Language terminology
abstract noun the name which refers to things we cannot perceive with our senses, which we experience as an idea, not by seeing, touching etc. (doubt, height, geography, love)
active verb form finite verb form in the active voice (breaks, told, will help). The subject of an active verb is usually the person or thing that does the action, or is responsible for what happens.
adjective a word that usually describes the noun contains features describing the noun (green, hungry, impossible). Adjectives are used in connection with nouns and pronouns.
adjective clause a clause that has the function of description similar to an adjective and begins with a relative pronoun (who, whom, whose, that or which) or a relative adverb (when, where, or why). (the boy who is standing over there is my brother).
adjectival participle clause an adjective clause beginning with a participle functioning as a adjective (the boy standing over there is my brother).
adverb a part of speech (usually one word) which modifies a verb, used to say when, where or how something happens (tomorrow, once, badly, there, also)
adverb(ial) clause a clause that functions as an adverb (modifies a verb) (I saw Joe when I went to the store)
adverb particle a short adverb (up, out, off) often used as part of a phrasal verb. (clean up, sold out, tell off)
adverbial (phrase) part of the sentence, a group of words functioning as an adverb. (from 5 o’clock, as soon as we have it)
adverbial participle clause a clause that functions as an adverb, beginning with a participle (I saw Joe going into the store)
affirmative (declarative) sentence a sentence that makes a statement (I agree)
affix a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word. Affixes may be derivational (–ness and pre-) or inflectional (plural –s, past tense –ed).
agent the doer/performer of an action (John hit the mosquito with a newspaper. This picture was probably painted by a child.)
anaphoric use backward reference, reference to a preceding element of the sentence. (The monkey took the banana and ate it.)
antecedent (modifier) a word that precedes the word describes it, the word to which a pronoun refers, the noun or noun phrase to which an anaphor refers (The monkey took the banana and ate it.)
anticipatory (preparatory, introductory) subject/object a subject/object in a sentence that carries no independent meaning but points forward to the direct subject/object which is placed later in the sentence (It is well known that sharks don’t eat people. I find it strange that he hasn't replied to our invitation.)
apposition grammatical construction in which two elements, normally noun phrases, are placed side by side, with one element serving to define or modify the other (my friend Alice)
article a word that combines with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun. Articles specify the grammatical definiteness of the noun. A/an is the indefinite article, the is the definite article.
aspect a property of verb which expresses time, continuity and completion in the described event or state (simple, progressive and perfective)
assertive forms words used most often in affirmative sentences, having the feature of factuality (some, somebody etc.). In other kinds of sentences (interrogative, negative, conditional and comparative clauses), they are often replaced by non-assertive-forms, which contain the feature of non-factuality (any, anybody etc.) Other non-assertive forms are yet, ever.
attributive adjectives, nouns and verbs placed before nouns they modify are in attributive position. (a green shirt, chicken soup, a walked dog)
auxiliary verb a verb functioning to give further semantic or syntactic information about the main or full verb following it. (be, have, do) It is used with another verb to make tenses, passive forms etc. (She was writing Where have you put it?)
bare infinitive the infinitive without to. (Let me go.)
base form the simplest form of a verb, without a special ending, it is the form listed in the dictionary. (come, see, be)
nominative case corresponds to English's subjective case, indicates the subject of a finite verb: We went to the store.
accusative case corresponds to English's objective case, indicates the direct object of a verb: The clerk remembered us.
dative case indicates the indirect object of a verb: The clerk gave [to] us a discount.
ablative case indicates movement from something, and/or cause: The victim went from us to see the doctor. He was unhappy because of depression.
genitive case corresponds to English's possessive case, indicates the possessor of another noun: John's book was on the table.
vocative case indicates an addressee: John, are you O.K.? or Hey John, are you O.K.?
locative case indicates a location: We live in China.
instrumental case indicates an object used in performing an action: We wiped the floor with a mop.
case feature of a noun or pronoun that indicates its grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence.* nominative case (subjective pronouns I, he, she, we), used for the subject of a finite verb and sometimes for the complement of a copula
* accusative/dative case (objective pronouns me, him, her, us), used for the direct or indirect object of a verb, for the object of a preposition, for an absolute disjunct, and sometimes for the complement of a copula
* genitive case (possessive pronouns my/mine, his, her(s), our(s)), used for a grammatical possessor
clause a part of a sentence which contains a subject and a verb, usually joined to the rest of the sentence by a conjunction. (Mary said that she was tired). The word clause is also sometimes used for structures containing participles or infinitives (with no subject or conjunction). (Not knowing what to do, I telephoned Robin, I persuaded her to try a new method.)
cleft sentence a sentence in which special emphasis is given to one part (e.g. the subject or the object) by using a structure with it or what. (It was you that caused the accident, What I need is a beer.)
collective noun a singular noun used to refer to a group. (family, team)
colloquialisms expressions considered to be characteristic of or only appropriate for casual, ordinary, familiar, or informal conversation rather than formal speech or writing (y'all, gonna, ain't nothin', dude)
common noun a noun that can be preceded by an indefinite article, and denotes any member, or all members of a class (dog, city).
comparative the form of an adjective or adverb which denotes the degree by which a person, thing, or other entity has a property or quality greater or less in extent than that of another. Comparatives are built by adding -er to an adjective or adverb (older, faster) or with the structure more + adjective/adverb (more useful, more politely).
complement...
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