Summary of Terms

Summary of Terms (with sample sentences as examples)

Term Definition Example

Sentence (Independent Clause) A group of words that express a complete thought, with a subject (noun or pronoun) and a predicate (verb). "A sentence is a complete thought that contains a subject and a verb." or "Students must learn all of the rules about writing sentences in order to be able to express themselves in formal English."

Subject A noun (person, place or thing) or group of nouns that serve as the focal point of the sentence. " The word sentence is the subject of this sample sentence."

Predicate A verb or group of verbs that describe the actions, feelings or thoughts of the sentence. "A form of the verb 'to be' is the predicate of this sentence."

Phrase A group of words that indicate or define something. "all of the rules about writing"

Dependent Clause A group of words that contains a verb but is without a subject. "that necessarily contains a subject and a verb"

Sentence fragment An incomplete thought; could be a phrase or a clause. "to express themselves in formal English"

Noun A word that designates a person, place or thing. In American English, nouns are not generally capitalized. "Tree", "dog" and "car" are all nouns.

Verb A word that designates action, thought or feeling. The infinitive form of the verb uses the auxiliary word "to" as in "to see", "to love". "To run", "to think", and "to feel" are all verbs.

Adjective A word that modifies (describes) a noun or another adjective. "The big train." "Big" is an adjective modifying the noun "train". "The big black train." "Big" and "black" are both adjectives modifying "train".

Adverb A word that modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb. "To modify" means "to explain" or "to describe" as in "very simply" or "very good". Adverbs usually end in "y" or "ly". "The train was traveling quickly" 'Quickly' is an adverb describing the verb of motion 'traveling' ('to travel'). "The very large train." 'Very' is an adverb modifying "large", which is an adjective modifying "train".

Term	Definition	Example
Sentence	(Independent Clause)	A group of words that express a complete thought, with a subject (noun or pronoun) and a predicate (verb). "A sentence is a complete thought that contains a subject and a verb." or "Students must learn all of the rules about writing sentences in order to be able to express themselves in formal English."
Subject	A noun (person, place or thing) or group of nouns that serve as the focal point of the sentence.	" The word sentence is the subject of this sample sentence."
Predicate	A verb or group of verbs that describe the actions, feelings or thoughts of the sentence.	"A form of the verb 'to be' is the predicate of this sentence."
Phrase	A group of words that indicate or define something.	"all of the rules about writing"
Dependent Clause	A group of words that contains a verb but is without a subject.	"that necessarily contains a subject and a verb"
Sentence fragment	An incomplete thought; could be a phrase or a clause.	"to express themselves in formal English"
Noun	A word that designates a person, place or thing. In American English, nouns are not generally capitalized.	"Tree", "dog" and "car" are all nouns.
Verb	A word that designates action, thought or feeling. The infinitive form of the verb uses the auxiliary word "to" as in "to see", "to love".	"To run", "to think", and "to feel" are all verbs.
Adjective	A word that modifies (describes) a noun or another adjective.	"The big train." "Big" is an adjective modifying the noun "train". "The big black train." "Big" and "black" are both adjectives modifying "train".
Adverb	A word that modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb. "To modify" means "to explain" or "to describe" as in "very simply" or "very good". Adverbs usually end in "y" or "ly".	"The train was traveling quickly" 'Quickly' is an adverb describing the verb of motion 'traveling' ('to travel'). "The very large train." 'Very' is an adverb modifying "large", which is an adjective modifying "train".