Question

There is a certain grammar to the genetic code, or rules to follow so that the message can be effectively translated from DNA into functional protein.

Codons are
base "words" that code for specific amino acids. They are

and never

the words.

Answer 1

It looks like you’re filling in a sentence about the “grammar” of the genetic code. A clear completion is:

"Codons are three‑base 'words' that code for specific amino acids. They are read consecutively in a fixed reading frame (non‑overlapping and commaless) and never overlap."

A bit more detail about the rules of that grammar:
- Triplet rule: each codon is 3 nucleotides long.
- Non‑overlapping: codons are read one after another with no shared bases.
- Commaless/continuous: there are no punctuation marks — the sequence is read continuously in the chosen frame.
- Unambiguous (each codon specifies at most one amino acid) but degenerate/redundant (most amino acids are encoded by more than one codon).
- Reading frame matters: a shift changes every subsequent codon.
- Start and stop codons define where translation begins and ends.
- The code is nearly universal with a few organism-specific exceptions.

If you meant a different wording for the blanks, tell me which blanks you want to fill and I’ll tailor it.