Collins Cobuild English Grammar (5 page)

performer
the person or thing that is responsible for the action expressed by the verb; e.g.
Mark
phoned … Our dinner was eaten by
the dog
.

person
a term used to refer to the three classes of people who are involved in something that is said. They are the first person (the person speaking or writing), the second person (the person being addressed), and the third person (the people or things that are being talked about).

personal pronoun
one of a group of pronouns including
I
,
you
, and
me
which are used to refer back to the people or things you are talking about.

phrasal verb
a combination of a verb and an adverb and/or a preposition, which have a single meaning; e.g.
back down
,
hand over
,
look after
,
look forward to
.

phrase
a set of words that is smaller than a clause, and that is based around a particular word class: for example, a verb phrase is based around a main verb, and can also contain auxiliary verbs. See also
noun phrase
,
verb phrase
and
prepositional phrase
.
Phrase
is also sometimes used to refer to any group of words.

plural
the form used to refer to more than one person or thing; e.g.
dogs
,
women
.

plural noun
a noun that is only used in the plural form; e.g.
trousers
,
scissors
,
vermin
.

possessive
a structure used to show possession; e.g.
your
,
Jerry’s
,
mine
.

possessive determiner
a determiner such as
my
,
your
, and
their
. Also called
possessive adjective
.

possessive pronoun
one of the words
mine
,
yours
,
hers
,
his
,
ours
, and
theirs
.

postdeterminer
a small group of adjectives used after a determiner and in front of other adjectives; e.g.
certain
,
remaining
.

predeterminer
a word that comes in front of a determiner; e.g.
all
the boys
…
double
the
trouble
…
such
a mess
.

predicative
used for describing the position of adjectives when they are used after a linking verb such as ‘be’. Compare with
attributive
.

preposition
a word such as
by
,
with
or
from
, which is usually followed by a noun phrase or an
-ing
form.

prepositional phrase
a structure consisting of a preposition and its object; e.g.
on the table
,
by the sea
.

present participle
another name for
-ing
participle
.

present progressive
the use of the present simple of ‘be’ with an
-ing
participle to refer to present events; e.g.
Things
are improving
. Also called
present continuous
.

present perfect
the use of the present simple of
have
with an
-ed
participle to refer to past events that exist in the present; e.g.
She
has loved
him for ten years
.

present perfect progressive
the use of
have been
and
has been
with an
-ing
participle to refer to past events that exist in the present; e.g.
We
have been sitting
here for hours
. Also called
present perfect continuous
.

present simple
the use of the base form or the
s
form of a verb, usually to refer to present events; e.g.
I
like
bananas… My sister
hates
them
.

present tense
a tense used to describe events taking place in the present, or situations that exist in the present.

progressive
a verb form that contains a form of the verb ‘be’ and an
-ing
participle; e.g.
She
was laughing
…
They
had been playing
badminton
. Also called
continuous
.

pronoun
a word used instead of a noun, when you do not want to name someone or something directly; e.g.
it
,
you
,
none
.

proper noun
a noun that refers to a particular person, place, or institution; e.g.
Nigel
,
Edinburgh
,
Christmas
. Compare with
common noun
.

purpose clause
a subordinate clause, usually introduced by
in order to
, or
so that
; e.g.
I came here
in order to ask you out to dinner
.

qualifier
any word, phrase, or clause that comes after a noun phrase, and gives extra information to expand its meaning; e.g. …
a book
with a blue cover
… the shop
on the corner
.

qualitative adjective
an adjective that is used to indicate a quality, and is gradable; e.g.
funny
,
intelligent
,
small
. Compare with
classifying adjective
.

quantity expression
a phrase ending in
of
that allows you to refer to a quantity of something without being precise about the exact amount; e.g.
some of
,
a lot of
,
a little bit of
.

question
a structure that typically has the verb in front of the subject and that is used to ask someone about something; e.g.
Have you any money
? Also called
interrogative
.

question tag
a structure consisting of an auxiliary verb followed by a pronoun, which is used at the end of a statement in order to form a question.

reason clause
a subordinate clause, usually introduced by
because
,
since
, or
as
; e.g.
Since you’re here
,
we’ll start
.

reciprocal pronoun
the pronouns
each other
and
one another
, used to show that two or more people do or feel the same thing; e.g.
They loved
each other
.

reciprocal verb
a verb that describes an action that involves people affecting each other in the same way with the same action; e.g.
They
met
in the street… He
met
her
yesterday
.

reflexive pronoun
a pronoun ending in
-self
, such as
myself
or
themselves
, which is used as the object of a verb when the person affected by an action is the same as the person doing it.

reflexive verb
a verb that is typically used with a reflexive pronoun; e.g.
enjoy yourself
;
pride yourself on
.

relative clause
a subordinate clause that gives more information about someone or something mentioned in the main clause. See also
defining relative clause
and
non-defining relative clause
.

relative pronoun
a
wh
-word such as
who
or
which
, used to introduce a relative clause; e.g. …
the girl
who
was carrying the bag
.

reported clause
the part of a reporting structure that describes what someone has said; e.g.
She said
that I couldn’t see her
.

reported question
a question that is reported using a reporting structure rather than the exact words used by the speaker. Also called
indirect question
.

reported speech
speech that is reported using a reporting structure rather than the exact words used by the speaker. Also called
indirect speech
.

reporting clause
a clause that contains a reporting verb, which is used to introduce what someone has said; e.g.
They asked
if I could come
.

reporting verb
a verb that describes what people say or think; e.g.
suggest
,
say
,
wonder
.

reporting structure
a structure that reports what someone has said by using a reported clause rather than repeating their exact words; e.g.
She told me she’d be late
.

result clause
a subordinate clause introduced by
so that
which gives the result of something; e.g.
The house was severely damaged
,
so that it is now uninhabitable
.

rhetorical question
a question that you use in order to make a comment rather than to obtain information; e.g.
Oh
,
isn’t it silly
?

second person
see
person
.

semi-modal
the verbs
dare
,
need
, and
used to
which behave rather like modals.

sentence
a group of words that express a statement, question, or command. A sentence usually has a verb and a subject, and may consist of one clause, or two or more clauses. A sentence in writing has a capital letter at the beginning and a full-stop, question mark, or exclamation mark at the end.

sentence adverbial
an adverbial that applies to the whole clause, rather than to part of it; e.g.
We
possibly
have to wait and see
. See also
sentence connector
.

sentence connector
a sentence adverbial used to introduce a comment or reinforce what is said; e.g.
moreover
,
besides
.

s
form
the base form of a verb with
s
on the end, used in the present simple.

simple sentence
a sentence that contains only one clause.

singular
the form used to refer to or talk about one person or thing; e.g.
dog
,
woman
. Compare with
plural
.

singular noun
a noun typically used in the singular form; e.g.
sun
,
business
.

split infinitive
the placing of a word between
to
and the base form of a verb; e.g. …
to
boldly
go where no man has gone before
.

split sentence
a sentence in which emphasis is given to either the subject or the object by using a structure beginning with
it
,
what
, or
all
; e.g.
It’s
a hammer we need
…
What
we need is a hammer
.

stative verb
a verb that describes a state; e.g.
be
,
live
,
know
. Compare with
dynamic verb
.

subject
a noun phrase that usually comes before a verb, and agrees with the verb in person and number. In active sentences, the subject usually refers to the person or thing who does the action expressed by the verb; e.g.
We
were going shopping
.

subjunctive
a verb form that is used in some languages to express attitudes such as wishing, hoping, and doubting. The subjunctive is not very common in English, and is used mainly in conditional clauses such as
If I were you
….