While understanding everything about grammar isn’t strictly necessary to be a writer, knowing grammar terms can be helpful. Sharing a common vocabulary with editors and other publishing professionals can help save some time and ensure collaboration goes smoothly. This grammar glossary can help you build that vocabulary!
Below you’ll find common grammar terms along with brief explanations.
ABCD
Absolute participle
An absolute participle is a present or past participle that acts as a preposition or adverb, and thus does not have a subject.
Depending on the weather, they might change their departure time.
Barring some unseen disaster, we should finish the project by Friday.
Absolute phrase/absolute construction
An absolute phrase is a phrase that modifies an entire sentence or clause (rather than single words within a sentence or clause). Usually an absolute phrase appears at the beginning or end of a sentence and contains a noun followed by participle, or a participial phrase.
We’ll leave at nine, weather permitting.
The proctor having arrived, the exam began.
Abstract noun
Abstract nouns are nouns that refer to ideas and relationships rather than concrete things that can be seen or touched—for example, truth, beauty, and justice.
Active voice
Active voice is when the subject of a verb does the action indicated by a verb. Typically, the subject comes before the verb in active voice.
Axel built a house in the woods. (Axel is the subject who did the action of building)
The shift supervisor always assigns me the worst tasks. (The shift supervisor is the subject who does the action of assigning tasks)
That building houses first-year students. (The building does the action of housing)
Compare active voice to passive voice.
Accusative case
See objective case.
Adjectival
An adjectival is a word that serves as an adjective but usually functions as a different part of speech; for example in student teacher the word student is acting as an adjective describing teacher but would normally be a noun.
Adjective
An adjective is a word that modifies or describes a noun or pronoun. Adjectives are one of the parts of speech.
Adverb
An adverb is a word that modifies or describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs are one of the parts of speech.
Adverbial clause
An adverbial clause is a subordinate clause that functions as an adverb (i.e. modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb).
After Maurice reread his notes, he was sure he’d pass the test.
Raya drives faster when she’s running late.
Adverbial phrase
An adverbial phrase is a group of words that acts as an adverb (i.e. modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb).
Before leaving, Amanda made sure she said goodbye to everyone.
Syrus handed her the sword with anger in his eyes.
Agreement
Agreement refers to the manner in which words match or correspond with each other. For correct grammar, subjects and verbs must agree in person and number, and pronouns and antecedents must agree in person, number, and gender.
See pronoun-antecedent agreement and subject-verb agreement.
Antecedent
An antecedent is a word that a pronoun refers to or replaces. Usually an antecedent appears in a sentence or passage before the pronoun (but not always).
An antecedent is also called a referent.
Appositive
An appositive is a word or group of words that serves to identify, describe, or explain another word or group of words that precedes it.
Her mother, a self-taught carpenter, renovated the kitchen.
Julian, who had a rather bad reputation on the east coast, arrived in California ready to start over.
An appositive and the noun it describes are said to be in apposition.
Article
An article is word that appears before a noun and indicates whether the noun is general or specific. Articles are also called noun determiners or noun markers. The indefinite articles, a and an, are used to refer to singular non-identified things or people. The definite article, the, is used to refer to specific, identified things or people.
Attributive adjective
An attributive adjective is an adjective that precedes the noun it modifies—for example, the word heavy in the phrase a heavy book.
Compare predicate adjective.
Attributive noun
A noun that modifies the noun following it; for example, in business meeting, the word business is a noun that modifies meeting.
Auxiliary verb
An auxiliary verb is a verb that helps conjugate another verb. The various forms of have and be are common auxiliary verbs.
When we got there, the Fergusons had already left.
Teo was watching TV, and I was doing my homework.
Case
Case is a characteristic of nouns or pronouns that indicates their relationship to the rest of the sentence. There are three cases: nominative case, objective case (accusative case), and possessive case (genitive case).
Collecting noun phrase
A collecting noun phrase is a phrase that includes a singular noun and a plural noun, in which the singular is the name for a group of the plural noun. These phrases are usually expressed as a [singular noun] of [plural noun]—for example, a murder of crows or a flock of sheep.
Collective noun
A noun that refers to two or more people or things—for example, class, team, and pair.
Comma splice
A comma splice occurs when independent clauses are joined by a comma rather than a coordinate conjunction or semicolon (or instead of being separated by a period).
Jameson had a crush on Milly, he didn’t know she was in a relationship.
The house went on the market in June, it didn’t sell until September.
I could eat, I couldn’t sleep.
Traditionally comma splices are considered errors, but comma splices (especially between short clauses) can be a valid stylistic choice in informal or creative writing.
Comparison
Comparison is the inflection of adjectives and adverbs used when comparing things or people. There are three degrees of comparison: positive (big, smart, good), comparative (bigger, smarter, better), and superlative (biggest, smartest, best).
Complement
Complements are words that complete the meaning of verbs. There are four types of complements: direct object, indirect objects, predicate complements, and objective complements.
Complex sentence
A complex sentence is a sentence that contains an independent clause as well as one or more dependent clauses.
As Rahim searched for Juliet in his contact list, his phone buzzed loudly.
We’ll have to pack up and go home if the rain doesn’t stop soon.
Amar, once he finishes his undergraduate degree, plans to take a year off before he starts looking for a job.
Compound adjective
A compound adjective is an adjective made up of two or more words—for example, man-eating in man-eating shark or little known in This film is little known.
Compound adjectives are also called phrasal adjectives.
Compound predicate
A compound predicate is a predicate containing two or more finite verbs governed by the same subject.
This morning I got up and took a shower.
Sir Kingsbury wore plate armour and carried a wicked-looking sword.
He emptied the dishwasher but didn’t reload it.
Compound sentence
A compound sentence is a sentence containing two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction.
He wanted to go out, but she wanted to stay in.
Yesterday I went to the grocery store, and today I’m making lasagna.
Marie-soleil wanted a new video game, so she went to the mall to buy one.
Compound-complex sentence
A compound-complex sentence is a sentence that contains two or more independent clauses as well as one or more dependent clauses.
Because it’s snowing, school is cancelled and we have the day off.
Though he’s usually quite punctual, Harold arrived late, but his friends had saved him a seat so he wouldn’t miss the show.
Concrete nouns
Concreate nouns are nouns that refer to definite, specific things that can be seen or touched—for example, cushion, aluminum, or magazine.
Conjugation
Conjugation is the inflection of verbs, which indicates tense, person, and number.
Conjunction
A conjunction is a word that connects words or groups of words. There are two main types of conjunction, coordinate conjunctions and subordinate conjunctions, as well as correlative conjunctions. Conjunctions are one of the parts of speech.
Conjunctive adverb
A word that acts as both an adverb and a conjunction—for example, besides, however, while, therefore, and thus.
Connective
A connective is a word or phrase used to signify a relationship between two other elements. Connectives include prepositions, conjunctions, conjunctive adverbs, some pronouns, and various phrases like of course or for example.
Coordinate adjective
A coordinate adjective is an adjective that is of equal status to the adjective next to it, so that both adjectives equally and independently modify the noun. Coordinate adjectives can be separated by commas or conjunctions.
The wise and witty woman wrote wildly.
He is a caring, thoughtful parent.
Compare noncoordinate adjective.
Coordinate clauses
Coordinate clauses consist of two independent clauses usually joined together by a coordinate conjunction.
She ate apples, and he ate pears.
Iphegenia wants to land the lead role, so she’ll rehearse her lines all weekend.
Coordinate conjunction
Also called a coordinating conjunction, a coordinate conjunction is a word that joins words, phrases, or clauses of equal standing. These may be referred to as FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.
Copula
A copular is a verb that expresses a state of being rather than a physical action and links the subject to another noun, pronoun, or adjective.
He seems happy.
We are the champions.
Correlative conjunction
Correlative conjunctions are conjunctions that come in pairs. These include both/and, either/or, neither/nor, and not only/but also.
Countable noun
A countable noun is a noun that represent something that can be counted with numbers. Singular countable nouns can be preceded a definite or indefinite article (the duck, a chair, an apple), while plural countable nouns can be preceded by a number or some (three ducks, some chairs, two apples).
Compare noncountable noun.
Dangling gerund
A dangling gerund occurs when a participle acts as the object of a preposition, thus functioning as a noun rather than a modifier, but an appropriate subject is missing. Dangling gerunds can usually be resolved by inserting a noun or pronoun or rewording the sentence.
Upon learning the masked figure’s identity, my heart raced. (Correction: When I learned the masked figure’s identity, my heart raced. Or: Upon learning the masked figure’s identity, I couldn’t calm my racing heart.)
While taking a bath, calm finally enveloped her. (Correction: While taking a bath, she felt calm finally envelop her. Or: While she took a bath, calm finally enveloped her.)
See dangling modifier.
Dangling infinitive
A dangling infinitive occurs when an infinitive phrase is missing a subject (a noun that can perform the action of the infinitive). Dangling infinitives can usually be resolved by inserting a noun or pronoun or rewording the sentence.
To get around town without a car, bus fare is needed. (Correction: To get around town without a car, one needs to have bus fare. Or: One needs bus far to get around town without a car.)
A dragon can be captured, but to earn its trust, it must be fed and cared for. (Correction: A dragon can be captured, but to earn a dragon’s trust, you must feed and care for it. Or: A dragon can be captured, but you’ll need to feed and care for it to earn its trust.)
See dangling modifier.
Dangling modifier
A dangling modifier is a grammatically incorrect construction that occurs when the noun being modified is missing or appears too far from the modifying phrase (i.e. when the modifying phrase or clause is not immediately followed by the noun it’s meant to modify). Dangling modifiers can be resolved by inserting the correct noun after the dangler or revising the sentence.
See dangling gerund, dangling infinitive, dangling participle.
Dangling participle
A dangling participle occurs when a participle has no relationship with the nearest subject. This could be because the correct subject is missing or too far away. Dangling participles can usually be resolved by inserting a noun or pronoun or rewording the sentence.
Riding her motorcycle, her eyes scanned the road ahead. (Correction: Riding her motorcycle, she scanned the road ahead. Or: As she rode her motorcycle, her eyes scanned the road ahead.)
Leaning forward, the text on the sign became legible. (Correction: As he leaned forward, the text on the sign became legible. Or: Leaning forward, he was able to read the text on the sign.)
See dangling modifier.
Declension
Declension is the inflection of nouns and pronouns, which indicates person, number, and case.
Dependent clause
A dependent clause is a clause that cannot stand on its own as a complete sentence.
Before Laurence quit his job, he was the top salesman.
Barbara is going to be early because the highway wasn’t busy.
This is also called a subordinate clause.
Determiner
A determiner is an adjectival word that indicates a noun will follow. This includes possessive adjectives (his, her, my etc.), demonstrative adjectives (this, that, those etc.) indefinite adjectives (many, some, all etc.), or articles (the, a, an).
Direct address
Direct address is when dialogue names the person being spoken to. In direct address, the name, nickname, or noun is set off from the rest of the dialogue with a comma or commas.
John, I’m so happy to see you!
Stop, thief!
I know you’re tired, my dear, but we must keep going.
Direct object
A direct object is a noun, pronoun, noun phrase, or noun clause that directly follows the verb and receives that action.
Adrian painted his bedroom.
She walked her dog.
Direct question
A direct question is dialogue that asks a question in the exact phrasing it would be said aloud.
“What are you going on about now?” I asked.
Compare indirect question.
Direct quotation
A direct quotation is speech or text reproduced in quotation marks exactly as it was said aloud or originally written.
“I can’t go anymore,” she said.
Compare indirect quotation.
EFGH
Elliptical construction
Elliptical construction is when a word, phrase, or clause is omitted from a sentence without losing clarity (the elided word or words are implied by the syntax or context).
She can climb faster than John. (Can climb is elided from John can climb.)
Emmaline excels in mathematics; Dorian in economics. (Excels is elided from Dorian excels in economics.)
I know Shelly has a class then. (that is elided from I know that Shelly has a class then.)
Expletive
An expletive is a word that is unrelated grammatically to the rest of the sentence, usually added to stand in for the subject and make the sentence sound natural.
It is a good thing we’re almost done.
There is a rule that everyone at camp does a cleaning shift.
Finite verb
A finite verb is a verb form showing tense, person, and number, and which can thus act as the predicate of a sentence.
Flow
Flow refers to the coherence and continuity of the elements within a piece of writing, i.e. how words, sentences, and paragraphs fit together and contribute to the forward movement of the piece.
Fused participle
A fused participle is a gerund preceded by a noun in the objective case. Fused participles are sometimes considered erroneous, but if they don’t obscure meaning, they can be permitted in informal or creative writing.
Earning the top prize depends on me selling the most chocolate.
His bedroom smelling is the least of his problems.
Gender
Gender is a characteristic of nouns. While we sometimes think of English as being a genderless language (at least in comparison to languages like French), there are actually four grammatical genders: feminine for nouns that refer to female people or animals (woman, actress, mare), masculine for nouns referring to male people or animals (man, fireman, bull), common for nouns that refer to animals or people without specifying gender (friend, partner, customer), and neuter for nouns referring to things that have no gender (chair, bread, pool noodle).
Note that some words that have historically been gendered, like blonde or actor, may commonly be used in a gender-neutral way today.
Genitive case
See possessive case.
Gerund
A gerund is a present participle used as a noun.
Estefan loves running.
Reading is his favourite pastime.
Grammar
Grammar is the study of words and their form, function, and relations within a sentence, i.e. the rules that define the structure of a language.
Historical present tense
Historical present tense is when the present tense is used for referring to past events.
Hypercorrection
A hypercorrection is a grammatical error made when trying to avoid a grammatical error. One common hypercorrection is using I instead of me even in cases where the objective case is correction—for example, she told Ellie and I rather than she told Ellie and me.
IJKL
Idiom
An idiom is a phrase or expression that has a meaning other than what would be typical for its words (i.e. a non-literal phrase); for example, if we were to say Jory’s hands are tied while discussing a contractor who doesn’t have a permit to build, we would mean that Jory is unable to act, not that Jory’s hands are actually bound.
Imperative mood
The imperative mood is a verb form used for commands and requests.
Stop shouting!
Take care of yourself.
Raphael, please take me with you.
Impersonal construction
Impersonal construction is when a grammatical expletive is used as the subject of a sentence.
There’s nothing to do.
It was sunny.
Independent clause
An independent clause is a clause that can stand on it’s own as a complete sentence. An independent clause is also called a main clause.
Indicative mood
The indicative mood is the verb form used to state facts and opinions and to ask questions. It is the most common mood in English.
I live in Ottawa, Ontario.
Climate change is a serious problem.
Are ants efficient pollinators?
Indirect object
An indirect object is a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that appears in addition to a direct object and which follows a preposition or implied preposition.
Daniella gave the snack box to Josh.
Symon passed Amanda the bowl of chips.
Indirect question
Indirect question rephrases the question and fits grammatically within the surrounding sentence rather than being set off with quotation marks.
She asked why I wasn’t coming.
Compare direct question.
Indirect quotation
An indirect quotation rephrases the dialogue and integrates it within the surrounding sentence rather than being set off with quotation marks.
Horace reported that earnings were up by twelve percent.
Compare direct quotation.
Infinitive
The infinitive is the form of a verb that is always preceded by to.
Inflection
Inflection is the form change that words undergo to mark case, gender, tense, person, mood, and voice. The inflection of nouns and pronouns is called declension, the inflection of verbs is called conjugation, and the inflection of adverbs and adjectives is called comparison.
Interjection
An interjection is an exclamation that is grammatically independent from the rest of the sentence and usually expresses an interruption, a surprise, or a strong feeling. Interjections are one of the parts of speech.
Ouch! A bug bit me.
Oh, I didn’t know that.
Intransitive verb
An intransitive verb is an action word that does not have a direct object.
The puddle evaporated under the hot sun.
The dog ran away.
Compare transitive verb.
Irregular verb
An irregular verb is an action word that does not follow a typical pattern of conjugation.
burst/burst/burst
lie/lay/lain
see/saw/seen
Contrast with regular verb.
Linking verb
A linking verb is a verb that expresses a state of being or condition. The meaning of a linking verb is completed with a predicate complement rather than a direct or indirect object
MNO
Main clause
See independent clause.
Marker
A marker is a word that signifies a coming noun, verb, modifier, or subordinate clause. Articles are markers of nouns; auxiliary verbs are markers of verbs; adverbs are markers of verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs; and relative pronouns and subordinate conjunctions are markers of subordinate clauses.
Modal auxiliaries
Modal auxiliaries are a subgroup of auxiliary verbs that don’t change form for a third-person singular subject and are often used for expressing possibility or obligation. These include can and could, shall and should, will and would, may and might, must, ought to, and used to.
Modifier
A modifier is a word or phrase that describes, further defines, or limits another word or phrase. Adjectives and adverbs are modifying parts of speech.
Modify
To modify is to describe, further define, or limit a word.
Mood
In grammar, mood is a characteristic of verbs. There are three moods: imperative, subjunctive, or indicative.
Nominal
A nominal is a word or group of words that act as a noun.
Nominative case
The nominative case is the form of a noun or pronoun that indicates it is the subject of a verb.
We told her.
Afterward, he is going to the park.
She is taller than he is.
Compare objective case.
Noncoordinate adjective
Noncoordinate adjectives are adjective that appear in sequence but are not of equal rank (the first adjective modifies both the adjective(s) and noun that appear after it). Commas are not used between noncoordinate adjectives.
She wore a vintage leather motorcycle jacket .
The annoyed gym teacher instructed students to run laps.
Compare coordinate adjective.
Noncountable noun
A noncountable noun is a noun for something that cannot be counted with numbers. Noncountable nouns may be preceded by the definite article or by “some,” but they cannot be preceded by an indefinite article (a or an), nor are they usually used in plural form. Examples include milk, electricity, sadness.
Compare countable noun.
Nonfinite verb
A nonfinite verb is a verb form that acts as another part of speech. Nonfinite verbs are not conjugated and thus cannot act as predicates or sentence verbs. There are three types: gerund (present participle used as a noun), participle (present, past, or perfect participle used as an adjective), and the infinitive (principle part of the verb, usually preceded by to, used as a noun, adjective, or adverb).
Nonfinite verbs are also called verbals.
Nonrestrictive modifier
A nonrestrictive modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that describes its subject but is not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Nonrestrictive modifiers are usually offset with commas.
She continued, slowly but surely, to the finish line.
Jakob dedicated his book to his teachers, who encouraged him to pursue writing.
Compare restrictive modifier.
Noun
A noun is a person, place, thing, or concept. Nouns are one of the parts of speech.
Noun determiner
See article.
Noun marker
See article.
Noun phrase
A phrase made up of a noun and all its modifiers and determiners.
The old red wagon is in the shed.
She couldn’t look away from the glowing mirror’s surface.
Number
Number is a grammatical characteristic that denotes whether a word is singular or plural.
Object
A grammatical object is the noun or noun phrase that receives an action in a clause.
She told me that she didn’t like him.
Austin put the book on the table and got up.
Objective case
Objective case is the form of a noun or pronoun that indicates that it is an object rather than a subject
She told me that she didn’t like him.
This is also called accusative case.
Compare nominative case.
Objective complement
An objective complement (or object complement) is a word or phrase that follows a direct object and describes or renames it.
Mariane painted her nails bright red.
The jury found him guilty.
I saw Timothy running.
PQR
Parallel construction
Parallel construction is a principle for writing lists or series that calls for all items in the list or series have the same grammatical form.
They failed in their duty to serve and protect.
Mary speaks quickly and confidently.
Yolanda is known for her large stature, confident posture, and joyful laugh.
Parse
To parse a sentence is to divide a sentence into its grammatical parts and identify those parts to understand their relation to each other
Participial phrase
A participial phrase is a phrase introduced by a present or perfect participle. A participial phrase can be used as an adjective:
The man staring at the water looked sad.
Drafted at two in the morning, his report wasn’t well written.
A participial phrase can also act as an absolute phrase:
Generally speaking, he prefers romance over hard sci-fi.
Participle
A participle is a verb form used as an adjective or with auxiliary verbs to make verb tenses.
See past participle, perfect participle, present participle, dangling participle.
Parts of speech
The parts of speech are categories used to group words by their function. There are traditionally eight parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. However, some resources list articles as a ninth category.
Passive voice
Passive voice is when the subject of a sentence receives the action indicated by a verb instead of doing the action, i.e. the subject is acted upon rather than acting.
Lee was interviewed for the job.
The matter will be reviewed at the next council meeting.
Dorian was eaten by zombies.
Gert was born at St. Michael’s Hospital.
Insulin was discovered in 1921.
Passive voice is often considered inferior to active voice, but passive constructions are useful when the focus is on the person or thing receiving the action (like in the final two examples).
Past participle
The past participle is a verb form used for perfect tenses and passive constructions. Past participles usually end in -ed, though some verbs have irregular past participles.
Perfect participle
The perfect participle is the verb form that consists of the present participle having and a past participle—for example, having heard or having been heard. The perfect participle always acts as an adjective.
Person
Person is the characteristic of verbs that indicates if an action belongs to the person speaking (first person), the person spoken to (second person), or the person or thing spoken about (third person). This is also also a property of pronouns: I is first person singular, we is first person plural; you is second person singular and plural; and he, she, it and singular they are third person singular, and they is third person plural.
Phrasal adjective
See compound adjective.
Phrase
A phrase is a group of words that acts as a part of speech.
See adverbial phrase, noun phrase, verb phrase).
Plural
Plural refers to the grammatical form used to indicate more than one.
See number.
Point of view
Point of view is the vantage from which something is written: first-person (I, we), second-person (you), or third-person (he, she, they).
Possessive case
Possessive case is the noun or pronoun form that indicates “ownership” of an object. Most nouns take an apostrophe and s for possessive case, but some words that end with s (usually plural nouns) only take an apostrophe.
Raj’s backpack is over there.
The horses’ paddock needs cleaning.
I’m going over to the Jones’s house
Our children’s swingset has sat unused for years.
For goodness’ sake, won’t you listen!
Post position
Post position is when an adjective appears after the noun it modifies—for example, apparent in the phrase heir apparent or economic in matters economic.
Predicate
A predicate is a portion of a sentence that states something about the grammatical subject of the sentence. A predicate includes a verb and any of its modifiers, objects, and complements.
My sister Amelia studied nursing at Trent University.
That book wasn’t published until 2021.
Predicate adjective
A predicate adjective is a type of predicate complement. A predicate adjective appears after the noun it modifies and in the predicate of a sentence.
The vegetables are fresh.
His morning crossword was harder than he expected.
Compare attributive adjective.
Predicate complement
Predicate complements are words that go with linking verbs to complete the verbs’ meaning. This includes predicate nouns, predicate pronouns, and predicate adjectives.
Predicate noun
Predicate nouns are a type of predicate complement that identify the subject.
She is my teacher.
The suffragettes were women who fought for the right to vote.
Predicate pronoun
Predicate pronouns are a type of predicate complement that identify the subject.
This is she.
My dream has always been you.
Preposition
A prepositions is a function word that expresses the relation between a noun or pronoun and other elements of a phrase, clause, or sentence. They can introduce an object or indicate direction, location, or time. To, at, above, by, of, on, between and amid are examples of prepositions. Prepositions are one of the parts of speech.
Prepositional phrase
A prepositional phrase is a phrase that consists of a preposition and the noun it goes with.
At midnight she woke up.
Jeremy sent a long email to his boss.
Present participle
The present participle is a verb form that ends in -ing. It is used in the progressive tenses:
I am running.
I was running.
I have been running.
I had been running.
Present participles are also used as nouns:
I like running.
And as modifiers:
Running to class, I tried to remember my speech.
See dangling modifier, gerund, verbal.
Principal parts
Principal parts are the three forms of a verb from which all other forms and uses are derived: the infinitive (to walk, to eat, to lie), the past tense (walked, ate, lay), and the past participle (walked, eaten, lain).
Pronoun
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun—for example, I, me, we, you, they, it, he, she. Pronouns are one of the parts of speech.
Pronoun-antecedent agreement
Pronoun-antecedent agreement is a grammatical principle that requires that the form of a pronoun must match the gender and number of its antecedent; for example, in the sentence Ari liked to party, so he was excited to learn about the dance. the subject of the first clause, Ari, is male, and thus takes the male pronoun he in the second clause.
Proper adjective
A proper adjective is the adjectival form of a proper noun—for example, Canadian in the phrase Canadian politics.
Proper noun
A proper noun is a name of a person, place, thing, or group. Proper nouns are capitalized—for example, Manahil, Queen’s University, or Kleenex.
Referent
See antecedent.
Reflexive pronoun
A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that acts as a direct object and refers back the subject. Reflexive pronouns in English end with -self or -selves—for example, myself, yourself, ourselves, itself etc.
Reflexive verb
A reflexive verb is a verb whose subject is the same as its direct object. Reflexive verbs are used with reflexive pronouns.
She introduced herself.
Jimmy told himself he didn’t care.
Regular verb
Regular verbs are verbs that conjugate according to a typical pattern: -ing for infinitive, -ed for past tense and past participle, -s for present tense with singular third-person nouns.
Compare irregular verb.
Relative clause
A relative clause is a type of dependant clause that modifies a word, phrase, or idea in the independent clause it appears with. Relative clauses are introduced by relative pronouns.
He had to return to the room that he rented.
Freddy forgot to set an alarm, which made him late to class.
My grandma, who is a great cook, made my birthday dinner.
Relative pronoun
A relative pronoun is a pronoun that introduces a dependent or relative clause, connecting it to an independent clause. The most common relative pronouns are who, whom, whoever, whomever, whose, that, and which.
He had to return to the room that he rented.
Freddy forgot to set an alarm, which made him late to class.
My grandma, who is a great cook, made my birthday dinner.
Restrictive modifier
A restrictive modifier is a clause or phrase that is essential to the meaning of a sentence because it limits its subject.
Writers who want to hire an editor should know the different types of editing.
Students wishing for a good grade must submit their projects on time.
Compare nonrestrictive modifier.
Run-on sentence
A run-on sentence occurs when independent clauses are joined by incorrect punctuation or without punctuation rather than a coordinate conjunction or semicolon (or instead of being separated by a period).
STUV
Sentence adverb
A sentence adverb is an adverb that modifies an entire independent clause rather than a single verb.
Unfortunately, I can’t make it to the party.
Sentence fragment
A sentence fragment is a series of words punctuated like a sentence but missing either a subject or a finite verb.
Sign of the infinitive
The sign of the infinitive is the word to, which precedes the present form of a verb. To is sometimes implied rather than written, especially after the verbs let (The teacher let her [to] read) and dare (You dare [to] question me!).
Simple sentence
A simple sentence is a sentence consisting of a single independent clause.
Sheree read an excerpt of her new book at the conference.
At noon we’re going to the restaurant.
Singular
Singular refers to the grammatical form used to indicate one.
See number.
Split infinitive
A split infinitive is a construction in which one or more words appears between the two components of an infinitive verb.
Our mission is to boldly go where no man has gone before.
The doctor wants to gradually decrease my pain meds.
Profits are expected to more than triple in the next year.
While there was a period where split infinitives were considered grammatical errors, modern English generally accepts them.
Subject
The subject of a clause is the person, place, or thing that does the action indicated by the verb.
Subject-verb agreement
Subject-verb agreement is the grammatical principle that calls for the form of verb to match the number, person, and gender of the subject.
Subjunctive mood
Subjunctive mood is a verb form used in dependent clauses that express wishes, requests, commands, necessity, uncertainty, and hypothetical or contrary to fact circumstances.
If I were a rich man, I’d be happier.
I demand she be reinstated.
Subordinate clause
See dependent clause.
Subordinate conjunction/subordinating conjunction
A conjunction that joins a subordinate clause to another clause.
Substantive
Substantive means having the nature or function of a noun. A word or phrase that is substantive acts as a noun.
Syntax
Syntax refers the way in which words are put together to form phrases, clauses, and sentences.
Tense
Tense is the distinction in verb form that indicates timing, duration, or state. There are six basic tenses: simple present, simple past, simple future, present perfect, past perfect, future perfect), three progressive tenses (present progressive, past progressive, future progressive), and three perfect-progressive tenses (present perfect-progressive, past perfect-progressive, future perfect-progressive).
Transitive verb
A transitive verb is an action word that has a direct object; for example, in the sentence She gave him the ball. the word gave is a transitive verb and the direct object is the ball (him is the indirect object).
Compare intransitive verb.
Verb
A verb is a word or group of words that that indicates action. Verbs are one of the parts of speech.
Verb phrase
A verb phrase is a group of words consisting of a main verb and any auxiliaries.
She had been waiting patiently.
I will be working tomorrow.
Verbal
See nonfinite verb.
Voice
Voice is the relationship between subject and verb. It indicates whether the subject performs the action that a verb denotes or is acted upon.
See active voice and passive voice.
WXYZ
Nothing to see here! You’ve made it to the end.
