Breves definiciones de términos de uso común en gramática inglesa
Esta colección proporciona una revisión rápida de la terminología básica utilizada en el estudio de la gramática inglesa tradicional. Para un examen más detallado de las formas de palabras y estructuras de oraciones que se presentan aquí, haga clic en cualquiera de los términos para visitar una página del glosario, donde encontrará numerosos ejemplos y debates ampliados.
sustantivo abstracto
un sustantivo (como coraje o libertad ) que nombra una idea, evento, calidad o concepto. contraste con un sustantivo concreto .
voz activa
la forma verbal o la voz en la que el sujeto de la oración realiza o provoca la acción expresada por el verbo. contraste con voz pasiva .
adjetivo
La parte del discurso (o clase de palabras) que modifica un sustantivo o un pronombre. formas adjetivas: positivas , comparativas , superlativas . adjetivo: adjetivo .
adverbio
La parte del discurso (o clase de palabra) que se utiliza principalmente para modificar un verbo, adjetivo u otro adverbio. Los adverbios también pueden modificar frases preposicionales , cláusulas subordinadas y oraciones completas .
afijo
un prefijo , sufijo o infijo : un elemento de palabra (o morfema ) que se puede adjuntar a una base o raíz para formar una nueva palabra. sustantivo: afijación . adjetivo: fijable .
acuerdo
la correspondencia de un verbo con su sujeto en persona y número , y de un pronombre con su antecedente en persona, número y género .
apositivo
un sustantivo, frase sustantiva o serie de sustantivos utilizados para identificar o renombrar otro sustantivo, frase sustantiva o pronombre.
artículo
un tipo de determinante que precede a un sustantivo: a, an o the .
atributivo
un adjetivo que generalmente viene antes del sustantivo que modifica sin un verbo de enlace . contraste con un adjetivo predicativo .
auxiliar
un verbo que determina el modo o el tiempo de otro verbo en una frase verbal . también conocido como verbo de ayuda . contraste con un verbo léxico .
base
La forma de una palabra a la que se agregan prefijos y sufijos para crear nuevas palabras.
letra mayúscula
la forma de una letra alfabética (como a, b, c ) utilizada para comenzar una oración o un nombre propio ; una letra mayúscula, en contraste con minúscula . verbo: capitalizar .
caso
Una característica de los sustantivos y ciertos pronombres que expresan su relación con otras palabras en una oración. Los pronombres tienen tres distinciones de casos: subjetivo , posesivo y objetivo . en inglés, los sustantivos tienen solo una inflexión de casos , la posesiva. El caso de los sustantivos distintos del posesivo a veces se llama el caso común .
cláusula
Un grupo de palabras que contiene un sujeto y un predicado . una cláusula puede ser una oración (una cláusula independiente ) o una construcción similar a una oración dentro de una oración (una cláusula dependiente ).
sustantivo común
un sustantivo que puede estar precedido por el artículo definido y que representa uno o todos los miembros de una clase. Como regla general, un sustantivo común no comienza con una letra mayúscula a menos que aparezca al comienzo de una oración. Los sustantivos comunes se pueden subcategorizar como sustantivos contables y sustantivos en masa. semánticamente, los sustantivos comunes se pueden clasificar como sustantivos abstractos y sustantivos concretos . contraste con un nombre propio.
comparativo
La forma de un adjetivo o adverbio que implica una comparación de más o menos, mayor o menor.
complemento
una palabra o grupo de palabras que completa el predicado en una oración. los dos tipos de cumplidos son complementos de sujeto (que siguen al verbo be y otros verbos de enlace) y complementos de objeto (que siguen a un objeto directo ). si identifica al sujeto, el complemento es un sustantivo o pronombre; Si describe el tema, el complemento es un adjetivo.
oración compleja
una oración que contiene al menos una cláusula independiente y una cláusula dependiente.
oración compuesta-compleja
una oración que contiene dos o más cláusulas independientes y al menos una cláusula dependiente.
oración compuesta
una oración que contiene al menos dos cláusulas independientes.
cláusula condicional
Un tipo de cláusula adverbial que establece una hipótesis o condición, real o imaginaria. una conjunción subordinada puede introducir una cláusula condicional si u otra conjunción, como a menos que o en el caso de .
conjunción
La parte del discurso (o clase de palabras) que sirve para conectar palabras, frases, cláusulas u oraciones. Los dos tipos principales de conjunción son conjunciones de coordinación y conjunciones de subordinación.
contracción
una forma abreviada de una palabra o grupo de palabras (como no y no ), con las letras que faltan generalmente marcadas por un apóstrofe .
coordinación
La conexión gramatical de dos o más ideas para darles el mismo énfasis e importancia. contraste con subordinación .
contar sustantivo
un sustantivo que se refiere a un objeto o idea que puede formar un plural o aparecer en una frase nominal con un artículo indefinido o con números. contraste con un sustantivo en masa (o sustantivo sin cuenta).
oración declarativa
una oración en forma de enunciado (en contraste con un comando , una pregunta o una exclamación ).
artículo determinado
en Inglés, el artículo definido el es un determinador que se refiere a los nombres particulares. comparar con artículo indefinido.
demostrativo
un determinante que apunta a un sustantivo particular o al sustantivo al que reemplaza. los demostrativos son esto, aquello, estos y esos . un pronombre demostrativo distingue su antecedente de cosas similares. cuando la palabra precede a un sustantivo, a veces se le llama adjetivo demostrativo .
cláusula dependiente
un grupo de palabras que tiene un sujeto y un verbo pero (a diferencia de una cláusula independiente) no puede estar solo como una oración. También conocido como una cláusula subordinada .
determinante
una palabra o un grupo de palabras que introduce un sustantivo. los determinantes incluyen artículos , demostrativos y pronombres posesivos .
objeto directo
un sustantivo o pronombre en una oración que recibe la acción de un verbo transitivo . comparar con un objeto indirecto .
elipsis
La omisión de una o más palabras, que deben ser proporcionadas por el oyente o el lector. adjetivo: elíptico o elíptico . plural, elipses.
oración exclamativa
una oración que expresa sentimientos fuertes al hacer una exclamación. (compare con oraciones que hacen una declaración , expresan un comando o hacen una pregunta).
tiempo futuro
una forma verbal que indica la acción que aún no ha comenzado. el futuro simple generalmente se forma agregando la voluntad auxiliar o deberá a la forma base de un verbo.
género
a grammatical classification which in english applies primarily to the third-person singular personal pronouns: he, she, him, her, his, hers.
gerund
a verbal that ends in -ing and functions as a noun.
grammar
the set of rules and examples dealing with the syntax and word structures of a language.
head
the keyword that determines the nature of a phrase. for example, in a noun phrase, the head is a noun or pronoun.
idiom
a set expression of two or more words that means something other than the literal meanings of its individual words.
imperative mood
the form of the verb that makes direct commands and requests.
imperative sentence
a sentence that gives advice or instructions or that expresses a request or command. (compare with sentences that make a statement, ask a question, or express an exclamation.)
indefinite article
the determiner an or an, which marks an unspecified count noun. a is used before a word that starts with a consonant sound ("a bat," "a unicorn"). an is used before a word that starts with a vowel sound ("an uncle," "an hour").
independent clause
a group of words made up of a subject and a predicate. an independent clause (unlike a dependent clause) can stand alone as a sentence. also known as the main clause.
indicative mood
the mood of the verb used in ordinary statements: stating a fact, expressing an opinion, asking a question.
indirect object
a noun or pronoun that indicates to whom or for whom the action of a verb in a sentence is performed.
indirect question
a sentence that reports a question and ends with a period rather than a question mark.
infinitive
a verbal--usually preceded by the particle to--that can function as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.
inflection
a process of word formation in which items are added to the base form of a word to express grammatical meanings.
-ing form
a contemporary linguistic term for the present participle and gerund: any verb form that ends in -ing.
intensifier
a word that emphasizes another word or phrase. intensifying adjectives modify nouns; intensifying adverbs commonly modify verbs, gradable adjectives, and other adverbs.
interjection
the part of speech that usually expresses emotion and is capable of standing alone.
interrogative sentence
a sentence that asks a question. (compare with sentences that make a statement, deliver a command, or express an exclamation.)
interrupting phrase
a word group (a statement, question, or exclamation) that interrupts the flow of a sentence and is usually set off by commas, dashes, or parentheses.
intransitive verb
a verb that does not take a direct object. contrast with a transitive verb.
irregular verb
a verb that does not follow the usual rules for verb forms. verbs in english are irregular if they do not have a conventional -ed form.
linking verb
a verb, such as a form of be or seem, that joins the subject of a sentence to a complement. also known as a copula.
mass noun
a noun (such as advice, bread, knowledge) that names things which cannot be counted. a mass noun (also known as a non-count noun) is used only in the singular. contrast with count noun.
modal
a verb that combines with another verb to indicate mood or tense.
modifier
a word, phrase, or clause that functions as an adjective or adverb to limit or qualify the meaning of another word or word group (called the head).
mood
the quality of a verb that conveys the writer's attitude toward a subject. in english, the indicative mood is used to make factual statements or pose questions, the imperative mood to express a request or command, and the (rarely used) subjunctive mood to show a wish, doubt, or anything else contrary to fact.
negation
a grammatical construction that contradicts (or negates) part or all of a sentence's meaning. such constructions commonly include the negative particle not or the contracted negative n't.
noun
the part of speech (or word class) that is used to name or identify a person, place, thing, quality, or action. most nouns have both a singular and plural form, can be preceded by an article and/or one or more adjectives, and can serve as the head of a noun phrase.
number
the grammatical contrast between singular and plural forms of nouns, pronouns, determiners, and verbs.
object
a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that receives or is affected by the action of a verb in a sentence.
objective case
the case or function of a pronoun when it is the direct or indirect object of a verb or verbal, the object of a preposition, the subject of an infinitive, or an appositive to an object. the objective (or accusative) forms of english pronouns are me, us, you, him, her, it, them, whom, and whomever.
participle
a verb form that functions as an adjective. present participles end in -ing; past participles of regular verbs end in -ed.
particle
a word that does not change its form through inflection and does not easily fit into the established system of parts of speech.
parts of speech
the traditional term for the categories into which words are classified according to their functions in sentences.
passive voice
a verb form in which the subject receives the verb's action. contrast with active voice.
past tense
a verb tense (the second principal part of a verb) indicating the action that occurred in the past and which does not extend into the present.
perfect aspect
a verb construction that describes events occurring in the past but linked to a later time, usually the present.
person
the relationship between a subject and its verb, showing whether the subject is speaking about itself (first person--i or we); being spoken to (second person--you); or being spoken about (third person--he, she, it, or they).
personal pronoun
a pronoun that refers to a particular person, group, or thing.
phrase
any small group of words within a sentence or a clause.
plural
the form of a noun that typically denotes more than one person, thing, or instance.
possessive case
the inflected form of nouns and pronouns usually indicating ownership, measurement, or source. also known as genitive case.
predicate
one of the two main parts of a sentence or clause, modifying the subject and including the verb, objects, or phrases governed by the verb.
predicative adjective
an adjective that usually comes after a linking verb and not before a noun. contrast with an attributive adjective.
prefix
a letter or group of letters attached to the beginning of a word that partly indicates its meaning.
prepositional phrase
a group of words made up of a preposition, its object, and any of the object's modifiers.
present tense
a verb tense that expresses action in the present time, indicates habitual actions or expresses general truths.
progressive aspect
a verb phrase made with a form of be plus -ing that indicates an action or condition continuing in the present, past, or future.
pronoun
a word (one of the traditional parts of speech) that takes the place of a noun, noun phrase, or noun clause.
proper noun
a noun belonging to the class of words used as names for unique individuals, events, or places.
quotation
the reproduction of the words of a writer or speaker. in a direct quotation, the words are reprinted exactly and placed in quotation marks. in an indirect quotation, the words are paraphrased and not put in quotation marks.
regular verb
a verb that forms its past tense and past participle by adding -d or -ed (or in some cases -t) to the base form. contrast with an irregular verb.
relative clause
a clause introduced by a relative pronoun (which, that, who, whom, or whose) or a relative adverb (where, when, or why).
sentence
the largest independent unit of grammar: it begins with a capital letter and ends with a period, question mark, or exclamation point. a sentence is traditionally (and inadequately) defined as a word or group of words that expresses a complete idea and that includes a subject and a verb.
singular
the simplest form of a noun (the form that appears in a dictionary): a category of number denoting one person, thing, or instance.
subject
the part of a sentence or clause that indicates what it is about.
subjective case
the case of a pronoun when it is the subject of a clause, a subject complement, or an appositive to a subject or a subject complement. the subjective (or nominative) forms of english pronouns are i, you, he, she, it, we, they, who and whoever.
subjunctive mood
the mood of a verb expressing wishes, stipulating demands, or making statements contrary to fact.
suffix
a letter or group of letters added to the end of a word or stem, serving to form a new word or functioning as an inflectional ending.
superlative
the form of an adjective that suggests the most or the least of something.
tense
the time of a verb's action or state of being, such as past, present, and future.
transitive verb
a verb that takes a direct object. contrast with an intransitive verb.
verb
the part of speech (or word class) that describes an action or occurrence or indicates a state of being.
verbal
a verb form that functions in a sentence as a noun or a modifier rather than as a verb.
word
a sound or a combination of sounds, or its representation in writing, that symbolizes and communicates a meaning and may consist of a single morpheme or a combination of morphemes.
word class
a set of words that display the same formal properties, especially their inflections and distribution. similar to (but not synonymous with) the more traditional term part of speech.