(PG = Prescriptive Grammar  —  DG = Descriptive Grammar)

(GL = Grammatical Lingo  —  OB = Obtuse  —  NG = Not Grammatical)

• F, f  —  [PG]  The Letter “F” Is The Sixth Letter Of The English Alphabet.  It Is Also The Fourth Consonant In The English Alphabet.

• Figure Of Speech  —  [NG]  This is not a Grammatical Term.  It is a Colloquial Term used by people who are not educated in Grammatical & Lexical Terms.  It is used to refer to any sort of Phrase which is very-often used, but may not be Comprehended.

To say that something is a “Figure Of Speech” is a way of explaining to someone who may not have comprehended what the speaker meant — to express to them that they did not LITERALLY mean what they said…  “It is only a figure of speech.”

As such — it is usually used to excuse Idiomatic & Metaphorical Phrases when that particular express was not known and the person saying it does not want to, or does not know how to explain it.

“You look like you could eat a horse!”

“What?!?!  What do you mean by that?!?!?!”

“Oh, it’s just a figure of Speech.  I just meant that you look hungry.  Do you want to go get something to eat?”

“Oh…  sure.  That sounds good.”

• Finite Verb  —  [OB]  The Term “Finite Verb” is simply another useless Grammatical Term which is used to refer to the Main Verb of a Sentence.  It is the Verb which is the “Action” of the Sentence — as opposed to Auxiliary Verbs, Gerunds, Infinitives, & Participles.

• First Conditional  —  [DG]  The Term “First Conditional” is used to refer to the type of Conditional Sentence which is used to talk about predictive events happening in the future.

“If you have any Questions, I will be here to answer them for you.”

“If you get lost, someone will help you find your way.”

“If it rains on the night of the concert, we can go see a movie instead.”

• First Person  —  [PG]  The Term “First Person” is a Grammatical Term which is used to refer to the “Speaker” of a Sentence.  Rather than the “Audience”, or a separate “Third Person” Subject.

To Illustrate:

I — who am writing this Sentence represents the “Speaker”.  So I am the “First Person”.  “I” is a “First-Person Pronoun”, and the Verb must Agree with that Pronoun, in-order-to be Grammatically Correct.
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You — who are reading this Sentence represent the “Audience”.  You are the “Second Person”.  “You” is a “Second-Person Pronoun”, and the Verb must Agree with that Pronoun, in-order-to be grammatically correct.
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If I were writing or speaking to You about someone else, like “Traditional English Teachers” — then They are the Subject.  And since They are not You or I (the “Speaker” or the “Audience”) — then They are the “Third Person”.  They is a “Third-Person Pronoun”, and the Verb must Agree with that Pronoun, in-order-to be Grammatically Correct.

Examples Of Pronoun / Verb Agreement Between 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Person:

1st:  “I Am“

2nd:  “You Are“

3rd:  “They Are“

• First-Person Pronoun  —  [PG]  The Term “First-Person Pronoun” is used to refer to any Pronoun which represents, and is in the correct form for, the “Fist Person” of a Sentence.

• Flap-D  —  [DG]  The Term “Flap-D” is used to refer to the Pronunciation of The Letter “D”, when it is not “Plosive” but sounds more like the “Rolled R” of some Languages — (but with only one “roll”).

The “Flap-D” & The “Flap-T” are essentially the same sound.  And the best example to give without hearing it, is the way that the Word “Letter” is pronounced in American-English.  Most traditional teachers would say that the “tt” combination is pronounced like The Letter “D” — but it is a “Flap-D”.

The reason that they call it a “Flap” T or D is because the tongue “Flaps” forward instead of the tip of the tongue touching the roof of the mouth as with a “normal” T or D.  This is the same motion as the final “D” sound in the Word “Called”.

• Flap-T  —  [DG]  The Term “Flap-T” is used to refer to the Pronunciation of The Letter “T”, when it is not “Plosive” but sounds more like the “Rolled R” of some Languages — (but with only one “roll”).

The “Flap-T” & The “Flap-D” are essentially the same sound.  And the best example to give without hearing it, is the way that the Word “Letter” is pronounced in American-English.  Most traditional teachers would say that the “tt” combination is pronounced like The Letter “D” — but it is a “Flap-D” — or in The Common Tongue we would say “Flap-T”.

The reason that they call it a “Flap” T or D is because the tongue “Flaps” forward instead of the tip of the tongue touching the roof of the mouth as with a “normal” T or D.  This is the same motion as the final “D” sound in the Word “Called”.

• Formal  —  [GL & NG]  The Term “Formal” — alone — is not a Grammatical Term.  It is simply an Adjective which is used to refer to speech or writing which is NOT “normal” Colloquial speech which is more relaxed, familiar, and used in “normal” situations.

This is as-opposed-to Informal speech or writing which would be familiar or Colloquial but would NOT be used in exclusive situations where one is expected to behave in a very specific “form” — for example:  When one meets The Queen of England…  oops…  The King of England.

• “Four-Letter Word”  —  [NG]  The Term “Four-Letter Word” is not a Grammatical Term.  It is a Slang-Term for what is more-commonly referred-to as a “Swear Word”.

• Fragmentary Response  —  [DG & OB]  The Term “Fragmentary Response” is a Grammatical Term in Traditional Grammar — however it has almost no use what-so-ever when it comes to actually Comprehending & Communicating in English.

It is used to describe a statement which is a “Response” to a Question or another Statement which — although not a full Sentence — is comprehended.  They are essential “Abbreviated Sentences”.

Examples:  “Sounds Good!”  —  “Gottcha!”  —  “You Bet!”  —  “No Problem”  —  “No F^ckin’ Way!”

• Full Stop  —  [DG]  The Term “Full Stop” is simply the British-English version of what we call a “Period” in American English and The Common Tongue.

• Function  —  [NG]  The Term “Functional” — alone — is not a Grammatical Term.  However — it is used, very often, within the Articles & Descriptions of different Words & Terms through-out GiveMeSomeEnglish!!! — to correctly acknowledge that some Words do not actually have any “Meaning”.  Instead — they have a Function.

For Example:  Try to decipher the “Meaning” of the Words:  “And”, “That”, or “To”…  There is none.  Instead — they have only a Function.

• Functional TOEFL Vocabulary  —  [NG]  The Term “Functional TOEFL Vocabulary” is not a Grammatical Term.  It is a Term used by GiveMeSomeEnglish!!! to describe one of three types of Vocabulary that is actually beneficial to learn in-preparation-for The TOEFL Exam.  There three types are called: Functional Vocabulary, Level-Checking Vocabulary, & Word-Transformation Vocabulary.

However — Functional Vocabulary is the only type of Vocabulary that one absolutely NEEDS to learn for The TOEFL Exam, because it is the Vocabulary that is contained in the instruction, the questions, and the tasks within The TOEFL Exam.

• Future  —  [NG]  The Term “Future” — alone — is not a Grammatical Term, but is used in reference to Verb Tenses & the “Time” that a Sentence is in.  In Traditional Grammar it is said that there is technically no “Future Tense” — but this makes no sense.  Because if that were true, then we would not be able to talk about the Future.

• Future-Continuous  —  [PG]  The Term “Future-Continuous” is used to describe the Verb Tense which is used to communicate about an event which will be, or is expected to be happening at some point in the Future.

The Future-Continuous Tense is constructed by using “will” or “shall” + The Present Participle of the Verb.

For Examples:  “I will be announcing some very cool news about GiveMeSomeEnglish!!! in the very near future.”

• Future-Perfect  —  [PG]  The Term “Future-Perfect” is used to describe the Verb Tense which is used to communicate about an event which will be, or is expected to be, completed BEFORE another point in the Future.

The Future-Perfect Tense is constructed by using “will” or “shall” + “have” + The Past Participle of the Verb.

For Examples:  “By the time you finish reading this entry, you will have learned everything you need to know about The Future-Perfect Verb Tense.”

• Future-Perfect Continuous  —  [PG]  The Term “Future-Perfect Continuous” is used to describe the Verb Tense which is used to communicate about an action which will have started sometime in the Future;  Will have been in action up to the point which is being referred to even FURTHER in the Future;  And may or may not continue yet even further into the Future.

The Future-Perfect Continuous Tense is constructed by using “will” or “shall” + “have” + “been” + The Present Participle of the Verb.

For Example:  “By the time you finish reading this entry, I will have been working on even MORE amazing things for you to Improve Your English Skills.”

• Future-Tense  —  [PG]  The Term “Future-Tense” is used to refer to one of the three times that Verb-Tenses can be referring to:  Past, Present, and Future.

It is said by many people that there is no “Future Tense” in Traditional Grammar.  However this is ridiculous, because if that were true, then we would not be able to talk about the Future.

In The Grammar Of The Common Tongue, there certainly are Future-Tenses:  Future-Simple, Future-Continuous, Future-Perfect, & Future-Perfect-Continuous.