Language Components: English Vocabulary List

related to the science of language, including its structure, usage, and evolution

"She has linguistic skills."

"The child's linguistic abilities developed quickly because her parents read to her every single night."

(grammar) the root form of a verb

"The infinitive is easy."

"The infinitive in this sentence begins with the base form of the verb."

(grammar) a form of a verb that functions as a noun and is formed by adding the suffix -ing to the base form of the verb

"The gerund acts like a noun."

"The gerund in the sentence functions as a subject or object."

(grammar) a verb that needs a direct object

"The transitive verb needs an object."

"A transitive verb takes a direct object in the sentence."

(grammar) a verb without a direct object

"The intransitive verb stands alone."

"An intransitive verb does not take a direct object such as sleep or arrive."

the science and study of speech sounds and their production

"Phonetics is interesting."

"Studying phonetics helps language learners pronounce sounds correctly that do not exist in their native tongue."

(phonetics) the rising and falling of the voice when speaking

"The intonation changed."

"Rising intonation at the end of a sentence usually indicates a question in English."

the spoken form of a language specific to a certain region or people which is slightly different from the standard form in words and grammar

"The dialect sounds unique."

"That dialect is spoken in a small region near the coast."

a well-known statement or phrase that expresses a general truth or gives advice

"This proverb offers good advice."

"My grandmother always said a famous proverb about patience being a virtue that brings success."

words or expressions that are very informal and more common in spoken form, used especially by a particular group of people, such as criminals, children, etc.

"Slang changes fast."

"Using too much slang in a job interview might make you appear unprofessional and unprepared."

a word or expression that is used instead of a harsh or insulting one in order to be more tactful and polite

"'Passed away' is a softer euphemism for 'died' in polite conversation."

"Using a euphemism can make difficult conversations much easier to handle."

to use punctuation marks in a text in order to make it more understandable

"Always punctuate your sentences correctly."

"Remember to punctuate your sentences correctly with periods commas and question marks where they are needed."

the punctuation mark ; used to separate the items in a list or to indicate a pause between two main clauses in a compound sentence

"A semicolon joins clauses."

"A semicolon connects two related independent clauses without using a conjunction like and or but."

a small line used to connect words or parts of words

"Remember to use a hyphen in compound words like mother in law."

"You need a hyphen to connect compound adjectives before nouns such as well known author."

the symbol / used in print or writing to indicate alternatives or fractions, etc.

"The slash is visible."

"A slash can separate alternatives or indicate a break in text."

(grammar) a phrase or word used suddenly to express a particular emotion

"The interjection showed surprise."

"Wow is an interjection that expresses strong emotion and can stand alone as a sentence."

used before providing an example

"I like citrus fruits e.g oranges."

"I like citrus fruits e.g oranges lemons and grapefruits because they are refreshing and full of vitamin C."

not conforming with the rules of grammar

"That sentence is ungrammatical."

"The sentence was ungrammatical because the subject and verb did not agree with each other."

(grammar) the form of a word that indicates whether one, two, or more things or people are being referred to

"The noun has number."

"The grammatical number of the noun indicates whether it is singular or plural."

(grammar) each of the three classes of pronouns that refers to who is speaking, who is being spoken to, or others that are not present during the conversation

"This is the first person."

"The pronoun 'I' is in the first person, indicating the speaker."

(grammar) the form of a verb that indicates whether the subject does something or something is done to it

"The verb is in passive voice."

"The teacher explained the difference between active and passive voice in grammar class."

(grammar) a class of words indicating whether they are feminine, masculine, or neuter

"What is the gender?"

"In many Romance languages, every noun has a grammatical gender, which affects adjective agreement."

(of a language's grammar) referring to females

"The word is feminine."

"Her feminine style included flowery dresses and soft colors that she wore to work every day."

(of a language's grammar) referring to males

"The noun is masculine."

"His masculine features included a strong jaw and a deep voice that commanded attention in every room."

(grammar) related to verbs that express wishes, possibility, or doubt

"Spanish has a subjunctive mood."

"The subjunctive mood is difficult for English learners because it expresses wishes and hypothetical situations that are not real."

a group of words or a phrase that has a meaning different from the literal interpretation of its individual words, often specific to a particular language or culture

"This idiom has a strange meaning."

"The English idiom "it is raining cats and dogs" means it is raining very heavily."

words, phrases, and expressions used by a specific group or profession, which are incomprehensible to others

"Doctors use medical jargon often."

"The technical jargon used in the IT department was difficult for the new employees to understand."

the punctuation mark : used to introduce a quotation, explanation, or list of items

"Use a colon here."

"Use a colon before listing items or introducing a quotation that follows a complete sentence."

either of the symbols ( ) used in writing to enclose extra information that is given or to group a symbolic unit in logic or mathematics

"The parenthesis is missing."

"The writer placed the additional comment inside parenthesis to show it was secondary information."

(grammar) an adverb or preposition that is used with a verb to form a phrasal verb

"The particle is important."

"The particle 'up' is essential to understanding the meaning of the phrasal verb 'give up'."