English Linguistic Terms

A sentence where the action is expressed through the active (default) form of the verb.

Any phrase that performs the function of an adjective.

A modifying constituent that describes a property, quality, or status of a noun (e.g., blue, good, democratic, imaginary).

A word that modifies (i.e., further specifies the meaning of) a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or a whole sentence (e.g., easily, very, now, probably).

Any linguistic structure that performs the function of an adverb.

A finite or nonfinite subordinate clause that performs an adverbial function in relation to its superordinate (main) clause.

Grammatically not negative, that is, grammatically positive.

The person or thing that performs the action described by the verb. In an active sentence, the agent coincides with the subject of the sentence. In a passive sentence, the agent may be either expressed as an agentive prepositional construction using the prepositions by, through, with, or via or omitted altogether.

The requirement for the predicate to be marked for person and number in accordance with the person and number of the subject.

A referent that identifies the person or thing referred to by a pronoun.

The temporal viewpoint from which an event is presented, such as perfective vs. imperfective.

A premodifying (or rarely postmodifying) adjective positioned immediately before (or after) the noun that it depends on and modifies, i.e., its head.

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An optional word, phrase, or clause that describes, qualifies, or defines its head, the constituent that the modifier both modifies and depends on.

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