Category: Grammar

In linguistics and lexicography, a hyponym is used to designate a particular member of a broader class. For instance, daisy and rose are hyponyms of the flower. Also called a subtype or a subordinate term. The adjective is hyponymic. The term is pronounced “HI-po-nim” (with an emphasis on the first syllable), and its origin is from the Greek “below” plus “name.”

Words that are hyponyms of the identical broader term (that is, a hypernym) are called co-hyponyms. The semantic relationship between the more specific words ( daisy and rose) and the wider term (flower) is called hyponymy or inclusion.

Hyponymy is not restricted to nouns. The verb to see, for example, has several hyponyms—a glimpse, stare, gaze, ogle, and so on. In “Language: Its Structure and Use,” Edward Finnegan points out that although “hyponymy is found in all languages, the concepts that have words in hyponymic relationships vary from one language to the next.”

Examples and Observations

“Hyponymy is a less familiar term to most people than either synonymy or antonymy, but it refers to a much more important sense relation. It describes what happens when we say, ‘An X is a kind of Y’—A daffodil is a kind of flower, or simply, A daffodil is a flower.”

– David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, 2003

An adjective clause is a dependent clause employed as an adjective within a sentence. Sometimes referred to as an adjectival clause or a relative clause.

An adjective clause usually begins with a relative pronoun (which, that, who, whom, whose), a relative adverb (where, when, why), or a zero relative.

Examples of Adjective Clauses

1) The woman who lives across the street is my aunt.

The subject of the clause is “who” and the verb is “lives”. This clause is providing us with more info about the “woman”-which one

2) The pen that is on the chair belongs to Marvin.

The subject of the clause is “that” and the verb is “is”. This clause is providing us with more info about the “pen”-which one.

Here are some examples of sentences with adjective clauses.

3) I do not like kids who are mean to animals. (provides more info about kids)

4) Did you go to the church where my friend Jim goes? (provides more info about church)

5) The moment when the clown burst in to surprise the teacher was great! (provides more info about the moment)

6) The reason why I left is a secret. (provides more info about reason)

7) Can you see the lizard that is on the fence? (provides more info about lizard)

8) The cat whom we are watching just caught a mouse! (provides more info about cat)

9) The girl whose shoes are on the floor is my little sister. (provides more info about girl)

10) I like pasta, which is also the favorite of my sister Jean. (provides more info about pasta)

A sentence adverb is a word that alters an entire sentence or clause within a sentence. A sentence adverb is also called a sentence adverbial or disjunct.

Examples of Sentence Adverbs

Common sentence adverbs include actually, apparently, basically, briefly, certainly, clearly, conceivably, confidentially, curiously, evidently, fortunately, hopefully, however, ideally, incidentally, indeed, interestingly, ironically, naturally, predictably, presumably, regrettably, seriously, strangely, surprisingly, thankfully, theoretically, therefore, truthfully, ultimately, and wisely.

An adverbial is a word (that is, an adverb), a phrase (an adverbial phrase), and a clause (an adverbial clause) that can alter a verb, an adjective, or a complete sentence.

An adverbial can appear in different positions in a sentence.

Examples and Observations

• My sister usually visits on Sundays.
• When she isn’t working, my sister visits on Sundays.
• My sister visits on Sundays when she isn’t working.

An acronym is a word formed from the initial letters of a name (for example, NATO, from North Atlantic Treaty Organization) or by combining the initial letters of a series of words (radar, radio detection, and ranging). Adjective: acronymic. Also called a protogram.

Strictly speaking, says lexicographer John Ayto, an acronym “denotes a combination pronounced as a word . . . rather than as just a sequence of letters” (A Century of New Words, 2007).

An anacronym is an acronym (or another initialism) for which the expanded form isn’t widely known or used, such as OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration).

Etymology

From the Greek, “point” + “name.”

Pronunciation

AK-ri-nim

The initialism SVO represents the essential word order of main and subordinate clauses in modern English: Subject + Verb + object.

Compared with other languages, SVO word order in English (also known as canonical word order) is rigid. Non-canonical word organization can be found in English’s selection of clause types.

Examples and Observations

• The woman [S] built [V] a strong stone wall [O]
• The children [S] eat [V] buns, cakes, and biscuits [O]
• The professor [S] threw [V] an orange [O]

A personal pronoun is a pronoun that indicates a particular person, group, or thing. Like all pronouns, personal pronouns can assume the place of nouns.

Personal Pronouns in English

These are the personal pronouns in English:

• First-person singular: I (subject); me (object)
• First-person plural: we (subject); us (object)
• Second-person singular and plural: you (subject and object)
• Third-person singular: he, she, it (subject); him, her, it (object)
• Third-person plural: they (subject); them (object)

Personal pronouns inflect for the situation to show whether they act as the subject of clauses or as objects of verbs/prepositions.
Personal pronouns, except “you,” have different forms of singular or plural. The third-person singular pronouns have distinctive forms suggesting gender: masculine (he, him), feminine (she, her), and neuter (it). Personal pronouns (such as they) that can indicate both masculine and feminine entities are called generic pronouns.

Below you will find 50 topics for impromptu student speeches.

• My three favorite animals.
• What you would find in my closet. Make something up.
• What you’d find under my bed.
• The best letter of the alphabet.
• Why your mom/dad is special.
• A day that stands out.
• The best surprise ever.
• I lost it!
• If I had a million dollars to give away.
• If cats/dogs ruled the world.
• A trip to remember.
• My favorite day of the year.
• If I could only eat three foods forever.
• If I could design a school.
• Why books are important.
• Three surprising facts about me.
• How to impress your parents.
• How to plan a party.
• A job I’d love to have.
• A day in my life.
• If I could have dinner with anyone.
• If I could travel through time.
• My favorite book.
• An important lesson I’ve learned.
• What I’ve learned from cartoons.
• The smartest cartoon character.
• Three things I’d change if I ruled the world.
• Why sports are important.
• The worst chores at home.
• Why I deserve an allowance.
• If I were in charge of school lunches.
• If I had invented school.
• The best theme park rides.
• Whom do you admire most?
• What is your favorite animal?
• How to achieve your dreams.
• Why you need a baby brother.
• How to annoy an older sister.
• How to save money.
• Three things that scare me.
• Great things about snow days.
• Things you can make out of snow.
• How to spend a rainy day.
• How to walk a dog.
• Great things about the ocean.
• Things I’ll never eat.
• How to be a slacker.
• Why I like my town.
• The best parts of a parade.
• Interesting things you see in the sky.
• Things to remember when you’re camping.

An experience with a bully.

A linking verb is a conventional term for a verb (such as a form of be or seem) that meets the subject of a sentence to a word or phrase that says something about the subject. For example, is serves as a linking verb in the sentence “The boss is unhappy.”

The word or phrase after the linking verb (in our example, unhappy) is called a subject complement. The subject accompaniment that follows a linking verb is typically an adjective, a noun, or a pronoun.

Linking verbs relate both to a condition of being (be, become, seem, remain, appear) or the senses (look, hear, feel, taste, smell).

In modern linguistics, linking verbs are called copulas, or copular verbs.

Examples of Linking Verbs

• The Grinch is grumpy.
• In the movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the mayor of Whoville is Augustus Maywho.
• In the book Horton Hears a Who!, Ned McDodd is the mayor of Whoville.
• This lemonade tastes sour, but the cookies smell delicious.
• Beth felt bad and wanted to go home.
• Tom felt Beth’s forehead and then he became upset.
• Though she appeared calm, Naomi was extremely happy about her promotion.
• “If any word is incorrect at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.” (William Safire, How Not to Write: The Essential Misrules of Grammar. W.W. Norton, 2005)

Definition

An active verb is a term in conventional English grammar for a verb used mainly to indicate an action, process, or sensation as opposed to a state of being. Also called dynamic verb, action verb, activity verb, or event verb.

In addition, the term active verb may refer to any verb used in a sentence in the active voice.

Examples and Observations

• “Graham laughed giddily and skipped off down a hallway.”
  (John Green, The Fault in Our Stars. Dutton, 2012)
• “I often sing, hum and whistle but I would not do any of those things in the company of other people.”
  (Lyn Overall, Supporting Children’s Learning. SAGE, 2007)
• “Fighters using kung fu twirled, kicked, jumped, and punched with grace and skill through every life-threatening challenge, including dragons, sorcerers, assassins, and armies.”
  (Gark Zukav, Soul to Soul: Communications From the Heart. Free Press, 2007)