· Holding them back in the workplace.
· A sense that the education system has let them down.
· The need for confidence building.
· A discrepancy between verbal and written skills.
· A desire for greater awareness.
Metalanguage: a definition
Meta = Is a prefix in Greek, which means above.Language n (noun) = Meta Language is language about language
Similar in meaning is a Greek metaphor. An example of a metaphor is; I’m knackered. This literally means broken, but when usually said it means, I am tired.
Both the words Metalanguage and language are nouns.
to rush
Followed by a verb
He rushed to work every day
Rushes
Inflective verb – change the form – to add a different ending
Understanding Parts of Speech 1
Example of Metalanguage and their definitions
1. Sentence
A sentence is a unit of meaning. It starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, a question mark or an exclamation mark. If a sentence is not complete then it is called a fragment.
Silence! <- is a sentence
Silence <- is not a sentence
A sentence with a capital letter and no ending is a fragment.
1. Noun
A noun is a naming word. These groups are mutually exclusive, means a noun can appear in one or more groups.
| Countable nouns (Countable) | Uncountable nouns (Mass) |
| Cars | Pollution |
| A sheep | Air |
| A table | Joy |
| A plane | Air/Smog |
| A building | Space |
| A chair | Eternity |
| An orange | Infinity |
| A boy | |
· Countable nouns all have a ‘a’ or ‘an’ – indefinite article.
· A definite article is ‘the’, which is added to the beginning of a noun to make it definite.
· When we use an ‘a’ or ‘an’? When the noun starts with a vowel we use ‘an’.
· Uncountable nouns have no article as they can not be counted.
| Abstract nouns (Generally uncountable but can be definite- ‘a love’) | Concrete nouns (Tangible – Generally are countable) |
| Ideas | Table |
| Love | Chairs |
| Marxism | Classroom |
| Concepts | Bomb |
| Confucianism | River |
| Dictatorship | Sky – generally uncountable but can be countable |
| Democracy | Aero plane |
| Religion | |
| Hate | |
| Love | |
There are four main ways of viewing nouns:-
1. Proper noun – names (begin with capital – city, name)
2. Common nouns – anything other than proper noun
3. Collective (countable nouns)
§ A flock of sheep
§ A pride of sheep
§ A stack/ ream of paper
§ A sheet
1. Verb
A verb describes an action. Doesn’t have to be one word
The infinitive is the base. It has different tenses. The infinitive is used to change the tense.
To run – verb
To jump – verb
1. Adjective
Goes before a noun. Provides us with extra information about that noun. Words that describe noun.
Examples:-
Young
Bright
Attractive
Busy
Noisy
Inquisitive
Foreigner
1. Adverb
Max plays the guitar beautifully
Max = subject
plays beautifully
beautifully = adverb of manner (add ly to show an adverb)
Max is a beautiful guitar player
beautiful = adjective
guitar player=noun
Emma lives happily in Paris
lives=verb
happuly =adverb of manner
Dan never washes
never = adverb of frequency
Other adverbs of frequency:
1. Constantly
2. Frequently
3. Every year
4. Always
This is an example of an Adverb with adjective. Here the Adverb comes before adjective.
She’s beautiful
| She’s | very | beautiful |
| | Adverb | Adjective |
Jessica sings
Q. How?
Jessica sings..........(Adverbs of Manner)
noisily
loudly
well = Irregular adverb
Q. How often?
Jessica sings....
(Adverbs of frequency)
frequently
every week
all the time
daily
Not sure if a word is an adjective or adverb. We can add ‘a’ before the word, and if it fits, then we know it is not an adverb.
For example: Is peculiar an adjective or adverb?
A peculiar man <- it fits so peculiar is an adjective and not an adverb.
The orders of words are important.
He simply swallowed -> he just swallowed
He swallowed simply -> he swallowed easily – different from the previous sentence.
