Key Terms and Word Classes

Morpheme: A morpheme is the smallest grammatical and meaningful unit of a language. It can be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix, suffix, or root) that carries a specific meaning.

Lexeme: A lexeme is an abstract unit of meaning that represents a set of words with similar meanings or forms. It is the base form of a word, excluding inflections and variations.

Word: A word is a unit of language that carries meaning and can stand alone or be combined with other words to form sentences. Words typically consist of one or more morphemes.

Difference between Lexeme and Word: A lexeme represents the abstract meaning or concept of a word, while a word is a specific instance or realization of that lexeme in a particular form (e.g., inflections, conjugations, etc.).

Phrase: A phrase is a group of words that work together to convey a particular meaning, but it does not include both a subject and a predicate as a sentence does.

Clause: A clause is a group of words within a sentence that contains a subject and a predicate, functioning as a complete idea or thought.

Sentence: A sentence is a grammatically complete set of words that expresses a statement, question, command, or exclamation.

Grammar: Grammar refers to the set of rules and structures in a language that govern how words are combined to form meaningful expressions, including syntax, morphology, and semantics.

Syntax: Syntax is the branch of grammar that deals with the structure, formation, and arrangement of sentences and phrases, including the order of words, phrases, and clauses to convey meaning.

Difference between Grammar and Syntax: Grammar encompasses the entire system of a language, including syntax, morphology, phonology, and semantics, while syntax specifically focuses on the structure and arrangement of words, phrases, and clauses to form sentences and convey meaning. Syntax is a subset of grammar.

NOUNS

1. Morphological Features:
• Nouns typically have morphemes indicating number (singular/plural) and possession (possessive forms).
2. Syntactic Criteria:
• Nouns often function as the subject or object in a sentence.
• They can be preceded by determiners (e.g., "the," "my," "many"

Sub-classes of Nouns:

• Common nouns (e.g., "dog")
• Proper nouns (e.g., "John")
• Pronouns (e.g., "he," "she," "it")

VERBS

1. Morphological Features:
• Verbs can undergo inflection to indicate tense, aspect, mood, and person.
2. Syntactic Criteria:
• Verbs typically serve as the main predicate in a clause or sentence.

Sub-classes of Verbs:

• Auxiliary verbs (e.g., "have," "be," "do")
• Modal verbs (e.g., "can," "will," "should")

ADJECTIVES

• Adjectives modify nouns by providing additional information about their attributes or qualities (e.g., "beautiful" in "a beautiful flower").

ADVERBS

• Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs to provide details about manner, time, place, etc. (e.g., "quickly" in "ran quickly").

DETERMINERS

• Determiners introduce and modify nouns to specify or clarify them (e.g., "the," "a," "my," "some").

PREPOSITIONS

• Prepositions show a relationship between a noun/pronoun and other elements in the sentence (e.g., "in," "on," "under").

CONJUNCTIONS

• Coordinators join words, phrases, or clauses of equal importance (e.g., "and," "but").
• Subordinators introduce dependent clauses and show a subordinating relationship (e.g., "although," "because").