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

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.

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.

Reflexive Pronoun

A pronoun used when the subject and object are the same.

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

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.