Glossary

of Grammatical Terms
active voice: The form of a verb that is used when the subject is doing the action. I am
reading a book. We bought some sandwiches, went to the park, and had a picnic.
adjective: A word that describes or gives more information about a noun. Delicious
chocolate. An interesting story. Three big, ugly, scary dogs.
adjective clause: A clause that acts as an adjective. It describes or gives more
information about a noun. Adjective clauses are also called relative clauses. The whales
that live at Sea World are trained to do tricks. Whales, which are mammals, breathe air
into their lungs.
adjective clause connector: A word that introduces a relative clause/adjective clause:
who, which, that, whom, whose. An adjective clause connector is also called a relative
pronoun. The students who go to this school have to wear uniforms. The book which he
wrote is boring.
adverb: A word that describes or gives more information about a verb, an adjective or
another adverb. Youll learn easily. We study often. Its rather hot. He ran very quickly.
adverb clause: A clause that often answers the questions: When? Why? How? Where?
An adverb clause begins with a subordinating conjunction. After we finish our
homework, well watch TV. Will you help me if I dont understand this?
appositive: A noun or noun phrase that comes before or after a noun to rename it or
give more information about it. Irvine, a very safe city, is a good place to live. My
brother Bob wants to be a doctor.
article: The words a, an, and the. Articles are a special type of adjective. They show
whether someone is talking about a particular thing (the definite article: the) or just
anything (the indefinite article: a or an).
auxiliary verb: A verb, such as forms of be, have, or do, that is used with another verb
to change its tense or form. Auxiliary verbs are also called helping verbs. They are
studying now. This car was made in Japan. We have done our homework. Do you like
soccer? When did the class start?
clause: A group of words that has a subject and a verb. This sentence has two clauses: [I
took a nap] [because I was sleepy.]
Conditional sentence: A conditional sentence has two clauses. One usually starts with if
and tells a condition or possibility. The other clause can start with then (or without
then), and it tells a result. There are three kinds of conditional sentences:

1. Real or possible conditionals in the present/future (also called the first

conditional) tell about something that might actually happen. If I have time, then
Ill go to the mall. If you hurry, you will be in time for class.
2. Unreal or impossible conditionals in the present/future (also called second
conditional) tell about things that are not true. If I were you, I would study
harder. (Im not you.) If we lived in Alaska, then we could go skiing all year. (We
dont live in Alaska.)
3. Unreal or impossible conditionals in the past (also called third conditional) tell
about things that were not true in the past. If I had known the bank was closed, I
wouldnt have bothered to go there. (I didnt know.) If you had lived 1,000 years
ago, then you couldnt have had a computer or cell phone. (You didnt live then.)
conjunction: A word that joins two nouns, two verbs, two clauses, etc. The two things
that are joined must be of the same type. Bob and Tom are studying. Do you want
coffee or tea? [Im sleepy] and [I want to take a nap]. [He was late] because [he missed
the bus].
conjunctive adverb (transition word): One kind of word that joins two clauses, like
therefore, however, or otherwise. It was my brothers birthday; therefore, I bought him a
present.
coordinate connector (coordinating conjunction): One kind of word that joins two
clauses, like and, but, or so. In these sentences, both clauses seem equally important. It
was my brothers birthday, so I bought him a present.
dependent clause: A clause that cant stand on its own as a complete sentence, usually
because it begins with a subordinating conjunction. Dependent clauses are also called
subordinate clauses. Ill take a nap because Im sleepy. Will you help me if I dont
understand this?
direct object: A noun or pronoun that comes after a verb to show who or what receives
the action. The children played soccer. I dont know him.
gerund: The -ing form of a verb when it is used as a noun. Playing soccer is fun. I like
reading books.
helping verb: A verb, such as forms of be, have, or do, that is used with another verb to
change its tense or form. Helping verbs are also called auxiliary verbs. They are studying
now. This car was made in Japan. We have done our homework. Do you like soccer?
When did the class start?
independent clause: A clause that can stand on its own as a complete sentence. An
independent clause is also called a main clause. Im sleepy. Ill take a nap because Im
sleepy.
infinitive: To + the plain form of a verb. Do you want to go to the movies? To err is
human; to forgive is divine.
2

inverted subject and verb: In some kinds of sentences, we change the positions of the
subject and the verb, so that the subject comes after the verb or the helping verb. Can
you help me? Never have I seen such a mess. There are many beautiful places in
California. Had I known you needed help, I would have come earlier.
linking verb: A verb that links, or joins two ideas. We can think of it as being like an
equal sign ( = ). The most common linking verb is be, but some other verbs can be
linking verbs too: seem, appear, become, feel, get, grow, look, smell, sound, stay, turn.
The weather was warm, but then it turned cold. We got tired. Try to stay healthy.
main clause: A clause that can stand on its own as a complete sentence. A main clause is
also called an independent clause. Im sleepy. Ill take a nap because Im sleepy.
modals: A group of special verbs that usually have another verb after them: Can, could,
will, would, may, might, shall, should, must. Ducks can swim. Would you help me?
nonrestrictive adjective clause: An adjective clause that doesnt restrict the number of
things a noun refers to; it just gives more information about the noun. We dont need
the information in it to understand what the whole sentence is about. When we say
Irvine, which is a safe city, is a good place to live, were just giving more information
about Irvine. Theres only one Irvine, and thats the one were talking about.
Nonrestrictive adjective clauses have commas around them. (See also restrictive
adjective clause.)
noun: A word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. Student, city, table, honesty.
noun clause: A clause that can be used in the same way as a noun, for example, as a
subject or object of a sentence. [That the world is round] is a well-known fact. I dont
know [who you are].
noun phrase: A noun plus its modifiers. The diligent student. A big city. That expensive
table.
object of a preposition: A noun or pronoun that comes after a preposition to complete
its meaning. He went (to the mall) (in the morning) (without his wallet).
paired conjunctions: Two conjunctions that commonly occur together, like bothand,
either or, neither nor, not only but also. Both cats and dogs make good pets.
Ill order either a salad or a sandwich.
parallel structure: In some situations, two things that are linked or used together must
be the same grammatically. Dogs and cats make good pets. (Both are nouns.) Its easier
to read a book than to write one. (Both are infinitives.)
passive voice: The form of a verb that is used when the subject is receiving the action.
The person or thing that is doing the action can be in a prepositional phrase beginning
with by. This portrait was painted (by Vincent Van Gogh). Oranges are produced in
central California.
3

past participle: A form of a verb that can be used to make perfect tenses or the passive
voice. When you memorize verbs, its the third part that you say: give, gave, given. The
past participle of a regular verb ends in -ed: walked, studied, robbed. The past participle
of an irregular verb is hard to predict. You just have to memorize it: gone, eaten, hit,
been. A past participle is sometimes used as an adjective: a broken window, a bowl
made in California.
plural form: A form of a word that shows there are two or more. Chairs, elephants,
dishes, children, they, we.
predicate adjective: An adjective that comes after a linking verb to complete its
meaning. Elizabeth is intelligent. That cake looks delicious.
predicate noun: A noun that comes after a linking verb to complete its meaning.
(Predicate nouns are not considered objects.) Elizabeth is a teacher. Bob will become the
president of the company.
preposition: A word that shows a relationship between a noun and other things in the
sentence. The chair in the corner is comfortable. Lets go to the beach.
prepositional phrase: A preposition and the noun that comes after it (its object)
together are called a prepositional phrase. The chair in the corner is comfortable. Lets
go to the beach.
present participle: A form of a verb that ends with -ing. It can be used to make
progressive tenses. The children are sleeping. I was waiting for you. A present participle
can be used as an adjective. Dont wake the sleeping child. The students taking a test are
tired. It can also be used as a noun (a gerund). Swimming is fun.
pronoun: A word that can replace a noun, like he, they, we, us, me, or it. Words like
something, nobody, and each other are also pronouns.
relative clause: A clause that acts as an adjective. It describes or gives more information
about a noun. Relative clauses are also called adjective clauses. The whales that live at
Sea World are trained to do tricks. Whales, which are mammals, breathe air into their
lungs.
relative pronoun: A word that introduces a relative clause/adjective clause: who, which,
that, whom, whose. A relative pronoun is also called an adjective clause connector. The
students who go to this school have to wear uniforms. The book which he wrote is dull.
restrictive adjective clause: An adjective clause that restricts, or limits, the number of
things the sentence is talking about. We need the information in it to understand what
the whole sentence is about. When we say Cities that are safe are good places to live,
were not saying that all cities are good places to live, only cities that are safe.
Restrictive adjective clauses do not have commas around them. (See also nonrestrictive
adjective clause.)
4

singular form: A form of a word that shows there is just one. Chair, elephant, dish, child,
he, she, I.
subject: A noun or pronoun that tells what a sentence is about. In an active sentence, it
usually tells who or what did something. [People should be careful] when [theyre
crossing the street].
subordinate clause: A clause that cant stand on its own as a complete sentence, usually
because it begins with a subordinating conjunction. Subordinate clauses are also called
dependent clauses. Ill take a nap because Im sleepy. Will you help me if I dont
understand this?
subordinating conjunction: A word that joins two clauses, like before, after, because, if,
or when. In these sentences, the clause that starts with a subordinating conjunction
seems less important; the other clause is the main focus. I bought my brother a present
because it was his birthday.
verb: A word that describes an action or a state of being: eat, play, think, be, exist. The
main verb of a clause tells what the subject does or is. The gardener planted some roses.
The roses are beautiful. I wish I had some beautiful roses.
verb agreement: A verb needs to match its subject. A singular subject needs a singular
verb. The library is full of books. A plural subject needs a plural verb. The libraries are full
of books. A third-person singular subject in the present tense needs an s ending. Ice
cream tastes delicious.
verb tenses: Verbs can have different forms to show when something happened,
whether it lasted a long time or a short time, etc. These forms are called verb tenses.
Verb Tense

Example

Meaning*

Simple present

I often walk to school.

He often walks to school.

A habitual or repeating action.

Present progressive
(present continuous)

I am walking now.
He is walking now.

A current action.

Present perfect

I have already walked 5 miles.

He has already walked 5 miles.

Present perfect
progressive (past perfect
continuous)

An action that began in the past but

continues to be true. A past action
(indefinite time) that could happen
again.)
An action that began in the past but is
I have been walking for an hour.
continuing now (with emphasis on the
He has been walking for an hour.
fact that it is still happening.

Simple past

I walked to school yesterday.

He walked to school yesterday.

A single past event.

Past progressive
(past continuous)

While I was walking to school, I

stopped at Starbucks.

A past action that was happening (when

it was interrupted by another).

Past perfect

I had walked to school many

times before I bought a car.

A past action that was completed before

a second past action.

Past perfect progressive

(past perfect continuous)

An action that began in the past before

I had been walking for two hours
a second past action (with emphasis on
by the time I stopped.
the duration of the action).

Future with be going to

I am going to walk tomorrow.

He is going to walk tomorrow.

An event in the future, especially one

already planned.

Future with will

I will walk tomorrow.

Ill walk with you if you want me
to.

An event in the future, especially one

that is scheduled or expresses strong
desire to do something.

Future progressive
(future continuous)

I will be walking at 10:00 tonight. An action that will be taking place at

He will be walking too.
some point in the future.

Future perfect

By the time I graduate, I will

have read 100 textbooks.

An action that will be finished by a

specified time in the future.

Future perfect
progressive (future
perfect continuous)

By the time I get to school, I will

have been walking for an hour.

How long an action has been happening

at a future point; focus is on the
duration.

*Explanations of meanings are from Keys to Teaching Grammar to English Language Learners by
Keith S. Folse. University of Michigan Press, 2009.