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)
