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Grammar terms by year: a plain glossary for Years 1 to 6

The grammatical terms children learn in primary school, listed in the year the national curriculum introduces them, each with a short meaning and an example.

For teachers, parents and childrenChecked 7 November 2026Source: DfE national curriculum, English Appendix 2

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What: 58 pupil terms from Appendix 2, plus 14 useful glossary terms.
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Year 1 terminology

letter: One of the 26 written symbols of the alphabet. Example: The word cat has three letters.
capital letter: The large form of a letter, used to start a sentence and for names and the word I. Example: Zara and I went to Leeds.
word: A unit of language that can stand on its own, with a space on each side when written. Example: A sentence is made of words.
singular: Naming just one. Example: one dog, one child
plural: Naming more than one. Example: two dogs, three children
sentence: A group of words that makes complete sense. It begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark. Example: The bus is late.
punctuation: The marks that make writing clear to read, such as full stops and commas. Example: Stop, look, listen.
full stop: The mark that ends a statement or a command. Example: We went to the park.
question mark: The mark that ends a question. Example: Where is my hat?
exclamation mark: The mark that shows strong feeling or a shout. Example: Watch out!

Year 2 terminology

noun: A word that names a person, place, thing or idea. Example: teacher, Cardiff, bicycle, courage
noun phrase: A noun with extra words that describe or give more detail about it. Example: the tall man in the red coat
statement: A sentence that tells you something. It usually ends with a full stop. Example: The river is wide.
question: A sentence that asks something and ends with a question mark. Example: Is the river wide?
exclamation: A sentence that begins with What or How, has a verb and shows strong feeling. Example: What a wide river it is!
command: A sentence that tells someone to do something. It often starts with a verb. Example: Cross the bridge carefully.
compound: A word made by joining two words together. Example: football, bedroom, whiteboard
suffix: Letters added to the end of a word that change its meaning or word class. Example: care + ful, sad + ness
adjective: A word that describes a noun. Example: a tiny, silver key
adverb: A word that tells you more about a verb: how, when, where or how often. It can also modify an adjective or another adverb. Example: She ran quickly.
verb: A word for an action, a feeling or a state of being. Example: run, think, is, seem
tense: The form of a verb that shows when something happens: past or present. Example: walks (present), walked (past)
apostrophe: A mark that shows missing letters in a contraction, or that something belongs to someone. Example: can't, Ravi's bag
comma: A mark that separates items in a list and helps the reader pause. Example: red, green and blue

Year 3 terminology

preposition: A word that shows how a noun or pronoun relates to something else, often by place or time. Example: under the table, after lunch
conjunction: A word that joins words, phrases or clauses. Example: and, but, because, when
word family: A group of words that are related in form and meaning. Example: solve, solution, solver, dissolve
prefix: Letters added to the start of a word that change its meaning. Example: un + happy, re + build
clause: A group of words that contains a verb and its subject (or a command). Example: the dog barked
subordinate clause: A clause that adds information to a main clause and cannot stand alone as a sentence. Example: because it was raining
direct speech: The exact words someone says, written inside inverted commas. Example: "Come here," said Dad.
consonant: The sounds made by blocking the air in the mouth or throat. As letters: all the letters except a, e, i, o, u. Example: b, c, d, f, g
vowel: The sounds that are made with the mouth open. As letters: a, e, i, o, u (and y can act as one). Example: a, e, i, o, u
inverted commas (speech marks): The marks placed around the words someone says. Example: "Look at that!" she said.

Year 4 terminology

determiner: A word that goes before a noun and tells you which one or how many. Example: the, a, this, my, some, three
pronoun: A word that stands in the place of a noun. Example: Kofi lost his key. He found it later.
possessive pronoun: A pronoun that shows who owns something and stands alone. Example: That seat is mine. Hers is next to it.
adverbial: A word or phrase that tells you when, where or how something happens. Example: in the garden, very quickly
fronted adverbial: An adverbial placed at the start of a sentence, usually followed by a comma. Example: After lunch, we went outside.

Year 5 terminology

modal verb: A verb that goes before another verb to show how likely, possible or necessary something is. Example: can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, must
relative pronoun: A pronoun that starts a relative clause, linking it to a noun. Example: who, which, that, whose, where, when
relative clause: A subordinate clause that adds detail about a noun. Example: The girl who won the race smiled.
parenthesis: Extra information put inside a sentence using brackets, dashes or commas. Example: My cousin (who is nine) plays the drums.
bracket: A curved mark used in pairs to wrap round extra information. Example: The match (held on Friday) was cancelled.
dash: A long horizontal mark used to add extra information or to mark a break in a sentence. Example: The boat – old and rusty – floated away.
cohesion: How the parts of a text link together so that it flows. Example: Using then, after that and this to connect sentences.
ambiguity: When a sentence could be understood in more than one way. Example: Visiting relatives can be boring.

Year 6 terminology

subject: The person or thing that does the action of the verb, or is described by it. Example: The dog chased the ball.
object: The person or thing that receives the action of the verb. Example: The dog chased the ball.
active: A sentence in which the subject does the action. Example: The cat chased the mouse.
passive: A sentence in which the subject has the action done to it. Example: The mouse was chased by the cat.
synonym: A word with a similar meaning to another word. Example: big and large
antonym: A word with the opposite meaning to another word. Example: hot and cold
ellipsis: Leaving words out because the meaning is still clear. Also the mark of three dots (...). Example: I like tea; you, coffee.
hyphen: A short mark that joins words or parts of words. Example: man-eating shark, co-operate
colon: A mark that introduces a list, an explanation or a quotation. Example: You will need three things: a pencil, a ruler and a rubber.
semi-colon: A mark that joins two related main clauses, or separates items in a long list. Example: It is raining; we will stay in.
bullet points: Dots or marks at the start of lines in a list. Example: Pack a coat, a hat and a drink.

Also useful (from the glossary)

proper noun: A noun that names a particular person, place or thing and begins with a capital letter. Example: Priya, Wales, Monday
common noun: A noun that names a general person, place or thing. Example: girl, town, table
article: A, an and the. Articles are one kind of determiner. Example: an owl, the moon
main clause: A clause that can stand alone as a complete sentence. Example: The dog barked
co-ordinating conjunction: A word that joins two clauses of equal weight: and, but, or, so. Example: I was cold but I stayed outside.
subordinating conjunction: A word that begins a subordinate clause: because, although, when, if, while. Example: We stayed in because it rained.
auxiliary verb: A helping verb used with a main verb: be, have and do. Example: She is running. They have gone.
progressive form: A verb form made with be and -ing that shows an action in progress. Example: He was shouting. She is drumming.
present perfect: A verb form made with have or has and the past participle, linking past and present. Example: I have finished.
past participle: The verb form used after have, has or had, and in the passive. Example: eaten, played, broken
reporting clause: The part of a sentence with direct speech that says who is speaking. Example: she whispered
contraction: A short form of words where an apostrophe replaces missing letters. Example: didn't, we're
root word: A word to which prefixes and suffixes can be added. Example: happy in unhappiness
homophone: A word that sounds the same as another but is spelt differently and means something different. Example: there and their

Grammar terms, Years 1 to 6

Litlings Free English, english.litlings.com. Terminology from the national curriculum, English Appendix 2.

Year	Term	What it means	Example
1	letter	One of the 26 written symbols of the alphabet.	The word cat has three letters.
1	capital letter	The large form of a letter, used to start a sentence and for names and the word I.	Zara and I went to Leeds.
1	word	A unit of language that can stand on its own, with a space on each side when written.	A sentence is made of words.
1	singular	Naming just one.	one dog, one child
1	plural	Naming more than one.	two dogs, three children
1	sentence	A group of words that makes complete sense. It begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.	The bus is late.
1	punctuation	The marks that make writing clear to read, such as full stops and commas.	Stop, look, listen.
1	full stop	The mark that ends a statement or a command.	We went to the park.
1	question mark	The mark that ends a question.	Where is my hat?
1	exclamation mark	The mark that shows strong feeling or a shout.	Watch out!
2	noun	A word that names a person, place, thing or idea.	teacher, Cardiff, bicycle, courage
2	noun phrase	A noun with extra words that describe or give more detail about it.	the tall man in the red coat
2	statement	A sentence that tells you something. It usually ends with a full stop.	The river is wide.
2	question	A sentence that asks something and ends with a question mark.	Is the river wide?
2	exclamation	A sentence that begins with What or How, has a verb and shows strong feeling.	What a wide river it is!
2	command	A sentence that tells someone to do something. It often starts with a verb.	Cross the bridge carefully.
2	compound	A word made by joining two words together.	football, bedroom, whiteboard
2	suffix	Letters added to the end of a word that change its meaning or word class.	care + ful, sad + ness
2	adjective	A word that describes a noun.	a tiny, silver key
2	adverb	A word that tells you more about a verb: how, when, where or how often. It can also modify an adjective or another adverb.	She ran quickly.
2	verb	A word for an action, a feeling or a state of being.	run, think, is, seem
2	tense	The form of a verb that shows when something happens: past or present.	walks (present), walked (past)
2	apostrophe	A mark that shows missing letters in a contraction, or that something belongs to someone.	can't, Ravi's bag
2	comma	A mark that separates items in a list and helps the reader pause.	red, green and blue
3	preposition	A word that shows how a noun or pronoun relates to something else, often by place or time.	under the table, after lunch
3	conjunction	A word that joins words, phrases or clauses.	and, but, because, when
3	word family	A group of words that are related in form and meaning.	solve, solution, solver, dissolve
3	prefix	Letters added to the start of a word that change its meaning.	un + happy, re + build
3	clause	A group of words that contains a verb and its subject (or a command).	the dog barked
3	subordinate clause	A clause that adds information to a main clause and cannot stand alone as a sentence.	because it was raining
3	direct speech	The exact words someone says, written inside inverted commas.	"Come here," said Dad.
3	consonant	The sounds made by blocking the air in the mouth or throat. As letters: all the letters except a, e, i, o, u.	b, c, d, f, g
3	vowel	The sounds that are made with the mouth open. As letters: a, e, i, o, u (and y can act as one).	a, e, i, o, u
3	inverted commas (speech marks)	The marks placed around the words someone says.	"Look at that!" she said.
4	determiner	A word that goes before a noun and tells you which one or how many.	the, a, this, my, some, three
4	pronoun	A word that stands in the place of a noun.	Kofi lost his key. He found it later.
4	possessive pronoun	A pronoun that shows who owns something and stands alone.	That seat is mine. Hers is next to it.
4	adverbial	A word or phrase that tells you when, where or how something happens.	in the garden, very quickly
4	fronted adverbial	An adverbial placed at the start of a sentence, usually followed by a comma.	After lunch, we went outside.
5	modal verb	A verb that goes before another verb to show how likely, possible or necessary something is.	can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, must
5	relative pronoun	A pronoun that starts a relative clause, linking it to a noun.	who, which, that, whose, where, when
5	relative clause	A subordinate clause that adds detail about a noun.	The girl who won the race smiled.
5	parenthesis	Extra information put inside a sentence using brackets, dashes or commas.	My cousin (who is nine) plays the drums.
5	bracket	A curved mark used in pairs to wrap round extra information.	The match (held on Friday) was cancelled.
5	dash	A long horizontal mark used to add extra information or to mark a break in a sentence.	The boat – old and rusty – floated away.
5	cohesion	How the parts of a text link together so that it flows.	Using then, after that and this to connect sentences.
5	ambiguity	When a sentence could be understood in more than one way.	Visiting relatives can be boring.
6	subject	The person or thing that does the action of the verb, or is described by it.	The dog chased the ball.
6	object	The person or thing that receives the action of the verb.	The dog chased the ball.
6	active	A sentence in which the subject does the action.	The cat chased the mouse.
6	passive	A sentence in which the subject has the action done to it.	The mouse was chased by the cat.
6	synonym	A word with a similar meaning to another word.	big and large
6	antonym	A word with the opposite meaning to another word.	hot and cold
6	ellipsis	Leaving words out because the meaning is still clear. Also the mark of three dots (...).	I like tea; you, coffee.
6	hyphen	A short mark that joins words or parts of words.	man-eating shark, co-operate
6	colon	A mark that introduces a list, an explanation or a quotation.	You will need three things: a pencil, a ruler and a rubber.
6	semi-colon	A mark that joins two related main clauses, or separates items in a long list.	It is raining; we will stay in.
6	bullet points	Dots or marks at the start of lines in a list.	Pack a coat, a hat and a drink.
extra	proper noun	A noun that names a particular person, place or thing and begins with a capital letter.	Priya, Wales, Monday
extra	common noun	A noun that names a general person, place or thing.	girl, town, table
extra	article	A, an and the. Articles are one kind of determiner.	an owl, the moon
extra	main clause	A clause that can stand alone as a complete sentence.	The dog barked
extra	co-ordinating conjunction	A word that joins two clauses of equal weight: and, but, or, so.	I was cold but I stayed outside.
extra	subordinating conjunction	A word that begins a subordinate clause: because, although, when, if, while.	We stayed in because it rained.
extra	auxiliary verb	A helping verb used with a main verb: be, have and do.	She is running. They have gone.
extra	progressive form	A verb form made with be and -ing that shows an action in progress.	He was shouting. She is drumming.
extra	present perfect	A verb form made with have or has and the past participle, linking past and present.	I have finished.
extra	past participle	The verb form used after have, has or had, and in the passive.	eaten, played, broken
extra	reporting clause	The part of a sentence with direct speech that says who is speaking.	she whispered
extra	contraction	A short form of words where an apostrophe replaces missing letters.	didn't, we're
extra	root word	A word to which prefixes and suffixes can be added.	happy in unhappiness
extra	homophone	A word that sounds the same as another but is spelt differently and means something different.	there and their

Crown copyright terminology reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0; definitions and examples by Litlings.

Practise the terms

Spelling lists and grammar terminology: Department for Education, National curriculum in England: English programmes of study, Appendices 1 and 2 (Crown copyright 2013), reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example sentences, tips, explanations and questions are by Litlings.