English Grammar: Parts of Speech, Figures of Speech, and Sound Devices

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering the definitions of grammatical parts of speech, literary figures of speech, and sound and repetition techniques.

Parts of speech

Grammatical classifications that describe the jobs words perform in sentences.

Figures of speech

Creative uses of language that add meaning, emphasis, or effect.

Noun

A word that names a person, place, thing, animal, or idea.

Common noun

A noun that provides a general name for a person, place, or thing.

Proper noun

A specific name that begins with a capital letter.

Concrete noun

A noun representing something that can be experienced through the senses.

Abstract noun

A noun naming an idea, quality, or feeling.

Collective noun

A noun that functions as a name for a group.

Countable noun

A noun naming something that can be counted individually.

Uncountable noun

A noun naming something that is not usually counted individually.

Compound noun

A noun made from more than one word or word part.

Pronoun

A word that takes the place of a noun or noun phrase.

Personal pronoun

A pronoun that refers to specific people or things.

Possessive pronoun

A pronoun that indicates ownership.

Reflexive pronoun

A pronoun that refers back to the subject of the clause or sentence.

Demonstrative pronoun

A pronoun that points out a specific person or thing.

Relative pronoun

A pronoun that introduces a relative clause.

Interrogative pronoun

A pronoun used to help ask a question.

Indefinite pronoun

A pronoun that refers to a person or thing that is not specifically named.

Reciprocal pronoun

A pronoun that demonstrates a shared action or relationship.

Verb

A word that expresses an action, event, or state.

Action verb

A verb that describes an action.

Linking verb

A verb that connects the subject to a description or identity.

Auxiliary verb

A helping verb that assists in forming verb phrases.

Modal verb

A verb that expresses concepts such as ability, possibility, permission, or obligation.

Transitive verb

A verb that takes an object.

Intransitive verb

A verb that does not take an object in a sentence.

Adjective

A word that describes or gives more information about a noun or pronoun.

Positive degree

The form of an adjective used when describing a single item without comparison.

Comparative degree

The form of an adjective used to compare two things.

Superlative degree

The form of an adjective used to compare three or more things.

Adverb

A word that provides more information about a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or an entire sentence.

Preposition

A word that shows a relationship between a noun or pronoun and another part of the sentence.

Prepositional phrase

A unit formed by a preposition and the words that follow it.

Conjunction

A word that joins words, phrases, or clauses.

Coordinating conjunctions

Conjunctions that join elements of equal grammatical importance, often remembered by the acronym FANBOYS.

Subordinating conjunctions

Conjunctions that introduce a dependent clause.

Correlative conjunctions

Conjunctions that work together in pairs to join elements.

Interjection

A word or short expression that communicates a sudden feeling or reaction.

Determiner

A word appearing before a noun to help identify it or indicate quantity or amount.

Simile

A figure of speech that compares two different things using the words 'like' or 'as'.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that describes one thing as if it were another.

Extended metaphor

A comparison between two things that is sustained and developed over several sentences or lines.

Personification

A figure of speech that attributes human qualities or actions to non-human entities.

Hyperbole

A deliberate exaggeration used to add emphasis, express strong emotion, or create humour.

Understatement

A device that deliberately represents something as less important or serious than it actually is.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that places apparently contradictory words directly together.

Paradox

A statement that seems contradictory on the surface but may reveal an underlying truth.

Irony

A device involving a contrast between what is expected or said and what is actually meant or occurs.

Verbal irony

A form of irony in which a speaker says something different from what they mean.

Situational irony

A form of irony where what happens is sharply different from what is expected.

Dramatic irony

A literary situation in which the audience possesses knowledge that a character does not have.

Pun

A joke or play on words relying on similar sounds or multiple meanings.

Euphemism

A gentler expression used in place of words that may sound harsh or upsetting.

Metonymy

A figure of speech that refers to something by naming another entity closely associated with it.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech that uses a part to represent the whole, or the whole to represent a part.

Apostrophe

In literature, a direct address to someone absent, an abstract idea, or something non-human.

Allusion

An indirect reference to a well-known person, story, event, or text.

Symbolism

The literary technique in which an object, image, action, or character represents a larger idea.

Rhetorical question

A question posed for effect rather than to elicit an actual answer.

Antithesis

The placement of contrasting ideas close together, often structured in a balanced sentence.

Litotes

A technique that expresses an idea by using a negative form, often producing an understatement.

Climax

The arrangement of ideas or events in increasing order of importance or intensity.

Anticlimax

A sudden transition from something important or dramatic to something trivial or less important.

Parody

The imitation of the style of a person, work, or genre, typically intended for humour or criticism.

Satire

A genre or technique using humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to criticise people, behaviour, or society.

Alliteration

The repetition of initial consonant sounds in nearby words.

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words.

Consonance

The repetition of consonant sounds in nearby words, often within or at the ends of words.

Onomatopoeia

The use of words that imitate the sounds they describe.

Repetition

The repeated use of a word, phrase, sound, or idea to add emphasis, rhythm, or memorability.

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or lines.

Epistrophe

The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses or lines.

Refrain

A line or group of lines repeated at recurring intervals in a poem or song.