English - exam week revision - AHS

Contains: Core grammar, tragedy-Romeo and Juiliet, Rhetoric and Animal Farm. These are all things done in years 7-9 but some of the exam topics are not on this knowt.

abstract noun

nouns that refer to a concept or thing that has no physical qualities; fear, hope defines attributes of a noun: the extravagant party

adverb

describes the action of a verb: the child slept soundly

adverbial phrase

a group of words that add extra information about how and when something happens: At the end of the day, he realised it was hopeless.

alliteration

repetition of consonant sounds

allusion

when the writer makes a reference to an event, story or famous thing that the writer expects the reader to know; common allusions relate to the bible

anaphora

repetition of a word at the beginning of a succession of lines, clauses, etc.

antithesis

words set up in opposition to each other in nearby lines or clauses

article

used to distinguish between definite (the) and indefinite (a/an) references to nouns

asyndeton

the linking of linguistic units without a conjunction: The area was surrounded by policeman, guards, women, children, protestors.

chiasmus

a crossing of words and phrases; the arrangement of clauses or phrase is swapped; "ABBA": I do not live that I may eat, but I eat that I may live

clause

a group of words that forms a full sentence or part of a sentence

collective noun

noun that refers to a group of people, animals or things: flock, government

comparative

form of adjectives and adverbs used for comparison with the inflection -er or the adverb more: faster, more compassionate

complex sentence

made up of one main clause and one or more subordinate clauses

compound sentence

made up of at least two main clauses joined together by a co-ordinating conjunction

concrete noun

noun that refers to physical things like people, objects, places or substances: chair, vase

conjunction

word class whose function is to join together two parts of a sentence: and, or

determiner

word class which specifies the number and definiteness of a noun: the, a, some

epiplexis

often a series of rhetorical questions, seeking to shame, anger, or reproach the audience into seeing the point

epistrophe

the repetition of one or more words at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences

hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally e.g. ‘I’ve told you a million times!’

hypophora

in which the speaker poses a question and then answers the question

intensifier

an adverb that adds emphasis as a pre-modifier to an adverb or adjective: so cold, very unfortunate, really slowly.

litotes

a form of understatement in which an idea is expressed ironically by negating its contrary

main clause

independent and makes sense on its own: The girl runs fast.

metaphor

an implicit comparison

modal verb

marks contrasts in attitude such as obligation, possibility and prediction: must, can, will

noun

word class with a naming function

noun phrase

words added to the noun to provide more information about it: The tall, handsome man (noun) looked sad and lonely in the busy and hectic room (noun).

oxymoron

a figure of speech where two apparently contradictory terms appear next to each other

pathetic fallacy

a kind of personification that gives human emotions to inanimate objects of nature; weather features reflecting a mood: It rains when the character is sad.

personal pronoun

used in place of nouns referring to specific people or things: I, me, mine, you, yours, his, hers, we, they, them

personification

attributing human qualities to non-human things

polysyndeton

where coordinating conjunctions are used several times in close succession

preposition

word class, like in, on, of, that expresses a relationship between two lexical items

pronoun

word class that can replace a noun phrase

proper noun

a noun naming a distinctive person, place or other unique reference which is marked with a capital letter

rhetorical question

a question used to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer

sibilance

repeated consonant sound: s, sh, z

simile

an explicit comparison

simple sentence

a sentence made up of one main clause

subordinate clause

cannot stand alone as a complete grammatical sentence; needs another clause to complete its meaning: We arrived early because we wanted to get good seats.

superlative

form of adjectives and adverbs used for comparison with the inflection -est or the adverb most: fastest, most compassionate

tricolon

a climax of three words or phrases

verb

word class that expresses states, actions and processes: run, want, happy

zoomorphism

a comparison attributing animal characteristics to an object or abstract concept

trope

figures of speech that play with the literal meaning of words

blazon

a poetic list of someone's admirable features, usually a woman

metaphor

a comparison that speaks of an idea or object as if it is another; transports meaning from one idea to another

tenor

the subject of the metaphor and its intended meaning

vehicle

the language used to describe the tenor

ground

the relationship between the tenor and the vehicle

simile

An explicit comparison between two distinct objects or ideas connected with 'as' or 'like'

connotation

the array of emotions and ideas suggested by a word

form

the shape or arrangement of parts of a text

structure

the order of words, sentences and ideas, often evident with clear patterns

quatrain

4-lined group; there are three quatrains in a Shakespearean sonnet

couplet

2-lined group; concludes a Shakespearean sonnet

rhyme scheme

pattern of rhymes; letters are used to indicate which lines rhyme

Shakespearean rhyme scheme

ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

Petrarchan rhyme scheme

ABBAABBA then CDECDE or CDCDCD

octave

8-lined group; in a Petrarchan sonnet it forms the "proposition"

sestet

6-lined group; in a Petrarchan sonnet it forms the "solution"

volta

the turn in thought or argument in a sonnet

conform

to be similar or identical to

deviate

to depart from an established course or accepted standard

sonnet

a 14 line poem where the rules and expectations have changed over time

the beloved

a person, place or thing that you feel great affection for; in sonnets, the beloved is the focus of the poem.

unrequited

of a feeling, especially love, that is not returned

objectification

the act or instance of treating a person as an object or thing

Courtly Love

a set of rules and expectations for how to act and behave when in love

idolises

turns the lover into an idol, an object of worship, often done by a Petrarchan lover

abstract noun

nouns that refer to a concept or thing that has no physical qualities; fear, hope

abstract noun example

fear, hope

adjective

defines attributes of a noun: the extravagant party

adjective example

the marvellous gift

adverb

describes the action of a verb: the child slept soundly

adverb example

He danced wildly

adverb used as an intensifier

really quiet

adverb used as a conjunction

perhaps we should leave now

article

used to distinguish between definite (the) and indefinite (a/an) references to nouns

auxiliary verb

verb that precedes the lexical verb in a verb phrase: I do work hard;

auxiliary verb example

I do work hard; She can visit

collective noun

noun that refers to a group of people, animals or things: flock, government

collective noun example

flock, government

comparative

form of adjectives and adverbs used for comparison with the inflection -er or the adverb more: faster, more compassionate

comparative example

faster, more compassionate

concrete noun

noun that refers to physical things like people, objects, places or substances: chair, vase

concrete noun example

chair, vase

conjunction

word class whose function is to join together two parts of a sentence: and, or

conjunction example

and, or

contraction

a shortened form of a word joined to a preceding word: don't, won't, they're

contraction example

don't, won't, they're

determiner

word class which specifies the number and definiteness of a noun: the, a, some

determiner example

the, a, some

dynamic verb

verb that expresses an action rather than a state: sprint, are sprinting

dynamic verb example

sprint, are sprinting

intensifier

an adverb that adds emphasis as a pre-modifier to an adverb or adjective: so cold, very unfortunate, really slowly.

intensifier example

so cold, very unfortunate, really slowly.

modal verb

auxiliary verb that marks contrasts in attitude such as obligation, possibility and prediction: must, can, will