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A

abbreviation

The shortened form of phrases or words.

abstract noun

A noun referring to any object that can only be perceived by the mind, and not by any other senses. Examples are "loyalty" and "trust."

active voice

The voice in which a sentence identifies a subject before the verb. An example is "Mark is leading the mission." Also see passive voice.

adjective

A word that describes a noun or pronoun in a sentence. Examples are "black" in "black briefcase" and "long" in "long meeting."

adverb

A word that describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb in a sentence. Examples are "repeatedly," "very," and "really."

antecedent

The subject being referred to by a pronoun. In the sentence "The committee liked Jane's idea and invited her for a second meeting," for example, the pronoun "her" refers to the antecedent "Jane."

apostrophe

The punctuation mark, also known as a single quotation mark, used to form possessive nouns and contractions.

appositive

A type of noun phrase that can sometimes replace the noun entirely.

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B

brackets

Punctuation marks that enclose the word [sic], add clarifying material that's not in the original quotation, and indicate comments that interrupt the direct quotation for special emphasis.

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C

capitalize

To start a word with an uppercase letter.

collective noun

A noun that describes a group of things, animals, or people. Examples are "team" and "staff."

colon

A punctuation mark (:) that separates unequal sentence elements.

comma

A punctuation mark (,) used principally to separate thoughts.

comma splice

A grammatical error in which two or more independent clauses are joined only by a comma, without a coordinating conjunction. An example is "The computer crashed, it had to go for repairs."

common noun

A noun that identifies a thing, animal, or person based on the general category to which it belongs. Examples are "businessman" and "machine."

comparative form

The second degree of comparison, in which adverbs or adjectives imply comparison between two entities. An example of an adverb in this form is "harder" in "He works harder than I do."

compound noun

A noun consisting of more than one word.

concrete noun

A noun that identifies something you can see, hear, smell, taste, or touch. Examples are "stapler," "pencil," and "flowers."

conjunction

A joining word that links other words, phrases, or sentences, such as "and," "while," and "or." Also see coordinating conjunction and subordinating conjunction.

coordinating conjunction

A conjunction that joins two words or two independent sentences. Examples of which are "and," "but," "for," "or," "so," and "yet."

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D

dangling modifier

A grammatical error in which the subject a word or phrase is meant to modify has been left out of a sentence. An example is "Having completed the report, the rest of my day is free."

dash

A punctuation mark (–) that sets off nonessential information, indicates a break in thought or afterthought, summarizes a sentence, or adds a descriptive element. Also known as the en dash.

declarative sentence

A sentence in the form of a statement.

definite article

The word "the."

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E

ellipsis

Periods that have been combined into a series of three (...).

elliptical question

An incomplete question.

exclamation point

A punctuation mark (!) that suggests excitement or emphasis in a sentence.

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F

fragment

A phrase or other part of a sentence that requires other words to complete it.

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H

helping verbs

Also known as an auxiliary verb, a verb that supports a main verb and clarifies its tense. Examples are "am," "are," "was," "were," "will," "have," "has," and "had."

hyphen

A punctuation mark (-) used to divide a word at the end of a line, replace words to avoid repetition, form compound words, and point out special pronunciations.

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I

imperative mood

The mood of a verb used to issue commands or make requests. Examples are "Pick up that envelope," and "Please bring me some water."

imperative sentence

A sentence that gives advice or instructions, or expresses a request or command.

inanimate object

An object, thing, or force that is not alive.

indefinite article

The word "a" or "an."

indefinite pronoun

A pronoun that does not refer to a particular person or thing.

indicative mood

The mood of a verb used for basic statements and questions, such as "I'm going home," or "What time did you arrive?"

indirect question

A sentence that implies a question.

infinitive

One of the principle parts of a verb. The infinitive form of a verb occurs when you use the basic form of a verb after a helping or auxiliary verb, such as "to," "do," "have," or "would." An example is "He said he would walk."

intensive pronoun

A pronoun that directs the action of a verb back to the subject. It's the same as a reflexive pronoun but is placed directly after the subject in a sentence. Examples are, "I myself," "he himself," "they themselves," "you yourself," and "we ourselves."

interjection

One or more words used purely to express emotion and commonly followed by an exclamation mark. Examples are "Wow!" and "Oh dear!"

irregular verb

A verb whose basic form changes in different tenses. Examples are "do" and "buy", which, for instance, become "did" and "bought."

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M

misplaced modifier

A word or phrase placed incorrectly in a sentence so that it modifies a noun or pronoun other than the one it's intended to. An example is "The letter sat on the desk that Jim had printed."

mnemonic

A memory aid.

modal verb

An auxiliary verb that indicates the mode of another verb. Examples are "might," "could," "should," "must," and "may."

mood

In terms of verbs, the form a verb takes depending on whether a sentence is indicative, imperative, or subjunctive.

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N

nominative pronoun

A pronoun that replaces the noun for a particular thing, person, or group of people. Examples are "I," "you," "he," "she," "we," "they," and "it."

noncountable noun

A noun denoting an entity that can't be or isn't typically counted. Examples are "water" and "air."

noun

A word that names one or more people, places, animals, or things. There are different types of nouns – common, proper, concrete, collective, and abstract.

noun phrase

A phrase comprising a noun followed by a description of the noun.

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O

objective personal pronoun

A pronoun that replaces a noun acting as an object in a sentence. Examples are, "her," "him," "it," "me," "them," "us," and "you."

occupational title

The title of an occupation, such as "developer" or "manager."

official title

A formal title of respect held by a dignitary. Official titles start with uppercase letters, as in "President."

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P

parentheses

Two brackets enclosing a statement. Used to clarify, indicate an afterthought, or add a personal comment.

passive voice

The voice in which the subject of a sentence follows the verb or is left out. An example is "The mission is being led by Mark."

past participle

One of the principle parts of a verb. A past participle shows that an action has been completed. Examples are "walked" and "talked."

period

A punctuation mark (.) that indicates the end of a sentence.

positive form

The first degree of comparison for adverbs and adjectives. An example is "hard" – "harder" is in the comparative form and "hardest" is in the superlative form.

possessive

The state of a noun that indicates a relationship to another noun or object. The relationship can be one of ownership, location, possession, a description of the noun, character, or any other attribute.

possessive noun

The form of a noun when it has been modified to become possessive.

possessive pronoun

A pronoun that indicates possession. Examples are "hers," "his," "its," "mine," "ours," "their," and "yours."

preposition

A word that identifies a spatial, time-based, or logical relationship between other words. Examples are "in," "on," "over," "under," "before," and "after."

present participle

One of the principle parts of a verb. A present participle is used with a "to be" verb to show that an action is still in progress, or is incomplete. Examples are "I am walking," and "He was talking."

pronoun

A word that replaces a noun to avoid repetition. Examples are "I" and "him."

proper noun

A word that identifies a unique person or place. Examples are "Switzerland" and "Mrs. Robertson."

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Q

question mark

A punctuation mark (?) used after direct questions.

quotation mark

A punctuation mark (") that encloses direct quotations.

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R

reflexive pronoun

A pronoun that directs the action of the verb back to the subject. It's the same as an intensive pronoun but is not placed directly after the subject in a sentence. Examples are "herself," "himself," "itself," "myself," "ourselves," "themselves," "yourself," and "yourselves."

run-on sentence

Also known as a fused sentence, a grammatically incorrect sentence in which two or more independent clauses are placed together but joined by any punctuation or coordinating conjunction. An example is "I attended the training I learned a lot."

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S

semicolon

A punctuation mark (;) used to separate equal and balanced sentence elements.

sentence fragment

An incomplete sentence that is written as if it were a legitimate, complete sentence. It may be missing a verb or subject, or be a subordinate clause not attached to a complete sentence. An example is "Need to go later."

spell checker

A computer utility that checks the spelling of words.

subject-verb agreement

The condition in which the verb in a sentence matches grammatically to the subject.

subjunctive mood

The mood of a verb used to indicate a hypothetical situation or a wish. An example is "If the traffic is good, I should be home soon."

subordinating conjunction

A conjunction that joins a dependent phrase to an independent sentence. Examples are "although," "as," "because," "how," "if," "until," and "when."

substitution term

The term, for instance, "Company," "Buyer," or "Seller," used in a legal agreement or other contract to replace a personal or company name.

superlative form

The third degree of comparison for adverbs and adjectives. It implies comparison to two or more other entities. An example is "hardest."

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T

tense

The grammatical form of a sentence that indicates whether an action occurred in the past, is happening at present, or will occur in the future. The forms of verbs change based on the tense used. There are three categories of tenses – simple, perfect, and progressive.

trademark

A symbol that has been registered to represent a product, and cannot be copied.

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V

verb

Words that identify actions or states of being. Examples are "write," "type," "is," and "were."

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