English Linguistics Notes

English Linguistics
Noun Phrase - noun or pronoun.

In noun phrases, the noun is called the headword - the most
important word of the phrase. The other words modify it.
-> Determiners (those)

Are words placed in front of a noun to make it clear what the
noun refers to. Word/s that introduces a noun. It comes before
any other adjectives used to describe the noun.
Determiners are required before a singular noun but are

optional when it comes to introducing plural nouns.
(Eg: The bunny went home. Metal cans are recyclable)
However, you may add a determiner to refer to specific nouns
(I.e. The metal cans right here)
There are four different types of determiners in English:

Articles, Demonstratives, Quantifiers, and Possessives.
Articles specify (or determine) which noun the speaker is

referring to.
-> Definite article (the) is used to indicate something
specific.
-> Indefinite articles (a; an) are used when you are talking
about a general version of the noun.
Note: ‘A’ is used before words that begin with constants while
‘an’ is used before words beginning with vowels.
Demonstratives are used in a situation in which the speaker

can point to the item they mean, making them even more
specific than a definite article. (E.g. I don’t want to go to that
movie).
-> Demonstratives pronouns (this; that; these; those)
Note: ‘This” and ‘these’ refer to items nearby, ‘that’ and ‘those’
refer to items far away. ‘This’ and ‘that’ are singular while
‘these’ and ‘those’ are plural.
Quantifiers are determiners that indicate how much or how

little of the noun is being discussed.
-> Quantifiers (a few; a little; much; many; a lot of; most;
some; any; enough)
Note: ‘All’ can be used with other determiners to specify which
particular items are meant (I.e. All the books In this pile). In this
Emily Cilia 2C
English Linguistics
case, the quantifier always comes before the article or
demonstrative. It’s also possible to use ‘all’ alone to refer to
items generally (I.e., She liked all deserts equally).
Possessive pronouns are used when referring to a noun that
belongs to someone or something to show ownership.
-> Pronouns and possessive determiners (my; yours; his;
her; its; our; their)
Note: As always, the determiner comes before the noun and
any modifying adjectives. You can use the same possessive
whether the noun it references is singular or plural.
Using Determiners Correctly:

- Determiners always come first in the noun phrase.
- Determiners are required with singular nouns.
- To speak about a singular noun generally, use an indefinite
article- a/an
- To speak about a plural noun generally, do not use a
determiner.
- To speak about a singular noun specifically, use a definite
article, demonstrative pronoun, possessive pronoun or
quantifier.
- To speak about a plural noun specifically, use a definite
article, demonstrative pronoun, possessive pronoun or
quantifier.
Numerals (one, two, three - cardinal numbers & first, second -

ordinal numbers)
Difference words (other; another)
Pre-determiners (such; what; rather; quite)
Adjectives (old)
Reflexive (-self, -selves: myself; yourself; himself; ourself;
themselves…)
Indefinite (someone; anyone; everyone; something; anything;
everything, nothing…)
Relative (Who; Whom; Whose = people; Which = things; That =
both people & things)
Interrogative (Who? Which? Whose? What? - Why? Where?
When? How? are adverbs)
Pre-modifiers - go before the noun.

Post-modifiers - go after the noun.
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English Linguistics
Adjectives are classified according to their position - before or
after the noun.
1) Attributive adjectives are pre-modifying,
e.g. the sudden noise, or the red ribbon.
2) Predicative adjectives are post-modifying,
e.g. revision is brilliant, or the food looked amazing.
Verbs tell you exactly What Happens.

1) Main Verbs (lexical verbs) identify the action of the
sentence, e.g. she sings like a hyena
2) Auxiliary Verbs go before the main verb in a sentence.
They give extra information about the main verb and can affect
the meaning of the sentence. There are two types of auxiliary
verb:
- Primary Auxiliaries: Do; Have; & Be

Note: Primary auxiliaries can also be main verbs e.g. I have a
surprise for you.
- Modal Auxiliaries: Can; Could; Will; Would; Must; May;

Might; Shall; Should
Note: Modal auxiliaries can only occur with reference to a main
verb.
Active Voice is when the subject is the focus and performs the
action described by the verb
e.g. Ahmed kicked the ball.
The subject, Ahmed, acts directly upon the object - the ball.
The object receives the action of the verb.
Passive Voice is less direct. It focuses on the object. The order

changes so that the object comes first, followed by the subject,
e.g. The ball was kicked by Ahmed.
The passive voice makes sentences seem more formal.
Adverbs are mostly used to modify verbs, but they can modify
nouns and adjectives too. Mostly people recognise adverbs as ‘-
ly words’ but many have different endings.
Adverbs of manner - how something is done - e.g. He talks

incessantly.
Emily Cilia 2C
English Linguistics
Adverbs of place - where something is happening - e.g. The
book is here.
Adverbs of time - when something is happening for - e.g. The
exam is tomorrow.
Adverbs of duration - how long something happens for - e.g.
The bridge is closed temporarily.
Adverbs of frequency - how often something takes place - e.g.
Mandy visits sometimes.
Adverbs of degree - the extent to which something is done -
e.g. We completely understand.
Adverbs of direction - the direction something happens in -
e.g. Jemima walked towards the door.
Some adverbs express feelings or opinions - Hopefully, we’ll

find out where the garage is.
Adverbs can also link sentences together - The man was a
great athlete. However, he didn’t have a clue about adverbs.
Prepositions show relationships between things in terms of

space, time or direction. The preposition usually goes before
the determiner and noun.
Examples:
The books are underneath the bed. (spatial)
She left before the end. (time)
He moved towards the door. (directional)
Sometimes there’s no determiner e.g. See you at break time,

or, We’ll talk more about it on Friday.
A proposition is a word that shows position or direction or
introduces a prepositional phrase.
(Up; around; under; opposite; as; but between; amid; despite;
regarding; through; plus; during; except; over…)
Conjunctions are linking words.

There are two types of conjunctions - coordinating
conjunctions (FANBOYS) and subordination conjunctions.
1) Coordinating conjunctions are words like and, but and or.

They connect single words or longer units of language (phrases
and clauses) that have equal status:
Robert and Bethany.
A white shirt or a pink shirt.
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English Linguistics
He kissed her on the cheek and she ran away.
2) Subordinating conjunctions are words like since,

although, because, unless, whether, whereas, while, where,
that and if… They link a main clause to one that’s less
important to the subject of the sentences.
I took my umbrella because it was raining.
Although it was hot, he was wearing a hat.
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English Linguistics

Noun Phrase - noun or pronoun.

-> Determiners (those)

Determiners are required before a singular noun but are

There are four different types of determiners in English:

Articles specify (or determine) which noun the speaker is

Demonstratives are used in a situation in which the speaker

Quantifiers are determiners that indicate how much or how

Using Determiners Correctly:

Numerals (one, two, three - cardinal numbers & first, second -

Pre-modifiers - go before the noun.

Verbs tell you exactly What Happens.

- Primary Auxiliaries: Do; Have; & Be

- Modal Auxiliaries: Can; Could; Will; Would; Must; May;

Passive Voice is less direct. It focuses on the object. The order

Adverbs of manner - how something is done - e.g. He talks

Some adverbs express feelings or opinions - Hopefully, we’ll

Prepositions show relationships between things in terms of

Sometimes there’s no determiner e.g. See you at break time,

Conjunctions are linking words.

1) Coordinating conjunctions are words like and, but and or.

2) Subordinating conjunctions are words like since,

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