Кэмбридж (gmegyesi)University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations
Teaching
Knowledge
Test
Glossary
TKT GLOSSARY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING (ELT) TERMINOLOGY
NB This list is indicative only. Other terms may also be used in TKT. The words are entered into categories so as to help the reader. Some words could fall into more than one category. However, to economise on space they have only been entered once.
MODULE 1
Concepts and terminology for describing language
GRAMMAR
Active voice
In an active sentence, the subject of the verb usually does or causes the action, e.g. The car hit the tree. See passive voice.
Adjective
An adjective describes or gives more information about a noun, pronoun or clause, e.g. a cold day.
A comparative adjective compares two things, e.g. He is taller than she is.
A demonstrative adjective shows how physically close the speaker or writer is to the object, e.g. this (near), that (far).
An -ing/ed adjective changes in different situations, e.g. The book is very interesting; I am very interested in the book.
A possessive adjective shows who something belongs to, e.g. my, our.
A superlative adjective compares more than two things, e.g. He is the tallest boy in the class.
Adverb
An adverb describes or gives more information about how, when, where or to what degree something is done, e.g. he worked quickly and well.
Auxiliary verb: see verb.
Article
An article can be definite ( the), indefinite ( a) or zero ( -), e.g. I was at (-) home in the sitting room when I heard a noise.
Aspect
A way of looking at verb forms not purely in relation to time. The perfect, continuous and simple are aspects. The continuous aspect, for example, suggests that something is happening temporarily.
Base form of the verb: see verb.
Clause
A clause consists of a verb and (generally) a subject. A clause can be a full sentence or a part of a sentence.