Short Glossary of English Terms

• Abstract noun

  A noun used to refer to a quality, idea, feeling, or experience, rather than a physical object
• Abstract nouns

  • size
  • reason
  • joy
• Active voice

  Verb groups such as "gives," "took," "has made," which are used when the subject of the verb is the person or thing doing the action or responsible for it
• Accent (mark)

  A mark written or printed over a letter to show you how to pronounce it
• Adjunct

  Another name for adverbial
• Adjective

  A word used to tell you more about a person or thing, such as their appearance, color, size, or other qualities
• Adjective

  • pretty
  • blue
• Adverb

  A word that gives more information about when, how, where, or in what circumstances something happens
• Adverbs

  • quickly
  • now
• Adverbial

  An adverb, or an adverb phrase, prepositional phrase, or noun group, which does the same job as an adverb, giving more information about when, how, where, or in what circumstances something happens
• Adverbials

  • Then
  • very quickly
  • in the street
  • he showed up the next day
• Adverbial of degree

  An adverbial which indicates the amount or extent of a feeling or quality
• Adverbial of degree

  • extremely
• Adverbial of duration

  An adverbial which indicates how long something continues or lasts
• Adverbial of duration

  • for six years
• Adverbial of frequency

  An adverbial which indicates how often something happens
• Adverbial of frequency

  • sometimes
• Adverbial of probability

  An adverbial which gives more information about how sure you are about something
• Adverbial of probability

  • probably
• Adverbial of place

  An adverbial which gives more information about position or direction
• Adverbials of place

  • upstairs
  • closer
• Adverbial of time

  An adverbial which gives more information about when something happens
• Adverbial of time

  • yesterday
• Adverb of manner

  An adverbial which indicates the way in which something happens or is done
• Adverb of manner

  • carefully
• Adverb phrase

  Two adverbs used together
• Adverb phrases

  • very quietly
• Affirmative

  A clause or sentence which does not contain a negative word such as "not" and which is not a question
• Affirmative

  • He did not play well enough to win
• Apostrophes

  An ending added to a noun to indicate possession
• Apostrophes

  • Harriet's
  • the Managing Director's
• Article

  Any of the English words "a," "an," and "the," or words in other languages that do the same job as these
• Auxiliary

  Another name for auxiliary verb
• Auxiliary verb

  One of the verbs "be," "have," and "do" when they are used with a main verb to form tenses, negatives, and questions. Some grammars include modals in the group of auxiliary verbs.
• Bare infinitive

  The form of the infinitive without "to"
• Base form

  The form of a verb without any ending added to it, which is used in the "to" infinitive and for the imperative
• Cardinal number

  A number used in counting
• Cardinal numbers

  • one
  • seven
  • nineteen
• Clause

  A group of words containing a verb
• Collective noun

  A noun that refers to a group of people or things, and which can be used with a singular or plural verb