|
Reading about language can be infuriating because authors
often assume your knowledge of a special technical language,
the language of grammar. Here's some help.
ACTIVE-VOICE VERB: a verb structure in which the subject
does the verb's action.
The report includes several pages.
ADJECTIVE: a modifier that limits or defines nouns or
pronouns.
The truck, which lumbered down the street,
shook the two-story house.
ADVERB: a modifier that limits or defines verbs, adjectives,
or other adverbs. Adverbs often end in "-ly."
She quickly calmed the raging audience.
ANTECEDENT: a noun to which a pronoun refers.
Peter removed his coat, which fell to pieces.
"Peter" is the antecedent of "his"; "coat"
is the antecedent of "which."
APPOSITIVE: a noun that follows another noun and that
identifies the first noun.
Mrs. James, the departmental manager, reiterated
her wishes.
ARTICLE: a word used before a noun; the is the
specific article; a and an are the inspecific articles.
CLAUSE: a group of words containing a subject and verb.
(He came to work yesterday), (which was the
first day of his vacation).
Both sections of the sentence in parentheses are clauses,
the first an independent clause, the second a dependent clause.
COMPLEX SENTENCE: a sentence with one independent clause
and one or more dependent clauses.
Although the concert had ended, the audience
remained.
COMPOUND SENTENCE: a sentence containing two or more
independent clauses.
I visited Florida, but the weather was poor.
CONNECTIVE: a word that connects one part of a sentence
to another; conjunctions, prepositions, and adverbs can all act
as connectives.
CONTRACTION: two words shortened into one.
do not = don't
DEPENDENT CLAUSE: a group of words that contains a
subject and verb, but that cannot stand alone as a sentence.
If you wish further help with this, I'll call June, who is the real expert.
GERUND: a verb form that ends in -ing and is used as
a noun.
Talking loudly
is forbidden in the library.
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE: a group of words that contains
a subject and verb and that can stand alone as a sentence.
He failed me.
INFINITIVE: a verb form that is introduced by "to"
and that can act as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.
To make us look
bad, he asked us to slow down.
INTRANSITIVE VERB: a verb requiring no direct object.
She smiled.
LOOSE SENTENCE: usually a compound structure joined
by "and" or another simple conjunction.
The figures fell slightly, and the financial
analysts panicked.
MAIN CLAUSE: an independent clause.
MODIFIER: a word, phrase, or clause that limits or describes
the word to which it refers.
The blue car . . .
NOMINATIVE CASE: the form of a pronoun primarily used
as a subject.
He looked carefully
around his house.
The nominative forms of the usual pronouns are I, you,
he, she, it, we, you, they, who, and whoever.
NONRESTRICTIVE CLAUSE, PHRASE, OR WORD: an element that
does not serve to identify, limit, or restrict the word to which
it refers. Nonrestrictives, or nonidentifying elements, usually
add useful information, but add nothing to the identification
of the words to which they refer.
South Boston, where the dreadful accident
occurred, was the birthplace of James Michael Curley.
Some editors demand that all restrictive clauses start with
that and all nonrestrictive clauses start with which
or who. Professional writers seem to observe no such rule
and instead put in whichever sounds right to them.
NOUN: a person, place, or thing; a time or event. Anything
you can name is a noun.
OBJECT: a noun or pronoun following a preposition or a
transitive verb.
She hit him with vigor and precision.
OBJECTIVE CASE: the form of a pronoun used primarily
as direct object, object of a preposition, or indirect object.
The objective form of the common pronouns is me, you, him,
her, it, us, you, them, whom, and whomever.
PARENTHETIC CLAUSE, PHRASE, OR WORD: an element that is
inserted, sometimes awkwardly, into a sentence and that generally
can be moved to other positions in the sentence without marring
the sentence's meaning.
She was, I believe, happy with her
new position.
PARTICIPLE: a verb form ending generally in -ing or
-ed and used as an adjective.
Walking down
the street, he saw the painted shutters.
PASSIVE-VOICE VERB: a verb structure in which the subject
is acted upon. The passive-voice structure always contains some
form of the verb to be attached to an –ed
form (a past participle).
The report was read.
PHRASE: a group of words lacking either a subject or
a verb but acting as one part of speech.
His upper back ached in an unusual way.
POSSESSIVE CASE: a form of a noun or a pronoun showing
the noun's or the pronoun's ownership of another noun.
Joe's books
fell from his hands.
PREDICATE: the part of a sentence including the verb,
direct object, indirect object, and modifiers to these elements.
I gave him the reports that I had edited.
PREPOSITION: a modifier linking a noun or pronoun to
some other part of the sentence.
A house in the country burned to
the ground.
The most common prepositions are these:
|
about |
behind |
during |
instead of |
through |
|
above |
below |
except |
like |
to |
|
according to |
beneath |
except for |
near |
toward |
|
across |
beside |
following |
of |
under |
|
after |
between |
for |
off |
until |
|
against |
beyond |
from |
on account of |
with regard to |
|
around |
by |
in spite of |
on |
with |
|
at |
by means of |
in |
opposite |
without |
|
because of |
down |
in addition to |
out |
|
|
before |
due to |
in front of |
over |
|
PRONOUN: a word standing in place of a noun.
Joe washed his hair.
RELATIVE CLAUSE: a dependent clause that acts as an
adjective and is introduced by a relative pronoun (who,
which, and that are the common ones).
I visited Pete, who seemed ill.
RESTRICTIVE CLAUSE, WORD, OR PHRASE: a modifier necessary
to identify the word to which it refers.
Water which comes from that distributor
is hardly fit to drink.
Some editors demand that all restrictive clauses start with
that and all nonrestrictive clauses start with which
or who. Professional writers seem to observe no such rule
and instead put in whichever sounds right to them.
SUBJECT: the noun or pronoun about which a statement is
made in a clause. A subject generally comes before the verb.
Helen reorganized
the department as she had been asked.
SUBORDINATE CLAUSE: a dependent clause.
TENSE: the time a verb expresses; tenses include past,
present, future, past perfect, perfect, and future perfect.
|
Present: |
He walks. |
|
Past: |
He walked. |
|
Future: |
He will walk. |
|
Past perfect: |
He had walked. |
|
Perfect: |
He has walked. |
|
Future perfect: |
He will have walked. |
VERB: a word that generally expresses action and that
always expresses time.
He read the report.
The report was read.
|