Grammatical Terms and Definitions

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Adjective

Adjectives are describing words. They are used either before or after a noun (or a pronoun) to modify its

meaning.

Examples:

a large bass

adjective: large

noun: bass

The moon is bright tonight.

noun: moon

adjective: bright

Adverb

Adverbs are mainly used to modify verbs. They are used to express when, where, how, for what reason,

or to what degree an action is performed.

Many adverbs — especially those that express how an action is performed — end -ly.

Examples of Adverbs

Here are some examples of adverbs:

The mad season starts in August. (when)

Toby played in the garden. (where)

She ran quickly. (how)

As it has stopped raining, the game can continue. (reason)

They dance more gracefully. (degree)

Adverbs with Adjectives and Other Adverbs

In the examples above, the adverbs all modify verbs. However, adverbs can also modify adjectives and

other adverbs. For example:

She is an extremely tall lady

(tall is an adjective)

She typed the letter remarkably quickly.

(quickly is an adverb)

Adverbial Phrases and Adverbial Clauses

Many adverbs are just one word, but adverbs are often made up of more than one word. For example:

She sang happily.

She sang with great joy.

He moved slowly.

He moved like a sloth.

He did the job well.

He did the job to a high standard.

When an adverb is made up of more than one word, it is known as an adverbial phrase or an adverbial

clause.

Compound Nouns

A compound noun is one comprising at least two words. (Sometimes, they are hyphenated.)

There are three forms for compound nouns:

With Spaces: swimming pool, grey matter, fish tank

Without Spaces: shotgun, housework, eyelid

With Hyphens: baby-sitter, laughing-gas, daughter-in-law

Composition of Compound Nouns

Most compound nouns are made up of two nouns or an adjective and a noun. For example:

Noun + Noun: Bath tub, witchcraft, seaman, wall-paper

Adjective + Noun: Hardware, highway, full moon, whiteboard

However, there are other combinations:

Part of Speech + Part of Speech = Compound Noun

Sauce (noun) + Pan (noun) = Saucepan

Soft (adjective) + Ware (noun) = Software

Break (verb) Washing (verbal)

+ Fast (noun) Machine (noun)

= Breakfast Washing machine

Sun (noun) + Rise (verb) = Sunrise

In (preposition) + Flux (noun) = Influx

Out (preposition) + Put (Verb) = Output

Check (verb) + Out (preposition) = Checkout

Noun

A noun is a word used for a person, place, or thing. Nouns are often described as naming words.

Examples of Nouns

Here are some examples of nouns:

Anne

Policeman

Town

Crayon

The Eiffel Tower

Thought

Swimming

Dream

Table

Grass

Oxygen

Ounce

Day

Sentence Examples

Your rosy cheeks give you away, my love.

The scientific theory I like best is that the rings of Saturn are composed entirely of lost airline luggage.

My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far I’ve finished

two bags of M&Ms and a chocolate cake. I feel better already.

Types of Noun

All nouns can be classified as one of the following:

A Common Noun. A common noun is the word for a person, place, or thing (e.g., cat, letter,

pound, bravery, building, sea).

A Proper Noun. A proper noun in the name given to a person, place, or thing (e.g., Felix, The

Empire State Building, Atlantic Ocean, Mr. Jones, Doomsday Book).

Categories of Nouns

Common nouns can also be categorized as one (or more) of the following:

Abstract Noun

(e.g., love, hate, pessimism)

Collective Noun

(e.g., team, school, choir)

Compound Nouns

(e.g., sister-in-law, cooking-oil, snowman)

Concrete Noun

(e.g., table, eagle, snowman)

Countable Noun

(e.g., table, eagle, snowman)

Mass Nouns (or Non-Countable Nouns)

(e.g., air, steel, flour)

Gender-Specific Noun

(e.g., lady, vixen, bull)

Verbal Nouns

(e.g., swimming, laughing, writing)

Participles

A participle is a word formed from a verb which can be used as an adjective.

The two types of participles are the present participle (ending ing) and the past participle (usually ending

-ed, -d, -t, -en, or -n).

Present Participles

Present participles end in -ing.

Examples:

boiling water

caring nature

deserving recipient

Present participles are not just used as adjectives. They are also used to form verb tenses. Here are the

verb tenses (present participles shaded):

The 4 Past Tenses Example

simple past tense I went

past progressive tense I was going

past perfect tense I had gone

past perfect progressive tense I had been going

The 4 Present Tenses Example

simple present tense I go

present progressive tense I am going

present perfect tense I have gone

present perfect progressive tense I have been going

The 4 Future Tenses Example

simple future tense I will go

future progressive tense I will be going

future perfect tense I will have gone

future perfect progressive tense I will have been going

Past Participles

Past participles have various endings, usually -ed, -d, -t, -en, or -n.

Examples:

broken window

painted frame

destroyed bridge

Past participles are also used to form verb tenses. Look at these verb tenses (past participles shaded):

The 4 Past Tenses Example

simple past tense I went

past progressive tense I was going

past perfect tense I had gone

past perfect progressive tense I had been going

The 4 Present Tenses Example

simple present tense I go

present progressive tense I am going

present perfect tense I have gone

present perfect progressive tense I have been going

The 4 Future Tenses Example

simple future tense I will go

future progressive tense I will be going

future perfect tense I will have gone

future perfect progressive tense I will have been going

Past Form of a Verb

The Past Form of Regular Verbs

Below are some examples of past forms of regular verbs:

Base Form

Past Form

Comment

help helped -ed added

dance danced -d added

tally tallied -ed added but spelling rule applied (change y to i)

allot allotted -ed added but spelling rule applied (double the last consonant if the verb ends [consonant-vowel-consonant] and is end stressed)

The Past Form of Irregular Verbs

Below are some examples of past forms of irregular verbs:

Base Form

Past Form

Comment

set set past form same as the base form

dig dug past form has a vowel change from the base form

seek sought past form is completely different from the base from

The Five Verb Forms

The table below shows the five verb forms in English.

Verb

Type

The Base Form

(also "Simple

Form" or

"Uninflected

Form")

The 3rd

Person

Singular

Present

Tense Form

(also "The -s

Form")

Past Form

(also "The

Past

Tense

Form")

The Present

Participle Form

(also "The –ing

From")

The Past

Participle Form

Regular play plays played playing played

Regular use uses used using used

Regular marry marries married marrying married

Irregular bring brings brought bringing brought

Irregular run runs ran running run

Irregular fall falls fell falling fallen

Irregular drink drinks drank drinking drunk

Past Tense

The past tense is categorized further depending on whether the action was in progress or has been

completed. The four past tenses are:

The 4 Past

Tenses

Examples Uses

simple past

tense

I went. The Martians landed near

the aqueduct.

The simple past tense is used to describe a

completed activity that started in the past and

ended in the past.

past

progressive

tense

I was going. He was painting the door

when a bird struck the window.

The past progressive tense is used to describe

an on-going activity in the past. Often, it is

used to set the scene for another action.

past perfect

tense

I had gone. Silverfinger had taken the

pill before the team reached him.

The past perfect tense is used to emphasize

that an action was completed before another

took place.

past perfect

progressive

I had been going. She had been painting

the door before the dog scratched it.

The past perfect progressive tense is used to

show that an on-going action in the past has

ended.

Present Tense

The present tense is categorised further depending on whether the action is in progress or completed.

The four present tenses are:

The 4 Present

Tenses

Examples Uses

simple present tense I go. I like chocolate. The train gets in at 5 o'clock. A horse walks into a bar, and

the barman says, "why the long face?"

The simple present tense is used:

(1) To describe facts and habits.

(2) To describe scheduled events in

the future.

(3) To tell stories to make your

listener or reader feel more

engaged with the story.

present_progressive

tense

I am going. Barny is looking for the latest

brochure.

The present progressive tense is

used for an on-going action in the

present.

present perfect tense I have gone. David has worked alongside

two of the world's finest scientists in the field of entomology.

The present perfect tense is used

to describe actions that began in

the past and are still continuing into

the present.

present perfect

progressive

I have been going. Amanda has been relying on

a pay rise to pay her student loan.

The present perfect progressive

tense is used for:

(1) a continuous activity that began

in the past and continues into the

present, or

(2) a continuous activity that began

in past but has now finished

(usually very recently).

Future Tense

The future tense is categorized further depending on whether the action will be in progress or will be

completed. The four future tenses are:

The 4 Future

Tenses

Examples Uses

simple future

tense

I will go. We will celebrate our

anniversary by flying to New York.

The simple future tense is used for an

action that will occur in the future.

future

progressive

tense

I will be going. The Moscow State Circus will

be performing in Cheltenham for the next 3 weeks.

The future progressive tense is used for

an on-going action that will occur in the

future.

future perfect

tense

I will have gone. By the time you arrive, we will

have finished the meal and the speeches.

The future perfect tense is used to

describe an action that will have been

completed at some point in the future.

future perfect

progressive

I will have been going. In July next year, you will have

been studying for three years.

The future perfect progressive tense is

used for an on-going action that will be

completed at some specified time in the

future.

Pronoun

A pronoun is a word that can be used to replace a noun. For example:

Marcel is tall enough, but he is not as fast as Jodie.

(The word he is a pronoun. It replaces the noun Marcel.)

Our family loves flapjacks. We eat about a dozen of them a day.

(The word we is a pronoun. It replaces the noun phrase Our family. The word them is a pronoun.

It replaces the noun flapjacks.)

In the examples above, it is quite easy to see how the pronouns replace the nouns. However, many

words that are classified as pronouns take a bit more effort to understand why they replace nouns.

Types of Pronouns

There are several types of pronouns:

Demonstrative Pronouns

(The demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these, and those.)

Indefinite Pronouns

(The most common indefinite pronouns are all, any, anyone, anything, and each.)

Intensive Pronouns

(The most common intensive pronouns are myself, yourself, herself, himself, itself, ourselves,

yourselves, and themselves.)

(These look the same as reflexive pronouns, but they perform a different role.)

Interrogative Pronouns

(The interrogative pronouns are who, when, why, what, which, and whom.)

Personal Pronouns

(There are two forms of personal pronouns: the subjective form and the objective form. The

subjective personal pronouns are I, you, he, she, it, we, they, and who. The objective personal

pronouns are me, you (same as subjective), him, her, it (same as subjective), us, them, and

whom.)

Possessive Pronouns

(The possessive pronouns are my, your, his, her, its, our, their, and whose.)

Reciprocal Pronouns

(The most common reciprocal pronouns are each other and one another.)

Relative Pronouns

(The relative pronouns are who, whom, that, which, where, and when.)

Reflexive Pronouns

(The most common reflexive pronouns are myself, yourself, herself, himself, itself, ourselves,

yourselves, and themselves.)

(These look the same as intensive pronouns, but they perform a different role.).

Proper Noun

A proper noun is the name given to something to make it more specific (e.g., Johnathan, Ollie, London,

Monday). Proper nouns are written with capital letters regardless of where they appear in a sentence.

Proper nouns contrast with common nouns, which are the words for something (e.g., boy, dog, city,

day). Common nouns are written with a capital letter only when they start a sentence.

Remember, everything we can see or discuss is represented by a word that names it. That word is called

a noun.

All nouns can be categorized into one of two groups: common nouns and proper nouns.

This page is about proper nouns, but it is worth learning about common nouns and proper nouns at the

same time.

Examples of Proper Nouns and Common Nouns

Here are some examples of proper nouns and common nouns:

Proper Noun Common Noun

Ford Mondeo car

Lake Superior lake

Heidi dog

The Pacific Ocean ocean

Tanners restaurant

General McChrystal soldier

Cost Cutter supermarket

Gold Blend coffee

Verb

Verbs are often described as doing words. A verb usually tells us what action is being performed. For

example:

He ate the cake.

She read the book.

Verbs can express a physical actions, mental actions, or states of being. For example:

Verbs Expressing Physical Actions

Verbs that express physical actions are the ones that spring to mind when most people think about

verbs. Such verbs are easy to spot because the action can be easily envisaged. Here are some examples

of verbs expressing physical actions:

to swim

to write

to climb

Verbs Expressing Mental Actions

Not all actions are physical. Some are mental. Here are some examples of verbs expressing mental

actions:

to think

to wonder

to guess

Verbs Expressing a State of Being

The very act of being (i.e., just existing) is also an action. Below are some examples of verbs that express

a state of being. The most common one (in fact, the most common verb of all) is the verb to be.

to be

to exist

to appear