Fowler--Writing and Grammar Terms

Sherry F.
38 words 4 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. apostrophe
    a mark used to indicate the omission of one or more letters
  2. awkward
    not elegant or graceful in expression
    Awkward wording is wording that does not make sense.
  3. citation
    a short note recognizing a source of information
  4. clause
    an expression including a subject and predicate
  5. colloquial
    characteristic of informal spoken language or conversation
  6. complex sentence
    a sentence composed of at least one main clause and one subordinate clause
  7. compound sentence
    a sentence composed of at least two coordinate independent clauses
  8. concluding
    occurring at or forming an end or termination
    A concluding sentence briefly sums up the message of the paragraph it ends.
  9. contraction
    a word made by leaving out letters of a word or words
  10. coordinating conjunction
    a conjunction (like `and' or `or') that connects two identically constructed grammatical constituents
  11. dependent clause
    a section in a complex sentence that cannot stand alone
  12. discussion
    an extended communication dealing with a particular topic
  13. fragment
    an incomplete piece
    An incomplete sentence; a sentence that does not contain both a subject and verb and does not express a complete thought.
  14. gerund
    a noun formed from a verb
    Gerund phrase: Flooding the pond made the ice smooth. Buhlig, Rose
  15. independent clause
    a section in a complex sentence that can stand alone
  16. infinitive
    the uninflected form of the verb
    To + a verb=infinitive (We didn't know which way to go)
  17. paraphrase
    express the same message in different words
  18. parenthetical
    expression in punctuation marks enclosing textual material
  19. participle
    a form of the verb used as an adjective
    Participles are verb forms that are used as adjectives. —Buhlig, Rose The boy swimming in the pool is my son--swimming is the participle
  20. passive voice
    when the subject of a sentence is a recipient of the action
  21. phrase
    an expression consisting of one or more words
  22. plagiarism
    taking someone's words or ideas as if they were your own
  23. predicate
    the constituent of a sentence containing the verb
  24. prepositional phrase
    a phrase beginning with a preposition
    Prepositional phrase modifying noun subject: The flooding of the pond made the ice smooth. Buhlig, Rose
  25. primary
    of first rank or importance or value
    A primary source is the piece of literature or essay that the writers discusses in his or her own writing.
  26. simple sentence
    a sentence having no coordinate clauses or subordinate clauses
  27. slang
    informal language that is inappropriate for formal occasions
  28. source
    a document from which information is obtained
  29. subject
    one of the two main constituents of a sentence
  30. summary
    a brief statement that presents the main points
  31. support
    establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts
  32. thesis
    an unproved statement advanced as a premise in an argument
  33. topic sentence
    a statement that provides the main idea of a paragraph
  34. transition
    a passage or word that connects a topic to one that follows
  35. vague
    lacking clarity or distinctness
    A vague pronoun is a pronoun that does not clearly refer to a specific noun.
  36. syllable
    a unit of spoken language larger than a phoneme
    Both are nouns, but halvah has two and Hezbollah three syllables. Slate (Oct 16, 2012)
  37. consonant
    a speech sound that is not a vowel
  38. vowel
    a speech sound made with the vocal tract open
Created on Fri Jan 04 10:10:37 EST 2013 (updated Fri Jan 04 10:50:38 EST 2013)

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