clause of manner a subordinate clause that describes the way in which something is done, usually introduced with as or like; e.g. She talks like her mother used to.
collective noun a noun that refers to a group of people or things; e.g. committee, team.
colour adjective an adjective referring to a colour; e.g. red, blue, scarlet.
common noun a noun used to refer to a person, thing, or substance; e.g. sailor, computer, glass. Compare with proper noun.
comparative an adjective or adverb with -er on the end or more in front of it; e.g. friendlier, more important, more carefully.
complement a noun phrase or adjective that comes after a linking verb such as be, and gives more information about the subject or object of the clause; e.g. She is a teacher, She is tired, They made her chairperson.
complex sentence a sentence consisting of two or more main clauses linked by a subordinating conjunction; e.g. We went inside when it started to rain.
compound a combination of two or more words functioning as a unit. For example, self-centred and free-style are compound adjectives, bus stop and state of affairs are compound nouns, and dry-clean and roller-skate are compound verbs.
compound sentence a sentence consisting of two or more main clauses linked by a coordinating conjunction; e.g. They picked her up and took her into the house.
concessive clause a subordinate clause, usually introduced by although or while, that contrasts with a main clause; e.g. Although I like her, I find her hard to talk to.
concord another name for agreement.
concrete noun a noun that refers to something we can touch or see; e.g. table, dress, flower. Compare with abstract noun.
conditional clause a subordinate clause usually starting with if. The event described in the main clause depends on the condition described in the subordinate clause; e.g. If it rains, we’ll go to the cinema… They would be rich if they had taken my advice.
conjunction a word linking together two clauses, phrases, or words. There are two types of conjunction – coordinating conjunctions, which link parts of a sentence of the same grammatical type (and, but, or), and subordinating conjunctions, which begin subordinate clauses (although, when).
continuous another name for progressive.
contraction a shortened form in which an auxiliary verb and not, or a subject and an auxiliary verb, are joined together and function as one word; e.g. aren’t, she’s.
coordinate clause a clause that is connected to another clause with a coordinating conjunction such as and or but; e.g. He fell and broke his leg.
coordinating conjunction a word such as and, but, or or which joins together two clauses, phrases, or words of the same grammatical type.
copula a name sometimes used to refer to the verb be. In this grammar, the term linking verb is used.
countable noun a noun that can be singular or plural; e.g. dog/dogs, lemon/lemons, foot/feet. Also called count noun.
declarative a clause in the declarative form has the subject followed by the verb. Most statements are made in the declarative form. Also called indicative.
defining non-finite clause a participle clause that is placed after a noun phrase to identify the person or thing you are talking about; e.g. The girl wearing the red hat.
defining relative clause a relative clause that identifies the person or thing that is being talked about; e.g. I wrote down everything that she said.
definite article the determiner ‘the’.
delexical verb a verb that has very little meaning in itself and is used with an object that carries the main meaning of the structure. Give, have, and take are commonly used as delexical verbs; e.g. She gave a small cry… I’ve had a bath.
demonstrative one of the words this, that, these, and those used in front of a noun; e.g. … this woman… that tree. They are also used as pronouns; e.g. That looks nice… This is fun.
dependent clause another name for subordinate clause.
definite determiner one of a groups of determiners including the, that and your which you use when the person you are speaking to understands which person or thing you are talking about; e.g. the old man, my ideas.
determiner one of a group of words including the, a, some, and my which are used at the beginning of a noun phrase.
direct object a noun phrase referring to a person or thing affected by an action, in a sentence with an active verb; e.g. She wrote her name…. I shut the windows.
direct speech speech reported in the words actually spoken by someone, without any changes in tense, person, and so on.
ditransitive verb a verb such as give, take, or sell which can have both an indirect and a direct object; e.g. She gave me a kiss.
dynamic verb a verb such as run, give or slice which describes an action. Compare with stative verb.
-ed adjective an adjective that ends in -ed, and usually has the same form as the -ed participle of a verb, or is formed by adding -ed to a noun; e.g. a worried look… skilled workers. Adjectives that do not end in -ed but have the same forms as irregular -ed participles are also called -ed adjectives; e.g. a broken bone.