Linguistic Functions, Grammar, and Syntax: A Comprehensive Guide
Linguistic Functions
Language serves various functions:
- Referential: Focuses on conveying objective information about the external world.
- Conative: Aims to elicit a specific response from the listener, often used in advertising and propaganda.
- Expressive: Reveals the speaker’s emotions and subjective state.
- Phatic: Establishes or maintains communication, with minimal information content.
- Metalinguistic: Refers to the language itself, discussing its structure and usage.
- Poetic: Emphasizes the aesthetic qualities of language, using figures of speech and wordplay.
Linguistic Signs
Characteristics of linguistic signs:
- Linearity: Words occur in a sequence.
- Joint: A limited set of elements can create countless messages.
- Arbitrariness: The relationship between a sign and its meaning is arbitrary.
- Monosemy: A single meaning.
- Homonymy: Words with identical forms but different meanings.
- Polysemy: Multiple meanings for a single word.
- Synonymy: Different words with similar meanings.
Determiners
Determiners accompany nouns:
- Demonstrative: This, that, these, those
- Possessive: My, your, his, her, its, our, their
- Indefinite: Some, any, many, few, several
- Cardinal numbers: One, two, three, etc.
- Ordinal numbers: First, second, third, etc.
- Exclamatory/Interrogative: What, which, how many, etc.
Pronouns
Pronouns replace nouns:
- Personal: I, you, he, she, it, we, they
- Relative: Who, whom, whose, which, that
- Demonstrative: This, that, these, those
- Possessive: Mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs
- Interrogative: Who, what, which, whose
Verbs
Verbs express actions or states of being. Examples of reflexive verbs: washing, grooming, showering.
Adjectives
Adjectives modify nouns. Example: white roses.
Adverbs
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Examples: very beautiful, too high, working well, coming today.
Verb Tenses (Indicative Mood)
Simple Tenses
- Present: I love
- Past Imperfect: I loved
- Preterite: I loved
- Future Simple: I will love
- Conditional Simple: I would love
Compound Tenses
- Present Perfect: I have loved
- Past Perfect: I had loved
- Pluperfect: I had loved
- Future Perfect: I will have loved
- Conditional Perfect: I would have loved
Verb Tenses (Subjunctive Mood)
Simple Tenses
- Present: I love (subjunctive)
- Past Imperfect: I loved (subjunctive)
- Future: I will love (subjunctive – archaic)
Compound Tenses
- Present Perfect: I have loved (subjunctive)
- Past Perfect: I had loved (subjunctive)
- Future Perfect: I will have loved (subjunctive – archaic)
Heteronomy, Homonymy, Synonymy, Antonymy
- Heteronomy: Words with different roots for opposing grammatical terms (e.g., bull-cow).
- Homonymy: Words with identical forms but different meanings (homographs and homophones).
- Synonymy: Words with similar meanings (e.g., red-crimson).
- Antonymy: Words with opposite meanings (e.g., handsome-ugly).
- Hypernymy: A general term (e.g., appliance).
- Hyponymy: A specific term (e.g., microwave).
Semantic Field
A semantic field is a set of words related by a common theme (e.g., vehicles: car, truck, bicycle).
Sentence Analysis
- Direct Object (COD): Can be replaced by it, him, her, them.
- Agent Complement (C Agent): Performs the action in passive voice.
- Attribute: Describes the subject (used with copulative verbs like be, seem, appear).
- Indirect Object (CI): Receives the benefit or detriment of the action.
- Circumstantial Complement (CC): Provides context (time, place, manner, etc.).
- Predicative Complement (PVO): An adjective or participle that modifies the subject or direct object.