test 1 Flashcards
Define Grammar
word choice and arrangement appropriate for the rhetorical task.
Explain Prescriptive Grammar. Give example
Prescriptive - how grammar should be used, arbitrary rules established by an authority.
Ex: “Then Mark ran over the hill.” We know that “Mark” is a noun because it is capitalized and not the first word of the sentence
Explain Descriptive Grammar. Give example.
Descriptive - how grammar is actually used, daily use.
Semantic and Syntactic
ex. (syntactic) The word “Brad’s” is a noun because it possesses an inflectional morpheme correlative with a possessive noun: (‘s)
Define rhetoric
Rhetoric- a technique of using language effectively and persuasively in spoken or written form
Definite syntax
The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences
Define morpheme, and explain the three categories by which we analyze morphemes. Use an example to illustrate each of the two part in each of the categories.
Morpheme - smallest unit of sound that carries meaning
- ) prefix
- ) base
- ) suffix
ex.
How many morphemes are in the word universal?
uni/vers/al
What is an allomorph?
variations on morphemes determined by environment
ex. bug and bugs (sounds like “z”)
Name the form class parts of speech and give an example
Noun- Tree
Adjective- small
verb- run
adverb- quickly
Provide a syntactic definition for a noun
Brian ran up a hill.
“hill” is a noun because it is preceded by the determiner “the”
Discuss the difference between inflectional and derivational suffix categories, listing all of the inflectional suffixes and examples of derivational suffixes. which is an open class?
Inflectional suffixes: 8 suffixes specific to NAVA
Noun-
- –(s) Plural
- –(‘s) Possessive
Verbs-
- –(s) 3rd person present tense
- –(ed) past tense
- –(ing) continuous aspect
- –(en) perfect aspect
Adjectives/adverbs
- –(er) comparative
- –(est) superlative
Derivational suffixes- arbitrary because the meaning of the word isn’t fixed with the morpheme
ex. -able -ize
derivational morphemes are open class
Discuss the rules for inflicting nouns for possession
Add an apostrophe + s to most singular nouns and to plural nouns that do not end in s
Add an apostrophe only to plural nouns that already end in s.
Ex. (singular) Dr. Johns -> Dr. Johns’s
(Plural) Classes --> Classes'
Name the tenses of English and provide an example of each
Past= He jumped
Present= He runs
Discuss aspect of verb
determines whether or not a verb has been completed
- ing ex. running (Continuous Aspect)
- en ex. broken (Perfect Aspect)
What form class is the most moveable and therefore less easily identified?
Adverb
Why is the structure class more difficult to for grammarians to agree upon?
structure words generally accompany specific form classes. Structured words are open for debate.
Name the four structure class category of words, give an example of each
determiners (signal nouns): a, an (particles)
Auxilaries (immediately connected with verbs, change the verbs meaning) : am, is, are, was, “was going to act” “are running late”
Qualifiers (signal adjectives and adverbs, alter their meanings) : very, quite
Preposition (placed before a noun phrase, shows location) : over, under
Give a descriptive grammar definition for noun using a structured class
They camped beside the lake.
“lake” is a noun because is is the object of the preposition.
Define Preposition and discuss why it must have an OP
Preposition- placed before a noun phrase or other nominal, shows location
Prepositions must have an OP because a preposition must be followed by a noun or pronoun in order to make sense, and the OP is always in Objective Case
Define Conjunction and name three kinds, giving an example of each
Conjunction- used to connect
Coordinating- FANBOYS
Correlative- (in pairs, always two) either, or neither, nor
Subordinating- (anytime you hook one onto a clause, it becomes dependent) Because, after,
Define Pronoun and name three kinds, giving an example of each
Pronoun- stands in the place of a noun
Personal- (30 of them) I, We, Our, His, Her, Them
Reflexive Pronouns- (Formed by adding -self or -selves) Himself, themselves
Interrogative pronouns- (pronouns that set up “wh” questions, MUST BE USED PROPERLY)
—-“who did it?” “which one?”
why should reflexive pronouns never occur in the subject position?
A reflexive pronoun must have a referent in the subject position so you know who you are talking about.
explain the controversy concerning the lack of third person singular gender neutral pronoun in english
In english, there is no distinct third person singular pronoun for female and male. There is only “it” which cannot be used in reference to a person, so it has become accepted to use they, when gender is unknown or neutral.
explain what we mean by modal verbs. give examples
Modals modulate on the likelihood or probability of the verb being done.
“might go” “could go” “should go”
name another auxiliary beside modals
passive auxiliary- used to form passive constructions
“the film WAS produced in hollywood
