English Lang Terminology - Grammar

Proper Noun

Refers to the names of a specific people/places - eg Exeter, Britain, etc - usually starts with a capital letter

Common Noun

Refers to the common name for things that aren’t necessarily specific - eg city, boy, holiday etc

Concrete Noun

Refers to physical things that can be measured and observed

Abstract Noun

Refers to abstract concepts and things that can’t be touched or seen - such as ideas, occasions, thoughts, time, qualities, processes - eg sadness, hope, happiness

Count Nouns

A noun that can be counted

Non-Count nouns

A noun that can’t be counted

Descriptive Adjectives

Used to express the size, shape or colour of an object - eg yellow, big, round

Evaluative Adjectives

Used to express bias or judgement in relation to the noun - eg good ,bad, ugly

Comparative Adjectives

Used to compare 2 or more nouns - eg the faster, the hungrier

Superlative Adjectives

Used to compare 3 or more nouns - eg the hungriest, the fastest

Dynamic Verb

Refers to an action, process or sensation - a physical process (eg running, walking, climbing etc)

Stative Verb

Refers to a state of being or situation and shows how a thing is, feels or appears. (eg think, feel, know)

Modal (auxiliary) Verb

Expresses necessity and possibility - usually appears before a main (dynamic or stative) verb. (eg would, can, could, should, will etc)

Primary (auxiliary) Verb

Expresses voices and tenses - usually appears before a main (dynamic or stative) verb. (eg have, do, be)

Adverb of Time

Refers to when a certain action happens - yesterday, today, now - circumstance adverb

Adverb of Place

Refers to where a certain action happens - here, nearby, far - circumstance adverb

Adverb of Manner

Refers to how and in what way a certain action happens - quickly, slowly, smoothly - circumstance adverb

Adverb of Degree

Refers to the intensity in which a certain action happens - very, quite, extremely

Adverb of Frequency

Refers to how often a certain action happens - sometimes, often, rarely

Personal Pronoun

A pronoun which is associated with a particular person - eg, me, you, his, her, them, they, he, him, she,

Possessive Pronoun

A pronoun used to indicate that something belongs to someone or has a direct relationship with something else. They must replace a noun. - eg, mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs

Demonstrative Pronoun

A pronoun used to point to something specific within a sentence. They indicate items in time and space and can be singular or plural. - eg, this, that, those, these

Reflexive Pronoun

A pronoun used when the subject and object are the same. - eg, myself, yourself, herself, himself, ourselves, theirselves

Relative Pronoun

A pronoun used to refer to nouns previously mentioned, whether they are people, places, animals or ideas. They can be used to join up two sentences or clauses - eg, who, which, that

Indefinite Pronoun

A pronoun used to refer to one or more unspecified objects, places or beings. They do not indicate the exact object, being or place to which they refer. - eg, anyone, everyone, someone

Possessive Determiner

A determiner used to indicate the possession of a noun - eg mine, yours, theirs, his ,her

Demonstrative Determiners

A determiner that is used to demonstrate the identity of the thing being referenced by the noun - eg those, these, this, that

Indefinite (quantifiers) Determiners

Determiners that indicate the scope of a noun - eg any, many, some

Articles

Determiners that indicate the specificity of a noun - eg the,(definite) a, an (indefinite)

Cardinal Determiners

Determiners used in counting to identify quantity - eg 1,2,3,4 etc

Ordinal Determiners

Determiners used to indicate position or in relation to other numbers - eg 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc

Preposition of Place

Used to refer to where something or someone is located - eg on, at, under, by, opposite - cat ON table

Preposition of Direction

Used to refer to where or in what direction something moves - eg towards, past, out of, through - walk THROUGH door

Preposition of Time

Used to refer to a specific time period such as a date - these are often the same words as prepositions of place but are used in a different way - eg on, in, before, at - birthday ON monday

Preposition of Comparison

Used to separate or distinguish between 2 or more people, ideas or things etc - eg like, unlike, as - sang LIKE an angel

Preposition of Source

Used to refer to the origin of something in the sentence - eg from, of, out of - card FROM friend

Preposition of Purpose

Used to refer to the cause of something happening or the purpose of an action - eg for, to, on account of - gift FOR you

Example of how a Particle differs from a Preposition

It is important to be aware that some words that have the form of a preposition to not have the same function

1. “The girl read IN the library

2. “The rioters kicked IN the door”

In the first sentence ‘in’ refers to where the girl is reading - it is therefore a preposition of place

In the second sentence ‘in’ is DIRECTLY LINKED TO THE VERB therefore it is not a preposition but a PARTICLE

Simple Preposition - types of prepositions

The most common type of preposition and used to show relationships such as dates and time - eg In, On, At, Under etc - The cat sat ON the table

Double Preposition - types of prepositions

Two simple prepositions used together that are often indicating direction.

Eg, Into, Upon, Onto etc - she walked INTO the shop

Compound (Complex) Preposition - types of prepositions

Consists of two or more words - usually a simple preposition and another word - to indicate place 

Eg, Infront of, In the middle of, Next to - she stood INFRONT OF the park

Particle Preposition - types of prepositions

A preposition with the suffix ending -ed or -ing but functions as a preposition

Eg, Following, Regarding, Inclined etc - We were late FOLLOWING traffic

What is a Prepositional Phrase.

Consists of a preposition, an object and the object’s modifier

Eg In the morning, After lunch, At home - I awoke IN THE MORNING

Coordinating Conjunctions

Conjunctions placed between words, phrases, clauses or sentences that are of equal value. Eg- FANBOYS - For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So

Subordinating Conjunctions

Used to introduce a Subordinate Clause Eg- If, Because, Unless, Although

Correlating Conjunctions

Conjunctions that function as a pair, both words correlating to balance words, phrases, clauses or sentences. Eg - Both/And, Neither/ Nor, But/Then etc

Adverbial Conjunctions 

A conjunction used to modify two independent clauses and join them together Eg- However, Moreover, Therefore etc

Declarative Sentence

A statement of fact without the expression of strong emotion. Ends in a full stop. States IDEAS - 

Carol is walking with Sarah

Imperative Sentence

Either a request or a command. Ends in either a full stop or an exclamation mark. Calls for ACTION and is intentional

Please close the window!

Interrogative Sentence

A statement which asks a question, it ends in a question mark. To gather information that is currently unknown or to seek approval/permission/validation. Call for INFORMATION

Can you carry this for me?

Exclamatory Sentence

A statement which communicates a high level of excitement or emotion. To EXPRESS OR RELEASE EMOTION, involuntary reactions, one or two word interjection.

Stop! Ouch!

Clause

A basic unit of grammar, typically made up of at least a subject (noun or noun phrase) and a predicate (a verb or verb phrase, plus any other information eg an object, adverbial phrase etc)

Main Clause

A clause that can express a complete thought. A main clause can stand alone (independently) to form a complete sentence.

This will usually contain at least a subject and a predicate eg I ran home

Subordinate Clause

A clause that does not express a complete thought. A subordinate clause cannot stand alone as it does not forma complete sentence- it is dependent on a main clause.

Usually containts at least a subject and predicate - eg If I ran home…

clause 3

3

Phrase

One or more words functioning as a unit in a sentence, usually containing a head word and its accompanying modifiers

eg the soft grey kitten on the rug

Head Word

The main word in a phrase - it determines the sytactic category of the phrase

eg the soft grey KITTEN on the rug

Modifiers

These are words that modify the head or give us more information about it

eg THE SOFT GREY kitten ON THE RUG

Pre and Post-Modifers

Pre-modifers - modifers that come before the head word

Post-modifers - modifiers that come after the head word

Noun Phrase

A phrase where the noun is the head word - upon which all other words depend

eg THE BIG GOLDEN DOG AT THE GATE

Verb Phrase

A phrase containing a lexical (main) verb and any primary/auxilary verbs (helper)

She waited for the train

Predicate

The part of a sentence that provide information about the subject - what is does, is and feels etc. Usually contains the verb, object and modifers

eg she WAITED FOR THE TRAIN

Phrasal Verbs

A phrase consisting of a verb and another element - usually an adverb or preposition) which function together to form a single unit

eg Take off, Break down

Infinitive Phrase

A phrase that consists of an infinitive verb - to + verb

eg I would like TO STUDY English

Adjectival phrases

A phrase with an adjective as the head word. The adjective can be in the beginning, middle or end of the phrase

Beginning - fond of it

Middle - quite upset over it

End - very happy

Attributive and Pre-modifying Adjectival Phrases

Attrubutive - comes before a noun - a VERY HAPPY man

Pre-modifying - follows a linking (copular) verb and comes after a noun - the man is VERY HAPPY

Adverbial Phrase

A phrase which functions as an adverb but doesnt contain a verb - otherwise it becomes a clause/verb phrase

Adverbial phrases can also be prepositional phrases eg IN A MINUTE

Eg QUIETLY, ANYWHERE NEAR IT

Prepositional Phrase

A phrase consisting of a preposition, an object and the objects modifer

Eg AT HOME, BEFORE LUNCH, IN THE MORNING

Elements of a Clause

A clause usually contains both a verb phrase and other types of phrase. They are made up of 5 elements

1. Subject

2. Object

3. Complement

4. Verb

5. Adverbial

CLAUSE ELEMENTS

Subject

Verb

Subject - the subject of a clause is the main person or thing the clause is about - it perfoms the action described so it usally comes before the verb

Verb - the second element

eg THE TEACHER MARKED my work

CLAUSE ELEMENTS

Object

Complement

Object - normally follows the verb and provides an answer to the question ‘who or what has something been done to’

Complement - provides more information about the subject or object

eg the teacher called MY WORK A MASTERPIECE last week

CLAUSE ELEMENTS

Adverbial

Usually some kind of optional extra in a sentence, it normally provides information of the following kinds

time - how often or when something happened - last week

place - where something happened - by the park

manner - how something happened - quietly

Adverbials can occupy different positions in a clause although they are often found at the end. It is also possible for a clause to contain more than one adverbial

eg last week… at the house

Simple Sentence

Contains only one clause. It includes a SINGLE main verb and some or all of the other clause elements - subject, object, complement, adverbial.

eg she fell, he closed the gate

Compound Sentence

Consists of two or more simple sentences joined together by a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS)

Each clause in a compound sentence can make sense on its own and each are of equal value eg the exam was difficult BUT she passed

Ellipsis

Ellipsis occurs when part of a sentence is left out to avoid repetition - eg you can jump in a taxi or wait for the bus

This still functions as a compound sentence because if the missing element is restored - you can jump in a taxi or you can wait for a bus can stand alone as a sentence

Complex Sentence

A complex sentence contains one or more clauses of lesser importance. The lesser clause is called the SUBORDINATE CLAUSE.

A subordinate clause can stand alone and make sense

Subordinate clauses are more likely to occur in longer sentences

Subordinate clauses can occupy the position of any clause elements except a verb. They can act as the subject, object, complement or adverbial. Subordinating conjunctions often introduce subordinate clauses eg except, although, because, when, in order to, so that etc

TYPES OF SUBORDINATE CLAUSES IN A COMPLEX SENTENCE

Clause introduced by that

The subordinate clause acts as the object of the sentence

eg I though THAT THE JOURNEY WAS SLOW

TYPES OF SUBORDINATE CLAUSES IN A COMPLEX SENTENCE

Clauses starting with wh- words

Introduced by words such as who, what, whether, when

TYPES OF SUBORDINATE CLAUSES IN A COMPLEX SENTENCE

Adverbial Clauses

These act as adverbials and usually explain when, where or why something happened. They are introduced by conjunctions such as

Before, until, while, yesterday, since

eg She left BEFORE I ARRIVED

TYPES OF SUBORDINATE CLAUSES IN A COMPLEX SENTENCE

Relative Clauses

These usally contain the relative pronouns whose, who, which, that

eg the hand THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE rules the world