From: Translation Bureau
Language Navigator allows you to search by keyword or by theme to quickly find answers to questions about language or writing in English and French. To learn more about this search engine, consult the section entitled About Language Navigator.
New to Language Navigator? Learn how to search for content in Language Navigator.
Search by keyword
Search fields
Search by theme
Search by theme to quickly access all of the Portal’s language resources related to a specific theme.
About Language Navigator
Language Navigator simultaneously searches all of the writing tools, quizzes and blog posts on the Language Portal of Canada. It gives you access to everything you need to write well in English and French: articles on language difficulties, linguistic recommendations, conjugation tables, translation suggestions and much more.
To translate a term or to find answers to terminology questions in a specialized field, please consult TERMIUM Plus®.
Results 1 to 7 of 7 (page 1 of 1)
Clauses and phrases 3
An English-language quiz on clauses and phrases.Clauses and phrases are similar, yet different. As you may recall, a clause is a group of related words that has a subject and a predicate. A phrase is also a group of related words, but it does not contain a subject and a predicate.Test your knowledge by picking out which of these examples are clauses and which are phrases.1. when the campaign got off the groundclausephrase2. an unprecedented snowfallclausephrase3. with the utmost compassionclausephrase4. the story was told to me by my grandmotherclausephrase5. deciding on a movieclausephrase6. deciding on a movie is always a challengeclausephrase7. motivation to get the job doneclausephrase8. motivation was needed to get the job doneclausephraseSource: Quizzes on the Language Portal of Canada
Number of views: 8,154
noun phrase
A phrase is a group of words that forms a unit simpler than a sentence. Unlike a sentence (or clause), a phrase normally does not contain both a subject and a finite (conjugated) verb. A noun phrase is simply a noun (or pronoun) with its modifiers. Examples of noun phrases Noun phrases consist of a noun or pronoun modified by adjectives, phrases or even dependent clauses. Noun or pronoun + adjectives two old shoes [noun shoes + adjectives two and old] many others [pronoun others + adjective many] Noun or pronoun + prepositional phrase trucks with rusty fenders [noun trucks + prepositional phrase with rusty fenders] both of you [pronoun both + prepositional phrase of you] Noun or pronoun + participle phrase workers delivering supplies [noun workers + present participle phrase delivering supplies] anyone delivering supplies [pronoun anyone + present participle phrase] cars made in Canada [noun cars + past participle phrase made in Canada] the ones made in Canada [pronoun ones + past participle phrase] Noun or pronoun modified by an infinitive phrase popcorn to snack on [noun popcorn + infinitive phrase to snack on] something to snack on [pronoun something + infinitive phrase] Noun or pronoun modified by a dependent clause clients who want this service [noun clients + clause who want this service] those who want this service [pronoun those + clause] Note: We have said that a phrase normally does not contain a subject and verb. The exception is a phrase that contains a dependent clause as a modifier, because every clause has a subject and verb.Source: Writing Tips Plus (English language problems and rules)
Number of views: 3,001
noun clause
A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb. Some clauses are independent: they can stand alone as sentences. Others are dependent: they cannot stand alone and need an independent clause, or sentence, to support them. These dependent clauses act as adjectives, adverbs or nouns. A dependent clause that acts as a noun is called a noun clause. Structure Noun clauses most often begin with the subordinating conjunction that. Other words that may begin a noun clause are if, how, what, whatever, when, where, whether, which, who, whoever, whom and why. Function Since a noun clause acts as a noun, it can do anything that a noun can do. A noun clause can be a subject, a direct object, an indirect object, an object of a preposition, a subject complement, an object complement or an appositive. Examples Subject: Whatever you decide is fine with me. Direct object: I can see by your bouncy personality that you’d enjoy bungee jumping. Indirect object: We will give whoever drops by a free Yogalates lesson. Object of preposition: Lacey talked at length about how she had won the perogy-eating contest. Subject complement: The problem is that my GPS is lost. Object complement: Call me whatever names you like; you’re still not borrowing my car. Appositive: Al’s assumption that bubble tea was carbonated turned out to be false. A key difference between noun clauses and other dependent clauses Other dependent clauses act as adjectives and adverbs. We can remove them and still have a complete independent clause left, with a subject and verb and any necessary complements. That is not the case with most noun clauses. Usually, a noun clause is too essential to the sentence to be removed. Consider these examples: Whether you drive or fly is up to you. I wondered if you would like to go to the barbecue. Sandy led us to where she had last seen the canoe. If we remove these noun clauses, what is left will not make much sense: … is up to you. I wondered …. Sandy led us to …. That is because, in each example above, the noun clause forms a key part of the independent clause: it acts as the subject, the direct object, the object of a preposition. Without those key parts, the independent clauses do not express complete thoughts. A sentence containing a noun clause is thus the one case in which an “independent” clause may actually need a dependent clause to be complete! Commas Noun clauses may need to be set off by one or two commas in the following situations. Appositives An appositive is a noun or nominal (a word or word group acting as a noun) that is placed next to another noun to explain it. For example, in the following sentence, the noun phrase the mayor of Riverton is an appositive explaining who John Allen is: John Allen, the mayor of Riverton, is speaking tonight. Noun clauses are nominals and can act as appositives. In that case, they may require commas if they are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. I did not believe his original statement, that he had won the lottery, until he proved it to us. Here, the words his original statement identify which statement is meant, so the noun clause provides information that is merely additional and not essential. For that reason, the clause is set off with commas. Compare that example to the one below: I did not believe his statement that he had won the lottery until he proved it to us. In this case, the noun clause is essential for identifying which statement is meant. It therefore takes no commas. Unusual position If the noun clause is in an unusual position, it may require a comma: That the work was done, we cannot deny. (object before verb) BUTThat the work was done is certainly true. (subject before verb, as usual) Whatever I say, she argues with. (object before its preposition) BUTWhatever I say seems to annoy her. (subject before verb, as usual) Clarity As the above examples show, we do not normally use a comma for a noun clause acting as subject at the beginning of the sentence, because that is the usual position for a subject. However, a comma may sometimes be needed to prevent confusion if two identical verbs end up side by side: Who the owner of this money is, is a mystery. Whatever property Alexandra still had, had increased greatly in value.Source: Writing Tips Plus (English language problems and rules)
Number of views: 2,075
fragment, sentence fragment
A sentence must express a complete thought. The length of the sentence is not important; it may be very long or very short, but it must make sense by itself. Sometimes writers mistakenly believe that a long sentence is too long and divide it in two, creating an error called a sentence fragment. In grammar, the term “sentence fragment” refers to an incomplete group of words punctuated as a sentence. Often, the fragment has been broken off from the sentence before or after it, and you can fix it simply by re-attaching it. At other times, you may need to add or remove words to turn a fragment into a complete sentence. Most fragments are phrases, dependent clauses or mixed constructions. The sections below show examples of each type of fragment and the way to fix it. Phrases A phrase or a series of phrases may contain several words. But the word group cannot express a complete thought because it lacks something essential to a sentence: a subject or a verb, or both. In the examples below, the fragments are in bold: Verb phrase (lacks a subject) Fragmented: A sudden wind pounced on the piles of leaves. And scattered them across the neatly raked lawn. Revised: A sudden wind pounced on the piles of leaves and scattered them across the neatly raked lawn. Noun phrase (lacks a verb) Fragmented: We saw a performance by Natasha Ivanovna. A ballerina related to my husband’s family. Revised: We saw a performance by Natasha Ivanovna, a ballerina related to my husband’s family. Absolute phrase (may contain a verbal but lacks a verb) Fragmented: His work finally done. Ali relaxed with a movie. Revised: His work finally done, Ali relaxed with a movie. Series of verbal phrases (lacks a subject and a verb) Fragmented: Looking like landscapes made out of modelling clay. Cloud banks drifted lazily across the sky. Revised: Looking like landscapes made out of modelling clay, cloud banks drifted lazily across the sky. Series of prepositional phrases (lacks a subject and a verb) Fragmented: The stream flowed swiftly along. Over the rocks and boulders in its path and through the thirsty fields. Revised: The stream flowed swiftly along over the rocks and boulders in its path and through the thirsty fields. Dependent clauses Unlike a phrase, a dependent clause contains a subject and a verb. But it does not express a complete thought. To make sense, it must be connected to an independent clause (a simple sentence): Adjective clause Fragmented: I need to write a thank-you note to Aunt Maude. Who sent me the turtle-shaped soup tureen. Revised: I need to write a thank-you note to Aunt Maude, who sent me the turtle-shaped soup tureen. Adverb clause Fragmented: Because we didn’t have enough paper for the new printer. We had to make a quick trip to the store. Revised: Because we didn’t have enough paper for the new printer, we had to make a quick trip to the store. Series of dependent clauses Fragmented: After we left the campsite where we had stayed for a week. We drove on to Toronto for the Exhibition. Revised: After we left the campsite where we had stayed for a week, we drove on to Toronto for the Exhibition. Fragmented: Motorists taking this route are at risk. If they don’t know that there is a hairpin turn down the road. Revised: Motorists taking this route are at risk if they don’t know that there is a hairpin turn down the road. Mixed constructions A mixed construction is a “sentence” made up of mismatched parts. One very common example is a prepositional phrase followed by a verb. The writer is trying to use the object of the preposition as the subject of the verb. But the object can’t do double duty, so the word group ends up as a fragment, without a subject. Here’s an example: Fragmented: By working out regularly will keep you in shape. In the fragment above, there’s no subject for the verb “will keep.” (“Working out regularly” is the object of the preposition “By”; therefore, it can’t serve as subject of the sentence.) Solution 1: Drop the preposition “By.” Working out regularly will keep you in shape. Solution 2: Add the subject “you” and reword. By working out regularly, you can keep in shape. Tip for detecting a fragment Sentence fragments can be hard to detect, since they usually sound all right when you read them together with the surrounding sentences. Here’s a trick: starting from the end of the paragraph, read each “sentence” aloud on its own. Usually the fragments won’t sound complete, and you’ll be able to pick them out more easily. Acceptable uses Although fragments are usually avoided in formal writing, there are occasionally situations in which they are acceptable. For instance, in a vertical list, the bulleted items are often fragments. And in a resumé, fragments are usually used to list points related to education or employment: for example, “2019-2022. Completed a Bachelor of Arts degree.” Finally, skilled writers sometimes intentionally use fragments for effect, as this excerpt from the opening chapter of Dickens’ novel Bleak House illustrates: Fog everywhere. Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows; fog down the river, where it rolls deified among the tiers of shipping and the waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city. Fog on the Essex marshes, fog on the Kentish heights. […] Chance people on the bridges peeping over the parapets into a nether sky of fog, with fog all round them, as if they were up in a balloon and hanging in the misty clouds.Source: Writing Tips Plus (English language problems and rules)
Number of views: 1,823
parallelism with items in a series
A sentence is parallel when items in a series share the same grammatical structure (when all are nouns or verbs or gerund phrases, for example). Writers use parallelism to help readers see connections between ideas and to emphasize particular points. Examples of parallel structure The following sentences all contain a series of items that are parallel. André loves to play golf, tennis and badminton. [3 nouns] Larry drove to the lake, parked and gazed out over the water. [3 verbs] Reading books, playing the piano and going to the theatre are Mie’s favourite activities. [3 gerund phrases] The group travelled by plane, by bus and by car. [3 prepositional phrases] OR The group travelled by plane, bus and car. [3 nouns, sharing by] Melissa hoped to graduate from college, to find a job and to buy a car. [3 infinitive phrases, with to repeated] OR Melissa hoped to graduate from college, find a job and buy a car. [3 infinitive phrases, sharing to] In these sentences, the parallel structure helps to draw attention to the ideas. Faulty parallelism A sentence with faulty parallel structure is unbalanced and less effective, as the faulty examples below illustrate. Faulty: Jason made cake, pie and he baked dumplings. [2 nouns + 1 clause] Correct: Jason made cake, pie and dumplings. [3 nouns] Faulty: Marisa has been skiing, jogging and has been lifting weights. [verb phrase, participle, verb phrase] Correct: Marisa has been skiing, jogging and lifting weights. [3 participles, sharing has been] Faulty: The facts were given with accuracy, clarity and with concision. [phrase, noun, phrase] Correct: The facts were given with accuracy, clarity and concision. [3 nouns, sharing with] Correct: The facts were given with accuracy, with clarity and with concision. [3 prepositional phrases]Source: Writing Tips Plus (English language problems and rules)
Number of views: 1,071
Test yourself—Excuse me, have you misplaced your modifier?
Are the modifiers in these sentences correct or misplaced? Read the article Excuse me, have you misplaced your modifier? to help you out.1. Did Eve really give her grandfather, for his birthday, an Avril Lavigne concert ticket?correctmisplaced2. The computer system almost cost $2,000, but Michel had enough money saved from his fire-eating gigs to pay the bill in full.correctmisplaced3. Place the plate in front of the diner with the meat, not the vegetables, facing the person.correctmisplaced4. Alice decided to, after a particularly bad week both at work and at home, visit her brother for the weekend.correctmisplaced5. “Acting simply is not valued by the philistines who grant Academy Awards,” Mimi snorted.correctmisplaced6. We had almost thrown all our snowballs when our fort was charged by two frenzied redheads from the opposing team.correctmisplaced7. She loaded the bottles and cans into her husband’s new Porsche 911, which she planned to leave at the recycling centre.correctmisplacedSource: Peck’s English Pointers (articles and exercises on the English language)
Number of views: 491
Test yourself—Questions from the inbox
Is the sentence correct or does it contain a problem? Read the article Questions from the inbox to help you out.1. Hank bought a food cart so that he could parlay 10 years experience as a short-order cook into a business he could call his own.is correcthas a problem2. If a writer wants to write more efficiently, you have to silence your inner critic and draft without interruption; the polishing will come later.is correcthas a problem3. The talent agency’s long- and short-term business plans involve expansion into the world of reality television programming.is correcthas a problem4. Erin is six months’ pregnant and has never looked lovelier.is correcthas a problem5. A wide range of reviews, from seasoned travellers and first-time explorers alike, are posted on this adventure tourism website, and we read dozens of them while planning our vacation.is correcthas a problem6. “I wish you could find someone other than I to mow the back lawn,” said Matteo, scuffing his soccer cleats in the dirt.is correcthas a problem7. Do you like the landscaper’s idea of an outdoor fire pit, which you’ll see a sketch of just underneath the patio blueprint?is correcthas a problemSource: Peck’s English Pointers (articles and exercises on the English language)
Number of views: 112