Paired Construction - Quotative

In a sentence, a balanced arrangement of two roughly equal parts: a form of parallelism.

A palindrome is a type of word play in which a word, phrase, or sentence reads the same backward or forward.

In rhetoric, a panegyric is a speech or written composition that offers praise for an individual or an institution: an encomium or eulogy.

A simplified global form of the English language characterized by a large variety of local dialects.

A pangram is a sentence that uses all the letters of the alphabet.

A short and simple story that illustrates a lesson.

Paradiastole is a rhetorical term for a kind of euphemism in which something usually thought of as a vice is treated as a virtue, or vice versa.

A statement that appears to contradict itself.

A paragram is a type of verbal play consisting of the alteration of a letter or a series of letters in a word.

A group of closely related sentences that develop a central idea.

See "paralinguistics."

Emphasizing a point by seeming to pass over it.

The study of vocal (and sometimes non-vocal) signals beyond the basic verbal message or speech.

Parallelism is the similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.

Two or more words, phrases, or clauses that are similar in length and grammatical form.

A fallacious or defective argument or conclusion.

A restatement of a text or passage in another form or other words, often to clarify meaning.

Paraprosdokian is a rhetorical term for an unexpected shift in meaning at the end of a sentence, stanza, or short passage.

Parataxis is a rhetorical term for phrases or clauses arranged independently: a coordinate, rather than a subordinate, construction.

The repetition of the same sound in words that are close together.

(1) Either or both of the upright curved lines, ( ), used to mark off explanatory or qualifying remarks in writing. (2) The insertion of a verbal unit that interrupts the normal flow of the sentence.

Corresponding structure in a series of clauses.

A literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule.

The individual expressions of language in contrast to "langue," language as an abstract system of signs.

Paromologia is an argumentative strategy (a type of concession) by which a speaker acknowledges the validity of an opponent's point in order to strengthen his or her primary claim.

Paronomasia is a rhetorical term for punning, playing with words.

(1) A word that is derived from the same root as another word. (2) A word linked to another by similarity of form.

Free, frank, and fearless speech.

Linguistic definitions of parsing with examples and discussions.

A word group consisting of a present or past participle and any modifiers, objects, and complements.

A verbal that functions as an adjective.

A particle is a word that does not change its form through inflection and does not easily fit into the established system of parts of speech.

A word or phrase that indicates a part or quantity of something as distinct from a whole.

In classical rhetoric, the divisions of a speech (or oration): arrangement.

A passive infinitive is an infinitive construction in which the agent (or performer of the action) either appears in a prepositional phrase following the verb or is not identified at all.

The categories into which words are classified according to their functions in sentences.

Words that an individual recognizes but rarely uses when speaking and writing.

A verb form in which the subject receives the verb's action.

The third principal part of a verb, created by adding -ed, -d, or -t to the base form of all regular verbs and many (but not all) irregular verbs.

An aspect of the verb that designates an action which has been completed before another past action.

A verb construction (made up of "had been" + a present participle) that points to an activity or situation that was ongoing in the past.

A verb construction (made up of a past form of the verb "to be"--"was" or "were"--plus a present participle) that conveys a sense of ongoing action in the past.

A verb tense (the second principal part of a verb) indicating action that occurred in the past and which does not extend into the present.

The means of persuasion in classical rhetoric that appeals to the audience's emotions.

(1) An informal term for a dialect, especially one that is considered to have a low status in relation to a standard variety of a language. (2) The slang or jargon of a particular social group.

Grammatical analysis and instruction designed for second-language students.

In composition studies, a form of collaborative learning in which students meet (usually in small groups) to read and evaluate the writing of their classmates.

The downgrading or depreciation of a word's meaning, as when a word with a positive sense develops a negative one.

In rhetoric, the set of five problem-solving probes developed by Kenneth Burke.

A late-medieval mark of punctuation used to mark the close of a rhetorical question.

A verb construction that describes events occurring in the past but linked to a later time, usually the present.

A description of the syntax of English as it is actually used by speakers in spontaneous dialogues.

A verb that explicitly conveys the kind of speech act being performed.

(1) A punctuation mark ( . ) indicating a full stop, placed at the end of declarative sentences and other statements thought to be complete, and after many abbreviations. (2) A sentence of several carefully balanced clauses in formal writing.

Long and frequently involved sentence, marked by suspended syntax, in which the sense is not completed until the final word--usually with an emphatic climax.

In rhetoric, a roundabout description of something; wordiness.

A construction in which an independent word is described as having the same role as an inflection.

In speech-act theory, an action or state of mind brought about by, or as a consequence of, saying something.

The peroration is the closing part of an argument.

In grammar, person is the relationship between a subject and its verb, showing whether the subject is speaking about itself, being spoken to, or being spoken about.

Voice or mask that an author or speaker or performer puts on for a particular purpose.

A short work of autobiographical nonfiction characterized by a sense of intimacy and a conversational manner.

A personal pronoun is a pronoun that refers to a particular person, group, or thing.

A personal or autobiographical essay that many colleges, universities, and professional schools require as part of the admissions process.

A figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with human qualities or abilities.

The use of appeals to reasons, values, beliefs, and emotions to convince a listener or reader to think or act in a particular way.

An informal term for a word that looks as if it means one thing but actually means quite another.

Small talk: the nonreferential use of language to share feelings or to establish a mood of sociability rather than to communicate information or ideas.

A variety of the English language that is used in the Philippines.

The study of changes over time in a particular language or language family.

The smallest sound unit in a language that is capable of conveying a distinct meaning.

A phonestheme is a particular sound or sound sequence that (at least in a general way) suggests a certain meaning.

The branch of linguistics that deals with the sounds of speech and their production, combination, description, and representation by written symbols.

A method of teaching reading based on the sounds of letters, groups of letters, and syllables.

In spoken language, a phonological word is a prosodic unit that can be preceded and followed by a pause.

The branch of linguistics concerned with the study of speech sounds with reference to their distribution and patterning.

A complex verb made up of a verb (usually one of action or movement) and an adverbial particle (one of direction or location).

A phrase is any small group of words within a sentence or a clause.

In classical rhetoric, prudence or practical wisdom.

An informal term for a phrase that means the opposite of what it says: verbal hypocrisy.

A simplified form of speech formed out of one or more existing languages and used by people who have no other language in common.

In transformational grammar, the syntactic process by which one element in a clause drags other words along with it.

In classical rhetoric, proof, belief, or state of mind.

A word (such as "whatchamacallit") used by speakers to signal that they don't know or can't remember a more precise word for something.

A general term for the proper name of a locality: a toponym.

The act of using the work of another and passing it off as one's own.

Clear and direct speech or writing in English.

An informal rhetorical term used to characterize speech or writing that is simple, direct, and unambiguous.

The use of words to emphasize what is clear without them: redundancy.

Ploce is a rhetorical term for the repetition of a word or name, often with a different sense, after the intervention of one or more other words.

The sequence of incidents or events in a narrative.

See past perfect.

The form of a noun that typically denotes more than one person, thing, or instance.

A noun that appears only in the plural form and does not have a singular form.

The perspective from which a speaker or writer tells a story or presents information.

A logical fallacy (a type of ad hominem argument) in which a person attempts to place an opponent in a position from which he or she is unable to reply.

In linguistics, the distinction between positive and negative forms.

Speech acts that express concern for others and minimize threats to self-esteem ("face") in particular social contexts.

Repetition of words derived from the same root but with different endings.

The association of one word with two or more distinct meanings.

Polysyndeton is a sentence style that employs a great many conjunctions (opposite of "asyndeton").

A word formed by the blending of two or more other words.

The basic, uncompared form of an adjective or adverb, as opposed to either the comparative or superlative.

See "possessive determiner."

The inflected form of nouns and pronouns usually indicating ownership.

A determiner used to express possession of the thing referenced by the following noun.

A pronoun that shows ownership.

The post-creole continuum is the range of dialectal variations found in many creole-speaking communities.

A fallacy in which one event is said to be the cause of a later event simply because it occurred earlier.

A postmodifier is a modifier that follows the word or phrase it limits or qualifies.

A word that shows the relation of a noun or pronoun to some other word in a sentence. A postposition is similar in function to a preposition, but it follows rather than precedes the object.

A postscript is a brief message appended to the end of a letter (following the signature) or other text.

The argument that the linguistic input received by young children is in itself insufficient to explain children's detailed knowledge of their first language.

The ability to use language in a contextually appropriate fashion.

A branch of linguistics concerned with the use of language in social contexts and the ways in which people produce and comprehend meanings through language.

A summary of a book, article, speech, or other text.

A type of determiner that precedes other determiners in a noun phrase.

One of the two main parts of a sentence or clause, modifying the subject and including the verb, objects, or phrases governed by the verb.

An adjective that usually comes after a linking verb and not before a noun.

The traditional term for a noun, pronoun, or other nominal that follows a linking verb. The contemporary term for a predicate nominative is subject complement.

A program in many cellular (mobile) phones that predicts a complete word after a user has typed in one or two letters.

The reduction of a complex idea to a slogan or simple formula "with all the qualifications, distinctions, and uncertainties left out" (R. H. Thouless, "Straight and Crooked Thinking").

A letter or group of letters attached to the beginning of a word that partly indicates its meaning.

A proposition upon which an argument is based or from which a conclusion is drawn; either the major or the minor proposition of a syllogism in a deductive argument.

A premodifier is a modifier that precedes the head of a noun phrase.

See "fronting."

A preposition is a word that indicates the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence.

An adverb that can also function as a preposition.

A prepositional phrase is a group of words made up of a preposition, its object, and any of the object's modifiers.

An idiomatic expression that combines a verb and a preposition to make a new verb with distinct meanings.

A syntactic construction in which a preposition is left without a following object.

Prereading is the process of skimming a text to locate key ideas before reading a text (or a chapter of a text) from start to finish.

A set of norms or rules governing how a language should or should not be used rather than describing the ways in which a language is actually used.

The attitude or belief that one variety of a language is superior to others and should be promoted as such.

A verb form--made by adding "-ing" to the base form--that functions as an adjective.

An aspect of the verb expressing an action that began in the past and which has been completed or continues into the present.

A verb construction that emphasizes the ongoing nature of an action that began in the past and continues in the present.

A verb tense (made up of a present participle with a form of the verb "to be") that conveys a sense of ongoing action.

A verb tense that expresses action in the present time, indicates habitual actions, or expresses general truths.

See "past tense."

Prewriting is any activity that helps a writer think about a topic, determine a purpose, analyze an audience, and prepare to write.

A basic, intuitively understood metaphor--such as KNOWING IS SEEING or TIME IS MOTION--that may be combined with other primary metaphors to produce complex metaphors.

Information collected firsthand from such sources as historical documents, literary texts, artistic works, experiments, surveys, and interviews.

The linguistic principle that any thought a person can have can be formulated in language, and that anything which can be expressed in one language can also be expressed in another.

The three forms of a verb: base form, past tense form, and past participle.

Procatalepsis is a rhetorical strategy by which a speaker or writer anticipates and responds to an opponent's objections.

A method of paragraph or essay development by which a writer explains step by step how something is done or how to do something.

A biographical essay, customarily developed through a combination of anecdote, interview, incident, and description.

A verb phrase made with a form of "be" plus "-ing" that indicates an action or condition continuing in the present, past, or future.

Preliminary rhetorical exercises that introduce students to basic rhetorical concepts and strategies.

(1) Foreseeing and forestalling objections in various ways. (2) Figurative device by which a future event is presumed to have already occurred.

A word that takes the place of a noun.

Pronoun agreement refers to the correspondence of a pronoun with its antecedent in number, person, and gender.

A pronoun that does not refer explicitly or precisely to an antecedent.

Pronunciation is the act or manner of speaking a word.

A trial sheet of printed material made to be checked and corrected.

In rhetoric, the part of a speech or written composition that sets out the arguments in support of a thesis.

The process of reviewing the final draft of a text to ensure that all surface errors have been corrected.

The spreading of information and ideas to advance a cause or discredit an opposing cause.

A noun belonging to the class of words used as names for unique individuals, events, or places.

A document that offers a solution to a problem or a course of action in response to a need.

In an argument or debate, a proposition is a statement that affirms or denies something.

Ordinary writing (both fiction and nonfiction) as distinguished from verse.

(1) In phonetics, the use of pitch, loudness, tempo, and rhythm in speech to convey information about the structure and meaning of an utterance. (2) In literary studies, the theory and principles of versification, especially as they refer to rhythm, accent, and stanza.

Prosopopoeia is a figure of speech in which an absent or imaginary person is represented as speaking.

The addition of a letter to the beginning of a word.

Short, pithy statement of a general truth, one that condenses common experience into memorable form.

A fake word--that is, a string of letters that resembles a real word but doesn't actually exist in the language.

In applying the principle of subject-verb agreement (or concord), the practice of relying on the noun that is closest to the verb to determine whether the verb is singular or plural.

A fictitious name assumed by an individual to conceal his or her identity; a pen name.

Thoughtless repetition of a word or phrase; using a word without regard for its meaning.

The study of the mental aspects of language and speech--a branch of both linguistics and psychology.

An oral presentation in which a speaker addresses an audience.

A verb that expresses a mental state or event.

In rhetoric, the place where citizens exchange ideas, information, attitudes, and opinions.

A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words.

Set of marks used to regulate texts and clarify their meanings, principally by separating or linking words, phrases, and clauses.

A pejorative term in linguistics for a zealous conservatism in regard to the use and development of a language.

A generally pejorative term for writing or speech that is characterized by ornate or flowery language.

In composition, purpose is a person's reason for writing, such as to inform, entertain, explain, or persuade.

Pysma is a rhetorical term for the asking of multiple questions in succession.

A word or phrase (such as "very") that precedes an adjective or adverb, increasing or decreasing the quality signified by the word they modify.

In grammar, a type of determiner that expresses a contrast in quantity.

An utterance that has the form of a question (an interrogative sentence) but the force of a statement (a declarative sentence).

A type of sentence expressed in a form that requires (or appears to require) an answer.

A punctuation symbol (?) written at the end of a sentence or phrase to indicate a direct question.

See "tag question."

The reproduction of the words of a writer or speaker.

Either of a pair of punctuation marks (" ") used primarily to mark the beginning and end of a passage attributed to another and repeated word for word.

In discourse analysis, an expression that introduces reported speech.