AQA English Language AO1 Language Labels

all AO1 lables needed for top band marks

Mode

Whether a text is spoken or written; now studied by focusing on features that characterise both forms.

Register

Lexis appropriate to the situation, often judged by formality; defined by mode, manner (participants), and field (topic).

Cohesion

Internal links within a text, such as pronoun referencing, paragraphing, and consistent use of semantic fields.

Noun

A naming word; determiners like my or the can precede them (except proper nouns).

Concrete noun

Names something tangible (can be seen/touched): chair, boat, leg.

Abstract noun

Names intangible concepts: happiness, dream, conscience.

Proper noun

Capitalised; names a specific person/place/title: London, Sarah, Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Dynamic verb

A verb that shows physical action: jump, kick, talk, laugh.

Stative verb

Shows state of being or mental process: be, have, believe, understand.

Auxiliary verb

Helps the main verb: He must have been playing…

Progressive aspect

Shows ongoing action using to be + -ing: is eating, was running.

Modal auxiliary verb

Suggests obligation (must, should) or possibility (may, can); obligation = deontic, possibility = epistemic.

Primary auxiliary verb

Forms of be, have, do used to support main verbs.

Adjective

Describes a noun; can be pre-modifying (red hat) or post-modifying (the hat is red).

Modifier

Word/phrase that adds detail or quantity: the open-minded woman, the woman is open-minded.

Comparative adjective

Compares two things: fatter than, more dynamic than.

Superlative adjective

Indicates the highest degree: fattest, most dynamic.

Adverb

Modifies a verb; often ends in -ly: ran quickly. Types:

Adverb of Manner

(how?) quickly, lazily

Adverb of Time

(when?) yesterday, later

Adverb of Frequency

(how often?) regularly, never

Adverb of Place

(where?) here, there

Pronoun

Stands in for a noun; common ones include personal, reflexive (himself), demonstrative (this), relative (who, that).

Preposition

Shows relationship in time/space: at, after, under, on.

Co-ordinating conjunction

and, but, either…or; links sentence parts or creates compound sentences.

Subordinating conjunction

Introduces subordinate clauses: because, that, if. Creates complex sentences.

Ellipsis

Omission of expected elements: “you ok?” (missing “are”), “tea?” (missing “do you want”).

Mood

Linguistic function of sentence types: declarative, imperative, interrogative, exclamatory.

Declarative

Statement: I am a Capricorn.

Imperative

Command: Get me that chair.

Interrogative

Question: Can I have that chair?

Exclamatory

Exclamation: Damn!, F**k!

Anaphoric reference

Refers back: Bob is 17. He plays badminton.

Cataphoric reference

Refers forward (informal): He’s a badminton player, is Bob.

Exophoric reference

Refers outside the text: That man there.

Determiner

Specifies number/definiteness: the cars, the red cars.

Definite article

The; a type of determiner.

Indefinite article

A, an; a type of determiner.

Active voice

Agent precedes verb: The man kicked the ball.

Passive voice

Agent comes after verb or omitted: The ball was kicked (by the man).

Fronted conjunction

Starting a sentence with a conjunction: But I wanted to go. (informal)

Phrases

Word clusters with grammatical roles: NP (noun phrase), VP (verb phrase), etc.

Clause

A group of phrases; may be a full sentence.

Main clause

Has subject and verb; makes sense alone: I played tennis.

Relative clause

Begins with relative pronoun: The man, who I met, is 17.

Subordinate clause

Begins with subordinating conjunction: because it tastes nice.

Subject

Agrees with verb; typically the agent: He played for Wigan.

Object

Affected by the verb: She passed the parcel.

Minor sentence

Lacks subject or verb: No way!, Good morning.

Simple sentence

One clause only: I read a book.

Compound sentence

Multiple main clauses joined by coordinating conjunctions.

Complex sentence

Main clause + one or more subordinate/relative clauses.

Compound-complex sentence

Mix of main and subordinate clauses with both types of conjunctions.

Foregrounding

Emphasis by placing elements at sentence start: For 23 games, Newcastle failed to win.

Apposition

Two noun phrases side-by-side: My friend, a skilled baker, made this.

Directive

Language used to instruct: Get out! (Halliday: regulatory function)

Plosives

Air build-up, sudden release: /p/, /t/, /k/, /b/, /d/, /g/

Fricatives

Whistling air through narrow opening: /f/, /v/, /s/, /z/

Alliteration

Repetition of consonant sounds: bad Bill bit Bob

Sibilance

Repetition of fricatives: silly Sarah saw sausages

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds: my high sky may die

Monosyllabic

One syllable: rat

Bisyllabic

Two syllables: table, carpet

Polysyllabic

Three or more syllables: beautiful, undertaker

Onomatopoeia

Word sound reflects meaning: bang, slither

Juxtaposition

Visual placement of text/images to affect meaning.

Intertextuality

Borrowing conventions from other genres or texts.

Homophones

Same sound, different meaning/spelling: new/knew, great/grate

Homonyms

Same spelling/sound, different meaning: bank/bank

Homographs

Same spelling, different sound/meaning: lead/lead, read/read

Synonyms

Words with similar meanings: brave/valiant

Antonyms

Words with opposite meanings: happy/sad, fast/slow

Metonyms

Part represents whole: wheels = car, skirts = women

Hypernyms

Broad category word: colour (superordinate)

Hyponyms

Types under a hypernym: blue, green

Idiom

Meaning isn’t literal: kick the bucket, pull your socks up

Euphemism

Softened expression: passed away, visit the bathroom