A diphthong is a double vowel (your tongue moves from one vowel position to another position). The vowel sounds in bye /baI/ and cow /kaʊ/ are diphthongs.
A monophthong is a pure vowel (your tongue stays in one place; it doesn't move to another position): The vowel sounds in hat /hæt/ and taught /tɔt/ are monophthongs.
A ditransitive verb is a verb with two objects (Vnn), such as words that mean "give" (give, pay, sell, etc.)
| | V | n | n |
| Please | give | me | a book |
| I’ll | pay | you | $5 |
| He | sold | me | his car |
A monotransitive verb is a verb with one object (Vn), such as attack, kill and eat.
| | V | n |
| The army | attacked | the town |
| My cat | killed | three mice |
| I | ate | a chocolate cookie |
If you see these long, difficult words in a book, you will probably be able to guess these words from context. Don't waste time memorizing them: even your teacher almost never uses them.
