SPaG glossary: 43 terms explained

In an active sentence the subject does the action. In a passive sentence the subject has the action done to it, made with be + past participle.

The "doer" can be left out or added with "by".

A word that describes or gives more information about a noun. Comparative adjectives compare two things (taller); superlatives compare three or more (tallest).

A word that modifies a verb, an adjective, another adverb or a whole sentence. Adverbs tell how, when, where, how often or how likely.

Many end in -ly, but not all (soon, very, perhaps).

Words and phrases that link ideas across sentences and paragraphs: however, therefore, in addition, on the other hand, as a result. They help writing flow.

A word with the opposite meaning to another word. Some antonyms are made with a prefix (kind → unkind).

Used for two jobs: (1) contraction, shows letters have been left out; (2) possession, shows something belongs to someone. Never used to make a plural.

"It's" always means "it is" or "it has"; "its" is possessive.

Parenthesis is extra information dropped into a sentence. It can be marked with a pair of brackets, dashes or commas.

The sentence still makes sense if you remove it.

A clause is a group of words with a verb. A main clause makes sense on its own.

A subordinate clause adds information but depends on the main clause, so it cannot stand alone.

Join two words, phrases or clauses of equal importance. Remember FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

A colon introduces a list or an explanation after a complete clause. A semicolon joins two closely related main clauses, or separates items in a list where the items are long.

Commas separate items in a list, mark off a fronted adverbial, and separate a subordinate clause from the main clause. They also avoid ambiguity.

A comma alone cannot join two main clauses (that is a "comma splice").

A main clause plus at least one subordinate clause, joined by a subordinating conjunction (because, when, although, if, since…) or a relative pronoun. The subordinate clause can go first, last or in the middle.

Two (or more) main clauses joined by a co-ordinating conjunction: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. Each clause could stand alone as a sentence.

A word that comes before a noun to introduce it and show which one or how many. Articles (a, an, the) are determiners; so are this, that, these, those, my, your, some, every, three.

Using two negative words in one clause (not, never, nothing, nobody, no). Standard English uses one negative in a clause: "I didn't do anything", not "I didn't do nothing".

The double form is common in many dialects and is not a mistake in speech, but it is not Standard English.

Three dots (…) showing that words have been left out, or that a speaker has trailed off or paused. Use sparingly for effect.

Formal language is used for writing and speaking in serious or official situations: full words, precise vocabulary, no slang. Informal language is relaxed and used with friends.

Match the register to your audience.

An adverbial (a word or phrase saying how, when or where) moved to the front of the sentence, followed by a comma.

A sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark. Capital letters also begin proper nouns (names of people, places, days, months) and the word "I".

Words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. Choose by meaning, not sound.

A hyphen joins words or parts of words to make the meaning clear, especially in compound adjectives before a noun and with some prefixes.

Also called speech marks. They go around the exact words someone says.

Speech starts with a capital letter, and punctuation (comma, question or exclamation mark) goes inside the closing inverted comma. Start a new line for each new speaker.

Verbs that show how likely, possible or necessary something is: can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, must. They come before another verb and never change form.

A word for a person, place, thing or idea. Common nouns are general (city); proper nouns are specific and take a capital (Leeds).

Collective nouns name a group (flock). Abstract nouns name ideas or feelings (courage).

Shows an action completed before another time. Present perfect: have/has + past participle (links past to now).

Past perfect: had + past participle (one past action before another).

A group of words that works as one unit but has no verb, so it is not a clause. A noun phrase is built around a noun; an expanded noun phrase adds detail (adjectives, prepositional phrases).

A prepositional phrase starts with a preposition.

A group of letters added to the start of a root word to change its meaning. The root word keeps its spelling, but the prefix itself often changes to fit the root: in- becomes im- before m or p (impossible), il- before l (illegal) and ir- before r (irregular).

A word that shows the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and another word, often place, time or direction. It usually comes before a noun phrase.

Also called continuous. Shows an action that is or was in progress.

Made with be (am/is/are/was/were) + verb ending in -ing.

A word that replaces a noun so it does not have to be repeated. Personal: I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, them.

Possessive: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs. Relative: who, which, that, whose.

A question mark ends a question. An exclamation sentence starts with "What" or "How" and contains a verb, and ends with an exclamation mark.

An exclamation mark can also follow a sharp command or a cry, but that is not an exclamation sentence, and GPS questions ask about the sentence type.

A subordinate clause that starts with a relative pronoun (who, which, that, whose, whom) or where/when. It gives more information about a noun.

Commas go around it if the information is extra rather than essential.

Four types: statement (tells), question (asks), command (tells someone to do something; starts with an imperative verb), exclamation (starts with "What" or "How" and has a verb, ends with !).

The simple present describes things happening now or regularly (I walk). The simple past describes finished actions (I walked).

Regular verbs add -ed; irregular verbs change form (go → went, see → saw).

A sentence with one main clause: one subject and one verb that make sense alone. "Simple" does not mean short, it can have lots of description.

The form of English used in most writing, on the news and in exams. It follows agreed grammar rules and is not tied to any one region.

Non-standard forms are not "wrong" in speech, but Standard English is expected in formal writing.

The verb must match its subject: singular subjects take singular verbs, plural subjects take plural verbs. Watch out when words come between the subject and the verb.

A verb form used in very formal writing to express a wish, a demand or something imagined. Look for "were" instead of "was", and the base form of the verb after words like "insist" or "require".

This is beyond the KS2 programme of study and rarely appears in the KS2 test; it is on this map because 11+ papers do ask for it.

Introduce a subordinate clause and link it to the main clause: because, although, when, while, if, since, until, unless, after, before.

A group of letters added to the end of a root word. Suffixes can change the word class (hope → hopeful) or make a plural (cat → cats).

The root word's spelling sometimes changes: happy → happiness.

A word with the same or a very similar meaning to another word. Synonyms are rarely exact: "big", "huge" and "enormous" differ in strength.

Words and phrases that order events in time: first, next, then, after that, meanwhile, finally, later. Often used as fronted adverbials in recounts and instructions.

Groups of words that share a root word and so are linked in meaning and spelling. Spotting the root helps you spell and understand new words.