Syntax. Clauses. Sentence Types. Types of Clauses. Coordinate Clauses. Subordinate Clauses. Flashcards
Syntax
The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.
A sentence
A unit of speech which expresses a complete thought, and has a correct grammatical form and intonation.
Modality
Linguistic devices that indicate the degree to which an observation is possible, probable, likely, certain, permitted, or prohibited.
A declarative sentence
A declarative sentence is generally a simple statement that is used to provide information about something or state a fact.
- She gave her children love and care.
A transitive verb
A transitive verb is a verb that requires an object to receive the action. For example, teach (what?) a lesson.
A direct object
A direct object is the person or thing that directly receives the action or effect of the verb.
- Our cat caught a mouse. (direct object - a mouse)
An indirect object
The word or phrase that receives the direct object.
- He gave the pirate a chance. (indirect object - pirate)
An interrogative sentence
A sentence that asks a question or makes a request for information.
A general question
A general question requires the answer “yes” or “no” and is spoken with a rising intonation. General questions are formed by placing part of the predicate (i.e. the auxiliary or modal verb) before the subject.
- Do you like art?
A special question
It may refer to any word in the sentence and it begins with an interrogative word (who? what? which? when? where? why?).
- When and where do you meet?
An alternative question
A question that offers the listener a choice of two or more alternatives and is characterized by rising intonation on each alternative except for the final one, which has falling intonation.
- Would you like coffee, tea, or soda?
A disjunctive question (a question tag)
It is a very short question which follows the statement and repeats its meaning.
- You are happy, aren’t you? You aren’t happy, are you?
An imperative sentence
An imperative sentence is a sentence that gives the reader an instruction, makes a request, or issues a command.
- Take care of your health!
A simple sentence
Simple sentences are sentences containing one independent clause, with a subject and a predicate. Modifiers, compound subjects, and compound verbs/predicates can be used in simple sentences. The standard arrangement of a simple sentence is subject + verb + object, or SVO order.
- Life is wonderful. Time is short.
A compound sentence
A compound sentence is a sentence that has at least two independent clauses joined by a comma, semicolon or conjunction.
- The night was warm, and we walked to the sea.
A complex sentence
A sentence which consists of a principal (independent) clause and of one or more subordinate (dependent) clauses.
- Nobody knows when she’ll come back.
A compound-complex sentence
A sentence containing one or more dependent clauses and two or more independent clauses joined by a conjunction or semicolon.
- I feel tired if I stay up, but I can’t fall sleep if I go to bed.
A clause
A group of words that contains at least one subject and one verb.
A subject
A subject is a part of a sentence that contains the person or thing performing the action (or verb) in a sentence.
A predicate
The part of a sentence or clause containing a verb and stating something about the subject.
A verb
A verb is a word that describes what the subject of a sentence is doing. Verbs can indicate (physical or mental) actions, occurrences, and states of being.
An adverbial clause
An adverbial clause (or adverb clause) is a clause containing a subject and verb that acts as an adverb to modify the main clause of a sentence.
An adjective (attributive/relative) clause
An adjective clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb that is used as an adjective in a sentence to give more information about a noun or pronoun.
- The pie that Jon brought is very good.
A noun (nominal) clause
A noun clause is a type of dependent clause that functions as a noun.
An adverb
An adverb is a word that can modify or describe a verb, adjective, another adverb, or entire sentence. Adverbs can be used to show manner (how something happens), degree (to what extent), place (where), and time (when).
An adjective
An adjective is a word that modifies or describes a noun or pronoun. Adjectives can be used to describe the qualities of someone or something independently or in comparison to something else.
A noun
A noun is a word that represents a person, thing, concept, or place.
An independent clause (coordination)
An independent clause (a clause is a group of words that contains at least one subject and one verb) is one that can stand on its own – independently. You can join independent clauses if you want to. This is called coordination.
A dependent clause (subordiantion)
A dependent clause is one that cannot stand on its own – it needs an independent clause to lean on. You must join a dependent clause to an independent one. This is called subordination.
A semicolon
A punctuation mark (;) that can be used to separate parts of a sentence which need clearer separation than would be shown by a comma, to separate main clauses which have no conjunction between, and to separate phrases and clauses containing commas.
A comma
A comma is a punctuation mark that represents a short pause and is used to divide parts of a sentence. A comma usually resembles a dot with a tail (,) and is placed at the bottom of a line of text or writing.
A coordinating conjunction
A coordinating conjunction joins two parts of a sentence of equal emphasis. Coordinating conjunctions are used in English grammar to link independent words, clauses, or phrases. Coordinating conjunctions include words like “for,” “yet,” “and,” and “but” to connect the independent clauses within a compound sentence.
FANBOYS
FANBOYS is an acronym for the seven most common coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.
A subject clause
Subject clauses which function as subjects and may be introduced by the conjunctions and conjunctive words that,
if, whether, who, what, which, when, why, how and some
others.
- That your prediction may come true is highly problematic.
A predicative clause
Predicative clauses which function as parts of compound nominal predicates – predicatives.
- The truth is (that) he doesn’t get on with his workmate.
An object clause
The clause that acts as the object of a verb.
- I wish we were friends.
A relative pronoun
A relative pronoun is a pronoun that’s used to introduce a relative clause. The main English relative pronouns are which, that, who, and whom. These words can also function as other parts of speech—they aren’t exclusively used as relative pronouns.
An antecedent
In grammar, an antecedent is one or more words that establish the meaning of a pronoun or other pro-form.[1] For example, in the sentence “John arrived late because traffic held him up,” the word “John” is the antecedent of the pronoun “him.”
