English/English in use/Print version
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Contents
- Words
- Overview · Nouns and pronouns · Verbs · Adjectives and adverbs · Prepostions, conjunctions, and interjections · Verbals
- Punctuation
- End marks · Commas · Apostrophes · Quotations · Other common punctuation marks · Less common typographical marks
- Other key topics
- Capitalization · Spelling · Writing and composition · Syntax · Figures of syntax · Recent grammar restructure attempts
Introduction
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English |
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Introduction to changes being made
a) introduction could be made eloborate for language trainers
The following books will form Wikibook's English book:
1) English in use (previously known as "English")
2) English for Beginners (currently known as "English as an Additional Language")
4) FCE English
5) Teaching English (previously known as "Teaching English as an Additional Language")
The idea of this revamp is to combine all of the present "English" books into one book with sections for each area. At present it is impossible for those wishing to learn some basic English to actually find the correct book. I also think that each book should have a more specific target audience.
Book 1) is intended for native speakers as a grammar reference. It would also be suitable for advanced learners of English (levels C1 and C2).
Book 2) is intended for elementary learners of English (non-natives). It should be targetted towards levels A1 and A2.
Book 3) is intended for intermediate students at levels B1 and B2.
Book 4) is intended for B2 level students preparing for the University of Cambridge FCE examination.
Book 5) is intended for teachers who teach English as a foreign language. This book will mainly focus on teaching practice and theory and not on specific grammar.
Book 6) is intended for business students (level B1 and B2 maybe) who need English for specific purposes like meetings and telephoning.
Explanation of Levels
These levels correspond to the European Framework for Languages.
A1 students are those who are able to say simple sentences about themselves and complete some forms requiring information.
A2 students have usually studied English for at least a year and have a passing knowledge of tenses and can produce short sentences about themselves.
B1 students are able to have conversations about simple topics but make still make frequent mistakes.
B2 students have usually studied English for at least 3-4 years. They are starting to master English grammar and their vocabulary is substantial.
C1 students are advanced and have usually studied English for more than 5 years. Often their level of English is better than native speakers and they can converse about any topic.
C2 students may still make the occasional mistake but their English is very advanced and they can listen or read any kind of material and produce writing about any topic. Generally a C2 student has a knowledge of the English language greater than that of most native speakers.
Other possibilities
It would be nice to incorporate some audio and possibly video files in the English books. This is one area where we are lacking when compared to other language text books on Wikibooks. Some tests will be needed for each book and we should work to ensure that material isn't duplicated - vocabulary pages can be repeated, for instance, for different areas.
Any other ideas
Please list any other ideas or suggestions that you have for the redevelopment of the Wikibook's English module.
Unit I: Words
Parts of speech overview
English/Parts of speech overview
Nouns and pronouns
Verbs
^ English ^ (edit template)
General: Introduction - Grammar
Parts of speech: Nouns - Verbs - Pronouns - Adjectives - Adverbs - Conjunctions - Prepositions - Interjections
Other English topics: Gerunds and participles - Orthography - Punctuation - Syntax - Appositives -
Verbs are action words (sometimes described as 'doing' words,) that show what the subject (a noun or pronoun) is doing. They are a requirement of any sentence in the English language.
Verbs can be Passive or Active.
An Active verb is a verb in an active sentence, in which the subject performs the verb. An example of an active verb in an active sentence is 'I hit the dog.'
A Passive verb is a verb in a passive sentence. In a passive sentence, the action is performed upon the subject. An example of this is: 'The dog was hit by me.'. The two sentences have the same denotative meaning, but their connotative meaning is quite different; active verbs are much more powerful and personal.
There are two forms of passive voice: "He gave me the book." => "The book was given to me." or "I was given the book." The second form is preferred.
English, like many Germanic languages, contains both strong (or irregular; they aren't quite the same thing) and weak (regular) verbs. Irregular verbs are one of the most difficult aspects of learning English. Each irregular verb must be memorized, because they are not often easy to identify otherwise.
For a regular verb, the changes in form are minimal.
- When talking about actions that took place in the past, add ed to the end of the verb root. E.g., walk becomes walked.
- When talking about actions that take place in the present, add s to the end of the verb root when the subject of the sentence is in the third person (not yourself or the person to whom you are speaking).
- When talking about actions that take place in the future, add the word will before the verb.
- To describe an action that takes place over a length of time, add the appropriate form of the verb to be before the verb and add ing to the end of the verb root.
- To describe an action that has been completed, change the verb root to put it in the past tense (see the first point) and add the appropriate form of the verb to have (note that you can have to have in any tense you want, but keep the main verb in the past) before the verb.
- Also note that you can combine the previous two points by putting the appropriate form of to have before the past participle of to be (been), and putting both of them before the verb.
A Verb is a word that signifies to be, to act, or to be acted upon: as, I am, I rule, I am ruled; I love, thou lovest, he loves. VERBS are so called, from the Latin Verbum, a Word; because the verb is that word which most essentially contains what is said in any clause or sentence.
An English verb has four CHIEF TERMS, or PRINCIPAL PARTS, ever needful to be ascertained in the first place; namely, the Present, the Preterit, the Imperfect Participle, and the Perfect Participle. The Present is that form of the verb, which is the root of all the rest; the verb itself; or that simple term which we should look for in a dictionary: as, be, act, rule, love, defend, terminate.
The Preterit is that simple form of the verb, which denotes time past; and which is always connected with some noun or pronoun, denoting the subject of the assertion: as, I was, I acted, I ruled, I loved, I defended.
The Imperfect Participle is that which ends commonly in ing, and implies a continuance of the being, action, or passion: as, being, acting, ruling, loving, defending, terminating.
The Perfect Participle is that which ends commonly in ed or en, and implies a completion of the being, action, or passion: as, been, acted, ruled, loved.
Verbs are divided, with respect to their form, into four classes; regular and irregular, redundant and defective.
A regular verb is a verb that forms the preterit and the perfect participle by assuming d or ed; as, love, loved, loving, loved.
An irregular verb is a verb that does not form the preterit and the perfect participle by assuming d or ed; as, see, saw, seeing, seen.
A redundant verb is a verb that forms the preterit or the perfect participle in two or more ways, and so as to be both regular and irregular; as, thrive, thrived or throve, thriving, thrived or thriven.
A defective verb is a verb that forms no participles, and is used in but few of the moods and tenses; as, beware, ought, quoth.
Verbs are divided again, with respect to their signification, into four classes; active-transitive, active-intransitive, passive, and neuter.
An active-transitive verb is a verb that expresses an action which has some person or thing for its object; as,
"Cain slew Abel."
"Cassius loved Brutus."
An active-intransitive verb is a verb that expresses an action which has no person or thing for its object; as,
"John walks."
"Jesus wept."
A passive verb is a verb that represents its subject, or what the nominative expresses, as being acted upon; as,
"I am compelled."
"Caesar was slain."
A neuter verb is a verb that expresses neither action nor passion, but simply being, or a state of being; as,
"There was light."
"The babe sleeps."
Verbs have modifications of four kinds; namely, Moods, Tenses, Persons and Numbers.
Moods.
Moods are different forms of the verb, each of which expresses the being, action, or passion, in some particular manner.
There are five moods; the Infinitive, the Indicative, the Potential, the Subjunctive, and the Imperative.
The Infinitive mood is that form of the verb, which expresses the being, action, or passion, in an unlimited manner, and without person or number: as,
"To die,--to sleep;--To sleep!--perchance, to dream!" (from Hamlet by William Shakespeare)
The Indicative mood is that form of the verb, which simply indicates or declares a thing: as,
I write you know
or asks a question; as,
Do you know? Know ye not?
The Potential mood is that form of the verb which expresses the power, liberty, possibility, or necessity, of the being, action, or passion: as,
I can walk. He may ride. We must go.
The Subjunctive mood is that form of the verb, which represents the being, action, or passion, as conditional, doubtful, and contingent: as,
"If thou go, see that thou offend not." "See thou do it not."--Rev., xix, 10. God save the queen. It is a requirement that ... be done. It's high time you were in bed. If I were you,...
The Imperative mood is that form of the verb which is used in commanding, exhorting, entreating, or permitting: as,
"Depart thou." "Be comforted." "Forgive me." "Go in peace."
Tenses.
Tenses are those modifications of the verb, which distinguish time. There are six tenses; the Present, the Imperfect or Past, the Perfect, the Pluperfect, the First-future, and the Second-future. You could even say there are twelve tenses because each of those comes in simple and in progressive forms, which have different meaning.
The Present tense simple is that which expresses what now exists, is normal or correlated to senses. It is used with adverbs like always, generally.
There is a house in New Orleans. I read a book every week. I hear a noise.
The Present tense continuous is that which expresses what is happening just now:
I am reading a letter. The car is running at high speed.
The Past tense simple is that which expresses what took place in time fully past. It is used with adverbs like yesterday, last week. (The past tense is sometimes called Imperfect, but this does not fit its meaning, as can be seen from the examples. This name is derived from Latin where it was correct.)
Last week, I read several of Shaw's novels.
The Past tense continuous is that which expresses what was taking place when (suddenly) something else occurred.
I saw him yesterday, and hailed him as he was passing. I was giving a presentation when the microphone broke.
The Present perfect tense simple is that which expresses what has taken place, within some period of time not yet fully past, or is still valid. It is used with adverbs like ever, never, today, this week.
I have read several of Shaw's novels. I have seen him to-day; something must have detained him. Have you ever tried fugu fish?
The Present perfect tense continuous is that which which started in the past and has not yet finished.
Since I have been standing here, five planes took off.
The Pluperfect tense simple is that which expresses what had taken place, at some past time mentioned, before something other happened.
I had seen him, when I met you. As soon as my car had been repaired, I could continue my trip.
The Pluperfect tense continuous is that which expresses what had started before and was still going on, when something else occurred.
I had been listening to the radio when she dropped in.
The First-future tense simple is that which expresses what will take place hereafter.
"I shall see him again, and I will inform him."
The First-future tense continuous is that which expresses what will be currently taking place at a certain time in future.
"I will be swimming in the sea by the time you'll awake."
The Second-future tense simple is that which expresses what will have taken place at some future time mentioned.
"I shall have seen him by tomorrow noon."
The Second-future tense continuous is that which expresses what will have started at some time and will still be ongoing, at some future time mentioned.
"I will have been swimming in the sea for four hours by the time you'll awake tomorrow."
Voice
Voice of speech can be active or passive. Principally in passive voice the same tenses can be used as in active voice.
He gave me the book. The book was given to me. I was given the book.
There are however some things to note.
They build a house. The house is built.
Here active and passive do not really represent the same tense. If for example you describe a picture where people build a house, the first sentence is perfectly correct. The second sentence however will be interpreted as the static perfect of the sentence
The house has been built - it is built now.
This is, the house is now ready and not under construction. So the correct passive form is
The house is being built.
Passive voice can be built quite formally by adhering to some rules. You will however not find normally all tenses as in active voice. Formal rules will lead you to monstrosities like the following, you will certainly never hear (already the active sentence is quite monstrous):
The speech will have been being held for four hours when finally you'll arrive. (The president will have been holding a speech for four hours when finally you'll arrive.)
Persons and numbers.
The person and number of a verb are those modifications in which it agrees with its subject or nominative.
In each number, there are three persons; and in each person, two numbers: thus,
Singular. 1st per. I love, 3d per. He loves; Plural. 1. We love, 2. You love, 3. They love.
Definitions universally applicable have already been given of all these things; it is therefore unnecessary to define them again in this place.
Where the verb is varied, the third person singular is regularly formed by adding s or es: as, I see, he sees; I give, he gives; I go, he goes; I fly, he flies; I vex, he vexes; I lose, he loses.
Where the verb is not varied to denote its person and number, these properties are inferred from its subject or nominative: as, If I love, if he love; if we love, if you love, if they love.
The conjugation of verbs.
The conjugation of a verb is a regular arrangement of its moods, tenses, persons, numbers, and participles.
There are four PRINCIPAL PARTS in the conjugation of every simple and complete verb; namely, the Present, the Preterit, the Imperfect Participle, and the Perfect Participle. A verb which wants any of these parts, is called defective; such are most of the auxiliaries.
An auxiliary is a short verb prefixed to one of the principal parts of an other verb, to express some particular mode and time of the being, action, or passion. The auxiliaries are do, be, have, shall, will, may, can, and must, with their variations.
To do.
Present tense; and sign of the indicative present.
Sing. I do, he does; Plur. We do, you do, they do.
Imperfect tense; and sign of the indicative imperfect.
Sing. I did, he did; Plur. We did, you did, they did.
To be.
Present tense; and sign of the indicative present.
Sing. I am, he is; Plur. We are, you are, they are.
Imperfect tense; and sign of the indicative imperfect.
Sing. I was, he was; Plur. We were, you were; they were.
To have.
Present tense; but sign of the indicative perfect.
Sing. I have, he has; Plur. We have, you have, they have.
Imperfect tense; but sign of the indicative pluperfect.
Sing. I had, he had; Plur. We had, you had, they had.
Shall and will.
Often confused with each other in modern English.
These auxiliaries have distinct meanings, and, as signs of the future, they are interchanged thus:
Present tense; but sign of the indicative first-future.
Simply to express a future action or event:--
Sing. I shall, he will; Plur. We shall, you will, they will.
To express a promise, command, or threat:--
Sing. I will, he shall; Plur. We will, you shall, they shall.
Imperfect tense; but, as signs, aorist, or indefinite.
Used with reference to duty or expediency:--
Sing. I should, he should; Plur. We should, you should, they should.
Used with reference to volition or desire:--
Sing. I would, he would; Plur. We would, you would, they would.
See also: Shall and will by Wikipedia
May.
Present tense; and sign of the potential present.
Sing. I may, he may; Plur. We may, you may, they may.
Imperfect tense; and sign of the potential imperfect.
Sing. I might, he might; Plur. We might, you might, they might.
Can.
Present tense; and sign of the potential present.
Sing. I can, he can; Plur. We can, you can, they can.
Imperfect tense; and sign of the potential imperfect.
Sing. I could, he could; Plur. We could, you could, they could.
Must.
Present tense; and sign of the potential present.
Sing. I must, he must; Plur. We must, you must, they must.
If must is ever used in the sense of the Imperfect tense, or Preterit, the form is the same as that of the Present: this word is entirely invariable.
Verb may be conjugated in four ways.
Affirmatively; as, I write, I do write, or, I am writing; and so on.
Negatively; as, I write not, I do not write, or, I am not writing.
Interrogatively; as, Write I? Do I write? or, Am I writing?
Interrogatively and negatively; as, Write I not? Do I not write? or, Am I not writing?
Simple form, active or neuter.
The simplest form of an English conjugation, is that which makes the present and imperfect tenses without auxiliaries; but, even in these, auxiliaries are required for the potential mood, and are often preferred for the indicative.
The regular active verb LOVE, conjugated affirmatively.
Principal parts.
Present. Preterit. Imperfect Perfect
Participle. Participle.
Love. Loved. Loving. Loved.
Infinite mood.
The infinitive mood is that form of the verb, which expresses the being, action, or passion, in an unlimited manner, and without person or number. It is used only in the present and perfect tenses.
Present tense.
This tense is the root, or radical verb; and is usually preceded by the preposition to, which shows its relation to some other word: thus,
To love.
Perfect tense.
This tense prefixes the auxiliary have to the perfect participle; and, like the infinitive present, is usually preceded by the preposition to: thus,
To have loved.
Indicative mood.
The indicative mood is that form of the verb, which simply indicates or declares a thing, or asks a question. It is used in all the tenses.
Present tense.
The present indicative, in its simple form, is essentially the same as the present infinitive, or radical verb; except that the verb be has am in the indicative.
The simple form of the present tense is varied thus:--
Singular. I love, He loves; Plural. We love, You love, They love.
This tense may also be formed by prefixing the auxiliary do to the verb: thus,
Singular. I do love, He does love; Plural. We do love, You do love, They do love.
Imperfect tense.
This tense, in its simple form is the preterit; which, in all regular verbs, adds d or ed to the present, but in others is formed variously.
The simple form of the imperfect tense is varied thus:--
Singular. I loved, He loved; Plural. We loved, You loved, They loved,
This tense may also be formed by prefixing the auxiliary did to the present: thus,
Singular. I did love, He did love; Plural. We did love, You did love, They did love.
Perfect tense.
This tense prefixes the auxiliary have to the perfect participle: thus,
Singular. I have loved, He has loved; Plural. We have loved, You have loved, They have loved.
Pluperfect tense.
This tense prefixes the auxiliary had to the perfect participle: thus,
Singular. I had loved, He had loved; Plural. We had loved, You had loved, They had loved.
First-future tense.
This tense prefixes the auxiliary shall or will to the present: thus,
Simply to express a future action or event:--
Singular. I shall love, He will love; Plural. We shall love, You will love, They will love.
To express a promise, volition, command, or threat:--
Singular. I will love, He shall love; Plural. We will love, You shall love, They shall love.
Second-future tense.
This tense prefixes the auxiliaries shall have or will have to the perfect participle: thus,
Singular. I shall have loved, He will have loved; Plural. We shall have loved, You will have loved, They will have loved.
Potential mood.
The potential mood is that form of the verb, which expresses the power, liberty, possibility, or necessity of the being, action, or passion. It is used in the first four tenses; but the potential imperfect is properly an aorist: its time is very indeterminate; as,
"He would be devoid of sensibility were he not greatly satisfied."--Lord Kames, El. of Crit., Vol. i, p. 11.
Present tense.
This tense prefixes the auxiliary may, can, or must, to the radical verb: thus,
Singular. I may love, He may love; Plural. We may love, You may love, They may love.
Imperfect tense.
This tense prefixes the auxiliary might, could, would, or should, to the radical verb: thus,
Singular. I might love, He might love; Plural. We might love, You might love, They might love.
Perfect tense.
This tense prefixes the auxiliaries, may have, can have, or must have, to the perfect participle: thus,
Singular. I may have loved, He may have loved; Plural. We may have loved, You may have loved, They may have loved.
Pluperfect tense.
This tense prefixes the auxiliaries, might have, could have, would have, or should have, to the perfect participle: thus,
Singular. I might have loved, He might have loved; Plural. We might have loved, You might have loved, They might have loved.
Subjunctive mood.
The subjunctive mood is that form of the verb, which represents the being, action, or passion, as conditional, doubtful, or contingent. This mood is generally preceded by a conjunction; as, if, that, though, lest, unless, except. But sometimes, especially in poetry, it is formed by a mere placing of the verb before the nominative; as, "Were I," for, "If I were;"--"Had he," for, "If he had;"--"Fall we" for, "If we fall;"--"Knew they," for, "If they knew." It does not vary its termination at all, in the different persons. It is used in the present, and sometimes in the imperfect tense; rarely--and perhaps never properly--in any other. As this mood can be used only in a dependent clause, the time implied in its tenses is always relative, and generally indefinite; as,
"It shall be in eternal restless change, Self-fed, and self-consum'd: if this fail, The pillar'd firmament is rottenness."--Milton, Comus, l. 596.
Present tense.
This tense is generally used to express some condition on which a future action or event is affirmed. It is therefore erroneously considered by some grammarians, as an elliptical form of the future.
Singular. If I love, If He love; Plural. If we love, If you love, If they love.
In this tense, the auxiliary do is sometimes employed; as,
"If thou do prosper my way."--Genesis, xxiv, 42.
"If he do not utter it."--Leviticus, v, 1.
"If he do but intimate his desire."--Murray's Key, p. 207.
"If he do promise, he will certainly perform."--Ib., p. 208.
"An event which, if it ever do occur, must occur in some future period."--Hiley's Gram., (3d Ed., Lond.,) p. 89.
"If he do but promise, thou art safe."--Ib., 89.
"Till old experience do attain To something like prophetic strain."--MILTON: Il Penseroso.
These examples, if they are right, prove the tense to be present, and not future, as Hiley and some others suppose it to be.
Imperfect tense.
This tense, like the imperfect of the potential mood, with which it is frequently connected, is properly an aorist, or indefinite tense; for it may refer to time past, present, or future: as,
"If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, what further need was there that an other priest should rise?"--Heb., vii, 11.
"They must be viewed exactly in the same light, as if the intention to purchase now existed."--Murray's Parsing Exercises, p. 24.
"If it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."--Matt., xxiv, 24.
"If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing?"--1 Corinthians, xii, 17.
"If the thankful refrained, it would be pain and grief to them."--Atterbury.
Singular. If I loved, If he loved; Plural. If we loved, If you loved, If they loved.
Imperative mood.
The imperative mood is that form of the verb, which is used in commanding, exhorting, entreating, or permitting. It is commonly used only in the second person of the present tense.
PRESENT TENSE. Plural. Love [you,] or Do you love.
Participles.
The Imperfect. The Perfect. The Preperfect. Loving. Loved. Having loved.
The irregular active verb SEE, conjugated affirmatively.
Principal parts.
Present. Preterit. Imp. Participle. Perf. Participle. See. Saw. Seeing. Seen.
Infinitive mood.
PRESENT TENSE. To See.
PERFECT TENSE. To have seen.
Indicative mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. I see, He sees; Plural. We see, You see, They see.
IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I saw, He saw; Plural. We saw, You saw, They saw.
PERFECT TENSE. Singular. I have seen,He has seen; Plural. We have seen, You have seen, They have seen.
PLUPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I had seen, He had seen; Plural. We had seen, You had seen, They had seen.
FIRST-FUTURE TENSE. Singular. I shall see, He will see; Plural. We shall see, You will see, They will see.
SECOND-FUTURE TENSE. Singular. I shall have seen, He will have seen; Plural. We shall have seen, You will have seen, They will have seen.
Potential mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. I may see, He may see; Plural. We may see, You may see, They may see.
IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I might see, He might see; Plural. We might see, You might see, They might see.
PERFECT TENSE. Singular. I may have seen, He may have seen; Plural. We may have seen, You may have seen, They may have seen.
PLUPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I might have seen, He might have seen; Plural. We might have seen, You might have seen, They might have seen.
Subjunctive mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. If I see, If he see; Plural. If we see, If you see, If they see.
IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. If I saw, If he saw; Plural. If we saw, If you saw, If they saw.
Imperative mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. Do thou see; Plural. See [you,] or Do you see.
Participles.
The Imperfect. The Perfect. The Preperfect. Seeing. Seen. Having seen.
The irregular neuter verb BE, conjugated affirmatively.
Principal parts.
Present. Preterit. Imp. Participle. Perf. Participle. Be. Was. Being. Been.
Infinitive mood.
PRESENT TENSE. To be.
PERFECT TENSE. To have been.
Indicative mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. I am, He is; Plural. We are, You are, They are.
IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I was, He was; Plural. We were, You were, They were.
PERFECT TENSE. Singular. I have been, He has been; Plural. We have been, You have been, They have been.
PLUPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I had been, He had been; Plural. We had been, You had been, They had been.
FIRST-FUTURE TENSE. Singular. I shall be, He will be; Plural. We shall be, You will be, They will be.
SECOND-FUTURE TENSE. Singular. We shall have been, He will have been; Plural. We shall have been, You will have been, They will have been.
Potential mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. I may be, He may be; Plural. We may be, You may be, They may be.
IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I might be, He might be; Plural. We might be, You might be, They might be.
PERFECT TENSE. Singular. I may have been, He may have been; Plural. We may have been, You may have been, They may have been.
PLUPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I might have been, He might have been; Plural. We might have been, You might have been, They might have been.
Subjunctive mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. If I be, If he be; Plural. If we be, If you be, If they be.
IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. If I were, If he were; Plural. If we were, If you were, If they were.
Imperative mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Plural. Be [you,] or Do you be.
Participles.
The Imperfect. The Perfect. The Preperfect. Being. Been. Having been.
Compound or progressive form.
Active and neuter verbs may also be conjugated, by adding the Imperfect Participle to the auxiliary verb BE, through all its changes; as,
"I am writing a letter."
"He is sitting idle."
"They are going."
This form of the verb denotes a continuance of the action or state of being, and is, on many occasions, preferable to the simple form of the verb.
The irregular active verb READ, conjugated affirmatively, in the Compound Form.
Principal parts of the simple verb.
Present. Preterit. Imp. Participle. Perf. Participle. Read. Read. Reading. Read.
Infinitive mood.
PRESENT TENSE. To be reading.
PERFECT TENSE. To have been reading.
Indicative mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. I am reading, He is reading; Plural. We are reading, You are reading, They are reading.
IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I was reading, He was reading; Plural. We were reading, You were reading, They were reading.
PERFECT TENSE. Singular. I have been reading, He has been reading; Plural. We have been reading, You have been reading, They have been reading.
PLUPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I had been reading, He had been reading; Plural. We had been reading, You had been reading, They had been reading.
FIRST-FUTURE TENSE. Singular. I shall be reading, He will be reading; Plural. We shall be reading, You will be reading, They will be reading.
SECOND-FUTURE TENSE. Singular. I shall have been reading, He will have been reading; Plural. We shall have been reading, You will have been reading, They will have been reading.
Potential mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. I may be reading, He may be reading; Plural. We may be reading, You may be reading, They may be reading.
IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I might be reading, He might be reading; Plural. We might be reading, You might be reading, They might be reading.
PERFECT TENSE. Singular. I may have been reading, He may have been reading; Plural. We may have been reading, You may have been reading, They may have been reading.
PLUPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I might have been reading, He might have been reading; Plural. We might have been reading, You might have been reading, They might have been reading.
Subjunctive mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. If I be reading, If he be reading; Plural. If we be reading, If you be reading, If they be reading.
IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. If I were reading, If he were reading; Plural. If we were reading, If you were reading, If they were reading.
Imperative mood.
Plur. Be [ye or you] reading, or Do you be reading.
Participles.
The Imperfect. The Perfect. The Preperfect. Being reading. --------- Having been reading.
Form of passive verbs.
Passive verbs, in English, are always of a compound form; being made from active-transitive verbs, by adding the Perfect Participle to the auxiliary verb BE, through all its changes: thus from the active-transitive verb love, is formed the passive verb be loved.
The regular passive verb BE LOVED, conjugated affirmatively.
Principal parts of the active verb.
Present. Preterit. Imp. Participle. Perf. Participle. Love. Loved. Loving. Loved.
Infinitive mood.
PRESENT TENSE. To be loved.
PERFECT TENSE. To have been loved.
Indicative mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. I am loved, He is loved; Plural. We are loved, You are loved, They are loved.
IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I was loved, He was loved; Plural. We were loved, You were loved, They were loved.
PERFECT TENSE. Singular. I have been loved, He has been loved; Plural. We have been loved, You have been loved, They have been loved.
PLUPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I had been loved, He had been loved; Plural. We had been loved, You had been loved, They had been loved.
FIRST-FUTURE TENSE. Singular. I shall be loved, He will be loved; Plural. We shall be loved, You will be loved, They will be loved.
SECOND-FUTURE TENSE. Singular. I shall have been loved, He will have been loved; Plural. We shall have been loved, You will have been loved, They will have been loved.
Potential mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. I may be loved, He may be loved; Plural. We may be loved, You may be loved, They may be loved.
IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I might be loved, He might be loved; Plural. We might be loved, You might be loved, They might be loved.
PERFECT TENSE. Singular. I may have been loved, He may have been loved; Plural. We may have been loved, You may have been loved, They may have been loved.
PLUPERFECT TENSE. Singular. I might have been loved, He might have been loved; Plural. We might have been loved, You might have been loved, They might have been loved.
Subjunctive mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Singular. If I be loved, If he be loved; Plural. If we be loved, If you be loved, If they be loved.
IMPERFECT TENSE. Singular. If I were loved, If he were loved; Plural. If we were loved, If you were loved, If they were loved.
Imperative mood.
PRESENT TENSE. Plural. Be [or you] loved, or Do you be loved.
Participles.
The Imperfect. The Perfect. The Preperfect. Being loved. Loved. Having been loved.
Form of negation.
A verb is conjugated negatively, by placing the adverb not after it, or after the first auxiliary; but the infinitive and participles take the negative first: as, Not to love, Not to have loved; Not loving, Not loved, Not having loved.
First person singular.
IND. I love not, or I do not love; I loved not, or I did not love; I have not loved; I had not loved; I shall not, or will not, love; I shall not, or will not, have loved.
POT. I may, can, or must not love; I might, could, would, or should not love; I may, can, or must not have loved; I might, could, would, or should not have loved,
SUBJ. If I love not, If I loved not.
If they loved
Third person singular.
IND. He loves not, or He does not love; He loved not, or He did not love; He has not loved; He had not loved; He shall not, or will not, love; He shall not, or will not, have loved.
POT. He may, can, or must not love; He might, could, would, or should not love; He may, can, or must not have loved; He might, could, would, or should not have loved.
SUBJ. If he love not, If he loved not.
Form of question.
A verb is conjugated interrogatively, in the indicative and potential moods, by placing the nominative after it, or after the first auxiliary: as,
First person singular.
IND. Love I? or Do I love? Loved I? or Did I love? Have I loved? Had I loved? Shall I love? Shall I have loved?
POT. May, can, or must I love? Might, could, would, or should I love? May, can, or must I have loved? Might, could, would, or should I have loved?
Third person singular.
IND. Loves he? or Does he love? Loved he? or Did he love? Has he loved? Had he loved? Shall or will he love? Will he have loved?
POT. May, can, or must he love? Might, could, would, or should he love? May, can, or must he have loved? Might, could, would, or should he have loved?
Form of question with negation.
A verb is conjugated interrogatively and negatively, in the indicative and potential moods, by placing the nominative and the adverb not after the verb, or after the first auxiliary: as,
First person plural.
IND. Love we not? or Do we not love? Loved we not? or Did we not love? Have we not loved? Had we not loved? Shall we not love? Shall we not have loved?
POT. May, can, or must we not love? Might, could, would, or should we not love? May, can, or must we not have loved? Might, could, would, or should we not have loved?
Third person plural.
IND. Are they not loved? Were they not loved? Have they not been loved? Had they not been loved? Shall or will they not be loved? Will they not have been loved?
POT. May, can, or must they not be loved? Might, could, would, or should they not be loved? May, can, or must they not have been loved? Might, could, would, or should they not have been loved?
Irregular verbs.
An irregular verb is a verb that does not form the preterit and the perfect participle by assuming d or ed; as, see, saw, seeing, seen. Of this class of verbs there are about one hundred and ten, beside their several derivatives and compounds.
Methods of learning irregular verbs
- To remember verbs:
- Learn them by heart.
- Write a reference lists of verbs.
- Say the verbs aloud (not silently).
- Set yourself targets, e.g. learn one verb a day.
- Learn this verbs in groups.
- Test yourself.
- To learn how to use them:
- Write you own example sentences.
- Collect some examples of use for each verb, e.g. from books, magazines or newspapers.
- Use an English grammar.
List of The Top Irregular Verbs:
Imperfect Perfect
Present. Preterit. Participle. Participle.
Awake, awoke, awoken.
Arise, arose, arising, arisen.
Be, was,were being, been.
Bear, bore, bearing, borne.
Begin, began, beginning, begun.
Bend, bent, bent.
Blow, blew, blown.
Break, broke, breaking, broken.
Bring, brought, bringing, brought.
Build, built, built
Buy, bought, buying, bought.
Catch, caught, caught
Choose, chose, choosing, chosen.
Come, came, coming, come.
Cost, cost, costing, cost.
Cut, cut, cutting, cut.
Do, did, doing, done.
Draw, drew, drawing, drawn.
Drink, drank, drinking, drunk.
Drive, drove, driving, driven.
Eat, ate, eating, eaten.
Fall, fell, falling, fallen.
Feel, felt, feeling, felt.
Fight, fought, fighting, fought.
Find, found, finding, found.
Fly, flew, flying, flown.
Forget, forgot, forgotten.
Forgive, forgave, forgiven.
Get, got, getting, gotten.
Give, gave, giving, given.
Go, went, going, gone.
Grow, grew, growing, grown.
Have, had, having, had.
Hear, heard, hearing, heard.
Hide, hid, hiding, hidden or hid.
Hold, held, held.
Hit, hit, hitting, hit.
Hold, held, holding, held.
Keep, kept, keeping, kept.
Know, knew, knowing, known.
Lay, laid, laid.
Lead, led, led.
Leave, left, leaving, left.
Lend, lent, lending, lent.
Let, let, letting, let.
Lie, lay, lying, lain.
Lose, lost, losing, lost.
Make, made, making, made.
Mean, meant, meant
Meet, met, meeting, met.
Pay paid paid
Put, put, putting, put.
Read, r~ead, reading, r~ead.
Rend, rent, rending, rent.
Ride, rode, riding, ridden.
Ring, rung or rang, ringing, rung.
Rise, rose, rising, risen.
Run, ran, running, run.
Say, said, saying, said.
See, saw, seeing, seen.
Seek, sought, seeking, sought.
Sell, sold, selling, sold.
Send, sent, sending, sent.
Set, set, setting, set.
Shake, shook, shook.
Shine, shone, shone.
Shoot, shot, shooting, shot.
Show, showed, shown.
Sing, sang, singing, sung.
Sit, sat, sitting, sat.
Sleep, slept, slept.
Speak, spoke, speaking, spoken.
Spend, spent, spending, spent.
Stand, stood, standing, stood.
Steal, stole, stealing, stolen.
Strike, struck, striking, struck.
Swim, swam, swimming, swum.
Take, took, taking, taken.
Teach, taught, teaching, taught.
Tear, tore, tearing, torn.
Tell, told, telling, told.
Think, thought, thinking, thought.
Throw, threw, thrown.
Wake, woke, woken.
Wear, wore, wearing, worn.
Win, won, winning, won.
Write, wrote, writing, written.
Redundant verbs.
A redundant verb is a verb that forms the preterit or the perfect participle in two or more ways, and so as to be both regular and irregular; as, thrive, thrived or throve, thriving, thrived or thriven. Of this class of verbs, there are about ninety-five, beside sundry derivatives and compounds. List of the redundant verbs:
Imperfect
Present. Preterit. Participle. Perfect Participle.
Abide, abode or abided, abiding, abode or abided.
Awake, awaked or awoke, awaking, awaked or awoke.
Belay, belayed or belaid, belaying, belayed or belaid.
Bend, bent or bended, bending, bent or bended.
Bereave, bereft or bereaved, bereaving, bereft or bereaved.
Beseech, besought or beseeched, beseeching, besought or beseeched.
Bet, betted or bet, betting, betted or bet.
Betide, betided or betid, betiding, betided or betid.
Bide, bode or bided, biding, bode or bided.
Blend, blended or blent, blending, blended or blent.
Bless, blessed or blest, blessing, blessed or blest.
Blow, blew or blowed, blowing, blown or blowed.
Build, built or builded, building, built or builded.
Burn, burned or burnt, burning, burned or burnt.
Burst, burst or bursted, bursting, burst or bursted.
Catch, caught or catched, catching, caught or catched.
Clothe, clothed or clad, clothing, clothed or clad.
Creep, crept or creeped, creeping, crept or creeped.
Crow, crowed or crew, crowing, crowed.
Curse, cursed or curst, cursing, cursed or curst.
Dare, dared or durst, daring, dared.
Deal, dealt or dealed, dealing, dealt or dealed.
Dig, dug or digged, digging, dug or digged.
Dive, dived or dove, diving, dived or diven.
Dream, dreamed or dreamt, dreaming, dreamed or dreamt.
Dress, dressed or drest, dressing, dressed or drest.
Dwell, dwelt or dwelled, dwelling, dwelt or dwelled.
Freeze, froze or freezed, freezing, frozen or freezed.
Geld, gelded or gelt, gelding, gelded or gelt.
Gild, gilded or gilt, gilding, gilded or gilt.
Gird, girded or girt, girding, girded or girt.
Grave, graved, graving, graved or graven.
Grind, ground or grinded, grinding, ground or grinded.
Hang, hung or hanged, hanging, hung or hanged.
Heat, heated or het, heating, heated or het.
Heave, heaved or hove, heaving, heaved or hoven.
Hew, hewed, hewing, hewed or hewn.
Kneel, kneeled or knelt, kneeling, kneeled or knelt.
Knit, knit or knitted, knitting, knit or knitted.
Lade, laded, lading, laded or laden.
Lay, laid or layed, laying, laid or layed.
Lean, leaned or leant, leaning, leaned or leant.
Leap, leaped or leapt, leaping, leaped or leapt.
Learn, learned or learnt, learning, learned or learnt.
Light, lighted or lit, lighting, lighted or lit.
Mean, meant or meaned, meaning, meant or meaned.
Mow, mowed, mowing, mowed or mown.
Mulct, mulcted or mulct, mulcting, mulcted or mulct.
Pass, passed or past, passing, passed or past.
Pay, paid or payed, paying, paid or payed.
Pen, penned or pent, penning, penned or pent. (to coop,)
Plead, pleaded or pled, pleading, pleaded or pled.
Prove, proved, proving, proved or proven.
Quit, quitted or quit, quitting, quitted or quit.
Rap, rapped or rapt, rapping, rapped or rapt.
Reave, reft or reaved, reaving, reft or reaved.
Rive, rived, riving, riven or rived.
Roast, roasted or roast, roasting, roasted or roast.
Saw, sawed, sawing, sawed or sawn.
Seethe, seethed or sod, seething, seethed or sodden.
Shake, shook or shaked, shaking, shaken or shaked.
Shape, shaped, shaping, shaped or shapen.
Shave, shaved, shaving, shaved or shaven.
Shear, sheared or shore, shearing, sheared or shorn.
Shine, shined or shone, shining, shined or shone.
Show, showed, showing, showed or shown.
Sleep, slept or sleeped, sleeping, slept or sleeped.
Slide, slid or slided, sliding, slidden, slid, or slided.
Slit, slitted or slit, slitting, slitted or slit.
Smell, smelled or smelt, smelling, smelled or smelt.
Sow, sowed, sowing, sowed or sown.
Speed, sped or speeded, speeding, sped or speeded.
Spell, spelled or spelt, spelling, spelled or spelt.
Spill, spilled or spilt, spilling, spilled or spilt.
Split, split or splitted, splitting, split or splitted.
Spoil, spoiled or spoilt, spoiling, spoiled or spoilt.
Stave, stove or staved, staving, stove or staved.
Stay, staid or stayed, staying, staid or stayed.
String, strung or stringed, stringing, strung or stringed.
Strive, strived or strove, striving, strived or striven.
Strow, strowed, strowing, strowed or strown.
Sweat, sweated or sweat, sweating, sweated or sweat.
Sweep, swept or sweeped, sweeping, swept or sweeped.
Swell, swelled, swelling, swelled or swollen.
Thrive, thrived or throve, thriving, thrived or thriven.
Throw, threw or throwed, throwing, thrown or throwed.
Wake, waked or woke, waking, waked or woke.
Wax, waxed, waxing, waxed or waxen.
Weave, wove or weaved, weaving, woven or weaved.
Wed, wedded or wed, wedding, wedded or wed.
Weep, wept or weeped, weeping, wept or weeped.
Wet, wet or wetted, wetting, wet or wetted.
Whet, whetted or whet, whetting, whetted or whet.
Wind, wound or winded, winding, wound or winded.
Wont, wont or wonted, wonting, wont or wonted.
Work, worked or wrought, working, worked or wrought.
Wring, wringed or wrung, wringing, wringed or wrung.
Defective verbs.
A defective verb is a verb that forms no participles, and is used in but few of the moods and tenses; as, beware, ought, quoth. List of the defective verbs:
Present. Preterit. Beware, ------ Can, could. May, might. Methinks, methought. Must, must. Ought, ought. Shall, should. Will, would. Quoth, quoth. Wis, wist. Wit, wot.
A part of the text in this article, was taken from the public domain English grammar "The Grammar of English Grammars" by Goold Brown, 1851.
Also see:
- English Verbs Fully Conjugated - 665 Regular and Irregular English verb list. Conjugated in various tenses.
Adjectives and adverbs
English/Adjectives and adverbs
Prepostions, conjunctions, and interjections
Prepositions
A Preposition is a word used to express some relation of different things or thoughts from each other. Although overlooked in common speech, prepositional phrases should not be placed at the end of a question: as,
"Who do I give this to?" This is incorrect; the preposition is at the end of the question. When corrected, the sentence is: "To whom do I give this?" Prepositional phrases can be placed at the end of a sentence, however. See the following example:
"She did not sign up for tennis".
Prepositions are generally placed before a noun or a pronoun: as,
"The paper lies before me on the desk."
Commonly used English prepositions include:
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See also: List of English prepositions
Some words are linked with their prepositions, e.g. compared with, similar to, and different from (possibly different than in USA).
Conjunctions
A Conjunction is a word used to connect words or sentences in construction, and to show the dependence of the terms so connected: as,
"Thou and he are happy, because you are good."--Murray.
Conjunctions are divided into two general classes, copulative and disjunctive; and a few of each class are particularly distinguished from the rest, as being corresponsive.
A copulative conjunction is a conjunction that denotes an addition, a cause, a consequence, or a supposition: as,
"He and I shall not dispute; for, if he has any choice, I shall readily grant it."
A disjunctive conjunction is a conjunction that denotes opposition of meaning: as,
"Though he were dead, yet shall he live."--St. John's Gospel.
"Be not faithless, but believing."--Id.
The corresponsive conjunctions are those which are used in pairs, so that one refers or answers to the other: as,
"John came neither eating nor drinking."--Matt., xi, 18.
"But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you."--Ib., xii, 28.
The Copulatives; And, as, both, because, even, for, if, that, then, since, seeing, so.
The Disjunctives; Or, nor, either, neither, than, though, although, yet, but, except, whether, lest, unless, save, provided, notwithstanding, whereas.
The Corresponsives; Both--and; as--as; as--so; if--then; either--or; neither--nor; whether--or; though, or although--yet.
Interjections
An Interjection is a word that is uttered merely to indicate some strong or sudden emotion of the mind: as, Oh! alas! ah! poh! pshaw! avaunt! aha! hurrah!
The following are the principal interjections, arranged according to the emotions which they are generally intended to indicate:--
- Of joy; eigh! hey! io! yeah!
- Of sorrow; oh! ah! hoo! alas! alack! lackaday! welladay! or welaway!
- Of wonder; heigh! ha! strange! indeed!
- Of wishing, earnestness, or vocative address; (often with a noun or pronoun in the nominative absolute;) O!
- Of praise; well-done! good! bravo!
- Of surprise with disapproval; whew! hoity-toity! hoida! zounds! what!
- Of pain or fear; oh! ooh! ah! eh! O dear! Oh, no!
- Of contempt; fudge! pugh! poh! pshaw! pish! tush! tut! humph! fine!
- Of aversion; foh! faugh! fie! fy! foy!
- Of expulsion; out! off! shoo! whew! begone! avaunt! aroynt!
- Of calling aloud; ho! soho! what-ho! hollo! holla! hallo! halloo! hoy! ahoy! hey!
- Of exultation; ah! aha! huzza! hey! heyday! hurrah!
- Of laughter; ha, ha, ha; he, he, he; te-hee, te-hee.
- Of salutation; welcome! hail! all-hail!
- Of calling to attention; ho! lo! la! law! look! see! behold! hark!
- Of calling to silence; hush! hist! whist! 'st! aw! mum! shhh! zip it!
- Of dread or horror; oh! ha! hah! what!
- Of languor or weariness; heigh-ho! heigh-ho-hum!
- Of stopping; hold! soft! avast! whoh! halt!
- Of parting; farewell! adieu! good-bye! good-day! see ya!
- Of knowing or detecting; oho! ahah! ay-ay!
- Of interrogating; eh? ha? hey? no?
References
A part of the text in this article, was taken from the public domain English grammar "The Grammar of English Grammars" by Goold Brown, 1851.
Verbals
Overview
Infinitives
Gerunds
Gerunds are nouns built from a verb with an '-ing' suffix. They can be used as the subject of a sentence, an object, or an object of preposition. They can also be used to complement a subject. Often, gerunds exist side-by-side with nouns that come from the same root but the gerund and the common noun have different shades of meaning. Examples: breath and breathing, knowledge and knowing. Yet, distinguishing between a gerund, and a verb can sometimes cause trouble (For example): SWIMMING has to be the best sport ever (swimming=gerund). I went swimming today (not a Gerund, because it is not an idea)
Examples of gerunds as the subject of a sentence are:
- Backpacking is a rewarding pastime.
- Stretching can loosen up muscles.
- No smoking. (I.e., no smoking is allowed / you may not smoke here.)
As an object:
- We all love to go bowling on the weekend.
- He loves eating chips.
An object of preposition:
- They complained of hearing strange sounds from the next cabin.
- They sang about being eaten by bears to allay their fears.
And as a complement to a subject:
- One of the most dangerous things to do on the lake is ice-skating.
Participles
Participles are forms of verbs which are used as adjectives.
In present participles, you usually add 'ing' to the end. Therefore:
- Talk becomes talking
- Jump becomes jumping
- Open becomes opening
- See becomes seeing
In past participles, you usually add 'ed' to the end. Therefore:
- Talk becomes talked
- Jump becomes jumped
- Open becomes opened
However,
- See becomes seen
Notice how the irregular verb see also did not have a regular past participle. More irregular verbs with irregular past participles are:
- Be, been
- Break, broken
- Eat, eaten
- Slide, slid
As with most irregular words, there is no good 'general rule' which applies, but often 'ed' is replaced by 'en'.
A Participle is a word derived from a verb, participating the properties of a verb, and of an adjective or a noun; and is generally formed by adding ing, d, or ed, to the verb: thus, from the verb rule, are formed three participles, two simple and one compound; as, 1. ruling, 2. ruled, 3. having ruled.
English verbs, not defective, have severally three participles; which have been very variously denominated, perhaps the most accurately thus: the Imperfect, the Perfect, and the Preperfect. Or, as their order is undisputed, they may be conveniently called the First, the Second, and the Third.
The Imperfect participle is that which ends commonly in ing, and implies a continuance of the being, action, or passion: as, being, acting, ruling, loving, defending, terminating.
The Perfect participle is that which ends commonly in ed or en, and implies a completion of the being, action, or passion: as, been, acted, ruled, loved, defended, terminated.
The Preperfect participle is that which takes the sign having, and implies a previous completion of the being, action, or passion: as, having loved, having seen, having written; having been loved, having been writing, having been written.
The First or Imperfect Participle, when simple, is always formed by adding ing to the radical verb; as, look, looking: when compound, it is formed by prefixing being to some other simple participle; as, being reading, being read, being completed.
The Second or Perfect Participle is always simple, and is regularly formed by adding d or ed to the radical verb: those verbs from which it is formed otherwise, are either irregular or redundant.
The Third or Preperfect Participle is always compound, and is formed by prefixing having to the perfect, when the compound is double, and having been to the perfect or the imperfect, when the compound is triple: as, having spoken, having been spoken, having been speaking.
Examples
- He is talking to her.
- They are jumping into the pool.
- We had eaten the pie.
Each of these cases has a verb acting as an adjective, describing the subject.
In case you were wondering, 'had' plus a past participle is called a past perfect, or in the United Kingdom, the pluperfect.
References
A part of the text in this article, was taken from the public domain English grammar "The Grammar of English Grammars" by Goold Brown, 1851.
Unit II: Sentences
Sentences overview
Introduction
This section will serve as a basic overview of sentences. Each topic will be discussed in more detail in subsequent chapters.
Phrases
Clauses
Forms
There are three forms of a sentence: simple, compound, and complex, and one combined form: compound-complex.
Simple
Compound
Complex
Compound-complex
Purposes
Sentences are created for four main reasons: to declare, to command, to question, and to exclaim.
Declarative
Imperative
Interrogative
Exclamatory
Sentence diagrams
Basic componenents
Subject
Simple subject
Predicate
Simple predicate
Direct object
Indirect object
Phrases
Overview
Prepositional phrase
Appositive phrase
Participial phrase
Gerund phrase
Infinitive phrase
Clauses
Fragments and run-on sentences
English/Fragments and run-on sentences
Unit III: Usage
Adjective and adverb usage
An adjective is simply a word which modifies the noun it is related to. Adjectives usually come before the modified noun. An adjective could also be a phrase or a clause instead of being a single word. John bought a blue shirt. (single word) Last night, a man in a blue coat stole my wallet. (phrase) I love the car which just crossed the street. (clause)
Adverbs are like adjectives, but they modify the verb. Ordinarily, there are three types of adverbs (see above examples).
He carefully left the room. He left the room with a scared face. He left the room which was located on the seventh floor.
Most single word adverbs are made simply by adding -ly to the end of the respective adjective: Careful-ly = in a careful manner Usually = in a usual manner (often) Simply = in a simple way
This was edited by Emily Robinson.
Pronoun usage
Pronoun Usage
A pronoun comes from a Latin word that means 'for a noun'. It is a word that stands in for a noun. The English language has lots of different kinds of pronouns.
Pronouns are often divided into first, second and third person, singular and plural. First person refers to the speaker, second person refers to the person being spoken to, and third person refers to a person (or thing) neither speaking nor being spoken to.
The first person pronoun (referring to the speaker) is 'I' or 'me' in the singular, and 'we' or 'us' in the plural. The first of each set, "I/we", is used as the subject of a verb; the second, 'me/us', is used as the object of a verb or preposition, which can be made 'reflexive' (i.e. they are the same person as the subject) by adding the suffix '-self' to the possessive (myself/ourselves).
The second person pronoun (referring to the person being spoken to) is 'you' in singular and plural, as subject or object. The reflexive is "yourself" in the singular and "yourselves" in the plural.
Subject-verb agreement
English features a loose conjugation and declension pattern. For this reason, subject-verb agreement is of paramount importance.
Subject-Verb agreement is a rule which states that the number present in a noun must agree with the number shown in the conjugated form of the verb that is being used, and that the person of the noun must agree with the person of the conjugated form of the verb that you are using.
Proper Subject-Verb agreement:
- TO BE: I am - you are - he is - we are - you are - they are
- TO WORK: I work - you work - he works - we work - you work - they work
Where the subject is a pronoun or complex or modified as part of an adjectival phrase, or modified by parenthetic expressions, or clarified in meaning by common knowledge or something that occurs later in the sentence, then subject-verb agreement can become a little more complicated. Some grammar rules say that the complex part of the subject closest to verb in the sentence should determine the verbal agreement. However, many examples can be found that make this sound funny. A better rule is to consider the entire complex subject phrase as one subject, and then think about what kind of thing it represents.
The basic idea in idiomatic English is to make the verb agree with the idea that the subject REPRESENTS, which could have different plurality than the actual subject as a word. This is actually helpful in understanding meaning since it gives subject-verb agreement a role that is not simply redundant (in echoing the pluarity of the subject). Whatever the subject represents can be considered singular or plural, and that is what the verb should agree with.
- The president and the children (plural) are at the party.
- Neither the president nor the children (plural) are at the party.
- Either the president or the children (plural) are at the party.
- Neither the children nor the president (plural) are at the party.
- Somebody (singular) is at the party.
- Nobody (singular) is at the party.
- We (plural 1st person) are at the party.
- I (singular 1st person) am at the party.
- The Three Musketeers (singular-book) is a good book.
- Ten dollars (singular) is enough to buy the book.
- Ten dollars (plural) are in my pocket.
- Economics (singular subject of study) is an interesting subject.
- Bryans and Hastings (singular supermarket) is a great place to shop.
- The idea of serving frankfurters (singular idea) is a good one.
- My sister and my friend, Roberta, is at the party.
- My sister and my friend are (both) at the party.
In many cases, the author decides whether the subject represents something singular or plural, depending upon which idea is desired to be expressed. For example, a group can act as a whole (singular) or as a group of individuals (plural), and despite many attempts at making rules for this, there is no simple rule that covers all cases:
- All of my family is going camping.
- Most of my family is at the party.
- All of my family are fans.
- Some of my family are fans.
- Most of my family is at the party.
- Most of my family are at the party.
- Some of my family are in their homes.
- The sounds the car makes, the ways they irritate (singular idea stated with 2 phrases)--it is all the same idea no matter how you say it.
Another needed example is one in which the noun that is clearly singular until the entire sentence is read, and something near the end changes the meaning of the noun so that it clearly represents a plural thing.
Verb usage
A verb is a part of speech that usually denotes action ("bring", "read"), occurrence ("to decompose" (itself), "to glitter"), or a state of being ("exist", "live", "soak", "stand"). Depending on the language, a verb may vary in form according to many factors, possibly including its tense, aspect, mood and voice. It may also agree with the person, gender, and/or number of some of its arguments (what we usually call subject, object, etc.).
Verbs can be conveyed in many ways. Lets look in particular at the word "wear"
She wears a pink dress - This sentence is made up of three main parts, she, being the noun. Wears, being an action or 'doing' word. Pink, describing the noun about to be added to the sentence and, Dress, the noun which pulls all these words together (giving them all one key point) to complete the sentence.
Unit IV: Punctuation
End marks
Commas
Introductory phrases
Appositives
An appositive is an interjection into a sentence; it provides useful information regarding what is previously, or about to be stated. While this part of a sentence may provide useful information, the thought expressed by the sentence will stand fully on its own without the appositive. The Thought itself, though also not required, still remains an informative sentence without the appositive.
For example, in the following sentence "my best friend's collie" is an appositive:
The dog, my best friend's collie, caught the frisbee every time.
While the appositive gives the sentence additional information and character, it is not necessary to communicate the primary thought:
i.e. the sentence would have survived, just as "The dog caught the frisbee every time.'
Appositives are always separated from the main body of the sentence by punctuation, usually commas, but sometimes--when greater separation is desired--dashes are used.
Another definition for an appositive states that and Appositive renames, or adds to the description of another noun, within a sentence without disrupting the original thought trying to be conveyed.
Parenthetical expressions
Series
Clarity
Omissions
References
- The organization of this chapter was adapted from the 1977 edition of Building English Skills Handbook by McDougal, Litell & Company.
Apostrophes
Apostrophe in a punctuative context: An apostrophe can be used to form posessives for nouns, indicate the omission of letters in a word for stylistic purposes or as a colloquial form of a word, and be used to indicate plurality.
Apostrophe, a figure of speech in which an absent person, a personified inanimate being, or an abstraction, is addressed as though present.
The term is derived from the Latin word apostrophus itself derived from the Greek words αποστροφος meaning accident of elision αποστρεφειν meaning a turning away.
This sense is maintained when a narrative or dramatic thread is broken in order to digress by speaking directly to someone not there, e.g., “Envy, be silent and attend!”—Alexander Pope, “On a Certain Lady at Court.”
Quotations
English Quotations
In English quotations and direct speech is donated using quotation marks
" is used as an opening quotation mark
" is also used as a closing quotation mark
Converting direct speech follows a pattern in English which may differ to reported speech in other languages. This pattern concerns statements (there are different rules for imperatives and questions):
Note that when converting from Direct speech to Indirect speech you usually have to move the tense backwards:
Similarly there are some changes to be made to other words in the sentence. Because we are reporting what someone said in the past we must use other words to talk about the past, e.g. 'today' becomes 'that day', 'here' becomes 'there', 'next week' becomes 'the following week' and 'last week' becomes 'the previous week'. There are other similar changes too.
Other common punctuation marks
Period/Full stop ( . )
Exclamation mark/point ( ! ) and question mark ( ? )
Parentheses/Brackets
- Other types of brackets will be discussed in the next section.
Dash and hyphen ( ‒ ) ( – ) ( — ) ( ― )
Colon ( : )
Semicolon ( ; )
Less common typographical marks
English/Less common typographical marks
Unit V: Other key topics
Capitalization
The use of capital letters in English is generally similar to in other Germanic and Romance languages with a few exceptions. The following list shows when you should use a capital letter:
Capitalization
Capitalize the first word in every sentence.
EXAMPLE: She said, "It will be hard to go home after this fun vacation."
Capitalize the pronoun I.
EXAMPLE: Ira said that I was the best dancer in the show.
Capitalize the interjection O.
EXAMPLE: Guide and direct us,O Lord.
Capitalize the first word in both the salutation and the closing of a letter.
EXAMPLES: Dear Mr. Novato: Sincerely
Capitalize the names of persons and animals.
EXAMPLES: Franklin D. Roosevelt Willem de Kooning
Capitalize geographical names
EXAMPLES: the Gulf of Mexico the Southwest Prince William Forest
Capitalize the names of planets, stars, constellations, and other heavenly bodies.
EXAMPLES: Neptune Polaris Great Nebula
Capitalize the names of teams, organizations, institutions, and government bodies.
EXAMPLES: Kansas City Chiefs Future Teachers of America
Capitalize the names of historical events and periods, special events, holidays, and other calendar items.
EXAMPLES: the Eighties the Civil War Hannukah my Birthday
Capitalize the names of nationalities, races, and peoples
EXAMPLES: Indian Chinese Bedouin
Capitalize the names of religions and their followers, holy days and celebrations, sacred writings, and specific deities.
EXAMPLES: Allah Hindus Christmas Koran
Capitalize the names of buildings and other structures.
EXAMPLES: Colleyville Heritage High School World Trade Center
Capitalize the names of monuments, memorials, and awards
EXAMPLES: Lincoln Memorial Nobel Peace Prize
Capitalize the names of trains, ships, aircraft, and spacecraft
EXAMPLES: Enola Gay U.S.S. Enterprise Challenger
Capitalize the names of businesses and the brand names of business products
EXAMPLES: Continenetal Airlines Microsoft Microsoft Windows
Notes
The use of medial capitals (those in the middle of words)is generally considered poor English, although this is quite common on the Internet and in advertisements. It's not necessary to capitalize styles of music (e.g. "indie"), adjectives, or the name of companies if they themselves don't use a capital letter (e.g. eBay) although the first letter will sometimes be capitalized on the Internet due to technical reasons.
Spelling
Sound to spelling correspondences
The following table shows for each sound, the various spelling patterns used to denote it. The symbol "•" stands for an intervening consonant. The letter sequences are in order of frequency with the most common first. Some of these patterns are very rare or unique, such as 'au' for the ah sound in laugh.
| Tense Changes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech | |
| "I am from England" | He said he was from England | |
| "I am going to Italy" | He said he was going to Italy | |
| "I have read it" | He said he had read it. | |
| Tense Changes | ||
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech | |
| Present Simple | Past Simple | |
| Present Perfect | Past Perfect | |
| Past Simple | Past Perfect or Past Simple | |
| Will + Infinitive | Would + Infinitive | |
| Be + Going to | Was/Were + Going to | |
| Examples | ||
| "I am here" | Reported Speech | |
| "I am from England" | He said he was there | |
| "I will return next week" | He said he would return the following week | |
| "I have worked here since last week" | He said he had worked there since the previous week | |
| Consonants | ||
| IPA | spelling | example |
| /p/ | p, pp, ph, pe, gh | pill, happy, Phuket, tape, hiccough |
| /b/ | b, bb, bh, be, p (in some dialects) | bit, rabbit, Bhutan, tribe, thespian |
| /t/ | t, tt, ed, pt, th, ct, te | ten, bitter, topped, ptomaine, thyme, ctenoid, hate |
| /d/ | d, dd, ed, dh, de, th (in some dialects) | dive, ladder, failed, dharma, made, them |
| /g/ | g, gg, gue, gh, gu | go, stagger, catalogue, ghost, guilt |
| /k/ | c, k, ck, ch, cc, qu, q, cq, cu, que, kk, kh, ke | cat, key, tack, chord, account, liquor, Iraq, acquaint, biscuit, mosque, trekker, khan, make |
| /m/ | m, mm, mb, mn, mh, me | mine, hammer, climb, hymn, mho, lame |
| /n/ | n, nn, kn, gn, pn, nh, cn, ne, mn, ng (in some dialects) | nice, funny, knee, gnome, pneumonia, piranha, cnidarian, vane, mnemonic, fighting |
| /ŋ/ | ng, n, ngue, ngh | sing, link, tongue, Singh |
| /ɹ/ | r, rr, wr, rh, rrh, re | ray, parrot, wrong, rhyme, diarrhea, more |
| /f/ | f, ph, ff, gh, pph, u, th (in some dialects) | fine, physical, off, laugh, sapphire, BR lieutenant, thin |
| /v/ | v, vv, f, ve | vine, savvy, of, have |
| /θ/ | th, chth, phth, tth | thin, chthonic, phthisis, Matthew |
| /ð/ | th, the | them, breathe |
| /s/ | s, c, ss, sc, st, ps, sch, cc, se, ce, z (in some dialects) | song, city, mess, scene, listen, psychology, schism, flaccid, horse, juice, citizen |
| /z/ | s, z, x, zz, ss, ze, c (in some dialects) | has, zoo, xylophone, fuzz, scissors, breeze, electricity |
| /ʃ/ | sh, ti, ci, ssi, si, ss, ch, s, sci, ce, sch, sc | shin, nation, special, mission, expansion, tissue, machine, sugar, conscience, ocean, schist, crescendo |
| /ʒ/ | si, s, g, z, j, zh, ti, sh (in some dialects) | division, leisure, genre, seizure, jeté, Zhytomyr, equation, Pershmg |
| /tʃ/ | ch, t, tch, ti, c, cz, tsch | chin, nature, batch, mention, cello, Czech, Deutschmark |
| /dʒ/ | g, j, dg, d, di, gi, ge, dj, gg | magic, jump, ledger, graduate, soldier, Belgian, dungeon, Djibouti, suggest |
| /h/ | h, wh, j, ch | he, whom, fajita, chutzpah |
| /j/ | y, i, j, ll | yes, onion, hallelujah, tortilla |
| /l/ | l, ll, lh, le | line, hall, Lhasa, rule |
| /w/ | w, u, o, ou, wh (in most dialects) | we, queen, choir, Ouija board, what |
| /ʍ/ | wh (in some dialects) | wheel |
| Vowels | ||
| IPA | spelling | example |
| /i/ | e, y, ee, ea, e•e, i•e, ie, ei, ei•e, ey, ae, ay, oe, eo, is, eip, ie▪e, i, ea▪e, it, eigh, ois | be, city, bee, beach, cede, machine, field, deceit, deceive, key, Caesar, quay, amoeba, people, debris, receipt, believe, ski, leave, esprit, Raleigh, chamois |
| /ɪ/ | i, i•e, a•e, y, ie, ui, ei, ee, e, ia, u, o, u▪e, eig, ie•e | bit, give, damage, myth, mischief, build, counterfeit, been, pretty, carriage, busy, women, minute, sovereign, sieve |
| /u/ | oo, u, o, u•e, ou, ew, ue, o•e, ui, eu, oe, ough, wo, ioux, ieu, ault, oup | tool, luminous, who, flute, soup, jewel, true, lose, fruit, maneuver, canoe, through, two, Sioux, US lieutenant, Sault Sainte Marie, coup |
| /ʊ/ | u, oo, ou, o, w | full, look, should, wolf, cwm |
| /ei/ | a, a•e, ai, ay, eigh, ea, ei, ey, au, et, er, ee, aigh, ie, eig, eg | paper, rate, rain, pay, eight, steak, veil, obey, gauge, ballet, dossier, matinee, straight, US lingerie, reign, thegn |
| /ə/ | a, e, o, u, ai, ou, eig, y, ah, ough, gh | another, anthem, awesome, atrium, mountain, callous, foreign, beryl, Messiah, BR borough, Edinburgh |
| /o(u)/ | o, o•e, oa, ow, ou, oe, oo, eau, oh, ew, au, aoh, ough | so, bone, boat, know, soul, foe, brooch, beau, oh, sew, mauve, pharoah, furlough |