11+ English glossary: literary and grammar terms explained

Published 24 October 2026 by 11+ Texts

How should my child use this glossary?

Learn a few terms at a time, then hunt for examples in whatever your child is reading. In a comprehension answer, naming a term only earns marks when it is followed by a quotation and an explanation of its effect. Grammar terms follow the national curriculum for English at Key Stage 2.

What do the key 11+ English terms mean?

Alliteration

Words close together that start with the same sound. Example: The slippery snake slid silently.

Onomatopoeia

A word that sounds like the noise it describes. Example: The fire crackled and the kettle hissed.

Simile

A comparison using “like” or “as”. Example: The lake was as still as glass.

Metaphor

A comparison that says one thing is another, without “like” or “as”. Example: The playground was a battlefield.

Personification

Giving human actions or feelings to something that isn't human. Example: The wind whispered through the trees.

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration for effect. Example: I've told you a million times.

Imagery

Descriptive language that helps the reader picture a scene. Example: Golden light spilled across the frosty field.

Sensory language

Words that appeal to the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Example: The bread smelt warm and the crust crunched.

Repetition

Repeating a word or phrase to emphasise it. Example: She waited, and waited, and waited.

Rhetorical question

A question asked for effect, not because the writer expects an answer. Example: Who could resist such a treat?

Emotive language

Words chosen to make the reader feel a strong emotion. Example: The tiny, shivering kitten was abandoned.

Atmosphere

The feeling or mood a writer creates in a place or scene. Example: Creaking floorboards and flickering candles build a tense atmosphere.

Tone

The writer's or narrator's attitude, such as playful, serious or sarcastic. Example: “Oh, wonderful, more rain,” she said, in a sarcastic tone.

Theme

A big idea a story explores, such as friendship, greed or growing up. Example: A main theme of a story about a lost dog finding home might be belonging.

Narrator

The voice telling the story. Example: A story can be told by a character or by an outside voice.

First person

Narration using “I” or “we”, by a character in the story. Example: I opened the door and gasped.

Third person

Narration using “he”, “she” or “they”, by a voice outside the story. Example: She opened the door and gasped.

Dialogue

The words characters say to each other, usually in inverted commas. Example: “Are you coming?” asked Sam.

Inference

Working out something the writer suggests but doesn't say directly, using clues. Example: “Her hands shook” lets us infer that she was nervous.

Retrieval

Finding information that is stated directly in the text. Example: Question: what colour was the door? The text says it was red.

Evidence

Words from the text that support your answer. Example: “He slammed the door” is evidence that he was angry.

Quotation

Words copied exactly from the text, inside quotation marks. Example: The writer describes the sea as “grey and restless”.

Context

The words and sentences around a word, which help you work out its meaning. Example: In “the parched, cracked earth”, the context suggests parched means very dry.

Synonym

A word with the same or a similar meaning. Example: Happy and cheerful are synonyms.

Antonym

A word with the opposite meaning. Example: Ancient and modern are antonyms.

Prefix

Letters added to the start of a word to change its meaning. Example: un- in unkind; mis- in misread.

Suffix

Letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning or word class. Example: -less in fearless; -ly in quickly.

Root word

The basic word that prefixes and suffixes are added to. Example: Help is the root of helpful and unhelpful.

Noun

A word for a person, place, thing or idea. Example: girl, London, kettle, courage

Verb

A word for an action or a state of being. Example: run, think, is, became

Adjective

A word that describes a noun. Example: a gloomy cave

Adverb

A word that adds detail to a verb, adjective or other adverb, often about how, when or where. Example: She crept silently.

Main clause

A group of words with a subject and a verb that makes sense on its own as a sentence. Example: The dog barked.

Subordinate clause

A clause that adds information but doesn't make sense on its own. Example: The dog barked because the postman arrived.

Conjunction

A word that joins words or clauses. Example: and, but, because, although, when

Where can I see these terms in action?

Try our guide to similes, metaphors and personification, or one of the book reading guides, which use real extracts from classic novels.