English Grammar

These flashcards cover key terminology and definitions related to grammar and sentence structure, helping students understand various grammatical rules and concepts.

Subject (in a sentence)

Indicates who or what performs the action of the predicate.

Ellipsis Dots

Used by writers to show that part of a quotation has been left out or to indicate a pause in dialogue.

Predicate

Indicates what is said about the subject; the key word in the predicate is the verb.

Object (in a sentence)

Receives the action of a transitive verb.

Subjective Completion

Describes the subject after a linking or copula verb.

Prepositional Phrase

Begins with a preposition followed by a noun or pronoun and any adjectives modifying that object.

Principal Clause

Refers to the main idea and makes sense on its own.

Subordinate Clause

Refers to the secondary idea and does not make sense on its own.

Adjective Clause

A subordinate clause used to modify a noun or pronoun.

Adverb Clause

A subordinate clause used to modify a verb, adjective, or adverb.

Noun Clause

A subordinate clause used as a noun.

Gerund

A verb form usually ending in 'ing' and used as a noun.

Participle

A verb form either in present tense (ending in 'ing') or past tense (often ending in 'd' or 'ed'), used as an adjective.

Infinitive

A verb form preceded by the preposition 'to', used as a noun, adjective, or adverb.

Comma

A punctuation mark used to separate items in a list or after an introductory word, phrase, or clause.

Semicolon

A punctuation mark used to join independent clauses or separate items in a list when the items themselves contain commas.

Colon

A punctuation mark used to introduce a list, an example, a quotation, or an explanation.

Hyphen

A punctuation mark used to combine words or parts of words to form an expression that needs to be seen as one word.

Slang

Very informal and short-lived vocabulary and language patterns used by particular groups.

Colloquialism

An informal, conversational expression that is often inappropriate to use in formal written work.

Jargon

Specialized vocabulary used by a profession, trade, or group.

Dialect

A local version of language, with its own vocabulary and sentence structure.

Active Voice

Expresses an action that is done by its subject.

Passive Voice

Expresses an action that is done to its subject.

Conjunction

A word that joins words or groups of words used in the same way.

Preposition

Relates a noun or pronoun to some other words in the sentence.

Interjection

Refers to a word or words that express emotion or thought, but are not essential to the sentence.