Grammar and Syntax

• Noun phrase refers to a phrase where the main word is a noun.
• Verb phrase refers to a phrase where the head word is a verb. For example, ‘sat on the chair’.
• An adjectival phrase refers to a group of words that function as an adjective. For example, ‘disgustingly ugly’.
• Adverbial phrase refers to a group of words that act as an adverb. For example, ‘very quickly’.
• Pre-modifier refers to a word that comes before the head word that changes the meaning. For example, ‘very quickly’.
• Post-modifier refers to a word that comes after the head word that changes the meaning. For example, ‘…on the hill’.
• The different sentence types:

  • Minor
  • Simple
  • Compound
  • Complex
  • Compound-complex
• An example of a minor sentence is ‘Wow’.
• A simple sentence only contains one clause.
• A compound sentence contains more than one main clause joined by a coordinating conjunction.
• A complex sentence refers to a sentence containing a main clause and subordinate clause. This is joined with a subordinating conjunction.
• A compound-complex sentence contains at least two main clauses and one subordinate clause.
• The four types of sentence functions:

  • Declarative sentence
  • Imperative sentence
  • Interrogative sentence
  • Exclamative sentence
• A tag question refers to a question asked at the end of a statement.
• Active voice is the subject doing the action.
• Passive voice is the subject is the victim of the action.
• Syntactic parallelism refers to when a writer repeats a sentence structure.