Terms+that+you+should+know+for+English!


 * **Abstract noun** || A __part of speech__ that means something you //can’t// see or touch.

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 * Eg: excitement, risk, happiness.**
 * **Concrete noun** || A __part of speech__ that means something you //can// see and touch.

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 * Eg: pencil, pen, cat, road.**
 * **Collective noun** || A __part of speech__ that means a collection of something.

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 * Eg: committee** (a collection of people), **pride** (a collection of lions), **herd** (a collection of cows).
 * **Proper noun** || A __part of speech__ that gives the name of something. These always begin with a capital letter.

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 * Eg: __T__om, __E__lizabeth, __R__otorua, __J__ohn __P__aul __C__ollege.**
 * **Pronoun** || A __part of speech__ that replaces a noun.

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 * Eg: it, them, he, she, him, her…**
 * **Verb** || A __part of speech__ that means an action (a ‘doing’ word).

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 * Eg: run, skipping, whistle, howling.**
 * **Adverb** || A __part of speech__ that describes how an action (the verb) was done. Usually end in ly.

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 * Eg: **He danced **slowly.** She whistled **softly.**
 * **Adjective** || A __part of speech__ that describes a thing (a noun).

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 * Eg: **The **striped** cat sat on the **bristly** mat and licked its **grubby** paws.
 * **Conjunction** || A __part of speech__ that joins words in a sentence.

The year 10 student studied hard **because** he wanted to pass his exams. ||
 * Eg: **The cat ran across the road **and** got squashed.
 * **Preposition** || A __part of speech__ that shows the position of something.

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 * Eg:** **under, over, between, before.**
 * **Interjection** || A __part of speech__ that is a type of interruption.

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 * Eg: Hey! No! Wow! Yay!**
 * **Determiner** || A __part of speech__ that determines (shows) which thing you are talking about.

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 * Eg: that, this, those.**
 * **Alliteration** || A __sound device__ that repeats the sounds at the beginning of words.

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 * Eg: Silly Sammy sipped six sodas and was sick.**
 * **Assonance** || A __sound device__ where the vowel sounds in words are repeated. These vowel sounds are followed by a different consonant.

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 * Eg: rapid / rattle, can / patter**
 * **Onomatopoeia** || A __sound device__ where the sound of a word (when spoken aloud) sounds like its meaning.

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 * Eg: snap, crackle, pop, whiz, bang.**
 * **Repetition** || A __sound device__ where words or phrases are repeated (usually to emphasise an idea).

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 * Eg: **I **really**, and I mean **really** love school.
 * **Rhyme** || A __sound device__ where words have the same sound!

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 * Eg: cat, sat, mat OR pot, shot, rot.**
 * **Rhythm** || A __sound device__ where the lines of a poem can have rhythm. This is created by the way stressed and unstressed syllables are put together. ||
 * **Metaphor** || A __figure of speech__ that compares one thing to another to create a picture in the reader’s or listener’s mind. A metaphor refers to one thing as something else.

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 * Eg: The old woman was a kitten. The pimple was a volcano ready to erupt.**
 * **Simile** || A __figure of speech__ that compares one thing to another to create a picture in the reader’s or listener’s mind. Similes compare two things using the words “like” or “as”.

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 * Eg: She blew out her candles //like//** **a typhoon trying to snuff out a town. Tom was //as//** **annoying to me //as//** **a red rag is to a bull.**
 * **Personification** || A __figure of speech__ that makes a thing sound as though it’s a person.

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 * Eg: The tree waved and bowed in the wind.**
 * **Hyperbole** || A __figure of speech__ that is a huge exaggeration.

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 * Eg: I’ve got tons of homework. This is the worst day of my life. I love chocolate more than anything in the whole world.**
 * **Plot** || An __element of literature__. It means what happens in the story.

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 * Eg: Cinderella was treated badly by her stepmother and stepsisters. She met her fairy Godmother who swished her up and gave her a coach so she could go to the Prince’s ball. The prince fell in love with her and they all lived happily ever after.**
 * **Theme** || An __element of literature__. This is the message or lesson you get from a story. It can also be called a main idea or moral.

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 * Eg: Always believe in yourself. If you’re prejudice then you miss out on a lot of good things in life. Eat your veggies or you’ll die. Be kind to your friends.**
 * **Characters** || An __element of literature__. This means the people (or they could be animals) in the story.

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 * Eg: **Two of the characters from the Harry Potter books are **Harry** and **Hermione.**
 * **Setting** || An __element of literature__. This means where and when the story takes place.

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 * Eg: A winter’s night, 300 years ago in a small town in India.**
 * **Symbolism** || An __element of literature__ where something that represents an idea.


 * Eg: Sword = courage, honour, protection…**
 * Fire = hope, rescue, life…**
 * Bird in flight = peace, hope, freedom…**

|| || || || || Used in __literature__, this means the type of text.
 * **Conflict** || Used in __literature__, this means an argument or bad feeling between two characters or between a character and the situation he/she is in. An //internal// conflict is a bad feeling or worry a character has within him/herself.
 * **Characterisation** || Used in __literature__, this means the ways the author gets us to know each character. This can be done by showing us how a character acts, what they say, how they feel, what they’re thinking, relationships they have with others etc.
 * **Climax** || Used in __literature__, this means the part of the text that is the most exciting – the crisis. It usually comes near the end.
 * **Genre**

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 * Eg: romance, horror, drama, science-fiction.**
 * **Rising action** || Used in __literature__, this means the things that happen in the story that build up to the climax or crisis. ||
 * **Resolution** || Used in __literature__, this means what happens at the end of the story. This is where we find out how things are resolved (how things work out). ||
 * **Foreshadowing** || Used in __literature__, this is a small detail planted at the beginning of a story that makes us suspect something might happen.


 * Eg: “Keep to the path,” said Little Red Riding Hood’s mother. **(Well, you can just tell she’s not going to keep to the path!!) ||
 * **First person narration** || Used in __literature__, this means the story is told by the main character.


 * Eg: I** sprinted down the gravely path, sure something was chasing **me**. ||
 * **Stanza** || Used in __literature__, this means the parts a poem is broken into. These are sometimes called verses. They are like paragraphs for a poem. ||
 * **Third person narration** || Used in __literature__, this means the story is told by somebody who is not in it.


 * Eg: Kahu** and **Brendon** laughed all the way home. **They** were sure **they** had just heard the best joke ever. ||
 * **Connotation** || The ideas that come to mind when we read or hear a word or see a colour or picture etc.


 * Eg: Yellow = warmth, the beach, sand, holidays, happiness, children, summer…**

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 * Forests = shade, crisp air, mountain-biking, fun, danger, fire, forestry, rainforests…**
 * **Denotation** || The dictionary meaning of a word.

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 * Eg: Forests = trees that grow close together in a large area.**
 * **Jargon** || Language used and understood by people in a particular job or sport etc.

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 * Eg: Rugby – lock, forward, prop, line-out, try.**
 * **Rhetorical question** || A question that is not intended to be answered.

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 * Eg: Don’t you want to be as fit as Superman? **Well, you can with the new Exer-thigh-tum machine!
 * **Imperative** || A command or order. Often followed by an exclamation mark.

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 * Eg: Buy now! Hurry, don’t be late! Stop!**
 * **Slogan** || A catch-phrase that people associate with a particular organisation.

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 * Eg: Nike – “Just do it”**
 * Rebel sports – “Let’s play”**
 * McDonalds – “I’m loving it”**
 * Warehouse – “Where everyone gets a bargain”**
 * **Synonym** || A word that has a similar meaning.

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 * Eg: Box** and **carton, chair** and **seat.**
 * **Antonym** || A word that means the opposite.

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 * Eg: Cold** and **hot, silly** and **sensible.**
 * **Pun** || A play on words.

(When John’s last name is Major.) ||
 * Eg: John in Major trouble.**
 * **Cliché** || An over-used expression.


 * Eg: Avoid it like the plague. He was shaking like a leaf. It was as solid as a rock.** ||
 * **Colloquialism / Colloquial language** || The language we use in everyday conversation when talking to our friends.


 * Eg: “That was really cool man!”** ||
 * **Slang** || The words used in colloquial language.


 * Eg: **“That was really **cool** **man**!” ||
 * **Simple sentence** || Has one subject (does the action) and a finite verb (a doing word that gives tense).

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 * Eg: The cat sat.**
 * **Compound sentence** || Has two or more clauses linked with a conjunction.

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 * Eg: Frank burned the toast //while//** **he was on the phone.**
 * **Clause** || Has one subject (does the action) and a finite verb (a doing word that gives tense).

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 * Eg: The cat sat** on the log.
 * **Phrase** || A group of words that have been put together but do //not// contain a verb.


 * Eg: **The cat sat **on the log**. ||
 * **Minor sentence** || These are not really sentences at all because they do not contain a subject and a verb. They are just words that can stand alone.

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 * Eg: Hey! All aboard! Mix well.**
 * **Subject** || The person or thing //doing// the action.

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 * Eg: The wind** blew the houses down.
 * **Object** || The person or thing having something done //to it.//

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 * Eg: **The wind blew **the houses** down.
 * **Dominant image** || A __visual feature__ that is the main thing on the page. The thing that catches your eye first.
 * **Font** || A __visual feature__ that means the style of writing.
 * **Point size** || A __visual feature__ that means the size of writing.
 * **Symbol** || A __visual feature__ that represents another idea.

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 * Eg: Wheelchair sign = wheelchair access.**
 * Peace symbol, boy and girl on the toilet doors etc.**
 * **Logo** || A __visual feature__ that is a symbol. This symbol represents a company or organisation though.

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 * Eg: The golden arches = McDonalds**
 * The red cross = the Red Cross**
 * The tick = Nike**
 * **Narrative** || A __word we use in English__ which means a story.
 * **Processing information** || A __word we use in English__ that means putting the information you read into your own words.
 * **Significance** || A __word we use in English__ that means importance. When we ask “What’s the significance of this?” we are meaning “Why is this important?”
 * **Quotation** || A __word we use in English__ that means you’ve copied the words from somewhere. Always put quotations in quotation marks.
 * **Structure** || A __word we use in English__ that means the way something is put together. This can refer to how a sentence is made up, how a story is paragraphed, how a poem is broken into verses.