Grammar Vocabulary
Irregular Verb
does not end with -ed to form the past participle; examples; (is, are, am / was / were) ; (has, have / had / had) ; (do, does / did / done) ; ate, grown, bought, sold, spent, taken, etc.
Intransitive Verb
includes all linking verbs and any action verbs that do not take an object; example: My friends CRIED.
Subject Complement
is a word or group of words that follows a linking verb and renames or describes the subject.
Noun
a word that can serve as the subject or object of a verb
Headword
a word that is qualified by a modifier
Verb
a word that serves as the predicate of a sentence
Subject-Verb Agreement
agreement in number between a subject and a verb. If the subject is singular, the verb is singular. If the subject is plural, the verb is plural. Ex. Harriet runs very fast. Susie and Harriet run very fast. Sing / sing plural/plural
Phrase
an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up
Article
(grammar) a determiner that may indicate the specificity of reference of a noun phrase
Clause
(grammar) an expression including a subject and predicate but not constituting a complete sentence
Negative Sentence
A sentence in which the action (verb) is NOT taking place. NOT= NE(verb)PAS
Adverbial Clause
A subordinate clause that modifies a verb, adj., or adv.-----Tells how, how much, when, where, why, to what extent, or under what conditions. (She practices AS THOUGH HER LIFE DEPENDED ON IT. [how she practices])
Linking Verb
A verb that does not show action but connects the subject with a word in the predicate.
Superlative Degree
The degree of an adjective or an adverb that is used in the comparison of three or more persons or things.
Comparative Degree
The degree of an adjective or an adverb that is used to compare two persons or things.
Subject
The main noun within a sentence, the focus of the sentence.
Form Classes
The parts of speech or categories of words that work the same way in any sentence, such as nouns, verbs, and adjectives
Object Complement
This is an adjective or noun that follows and modifies a direct object.
Inflection
a change in the form of a word (usually by adding a suffix) to indicate a change in its grammatical function
Independent Clause
a clause in a complex sentence that can stand alone as a complete sentence
Main Clause
a clause in a complex sentence that can stand alone as a complete sentence (contains overarching subject if there are more than one clause)
Qualifier
a content word that qualifies the meaning of a noun or verb
Infinitive
a form of a verb that generally appears with the word 'to' and acts as a noun, adjective, or adverb
Preposition
a function word that combines with a noun or pronoun or noun phrase to form a prepositional phrase that can have an adverbial or adjectival relation to some other word
Pronoun
a function word that is used in place of a noun or noun phrase
Prepositional Phrase
a group of words beginning with a preposition and ending with a noun or pronoun
Reflexive Pronoun
a personal pronoun compounded with -self to show the agent's action affects the agent
Noun Phrase
a phrase that can function as the subject or object of a verb
Reciprocal Pronoun
a pronoun or pronominal phrase (as 'each other') that expresses a mutual action or relationship between the individuals indicated in the plural subject
Possessive Case
a pronoun showing ownership
Demonstrative Pronoun
a pronoun that points out an intended referent
Sentence Fragment
a sentence missing a subject or verb or complete thought
Interrogative Sentence
a sentence of inquiry that asks for a reply
Transitive Verb
a verb (or verb construction) that requires an object in order to be grammatical
Past Tense
a verb tense that expresses actions or states in the past
Adverbial
a word or group of words function as an adverb
Adjectival
of or relating to or functioning as an adjective
Determiner
one of a limited class of noun modifiers that determine the referents of noun phrases
Predicate
one of the two main constituents of a sentence
Verb Phrase
one of the two main constituents of a sentence, i.e. the verb and its complements
Indefinite Pronoun
refers to a person, place, thing, or idea that may or may not be specifically named
Personal Pronoun
takes the place of a noun or nouns; they show number and gender; example: singular: I, me, my, mine, you, your, yours, he, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its / plural: we, us, our, ours, you, your, yours, they, them, their, theirs
Objective Case
the category of nouns serving as the direct object of a verb
Plural
the form of a word that is used to denote more than one
Verb Expansion Rule
the formula that describes our system for expanding the verb with auxiliaries to express variations in meaning: T (M) (have + -en) (be + -ing) MV
Indirect Object
the object that is the recipient or beneficiary of the action of the verb
Active Voice
the voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject of the verb is performing the action or causing the happening denoted by the verb
Passive Voice
the voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject of the verb is the recipient (not the source) of the action denoted by the verb
Adjective
the word class that qualifies nouns, or adds description
Adverb
the word class that qualifies verbs or clauses