A
- Active voice :
- The active voice emphasizes the person or thing that performs or causes an action. A sentence is in the active voice when the subject of the sentence performs an action and when the object receives or is the result of the action. In the following sentence, the subject Risa performed the action, and the object letter received the action. Risa mailed the letter.
- Adjectival:
- Functioning as an adjective. Phrases and clauses that modify nouns are adjectival.
- Adjective :
- A word that modifies the meaning of a noun. e.g. The little girl climbed quickly up the very tall tree. Adjectives are capable of comparison: positive: small, beautiful; comparative: smaller, more beautiful; superlative: smallest, most beautiful.
- Adverb:
- A word that modifies the meaning of a verb,an adjective, or another adverb. They answer the questions "how?" "when?" "where?" etc. e.g. The little girl climbed quickly up the very tall tree. Adverbs are capable of comparison:positive fast, quickly; comparative faster, more quickly; superlative fastest, most quickly.
- Adverb of frequency :
- An adverb that tells how often an action occurs. Adverbs of frequency range in meaning from all of the time to none of the time. e.g. Ellen always eats breakfast. However, Nick never eats meat.
- Adverbial:
- Functioning as an adverb. Phrases and clauses that modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs are adverbial.
- Adverbial Phrase:
- a phrase functioning as an adverb. Phrases and clauses that modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs are adverbial e.g. Meggy spoke very softly.
- Affirmative statement:
- A positive sentence that does not have a negative verb e.g. Cristobal went to the movies yesterday.
- Agreement:
- The subject and verb of a clause must agree in number. If the subject is singular, the verb form is also singular. If the subject is plural, the verb form is also plural e.g. Marcela comes home early everyday. They live close to Saray's.
- Article:
- The words a, an, and the in English. Articles are used to introduce and identify nouns. e.g. A potato; an onion; the supermarket
- Auxiliary :
- A "helping verb" like "have" or "should" or "was." e.g. I should have been trying to please them, but I forgot.
- Auxiliary Verb :
- A verb that is used before main verbs (or other auxiliary verbs) in a sentence. Auxiliary verbs are usually used in questions and negative sentences. Do,
have, and be can act as auxiliary verbs. Modals (may, can, will, and so on) are also auxiliary verbs e.g. Do you have any change? The camera was taken.
B
- Blends:
- Two words that are combined to form one e.g. Motor + hotel --> motel, breakfast + lunch-->brunch.
- Brand names:
- Coined names by companies. e.g. Jello-0, Xerox, Coca-Cola, Band-aid, etc.
C
- Clause:
- A group of words containing a complete predication. Clauses belong to two types: (1) subordinate, relative, or dependent clauses (italicized below) function only when conjoined to (2) a main, coordinate, or independent clause, which can--contrariwise--stand by itself e.g. Before Tanya or I arrived, it had become late and cold, so we left.
- Complex sentence:
- A sentence made up of a main clause together with one or more subordinate or relative clauses e.g. Enid ran down the street for help while Luis called the police.
- Compounding:
- Combination of two words e.g. Babysitter, firefighter, greenhouse, bigmouth, etc.
- Conjunction:
- One of a small number of relational (function) words that join words or groups of words together. Conjunctions are of two kinds: some like "and," "or," "for," join words or phrases of equivalent grammatical weight. e.g. Before Alex or I arrived, it had become late and was turning cold, so we left. Others, like "since," "when," and sometimes "for," connect subordinate clauses to the rest of the sentence e.g. Before Alex or I arrived, it had become late and cold, so we left.
- Container words:
- Measurement words such as a bowl of, a can of, two slices of, a cup of.
- Parts of Speech:
- It refers to a verb, adjective,
adverb, noun, etc.: Verbs: leave, set out, call, etc. Nouns: year, island, etc. Adjectives: old, new, etc. Adverbs: often, boldly, very, carefully, etc.
- Contraction:
- The combination of two words into one by omitting certain letters and rep laci them with an apostrophe e.g. I will go there = I"llgo there, we are happy = we"re happy, she is wonderful= she"s wonderful
- Count nouns:
- A common noun that can be counted. It usually has both a singular and a plural form.
e.g. Orange--> oranges, woman --> women
D
- Definite article:
- The word the in English. It is used to identify nouns based on assumptions about what information the speaker and listener share about the noun. The definite article is also used for making general statements about a whole class or group of nouns. Please give me the key The car I bought is expensive.
- Demonstratives:
- The determiners this, that, these and those are demonstratives
- Dependent clause:
- A clause that cannot stand alone as a sentence because it depends on the main clause to complete the meaning of the sentence. Also called subordinate clause e.g. Meggy is going home after she finishes her proposal.
- Determiner:
- A word such as a, an, the, this, that, these, used before a noun to limit its meaning in some way e.g. Those books are mine.
- Direct Object:
- The person or thing affected by the action of the verb; a verb completion e.g. Robert hit the ball; it hit me.
F
- First name:
- Allan, Roista, Margarita, Paul, Mamiko are all first names.
- Fragments:
- Incomplete sentences e.g. Why did you do that?---> Because I wanted to., Beautiful day!
- Full name:
- It refers to first middle and last name e.g. Anne Louis Lucas, Allen G. Quesada.
- Future perfect:
- the future perfect is form using (will have + past participle e.g. By this time next week, I will have finally finished this lesson.
- Future Time:
- time that is to come. The future is expressed in English with will, be going to, the simple present, or the present continuous. These different forms of the future often have different meanings and uses e.g. Blanca will help you later. Brian is going to call later. The bus leaves at 7:05 this evening. Manuela is driving to Kansas city tomorrow.
G
- Gerund:
- A verbal that functions as a noun (as distinct from a participle that functions as an adjective). In the following examples, "Running" is a gerund in the first,
and a modifying participle in the second e.g. Running in every race was Allen"s goal. Running in every race, Allen was known to everyone.
I
- Imperative:
- A type of sentence, usually without a subject, that tells someone to do something. The verb is in the simple form e.g. Please open your books to page 46. Don't go there!
- Indefinite article:
- The words a and an in English. Indefinite articles are used to introduce a noun as a member of a class of nouns, or to make generalizations about a whole class or group of nouns e.g. Please hand me a pencil. An ocean is a large body of water.
- Indefinite pronouns:
- These are made by combining the words every, any, some, with one, body and thing e.g. Somebody came and asked for you. Nobody showed up.
- Infinitive:
- A verb form that includes to + the simple form of a verb.
To offer help is better than to refuse it. Friends and neighbors stopped by to offer help after the
fire. Ann was able to offer help because she was at hand.
- Information question :
- A question that begins with a wh- word e.g. Where does your brother live?
Who did you talk to?
- Interjection:
- An exclamatory word intended to express strong feelings.
- Irregular plurals:
- Nouns such as child, woman have irregular plurals, that is, they have irregular forms e.g. One child--> two children, one woman--two women.
- Irregular verb :
- A verb that forms the simple past in a different way than regular verbs. Some irregular verbs use the simple form as their simple past and past participle form (put put - put); others have one irregular form for both the simple past and the past participle (buy - bought - bought); and others have different simple past and past participle forms (sing - sang - sung).
L
- Last name:
- Also known as surname; the family name.
M
- Main clause:
- A clause that can be used by itself as a sentence. Also called independent clause e.g. Allen is going home.
- Marital Status:
- It refers to marriage status: you may be married, single e.g. Can you drive a car.? Does she eat fish?
- Middle name:
- A second name e.g. Allen Gerardo, Rosa Maria.
- Modal verbs:
- The auxiliary verbs can, could, may, might, must, should, will, and would. They modify the meaning of a main verb by expressing ability, authority, formality, politeness, or various degrees of certainty. They are also called modal auxiliary e.g. You should take aspirin for your headache. Applicants must have a high school diploma.
- Modal of ability:
- Can and could are called modals of ability when they express knowledge, skill, opportunity and capability e.g. He can five languages. Can you play the guitar? I couldn"t talk to her because of the storm.
- Modifier:
- A word or group of words that adds to or refines the meaning of another word. Modifiers are either adjectives or adverbs.
- Mood:
- The form of the verb by which it denotes a state (indicative), a command (imperative), a question (interrogative), or a hypothetical condition (subjunctive).
N
- Negation:
- A denial; the opposite of affirmation e.g. Nick did not sell his designs.
- Non-restrictive clause :
- A clause that adds to our knowledge of whatever it is it modifies but without being crucial to its identification; the opposite of restrictive clause e.g. The children, who loved ice cream, ran to the Dairy Queen.
- Noncount noun:
- A common noun that cannot be counted. A noncount noun has no plural form and cannot occur with a, an, or a number e.g. information, mathematics, weather.
- Nonseparable verbs:
- Two- or three-word verbs that allow a noun or pronoun object to separate the two or three words in the verb phrase. Certain two-word verbs and almost all three-word verbs are nonseparable e.g. Rachel got off the bus. I should cut down on fat in my diet.
- Noun:
- The name of a person, place, idea or thing. A proper noun belongs to a particular individual; a common noun identifies a member of a group e.g. Bob sold his digital camera to Brian.
- Noun clause:
- A dependent clause that can occur in the same place as a noun, pronoun or noun phrase in a sentence. Noun clauses begin with wh- words, if, whether, or
that e.g. I don't know where Ellen is. I wonder if you can come tomorrow. I think that it"s a lie.
- Noun phrase:
- A phrase formed by a noun and its modifiers. A noun phrase can substitute for a noun in a sentence e.g. All company cars will be replaced.
O
- Obligation verbs:
- verbs such as must, have to, ought to.
P
- Participle:
- One of two different kinds of verb-derived words which can function as nouns, modifiers, or parts of synthetic verbs. Present participles end with "-ing." Past participles of most verbs end with "-ed" or "-en"
e.g. I hate running when I feel tired.
- Parts of Speech:
- The classes of words from which sentences are constructed: nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections etc.
- Passive voice :
- The passive voice emphasizes the receiver or an action by changing the usual order of the subject and object in a sentence. A sentence is in the passive voice when the subject does not perform the action; it receives the action or is the result of an action. The passive voice is formed with a form of be + the past participle of a transitive verb e.g. They were shot three times. It was painted by Michael.
- Past continuous:
- A verb form that expresses an action or situation in progress at a specific time in the past. The past continuous is formed with was or were + verb + -ng. Also called past progressive e.g. A: What was she doing last night at eight o"clock? B: She was studying at the library.
- Past participle:
- A past verb form that may differ from the simple past form of some irregular verbs. It is used to form the present perfect, present perfect continuous, past perfect, past perfect continuous, and the passive.
e.g. I have never seen that movie. They've been working too much lately. By noon, we had already taken the exam.
- Past perfect :
- A past tense that expresses a relationship between two past perfect indicates the earlier event or situation. It is formed with had + the main verb e.g. Nick had already left when Alex called.
- Past perfect continuous :
- A past form that is like the past perfect, but it emphasizes the duration of the earlier event or situation. It is formed with had + been + main verb + -ng e.g. When Paul was offered the position, he had been looking for a new job for several months.
- Phrasal verbs:
- The combination of a verb and an adverb whose combined meaning cannot be deduced from their individual meanings e.g. They stopped by to offer help after the event. Compare: He stopped by the side of the road.
- Phrase:
- A unified group of words which does not include both parts of the actor-act combination that produces predication. The term is a general one, but includes the prepositional phrase as one of its most important classes.
In the box which sat on the porch behind the house was an egg.
- Plural:
- more than one; the opposite of singular e.g. Grapes are great. I saw many monkies and birds at the zoo.
- Possessives:
- Words such as mine, yours, your, her, his, ours, etc.
- Preposition:
- One of a small number of relational (function) words like "in," "on," "behind," etc. which are known as prepositions because they are "pre-posed" or "placed before" the phrases they introduce.
- Prepositional phrase:
- A phrase that consists of a preposition followed by a noun or noun phrase e.g. On Sundays I go to church. I found the book under the table.
- Present continuous:
- A verb form that indicates that an action is incomplete, in progress, or changing. It is formed with be + verb + ing. Also called present progressive e.g. Adrian is watering the garden.
Andrea is sleeping. Adam's not working right now.
- present perfect:
- A verb form that expresses a connection between the past and the present. It indicates indefinite past time, recent past time, or continuing past time. The present perfect is formed with have + the past participle of the main verb e.g. I've seen that movie.
- Present perfect continuous :
- A verb form that focuses on the duration of actions that began in
the past and continue into the present moment or have just ended. It is formed with have + been + verb + -ing.Also
known as present perfect progressive e.g. They"ve been waiting for an hour.
- Pronoun:
- A word standing for a noun. There are many different kinds of pronouns, including the following: indefinite pronouns ("some," "any"), demonstrative pronouns ("this," "those"), interrogative pronouns ("who," "which"), personal pronouns ("I," "you," "she", "it") possessive ("yours", "mine").
- Proper noun :
- A noun that is the name of a particular person, animal, place, thing, or idea. Proper nouns begin with capital letters and are usually not preceded by the e.g. Franklin, Costa Rica, Online NetGrammar, Apollo 13, etc.
Q
- Quantity words:
- A word or words that occur before a noun to express a quantity or
amount of that noun e.g. a lot of rain, few books, four trucks, a pound of beef.
- Question words:
- Wh-words such as what, where, who, how, whose, etc. e.g. Where are you from?
Whose jacket is this?
R
- Regular verb:
- A verb that forms the simple past by adding the ending -ed, -d, or changing y to i and then adding -ed to the simple form e.g. play - played, love- loved, try - tried.
- Relative Pronoun:
- words such as Which, that, whom, whose, where, when and so on. e.g. She describes the city where she grew up. The book that I am reading is about Online NetGrammar.
- Reported speech:
- A form of a sentence that expresses the meaning of quoted speech or writing from the point of view of the reporter. wh- clauses, if/whether clauses, and that clauses are used to express reported speech after a communication verb. e.g. He said that he was tired. We asked if they could come early.
S
- Short answer:
- An answer to a yes/no question that has yes or no plus the subject and an auxiliary verb e.g. A: Do you speak Chinese? B: Yes,I do. OR No, I don't.
- Short name:
- A short way of saying your first name e.g. Allen-Al; Patricia-Pat; Charles-Chuck; Ricardo-Rick.
- Shortened forms:
- Abbreviated forms of words e.g. Gymnasium= gym, dormitory=dorms, professor=prof.
- Simple past tense:
- A tense that expresses actions and situations that were completed at a definite time in the past e.g. I went to the movies yesterday.
- Simple present tense:
- A verb tense that expresses general statements, especially about habitual or repeated activities and permanent situations e.g. Meggy eats pasta for lunch every other day. The earth is round.
- Singular:
- Relating to a word form denoting one person, thing, or instance e.g. The apple I ate was rotten. The woman in red is my cousin.
- Stative verb:
- A type of verb that is not usually used in the continuous form because it expresses a condition or a state that is not changing e.g. Know, resemble, love, see, and smell.
- Subject:
- It is one of two main components of a sentence. A subject could be a noun (dog), proper noun (Alex), pronouns, or phrases used as nouns.
V
- Verb:
- A word which specifies the action or condition in which the subject of a sentence participates. Predicates comprise a verb with whatever modifiers or complements accompany it e.g. I love the Web.
- Phrasal verb :
- A two- or three-word verb such as turn down or run out of. The meaning of-a phrasal verb is usually different from the meanings of its individual words. She turned down the job offer. Don't run out of gas on the freeway.
Y
- Yes-No question:
- A question that can be answered with the words yes or no. e.g. Can you drive a car?
Does she eat fish?
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