Glossary of Grammatical Terms
There are hundreds of words about words but, thankfully, most of them we don't all need to know. But a few are very helpful and well worth learning. Here is a list of essential grammatical terms.
Categories of words
With the exception of a, an, and the (which are called articles), every English word fits into one of eight categories. The two most important categories are nouns and verbs.
Category / DescriptionNouns / A noun names a person, place, thing, idea, or quality. A proper noun names a particular person, place, or thing.
Nouns > / the girl, the house, the truth, the beauty
Proper nouns > / Paris, Mary, July, the United Nations
Pronouns / A pronoun stands in place of a noun (to save us having to repeat the noun). The noun represented by the pronoun is referred to as the pronoun's antecedent. In the example below, the noun Tim is the antecedent of the pronouns who, his, he, and him.
Pronouns > / Tim, who always washes his hands before he eats, knows cleanliness is good for him.
Adjectives / An adjective describes a noun (or pronoun). It specifies which noun, qualifies what kind of noun, or limits how many nouns we are talking about.
Adjectives > / that house, the large house, one house
Prepositions / A preposition shows the relationship of a noun (or pronoun) to something else. It tells us where, when, or how something has happened.
Prepositions > / The cat sat on the mat under Mary's bed.
Verbs / A verb names an action (write, dream, run) or state of being (be, appear, feel).
Verbs > / As I opened the door I knew I was home.
Adverbs / An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. When modifying a verb it tells us where, when, how, or why the action has occurred. With many notable exceptions (like well), adverbs usually end in -ly.
Adverbs > / he ran quickly, she was really well liked, the package arrived early
Conjunctions / A conjunction joins (or illustrates the relationship between) words, phrases and clauses.
Conjunctions > / you and me, these but not those
Interjections / Interjections are exclamations, yes-no answers, or pauses.
Interjections > / Wow! Hey! yes, no, um, ah
Don't be confused by words that appear to belong to multiple categories. Many words belong to two, three, or even more categories. (At a stretch, what fits six!?)
Names For Groups Of Words
Letters form words, which form phrases, which form clauses, which form sentences, which form paragraphs, and so on.
Group / DescriptionPhrases / Phrases are made up of one or more words. The term is used to group words by their function.
Phrases > / The fireman [noun phrase] quickly climbs [verb phrase] the ladder [noun phrase].
Clauses / Clauses must include a subject (usually a noun or noun phrase) and a verb.
Clause > / The fireman [subject] quickly climbs [verb] the ladder.
Sentences / Sentences are made up of one or more clauses.
Sentence > / The fireman quickly climbs the ladder [first clause] and [conjunction] [he] steps onto the roof [second clause].
Names for the roles of words and phrases
English is what some linguists call an SVO language. SVO stands for subject-verb-object and, in a nutshell, this describes the structure of our language.
Role / DescriptionSubject / English clauses usually start with the subject: the person or thing acting or being.
Subjects > / John runs. The fireman climbs the ladder. Mary gives her keys to Peter. The car is red.
Verb / Next comes the verb: the action (write, dream, run) or state of being (be, appear, feel).
Verbs > / John runs. The fireman climbs the ladder. Mary gives her keys to Peter. The car is red.
Object / Last is the object (also called the verb complement). A direct object is a person or thing directly affected by the verb.
Direct object > / Mary gives her keys to Peter.
An indirect object is a person or thing affected by a direct object.
Indirect object > / Mary gives her keys to Peter.
Verbs that describe a state of being (like be, appear), don't require an object. Instead, the object position is occupied by a subject complement that tells us more about the subject. And some verbs (like run, sleep) can stand alone.
No object > / John runs.
Subject complement > / The car is red.
Don't be confused by one-word sentences (like Stop! or No.). To save us writing or speaking unnecessary words, English allows us to imply words.
No [I won't stop].
Adapted from www.usingenglish.com/glossary.html
LATTC Writing Center Rev. March 1, 2009 Title V Funded