Terms 1 Flashcards
Lexicon
Dictionary
Linking Verbs
Tim feels tired. This is Leeds.
(Copula)Connect a subject to its complement(additional information about the subject)
Do not express action.
Usually ‘be verbs’ or sense verbs or state verbs- appear, grow, prove, remain etc.
If you can substitute am/is/are it’s a linking verb. After the L Verb there will be a noun complement or adj complement.
Syntax
Syntax is the study of rules that govern the ways words combine to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. The arrangement of words in a sentence.
Semantics
Semantics (in linguistics) is the study or science of meaning in language.
Can be plural or singular.
Determiners
A word that occurs with a noun and expresses the reference of that noun in context.
Articles - a,an,the Demonstratives - this,that,these... Possessive determiners - my, their Quantifiers - many, few, several Both, which, some, twelve...
Determiners are often classed as adjectives, but some grammarians refer to them as a separate word class.
Transitive verb
Takes a direct object
You pushed the cart.
I put the pie down.
I tried the shoes.
When in the passive voice transitive verbs become intransitive)
Tom hugged Mary
Mary was hugged (by Tom) requires agent - by
Intransitive verb
A verb that has no direct object. (Age, sleep, die) He died. I can't sleep here. Tonight, we dine. (When in the passive voice transitive verbs become intransitive) Tom hugged Mary Mary was hugged (by Tom) requires agent - by
The Subject
A subject may be: a proper noun, a noun, a pronoun... A noun+relative clause: The man who is behind me is old. A noun+complementation: The man on the corner loves me. An infinite clause: To roll stones can be fun. An -ing clause: Riding bikes is fun. Two subjects joined by coordination: The man on the street and his dog are waiting.
The Object
Three types direct, indirect and oblique Noun- I know the man. Noun+rel. clause: I know the man 'who is waiting.' Noun+complementation: I know 'the man on the corner' Infinitive clause: I hate 'to get up early' -ing clause: I don't like 'being late' Several objects: I hate dogs, pigs, and cats.
Indirect objects
She gave ‘John’ money.
Noun+rel clause:
She gave the boy who fell off his bike a helping hand.
Oblique object
Sometimes the indirect object in a sentence with both dir. and ind. objects is realized as a prep. phrase:
She gave money to the man
(She gave the man money)
Sometimes the oblique ob. can’t be rephrased as a dir. ob:
Can you break this glass for me?
x Can you break me this glass x
Subject complement (predicative)
A subject complement follows a linking verb and is an adjective, noun or pronoun. It describes the subject.
I became embarrassed. (predicative adjective as subject complement))
I am the winner. (Predicative nominative as subject complement)
Do not confuse subject complements with direct objects.
Debate over whether ‘It is me’ (object pronoun)
or ‘it is I’ (subject pronoun) is correct
Object complement
An object complement is a noun, a pronoun or an adjective which follows a direct object to rename it or state what it has become.
To consider someone stupid.
I found the guard sleeping.
We consider her unworthy.
Object complement phrase:
I found the guard ‘sleeping in the barn’
We consider her unworthy of the position’
Predicate
One of the two main parts of a sentence, the other being the subject.
Felix ‘laughed’.
Winnie ‘will sing’.
The grass ‘is always greener on the other side’.
Paul ‘has not returned from Seoul’.
Declension (to decline a word)
The inflection of nouns, pronouns, adjectives and articles and gender.
(For verbs we use the term conjugation)
Philology
The study of language in written historical sources/records and history and linguistics. i.e. studying Classical Greek texts.
Nomenclature
Nomenclature - the devising or choosing of names for things.
The body or system of names in a particular field.
