Abbreviation
A shortened form of a word or phrase
Adjective
A word that describes a noun
Adverb
A word that describes a verb
Apostrophe
'
Article
a, an, the
Brackets
[ ]
Clause
A group of words with a subject and a verb
Clich�
A figure of speech that's lost its sparkle
Collective Noun
A noun that stands for a group of people or things
Colon
:
Comma
,
Conditional Clause
A clause that starts with if, as if, as though, or some other expression of supposition
Conjunction
A connecting word
Consonant
A letter with a "hard" sound
Contraction
Two words combined into one, with an apostrophe showing where letter are ommited
Dangler
A word or phrase in the wrong place that ends up describing the wrong thing
Dash
-
Dictionary
A reference that lists words in alphabetical order and gives their spellings and pronunciations, their meanings
Double Negative
What you get when you combine a negative verb with another negative term
Ellipsis Points
. . .
Exclamation Point
!
Figurative
Language is figurative when it uses words in imaginative or out-of-the-ordinary ways
Figure of Speech
An imaginative expression
Gerund
A word that's made of a verb plus ing and acts like a noun
Grammar
A system of rules for arranging words into sentences
Hyphen
A mark of punctuation that looks like a stubby dash
Imperative
A verb is imperative when the speaker is expressing a command or request
Indicative
A verb is indicative when the speaker is expressing a straightforward statement or question
Infinitive
A verb in its simplest form
Interjection
A word expressing a sudden rush of feeling: My Word! Help! Wow! Oh, damn!
Interrogative
An expression is interrogative if it asks a question: Got that?
Italic
The slanting print that's often used for emphasis or for the titles of long works like books, movies, and plays
Jargon
Languages used by windbags and full of largely meaningless, pseudotechnical terms that are supposed to lend the speaker an aura os expertise
Literal
True of "to the letter" - the opposite of figurative
Metaphor
A metaphor takes the language normally used for one thing and applies it to something else
Mood
Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader
Noun
A word that stands for a person, place, thing, or idea
Object
A noun or pronoun that's acted on by a verb
Parentheses
( )
Parts of Speech
Traditionally, the eight kinds of words: noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction, interjection
Period
.
Phrase
A group of related words without its own subject and verb
Plural
More than one
Possessive
Showing ownership
Preposition
A word that "positions" or situates words in relation to one another
Pronoun
A word that can be used in place of a noun
Punctuation
The signs and signals in writing that direct the traffic of language
Question Mark
?
Quotation Marks
Semicolon
;
Sentence
A word or group of words that expresses a complete thought
Sibilant
A consonant sound that hisses, like, s, z, sh, zh, ch, and j
Singualr
Only one
Stuffed Shirt
A person likely to use jargon
Subject
That which initiates an action
Subjunctive
A verb is in the subjenctive
Syllable
Part of a words that is pronounced as a single unit
Tense
What a verb uses to tell time
Verb
An action word
Vowel
A letter with a "soft" sound