| adjective |
a word that describes a noun or pronoun. In the sentence, "It was a hard test," the word "hard" is an adjective. It describes the noun "test." |
| adverb |
a word that describes a verb, adjective, or other adverb. Adverbs are also used to modify a whole sentence. |
| alliteration |
the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of words in a phrase or sentence. |
| be |
used to connect the subject of a sentence to a noun or adjective that describes it. [2/8 definitions] |
| clause |
a group of words that has a subject and a verb. Clauses can be part or all of a sentence. [1/2 definitions] |
| comma |
a punctuation mark (,). It is used to separate words, phrases, or other parts of a sentence or list, or to show a pause in speech. It is also used when writing numbers of one thousand or greater to mark off groups of three digits. |
| complex sentence |
a sentence made of a main or independent clause and one or more dependent or subordinate clauses. An example of a complex sentence is, "I went to the theater, which was very crowded with people." |
| compound1 |
having to do with a word made up of two or more parts, or a sentence made up of two or more main clauses. [1/6 definitions] |
| compound sentence |
a sentence made of two or more independent clauses. The sentences are joined by a conjunction or semicolon. "The sky darkened, and the wind howled" is a compound sentence. |
| condemn |
to order punishment to be given to; sentence or convict. [1/3 definitions] |
| declarative sentence |
a sentence that makes a statement. There are many examples of declarative sentences, such as, "It is raining outside." |
| direct object |
the part of a sentence that shows the object, goal, or receiver of the action of a verb. "The ball" in "She kicked the ball" is a direct object. |
| execution |
the following through of a death sentence. [1/3 definitions] |
| future tense |
a form of a verb that shows that something will happen or a condition will exist in the future. In the sentence "We will go to the zoo," "will go" is in the future tense. |
| homograph |
a word that has the same spelling as another but a different meaning and history. Homographs are often pronounced differently from each other. In the sentence, "She shed a tear over the tear in her dress," the two words spelled "t-e-a-r" are homographs. |
| homonym |
a word that is pronounced and often spelled the same as another word, but has a different meaning. In the sentence, "She was mean to me, but she didn't mean it," the two instances of "mean" are homonyms. |
| homophone |
a word that sounds the same as another but has a different meaning and often a different spelling. In the sentence, "I've been feeling weak for almost a week," the words, "weak" and "week" are homophones. |
| imperative sentence |
a sentence that tells someone to do something or makes a request. An example of an imperative sentence is "Tie your shoes." |
| indefinite article |
either of the articles "a" or "an" in English grammar. These articles do not restrict the noun to a particular person, place or thing. In the sentence, "A dog ran into my yard," the indefinite article "a" is used to show that it could have been any dog, and that a particular dog is not being named. |
| indirect object |
the part of a sentence that indicates a person or thing that is indirectly affected by the action of the verb. In the sentence, "I made him some tea," "him" is the indirect object. |
| 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. |