Language words for non-language teachers

Language words

The lists on the left contain links to explanations about all important aspects of language. The entries have been written with the difficulties of the ESL student in mind. Most students will know what a verb is, but they may not know the various features of the verb system that can cause difficulties for ESL students with different mother-tongues. They can learn about such difficulties by clicking the word to see an explanation and some examples.

Please note that the explanations in this web page are short and simple. Furthermore, it is important to be aware that there is disagreement among grammarians about the definitions of some of the words listed. Therefore, students who want a detailed understanding in this topic are recommended to consult one or more of the following reference works, which were the source for this page:

Chalker, S. & Weiner, E. The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar. Oxford University Press. 1994.
Crystal, D. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge University Press. 1987.
Crystal, D. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge University Press. 1995.
Huddleston, R. & Pullum, G. 2002. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge: CUP
Smith, B. & Swan, M. Learner English. Cambridge University Press. 1987.

[There is a teachers' version of this page on the Mainstream Teachers subsite. It contains a link to more information about the disputes among grammarians.]

Essential Adjective Adverb Article Auxiliary Clause Comparative Conjunction Determiner Idiom Imperative Infinitive Interjection Intonation Noun Object Participle Phrase Plural Pronoun Preposition Punctuation Sentence Singular Subject Superlative Tense Verb Word	Additional Accent Acronym Apposition Case Cognate Cohesion Colloquial Collocation Complement Conjugation Conditional Copula Declension Derivation Dialect Discourse Ellipsis Etymology Euphemism Finite Gender Gerund Homophone Indicative Inflection Interrogative Jargon Lexis	Modal Mood Morpheme Morphology Number Orthography Parse Passive Person Phoneme Phonetics Pragmatics Phrasal verb Predicate Prefix Pronunciation Prosody Register Reported speech Semantics Slang Style Subjunctive Suffix SVO Syntax Tag Transitive	All words \| Restart
			Language words The lists on the left contain links to explanations about all important aspects of language. The entries have been written with the difficulties of the ESL student in mind. Most students will know what a verb is, but they may not know the various features of the verb system that can cause difficulties for ESL students with different mother-tongues. They can learn about such difficulties by clicking the word to see an explanation and some examples. Please note that the explanations in this web page are short and simple. Furthermore, it is important to be aware that there is disagreement among grammarians about the definitions of some of the words listed. Therefore, students who want a detailed understanding in this topic are recommended to consult one or more of the following reference works, which were the source for this page: Chalker, S. & Weiner, E. The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar. Oxford University Press. 1994. Crystal, D. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge University Press. 1987. Crystal, D. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge University Press. 1995. Huddleston, R. & Pullum, G. 2002. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge: CUP Smith, B. & Swan, M. Learner English. Cambridge University Press. 1987. [There is a teachers' version of this page on the Mainstream Teachers subsite. It contains a link to more information about the disputes among grammarians.]