English Grammar Understanding the Basics - Evelyn P. Altenberg, Robert M. Vago 2010

Glossary

abstract noun: does not have physical attributes. Example: history. Contrast concrete noun.

actionverb: indicates action. Example: go. Contrast linking verb.

active sentence: a sentence expressed in the active voice. Contrast passive sentence.

active (voice): a sentence in which the subject, defined in terms of meaning, occurs before the main verb. Example: A better team beat us. Contrast passive (voice).

adjective: refers to a characteristic of a noun. See attributive adjective; predicate adjective.

adjective clause: see relative clause.

adverb: refers to a characteristic of a verb, adjective, or another adverb. It generally indicates information about location, time, degree, or manner. Example: quickly.

adverbial clause: a dependent clause that functions as an adverb in the main clause of a complex sentence. Example: It is obvious where we went wrong.

animate noun: a human or an animal. Example: child. Contrast inanimate noun. article: a determiner that indicates whether or not a noun is a specific one known to both the speaker and the listener. The articles are: the and a/an. See definite article; indefinite article.

attributive adjective: occurs before a noun in a noun phrase. Example: an interesting movie. Contrast predicate adjective.

auxiliary verb: see helping verb.

auxiliary phrase: a phrase whose principal component is a helping (auxiliary) verb. Example: have been wondering.

base form: see verb base.

clause: a free-standing sentence or a sentence within a sentence. See main clause; dependent clause; adverbial clause ; noun clause; relative clause.

common noun: refers to general categories - things other than specific names. Example: book. Contrast proper noun.

complex sentence: contains one main clause and at least one dependent clause. Example: Meredith was driving to work when she received a phone call from her mother. Contrast simple sentence; compound sentence; compound-complex sentence.

compound-complex sentence: consists of at least two main clauses (compound) and at least one dependent clause (complex). Example: Although I like traveling with you, I am very tired and I have to finish a project in the office. Contrast simple sentence; compound sentence; complex sentence.

compound noun phrase: contains two or more noun phrases joined by a coordinating conjunction. Example: Andy and his two sons went to the park.

compound phrase: a phrase containing two or more linguistic units of the same type (such as noun phrases, prepositional phrases, adverbs, sentences), joined by

a coordinating conjunction. Example: up the block and around the corner. See compound noun phrase; compound verb phrase.

compound preposition: see phrasal preposition.

compound sentence: contains two or more sentences joined by a coordinating conjunction. Example: You can pay me now, or you can pay me later. Contrast simple sentence; complex sentence; compound-complex sentence.

compound verb phrase: contains two or more verb phrases joined by a coordinating conjunction. Example: He likes spaghetti but rarely orders it.

concrete noun: possesses physical attributes. Example: table. Contrast abstract noun.

conjunction: a function word that connects grammatical units such as words, phrases, and sentences. See coordinating conjunction; subordinating conjunction ; correlative conjunction.

continuous (aspect): see progressive (aspect).

coordinating conjunction: connects any two units that are the same type, such as sentences (I go or he goes), nouns (milk and cookies), verbs (drink and drive), determiners (Jack’s and Nancy’s), prepositions (at or near), adjectives (healthy and nutritious), or adverbs (softly but forcefully). The three most common coordinating conjunctions are: and, or, and but. Four less common ones are: for, so, yet, and nor. Contrast subordinating conjunction; correlative conjunction.

copula: the linking verb be. The forms of be are: am, are, is, was, were, be, been, being. Example: She ishappy. The term is sometimes used to refer to any linking verb.

correlative conjunction: a two-part conjunction. Common correlative conjunctions are: both / and, either /or, if/then, and neither /nor. Example: Either I cook or we order take-out. Contrast coordinating conjunction; subordinating conjunction.

count noun: a noun that is countable. Count nouns can be used with the determiners a/an, many (as opposed to much), and fewer (as opposed to less), and can have plural forms. Example: a book, many books, fewer books. Contrast noncount noun.

declarative sentence: expresses a statement. Example: The sun rises every morning. Compare imperative sentence; interrogative sentence; exclamation.

definite article: the determiner the, used with a noun that has specific identity. Example: the final exam. Contrast indefinite article.

demonstrative: a determiner or pronoun whose reference is defined in context, ’’pointing’’ to something or someone. See demonstrative determiner; demonstrative pronoun.

demonstrative adjective: see demonstrative determiner.

demonstrative determiner: this and that (singular) and these and those (plural) when used before a noun. Example: this morning. Also called demonstrative adjective. Contrast demonstrative pronoun.

demonstrative pronoun: this, that, these, those when used alone, without a following noun. Example: I want this. Contrast demonstrative determiner.

dependent clause: the secondary clause in a complex sentence in terms of meaning and structure, forming a subpart of the main clause. Example: Many people feel

good in the morning after they’ve had a good night’s sleep. Also called subordinate clause. Contrast main clause.

determiner: one of several types of words occurring before a noun. Example: some people. See article; demonstrative; possessive; quantifier; interrogative determiner.

determiner possessive pronoun: a possessive pronoun used before a noun. Example: our decision. The determiner possessive pronouns are: my, your, his, her, its, our, their. Also called possessive pronoun with determiner function; possessive adjective. Contrast nominal possessive pronoun.

direct object: a noun phrase that functions as the recipient of the subject’s action. In most sentences, expressed in the active voice, the direct object occurs after the main verb. Example: We met Anne in the restaurant. Also called object. Contrast subject; indirect object.

exclamation: a sentence that expresses strong emotion and does not necessarily contain a subject and a main verb. Example: What a day! Contrast declarative sentence; imperative sentence; interrogative sentence.

first person pronoun: see personal pronoun.

future perfect progressive tense: indicated by the modal will (or shall) and perfect have helping verbs followed by the been (past participle) form of the progressive be helping verb and the present participle form of the next verb. Example: My students will have been studying.

future perfect tense: indicated by the modal will (or shall) helping verb followed by perfect have and the past participle of the next verb. Example: My students will have studied.

future progressive tense: indicated by the modal will (or shall) and progressive be helping verbs followed by the present participle form of the next verb. Example: My students will be studying.

future tense: indicated when the modal helping verb will (or shall) is followed by the main verb. Example: My students will study. Also called simple future tense.

gerund: a noun that is derived from a verb by adding the suffix -ing. Example: Cooking is fun.

grammatical function: the role a linguistic unit plays with respect to other units within a grammatical structure. Example: the noun Anne functions as the subject in the sentence Anne went to sleep, as the direct object in the sentence We met Anne in the restaurant, and as the indirect object in the sentence Someone sent a present to Anne. Also called grammatical relation.

grammatical relation: see grammatical function.

helping verb: a verb that augments the main verb and as such belongs to an auxiliary phrase. Example: I might call you today. Also called auxiliary verb. See modal; perfect have; progressive be; passive be. Contrast main verb.

human (animate) noun: a person. Contrast nonhuman noun; nonhuman animate noun.

hypercorrection: producing an incorrect form by applying a general rule beyond its correct domain (’’overapplying’’ a rule). Example: When producing *I feel badly instead of I feel bad, the use of an adverb to modify action verbs is extended to linking verbs as well.

imperative sentence: a command. Example: Give me a hug! Contrast declarative sentence; interrogative sentence; exclamation.

inanimate noun: a thing. Contrast animate noun.

indefinite article: the determiner a/an, used before a singular noun whose identity is not specific. The a variant is used when the next word begins with a consonant sound; the an variant is used when the next word begins with a vowel sound.

Example: a mystery; an experience. Contrast definite article. independent clause: see main clause.

indirect object: a noun phrase that functions as the recipient of the direct object. In most sentences, expressed in the active voice, the indirect object occurs after the main verb, either before the direct object or after it. Example: Someone sent Anne a present; Someone sent a present to Anne. Contrast subject; direct object.

infinitive: either the verb base (example: read) or to + verb base (example: to read). interrogative determiner: question word occurring before a noun. The interrogative determiners are: which, whose, what. Example: Which option do you prefer? Contrast interrogative pronoun.

interrogative pronoun: question word used alone, without a following noun.

Common interrogative pronouns are: how, what, when, where, which, who, whom, whose, why. Example: Which do you prefer? Contrast interrogative determiner. interrogative sentence: expresses a question. Example: Are we having fun? See yes/ no question; wh-question; tag question. Contrast declarative sentence; interrogative sentence; exclamation.

intransitive verb: does not act on something; it is not followed by a direct object.

Example: I sleep. Contrast transitive verb.

irregular plural: formed by means other than adding -(e)s to a noun. Example: geese. Contrast regular plural.

irregular verb: does not form its past tense by adding the su/x -ed. Example: see (past tense saw). Contrast regular verb.

linking verb: a verb which does not express action. Rather, its main function is to relate (link) the subject to a complement. Example: They seemed anxious. The most common linking verb is be (see copula). Contrast actionverb.

main clause: the primary clause in a complex sentence in terms of meaning and structure. Example: Many peoplefeel good in the morning after they’ve had a good night’s sleep. Also called independent clause. Contrast dependent clause.

main verb: the principal verb of a sentence or phrase; it belongs to a verb phrase.

Example: I might call you today. Contrast helping verb. mass noun: see noncount noun.

modal: a type of helping verb that expresses categories of modality, such as possibility and necessity. Example: I might visit you tomorrow. See phrasal modal.

negative sentence: expresses negation by including the word not after the first helping verb. Example: You have not been honest with me. Compare positive sentence.

nominal possessive pronoun: a possessive pronoun used alone, without a following noun. The nominal possessive pronouns are: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs. Example: That book is hers. Contrast determiner possessive pronoun.

noncount noun: a noun that is not countable. Noncount nouns can be used with the determiners much (as opposed to many) and less (as opposed to fewer), but not with the indefinite article a/an, and they do not have plural forms. Example: much

furniture; less furniture; *a furniture; *furnitures. Also called mass nouns. Contrast count noun.

nonhuman animate noun: an animal. Contrast human animate noun.

nonhuman noun: an animal or a thing. Contrast human noun.

nonrestrictive relative clause: does not limit the reference of the noun phrase it modifies. Example: All the students, who studied hard, did well on the final exam, meaning that all students did well on the final exam and all students studied hard. Compare restrictive relative clause.

noun: commonly defined as referring to a person, place, thing, or idea. It is the principal component of a noun phrase (except when replaced by a pronoun). See abstract noun; animate noun; common noun; concrete noun; count noun; human (animate) noun; inanimate noun; noncount noun; nonhuman animate noun ; nonhuman noun; possessive common noun; possessive proper noun; proper noun.

noun clause: a dependent clause that functions as a noun phrase in the main clause of a complex sentence. Example: It is obvious that you are a learned woman.

noun phrase: a phrase whose principal component is a noun, or its replacement, a pronoun. It fulfills various grammatical functions within a sentence, such as subject, direct object, and indirect object. Example: these flowers; you.

number: a grammatical category that refers to the distinction between singular (one entity) and plural (more than one entity) in nouns and pronouns. Example: bush, I (singular); bushes, we (plural).

object: refers to direct object, indirect object, or object of a preposition.

object of a preposition: the noun phrase that follows the preposition in a prepositional phrase. Example: to us.

object pronoun: the form of a personal pronoun that is used when the pronoun has an object function. This happens when the personal pronoun is the direct object, indirect object, or object of a preposition. Example: George saw her (direct object); George sent her a message (indirect object); George heard from her (object of a preposition). The object pronouns are: me, you, her, him, it, us, them. Contrast subject pronoun.

particle: the second word in a phrasal verb. It follows the verb, from which it can be separated. Example: We looked up the answer / We looked the answer up.

passive (voice): the structural configuration of a sentence in which the subject, defined in terms of meaning, does not occur before the main verb. The main verb appears in its past participle form, preceded by the helping verb passive be. Example: We were beaten by a better team. Contrast active (voice).

passive be: the verb used in the formation of the passive voice.

passive sentence: a sentence expressed in the passive voice. See truncated passive. Contrast active sentence.

past participle: a verb form most commonly ending in the su/x -ed or -en (other forms exist). It is used in the formation of the perfect aspect and the passive voice. Example: We were beaten by a better team.

past perfect progressive tense: indicated by the had form of the perfect have helping verb followed by the been (past participle) form of the progressive be helping verb and the present participle form of the next verb. Example: My students had been studying.

past perfect tense: indicated by the had form of the perfect have helping verb and the past participle form of the next verb. Example: My students had studied.

past progressive tense: indicated by the was or were form of the progressive be helping verb and the pre sent participle form of the next verb. Example: My students were studying.

past tense: indicated when the main verb is not preceded by a helping verb and has the su/x -ed added to its base. Example: My students studied. Also called simple past tense. See irregular verb for exceptions.

perfect (aspect): indicates a time period prior to another time period. It is expressed by perfect have plus the past participle form of the following verb. Example: We have eaten already.

perfect have: the helping verb used in the formation of the perfect aspect. periphrastic modal: see phrasal modal.

personal pronoun: a type of pronoun that has different forms, depending on whether it refers to the speaker (first person), listener (second person), or anyone /anything else (third person). See object pronoun; possessive pronoun; reflexive pronoun; subject pronoun.

phrasal modal: a modal consisting of more than one word. Example: You are able to do this.

phrasal preposition: a preposition consisting of more than one word. Example: across from.

phrasal verb: a verb consisting of two words. Example: She pointed out the truth. See: particle.

phrase: a group of related words forming a grammatical unit that does not have both a subject and a main verb. A phrase may also contain a single word if that word is defined as the principal component of the phrase. Example: verb phrases may contain a number of words (writes a message), or just one word (writes). See auxiliary phrase; compound phrase; noun phrase; prepositional phrase; verb phrase.

plural: see number.

plural pronoun: see number

positive sentence: expresses an assertion. Example:You have been honest with me. Compare negative sentence.

possessive: indicates to whom or to what a noun phrase belongs. See possessive pronoun; possessive proper noun; possessive common noun.

possessive adjective: see determiner possessive pronoun.

possessive common noun: functions as an adjective when preceding a noun. Example: The girl’s shoes.

possessive pronoun: see determiner possessive pronoun; nominal possessive pronoun.

possessive pronoun with determiner function: see determiner possessive pronoun.

possessive pronoun with nominal function: see nominal possessive pronoun.

possessive proper noun: functions as a determiner in a noun phrase. Example: Mary’s red shoes. See proper noun.

predicate adjective: occurs following a linking verb in a verb phrase. Example: The movie was interesting. Contrast attributive adjective.

preposition: a function word before a noun phrase that typically indicates information about direction, location, or time. Example: from the kitchen. See phrasal preposition.

prepositional phrase: a phrase consisting of a preposition and a noun phrase. Example: in the store.

present participle: a verb form ending in the suffix -ing. It is used in the formation of the progressive aspect.

present perfect progressive tense: indicated by the have or has form of the perfect have helping verb followed by the been (participle) form of the progressive be helping verb and the present participle form of the next verb. Example: My students have been studying.

present perfect tense: indicated by the have or has form of the perfect have helping verb and the past participle form of the next verb. Example: My student has studied.

present progressive tense: indicated by the am, are, or is form of the progressive be helping verb and the present participle form of the next verb. Example: My students are studying.

present tense: indicated when the main verb is not preceded by a helping verb and its form corresponds to the verb base or verb base followed by -(e)s (be is a notable exception). Example: My students study; My student studies. Also called simple present tense.

progressive (aspect): information that the duration of the action or state signified by the main verb extends over a period of time. It is expressed by progressive be jointly with the present participle of the following verb. Example: We are eating dinner.

progressive be: the helping verb used in the formation of the progressive aspect. pronoun: a function word that replaces (stands in for) a linguistic unit, most

commonly a noun phrase. See demonstrative pronoun; interrogative pronoun; personal pronoun; relative pronoun.

proper noun: refers to a specific name; begins with capital letters. Example: New York. Contrast: common noun.

quantifier: a determiner that indicates amount or quantity. Example: all topics. reflexive pronoun: replaces the second of two noun phrases that refer to the same person or thing within the same clause. The reflexive pronouns are: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves. Example: Harry saw himself in the mirror.

regular plural: formed with the suffix -(e)s added to nouns. Example: gardens, boxes. Contrast irregular plural.

regular verb: forms its past tense by adding the suffix -ed to the verb base. Example: walk (past tense walked). Contrast irregular verb.

relative clause: a dependent clause that adds information about a noun phrase in the main clause of a complex sentence. A relative clause is introduced by a relative pronoun, which may be omitted before a noun phrase. Example: The ice-cream (that)you bought for me tastes delicious. See restrictive relative clause; non- restrictive relative clause.

relative pronoun: a subordinating conjunction which introduces a relative clause and refers back to the preceding noun phrase. Example: He liked the teacher who gave easy tests. The common relative pronouns are: that, which, who, whom,

whose. Other relative pronouns, such as whatever, whoever, whomever, whosever (all ending in -ever), represent, rather than refer back to, a noun phrase. Example: They can travel with whomever they choose.

restrictive relative clause: limits the reference of the noun phrase it modifies. Example: All the students who studied hard did well on the final exam, meaning that all and only those students did well on the final exam who studied hard. Compare non-restrictive relative clause.

second person pronoun: see personal pronoun.

sentence: minimally contains a subject and a main verb, except for exclamations and imperatives. See active sentence; clause; complex sentence; complex­ compound sentence; compound sentence; declarative sentence; exclamation; imperative sentence; interrogative sentence ; negative sentence ; passive sentence; positive sentence; simple sentence.

simple future tense: see future tense.

simple past tense: see past tense.

simple present tense: see present tense.

simple sentence: made up of just one sentence (contains only one clause). Example: Paris is the capital of France. Contrast compound sentence; complex sentence; compound-complex sentence.

singular: see number.

singular pronoun: see number.

subject: a noun phrase that functions as the performer of an action verb or the topic of a linking verb. In most sentences, expressed in the active voice, the subject occurs before the verb. Example: Anne went to sleep; Anne is a dentist. Contrast direct object; indirect object.

subject pronoun: the form of a personal pronoun that is used when the pronoun functions as the subject. The subject pronouns are: I, you, he, she, it, we, they. Example: He is happy. Contrast object pronoun.

subordinate clause: see dependent clause.

subordinating conjunction: connects the main clause and the dependent clause in a complex sentence. Example: Many people feelgood in the morning after they’ve had a good night’s sleep. Contrast coordinating conjunction; correlative conjunction.

tag question: a statement followed by a question ’’tag.’’ Example: She is leaving, isn’t she? Contrast yes/no question; wh-question.

tense: the form of a verb through which a grammar indicates information about time. See future tense; future perfect tense; future perfect progressive tense; future progressive tense; past tense, past perfect tense; past perfect progressive tense; past progressive tense; present tense; present perfect tense; present perfect progressive tense; present progressive tense.

third person pronoun: see personal pronoun.

transitive verb: acts on something; it is followed by a direct object. Example: I threw the ball. Contrast intransitive verb.

truncated passive: a passive sentence in which the subject, defined in terms of meaning, is not expressed. Example: The proposal was discussed.

verb: the principal component of a verb phrase. It indicates action or state of being. See action verb; helping verb; intransitive verb; irregular verb; linking verb; main verb; phrasal verb; regular verb; transitive verb; verb base.

verb base: the form of a verb that contains no grammatical information. It occurs in the infinitive expression, among others. Example: to go.

verb complement: a unit that occurs after a linking verb and refers back to the subject. Example: The patient seemed anxious.

verb phrase: a phrase whose principal component is a main verb. Example: saw a movie.

wh-question: begins with a wh-word (interrogative pronoun). Example: Where is the meeting? Contrast yes/no question; tag question.

yes/no question: can be answered with a ’’yes’’ or ’’no.’’ Example: Is today Sunday? Contrast wh-question; tag question.