Key Stage 4: grammar and language terms

Key Stages 1 to 4 spelling · English · Word dictation · Unit 4

• noun n.: a word naming a person, place, thing, or idea
• pronoun n.: a word used in place of a noun or noun phrase
• verb n.: a word expressing an action, event, or state
• adjective n.: a word that describes a noun or pronoun
• adverb n.: a word modifying a verb, adjective, or other adverb
• preposition n.: a word like 'in' linking a noun to other words
• prepositional adj.: relating to or containing a preposition
• conjunction n.: a word that connects words, phrases, or clauses
• determiner n.: a word before a noun showing which or how many
• article n.: A piece of writing in a newspaper or magazine
• auxiliary adj., n.: giving help or support; a helping verb
• modal adj., n.: expressing ability, possibility, or necessity in grammar
• sentence n., v.: A complete group of words; a legal punishment
• clause n.: A sentence unit; a section of a legal document
• phrase n., v.: A short group of words expressing an idea
• subordinate adj., n., v.: lower in rank or dependent on something else
• subordination n.: being lower in rank or making one clause dependent
• co-ordinate v., n., adj.: organise people or activities to work well together
• co-ordination n.: the ability to make things work well together
• adverbial adj., n.: a word or phrase functioning as an adverb
• fronted v., adj.: moved to the beginning of a sentence or clause
• fronting v., n.: moving a sentence element to the beginning
• complement n., v.: something that completes or goes well with another
• subject n., adj., v.: A topic or area of study
• object n., v.: A thing that can be seen or touched
• modifier n.: a word or phrase that describes or limits another
• relative adj., n.: A family member; judged in comparison
• tense adj., n., v.: anxious or tight; a verb form showing time
• present adj., n., v.: Here now; a gift; to show or introduce
• past adj., prep., n.: the time before now
• future n., adj.: the time that has not happened yet
• perfect adj., v.: Without faults or mistakes
• progressive adj., n.: Favoring change or developing gradually
• continuous adj.: Happening without stopping
• participle n.: a verb form used in verb phrases or as an adjective
• infinitive n., adj.: the basic form of a verb
• finite adj.: having a limit or an end
• transitive adj.: describing a verb that takes a direct object
• intransitive adj.: describing a verb that takes no direct object
• active adj.: Doing things or taking part
• passive adj., n.: accepting things without taking action
• subjunctive adj., n.: a verb form expressing wishes or imagined situations
• imperative adj., n.: extremely important or necessary
• prefix n., v.: letters added to the beginning of a word
• suffix n., v.: letters added to the end of a word
• inflection n.: a change in voice pitch or a word's grammatical form
• morphology n.: the study of word structure or living things' forms
• etymology n.: the origin and history of a word, or their study
• compound n., adj., v.: a substance made of two or more chemical elements
• plural adj., n.: a word form referring to more than one
• singular adj., n.: a word form referring to just one person or thing
• possessive adj., n.: showing ownership or belonging
• synonym n.: a word with the same or nearly the same meaning
• antonym n.: a word with the opposite meaning of another word
• homonym n.: a word sharing spelling or sound but not meaning
• homophone n.: a word sounding like another but differing in meaning
• phoneme n.: a speech sound unit that can distinguish words
• grapheme n.: a letter or letter group representing a speech sound
• digraph n.: two letters representing one speech sound
• trigraph n.: three letters representing one speech sound
• consonant n., adj.: a speech sound made by blocking or narrowing airflow
• vowel n.: a speech sound made with an open vocal tract
• syllable n.: a unit of pronunciation containing one vowel sound
• stress n., v.: Mental pressure; emphasis on a word or syllable
• unstressed adj.: pronounced without extra emphasis
• schwa n.: the unstressed vowel sound /ə/
• punctuation n.: marks used to organize writing and make meaning clear
• apostrophe n.: the mark ' showing possession or omitted letters
• comma n.: the mark , separating parts of a sentence
• colon n.: the mark : introducing a list or explanation
• semi-colon n.: the mark ; linking clauses or separating list items
• hyphen n.: the mark - joining words or parts of words
• dash n., v.: a punctuation line marking a break in a sentence
• brackets n., v.: paired marks enclosing words, numbers, or symbols
• parenthesis n.: a round bracket, or an aside inserted into a sentence
• ellipsis n.: three dots (...) showing omitted words or a pause
• exclamation n.: a sudden cry or remark expressing strong feeling
• question n., v.: Something asked to get information
• statement n.: Something said or written to express information
• command n., v.: An order; to direct or control
• cohesion n.: the way parts or people hold together as a whole
• cohesive adj.: forming a united or well-connected whole
• register v., n.: To record your name or details officially
• formal adj., n.: Official or following accepted rules
• informal adj.: relaxed and not following strict or official rules
• dialect n.: a form of a language used by a region or social group
• ambiguity n.: lack of clarity; having more than one possible meaning