General Education - English Reviewer Flashcards

Comprehensive flashcards covering English grammar rules, literary terms, historical figures in literature, and academic vocabulary based on the provided general education notes.

Descriptive Grammar

Language in context; there is no right or wrong in terms of language use.

Prescriptive Grammar

Rule-based; standardized.

Noun

Used to name a place, person, thing, or idea.

Proper Nouns

Specific nouns; always capitalized.

Common Nouns

General names.

Collective Nouns

Name of groups.

Mass Nouns

Also called as non-count nouns; plural form is not by adding ‘s’.

Concrete Nouns

Also called as count nouns; exist in the physical world.

Abstract Nouns

Refer to ideas and feelings.

Subject of the Sentence

The one that is being talked about in the sentence.

Vocative

Being directly addressed by the speaker.

Direct Object

Receiver of the action; answers the question “who” or “what” after the action verb.

Indirect Object

Always found before the direct object; it answers the question “to whom” or “for whom”.

Subject Noun Predicate

A word/phrase that refers back to the subject; it always comes after a linking verb.

Object Noun Predicate

A word/phrase that refers back to the object.

Object of the Preposition

Comes after a preposition.

Appositive

Modifies the noun right beside it; acts as an interrupter.

Pronoun

Used to replace a noun.

Personal Pronouns

Refer to the speaker, the person spoken to, and the person spoken about.

Indefinite Pronoun

Refers to an identifiable but not specified person or thing.

Reflexive Pronoun

Refers back to the subject; cannot be deleted from the sentence.

Intensive Pronoun

Used to emphasize the antecedent.

Verb

Denotes an action, occurrence, or state of existence; has four inflections.

Regular Verbs

Form their past tense by adding “-d” or “-ed” to the base form.

Irregular Verbs

Form their past tense and past participle in several ways which do not follow standard patterns.

Linking Verbs

Used to link or join the subject with a word in a predicate which relates back to the subject.

Auxiliary Verbs

Used to introduce the main verb; include be verbs and has, have, had.

Adjective

Used to modify nouns and pronouns.

Order of Adjectives

Follows the acronym DOSSACOMQN: Determiner, Opinion, Size, Shape, Age, Color, Origin, Material, Qualifier, Noun.

Descriptive Adjective

Describes the quality of an object.

Proper Adjective

Derived from proper nouns.

Predicate Adjective

Follows the linking verb.

Limiting Adjective

Indicates the quantity of an object.

Demonstrative Adjective

Shows whether the noun it modifies is singular or plural, and its proximity to the speaker (this, these, that, those).

Adverb

Used to modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Preposition

A word expressing the relationship between a noun, pronoun, and other elements of a sentence.

Conjunction

A word used to connect sentences, phrases, clauses, or words.

Coordinating Conjunction

Join equals to one another; remembered by the acronym FANBOYS.

Subordinating Conjunction

Introduces a subordinate clause.

Correlative Conjunction

Paired conjunctions which link balanced words, phrases, and clauses.

Interjection

Words used to express strong emotions.

Simile

An expressed comparison between two similar things introduced by like, as, as if, than, seems, or similar to.

Metaphor

An implied comparison of unlike subjects without like or as.

Personification

Assigning human characteristics to an inanimate thing.

Periphrasis

Use of excessive language and surplus of words to convey a meaning that could be more direct.

Litotes

A deliberate understatement to affirm something by negating its opposite.

Apostrophe

An address to the absent as if present or the inanimate as if human.

Allusion

Brief and direct reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance.

Hyperbole

An exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis or poetic effect.

Irony

A discrepancy or disparity between what seems and what is.

Verbal Irony

A discrepancy between what the speaker says and what he means.

Situational Irony

A discrepancy between expectation and result, intention and outcome, or illusion and reality.

Synecdoche

A device where a part represents the whole.

Metonymy

Replacing the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it is closely associated.

Paradox

Presentation of true but seemingly contradictory ideas.

Oxymoron

A compact paradox in which two successive words contradict each other.

Climax (Figures of Speech)

Arrangement of words or ideas according to their degree of importance.

Anti-climax

The real apparent or ludicrous decrease in the importance of what is said.

Universality

A literary standard meaning the work appeals to everyone.

Artistry

A literary standard referring to aesthetic appeal.

Intellectual Value

A literary standard meaning the work stimulates critical thinking and abstract reasoning.

Suggestiveness

A literary standard that unravels and conjures man’s emotions.

Spiritual Value

The power of literature to inspire and elevate the spirit and the soul.

Permanence

A literary standard meaning the work endures across time.

Style (Literary Standard)

The peculiar way an idea is formed and presented by an author.

Fiction

Literary work of imaginative narration fashioned to entertain and provoke thought.

Non-fiction

Literary work based on history and facts with intellectual appeal.

Prose

Literary work written within the common flow of language in sentences and paragraphs.

Poetry

Literary work expressed in rhythms, verse, measure, sound, and imaginative language.

Drama

A story told entirely in dialogue and action, written for eventual performance before an audience.

Setting

The time and place that the story occurs.

Plot

The sequence of events in a story.

Exposition

Sets the scene by introducing the characters and setting.

Rising Action

Part of the plot establishing curiosity, uncertainty, and tension.

Climax (Plot)

The peak of the story that leads to an affirmation, decision, and realization.

Falling Action

The finishing of things after the climax.

Denouement

Where strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.

Linear Plot

Moves with a natural sequence of events arranged sequentially.

Circular Plot

Linear development merges with an interruption to show past events.

En Media Res

A story that commences in the middle part of the action.

Deux En Machina

An unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation.

Conflict

The basic tension, predicament, or challenge of the story; opposition of persons or forces.

Theme

The significant value or truth about life and its nature illustrated through character actions.

Narrative Poetry

Poetry that tells a story in verse.

Epic

Long narrative poem about a character who embodies societal values.

Metrical Tale

Medieval verse based on legends, chivalric love and adventure, or the supernatural.

Ballad

A simple narrative poem of a story composed in short stanzas for melodious recital.

Lyric Poetry

Poetry that reveals the speaker's thoughts and feelings, intended to be sung.

Ode

A lyric poem expressing lofty praises of a person or event.

Elegy

A lyric poem dealing with grief over the passing of a person.

Sonnet

A lyric poem consisting of $14$ lines with an exact rhyme scheme.

Petrarchan Sonnet

A sonnet with the rhyme scheme abba abba cdecde/cdcdcd.

Shakespearean Sonnet

A sonnet with the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg.

Poetic Foot

Composed of two or more accented or unaccented syllables.

Iamb

A poetic foot consisting of unstressed/stressed (da-DUM) syllables.

Trochee

A poetic foot consisting of stressed/unstressed (DUM-da) syllables.

Anapest

A poetic foot consisting of unstressed/unstressed/stressed (da-da-DUM) syllables.

Dactyl

A poetic foot consisting of stressed/unstressed/unstressed (DUM-da-da) syllables.

Tragedy

A play dealing with somber aspects of life that ends unhappily with the protagonist’s death.

Comedy

A play that deals with human folly and ends happily.