An optional element adding circumstantial information (time, place, manner):

Matching of grammatical features, chiefly subject and verb in number and person.

Reference back to something already mentioned:

The viewpoint on an event’s internal structure — progressive (ongoing) or perfect (retrospective) — as opposed to tense, which locates it in time.

A helping verb (, and the modals) that supports tense, aspect, voice, negation, and questions.

The infinitive without : .

The form a pronoun takes by function: subjective (), objective (), possessive ().

Reference forward:

A construction expressing that the subject causes an action to be done: .

A structure splitting one clause in two to focus an element:

A singular noun denoting a group: .

The form of an adjective or adverb expressing “more”: .

An element required to complete a head’s meaning:

A sentence linking a condition (-clause) to a result.

A linking word: coordinating () or subordinating ().

A word or group of words functioning as a single unit within a hierarchy.

Joining elements of equal rank: .

A noun with singular and plural forms that can be counted: .

A word specifying a noun’s reference: .

The entity directly affected by the verb:

Omission of recoverable words:

A verb usable transitively and intransitively with the object becoming subject: .

Moving a heavy subject clause to the end, leaving :

A verb form marked for tense and agreeing with a subject: (vs. non-finite ).

Moving an element to initial position for emphasis or cohesion.

The form functioning as a noun:

The word that determines a phrase’s category: the noun in an NP, the verb in a VP.

Grammatical and lexical softening of claims: .

The base-form clause type used for directives:

The recipient/beneficiary:

The base form, usually with : .

A verb taking no object: .

Reversal of subject and (auxiliary) verb:

An auxiliary expressing possibility, necessity, permission, etc.: .

The grammatical marking of factuality: indicative, imperative, subjunctive.

Recasting a verb or adjective as a noun: .

A phrase headed by a noun or pronoun.

The (present) or (past) verb form used in compound tenses, passives, and as modifiers.

The adverb-like element of a phrasal verb: .

The construction promoting the object to subject:

The aspect relating an event to a later reference time: .

A verb + particle combination with (often) idiomatic meaning: .

What is said about the subject; the VP.

A word relating a noun phrase to the rest of the clause: .

A word standing in for a noun phrase: .

A determiner or pronoun of quantity: .

The variety of language suited to a situation — formal, neutral, informal.

A clause modifying a noun, introduced by , etc.

Conveying utterances without quoting:

A verb of state rather than action, resisting the progressive: .

The mood of non-factuality: .

Embedding a clause inside another:

The “most” form: .

Grammatical location of an event in time — in English, past vs. present, with future expressed periphrastically.

A verb requiring a direct object: .

A noun with no plural, treated as an undifferentiated mass: .

The number and type of complements a verb selects.

The active/passive alternation.

The meaningful absence of an article: