English 101

Subjunctive mood

The mood of a verb expressing wishes, stipulating demands, or making statements contrary to fact.

Indicative mood

The mood of the verb used in ordinary statements: stating a fact, expressing an opinion, asking a question.

Attributive

adjective that usually comes before the noun it modifies without a linking verb. Contrast with predicative adjective.

Case

characteristic of nouns and certain pronouns that expresses their relationship to other words in a sentence. Pronouns have three case distinctions: subjective, possessive, and objective. In English, nouns have only one case inflection, the possessive. The case of nouns other than the possessive is sometimes called the common case.

Agreement

correspondence of a verb with its subject in person and number, and of a pronoun with its antecedent in person, number, and gender.

Clause

group of words that contains a subject and a predicate. A clause may be either a sentence (an independent clause) or a sentence-like construction within a sentence (a dependent clause).

Dependent clause

group of words that has both a subject and a verb but (unlike an independent clause) cannot stand alone as a sentence. Also known as a subordinate clause.

Common Noun

noun that can be preceded by the definite article and that represents one or all of the members of a class. As a general rule, a common noun does not begin with a capital letter unless it appears at the start of a sentence. Common nouns can be subcategorized as count nouns and mass nouns. Semantically, common nouns can be classified as abstract nouns and concrete nouns. Contrast with proper noun.

Count noun

noun that refers to an object or idea that can form a plural or occur in a noun phrase with an indefinite article or with numerals. Contrast with mass noun (or non-count noun).

Determiner

word or a group of words that introduces a noun. Determiners include articles, demonstratives, and possessive pronouns.

Relative clause

A clause introduced by a relative pronoun (which, that, who, whom, or whose) or a relative adverb (where, when, or why)

Conditonal clause

A type of adverbial clause that states a hypothesis or condition, real or imagined. A conditional clause may be introduced by the subordinating conjunction if or another conjunction, such as unless or in case of.

Article

A type of determiner that precedes a noun: a, an, or the.

Linking verb

A verb - such as a form of be or seem - that joins the subject of a sentence to a complement. Also known as a copula.

Perfect aspect

A verb construction that describes events occurring in the past but linked to a later time, usually the present.

Passive voice

A verb form in which the subject receives the verb's action. Contrast with active voice.

Future tense

A verb form indicating action that has not yet begun. The simple future is usually formed by adding the auxiliary will or shall to the base form of a verb.

Participle

A verb form that functions as an adjective. Present participles end in -ing; past participles of regular verbs end in -ed.

Verbal

A verb form that functions in a sentence as a noun or a modifier rather than as a verb.

Definite article

In English, the definite article the is a determiner that refers to particular nouns. Compare to indefinite article.

Plural

The form of a noun that typically denotes more than one person, thing, or instance.

Base

The form of a word to which prefixes and suffixes are added to create new words.

Superlative

The form of an adjective that suggests the most or the least of something.

Capital letter

The form of an alphabetical letter (such as A, B, C) used to begin a sentence or proper noun; an uppercase letter, in contrast to lower case. Verb: capitalize.

Imperative mood

The form of the verb that makes direct commands and requests.

Coordination

The grammatical connection of two or more ideas to give them equal emphasis and importance. Contrast with subordination.

Number

The grammatical contrast between singular and plural forms of nouns, pronouns, determiners, and verbs.

Possessive case

The inflected form of nouns and pronouns usually indicating ownership, measurement, or source. Also known as genitive case.

Head

The key word that determines the nature of a phrase. For example, in a noun phrase, the head is a noun or pronoun.

Sentence

The largest independent unit of grammar: it begins with a capital letter and ends with a period, question mark, or exclamation point. A sentence is traditionally (and inadequately) defined as a word or group of words that expresses a complete idea and that includes a subject and a verb.

-ing form

A contemporary linguistic term for the present participle and gerund: any verb form that ends in -ing.

Gender

A grammatical classification which in English applies primarily to the third-person singular personal pronouns: he, she, him, her, his, hers.

Negation

A grammatical construction that contradicts (or negates) part or all of a sentence's meaning. Such constructions commonly include the negative particle not or the contracted negative n't.

Prepositional phrase

A group of words made up of a preposition, its object, and any of the object's modifiers.

Independent clause

A group of words made up of a subject and a predicate. An independent clause (unlike a dependent clause) can stand alone as a sentence. Also known as a main clause.

Suffix

A letter or group of letters added to the end of a word or stem, serving to form a new word or functioning as an inflectional ending.

Prefix

A letter or group of letters attached to the beginning of a word that partly indicates its meaning.

Mass Noun

A noun (such as advice, bread, knowledge) that names things which cannot be counted. A mass noun (also known as a non-count noun) is used only in the singular. Contrast with count noun.

Abstract Noun

A noun (such as courage or freedom) that names an idea, event, quality, or concept. Contrast with concrete noun.

Proper noun

A noun belonging to the class of words used as names for unique individuals, events, or places.

Direct object

A noun or pronoun in a sentence that receives the action of a transitive verb. Compare to indirect object.

Indirect object

A noun or pronoun that indicates to whom or for whom the action of a verb in a sentence is performed.

Appositive

A noun, noun phrase, or series of nouns used to identify or rename another noun, noun phrase, or pronoun.

Object

A noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that receives or is affected by the action of a verb in a sentence.

Affix

A prefix, suffix, or infix: a word element (or morpheme) that can be attached to a base or root to form a new word.

Inflection

A process of word formation in which items are added to the base form of a word to express grammatical meanings.

Personal pronoun

A pronoun that refers to a particular person, group, or thing.

Interrogatice sentence

A sentence that asks a question. (Compare with sentences that make a statement, deliver a command, or express an exclamation.)

Compound sentence

A sentence that contains at least two independent clauses.

Compound-complex sentence

A sentence that contains two or more independent clauses and at least one dependent clause.

Exclamatory sentence

A sentence that expresses strong feelings by making an exclamation. (Compare with sentences that make a statement, express a command, or ask a question.)

Imperative sentence

A sentence that gives advice or instructions or that expresses a request or command. (Compare with sentences that make a statement, ask a question, or express an exclamation.)

Indirect question

A sentence that reports a question and ends with a period rather than a question mark.

Idiom

A set expression of two or more words that means something other than the literal meanings of its individual words.

Word

A sound or a combination of sounds, or its representation in writing, that symbolizes and communicates a meaning and may consist of a single morpheme or a combination of morphemes.

Progressive aspect

A verb phrase made with a form of be plus -ing that indicates an action or condition continuing in the present, past, or future.

Past tense

A verb tense (the second principal part of a verb) indicating action that occurred in the past and which does not extend into the present.

Present tense

A verb tense that expresses action in the present time, indicates habitual actions, or expresses general truths.

Modal

A verb that combines with another verb to indicate mood or tense.

Auxiliary

A verb that determines the mood or tense of another verb in a verb phrase. Also known as a helping verb. Contrast with lexical verb.

Irregular verb

A verb that does not follow the usual rules for verb forms. Verbs in English are irregular if they do not have a conventional -ed form.

Intransitive verb

A verb that does not take a direct object. Contrast with transitive verb.

Regular verb

A verb that forms its past tense and past participle by adding -d or -ed (or in some cases -t) to the base form. Contrast with irregular verb.

Transitive verb

A verb that takes a direct object. Contrast with intransitive verb.

Gerund

A verbal that ends in -ing and functions as a noun.

Infinitive

A verbal--usually preceded by the particle to--that can function as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.

Pronoun

A word (one of the traditional parts of speech) that takes the place of a noun, noun phrase, or noun clause.

Interrupting phrase

A word group (a statement, question, or exclamation) that interrupts the flow of a sentence and is usually set off by commas, dashes, or parentheses.

Complement

A word or word group that completes the predicate in a sentence. The two kinds of complements are subject complements (which follow the verb be and other linking verbs) and object complements (which follow a direct object). If it identifies the subject, the complement is a noun or pronoun; if it describes the subject, the complement is an adjective.

Particle

A word that does not change its form through inflection and does not easily fit into the established system of parts of speech.

Intensifier

A word that emphasizes another word or phrase. Intensifying adjectives modify nouns; intensifying adverbs commonly modify verbs, gradable adjectives, and other adverbs.

Modifier

A word, phrase, or clause that functions as an adjective or adverb to limit or qualify the meaning of another word or word group (called the head).

Predicate adjectice

An adjective that usually comes after a linking verb and not before a noun. Contrast with attributive adjective.

Phrase

Any small group of words within a sentence or a clause.

Predicate

One of the two main parts of a sentence or clause, modifying the subject and including the verb, objects, or phrases governed by the verb.

Subjective case

The case of a pronoun when it is the subject of a clause, a subject complement, or an appositive to a subject or a subject complement. The subjective (or nominative) forms of English pronouns are I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who and whoever.

Objective case

The case or function of a pronoun when it is the direct or indirect object of a verb or verbal, the object of a preposition, the subject of an infinitive, or an appositive to an object. The objective (or accusative) forms of English pronouns are me, us, you, him, her, it, them, whom, and whomever.

Indefinite article

The determiner a or an, which marks an unspecified count noun. A is used before a word that starts with a consonant sound ("a bat," "a unicorn"). An is used before a word that starts with a vowel sound ("an uncle," "an hour").

Ellipsis

The omission of one or more words, which must be supplied by the listener or reader. Adjective: elliptical or elliptic. Plural, ellipses.

Subject

The part of a sentence or clause that indicates what it is about.

Verb

The part of speech (or word class) that describes an action or occurrence or indicates a state of being.

Adverb

The part of speech (or word class) that is primarily used to modify a verb, adjective, or other adverb. Adverbs can also modify prepositional phrases, subordinate clauses, and complete sentences.

Noun

The part of speech (or word class) that is used to name or identify a person, place, thing, quality, or action. Most nouns have both a singular and plural form, can be preceded by an article and/or one or more adjectives, and can serve as the head of a noun phrase.

Adjective

The part of speech (or word class) that modifies a noun or a pronoun. Adjective forms: positive, comparative, superlative.

Conjunction

The part of speech (or word class) that serves to connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. The two main types of conjunction are coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions.

Interjection

The part of speech that usually expresses emotion and is capable of standing alone.

Mood

The quality of a verb that conveys the writer's attitude toward a subject. In English, the indicative mood is used to make factual statements or pose questions, the imperative mood to express a request or command, and the (rarely used) subjunctive mood to show a wish, doubt, or anything else contrary to fact.

Person

The relationship between a subject and its verb, showing whether the subject is speaking about itself (first person--I or we); being spoken to (second person--you); or being spoken about (third person--he, she, it, or they).

Quotation

The reproduction of the words of a writer or speaker. In a direct quotation, the words are reprinted exactly and placed in quotation marks. In an indirect quotation, the words are paraphrased and not put in quotation marks.

Grammar

The set of rules and examples dealing with the syntax and word structures of a language.

Singular

The simplest form of a noun (the form that appears in a dictionary): a category of number denoting one person, thing, or instance.

Tense

The time of a verb's action or state of being, such as past, present, and future.

Active voice

The verb form or voice in which the subject of the sentence performs or causes the action expressed by the verb. Contrast with passive voice.

Parts of speech

Traditional term for the categories into which words are classified according to their functions in sentences.

Demonstrative

determiner that points to a particular noun or to the noun it replaces. The demonstratives are this, that, these, and those. A demonstrative pronoun distinguishes its antecedent from similar things. When the word precedes a noun, it is sometimes called a demonstrative adjective.

Comparitive

form of an adjective or adverb involving a comparison of more or less, greater or lesser.

Declarative sentence

sentence in the form of a statement (in contrast to a command, a question, or an exclamation).

Complex sentenxe

sentence that contains at least one independent clause and one dependent clause.

Contraction

shortened form of a word or group of words (such as doesn't and won't), with the missing letters usually marked by an apostrophe.