| Term | Definition | Spanish translation | French translation |
| Simple tense | A sentence structure that refers to an event or a description at a specific time. | ||
| Progressive tense | A sentence structure that refers to an action or event progressing over a period of time. | ||
| continuous tense | Same as progressive tense | ||
| Perfect tense | A sentence structure that refers to an event or action that occurs in a RELATIVE time not a specific time. | ||
| Future tense | A sentence structure that refers to an event that will happen sometime later. | ||
| Past tense | A sentence structure that refers to an event that happened sometime before now. | ||
| Stative verb | A stative verb is a verb that describes a state, condition, or situation not an actual action. carem own, owe, appear, prefer are examples of stative verbs. | ||
| Regular verb | A regular verb is a verb that follows normal conjugation rules | ||
| Irregular verb | An irregular verb is a verb that doesn't follow normal conjugation rules. | ||
| Voiceless sound | A voiceless sound is one that doesn't cause noticable vibration in the voice box. k,p,s,ch, and sh are examples of voiceless sounds. | ||
| Voiced sound | A voiced sound is one that causes noticable vibration in the voice box. M, N, L, O, E, Z, B, and V are examples of voiced sounds. | ||
| Simple form | The simple form of the verb is the unconjugated verb without 'to'. Be, go, and come are verbs in simple form. |
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| Infinitive | The infinitive form of the verb in English includes 'to'. To be, to go, and to come are infinitive. Infinitives are commonly used after a conjugated verb. I like to sing in the shower. |
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| Simple past conjugation | The simple past form of a verb is the past conjugation used in the simple past tense. Spoke is the simple past conjugation of speak. | ||
| Past participle | The past participle form of a verb is the conjugation used in Perfect tenses as well as in passive voice. | ||
| Present participle | The verb + ing combination used in progressive tenses or as an adjective. | ||
| Gerund | The verb + ing combination used as a noun. | ||
| Transitive verb | A verb which is followed by an object. Some verbs are both transitive and intransitive depending on the definition. Most dictionaries use VT for transitive verbs. | ||
| Intransitive verb | A verb which doesn't have an object. Some verbs are both transitive and intransitive depending on the definition. Most dictionaries use VI for intransitive verbs. | ||
| Verb | A verb is an action, state, or condition. | ||
| Noun | A noun is a person, place, thing, or idea. | ||
| Adjective | An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun | ||
| Adverb | An adverb is a word that describes or modifies a verb | ||
| Article | An article is A, an, or the preceding a noun or its adjectives. Articles help us understand how many there are, or if someone is talking in general, or talking about a specific noun. | ||
| Preposition | A preposition is used with nouns or verbs to help show movement, time, or place. Prepositions after verbs sometimes change their meanings. | ||
| Phrasal verb | A phrasal verb is a verb with a preposition or adverb. The idea changes. get off = is to remove from the top of something. Get your feet off the table. The idea is NOT a combination of the two words. |
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| Word | A word is one or more letters put together to form a simple concept. | ||
| Phrase | A group of words that have an idea. That idea may only have a subject, a verb, or object... ' mom... phone' is a phrase. It is not a sentence but it does have an idea. | ||
| Clause | It has a subject and verb and it has an idea. | ||
| Sentence | One or more clauses with a complete idea. The sentence must have at least one Independent clause. | ||
| Independent clause | A clause that by itsself is easy to understand. | ||
| Dependent clause | A clause that by itsself would be confusing. The dependent clause needs an independent clause to make a complete sentence. | ||
| Main clause | The same as independent clause. | ||
| Subordinate clause | The same as dependent clause. | ||
| Time clause | A time clause is a dependent clause that relates the time of the action in the independent clause. 'until we get home' is a time clause. We can't have supper until we get home. | ||
| Adverb clause | The same as time clause. | ||
| Pronunciation | The way the sounds of a word are combined when spoken. | ||
| Subject-verb agreement | The correct combination of subject(s) and verb conjugation for the given tense. | ||
| Subject | the noun that does the action or is described. | ||
| Object | the noun that receives the action. | ||
| Possessive noun | A possessive noun is a singular noun that is followed by 's or a plural noun that is followed by '. The student's book. The students' books. | ||
| Singluar | There is only one. | ||
| Plural | There are two or more. | ||
| Nouns as modifiers | A noun is used as an adjective. Usually this occurs when there isn't an adjective for this concept. A book store. Book, a noun, is being used as an adjective in other words it is a 'noun as a modifier' | ||
| Count noun | a noun that can be plural or singular | ||
| non count noun | A noun that doesn't have a separate plural form. You can't give it a number. You normally can measure it. I can't gramatically say '3 waters' but I can say three bottles of water. Bottles can be counted, water can't. I can't say 2 traffics but I can say that there is a lot of traffic. | ||
| countable noun | Same as count noun | ||
| uncountable noun | Same as non count noun | ||
| Pronoun | A pronoun is a noun which replaces the subject, object, or possessive noun/adjective. | ||
| Subject pronoun | A subject pronoun replaces a subject. I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they, | ||
| Object pronoun | An object pronoun replaces an object. me, you, her, him, it, us, you, them. | ||
| Possessive pronoun | A possessive pronoun replaces the possessive noun. mine, your, hers, his, its, ours, yours, theirs. | ||
| Possessive adjective | A possessive adjective goes infront of a noun to show ownership. my, your, her, his, its, our, your, their. |
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| Indefinite pronoun | An indefinite pronoun is used when the idea is less clear or more open. For exmple: someone instead of he/she or him/her when we don't know or don't care about gender. | ||
| Collective noun | A collective noun is one that refers to a group. example: group, family, team, staff, class. The pronouns it, its, they, them, their are used to refer to a collective noun. | ||
| Reflexive pronoun | A reflexive pronoun is usually the object pronoun or possessive adjective +self if singular or +selves if plural. myself, themselves. They are used in English when the subject and object of a clause refer to the same person. 'I did it myself' 'He did it himself' | ||
| Impersonal pronoun | An impersonal pronoun is often used in informal English when it is a specific person or a saying. It also avoids the use of gender. One, you, and they are used. The passive voice can be used instead if the clause contains an object. | ||
| Modal | A modal is a modal auxiliary verb. The basic modals are can, could, had better, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, and would. There area also phrasal modals which include be able to, be going to (will), be supposed to, have to, have got to, and used to. | ||
| Active voice | Active voice or active, is the normal structure we use everyday when forming a sentence. Normally it is subject + verb + object/comp./time expression. | ||
| Passive voice | Passive voice starts with the object of the verb (now as a subject) then the verb to be conjugated for the tense + verb in past participle and optionally by + subject (now as object). Being is used in progressive tenses. | ||
| Direct object | A direct object is the object that first receives the verb. In 'someone gave a bag to Simon', the bag is the direct object. Simon only receives the action through the bag therefore Simon is indirect. | ||
| Indirect object | An indirect object is the object that receives the verb indirectly. In 'someone gave a bag to Simon', Simon is the indirect object. Without the bag there would be no giving. | ||
| Noun clause | A noun clause is a dependent clause that replaces the subject or object of a sentence. In 'What he did was crazy.', What he did is the noun clause. | ||
| Noun phrase | A noun phrase replaces a subject or object but doesn't have a subject or verb therefore it can't be a clause by definition. I heard his speech. His speech is a noun phrase. | ||
| Reported speech | Reported speech uses noun clauses and the change or tense or use of modals to show what someone said, told,etc. It is used instead of quoted speech. He said that he had to go to work early. | ||
| Adjective clause | An adjective clause is a dependent clause that modifies a noun (subject or object). It adds description. Adjective clauses use the following indefinite pronouns: who, whom, which, that, and whose. They are also called, clause markers since they are at the beginning. | ||
| Causitive verbs and causitives | A causitive verb is used in causative expressions. Make, have, and get are causitive verbs. They are used to show that one causes the other to do something. I got my dad to fix my bike. I caused my dad to fix my bike. I got my hair cut. I caused someone to cut my hair. | ||
| Coordinating conjunctions | Coordinating conjunctions are used to join words or phrases. And, but, or, and nor are coordinating conjunctions. So, for, and yet are used to connect independent clauses. | ||
| Paired conjunctions | Paired conjunctions are conjunctions used in pairs. both ... and, not only ... but also, neither ... nor, either ... or are paired conjunctions | ||
| Adverb clauses | Adverb clauses are dependent clauses that show us time relationships as well as cause and effect, contrast, direct contrast, and condition. The if clause in conditional sentences are adverb clauses. | ||
| Contraction | A contraction is a combination of two words where letters are removed in the process. Formal contactions use '. Informal contractions don't use any special punctuation. I'm, you're, we'll, he'd, and who'd are all formal contractions. | ||
| Double negative | A double negative is when there are two negatives in a clause effectively making a positive expression unintentionally. This is considered bad grammar. It is a very common mistake. I didn't see nobody. |
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