Glossary of Morphosyntax

Terms
Absolute Adjective
The BASE form of an ADJECTIVE on a scale of comparison, for example, big,
in contrast with the COMPARATIVE bigger and the SUPERLATIVE biggest.

Abstract Noun
Abstract nouns
include love, optimism, truth, freedom, belief, hope and communism. They
refer to non-concrete entities.

Active
A value of VOICE for a VERB, the other value being PASSIVE.

Additive Adverb
A type of ADVERB which offers a choice between two or more items,
e.g. You either leave or stay.

Adjective
An open word class which expresses an attribute. The attribute is expressed
either by an ATTRIBUTIVE adjective (a red car) or by a PREDICATIVE
ADJECTIVE (my car is red).

Adjective Phrase
A phrase headed by an adjective (e.g. proud, good, happy). The Head may be
premodified (very good). Certain Heads may be postmodified (proud of you),
or can be pre- and postmodified (very proud of you).

Adjunct
This is an optional constituent in a clause or in a phrase. In a clause, it usually
describes how, when or where something happened (John ran quickly, David
retired when he was sixty, We met him in the cinema).

Adverb
An open word class which includes happily, slowly, quietly, now, and very.
Adverbs can modify an adjective (e.g. very big), another adverb
(e.g. veryquietly) or a verb (e.g. John walked slowly).

Adverb Phrase
A phrase headed by an adverb (e.g. quietly, carefully). In an adverb phrase,
the Head word can be premodified as (e.g. too quietly, quite carefully). It can
be postmodified (e.g. carefully enough). An adverb phrase can also consist of
a Head which is both premodified and postmodified (e.g. veryluckily for us).

Agent
The entity which performs the action described by a VERB (John kicked the
ball). The agent may be missing in a PASSIVE construction (cf. The ball was
kicked).

Agentless Passive
In a typical passive construction, the AGENT occurs in the by-phrase: The ball
was kicked by John. In an agentless passive, the by-phrase is missing:The
ball was kicked.
See also

Agreement
This usually refers to Subject-verb agreement, and denotes the fact that a verb
ending agrees with the number of the Subject (the dog barks / the dogs bark).
Agreement applies only to PRESENT TENSE verbs. It is also known
as concord.
See also

Alternative Interrogative
A type of interrogative sentence in which two or more alternatives are
presented, e.g. Should I telephone or send an email?
See also

Anticipatory it
Anticipatory it occupies the Subject position and "anticipates" a Subject that
has been postponed. For example, It's true that she has finished with Mike. In
this example the Subject is It, which substitutes for the extraposed clause that
she has finished with Mike. Cf. the version with extraposition That she has
finished with Mike is true.
See also

Aspect
Aspect refers to the way an action denoted by a verb should be viewed with
respect to time.
See also

Asyndetic Coordination
Asyndetic coordination involves two or more CONJOINS which are not linked
by a COORDINATING CONJUNCTION. For example: Slowly, carefully, the
thief crept towards the diamond.
See also

Attributive Adjective
An ADJECTIVE is attributive if it occurs before the noun which it modifies
(a delicious taste, an entertaining film)
See also

Auxiliary Verb
An auxiliary verb (or HELPING VERB) occurs with a MAIN VERB. Examples:
(1) Sue has made a chocolate cake (2) Kate is talking to her boss (3) I do not
like beans (4) The cat was chased by the blackbird (5) You must eat your
beans

Bare Infinitive
An INFINITIVE verb which occurs without to, e.g. Help me open the door.
Distinct from the TO-INFINITIVE: Help me to open the door.
See also

Bare Infinitive Clause

A clause in which a bare infinitive form of the verb is used, I made John
leave.
See also

Base Form
The base form is the form of a word to which INFLECTIONS may be added,
eg. walks, walked, walking.

Cardinal Numeral
A subclass of numerals which includes one, 1, twenty, a hundred.
See also

Case
IIn English, case is illustrated by the PERSONAL PRONOUNS, where
different forms of the pronoun indicate their grammatical relationship to the
VERB. For example: (1) He is a plumber, He has SUBJECTIVE case. (2) I
saw him, him has OBJECTIVE case.
See also

Central Adjective
A central adjective is one that fulfils all the criteria for identifying adjectives.
These criteria are: being GRADABLE, having COMPARATIVE and
SUPERLATIVE forms, and appearing in ATTRIBUTIVE or PREDICATIVE
positions.
See also

Central Determiner
A subclass of DETERMINER which includes DEFINITE and INDEFINITE
ARTICLES as well as POSSESSIVE and DEMONSTRATIVE pronouns.
Central determiners occur after PREDETERMINERS and before
POSTDETERMINERS.
See also

Circumstantial Adverb
A collective term for MANNER, TIME, and PLACE ADVERBS.
See also

Clause
A clause is a string of words which expresses a proposition and typically
consists of at least a SUBJECT and a verb: David sings, Yesterday we visited
Canterbury. A SENTENCE contains one or more clauses. The sentence She
retired early because she was illcontains two clauses, a MATRIX clause,
consisting of the whole sentence, and a SUBORDINATE clause, because she
was ill.
See also

Cleft it
A special use of the PERSONAL PRONOUN it which appears in CLEFT
sentences: It was John who broke the window.
See also

Cleft Sentence
A sentence which is split into two clauses, placing emphasis on one part (the
"focus"): It is her kindness that I will remember. Here, the focus is her
kindness.
See also

Closed-Class Item
Word classes are of two types: OPEN-CLASS and closed-class. Closed-class
items include AUXILIARIES, PREPOSITIONS, CONJUNCTIONS,
DETERMINERS and PRONOUNS. These classes consist of finite sets of
words which can be exhaustively listed, and they do not admit new members.
See also

Code
One of the NICE PROPERTIES of AUXILIARY VERBS. The DOAUXILIARY
can replace the verb under ELLIPSIS. John wants to go to the cinema, and
so does Mary.
See also

Collective Noun
A noun which refers to a group of individual people or
animals: population, herd, flock, committee.

Common Noun
A noun which refers to common, everyday entities such
as: cat, dog, sister, bucket, book.
See also

Comparative
The form of an adjective or an adverb at the middle point on a scale of
comparison. Comparison is expressed using an -er ending or with more:
Tim is taller than Mary
Amy is more industrious than Paul
John reads more quickly than David

See also

Comparative Clause
A type of subordinate clause which expresses comparison, and which is
introduced by than or as:
She is older than I expected
She is (not) as old as I expected

See also

Complement
A constituent of a phrase which is required to complete the meaning of the
Head. In a review of the book, of the book is the Complement of the
Head review. Similarly, in detectives examined the scene, the scene is the
Complement of the Head examined.

Complex Preposition
A two- or three-word preposition: along with, because of, due to.
See also

Complex Sentence
A complex sentence contains a main clause and at least one subordinate
clause. For example, Your dinner is cold because you were late. The
subordinate clause is because you were late.
See also

Compound Sentence
A compound sentence contains coordinated main clauses:
[Debbie bought the wine] and [Ben cooked the meal]

See also

Concessive Clause
A type of subordinate clause which expresses concession, usually introduced
by although or though: He bought me a lovely gift, although he can't really
afford it.
See also

Concord
Another term for AGREEMENT.
See also

Conditional Clause
A type of subordinate clause which expresses a condition, typically introduced
by if : I'll be home early if I can get a taxi.
See also

Conjoin
An element which undergoes COORDINATION. In the following examples, the
conjoins are bracketed:
[John] and [Mary]
The river was [wide] and [deep]
He [came home] and [lit the fire]

See also

Conjunct Adverb
Conjunct adverbs connect two sentences and indicate a logical relationship
between them:
Your have not repaid your loan. Therefore, we cannot give you any more credit.

Other conjunct adverbs include: nevertheless, nonetheless, otherwise, in

addition, on the other hand
See also

Conjunction
A CLOSED wordclass which includes COORDINATING words such as and,
but, and or, and SUBORDINATING words such as because, if, and when.
See also

Constituent
A constituent is a word or a group of words which acts syntactically as a unit.
Constituents may be words, phrases, or clauses.
See also

Content Word
Another term for OPEN-CLASS words or LEXICAL words.
See also

Coordinating Conjunction
A type of CONJUNCTION which connects elements of equal status. The most
common coordinating conjunctions are and and but. Also known as a
COORDINATOR.
See also

Coordination
Coordination involves the syntactic linking of two or more elements of equal
status:
[John] and [Mary]
[up] and [down]
David [sings] and [plays guitar]

See also

Coordinator
Another term for COORDINATING CONJUNCTION.
See also

Copular Verb
Copular (or linking) verbs link the Subject to the element that follows the them.
This element says more about the Subject:
Jill is a lawyer
That sounds good

The most common copular verb is be.

Count Noun
A type of COMMON noun which is countable. Count nouns can be SINGULAR
(dog) or PLURAL (dogs).

Declarative Sentence
A type of sentence which typically makes a statement: Bob is a fast swimmer.
See also

Degree Adverb
A subclass of ADVERB which specifies the degree to which some property
applies. Degree adverbs include very and extremely.
See also

Definite Article
The definite article is the.
See also

Demonstrative Pronoun
The demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these, and those.
See also

Denominal Adjective
An ADJECTIVE derived from a NOUN, e.g. a mathematical puzzle= a puzzle
based on mathematics.
See also

Determiner
Determiners occur before NOUNS and indicate the kind of reference which the
noun has:
the boy
a bus
our car
these children
both hospitals

See also

Direct Object
A Direct Object follows a TRANSITIVE verb, and may be defined as that part
of the clause which is affected by the "action" of the verb. For example, in Jim
sold his car, the Direct Object is his car. The Direct Object may be identified by
asking what or who is affected:
Jim sold his car
Q. What did Jim sell?
A. His car ( = the Direct Object)

See also

Disjunct Adverb
A subclass of ADVERB which comments on the sentence as a whole.
Honestly, I couldn't believe it.
Unfortunately, Kim has had to leave us.

See also

Ditransitive Verb
Ditransitive verbs take two Complements, an Indirect Object and a Direct
Object.
Robin gave Linda a book
The teacher asked James a question

See also

Do Auxiliary
The auxiliary verb do used with a main verb when forming interrogative or
negative sentences, or for adding emphasis. Also called the DUMMY
OPERATOR.
I do not like cheese
Don't cross the road
Do you want some coffee?
Do leave me alone!

See also

Dummy it
A special use of the PERSONAL PRONOUN it used in references to time and
the weather:
It is raining
It's five o'clock

Also called PROP IT.

See also

Dummy operator
Another term for the DO AUXILIARY

-Ed Participle
A NONFINITE form of a VERB characterised by the -
edINFLECTION. It is used to express perfective aspect (the
chairman has resigned), and the passive (the chairman
was persuaded to resign).
See also

-Ed Participle Clause

A type of subordinate clause whose verb is in the -ed participle
form, Tired of the long meeting, John left.
See also

Ellipsis
Ellipsis occurs when clauses, phrases, or words are omitted from a
sentence, but where the meaning is recoverable from the context.
For example:

A: Can I have a glass of wine?

B: Yes you can [have a glass of wine]
The phrase in brackets is the ellipted material.

Emphasis
One of the NICE PROPERTIES of AUXILIARY VERBS, eg I do like
carrots, I can speak French..
See also

Enclitic
A contracted form of an AUXILIARY VERB.

I have left ~I've left

See also

Exclamative Sentence
An exclamative is a sentence used as an exclamation. For
example, How tall you've grown!

Exclusive Adverb
A type of ADVERB which excludes some possibility. For example, It
was just Mary who saw me.

See also

Existential Sentence
A sentence that contains existential there, e.g. there is a man in the
garden.

See also

Existential there
This element is used to introduce existential sentences. Eg There is
a fly in my soup. Different from its ADVERBIAL (locative) use.
See also

Extraposition
A process in which a clause that acts as a Subject or Direct Object is
displaced from its normal position, and is replaced by anticipatory it.
For example:

That John isn't coming is clear ~It is clear that John isn't coming

False Coordination
Use of a COORDINATING CONJUNCTION where no COORDINATION
actually takes place, eg. Try and come tomorrow.
See also

Finite
A verb is finite if it carries TENSE. If it does not carry tense it is NONFINITE. In
the following example the finite verb is highlighted: She eats too much.
See also

Finite Clause
A clause containing a finite verb. For example, Henry has a large black cat.
The following types of clause are always finite: if-clauses, that-clauses, and
zero that-clauses.
See also

Formal Analysis
A formal analysis is one which looks at structural categories such as word
classes, phrases, and clauses.
See also

Formulaic Expression
A type of MINOR WORD CLASS expressing greetings, farewells, and
apologies, eg. hello, goodbye, sorry.
See also

Function Word
Function word and grammatical word are terms used for CLOSED CLASS
words such as PREPOSITION, CONJUNCTION and PRONOUN.
See also

Functional Analysis
A functional analysis is one which looks at the grammatical functions of
constituents, such as SUBJECT, DIRECT OBJECT, etc.

Generic
When a noun phrase is used to refer to all members of the class denoted by
the phrase, the noun phrase is said to have generic reference. For
example, Monkeys are hairy.

Genitive Marker
The -'s ending on NOUNS which usually indicates possession,
e.g. John's book.

Gradable
Both ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS are gradable, in that they are subject to
intensification and COMPARISON. The adjective happy is intensified in the
following examples: very happy, extremely happy, quite happy, happier,
and happiest.
See also

Grammatical Hierarchy
This term refers to the hierarchical ordering of grammatical units like words
and phrases. Words are at the lowest level and sentences are the highest.
See also

Grammatical Word
Another term for function word.

Head
The central, obligatory element in a phrase. The Head of a phrase determines
the phrase type, e.g. if the Head is a noun, then the phrase is a noun phrase.

Helping Verb
Another term for AUXILIARY VERB.

If-Clause
A subordinate clause which is introduced by the subordinator if,
e.g. If you leave, I will too. Another term for if-clause is conditional
clause.
See also

Imperative Sentence
A sentence type usually used to issue orders or directions. The verb
is in its base form, e.g. Move over!
See also

Indefinite article
The indefinite article is a(n). A occurs before a consonant (a bag)
and an before a vowel (an apple).
See also

Indefinite Pronoun
A type of PRONOUN. Forms
include: something, anything and nothing.
See also

Independent Relative Clause

Another term for nominal relative clause.
See also

Indirect Object
The Indirect Object is usually the 'receiver' of an action described by
a verb: John gave Mary flowers. Verbs that require Indirect Objects
are called DITRANSITIVE VERBS.
See also

Infinitive
The infinitive form of a verb is the form which follows to, eg. to go,
tobe, to wish. However, infinitives can occur without to: Help
me openthe door. Infinitives without to are known as BARE
INFINITIVES.
See also

Infinitive Clause
There are two types of infinitive clauses: to-infinitive clause and bare
infinitive clause. Both contain a verb in the infinitive form, e.g.

I want to go (to-infinitive).
All I did was touch it (bare infinitive).

Inflection
An inflection is an ending which carries grammatical information such
as TENSE or NUMBER and is added to the BASE FORM of a word,
eg. -ed (walked), -s (walks).
See also

-Ing Participle
A form of VERB ending in -ing (ADJECTIVES can also have this
form, under the cover term PARTICIPIAL ADJECTIVE). An -
ing participle can be used to form the PROGRESSIVE ASPECT.
See also

-Ing Participle Clause

An -ing participal clause is a nonfinite subordinate clause in which
the verb is in the -ing participle form: Running away is a bad idea.
See also

Inherent Adjective
A type of ADJECTIVE which expresses an attribute or quality of a
NOUN, e.g. red car.
See also
Interjection
An interjection is an exclamation (MINOR WORD CLASS),
e.g. Damn!, Oh!, Good heavens!
See also

Interrogative Adverb
An interrogative adverb is a type of adverb used in wh-questions
such as, How did you do that? They are subsumed under the
general term wh-word, like interrogative pronouns and the relative
equivalents.
See also

Interrogative Pronoun
Who, which, whose, whom can be used in wh-quentions like, Who is
Henry going to invite? Do not confuse interrogative pronouns with
DETERMINERS of the same form, e.g. which book. They are
subsumed under the general term wh-word, like interrogative
adverbs and the relative equivalents.
See also

Interrogative Sentence
An interrogative sentence is a type of sentence which usually asks a
question. For example, Will you go to the supermarket for me? There
are four types, yes/no interrogatives, wh-interrogatives, alternative
interrogatives and tag questions.
See also

Intransitive Verb
An intransitive verb is one which does not take any Complements,
e.g. Jake cried, Sue slept.
See also

Inversion
One of the NICE PROPERTIES of AUXILIARY VERBS. Auxiliaries
can be inverted in interrogatives, e.g. can you run fast?

Lexical Verb
Another term for MAIN VERB.
See also

Lexical Word
Lexical word is another term for CONTENT or OPEN-CLASS word.
See also

-Ly Adverb
An ADVERB formed by adding ly to an adjective, eg. bad ~badly.

Main Clause
A main clause is not subordinate to or dependent on any other
clause, eg. I am happy. Also called matrix clauses.

Main Verb
A main verb is a VERB with independent meaning which can stand
alone in a sentence. For example, I am here. He is signing the
contract.
See also

Major Word Class

The major word classes are NOUN, DETERMINER, ADJECTIVE,
ADVERB, PREPOSITION, VERB and CONJUNCTION. Many,
though not all, of these are also open-class items.
See also

Manner Adverb
A type of CIRCUMSTANTIAL ADVERB which expresses the manner
in which an action is performed. He ran quickly.
See also

Mass Noun
A noun denoting an undifferentiated substance,
e.g. wool, nitrogen, sugar, water and music. These are also called
NON-COUNT NOUNS.
See also

Matrix Clause
The whole of I think I'd like coffee is a matrix clause, consisting of a
main clause and a subordinate clause. Matrix clauses are generally
finite, but cf. imperative clauses.
See also

Minor Word Class

The minor word classes include FORMULAIC EXPRESSIONS,
INTERJECTIONS, PARTICLES, EXISTENTIAL THERE and special
cases of the personal pronoun it, dummy it, prop it, anticipatory it and
cleft it. Most, though not all, of these are also closed-class items
See also

Modal Auxiliary
A modal auxiliary is a type of AUXILIARY VERB. These auxiliaries
express meanings such as permission (may), obligation (must),
prediction (will, shall), ability (can), etc.
See also

Modification
In a phrase (e.g. a noun phrase) another phrase can occur before or
after the Head word. These phrases add something to the meaning
of the head (i.e. they modify their meaning). For
example: Red lorry,father of the bride. In the first example, the
Head lorry is premodified by red. In the second example, the
Head father is postmodified by the preposition phrase of the bride.

Monotransitive Verb
Monotransitive verbs are verbs that take one Complement, namely a
Direct Object, e.g. Tim cut the grass.
See also

Mood
Mood is used to classify verbs e.g. indicative, subjunctive forms. It is
also used for classifying clauses - declarative, imperative,
interrogative, exclamative.

Multi-Word Verb
A multi-word verb is a unit composed of a verb plus one or more
other words, eg. Dad woke up this morning. The semi-auxiliaries are
multi-word verbs, eg. I am going to leave now.

Negation
One of the NICE PROPERTIES of AUXILIARY VERBS, which can
have a NEGATIVE marker added to them, e.g.

You can leave -- You can't leave.

See also

NICE Properties
Four properties of AUXILIARY VERBS which distinguish them from
main verbs, namely, Negation, Inversion, Code, and Emphasis.
See also

Nominal Adjective
ADJECTIVES that denote a class of entities by describing one of
their ATTRIBUTES are called nominal adjectives,
e.g. The poor, the sick, the elderly, my local. They can have
COMPARATIVE and SUPERLATIVE forms, e.g. the best.
See also

Nominal Relative clause

A type of relative clause that does not have a Head word. The man
who I know contains a standard relative clause with a Head
noun man. In what I want is a new car, what I want is a nominal
relative clause, which may be paraphrased as "the thing which I
want". They are also known as independent relative clauses.
See also
Non-Count Nouns
A NOUN that refers to an indivisible whole. They only have
SINGULAR forms. Examples include courage, butter, software. They
are also called MASS NOUNS
See also

Nonfinite Verb
A Nonfinite verb does not carry tense agreement. The INFINITIVE, -
ED PARTICIPLE and -ING PARTICIPLE are nonfinite verb forms.
See also

Nonfinite Clause
A clause that contains a nonfinite verb, e.g. (1) To err is
human contains a to-infinitive clause. (2) I made her laugh contains
a bare infinitive clause. (3) Turning the corner, I ran over the
vicar contains an -ing participle clause. (4) She sat in the
corner, snubbed by her colleagues contains an -ed participle
clause.
See also

Non-Inherent Adjective
A type of ADJECTIVE that does not denote an ATTRIBUTE of a
NOUN, e.g. small businessman.
See also

Notional Agreement
Agreement between a Subject and verb that depends upon our
interpretation of the Subject, rather than its form, e.g. the
government is/are useless. The agreement here depends on
whether we treat government as an entity in its own right, or as a
collection of people.
See also

Noun
A noun is a word which can inflect for number and which usually
names people, places or things.
See also
Noun Phrase
A string of words that has a noun as its Head:

computers
the man in the moon
young people who live in Italy

NPs may take a determiner phrase as a premodifier, and PPs, to-

infinitive clauses or relative clauses as postmodifiers.

Number Contrast
The difference between SINGULAR and PLURAL forms of NOUNS.
See also

Numeral
An OPEN CLASS of words that comprises all numbers, and is a
subclass of the class of NOUNS. Different types include CARDINAL
NUMERALS and ORDINAL NUMERALS. Numerals can function as
NOUNS or as DETERMINERS.

Objective Case
The form of PRONOUNS that can appear in the highlighted position of the
following example: I love John/him.
See also

Open-Class Item
This term refers to wordclasses such as the main lexical categories NOUN,
VERB, ADJECTIVE and ADVERB, which can have new words added to
them.
See also

Operator
When more than one verb occurs in a finite verb phrase, the first auxiliary verb
is called the operator. The operator carries negation, and inverts with the
Subject in interrogative sentences, . In the sentence Ivy will be working for
your father, will is the operator.
Ordinal Numeral
A type of NUMERAL, including items like first, 1st.

Paradigm
A list of forms that a particular word may assume. For example:
write, writes, writing, wrote, written are different forms of the verb
paradigm write.

Particularizer Adverb
A type of ADVERB which focuses attention on what follows,
e.g. mostly in This is mostly true.
See also

Participial Adjective
An adjective in the form of an -ed participle or an -ing participle.
See also

Particle
A MINOR WORD CLASS consisting of the PARTICLE to (e.g. I want
you to leave), as well as for (It's difficult for you to leave) and with (I can't
read with you standing behind me).
See also

Particle To
The PARTICLE which appears in TO-INFINITIVES: I want to leave.
See also

Part Of Speech
Nouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and verbs, amongst others, belong to
different word classes and are known as Parts of Speech.

Passive
In a passive sentence, the PASSIVE AUXILIARY be is combined with the -
ed participle of a verb, e.g. John was kicked.
See also

Passive Auxiliary
This is the auxiliary verb be which is combined with the -ed participle of a verb
to form the PASSIVE, eg. the money was stolen
See also

Past
A value for TENSE, which indicates that the event referred to took place in the
past. It is indicated by an -ed inflection on regular verbs.
See also

Perfective Aspect
PERFECTIVE ASPECT is grammatically encoded by the PERFECTIVE
AUXILIARY + -ED PARTICIPLE of a VERB. For example, I have broken the
glass. Perfective aspect indicates that an action/situation started in the past
but has current relevance.
See also

Perfective Auxiliary
The AUXILIARY have is used in combination with the -ED PARTICIPLE to
denote PERFECTIVE ASPECT, eg. We havedecided to leave
See also

Peripheral Adjective
Peripheral adjectives do not fulfil all the criteria for membership of the
ADJECTIVE class.
See also

Person
I (the speaker/writer) is a first person pronoun, you (the listener/reader) is a
second person pronoun, and he/she/it are third person pronoun. First and third
person pronouns also have a plural form: we (first person plural)
and they (third person plural), whereas you is both the singular and plural
form. The form of the verb has to agree with person. For example, I am, you
are, he is, we are they are. For regular verbs all forms are the same except in
the third person singular present tense which takes -s (e.g. she laughs, it
works) - this is AGREEMENT or CONCORD.
See also

Personal Pronoun
Personal pronouns are a type of PRONOUN which refer to people. They have
SUBJECTIVE and OBJECTIVE forms depending on their function. Also
includes it.
See also

Phrasal Verb
A phrasal verb is a MULTI-WORD VERB made up of a VERB and ADVERB.
For example, The toaster blew up. Give up teasing your sister. The meaning
of the phrasal verb is not usually obvious from the meaning of the parts. For
example, blew up means 'exploded' and give up means 'stop'.
See also

Phrasal-Prepositional Verb
A MULTI-WORD VERB comprising a VERB, an ADVERB and a
PREPOSITION:
Jenny is looking forward to meeting you
I don't know how you put up with him.

See also

Phrase
A phrase is a syntactic unit which may be composed of one or more words.
For example, Jim, the man; the girl in the corner. A phrase takes its name from
the Head word. For example, ADJECTIVE PHRASE, ADVERB PHRASE,
VERB PHRASE, PREPOSITION PHRASE. Phrases may have premodifiers
and postmodifiers.
See also

Place Adverb
A type of CIRCUMSTANTIAL ADVERB that refers to the direction in which an
action is taking place, put the book there.
See also

Plural
A form of the NOUN indicated by the -s INFLECTION, denoting more than one
entity. The converse of SINGULAR.
See also

Polysyndetic Coordination
COORDINATION in which all CONJOINS are linked by COORDINATING
CONJUNCTIONS, John and Mary and Bill.
See also

Possessive Pronoun
The possessive pronouns are my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, our, ours,
their, theirs. They indicate possession. They can function as NOUNS, for
example, Is this yours? Pass me mine, or as DETERMINERS,
e.g. my house.
See also

Postdeterminer
A type of DETERMINER which occurs after PREDETERMINERS and
CENTRAL DETERMINERS. They include CARDINAL and ORDINAL
NUMERALS, e.g. my two cats.
See also

Postmodifier
A phrase or clause which follows and modifies the meaning of a Head, for
example
The book on the table
The man who sells fruit
fast enough

Postpositive Adjective
Postpositive adjectives occur after the nouns which they modify, for
example, the governor general.
See also

Predeterminer
A type of DETERMINER which generally specifies quantity in a NOUN. They
include ORDINAL NUMERALS such as twice, half, all,and both. They occur
before CENTRAL DETERMINERS and POSTDETERMINERS.
See also

Predicate
Everything that follows the Subject in a sentence is the Predicate of that
sentence. For example, in the sentence the farmer shot the rabbit, the
Predicate is shot the rabbit.
See also

Predicative Adjective
A predicative adjective heads an ADJECTIVE PHRASE which follows a
COPULAR VERB. E.g. He is clever.
See also

Predicator
This is a functional term for the Head of the Predicate of a sentence. In the
farmer shot the rabbit, the Predicate is shot the rabbit. The Head of this
constituent is shot, which functions as the Predicator.
See also

Premodifier
A phrase which precedes and modifies the meaning of a Head, for example,
in very fast the adverb phrase very premodifies fast .

Preposition
Prepositions are short words, including in, of, by, and with, that occur before a
noun phrase. Some prepositions consist of more than one word (along with,
out of, up to), and are known as COMPLEX PREPOSITIONS.
See also

Prepositional Complement
The phrase that follows a preposition within a prepositional phrase is called a
Prepositional Complement. This is usually a noun phrase. In the following
examples, the highlighted phrases are Prepositional Complements:
around the shops
through the streets
on the bed

Prepositional Object
This term may be used to refer to two things: (1) the Object of a prepositional
verb (I agree with your arguments) and (2) a PREPOSITIONAL
COMPLEMENT (in the cupboard)

Prepositional Verb
A prepositional verb is a MULTI-WORD VERB consisting of a VERB +
PREPOSITION. For example:
Shall we listen to this new CD?
I have to look after the kids.

See also

Prepositional Phrase
In general, a prepositional phrase is made up of a preposition (the Head)
followed by a noun phrase. For example, before two o'clock, from my
grandparents, past the hospital, across the bridge. They can take a
premodifier, eg. , just over the bridge.
See also

Present
A value for TENSE. It usually indicates that the action is occuring at the
present moment. It is denoted by the -s inflection on regular verbs in the 3rd
person singular.
See also

Primary Verbs
The AUXILIARY VERBS be, have and do are called primary verbs when they
act as MAIN VERBS. Examples: am a student, I have a car, I did my
homework.
See also

Progressive Aspect
Perfective aspect is grammatically encoded by the PROGRESSIVE
AUXILIARY be + -ING PARTICIPLE of a VERB are used. For
example, Marie is singing tonight. Sean was reading his paper. Progressive
aspect indicates that an action/situation is ongoing.
See also

Progressive Auxiliary (be)

The progressive auxiliary is AUXILIARY VERB be when combined with an -
ING PARTICIPLE to form the PROGRESSIVE ASPECT. It must be
distinguished from the PASSIVE AUXILIARY.
See also

Pronoun
Pronouns can occur in positions typically occupied by nouns:Ann/she went on
holiday to France. The doctor examined the children/them. This is a message
for Jane/her.

Pronouns have a CASE contrast with SUBJECTIVE and OBJECTIVE forms.

We distinguish the following types: PERSONAL, POSSESSIVE,
DEMONSTRATIVE, REFLEXIVE, RELATIVE, INTERROGATIVE,
INDEFINITE and RECIPROCAL. They are closed-class items.
See also

Proper Noun
A proper noun refers to a particular person or place (e.g. London, Justin).
Proper nouns begin with a capital letter and are not normally preceded by
DETERMINERS.
See also

Prop it
A special use of the PERSONAL PRONOUN it, also called DUMMY IT, in
expressions like: it is raining and hold it!
See also

Pseudo-Coordination
Another term for FALSE COORDINATION.

Quantifier
Quantifiers, or quantifying pronouns, include few/a few, little/a
little,many, most, several, enough.

Reason Clause
A type of subordinate clause, describing the reason why some action or event
holds true, e.g. John was an hour late, because he missed the train.
See also

Reciprocal Pronoun
The reciprocal pronouns in English are each other and one another.
See also

Reduced Relative Clause

This is a type of relative clause which lacks a relative adverb or pronoun. For
example, the book written by you and the man following us both contain
reduced relatives. The full relative equivalents are: the book which was written
by you, and the man who is following us. Unlike zero relative clauses, reduced
relatives contain nonfinite verbs.
See also
Reflexive Pronoun
A pronoun in the OBJECTIVE CASE followed by the -self ending, e.g. Bill
cut himself. We defended ourselves brilliantly. In these examples the
highlighted reflexive pronoun refers back to the SUBJECT of the sentence.
See also

Relative Adverb
When, where and why are a relative of ADVERBS. They can occur at the
beginning of a RELATIVE CLAUSE, as in the following sentence:. This is the
house where Diane was born.
See also

Relative Clause
A relative clause gives more information about a noun or modifies it, as in the
following example: The man who bought our house has just won the lottery.
Relative clauses contain relative adverbs or pronouns, which do not need to
be overt, for example in a ZERO RELATIVE CLAUSE or a REDUCED
RELATIVE CLAUSE.
See also

Relative Pronoun
Who, which, that and whom are relative pronouns. They occur at the
beginning of RELATIVE CLAUSES. For example, The cake that I've just
baked is too hot to eat.
See also

Result Clause
A subordinate clause which describes the result of some event, e.g. the
kitchen was flooded, so we had to eat out.

Semi-Auxiliary
A type of AUXILIARY VERB that is also a MULTI-WORD VERB:

I am about to leave
You have to sign the form
See also

Sentence
Sentences are strings of words that usually express a proposition. They
consist of at least one CLAUSE.
See also

Simple Preposition
A PREPOSITION that consists of a single word, eg. along the road.
See also

Simple Sentence
A simple sentence is a sentence which contains only one clause, e.g. John
plays football for Liverpool.
See also

Singular
A value of NUMBER CONTRAST used when a single entity is being referred
to. The converse of PLURAL.
See also

Small Clause
A small clause is a subordinate clause that contains no verb, as
in Itmade John happy.
See also

Stranded Preposition
PREPOSITIONS are usually followed by nouns. Stranded prepositions do not,
as in the following examples:

Carla has no one to go with

What are you listening to?

Subject
Subjects can often be described as the constituent that performs the action
described by the Predicate, e.g. John kicked the ball. The Predicate is kicked
the ball and John performs this action; so John is the Subject of this sentence.
See also

Subject Clause
A Subject clause is a Subject of a Predicate in the form of a clause. For
example, To leave now would be rude. The Subject of would be rude is the
clause to leave now. This is a type of subordinate clause.
See also

Subjective Case
The form which pronouns take when they function as Subject: he, she, it, we,
they are subjective personal pronouns.
See also

Subject Complement
A Subject Complement occurs with a copular verb. It provides additional
information about the Subject. For example, Alan is an artist. In this example
the noun phrase an artist is the Subject Complement and it provides more
information about Alan.

Subordinate
This term is the converse of superordinate. A clause that is lower on the
clause hierarchy than another is subordinate to that one. Every other clause is
subordinate to the matrix clause. One subordinate clause may be subordinate
to another, for example in [I think [that you know [I like coffee]]], I like coffee is
subordinate to that you know.
See also

Subordinate Clause
A subordinate clause occurs at a lower level than some other clause. For
example, in I'll clean the bathroom if you clean the lounge, the if-clause is
subordinate to the clause I'll clean the bathroom. Further subordinate clauses
we distinguish are: relative clauses, that-clauses, small clauses, -ed participle
clauses, -ing participle clauses,to-infinitive clauses, bare infinitive clauses, and
comparative clauses.
See also

Subordinating Conjunction
Subordinating conjunctions introduce SUBORDINATE CLAUSES. Examples
include: although, because, if , since, when, while, etc. Also known as a
SUBORDINATOR.
See also

Subordinator
Another term for SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION.
See also

Superlative
In the sentence The cheetah is the fastest animal, the ending -estmarks the
superlative form of the adjective fast. The cheetah is being compared with all
other animals and is being picked out for its ability to outrun all the others.
Both ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS can be made superlative. Some words do
not take the -est ending but require most as in the following example: She was
once described as the most beautiful woman in the world.
See also

Superordinate
The converse of SUBORDINATE. A clause higher in the clause hierarchy to
another one is superordinate to it. A matrix clause is superordinate to all other
clauses.
See also

Syndetic Coordination
This term refers to COORDINATION that has a single COORDINATOR
between the last two CONJOINS, as in John, Mary and Bill.

Tag Question
An interrogative string positioned at the end of a sentence, usually seeking
confirmation, e.g. It's cold, isn't it?
See also
Temporal Clause
A subordinate clause which expresses 'time when', e.g. I'll ring you
again, before I go.
See also

Tense
Tense refers to the grammatical encoding of an event or action in time.
English has two tenses, PRESENT and PAST.
See also

That-Clause
A subordinate clause beginning with the subordinating conjunction that. For
example, I think that you should leave.
See also

Time Adverb
A type of CIRCUMSTANTIAL ADVERB that specifies the time an action takes
place, for example, I will leave soon.
See also

To-Infinitive
The form of a verb preceded by the PARTICLE TO. For example, in the
sentence I want to see it, the string to see is a to-infinitive.
See also

To-Infinitive Clause
A clause containing a verb preceded by the PARTICLE TO. For example, in
the sentence I want John to see it, the string John to see it is a to-infinitive
clause.
See also

Transitive Verb
A transitive verb is a verb that takes one or more Complements.
See also
Tree Diagram
A visual representation of the syntactic structure of a sentence.

Verb
Verbs are traditionally described as 'doing' or 'action' words. Verbs are an
OPEN and MAJOR WORD CLASS and comprise two basic types: MAIN and
AUXILIARY VERBS. A verb can be the only unit in a clause e.g. Wait! Verbs
are marked for TENSE and show AGREEMENT with the SUBJECT.
See also

Verb Phrase
This is a phrase whose Head word is a verb.

Vocative
A vocative is a noun phrase which directly addresses someone. For
example, Bob, can I have a word? I need that book now, Sarah.

Voice
Voice refers to the ACTIVE/PASSIVE distinction. For example, Linda bought a
Porsche is active, whereas The Porsche was bought by Linda is its passive
counterpart.

Wh-Interrogative
An interrogative sentence or clause that begins with an interrogative
adverb or pronoun, e.g Who are you trying to phone?
See also

Wh- Question
A question which begins with a wh- word, for example, Who are you?

See also

Wh- Word
Another term for interrogative/relative adverbs and pronouns.
See also

Word Class
Nouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and verbs among others
are different types or classes of words. They are also known as
'Parts of Speech'. Word classes contain words which share
properties.

Yes/No Interrogative
An interrogative sentence or clause that can be answered by 'yes' or 'no'. For
example, Would you like a drink?
See also

Zero Relative Clause

A relative clause from which the relative pronoun has been ellipted, for
example: This is the car I want (compare: This is the car that I want)

Zero That-Clause
A that-clause from which the subordinator that has been ellipted, for
example He said he'd be a bit late (compare: He said that he'd be a bit late)