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Ken Ward's Writing Pages contact: Ken Ward
Writing: Parts of Speech
Main Page: Writing Contents
Page Contents
Parts of Speech .................................................................................................................. 5
Nouns................................................................................................................................ 5
Common and Proper Nouns ........................................................................................... 6
Identifying Nouns .......................................................................................................... 6
Plurals of Acronyms, Letters and Numbers .................................................................... 8
Abstract and Concrete Nouns ........................................................................................ 9
Nominalizations .......................................................................................................... 10
General and Specific Nouns......................................................................................... 11
Countable and Uncountable Nouns (Mass Nouns) ....................................................... 12
Collective Nouns (Group Nouns) ................................................................................. 13
Quantity Nouns ........................................................................................................... 14
Pronouns ......................................................................................................................... 15
Why Pronouns ............................................................................................................. 15
Identifying Pronouns ................................................................................................... 15
Types of Pronoun ........................................................................................................ 16
Personal Pronouns ....................................................................................................... 16
Relative Pronouns ....................................................................................................... 16
Restricting and Non-Restricting Clauses ...................................................................... 17
Example Sentences With Relative Pronouns -Restricting and Non-Restricting ............ 18
Indefinite Pronouns ..................................................................................................... 18
Demonstrative Pronouns .............................................................................................. 20
Possessive Pronouns .................................................................................................... 21
Interrogative Pronouns ................................................................................................ 21
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns ................................................................................ 21
Subjects, Objects and Predicates ...................................................................................... 21
Subjects and Predicates ............................................................................................... 21
Objects ........................................................................................................................ 22
Verbs .............................................................................................................................. 23
Identifying Verbs......................................................................................................... 23
Parts of Verbs .............................................................................................................. 24
Auxiliary Verbs ........................................................................................................... 25
Verb Phrases ............................................................................................................... 25
Verb Tenses ................................................................................................................ 25
Present Tense .............................................................................................................. 25
Past Tense ................................................................................................................... 27
Future .......................................................................................................................... 28
Linking Verbs ............................................................................................................. 29
Active and Passive Voice ............................................................................................ 29
Active or Passive - More. ............................................................................................ 31
Examples of Passive Voice .......................................................................................... 31
Passive and Time ......................................................................................................... 33
Adjectives ....................................................................................................................... 33
Descriptive Adjectives ................................................................................................. 34
Proper Adjectives ........................................................................................................ 35
Possessive Adjectives .................................................................................................. 35
Numerical Adjectives .................................................................................................. 35
Demonstrative Adjectives ............................................................................................ 35
Relative Adjectives...................................................................................................... 35
Interrogative and Exclamatory Adjectives ................................................................... 36
Indefinite Adjectives ................................................................................................... 36
Comparison of Adjectives ........................................................................................... 36
Attributive and Predicative Use ................................................................................... 37
Determiners ..................................................................................................................... 38
Articles ........................................................................................................................ 38
Possessive Adjectives .................................................................................................. 38
Demonstrative Adjectives ............................................................................................ 38
Interrogative Adjectives............................................................................................... 38
Quantifiers .................................................................................................................. 38
Adverbs ........................................................................................................................... 38
Adverbs of Manner ...................................................................................................... 39
Adverbs of Place ......................................................................................................... 39
Adverbs of Time ......................................................................................................... 39
Adverbs of Degree....................................................................................................... 40
Linking Adverbs (or conjunctive adverbs) ................................................................... 40
Stance.......................................................................................................................... 41
Adding in Positive and Negative Sentences ................................................................. 41
Prepositional Adverbs (or Particles)............................................................................. 41
Conjunctions ................................................................................................................... 42
Coordinating Conjunctions .......................................................................................... 42
Subordinating Conjunctions......................................................................................... 43
Double Conjunctions (Correlatives) ............................................................................. 44
Prepositions ..................................................................................................................... 45
Simple Prepositions ..................................................................................................... 45
Complex Prepositions .................................................................................................. 46
Phrasal Verbs and Prepositional Verbs ............................................................................ 50
Phrasal Verbs .............................................................................................................. 51
Prepositional Verbs ..................................................................................................... 52
Comparison of Phrasal Verbs and Prepositional Verbs ................................................ 53
Pro-forms ........................................................................................................................ 54
Pro-nouns .................................................................................................................... 54
Pro-verbs ..................................................................................................................... 54
Pro-adjectives .............................................................................................................. 55
Pro-adverbs ................................................................................................................. 55
Other pro-forms ........................................................................................................... 55
The Substitution Test....................................................................................................... 55
Nouns .......................................................................................................................... 56
Pronouns ..................................................................................................................... 56
Verbs ........................................................................................................................... 56
Adjectives ................................................................................................................... 56
Conjunctions ............................................................................................................... 56
Parts of Speech
If you ask someone what part of speech a given word is, they cannot answer without
knowing some context for the word. A word, such as running – that is the word found
in the dictionary and spelt r-u-n-n-i-n-g – can have many functions in a sentence. For
instance:
The running man was late for work. (adjective)
Running is good for the body. (noun)
I was running for the bus when I saw her. (present participle)
Even dyed in the wool conjunctions such as and can function in a sentence as a
different part of speech. In the sentence below, it functions as a noun:
The word, and, is a conjunction.
In addition, different authorities might differ on the part of speech of a word in a
sentence. For instance:
My cat is meowing.
Here, the word, my, could be:
a personal pronoun
a possessive pronoun
an adjective
a determiner
Fortunately, it is all of these. And naming the part of speech does not matter. At least,
it doesn't matter as much as our being able to figure out the functions of a word in a
sentence, and understand how it works in that sentence. However, in modern grammar
we might not call the word, my, an adjective, although it is an adjective in traditional
grammar (and it still modifies the word cat).
Nouns
A noun is the name of a person, a place, a thing or an idea. Sometimes a noun is the
name of an action.
person man, woman, child
place ocean, desert, wood, farm
thing cabbage, hammer,
idea hope, plan, memory
action intention, thinking, running
Common and Proper Nouns
Common nouns describe groups or members of groups; whereas, proper nouns
identify a unique example. Proper names are usually capitalised.
Common Noun Proper Noun
man Tom
aircraft Tiger Moth
religion Christianity
entertainers The Beatles
nation England
In English, we capitalize the days of the week and the months, but not the seasons
(winter, spring, summer and autumn). (Although in American English, we capitalize
them—Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn).
Identifying Nouns
Proper nouns are easy to identify because they are the names of particular people or
things. For instance, Rob, Betty, Lorrain.
Common nouns have the following properties:
They can be preceded by some determiners.
They sometimes have plurals.
They can have a possessive case.
Determiners
Common nouns can be preceded by determiners: a, the, some, a few, my, ...
If a word is a common noun, then the following sentence makes sense when we insert
that word:
My [insert noun] (is/are here).
For instance, house is a noun, so:
My house is here,
makes sense.
The word happy, however, isn't a noun, so:
My happy is here,
does not make sense. [In speech, we might here, “My bad”, etc, but this isn’t standard
English]
Note on Using the Tests
Most tests show whether a word could be a noun - sometimes. They do not indicate
the word is a noun in the given sentence. For instance,
The delicate and time-consuming work is important.
Using our test on ‘work’:
My work is here.
makes sense. So work can be a noun. If we remember that ‘The’ is a determiner, then
we see work is preceded by a determiner (and some adjectives)
The [delicate and time-consuming] work is important.
so work is clearly a noun in our sentence. Alternatively, we can apply our test with
my in the sentence:
My [delicate and time-consuming] work is important. showing that work is a noun in the given sentence.
In this sentence:
They work till they drop.
We cannot precede the word work with my in the sentence:
My work till they drop.
Therefore, work isn't a noun in this sentence.
Examples of Nouns and Non-Nouns
Here are some examples of applying the test on nouns and non-nouns:
Nouns Non-Nouns
My cat is here My entertaining is
here
My bread is here
My starchy is here
My principal is
here My quickly is here
My dollars are
here My full is here
My envelope is
here
My exceptional is
here
Plurals Nouns often have plurals; whereas other parts of speech do not. So if a word has a
plural, it is a noun. Uncountable Nouns, however, do not have plurals. A word is
always a noun if it has a plural, but if it does not have a plural, it may be an
uncountable noun.
Singular Plural
cat cats
man men
fish fishes
formula formulae
MP (Member of
Parliament) MPs
Plurals of Acronyms, Letters and Numbers
Nowadays, in Standard English style, we do not normally write acronyms with
periods. So we write the acronym, ‘M.P.’ (Member of Parliament) as ‘MP’. (But using
the periods isn’t wrong, just old fashioned).
We make the plural of MP by adding an s —MPs. However, if we write the periods,
then apostrophe s is used—M.P.'s. The 's plural is sometimes used when confusion
might result—
Dot the i's and cross the t's,
1's and 2's Possession We can check whether a word is a noun, by asking whether it has a possessive form.
For instance:
Noun Possessive Form
dog the dog's dinner.
Charles Charles' dinner.
yesterday yesterday's error.
We indicate possession by adding the apostrophe (') s. If Mary is the owner of the
book we write -- Mary's book. When the word for the owner ends in s anyway, we
would normally add only an apostrophe at the end of the word. So we write and say
the boys' school. However, especially with proper names, we add the apostrophe s
when sound requires it—Charles's book, Odysseus's Quest. But ... if this would mean
we end up saying a sound like "iz-iz", we do not add the final s. So if the owner of the
book is Mr Bridges, we write and say Mr Bridges' book (without an s after the
apostrophe).
Notes: In older English, Charles' book and Odysseus' Quest would
have been correct, although almost everyone would have said
Charles's book, although some might have tried to say Odysseus' Quest
(because it sounds more literary).
The apostrophe is not used with possessive pronouns -- its, yours, ours.
The apostrophe is sometimes called a mark of elision to indicate some
letters have been omitted -- it's going (it is going), it'll go fine (it will
go fine), o’er the sea (over the sea).
Abstract and Concrete Nouns
What are concrete and abstract nouns? In grammar, it is often said:
A concrete noun names something you can see or touch. They name
people, objects, animals and places. Abstract nouns name things you
cannot see, touch, etc. They name qualities, ideas, states of mind and events
and actions.
A thoughtful reader might object and say:
I saw Mr Jones take a walk with her dog.
I saw the record-breaking jump on tv.
I can hear the intelligence in her words.
The embarrassment was obvious [clearly seen]. Actually, abstract nouns are nouns that name things that we cannot see or feel. For
instance, luck, freedom and justice are intangible (You cannot put them into a bucket,
or bottle them!)
With some nouns, we might experience initial doubt whether they are abstract or not.
But after careful thought, we realize we cannot see (or touch) 'a walk' (or any other
activity)—we see a series of actions that we infer as a walk. We cannot perceive
'intelligence' (or other mental activity)—we infer it— and we cannot perceive
'embarrassment' (or other emotions)—we infer it, perhaps from a situation, red face,
body position, etc.
Examples of Concrete and Abstract Nouns Concrete nouns are perceivable by the senses.
Concrete Nouns
People Tom, woman, man, doctor,
policeman,
Objects
turnip, wind, bed, test-tube,
chair, basket, atom, dna, cell,
tree
Animals puppy, lion, animal, germ,
viruse,
Places England, country, island,
mountain, lake
Abstract nouns are not perceivable by the senses. For instance, we can infer that a
person is joyful, but we cannot perceive joy with the senses. The word joy is therefore
an abstract noun.
Abstract Nouns
Qualities
intelligence, beauty, ugliness,
kindness, strength,
vulnerability, truth, heat,
Ideas
humanity, freedom,
abstraction, energy, force,
luck, justice, injustice,
misfortune, grammar,
calculus, ideas, disease, (the
common) cold,
States of
Mind
love, hate, fear, anger,
imagination, courage,
loneliness, happiness, sadness,
bravery, cowardice,
embarrassment,
joy, confidence, bitterness,
grief, boredom, cheerfulness,
cognition, depression, dream,
Actions
and
Events
walk, sleep, jump, explosion,
journey, childhood, progress,
growth, year, day, week,
Tuesday, March, war, history,
The classes above are not exclusive. So a word, such as day, could be an action
(series of actions) or event, or an idea—but, in any case, it is an abstract noun.
Nominalizations
Nominalizations are nouns which has been made from another part of speech, such as
verbs, adjectives or adverbs. They are abstract nouns.
Word Example Nominalization
To commence (verb) The commencement of the work has
occured.
To imply (verb) The implications were important.
To object (verb) The visitor made an objection.
To delay (verb) The delay was unacceptable.
acceptable (adjective) We cannot assume the acceptability of
the proposal.
Impossible (adjective) The imputed impossibility was not a
deterrence.
Nominalizations used to summarize Previous Ideas The nominalizations are shown in bold.
By excluding details, you produce an abstract idea. Therefore, an
abstraction has fewer details than the original.
He campaigned against violent behaviour on the streets. He would not
tolerate street violence.
They selected the important books. This selection was controversial.
Nominalizations naming the Verb's Subject or Object Nominalizations can be used to replace a wordy subject or object. In the sentences
below, the subjects or objects are in italic, and the nominalizations in bold.
I was wondering about what they concluded.
I was wondering about their conclusions.
He inferred a number of things about the new substance. What he had
inferred, however, was invalid.
He inferred a number of things about the new substance. However, his
inferences were invalid. Common Ideas as Nominalizations A nominalization can be used to succinctly express a common idea, when it becomes
a short-hand way of referring to a complex idea.
For the new year, I resolved to do some new things.
I made some New Year Resolutions.
He believed that individuals should be free to inspect what
organizations held about them on computer.
He believed in freedom of information.
They objected to women being allowed to ask doctors to abort their
foetuses, for non-medical reasons.
They objected to abortion on demand.
General and Specific Nouns
A general noun or expression can be concrete or abstract.
General and Specific Nouns
General More
Specific
Even More
Specific
animal carnivore cat, lion, tiger
furniture table, chair,
sofa, divan
food
meat,
vegetables,
fruit, fish,
beef, turnip,
apple, cod
subjects
mathematics,
English,
science
calculus,
grammar,
chemistry
sport
running,
swimming,
football,
cricket
sprint, back-
stroke, soccer,
bowling or
batting
business shop
bakery,
grocers,
supermarket
humanity people men, women,
children
mind cognition,
affect
thinking,
remembering,
loving, hating
Countable and Uncountable Nouns (Mass Nouns)
Most nouns have a plural and a singular form. For instance:
Singular Plural
man men
dog dogs
idea ideas
beach beaches
mind minds
All such nouns are countable.
Other nouns are uncountable in certain uses. For instance:
fish, bread, art, luck, greed, flour, data
We cannot use the determiner a before uncountable nouns: we can, however, use the
determiners ‘the’ and ‘some’. In American English, data is regarded as plural, but in
English it is singular:
The data is ready.
The data are ready. ( American)
We can sometimes quantify such nouns using words like:
slice, piece, bits, ounces, snippets, a brace For example:
Singular Plural
a slice of bread some slices of bread
a piece of fish some pieces of fish
an ounce of salt several ounces of salt
a snippet of
music
several snippets of
music
a book on film several books on film
Uncountable nouns are sometimes called mass nouns. We think of them as a mass.
For instance, fish is uncountable when used to refer to food, but is countable when we
think of a number of individual fish, when its plural is fish or fishes. Similarly, we
can say:
I spent the weekend watching films. When we think of watching several films. But when we think of the subject, film, we
do not use the plural. We might say:
I spent the weekend studying film. (Reading books about film or films, watching
films, etc).
Collective Nouns (Group Nouns)
Collective nouns identify groups of things. Examples are:
audience, council, jury, flock, herd
The group is considered as a unit.
The Union refuses to negotiate.
The jury is hung.
The staff has objected.
The team plays well.
The flock turned and flew away
The herd is about to stampede.
Collective nouns are normally singular, except when this seems obviously wrong.
Considered as a
unit.
Considered as a
number of
Individuals
The audience is
quiet
The audience are
clapping their
hands.
The flock of birds
is heading North.
Now, the flock of
birds are competing
for food.
The team is
working together.
The team are
squabbling.
The family is
going to the cinema.
The family are at
loggerheads.
For instance:
The audience is clappings its hand. is obviously wrong.
Quantity Nouns
In the following sentences, the quantity nouns take a plural verb:
A number of books are on the table. (It is the books that are on the
table, not a number!)
A few people are coming today.
One half of the animals are trained.
The couple over there are available.
In the following sentences, the quantity nouns take a singular verb:
The number of applicants is small. (It is the number, not the
applicants, that are small!)
The quantity of sand is large.
The weight of the truck is ten tons.
The measure of success is profit
Where the number is definite, we use a singular verb:
The number of applicants has increased recently.
But when it is indefinite, we use a plural form:
A number of people are coming. (It isn’t a number that is coming,
but some people!)
In the following sentence, the author says a combination ... are instead of a
combination ... is.
A combination of increased physical activity and suitable weight
reducing diets are recommended for overweight/obese adults who wish
to lose weight.
Pronouns
A pronoun is a word that stands for a noun. The words, I, you and he, she or it are
pronouns.
Why Pronouns
The following sentence does not have any pronouns, so it seems repetitive:
John drove John's car to John's workplace, where John met John's
boss.
With pronouns we have:
John drove his car to his workplace, where he met his boss.
By using pronouns to stand for John, we replace four Johns with he or his. Readers
do not notice the repetition of pronouns as much as they notice the repetition of nouns,
so the sentence seems less repetitive.
Identifying Pronouns
If a word stands for a noun, then it is a pronoun. If we can substitute a noun for a word
(usually a noun preceded with a or the), and the sentence, or the clause, still makes
sense (after possibly changing the person of the verb), then that word is a pronoun. In
the following sentence:
He thinks this is true.
we can substitute a noun for he, for instance, substitute the speaker for he, and we
get:
The speaker thinks this is true.
which makes sense, and shows that the word, he, stands for a noun, and is therefore a
pronoun.
Sometimes, when we apply this test, we need to change the verb so in:
I like to watch films.
We can substitute a noun, such as the speaker, and get (after changing the verb):
The speaker likes to watch films.
showing that the word I stands for a noun.
Types of Pronoun
There are six types of pronoun.
1. personal pronouns
2. relative pronouns
3. indefinite pronouns
4. demonstrative pronouns
5. possessive pronouns
6. interrogative pronouns
7. reflexive pronouns
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns stand for nouns referring to people, places, objects and ideas.
Personal Pronouns
Singular Plural
Subject Object Possessive Subject Object Possessive
1st
Person I me my, mine we us our, ours
2nd
Person you you
your,
yours you you
your,
yours
3rd
Person
he, she,
it, who
him,
her, it
his, her,
its, whose they them
their,
theirs
Personal pronouns have a possessive form. (These are sometimes called adjectives.)
We can say:
They are our hats. Or
They are ours.
Relative Pronouns
Relative pronouns relate a noun to a clause which they introduce. They can be
defining or restricting, or non-defining and non-restricting. For instance:
The man who ate the food was hungry.
If we ask who ate the food, we find who stands for the noun phrase, the man. If we
substitute the noun phrase, the man, for who in who ate the food, the resulting
sentence, the man ate the food, makes sense. Therefore, who is a pronoun because
it passes our test. It is a relative pronoun because it relates the man to ate the
food. It defines (or at least identifies) the man we are referring too, and also
restricts the meaning of the man to the particular man who ate the food. This use is
therefore restricting.
Restricting relative pronouns do not follow a comma. The clauses with a relative
pronoun are adjectival in function: they modify a noun.
Examples of relative pronouns
that, which, who, whom, whose, when, where, and why
Restricting and Non-Restricting Clauses
A non-restricting relative pronoun follows a comma, to indicate the clause it
introduces is not essential to define the noun. (The clause should, however, be
relevant). A restricting relative pronoun does not have a comma.
The report that is most relevant is in the book.
The word that is a pronoun because it stands for the report. Substituting this in that
is most relevant, we get: the report is most relevant. As this makes sense, that passes our pronoun test.
It is a relative pronoun because it relates the report to most relevant. It defines
the report, and restricts the meaning of the word report to the particular report that is
most relevant. There is no comma between the word that and the noun phrase the
report. We cannot omit this clause because it is essential to the meaning of the
sentence - it tells us which report we are talking about.
The word that is special in that it is never preceded by a comma, and is always used
in the restricting sense. It is widely believed and taught that the word which is always
used in the non-restricting sense. There is no authority for this belief. The word
‘which’ can be used in both a restrictive and non-restrictive sense. It is true, however,
that the word ‘that’ must never be used in a non-restricting sense (and never follows a
comma):
The Smith Report, that is most relevant, is in the book.
The Smith Report, which is most relevant, is in the book. The report is defined already by the adjective, Smith, so we do not need a defining
clause. So we cannot use that.
Using which without a comma, however, is also correct:
The report which is most relevant is in the book. The word ‘which’ introduces a clause that defines and restricts the meaning of ‘the
report’—so no comma—and it relates ‘most relevant’ to ‘the report’.
It is sometimes better to write:
The report which caused the controversy that brought down the
government. Than to write:
The report that caused the controversy that brought down the
government. to avoid the "rata-tat-tat" sound of the repeating thats, but this is a question of style,
not grammar. Both are grammatically correct.
Example Sentences With Relative Pronouns -Restricting and Non-Restricting
Our friend Tom, who likes to sing in the bath, visited the concert
today.
The word who stands for the subject of the sentence, our friend Tom, and so it is a
pronoun. It is a relative pronoun because it relates Tom to likes to sing in the bath,
but it does not define, or restrict the meaning of the word Tom: the phrase, our friend
Tom, is a clear definition of the person we are referring to. Because this clause is non-
restricting, we separate it from the rest of the sentence with commas.
The place where they found the treasure was on a desert island.
The word where is a pronoun because it stands for the place. It is a relative
pronoun because it relates the place to they found the treasure. It defines and
restricts the place, so there is no comma after place.
The elephant that we saw in the circus has escaped.
The word that stands for the elephant, and is a pronoun. It relates the elephant to
we saw in the circus, and so is a relative pronoun. It tells us which particular
elephant we are referring to, so it defines and restricts the elephant. There is no
comma after elephant, because the clause is defining or restricting.
Yesterday, we planned our journey across the desert. The plan, which
is sound, will enable us to make the journey safely.
The pronoun, which, does not define the plan (We know which plan from the
previous sentence). It is therefore neither defining nor restricting. We do not begin the
clause with that here, but we begin with which, and surround the clause with
commas, showing it is not essential to understand the sentence (But it is relevant.)
The reason why they did it will never be known.
The word why is a pronoun because it stands for the reason. It relates, restricts and
defines the reason, so it is a relative pronoun. It is restrictive, so no comma.
Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite Pronouns refer to someone or something that has not been clearly
identified. The indefinite pronoun someone refers to a noun, but this noun is not
definitely identified. It means a person in general, or any person.
Indefinite Pronouns
Singular
another, anyone,
anybody, anything,
each, either, enough,
everyone, everybody,
everything, neither,
nobody, nothing, no
one, someone,
somebody,
something, sufficient
Plural both, few, many,
several
Any and Some
Any is used in negative statement and in questions. Some is used in positive
statements. Any can be singular or plural.
Are there any people here?
Yes, there are some.
No, there aren't any.
No, none have arrived.
Is anyone here?
Yes, someone is waiting.
No, there isn't anyone here.
No, no one is here. Gender Problems
These are in the third person, and so their pronouns are he, she or it. As we do not
have a gender-free, third person singular personal pronoun, we get sentences like this:
If anyone replies, ask him his name.
If all those considered are male (or in the equivalent sentence using her and her, are
all female), then this is acceptable. However, when the replies can be from either sex,
we might wish to be clearer:
If anyone replies, ask him or her his or her name. This is currently correct in standard English.
We can say, or write informally:
If anyone replies, ask them their names.
It is grammatically incorrect, because, at present, anyone is singular, and them and
their are plural. (Perhaps in the future this will be allowed). Nonetheless, when the
gender is indeterminate or mixed, we may co-opt ‘their’ to serve as a third person
gender-free singular! Nowadays, I use nearly always us ‘their’ in this context.
Sometimes we can use a plural to avoid this problem:
If there are any replies, ask them their names. That is, we say it in a different way, retaining correct grammar and good style.
Notes on Gender Free
Traditionally, he can refer to either a male or a female; however, she is always
feminine. When she is used, it definitely excludes males. However, when he is used,
it does not necessarily exclude females. It is less sexist to use he than to use she,
when both genders are referred to. Sometimes she is used in a document to refer to
both genders, but if ‘he’ is considered sexist, then so is ‘she’. It seems that ‘they’ will
replace ‘he’ and ‘she’ in the future, and, personally, this is what I write. It seems no
more intrusive to say that ‘they’ is used for the third person singular, than to say,
‘she’, or ‘he’ is used to mean both sexes. The advantage, however, is that ‘they’ is
gender free.
The following use of ‘their’, however, is definitely wrong:
Every father wants the best for their daughter. ‘Every father’ requires the pronoun ‘his’, just as ‘Every mother’ requires ‘she’.
Demonstrative Pronouns
We use the demonstrative pronouns, this, that, these and those, when pointing to
something or some things, or referring to something previously mentioned.
Examples
The pronouns this, that, these and those can be pure pronouns, or both pronouns and
determiners. As determiners, they appear before a noun, and tell us which noun we are
talking about. For example, that woman refers to a particular woman who is being
pointed out or has been mentioned earlier, or otherwise identified.
Pronoun Comment Determiner and
Pronoun
That is the woman who
pressed the button.
that is a pronoun because
it stands for 'the woman
over there'.
That woman
pressed the button.
He gave me this.
this is a pronoun because
it stands for 'the thing
here'.
He gave me this
report.
Of all the flowers in the
garden, these are the
ones I like best.
these is a pronoun because
it stands for 'the flowers
here'.
These flowers are
the ones I like best..
Can I have some of
those?
those is a pronoun
because it stands for 'the
things over there'.
I'd like those
chocolates, please.
Possessive Pronouns
mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs are possessive pronouns. They are also
personal pronouns.
Examples
The pen is my pen. The pen is mine.
Is this your hat? Is this yours?
His car is in the garage. His is in the garage.
Her money has been paid. Hers has been paid.
Can you see their book? This one is theirs.
Our time has come. Ours has come.
Interrogative Pronouns
These pronouns are part of questions:
Who was there? The interrogative pronouns are: what, which, who, whom, and whose.
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns
The following are reflexive or intensive pronouns: myself, yourself, himself,
ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
Reflexive pronouns are used when the object of the action is the subject. For instance:
I washed myself. (reflexive) The person washing and the person being washed are the same.
Intensive pronouns, as their name suggests, intensify statements:
I saw it myself.
We created it ourselves.
Subjects, Objects and Predicates
Subjects and Predicates
A simple sentence has a subject and a predicate. The subject tells us who or what the
sentence is about, and the predicate tells us about the subject. In the table below, the
simple sentences are divided into subject and predicate.
Subject Predicate
I sneezed.
Martin ate the food.
Cecile likes fish and
chips.
The man in the iron
mask was in jail.
Thinking too much makes you
miserable.
The subject of a sentence functions as a noun. A word, phrase or clause that functions
as noun can be replaced by a pronoun. This fact can sometimes help us to identify the
subject of a sentence. In the sentences above, we can replace the subject with a
pronoun, and it still makes sense (with a possible change in the person of the verb).
Another approach is to ask, Who or what before the verb, and the answer is the
subject of the sentence. For instance:
Down into the depths went the old steamer.
Ask, 'What went (down into the depths)?', and the answer is the subject: the old
steamer.
Her work on the new virus brough her instant fame.
Ask Who or what brought (her instant fame)? and we have the subject: Her
work on the new virus.
The subject does not have to come first in the sentence:
To succeed in maths (object) the student (subject) needs to study for
many years.
What is important (object) is that the scientists (subject) think it out.
Over the wall appeared a familiar face (subject).
Objects
A verb may have a direct object or an indirect object, or no object at all. Verbs that
have an object are called transitive verbs, and those which do not are called
intransitive. (See also, linking verbs).
Example Alternative Comment
The parson gave a
sermon to the
congregation.
The parson gave
the congregation a
sermon.
The thing given is a
sermon (the direct
object) and it was
given to the
congregation (the
indirect object).
Jo said it was late. (Only a direct
object)
The thing said is "it
was late", and is the
direct object.
They handed me the
papers.
They handed the
papers to me.
The thing handed over
is "the papers" (direct
object) and the indirect
object is "me".
The officer made the
cake for me.
The officer made
me a cake.
The thing made is "the
cake" (direct object)
and the receiver of this
object is "me".
(indirect object).
I gave her them. I gave them to her.
The direct object is
"them" and "her" is the
indirect object.
The indirect object can sometimes be identified because it can be preceded by to or
for. In the above examples, the indirect object is either preceded with to or for, or it
comes before the direct object.
Note: In "Can you attend to this for me?", the ‘to’ is part of the verb,
and the direct object, the thing attended to, is this. The indirect object
is ‘me’.
Verbs
Verbs have person, number, tense, voice and mood.
Identifying Verbs
A verb shows an action, or a state or condition. The verbs in the table below are in
bold.
Verbs
Example Comment
The elephant
trumpeted.
trumpeted is what
the elephant did.
The store is open. is tells us the state of
the store.
The point strikes
you at once.
strikes tells us what
the point did.
I feel good feel tells us I am in a
good condition.
She is wrong. is tells us she is in a
wrong state.
We can identify verbs in sentences by asking the question: What is (the subject) doing
(or being)?
Pronoun Test Only a verb can follow a personal pronoun (I, you, he, she, it) and make sense.
verb non-verb
I think I cognitive event
I ran I running
I sneezed I nose
I contemplated I thinker
I am I human
I feel I pain
Therefore, we can test whether a word is a verb by seeing if it makes sense when it
following I, you, he, she, it. If we replace the subject of the sentence (or clause) with a
personal pronoun and the sentence makes sense, the word following must be a verb.
For instance:
The lost boys returned home.
In the sentence, we can replace "The lost boys" with the pronoun They to get "They
returned home". Because returned follows a pronoun in the given sentence, returned
is a verb in that sentence.
In addition, we can ask "What did they do?". Here we are applying the definition of a
verb. The answer, "They returned", shows returned is the verb.
Parts of Verbs
The main parts of a verb are:
The infinitive, which is normally the to- form: to be, to have, to work, to feel,
to think. The infinitive often functions as a noun.
The present participle, which is the -ing form: being, having, working,
feeling, thinking. This is sometimes called a gerund, when it acts as a noun. It
can also act as an adjective.
The past participle, which is regularly the -ed form: been, had, worked, felt,
thought. It can function as an adjective.
Auxiliary Verbs
There are verbs that help other verbs to form verb phrases. The primary auxiliary
verbs are:
be, do and have.
In these sentences:
I am going tomorrow.
I did answer the letter.
I have eaten enough. The auxiliary verbs help other verbs to make a verb phrase.
The three main auxiliary verbs in English can also be main verbs, when they can stand
alone:
I am happy.
I did it.
I have a coat.
There are 11 other auxiliary verbs, called modal auxiliary verbs:
can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must, and ought to
and used to
These help other verbs to indicate certainty and uncertainty, and in various ways show
time.
Verb Phrases
A verb phrase is the verb part of a sentence. It can have one verb or several.
He ran.
He could have run.
The dog is being stroked by him. The words in bold above are verb phrases.
Verb Tenses
We have two verb tenses in English: present and past; the future is formed by using
auxiliary verbs. There is no future verb tense in English.
Present Tense
Simple Present The present simple is simply the present tense of the verb.
The simple present is used to indicate something that is always true, or a present state
or disposition. The following examples are statements that are always true, now,
yesterday, and in the future, so we use the present simple:
The sun rises every morning.
Animals can move.
Mathematics is the science of number.
Hydrogen is the lightest gas. Scientific truths and principles are often stated in the simple present.
The next statements are ones that are true habitually, or under certain circumstances,
but not necessarily at the time they are said:
I seek the truth.
Do you play tennis.
The army moves on the enemy.
He loses his temper. The statements may not be true at the time they are uttered. For instance, a person
might claim they play tennis, but this does not mean they are playing it at the time.
Similarly, a scientist might seek the truth, but might not be seeking it at the time the
statement is made. We use the present progressive to say what we are doing at the
moment.
The present simple is used to indicate a present state:
I feel good.
I am full.
She is happy These statements are true at the time they are uttered. In speaking of feelings we often
use the present simple to refer to the present state. (This is an exception because
normally we use the present progressive for reporting on the present.)
The simple present can be used to refer to the future:
The bus leaves in 5 minutes.
Or the past:
The car drives at me. I scream and try to avoid it. There is a screech of
brakes... This is sometimes called the historic past and is meant to dramatize the action, making
the reader think it is happening now.
Present Progressive (Present Continuous)
This is formed by using the present tense of the verb to be and the present participle.
The present progressive is used to refer to what is happening at the moment:
The sun is rising.
The birds are chirping.
Share prices are dropping.
Sometimes it is used to refer to something that is true temporarily:
I live in London, but I am living in New York (temporarily, at the
moment).
I am coughing a lot. (As I have a cold at the moment.)
She is travelling to work by horse, while here car is in the garage. Present Perfect The present perfect is formed from the present tense of have and the past participle.
The present perfect form of the verb is used to refer to something that has been
happening up to the present, but has now stopped.
I have eaten the food.
I have played sport this morning.
I have studied physics.
I have had a cold. These refer to past events which have now finished.
been and gone
Consider these sentences:
He has been to America.
He has gone to America. The first means has travelled to America and returned. The second means he has
travelled to America, but has not yet returned. These are two forms of the past
participle of the verb to go.
Present Perfect Progressive (Present Perfect Continuous)
The present perfect progressive is formed from the present tense of have, been (the
past participle of be) and the past participle of the verb. It is used to refer to something
that has been going on in the past and is still going on.
It has been snowing all day.
The road works have been going on for ages.
I have been waiting for ages.
Past Tense
Simple Past The simple past tense is formed from the past tense of the verb. For instance:
He went home.
I wrote a story.
It was late. The simple past often refers to an event which occurred at a definite time in the past.
It is also used to refer to unreal present or future time:
If I were king, then I would stay in bed till lunchtime.
If I studied harder, I would do better.
Past Progressive (Past Continuous)
The past progressive form is formed using was or were and the present participle.
This is used to refer to a past time when some state or activity was temporarily going
on.
I was eating a hamburger and listening to the radio.
They were laughing and joking when he arrived.
It is also used to refer to unreal present and future time:
I would be happier if we were making more money.
The captain said "If the ship were sinking, I would not be standing
here."
Past Perfect The past perfect is formed by using had and the past participle. It is used to refer to an
action or state that was completed before a past time. He had finished the book by the time they came.
They had completed the work before the owners returned.
The past perfect is also used to refer to the unreal past. If I had not studied hard, then I would not have passed the exam.
If you had paid, you could have gone in.
If it had not snowed, you wouldn't have been able to ski.
Past Perfect Progressive (Past Perfect Continuous)
This is formed by using had, been and the present participle.
It had been raining for some time, when the lightning started.
Most of the staff had been working hard up to lunchtime.
Only a few people had been eating in the restaurant when the manager arrived.
I had been feeling bored, when I noticed an interesting film was on the television.
The past perfect progressive refers to a state or activity that was going on before
something else in the past.
Future
There isn't a future tense of English verbs. The future can be formed in various ways,
some of which have been mentioned under the past and present tenses. Here we will
simply mention the use of the future auxiliary will. The use of shall as a future
auxiliary seems to have disappeared in English since about the 1950s. Some people,
however, think the future auxiliary will should not be used with the first person and
shall ought to be be used.
Simple Future
I will go shopping tomorrow. I'll go shopping tomorrow.
As will is contracted in speech, no one knows whether the speaker meant will or shall.
Future Progressive (Future Continuous)
Next week, I will be going shopping Next week, I'll be going shopping.
Future Perfect
By this time next week, I will have started my new job. By this time next week, I'll
have started my new job.
Future Perfect Progressive (Future Perfect Continuous) By this time next month, I'll have been working at my new job for a week.
Linking Verbs
Linking verbs join the subject of the sentence to an adverb, noun or phrase, which
describes the subject. The main linking verb is the verb to be. The linking verbs in the
table below are in bold.
Example
Richard was angry.
Sara is a scientist.
Brenda was in a pensive mood.
The scientist feels glum.
The music sounds fine.
The spy must keep out of sight.
In the examples, the verbs link the subject with a phrase that describes the subject,
rather than receives the action of the subject. The verbs are therefore linking verbs.
The phrase is called a complement, rather than an object.
Active and Passive Voice
Normally verbs (and clauses) are in active voice. The subject of the sentence is the
agent that performs the action of the verb. Sometimes clauses are in the passive voice,
where the subject receives the action of the verb, and is not the agent.
Active Passive
The dog bit the
man. The man was
bitten by the dog.
The scientists
disputed the
infrerences.
The inferences were
disputed by the
scientists.
He is stroking the
dog. The dog is being
stroked by him.
I will eat the crisps. The crisps will be
eaten by me.
The boss fired
Henry. Henry got fired.
He had had a good
time.
A good time had
been had by him.
The form of the passive is a form of the verb to be plus a past participle.
Is it Passive or Active?
When the state or condition of something is indicated by the verb to be, it is
often followed by an adjective. For instance: The cat is hungry.
When the adjective has the same form as the past participle, some confusion can
result. She is educated.
Here educated is an adjective. If we try to convert the sentence into an active voice,
we have:
They educated her.
This is not what we mean! We are not referring to an activity or process of educating,
but to her state, or one of her characteristics. The word educated is therefore an
adjective, and the sentence, She is educated, isn't passive.
The following may be confusing (they are all active):
Example Active
Voice Comment
He was tired.
tired is an
adjective. And is is
a linking verb.
The shop is closed.
A bit tricky. We do
not mean "The shop
was closed by the
shopkeeper. But,
who knows, it might
be open now".
closed is an
adjective, not part of
a verb.
She is enraged.
Again, is is a
linking verb, and
enraged is an
adjective.
The plane is
damaged. damaged is an
adjective.
Sometimes we need to know the context to be sure whether an expression is actually
passive.
Active or Passive - More.
State or Condition
When the verb to be occurs with a word in the form of a past participle and it means
the state or condition of something, it might not be passive, but might be an
adjective.
While a passive sentence can be identified by noting the presence of the verb to be
and the past participle, not all sentences having this form are in the passive voice.
The past participle form can sometimes be an adjective, not a part of a verb phrase. The shop is closed, so we cannot get any milk till tomorrow.
The word closed, which is in the form of a past participle, is an adjective, not a verb.
We are sympathetic to those who argue it is in the passive voice, but ask them to
consider the sentence: The shop is open, so we can get some milk now.
The word open is an adjective. If we use the passive in the first sentence, why not use
it in this sentence? The shop is opened, so we can get some milk now. [This is not English! No one would say
this.]
Clearly, it is not the activity of closing or opening the shop that we are referring to,
but the state of the shop - whether it is open or closed (adjectives) state.
[These questions were raised by a beginner in English as a foreign language.]
The tyres were worn.
It is difficult to convert this into a passive. For instance:
The road wore the tires.
This does not seem right. It doesn't capture the meaning of the state of the tyres. Even
more, in the following sentence:
They were lost in the woods.
If we try to convert it to an active form, it seems we would have:
They lost themselves in the woods.
Which seems a very strange thing to say, and does not sound like English.
I suggest the words worn and lost in the above sentences are really adjectives, and
the sentences aren't in the passive voice. [Controversial statement!]
Examples of Passive Voice
In the above examples, the past participle and the verb to be appear in all the
examples, except the one with got. The agent in a passive sentence may be mentioned
in a by + noun phrase. If the sentence has a to be form followed by a past participle,
you determine whether a sentence is in the passive, by asking the following questions:
Sentence Comment and Questions
He is going to town.
This sentence does not have a past
participle, so it isn't passive.
We can ask "Who is doing the going?",
and the answer is he, and he is the
subject of the sentence. The sentence
isn't in the passive.
The king was crowned
by the bishop.
The sentence has a to be form (was)
and a past participle (crowned), so it
could be passive.
Ask "Who was doing the crowning?",
and the answer is the bishop. The
bishop isn't the subject of the sentence,
so the sentence is in passive form.
The house was built.
The sentence has a to be form (was)
and a past participle (built), so it could
be passive.
Ask "Who was doing the building?",
and the answer is not mentioned in the
sentence, but we can guess it was the
builders. The subject of the sentence
isn't the builders, so the sentence is in
the passive.
It is a house designed by
Mary and built by Tom.
Supplying missing words, we have:
It is a house (that was) designed by
Mary and (that was) built by Tom.
The sentence has a form of the verb to
be, and a past participle.
Ask: Who did the designing? It was
Mary. She designed it. However, Mary
is not the subject of that (the house)
was designed.
Who did the building? It was Tom.
Also, Tom is not the subject of the
clause that was built. The sentence is
therefore in the passive voice.
The book will be
completed tomorrow.
The sentence has a to be form (be) and
a past participle (completed), so it could
be passive.
Ask "Who will be doing the
completing?", and the answer is not
mentioned in the sentence, but we can
guess an author is completing it. The
subject of the sentence isn't the author,
so the sentence is in the passive.
Tom has been there
often.
The sentence has a to be form (been)
Ask "Who was doing the being
(there)?", and the answer is Tom, the
subject of the sentence. The sentence is
in the active voice, and is in the present
perfect tense.
The story is an allegory of
justice delivered by
Angelo and embodied in
the Duke.
We see the sentence may be passive
when we add some omitted parts:
The story is an allegory of justice
(which is) delivered by Angelo and
(which is) emboided in the Duke.
So, Angelo delivered it, and the Duke
embodied it are the active forms.
Passive and Time
The table below illustrates the passive voice in the past and present tenses and in the
future.
Passive Voice and Time
Time Type Example
Present
Simple The ball is thrown.
Progressive The ball is being thrown.
Perfect The ball has been thrown.
Past
Simple The ball was thrown.
Progressive The ball was being thrown.
Perfect The ball had been thrown.
Future
Simple The ball will be thrown.
Progressive The ball will be being thrown.
Perfect The ball will have been thrown.
Adjectives
An adjective is a word that modifies or describes a noun. Sometimes adjectives
precede the noun they modify. Sometimes they follow a linking verb. For instance:
The red book was on the table. (Precedes its noun.)
The book on the table was red. (Follows the linking verb was.)
In the following sentences the adjectives modify the noun in the sense they describes
it, or say what it looks like, feels like, sounds like, etc: Some adjectives describe their noun The balloon is green.
The adjective green tells us what the balloon looks like.
The cloth felt rough.
The adjective rough tells us what the cloth felt like.
The whining noise stopped.
The adjective whining tells us what the noise sounded like. Some adjectives modify, but do not describe their nouns
The following adjectives modify the nouns, but they do not tell us how they appear to
the senses. The best computer
We cannot tell the computer is the best by using our senses directly. We need to
compare this computer with the others and make a judgment. The adjective best
modifies the noun computer but does not describe it. This is my friend
The adjective my does not describe friend by saying what the person looks like, etc.
You know that person is my friend for other reasons.
The last chocolate
The adjective last does not tell us what the chocolate looks like or tastes like. The
chocolate looks like all the others. We deduce it is the last one, because it is the only
one remaining in the box (when previously, there were more).
Descriptive Adjectives
These modify a noun and tell us what it is like, but not necessarily how it appears to
the senses. Here 'descriptive' is used in the widest sense of the word.
The following descriptive adjectives describe the noun: The flowery dress. The long train. The hairy pig. The smelly dog. The noteworthy example.
The spacious garden. The rough surface. The insipid drink. The crazy idea.
They tell us what the noun, or thing, looks like, sounds like, tastes like, feels like or
smells like.
These adjectives might look a bit like adverbs! The moor is lonely. It feels tacky. The bush is prickly.
The following are also descriptive adjectives: The last dance. The new computer. The top man. The late train.
They describe the noun, but they do not tell us what it looks like, smells like or sounds
like.
Proper Adjectives
These are derived from proper names. For instance: John's car
Australian English
Ford car
Possessive Adjectives
These show ownership: my car, your cat, our house, their ideas
In traditional grammar, these are considered adjectives; nowadays, they are usually
considered pronouns or determiners. They define the nouns, but do not describe them
(Or describe them in the widest sense of describe, whatever that means). Because they
modify nouns, we can think of them as adjectives. They also stand for nouns. For
instance, the word my stands for a noun, ‘Ken’s’—of Ken. So ‘my’ is also a pronoun.
In ‘my house’, ‘my’ also determines which house we are talking about, so it is a
determiner. In this section, we call them Possessive Adjectives, but elsewhere,
Possessive Pronouns. The point is that these words have multiple functions, and it the
function, rather than a name that is important.
Numerical Adjectives
The ordinal numbers: first, second, third, etc., are usually called adjectives: The first one. The second train. The third man.
Also, the adjectives of quality can be included here: few, many, several are adjectives.
They are unspecified numbers.
Demonstrative Adjectives
These point something out: this book that pencil, these boxes, those cats,
Like possessive adjectives, nowadays, these are considered Pronouns or Determiners.
In traditional grammar, they are demonstrative adjectives.
But when used like this: He gave me this. That is the pencil he gave me. These are her cats.
current grammar, like traditional grammar, calls them pronouns.
Relative Adjectives
Having faith is what matters most. This is the dog whose collar we found.
Interrogative and Exclamatory Adjectives
The following are examples of interrogative adjectives: Which bottle contains the medicine? What shape is the new building?
And these are exclamatory adjectives: What foolishness! What big eyes you have!
Indefinite Adjectives
The words in bold are indefinite adjectives: any person, each difficulty, another twinge
Comparison of Adjectives
Some adjectives can be compared:
Descriptive Comparative Superlative
Describing Comparing 2
things
Comparing
More Than
2 Things
good better the best
bad worse the worst
little less the least
few fewer the fewest
important more
important
the most
important
Some adjectives cannot be compared. They are in the absolute degree. Here are some
of them:
absolute impossible principal
ideal whole stationary
chief perpetual sufficient
complete main unanimous
dead enough unavoidable
devoid manifest unbroken
entire minor unique
fatal paramount universal
perfect
For instance, is someone or something is dead, they cannot be deader, or the
deadest! Such words cannot be compared because it is illogical to do so. paramount
means of the highest rank or importance. If it is the highest, nothing can be higher.
So we cannot say something is more paramount (more higher!). Similarly, it doesn't
make sense to say something is more unique. As unique means "the only one of its
kind", something cannot be more unique (If something is rarer than something else,
then the first thing isn't unique, but rare).
It is not the real world that determines whether an adjective is absolute or not, it is our
knowledge of language. For instance, engineers might make a rod which is one metre
long. Every known measure shows the length is accurate. We can say it is a perfect
metre. However, later, scientists discover better ways of measuring things and, after
all, the perfect metre is not exactly one metre long. They make another rod which is
exactly one metre long according to every known measure. We do not say the new
metre is more perfect than the old one: we say the old one wasn't really perfect.
Attributive and Predicative Use
When an adjective is placed before its noun, it is used attributively. When it follows a
linking verb, it is used predicatively. We can say: The green bush (is over there). [Attributive]
And The bush is green. [Predicative]
We can move some adjectives around, putting them before the noun or after a linking
verb, such as the verb to be.
I feel good. I am thirsty. It is late. They seem happy.
The following adjectives cannot be used predicatively: It is sheer madness. The madness is sheer.
He is the only one. The one is only.
It is the utter truth. The truth is utter.
Mathematics is his main interest. His interest is main.
The following cannot be used attributively: He was ashamed. The ashamed man.
The ship was afloat. The afloat ship.
Determiners
In modern grammar, as opposed to classical grammar, determiners sometimes have
their own part of speech, instead of being grouped with adjectives (or pronouns). They
always precede a noun. Some determiners are also other parts of speech, such as
pronouns or adjectives. The determiners mentioned below are also mentioned
elsewhere under a different class. For instance, articles are also adjectives (at least in
traditional grammar, but also because they modify nouns).
Articles
a, an, the
Possessive Adjectives
my, your, his, her, its, our, their
Demonstrative Adjectives
this, that, these and those
Interrogative Adjectives
what, which, whose
Quantifiers
many, few, several, two, half
Adverbs
An adverb is a word that describes or modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb.
The class adverb is also a home for unwanted words, which do not easily fit into the
other categories. Therefore, the words in this class are not a uniform group.
Sometimes adverbs modify pronouns:
Almost everyone gave something. Nearly all of them came. Naturally, some will argue that these words are adjectives. Of course, they function
somewhat as adjectives in these sentences. Yet regular adjectives cannot modify these
words.
Adverbs of Manner
These adverbs tell us how something is done. They answer the question, "How".
quickly, slowly, elegantly, rationally, thoughtfully, clumsily, expertly
For example:
He ran fast. How did he run? The word fast tells us how he ran and is
an adverb. And
He thoughtfully read the book. How did he read the book? thoughtfully
tells us how he read the book and is an adverb.
Adverbs of Place
These tell us where the action of the verb happened. They answer the question,
"Where?"
here, there, everywhere, above, below
For example:
She went upstairs. Where did she go? And the answer is the adverb,
upstairs.
Adverbs of Time
Adverbs of time often answer the question, "When".
These tell us when something happened. They answer the question, "When?"
now, later, yesterday, immediately, generally
For example:
He received the letter yesterday. When did he receive the letter? And
the answer is the adverb, yesterday, so yesterday is an adverb of time.
Others refer to a period of time:
never, always, just, long
Examples:
She will never do it. Will you be long? I have just done it. We always have to
wait.
Still others, sometimes called adverbs of frequency, answer the question, "How
often?"
often, seldom, sometimes, never
For example:
He mows the lawn weekly. How often does he mow the lawn? The
answer weekly, gives us the adverb.
Adverbs of Degree
These often modify an adjective. They answer the question, "To what extent?"
very, too, slightly, excessively, so, quite, rather
For example:
The horse is too tired.
Linking Adverbs (or conjunctive adverbs)
Linking adverbs link the current sentence to a previous one. They are sometimes
called transition words. They differ from conjunctions, which link nouns, phrases or
clauses. Unlike a conjunction, linking adverbs can often be omitted without making
the sentence ungrammatical.
They include:
hence, afterwards, then, nonetheless, therefore, beforehand
Words which are normally considered conjunctions, such as and, but, for, nor, yet,
and or are considered linking adverbs when they begin a sentence. Conjunctions
cannot be used to begin a sentence, because they link two words or two clauses, not
two sentences. But words which look like conjunctions, when acting as linking
adverbs, can be so used. For instance:
She hated cricket. And she hated soccer even more. She hated
cricket. She hated soccer even more.
And is a linking adverb not a conjunction. It, unlike a conjunction, can be omitted
without drastically affecting the sentences. Also, unlike a conjunction, it does not link
two words or clauses, but links two sentences.
Because they link sentences, not clauses, linking adverbs are always preceded by a
full stop or a semicolon. For instance:
Bob does not like sport; hence, he isn't coming to the game. Bob does not like sport; he
isn't coming to the game.
Or
Bob does not like sport. Hence, he isn't coming to the game. Bob does not like sport. He
isn't coming to the game.
In the above sentences, we can omit the linking adverb, hence, and the sentences
remain grammatical and still make sense. (Of course, we also need to omit the
comma, and need to capitalise the first word of the sentence).
Stance
These adverbs often show the speakers attitude or emotion and include: probably, perhaps, surely, oddly, actually, officially, obviously, clearly, wisely, morally,
disgustingly
Adding in Positive and Negative Sentences
Some adverbs have the effect of adding or subtracting. I went fishing. So did Harry.
I went fishing. Harry went too.
I went fishing. Harry went also.
The adverbs so, also and too add some of the meaning of the first sentence in the
pairs above to the second one. They have the idea of in addition.
In these sentences: Teresa did not go. Nor did I. (I, too, did not go.)
Teresa did not go. Neither did I.
Teresa did not go. I didn't either.
The words nor, neither and either also have the idea of in addition (too), and are
used in negative expressions.
Words used like this include: neither, nor, too, so, either, else, also
Prepositional Adverbs (or Particles)
Prepositional adverbs have the word form of a preposition, but function as an adverb,
that is they modify verbs, often saying where the action takes place. For example:
Some shady characters were hanging around.
We stayed in.
Put that down!
It was living inside.
She lives opposite.
We examined it through and through.
All the words in bold above are prepositional adverbs. They differ from prepositions
in that they modify a verb (adverbial) and they do not stand before a noun.
Prepositional adverbs are used to form phrasal verbs. When they do this, they change
the meaning of the verb. That is, act as an adverb by modifying a verb. For instance:
Conjunctions
Conjunctions are words or phrases that join two nouns, phrases or clauses. There are
two types: coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.
Coordinating Conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions join two grammatically equal elements; for instance, two
main clauses. These conjunctions include: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
Remembered with the mnemonic FANBOYS.
Other classes of words have a linking function. For instance, linking adverbs can link
clauses together. The table below shows the four main functions of coordinating
conjunctions. (The adverb column has been added for comparison).
Function Example
Conjunctions
Example
Linking
Adverbs
Addition and, nor furthermore
Alternative Or alternatively
Contrast but, yet however
Inference for, so therefore
Examples
When they got there the place was
empty and they found no evidence
the place had been occupied recently.
and joins the clause before to the one
after. It does not indicate any particular
relationship between them, and the clauses
can be interchanged.
There was a bang and the lights went
out.
and joins the two clauses, but they cannot
be interchanged. It tells us that event of the
first clause comes before the event of the
second.
She had waited all day but couldn't
get in to see them.
but joins the two clauses, indicating some
contrast between them.
You can choose this one or that one,
but not both.
or joins the first and the second clauses,
indicating an alternative. but joins the
second and third clauses, indicating an
exception
The Morning Star or the Evening Star
are names for Venus
or indicates an alternative name, not
two choices.
He always studied hard, yet he never
seemed to do well.
yet joins the two clauses, indicating a
contrast.
He felt despondent, for he had
searched all day, yet he had not found
them.
for joins the first two clauses indicating a
cause or reason. yet joins the last two
clauses, indicating a contrast.
The conjunction and sometimes tells us little or nothing about the relationship
between the two clauses, but implies they belong together. Sometimes it means after
that, and the first clause occurs earlier in time than the second. When used like this,
the clauses cannot be interchanged. For instance: There was a bang and the lights went out. (‘after that’)
Do that again and I’ll leave. (Cause and effect)
The other conjunctions in the table above tell us some relationship. For instance, yet tells us the two clauses are contrasted. If the only conjunction we can think of to relate
two clauses is and, then we should make sure the two clauses really belong together.
For instance: The police and the doctors are trying to find out the cause of death.
The police and the doctors are seeking the same end, discovering the cause of death.
So they belong together in the sentence.
Mary is beautiful. She has a pretty face and plays the violin.
If the topic is beauty, we might wonder how and plays the violin is relevant. This
should be made clear.
Mary is beautiful both to look at and to listen to. She has a pretty face and a fine
figure. She plays the violin expertly.
Subordinating Conjunctions
While the coordinating conjunctions join two equal parts of the sentence, the
subordinating conjunctions join a modifying clause to a main clause. Subordinating
conjunctions include:
time
When he comes, I will be ready.
Before the clock struck seven, they had assembled
in the road.
After the sun rises, we will set out on our journey.
Once we have the information, we will begin the
analysis.
place The city was located where the old castle had been.
comparison They were as ready as they would ever be.
He was as tall as she was (tall).
condition The church bells will ring, if the Vikings land.
Unless we stay till late, we can get a bus home.
contrast
Although she was very popular, she wasn't pretty.
She was a good actress, while he was only a
mediocre actor.
He used to be reckless, whereas now he is
cautious.
cause or
reason
The bomb went off because they lit the fuse.
She was annoyed, as they had not completed the
work.
All had been forgotten, since it was long ago.
Double Conjunctions (Correlatives)
Coordinating double conjunctions join two equal clauses:
Correlating Conjunctions
Double
Conjunction Example
both...and He told them both where to go and how to get there.
either...or She could either have one week abroad or two weeks at
home.
neither...nor It was neither possible nor advisable.
not only...but
(also) She was not only their mentor, but also their friend.
Subordinating double conjunctions join two clauses: one clause is subordinated
to the other.
Subordinating Double Conjunctions
Double
Conjunction Example
if ...then If he had told the truth, then he wouldn't be in trouble.
scarcely...when Scarcely had she gone out, when he arrived.
hardly...when He had hardly finished cleaning the car, when they
arrived.
more...than No one loves you more truly than I.
less...than He was less a rogue than a fool.
so...that She was so angry that she could have cried.
such...that The place was such a problem in terms of maintenance
that he sold it.
Prepositions
Prepositions are words that relate noun phrases, or pronouns, with another part of the
sentence. They always have an object (a noun), but they do not always precede this
object, although they often do. The prepositions in the table below are in bold. To find
the object, ask "<preposition> whom or what?" For example, "Under what?" Simple
prepositions are ones that consist of one word.
Simple Prepositions
Sentence Comment
The book was
under the chair.
Under what?
The chair. The chair is
the object of the
preposition "under".
The cat jumped
on the table.
On what?
The table. .
We left before
the end.
Before what?
The end.
The bird flew
over the house.
Over what?
The house.
It is ten past five.
Past what?
Five.
She dreamed of travelling
beyond the stars.
Of what?
Travelling.
Beyond what?
The stars.
The waste is
produced during
the process.
During what?
The process.
He argued
strongly against them.
Against what?
Them.
They worked for
the mayor.
For whom?
The mayor.
The following words in bold are also prepositions:
Example Comment
They visited circa
321 BC
circa what?
321 BC.
The diploma was
awarded cum laud.
Cum what?
Laud.
He comes everyday
except Saturdays.
Except what?
Saturdays.
10 minus 1 plus 2
is 11.
Minus what?
1.
Plus what?
2.
He did it
notwithstanding
the risk.
Notwithstanding
what?
The risk.
She was paid per
hour.
Per what?
Hour.
We travelled via the
underpass.
Via what?
The underpass.
I was happy with
this project vis a vis
the other one.
Vis a vis what?
The other one.
The phrase formed by a preposition is an adverbial phrase, or an adjectival phrase.
Complex Prepositions
Simple prepositions consist of one word only. The examples in the previous section
are simple prepositions. Complex prepositions consist of more than one word. Some
are wordy and in bad style.
Complex
Preposition Example
according to Stranding prepositions is
acceptable, according to
Fowler.
ahead of We are releasing the document
ahead of time.
along with
as a consequence
of
As a consequence of their
discussion, plans were made for
the new department.
as far as The land is clear as far as the
sea.
as for As for Tom
as per Please bring all the items as
per our letter.
as to
as well as You can do it as well as him.
aside from Aside from the earlier matter,
we can go ahead.
because of Because of the storm, the roads
were impassable.
by means of We will get their by means of boat.
close to Keep close to the shore.
due to The absence was due to
illness.
except for Except for Jill, everyone is
welcome.
far from They were far from home.
for use in This is for use in medical
products only.
in accordance
with
This is quite in accordance
with the regulations.
in addition to In addition to soap, bring a
towel.
in association
with
This page is produced in
association with Brian.
in breach of He was in breach of our sacred
laws.
in case of
in charge of He is in charge of the project.
in conjunction
with
I shall investigate the matter in
conjunction with my
colleagues.
in contrast to Her response was sharply in
contrast to his.
in control of She was in control of the
machine.
in front of The cat sat in front of the
dairy.
in keeping with This is in keeping with the
prevailing paradigm.
in lieu of You can stay here in lieu of payment.
in line with The action taken was in line
with our policy.
in order to He measured the quantities in
order to avoid error.
in place of Use this in place of that.
in reference to My work is in reference to
previous research.
in respect of There was disagreement in
respect of the new plan.
in response to I am writing in response to
your letter.
in spite of In spite of the war, he
continued his work.
instead of I'd like the ice cream instead
of the cake.
on behalf of I would like to thank everyone
on behalf of the government.
on top of On top of the building was a
strange, metallic thing.
on top of The fairy is on top of the
Christmas tree.
owing to Owing to the quarrel, we have
not spoken for days.
prior to They were always together,
prior to their quarrel.
regardless of All are welcome, regardless
of race, creed or religion.
subsequent to Subsequent to our discussion,
I would like to add some more
points.
See also: Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal Verbs and Prepositional Verbs
These are constructions that are used frequently in conversation. They are not traditionally
studied as part of grammar. But are very important to people learning English as a second
language. They are also important for native speakers. For instance, it may not be a good idea
to use a preposition to end a sentence with. But in the previous sentence, we need to know
whether ‘with’ is acting as a preposition, or whether it is part of the phrasal verb ‘end with’.
In the latter case, the object (a sentence) can come between the base verb (end) and its
particle (with).
Different writers use the terms ‘phrasal verb’ and ‘prepositional verb’ differently.
This section refers to verbs that are accompanied by particles (often ones that have the form
of prepositions). The ‘phrasal verbs’ are ones that have a different meaning from the base
verb and the particle can be separated from the base verb. For instance, the phrasal verb ‘look
up’ can be split, as in the following sentences:
Look up the word
Look the word up
The meaning of look up, here, is ‘seek information (from)’, which is different from the
normal meaning of ‘look’. [The expression, ‘look up’, in ‘Look up there!’ is not a phrasal
verb, and ‘up’ is a simple adverb.]
Compared with phrasal verbs, the ‘prepositional verb’, ‘look at’, forms a single unit of
meaning and cannot be split into ‘look’ and ‘at’. Also ‘at’ does not change the meaning of
‘look’. It still means ‘direct the gaze’.
A verb plus prepositional adverb is a phrasal verb only when:
1. The verb's meaning changes.
For instance, the phrasal verb ‘look up’ has a different meaning from the verb
‘look’.
2. It is possible to place the object of the verb (if there is one) between the verb
and the prepositional adverb.
For example, the phrasal verb ‘look up’ (in red below) can have its
prepositional adverb, ‘up’, before the object (shown in bold):
‘I looked up the word’
Or after the object:
‘I looked the word up.’
Phrasal Verbs
Example Alternative
I looked the word up. I looked up the word.
She brought up an She brought an interesting
interesting point in the
meeting. point up in the meeting.
Oh! Have they fallen out [had a quarrel] again?
(No object)
They have decided to give
smoking up.
They have decided to give up
smoking.
Phrasal verbs differ from prepositional verbs in the previous mentioned two ways.
See comparison of phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs.
Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs are composed of a verb and a prepositional adverb. The prepositional
adverb, which has the word form of a preposition, modifies the verb and changes its
literal meaning. In addition, the prepositional adverb can precede the object as a Noun
Phrase, or follow it, as in the examples in the table below. If the object is a pronoun, it
must come before the particle (prepositional adverb).
Phrasal Verbs
Example Alternative
The lift has broken down. (No object)
Noun Phrase
She brought an interesting
point up in the meeting.
She brought up an
interesting point in the
meeting.
Preposition She brought it up in the
meeting.
She brought up it in the
meeting.
No object Oh! Have they fallen out [had a quarrel] again?
(No object)
Noun Phrase They have decided to give
smoking up.
They have decided to give
up smoking.
Preposition They have decided to give
it up.
They have decided to give
up it.
No object His children are grown
up. (No object)
Noun Phrase I looked the word up. I looked up the word.
Preposition I looked it up. I looked up it.
Noun Phrase She put the meeting off.
She put off the meeting.
Preposition She put it off. She put off it.
Noun Phrase They ran the dog over. They ran over the dog.
Preposition They ran it over. They ran over it. [But
this isn’t the same verb—
perhaps it is ‘to cross by
running’, rather than ‘to
injure or kill by running
over. ]
Noun Phrase We turned the TV off. We turned off the TV.
Preposition We turned it off. We turned off it.
The phrasal verbs, shown in bold, differ in meaning from the literal form of the verb.
They differ from prepositional verbs.
See comparison of phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs.
Prepositional Verbs
Prepositional verbs are formed by adding a preposition to a verb.
The following are examples of prepositional verbs:
I switched the radio off, because there was nothing worth listening to.
This belongs to me.
You cannot live on bread alone.
This is more than I can put up with. [The end word, ‘with’ is not a
preposition, but part of the prepositional verb, ‘put up with’.]
Your cat keeps looking at me.
As she has everything, there is nothing else to wish for. [The end word, ‘for is
not a preposition, but part of the prepositional verb, ‘wish for’.]
Unlike phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs:
Form a single idea. The verb and the preposition cannot be separated (split).
So the object of the verb cannot follow the verb: This belongs me to.
The prepositional form does not change the verb's meaning.
The prepositional part of a prepositional verb may come at the end of a clause. See the
next section.
Comparison of Phrasal Verbs and Prepositional Verbs
Phrasal Verb Prepositional Verb
Stress
In speech you often stress the
particle, and your intonation
rises.
In speech, you do not stress the
preposition and your intonation
drops.
Meaning
The meaning of the verb
changes from its basic
meaning.
The verb and the preposition form
a single idea. The basic meaning
of the verb isn't changed.
Noun
Phrase
If you write the verb's object
as a Noun Phrase, you can
write it before or after the
particle.
If you write the verb's object as a
Noun Phrase, you must place it
after the preposition.
Pronoun
If you write the verb's object
as a Pronoun, you must write
the particle after it.
If you write the verb's object as a
Pronoun, you must write the
preposition before it.
Adverb
You cannot place an adverb
between the verb and its
particle.
You can place an adverb between
the verb and its preposition.
Pied
Piping
The phrasal verb cannot be
pied piped.
The prepositional verb can be
pied piped.
The following table shows examples of the points in the above table.
Phrasal Verb Prepositional Verb
Stress She wrote the project up. He wrote to his friend.
Meaning write up=compose a report,
etc, from notes.
write to= compose and send a
letter, etc, to
Noun
Phrase
She wrote the project up.
She wrote up the project.
He wrote his friend to.
He wrote to his friend.
Pronoun She wrote it up.
She wrote up it.
He wrote him to.
He wrote to him.
Adverb
She wrote the project willingly
up.
She wrote the project up
willingly.
He wrote willingly to his
friend.
Pied
Piping
The project up which she
wrote.
The friend to whom he wrote.
Pro-forms
Pro-forms are not really part of grammar, and this topic could be discussed under
ellipsis or substitution. The purpose of this section is draw attention to the use of
words as replacements for other words and expressions.
A pro-form is a word that replaces a previously mentioned word or expression (or
idea) and takes its meaning. Pro-forms have a similar function to pronouns (which are
pro-forms). Strictly speaking, however, a pronoun is a word that stands for a noun.
Conventially, pronouns are considered to stand for groups of words including
sentences and even for ideas, inferred from the text. It is sometimes useful, however,
to be aware that some words stand for other parts of speech. For instance: Bob ran in the marathon. Betty did too.
In the sentence above, did means ran. Clearly, did isn't a pronoun (it replaces a verb),
although it has the substituting quality of pronouns. We can think of did as a pro-verb.
The word too is also a pro-form replacing in the marathon, and adding the normal
adverb too, meaning in addition to the previously mentioned (Bob).
Pro-nouns
A pro-noun is a word that substitutes for a noun. All pro-nouns are pronouns, but
some pronouns are not pro-nouns. For instance: My neighbour'cat was unwell. This made me feel sad.
The pronoun this refers to the previous sentence, and is a pro-sentence, not a pro-
noun.
Pro-verbs
The most common pro-verb is do. They speak too groups. I do too.
Where do replaces speak.
Jack could lift heavy weights. So could Mary.
We can consider could in the second sentence to mean could lift. In the second
sentence could is a pro-verb. However, in the meaning, could lift, could is a normal
verb: it does not stand for another word. A word acting as a pro-form is sometimes
repeated in the meaning in its normal form. The word so is also a pro-form replacing
heavy weights.
We could have written the sentence, using too instead of so, like this: Jack could lift heavy weights. Mary could too.
Where could is similarly a pro-veb meaning could lift. The word too is also a pro-
form meaning lift heavy weights (too), where the repeated word too is an adverb of
manner.
He is flying to America. I may too.
The word may is a pro-verb in the above sentence.
Pro-adjectives
Her dress is green. Mine is too.
The word too is a pro-adjective, standing for the adjective green. Again we could have
written the sentence using so instead of too: Her dress is green. So is mine.
Where so is a pro-adjective meaning green.
Pro-adverbs
He exercised regularly. I did too.
The word too stands for regularly, so it is a pro-adverb. (‘did’ stands for exercised,
and is a pro-verb). Jo did the work well. Bill did it similarly.
The word similarly stands for well, and is a pro-adverb.
Other pro-forms
Pro-forms can replace other expressions. I gave an example of a pro-sentence above.
The Substitution Test
If a word or phrase can substitute a word or phrase in a sentence; that is, the sentence
is grammatical with the substitute, then the substitute has the same or similar function
to the word substituted in that sentence. Sometimes, we cannot substitute a word or
expression in the same place in the sentence as another word or expression, although
the substitutions are nonetheless equivalent. For instance, see adjectives, where an
adjective usually precedes a headword, but an adjectival phrase follows it. Also, it
may be necessary to change the person of the verb.
Nouns
For instance, we can substitute Tom for Hermonie in the sentence:
Hermonie went home. Tom went home.
We know that Tom is a proper noun, and because substituting Tom for Hermonie
makes a grammatical sentence, then we can conclude that Tom and Hermonie
perform similar functions in the sentence. In fact, both are proper nouns.
Pronouns
We can substitute she for Hermonie in the above sentence:
Hermonie went home. She went home.
Because the sentence is grammatical, we can conclude that she and Hermonie have a
similar function in the sentence. We know that Hermonie is a noun, and so she must
be a noun, or a pronoun. It is, of course a pronoun.
Verbs
In the sentence below, we can substitute ran for helter-skeltered:
Tom helter-skeltered down the road. Tom ran down the road.
helter-skelter therefore has a function similar to ran. They are both verbs.
Adjectives
We can substitute big for black in the following sentence:
The black cat crossed the road. The big cat crossed the road.
With adjectives, we might have to substitute an expression after the noun with an
word before the noun.
We saw a man who was tall. We saw a tall man.
We cannot substitute the adjective tall in first sentence in the same place as the
expression who was tall, but need to put it before the noun man. However, the
expression who was tall has the same effect as the adjective tall, so it functions as an
adjective.
Conjunctions
If we substitute and for but in the following sentence, we get:
Harry was usually mean but he always gave to charity. Harry was usually mean and he
always gave to charity.
The sentence is still grammatical (although illogical) so ‘but’ performs the same
function as ‘and’ in this sentence. So ‘but’ is a conjunction.
