LANGUAGE TERMINOLOGY

[1] ADJUNCT
Adverbials may be classified as adjuncts, conjuncts, or disjuncts.
An adjunct is part of the basic structure of the clause or sentence in which
it occurs, and modifies the verb. Adverbs of time, place, frequency, degree, and
manner, are examples of adjuncts.
He died in England.
I have almost finished.
Conjuncts are not part of the basic structure of a clause or sentence. They
show how what is said in the sentence containing the conjunct connects with
what is said in another sentence or sentences.
Altogether, it was a happy week.
However, the weather was not good.
Disjuncts (also called sentential adverbs) are adverbs which show the
speakers attitude to or evaluation of what is said in the rest of the sentence.
Naturally, I paid for my own meal.
I had to pay for my own meal, unfortunately.
[2] ADVERBIAL (Adv) = any word, phrase, or clause that functions like an
adverb. An adverb is a single-word adverbial.
[3] ADVERBIAL CLAUSE (Adv Cl) = a clause which functions as an adverb.
For example:
When I arrived I went straight to my room. (adverbial clause of time)
Wherever we looked there was dust. (adverbial clause of place)
We painted the walls yellow to brighten the room. (adverbial clause of
purpose)

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[4] ADVERBIAL PHRASE (AdvP) = a phrase that functions as an adverb.

For example:
After dinner, we went to the movies.
[5] APPOSITION, APPOSITIVE = When two words, phrases, or clauses in a
sentence have the same reference, they are said to be in apposition.
For example, in the sentence:
My sister, Helen Wilson, will travel with me.
My sister and Helen Wilson refer to the same person, and are aclled
appositives.
The sentence can be rewritten with either of the two appositives missing,
and still make sense:
My sister will travel with me.
Helen Wilson will travel with me.
[6] CLAUSE (Cl) = a group of words which form a grammatical unit and which
contains a subject and a finite verb. A clause forms a sentence or part of a
sentence and often functions as a noun, adjective or adverb.
For example:
I hurried home.
Because I was late, they went without me.
[7] COMPLEMENT (C), COMPLEMENTATION = (in grammar) that part of
the sentence which follows the verb and which thus completes the sentence. The
commonest complements are:
a.

Subject Complement (SC): the complement linked to a subject by be or a

linking verb:
She is a doctor.
b. Object Complement (OC): the complement linked to an object:
We made her the chairperson.

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c. Adjective Complement (AC): the complement linked to an adjective:

I am glad that you can come.
d. Prepositional Complement (PC): the complement linked to a preposition:
They argued about what to do.
While Adjuncts are optional parts of sentences, complements are often
obligatory parts of the sentences in which they occur.
[8] COMPLEMENT (ARY) CLAUSE (CCL) = a clause which functions as a
complement. For example:
The question is why you did it.
[9] COMPLEX SENTENCE = a sentence which contains one or more
dependent clauses, in addition to its independent, or main, clause. For example:
When it rained, we went inside.
(dep cl)

(ind cl)

[10] COMPOUND SENTENCE = a sentence which contains two or more

independent clauses which are joined by co-ordination. For example:
He is a small boy but he is very strong.
(ind cl)

(ind cl)

Ill either phone you or I will send you a note.

[11] COMPOUND SUBJECT = a subject which consists of two or more
elements joined by and and normally taking a plural verb. For example:
Beer and wine do not mix.
[12] CONSTITUENT = a linguistic unit, (usually in sentence analysis) which is
part of a larger construction.

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[13] CONSTITUENT STRUCTURE = the arrangement of linguistic units

(Constituents) in a phrase, clause, sentence, etc., in order to show their
relationship to one another. A constituent structure can be represented in various
ways. A popular way is to use a tree diagram.
For example, the constituent structure of the sentence The penguin
swallowed the fish can be shown as:
Sentence
NP
Determiner

The

VP
Noun

Verb

penguin

swallowed

NP
Det

the

fish

[14] DETERMINER (Det) = a word which is used with a noun, and which
limits the meaning of the noun in some way. For example, in English the
following words can be used as determiners:
a. ARTICLES, e.g. a pencil, the garden
b. DEMONSTRATIVES, e.g. this box, that car
c. POSSESSIVES, e.g. her house, my bicycle
d. QUANTIFIERS, e.g. some milk, many people
e. NUMERALS, e.g. the first day, three chairs.
[15] EXISTENTIAL = (in linguistics) describes a particular type of sentence
structure which often expresses the existence or location of persons, animals,
things, or ideas.
In English, a common existential sentence structure is:

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There + a form of the verb be

For example:
There are four bedrooms in this house.
Another frequently used existential structure uses the verb to have.
For example:
This house has four bedrooms.
[16] EXTRAPOSITION = the process of moving a word, phrase, or clause to a
position in a sentence which is different from the position it usually has.
For example, the subject of some sentences can be moved to the end of the
sentence:
a. Trying to get tickets was difficult.
b. It was difficult trying to get tickets.
In sentence b. It is called anticipatory subject, and trying to get tickets is
called postponed subject.
[17] HEAD = the central part of a phrase. Other elements in the phrase are in
some grammatical or semantic relationship to the head. For example, in the
English NP: the fat lady in the floral dress the noun lady is the head of the
phrase.
[18] IMPERSONAL CONSTRUCTION (SUBJECT) = a type of sentence in
which there is no mention of who or what does or experiences something.
For example: Its cold; Its raining.
[19] LOGICAL SUBJECT = a NP which describes, typically, the performer of
the action. Some linguists make a distinction between the grammatical subject
and the logical subject.
For example, in the passive sentence:
The cake was eaten by Vera.

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the cake is the grammatical subject but Vera is the logical subject as she is
the performer of the action. In:
Vera ate the cake.
Vera would be both the grammatical and the logical subject.
[20] MODIFIER, MODIFICATION, MODIFY = a word or group of words
which gives further information about (modifies) another word or group of
words (the Head).
Modification may occur in a NP, a VP, an AP, etc.
a. Modifiers before the head are called premodifiers, for example expensive in
this expensive camera.
b. Modifiers after the head are called postmodifiers, for example with a stumpy
tail in The cat with a stumpy tail.
[21] NOMINAL is
1. a term used instead of a Noun.
2. a term for a linguistic unit which has some but not all characteristics of a
noun, e.g. wounded in The wounded were taken by helicopter to the hospital.
Although wounded is the Head of the noun phrase the wounded and is
preceded by an article, it would not be modified by an adjective but by an
adverb, e.g. the seriously wounded.
[22] NOUN PHRASE (NP) = (in Structuralist Linguistics, Transformational
Generative Grammar and related grammatical theories) a group of words with
a noun or pronoun as the main part (the Head).
The NP may consist of only one word (for example Gina in Gina arrived
yesterday) or it may be long and complex (for example, all the words before must
in: The students who enrolled late and who have not yet filled in their cards must
do so by Friday).

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[23] NOMINAL CLAUSE (also NOUN CLAUSE) = a clause which functions

like a noun or noun phrase; that is, which may occur as subject, object
complement, in apposition, or as prepositional complement.
For example:
Nominal clause as subject: What she said is awful.
Nominal clause as object: I dont know what she said
[24] NOMINALIZATION = the grammatical process of forming nouns from
other parts of speech, usually verbs or adjectives. For example, in English:
nominalized forms from the verb to write: writing, writer as in: His writing is
illegible. Her mother is a writer.
[25] NOTIONAL GRAMMAR = a grammar which is based on the belief that
there are categories such as tense, mood, gender, number, and case which are
available to all languages although not all languages make full use of them. For
example, a case system is found in German, Latin, and Russian, but not in
modern English.
Traditional Grammar was often notional in its approach and sometimes
attempted to apply some categories to a language without first investigating
whether they were useful and appropriate for describing that language.
[26] NOUN PHRASE (NP) = (in some Traditional Grammars) a participial
(see Participles) or Infinitive phrase which could be replaced by a noun or
pronoun.
For example, the participial phrase mowing the lawn in:
George just hates mowing the lawn.
Could be replaced by it:
George just hates it.

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[27] OBJECT (O) = the noun, noun phrase or clause, or pronoun in sentences
with transitive verbs, which is traditionally described as being affected by the
action of the verb. The object of a verb can be affected by the verb either directly
or indirectly.
If it is affected directly, it may be called the Direct Object (DO). In
English, the direct object of a verb may be:
a. created by the action of the verb, as in:
Terry baked a cake.
b. changed in some way by the action of the verb, as in:
Terry baked a potato.
c. perceived by the Subject of the verb, as in:
Terry saw the cake.
d. evaluated by the subject of the verb, as in:
Terry liked the cake.
e. obtained or possessed by the subject of the verb, as in:
Terry bought the cake.
If the object of a verb is affected by the verb indirectly, it is usually called the
Indirect Object (IO). In English, the indirect object may be:
a. the receiver of the direct object, as in:
Terry gave me the cake. (= Terry gave the cake to me)
b. the beneficiary of the action of the verb, as in:
Terry baked me the cake. (= Terry baked the cake for me)
In English, direct objects and many indirect objects can become subjects
when sentences in the active voice are changed to the passive voice:
The cake was given (to) me.
I was given the cake.
[28] PREDICATE = that part of a sentence which states or asserts something
about the subject and usually consists of a verb either with or without an object,
complement, or adverb. For example:

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Joan is tired.
The children saw the play.
The sun rose.
Adjectives, nouns, etc. which occur in the predicate are said to be used
predicatively. For example:
Her behaviour was friendly. (predicative adjective)
These books are dictionaries. (predicative noun)
[29] QUALIFIER (Qual), QUALIFY =

(in Traditional Grammar) any

linguistic unit (e.g. an adjective, a phrase, or a clause) that is part of a Noun

Phrase and gives added information about the noun.
For example, her, expensive, and from Paris are qualifiers in the NP: her
expensive blouse from Paris.
= (in Hallidays Functional Grammar) any
linguistic unit that is part of a group, gives added information about the Head of
the group, and follows the head.
For example, from Paris is a qualifier in the noun group her expensive
blouse from Paris.
[30] QUANTIFIER = a word or phrase which is used with a noun, and which
shows quantity. Some quantifiers in English are: many, few, little, several, much,
a lot of, plenty of, a piece of, a loaf of, three kilograms of, etc.
[31] SIMPLE SENTENCE = a sentence which contains only one predicate.
For example:
I like milk.
(pred)

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[32] SUBJECT = (in English grammar), generally is the noun, pronoun, or

Noun Phrase (NP) which:
a. typically precedes the main verb in a sentence and is most closely
related to it.
b. determines Concord
c. refers to something about which a statement or assertion is made in the
rest of the sentence.
That part of the sentence containing the VERB or Verb Group and which
may include Objects, Complements, or Adverbials) is known as the Predicate.
The predicate is that part of the sentence which predicates something of the
subject. For example:
Subject

Predicate

The woman

smiled.

Fish

is good for you.

[33] TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR = a grammar which is usually based on

earlier grammars of Latin or Greek and applied to some other language, often
inappropriately. For example, some grammarians stated that English had six
Cases because Latin had six cases. These grammars were often notional and
prescriptive in their approach (see

Notional Grammar, Prescriptive

Grammar). Although there has been a trend towards using grammars which
incorporate more modern approaches to language description and language
teaching, some schools still use traditional grammars.
[34] VERB PHRASE (VP) = (in Transformational Generative Grammar) the
part of a Sentence which contains the main verb and also any Object (s),
Complement (s), and Adverbial (s):
For example, in:
Tom gave a watch to his daughter.
All the sentence except Tom is the verb phrase.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY -Part I

[1] Banta, A. 1996. Descriptive English Syntax. Institutul European Iai:

Editura Didactic.
[2] Budai, Laszlo.

1999. Gramatica englez. Teorie i exerciii. Bucureti:

Teora.
[3] Grady, William O. 1996. Contemporary Linguistics. An Introducation.
London and New York: Longman.
[4] Haegeman, L. 1993. Introduction to Government and Binding Theory.
Blackwell Publishers: Cambridge.
[5] Jacobs, R. 1995. English Syntax. A Grammar for English Language
Professionals. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[6] Quirk, R. 1990. A Grammar of Contemporary English. Longman Group
Ltd: William Clowes & Sons Ltd. Beccles & London.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Part II

[1] Banta, A. (1996). Descriptive English Syntax. Institutul European Iai:

Editura Didactic.
[2] Broughton, G. (1990). The Penguin English Grammar A Z for Advanced
Students. London: Penguin.
[3] Budai, Laszlo. (1999). Gramatica englez. Teorie i exerciii. Bucureti:
Teora.
[4] Capot, T. (2000). Dicionar explicativ de termeni gramaticali. Cluj
Napoca: Dacia.
[5] ------------. (1992). Collins Cobuild English Usage. Birmingham: Harper
Collins.
[6] Haegeman, L. (1993). Introduction to Government and Binding Theory.
Blackwell Publishers: Cambridge.
[7] Jacobs, R. (1995). English Syntax. A Grammar for English Language
Professionals.
[8] Lctuu, T. (2000). Essentials of English Syntax. Complex Structures.
Iai: Demiurg.
[9] Popa, E. (1997). Elemente de sintax englez. The Simple Sentence. Cluj:
Presa Universitar Clujean.
[10] Quirk, R. (1990). A Grammar of Contemporary English. Longman Group
Ltd.: William Clowes Sons ltd. Beccles London.

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CONTENTS - Part I
Linguistics definition
Branches of Linguistics: Phonetics
Phonology
Morphology
Syntax
Semantics
Syntax Definition
Rules of Sentence Formation:
Syntactic Categories
Phrase Structure Rules: NP, VP, AP, PP, AdvP.
Transformations
D-Structures: Constituents; Special Tests: Substitution
Movement
Co-ordination
The Head of a Phrase

Specifiers of:

Nouns (determiners)
Verbs (qualifiers)
Adjectives (degree words)
Adverbs (degree words)
Adverbs (degree words)
Complements. Complement options
Phrase Structure Template:
Specifiers + Head + Complements.

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The Sentence. The Sentence Rule: NP + Infl + VP.

Complemetizers (C)
Complementizer Phrase (CP)
Complement Clauses
S-Structures: Transformations

Inversion ; Do Insertion
Wh-Movement

Rules of Tranformation
Trace element
Ambiguous Sentences
Other Structural Patterns: Co-ordinate Structures
Modifier Structures
Relative Structures
Passive Structures; thematic roles: agent,
theme, source, goal, location.
Annex: Complement Options
Exercises
Language Terminology
Bibliography

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CONTENTS Part II
Phrases. Clauses. Sentences
Phrases (P)
Clauses Cl)
Sentence (S)
The Simple Sentence
The Subject and Predicate Groups
A. The Subject Group (The Noun Phrase: NP)
The Noun Clause
The NP
Determiners
Modifiers
The Subject
B. The Predicate Group (The Verb Phrase: VP)
The operator. The predication
Classification of Predicates
Kinds of predicates
The Predicative Clause
The Object (O). The Object Clause (OCl)
The Direct Object (DO)
The Indirect Object (IO)
The Prepositional Indirect Object (PIO)
The Prepositional Object (PO)
Complements (C). Complement Clauses (CCl)
The Subject Complement (SC)

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 The Object Complement (OC)

Adverbial Modifiers (AdvM). Adverbial Clauses (AdvCl)
Types of Adverbial Clauses
Abbreviated Adverbial Clauses
The Verbal Phrase (GP / PP / IP)
The Prepositional Phrase (PP)
The Adjective Phrase (AP). The Relative Clause (ACl)
Restrictive / Non-restrictive Relative Clauses
Syntax Exercises
Key to Syntax Exercises
Language Terminology
Bibliography

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