Grammar Terminology (0)

Grammatical Terminology 11
PRACTICAL ENGLISH GRAMMAR
FLGR.01.042
Grammatical Terminology
analytic analüütiline (= uninflected - grammar is focused in the sentence , e.g. English)
synthetic sünteetiline (= inflected - grammar is focused in the word, e.g. Estonian, Latin , Russian, Old English)
ending lõpp (käände- ja pöördelõpud)
marker tunnus (mitmuse, oleviku , lihtmineviku, tingiva kõneviisi, käskiva kõneviisi, kaudse kõneviisi, umbisikulise tegumoe, ma-tegevusnime, oleviku kesksõna , mineviku kesksõna)
derivational affix liide, tuletusliide , tuletusafiks (e.g. postwar, anti-American, wiser, greenish)
parts of speech sõnaliigid
English
Estonian
Definition
Example
noun ( proper , common, concrete, abstract )
nimisõna , substantiiv
Refers to words which denote classes and categories of things in the world, including people, animals , inanimate things, places, events , qualities , and states . Nouns can be divided into proper nouns and common nouns. Proper nouns give names to people and things (Tony Blair , Greece). Nouns which are not proper nouns are common nouns (table, boy, heat ). Concrete nouns refer to physical entities that can be observed and measured (cat, garage , soldier). Abstract nouns refer to abstractions that cannot be observed and measured (competition, conscience).
book, water, sincerity, Mary , Estonia
verb
tegusõna , pöördsõna, verb
In a clause , the verb is an obligatory and the most central element. It denotes actions , events, processes and states. Verbs are either regular (cough, coughs, coughing, coughed) or irregular (speak, speaks, spoke, speaking, spoken). There are three main grammatical classes of verb: lexical ( walk , put, love), auxiliary (do, be, have) and modal (can, must, will). Lexical and auxiliary verbs indicate contrasts of tense , person and number.
walk, put, do, be, must
adjective
omadussõna , adjektiiv
Describes the qualities, features or states attributed to a noun or pronoun .
a nice room, a happy girl, the blue sky
adverb
määrsõna , adverb
Indicates the time, place, manner , degree, frequency , duration, viewpoint, etc. of an event, action or process . It is mostly realised by the -ly suffix added to an adjective.
beautifully, angrily, now, yesterday , never
numeral
arvsõna , numeraal
one, ninety-eight, tenth
pronoun
asesõna , pronoomen
An item used to substitute for the reference to entities which lexical noun phrases indicate. The main sub-classification include personal (he, you), possessive (his, yours ), reflexive ( himself , yourselves), reciprocal (each other , one another ), relative (who, which, that), interrogative (who, what, which), demonstrative (this, that, those), and indefinite (some, none ).
They are in the kitchen .
Your boxes of photos have been delivered. Mine will arrive tomorrow .
preposition
eessõna , prepositsioon
Class of word used to express relationships between two events, things or people in terms of time, space , and other abstract relations . Prepositions can occur as single words (at, by) or in pairs (out of, next to).
at 2 o'clock, to the school
on, at, under, before , during
postposition
tagasõna , postpositsioon
adposition
kaassõna, suhtesõna, adpositsioon
conjunction, connector
sidesõna , konjunktsioon
Refers to items used to mark logical relationships between words, phrases, clauses and sentences . There are two types of conjunctions : coordinating and subordinating. Coordinating conjunctions (coordinators; and, but, or) join linguistic units with equal grammatical status . Subordinating conjunctions (subordinators; although , after, as, because, before, since , when) indicate the semantic relationship between a subordinate clause and a main clause.
Mary felt ill and could not go to school.
He failed the exam (main) although he worked hard . (subordinate)
interjection
hüüdsõna, interjektsioon
A term for exclamatory words or expressive vocalisations used to express emotional reactions such as surprise, shock , delight (Oh! Ouch! Oops! Wow!).
Gosh! That's quick.
article
artikkel
Articles are used with nouns. There are three forms of the article in English: the indefinite article (a/an), the definite article (the), the zero article.
a/an, the
definite article
määrav artikkel
Refers to determiner the which is used with a noun to define and specify entities projected as known to speaker/writer, listener/reader. (cf. Indefinite article a/an)
The university is closed today .
I'll try to put you through to the right department .
indefinite article
umbmäärane artikkel
Refers to the determiner a/an that is used to express an indefinite meaning .
Give me a pen, please .
zero article
nullartikkel
Refers to the use of no article or other determiner before a noun.
I like coffee.
Phrase fraas
A word or group of words which form grammatical units such as noun phrase, verb phrase or adjective phrase. Phrases are the constituents of clauses.
adjective phrase
adjektiivifraas, omadussõnafraas
A phrase with an adjective functioning as the head. An adjective phrase can have an attributive function (used before a noun), or a predicative function (used after a verb).
AdjP: Are you willing to volunteer? Attributive funct.: It has a smooth texture.
Predicative funct.: The film was very strange .
adverb phrase
adverbifraas, määrsõnafraas
A phrase with an adverb functioning as the head. Adverb phrases can modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs and whole clauses.
The lecturer spoke very clearly .
noun phrase
nimisõnafraas, substantiivfraas
Has a noun or pronoun as its head. NPs can act as the subject (S), object (O) or predicative complement (C) of a clause.
My father (S) used to play the piano (O).
You are a good friend (C).
prepositional phrase
eessõnafraas
A phrase with a preposition as the head followed by a complement.
I'll come with you.
verb phrase
verbifraas
A phrase with a lexical verb as its head. A verb phrase introduces the predicate part of a clause, indicates the clause type, and shows contrasts in tense, aspect, voice and mood.
We should have phoned you.
Parts of the sentence lauseliikmed
English
Estonian
Definition
Example
subject
alus, subjekt
Identifies the doer or agent of an action, a state or an event, in the form of either a noun phrase or a nominal clause. It usually precedes the verb in a declarative clause and determines the person and number of the verb.
A dog ate my homework yesterday.
My mother work s there.
predicate
öeldis , predikaat
The part of a clause which elaborates what the subject is, does or experiences. It consists of the verb and its object or complement (verb + predicative; all of a sentence except the subject).
A dog ate my homework yesterday.
Susan (subject) won the race (predicate).
predicative
öeldistäide, predikatiiv
Predicative refers to the clause element that occurs in the predicate, i.e. the word or phrase following the verb.
The old lady is very nice.
attributive
atributiivne, täiend -
Refers to the role of an adjective phrase as a modifier before a noun. The attributive function is in contrast with the predicative function. An adjective is predicative or is used predicatively when it comes directly after be, seem , look etc.
Attributive funct.: She had a huge suitcase.
Predicative funct.: Her suitcase was huge.
object
sihitis, objekt
Refers to a clause element that follows the verb, and includes both direct and indirect objects. Objects indicate the direct and indirect recipients of actions. Objects are made up of noun phrases.
A dog ate my homework yesterday.
Joe gave me (IO) a present (DO).
direct object
otsesihitis
Refers to the noun phrase indicating the entity directly affected by an action. (cf. Indirect object)
I (S) cut (V) my finger (O).
indirect object
kaudsihitis
Refers to the indirect recipient or beneficiary of an action which has a direct recipient. An indirect object (IO) always co-occurs with a direct object (DO).
The teacher (S) gave (V) the pupils (IO) some homework (DO).
adverbial, adverbial modifier
määrus, adverbiaal
Any word, phrase or clause that functions like an adverb (refers to e.g. manner, place, time).
A dog quickly ate my homework in the living room yesterday.
apposition
lisand , apositsioon
A relationship between two linguistic elements (usually noun phrases) which have identical reference.
My boss , the woman in green, used to work in Beijing.
(my boss = the woman in green)
complement
komplement
A word or phrase that gives more information about the subject (after be, seem and some other verbs), or, in some structures , about the object. Complementation is the process of completing the meaning of an item. For example, the complementation requirement for the verb put is that it must normally include an object and a phrase indicating location.
You’re the right person to help.
She looks very kind.
The claim that he was innocently involved was not accepted by the judge.
She put the book (O) on the shelf ( prep phrase).
English
Estonian
Definition
Example
abstract noun
abstraktsõna
Refers to a quality or a concept which is not concrete. Abstract nouns can have countable and uncountable uses.
friendship, hope , education
acronym
akronüüm
A type of abbreviation where the initial letters of two or more words are combined to produce consonant and vowel sequences that can be pronounced as words.
RAM: random access memory;
NATO : North Atlantic Treaty Organisation; AIDS
active voice
aktiiv
The terms active voice and passive voice refer to the form of a verb. Active voice is the most common and unmarked form of voice. The grammatical subject and the agent/doer of the action are one and the same .
The thief had stolen all my money .
adjunct
An optional element in a clause which modifies, comments on or expands the circumstances of an action or event in terms of such entities as time, place, manner, degree, intensity, reason, frequency. An adjunct can be realised by an adverb phrase, a prepositional phrase, a noun phrase or adverbial clause.
In the summer (prep phrase) we very often (adv phrase) make our own ice cream .
affix
afiks
A syllable or group of syllables which are added to the beginning or end of a word to make a new word. Affixes added to the beginning of a word are prefixes . Affixes added to the end of a word are suffixes.
unwork able un- prefix , -able suffix
auxiliary
abitegusõna
Refers to a closed set of verbs (be, do, have) that are usually followed by a lexical verb. They typically help to denote grammatical contrasts of aspect, voice, polarity and clause type.
He was working over there.
Have you been home?
case
kääne
A grammatical category that marks the function of a noun or pronoun, for example as subject (the nominative case), object (accusative case) or genitive (possessive).
nominative case: the boy, he, I accusative case: him, me
genitive: the boy's, his, mine
clause
klaus
A grammatical construction that expresses the relationship between processes, participants and circumstances in actions, states or events. Clauses are constituents of sentences. Most typically a clause consists of a subject (S), a verb (V), and any other required elements such as an object (O), a predicative complement (C), or an adjunct (A). The basic types of clause are declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamative.
She (S) is (V) a friend of mine (C).
I (S) will post (V) the letter (O) today (A).
collective noun
kollektiivsõna
A type of noun referring to a group of people, animals or things.
family, gang, committee , crowd, cattle, fleet
collocation
kollokatsioon
Refers to how lexical words co-occur regularly and in a restricted way.
perform a play ( typical collocation), perform a meeting (untypical collocation)
compound noun
liitnimisõna, liitsubstantiiv
Compounding is a word-formation process which refers to two or more words linking together to produce a form which creates a new, single unit of meaning. Compounds are found in all word-classes.
Nouns: pop-group, car park
Adjectives: heartbreaking, homesick Verbs: babysit, dry- clean
Prepositions: into, onto
concrete noun
konkreetsõna
A noun which refers to people and things that have physical existence is concrete. Concrete nouns can have countable and uncountable uses.
a girl, an army , rice, cotton
conjugate
pöörama
konjugeerima
count (or countable)
loendatav
A grammatical distinction of nouns that refers to objects, people, animals and abstract entities that are treated as easily counted. (cf. Non-count or non-countable nouns)
a cat, two cats
decline
käänama
demonstrative (pronoun)
demonstratiiv-pronoomen, näitav asesõna
Grammatical term for the items this, that, these, those. The demonstrative specifies whether the referent is close or distant in relation to the speaker.
Shall I put that into this box over here ?
derivation
derivatsioon , tuletus
A main process of word formation by which one word is formed ('derived') from another, most commonly by adding affixes to base forms. This brings about a change of meaning and/or grammatical class.
mid night , unfortunate, redo, hopeless
determiner
määratleja
Item which indicates the kind of reference a noun phrase has. Determiners include words like a, the, some, my, his, each, those, which, several which express a range of meanings including definite/indefinite, possessive, demonstrative, quantifier, and numeral.
Definite/indefinite: the dining room, a ruler
Possessive: my study , their children Demonstrative: this box, that man Quantifier: some milk , every citizen Numeral: two soldiers , the second birth
finite
tegusõna pöördeline vorm, finite
A finite clause contains a verb which signals a choice of tense (a tensed verb). It typically has a subject, and can be a main or subordinate clause. (cf. Non-finite)
He lives on his own. (present tense)
gender
sugu
A grammatical distinction in which words are marked for masculine, feminine or neuter. Only pronouns and possessive determiners are marked grammatically for gender in English. However , gender is occasionally distinguished in nouns for male or female people or animals.
he, him, she, it, his, her
She's a famous actress, isn't she?
He's a famous actor.
genitive
genitiiv , omastav kääne
A case that denotes a possessive relationship with another noun phrase in a sentence. It is realised by of-phrase or by adding 's to singular nouns and s' for plural nouns.
the headteacher of the school
Lily's toys , the woman's husband
the girls' room
head, headword
peasõna, tuum
Refers to the central element of a phrase. The accompanying constituents in the phrase have a grammatical relationship with the head.
new home for the children(noun head)
in the country (prepositional head)
very nice (adjective head)
rather slowly (adverb head)
indefinite pronoun
umbmäärane asesõna, indefiniitpronoomen
A pronoun that expresses a non- specific or non-definite meaning ( someone , anybody, everything, many, one, more, all)
infinitive
infinitiiv, tegevusnimi
The non-tensed form of a verb that usually combines with to. It can also occur without to (also known as the 'bare infinitive').
It's time for me to order now.
I may see you tomorrow.
inflection
sõnamuutmine , flektsioon
A process of word formation in which items are added to the base form of a word to express grammatical meanings. For example: the -s on dogs indicates plural; the -est on cleverest indicates the superlative form.
interjection
hüüdsõna, interjektsioon
A term for exclamatory words or expressive vocalisations used to express emotional reactions such as surprise, shock, delight (Oh! Ouch! Oops! Wow!).
Gosh! That's quick.
intransitive
intransitiivne, sihitu
Refers to the use of verbs without any other items being necessary to complete their meaning, e.g. verbs such as appear, begin , die, go, laugh, rain, happen
The old man died.
modification
laiendama, laiend
A term used to refer to the structural dependence of one grammatical unit on another in which the meaning of the head phrase is affected by words that are used to indicate qualities and attributes of the head. For example, in the noun phrase those big boxes in the garage, both big and in the garage modify boxes, performing premodification and postmodification respectively.
those big boxes in the garage
premodific. postmodification
morpheme
morfeem
The smallest unit of meaning in a word. Some words consist of just one morpheme (help), some consist of several (unhelpful, consists of three morphemes: the base form help, the prefix un-, and the suffix -ful).
un-help-ful
non-count (uncountable)
loendamatu
A grammatical distinction of nouns which denote things that are treated as indivisible wholes, for instance , materials and liquids, states of mind, conditions, topics, processes and substances (water, cheese , information, sand , love). With non-count nouns there is no contrast in number between singular and plural.
They gave us some information.
non-finite
tegusõna käändeline vorm, infinite
Non-finite clauses contain a verb which does not indicate tense. Cf. Finite
We queued up early so as to get a good seat (infinitive)
You should read the parts highlighted in yellow (-ed participle)
Coming round the corner , we spotted the old house (-ing form)
number
arv
A grammatical distinction which contrasts singular and plural in nouns (story- stories ), pronouns (I-we), determiners (this-these) and verbs (he works hard-they work hard).
participle
kesksõna, partitsiip
The non-tensed forms of verbs ending in –ing and -ed. In irregular verbs, the -ed participles display variant forms.
working, worked, burning , burnt
partitive
osatarind
A quantifying expression used before a non-count noun to specify the units, parts and collections of things.
a pair of glasses, a piece of paper , a bunch of roses,
parts of speech
sõnaliigid
Another term for word class, referring to the linguistic units that realise sentence elements.
passive voice
passiiv
Formed with subject + be + -ed participle, followed by an optional by-phrase. The recipient of the action is the grammatical subject; the by-phrase indicates the agent/doer. A passive construction gives less prominence to the agent.
All my money had been stolen (by the thief).
person
pööre
A grammatical category which indicates the choice of personal reference and number. Three kinds of contrast exist : first person (I, we), second person (you), and third person (he, she, it, they).
plural
mitmus
A grammatical category in number that refers to more than one, in the case of nouns (tables), verbs (they come), pronouns (we, they).
possessive (pronoun)
omastav asesõna, possessiivpronoomen
A word or part of a word that describes possession: possessive determiner (my, your, his, her, its, our, their), possessive pronoun (mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs), genitive (men's jacket), the of construction (the regulations of the university)
postmodification, postmodifier
järellaiend
A term used to refer to the modification which occurs after the head word in a phrase.
The children, who are playing in the playground, live down the street .
premodification, premodifier
eeslaiend
A term used to refer to the modification which occurs before the head word in a phrase.
a different bus, rather good, very quickly
quantifier
kvantor , hulgasõna
A word or phrase used before a noun to express a positive or negative contrast in quantity.
all, both, some, many, several, a lot of, plenty of, a bottle of
sentence
lause
The largest independent unit of grammar. It consists of at least one main clause. Sentences are composed of clauses.
singular
ainsus
The most common form of nouns, verbs, pronouns, etc. It denotes only one in number. Singular contrasts with plural.
subject
alus, subjekt
Identifies the doer or agent of an action, a state or an event, in the form of either a noun phrase or a nominal clause. It usually precedes the verb in a declarative clause and determines the person and number of the verb.
My mother works there.
tense
grammatiline aeg, tempus
A grammatical category to indicate the relationship between the form of the verb and the time reference of an event or action. English has two tenses , present and past.
transitive verb
transitiivne verb, sihiline tegusõna
The use of a verb with one or two objects to complete its meaning when used in the active voice. Verbs such as ask, bring, get, give, are typically used transitively.
I love carrots. My mother gives me pocket money.
word
sõna
The basic linguistic unit which relates the grammar of a language to its vocabulary . Words can be categorised into lexical and grammatical words. Lexical words belong to open systems, where new words are frequently added. Grammatical words (e.g. determiners, conjunctions, prepositions) belong to closed systems, with new items only rarely being formed.
word order
sõnajärg
The sequential arrangement of words in a sentence, for example, subject - verb - object word order in declarative clauses. A change in the word order normally indicates a change in function.
Babies (S) like (V) milk (O).
Sources
Alexander , L.G. 1992. Longman Advanced Grammar. Reference and Practice . Longman.
Carter , R. and M. McCarthy. 2006. Cambridge Grammar of English: a Comprehensive Guide . Spoken and Written English Grammar and Usage . Cambridge, NY etc: Cambridge University Press.
Erelt , M., Erelt, T. and E. Veldi . 2003. Eesti-inglise keeleteaduse sõnastik. Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus.