Glossary

absolute clause An adverbial clause that either has a non-finite verb(as in 1 below) or no verb at all (as in 2 below) buthas its own subject:1. The work having been finished, the gardener

came to ask for payment.2. The prisoners marched past, their hands above

their heads.

abbreviation A word formed by combining the initial letters ofother words. The resulting word is pronounced byspelling out each letter. For example, the abbrevia-tion USA is formed from the initial letters of UnitedStates of America. Cf. acronym. See. 9.6.

acronym A word formed by combining the initial letters ofother words. The resulting word is pronounced as asingle word. For example, the acronym SAD isformed from the initial letters of seasonal affectivedisorder. Cf. abbreviation. See. 9.6.

active Sentences and verb phrases with transitive verbs areeither active or passive. The active is morecommonly used. The passive involves differences inthe structure of the verb phrase: the passive verbphrase has the addition of a form of the verb be,which is followed by an -ed participle:active passiveloves is lovedwill proclaim will be proclaimedis investigating is being investigated

The passive sentence differs from the correspondingactive sentence, in that the active subject correspondsto the passive object:active The police (S) are investigating the crime

(O).passive The crime (S) is being investigated.

If the active subject (here The police) is retained inthe passive sentence it is put into a by-phrase: ‘Thecrime is being investigated by the police.’

adjective A word that typically can modify a noun and usuallycan itself be modified by very; for example, (very)wise, (very) careful. Adjectives are called ‘attributive’when they are used as premodifier in a noun phrase (aconscientious student). They are called ‘predicative’when they are used as subject complement (She isconscientious) or object complement (I consideredher conscientious). Adjectives that can be used bothattributively and predicatively are ‘central adjectives’.

adjective phrase The main word in an adjective phrase is an adjective.Other constituents that often appear in the phrase arepre-modifiers (which come before the adjective) andpost-modifiers (which come after the adjective):quite (pre-mod.) hungry (adj.)very (pre-mod.) happy (adj.) to see you (post-mod.)

adverb A word that is used chiefly as a modifier of an adjec-tive (extremely in extremely pale), or a modifier ofanother adverb (very in very suddenly), or as anadverbial (frequently in I visit my family frequently).

adverb phrase The main word in an adverb phrase is an adverb.Other constituents that often appear in the phrase arepre-modifiers (which come before the adverb) andpost-modifiers (which come after the adverb):quite (pre-mod.) neatly (adv.)very (pre-mod.) luckily (adv.) for me (post-mod.)

adverbial An adverbial is an optional element that is chieflyused to convey information about the circumstancesof the situation depicted in the basic structure of thesentence. There may be more than one adverbial in asentence:

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Every year (A1) they rented a car for two weeks (A2)to tour some European country (A3).In the above sentence, the adverbials convey infor-mation on frequency (A1), duration (A2), andpurpose (A3).We should distinguish the adverbial from the adverb.Like a noun, an adverb is a member of a word class.

adverbial clause An adverbial clause is a clause that functions asadverbial in sentence structure.

adverbial complement An element that conveys the same information assome adverbials but is required by the verb:I am now living in Manhattan.

agentless passive A passive sentence which lacks a by-phrase, suchthat the active subject is unstated:The decision has already been made. (Compare: Thedecision has already been made by the government.)See also active.

alternative question A question that presents two or more choices andasks the hearer to choose one of them:Do you want a biscuit or (do you want) a piece ofcake?

antecedent The antecedent of a pronoun is the unit that thepronoun refers to. The antecedent usually comesbefore the pronoun:The brakes were defective when I examined them.

anticipatory it The pronoun is called ‘anticipatory it’ when thesentence is so structured that the pronoun takes theposition of the subject and the subject is moved tothe end:It is a pity that Sue is not here. (Compare That Sue isnot here is a pity.)It’s good to see you. (Compare To see you is good.)

apposition A type of relation between two or more units: ‘Peter,your youngest brother, has just arrived.’Typically, the two units are identical in the kind ofunit (here, two noun phrases), in what they refer to(Peter and your youngest brother refer to the sameperson), and in having the same potential function,

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so that either can be omitted (Peter has just arrivedand Your youngest brother has just arrived are bothacceptable). See also appositive clause.

appositive clause An appositive clause is a type of clause that func-tions as a postmodifier in a noun phrase: ‘the reasonthat I am here today’.The conjunction that does not function in the clause(compare relative clause). Since the clause is inapposition to the noun phrase, the two units corre-spond to a sentence structure in which they arelinked by a form of the verb be: ‘The reason is that Iam here today.’

aspect The grammatical category in the verb phrase thatrefers to the way that the time of the situation isviewed by the speaker. There are two aspects:perfect and progressive. The perfect combines aform of auxiliary have with the -ed participle: hasshouted, had worked, may have said. The progres-sive combines a form of auxiliary be with the -ingparticiple: is shouting, was working, may be saying.

auxiliary Auxiliary (‘helping’) verbs typically come before themain verb (see in the following examples) in a verbphrase: can see, has been seeing, should have beenseen. The auxiliaries are:1. modals: e.g. can, could, may, might, should,

will, would2. perfect auxiliary: have3. progressive auxiliary: be4. passive auxiliary: be5. dummy operator: do

back formation A process of word formation in which new words areformed by removing what is perceived to be amorpheme and adding a verb ending. For example,the verb to emote is formed in this way from the nounemotion. See section 9.7.

base form The form of the verb without any inflection. It is theentry word for a verb in dictionaries.

basic sentence structure The six basic sentence or clause structures are:S + V: subject + verb

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S + V + AC: subject + verb + adverbialcomplement

S + V + SC: subject + verb + subjectcomplement

S + V + dO: subject + verb + direct objectS + V + iO + dO: subject + verb + indirect

object + direct objectS + V + dO + OC: subject + verb + direct object

+ object complementSee section 1.13. One or more optional adverbialsmay be added to the basic structures.

blending A process of word formation in which parts of two ormore words are combined to create a new word. Forexample, the word infotainment is a blend derivedfrom the words information and entertainment.Compare clipping; see section 9.5.

bound morpheme A morpheme which does not exist as a separateword in its own right. For example, the morphemeun- in unable is a bound morpheme. Compare freemorpheme; see section 9.2.

case A distinction in nouns and pronouns that is related totheir grammatical functions. Nouns have two cases:the common case (child, children) and the genitivecase (child’s, children’s). The genitive noun phrase isgenerally equivalent to an of-phrase:the child’s parentsthe parents of the childIn the child’s parents, the genitive phrase is adependent genitive: it functions like a determiner.When the phrase is not dependent on a followingnoun, it is an independent genitive:The party is at Susan’s.Personal pronouns and the pronoun who have threecases: subjective (for example, I, we, who), objective(for example, me, us, whom), and genitive (for exam-ple, my, mine, our, ours, whose). The two genitiveforms of the personal pronouns have different func-tions: My is a possessive determiner in my parentsand mine is a possessive pronoun in Those are mine.The distinctions in case are neutralized in somepersonal pronouns. For example, you may be eithersubjective or objective. See subjective case.

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chiasmus see parallelism

clause A sentence or sentence-like construction that iscontained within another sentence. Constructionsthat are sentence-like are non-finite clauses or verb-less clauses. Non-finite clauses have a non-finiteverb phrase as their verb, whereas verbless clausesdo not have a verb at all. They are like sentencesbecause they have sentence elements such as subjectand direct object.We can parallel the non-finite clause in [1] with thefinite clause in [1a]:[1] Being just a student, I’d …[1a] Since I’m just a student, I’d …We can show similar parallels between the verblessclause in [2] and the finite clause in [2a]:[2] Though fearful of the road conditions, they …[2a] Though they were fearful of the road condi-

tions, they …In a wider sense, a clause may coincide with asentence, since a simple sentence consists of just oneclause.

cleft sentence A sentence divided into three parts. The first has thesubject it and a form of the verb be; the emphasizedpart comes next; and the final part is what would bethe rest of the sentence in a regular pattern.It was Betty that I wanted to see. (Compare I wantedto see Betty.)It was after lunch that I phoned John. (Compare Iphoned John after lunch.)

clipping A process of word formation in which part of a word(usually the end) is removed to produce a new word.For example, photo is formed by removing the end ofthe word photograph. Compare blending. Seesection 9.5.

collective noun Refers to a group, e.g. audience, class, family, herd,jury.

combining form A bound morpheme which is added to the begin-ning or end of a word to create a new word.Combining forms include cyber-, hyper- and mega-.See section 9.7.

306 Glossary

comma splice see run-on sentence

common noun see noun

comparative clause Comparative clauses are introduced by than or asand involve a comparison:Adam is happier than he used to be.Paul is as good a student as you are.

complement The unit that may or must be introduced to completethe meaning of a word. For example, a preposition(such as for) is normally followed by a noun phrase(for example, my best friend) as its complement, asin for my best friend. See object, object comple-ment, subject complement.

complex sentence A sentence that contains one or more subordinateclauses. The subordinate clause may function as asentence element [1] or as a post-modifier in a phrase[2] and [3]:[1] Jean told me that she would be late.[2] This is the man who was asking for you.[3] We are glad that you could be here.

compound A word formed from the combination of two words:handmade, user-friendly.

compound sentence A sentence that consists of two or more clauseslinked by a coordinator. The coordinators are and, orand but:She is a superb administrator and everybody knowsit.We can go in my car or we can take a bus.He felt quite ill but he refused to leave his post.See section 4.12.

conditional clause A clause that expresses a condition on which some-thing else is dependent:If they hurry, they can catch the earlier flight.The sentence conveys the proposition that their abil-ity to catch the earlier flight is dependent on theirhurrying.

conjunction The two classes of conjunctions are coordinators (orcoordinating conjunctions) and subordinators (or

Glossary 307

subordinating conjunctions). The coordinators areand, or and but. They link units of equal status (thosehaving a similar function), such as clauses, phrases,pre-modifiers. Subordinators (e.g. because, if )introduce subordinate clauses:The baby is crying because she is hungry.

connective A type of adverbial which expresses the speaker’spoint of view [1] or a logical connection betweensentences [2]:[1] Fortunately, all the passengers were rescued.[2] The lawyer made a strong case for his client’s

innocence. However, he failed to convince thejury.

conversion The process by which a word is changed from oneclass to a new class without any change in its form.For example, the verb bottle (‘put into a bottle’) isderived by conversion from the noun bottle.

coordination The linking of two or more units with the same func-tion. The coordinators (or coordinating conjunctions)are and, or, but:There is a heavy duty on cigarettes, cigars, and pipetobacco.They pierced their ears or noses.We waited, but nobody came.

coordinator see conjunction

count noun Count nouns refer to things that can be counted, andthey therefore have a singular and a plural: college,colleges. Non-count nouns have only the singularform: information, software.

dangling modifier A dangling modifier is an adverbial clause that hasno subject, but its implied subject is not intended tobe identified with the subject of the sentence:Being blind, a dog guided her across the street.The implied subject of being blind is not intended tobe a dog.

declarative A type of sentence structure used chiefly for makingstatements. In declaratives, the subject generallycomes before the verb:

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Sandra is on the radio.I’m not joking.I’ll send you an email.Much more work will be required to analyse the databefore we can announce our conclusions.

declarative question A declarative question has the form of a declarativesentence but the force of a question: ‘She agrees withus?’

definite Noun phrases are definite when they are intended toconvey enough information, in themselves orthrough the context, to identify uniquely what theyrefer to: ‘You’ll find the beer in the refrigerator.’A likely context for using the definite article here isthat this beer has been mentioned previously and that itis obvious which refrigerator is being referred to. Nounphrases are indefinite when they are not intended to beso identifiable: ‘You’ll find a beer in the refrigerator.’

definite article The definite article is the. Contrast indefinite article.

deixis A kind of verbal ‘pointing’, whereby the meaning ofa word (usually a pronoun) is derived from anotherpart of a text. In the following example, we normallyassume that her refers back to Amy, such that hermother means Amy’s mother: ‘Amy bought a neck-lace for her mother.’

demonstrative pronouns The demonstrative pronouns are this, these, that,those. The same forms are demonstrative determiners.

dependent genitive see case

descriptive rules see grammar

determiner Determiners introduce noun phrases. They fall intoseveral classes: the definite and indefinite articles,demonstratives, possessives, interrogatives, rela-tives, indefinites.

directive The major use of imperative sentences is to issuedirectives, that is, requests for action. Directivesinclude a simple request [1], a command [2], a prohi-bition [3], a warning [4], and an offer [5]:

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[1] Please send me another copy.[2] Put your hands up![3] Don’t move![4] Look out![5] Have another piece of cake.You can convey a directive through sentence typesother than imperatives:I want you to send me another copy, please.Would you please send me another copy?I need another copy.

direct object see object

direct speech Direct speech quotes the actual words that somebodyhas said. Indirect speech reports what has been saidbut not in the actual words used by the speaker:[1] Judith asked me, ‘Have you any friends?’

(direct speech)[2] Judith asked me whether I had any friends.

(indirect speech)In both [1] and [2], Judith asked me is the reportingclause.

discourse particle Applied to items such as I mean, you know, you seeand well. Discourse particles are very common inspeech, where they perform a range of functions,including signalling a change of topic.

dummy operator The verb do. It is used to perform the functions of anoperator when an operator is otherwise absent:‘Does (op) Paul know?’The three verb forms are do and does for the presenttense and did for the past tense.

dynamic see stative

element A sentence or clause element is a constituent ofsentence or clause structure. Seven elementscombine to form the basic sentence structure:subject Sverb Vobject O direct object dO

indirect object iOcomplement C subject complement SC

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object complement OCadverbial complement AC

In addition, the adverbial (A) is an optional element.

end-focus The principle of end-focus requires that the mostimportant information come at the end of a sentenceor clause.

end-weight The principle of end-weight requires that a longerunit come after a shorter unit whenever there is achoice of relative positions.

endocentric compound A noun compound in which one of the morphemesdirectly indicates the meaning of the whole word; forexample, blackbird. Compare exocentriccompound. See section 9.4.

exclamative A type of sentence structure used chiefly to expressstrong feeling. Exclamatives begin with what or how.What is used with a noun phrase and how elsewhere:What a great time we had! (‘We had a great time.’)How well she plays! (‘She plays well.’)

exocentric compound A noun compound in which none of the morphemesdirectly indicates the meaning of the whole word; forexample, honeymoon. Compare endocentriccompound. See section 9.4.

finite A term used in contrast with non-finite in the classi-fication of verbs, verb phrases and clauses. A finiteverb allows contrasts in tense and mood. All verbforms are finite except infinitives and participles. Averb phrase is finite if the first or only verb is finite;all the other verbs are non-finite. A finite clause is aclause whose verb is a finite verb phrase:[1] Marian has been working hard.A finite clause can constitute an independentsentence, as in [1]. Contrast the non-finite clause into work hard in [2]:[2] Daniel was reluctant to work hard.

first person see person

foregrounding Refers to the features that stand out in language,especially in literary language.

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form In the broadest terms, the form of a grammatical itemis its structure or ‘shape’. For example, we can iden-tify many words as nouns if they end in -tion, -ism or-ment. At the phrase level, we can identify a preposi-tional phrase as consisting of a preposition followedby a prepositional complement: at the cinema,behind the hill (see section 3.25). Compare function.

fragmentary sentence Irregular sentences from which some part or parts aremissing that are normally present in correspondingregular sentences. We can ‘regularize’ the fragmen-tary sentence in the kitchen in this exchange:A: Where are you?B: In the kitchen.In the kitchen corresponds to the regular sentence Iam in the kitchen.

free morpheme A morpheme which can exist as a separate word inits own right. For example, the morpheme -able inunable is a free morpheme. Compare boundmorpheme. See section 9.2.

front-focus A device for fronting an expression from its normalposition so that it will acquire greater prominence:‘Ronald I like, but Doris I respect.’Here, the two direct objects have been fronted fromtheir normal position after the verb.

function The function of a grammatical unit refers to its usewithin a larger unit. For example, the function ofyour sister is subject in [1] and object in [2]:[1] Your sister is over there.[2] I have already met your sister.Compare form.

gender A grammatical distinction among words of the sameword class that refers to contrasts such as masculine,feminine, neuter. In English, this distinction is foundmainly in certain pronouns and in the possessivedeterminers.

generic Noun phrases are generic when they refer to a classas a whole: ‘Dogs make good pets.’They are non-generic when they refer to individualmembers of a class: ‘My dogs are good with children.’

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genitive case see case

gradable Words are gradable when they can be viewed asbeing on a scale of degree of intensity. Adjectivesand adverbs are typically gradable: they can bemodified by intensifiers such as very (extremely hot,very badly) and they can take comparison (happier,more relevant).

grammar The set of rules for combining words into largerunits. For example, the rules for the grammar of stan-dard English allow: ‘Home computers are now muchcheaper.’They disallow:[1] *Home computers now much are cheaper.[2] *Home computers is now much cheaper.They disallow [1] because much is positionedwrongly. They disallow [2] because the subject andthe verb must agree in number, and the subject Homecomputers is plural whereas the verb is is singular.Such rules are descriptive rules: they describe whatspeakers of the language actually use. There are alsoprescriptive rules, which advise people what theyshould use. These are found in style manuals, hand-books and other books that advise people how to usetheir language, telling people which usages to adoptor avoid. The prescriptive rules refer to usages thatare common among speakers of standard English,perhaps mainly when they are speaking informally;for example: ‘Don’t use like as a conjunction, as inSpeak like I do.’

grammatical sentence A sentence that conforms to the rules of the grammarof standard English. In a wider sense, grammaticalsentences are sentences that conform to the rules ofany variety, so that it is possible to distinguishbetween grammatical and non-grammatical sentencesin different varieties of non-standard English.

homograph see homonym

homonym Homonyms are two or more words that are identicalin sound or spelling but different in meaning: theverb peep refers either to making a kind of sound orto taking a kind of look. Homophones share the same

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sound but not necessarily the same spelling, e.g.weigh and way. Homographs share the same spellingbut not necessarily the same sound, e.g. row (‘line ofobjects’ when it rhymes with no, or ‘quarrel’ when itrhymes with now).

homophone see homonym

hypotaxis The grammatical relationship between clauses basedon coordination or subordination. Compare parataxis.

imperative A type of sentence structure used chiefly for issuinga directive. The imperative verb has the base form.The subject is generally absent and in that case themissing subject is understood to be you:Take off your hat.Make yourself at home.There are also first and third person imperativesentences with let and a subject:Let’s go now.Let no one move.

indefinite article The indefinite article is a or (before a vowel sound)an. Compare: definite article.

indefinite pronoun Pronouns that refer to the quantity of persons orthings. They include sets of words ending in -one and-body (someone, nobody, everybody), many, few, both,either, neither, some, any. Some of these pronounshave the same form as indefinite determiners.

independent genitive see case

indicative see mood

indirect object see object

indirect speech see direct speech

infinitive The base form of the verb. It is often preceded by to(to stay, to knock) but the infinitive without to is usedafter the central modals (may stay, will knock) andafter dummy operator do (did say).

inflection see suffix

314 Glossary

interrogative A type of sentence structure used chiefly for askingquestions. In interrogatives, the operator comesbefore the subject or the sentence begins with aninterrogative word (e.g. who, how, why) or with aninterrogative expression (e.g. on which day, for howlong):Did you hear that noise?Why is Pat so annoyed?At which point should I stop?

interrogative pronoun The interrogative pronouns are who, whom, whichand what.

intransitive verb An intransitive verb does not require another elementto complete the sentence:Peter yawned.The baby laughed.It has been raining.Intransitive verbs contrast with transitive verbs,which take an object; for example, the transitive verbtake is followed by the object my book in the follow-ing sentence: ‘Somebody has taken my book.’Many verbs may be either intransitive or transitive,for example play:They were playing.They were playing football.

inversion test A test for identifying the subject of a sentence. Thesubject (S) inverts with the operator (op) when weturn a statement into a yes-no question:She (S) was (op) joking.Was (op) she (S) joking?See section 1.5.

irregular sentence see regular sentence

linking verb see subject complement

main clause A simple sentence [1] or a complex sentence [2]consists of one main clause:[1] You should be more careful.[2] You should be more careful when you cross the

street.A compound sentence [3] consists of two or moremain clauses:

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[3] I know that you are in a hurry but you shouldbe more careful when you cross the street.

In [3], but joins the two main clauses.

main verb The main word in a verb phrase. Regular mainverbs have four forms: the base, -s, -ing and -edforms. The base form (e.g. talk) has no inflection; theother three forms are named after their inflections(talks, talking, talked). Some irregular verbs havefive forms, two of them corresponding to the twouses of the regular -ed form: past (spoke) and -edparticiple (spoken); others have four forms, but the-ed form is irregular (spent); others still have onlythree forms, since the base and the -ed forms areidentical (put). The highly irregular verb be has eightdifferent forms. See sections 2.11 and 3.12.

medium The channel in which the language is used. The maindistinction is between speech and writing.

modal The central modals (or central modal auxiliaries) arecan, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should,must.

mood The grammatical category that indicates the attitude ofthe speaker to what is said. Finite verb phrases havethree moods: indicative, imperative and subjunctive.The indicative is the usual mood in declarative, inter-rogative and exclamative sentences. The imperativemood is used in imperative sentences. The subjunc-tive mood commonly conveys uncertainty ortentativeness. See section 3.19.

morpheme The smallest meaningful unit within a word. Forexample, careless can be divided into twomorphemes, care + less. See section 9.2.

morphology Morphology deals with the structure of words.Words may be combinations of smaller units. Forexample, books consists of the base book and theinflection –s; sometimes is a compound formed fromthe two bases some and times; review consists of theprefix re- and the base view; national consists of thebase nation and the suffix -al. See 9.2.

316 Glossary

multiple sentence see simple sentence

multi-word verb Combinations of a verb and one or more other words.The major types are phrasal verbs (give in), preposi-tional verbs (look at) and phrasal-prepositional verbs(put up with).

neutralization Reducing distinctions to one form. For example, yourepresents both the subjective form (You saw them)and the objective form (They saw you).

NICE properties ‘NICE’ is an acronym for negation, inversion, codeand emphasis – the four major roles of the operator.See section 1.3.

nominal adjective Nominal adjectives refer to classes of persons, e.g.the young, the old, the poor, the disabled. Likenouns, they can function as the head of a nounphrase, and like adjectives, they can be premodifiedby an adverb: the very young, the chronicallydisabled.

nominal clause Subordinate clauses that have a range of functionssimilar to that of noun phrases. For example, theycan function as subject [1] or direct object [2]:[1] That it’s too difficult for him should be obvious

to everyone.[2] I think that you should take a rest now.Nominal relative clauses are introduced by a nominalrelative pronoun. The pronoun functions like acombination of antecedent and relative pronoun:‘You can take whatever you want.’ (‘anything youwant’)

nominal relative clause see nominal clause

nominal relative pronoun The nominal relative pronouns are who, whom(formal), which, whoever, whomever (formal),whichever, what, and whatever. They introducenominal relative clauses. Several of these pronounshave the same form as nominal relative determiners.

non-count noun see count noun

non-finite see finite

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non-generic see generic

non-restrictive see restrictive appositionapposition

non-restrictive see restrictive relative clauserelative clause

non-sentence A non-sentence may be perfectly acceptable, eventhough it cannot be analysed as a sentence. Forexample, the greeting Hello! is a non-sentence gram-matically, and so is the written sign, Exit.

non-specific see specific

non-standard English see standard English

noun Proper nouns are names of people (Helen), places(Hong Kong), days of the week (Monday), holidays(Christmas), etc. The noun phrases in which commonnouns function refer to people (teachers), places (thecity), things (your car), qualities (elegance), states(knowledge), actions (action), etc. Most commonnouns take a plural form: car, cars.

noun phrase The main word in a noun phrase is a noun or apronoun. If the main word is a noun, it is often intro-duced by a determiner and may have modifiers.Pre-modifiers are modifiers that come before themain word and post-modifiers are modifiers thatcome after it:an (det.) old (pre-mod.) quarrel (noun) that hasrecently flared up again (post-mod.)

number A grammatical category that contrasts singular andplural. It applies to nouns (student, students),pronouns (she, they), and verbs (he works, they work).

object Transitive verbs require a direct object to completethe sentence, as in [1]:[1] Helen wore a red dress (dO).Some transitive verbs allow or require a secondelement: indirect object, which comes before thedirect object, as in [2]; object complement, as in [3];adverbial complement, as in [4]

318 Glossary

[2] Nancy showed me (iO) her book (dO).[3] Pauline made him (dO) her understudy (oC).[4] Norma put the cat (dO) in the garden (aC).The direct object typically refers to the person orthing affected by the action. The indirect object typi-cally refers to the person who receives something orbenefits from the action. The object in an activestructure (whether the object is direct or indirect)usually corresponds to the subject in a passive struc-ture:The sentry fired two shots (dO).Two shots (S) were fired.Ted promised Mary (iO) two tickets (dO).Mary (S) was promised two tickets.Two tickets (S) were promised to Mary.

object complement Some transitive verbs require or allow an objectcomplement to follow the direct object:The heat has turned the milk (dO) sour (oC).The relationship between the direct object and theobject complement resembles that between thesubject and subject complement:The milk (S) turned sour (sC).See also object.

objective case see subjective case

operator The operator is the first or only auxiliary verb in averb phrase. Among other functions, the operatorchanges places with the subject when we form ques-tions [1] and comes before not or contracted n’t innegative sentences [2] and [3]:[1] Have (op) you (S) seen my pen?[2] I have (op) not replied to her letter.[3] I haven’t replied to her letter.The main verb be is the operator when it is the onlyverb in the verb phrase, as in [4], while the main verbhave may serve as operator, as in [5], or may take thedummy operator, as in [6]:[4] Are you ready?[5] Have you a car?[6] Do you have a car?See also NICE properties.

Glossary 319

orthographic sentence A sentence in the written language, signalled by aninitial capital letter and a final full-stop (period),question mark or exclamation mark.

orthography The writing system in the language: the distinctivewritten symbols and their possible combinations.

parallelism An arrangement of similar grammatical structures. Inparallel structures, at least some of the words havesimilar or contrasting meanings:It was too hot to eat; it was too hot to swim; it wastoo hot to sleep.They tended the wounded and they comforted thedying.The more you talk, the madder I get.Chiasmus is a form of parallelism in which the orderof parts of the structures is reversed:I respect Susan, but Joan I admire.

parataxis The loose ‘stringing together’ of (usually) clauseswithout any grammatical relation between them: Itwas midnight. It was dark. The door opened.Compare hypotaxis.

particle A word that does not change its form (unlike verbs,which have past forms, or nouns that have pluralforms) and, because of its specialized functions, doesnot fit into the traditional classes of words. Particlesinclude not, to as used with the infinitive, and wordslike up and out, which combine with verbs to formmulti-word verbs; for example, blow up and lookout.

participle There are two participles, the -ing participle (play-ing) and the -ed participle. The -ing participle alwaysends in -ing. In all regular verbs and in some irregu-lar verbs, the -ed participle ends in -ed. In otherirregular verbs, the -ed participle may end in -n(speak – spoken), or may have a different vowel fromthe base form (fight – fought), or may have bothcharacteristics (wear – worn), or may be identicalwith the base form (put – put).The -ing participle is used to form the progressive(was playing). The -ed participle is used to form theperfect (has played) and the passive (was played).

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Both participles can function as the verb in non-finiteclauses:Speaking before the game, Keegan was upbeat andoptimistic.When captured, he refused to give his name.See also aspect, active, finite.

passive see active

perfect see aspect

person The grammatical category that indicates differencesin the relationship to the speaker of those involved inthe situation. There are three persons: the first personrefers to the speaker, the second to those addressed,and the third to other people or things. Differencesare signalled by the possessive determiners (my,your, and so on), some pronouns (for example, I,you) and by verb forms (such as, I know versus Sheknows).

personal pronoun The personal pronouns are:1. subjective case: I, we, you, he, she, it, they2. objective case: me, us, you, him, her, it, themSee also subjective case.

phonetics The physical characteristics of the sounds in thelanguage, their production and their perception.

phonology The sound system in the language: the distinctivesound units and the ways in which they may becombined.

phrasal-prepositional see multi-word verbverb

phrasal verb see multi-word verb

phrase A unit below the clause. There are five types ofphrases:noun phrase our familyverb phrase was talkingadjective phrase quite oldadverb phrase very loudlyprepositional phrase on the table

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The first four phrases above are named after theirmain word. The prepositional phrase is named afterthe word that introduces the phrase. In this book, andin many other works on grammar, a phrase mayconsist of one word, so that both talked and was talk-ing are verb phrases. See section 3.1.

possessive determiner The possessive determiners are my, our, your, his,her, its, their. See also case.

possessive pronoun The possessive pronouns are mine, ours, yours, his,hers, its, theirs. See also case.

pragmatics The use of utterances in particular situations. Forexample, Will you join our group? is a question thatmight be intended as either a request for informationor a request for action.

predicate We can divide most clauses into two parts; thesubject and the predicate. The main parts of thepredicate are the verb and any of its objects orcomplements.

prefix A prefix is added before the base of a word to form anew word; for example, un- in untidy.

preposition Prepositions introduce prepositional phrases. Thepreposition links the complement in the phrase tosome other expression. Here are some commonprepositions with complements in parentheses: after(lunch), by (telling me), for (us), in (my room), since(seeing them), to (Ruth), up (the road).

prepositional object A prepositional object is a word or phrase thatfollows the preposition of a prepositional verb:Tom is looking after my children.Norma is making fun of you.

prepositional phrase The prepositional phrase consists of a prepositionand the complement of the preposition:for (prep.) your sake (comp.)on (prep.) entering the room (comp.)

prepositional verb see multi-word verb

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prescriptive rules see grammar

progressive see aspect

pronoun A closed class of words that are used as substitutesfor a noun phrase or (less commonly) for a noun.They fall into a number of classes, such as personalpronouns and demonstrative pronouns. Seesection 2.24.

proper noun see noun

reciprocal pronoun The reciprocal pronouns are each other and oneanother.

reflexive pronoun The reflexive pronouns are myself, ourselves, your-self, yourselves, himself, herself, itself, themselves.

register A linguistic register is a variety of language that weassociate with a specific use and communicativepurpose. For example, conversational English, news-paper English and scientific English are commonlyrecognized registers.

regular sentence A regular sentence conforms to one of the majorsentence patterns in the language (see section 1.13).Those that do not conform are irregular sentences.See basic sentence structure.

relative clause A relative clause functions as a post-modifier in anoun phrase: ‘the persons who advised me’. The rela-tive word or expression (here, who) functions as anelement in the clause (here, as the subject; compareThey advised me).

relative pronoun Relative pronouns introduce relative clauses. Therelative pronouns are who, whom (formal), whichand that. The relative pronoun is omitted in certaincircumstances: ‘the apartment (that) I live in’. Theomitted pronoun is known as a zero relative pronoun.Which and whose are relative determiners.

reporting clause see direct speech

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restrictive apposition Apposition may be restrictive or non-restrictive. Arestrictive appositive identifies:the fact that they have two carsmy sister JoanA non-restrictive appositive adds further information:the latest news, that negotiations are to begin nextMonday …my eldest sister, Joan …See also restrictive relative clause.

restrictive relative clause Relative clauses may be either restrictive or non-restrictive. A restrictive relative clause identifiesmore closely the noun it modifies:The boy who got the top grade was given a prize.A non-restrictive relative clause does not identify. Itadds further information:The boy, who got the top grade, was given a prize.

rhetorical question Has the form of a question but the force of a strongassertion.How many times have I told you to wipe your feet?(‘I have told you very many times to wipe yourfeet.’)

run-on sentence An error in punctuation arising from the failure touse any punctuation mark between sentences. If acomma is used instead of a major mark, the error is acomma splice. See section 8.3.

semantics The system of meanings in the language: the mean-ings of words and the combinatory meanings oflarger units.

semi-auxiliary The semi-auxiliaries convey meanings that are simi-lar to the auxiliaries but do not share all theirgrammatical characteristics. For example, only thefirst word of the semi-auxiliary have got to functionsas an operator: ‘Have we got to go now?’Semi-auxiliaries include have to, had better, beabout to, be going to, be able to.

sentence fragment A series of words that is punctuated as a sentenceeven though it is not grammatically an independentsentence: ‘You’re late again. As usual.’

324 Glossary

simple sentence A sentence that consists of one clause: I’m just astudent.A multiple sentence consists of more than oneclause:I’m just a student, and I’ve not had much work expe-rience.Since I’m just a student, I’ve not had much workexperience.See also complex sentence and compoundsentence.

specific Noun phrases are specific when they refer to specificpersons, places, things, and so on: ‘I hired a horseand a guide.’ They are non-specific when they do nothave such reference: ‘I have never met a Russian.(non-specific: ‘any Russian’).

standard English The variety of English that normally appears in print.Its relative uniformity is confined to grammar,vocabulary, spelling and punctuation. There is nostandard English pronunciation. There are somedifferences in the standard English used in English-speaking countries, so that we can distinguish, forexample, between standard English in Britain, in theUSA and in Canada. Varieties other than the standardvariety are called non-standard.

stative Stative verbs introduce a quality attributed to thesubject (Tom seems bored) or a state of affairs (Weknow the way). Dynamic verbs are used in descrip-tions of events (The kettle is boiling; Cathy listenedintently). Dynamic verbs can occur with the -ingform, as in is boiling, has been listening.

subject An element that usually comes before the verb in adeclarative sentence [1] and after the operator in aninterrogative sentence [2]:[1] We (S) should consider (V) the rights of every

class.[2] Should (op) we (S) consider the rights of every

class?Except in imperative sentences, the subject is anobligatory element. In active structures, the subjecttypically refers to the performer of the action.

Glossary 325

subject complement Linking verbs require a subject complement tocomplete the sentence. The most common linkingverb is be. Subject complements are usually nounphrases [1] or adjective phrases [2]:[1] Leonard is Mary’s brother.[2] Robert looks very happy.The subject complement typically identifies or char-acterizes the subject.

subjective case The personal pronouns and the pronouns who andwhoever distinguish between subjective case andobjective case. The subjective case is used when apronoun is the subject (I in I know). The objectivecase is used when a pronoun is a direct object (me inHe pushed me) or indirect object (me in She told methe truth) or complement of a preposition (for me).The subject complement takes the subjective case informal style (This is she) but otherwise the objectivecase (This is her) is usual.

subject-operator In subject-operator inversion, the usual order isinversion inverted: the operator comes before the subject:

[1] Are (op) you (S) staying?Subject–operator inversion occurs chiefly in ques-tions, as in [1]. It also occurs when a negativeelement is fronted, as in [2]:[2] Not a word did we hear.Compare [2a] and [2b]:[2a] We did not hear a word.[2b] We heard not a word.

subject–verb agreement The general rule is that a verb agrees with its subjectin number and person whenever the verb displaysdistinctions in number and person:The dog barks. The dogs bark.I am thirsty. She is thirsty.

subjunctive The present subjunctive is formed using the baseform of the verb:I demanded that Norman leave the meeting.It is essential that you be on time.The were subjunctive is formed using the verb were:‘If Tess were here, she would help me.’ See section3.19.

326 Glossary

subordinate clause see complex sentence

subordinator see conjunction

suffix Added after the base of a word to form a new word;for example, -ness in goodness. A suffix thatexpresses a grammatical relationship is an inflection;for example, plural -s in crowds or past -ed incooked.

superordinate clause A clause that has a subordinate clause as one of itselements:I hear (A) that you know (B) where Ken lives.The (A) clause that you know where Ken lives issuperordinate to the (B) clause where Ken lives. Thesubordinate (B) clause is the direct object in the (A)clause.

syntax This is another term for grammar, as that term isused in this book.

tag question A tag question is attached to a sentence that is notinterrogative. It invites agreement:You remember me, don’t you?Please don’t tell them, will you?

tag question test A test for identifying the subject of a sentence.When we add a tag question to a sentence, the lastword in the tag question refers back to the subject ofthe sentence:Paul is very kind, isn’t he?These books are expensive, aren’t they?See section 1.5.

tense The grammatical category that refers to time and issignalled by the form of the verb. There are twotenses: present (laugh, laughs) and past (laughed).

there-structure In a there-structure, there is put in the subject posi-tion and the subject is moved to a later position:‘There is somebody here to see you.’ (Compare‘Somebody is here to see you.’)

third person see person

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transitive verb see object

verb A verb is either (like a noun) a member of a wordclass or (like a subject) an element in sentence orclause structure. As a verb, it functions in a verbphrase. The verb phrase may be playing is the verbof the sentence in [1]:[1] She may be playing tennis this afternoon.It is the verb of the that-clause in [2]:[2] She says that she may be playing tennis this

afternoon.See also main verb.

verbless clause A reduced clause that does not have a verb:Send me another one if possible. (‘if it is possible’)Although in pain, Joan came with us. (‘Although shewas in pain’)

verb phrase Amain verb preceded optionally by a maximum offour auxiliaries.

voice A grammatical category that applies to the structureof the sentence and to the structure of the verbphrase. There are two voices: the active voice andthe passive voice.

wh-question A question beginning with an interrogative word orwith a phrase containing an interrogative word. Allinterrogative words except how begin with thespelling wh-: who, whom, whose, which, what,where, when, why.

yes-no question A question that expects the answer yes or no. Yes-noquestions require subject-operator inversion:Can (op) I (S) have a word with you?

zero relative pronoun see relative pronoun

328 Glossary