Comprehensive Syntax and Semantics for Language Learning

What is academic language?

More compact and denser, with punctuation and spacing specific to learning spaces.

What is the difference between prescriptive and descriptive language?

Prescriptive studies the rules, while descriptive analyzes cultural choices.

What are the two requirements of a sentence?

A noun phrase (subject) and a verb phrase (predicate).

What is a noun?

A person, place, thing, or idea.

What is a common noun?

A general name (e.g., teacher, book, city).

What is a possessive noun?

Shows ownership (e.g., Cedarville's, the teacher's).

What is an abstract noun?

An idea, quality, or state of being that cannot be perceived by the senses (e.g., love, honesty).

What is a proper noun?

A specific name (e.g., Dr. Brown, Bible).

What is a collective noun?

A group of nouns (e.g., teams, flocks).

What are determiners?

Words placed before nouns to clarify the noun.

What are articles?

Show whether something is specific or general (e.g., a, an, the).

What are demonstratives?

Words that point to specific things (e.g., this, that, these, those).

What are possessives?

Words that show ownership (e.g., my, your, his).

What are quantifiers?

Words that express quantity (e.g., some, many, few).

What are prepositions?

Words that show the relationship between a noun and another word in a sentence.

What is a pronoun?

A word or phrase that substitutes for a noun.

What are personal pronouns?

Refers to specific people or things (e.g., I, you, they).

What are reflective pronouns?

Refers back to the subject of the sentence (e.g., myself, yourself).

What are possessive pronouns?

Show ownership of belonging (e.g., mine, yours).

What are relative pronouns?

Connect a clause or phrase to a noun or pronoun (e.g., who, which).

What is an adjective?

A word that modifies a noun.

What is a simple adjective?

Describes a noun (e.g., big, small).

What is a comparative adjective?

Compares one object to another (e.g., taller, bigger).

What is a superlative adjective?

Compares one object to multiple objects (e.g., tallest, biggest).

What is a verb?

A word for an action, state of being, or occurrence.

What are the types of verb tense?

Simple, irregular, progressive, perfect.

What is a modal auxiliary?

Helper verbs that support the verb phrase (e.g., can, may, must).

What is an adverb?

A word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb.

What is a coordinating conjunction?

Connects words, phrases, or independent clauses of equal importance (e.g., for, and, nor).

What is a subordinating conjunction?

Links an independent clause with a dependent clause (e.g., because, although).

What is an interjection?

Words used for strong emotion or sudden feeling (e.g., Hey! Ouch!).

What is an independent clause?

Can stand alone as a sentence with a noun phrase and a verb phrase.

What is a dependent clause?

Cannot stand alone but must be attached to an independent clause to make sense.

What is a simple sentence?

One independent clause.

What is a compound sentence?

Two independent clauses joined together by a coordinating conjunction.

What is a complex sentence?

One or more dependent clauses attached to an independent clause.