English language

Noun

Person, place, thing, or idea. Examples: dog, teacher, freedom, UConn.

Verb

Shows an action, event, or state. Examples: run, think, is, exist.

Adjective

Describes or modifies a noun. Examples: big, Jamaican, difficult.

Determinative

Helps identify or specify a noun. Examples: the, a, this, those, my, every.

Adverb

Modifies a verb, adjective, or sometimes a whole clause. Often tells how, when, where, or to what degree. Examples: quickly, yesterday, very, here.

Preposition

Shows a relationship between things, often involving location, time, or direction. Examples: in, on, under, with, from, to.

Coordinator

Connecting words that link two grammatical units of equal importance or rank (e.g., word to word, phrase to phrase, or independent clause to independent clause).

Subordinator

Words that connect a dependent (subordinate) clause to an independent clause, making the dependent clause unequal in rank and unable to stand alone.

Interjection

Expresses a reaction or emotion. Examples: wow, ouch, ugh, hey.

Auxiliary verb

A helping verb that works with a main verb to express things like tense, possibility, necessity, or emphasis.

Modal verb

A type of auxiliary (helping) verb used with a main verb to express ability, possibility, permission, or necessity.

Can

Modal verb expressing ability or possibility.

Could

Modal verb expressing past ability or possibility.

May

Modal verb expressing possibility or permission.

Might

Modal verb expressing possibility.

Must

Modal verb expressing necessity or strong obligation.

Shall

Modal verb expressing future or intention; usually formal or less common.

Should

Modal verb expressing advice or expectation.

Will

Modal verb expressing future or prediction.

Would

Modal verb expressing a hypothetical situation, politeness, or past habit.

Modal verb rule

Modal verbs are followed by the BASE FORM of the verb. They do not change form according to the subject or tense.

Subject

Who or what the sentence is about.

Predicate

What the subject does, says, thinks, or is.

Complete Subject

The main noun or pronoun plus all the words describing it that tell who or what the sentence is about.

Simple Subject

The single main noun or pronoun that the sentence is about, stripped of all extra describing words. Think of it as the whole subject boiled down to just the "who" or "what."

Complete Predicate (whole predicate)

The verb plus everything else that comes with it to tell what the subject is doing or being.

Simple Predicate (Core Verb)

The main verb in the predicate.

Object

A noun or noun phrase that receives or is affected by the action of a verb.

Lexical category

What a word IS grammatically, such as noun, verb, adjective, or adverb.

Grammatical function

What a word or phrase DOES in a sentence, such as subject or object.

Main verb

The verb that carries the main meaning of the verb phrase.

Helping verb

Another name for an auxiliary verb. It helps the main verb express tense, possibility, necessity, emphasis, etc.

Dependent clause

A group of words containing a subject and verb that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.

Independent clause

A group of words containing a subject and verb that can stand alone as a complete sentence.

Clause

A group of words containing a subject and a verb.

Subject + Verb + Object

A common sentence structure.

modal verb example

can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would

auxiliary verb example

am, have, do, will.

Base Form of a Verb

The verb in its plain, original state—before anything gets added to it. eat (not eats, ate, or eating)

Finite Clause

A group of words containing a subject and a verb marked for tense (past or present) or a modal verb. It can stand alone as a sentence or serve as part of a larger one.

FANBOYS

For And Nor But Or Yet So (Coordinating Conjunctions)

Definite article

The word "the," used before a noun to point out a specific, identified person, place, or thing known to both the speaker and listener. Previously mentioned: I saw a dog. The dog was huge.

Indefinite article

The words "a" and "an," used before a singular countable noun to refer to a general, non-specific item, or to mention something for the first time.

Proper Noun

The specific, unique name given to an individual person, place, organization, or brand.

Predicator (Functional Definition)

The verb part of a sentence that runs the whole show, It serves as the functional center of the predicate, dictating what other elements (objects, complements, adjuncts) are required to complete the clause.

Predicator

Strictly the verb phrase itself (main verb ± auxiliary verbs).

Complete Predicate

The predicator plus all its dependents (objects, complements, and adjuncts).

Finite Verb

Shows contrast for tense (past/present) or mood/modality, and usually agrees with the subject in person and number.

Finite vs. Non-Finite (Inside a Predicator)

When a predicator has multiple verbs in a row, only the very first one is finite (tied to time: past or present). The rest are non-finite (plain forms).

Verb Valency / Transitivity (The Predicator's Licensing Power)

How many "players" a verb needs to make a complete sentence

Operator (The Finite Element in the Predicator)

The first helping verb in line that does all the grammar heavy lifting:

Makes it negative: adds not (She cannot come).

Makes a question: jumps to the front (Can she come?).

Adds emphasis: takes the punch (I did do it!).

Helping Verb vs Main Verb

One Sets the time, mood, or possibility (can, should, has, was). The other the actual action or meaning (run, eat, sleep).