A small grammatical form that cannot stand prosodically on its own and leans on a neighbouring word.
In precise terms
An element with word-like syntactic properties that is phonologically or prosodically dependent on a host. A proclitic precedes its host and an enclitic follows it; distinguishing a clitic from an affix requires several diagnostics and can depend on the analysis.
An example
[CLITIC]=[HOST] · [HOST]=[CLITIC] (schematic)
What is going on here
The equals sign is a linguistic boundary symbol, not a claim about ordinary spelling. The first schema places a proclitic before its host; the second places an enclitic after it. The host provides the prosodic support the clitic lacks on its own.
Why this matters when you are learning a language
Clitics are easy to miss in speech because they are often unstressed, yet they may carry frequent information such as person, negation or clause structure. Recognising the host relationship helps you segment what you hear without assuming the clitic is simply an affix or an independent stressed word.
Across languages
Languages differ in what can host a clitic and where clitics are placed: some attach to a particular word class, while others occupy a clause position such as second position. No single test settles every clitic-affix boundary, so grammar descriptions may analyse a marginal form differently.
Related terms
- MorphemeAdvanced — The smallest unit of a language that carries meaning or grammatical function.
- StressAdvanced — Extra prominence given to one syllable relative to nearby syllables.
- PronounBeginner — A word that stands in for a noun phrase — 'she', 'it', 'them'.
- Auxiliary verbIntermediate — A verb that supports a main verb, carrying grammatical information rather than the main meaning.
- Word orderIntermediate — The order in which subject, verb and object normally appear.
- GrammaticalizationAdvanced — The process by which ordinary words gradually become grammatical markers.
Where to go next
- WALS Online chapter 20: Fusion of Selected Inflectional Formatives
- Zwicky and Pullum: Cliticization vs. Inflection
- Language guides — See grammatical and lexical categories used in context.
- Terminology quiz — Test the terms on this page.