| infinitive |
the simple form of a verb that has no subject and does not show past, present or future tense. It is usually formed by the word "to" followed by the base form of a verb. In the sentence, "I want to leave now," "to leave" is an infinitive. |
| interrogative |
having to do with, forming, or being a question. "Why don't you take a walk?" is an example of an interrogative sentence. [2 definitions] |
| interrogative sentence |
a sentence that asks a question. "Have you read this book?" is an example of an interrogative sentence. |
| intransitive verb |
a verb that is not followed by a direct object. In the sentence, "I ran for an hour," "ran" is an intransitive verb. |
| linking verb |
a verb that connects a subject to the words that tell about the subject. In the sentence, "I was very tired," "was" is a linking verb. |
| neither |
not one or the other of two; not either (usually paired with "nor" in a sentence). [1/3 definitions] |
| noun |
a word that names a person, place, thing, or condition. A noun may be the subject of a sentence or the object of a verb or preposition. |
| object |
a noun or noun phrase that receives the action of a verb in a sentence. In the sentence, "I forgot my bag," the noun "bag" is the object. [1/7 definitions] |
| parenthesis |
either of a pair of punctuation marks ( ). They are used to enclose information that is not part of the main sentence. They are also used to set apart mathematical quantities to be treated as a unit. |
| participle |
a form of a verb that can also sometimes be used as an adjective. In the sentence "The broken machine was very tiring to fix," the words "broken," and "tiring" are participles. |
| past tense |
a form of a verb that shows that something happened in the past or that a condition existed in the past. In the sentence, "We baked a cake," "baked" is in the past tense. |
| period |
a punctuation mark (.). It is used at the end of a sentence or after an abbreviation. [1/4 definitions] |
| phrase |
a part of a sentence that has meaning and grammatical order but does not have both a subject and a verb. "Wants to see" and "the horror movie" are both phrases in the sentence "Bert wants to see the horror movie again." [2/4 definitions] |
| predicate |
the part of a sentence that tells what the subject does, or what is done to the subject. It is made of the verb and all the words that describe the verb or that the verb affects. |
| preposition |
a word that shows a connection or relation between a noun or pronoun and some other word. In the sentence, "We went to the market and talked about the weather," "to" and "about" are prepositions. |
| present tense |
a form of a verb that shows that something is happening now or that a condition exists in the present time. In the sentence, "The sky is blue," "is" is in the present tense. |
| pronoun |
a word that can take the place of a noun or noun phrase. In the sentence, "He gave it to someone," "he," "it," and "someone" are examples of pronouns. |
| proper noun |
a capitalized noun that names a particular person, place, or thing. In the sentence, "I am from Russia," "Russia" is the proper noun. |
| question |
a sentence that asks for a reply. [1/5 definitions] |
| question mark |
a punctuation mark (?). It is used at the end of a sentence that asks a question. |
| semicolon |
a punctuation mark (;). It is used to separate independent clauses in a sentence when there is no conjunction. |