Glossary

This is a glossary of grammatical terms used on this wiki.

Adjective

A word that modifies or describes a noun. "Big" and "tall" are examples of adjectives.

Adverb

A word that modifies or describes a verb. "Quickly" and "slowly" are examples of adverbs.

Imperative

A command or instruction. "Do as I say, not as I do" is an imperative sentence, as is "go!".

Indicative

A grammatical mood that describes a real or actual thing. The sentence "the cat is cute" is an example of an indicative sentence.

Intransitive Verb

A verb that cannot take a direct object. "Smile" is an intransitive verb: "the baby smiles."

Modifier

In toki pona, adverbs and adjectives are never distinguished, unlike English. Any toki pona word that can modify a noun can also modify a verb, and vice versa. For this reason, the two are often lumped together as "modifiers" when discussing toki pona grammar.

Noun

A word that names a person, place, or thing. "Fish", "tree", and "Oklahoma" are nouns.

Object

The thing or things to which the action of the sentence is done. In the sentence "you pet the dog," the word "dog" is the object.

Optative

A grammatical mood that expresses a wish, hope, or desire. The sentence "the children should do their homework" is an example of an optative sentence.

Predicate

The part of the sentence that is attached to the subject. In the sentence "The human looks at the tree", "looks at the tree" is the predicate and "the human" is the subject.

Preposition

A word that describes a noun's relationship to the rest of the sentence in time or space. "After" and "beside" are examples of prepositions. Often the preposition and the noun it introduces are referred to as the "prepositional phrase." In the sentence "don't give coffee to infants," "to infants" is a prepositional phrase.

Proper Noun

A noun that names a specific or definite thing. Personal names and names of places are usually proper nouns. "Preston", "Europe", and "Mount Everest" are examples of proper nouns.

Sentence

A group of words that contain a subject and a predicate. "Dogs chase cats" is a sentence. "Apple pie" is not.

Subject

The main actor or actors in a sentence. In the sentence "I read the book," the word "I" is the subject.

Transitive Verb

A verb that takes a direct object. "Eat" is a transitive verb: "I eat the cookie.

Verb

A word that names an action. "Run" and "sit" are examples of verbs.

Vocative

A form of a noun used to call to or address something or someone. In the phrase "hey you!", the word "you" is vocative. English does not distinguish vocative from non-vocative nouns, but other languages (like toki pona) do.