Copy of `NLS Framework - Glossary of teaching terms`
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NLS Framework - Glossary of teaching terms
Category: Language and Literature > Grammar
Date & country: 15/12/2007, UK
Words: 223
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Ballad a poem or song which tells a story. Characterised by short, regular verses with a rhyme scheme.
Auxiliary Verbs These are verbs that are used together with other verbs. For example: we are going Lucy has arrived can you play In these sentences, going, arrived and play are the main verbs. Are, has and can are auxiliary verbs, and add extra meaning to the main verb. The most common auxiliary verbs are be, have and do (all of which can also be main verbs). Be …
Audience the people addressed by a text. The term refers to listeners, readers of books, film/TV audiences and users of information technology.
Asterisk (*) An asterisk is a symbol used to refer the reader to footnotes below the text. It can also be used to replace letters in taboo words.
Assonance repetition of vowel sounds: crying time; hop-scotch; great flakes; between trees; the kind knight rides by.
Ascender In written or typed script, many letters have the same height: a, c, e, m, n, o, r, s, u, v, w, x, z, (although in some scripts, z has a descender). Some letters have parts which extend beyond this: b, d, f, h, k, l, t: These parts are called ascenders.
Appendix a section added to a document which offers non-essential or illustrative information.
Article A, an and the are articles. A (an before a vowel sound) is the indefinite article; the is the definite article. Articles are a type of determiner.
Apostrophe (') An apostrophe is a punctuation mark used to indicate either omitted letters or possession. omitted letters We use an apostrophe for the omitted letter(s) when a verb is contracted (= shortened). For example: I'm (I am) who's (who is/has) they've (they have) he'd (he had/would) we're (we are) it's (it is/has) would've (would have) she'll (she will)…
Antonym a word with a meaning opposite to another: hot - cold, light - dark, light - heavy. A word may have more than one word as an antonym: cold - hot/warm; big - small/tiny/little/titchy.
Anecdote a brief written or spoken account of an amusing incident, often used to illustrate a point.
Analogy perception of similarity between two things; relating something known to something new; in spelling, using known spellings to spell unknown words: night-knight-right-sight-light-fright; in reading, using knowledge of words to attempt previously unseen words. Emphasis on analogy encourages learners to generalise existing knowledge to new situations…
Ambiguity a phrase or statement which has more than one possible interpretation. This sometimes arises from unclear grammatical relationships. For example, in the phrase: 'police shot man with knife', it is not specified whether the man had the knife or the police used the knife to shoot the man. Both interpretations are possible, although only one is logic…
Alliteration a phrase where adjacent or closely connected words begin with the same phoneme: one wet wellington; free phone; several silent, slithering snakes.
Agreement (Or Concord) In some cases the form of a verb changes according to its subject (so the verb and subject 'agree'). This happens with the verb be: I am/he is/they are I was/you were and the third person singular (he/she/it) of the present tense: I like/she likes I don't/he doesn't Note that singular collective nouns (eg team, family, government) can take a singu…
Affix a morpheme which is not in itself a word, but is attached to a word. An affix can be a prefix (intolerant, dislike) or a suffix (kindness, playing).
Adverb Adverbs give extra meaning to a verb, an adjective, another adverb or a whole sentence: I really enjoyed the party. (adverb + verb) She's really nice. (adverb + adjective) He works really slowly. (adverb + adverb) Really, he should do better. (adverb + sentence)Many adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective, for example quickly, dangerously…
Adjective An adjective is a word that describes somebody or something. Old, white, busy, careful and horrible are all adjectives. Adjectives either come before a noun, or after verbs such as be, get, seem, look (linking verbs): a busy day I'm busy nice shoes those shoes look niceAdjectives (and adverbs) can have comparative and superlative forms. The compar…
Active And Passive Many verbs can be active or passive. For example, bite: The dog bit Ben. (active) Ben was bitten by the dog. (passive) In the active sentence, the subject (the dog) performs the action. In the passive sentence, the subject (Ben) is on the receiving end of the action. The two sentences give similar information, but there is a difference in focus. T…
Acrostic a poetic form which is organised by the initial letters of a key word, either at the beginning of lines, or with lines arranged around them: Whistling wildly Blowing In a rain Northern round Direction. and round.
Acronym An acronym is an abbreviation which is made up of the initial letters of a group of words, and is pronounced as a single word. For example: laser (light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation) Aids (Acquired immune deficiency syndrome) NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) RAM (Random Access Memory)Acronyms are to be contrasted …
Accent features of pronunciation which vary according to the speaker's regional and social origin. All oral language, including standard English, is spoken with an accent. The term accent refers to pronunciation only. see also dialect
Abbreviation An abbreviation is a shortened version of a word or group of words. For example: Co. (Company) approx. (approximately) PR (public relations) PTO (Please turn over) Some common abbreviations are of Latin terms: etc. (et cetera = and so on) e.g. (exempli gratia = for example) N.B. (nota bene = note especially) i.e. (id est = that is) Names of organi…
