Term
|
Definition
| The shared linguistic features of a group of a group of people, often one from a particular region or of a particular ethnic or social background. |
|
|
Term
| 2. Edited American English |
|
Definition
| The variety of English usage that is widely accepted as the norm for the public writing of school essays, newspapers, magazines, and books. It is sometimes referred to as EAE. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Usage that conforms to the rules that native speakers follow or that native speakers would find acceptable in a given situation |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An approach to teaching grammar, the purpose of which is to prescribe “proper” usage, rather than to describe how the language is actually used. It is sometimes referred to as “linguistic etiquette.” |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A characteristic feature of the pronunciation or structure of the language spoken in a particular region of the country. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An approach to analyzing grammar, associated with mid-twentieth-century linguists, in which the purpose is to describe how the language is actually used in its various dialects, not to prescribe a “correct” version. |
|
|
Term
| 7. Transformational grammar |
|
Definition
| (also called transformational generative, or T-G). A theory of grammar that attempts to account for the ability of native speakers to generate and process the sentences of their language. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Usage that does not conform to the rules that native speakers follow. Usage that varies from one dialect or speech community to another is not necessarily ungrammatical. “I ain’t coming” is an unacceptable usage to many, although it follows the “rules.” However, it is not part of the prestige, or standard, dialect and would be inappropriate in most formal and business situations. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Any structure, no matter what its form, that functions as a modifier of a noun—that is, that functions as an adjective normally functions. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| One of the four form classes, whose members act as modifiers of nouns; most adjectives can be inflected for comparative and superlative degree (big, bigger, biggest); they can be qualified or intensified (rather big, very big); they have characteristic derivational endings such as -ous (famous), -ish (childish), -ful (graceful), and –ary (complementary). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| One of the four form classes, whose members act as modifiers of verbs, contributing information of time, place, reason, manner, and the like. Like adjectives, certain adverbs can be qualified (very quickly, rather fast); some can be inflected for comparative and superlative degree (more quickly, faster); they have characteristic derivational endings such as -ly (quickly), -wise (lengthwise), and -ward (backward). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Any structure, no matter what its form, that functions as a modifier of a verb—that is, that functions as an adverb normally functions. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| One of the determiner classes, including the indefinite a, or an, which signals only countable nouns, and the definite the, which can signal all classes of nouns. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The variations in adjectives that indicate the simple quality of a noun, or positive degree (“Bill is a big boy”); its comparison to another, the comparative degree (“Bill is bigger than Tim”); or two or more, the superlative degree (“Bill is the biggest person in the whole class”). Certain adverbs also have degree variations, usually designated by more and most. |
|
|
Term
| 15. Demonstrative pronoun |
|
Definition
| The pronoun this (plural these) and that (plural those), which function as nominal substitutes and as determiners. They include the feature of proximity: near (this, these); distant (that, those). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| One of the structure-class words, a marker of nouns. Determiners include articles (a, the); possessive nouns and pronouns (e.g., Chuck’s, his, my); demonstrative pronouns (this, that); quantifiers (e.g., many, several); indefinite pronouns (e.g., each, every); and numbers. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The large, open classes of words that provide the lexical content of the language: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Each has characteristic derivational and inflectional morphemes that distinguish its forms. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The word that fills the noun slot in the noun phrase: “the little boy across the street.” The verb is the headword of the verb phrase; the preposition is the headword of the prepositional phrase. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A large category that includes quantifiers (e.g., enough, several, many, much), universals (all, both, every, each), and partitives (any, either, neither, no, some). Many of the indefinite pronouns can function as determiners. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| One of the four form classes, whose members fill the headword slot in the noun phrase. Most nouns can be inflected for plural and possessive (boy, boys, boy’s, boys’). Nouns have characteristic derivational endings, such as -tion (action, compensation), -ment (contentment), and -ness (happiness). Nouns can also function as adjectivals and adverbials (The neighbor children went home). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The noun headword with all of its attendant pre- and postnoun modifiers. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The -ed form of the verb, usually denoting a specific past action. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The pronoun that refers to a specific person or thing. In the subjective case the personal pronouns are I, you, he, she, we, you, they, and it. The personal pronouns have variant forms for objective and possessive case. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A word or group of words that function as a unit within the sentence. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A feature of nouns and pronouns denoting more than one, usually signaled in nouns by the inflectional ending -s (or -es). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The inflected form of nouns (John’s, the dog’s) and pronouns (my, his, your, her, their, etc.) usually indicating ownership. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| One of the two principal parts of the sentence, the comment made about the subject. The predicate includes the verb, together with its complements and modifiers. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A structure-class word found in pre-position to—that is, preceding—a nominal. Prepositions can be classed according to their form as simple (above, at, in, of, etc.) or phrasal (according to, instead of, etc.). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The combination of a preposition and a nominal, which is known as the object of the preposition. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A word that substitutes for a noun—or, more accurately, for a nominal—in the sentence. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A structure-class word that qualifies or intensifies an adjective or adverb: “We worked rather slowly”; “The work was very difficult.” |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The small, closed classes of words that explain the grammatical or structural relationships of the form classes. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The opening slot in the sentence patterns, filled by a noun phrase or other nominal, that functions as the topic of the sentence. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An affix added to the end of a form-class word to change its class (act→action; laugh→laughable) with derivational suffixes or to change its grammatical function (boy→boys; walk→walking) with inflectional suffixes. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| One of the four form classes, traditionally thought of as the action word in the sentence. A better way to recognize the verb, however, is by its form, its -s and -ing endings. Verbs also have an -ed and an -en form, although in the case of some irregular verbs these forms are not readily apparent. And every verb, without exception, can be marked by auxiliaries. Many verbs also have characteristic derivational forms, such as -ify (typify), -ize (criticize), and -ate (activate). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A verb together with its complements and modifiers; the predicate of the sentence is a verb phrase. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| One of the structure-class words, a marker of verbs. Auxiliaries include forms of have and be, as well as the modals, such as will, shall, and must, and the “stand-in auxiliary” do. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The sentence patterns in which a form of be is the main verb: Patterns I, II, and III. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A structure that “completes” the sentence. The term includes those slots in the predicate that complete the verb: direct object, indirect object, subject complement, and object complement. Certain adjectives also have complements—clauses and phrases that pattern with them: “I was certain that he would come; I was afraid to go.” |
|
|
Term
| 40. Coordinating conjunction |
|
Definition
| A conjunction that connects two or more sentences or structures within a sentence as equals: and, but, or, nor, for, and yet. |
|
|
Term
| 41. Correlative conjunction |
|
Definition
| A two-part conjunction that expresses a relationship between the coordinated structures: either—or, neither—nor, both—and, not only—but also. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A sentence in the form of a statement (in contrast to a command, a question, or an exclamation). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A nominal slot in the predicate of the transitive sentence patterns. The direct object names the objective or goal or the receiver of the verb’s action: “We ate the peanuts”; “The boy hit the ball”; “I enjoy playing chess.” |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A sentence that expresses excitement or emotion. It may include a shift in the word order of a basic sentence that focuses on a complement: “What a beautiful day we’re having!” It is characterized by heightened pitch and stress and is usually punctuated with an exclamation point. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The sentence in the form of a command. The imperative sentence includes the base form of the verb and usually an understood subject (you): “Eat your spinach”; “Finish your report as soon as possible”; “You go on without me.” |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The nominal slot following the verb in a Pattern VIII sentence. In a sentence with a verb like give, the indirect object is the recipient; the direct object is the thing given: “We gave our friends a ride home.” The indirect object can be shifted to the slot following the direct object with the preposition to or for: “Joe gave a message to Kim”; “Sam bought a ticket for his dad.” |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A sentence that is a question in form: “Are you leaving now?” “When are you leaving?” |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The verbs of Pattern VI sentences, most of which require no complement to be complete. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The verbs of Patterns IV and V, which require a subject complement to be complete. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The slot following the direct object, filled by an adjectival (Pattern IX) or a nominal (Pattern X). The object complement has two functions: (1) It completes the idea of the verb; and (2) it modifies (if an adjective) or renames (if a nominal) the direct object: “I found the play exciting”; “We consider Pete a good friend.” |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The adverbial information that can be added to all the sentence patterns; such information is not required for grammaticality. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A word that combines with a verb to form a phrasal verb: look up, look into, put up with. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A verb–particle combination that produces a meaning that cannot be predicted from the meaning of the parts: look up, put up with, make up. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The function of the verb slot in the sentence patterns, consisting of the main verb together with its auxiliaries. The verb-expansion rule in Chapter 4 accounts for auxiliary–verb combinations of the predicating verb. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The pronouns each other and one another, which refer to previously named nouns. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The thing (or person, event, concept, action, etc.)—in other words, the reality—that a word stands for. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A pronoun formed by adding -self or -selves to a form of the personal pronoun, used as an object in the sentence to refer to a previously named noun or pronoun: “I gave myself a haircut.” |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The simple skeletal sentences, made up of two or three or four required elements, that underlie our sentences, even the most complex among them. Ten such patterns will account for almost all the possible sentences of English. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The nominal or adjectival in Pattern II, III, IV, and V sentences following the verb, which renames or modifies the subject. The passive version of a Pattern IX or X sentence will also have a subject complement, the nominal or adjectival that in the active voice functions as the object complement. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The verbs of Patterns VII through X, which require at least one complement, the direct object, to be complete. With only a few exceptions, transitive verbs are those that can be transformed into the passive voice. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A question that is introduced by an interrogative, such as who, which, when, where, why,or how, that asks for information of content, in contrast to a yes/no question. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A question that calls for a yes or no response. It is characterized by the opening auxiliary, in contrast to the interrogative that opens the wh-question: “Are you being served?” “Did the Orioles win?” |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The attitude of probability designated by the modal auxiliaries could, may, might, would, and should. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| . The addition of the stand-in auxiliary do to a verb string that has no other auxiliary. The question, the negative, and the emphatic transformations all require an auxiliary. Do also substitutes for a repeated verb phrase in compound sentences: “Bryan liked the movie, and I did too.” |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A statement in which the main stress has been shifted to the auxiliary: “I AM trying.” When there is no auxiliary, the stand-in auxiliary do is added to carry the stress: “I DO want to go.” |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The expression of an idea as fact (as opposed to probability). Verb phrases without modal auxiliaries and those with will and shall are considered the indicative mood: “We will go soon”; “We are going tomorrow.” “When are you going?” |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The base form of the verb (present tense), usually expressed with to, which is called the “sign of the infinitive.” The infinitive can function adverbially (“I stayed up all night to study for the exam”); adjectivally (“That is no way to study”); or nominally (“To stay up all night is foolish”). The only verb with an infinitive form separate from the present tense is be. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Any verb in which the –ed and –en forms are not that of the regular verb; in other words, a verb in which the past-tense and past-participle forms are not simply the addition of -d, -ed, or -t to the base form. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The verb that fills the last slot in the verb-expansion formula. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The auxiliary that occupies the opening slot in the verb-expansion rule and may affect what is known as the mood of the verb, conveying probability, possibility, obligation, and the like. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A quality of the verb denoting fact (indicative), a condition contrary to fact (subjunctive), and probability or possibility (conditional). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A feature of personal pronouns that distinguishes the speaker or writer (first person), the person or thing spoken to (second person), and the person or thing spoken of (third person). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A verb in which the -ed form (the past tense) and the -en form (the past participle) are formed by adding -ed (or, in some cases, -d or -t) to the base. These two forms of a regular verb are always identical. “I walked home”; “I have walked home every day this week.” |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The auxiliary do (does, did), which we add to sentences when we transform them into questions, negatives, and emphatic statements when there is no auxiliary in the original. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An expression of the verb in which the base form, rather than the inflected form, is used (1) in certain that clauses conveying strong suggestions or resolutions or commands (“We suggest that Mary go with us”; “I move that the meeting be adjourned”; “I demand that you let us in”), and (2) in the expression of wishes or conditions contrary to fact (“If I were you, I’d be careful”; “I wish it were summer”). The subjunctive of the verb be is express by were or be, even for subjects that normally take is or was. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A grammatical feature of verbs and auxiliaries relating to time. Three verb forms indicate tense: the base form and the -s form (present) and the -ed form (past). Note that “tense” in relation to the modal auxiliaries refers to form, not to time. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The formula that describes our system for expanding the verb with auxiliaries to express variations in meaning. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A feature of transitive verb sentences in which the subject is generally the agent and the direct object is the goal or objective of the action. Voice refers to the relationship of the subject of the verb. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The initiator of the action in the sentence, the “doer” of the action. Usually the agent is the subject in an active sentence: “John groomed the dog”; “The committee elected Pam.” In a passive sentence the agent may be the object of the preposition by: “Pam was elected by the committee.” |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A feature of nouns and certain pronouns that denotes their relationship to other words in a sentence. Pronouns have three case distinctions: subjective (e.g., I, they, who); possessive (e.g., my, their, whose); and objective (e.g., me, them whom). Nouns have only once case inflection, the possessive (John’s, the cat’s). The case of nouns other than the possessive is sometimes referred to as common case. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A sentence variation that provides a way of shifting the stress or focus of the sentence: “A careless bicyclist caused the accident” → “It was a careless bicyclist who caused the accident”; “What caused the accident was a careless bicyclist. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The determiner the, which generally marks a specific or previously mentioned noun: “the man on the corner.” |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The determiner a, or an, which marks an unspecified count noun. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The role in sentence of a noun phrase or pronoun when it functions as an object—direct object, indirect object, object complement, or object of the preposition. Although nouns do not have a special form for objective case, many of the pronouns do; personal pronouns and the relative pronoun who have separate forms when they function as objects. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A feature of transitive sentences in which the direct object (the objective or goal) is shifted to the subject position and be + en is added to the verb. The term passive refers to the relationship between the subject and the verb: “Ed ate the pizza” → “The pizza was eaten by Ed.” |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The direct object of a Pattern VIII sentence that is retained in its original position when the sentence is transformed into the passive voice: “The judges awarded Mary the prize” → “Mary was awarded the prize.” |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A variation of a basic sentence in which the expletive there is added at the beginning and the subject is shifted to a position following be: “A fly is in my soup” → “There is a fly in my soup.” |
|
|
