Nouns and verbs, active and passive voice, direct and indirect objects, compound and complex sentences: you’ve probably heard these terms before. Some you still remember, and others—well, others may not be quite as familiar to you as they used to be. If you’re in the mood to brush up on your grammar, this page is for you: brief definitions and examples of the most common grammatical terms.
Active Voice
Active voice is a type of sentence or clause in which the subject performs or causes the action expressed by the verb. Contrast with Passive Voice.
Example:
“A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.”
(Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, 1991)
Adjective
An adjective is the part of speech (or word class) that modifies a noun or a pronoun.
Example:
“Send this pestilent, traitorous, cow-hearted, yeasty codpiece to the brig.”
(Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, 2007)
Adverb
An adverb is the part of speech that modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb.
Example:
“There I was, standing there in the church, and for the first time in my whole life I realized I totally and utterly loved one person.”
(Charles to Carrie in Four Weddings and a Funeral, 1994)
Clause
A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a predicate. A clause may be either a sentence (independent clause) or a sentence-like construction included within another sentence (that is, a dependent clause).
Example:
“Don’t ever argue with the big dog [independent clause], because the big dog is always right [dependent clause].”
(Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard in The Fugitive, 1993)
Complex Sentence
A complex sentence is a sentence that contains at least one independent clause and one dependent clause.
Example:
“Don’t ever argue with the big dog [independent clause], because the big dog is always right [dependent clause].”
(Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard in The Fugitive, 1993)
Compound Sentence
A compound sentence is a sentence that contains at least two independent clauses, often joined by a conjunction.
Example:
“I can’t compete with you physically [independent clause], and you’re no match for my brains [independent clause].”
(Vizzini in The Princess Bride, 1987)
Conjunction
A conjunction is the part of speech that serves to connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences.
Example:
“I can’t compete with you physically, and you’re no match for my brains.”
(Vizzini in The Princess Bride, 1987)
Declarative Sentence
A declarative sentence is a sentence that makes a statement.
Example:
“A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.”
(Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, 1991)
Dependent Clause
A dependent clause is a group of words that begins with a relative pronoun or a subordinating conjunction. A dependent clause has both a subject and a verb but (unlike an independent clause) cannot stand alone as a sentence. Also known as a subordinate clause.
Example:
“Don’t ever argue with the big dog [independent clause], because the big dog is always right [dependent clause].”
(Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard in The Fugitive, 1993)
Direct Object
A direct object is a noun or pronoun that receives the action of a transitive verb.
Example:
“All my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my uncles. I had to fight my brothers.”
(Sophia in The Color Purple, 1985)
Exclamatory Sentence
An exclamatory sentence is a sentence that expresses strong feelings by making an exclamation.
Example:
“God! Look at that thing! You would’ve gone straight to the bottom!”
(Jack Dawson looking at Rose’s ring in Titanic, 1997)
Imperative Sentence
An imperative sentence is a sentence that gives advice or instructions or that expresses a request or a command.
Example:
“Send this pestilent, traitorous, cow-hearted, yeasty codpiece to the brig.”
(Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, 2007)
Independent Clause
An independent clause is 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 a main clause.
Example:
“Don’t ever argue with the big dog [independent clause], because the big dog is always right [dependent clause].”
(Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard in The Fugitive, 1993)
Indirect Object
An indirect object is a noun or pronoun that indicates to whom or for whom the action of a verb in a sentence is performed.
Example:
“It’s a family motto. Are you ready, Jerry? I want to make sure you’re ready, brother. Here it is: Show me the money.”
(Rod Tidwell to Jerry McGuire in Jerry McGuire, 1996)
Interrogative Sentence
An interrogative sentence is a sentence that asks a question.
Example:
“What is the name of the Lone Ranger’s nephew’s horse?”
(Mr. Parker in A Christmas Story, 1983)
Noun
A noun is the part of speech that is used to name a person, place, thing, quality, or action and can function as the subject or object of a verb, the object of a preposition, or an appositive.
Example:
“Waiter, there is too much pepper on my paprikash.”
(Harry Burns in When Harry Met Sally, 1989)
Passive Voice
Passive voice is a type of sentence or clause in which the subject receives the action of the verb. Contrast with Active Voice.
Example:
“Any attempt by you to create a climate of fear and panic among the populace must be deemed by us an act of insurrection.”
(First Elder to Jor-El in Superman, 1978)
Predicate
A predicate is 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.
Example:
“I don’t ever remember feeling this awake.”
(Thelma Dickinson in Thelma and Louise, 1991)
Prepositional Phrase
A prepositional phrase is a group of words made up of a preposition, its object, and any of the object’s modifiers.
Example:
“A long time ago, my ancestor Paikea came to this place on the back of a whale. Since then, in every generation of my family, the first born son has carried his name and become the leader of our tribe.”
(Paikea in Whale Rider, 2002)
Pronoun
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun.
Example:
“A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.”
(Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, 1991)
Sentence
A sentence is a word or (more commonly) a group of words that expresses a complete idea. Conventionally, a sentence includes a subject and a verb. It begins with a capital letter and concludes with a mark of end punctuation.
Example:
“I don’t ever remember feeling this awake.”
(Thelma Dickinson in Thelma and Louise, 1991)
Simple Sentence
A simple sentence is a sentence with only one independent clause (also known as a main clause).
Example:
“I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.”
(Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, 1991)
Subject
A subject is the part of a sentence that indicates what it is about.
Example:
“I don’t ever remember feeling this awake.”
(Thelma Dickinson in Thelma and Louise, 1991)
Tense
Tense is the time of a verb’s action or state of being, such as past, present, and future.
Example:
“Years ago, you served [past tense] my father in the Clone Wars; now he begs [present tense] you to help him in his struggle against the Empire.”
(Princess Leia to General Kenobi in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, 1977)
Verb
A verb is the part of speech that describes an action or occurrence or indicates a state of being.
Example:
“Send this pestilent, traitorous, cow-hearted, yeasty codpiece to the brig.”
(Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, 2007)