English Language - Key Terms

dialogue

a conversation between two or more people in a piece of writing

adjectives

words that describes a noun (e.g. the “red” car, the “closed” shop)

adverbs

describe a verb (usually an action)

anecdotes

short stories to exemplify or back up a writer’s or speaker’s points

synonyms

words that are identical in meaning, to other words

theme

a recurring idea within a piece of writing

subject

the ‘do-er’ of the verb action in a sentence or clause

main clause

the main part of a sentence that can stand as a sentence on its own

subordinate clauses

cluses that do not make sense on their own; not complete sentences

regular verb

a verb that follows predictable patterns in forming tenses and agreeing with subjects

irregular verbs

verbs that do not follow the standard patterns

rhetorical

designed to have a powerful effect on a reader; rhetorical questions are intended to create impact rather than elicit information, e.g. Should we simply forget the awful suffering and hardship?)

interviews

conversations in which one person asks the other questions on a topic or aspect of their life

paraphrases

rewording of things that have been said or written

cohesion

how a paragraph is knitted together and linked to other paragraphs around it. Topic sentences, connectives and linking phrases all help to make a text cohesive

homophones

words spelled differently but which sound the same

idiom

a typical phrase common to a language: e.g. dead funny meaning really funny or a right laugh meaning a lot of fun

jargon

technical terms that people unfamiliar with the subject would not know

slang

very informal use of language (may include dialect words), often common to an area, city or group of people

connectives

words or phrases used to link sentences

emotive

likely to make people feel strong emotions

counter-argument

the opposite or contrasting viewpoint

rebut

to “knock down” a counter-argument

Conjunction:

A word used to join clauses or words in the same clause or sentence, for example, and, but, or.

Conjunctive Adverbs:

A conjunctive adverb links independent clauses in a sentence, or links ideas between two sentences- for example, finally, therefore, moreover, to show cause and effect.

noun

a word for a person, thing for a idea.

Pronoun

A word that takes the place of the noun, for example, it, she , and something.

Verb

A word that expresses an action (go) or like a state (feel, like).

Conjugated

When verbs change forms, usually taking on a different ending.

Tenses

Forms verbs take to show the time of action

Determiners

Words that specify nouns

Prepositions:

Words that describe the relationship between things, things or people.

Conjunctions

Words that join two words, phrases or clauses in a sentence.

Inferring:

Reading between the ines and drawing conclusions from subtle clues.

Pathetic Fallacy:

The attribution of human emotion to inanimate objects, nature, or animals. Writers use the pathetic fallacy to evoke a specific mood or feeling that usually reflects their own or a character's internal state. Pathetic fallacy examples The sun was smiling down upon him. The raindrops wept around her.

Connotations:

The emotional or sensory associations of a word or thing - for example, a flag can make someone immediately think ‘my country.‘