Gerund
A form of verb ending in –ing. Consider the verb read, and consider this example: I enjoy reading books. Here read stands in its gerund form reading, and reading exhibits verbal properties: in this case it takes the object books.

Negation

The label negation refers to the use of a negative element like not or a negative auxiliary like can’t.

Negative auxiliary
These are forms like don’t, can’t, doesn’t and won’t.

Main clause

The label main clause refers to a clause which is capable of making a meaningful sentence by itself. A sentence will always have at least one main clause. For example, in the sentence ‘John finished his work’, the whole sentence is the main clause.

Idiom

An idiom is a fixed expression the meaning of which is not guessable from the meanings of the words in it. Examples include ‘kick the bucket’ (die) and ‘let the cat out of a bag’ (reveal a secret).
Imperative

Finite

The term finite is a label applied to a verb-form which is marked for tense. In the present tense, only the third person singular has the marking for tense: the ending –s.

Ellipsis

The omission of a word or phrase which is logically required to complete the structure of a sentence.

Example:
Seen him? (‘Have you seen him?’)
Seems we have a problem. (‘It seems we have a problem.’)

Direct Object

The grammatical term which usually represents the person or thing receiving the action of the verb. In the following examples the nouns given in bold text are examples of direct objects.