ABSTRACT
Language works very obviously through metaphor, reinforced by our ways of representing experience in language. In English recognise a distinction between elements in a process and the process itself, with the elements represented by nouns or their equivalents and the process by verbs. When children begin the process of learning to write there is a big gap between their general language competence and their performance. The effort involved in learning the new skill is considerable and attention is, naturally enough, on the mechanics of the business. A study of vocabulary concentrates on particular units of language, considered separately; it examines the occurrence of words, or more strictly lexical items, in stretches of speech and writing. The reference earlier to 'uncommon' subordinate clauses as a measure of language maturity established the assumption that 'common' clauses existed, namely noun clauses as object and adverbial clauses of time.
