D01.htm
Compiled by U Kyaw Tun (UKT), M.S. (I.P.S.T., U.S.A.), and staff of TIL (Tun Institute of Learning, http://www.tuninst.net ), from various sources. Prepared for students of TIL Computing and Language Center, Yangon, Myanmar. Not for sale.
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Grammar Glossary - D
dangling modifier (dangling participle) data database declarative declension deductive reasoning definite article definition degree demonstrative demonstrative adjective demonstrative pronoun denotation dependent clause derivational suffix description description adjective descriptive grammar descriptor determiner determiner phrase developing (planning) diachronic dialect diction dictionary dictionary form dictionary types dictionary of contemporary English direct address direct object direct question direct quotation (direct discourse) direct speech discourse analysis discussion list disjunct disyllabic ditransitive verb division documentation document design domain double negative double possessive double talk (doublespeak) download drafting dyad dynamic verb
See misplaced modifier
A modifier that does not sensibly describe anything in its sentence. (See pp. 40305.)
* Having arrived late, the concert had already begun. -- dangling
Having arrived late, we found that the concert had already begun. -- revised
A participle, usually in a subordinate clause, that lacks a clear grammatical relation with the subject of the sentence, such as approaching in the sentence :
* Approaching New York, the skyline came into view.
€ As we approached New York, the skyline came into view. -- correction by UKT
(UKT: The following is in Usage Note under the entry "participle"
in AHTD. My views are within [...])
The "dangling participle" is quite common in speech,
where it often passes unremarked; but its use in writing
can lead to unintentional absurdities, as in:
* He went to watch his horse take a turn around the track carrying a copy of the breeders' guide under his arm.
€ Carrying a copy of the breeders' guide under his arm, he went to watch his horse take a turn around the track. -- correction by UKT
Even when the construction occasions no ambiguity, it is likely to distract the reader, who will ordinarily be operating on the assumption that a participle or other modifying phrase will be associated with the noun phrase that is immediately adjacent to it. Thus the sentence:
* Turning the corner, the view was quite different. [-- sentence #1]
[The inclusion of a comma after 'corner' in written form or the inclusion of a noticeable pause during speaking is sufficient to make sentence #1 unambiguous. However, AHTD would have the sentence rewritten as:]The view was quite different when we turned the corner. [-- sentence #2]
Turning the corner, we saw a different view. [-- sentence #3]
[The effect on the listener by #1 and #3 would probably the same. As for #2, the sentence is rather unimpressive.]
A number of expressions originally derived from active
participles are now well established as prepositions of a kind,
and these may be used freely to introduce phrases that are not
associated with the immediately adjacent noun phrase.
Such expressions include:
concerning considering failing granting judging by speaking of .
Thus one may write:
Speaking of politics, the elections have been postponed.
Considering the hour, it is surprising that he arrived at all.
From LBH
In argument, a term used for evidence. See evidence.
From LBH
A collection and organization of information (data). A database
may be printed, but the term is most often used for electronic sources.
From UseE
The Declarative Mood is the normal form of a verb, in contrast
with the Imperative and the Subjunctive.
UKT
Declarative Mood is also known as Indicative Mood. Verbs are usually
given in the dictionaries in this form. (to check with peers)
Contrast conjugation
From LBH
A list of the forms of a noun or pronoun, showing inflections for person (for pronouns),
number, and case. See p. 293 for a declension of the personal and relative pronouns.
From AHTD - AHDEL
declension linguistics
1. In certain languages, the inflection of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in
categories such as case, number, and gender.
2. A class of words of one language with the same
or a similar system of inflections, such as the first declension in Latin.
From WRUD
declension grammar
1. Inflection of nouns, adjectives,
etc., according to the grammatical cases.
2. The form of the inflection of a word declined by cases; as,
the first or the second declension of nouns, adjectives, etc.
3. Rehearsing a word as declined.
Note: The nominative was held to be the primary and
original form, and was likened to a perpendicular
line; the variations, or oblique cases, were regarded as fallings
(hence called casus, cases, or fallings) from the nominative or
perpendicular; and an enumerating of the various forms, being
a sort of progressive descent from the noun's upright form,
was called a declension. -- Harris.
From WN
declension grammar
1: the inflection of nouns and pronouns and adjectives
2: the complete set of inflected forms of a noun or pronoun or adjective
3: a class of nouns having the same inflectional forms:
"the first declension in Latin"
From LBH
Applying a generalization to specific circumstances in order to reach a conclusion.
See also syllogism. Contrast inductive reasoning. (See pp. 16669.)
From UseE
A defining relative clause gives essential information about the noun or noun phrase
it modifies, without which the sentence wouldn't make sense as the listener or reader
would not be able to identify the noun in the sentence:
The hotel that we stayed in wasn't bad.
'that we stayed in' tells the listener which hotel we are talking about; it defines the hotel
'Who', 'whose' and 'that' can be used for people. 'Which'
'whose' and 'that' can be used for things.
Related Article:
Relative
Clauses - Learn about Relative Pronouns in Non-Restrictive Clauses
(Non-Defining clauses) and Restrictive Clauses (Defining clauses).
From UseE
'The' is the definite article is English. It is used to restrict
the meaning of a noun to make it refer to something that is known
by both the speaker or writer and the listener or reader:
He's gone to the shops.
Here the listener knows which shops I mean
It can also be used to refer back to something that has already been mentioned:
There's a word for that. Now, what is the word?
It can be used to refer forwards to something that is coming:
The key to the front door is under the mat.
It can be used to refer to a group:
The car has changed our way of living.
From LBH
Specifying the characteristics of something to establish what
it is and is not. (See pp. 27 and 9798.)
See comparison.
See adjective.
From UseE
A demonstrative indicates whether something is near or
far from the speaker or writer and also shows singular or plural:
[E.g.] This book - singular,
near That book - singular, distant
These books - plural, near Those books - plural, distant
A demonstrative can be used as a determiner or a pronoun:
[E.g.] Could you pass me those leaflets? (determiner) Give me that. (pronoun)
From UseE
Demonstrative adjectives
(this, that, these, those) show whether the noun they refer to
is singular or plural and whether it is located near to or far
from the speaker or writer.
See pronoun.
From UseE
This; that; these; those; none and neither are
Demonstrative Pronouns that substitute nouns when the
nouns they replace can be understood from the context.
They also indicate whether they are replacing singular or plural
words and give the location of the object:
This : singular and near the speaker
That : singular and at a distance from the speakerThese : plural and near the speaker
Those : plural and at a distance from the speakerYou take these bags and I'll take those.
Those refers to bags that are at a distance from the speaker.We bought this last year
This refers to something that is sing., near the speaker and readily understood in the context of the conversation.
From LBH
The main or dictionary definition of a word. Contrast connotation.
(See p. 567.)
dependent clause n. Grammar 1. A clause that cannot stand alone as a full sentence and functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb within a sentence. Also Called subordinate clause . -- AHTD
From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subordinate_clause 081219
A dependent clause cannot stand alone as a sentence. In itself, a dependent clause does not express a complete thought; therefore, it is usually attached to an independent clause. Although a dependent clause contains a subject and a predicate, it sounds incomplete when standing alone. Some grammarians use the term subordinate clause as a synonym for dependent clause, but in the majority of grammars, subordinate clause refers only to adverbial dependent clauses.
A dependent clause usually begins with a dependent word. One kind of dependent word is a subordinating conjunction. Subordinating conjunctions are used to begin dependent clauses known as adverbial clauses which act like adverbs. In the following examples, the adverbial clauses are bold and the subordinating conjunctions are italicized:
€ Wherever she goes, she leaves a piece of luggage behind.
-- The adverbial clause wherever she goes modifies the verb leaves.€ Bob enjoyed the movie more than I did.
-- The adverbial clause than I did modifies the adverb more.
Another type of dependent word is the relative pronoun. Relative pronouns begin dependent clauses known as adjective clauses, which act like adjectives, or noun clauses, which act like nouns. In the following examples, the dependent clauses are bold and the relative pronouns are italicized:
€ The only one of the seven dwarfs who does not have a beard is Dopey.
-- The adjective clause who does not have a beard describes the noun one.€ No one understands why experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
-- The noun clause why experience is something you don't get until just after you need it functions as a direct object.
Dependent clauses are classified further into:
1. Noun clause
2. Adverbial clause
3. Adjective clause
UKT: More in the article.
See suffix.
From LBH
Detailing the sensory qualities of a thing, person, place, or
feeling. (See pp. 27 and 96.)
See adjective.
From UseE
A descriptive grammar looks at the way a language is actually used by its speakers
and then attempts to analyse it and formulate rules about the structure.
This kind of grammar does not deal with what is good or bad language use;
forms and structures that might not be used by speakers of Standard English
would be regarded as valid and included. It is a grammar based on
the way a language actually is and not how some think it should be.
See keyword
From LBH
A word such as a, an, the, my, and your
which indicates that a noun follows.
See also article.
(See pp. 35660 for the uses of determiners before nouns.)
From UseE
A determiner is used with a noun and restricts the meaning by limiting
the reference of the noun. The following types can be used:
1. Article: a boy the girls
2. Numeral: two cars the first day
3. Possessive adjective: my job their friends
4. Quantifier: some coffee few tickets
5. Demonstrative adjective: this tape those books
From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DP_hypothesis 080613
(Redirected from DP hypothesis)
In linguistics, a determiner phrase (DP) is a syntactic category, a phrase headed by a determiner.
Examples In the determiner phrases below, the determiners are underlined:
a litter dog the little dogs -- indefinite or definite article
this little dog those little dogs -- demonstrative
every little dog each little dog some little dog either dog no dog -- quantifying
In English and many other languages, determiner phrases have a noun phrase as a complement (Wiki-fn01) (Wiki-fn02). This is opposed to the alternative view that determiners are specifiers of the noun phrase. The overwhelming majority of transformational grammarians today adopt the DP hypothesis in some form or other. However, large numbers of both traditional and formal grammarians consider nouns, not determiners, to be the heads of NPs.
Determiners govern the referential or quantificational properties of the noun phrases they embed. The idea that noun phrases preceded by determiners are determiner phrases is known as the DP hypothesis. The DP hypothesis goes very well with the theory of generalized quanitfiers, which is the prevailing theory of the semantics of determiners (Wiki-fn03) (Wiki-fn04).
Wikipedia references
Wiki-fn01. Szabolcsi, A. (1983). The possessor that ran away from home. The Linguistic Review 3. Wiki-fn01b.
Wiki-fn02. Abney, S. P. (1987). The English Noun Phrase in its Sentential Aspect. Ph. D. thesis, MIT, Cambridge MA. Wiki-fn02b.
Wiki-fn03. Montague, Richard: 1974, 'The proper treatment of quantification in English', in R. Montague, Formal Philosophy, ed. by R. Thomason (New Haven). Wiki-fn03b.
Wiki-fn04. Barwise, Jon and Robin Cooper. 1981. Generalized quantifiers and natural language. Linguistics and Philosophy 4: 159-219. Wiki-fn04b.
From LBH
The stage of the writing process when one finds a topic, explores ideas,
gathers information, focuses on a central theme, and organizes material.
Compare drafting and revising. (See Chapters 12.)
From UseE
Diachronic language studies look at the development of a language over a period of time.
See creole pidgin
From LBH
A variety of a language used by a specific group or in a specific region.
A dialect may be distinguished by its pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. (See p. 559.)
From UseE
A dialect is a variety of a language that is spoken by a group in a particular
area or of a social group or class. It can have a different pronunciation ,
vocabulary and use different grammatical structures.
From LBH
The choice and use of words. (See Chapter 38.)
From UseE
A dictionary is an alphabetical list of words giving their definitions,
examples and grammatical classification, together with information about the pronunciation.
It can also be an alphabetical list with definitions of the key words from
a particular area or field, like a dictionary of law or computing.
See plain form
From UseE
Bilingual Dictionary
Monolingual Dictionary
Etymological Dictionary
Crossword Dictionary
Rhyming Dictionary
Mini-Dictionary
Pocket Dictionary
Thesaurus
Glossary
From UseE
If a dictionary, in any language, claims to be CONTEMPORARY, it means that it
tries to include the latest and most up-to-the-minute vocabulary and uses,
normally including slang, jargon and other colloquial language.
From LBH
A construction in which a word or phrase indicates the person
or group spoken to:
Have you finished, John?
Farmers, unite.
See object
From UseE
The direct object of a verb is created,
affected or altered by the action of a verb, or appreciated or sensed by the subject of the verb.
She closed the door.
door is directly affected by her action.
From AHTD
In English and some other languages,
the word or phrase in a sentence referring to the person or thing receiving the
action of a transitive verb. For example, in mail the letter and call
him, letter and him are direct objects.
From LBH
A sentence asking a question and concluding with a question mark:
Do they know we are watching?
Contrast indirect question.
See quotation.
From UseE
Direct speech is used to give the exact words used by another speaker.
The words are given between quotation marks (" ") in writing:
"I'm coming now," he said.
UKT
The British and the American place the double quotation marks and a comma or a
period differently. The above is the American way. The British way is as
follows:
"I'm coming now", he said.
Needs to be checked with peers.
From UseE
Discourse Analysis is the area of linguistics that is concerned with
how we build up meaning in the larger communicative rather than grammatical
units; meaning in a text, paragraph, conversation,
etc, rather than in a single sentence.
From LBH
A mailing list of subscribers who use e-mail to converse on a
particular subject. Also called an e-mail list, listserv, or list.
See also newsgroup and Web forum. (For the use of discussion lists
in collaboration among students, see pp. 24546. For the use of discussion lists
for research, see pp. 65960.)
From UseE
A disjunct expresses the speaker or writer's
attitude to what is being described in the sentence.
Fortunately, we managed to get there on time.
Fortunately shows us that the speaker was pleased about the result of the action.
From UseE
A disyllabic word has two syllables.
cannot
over
under
forwards
therefore
neither;
doctor
UKT :
Generally you cannot guess the number of syllables in a word. I usually
rely on a pronouncing dictionary like Daniel Jones English Pronouncing
Dictionary, 16th edition, 2003 (DJPD16). In the following the pronunciation is
given in IPA within [...] . You can count the number syllables in the IPA
transcriptions.
cannot ['kæn.ɒt]
over ['əʊ.vəʳ]
under ['ʌn.dəʳ]
From UseE
A Ditransitive verb is one that takes both a
direct object and an indirect object.
He gave her the letter.
The letter is the direct object, what he gave.
Her is the indirect object, the person he gave it to.This sentence can also be written:
He gave the letter to her.
See analysis.
From LBH
In research writing, supplying citations that legitimate the
use of borrowed material and support claims about its origins.
Contrast plagiarism. (See pp. 69899.)
From LBH
The control of a document's elements to achieve the flow,
spacing, grouping, emphasis, and standardization that are
appropriate for the writing situation. (See Chapter 9.)
See uniform resource locator (URL).
From LBH
A generally nonstandard form consisting of two negative words
used in the same construction so that they effectively cancel each other:
* I don't have no money.
Rephrase as:
I have no money. or
I don't have any money.
(See p. 354.)
From LBH
A possessive using both the ending -'s
and the preposition of :
That is a favorite expression of Mark's.
From LBH
Language intended to confuse or to be misunderstood. (See p. 563.)
From LBH
To transfer data from another computer.
From LBH
The stage of the writing process when ideas are expressed in
connected sentences and paragraphs. Compare developing (planning)
and revising. (See pp. 4851.)
From UseE
Two people speaking is a dyad; the smallest unit of communication.
Relationships between people; employer / employee, etc., are dyads as well.
From UseE
A dynamic verb is one that can be used in the progressive
(continuous) aspect,
indicating an unfinished action.
She's lying on the bed.
An incomplete action in progress.
End of TIL file