active voice n A type of sentence with a verb in the active form, which is used when the emphasis is on the subject. It stands in opposition to the passive voice.
agent n In the passive voice, the person or thing that does the action of the passive verb. It is introduced by the preposition ‘by’.
antecedent n In relative sentences, the noun or pronoun to which the relative pronoun refers.
attributive use n Referring to adjectives, they have an attributive use when they go directly before the noun they refer to, as in ‘a big house’.
auxiliary verb n A type of verb which is used to form other verb tenses. The auxiliary verbs are: ‘be’, ‘have’ and ‘do’.
base form n An invariable form of the verb which has no indication of time or person. It only reflects the meaning. It is the form which appears in dictionaries. It is also called ‘infinitive’.
clause n A unit of meaning in a sentence, which is typically composed of a subject and a predicate. We can distinguish two types: ‘main clause’ and ‘subordinate clause’.
command n A sentence expressing, in a direct way, what you want other people to do. It is expressed with the imperative form of the verb.
comparative n A special form taken by adjectives and adverbs when they are used to compare two things. It is normally formed by adding -er or ‘more… than’ to the adjective or adverb. There are some irregular forms.
complex sentence n A sentence composed of a main clause and a subordinate clause.
conditional sentence n A type of complex sentence in which the subordinate clause (or ‘conditional clause’) expresses a condition and the main clause expresses the result if the condition becomes true.
conjugate v To express the different forms taken by a verb.
connector n A word or phrase which is used to link different sentences or paragraphs.
countable noun n A type of noun which defines things that can be divided into units and so counted. For example: ‘one book’, ‘two books’, etc.
defining relative clause n A type of relative clause that defines the antecedent.
direct object n The part of a sentence that receives the action of a transitive verb. Example: ‘I wrote a book’.
false friend n A type of noun which has the same or a very similar form to a noun in another language, but a different meaning. For example, actually is not “actualment” in Catalan, but “realment, de fet”.
formal style n A style of writing and speaking that is used in formal situations and is characterized by specific vocabulary and syntactical structures.
gerund n An invariable form of the verb which ends in -ing and is used in a number of structures. It is also used to change a verb into a noun expressing the activity of that verb. Also called ‘present participle’.
grammar n The set of rules which tell the way in which a sentence must be organized in a language. It is also called ‘syntax’.
imperative n A form of the verb which is used to give orders.
indirect object n The part in a sentence which expresses the person or thing affected by the action of the transitive verb. Example: ‘I gave him some money.’
infinitive n See base form.
informal style n A style of writing and speaking that is used in informal situations (with friends and relatives). It is characterized by specific vocabulary and specific syntactical structures.
interrogative adj Referring to a sentence, one that expresses a question. It has a special structure.
lexical verb n A verb that has its own meaning. They stand in opposition to ‘auxiliary’ and ‘modal verbs’.
long form n In a verb tense, the form that is not contracted, as in ‘he is not’.
main clause n A unit in the grammatical organization of a sentence which has a meaning of its own, that is, it does not need another clause to make sense.
modal verb n A type of verbs that has no meaning of its own, but depends on another verb. These verbs do not express actions, but such perceptions as possibility, ability, obligation, etc.
non-defining relative clause n A type of relative sentence that adds some extra information to a noun, but does not define it. It is always written between commas.
non-verbal communication n A type of communication in which the information is not transmitted with words (as in verbal or linguistic communication), but with such features as facial expression, body position, etc.
object pronoun n A type of pronoun that has the function of complement in a sentence.
passive voice n A type of sentence, with a verb in the passive form, which is used when the subject is not important or is unknown. It stands in opposition to the active voice.
past participle n An invariable form of the verb which has the characteristics of an adjective. It is especially used in the perfect tenses. In regular verbs, it is formed with the ending -ed.
phonetics n The science that describes the sounds of a language.
predicative use n Referring to adjectives, they have a predicative use when they go after certain verbs, like ‘to be’, ‘to make’, ‘to find’, as in ‘the house is big’.
present participle n See gerund.
pronoun n A word that is used to refer to or substitute a noun. Examples are ‘he’ and ‘him.
punctuation n A system used in writing to set the pauses in a sentence and establish relationships of different kinds between the elements in the text. It includes the use of stops, commas, brackets, capital letters, etc.
quantifier n A type of determiner which indicates the quantity of the noun to which it is attached. Examples of quantifiers are: ‘some’, ‘a lot of’, ‘many’, etc.
relative pronoun n The pronoun that introduces a relative clause.
relative sentence n A sentence in which the subordinate clause is introduced by a relative pronoun and gives information about a noun.
reported speech n A type of sentence that is used to report, or repeat, other people’s words. It stands in opposition to ‘direct speech’.
request n A communicative function which is used to ask someone to do something.
saxon genitive n A distinctive way of expressing possession by means of an ‘s added to the possessor, as in ‘John’s house’.
sentence n A group of words that form an independent grammatical unit.
short form n In a verb tense, the form that is contracted, as in ‘he isn’t (=he is not)'.
simple sentence n A sentence formed only by a main clause.
skill n The knowledge required to perform certain tasks. In a language, there are four: reading, writing, listening and speaking.
spelling n The set of rules that explain how to write words correctly.
statement n A sentence which expresses an idea in speech or writing. It can be affirmative or negative.
subject n The unit in a sentence that expresses the person or thing that does the action of the verb. Example: ‘My sister is an architect’.
subordinate clause n A unit in the grammatical organization of a sentence which has not got a meaning of its own, that is, it needs another clause to have a meaning.
superlative adj A special form taken by the adjectives and adverbs when they are used to compare more than two things. It is normally formed by adding -est or ‘the most’ to the adjective or adverb. There are some superlative forms.
syntax n See grammar.
uncountable noun n A type of noun referring to things that cannot be divided into units. For example: ‘water’, ‘paper’, ‘hardware’, etc.
verb tense n Each of the forms taken by a verb to express time, person and number.
Wh- question n A type of question introduced by an interrogative pronoun and asking about specific information, like ‘who’, ‘when’, ‘where’, etc.
Yes/No question n A type of question which asks ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
zero article n A term used to refer to the occasions in which no article is used.
