English Language - Grammar AO1

Active voice

A clause construction with the agent noun phrase in subject position.

Adverbial

A phrase modifying a verb.

Affected

The noun impacted upon by the action of the verb.

Agent

The noun producing or controlling the dynamic action of a verb.

Complement

A noun phrase, prepositional phrase or adjective, giving additional information about another noun phrase.

Complex sentence

A sentence with one or more subordinate clauses.

Compound sentence

A sentence with multiple main clauses only.

Co-ordination

Linking main clauses to other main clauses to create compound sentences.

Clause

A ‘string’ of words containing a verb.

Declarative mood

When a clause functions to declare information.

Derivational bound morpheme

A morpheme affixed to a root, altering the meaning.

Exclamatory mood

When a clause functions to convey emotion.

Imperative mood

When a clause functions to give a command.

Head

The noun at the heart/core of a phrase, carrying most meaning.

Inflectional bound morpheme

A morpheme affixed to a root, changing the form.

Interrogative mood

When a clause functions to pose a question.

Major sentence

A sentence including a verb.

Minor sentence

A sentence not including a verb.

Noun Phrase

A head noun plus its pre modification and/or post modification.

Object noun phrase

A noun phrase positioned after the verb phrase.

Passive voice

A clause construction with the affected noun phrase in subject position.

Perfect aspect

When the action of the verb has finished.

Prepositional phrase

A phrase beginning with a preposition, and including a noun phrase.

Primary auxiliary verb

‘To be’, ‘to have’ and ‘to do’, when they are not the main verb.

Progressive aspect

When the action of the verb is still continuing.

Relative clause

Post‐modifying clause beginning with a relative pronoun.

Root morpheme

The morpheme at the core of a word, carrying most of the meaning.

Simple sentence

A sentence made up of just one main clause and nothing else.

Subject noun phrase

The noun phrase positioned before the verb phrase.

Subordination

Linking subordinate clauses to main clauses to create complex sentences.

Tense

The form of the verb, relating to when the dynamic action takes place.

Verb phrase

A main verb, plus its potential adverbs, negator and auxiliary verbs.

Syndetic list

Listing connected with a conjunction.

Asyndetic list

Listing without a conjunction.

Predicate verb (clause element)

Central part of the clause which specifies what kind of event or state we are talking or writing about. May consist of more than one word. Eg. ‘The boys gathered in the street’, ‘The road had been blocked by a tree’.

Subject (clause element)

Subject of a clause identifies an important participant in the event or state described by the predicate verb. Eg. ‘Boys gathered in the street’, ‘All the boys gathered in the street’.

Objects (clause element)

Clause may contain one or two objects. An object denotes someone or something which is affected by the action described by the verb. Eg. ‘We mixed the two liquids in a test glass’, ‘They placed the test tube in a steel container’.

Predicatives (clause element)

Ascribe properties to the subject or object of a clause. Eg. 'Bill is a mathematician’, ‘The results were somewhat surprising’.

Adverbials (clause element)

Perform a wide range of functions within a clause. May specify circumstances that accompany an event or a state (‘After the war…’), indicate how a clause is related to a previous one (‘However…’), provide comments on the content of the clause (‘Apparently…’). Clause may contain more than one adverbial.

Clause

A group of words that includes a subject and a verb.

Independent clause (main clause)

Group of words that can stand alone as a complete sentence because it expresses a complete thought. Contains both a subject and a predicate (verb) and it does not rely on another clause to make sense. Also called main clauses because they form the main part of a sentence.

Dependent clause (subordinate clause)

Group of words that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence because it does not express a complete thought. Contains both a subject and a predicate (verb), but it depends on an independent clause to give it context and meaning. Dependent clauses also called subordinate clauses because they rely on the main clause to function.

Coordinate clause

Type of independent clause because it can stand alone as a complete sentence— it expresses a complete thought. Often connected by coordinating conjunctions such as: and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet. Can also be connected by semicolons when used within the same sentence (‘He enjoys playing the piano and she prefers singing’.

Relative clause

Type of dependent clause that provides more information about a noun (or noun phrase) in the main clause. Begins with a relative pronoun such as: who, which, that, whose. Eg. ‘The book that I bought is interesting’).

Adjective clause

Specific type of relative clause that functions as an adjective. Provides descriptive information about a noun and usually begins with a relative pronoun such as: who, which, that, or whose. Eg. ‘The car that is parked in the driveway is mine’.

Adverb clause

Group of words in a sentence that functions as an adverb. Modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs, providing information about how, when, where, why, or to what extent an action or event occurs. Often begin with subordinating conjunctions, which connect them to the main (independent) clause and indicate the relationship between the clauses.

Noun clause

Group of words that acts like a noun in a sentence. Can be the subject, object, or complement of a sentence. Eg. ‘What he said surprised everyone’.

Dynamic verb

Refers to actions.

Stative verb

Refers to conditions or states of being.

Transitive verb

Verb that is accompanied by a direct object in a sentence (‘Leonardo ate a delicious pepperoni pizza’).

Intransitive verb

A verb is an intransitive verb if it is not used with a direct object (‘Airplanes fly’).

Auxiliary verb

Works with other verbs to change the meaning of a sentence. Combines with a main verb in order to accomplish different goals.

Modal verb

Used to give a sentence a specific mood. Each modal verb is used differently, and they can express concepts such as ability, necessity, possibility, or permission.

Intensive pronoun

Refers back to the subject of a sentence in order to emphasise it (‘The detective himself…’).

Demonstrative pronoun

Used to point to specific people or things.

Relative pronoun

Used to introduce a relative clause.

Epistemic modality

Expresses possibility and prediction.

Deontic modality

Indicates obligation and permission.

Pronouns

Refer to or fill the position of a noun phrase (he, she, yourself, mine, who, this, someone)

Determiners

Specify the kind of reference a noun has (the, those, my, her, both, all, several and no).