100 Grammar Terms Everyone Should Know

No.	Term	Definition
1.	Abbreviation	Shortened form of a word or phrase.
2.	Abstract noun	Noun naming an idea, quality, or state.
3.	Active voice	Subject performs the action of the verb.
4.	Adjective	Word that describes or modifies a noun.
5.	Adverb	Word that modifies verb, adjective, or adverb.
6.	Affix	Prefix or suffix added to a word.
7.	Agreement	Grammatical matching, often subject-verb or pronoun-antecedent.
8.	Alliteration	Repetition of initial consonant sounds in nearby words.
9.	Ambiguity	Having more than one possible meaning.
10.	Analogy	Comparison showing similarity between two relationships.
11.	Antecedent	Word a pronoun refers back to.
12.	Antonym	Word with opposite meaning.
13.	Apostrophe	Mark showing possession or omitted letters.
14.	Appositive	Noun phrase that renames another noun.
15.	Article	Determiner: a, an, or the.
16.	Aspect	Verb feature showing time flow or completion.
17.	Auxiliary verb	Helping verb used with a main verb.
18.	Clause	Group of words with subject and verb.
19.	Collective noun	Noun naming a group as one unit.
20.	Comma splice	Two independent clauses joined only by a comma.
21.	Comparative	Adjective/adverb form showing greater degree.
22.	Complement	Word/phrase completing meaning of a predicate.
23.	Compound noun	Noun made from two or more words.
24.	Compound sentence	Sentence with two or more independent clauses.
25.	Concord	Grammatical agreement between related words.
26.	Conjunction	Word that connects words, phrases, or clauses.
27.	Contraction	Shortened form combining words with an apostrophe.
28.	Count noun	Noun you can count; has plural forms.
29.	Dangling modifier	Modifier without a clear word to describe.
30.	Declarative sentence	Sentence that makes a statement.
31.	Definite article	The article “the,” referring to specific nouns.
32.	Demonstrative	This/that/these/those showing which one.
33.	Dependent clause	Clause that cannot stand alone as a sentence.
34.	Determiner	Word specifying a noun’s reference or quantity.
35.	Direct object	Noun receiving the action of a transitive verb.
36.	Ellipsis	Omission of words understood from context.
37.	Enclitic	Weak word attached to a preceding word.
38.	Exclamation	Sentence expressing strong feeling or emphasis.
39.	Finite verb	Verb marked for tense and subject agreement.
40.	Fragment	Incomplete sentence lacking required structure.
41.	Future perfect	Tense completed before a future time.
42.	Future progressive	Tense showing ongoing action in the future.
43.	Gerund	-ing verb form functioning as a noun.
44.	Grammar	Rules and patterns governing language structure.
45.	Homonym	Word identical in sound or spelling, different meaning.
46.	Hyphen	Punctuation joining words or parts of words.
47.	Imperative	Sentence giving a command or instruction.
48.	Indefinite article	A/an; referring to non-specific nouns.
49.	Independent clause	Clause that can stand alone as a sentence.
50.	Indirect object	Recipient of the direct object.
51.	Infinitive	Base verb form, often with “to.”
52.	Interjection	Exclamation word expressing emotion or reaction.
53.	Interrogative	Word or sentence form used for questions.
54.	Intransitive verb	Verb that does not take a direct object.
55.	Irregular verb	Verb not forming past tense with -ed.
56.	Linking verb	Verb connecting subject to a subject complement.
57.	Mass noun	Uncountable noun, typically not pluralized.
58.	Modal verb	Auxiliary showing ability, permission, or necessity.
59.	Modifier	Word or phrase that describes another element.
60.	Mood	Verb form expressing attitude: fact, command, possibility.
61.	Morpheme	Smallest unit of meaning in a word.
62.	Noun	Word naming a person, place, thing, or idea.
63.	Noun phrase	Phrase with a noun as its head.
64.	Object	Sentence element affected by the verb.
65.	Object complement	Word renaming or describing the direct object.
66.	Oxford comma	Comma before “and” in a list.
67.	Paragraph	Group of sentences developing one main idea.
68.	Participle	Verb form used as adjective or in tenses.
69.	Passive voice	Subject receives the action of the verb.
70.	Past perfect	Tense completed before another past time.
71.	Past progressive	Tense showing ongoing action in the past.
72.	Perfect aspect	Aspect indicating completion relative to a time.
73.	Person	Grammatical category: first, second, or third.
74.	Phrase	Group of words without a complete clause.
75.	Plural	Form indicating more than one.
76.	Possessive	Form showing ownership or relation.
77.	Predicate	Part of sentence containing verb and complements.
78.	Prefix	Affix added to the beginning of a word.
79.	Preposition	Word showing relation in time, place, or direction.
80.	Pronoun	Word that replaces a noun or noun phrase.
81.	Proper noun	Specific name of a person, place, or thing.
82.	Punctuation	Marks that organize and clarify writing.
83.	Quantifier	Word indicating amount: some, many, few.
84.	Question tag	Short question added to confirm or check.
85.	Reflexive pronoun	Pronoun ending -self/-selves referring back to subject.
86.	Relative clause	Clause modifying a noun, often with who/that.
87.	Relative pronoun	Who/which/that introducing a relative clause.
88.	Run-on sentence	Independent clauses joined without proper punctuation.
89.	Sentence	Complete unit with subject and predicate.
90.	Singular	Form indicating one.
91.	Subject	Sentence element about which something is stated.
92.	Subject complement	Word describing or renaming the subject.
93.	Subjunctive	Mood expressing hypotheticals, demands, or wishes.
94.	Subordinate conjunction	Conjunction introducing a dependent clause.
95.	Suffix	Affix added to the end of a word.
96.	Superlative	Form showing greatest degree among three or more.
97.	Tense	Verb form showing time: past, present, future.
98.	Transitive verb	Verb that takes a direct object.
99.	Verb	Word expressing action, state, or occurrence.
100.	Verb phrase	Main verb plus auxiliaries and modifiers.