Grammar

Noun

Defines a person, place, thing, or idea.

Common noun

A general noun that begins with a lowercase letter.

Proper noun

A specific noun that begins with a capital letter.

Pronoun

Takes the place of a noun.

Personal pronouns

Pronouns that refer to specific people or things (I, you, he, she, etc.).

Reflexive pronouns

Pronouns that reflect back to the subject (myself, yourself, etc.).

Relative pronoun

Starts an adjective dependent clause (that, which, who, etc.).

Interrogative pronoun

Asks a question (which, whose, what, etc.).

Demonstrative pronoun

Demonstrates which one (this, that, these, those).

Indefinite pronoun

Does not refer to a definite person or thing (everyone, someone, etc.).

Adjective

Modifies nouns and pronouns, answering which one, how many, or what kind.

Article

A word that defines a noun as specific or unspecific (a, an, the).

Proper adjective

A proper noun used as an adjective (American flag).

Adverb

Modifies adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs; answers how, when, where, or to what extent.

Preposition

Shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence.

Conjunction

Joins words, phrases, and clauses.

Coordinating conjunction

Joins equal parts of a sentence (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).

Subordinating conjunction

Starts adverb dependent clauses.

Correlative conjunction

Works in pairs to join words or groups (not only/but also, either/or).

Interjection

Expresses emotion with no real connection to the sentence.

Verb

Shows action or helps to make a statement.

Action verb

A verb that shows action.

Linking verb

Links two words together.

Helping verb

Helps an action verb or linking verb.

Verbal

A word formed from a verb acting as a noun, adjective, or adverb.

Gerund

A verb acting like a noun, ending in -ing.

Simple subject

The who or what of the verb.

Complete subject

Simple subject plus its modifiers.

Simple predicate/verb

The main verb or verb phrase in a sentence.

Transitive verb

A verb that takes a direct object.

Intransitive verb

A verb that does not take a direct object.

Complete predicate

Verb plus its modifiers.

Complement

Completes the meaning of the subject and verb.

Direct object

A noun or pronoun that follows an action verb.

Indirect object

A noun or pronoun that comes before a direct object.

Predicate nominative

A noun or pronoun that follows a linking verb and renames the subject.

Predicate adjective

An adjective that follows a linking verb and describes the subject.

Appositive

A noun or pronoun that renames another noun or pronoun.

Appositive phrase

An appositive along with its modifiers.

Prepositional phrase

A group of words beginning with a preposition and ending with a noun or pronoun.

Object of preposition

The noun or pronoun that follows the preposition.

Noun of direct address

The person being spoken to in a sentence.

Infinitive phrase

An infinitive plus its modifiers and objects.

Object of infinitive

The noun or pronoun that follows the infinitive.

Gerund phrase

A gerund plus its modifiers and objects.

Object of gerund

The noun or pronoun that follows the gerund.

Participle phrase

A participle plus its modifiers and objects.

Clause

A group of words with a subject and verb.

Independent clause

A clause that can stand alone as a sentence.

Dependent clause

A clause that cannot stand alone.

Simple sentence

Contains one independent clause.

Compound sentence

Contains two or more independent clauses.

Complex sentence

Contains one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.

Declarative sentence

Makes a statement and ends with a period.

Interrogative sentence

Asks a question and ends with a question mark.

Imperative sentence

Gives a command and ends with a period.

Exclamatory sentence

Expresses strong feelings and ends with an exclamation point.

Capitalization

The act of writing a letter in uppercase.

Semicolon

A punctuation mark used to connect independent clauses.

Apostrophe

Used to show possession or form contractions.

Underlining/Italicizing

Used to indicate titles of long works or important terms.

Quotation marks

Used to quote titles or dialogue.

Commas

Used for various purposes in sentences, including separation and clarification.