Statement A sentence which conveys information, makes assertions, and describes
actions, feelings, or a state of affairs. A statement is most typically a declarative
clause (He works in Barsham.). Statements are contrasted with questions.
Stative verb, state verb A verb that describes a state or situation, in which no
obvious action takes place. A stative verb cannot normally be used with the
progressive aspect:
He hates me.
(He is hating me.)
I believe you.
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Dynamic verb
Stem Refers to the form of a word to which prefixes and suffixes are attached
(reduce, untraceable, snowy, captive).
Stranded preposition
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Preposition
Sub-class Refers to elements of a class of word. For example, gradable and
non-gradable adjectives are sub-classes of adjectives.
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Class
Subject, dummy subject Identifies the doer or agent of an action, a state or an
event, in the form of either a noun phrase or a nominal clause. It usually
precedes the verb in a declarative clause and determines the person and
number of the verb (My mother works there.).
Dummy subject refers to the use of it or there as a non-referential pronoun
which fills the required subject position:
It is good to be here.
(Is good to be here.)
There’s a cat walking across the garden.
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Empty it
Subjunctive A form of mood which expresses wished for or desired states, after
verbs such as insist, demand, recommend, require, stipulate. It is realised by the
base form of the verb for all persons, with no inflections. It is associated with
very formal styles (I insist that she do these things herself.).
Subordinate clause A dependent clause that cannot form a sentence on its own,
and is usually linked to a main clause by a subordinating conjunction such as
although, because, before, for, that, when
. A subordinate clause may be finite or
non-finite (I spoke to her
before she left
.).
Subordinator Another term for subordinating conjunction.
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Subordinate clause
Substitution A term used to refer to the use of a proform to substitute a
previously mentioned entity. It is a device for brevity to avoid repetition.
Substitution can occur at phrasal and clausal levels:
Peter has bought
a new jacket
and Sam has bought
one too.
Cambridge is the most prestigious university in the UK
. People say
so.
924 | Glossary
Cambridge Grammar of English
Suffix An affix that is attached to the end of a base form to create a new word.
This process typically changes the word class: noun suffixes (action, trainee,
free
dom, arrival); adjective suffixes (
informal, homeless, grateful); verb suffixes
(simplify, darken, internationalise); adverb suffixes (quickly, homeward(s),
clock
wise).
Superlative The form of a gradable adjective or adverb which is used to specify
the most or the least of qualities, properties, states, conditions, relations, etc.
among entities. The superlative is realised by the suffix -est, or use of (the) most:
Of all of them, Tom is
cleverest.
Tom is
the tallest boy in class.
Tom is
the most handsome boy in class.
Suppletion Refers to a word which completely changes its shape in its inflected
forms (good, better, best).
Swearing A form of taboo language that is considered to be rude or blasphemous.
People use swear words to express strong feelings like annoyance, frustration
and anger.
Syntax Concerns the rules that govern the arrangement of words in phrases,
clauses and sentences, i.e. the study of the structure of sentences.
Taboo language Contains swearing or other types of words or phrases which
carry an intensifying and often negative comment on people and events. They
are discouraged in a society owing to their offensive or embarrassing nature.
Tag, tag question, fixed tag, copy tag A type of clause without a lexical verb. It
normally consists of an auxiliary verb, a modal verb, or the verb be and a
subject pronoun; it shows concord with the main-clause subject. Tags occur
very frequently in spoken English.
A tag question consists of a tag after a declarative clause which changes the
clause into a question or request for confirmation. It may have affirmative or
negative polarity:
She’s a teacher,
isn’t she?
We’ve never been to Stockholm,
have we?
A fixed tag involves items such as (all) right, okay, yeah, eh, don’t you think? at
the end of a declarative clause. It functions to check that a statement has been
understood:
So we’re meeting at 7 outside the pizza place,
okay?
Let’s stop talking in circles,
right?
A copy tag has the same polarity and subject-verb word order after a
declarative clause. It functions to make emphatic statements, frequently in
evaluative contexts:
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: 
