English Grammar Glossary

Go to: 28 Grammar Topics | Grammar A to Z | Verb Tenses | Irregular Verbs | Glossary

Welcome to our comprehensive grammar dictionary. Whether you are a young student mastering the basics or an adult refining your professional writing, this straightforward guide breaks down complex rules into clear, simple layers.

A

Adjective Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students A describing word. It tells you more about a noun (a person, place, or thing).
Example: The blue sky; a sweet apple.

Adult & Exam Tip Be careful with ordering multiple adjectives. The natural English order is: Opinion, Size, Age, Shape, Color, Origin, Material, Purpose (e.g., "An expensive, old, round, French wooden dining table").

Adverb Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students A word that describes an action. It tells you how, when, or where something happens, often ending in "-ly".
Example: She ran quickly. He slept yesterday.

Adult & Exam Tip Avoid "split infinitives" in formal business documents. Place the adverb after the full infinitive verb (use "to modify thoroughly the report" instead of "to thoroughly modify").

Article Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students Tiny words that point out nouns. The points out a specific thing, while A and An point to any general thing.
Example: Pass me the book (that specific one). I want an apple (any apple).

Adult & Exam Tip Use "an" before words starting with a vowel sound, not just a vowel letter. For instance, write "an honorable guest" (silent h) but "a university" (starts with a 'yoo' consonant sound).

Auxiliary Verb Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students A "helping verb" that stands next to a main action verb to change the time or tense.
Example: I have eaten my lunch. She is running fast.

Adult & Exam Tip Primary auxiliaries (be, do, have) change form based on the subject, whereas modal auxiliaries (can, will, should) never change their form.

C

Collective Noun Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students A special single word used to name a whole group of people, animals, or things together.
Example: A flock of birds; a football team; a class of students.

Adult & Exam Tip In British English, collective nouns can take a singular or plural verb depending on context ("The committee is meeting" vs "The committee are disagreeing"). In American English, they are almost strictly singular.

Comparative Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students An adjective form used to compare exactly two people or things. It usually adds "-er" or uses the word "more".
Example: Tom is taller than Ben. This puzzle is more difficult.

Adult & Exam Tip Never double up a comparative. Writing "more taller" or "more better" is a severe grammatical error in both professional writing and school exams.

Conjunction Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students A joining word that acts like glue to stick two words, phrases, or short sentences together.
Example: I like milk and cookies, but I hate soda.

Adult & Exam Tip When using a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) to link two independent clauses, always place a comma immediately before the conjunction.

Contraction Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students A shortcut word made by squeezing two words together and using an apostrophe (') to replace missing letters.
Example: Do not becomes don't. I am becomes I'm.

Adult & Exam Tip Avoid contractions entirely in formal academic papers, legal documents, and official corporate communications to maintain a professional tone.

D

Demonstrative Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students Words that point out exactly which objects you mean depending on how near or far they are (this, that, these, those).
Example: Take this book here, not that one over there.

Adult & Exam Tip Ensure absolute agreement in number. "This" and "that" modify singular nouns, while "these" and "those" must strictly match plural nouns.

Determiner Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students A word that sits in front of a noun to introduce it and show clarity about which one you are talking about.
Example: My dog, six pens, every student.

Adult & Exam Tip Determiners include articles, possessive adjectives, and quantifiers. Unlike descriptive adjectives, you cannot stack multiple determiners together before a single noun phrase.

Direct Object Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students The person or thing that directly receives the action of a verb. Find it by asking "Who?" or "What?" after the action.
Example: The boy kicked the ball. (What did he kick? The ball).

Adult & Exam Tip When using pronouns as a direct object, you must always use the objective case (me, us, him, her, them, whom) rather than the subjective case (I, we, he, she, they, who).

G

Gerund Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students A verb shape ending in "-ing" that quits acting like a verb and acts like a noun instead.
Example: Swimming is great exercise. I love reading.

Adult & Exam Tip Nouns or pronouns modifying a gerund should ideally be in the possessive case in formal writing (e.g., "I highly appreciate your helping me" rather than "I appreciate you helping me").

I

Imperative Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students A bossy verb sentence used to give a direct command, an order, or directions.
Example: Sit down! Open your textbook.

Adult & Exam Tip In imperative sentences, the grammatical subject is not written because it is explicitly understood to be the second person pronoun "You".

Indirect Object Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students The person or thing that gets the direct object. It answers the question "To whom?" or "For whom?"
Example: I gave Sam a book. (The book is the direct object; Sam gets it).

Adult & Exam Tip An indirect object always sits comfortably between the active verb and the direct object. If you place it afterward, it requires a preposition instead (e.g., "I gave a book to Sam").

Infinitive Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students The basic, starting form of a verb before it changes for any subject. It usually has the word "to" sitting in front of it.
Example: To run, to play, to be.

Adult & Exam Tip Some verbs (like make, let, hear, watch) are followed by a "bare infinitive" which strips away the word "to" completely (e.g., "She made him clean his desk").

Interjection Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students An exclamation word thrown into a sentence to show sudden, strong feelings like surprise or pain.
Example: Wow! That looks amazing. Ouch! That hurt.

Adult & Exam Tip Interjections are entirely conversational. Except for instances of direct narrative dialogue, avoid using them in corporate reports, professional essays, or academic arguments.

Irregular Verb Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students A rebellious verb that breaks the standard rules. It does not add "-ed" when you change it into the past tense.
Example: Go becomes went; eat becomes ate; run becomes ran.

Adult & Exam Tip Pay close attention to the distinction between the simple past tense form and the past participle form of irregular verbs during exams (e.g., "He did it" vs "He has done it").

M

Modal Verb Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students Special helper verbs that express ideas like ability, permission, rules, or possibility (can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would).
Example: You must complete your homework. I can swim.

Adult & Exam Tip Modal verbs are unique because they never take an "-s" ending in the third person singular, and they are always followed directly by a bare infinitive without "to".

N

Noun Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students A naming word. It names a person, a place, a physical thing, or even an invisible idea.
Example: Teacher (person), London (place), pencil (thing), happiness (idea).

Adult & Exam Tip Nouns are broadly split into countable and uncountable forms. Uncountable nouns (like information, advice, furniture) can never be made plural or used with the article "a/an".

P

Participle Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students A verb form that can combine with helpers to make tenses, or step out to act exactly like an adjective.
Example: The crying baby; the broken window toy.

Adult & Exam Tip Watch out for "dangling participles" where the modifier doesn't match the subject clearly. (Incorrect: "Walking into the room, the book fell." Correct: "Walking into the room, I dropped the book.")

Passive Voice Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students A sentence structure where the focus is turned around so that the target of the action comes first, and the person doing it comes last or is hidden.
Example: The window was broken by the ball.

Adult & Exam Tip While active voice is punchier and preferred for business clarity, passive voice is highly useful in scientific and objective report writing when the actor is unknown or irrelevant.

Personal Pronoun Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students Short shortcut words used to substitute for specific people or things so you don't repeat names constantly (I, you, he, she, it, we, they).
Example: Mary is smart. She always studies hard.

Adult & Exam Tip Ensure your pronouns clearly match their antecedents. Vague pronoun references can leave readers confused about which noun the pronoun is substituting for.

Phrasal Verb Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students An idiom phrase built from an action verb combined with a tiny preposition. Together, they create a brand new meaning.
Example: Please turn off the light. Don't give up!

Adult & Exam Tip Phrasal verbs are highly informal. In formal essays or business correspondence, swap them for single formal verbs (use "extinguish" instead of "put out", or "postpone" instead of "put off").

Plural Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students The form of a word used to show there is more than one person, animal, or thing.
Example: One cat, two cats; one box, three boxes.

Adult & Exam Tip Watch out for irregular foreign plurals common in exams and academic research, such as "criterion" becoming "criteria", or "analysis" changing to "analyses".

Possessive Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students A word or punctuation mark that shows ownership—proving exactly who owns or holds something.
Example: That is my coat. This is Ben's book.

Adult & Exam Tip Never use an apostrophe with possessive pronouns. "The coat is its" is correct; "it's" is strictly a contraction of "it is" or "it has".

Preposition Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students Position words that show where or when things are in relation to each other. Think of what a squirrel can do to a tree.
Example: The cat sat on the mat, under the table, by the door.

Adult & Exam Tip The old rule stating you cannot end a sentence with a preposition is largely outdated. Focus instead on eliminating unnecessary, redundant prepositions (use "Where are you?" instead of "Where are you at?").

Pronoun Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students A master replacement word used to stand in the place of a full noun so your writing isn't repetitive.
Example: Instead of saying "Jack ran because Jack was late," say "Jack ran because he was late."

Adult & Exam Tip Keep case structures parallel across conjunctions. It must be "Between you and me" (objective case following a preposition), never "Between you and I".

Proper Noun Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students The official specific name of a particular person, place, or landmark. They must always start with a capital letter.
Example: Andrew, Paris, Tuesday, the Eiffel Tower.

Adult & Exam Tip Seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn, winter) are classified as common nouns, meaning they should not be capitalized unless they begin a sentence.

R

Relative Pronoun Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students Linking pronouns (who, which, that, whom, whose) used to tie a descriptive clause directly to a noun.
Example: The teacher who helped me was very kind.

Adult & Exam Tip Use "who" when referencing the grammatical subject of a clause, and use "whom" strictly when referencing the direct object or the object of a preposition.

S

Singular Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students The word form used when you are talking about exactly one single person, place, or thing.
Example: One dog, a single child, an apple.

Adult & Exam Tip Some singular abstract structures look plural but require a singular verb. For example, "The news is breaking" or "Physics is my favorite subject."

Subject Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students The main star of the sentence. The person, animal, or thing that is performing the action of the verb.
Example: The dog barked loudly. We live in the city.

Adult & Exam Tip In complex sentences with inserted parenthetical phrases (like "along with" or "as well as"), the true grammatical subject remains unchanged. (e.g., "The manager, along with his assistants, is attending").

Superlative Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students An adjective form used when comparing three or more things to find the absolute extreme limit. It usually ends in "-est" or uses "most".
Example: Mount Everest is the highest mountain. He is the most famous actor.

Adult & Exam Tip Superlative comparisons must explicitly be preceded by the definite article "the" because an extreme item represents a single, unique entity.

V

Verb Back to top ↑

For Kids & Students The engine word of a sentence. It expresses an action or a state of being.
Example: He walks to school (action). The ocean is massive (state of being).

Adult & Exam Tip Verbs must strictly agree in number with their true subject. Do not let intermediate prepositional descriptive phrases trick you into mixing up singular and plural forms.