The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. 1996. Page 267

Reference > Usage > American Heritage^® Book of English Usage > Page 267

CONTENTS · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD · WORD INDEX · SUBJECT INDEX

The American Heritage® Book of English Usage.

A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. 1996.

Page 267

both, or whose) and occupying the first position in a noun phrase or the second or third position after another determiner.	1
dialect
A variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary and shared by a group that is set off from others geographically or socially. The term dialect is sometimes used to refer to a variety of language that differs from the standard literary language or speech pattern of the culture in which it exists.	2
diminutive
A word, name, or suffix that indicates smallness, youth, familiarity, affection, or contempt. Booklet, lambkin, and nymphet are diminutives. The suffixes -et, -let, and -kin are diminutive suffixes.	3
direct object
The noun, pronoun, or noun phrase referring to the person or thing that receives the action of a transitive verb. In mail the letter and call him, letter and him are the direct objects.	4
disjunctive
Serving to establish a relationship of contrast or opposition. But in sad but wiser is disjunctive.	5
double negative
A construction that employs two negatives, especially to express a single negation. See Grammar, double negative.	6
elliptical
Characterized by the omission of a word or phrase that is necessary for a complete grammatical construction but is not necessary for understanding. In the sentence While cleaning the desk, he found an old photograph, the clause while cleaning the desk is elliptical in that it stands for while he was cleaning the desk.	7
epicene pronoun
A pronoun that has one form for both masculine and feminine antecedents. See Gender, epicene pronouns.	8
finite
Limited by person, number, tense, and mood. A finite verb can serve as the predicate of a sentence or as the initial verb in a verb phrase that is the predicate.	9
function word
A word such as a preposition, conjunction, or article that has little meaning on its own and chiefly indicates a grammatical relationship.	10
future perfect tense
The verb tense that expresses action completed by a specified time in the future and that is formed by combining will have or shall have with a past participle. See Grammar, verbs, tenses of.	11
future tense
The verb tense that expresses action that has not yet occurred or a state that does not yet exist. See Grammar, verbs, tenses of.	12

CONTENTS · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD · WORD INDEX · SUBJECT INDEX

Click here to shop the Bartleby Bookstore.