Here it is – the bilingual grammar glossary (英語文法用語) ! Why do you need to know this? If you are a native Japanese speaker, you have likely learned English in the context of Japanese; you have probably learned all the linguistic terms in Japanese, but not in English. Also, probably when you wrote English exams in school, the directions were all in Japanese. Why is this? I’m not sure, but I’ll bet that it’s probably a result of the “grammar translation method”(文法訳読式教授法) that was traditionally popular in Japan. When you learn another language, however, ideally you should do so through that language!
When I learned French in school back in Canada, for example, we had to learn the grammar terms in French. This could have been because my French teacher didn’t speak much English, but more likely, it was because a lot of the grammar terms simply do not exist or are not common in English. It is also because I studied French through more of an “immersion method.” (集中訓練授法) As you might imagine, there were no English words on our French tests!
Below some useful terminology learners of English (学習者 ・教授側にとって便利な文法用語集), including parts of speech, syntax, the moods, pronunciation, and style and semantics.
Parts of speech 品詞
- Article 冠詞
- Noun 名詞
- Pronoun 代名詞
- Verb 動詞
- Adverb 副詞
- Adjective 形容詞
- Preposition 前置詞
- Conjunction 接続詞
- Interjection 感嘆詞
- Numeral 数詞
1.Articles 冠詞
Indefinite article 不定冠詞 There’s a pen on the table.
Definite article 定冠詞 The pen is mine.
Zero article 無冠詞 Writing is important.
2. Nouns 名詞
Singular nouns 名詞の単数形 boy, box, baby, child, antenna, phenomenon
Plural nouns 名詞の複数形 boys, boxes, babies, children, antennae, phenomena
Countable nouns 可算名詞 one apple, two apples
Uncountable nouns 不可算名詞 some rice, some mayonnaise
Collective nouns 集合名詞 furniture, cutlery, equipment
Concrete nouns 具象名詞 apple, computer
Abstract nouns 抽象名詞 honesty, love, fear, happiness
Compound nouns 複合名詞 bookshelf, word-processor, post office
Common nouns 普通名詞 apple, computer
Proper nouns 固有名詞 Linda has a house in London.
Partitives, units & quantity 部分語・単位を表すことば Partitives express a part of a whole. They also enable us to quantify uncountable nouns. e.g. two rices, two bags of rice, none of the adults, some of the boys, all of the girls, both of the brothers, neither of the sisters, etc. (See also quantifiers.) a box of chocolates, a carton of milk, a bottle of Scotch, a jar of peanut butter, a can of soda, a tub of ice cream, a cup of coffee, a piece of cheesecake, a bag of peanuts, a packet of chewing gum, a tube of toothpaste, a roll of film, a tin of paint, a pack of cards, a bunch of grapes, a whole bunch of paparazzi, a company of girl guides, a gang of thieves, a flock of sheep, a herd of cows, a pack of hounds, a school or shoal of fish, a set of rules, a bouquet of flowers, a swarm of mosquitoes, etc.
3. Pronouns 代名詞
Demonstrative pronoun 指示代名詞 This was fun. That was boring.
Indefinite pronoun 不定代名詞 Some were good. Nobody is there. Is there any?
Interrogative pronoun 疑問の代名詞 What? Which? Who? Whom?
Personal pronoun (subjective) 人称代名詞 (主格) I, you, he, she, it, we, you (pl.), they
Personal pronoun (objective) 人称代名詞 (目的格) me, you, him, her, it, us, you (pl.), them
Possessive pronoun 所有代名詞 The car is mine/yours/his/hers/ours/theirs.
Reflexive pronoun 再帰代名詞 Bill burned himself on the hot iron.
Emphasizing pronoun 強調再帰代名詞 The Queen herself visited the disaster victims.
Relative pronoun 関係代名詞 The man who/that won. The prize which/that he won.
4. Verbs 動詞
Finite verb 定形動詞
A verb form the use of which which is limited by subject and tense, e.g. I go, he goes, she went, they have gone
Infinite verb 不定形動詞
A verb form the use of which is unrestricted by subject or tense. In English this means the infinitive, the gerund and the participle.
Infinitives 不定詞
Bare infinitive 原形不定詞 She can drink coffee.
to-infinitive to 付き不定詞 She stopped to drink coffee.
Gerund 動名詞 She stopped drinking coffee.
Present participle 現在分詞 Charlie is playing golf now.
Past participle 過去分詞 Emmy has played already.
3rd person singular 三人称単数形 He likes cooking. She watches TV.
Regular verb 規則動詞 She walks, she walked, she has walked.
Irregular verb 不規則動詞 I swim, I swam, I have swum
Auxiliary verb 助動詞 I have won! He is eating. Do you smoke?
Modal auxiliary verb (+ bare infinitive) 法助動詞（＋動詞の原形）
You must (had to) go. We can (could) drive. He may (might) come. They will (would) win. I shall (should) write to the manager. You ought to complain.
Verb of perception (+ adjective) 知覚動詞
She seems reliable, appears confident and sounds interesting. The food looks good, smells delicious and tastes superb.
Action verb 動作動詞
動作動詞は単純時制、進行形ともに使われる Action verbs are used in both the simple and continuous tenses: Jane plays chess. She is playing chess now.
State (or stative) verb 状態動詞
状態動詞は一般的に進行形では使われない State verbs are generally not used in the continuous tenses: Jane belongs to the chess club. Membership costs just $20 a year. Some people dislike playing chess while others love it.
Transitive verb 他動詞 The company raised its prices.
Intransitive verb 自動詞 Prices rose.
Passive voice 受動態 Prices were raised.
Phrasal verb 句動詞 His car broke down and his marriage broke up.
5. Adverbs 副詞
Positive adverb 原級副詞 Jenny works hard and carefully.
Comparative adverb 比較級副詞 Kate works even harder and more carefully than Jenny.
Superlative adverb 最上級副詞 Pam works (the) hardest and most carefully.
Adverb of degree 度合を表す副詞 Jack is quite short but rather chubby.
Adverb of frequency 頻度を表す副詞 I never smoke but I sometimes drink alcohol.
Adverb of manner 様相を表す副詞 Anne drives slowly but safely.
Adverb of place 場所を表す副詞 He ran away. She lives abroad.
Adverb of time 時間を表す副詞 Today he is still unwell.
Interrogative adverb 疑問の副詞 Why/when/where/how did he go?
Relative adverb 関係副詞 The town where I was born.
Sentence adverb 文副詞 Hopefully she’ll come. She definitely ought to.
6. Adjectives 形容詞
Correct order of adjectives 形容詞の正しい順序
意見、大きさ、形、年齢、濃淡、色、模様、出身（原産、材料（原料)
Opinion, size, shape, age, shade, color, pattern, origin, material
I have a lovely large round new bright red and white striped Spanish cotton tablecloth.
Attributive adjective 限定用法の形容詞 The late train (= scheduled later than others). A heavy drinker (= he drank a lot of alcohol).
Predicative adjective 叙述用法の形容詞 The train was late (= delayed). The drinker was heavy (= he weighed a lot).
Positive adjective 原級形容詞 Dick is kind and generous.
Comparative adjective 比較級形容詞 Dan is even kinder and more generous than Dick.
Superlative adjective 最上級形容詞 Dave is (the) kindest and most generous.
Interrogative adjective 疑問の形容詞 Whose party? Which restaurant? What time?
Demonstrative adjective 指示 This/that book. These/those pens.
Distributive adjective 配分形容詞 Each/every/either/neither girl. All/both boys.
Possessive adjective 所有形容詞 My/your/his/her/its/our/their eyes.
Determiner 限定詞
A word used to narrow or define the scope of a noun, such as a numeral, an article, or the demonstrative, distributive and possessive adjectives above.
Quantifiers 数量詞
A quantifier is either a distributive adjective or some other single word or phrase used to define quantity, e.g. “The old man had some CDs, a few DVDs, a lot of video cassettes, one hundred audio cassettes and half a ton of LP records!” (See also partitives.)
Simile 直喩
As strong as a lion, as blind as a bat, as dead as a doornail, as good as gold, as cool as a cucumber, as light as a feather, as heavy as lead, as daft as a brush, etc. Although his wife has eyes like a hawk, he ate like a horse, drank like a fish and then slept like a log.
7. Prepositions 前置詞
A preposition governs (and usually precedes) a noun or pronoun in order to define its relationship to other words. Here below some categories and examples:
Preposition of time 時間を表す前置詞
For two years, since 1999, I’ve worked from nine to five. I’ve always arrived in time for work and finished by 5 o’clock. I used to work until/till midnight, but now I can relax before going to bed, at weekends after 12 noon on Saturdays and during my long summer holiday in July.
Preposition of location 場所を表す前置詞
I work in an office on the 5th floor of the port authority building near the River Thames. I sit at the back by the window with a panoramic view over this important shipping lane. My boss, the oldest among us, sits in front of me. His secretary works opposite him, there’s a junior clerk behind her and my colleague Dan sits next to/beside me. There’s a filing cabinet between the photocopier and the coffee machine, a clock above the door and a wastepaper bin under each desk. The lunchroom is on the floor below ours.
Preposition of movement 動きや方向を表す前置詞
I got into my car and drove from Wall Street through Midtown Manhattan and then along the expressway to Long Island. I got out of my car at Montvale Race Track, where I got on/onto a horse. I didn’t have to get off the horse because I was thrown from the saddle!
Preposition of means 方法・手段を現す前置詞
You can go to the Chinese restaurant by bus or on foot, but you’ll have to eat with chopsticks.
8. Conjunctions 接続詞
Coordinating conjunction 等位接続詞
Links two main clauses or ideas of equal value: He’s big and strong but not so intelligent. She’s both clever and reliable. The weather is either too wet or too windy. Frank is neither very rich nor very poor.
Subordinating conjunction 従位接続詞
Introduces a subordinate clause, i.e. one that cannot stand alone without the support of a main clause.
of time 時間の従位接続詞 when, whenever, while, as soon as, until, before, after, since
of reason 理由の従位接続詞 because, as, since, so
of result 結果の従位接続詞 so…that, such…that
of purpose 目的の従位接続詞 so that
of condition 状況の従位接続詞 if, in case, unless, as long as
of contrast or concession 対照や譲歩の従位接続詞 although, even though
9. Interjection 感嘆詞
Oh dear! He’s late again. Ah, here he is. Ouch, it hurt!
10. Number (Numeral) 数 (数詞)
Cardinal number/ numeral 基数 / 基数詞 One, two, three, four, five, six…
Ordinal number/ numeral 序数 /序数詞 First, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth…
Syntax 統語
Letter 文字
Small (lower case) 小文字 abc…xyz
Capital (upper case) 大文字 ABC…XYZ
Affix 接辞 An element added to the beginning of a word (prefix) or end of a word (suffix) to modify its meaning.
Prefix 接頭辞 An unusual day. A disobedient child.
Suffix 接尾辞 The violinist played with the trumpeter.
Word 語 The smallest meaningful element of language. When written it stands alone with a space on either side of it. (19 words)
Phrase 句 Group of words forming a concept but not a sentence: in a hurry; by himself; head over heels; day by day
Clause 文節 Part of a sentence that includes a subject and predicate.
Main clause 主節 A clause that could stand independently and make sense on its own: He apologized because he was late.
Subordinate clause 従属節 A clause that wouldn’t make sense without an accompanying main clause: He apologized because he was late.
Relative clause 関係節
Defining relative clause 制限用法関係節 The hotel (that) I stayed in was rather old.
Non-defining relative clause 非制限用法関係節 The hotel, which is quite famous, is going to close.
Anteceden 先行詞 The hotel (that) you stayed in was more modern.
Sentence 文 A sentence consists of at least one clause, i.e. a subject (which is sometimes only implied) and a predicate: e.g. I walk. Go! (=You go!)
Paragraph 節
A paragraph is a section in a piece of writing, usually highlighting a particular point or topic. It always begins on a new line and usually with indentation, and it consists of at least one sentence.(This text constitutes a single paragraph)
Subject 主語 He likes her. Going on vacation is fun.
Predicate 述部（述語）Pamela paints. John lives in a house by the river.
Object 目的語 She likes him although she thinks that he’s crazy.
Direct object 直接目的語 They gave Tommy a present on his birthday.
Indirect object 間接目的語 They gave Tommy a present on his birthday.
Complement 補語 He is a scientist. She seems amused. We became tired.
Speech 話法
Direct speech 直接話法 “My job is tough,” she said.
Reported speech 間接話法 She said (that) her job was tough.
Question 疑問文
Indirect question 間接疑問文 Ask him what his name is!
Direct question 直接疑問文 What’s your name?
Tag question 付加疑問文 You keep fit, don’t you? You don’t smoke, do you?
Rhetorical question 修辞疑問文 Question used to make a statement rather than get an answer: Who cares? (= No one cares) Why bother? (= It’s a waste of time)
The moods 法
Indicative mood 直接法 The earth is round (a simple statement of fact)
Imperative mood 命令法 Save money! Buy a cheap one-way ticket!
Subjunctive mood 仮定法
Old phrases and clichés still in common use 現在も使用されている古から ある表現 Come what may,… Be that as it may,… God forbid! Woe betide,… Till death do us part,…
Jussive subjunctive (In British English, the optional inclusion of should makes it easier.) I suggested that she go early. She insisted that something be done about his snoring. I suggested that she (should) go early. She insisted that something (should) be done about his snoring.
Hypothetical subjunctive (Type 2 conditional) If I were you, I would see a doctor.
as if/ as though+ past subjunctive He acts as if he owned the company. She speaks as though she knew everything.
it is time + past subjunctive (unreal past) It is time we were leaving.
Conditional mood 条件法
Type 1: probable conditional １：起こりうる If I’m late I’ll call you.
Type 2: improbable conditional ２：起こる可能性低い If I had the time, I’d write a novel.
Type 3: hypothetical conditional ３：過去の事実とは異なる仮定 If I had gone to Las Vegas, I’d have lost all my money.
Type 4: zero conditional ４：中立 If she has a cold she goes to bed.
The Tenses 時制
Future simple 未来時制 She will sleep soon.
Future continuous 未来進行形 She will be sleeping at 11 PM.
Future perfect 未来完了形 At 7 AM she will have slept for 8 hours.
Future perfect continuous 未来完了進行形 By 5 AM she will have been sleeping for 6 hours.
Present simple 現在時制 She sleeps well.
Present continuous 現在進行形 She is sleeping right now.
Present perfect 現在完了形 She has slept well since she was a child.
Present perfect continuous 現在完了進行形 Tonight she has been sleeping for two hours.
Past simple 過去時制 She slept for ten hours last night.
Past continuous 過去進行形 She was sleeping when her husband came home.
Past perfect 過去完了 This morning he said she had slept all night long.
Past perfect continuous 過去完了進行形 She had been sleeping when the alarm clock rang.
Pronunciation 発音
Received pronunciation (RP) 英国の標準発音 The clearly articulated standard of British English that is prevalent among educated speakers in southern England.
General American (GA) 一般米語 The standard, non-regional form of U.S. English
Phonetics 音声学 The written classification of spoken sounds.
Phonetic symbol 発音記号 A symbol representing one particular sound.
Vowel 母音 a e i o u
Consonant 子音 b c d f g h j k l m n p q r s t v w x y z
Syllable 音節 Mexico has three syllables.
Monophthong 単母音 hat
Diphthong 二重母音 hate
Homonym 同音異義語 A word with the same sound (homophone) or spelling (homograph) as another but with a different meaning.
Homophone 同音字 The Czech paid by cheque so I’ll check it.
Homograph 同形異義語 Everyone at the fair had fair hair. It’s not fair!
Intonation 抑揚 (イントネーション) The rising and falling of your voice as you speak.
Stress 強勢 The accentuation of one particular word or syllable.
Word stress 単語に強勢を置くShe’s an English English teacher.
Syllable stress 音節に強勢を置く He’s a photographer.
Style 文体 & semantics 意味論
Formal style 格式ばった様式 Your children must be collected from school.
Informal style くだけた様式 You have to pick your kids up from school.
Idiom 熟語 The taxi driver took me for a ride (= tricked me).
Slang 俗語 The cops are coming! (= police officers)
Dialect 方言 Language variant spoken in a particular area, e.g. cockney in London’s East End or Geordie on Tyneside.
Vernacular 地方語 Most widely-spoken informal regional language variant.
Jargon 特殊用語 I had to boot up my computer (= start).
Terminology 専門用語 He had her software on his hard disk.
Synonym 同意語 big & large
Antonym 反意語 big & small