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Questions and Answers
What are the eight word classes commonly distinguished in English grammar?
What are the eight word classes commonly distinguished in English grammar?
nouns, determiners, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions
What has modern English largely abandoned in favor of analytic constructions?
What has modern English largely abandoned in favor of analytic constructions?
the inflectional case system of Indo-European
How is grammatical function indicated for nouns, adjectives, and articles in Modern English?
How is grammatical function indicated for nouns, adjectives, and articles in Modern English?
Grammatical function is indicated only by word order, by prepositions, and by the 'Saxon genitive or English possessive' (-'s)
What retains morphological case more strongly than any other word class in Modern English?
What retains morphological case more strongly than any other word class in Modern English?
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What is a form of speech and writing used in public discourse, including broadcasting, education, entertainment, government, and news, over a range of registers, from formal to informal?
What is a form of speech and writing used in public discourse, including broadcasting, education, entertainment, government, and news, over a range of registers, from formal to informal?
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Study Notes
Word Classes in English Grammar
- Eight common word classes: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections.
- Nouns: represent people, places, things, or ideas.
- Verbs: denote actions, states, or occurrences.
- Adjectives: modify nouns and indicate qualities or characteristics.
- Adverbs: modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, providing context such as time, manner, or place.
- Pronouns: replace nouns to avoid repetition.
- Prepositions: show the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and other words in a sentence.
- Conjunctions: connect clauses or sentences.
- Interjections: express emotions or exclamations.
Shift to Analytic Constructions
- Modern English has largely abandoned inflectional morphology.
- Preference for analytic constructions showcasing word order and auxiliary verbs to indicate grammatical relationships, rather than relying heavily on word endings.
Grammatical Function Indicators
- Nouns, adjectives, and articles use syntactic position and word order to convey grammatical function.
- Determiner use clarifies definiteness and quantity for nouns.
- Adjective placement before a noun signals modification.
- Function is often indicated through prepositions to describe relationships (e.g., possession).
Morphological Case Retention
- Pronouns retain morphological case more strongly than any other word class in Modern English.
- Examples include differences in subject (he) vs. object (him) forms.
Public Discourse Language
- A form of speech and writing used in various public forums is known as Public English.
- Ranges from formal to informal across broadcasting, education, entertainment, government, and news mediums.
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Description
Learn about the structural rules of the English language including words, phrases, clauses, and sentences. Understand the present-day Standard English used in various contexts from formal to informal.
