Mantex

Tutorials, Study Guides & More

  • HOME
  • REVIEWS
  • TUTORIALS
  • HOW-TO
  • CONTACT
>> Home / Archives for English language

Standard English – how to understand it

September 13, 2009 by Roy Johnson

free pages from our English Language software program

Standard English – definition

standard english The term ‘Standard English’ refers to a dialect which has acquired the status of representing the English language.

redbtn It refers to the content of the utterance rather than the pronunciation.

redbtn However, Standard English is used in both speech and in writing.


Examples

A business letter

Dear Martin Brown
Thankyou for your letter dated July 3, requesting more information on the Snowmobile. We have put a copy of our brochure in the post to you.

A telephone conversation

“Hello. I’m ringing on behalf of my wife, Mary. Unfortunately, she won’t be in today because she’s feeling unwell.”


Use

redbtn Standard English in written form is used in such formal documents as essays, business letters, notices, reports, and memos.

redbtn Standard English in spoken form is used in such formal utterances as business negotiations, public announcements, and news broadcasts.

redbtn Most educated writers use Standard English in all texts – except when a special effect is required.

redbtn It is fairly common for a speaker to use Standard English and deliver it with a regional accent.

redbtn NB! Today’s dialect can become tomorrow’s Standard English.

redbtn Standard English is believed to have evolved by means of a universal linguistic process. The essential concepts concerning standardisation are as follows:

  • an element of conscious engineering always obtains
  • a variety regarded as exclusive is cultivated by an elite
  • standardisation slows down language development
  • a written form always exists, though not always as a standard

redbtn The standardisation process is thought to comprise the following stages:

1. selection
2. acceptance
3. elaboration
4. codification

redbtn If these principles are applied to the English language, we can see how a dialect became Standard English.

redbtn Selection. The origins of standard English lay in the merchant class who had by the fourteenth century settled in London. They spoke an east midland dialect, associated first with Norfolk and later with Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, and Bedfordshire. It had already become a class dialect within London. The lower class Londoners spoke a south east dialect which was the antecedent of Cockney.

redbtn By the end of the fourteenth century the east midland dialect was the embryonic written standard. About 1430, one regional variant of that dialect became increasingly dominant. This selection of a standard was obviously linked with the economic power and the ideas of the new merchant class. This was confirmed by the advent of printing, which created a concrete representation of the merchants’ spoken variety. [Caxton brought the printing press to England in 1475].

redbtn The spoken standard came about later in the Middle Ages for the following reason. Students from all over England mixed in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, both of which were only sixty miles from London. In this triangle formed by the three centres a great deal of east midland speech would have been heard, and possibly used as a kind of lingua franca (common language) among a socially mobile group. Here then, we see the selection of a certain dialect due to need and function.

redbtn Acceptance By about the middle of the fifteenth century the east midland dialect had been accepted as a written standard by those who wrote official documents. However, this acceptance was made unconsciously.

redbtn [For instance, when Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales [1387] in the east midland dialect, his contemporaries had their own, local written varieties. Langland’s Piers Plowman [1362-87] and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight [1370] are both written in dialects which are different than Chaucer’s.]

redbtn Even as late as the sixteenth century, no national literary standard existed. By Shakespeare’s time however, the regional differences had disappeared and a real, national, literary standard prevailed.

redbtn Elaboration Regional dialects of English lost status as their writing systems were displaced by the standard. Their functions became more restricted as the standard became more elaborated. Regional dialects became the medium of ordinary everyday conversation among equals.

redbtn The new written standard now had to function where previously Latin and French had been the norm in legal, ecclesiastical and scholarly matters. By neccessity it thus became elaborated.

redbtn Elaboration when applied to the development of a standard means that the particular variety must cope with all types of communication. Thus any variation within the dialect ceased to be based on region. It was based instead on stylistic function. That meant, for example, that vocabulary could now be differentiated as legal, literary, or technical.

redbtn English language was first used in government and law in 1362, although the use of French persisted alongside it for another century. It is interesting to note in this respect that Milton – one of the great English poets – wrote a great deal of his work in Latin. In 1731 an act of parliament was passed to restrict the use of Latin and French to the province of law. [Even today, the English legal system uses Latin expressions – ‘habeas corpus’, for instance.]

redbtn Codification The process of codification means that the use of language is documented in order to reinforce a certain variety which has been accepted. Codification is easier to effect in written form than in speech, although attempts have been made since the development of a written standard to apply the same practices of codification in speech.

redbtn Codification slows down the natural development of any language because of its aims for minimal variation in form. Criteria for choosing one particular use rather than another are usually related to the vested interests of certain social or economic groups. The impulses behind this codification stem from notions of prestige based on the emulation of social groups considered worthy of esteem.

redbtn Other countries in Europe such as France and Italy set up their own academies designed to monitor language and prescribe certain usages. The Academie Francaise (established in 1635) is still in operation. One of its most recent projects was trying to prohibit the use of ‘Franglais’ [‘Le parking’, ‘le week-end’] which was thought to be making the French language impure. The attempt was not successful.

redbtn In England, eighteenth-century scholars such as Jonathan Swift and Samuel Johnson pressed for the institution of an English academy, but it never happened.

redbtn The phenomenon of the dictionary arrived as a direct result of the desire to codify. Samuel Johnson’s dictionary (1755) was historically significant in that whilst it was a major work of codification, it was the first to acknowledge variation in meaning and usage.

redbtn Important note for teachers. The new National Curriculum requires youngsters to be competent in using “Standard English”. This is quite wrongly taken by many people to refer to accent, when it actually requires pupils to understand the use of standard grammatical constructions, together with a comprehensive standard lexicon.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

© Roy Johnson 2004


English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar


Filed Under: English Language Tagged With: English language, Grammar, Language, Standard English

Structure – how to understand it

September 13, 2009 by Roy Johnson

free pages from our English Language software program

Structure in grammar – definition

structure in grammar The term ‘structure’ refers to the basic construction or the arrangement of parts in a communication — spoken or written.

structure in grammar In the study of language, the term is being used metaphoricaly.


Examples

redbtn The events of a novel or a play may be arranged in a linear, chronological order to reflect the passing of time. They might on the other hand be arranged so that the end reflects the beginning, presenting a cyclic structure.

redbtn The structure of the English language is its grammar system with discernable patterns such as that of word-order and rules for forming tenses.

redbtn The structure of a conversation might be fairly random or planned, depending on the level of formality and the purpose of the discourse.

redbtn An interview might follow the chronology of a candidate’s curriculum vitae, or it might be structured by a series of questions.

redbtn The structure of a business document might be determined by the route taken by information as it passes through an organisation. On the other hand, it might reflect the stages of a manufacturing process.

redbtn The structure of a poem can often be seen in its rhyme scheme and the arrangement of its verses.


Use

redbtn People structure the content of their speech spontaneously, without any need for deliberate planning.

redbtn The same is not true for writing, where conscious effort is required.

redbtn An awareness of the concept of structure in language use is essential to the speaker or the writer, the listener or the reader.

redbtn Structure can be based on such elements as chronology, alphabetical order, recurring themes, logical sequence of content, and visual layout.

redbtn NB! Readers and speakers are affected by structure, even though they may not be conscious of it.

redbtn The structure of a text or of a spoken item is its foundation. Structure when applied to the English language as a system is its grammar.

redbtn It might be useful to distinguish structure from form in terms of linguistic analysis. The term ‘form’ refers to the finished article as a recognisable artifact such as a novel, report, letter, recipe, sermon, statement, or greeting.

redbtn A letter, for example, has a structure based on the patterning of both its content and its layout. The content is structured according to the convention of giving information in the following order:

  • sender’s address
  • date of writing
  • vocative opening (‘Dear Sir’)
  • content in order of importance
  • conventional salutation (‘Best wishes’)
  • signature of writer

redbtn The structure of the content is complemented by the layout in a conventional letter. The content is organised on the page in a well known pattern.

redbtn Even if a person were twelve feet away from the text it would be recognisable as a letter form — because of the structure of the layout.

redbtn In any text, the content must be organised according to some logical premise. Information which is not consciously structured is disjointed, haphazard, and therefore usually incomprehensible. Efficient communication in speech and writing depends to a great extent on the existence of structure.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

© Roy Johnson 2004


English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar


Filed Under: English Language Tagged With: English language, Grammar, Language, Speech, Structure, Writing

Style – how to understand it

September 13, 2009 by Roy Johnson

free pages from our English Language software program

Style – definition

style Style is a particular set of characteristics in the use of language.

redbtn These characteristics are the result of choices which may be made consciously or unconsciously.

redbtn The results are speech or writing which may be efficient, idiosyncratic, identifiable, or memorable.


Examples

redbtn The following are examples of good style in instructional writing and prose fiction:

Instructional writing
When approaching a roundabout, watch out for traffic already on it. Take special care to look out for cyclists or motorcyclists ahead or to the side. Give way to traffic on your right unless road markings indicate otherwise; but keep moving if the way is clear.

Prose fiction
Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.


Use

redbtn The term ‘style’ is usually used in a positive sense to praise what are seen as good qualities.

redbtn Even bad style may be identifiable – if it is consistent.

redbtn Good style is often easy to recognise, but quite difficult to analyse.

redbtn It may be used and perceived – unconsciously.

redbtn NB! We all use a variety of language styles every day, especially in speech.

redbtn One very important feature of good style is that it must be entirely appropriate for the task it is performing.

redbtn This means that the author must take into account [even if unconsciously!] audience, form, and function.

redbtn Style might be good, yet hardly noticeable – because it is concentrated on effective communication. This is sometimes known as ‘transparent’ good style.

redbtn The first of the examples above is from The Highway Code.

When approaching a roundabout, watch out for traffic already on it. Take special care to look out for cyclists or motorcyclists ahead or to the side. Give way to traffic on your right unless road markings indicate otherwise; but keep moving if the way is clear.

redbtn This is writing which is makes its points as simply and as clearly as possible. The vocabulary is that of everyday life, and in manner it is speaking to a general reader without trying to make an impression or draw attention to itself in any way.

redbtn This writing is entirely free of literary effects or decoration.

redbtn In most writing however, ‘good style’ is normally associated with verbal inventiveness and clever manipulation of the elements of literary language.

redbtn The second example is from Vladimir Nabokov’s famous novel Lolita:

Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.

redbtn This is writing which is deliberately setting out to be impressive. It relies very heavily on decoration and ornament.

redbtn In this extract Nabokov uses lots of alliteration – the repetition of the ‘l’ and ‘t’ sounds, metaphor – ‘light’ and ‘fire’ – and onomatopoeia – ‘trip’, ‘tap’ – as well as such fancy wordplay as the orthographic and semantic parallels between ‘life’ and ‘fire’.

redbtn Good style in speech and writing – like that in clothes or other matters involving taste – can go in and out of fashion.

redbtn Style in context. Style, in any kind of speech or writing, is extremely important to the overall function of communication. In most cases, a consistency of features produces what we understand as a pleasing style. That is, the style is appropriate to the context in which it occurs.

redbtn A discordant style is produced by the inclusion of some feature which does not fit with the stylistic context of the piece. In other words, the feature is out of place.

redbtn An example of this might be found in a personal letter which is signed ‘Yours faithfully’ or an aristocratic character in a novel speaking street slang for no good stylistic reason.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

© Roy Johnson 2004


English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar


Filed Under: English Language Tagged With: English language, Figurative writing, Language, Style, Writing

Stylistic analysis – how to do it

September 13, 2009 by Roy Johnson

free pages from our English Language software program

Stylistic analysis – definition

stylistic analysis Stylistic analysis in linguistics refers to the identification of patterns of usage in speech and writing.

redbtn Stylistic analysis in literary studies is usually made for the purpose of commenting on quality and meaning in a text.


Examples

redbtn A stylistic analysis of a roadsign which reads NO LEFT TURN might make the following observations.

  • The statement is a command.
  • It is cast in the imperative mode.
  • The statement lacks a subject and a verb.
  • These are implied [THERE IS].
  • The statement is unpunctuated.
  • Capitals have been used for emphasis.
  • Simple vocabulary to suit wide audience.
  • Extreme compression for rapid comprehension.
  • Form entirely suited to audience and function.

Use

redbtn In linguistics the purpose of close analysis is to identify and classify the elements of language being used.

redbtn In literary studies the purpose is usually an adjunct to understanding, exegesis, and interpretation.

redbtn In both cases, an extremely detailed and scrupulous attention is paid to the text.

redbtn This process may now be aided by computer programs which able to analyse texts.

redbtn NB! At this point, the study of language moves into either ‘stylistics’ or ‘literary studies’.

redbtn Stylistic analysis is a normal part of literary studies. It is practised as a part of understanding the possible meanings in a text.

redbtn It is also generally assumed that the process of analysis will reveal the good qualities of the writing.

redbtn Take for example the opening lines of Shakespeare’s Richard III:

Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York;

redbtn A stylistic analysis might reveal the following points:

  • the play is written in poetic blank verse
  • that is — unrhymed, iambic pentameters
  • the stresses fall as follows
  • Now /i/s the w/i/nter /o/f our d/i/scont/e/nt
  • [notice that the stress falls on vowel sounds]
  • the first line is built on a metaphor
  • the condition of England is described in terms of the season ‘winter’
  • the term ‘our’ is a form of the royal ‘we’
  • the seasonal metaphor is extended into the second line …
  • … where better conditions become ‘summer’
  • the metaphor is extended even further by the term ‘sun’
  • it is the sun which appears, ‘causing’ the summer
  • but ‘sun’ is here also a pun – on the term ‘son’…
  • … which refers to the son of the King
  • ‘York’ is a metonymic reference to the Duke of York

redbtn In a complete analysis, the significance of these sylistic details would be related to the events of the play itself, and to Shakespeare’s presentation of them.

redbtn In some forms of sylistic analysis, the numerical recurrence of certain stylistic features is used to make judgements about the nature and the quality of the writing.

redbtn However, it is important to recognise that the concept of style is much broader than just the ‘good style’ of literary prose.

redbtn For instance, even casual communication such as a manner of speaking or a personal letter might have an individual style.

redbtn However, to give a detailed account of this style requires the same degree of linguistic analysis as literary texts.

redbtn Stylistic analysis of a non-literary text for instance means studying in detail the features of a passage from such genres as:

Instruction notes for programming your video-recorder
Information a history text book
Persuasion an advertisement or a holiday brochure

redbtn The method of analysis can be seen as looking at the text in great detail, observing what the parts are, and saying what function they perform in the context of the passage.

redbtn It is rather like taking a car-engine to pieces, looking at each component in detail, then observing its function as the whole engine starts working.

redbtn These are features which are likely to occur in a text whose function is to instruct:

imperative or
command
‘remove the outer covering’
direct address ‘check voltage system before you install the unit’
numbered points [because sequencing is important in carrying out a procedure]
technical terms
or jargon
‘piston’, ‘carburettor’, ‘spark plug’
diagram with
call-out labels
[an extra level of communication to aid understanding]

redbtn Features are dealt with in three stages, as follows:

identify — describe — explain

redbtn The features chosen from any text will be those which characterise the piece as to its function. They will be used by the analyst to prove the initial statement which is made about the linguistic nature of the text as a whole.

redbtn This method puports to be fairly scientific. A hypothesis is stated and then proved. It is a useful discipline which encourages logical thought and can be transferred to many other areas of academic study.

redbtn This is one reason why the discipline of stylistic analysis is so useful: it can be applied to a variety of subjects.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

© Roy Johnson 2004


English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar


Filed Under: English Language Tagged With: English language, Language, Literature, Stylistic analysis, Writing

Symbols – how to understand them

September 14, 2009 by Roy Johnson

free pages from our English Language software program

Symbols – definition

symbols A symbol is an object which stands for something else.

redbtn In language it is a reference in speech or in writing which is made to stand for ideas, feelings, events, or conditions.

redbtn A symbol is usually something tangible or concrete which evokes something abstract.


Examples

redbtn The following are standard symbols in the context of English culture.

  • The rose often stands for love.
  • The colour red stands for passion.
  • The dove stands for peace.
  • The ace of spades stands for death.
  • The cross stands for Christianity.

Use

redbtn All cultures use symbols which are actual, tangible objects — such as the cross in a Christian church, the Union Jack flag in the UK, or the Statue of Liberty in the USA.

redbtn These standard symbols and others more original are evoked by conscious and deliberate use of language by writers, advertisers and speakers.

redbtn NB! Symbols are evoked or depicted by language. The very language which evokes the symbol is itself a code or symbol!

redbtn Symbols in the context of language use are sometimes created by the use of words such as ‘cross’ or ‘rose’ or ‘blood’.

redbtn The rose has been used so often in connection with love that it has become a symbol of it.

redbtn But the human heart is also used as a symbol for love – so there can be more than one symbol for the same thing.

redbtn Fire is often used as a symbol, both for danger and for human passion — so a single word or object can sometimes symbolise more than one thing.

redbtn The moon is sometimes used as a symbol for the female — because both have a ‘monthly cycle’.

redbtn In literature, a writer such as D.H. Lawrence exploits this symbolic connction by using images of the moon to stand for female sexuality.

redbtn Even when the word ‘moon’ itself is not used explicitly in his work, any pale nocturnal light can have the same symbolic effect in suggesting the female and her sexual nature.

redbtn In a novel, poem, short story or play, symbols are often introduced at the beginning and then developed and sustained throughout the work by means of various literary techniques.

redbtn Sometimes a symbol is created only for the duration of the work in which it is used. This is called ‘context-bound’ — because it does not have symbolic value outside the work.

redbtn For instance, the handkerchief in Shakespeare’s Othello is used as the symbol of Othello’s mistrust of Desdemona, his wife. [This is because it has come into the possession of his ‘rival’, Iago.] The material, tangible object stands for the emotion jealousy, bringing it into dramatic relief for the audience.
redbtn A handkerchief could be used as a completely different symbol in another piece of work.

redbtn Symbols are used very commonly in daily life. Many road signs are symbols, as is the traditional red and white pole for a barber’s shop.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

© Roy Johnson 2004


English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar


Filed Under: English Language Tagged With: English language, Language, Semiotics, Symbols

Synecdoche – how to understand it

September 14, 2009 by Roy Johnson

free pages from our English Language software program

Synecdoche – definition

synecdoche Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part of something is substituted for the whole thing.

redbtn The part chosen is usually important or essential, and thus the whole (although implied) is easily recognised or understood.


Examples

In the expression ‘United won the match’, the term ‘United’ stands for ‘Manchester United Football Club’ [or Leeds, or some other team].

In the expression ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ the term ‘bread’ stands for the meals eaten each day.


Use

redbtn Synecdoche [pronounced sin-eck-doh-key, by the way] is part of everyday speech. It is usually used quite unconsciously.

redbtn It is often used in imaginative writing such as fiction and poetry to clarify and enhance an image.

redbtn NB! If you can’t remember the difference between synecdoche and metonymy – don’t worry. You’re not alone.

redbtn In the expression ‘All hands on deck!’, the term ‘hands’ stands for ‘mariners’.

redbtn The term ‘hand’ has been chosen to represent the whole expression ‘able-bodied seaman’ [or in PC (politically correct) terms ‘sea-person’] because that is the most important feature required for work on deck.

redbtn In the expression ‘United won the match’, the term ‘United’ (in the case of Manchester United Football Club) might not appear to be the most important or essential item to represent the whole.

redbtn However, Manchester has two football teams — the other being Manchester City Football Club. A supporter of MUFC would therefore be selecting the one important lingustic feature which distinguished his team from the other fotball club.

redbtn The parts of the name ‘Manchester’ and ‘Football Club’ would be implied by the speaker, and understood by the listener.

redbtn Similarly, a supporter of Manchester City Football Club would say ‘City won the match’.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

© Roy Johnson 2004


English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar


Filed Under: English Language Tagged With: English language, Figures of speech, Language, Synechdoche

Synonyms – how to understand them

September 14, 2009 by Roy Johnson

free pages from our English Language software program

Synonyms – definition

synonyms In a very general sense, synonyms are different words which have the same meaning.


Examples
Word Synonym
kingly royal
pavement sidewalk
youth youngster
strong powerful

Use

redbtn Strictly speaking, such words are rarely [if ever] quite identical to each other.

redbtn There are bound to be semantic, stylistic, regional, or other differences between them.

redbtn It is often said that if two words do have exactly the same meaning, one of them is likely to disappear.

redbtn Moreover, two words might be synonymous in one statement, and different in another.

redbtn NB! Synonyms offer us variety in our expression.

redbtn Synonyms are usually referred to by linguists as ‘near synonyms’, because they argue that no two words mean exactly the same. If they did, one would probably disappear from use.

redbtn English is a language which has ‘borrowed’ from many varied sources during the course of its history. This has created a wide and heterogeneous lexicon. For example, terms which were originally French currently coexist with their Anglo-saxon equivalents:

French Anglo-Saxon
petite small
tour trip
chauffeur driver
aperitif drink
promenade front (as in sea-front)
escritoire desk

redbtn The French term usually carries a prestige value over that of the English equivalent, which is often seen as basic and even crass. This is because of the history of French dominance over the English as a result of the Norman Conquest.

redbtn During the period of French rule after 1066, a state of diglossia existed throughout the south of England. Diglossia means that two languages are used by one society, but applied to two discrete functions. French was used for matters of church and state, whereas English was used by the common people for personal and family discourse.

redbtn The legacy of this diglossia is that we have a multitude of synonyms or near-synonyms at our disposal.

redbtn However, it is usually preferable to state the same idea in a variety of styles, rather than to repeat one definitive term for one specific phenomenon.

redbtn In Shakespeare’s King Lear, the king confesses to being a ‘foolish fond old man’. The use of two near synonyms has a poetic and dramatic effect, as one adjective has the effect of intensifying the other.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

© Roy Johnson 2004


English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar


Filed Under: English Language Tagged With: English language, Grammar, Language, Synonyms

Syntax – how to understand it

September 14, 2009 by Roy Johnson

free pages from our English Language software program

Syntax – definition

syntax Syntax is the grammatical arrangement of words in a sentence.

redbtn It concerns both word order and agreement in the relationship between words.

redbtn Syntax is primarily concerned with structure of sentences.


Examples

redbtn The following statements follow normal English word order:

The cat sat on the mat.
My old brown leather suitcase.

redbtn The following statements do not follow normal English word order:

The cat on the mat sat.
My brown leather old suitcase.


Use

redbtn Word order is very important in English, because the language is no longer inflected. That is, individual words do not have endings to show which parts of speech they represent.

redbtn Changes to conventional synatx are often used to create dramatic, poetic, or comic effect.

redbtn For instance, poets and song lyricists often change syntactic order to create rhythmic effects:

“I’ll sing to him, each spring to him
And long for the day when I’ll cling to him,
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I.”

[RICHARD ROGERS]

redbtn NB! “To boldly go …” is STAR TREK’s famous syntactic inversion [and split infinitive].

redbtn A normal sentence in English usually contains at least three elements: subject, verb, and object.

Subject Verb Object
The cat eats the goldfish
John likes football
Mary chose the wallpaper

redbtn Every language has rules of syntax, and to the linguist the essential rules are descriptive. They are the rules which underpin the life of the language and which are extremely slow to change.

redbtn These are not to be confused with the presecriptive ‘rules’ of traditional grammar [For instance, ‘Never end a sentence with a preposition’].

redbtn An example of a descriptive rule of English syntax is that in the imperative in English, the verb takes the initial position in the sentence, usually directly before the noun which is the object.

Put those books on the table.
Take the lid off after half an hour.
Remove all packaging before heating the soup.
Isolate the switch in case of fault.

redbtn It is important to make a distinction between grammar and syntax, and to realise that syntax is a component of grammar.

redbtn The term ‘grammar’ refers to the whole structure of the language including the naming of its parts, its rules of tense, and its sound system. It is a comprehensive term.

redbtn Syntax only refers to the relationship between the grammatical components of language in use. In other words it is the nature, quality or type of relationship between terms in any given statement which is the province of syntax.

redbtn The construction of the passive voice is a syntactic issue, as it involves word order. The following statement is in the passive voice:

A woman was run over in central London today by a vehicle travelling at high speed.

redbtn If we transfer this to the active voice, we have:

A vehicle travelling at high speed ran over a woman in central London today.

redbtn The semantic content is similar in the two statements, but the emphasis is changed according to whether it is expressed as active or passive.

redbtn The difference between the two versions is dependent on the positioning of the subject and the object in the sentence. In the passive version, the object takes the initial position. This is a syntactic principle.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

© Roy Johnson 2004


English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar


Filed Under: English Language Tagged With: English language, Grammar, Language, Syntax

Tenses – how to understand them

September 14, 2009 by Roy Johnson

free pages from our English Language software program

Tenses – definition

tenses The term tenses refers to the temporal aspect of verbs in use.

redbtn There are many tenses in English to express past, present, and future.


Examples

PRESENT tense

The child brings joy into their lives.
Paris is the capital of France.
Paul is looking for the cat.

PAST tense

It was a wonderful day for all of us.
Judith had left the key on the table.
Fred had been about to leave when the telephone rang

FUTURE tense

The wedding will be a splendid affair.
I am going to stop smoking.
Stephen goes to college next week.


Use

redbtn All languages have tenses. It is interesting that English is the only modern European language which has no future tense as a designated term.

redbtn The future tense in English is expressed by using other tenses or by the semantic context.

redbtn In the example ‘Stephen goes to college next week’ the term ‘Stephen goes’ is present tense. It is the context in this case – created by the phrase ‘next week’ – which tells us that we are being informed about the future.

redbtn NB! Hold on to your hat! This topic can become quite complex.

redbtn There are many tenses in the English Language. They are all varieties of past, present, and future.

redbtn The following examples have all been placed in a context so that the complexity and the range of English tenses can be appreciated.

redbtn The names for tenses vary from one grammar text book to the next. Don’t worry about the exact name. It is more important to

  • assess whether the statement is in past, present, or future
  • look for any auxiliary verbs (‘to have’ and ‘to be’) used to construct the tense

redbtn Varieties of the past tense

I ran (so that I could be here at this moment)
I have run (all the way here)
I was running (when I fell over a few minutes ago)
I had run (so that I could arrive on time yesterday)
I have been running (and that’s why I’m out of breath now)
I had been running (and that’s why I fell over yesterday)
I used to run (but I have walked for some time now)

redbtn Varieties of the present tense

I run (to work every morining)
I am running (and that’s why I’m out of breath)
I have been running (for fifteen minutes, and I’m still running)

redbtn Varieties of the future tense

I shall run (so that I’ll arrive on time)
I will run (so don’t try to stop me)
I shall be running (to work for the foreeeable future to keep fit)
I shall have run (twelve miles by tomorrow morning)
I shall have been running (to work each morning for two weeks by next Friday)
I run (tomorrow because that’s the day of the race)

redbtn In some instances of these future varieties ‘shall’ and ‘will’ are auxiliaries deriving from the Old English ‘to wish’ or ‘to want’.

redbtn In order to assess whether an action or a state of existence is expressed in the past, present or future tense, it is important to have an idea of a fixed point in time from which the action or state is valued.

redbtn For example ‘I shall have been running’ implies a point in the future from which the past of that time is being viewed.

redbtn “I run into the house and there’s a masked gunman waiting to rob me!” looks like the simple present, but in fact it refers to an event in the past. Technicallly this is known as the vivid present and is mainly used in speech to add a sense of drama to an account of an exciting event.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

© Roy Johnson 2004


English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar


Filed Under: English Language Tagged With: English language, Grammar, Language, Tenses

Text – how to understand it

September 14, 2009 by Roy Johnson

free pages from our English Language software program

Text – definition

text Text literally means ‘a piece of writing’.

redbtn It has now acquired the meaning ‘the object being studied’.


Examples

Charles Dickens’ novel Bleak House is a text.
A letter from the Gas Board is a text.
The caption to a picture is a text.
A painting by Picasso can be a text.


Use

redbtn The term is most used in literary studies, where it was originally used as a synonym for ‘book’.

redbtn But it could just as easily be a poem, a letter, or a diary.

redbtn It is now in general use in other branches of the humanities such as cultural studies and film studies – where its meaning becomes ‘the thing being studied’.

redbtn So — in these other fields it could also be a video film, an advertisement, a painting, or a music score.

redbtn It is used so as to concentrate attention on the object being studied, rather than its author.

redbtn The term ‘text’ is most likely to mean a piece of writing which is the subject of study.

redbtn It is important to remember those elements which are the substance of textual analysis.

redbtn These are all relevant to analysing a text or piece of writing.

audience form function genre
layout subject structure style
syntax tone vocabulary

redbtn The term ‘text’ is used in other areas of enquiry to mean ‘the item being studied’.

redbtn This contemporary usage reflects a concentration on the object of study, rather than on its author.

redbtn This is another point at which the study of language blends into literary studies or ‘critical theory’.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

© Roy Johnson 2004


English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar


Filed Under: English Language Tagged With: English language, Language, Text, Writing

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • Next Page »

Get in touch

info@mantex.co.uk

Content © Mantex 2016
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Clients
  • Contact
  • FAQ
  • Links
  • Services
  • Reviews
  • Sitemap
  • T & C’s
  • Testimonials
  • Privacy

Copyright © 2025 · Mantex

Copyright © 2025 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in