Grammatical Terms

Action Verb
Action verb is a verb that expresses an action that an animal, object, or person can do.

Adjective
Demonstrative Adjective is a word that describes and modifies a noun, making the sentence more clear.

Adverb
Adverb is a part of speech that gives more information about an action: how, where, when, to what extent it happened.

Affix
Affix is one or more than one syllable or letter added at the beginning or at the end of a root word, to change its meaning.

Antonym
Antonym is a semantic term for words that have opposite meanings or definitions, or words that have contradictory meanings.

Clause
Clause is a combination of words within a sentence that is comprised of a subject and a predicate.

Collective Noun
Collective Noun denotes a group of objects, people, animals, or ideas as a single concept, or a single thing.

Comma Splice
Comma Splice is the incorrect use of a comma between two main clauses to join them.

Common Noun
Common Noun is a word used to name a person, place, or thing in general, not specifically.

Conjunction
Conjunction is a word that connects sentences, phrases, clauses, and words, to add meaning.

Coordinating Conjunction
Coordinating Conjunction is a type of conjunction that connects two syntactically equal, and similarly constructed clauses, phrases, and words.

Definite Article
Definite Article is an article that refers to a noun, without specifying anything.

Demonstrative Pronoun
Demonstrative Pronoun is a pronoun that points towards the noun it replaces, indicating it in time, space, and distance.

Direct Object
Direct Object is a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that receives the action of a verb in a sentence.

Gerund
Gerund is a type of verb that ends in '-ing,' and which functions as a noun in a sentence.

Helping Verb
Helping Verb is a verb that precedes the main verb in a sentence. A helping verb is also called an auxiliary verb.

Hyphen
Hyphen is a small horizontal line used between parts of a compound name or word, or between syllables at the end of a line.

Infinitive
Infinitive is a form of verb that is preceded by a particle 'to,' serving as an adjective, an adverb, or a noun.

Interjection
Interjection is a short expression that writers use to express emotion. An interjection is also an exclamation.

Irregular Verb
Irregular Verb is a verb that does not follow the rule of using '-ed' at the end to make the past tense or past participle form.

Linking Verb
Linking verb connects a subject to a verb in a sentence in order to show the action that is being done.

Modal Verb
Modal Verb is a verb that joins with another verb to create a mood or situation, or to express uncertainty, necessity, permission, or ability.

Monosyllable
Monosyllable is a word having only one syllable. It is is a single sound that makes up a complete word.

Morpheme
Morpheme is the smallest linguistic unit that contains an element of a word that cannot be divided into smaller parts.

Noun
Noun is a part of speech, which is used to identify a thing, person, idea, or place. A noun may be abstract or tangible.

Object
Object is a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase on which a verb performs an action. It is a person, place, or thing.

Participle
Participle is the form of a verb that ends '-ing,' or in '-ed.' it shows an aspect, voice, or tense of the verb.

Past Participle
Past Participle is a verb that uses '-ed,' '-d,' and sometimes '-t' at the end of its present or first form.

Past Tense
Past Tense is a verb-tense combination that states an action to have happened in the time that has passed.

Personal Pronoun
Personal Pronoun is a word that represents a person, place, or thing, in order to avoid repetition of the noun.

Phoneme
Phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a word that makes a difference in its pronunciation and meaning.

Phrasal Verb
Phrasal verb is a compound verb that contains a verb and a prepositional adverb or particle.

Phrase
Phrase is a group of words that functions as a unit within a clause or sentence; it consists of a headword and modifier.

Possessive Pronoun
Possessive Pronoun is used to show possession, or to point out the person who owns the object.

Prefix
Prefix is a single letter or a group of letters, which adds to the meaning of a word when placed at the beginning.

Prepositional Phrase
Prepositional Phrase is a group of words comprising a preposition, its object, and a modifier of the object.

Present Participle
Present Participle is a form of verb that uses

Present Perfect
Present Perfect definition with Present Perfect Term is a present tense form that expresses an action that started in the past and continues in the present.

Pronoun
Pronoun is a grammatical term that replaces a noun, noun clause, or noun phrase in a sentence to avoid its repetition.

Proper Noun
Proper Noun is a specific or unique name of a person, place, thing, or event it represents.

Punctuation
Punctuation is a set of marks that regulates and clarifies the meanings of different texts.

Reflexive Pronoun
Reflexive Pronoun refers back to the subject of the sentence, and ends in '-self,' or '-selves.'

Relative Pronoun
Relative Pronoun is a pronoun that links the relative clause to another clause in a sentence.

Semicolon
Semicolon definition with examples. Proper Noun is a punctuation mark that separates independent clauses, or to repair a comma splice.

Sentence
Sentence is the largest grammatically independent unit,in the English language; expressing a complete thought or an idea.

Simple Sentence
Simple Sentence is a sentence with just one indepent clause, and no dependent or subordinate clauses.

Subject
Subject is the first part in a sentence about which the second part, the predicate, tells something.

Subordinating Conjunction
Subordinating conjunction connects the main and subordinate clauses in a sentence.

Suffix
Suffix is one or more letters that are attached at the end of a root or a base word to change its meaning or tense.

Transitive Verb
Transitive Verb is a type of action verb that links the subject with the object of a sentence.

Verb
Verb is a word that describes an occurrence, a mental or physical action, or existence of a condition or a state.

Verb Phrase
Verb Phrase is a syntactic unit consisting of an auxiliary (helping) verb preceding the main verb.