grammatical construction
Definition
Noun: 1. A sequence of words arranged according to the rules of grammar to form a meaningful unit within a sentence. This refers to any syntactically correct grouping of words that functions as a single element, such as a phrase, clause, or the entire sentence itself. The term emphasizes the structure and arrangement of the words. 2. The specific way in which words are combined to create a particular meaning or effect. This meaning focuses on the choice and order of words, which can sometimes be unusual or distinctive.
Examples
- As a syntactic unit:
- The grammatical construction "in the old house" functions as a prepositional phrase.
- Linguists analyze the grammatical construction of complex sentences.
- As a specific word arrangement:
- The poet's unusual grammatical constructions made her work difficult to parse.
- I concluded from his awkward constructions that he was a foreigner.
Advanced Usage
- Theoretical Linguistics: In construction grammar, a construction is a fundamental unit of grammar, a form-meaning pairing that can be a word, an idiom, or a general syntactic pattern (e.g., the "ditransitive construction" as in "She gave him a book").
- Analysis: The term is used to discuss the correctness, complexity, or style of a word grouping. One might critique a "clumsy construction" or praise an "elegant construction."
Variants and Related Words
- Construct (verb): To build or form by putting parts together. (e.g., ).
- Syntax (noun): The set of rules and principles that govern sentence structure and the arrangement of words.
- Constituent (noun): A word or a group of words that functions as a single unit within a hierarchical structure.
Synonyms
- Phrase
- Clause
- Word group
- Syntactic structure
- Wording
- Phrasing
Related Idioms and Phrases
- Turn of phrase: A particular or distinctive way of expressing something.
- His clever turn of phrase made the speech memorable.
- Figure of speech: A word or phrase used in a non-literal sense for rhetorical effect.
- "Time is a thief" is a common figure of speech.
Noun
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a group of words that form a constituent of a sentence and are considered as a single unit
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I concluded from his awkward constructions that he was a foreigner
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