This is a list of grammar words you may see in our lessons. Each one is explained in simple English, with examples to help you understand. You don’t need to remember everything—just come back to this page when you need help.
Adjective
An adjective is a word that describes a noun.
Examples: big, red, happy, expensive
➡ The red car is fast.
➡ She is a kind person.
Adverb
An adverb is a word that describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. It tells how, when, where, or how often something happens.
Examples: quickly, very, now, always
➡ He runs quickly.
➡ She is very tired.
Article
An article is a word we use before a noun. It tells us if the noun is specific or general.
Examples: a, an, the
➡ I saw a bird. (any bird)
➡ The sun is bright. (a specific sun)
Base form
The base form is the verb in its original form—no -s, -ed, or -ing.
Examples: go, eat, work
➡ They go to school.
➡ I eat rice.
Clause
A clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb. It can be a full sentence or just part of a sentence.
➡ She smiled because she was happy. (two clauses)
➡ I read every night.
Conjunction
A conjunction is a word that joins words or groups of words.
Examples: and, but, or, because
➡ I like tea and coffee.
➡ He stayed home because it was raining.
Conjugation
Conjugation means changing a verb to match the subject or the tense.
➡ I walk, she walks.
➡ They went to the park.
Determiner
A determiner is a word placed before a noun to give more information about it.
Examples: my, some, this, each
➡ My book is on the table.
➡ I saw some birds.
Gerund
A gerund is a verb ending in -ing used as a noun.
➡ Swimming is good exercise.
➡ He loves reading.
Infinitive
The infinitive is the base form of a verb, usually with “to.”
Examples: to eat, to be, to run
➡ I want to learn English.
➡ She needs to go now.
Interjection
An interjection is a short word or phrase that shows emotion.
Examples: oh!, wow!, ouch!
➡ Wow! That’s amazing.
➡ Ouch! That hurt.
Modal verb
A modal verb helps another verb. It shows possibility, ability, advice, or necessity.
Examples: can, should, must, might
➡ You should study more.
➡ She can swim.
Noun
A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea.
Examples: teacher, city, chair, love
➡ The teacher is kind. (person)
➡ I live in a big city. (place)
➡ Can you pass me your phone? (thing)
➡ Happiness is important. (idea)
Object
An object is the person or thing that receives the action in a sentence.
➡ She reads books.
➡ We like him.
Participle
A participle is a form of a verb used to make tenses or describe nouns.
➡ Bored, he went home.
➡ She has eaten dinner.
Phrase
A phrase is a group of words that work together but do not have both a subject and a verb.
➡ on the table
➡ a big red balloon
Plural
Plural means more than one.
➡ One cat → two cats
➡ A child → many children
Possessive
A possessive shows that something belongs to someone.
Examples: my, your, his, her, its, our, their
➡ That is my phone.
➡ This is their house.
Preposition
A preposition shows the relationship between things—place, time, direction, etc.
Examples: in, on, at, under, by
➡ The book is on the table.
➡ She lives in Paris.
Present participle
The present participle is the -ing form of a verb. It’s used in continuous tenses.
➡ She is reading.
➡ They were running.
Pronoun
A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun.
Examples: I, you, he, she, it, we, they
➡ He is my friend.
➡ I saw her yesterday.
Question
A question is a sentence that asks for information.
➡ What is your name?
➡ Do you like coffee?
Sentence
A sentence is a group of words that forms a complete idea. It has a subject and a verb.
➡ She likes tea.
➡ The sun is shining.
Simple tense
A simple tense shows a basic time (past, present, or future) with no extra details.
➡ I walk to school. (present simple)
➡ She walked home. (past simple)
Singular
Singular means only one.
➡ One dog, one book, one person
Subject
The subject is the person or thing that does the action in the sentence.
➡ She writes a letter.
➡ The cat is sleeping.
Tense
Tense shows when something happens: in the past, present, or future.
➡ I work (present), I worked (past), I will work (future)
Third person
The third person is someone you’re talking about—not yourself or the person you’re speaking to.
Examples: he, she, it, John, the dog
➡ He loves music.
➡ It is cold.
Verb
A verb is a word that shows an action or state.
Examples: run, eat, be, have
➡ They run every day.
➡ She is happy.
Voice (active/passive)
In active voice, the subject does the action. In passive voice, the subject receives the action.
➡ Active: The chef cooked the meal.
➡ Passive: The meal was cooked by the chef.