in Curriculum
The History of Halloween Costumes
Learn about the history of Halloween costumes from the ancient Celts through modern America. More
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in Linguistics
Why Is ‘Love’ Not Spelled ‘Luv’?
Have you ever thought about the English language and considered the orthographic system downright wacky? Many words have a “silent e” at the end and others have a “silent b” in the middle. Not even the second month of the year gets away without an r that may or may not be pronounced. Befuddling as […] More
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in Linguistics
No Doubt the “Silent B” Owes a Subtle Debt to History
School children all over the English-speaking world bemoan the many “silent” letters of English spelling. The orthographic system of the English language appears inconsistent at first. Many words have a “silent e” and February has an ‘r’ that is sometimes but sometimes not pronounced. Despite initial impressions, the “silent” letters of English spelling reveal a […] More
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in Linguistics
Are You Wondering About the ‘R’ in February?
English spelling appears inconsistent at first. From silent letters to doubled letters, the orthography of English seems downright wacky to native and foreign speakers of the language. However, delving into the history of words reveals that the spelling of English makes more sense than first impressions imply. For example, why does February have an r […] More
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in Linguistics
The Functions of “Silent E” in Written English
E is the most common vowel and letter in the English language. Many words end in e in written English. In most words that end with an e, the letter is not pronounced, resulting in the term “silent e.” Although the list of words that end with a “silent e” is lengthy, the unpronounced letter […] More
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Types of English Adverbs: Manner, Time, Place, Frequency, Degree
An adverb is a “word that describes a verb, adjective, other adverb, or clause.” An adverb phrase consists of an adverb plus any modifiers. Many grammars use the category of adverb as a “catch-all” category to classify words with various different types of syntactic behavior that otherwise have little in common except for not fitting […] More
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English Adverb Clauses
Traditional grammars describe adverb clauses as dependent or subordinate clauses that consist of a subordinating conjunction followed by a clause and that perform an adverbial function. Grammatical Forms Grammatical Form of English Adverb Clauses explains the internal structures that distinguish adverb clauses from other grammatical forms. Grammatical Functions Grammatical Function of English Adverb Clauses explains […] More
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English P-words
P-words are prepositions and adverbs that no longer perform prepositional or adverbial functions including particles in phrasal verbs, quasi-modal verbs, and determiner phrases and infinitive markers. P-words are function words, which are words that perform definite grammatical functions but that lack definite lexical meaning. Grammatical Form Grammatical Form of English P-words explains the grammatical forms […] More
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Grammatical Form of English P-words
P-words are prepositions and adverbs that no longer perform prepositional or adverbial functions. P-words are also function words, which are defined as words that perform definite grammatical functions but that lack definite lexical meaning. Belonging to a grammatical category consisting of a small closed word set, p-words show no inflectional variation. In the English language, […] More
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Using Coordinating Conjunctions as Coordinators
Notional grammars define conjunctions as words that “link together other words, phrases, and clauses.” Coordinating conjunctions are a type of conjunction that link, or coordinate, two or more words, phrases, or clauses. The seven coordinating conjunctions in English for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. In grammar, a coordinator is a function word that […] More
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Grammatical Form of English Postpositions
Belonging to a grammatical category consisting of a small closed word set, notional grammars define adpositions as “words that indicate a relation between the noun or pronoun and another word, which may be a verb, an adjective, or another noun or pronoun.” Postpositions are a subcategory of adpositions in which the postposition follows the complement […] More
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in Linguistics
Independent Clauses and Dependent Clauses in English Grammar
Clauses are defined as grammatical structures that contain a subject and a predicate and that are the smallest grammatical unit that can express a complete proposition. One primary division in the analysis of clauses is the distinction between independent clauses and dependent clauses. Independent Clauses Independent clauses in English grammar are grammatical structures that consist […] More
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English Adverbs
Notional grammars define adverbs as “words that describe verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, and clauses.” An adverb phrase consists of an adverb plus any modifiers. Grammatical Forms Grammatical Form of English Adverbs: Positive, Comparative, and Superlative Adverbs explains the internal structures that distinguish adverbs from other grammatical forms, which includes three degrees of modification. English Adverbs […] More
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Grammatical Aspect
Grammatical aspect is the grammaticalized expression of the temporal structure of an action or state. Temporal structure roughly relates to duration. Four grammatical aspects exist in the English language: simple aspect, perfect aspect, progressive aspect, and perfect-progressive aspect. Grammatical Tense Grammatical Aspect in English describes the four grammatical aspects of the English language. Tense and […] More
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The Appositive in English Grammar
Appositives are words, phrases, and clauses that support another word, phrase, or clause by describing or modifying the other word, phrase, or clause. Although nouns and noun phrases most frequently function as appositive in sentences, three grammatical forms can perform the grammatical function of appositive in the English language. The three grammatical forms that can […] More
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English Determiners
Determiners are a closed class of words that provide information such as familiarity, location, quantity, and number about a noun phrase or verb phrase in the form of a present participle. Determiners differ in form and function from adjectives, which describe attributes of nouns, pronouns, and noun phrases. Grammatical Forms Grammatical Forms of English Determiners […] More
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Grammatical Forms of English Determiners
Determiners are a closed class of words that provide information such as familiarity, location, quantity, and number about a noun or noun phrase. Determiners differ in form and function from adjectives, which describe attributes of nouns and noun phrases. Determiners perform the grammatical function of determinative. In the English language, determiners are classified into seven […] More
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in Linguistics
‘Language’: An Authority in Linguistics
Language is the scholarly journal published by the Linguistic Society of America (LSA), which is a professional group for linguists founded in 1924 whose stated mission is to advance the field of linguistics, the scientific study of language (LSA: Publications; LSA: About LSA). Currently edited by Gregory N. Carlson of the Department of Linguistics at […] More
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The Adverb Phrase Modifier in English Grammar
Adverb phrase modifiers are words and phrases that that modify or describe an adverb or adverb phrase. Only one grammatical form can function as the adverb phrase modifier in English grammar: adverb phrases. Adverb Phrases as Adverb Phrase Modifiers The only grammatical form that can perform the grammatical function of adverb phrase modifier is the […] More
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The Determiner Phrase Head in English Grammar
Determiner phrase heads are words that function as the heads of determiner phrases. A determiner phrase consist of two or more determiners plus any p-words and functions as a determinative. Only one grammatical form can perform the function of determiner phrase head in the English language. The one grammatical form that can function as the […] More