, Verb- verb phrase, etc.
Clause
It consists of 2 or more phrases and forms coherent units of meaning.
It tells about action or state i.e. what a thing is doing or being.
TYPICALLY, it has a noun phrase and a verb phrase. maybe it would help to look for object+ finite verb combos?
Predicate
Literally everything said in a sentence or clause about its object.
eg. “The young choir boy < sang every song in the book >”.
Independent clause.
When a clause is basically acting like a simple sentence and basically just can work on its own.
Dependent/subordinate clause
clause that doesn’t make sense on its own and needs something else to make sense.
relative clause
a clause that is attached to something by a relative pronoun
bound morpheme
can only exist as part of a word
a word that links/connects an independent and a dependent clause.
subordinating conjunction
finite verb
It is attached grammaticaly to a subject word. (it has now been limited in what it can possibly mean thus making it finite- this is my inturpretation not strictly its definition)
Prepositional phrase
phrase that begins with a preposition and ends with an object such as a noun, pronoun, or noun/pronoun phrase.
They often function as adverbial phrases but can function adjectivally to add detail to a noun by post-modifying it, e.g. “The man with the wonky nose”.
how is a noun changed depending on whether it is in the subject or object position?
it isnt
how do pronouns change depending on whether it is in subject or object position.
up to the individual pronoun i just wanted to make a point that this happens with pronouns unlike nouns.
eg. subject- she, object- her
referent
the word to which a different word is referring. for example when pronouns are used, they will have a referent.
link verb
Verbs that link a subject with a word or phrase that tells more about the subject, e.g. be, is, am, seem, appear.
these come under the umbrella of stative verbs (all link are stative but not vice versa)
complement
A word, phrase or clause that follows a verb and which simply adds further information concerning, usually, the verb’s subject. eg. “happy” in “he is happy” or “I made him happy”
Hmm, what kind of compliment is this i wonder?
uhh basically, i would just look for subject complement or object complement. (what is it complimenting by adding/ modyfing/whatever)
Determiner
modifiers that function to pre-modify and specify a particular noun e.g. the, a, some, many, those, these
co-ordinating conjunctions
These link equal units. Mostly just the words ‘and’, ‘but’ and ‘or’.
Subordinating conjunction
They attach a dependent clause that adds detail to a main clause. e.g. however, although, when, because (“He bought the phone even though he knew it was stolen”)
Interjection
Are used to suggest sudden emotional outbursts, e.g. ‘Ouch!’, ‘Hey!’
Sentence?
A sentence has been described as a group of words whose meaning seems complete in itself; and others have defined a sentence as a group of words that expresses a complete thought.
Simple sentence
Composed of a single main clause.
It will contain (not necessarily exclusively) one subject and one finite verb.
eg. “The short-tailed, long-haired Abyssinian pedigree cat with the rather grand name of Arthur of Geneve had been sitting on the Etruscan camel-skin mat in front of the roaring log fire.” (1 noun phrase, 1 verb phrase, 2 adverbial phrases)
Fun stylistic notes (?) on simple sentences:
A series of simple sentences can help suggest tension; they can also create a sense of straightforwardness and clarity. Simple sentences are also a major aspect of the register used by and when speaking to the very young or to a learner of English.
Compound Sentence
A sentence that contains two or more main clauses linked.
This is often by a coordinating conjunction but can also be done with things like semicolons.
Fun stylistic notes (?) on compound sentences:
It is an important grammatical structure as it allows a writer or speaker to use a single sentence that combines and communicates two or more related ideas.
once again, children will eat that shit up.
Compound sentences are also a useful way of adding sentence variety to a text.
coordination
the process of linking two ideas (into a sentence?).
This is often done with compound sentences.
Complex sentence
1 independent clause and at least 1 dependent clause.
Fun stylistic notes (?) on complex sentences:
found less often in speech.
can seem like a more formal register text?
minor sentences
technically grammatically incomplete.
often occurs in speech.
if someone asked what you are doing and you replied “just sitting down” that would be one.
4 sentence moods/functions
declarative
imperative
interrogative
exclamatory
most common sentence structure for declaritive
Subject Verb Object
most common sentence structure for interrogative
typically will use an auxillary verb BEFORE the subject. (this means that they aren’t doing that thing where they have all of the verbs next to eachother)
eg. “do you want any?”
most common sentence structure for imperitive
they might lack a subject eg. “sit down” (despite this, it is implied that the subject is you)
intransitive verb
verb that does not require an object for it to make sense
transitive verb
verb that needs an object as it is transferring an action from subject to object
direct object
the object that the verb is actually happening to eg. “the guitar” in “she gave her friend the guitar”
indirect object
This object is not directly affected by the verb but is the receiver of something from the action. Eg. “her friend” in “she gave her friend the guitar”
pre-modification
literally just modification that happens before the head word
passive voice construction- how constructed?
object will probably be in what’s typically the subject position
Noun Adjunct
An optional noun that modifies another noun; functioning similarly to an adjective, it is, more specifically, a noun functioning as a pre-modifier in a noun phrase. eg. Chicken in “chicken soup”. more relevantly this would also apply to things like “BBC The Traitors’ Claudia Winkleman” or “linguist McLinguistname”.
