English grammar terms, Danish grammar terms, German grammar terms, Spanish

Active voice, aktiv, handleform, Tatform, Tätigkeitsform, voz activa
1. A clause in which the acting element is the subject: I often see him, jeg ser ham ofte
2. Can contain a transitive or an intransitive verb: I am eating the bread, jeg spiser brødet, he lives here, han bor her
Compare the passive voice

Adjective,  adjektiv,  tillægsord, Adjektiv, Eigenschaftswort, adjetivo
1. Words that describe a noun: small/lille, big/stor, tall/høj, red/rød, green/grøn.
2. Can be compared (comparative and superlative): big/stor, bigger/større, biggest/størst.
3. Adjectives are sometimes inflected in Danish but not in English: a big house/et stort hus, the big houses/de store huse

Adjective clause, relativ sætning, Relativsatz, oración relativa
1. A subordinate clause that functions as an adjective
2. Must start with a relative pronoun who/which/that/som/der: the man that I know is rich, 
                                                                                             manden som jeg kender er rig
3. Also called Relative clause

Adjective phrase, Adjektivsyntagme/gruppe, Adjektivgruppe 
A group of words functioning like an adjective: a very strong man, he is very strong, han er meget stærk

Adverb, adverbium, biord, Adverb, adverbio
1. Can describe a time (now/nu), a place (here/her, there/der), manner (quickly/hurtigt), degree (very/meget)
2. Can qualify a verb/adjective/adverb/sentence: he went out/han gik ud, 
                                                                              she will come tomorrow/hun kommer imorgen.
3.a. Some are inflexible: now/nu, today/idag
   b. others are formed by an adjective + ly/t: beautifully/smukt
   c. some can be compared: fast/faster/hurtig/hurtigere, more beautifully/smukkere/mere smukt

Adverb clause, adverbiel ledsætning, bisætning, Adverbialsatz
A subordinate clause beginning with a conjunction: I don't know if she will come, 
                                                                            jeg ved ikke, om hun vil komme

Adverb phrase, adverbiumsyntagme/gruppe, Adverbgruppe
A group of words functioning like an adverb: they are inside the house, de er inde i huset

Adverbial, adverbial, biled, Adverbiale
An element that describes the verb of a clause. 
Can be:
1. Adverb or adverb phrase: I saw him there, he is sleeping very well, jeg så ham der, han sover meget godt
2. Prepositional phrase: I saw him in the house, jeg så ham i huset
3. Noun phrase: he came every day, han kom hver dag
4. Adverb clause: I was very glad, when she came, jeg blev meget glad, da hun kom

Agreement, kongruens, Kongruenz, concordancia
1. In English the verb must agree with the subject in 3. person singular present tense: he comes every day
2.a. In Danish the adjective must agree with the definite article: den store hund
   b. and with the gender: et stort hus
   c. and with the number: de store huse

Apposition, apposition, navnetillæg, Apposition, Beifügung, Gliedteil, aposición
Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, is situated near Sweden

Articles, artikler, kendeord, Artikeln, Geschlectswörter, artículos
1. Definite articles in English are: the [ðö, ði]: the red house, the old house, the old houses
2. Definite articles in Danish are: den/det/de, placed before/after the noun: det store hus, huset er stort, 
                                                  de huse, husene
3. Indefinite articles are: a/an, en, et: a house, an apple, en mand, et hus

Attributive, attributiv, vedføjelse, Attribut, Gliedteil, atributo
A term used for adjectives  when they are placed near the noun (see also predicative): the young girl is not here

Auxiliary verbs, hjælpeverber, hjælpeudsagnsord, Hilfsverben, verbos auxiliares
Verbs used for making the tenses and moods: be, have, shall, will, get, I shall go tomorrow, jeg vil rejse imorgen, he has not come, han er ikke kommet

Base form, stamme, Wortstamm, radical
The shortest uninflected form of a verb: go, eat, translate
In Danish it is the infinitive without -e, equal to the imperative: gå, spis, oversæt, rejs

Cases, kasus, Kasus, casos
1. English and Danish nouns are only inflected according to the genitive: the boy's/boys', drengens/drengenes
2. Pronouns are also inflected according to the accusative: I/me, he/him, she/her, we/us, they/them, jeg/mig, du/dig, hun/hende

Clauses, sætninger, Sätze, Oraciones, (frases)
Must contain a subject and a finite verb:
1. Main clause (Independent clauses)
2. Subordinate clauses (Dependent clauses) are:
    a. Finite clauses
    b. Non-finite clauses

Comparative, komparativ, højere grad, 2. grad, Komparativ, comparativo
Comparison af adjectives and some adverbs: bigger/større, less/mindre, more wonderful(ly)/mere vidunderlig(t)

Comparison, komparation, gradbøjning, Komparation, Steigerung, comparación
1. Adjectives and some advebs can be compared: small/smaller/smallest, lille/mindre/mindst
2. Comparison has 3 forms: 
    a. positive:        beautiful(ly),          small,      good 
    b. comparative: more beautiful(ly), smaller,   better  
    c. superlative:    most beautiful(ly), smallest,  best

Complements, prædikativer, omsagnsled, Prädikativen
1. Subject complement: the house is red; huset er rødt
2. Object complement: he painted the house red; han malede huset rødt

Complex sentence, helsætning, Satzgefüge, frase
A complete meaning consisting of a main clause(MC) plus one or more subordinate clauses(SC):
he will come tomorrow (MC)
he says (MC) that he will come (SC) when he can (SC)

Complex verb phrase, sammensat verballed/udsagnsled, mehrteiliges Prädikat
Any verb phrase (more than one word) and phrases containing modals:  he has gone, han er gået, she is singing,
hun står og synger, she has been left alone, hun er blevet efterladt, he can hop and run, han kan hoppe og løbe
Equal to periphrasis. Compare Verb phrase

Compound sentence, sideordnede sætninger, nebenordnende Sätze
A sentence containing one or more coordinate sentences: he travelled to Norway and stayed there forever

Compound-complex sentence, Periode
Two or more main clauses and one or more subordinating clauses:
he travelled to Norway and stayed there (compound) while I stayed in Denmark (complex)



Conjunctions, konjunktioner, bindeord, Konjunktionen, Bindewörter, conjunciones
1. Coordinating are: and, or, but: the man and the woman, manden og konen, the boy or the girl, drengen eller pigen
2. Subordinating are the first word in a subordinate clauses: that, when, if, etc. I can see that he is not here, when he comes

Consonants, konsonanter, medlyde, Konsonanten, Mitlaute, consonantes
b, p, g, k, d, t, l, r, s etc.

Constituents, (sætnings)led, Satzglieder, partes/miembros (de la oración)
The 5 constituents (elements/members) of structure are:
1. Predicator (Verb)
2. Subject
3. Objects
4. Complements
5. Adverbial
Realized by a phrase, finite clause or a non-finite clause

Definite, betstemt, bestimmt, determinado
See Articles

Direct object, direkte objekt, genstandsled, Akkusativobjekt, complemento directo
1. The element of the clause that is acted upon by a transitive verb
2. Consists of a noun/pronoun or a phrase: I know him, jeg kender ham, he ate a light meal, han spise et let måltid

Elements, constituents, members, (sætnings)led, Satzglieder, partes/miembros (de la oración)
See Constituents

Ellipsis, Elliptisk sætning, sætningsemne, Ellipse, elipsis
A sentence which has omitted some words, often the subject: go! (you must go), gå!

Finite clause, Sætning (med bøjet verbal)
A clause containing a finite predicator: I saw the girl (1) who was (2) walking in the street

Finite verb, bøjet verbum/udsagnsord, Finitum, finito
An inflected/conjugated verb in person/tense and which requires a subject: he runs, han løber, she said, hun sagde

Future tense, futurum, fremtid, Futur, Zukunft, futuro
What will happen in the future, will/shall, vil/skal + infinitive: I shall go tomorrow, jeg vil rejse i morgen

Gender, køn, Genus, Geschlecht, género
1. English has only the common gender: a man, a girl, a child
2. Danish has two genders, common and neuter: en mand, en pige, et barn
3. German has three genders, masculine, feminine and neuter: der Mann, die Frau, das Mädchen

Gerund, gerundium, verbalsubstantiv, Nomen Acti, Verbalsubstantiv, gerundio
1. In English the ing-form of a verb is equal to the present partiple but used differently
2. Used as a noun: smoking not allowed, all my drawings
3. In Danish it is not used very often: en skrigen og en råben

Genitive, genitiv, ejefald, Genitiv(objekt), Wesfall, genitivo
1. A case for nouns and pronouns which indicates possession: the man's hat (= the man has a hat), it is his hat, husets tag
2. Can also be expressed by a prepositional phrase: the roof of the house, taget på huset

Imperative, imperativ, bydemåde, Imperativ, Befehlsform, imperativo
A form that expresses a command and is the base form of the verb: go!, gå! run!, løb, eat!, spis!

Indefinite, ubestemt, unbestimmt, indefinido
See Articles

Indicative, indikativ, fremsættende måde/form, Indikativ, Wirklichkeitsform, indicativo
A clause in which the verb denotes a fact: she will come tomorrow, hun kommer imorgen

Indirect object, indirekte objekt, hensynsled, Dativobjekt, complimento indirecto
1. Is the recipient (a person) of the direct object: I gave her an apple, jeg gav hende et æble
2. Can also be expressed by a prepositional phrase: I gave the apple to her, jeg gav æblet til hende

Infinite verb, ikke-bøjet verbum/udsagnsord, Infinitum, 
The form of a verb that does not require a subject, and which is NOT conjugated in tenses: 
1. infinitive: go, gå 
2. participles: he has gone, han er gået, a smiling girl, en smilende pige 
3. gerund: he is going

Infinitive, infinitiv, navnemåde/form, Infinitiv, Nennform, Grundform, infinitivo
1. "to"/"at" can be added to the infinitive: to run, at løbe, to go, at gå
2. may have the function as a noun (subject/object): I want to go now, jeg ønsker at gå nu, I saw him go, jeg så ham gå
3. in a verb phrase without "to"/"at": he must go now, han skal gå nu

Inflection, bøjning, Beugung, Flexion, declinación, conjugación
Inflection is the common term for declension and conjugation
1. Nouns are inflected in genitive and plural: house/houses, man/men, hus/huse, mand/mænd, boy/boy's, dreng/drengens
2. a. Verbs are inflected in tenses: I eat/ate/have eaten, jeg spiser/spiste/har spist
    b. Verbs are in English inflected in the 3. person singular present tense: I run, he runs; not in Danish all persons are equal: jeg/han løber
3. Adjectives are sometimes inflected in Danish: en stor dreng, den store dreng, de store drenge

Interjections, interjektioner, udråbsord, Interjektionen, Ausrufewörter, interjección
Small uninflected words: ah, oops, elas, ak, av, hov

Intransitive, intransitiv, genstandsløs, intransitiv, nicht zielend, intransitivo
Verbs which cannot have an object: go/sit/lie, gå/sidde/ligge

Inversion, omvendt ordstilling, Gegenstellung, inversión (del sujeto)
1. When the subject is placed after the finite verb: when will he come?, never have I seen such a beautiful girl
2. Only main clauses can have inversion: hvornår kommer han?, nu kommer han, hvis han kommer går jeg

Irregular verbs, uregelmæssige verber/udsagnsord, unregelmässigen Verben, verbos irregulares
Verbs which are not conjugated in a regular way: be-am/are/is/was, go-went/gone

Main clause, hovedsætning, Hauptsatz, oración principal, proposición principal
1. An independent clause that is not subordinate to any other and it can stand alone: 
    I saw her in the bus yesterday, jeg så hende i bussen igår
2. In Danish the main clause can have inversion: han kommer nu, nu kommer han, he is coming now

Members (of the sentence), (sætnings)led, Satzglieder, partes/miembros (de la oración)
See Constituents

Mood, modus, måde, Modus, Aussageweise, modo
1. Indicative
2. Subjunctive
3. Imperative

Non-finite clause, Sætning (med ubøjet verbal)

Nouns, substantiver, navneord, Substantive, Hauptwörter, su(b)stantivo
The name of persons and things which can have an article: a/the man/dog/house/love

Noun clause, navneagtig ledsætning
A clause which acts like a noun and starting with that/if/whether: I don't know whether he will come

Noun phrase, navneordsgruppe/syntagme
A group of words functioning like a noun: the old man in the house is dead, den gamle mand i huset er død

Number, tal, Numerus, Zahl, número
1. Singular
2. Plural

Numerals, numeralier, talord, Zahlwörter, numerales
1. Cardinal numbers: one, two, three etc., en, to, tre etc.
2. Ordinal numbers: first, second, third etc., første, anden, tredie etc.

Objects, objekter, genstandsled, Objekte, Ergänzungen, objetos, complementos
1. Direct object
2. Indirect object

Participles, participier, tillægsmåder, Partizipien, participios
1. Present participle
2. Past participle

Passive voice, passiv, lideform, Passiv, Leideform, voz pasiva
1. A clause in which the element acting upon is the subject: he is often seen, han ses ofte
2. The verb must be transitive
3. The acting element is expressed by a prepositional hrase: he is seen by me, han ses af mig
    or it may be omitted: he is seen, han ses
4. Can be transformed into the active voice: he is seen by me - I see him, han ses af mig - jeg ser ham
Compare the active voice

Past participle, perfektum participium, kort tillægsmåde, Perfektpartizip, participio perfecto
A form of the verb which is used  
1. in the compound tenses: he has read the book, han har læst bogen
2. used as an adjective in Danish: den læste bog

Past perfect, pluskvamperfektum, før datid, Plusquamperfekt, vollendete Vergangenheit, pluscuamperfecto
A compound tense used in the past: he had gone, han var gået

Past tense, imperfektum, datid, Präteritum, Imperfekt, Vergangenheit, pretérito, imperfecto
A tense describing what has happened in the past: I saw her yesterday; jeg så hende igår.

Periphrasis, verbalperifrase/omskrivning
Consists of a finite and an infinite verb and the sense of the finite verb has changed into a word of  tense, modal or aspect.
Equal to a complex verb phrase

Person, person, Person, persona
                Singular                   Plural
1. person: I; jeg                        we; vi
2. person: you; du                     you; jer
3. person: he/she/it                    they
                han/hende/den/det     de

Phrases, syntagmer, ordgrupper, Wordgruppen, sintagmas
Units between a word and a clause, containg more than one word and NO finite verb
1. Noun phrase
2. Adjective phrase
3. Verb phrase
4. Adverb phrase
5. Prepositional phrase

Plural, pluralis, flertal, Pluralis, Mehrzahl, plural
A form denoting more than one and applies to:
1. Nouns: boy/boys, dreng/drenge, man/men, mand/mænd
2. Pronouns: we, you, they, vi, I, dem
3. Verbs in some languages, German: wir/sie gehen, Spanish: vamos, vais, van

Positive, positiv, grundform
See Comparison

Predicate, prædikatsdel, Prädikatsverband
All parts of a sentence which is not the subject: the old man wants to see his new house

Predicative, prædikativ, prädikativ, predicado
A term used for adjectives when they are placed after the verb (see attributive): the girl was very young

Predicator, verb,  udsagnsord/led, verballed, Prädikat, Satzaussage, verbo
The most important element of a clause
Can consist of a single verb, verb phrase or complex verb phrase

Prefix, præfiks, forstavelse, Präfix, prefijo
An affix added in front of a word: disconnect; afbryde

Preposition, præposition, forholdsord, Präposition, Verhältnisword, preposición
Small words which can govern nouns: at, for, to, against; for, til, mod etc.: it is for me (not I); det er til mig 

Prepositional Phrase, forholdsordsforbindelse, adverbial, Präpositionalgruppe
A preposition and its regimen (object) functioning like an adverb: the book is on the table, bogen er på bordet

Present participle, præsens participium, lang tillægsmåde, Präsenspartizip, participio presente
1. Is in English the ing-form of a verb that is equal to the gerund but used differently
2. Used as a verb to form the progressive form: he is running, the girl is smiling
3. Used as an adjective: the smiling girl
4. In Danish it is used as an adjective, without inflection: en smilende pige, et smilende barn

Present perfect, perfektum, før nutid, Perfekt, perfecto
A compound tense used in the present: he has gone/eaten, han er gået, han har spist

Present tense, præsens, nutid, Präsens, Gegenwart, presente
A tense describing the general, the timeless, always happening: I go to school every day, jeg går i skole hver dag

Progressive, continuous form, udvidet form
A tense or aspect (durative) describing what is happening right now: I am eating
The form does not exist in Danish and the present tense is used instead: jeg spiser
or a complex verb phrase: jeg sidder og spiser

Pronouns, pronominer, stedord, pronombres
1. Personal pronouns: 
     a. Subject forms: I, you, he, she, we, they
     b. Object forms: me, you, him, her, our, them
2. Possessive pronouns: my, your, his, her, our, their; min, din, hans, hendes, vores, deres
3. Demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, those; denne, disse
4. Relative pronouns: which, who, that; som, der
5. Indefinite pronouns: some, any, nobody, all; nogle, ingen, alle
6. Reflexive pronouns: myself, himself etc.; mig, dig, sig, ham, hende etc.
7. Interrogative pronouns: what, who, whose; havd, hvem, hvis etc.

Reciprocal, reciprok, reziprok
Expressing a mutual action in plural with a cross reference: each other, one another; hinanden, hverandre
they (he and she) wash each other (he washes she and she washes him); de vasker hinanden
Contrasted with reflexive: they wash themselves; de vasker sig

Reflexive, refleksiv, tilbagevisende
Expressing an action where the subject and object is the same person: he washes himself; han vasker sig
Compare also Reciprocal

Relative clause, relativsætning
See Adjective clause

Relative pronoun, relativ pronomen, henførende stedord, Relativpronomen, bezügliches Fürwort
See Pronouns

Sentences, sætninger, Sätze
1. Simpel sentence
2. Compound sentence
3. Complex sentence
4. Compound-complex sentence
5. Ellipsis

Simpel Sentence, Helsætning, --, --
Consist of only main clause: I don't know the man in the red car

Singular, singularis, ental, Singularis, Einzahl, singular
A form denoting only one and applies to:
1. Nouns: boy, dreng, a piece of paper, et stykke papir
2. Pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, jeg, du, han, hun, den, det
3. Verbs in some languages, German: ich gehe, du gehst er geht, Spanish: voy, vas, va

Subject, subjekt, grundled, Subjekt, Satzgegenstand, sujeto
1. The element of the clause that is acting
2. Consists of a noun/pronoun or a phrase: I know him, jeg kender ham, the old man lives here, den gamle mand bor her

Subjunctive, konjunktiv, ønskemåde, Konjunktiv, Möglichkeitsform, subjuntivo
A clause in which the verb denotes a wish or hypothesis: Good save the Queen, Gud bevare dronningen

Subordinate clause, ledsætning, bisætning, Gliedsatz, Nebensatz, oración subordenada
The different subordinate clauses are:
a. noun clause: I don't know if/whether he has come (SC)
b. adjective clause (relative clause): I know the man who lives here
c. adverb clause: he will come if/when he can

Substantives, substantiver, navneord, Substantive, Hauptwörter, substantivos
See Nouns

Suffix, suffiks, efterstavelse, Suffix, sufijo
An affix added to the end of a word: book-books, look-looked; pige-pigen

Superlative, superlativ, højeste grad, 3. grad, Superlativ, Höchststufe, superlativo
Comparison af adjectives and some adverbs: biggest/størst, least/mindst, most wonderful(ly)/mest vidunderlig(t)

Syntaxis, syntaks, ordstilling, Syntax, sintaxis
The arrangement of words and elements in senteses, clauses and phrases.

Tenses, tempus, tider, Tempus, Zeit, tiempo
1. Present tense
2. Past tense
3. Future tense
4. Progressive
5. Present perfect
6. Past perfect

Transitive, transitiv, tager genstandsled, transitiv, zielend, transitivo
Verbs which can have an object: I buy a book

Verb, udsagnsord, verbum, Verb, verbo
A verb denotes a process, action or state: go, run, be, say
See also Predicator

Verb phrase, verballed, udsagnsled
1. One or more verbs functioning as one verb: 
    he went, he has gone, she is singing, han gik, er gået
    she has been left alone, hun er blevet efterladt, he can hop and run, han kan hoppe og løbe
2. The first verb is the finite one and can be either a full verb (lexical verb) or an aux. verb: 
    I saw (full), I have (aux.) seen: jeg så, jeg har set
3. The head of the phrase is the lexical verb.
Compare Complex verb phrase

Verbs, verber, udsagnsord, Verben, verbos
Different kinds of verbs:
1. Transitive verbs (can have an object): read a book, write a letter
2. Intransitive verbs (cannot have an object): stand, sit, lay
3. Copula verbs: be, is called
4. Auxiliary verbs: be, have, shall, will, get
5. Modal verbs: can, may, must

Vowels, vokaler, selvlyde, Vokale, Selbstlaute, vocales
English: a, e, i, o, u
Danish: a, e, i, o, u, y, æ, ø, å