Cambridge Grammar of English Hardback with cd-rom a comprehensive Guide

partially,

hardly, barely, slightly

):

I was 

extremely annoyed.

Interjection A term for exclamatory words or expressive vocalisations used to

express emotional reactions such as surprise, shock, delight (crikey, gosh,

hooray, oh, ouch, wow

):

Gosh! That’s quick. 

Ouch, that hurts!

Û

Exclamative

Interrogative A clause type that is typically associated with questions. The

normal word order is auxiliary/modal verb + subject + verb + 

X

, where 

X

is any

other element present (e.g. object/predicative complement):

Do you need any help at all? 

Where 

did you have your hair done?

Û

Indirect interrogative clause

Intonation Use of variation in pitch, loudness, rhythm and syllable length

associated with different types of meaning. For example, in wh-questions, the

intonation is typically a falling tone (

) on the most important syllable:

When are you

leaving?

Intransitive Refers to the use of verbs without any other items being necessary to

complete their meaning, for example, verbs such as appear, begin, die, go,

laugh

, rain, happen):

The old man 

died. 

We all 

laughed.

Inversion A reversal of the usual sequence of constituents. For example, in an

interrogative clause, the subject and auxiliary/modal verb are inverted (Are we

going to have a party?

).

908 | Glossary

Cambridge Grammar of English

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Irregular verb Refers to the form of verb which has a variety of types of ending

and internal change applied to the base form. Irregular verbs are similar to

regular verbs in making their -s form and -ing participle (speaks, speaking;

meet

s, meeting; takes, taking; swims, swimming). But almost all irregular verbs

are irregular in their past form and -ed participle (spoke, spoken; met, met;

t

ook, taken; swam, swum).

Left dislocation 

Û

Header

Lexeme Refers to the underlying forms of words which can only belong to one

word class. For example, the word water has a similar meaning when used as a

noun (I drank the water.) and when used as a verb (I must water the plants.)

but it is a different lexeme in each case. Forms such as water, waters, watering

and watered are grammatically distinct forms of the same lexeme, the verb water.

Lexical Concerned with vocabulary rather than grammar, and concerned with

content meaning rather than grammatical meaning. Nouns, adjectives, adverbs

and most verbs are lexical items. Modal and auxiliary verbs, prepositions,

pronouns, etc. are treated as grammatical, not lexical, items.

Linking adjunct A single word or phrase which explicitly indicates the semantic

relationship between two clauses, sentences or paragraphs. The semantic

relations that are signalled by linking adjuncts include: additive (also, above

all

); resultative (so, therefore); contrastive (rather, on the contrary); inference

(then, in that case); time (eventually, then); concessive (anyway, though);

summative (overall, in short); listing (firstly, lastly); and meta-textual (namely,

so to speak

).

Locative, locative complement Refers to a prepositional phrase which locates

the object in terms of place or time. A locative complement occurs after certain

verbs of placement and direction such as bring, drive, lay, lead, put, show,

stand, take

: