English Lang Terminology - Grammar

Proper Noun

Refers to the names of a specific people/places - eg Exeter, Britain, etc - usually starts with a capital letter

Common Noun

Refers to the common name for things that aren’t necessarily specific - eg city, boy, holiday etc

Concrete Noun

Refers to physical things that can be measured and observed

Abstract Noun

Refers to abstract concepts and things that can’t be touched or seen - such as ideas, occasions, thoughts, time, qualities, processes - eg sadness, hope, happiness

Count Nouns

A noun that can be counted

Non-Count nouns

A noun that can’t be counted

Descriptive Adjectives

Used to express the size, shape or colour of an object - eg yellow, big, round

Evaluative Adjectives

Used to express bias or judgement in relation to the noun - eg good ,bad, ugly

Comparative Adjectives

Used to compare 2 or more nouns - eg the faster, the hungrier

Superlative Adjectives

Used to compare 3 or more nouns - eg the hungriest, the fastest

Dynamic Verb

Refers to an action, process or sensation - a physical process (eg running, walking, climbing etc)

Stative Verb

Refers to a state of being or situation and shows how a thing is, feels or appears. (eg think, feel, know)

Modal (auxiliary) Verb

Expresses necessity and possibility - usually appears before a main (dynamic or stative) verb. (eg would, can, could, should, will etc)

Primary (auxiliary) Verb

Expresses voices and tenses - usually appears before a main (dynamic or stative) verb. (eg have, do, be)

Adverb of Time

Refers to when a certain action happens - yesterday, today, now - circumstance adverb

Adverb of Place

Refers to where a certain action happens - here, nearby, far - circumstance adverb

Adverb of Manner

Refers to how and in what way a certain action happens - quickly, slowly, smoothly - circumstance adverb

Adverb of Degree

Refers to the intensity in which a certain action happens - very, quite, extremely

Adverb of Frequency

Refers to how often a certain action happens - sometimes, often, rarely

Personal Pronoun

A pronoun which is associated with a particular person - eg, me, you, his, her, them, they, he, him, she,

Possessive Pronoun

A pronoun used to indicate that something belongs to someone or has a direct relationship with something else. They must replace a noun. - eg, mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs

Demonstrative Pronoun

A pronoun used to point to something specific within a sentence. They indicate items in time and space and can be singular or plural. - eg, this, that, those, these

Reflexive Pronoun

A pronoun used when the subject and object are the same. - eg, myself, yourself, herself, himself, ourselves, theirselves

Relative Pronoun

A pronoun used to refer to nouns previously mentioned, whether they are people, places, animals or ideas. They can be used to join up two sentences or clauses - eg, who, which, that

Indefinite Pronoun

A pronoun used to refer to one or more unspecified objects, places or beings. They do not indicate the exact object, being or place to which they refer. - eg, anyone, everyone, someone

Possessive Determiner

A determiner used to indicate the possession of a noun - eg mine, yours, theirs, his ,her

Demonstrative Determiners

A determiner that is used to demonstrate the identity of the thing being referenced by the noun - eg those, these, this, that

Indefinite (quantifiers) Determiners

Determiners that indicate the scope of a noun - eg any, many, some

Articles

Determiners that indicate the specificity of a noun - eg the,(definite) a, an (indefinite)

Cardinal Determiners

Determiners used in counting to identify quantity - eg 1,2,3,4 etc

Ordinal Determiners

Determiners used to indicate position or in relation to other numbers - eg 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc

Preposition of Place

Used to refer to where something or someone is located - eg on, at, under, by, opposite - cat ON table

Preposition of Direction

Used to refer to where or in what direction something moves - eg towards, past, out of, through - walk THROUGH door

Preposition of Time

Used to refer to a specific time period such as a date - these are often the same words as prepositions of place but are used in a different way - eg on, in, before, at - birthday ON monday

Preposition of Comparison

Used to separate or distinguish between 2 or more people, ideas or things etc - eg like, unlike, as - sang LIKE an angel

Preposition of Source

Used to refer to the origin of something in the sentence - eg from, of, out of - card FROM friend

Preposition of Purpose

Used to refer to the cause of something happening or the purpose of an action - eg for, to, on account of - gift FOR you

Example of how a Particle differs from a Preposition

It is important to be aware that some words that have the form of a preposition to not have the same function

1. “The girl read IN the library

2. “The rioters kicked IN the door”

In the first sentence ‘in’ refers to where the girl is reading - it is therefore a preposition of place

In the second sentence ‘in’ is DIRECTLY LINKED TO THE VERB therefore it is not a preposition but a PARTICLE

Simple Preposition - types of prepositions

The most common type of preposition and used to show relationships such as dates and time - eg In, On, At, Under etc - The cat sat ON the table

Double Preposition - types of prepositions

Two simple prepositions used together that are often indicating direction.

Eg, Into, Upon, Onto etc - she walked INTO the shop

Compound (Complex) Preposition - types of prepositions

Consists of two or more words - usually a simple preposition and another word - to indicate place 

Eg, Infront of, In the middle of, Next to - she stood INFRONT OF the park

Particle Preposition - types of prepositions

A preposition with the suffix ending -ed or -ing but functions as a preposition

Eg, Following, Regarding, Inclined etc - We were late FOLLOWING traffic

What is a Prepositional Phrase.

Consists of a preposition, an object and the object’s modifier

Eg In the morning, After lunch, At home - I awoke IN THE MORNING

Coordinating Conjunctions

Conjunctions placed between words, phrases, clauses or sentences that are of equal value. Eg- FANBOYS - For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So

Subordinating Conjunctions

Used to introduce a Subordinate Clause Eg- If, Because, Unless, Although

Correlating Conjunctions

Conjunctions that function as a pair, both words correlating to balance words, phrases, clauses or sentences. Eg - Both/And, Neither/ Nor, But/Then etc

Adverbial Conjunctions 

A conjunction used to modify two independent clauses and join them together Eg- However, Moreover, Therefore etc