Download A DICTIONARY OF GRAMMATICAL TERMS. Compiled February 2016

A DICTIONARY OF GRAMMATICAL TERMS.
Compiled February
Active Voice
The subject of the sentence is
doing or being: the object is
having it done to them/it.
2016 – BDL
Adjective
A word that describes a noun
Adverb
A word that tells us more
about a verb (or an adjective)
Adverbial
An adverb that tells us when,
where or how often
something happens.
Alliteration
Repetition of the initial
letters of words next to each
other
Ambiguity
Having more than one
meaning
Antonym
A word that means the
opposite to another word
Apostrophe
A punctution used to show
ommision (contraction) or
possession
Assonance
Repetition of vowel sounds
inside words
Bias
Supporting one point of view
over another
Blurb
A brief overview of the book
Body language
Using your body to get your
point across or get the
audience's attention
Brackets
Can show parenthesis
Bullet Points
Used to draw attention to
items in a list
By-line
Tells the reader the name of
the person who has written
the report
Capital letters
Letters in uppercase, used at
the start of sentences and
proper nouns
Caption
Short description under a
picture to explain what it is
Chronological
In the order that something
happens
Clause
Contains a verb and can act
as a sentence. It can be a
main clause or subordinate
clause
Cohesion
When your whole piece of
writing fits together clearly
so that it makes sense
Colon
Introduces a clause that gives detail
or introduces a list, a quotation or
speech on a play script
Comma
Punctuation mark used to separate items
in a list, in direct speech, show a brief
pause, separate a main clause from a
subordinate clause or indicate parenthesis
Command
A sentence that gives an
instruction
Common
Nouns
Nouns for people, animals
and objects
Conjunction
Links two words, phrases or
clauses
Context
The situation in which
something happens
Contraction
A word that has been made
shorter
Dash
A single dash shows a break
or pause in a sentence
Dashes
Can show parenthsis
(Dashes Don't)
Definite article
The word 'the'
Determiner
A word that introduces a
noun such as 'the', 'a', 'an',
'some', 'those'
Dialogue
A conversation between two
or more people
Direct Speech
A sentence in inverted
commas showing the exact
words spoken by someone
Ellipsis
To show missing text
Emotive
language
Emotional language used to
express feelings
Empathise
To understand and share the
feelings of someone else
Exclamation
mark
Punctuation at the end of an
exclamation or a command
Emphasis
To stress something
Exclamation
A forceful sentence that can
express surprise, shock,
strong emotion, pain or a
warning.
Expanded
Noun Phrase
A phrase with a noun as its main
word with other words that tell
us more about that noun
Fact
A piece of information that is
true
Fiction
Made-up stories
Figurative
language
The descriptive language
used to create imagery
Formal Speech
Speaking and writing using
correct grammar and
vocabulary
Fronted
adverbials
An adverbial that comes at
the front, or start, of a
sentence
Full stops
Punctuation at the end of a
sentence
Future
A verb tense saying what is
going to happen
Genre
Type or kind of writing
Gesticulate
To use gestures to emphasise
your point
Homonyms
Words that sound the same
and are spelled the same but
have different meanings
Homophones
Words that sound the same
but have a different spelling
and a different meaning
Hook
It's what grabs the reader's
attention
Hyphen
A punctuation mark that links words to
make some compound words, to join
prefixes to some words or to show a word
break at the end of a line. (Hyphens hold)
Hyphenated
compound
words
Two words combined with a
hyphen to make one new
word
Imagery
The use of figurative
language to help the reader
visualise what is being
described
Indefinite
article
The words 'a', and 'an'
Informal
speech
Relaxed, chatty way of
speaking and writing used
with family and friends
Inverted
commas
The punctuation at the start
of end of speech or a
quotation
Main clause
A clause that can make sense
as a sentence
Metaphor
A comparison between two things, where
the object that is being compared actually
is the things it's compared to
Modal verbs
Verbs that show possibility or
likelihood
Non-fiction
Factual information
Noun phrase
A phrase where the noun is
the main word
Nouns
Naming words for people,
places, animals and things
Object
A noun, pronoun or noun
phrase
Omission
Leaving a letter or letters out
Onomatopoeia
Words that sound like the
thing they are describing
Opinion
What you personally think
about something
Parentheses
The plural form of
parentheis-it can also mean
the punctuation marks
themselves
Parenthesis
Keeping a word, phrase or
clause separate
Passive voice
When the subject isn't
carrying out the action but is
being acted upon by
someone or something
Past
A verb tense saying what has
happened
Personification
Giving human characteristics
to a non-human thing
Personal
pronoun
A word to show ownership
Phrase
A group of words that work
together as if they are one
word
Possession
Ownership
Possesive
pronoun
A word to show ownership
Prefix
A string of letters added to
the start of a word to change
its meaning
Preposition
Shows the relationship between
the noun or pronoun and other
words in the clause or sentence
Present
A verb tense saying what is
happening now
Pronoun
A word that replaces a noun
Proofreading
Checking your writing for
errors and ways to improve it
Proper Nouns
Nouns that name particular
things. They begin with a capital
letter.
Pun
A type of word play where
the word can have more than
one meaning
Punctuation
marks
Signposts' to help us
understand text
Question
A sentence that asks
something
Question mark
Punctuation mark at the end
of a question
Quote
Direct speech by a source or
witness
Recount
Report retelling an event that
has happened
Relative clause
A subordinate clause
introduced by a relative
pronoun
Relative
pronoun
The words 'who', 'which',
'that' and 'whose', which
introduce a relative clause
Rhetorical
question
A question used for effect
and with no answer expected
Root word
A word in its own right,
without a prefix or suffix
Scan
A quick reading technique to
help you find specific words,
phrases and clauses in a text
Semi-colon
Links two closely related sentences or
separates items in a list where some items
might be longer than one or two words
Silent letter
A letter that was once
pronounced, but now isn't
Simile
A comparison of two things
with like/similar
characteristics
Skim read
A quick reading technique to
help you get the main idea of
a text
Slang
Very informal language used
when speaking to friends
Source
Someone who gives the
journalist information about
the events being reported
Standard
English
Using the rules of English
correctly
Statement
A sentence that gives
information
Stress
When you either increase the
vowel length or loudness of
the syllable, or both
Subject
The person or thing that is
doing or being something in
the sentence
Subjunctive
A verb form that shows a
wish or an imaginary state
Subordinate
clause
A clause which depends on
the main clause to make
sense
Suffix
A string of letters added to
the end of a root word to
change or add to its meaning
Syllable
A single, unbroken sound
Synonym
A word that means the same
or almost the same as
another word
Thesaurus
A book of words and their
synonyms
Verb
A word for an action or state
of being