👉 (auxiliary) A syntactic marker.
Alright class, settle down and let’s take a look! You’ve stumbled upon a tricky word today, “done,” and the dictionary is giving you a bit of a mouthful – ‘(auxiliary) A syntactic marker.’ Don't worry, it sounds complicated, but we can break it down. Let’s start with “syntactic.” Think of "syntax" as how words are arranged in a sentence. It's the rules about grammar and order. “Syntactic” just means something related to that structure. Now, “auxiliary.” This one is key! An auxiliary verb – also sometimes called a helping verb – isn’t doing the main job of showing an action. Instead, it helps another verb do its work. Think of it like this: “I can sing,” or "They have finished." “Can” and “Have” are auxiliary verbs! So, when we say something is “done” in a sentence like, "The homework is done," the word ‘done’ isn't telling us what was being done. It’s signaling that the action of doing the homework has been completed. It’s marking the end of an activity. It’s like a little flag waving to say, “This is finished! This is complete!” Does that make sense? Raise your hand if you'd like me to explain it another way, or perhaps give you a quick example!