English Grammatical Terms
Letter U
(PG = Prescriptive Grammar — DG = Descriptive Grammar)
(GL = Grammatical Lingo — OB = Obtuse — NG = Not Grammatical)
- U, u — [PG] The Letter “U” Is The Twenty-First Letter Of The English Alphabet. It Is Also The Fifth Vowel In The English Alphabet.
- U-Schwa — [PG] The Term “U-Schwa” does not exist in Traditional Grammar. This is a Term that I (“The Teacher” from GiveMeSomeEnglish!!!) created to describe one of The THREE Different Schwa Sounds.
The “U-Schwa” is distinct from the “TRUE-Schwa” & the “I-Schwa” because is actually sounds like The Short-Letter “U” — and NOT like a “TRUE-Schwa” Sound.
- Video Lesson — “The Schwa Sound In English“
- See Also: “TRUE-Schwa”, “I-Schwa”, & “Phantom-Schwa”
- Un-Countable Noun — [DG] The Term “Un-Countable Noun” is used to describe a Noun which can not be counted — because when it increases or decreases, it does-so in Mass, Scale, or Volume. This is as-opposed-to a Countable Noun which CAN be counted — because when it increases or decreases, it does-so in Number.
This Term is the commonly-used Term in Traditional Grammar. And although it is better than its British-English alternatives of “Non-Count Noun” or “Mass Noun” — it is still not correct. In The Grammar Of The Common Tongue, we use the PROPER & CORRECT Term: “Non-Countable Noun”.
This is because the Prefix “Un-“ is used to indicate the reversal of something, or the making of it into its opposite. While the Prefix “Non-“ simply means “Not”. That is why The Common Tongue Term of “Non-Countable Noun” is the Proper & Correct Term.
- See Also: “Countable Noun” & “Noun”
- Un-Inflected Language — [NG] The Term “Un-Inflected Language” is not a Grammatical Term. It is a Term of Linguistics — used to describe a Language which is NOT considered to be “Inflected”. However “Inflections” take so many different forms, that there is probably not a single Language on Planet Earth which is NOT “Inflected” to some degree. So there is, most-likely, no such thing as an “Un-Inflected Language”. There is only the fact that each Language has more or less “Inflection” than others.
- See Also: “Inflected” & “Inflection”
- Un-Stressed — [NG] The Term “Un-Stressed”, by itself, is NOT a Grammatical Term — but is used in-reference-to the Syllables of a Word which are not “Stressed”.
- Blog Post — Click Here!
- Video Lesson — Click Here!
- See Also: “Stressed” & “Un-Stressed Syllable”
- Un-Stressed Syllable — [DG] The Term “Un-Stressed Syllable”, is used to refer to the Syllable of a Word which is NOT “Stressed”. This Syllable is pronounced more quietly; is NOT given as much emphasis; And the Vowel sound often turns into a Schwa Sound.
- Blog Post — Click Here!
- Video Lesson — Click Here!
- See Also: “Stressed Syllable”
- Blog Post — Click Here!
- Pronunciation Lesson — Click Here!
- See Also: “Voiced”
- (an) Undestatement — [NG] The Term “Understatement” is not a Grammatical Term. But it is a Term that we use to say that some Statement is the OPPOSITE to an Exaggeration. In-other-words — the Statement was far LESS than the truth of the matter.
“To say that Hillary Clinton is ‘not very-well liked’ is an Absolute understatement!”
— Translation: Hillary Clinton is Abosolutely HATED by almost everyone. In-fact — the only people that do NOT hate her, are people who are very hateful themselves.
“To say that that TOEFL Excellence is pretty good is Very-Much an understatement!”
— Translation: TOEFL Excellence is The BEST TOEFL Preparation System In The Known Universe!
- See Also: “Exaggeration”
- Upper-Case — [DG] The Term “Upper-Case” is used to refer to form that a Letter is written in when it is the first Letter of the first Word of a Sentence. Or when it is the first Letter of what — in Traditional Grammar — is referred-to as a “Proper Name”. Upper-Case Letters are referred-to as “Capital Letters”. When the Letter is written in the OTHER way, we say that it is in the Lower-Case.
The Letters of The English Alphabet — when written in the Upper-Case form — look like this:
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
- See Also: “Capital Letter” & “Lower Case”
- Usage — [NG & GL] The Term “Usage”, alone, is not a Grammatical Term. However it is Grammatical Lingo for how a Word, Phrase, or “Phrasal” is “Used”. This is very distinct from what a Word, Phrase, or “Phrasal” actually MEANS.
However — in Traditional Grammar — and even in almost every dictionary in the world (probably all of them) — there is, often, no distinction between Meaning & Usage. And this is one of the biggest reasons for the absolutely astounding levels of stupidity in the world as a whole. This is also one of the biggest motivations for the creation of The Grammar Of The Common Tongue.
- See Also: “Meaning” & “Meaning & Usage”
- Utterance — [NG] The Term “Utterance” is not a Grammatical Term — However it has appeared on some lists of Grammatical Terms — so it is here to ensure that there is no con-fusion about this Word.
The Word “Utterance” literally means: ANYTHING which is spoken.
As such — the word has no Grammatical usage.
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