Grammar Glossary

abstract

a summary accompanying a formal scientific report or paper, briefly outlining the contents. abstract language theoretical language removed from concrete particulars: e.g., justice, goodness, truth (cf. concrete language).

acronym

a word made up of the first letters of a group of words: e.g., NATO for North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

active voice

see voice.

adjective

a word that modifies or describes a noun or pronoun, hence a kind of noun marker: e.g., red, beaut jut, solemn. An adjectival phrase or adjectival clause is a group of words modifying a noun or pronoun.

adverb

a word that modifies or qualifies a verb, adjective, or adverb, often answering a question such as how? why? when? or where?: e.g., slowly, fortunately, early, abroad. An adverbial phrase or adverbial clause is a group of words modi- fying a verb, adjective, or adverb: e.g., by force, in revenge. See also conjunctive adverb.

agreement

consistency in tense, number, or person between related parts of a sentence: e.g., between subject and verb, or noun and related pronoun.

ambiguity

vague or equivocal language; meaning that can be taken two ways.

antecedent (referent)

the noun for which a pronoun stands.

appositive

a word or phrase that identifies a preceding noun or pronoun: e.g., Mrs. Jones, my aunt, is sick. The second phrase is said to be in apposition to the first.

article

a word that precedes a noun and shows whether the noun is definite or indefinite; a kind of determiner or noun-marker. Indefinite article: a (an). Definite article: the.

assertion

a positive statement or claim: e.g., The Senate is irrelevant.

auxiliary

a verb used in combination with another verb to create a verb phrase; a helping verb used to create certain tenses and em- phases: e.g., could, do, may, will, have.

bibliography

(a) a list of works referred to or found useful in the preparation of an essay or report; (b) a reference book listing works available in a particular subject.

case

the inflected form of pronouns (see inflection). Subjective case: I, we, he, she, it, they. Objective case: me, us, him, her, it, them. Possessive case: my , our, his, her, its, their.

circumlocution

a roundabout or circuitous expression: e.g., in a family way for pregnant; at this point in time for now.

clause

a group of words containing a subject and predicate. An independent clause can stand by itself as a complete sentence: e.g., I bought a hamburger. A subordinate or dependent clause cannot stand by itself but must be connected to another clause: e.g., Since I was hungry, I bought a hamburger.

cliche

a trite or well-worn expression that has lost its impact through overuse: e.g., slept like a log, sunny disposition, tried and true.

collective noun

a noun that is singular in form but refers to a group: e.g.,family, team,jury. It may take either a singular or a plural verb, depending on whether it refers to individual members or to the group as a whole.

comma splice

see run-on sentence.

complement

a completing word or phrase that usually follows a linking verb to form a subjective complement: e.g., (I) He is my father. (2) That cigar smells terrible. If the complement is an adjective it is sometimes called a predicate adjective. An objective com plement completes the direct object rather than the subject: e.g., We found him honest and trustworthy.

complex sentence

a sentence containing a dependent clause as well as an independent one: e.g., I bought the ring, although it was expensive.

compound sentence

a sentence containing two or more independent clauses: e.g., I saw the car wreck and I reported it. A sentence is called compound- complex if it contains a dependent clause as well as two independent ones: e.g., When the fog lifted Isaw the car wreck and I reported it.

conclusion

the part of an essay in which the findings are pulled together or implications revealed so that the reader has a sense of closure or completion. In a business report the conclusion is sometimes placed at the front.

concrete language

specific language, giving particular details (often details of sense): e.g., red, corduroy dress, three long-stemmed roses (ef. abstract language).

conjunction

an uninflected word used to link words, phrases, or clauses. A coordinating conjunction (e.g., and, or, but, for, yet) links two equal parts of a sentence. A subordinating conjunction, placed at the beginning of a subordinate clause, shows the logical dependence of that clause on another: e.g., (1) Although I am poor I am happy. (2) While others slept, he studied. Correlative conjunctions are pairs of coordinating conjunctions (see correlatives).

conjunctive adverb

a type of adverb that shows the logical relation between the phrase or clause that it modifies and a preceding one: e.g., (1) I sent the letter; it never arrived, however. (2) The battery died; therefore the car wouldn ‘t start.

connotation

associative meaning; the range of suggestion called up by a certain word. Apparent synonyms, such as poor and underprivileged, may have different connotations (cf. denotation).

context

the text surrounding a particular passage that helps to establish its meaning.

contraction

a word formed by combining and shortening two words: e.g., isn’t, can ‘t, we’re.

coordinate construction

see correlatives.

copula verb

see linking verb.

correlatives (coordinates)

pairs of coordinating conjunctions: e.g., either/or neither/nor not only/but.

dangling modifier

a modifying word or phrase (often a participial phrase) that is not grammatically connected to any part of the sentence: e.g., Walking to school, the street was slippery.

demonstrative pronoun

a pronoun that points out something: e.g., (1) This is his reason. (2) That looks like my lost earring. When used to modify a noun or pronoun, a demonstrative pronoun becomes a kind of pronominal adjective: e.g., this hat, those people.

denotation

the literal or dictionary meaning of a word (cf. connotation).

diction

the choice of words with regard to their tone, degree of formality, or register. Formal diction is the language of orations and serious essays. The informal diction of everyday speech or conversational writing can, at its extreme, become slang.

discourse

talk, either oral or written. Direct discourse gives the actual words spoken or written: e.g., Donne said, “No man is an island.’’ In writing, direct dis- course is put in quotation marks. Indirect discourse gives the meaning of the speech rather than the actual words. In writing, indirect discourse is not put in quotation marks: e.g., He said that no one exists in an island of isolation.

ellipsis marks

three spaced periods indicating an omission from a quoted passage.

endnote

a footnote or citation placed at the end of an essay or report.

essay

a literary composition on any subject. Some essays are descrip- tive or narrative, but in an academic setting most are expository (explanatory) or argumentative.

expletive

a grammatically meaningless exclamation or phrase. The most common expletives are the sentence beginnings It is and There is (are).

exploratory writing

the informal writing done to help generate ideas before formal planning begins.

footnote

a citation placed at the bottom of a page or the end of the composition (cf. endnote).

fused sentence

see run-on sentence.

general language

language lacking specific details; abstract language.

gerund

a verbal (part-verb) that functions as a noun and is marked by an -ing ending: e.g., Swimming can help you become fit.

grammar

a study of the forms and relations of words, and of the rules governing their use in speech and writing.

hypothesis

a supposition or trial proposition made as a starting point for further investigation.

hypothetical instance

a supposed occurrence; often shown by a clause beginning with if.

indefinite article

see article.

independent clause

see clause.

indirect discourse

see discourse.

infinitive

a type of verbal not connected to any subject: e.g., to ask. The base infinitive omits the to: e.g., ask.

inflection

the change in the form of a word to indicate number, person, case, tense, or degree.

integrate

combine or blend together.

intensifier (qualifier)

a word that modifies and adds emphasis to another word or phrase: e.g. ,very tired, quite happy, I myself.

interjection

a remark or exclamation interposed or thrown into a speech, usually accompanied by an exclamation mark: e.g., Oh dear! Alas!

interrogative sentence

a sentence that asks a question: e.g., What is the time?

intransitive verb

a verb that does not take a direct object: e.g.,fall, sleep, talk.

italics

slanting type used for emphasis, replaced in typescript by under- lining.

jargon

technical terms used unnecessarily or in inappropriate places: e.g., peer-group interaction for friendship.

linking verb (copula verb)

the verb to he used to join subject to complement: e.g., The apples were ripe.

literal meaning

the primary, or denotative, meaning of a word.

logical indicator

a word or phrase—usually a conjunction or conjunctive adverb— that shows the logical relation between sentences or clauses: e.g., since, furthermore, therefore.

misplaced modifier

a word or group of words that causes confusion or misreading because it is not placed next to the element it should modify: e.g., Ionly ate the pie. [Revised: I ate only the pie.]

modifier

a word or group of words that describes or limits another element in the sentence.

mood

(a) as a grammatical term, the form that shows a verb’s function (indicative, imperative, inter- rogative, or subjunctive); (b) when applied to literature generally, the state of mind or feeling shown.

non-restrictive modifier

see restrictive modifier.

noun

an inflected part of speech marking a person, place, thing, idea, action, or feeling, and usually serving as subject, object, or complement. A common noun is a general term: e.g., dog, paper, automobile. A proper noun is a specific name: e.g., Mary, Sudhury, Skidoo.

object

(a) a noun or pronoun that, when it completes the action of a verb, is called a direct object: e.g., He passed the puck. An indirect object is the person or thing receiving the direct object: e.g., He passed the puck (direct object) to Richard (indirect object). (b) The noun or pronoun in a group of words beginning with a preposition; pronouns take the objective case: e.g., at the house, about her, for me.

objective complement

see complement.

objectivity

a disinterested stance; a position taken without personal bias or prejudice (cf. subjectivity).

outline

with regard to an essay or report, a brief sketch of the main parts; a written plan.

paragraph

a unit of sentences arranged logic- ally to explain or describe an idea, event, or object; usually marked by indentation of the first line.

parallel wording

wording in which a series of items has a similar grammatical form: e.g., At her marriage my grandmother promised to love, to honour, and to obey her husband.

paraphrase

restate in different words.

parentheses

curved lines, enclosing and setting off a passage; not to be confused with square brackets.

parenthetical element

an interrupting word or phrase: e.g., My musical career if it can be called that, consisted of playing the triangle in kindergarten.

participle

a verbal (part-verb) that functions as an adjective. Participles can be either present, usually marked by an -ing ending (e.g., taking), or past (having taken); they can also be passive (having been taken).

parts of speech

the major classes of words. Some grammarians include only func- tion words (nouns, verbs, adjec- tives, and adverbs); others also include pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections.

passive voice

see voice.

past participle

see participle.

periodic sentence

a sentence in which the normal order is inverted or an essential element suspended until the very end: e.g., Out of the house, past the grocery store, through the school yard and down the railroad tracks raced the frightened boy.

person

in grammar, the three classes of personal pronouns referring to the person speaking (first person), person spoken to (second person), and person spoken about (third person). With verbs, only the third person singular has a distinctive form.

personal pronoun

see pronoun.

phrase

a unit of words lacking a subject-predicate combination. The most common kind is the prepositional phrase—a unit comprising preposition plus object. Some modern grammar- ians also refer to the single- word phrase.

plural

indicating two or more in number. Nouns, pronouns, and verbs all have plural forms. possessive case see case.

prefix

a syllable placed in front of the root form of a word to make a new word: e.g., pro-, in-, sub- (cf. suffix).

preposition

a short word heading a unit of words containing an ohject, thus forming a prepositional phrase: e.g., under the tree, before my time.

pronoun

a word that stands in for a noun.

punctuation

a conventional system of signs used to indicate stops or divisions in a sentence and to make meaning clearer: e.g., comma, period, semicolon, etc.

reference works

material consulted when preparing an essay or report.

referent (antecedent)

the noun for which a pronoun stands.

relative clause

a clause headed by a relative pronoun: e.g., the man who came to dinner is my uncle.

relative pronoun

who, which, what, that, or their compounds beginning an adjective or noun clause: e.g., the ho use that Jack built; whatever you say.

restrictive element

a phrase or clause that identifies or is essential to the meaning of a term: e.g., The book that I need is lost. It should not be set off by commas. A non-restrictive element is not needed to identify the term and is usually set off by commas: e.g., This book, which I got from my aunt, is one of myfavourites.

register

the degree of formality in word choice and sentence structure.

run-on sentence

a sentence that goes on beyond the point where it should have stopped. The term covers both the comma splice (two sentences joined by a comma) and the fused sentence (two sentences joined without any punctuation between them).

sentence

a grammatical unit that includes both a subject and a predicate. The end of a sentence is marked by a period.

sentence fragment

a group of words lacking either a subject or a verb; an incomplete sentence.

simple sentence

a sentence made up of only one clause: e.g., Joan climbed the tree.

slang

colloquial speech, not considered part of standard English; often used in a special sense by a particular group: e.g., gross for disgusting; gig as a musician s term.

split infinitive

a construction in which a word is placed between to and the base verb: e.g., to completely finish.

squinting modifier

a kind of misplaced modifier; one that could be connected to elements on either side, making meaning ambiguous: e.g., When he wrote the letter finally his boss thanked him.

standard English

the English currently spoken or written by literate people over a wide geographical area.

subject

in grammar, the noun or noun equivalent about which something is predicated; that part of a clause with which the verb agrees: e.g., They swim every day when the pool is open.

subjectivity

a personal stance, not impartial (cf. objectivity).

subjunctive

see mood.

subordinate clause

see clause.

subordinating conjunction

see conjunction.

subordination

making one clause in a sentence dependent on another.

suffix

an addition placed at the end of a word to form a derivative: e.g., prepare—preparation; sing—singing (cf. prefix).

synonym

a word with the same dictionary meaning as another word: e.g., begin and commence.

syntax

sentence construction; the gram- matical relations of words.

tense

the time reference of verbs.

thesis statement

a one-sentence assertion that gives the central argument of an essay or thesis.

topic sentence

the sentence in a paragraph that expresses the main or controlling idea.

theme

a recurring or dominant idea.

transition word

a word that shows the logical relation between sentences or parts of a sentence and thus helps to signal the change from one idea to another: e.g., therefore, also, accordingly.

transitive verb

one that takes an object: e.g., hit, bring, cover.

usage

accepted practice.

verb

that part of a predicate expressing an action, state of being, or condition, telling what a subject is or does. Verbs inflect to show tense (time). The principal parts of a verb are the three basic forms from which all tenses are made: the base infinitive, the past tense, and the past participle.

verbal

a word that is similar in form to a verb but does not function as one: a participle, a gerund, or an infinitive.

voice