THE PARTS OF SPEECH 1-Nouns 2-Pronouns 3-Adjectives 4-Adverbs 5-verbs 6-Prepositions 7-Conjunctions 8-Interjections

1-Nouns A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea.

Categories of Nouns Nouns can be classified further as count nouns, which name anything that can be counted (four books, two continents, a few dishes, a dozen buildings); mass nouns (or non-count nouns), which name something that can't be counted (water, air, energy, blood); and collective nouns, which can take a singular form but are composed of more than one individual person or items (jury, team, class, committee, herd). We should note that some words can be either a count noun or a non-count noun depending on how they're being used in a sentence: a. b. c. d. He got into trouble. (non-count) He had many troubles. (countable) Experience (non-count) is the best teacher. We had many exciting experiences (countable) in college.

Some texts will include the category of abstract nouns, by which we mean the kind of word that is not tangible, such as warmth, justice, grief, and peace. Abstract nouns are sometimes troublesome for non-native writers because they can appear with determiners or without: "Peace settled over the countryside." "The skirmish disrupted the peace that had settled over the countryside." See the section on Plurals for additional help with collective nouns, words that can be singular or plural, depending on context

Forms of Nouns Nouns can be in the subjective, possessive, and objective case. The word case defines the role of the noun in the sentence. Is it a subject, an object, or does it show possession?

The English professor [subject] is tall. He chose the English professor [object]. The English professor's [possessive] car is green.

Nouns in the subject and object role are identical in form; nouns that show the possessive, however, take a different form. Usually an apostrophe is added followed by the letter s (except for plurals, which take the plural "-s" ending first, and then add the apostrophe).

Plurals The plural form of most nouns is created simply by adding the letter s.

more than one snake = snakes more than one ski = skis more than one Barrymore = Barrymores

Words that end in -ch, x, s or s-like sounds, however, will require an -es for the plural:

more than one witch = witches more than one box = boxes more than one gas = gases more than one bus = buses more than one kiss = kisses more than one Jones = Joneses

In addition, there are several nouns that have irregular plural forms. Plurals formed in this way are sometimes called mutated (or mutating) plurals.

more than one child = children

more than one woman = women more than one man = men more than one person = people more than one goose = geese more than one mouse = mice more than one barracks = barracks more than one deer = deer

And, finally, there are nouns that maintain their Latin or Greek form in the plural. (See media and data and alumni, below.)

more than one nucleus = nuclei more than one syllabus = syllabi more than one focus = foci more than one fungus = fungi more than one cactus = cacti (cactuses is acceptable) more than one thesis = theses more than one crisis = crises* more than one phenomenon = phenomena more than one index = indices (indexes is acceptable) more than one appendix = appendices (appendixes is acceptable) more than one criterion = criteria

*Note the pronunciation of this word, crises: the second syllable sounds like ease. More than one base in the game of baseball is bases, but more than one basis for an argument, say, is also bases, and then we pronounce the word basease. A handful of nouns appear to be plural in form but take a singular verb:

The news is bad. Gymnastics is fun to watch. Economics/mathematics/statistics is said to be difficult. ("Economics" can sometimes be a plural concept, as in "The economics of the situation demand that . . . .")

Numerical expressions are usually singular, but can be plural if the individuals within a numerical group are acting individually:

Fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money. One-half of the faculty is retiring this summer. One-half of the faculty have doctorates.

Fifty percent of the students have voted already.

And another handful of nouns might seem to be singular in nature but take a plural form and always use a plural verb:

My pants are torn. (Nowadays you will sometimes see this word as a singular "pant" [meaning one pair of pants] especially in clothing ads, but most writers would regard that as an affectation.) Her scissors were stolen. The glasses have slipped down his nose again.

When a noun names the title of something or is a word being used as a word, it is singular whether the word takes a singular form or not.

Faces is the name of the new restaurant downtown. Okies, which most people regard as a disparaging word, was first used to describe the residents of Oklahoma during the 1930s. Chelmsley Brothers is the best moving company in town. Postcards is my favorite novel. The term Okies was used to describe the residents of Oklahoma during the 1930s. (In this sentence, the word Okies is actually an appositive for the singular subject, "term.")

Plural Compound Nouns Compound words create special problems when we need to pluralize them. As a general rule, the element within the compound that word that is pluralized will receive the plural -s, but it's not always that simple. Daughters-in-law follows the general rule, but cupfuls does not. See the special section on Compound Nouns and Modifiers or, better yet, a good dictionary, for additional help. Problem Children Many careful writers insist that the words data and media are Latin plurals and must, therefore, be used as plural words. The singular Latin forms of these words, however, are seldom used: datum as a single bit of information or medium as a single means of communication. Many authorities nowadays approve sentences like My data is lost. and The media is out to get the President. Even textbooks in computer science are beginning to use "data" as a singular.

Alumni and alumnae remain problematic. The plural of masculine singular alumnus is alumni; the plural of feminine singular alumna is alumnae. In traditional Latin, the masculine plural form, alumni, could include both genders. This does not go over well with some female alums. We note, furthermore, that Vassar College, which now has both, has lists of alumni and alumnae. Hartford College for Women, we assume, has only alumnae. In its publication style manual, Wesleyan University approves of alumni/ae. The genderless graduate and the truncated and informal alum have much to commend them. Special Cases With words that end in a consonant and a y, you'll need to change the y to an i and add es.

more than one baby = babies more than one gallery = galleries (Notice the difference between this and galleys, where the final y is not preceded by a consonant.) more than one reality = realities This rule does not apply to proper nouns: more than one Kennedy = Kennedys

Words that end in o create special problems.

more than one potato = potatoes more than one hero = heroes . . . however . . . more than one memo = memos more than one cello = cellos . . . and for words where another vowel comes before the o . . . more than one stereo = stereos

Plurals of words that end in -f or -fe usually change the f sound to a v sound and add s or -es.

more than one knife = knives more than one leaf = leaves more than one hoof = hooves more than one life = lives more than one self = selves

There are, however, exceptions:

more than one dwarf = dwarfs more than one roof = roofs

When in doubt, as always, consult a dictionary. Some dictionaries, for instance, will list both wharfs and wharves as acceptable plural forms of wharf. It makes for good arguments. Collective Nouns, Company Names, Family Names There are, further, so called collective nouns, which are singular when we think of them as groups and plural when we think of the individuals acting within the whole (which happens sometimes, but not often). audience band class committee crowd dozen family flock group heap herd jury kind lot [the] number public staff team

Thus, if we're talking about eggs, we could say "A dozen is probably not enough." But if we're talking partying with our friends, we could say, "A dozen are coming over this afternoon." The jury delivers its verdict. [But] The jury came in and took their seats. We could say the Tokyo String Quartet is one of the best string ensembles in the world, but we could say the Beatles were some of the most famous singers in history. Generally, band names and musical groups take singular or plural verbs depending on the form of their names: "The Mamas and the Papas were one of the best groups of the 70s" and "Metallica is my favorite band." Note that "the number" is a singular collective noun. "The number of applicants is steadily increasing." "A number," on the other hand, is a plural form: "There are several students in the lobby. A number are here to see the president." Collective nouns are count nouns which means they, themselves, can be pluralized: a university has several athletic teams and classes. And the immigrant families kept watch over their herds and flocks.

The word following the phrase one of the (as an object of the preposition of) will always be plural.

One of the reasons we do this is that it rains a lot in spring. One of the students in this room is responsible.

Notice, though, that the verb ("is") agrees with one, which is singular, and not with the object of the preposition, which is always plural. When a family name (a proper noun) is pluralized, we almost always simply add an "s." So we go to visit the Smiths, the Kennedys, the Grays, etc.When a family name ends in s, x, ch, sh, or z, however, we form the plural by added -es, as in the Marches, the Joneses, the Maddoxes, the Bushes, the Rodriguezes. Do not form a family name plural by using an apostrophe; that device is reserved for creating possessive forms. When a proper noun ends in an "s" with a hard "z" sound, we don't add any ending to form the plural: "The Chambers are coming to dinner" (not the Chamberses); "The Hodges used to live here" (not the Hodgeses). The names of companies and other organizations are usually regarded as singular, regardless of their ending: "General Motors has announced its fall lineup of new vehicles." Try to avoid the inconsistency that is almost inevitable when you think of corporate entities as a group of individuals: "General Motors has announced their fall lineup of new vehicles." But note that some inconsistency is acceptable in all but the most formal writing: "Ford has announced its breakup with Firestone Tires. Their cars will no longer use tires built by Firestone." Some writers will use a plural verb when a plural construction such as "Associates" is part of the company's title or when the title consists of a series of names: "Upton, Vernon, and Gridley are moving to new law offices next week" or "Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego & Associates have won all their cases this year." Singular verbs and pronouns would be correct in those sentences, also. The names of sports teams, on the other hand, are treated as plurals, regardless of the form of that name. We would write that "The Yankees have signed a new third baseman" and "The Yankees are a great organization" (even if we're Red Sox fans) and that "For two years in a row, the Utah Jazz have attempted to draft a big man." When we refer to a team by the city in which it resides, however, we use the singular, as in "Dallas has attempted to secure the services of two assistant coaches that Green Bay hopes to keep." (This is decidedly not a British practice. In England, the city names by which British newspapers refer to soccer teams, for

example, are used as plurals a practice that seems odd and inconsistent to American ears: "A minute's silence will precede the game at Le Stadium today, when Toulouse play Munster, and tomorrow at Lansdowne Road, when Leinster attempt to reach their first European final by beating Perpignan" [report in the online London Times].) Plurals and Apostrophes We use an apostrophe to create plural forms in two limited situations: for pluralized letters of the alphabet and when we are trying to create the plural form of a word that refers to the word itself. Here we also should italicize this "word as word," but not the 's ending that belongs to it. Do not use the apostrophe+s to create the plural of acronyms (pronounceable abbreviations such as laser and IRA and URL*) and other abbreviations. (A possible exception to this last rule is an acronym that ends in "S": "We filed four NOS's in that folder.")

Jeffrey got four A's on his last report card. Towanda learned very quickly to mind her p's and q's. You have fifteen and's in that last paragraph.

Notice that we do not use an apostrophe -s to create the plural of a word-in-itself. For instance, we would refer to the "ins and outs" of a mystery, the "yeses and nos" of a vote (NYPL Writer's Guide to Style and Usage), and we assume that Theodore Bernstein knew what he was talking about in his book Dos, Don'ts & Maybes of English Usage. We would also write "The shortstop made two spectacular outs in that inning." But when we refer to a word-as-a-word, we first italicize it I pointed out the use of the word out in that sentence. and if necessary, we pluralize it by adding the unitalicized apostrophe -s "In his essay on prepositions, Jose used an astonishing three dozen out's." This practice is not universally followed, and in newspapers, you would find our example sentence written without italics or apostrophe: "You have fifteen ands in that last paragraph." Some abbreviations have embedded plural forms, and there are often inconsistencies in creating the plurals of these words. The speed of an internal combustion engine is measured in "revolutions per minute" or rpm (lower case) and the efficiency of an automobile is reported in "miles per gallon" or mpg (no "s" endings). On the other hand, American baseball players love to accumulate "runs batted in," a statistic that is usually reported as RBIs (although it would not be terribly unusual to hear that someone got 100 RBI last year and some

baseball commentators will talk about "ribbies," too). Also, the U.S. military provides "meals ready to eat" and those rations are usually described as MREs (not MRE). When an abbreviation can be used to refer to a singular thing a run batted in, a meal ready-to-eat, a prisoner of war it's surely a good idea to form the plural by adding "s" to the abbreviation: RBIs, MREs, POWs. (Notice that no apostrophe is involved in the formation of these plurals. Whether abbreviations like these are formed with upper- or lower-case letters is a matter of great mystery; only your dictionary editor knows for sure.) Notice, furthermore, that we do not use an apostrophe to create plurals in the following:

The 1890s in Europe are widely regarded as years of social decadence. I have prepared 1099s for the entire staff. Rosa and her brother have identical IQs, and they both have PhDs from Harvard. She has over 400 URLs* in her bookmark file.

Authority for this last paragraph: Keys for Writers: A Brief Handbook by Ann Raimes. Houghton Mifflin: New York. 1996. Singular Subjects, Plural Predicates, etc. We frequently run into a situation in which a singular subject is linked to a plural predicate:

My favorite breakfast is cereal with fruit, milk, orange juice, and toast.

Sometimes, too, a plural subject can be linked to singular predicate:

Mistakes in parallelism are the only problem here.

In such situations, remember that the number (singular or plural) of the subject, not the predicate, determines the number of the verb. See the section on Subject-Verb Agreement for further help. A special situation exists when a subject seems not to agree with its predicate. For instance, when we want each student to see his or her counselor (and each student is assigned to only one counselor), but we want to avoid that "his or her" construction by pluralizing, do we say "Students must see their counselors" or "Students must see their counselor"? The singular counselor is necesssary to avoid

the implication that students have more than one counselor apiece. Do we say "Many sons dislike their father or fathers"? We don't mean to suggest that the sons have more than one father, so we use the singular father. Theodore Bernstein, in Dos, Don'ts and Maybes of English Usage, says that "Idiomatically the noun applying to more than one person remains in the singular when (a) it represents a quality or thing possessed in common ("The audience's curiosity was aroused"); or (b) it is an abstraction ("The judges applied their reason to the problem"), or (c) it is a figurative word ("All ten children had a sweet tooth") (203). Sometimes good sense will have to guide you. We might want to say "Puzzled, the children scratched their head" to avoid the image of multi-headed children, but "The audience rose to their foot" is plainly ridiculous and about to tip over. In "The boys moved their car/cars," the plural would indicate that each boy owned a car, the singular that the boys (together) owned one car (which is quite possible). It is also possible that each boy owned more than one car. Be prepared for such situations, and consider carefully the implications of using either the singular or the plural. You might have to avoid the problem by going the opposite direction of pluralizing: moving things to the singular and talking about what each boy did. *The jury still seems to be out on whether URL (acronym for Uniform [or Universal] Resource Locator), the address of a website on the World Wide Web, should be pronounced like the name of your Uncle Earl or as a series of letters: U*R*L. In either case, though, the plural would be spelled URLs.

Pronoun Generally (but not always) pronouns stand for (pro + noun) or refer to a noun, an individual or individuals or thing or things (the pronoun's antecedent) whose identity is made clear earlier in the text. For instance, we are bewildered by writers who claim something like

They say that eating beef is bad for you.

They is a pronoun referring to someone, but who are they? Cows? whom do they represent? Sloppy use of pronouns is unfair. Not all pronouns will refer to an antecedent, however.

Everyone here earns over a thousand dollars a day.

The word "everyone" has no antecedent. Pronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Basic Principle: A pronoun usually refers to something earlier in the text (its antecedent) and must agree in number singular/plural with the thing to which it refers.

The indefinite pronouns anyone, anybody, everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, no one, and nobody are always singular. This is sometimes perplexing to writers who feel that everyone and everybody (especially) are referring to more than one person. The same is true of either and neither, which are always singular even though they seem to be referring to two things.

The need for pronoun-antecedent agreement can create gender problems. If one were to write, for instance, "A student must see his counselor before the end of the semester," when there are female students about, nothing but grief will follow. One can pluralize, in this situation, to avoid the problem:

Students must see their counselor before the end of the semester. Or, one could say A student must see his or her counselor. . . .

Too many his's and her's eventually become annoying, however, and the reader becomes more aware of the writer trying to be conscious of good form than he or she is of the matter at hand.

Trying to conform to the above rule (#2) can lead to a great deal of nonsense. It is widely regarded as being correct (or correct enough), at the beginning of the twenty-first century, to say

Somebody has left their bag on the floor.

but many people would object its being written that way because somebody is singular and their is plural. There is a great deal to be said, however, for using the word their as the gender-nonspecific, singular pronoun. In fact, it's been said already, and you can read all about it at the The University of Texas, where a web-site has been dedicated to the use of their in this way in the writings of Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, and other literary greats. At least it's nice to know you're not alone!

Remember that when we compound a pronoun with something else, we don't want to change its form. Following this rule carefully often creates something that "doesn't sound good." You would write, "This money is for me," so when someone else becomes involved, don't write, "This money is for Fred and I." Try these:

This money is for him and me. This arrangement is between Fred and him.

Those are both good sentences.

One of the most frequently asked questions about grammar is about choosing between the various forms of the pronoun who: who, whose, whom, whoever, whomever. The number (singular or plural) of the pronoun (and its accompanying verbs) is determined by what the pronoun refers to; it can refer to a singular person or a group of people:

The person who hit my car should have to pay to fix the damages. The people who have been standing in line the longest should get in first.

It might be useful to compare the forms of who to the forms of the pronouns he and they. Their forms are similar: Subject Form Singular Plural he who they who Possessive Form his whose their whose Object Form him whom them whom

To choose correctly among the forms of who, re-phrase the sentence so you choose between he and him. If you want him, write whom; if you want he, write who.

Who do you think is responsible? (Do you think he is responsible?) Whom shall we ask to the party? (Shall we ask him to the party?) Give the box to whomever you please. (Give the box to him.)

Give the box to whoever seems to want it most. (He seems to want it most. [And then the clause "whoever seems to want it most" is the object of the preposition "to."]) Whoever shows up first will win the prize. (He shows up first.)

The only problem most writers have with whose is confusing it with who's, which looks like a possessive but is really the contraction for who is. In the same way that we should not confuse his with he's (the contraction for he is or he has), we should not confuse whose with who's.

Who's that walking down the street? Whose coat is this? I don't care whose paper this is. It's brilliant!

Whose can be used to refer to inanimate objects as well as to people (although there is a kind of folk belief that it should refer only to humans and other mammals): "I remember reading a book whose title I can't recall right now about a boy and a basenji."
KINDS OF PRONOUNS: Personal || Demonstrative || Indefinite || Relative || Reflexive || Intensive || Interrogative || Reciprocal

Personal Pronouns
Unlike English nouns, which usually do not change form except for the addition of an -s ending to create the plural or the apostrophe + s to create the possessive, personal pronouns (which stand for persons or things) change form according to their various uses within a sentence. Thus I is used as the subject of a sentence (I am happy.), me is used as an object in various ways (He hit me. He gave me a book. Do this for me.), and my is used as the possessive form (That's my car.) The same is true of the other personal pronouns: the singular you and he/she/it and the plural we, you, and they. These forms are called cases. An easily printable chart is available that shows the various Cases of the Pronouns. Nouns and pronouns in English are said to display case according to their function in the sentence. They can be subjective or nominative (which means they act as the subject of independent or dependent clauses), possessive (which means they show possession of something else), or objective (which means they function as the recipient of action or are the object of a preposition). Except for the possessive forms (usually formed by the addition of an apostrophe and the letter s), nouns do not change form in English. (This is one of the few ways in which English is easier than other languages.) Pronouns, however, do change form when they change case; these changes are most clearly illustrated among the personal pronouns. The chart below illustrates the different forms among the cases.

Subjective
Nouns Singular frog Mary Plural frogs witches Personal Pronouns Singular 1st person 2nd person 3rd person I you he she it

Possessive

Objective

frog's Mary's

frog Mary

frogs' witches'

frogs witches

my, mine your, yours his her, hers its

me you him her it

Plural 1st person 2nd person 3rd person we you they our, ours your, yours their, theirs us you them

Relative and interrogative pronouns who whoever which/that/what Indefinite pronouns everybody everybody's everybody whose whom whomever which/that/what

Jayden and I versus Jayden and Me

For some writers and speakers, the case of a pronoun becomes especially troublesome when that pronoun is compounded with something or someone else. When the pronoun is being used as a subject, there is usually no problem: Jayden and I are playing tennis this afternoon. Jayden and she are playing tennis this afternoon. We learn this lesson so well getting cuffed on the ears and being forced to stand in the corner when we say "Jayden and me are playing tennis. . . " that when the object form of the pronoun is truly called for, we're apt to come up with the subject form instead, as in "Grandma left Jayden and I her rocking chair," which is bad form, indeed. There is a simple rule here that seems to work very well, at least in writing. Ask yourself what pronoun form you would use without adding the other person "Grandma left me her rocking chair" (coming up with the correct form for the indirect object) and then, when you add the other person, don't change the form of the pronoun: "Grandma left Jayden and me her rocking chair." This rule works whether the pronoun is being used as an indirect object, as above, as a direct object "The policeman stopped Jayden and me" or as the object of a preposition "Grandma gave her rocking chair to Jayden and me." Some writers and speakers will mistakenly say "This is just between Jayden and I," not realizing that the preposition "between" calls for the object form of both pronouns, including "me." The rule also pertains to sentences in which a pronoun is compounded with yet another pronoun: "Grandma gave her rocking chair to him and me, but that's just between you and me." Notice that when "I" is compounded with another subject, the "other person" or people get first billing: "Jayden and I are playing," not "I and Jayden." This is one of the very few polite forms in English.

Choosing Cases after Linking Verbs and after But, Than, and As
In formal or academic text, we need the nominative or subject form of the pronoun after a linking verb: "It was he who represented the United Nations during the 1960s," "That must be she on the dock over there." In casual speech and writing, however, that sounds awfully stuffy. Imagine the detective who's been looking for the victim's body for days. He jimmies open the trunk of an abandoned car and exclaims, "It's she!" No self-respecting detective since Sherlock Holmes would say such a thing. When the personal pronoun follows except, but, than, or as, you've got an argument on your hands. Traditionally, these words have been regarded as conjunctions and the personal pronoun that follows has been regarded as the subject of a clause (which might not be completed). Thus

"No one could be as happy as I." (If you provide the entire mechanism of the clause "as I [am]" you see the justification for the subject form.) The same goes for these other conjunctions: "Whom were you expecting? who else but he?" "My father is still taller than she" [than she is]. Many grammarians have argued, however, that these words are often used as prepositions, not conjunctions (and have been used that way for centuries by many good writers). In a structure such as "My mother is a lot like her," we have no trouble recognizing that "like" is acting as a preposition and we need the object form of the pronoun after it. Why, then, can't we use "than" and "but" as prepositions in sentences such as "Dad's a lot taller than him" and "No one in this class has done the homework but me"? Such usage is now widely regarded as acceptable in all but the most formal writing. The same argument is sometimes used for the object form after as "The coach is not as smart as me" but this argument does not enjoy the cogency of using the object form after but and than. Garner* argues that when the pronoun precedes the but phrase, the objective case should be used ("None of the students were interested but him"); when the but phrase precedes the verb, the subject case is appropriate ("None of the students but he were interested"). The argument goes that in the former case but is behaving as a preposition, in the second as a conjunction.

Choosing Cases in the Appositive Position

An appositive is the renaming or amplification of something earlier in the sentence. In the sentence "Ronald E. Pepin, translator of several Latin texts, will speak at our symposium on translating dead languages tomorrow," the phrase "translator of several Latin texts" is a reidentification of the person's name, an appositive. Occasionally, pronouns can fall into the appositive slot of a sentence and that can create questions about case. If the appositive is renaming something that functions as a subject, the pronoun should take the subject form; if the appositve is renaming something that functions as an object, the pronoun must take the object form.

The two people in charge of the symposium, Micki and I, will help pay for the damages. (where "Micki and I" renames the subject, "two people") Nobody in the auditorium, not even he, expected that a riot would break out. (where "he" agrees with the subject "nobody") My favorite professors, Dr. Pepin and she, gave interesting talks. (where "she" corresponds to the subject "professors") Great Grandmother Etherea left her money to her favorite people, Jayden and me. (where "me" agrees with the object of the preposition "people") The bank credited two different groups, the Stamp Club and us, with making deposits on the same day. (where "us" agrees with the object "groups")

When a sentence with compounded pronouns sounds intolerably klutzy, the sentence will have to be rewritten. "The group gave certificates of recognition to the two oldest members, him and me" might sound better as "The group gave certificates of recognition to him and me [or 'to both of

us'], the two oldest members" or "He and I, the two oldest members of the group, received certificates of recognition."

Choosing Cases When Pronouns Are Combined with Other Subjects/Objects

Occasionally pronouns are connected to other subjects or objects in the sentence. In that case, the case of the pronoun can be important and errors are apt to be made, especially in the object position. Generally, the choice becomes obvious when you drop the noun or noun phrase that the pronoun is combined with.

We students can no longer tolerate the administration's mismanagement of funds. [We can no longer tolerate ] The administration has given us students no alternative. [ has given us no alternative.]

In the second person, this is not really a problem, because the form of "you" remains the same whether it is singular or plural, subject or object.

You students need to take care of this situation on your own. I'm giving you students three months to come up with a solution.

Choosing Cases in Exhortations Beginning with Let

When a pronoun follows "let" in a mild exhortation, we use the object form of the pronoun. We say "Let us go then," but we're apt to slip in the subject form, especially when the pronouns are compounded: "And now, let you and I take the first step toward reconciliation." (It should read "let you and me ") And in the Biblical admonition, we read "Let he who is without guilt cast the first stone." (It should read "Let him who is without guilt cast the first stone.")

When a pronoun and a noun are combined (which will happen with the plural first- and secondperson pronouns), choose the case of the pronoun that would be appropriate if the noun were not there.

We students are demanding that the administration give us two hours for lunch. The administration has managed to put us students in a bad situation.

With the second person, we don't really have a problem because the subject form is the same as the object form, "you":

"You students are demanding too much." "We expect you students to behave like adults."

Among the possessive pronoun forms, there is also what is called the nominative possessive: mine, yours, ours, theirs.

Look at those cars. Theirs is really ugly; ours is beautiful. This new car is mine. Mine is newer than yours.

The Uses of One

As a determiner, the word one is sometimes used before a proper noun to designate, particularly, this person: "He delivered the package to one Ronald Pepin of Colchester." The article "a" will also function in that position for the same purpose. Sometimes we use the word one as an adjective, as in "I'll have just one scoop of ice-cream," and we seldom have trouble with that usage. But we also use one as a pronoun, and this is where one becomes surprisingly complex. Sometimes the pronoun one functions as a numerical expression:

Those are lovely scarves. I think I'll buy one. One is hardly enough. One is purple, the other green. The three brothers get along quite well; in fact they adore one another. One of the senators will lead the group to the front of the capitol. The yellow car is fast, but I think the blue one will win.

As a pronoun, one can also function in an impersonal, objective manner, standing for the writer or for all people who are like the writer or for the average person or for all people who belong to a class. In the United States, one sometimes has a literary or highfalutin feel to it; the more it is used, the more pretentious it feels. In British English, the use of the impersonal or generic one is more commonplace and has no such stigma. In the U.S., one is often replaced by you.

One would think the airlines would have to close down. One would [You'd] think the inner dome of heaven had fallen. The young comedian was awful; one felt embarrased for him. If one fails, then one must try harder next time.

When the pronoun one is used in the numerical sense, a different pronoun can be used in a subsequent reference.

We watched as one [of the ospreys] dried its feathers in the sun. One [driver] pulled her car over to the side.

However, it is generally regarded as a bad idea to mix the impersonal or generic pronoun one with another pronoun, especially in the same sentence, as in "If one fails, then he/you must simply try harder."

One's Reflexive and Possessive Forms

In the United States, the possessive and reflexive forms of one one's and oneself are often replaced by other pronoun forms. In British English, they are commonplace:

One must be conscientious about one's dental hygiene.

In the U.S. that one's is apt to be replaced by a third-person "his" or (more informally) a secondperson "your":

One must learn from one's [or his] mistakes. One must be conscientious about one's [or his] dental hygiene. One must be conscientious about your dental hygiene.

In formal writing, the use of your in that last sentence in either American or British English would be regarded as too casual or even sub-standard. On the other hand, the problem with using "his" is obvious: it runs counter to the tendency to remove gender bias from one's language as much as possible. Thus, even in American English, this mixture of "one" with "he/his/him" is slowly disappearing.* Oneself is used in formal writing and speech as the proper reflexive form of one:

If one slipped on this icy walk, one could hurt oneself badly.

Notice there is usually no apostrophe used in the spelling of oneself. The construction one's self is used to refer to the concept of self (in psychology, for instance): "One's self, according to Freud, is defined by the interactions of the id, the ego, and the super-ego."

The Plural of One

As a singular numerical pronoun, we don't have trouble with one: "Those donuts look delicious; I think I'll pick this one." But what if I want two donuts? It is possible, sometimes, to pluralize one:

I really like the chocolate ones. The ones with chocolate frosting have cream fillings. Are these the ones you want? Do you want these ones?

When the word ones is preceded by a plural determiner (like these), we usually drop the ones and the determiner turns into a demonstrative pronoun: "Do you want these?" The phrases "one in [plural number]" and "more than one" always take a singular verb:

One in four dentists recommends this toothpaste. One out of every five instructors gets this question wrong. There is more than one reason for this. More than one lad has lost his heart to this lass.

The "one" in the phrase "more than one" apparently controls the number of the verb. It is probably wise not to attempt to divine some of the mysteries of the English language

One of those [plural noun] that is/are

"One is one and all alone and ever more shall be so," goes the old Christmas song, but the fact that the singular one needs a singular verb can lead to confusion. In a recently published collection of language columns by William Safire, No Uncertain Terms, he wrote the following sentence (page 336): "Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman" is one of those phrases that sounds as if it comes out of Kipling. The sentence caused considerable stir (as such things go), for the verb "sounds" should really relate to the plural "phrases," not the singular "one." The sentence should probably read (underlining things for our purpose): "Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman" is one of those phrases that sound as if they came out of Kipling. The rare device for figuring out which verb to use in this construction is as follows: turn the sentence inside out: Of those phrases that sound as if they came out of Kipling, "conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman" is one. In this situation, the subject of the subordinate clause usually a who or a that will refer to the plural noun in the preceding prepositional phrase (not the one before it) and require a plural verb to follow. There is a possible exception, however. In Burchfield's New Fowlers*, we find this example: "Don't you think," said Bernard, "that Hawaii is one of those places that was always better in the past." (from David Lodge, 1991; my underline) Burchfield adds, "A plural verb in the subordinate clause is recommended unless particular attention is being drawn to the uniqueness, individuality, etc., of the one in the opening clause." In an earlier note, Burchfield writes: "Exceptions [to the rule that we use the plural verb] occur when the writer or speaker presumably regards one as governing the verb in the subordinate clause," and he gives another two or three examples, including "I am one of those people who wants others to do what I think they should."
The indefinite "one" is another source of trouble and is frequently the cause of disagreeable scenes. Such a sentence as "One loves one's friends" is considered by some persons to be stilted and over-formalized, and such persons insist that "One loves his friends" is permissible. It is not permissible, however, because "one" is indefinite and "his" is definite and the combination

is rhetorically impossible. This is known as hendiadys and was a common thing in Latin. Rare examples of it still exist and are extremely valuable as antiques, although it is usually unsafe to sit or lie down on one.

Demonstrative Pronouns
The family of demonstratives (this/that/these/those/such) can behave either as pronouns or as determiners. As pronouns, they identify or point to nouns.

That is incredible! (referring to something you just saw) I will never forget this. (referring to a recent experience) Such is my belief. (referring to an explanation just made)

As determiners, the demonstratives adjectivally modify a noun that follows. A sense of relative distance (in time and space) can be conveyed through the choice of these pronouns/determiners:

These [pancakes sitting here now on my plate] are delicious. Those [pancakes that I had yesterday morning] were even better. This [book in my hand] is well written; that [book that I'm pointing to, over there, on the table] is trash.

A sense of emotional distance or even disdain can be conveyed with the demonstrative pronouns:

You're going to wear these?

Pronouns used in this way would receive special stress in a spoken sentence. When used as subjects, the demonstratives, in either singular or plural form, can be used to refer to objects as well as persons.

This is my father. That is my book.

In other roles, however, the reference of demonstratives is non-personal. In other words, when referring to students, say, we could write "Those were loitering near the entrance during the fire drill" (as long as it is perfectly clear in context what "those" refers to). But we would not write "The principal suspended those for two days"; instead, we would have to use "those" as a determiner and write "The principal suspended those students for two days."

Relative Pronouns

The relative pronouns (who/whoever/which/that) relate groups of words to nouns or other pronouns (The student who studies hardest usually does the best.). The word who connects or relates the subject, student, to the verb within the dependent clause (studies). Choosing correctly between which and that and between who and whom leads to what are probably the most Frequently Asked Questions about English grammar. For help with which/that, refer to the Notorious Confusables article on those words (including the hyperlink to Michael Quinion's article on this usage and the links to relevant quizzes). Generally, we use "which" to introduce clauses that are parenthetical in nature (i.e., that can be removed from the sentence without changing the essential meaning of the sentence). For that reason, a "which clause" is often set off with a comma or a pair of commas. "That clauses," on the other hand, are usually deemed indispensable for the meaning of a sentence and are not set off with commas. The pronoun which refers to things; who (and its forms) refers to people; that usually refers to things, but it can also refer to people in a general kind of way. For help with who/whom refer to the section on Consistency. We also recommend that you take the quizzes on the use of who and whom at the end of that section. The expanded form of the relative pronouns whoever, whomever, whatever are known as indefinite relative pronouns. A couple of sample sentences should suffice to demonstrate why they are called "indefinite":

The coach will select whomever he pleases. He seemed to say whatever came to mind. Whoever crosses this line first will win the race.

What is often an indefinite relative pronoun:

She will tell you what you need to know.

Indefinite Pronouns
The indefinite pronouns (everybody/anybody/somebody/all/each/every/some/none/one) do not substitute for specific nouns but function themselves as nouns (Everyone is wondering if any is left.) One of the chief difficulties we have with the indefinite pronouns lies in the fact that "everybody" feels as though it refers to more than one person, but it takes a singular verb. (Everybody is accounted for.) If you think of this word as meaning "every single body," the confusion usually disappears. The indefinite pronoun none can be either singular or plural, depending on its context. None is nearly always plural (meaning "not any") except when something else in the sentence makes us regard it as a singular (meaning "not one"), as in "None of the food is fresh." Some can be singular or plural depending on whether it refers to something countable or noncountable. Refer to the section on Pronoun Consistency for help on determining the number of the indefinite pronouns (and the number [singular/plural] of the verbs that accompany them). There is a separate section on the uses of the pronoun one. There are other indefinite pronouns, words that double as Determiners:

enough, few, fewer, less, little, many, much, several, more, most, all, both, every, each, any, either, neither, none, some

Few will be chosen; fewer will finish. Little is expected.

See the section on Pronoun Consistency for help in determining the number (singular/plural) characteristics of these pronouns

Intensive Pronouns
The intensive pronouns (such as myself, yourself, herself, ourselves, themselves) consist of a personal pronoun plus self or selves and emphasize a noun. (I myself don't know the answer.) It is possible (but rather unusual) for an intensive pronoun to precede the noun it refers to. (Myself, I don't believe a word he says.)

Reflexive Pronouns
The reflexive pronouns (which have the same forms as the intensive pronouns) indicate that the sentence subject also receives the action of the verb. (Students who cheat on this quiz are only hurting themselves. You paid yourself a million dollars? She encouraged herself to do well.) What this means is that whenever there is a reflexive pronoun in a sentence there must be a person to whom that pronoun can "reflect." In other words, the sentence "Please hand that book to myself" would be incorrect because there is no "I" in that sentence for the "myself" to reflect to (and we would use "me" instead of "myself"). A sentence such as "I gave that book to myself for Christmas" might be silly, but it would be correct. Be alert to a tendency to use reflexive and intensive forms (ending in -self) where they are neither appropriate nor necessary:

Bob and myself I are responsible for this decision. These decisions will be made by myself me.

When pronouns are combined, the reflexive will take either the first person

Juanita, Carlos, and I have deceived ourselves into believing in my uncle.

or, when there is no first person, the second person:

You and Carlos have deceived yourselves.

The indefinite pronoun (see above) one has its own reflexive form ("One must have faith in oneself."), but the other indefinite pronouns use either himself or themselves as reflexives. (There

is an entire page on the pronoun one.) It is probably better to pluralize and avoid the clumsy himself or herself construction.

No one here can blame himself or herself. The people here cannot blame themselves.

Interrogative Pronouns
The interrogative pronouns (who/which/what) introduce questions. (What is that? Who will help me? Which do you prefer?) Which is generally used with more specific reference than what. If we're taking a quiz and I ask "Which questions give you the most trouble?", I am referring to specific questions on that quiz. If I ask "What questions give you most trouble"? I could be asking what kind of questions on that quiz (or what kind of question, generically, in general) gives you trouble. The interrogative pronouns also act as Determiners: It doesn't matter which beer you buy. He doesn't know whose car he hit. In this determiner role, they are sometimes called interrogative adjectives. Like the relative pronouns, the interrogative pronouns introduce noun clauses, and like the relative pronouns, the interrogative pronouns play a subject role in the clauses they introduce:

We know who is guilty of this crime. I already told the detective what I know about it.

Reciprocal Pronouns
The reciprocal pronouns are each other and one another. They are convenient forms for combining ideas. If Bob gave Alicia a book for Christmas and Alicia gave Bob a book for Christmas, we can say that they gave each other books (or that they gave books to each other).

My mother and I give each other a hard time.

If more than two people are involved (let's say a whole book club), we would say that they gave one another books. This rule (if it is one) should be applied circumspectly. It's quite possible for the exchange of books within this book club, for example, to be between individuals, making "each other" just as appropriate as "one another." Reciprocal pronouns can also take possessive forms:

They borrowed each other's ideas. The scientists in this lab often use one another's equipment.

Adjectives

Adjectives are words that describe or modify another person or thing in the sentence.

the tall professor the lugubrious lieutenant a solid commitment a month's pay a six-year-old child the unhappiest, richest man

If a group of words containing a subject and verb acts as an adjective, it is called an Adjective Clause. My sister, who is much older than I am, is an engineer. If an adjective clause is stripped of its subject and verb, the resulting modifier becomes an Adjective Phrase: He is the man who is keeping my family in the poorhouse.

Before getting into other usage considerations, one general note about the use or overuse of adjectives: Adjectives are frail; don't ask them to do more work than they should. Let your broad-shouldered verbs and nouns do the hard work of description. Be particularly cautious in your use of adjectives that don't have much to say in the first place: interesting, beautiful, lovely, exciting. It is your job as a writer to create beauty and excitement and interest, and when you simply insist on its presence without showing it to your reader well, you're convincing no one. Consider the uses of modifiers in this adjectivally rich paragraph from Thomas Wolfe's Look Homeward, Angel. (Charles Scribner's, 1929, p. 69.) Adjectives are highlighted in this color; participles, verb forms acting as adjectives, are highlighted in this blue. Some people would argue that words that are part of a name like "East India Tea House are not really adjectival and that possessive nouns father's, farmer's are not technically adjectives, but we've included them in our analysis of Wolfe's text. He remembered yet the East India Tea House at the Fair, the sandalwood, the turbans, and the robes, the cool interior and the smell of India tea; and he had felt now the nostalgic thrill of dew-wet mornings in Spring, the cherry scent, the cool clarion earth, the wet loaminess of the garden, the pungent breakfast smells and the floating snow of blossoms. He knew the inchoate sharp excitement of hot dandelions in young earth; in July, of watermelons bedded in sweet hay, inside a farmer's covered wagon; of cantaloupe and crated peaches; and the scent of orange rind, bitter-sweet, before a fire of coals. He knew the good male smell of his father's sitting-room; of the smooth worn leather sofa, with the gaping horsehair rent; of the blistered varnished wood upon the hearth; of the heated calf-skin bindings; of the flat moist plug of apple tobacco, stuck with a red flag; of woodsmoke and burnt leaves in October; of the brown tired autumn earth; of honeysuckle at night; of warm nasturtiums, of a clean ruddy farmer who comes weekly with printed butter, eggs, and milk; of fat limp underdone bacon and of coffee; of a bakery-oven in the wind; of large deep-hued stringbeans smoking-hot and seasoned well with salt and butter; of a room of old pine boards in which books and carpets have been stored, long closed; of Concord grapes in their long white baskets.

An abundance of adjectives like this would be uncommon in contemporary prose. Whether we have lost something or not is left up to you

Position of Adjectives

Unlike Adverbs, which often seem capable of popping up almost anywhere in a sentence, adjectives nearly always appear immediately before the noun or noun phrase that they modify. Sometimes they appear in a string of adjectives, and when they do, they appear in a set order according to category. (See Below.) When indefinite pronouns such as something, someone, anybody are modified by an adjective, the adjective comes after the pronoun:

Anyone capable of doing something horrible to someone nice should be punished. Something wicked this way comes. And there are certain adjectives that, in combination with certain words, are always "postpositive" (coming after the thing they modify): The president elect, heir apparent to the Glitzy fortune, lives in New York proper. See, also, the note on a- adjectives, below, for the position of such words as "ablaze, aloof, aghast."

Degrees of Adjectives
Adjectives can express degrees of modification:

Gladys is a rich woman, but Josie is richer than Gladys, and Sadie's the richest woman in town.

The degrees of comparison are known as the positive, the comparative, and the superlative. (Actually, only the comparative and superlative show degrees.) We use the comparative for comparing two things and the superlative for comparing three or more things. Notice that the word than frequently accompanies the comparative and the word the precedes the superlative. The inflected suffixes -er and -est suffice to form most comparatives and superlatives, although we need -ier and -iest when a two-syllable adjective ends in y (happier and happiest); otherwise we use more and most when an adjective has more than one syllable

Positive rich lovely beautiful

Comparative richer lovelier more beautiful

Superlative richest loveliest most beautiful

Certain adjectives have irregular forms in the comparative and superlative degrees: Irregular Comparative and Superlative Forms good bad little much many some far better worse less more further best worst least most furthest

Be careful not to form comparatives or superlatives of adjectives which already express an extreme of comparison unique, for instance although it probably is possible to form comparative forms of most adjectives: something can be more perfect, and someone can have a fuller figure. People who argue that one woman cannot be more pregnant than another have never been nine-months pregnant with twins. Be careful, also, not to use more along with a comparative adjective formed with -er nor to use most along with a superlative adjective formed with -est (e.g., do not write that something is more heavier or most heaviest). The as as construction is used to create a comparison expressing equality:

He is as foolish as he is large. She is as bright as her mother.

Premodifiers with Degrees of Adjectives

Both adverbs and adjectives in their comparative and superlative forms can be accompanied by premodifiers, single words and phrases, that intensify the degree.

We were a lot more careful this time. He works a lot less carefully than the other jeweler in town.

We like his work so much better. You'll get your watch back all the faster.

The same process can be used to downplay the degree:

The weather this week has been somewhat better. He approaches his schoolwork a little less industriously than his brother does.

And sometimes a set phrase, usually an informal noun phrase, is used for this purpose:

He arrived a whole lot sooner than we expected. That's a heck of a lot better.

If the intensifier very accompanies the superlative, a determiner is also required:

She is wearing her very finest outfit for the interview. They're doing the very best they can.

Occasionally, the comparative or superlative form appears with a determiner and the thing being modified is understood:

Of all the wines produced in Connecticut, I like this one the most. The quicker you finish this project, the better. Of the two brothers, he is by far the faster.

Less versus Fewer

When making a comparison between quantities we often have to make a choice between the words fewer and less. Generally, when we're talking about countable things, we use the word fewer; when we're talking about measurable quantities that we cannot count, we use the word less. "She had fewer chores, but she also had less energy." The managers at our local Stop & Shop seem to have mastered this: they've changed the signs at the so-called express lanes from "Twelve Items or Less" to "Twelve Items or Fewer." Whether that's an actual improvement, we'll leave up to you. We do, however, definitely use less when referring to statistical or numerical expressions:

It's less than twenty miles to Dallas. He's less than six feet tall. Your essay should be a thousand words or less. We spent less than forty dollars on our trip. The town spent less than four percent of its budget on snow removal.

In these situations, it's possible to regard the quantities as sums of countable measures.

Taller than I / me ??
When making a comparison with "than" do we end with a subject form or object form, "taller than I/she" or "taller than me/her." The correct response is "taller than I/she." We are looking for the subject form: "He is taller than I am/she is tall." (Except we leave out the verb in the second clause, "am" or "is.") Some good writers, however, will argue that the word "than" should be allowed to function as a preposition. If we can say "He is tall like me/her," then (if "than" could be prepositional like like) we should be able to say, "He is taller than me/her." It's an interesting argument, but for now, anyway in formal, academic prose, use the subject form in such comparisons. We also want to be careful in a sentence such as "I like him better than she/her." The "she" would mean that you like this person better than she likes him; the "her" would mean that you like this male person better than you like that female person. (To avoid ambiguity and the slippery use of than, we could write "I like him better than she does" or "I like him better than I like her.")

More than / over ??

In the United States, we usually use "more than" in countable numerical expressions meaning "in excess of" or "over." In England, there is no such distinction. For instance, in the U.S., some editors would insist on "more than 40,000 traffic deaths in one year," whereas in the UK, "over 40,000 traffic deaths" would be acceptable. Even in the U.S., however, you will commonly hear "over" in numerical expressions of age, time, or height: "His sister is over forty; she's over six feet tall. We've been waiting well over two hours for her."

The Order of Adjectives in a Series

It would take a linguistic philosopher to explain why we say "little brown house" and not "brown little house" or why we say "red Italian sports car" and not "Italian red sports car." The order in which adjectives in a series sort themselves out is perplexing for people learning English as a second language. Most other languages dictate a similar order, but not necessarily the same order. It takes a lot of practice with a language before this order becomes instinctive, because the order often seems quite arbitrary (if not downright capricious). There is, however, a pattern. You will find many exceptions to the pattern in the table below, but it is definitely important to learn the pattern of adjective order if it is not part of what you naturally bring to the language. The categories in the following table can be described as follows: I. II. Determiners articles and other limiters. See Determiners Observation postdeterminers and limiter adjectives (e.g., a real hero, a perfect idiot) and adjectives subject to subjective measure (e.g., beautiful, interesting)

III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII.

Size and Shape adjectives subject to objective measure (e.g., wealthy, large, round) Age adjectives denoting age (e.g., young, old, new, ancient) Color adjectives denoting color (e.g., red, black, pale) Origin denominal adjectives denoting source of noun (e.g., French, American, Canadian) Material denominal adjectives denoting what something is made of (e.g., woolen, metallic, wooden) Qualifier final limiter, often regarded as part of the noun (e.g., rocking chair, hunting cabin, passenger car, book cover)

THE ROYAL ORDER OF ADJECTIVES

Determin Observati er on Physical Description Size a an beautiful expensive longstemme d short big square dilapidated little enormo us delicious young Americ an Thai old Shape Age old antiqu e red blac k English wooden hat hunting Colo r Italian silver touring car mirror Origin Materi Qualifie al r Noun

four

gorgeous

silk

roses

her our those that several some

hair sheepd og boxes cabin

basketba players ll food

It would be folly, of course, to run more than two or three (at the most) adjectives together. Furthermore, when adjectives belong to the same class, they become what we call coordinated adjectives, and you will want to put a comma between them: the inexpensive, comfortable shoes. The rule for inserting the comma works this way: if you could have inserted a conjunction and or but between the two adjectives, use a comma. We could say these are "inexpensive but comfortable shoes," so we would use a comma between them (when the "but" isn't there). When you have three coordinated adjectives, separate them all with commas, but don't insert a comma

between the last adjective and the noun (in spite of the temptation to do so because you often pause there): a popular, respected, and good looking student

Capitalizing Proper Adjectives

When an adjective owes its origins to a proper noun, it should probably be capitalized. Thus we write about Christian music, French fries, the English Parliament, the Ming Dynasty, a Faulknerian style, Jeffersonian democracy. Some periods of time have taken on the status of proper adjectives: the Nixon era, a Renaissance/Romantic/Victorian poet (but a contemporary novelist and medieval writer). Directional and seasonal adjectives are not capitalized unless they're part of a title: We took the northwest route during the spring thaw. We stayed there until the town's annual Fall Festival of Small Appliances.

Collective Adjectives
When the definite article, the, is combined with an adjective describing a class or group of people, the resulting phrase can act as a noun: the poor, the rich, the oppressed, the homeless, the lonely, the unlettered, the unwashed, the gathered, the dear departed. The difference between a Collective Noun (which is usually regarded as singular but which can be plural in certain contexts) and a collective adjective is that the latter is always plural and requires a plural verb:

The rural poor have been ignored by the media. The rich of Connecticut are responsible. The elderly are beginning to demand their rights. The young at heart are always a joy to be around.

Adjectival Opposites
The opposite or the negative aspect of an adjective can be formed in a number of ways. One way, of course, is to find an adjective to mean the opposite an antonym. The opposite of beautiful is ugly, the opposite of tall is short. A thesaurus can help you find an appropriate opposite. Another way to form the opposite of an adjective is with a number of prefixes. The opposite of fortunate is unfortunate, the opposite of prudent is imprudent, the opposite of considerate is inconsiderate, the opposite of honorable is dishonorable, the opposite of alcoholic is nonalcoholic, the opposite of being properly filed is misfiled. If you are not sure of the spelling of adjectives modified in this way by prefixes (or which is the appropriate prefix), you will have to consult a dictionary, as the rules for the selection of a prefix are complex and too shifty to be trusted. The meaning itself can be tricky; for instance, flammable and inflammable mean the same thing. A third means for creating the opposite of an adjective is to combine it with less or least to create a comparison which points in the opposite direction. Interesting shades of meaning and tone become available with this usage. It is kinder to say that "This is the least beautiful city in the state." than it is to say that "This is the ugliest city in the state." (It also has a slightly different

meaning.) A candidate for a job can still be worthy and yet be "less worthy of consideration" than another candidate. It's probably not a good idea to use this construction with an adjective that is already a negative: "He is less unlucky than his brother," although that is not the same thing as saying he is luckier than his brother. Use the comparative less when the comparison is between two things or people; use the superlative least when the comparison is among many things or people.

My mother is less patient than my father. Of all the new sitcoms, this is my least favorite show.

Some Adjectival Problem Children

Good versus Well

In both casual speech and formal writing, we frequently have to choose between the adjective good and the adverb well. With most verbs, there is no contest: when modifying a verb, use the adverb. He swims well. He knows only too well who the murderer is. However, when using a linking verb or a verb that has to do with the five human senses, you want to use the adjective instead. How are you? I'm feeling good, thank you. After a bath, the baby smells so good. Even after my careful paint job, this room doesn't look good. Many careful writers, however, will use well after linking verbs relating to health, and this is perfectly all right. In fact, to say that you are good or that you feel good usually implies not only that you're OK physically but also that your spirits are high. "How are you?" "I am well, thank you."

Bad versus Badly

When your cat died (assuming you loved your cat), did you feel bad or badly? Applying the same rule that applies to good versus well, use the adjective form after verbs that have to do with human feelings. You felt bad. If you said you felt badly, it would mean that something was wrong with your faculties for feeling.

Other Adjectival Considerations

Review the section on Compound Nouns and Modifiers for the formation of modifiers created when words are connected: a four-year-old child, a nineteenth-century novel, an empty-headed fool.

Review the section on Possessives for a distinction between possessive forms and "adjectival labels." (Do you belong to a Writers Club or a Writers' Club?) Adjectives that are really Participles, verb forms with -ing and -ed endings, can be troublesome for some students. It is one thing to be a frightened child; it is an altogether different matter to be a frightening child. Do you want to go up to your professor after class and say that you are confused or that you are confusing? Generally, the -ed ending means that the noun so described ("you") has a passive relationship with something something (the subject matter, the presentation) has bewildered you and you are confused. The -ing ending means that the noun described has a more active role you are not making any sense so you are confusing (to others, including your professor). The -ed ending modifiers are often accompanied by prepositions (these are not the only choices):

We were amazed at all the circus animals. We were amused by the clowns. We were annoyed by the elephants. We were bored by the ringmaster. We were confused by the noise. We were disappointed by the motorcycle daredevils. We were disappointed in their performance. We were embarrassed by my brother. We were exhausted from all the excitement. We were excited by the lion-tamer. We were excited about the high-wire act, too. We were frightened by the lions. We were introduced to the ringmaster. We were interested in the tent. We were irritated by the heat. We were opposed to leaving early. We were satisfied with the circus. We were shocked at the level of noise under the big tent. We were surprised by the fans' response. We were surprised at their indifference. We were tired of all the lights after a while. We were worried about the traffic leaving the parking lot.

A- Adjectives
The most common of the so-called a- adjectives are ablaze, afloat, afraid, aghast, alert, alike, alive, alone, aloof, ashamed, asleep, averse, awake, aware. These adjectives will primarily show up as predicate adjectives (i.e., they come after a linking verb).

The children were ashamed. The professor remained aloof. The trees were ablaze.

Occasionally, however, you will find a- adjectives before the word they modify: the alert patient, the aloof physician. Most of them, when found before the word they modify, are themselves modified: the nearly awake student, the terribly alone scholar. And a- adjectives are sometimes modified by "very much": very much afraid, very much alone, very much ashamed, etc.

Adverbs
Adverbs are words that modify

a verb (He drove slowly. How did he drive?) an adjective (He drove a very fast car. How fast was his car?) another adverb (She moved quite slowly down the aisle. How slowly did she move?)

As we will see, adverbs often tell when, where, why, or under what conditions something happens or happened. Adverbs frequently end in -ly; however, many words and phrases not ending in -ly serve an adverbial function and an -ly ending is not a guarantee that a word is an adverb. The words lovely, lonely, motherly, friendly, neighborly, for instance, are adjectives:

That lovely woman lives in a friendly neighborhood.

If a group of words containing a subject and verb acts as an adverb (modifying the verb of a sentence), it is called an Adverb Clause:

When this class is over, we're going to the movies.

When a group of words not containing a subject and verb acts as an adverb, it is called an adverbial phrase. Prepositional phrases frequently have adverbial functions (telling place and time, modifying the verb):

He went to the movies. She works on holidays. They lived in Canada during the war.

And Infinitive phrases can act as adverbs (usually telling why):

She hurried to the mainland to see her brother. The senator ran to catch the bus.

But there are other kinds of adverbial phrases:

He calls his mother as often as possible.

Adverbs can modify adjectives, but an adjective cannot modify an adverb. Thus we would say that "the students showed a really wonderful attitude" and that "the students showed a wonderfully casual attitude" and that "my professor is really tall, but not "He ran real fast."

Like adjectives, adverbs can have comparative and superlative forms to show degree.

Walk faster if you want to keep up with me. The student who reads fastest will finish first.

We often use more and most, less and least to show degree with adverbs:

With sneakers on, she could move more quickly among the patients. The flowers were the most beautifully arranged creations I've ever seen. She worked less confidently after her accident. That was the least skillfully done performance I've seen in years.

The as as construction can be used to create adverbs that express sameness or equality: "He can't run as fast as his sister." A handful of adverbs have two forms, one that ends in -ly and one that doesn't. In certain cases, the two forms have different meanings:

He arrived late. Lately, he couldn't seem to be on time for anything.

In most cases, however, the form without the -ly ending should be reserved for casual situations:

She certainly drives slow in that old Buick of hers. He did wrong by her. He spoke sharp, quick, and to the point.

Adverbs often function as intensifiers, conveying a greater or lesser emphasis to something. Intensifiers are said to have three different functions: they can emphasize, amplify, or downtone. Here are some examples:

Emphasizers: o I really don't believe him. o He literally wrecked his mother's car. o She simply ignored me. o They're going to be late, for sure. Amplifiers: o The teacher completely rejected her proposal. o I absolutely refuse to attend any more faculty meetings. o They heartily endorsed the new restaurant. o I so wanted to go with them. o We know this city well. Downtoners: o I kind of like this college. o Joe sort of felt betrayed by his sister. o His mother mildly disapproved his actions.

o o o

We can improve on this to some extent. The boss almost quit after that. The school was all but ruined by the storm.

Adverbs (as well as adjectives) in their various degrees can be accompanied by premodifiers:

She runs very fast. We're going to run out of material all the faster

Using Adverbs in a Numbered List

Within the normal flow of text, it's nearly always a bad idea to number items beyond three or four, at the most. Anything beyond that, you're better off with a vertical list that uses numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.). Also, in such a list, don't use adverbs (with an -ly ending); use instead the uninflected ordinal number (first, second, third, fourth, fifth, etc.). First (not firstly), it's unclear what the adverb is modifying. Second (not secondly), it's unnecessary. Third (not thirdly), after you get beyond "secondly," it starts to sound silly. Adverbs that number in this manner are treated as disjuncts (see below.)

Adverbs We Can Do Without

Review the section on Being Concise for some advice on adverbs that we can eliminate to the benefit of our prose: intensifiers such as very, extremely, and really that don't intensify anything and expletive constructions ("There are several books that address this issue.")

Kinds of Adverbs
Adverbs of Manner She moved slowly and spoke quietly. Adverbs of Place She has lived on the island all her life. She still lives there now. Adverbs of Frequency She takes the boat to the mainland every day. She often goes by herself. Adverbs of Time She tries to get back before dark. It's starting to get dark now. She finished her tea first. She left early. Adverbs of Purpose

She drives her boat slowly to avoid hitting the rocks. She shops in several stores to get the best buys.

Positions of Adverbs
One of the hallmarks of adverbs is their ability to move around in a sentence. Adverbs of manner are particularly flexible in this regard.

Solemnly the minister addressed her congregation. The minister solemnly addressed her congregation. The minister addressed her congregation solemnly.

The following adverbs of frequency appear in various points in these sentences:

Before the main verb: I never get up before nine o'clock. Between the auxiliary verb and the main verb: I have rarely written to my brother without a good reason. Before the verb used to: I always used to see him at his summer home.

Indefinite adverbs of time can appear either before the verb or between the auxiliary and the main verb:

He finally showed up for batting practice. She has recently retired.

Order of Adverbs

There is a basic order in which adverbs will appear when there is more than one. It is similar to The Royal Order of Adjectives, but it is even more flexible.

THE ROYAL ORDER OF ADVERBS

Verb Beth swims Dad walks Tashonda naps Manner enthusiastically impatiently Place in the pool Frequency every morning Time before dawn before supper before lunch. Purpose to keep in shape. to get a newspaper.

into town every afternoon in her room every morning

In actual practice, of course, it would be highly unusual to have a string of adverbial modifiers beyond two or three (at the most). Because the placement of adverbs is so flexible, one or two of the modifiers would probably move to the beginning of the sentence: "Every afternoon before supper, Dad impatiently walks into town to get a newspaper." When that happens, the

introductory adverbial modifiers are usually set off with a comma.

More Notes on Adverb Order

As a general principle, shorter adverbial phrases precede longer adverbial phrases, regardless of content. In the following sentence, an adverb of time precedes an adverb of frequency because it is shorter (and simpler):

Dad takes a brisk walk before breakfast every day of his life.

A second principle: among similar adverbial phrases of kind (manner, place, frequency, etc.), the more specific adverbial phrase comes first:

My grandmother was born in a sod house on the plains of northern Nebraska. She promised to meet him for lunch next Tuesday.

Bringing an adverbial modifier to the beginning of the sentence can place special emphasis on that modifier. This is particularly useful with adverbs of manner:

Slowly, ever so carefully, Jesse filled the coffee cup up to the brim, even above the brim. Occasionally, but only occasionally, one of these lemons will get by the inspectors.

Inappropriate Adverb Order

Review the section on Misplaced Modifiers for some additional ideas on placement. Modifiers can sometimes attach themselves to and thus modify words that they ought not to modify.

They reported that Giuseppe Balle, a European rock star, had died on the six o'clock news.

Clearly, it would be better to move the underlined modifier to a position immediately after "they reported" or even to the beginning of the sentence so the poor man doesn't die on television. Misplacement can also occur with very simple modifiers, such as only and barely:

She only grew to be four feet tall.

It would be better if "She grew to be only four feet tall."

Adjuncts, Disjuncts, and Conjuncts

Regardless of its position, an adverb is often neatly integrated into the flow of a sentence. When this is true, as it almost always is, the adverb is called an adjunct. (Notice the underlined adjuncts or adjunctive adverbs in the first two sentences of this paragraph.) When the adverb does not fit into the flow of the clause, it is called a disjunct or a conjunct and is often set off by a comma or set of commas. A disjunct frequently acts as a kind of evaluation of the rest of the sentence.

Although it usually modifies the verb, we could say that it modifies the entire clause, too. Notice how "too" is a disjunct in the sentence immediately before this one; that same word can also serve as an adjunct adverbial modifier: It's too hot to play outside. Here are two more disjunctive adverbs:

Frankly, Martha, I don't give a hoot. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Conjuncts, on the other hand, serve a connector function within the flow of the text, signaling a transition between ideas.

If they start smoking those awful cigars, then I'm not staying. We've told the landlord about this ceiling again and again, and yet he's done nothing to fix it.

At the extreme edge of this category, we have the purely conjunctive device known as the conjunctive adverb (often called the adverbial conjunction):

Jose has spent years preparing for this event; nevertheless, he's the most nervous person here. I love this school; however, I don't think I can afford the tuition.

Some Special Cases

The adverbs enough and not enough usually take a postmodifier position:

Is that music loud enough? These shoes are not big enough. In a roomful of elderly people, you must remember to speak loudly enough.

(Notice, though, that when enough functions as an adjective, it can come before the noun:

Did she give us enough time?

The adverb enough is often followed by an infinitive:

She didn't run fast enough to win.

The adverb too comes before adjectives and other adverbs:

She ran too fast. She works too quickly.

If too comes after the adverb it is probably a disjunct (meaning also) and is usually set off with a comma:

Yasmin works hard. She works quickly, too.

The adverb too is often followed by an infinitive:

She runs too slowly to enter this race.

Another common construction with the adverb too is too followed by a prepositional phrase for + the object of the preposition followed by an infinitive:

This milk is too hot for a baby to drink.

Relative Adverbs
Adjectival clauses are sometimes introduced by what are called the relative adverbs: where, when, and why. Although the entire clause is adjectival and will modify a noun, the relative word itself fulfills an adverbial function (modifying a verb within its own clause). The relative adverb where will begin a clause that modifies a noun of place: My entire family now worships in the church where my great grandfather used to be minister. The relative pronoun "where" modifies the verb "used to be" (which makes it adverbial), but the entire clause ("where my great grandfather used to be minister") modifies the word "church." A when clause will modify nouns of time: My favorite month is always February, when we celebrate Valentine's Day and Presidents' Day. And a why clause will modify the noun reason: Do you know the reason why Isabel isn't in class today? We sometimes leave out the relative adverb in such clauses, and many writers prefer "that" to "why" in a clause referring to "reason":

Do you know the reason why Isabel isn't in class today? I always look forward to the day when we begin our summer vacation. I know the reason that men like motorcycles.

Viewpoint, Focus, and Negative Adverbs

A viewpoint adverb generally comes after a noun and is related to an adjective that precedes that noun:

A successful athletic team is often a good team scholastically. Investing all our money in snowmobiles was probably not a sound idea financially.

You will sometimes hear a phrase like "scholastically speaking" or "financially speaking" in these circumstances, but the word "speaking" is seldom necessary. A focus adverb indicates that what is being communicated is limited to the part that is focused; a focus adverb will tend either to limit the sense of the sentence ("He got an A just for attending the class.") or to act as an additive ("He got an A in addition to being published." Although negative constructions like the words "not" and "never" are usually found embedded within a verb string "He has never been much help to his mother." they are technically not part of the verb; they are, indeed, adverbs. However, a so-called negative adverb creates a negative meaning in a sentence without the use of the usual no/not/neither/nor/never constructions:

He seldom visits. She hardly eats anything since the accident. After her long and tedious lectures, rarely was anyone awake.

Verbs

Verbs carry the idea of being or action in the sentence.

I am a student. The students passed all their courses.

As we will see on this page, verbs are classified in many ways. First, some verbs require an object to complete their meaning: "She gave _____ ?" Gave what? She gave money to the church. These verbs are called transitive. Verbs that are intransitive do not require objects: "The building collapsed." In English, you cannot tell the difference between a transitive and intransitive verb by its form; you have to see how the verb is functioning within the sentence. In fact, a verb can be both transitive and intransitive: "The monster collapsed the building by sitting on it." Although you will seldom hear the term, a ditransitive verb such as cause or give is one that can take a direct object and an indirect object at the same time: "That horrid music gave me a

headache." Ditransitive verbs are slightly different, then, from factitive verbs (see below), in that the latter take two objects. Verbs are also classified as either finite or non-finite. A finite verb makes an assertion or expresses a state of being and can stand by itself as the main verb of a sentence.

The truck demolished the restaurant. The leaves were yellow and sickly.

Non-finite verbs (think "unfinished") cannot, by themselves, be main verbs:

The broken window . . . The wheezing gentleman . . .

Another, more useful term for non-finite verb is verbal. In this section, we discuss various verbal forms: infinitives, gerunds, and participles

Sequence of Verb Tenses

Select from the follow ing

Although the various shades of time and sequence are usually conveyed adequately in informal speech and writing, especially by native speakers and writers, they can create havoc in academic writing and they sometimes are troublesome among students for whom English is a second language. This difficulty is especially evident in complex sentences when there is a difference between the time expressed in an independent clause and the time expressed in a dependent clause. Another difficulty arises with the use of infinitives and participles, modals which also convey a sense of time. We hope the tables below will provide the order necessary to help writers sort out tense sequences. As long as the main clause's verb is in neither the past nor the past perfect tense, the verb of the subordinate clause can be in any tense that conveys meaning accurately. When the main clause verb is in the past or past perfect, however, the verb in the subordinate clause must be in the past or past perfect. The exception to this rule is when the subordinate clause expresses what is commonly known as a general truth:

In the 1950s, English teachers still believed that a background in Latin is essential for an understanding of English. Columbus somehow knew that the world is round.

Slaveowners widely understood that literacy among oppressed people is a dangerous thing.

The tables below demonstrate the correct relationship of tenses between clauses where time is of the essence (i.e., within sentences used to convey ideas about actions or conditions that take place over time). Click HERE for a table describing the various tenses of the active voice. Click HERE for a table describing tense sequences of infinitives and participles.

Tense in Purpose of Dependent Clause/ Independent Example(s) Tense in Dependent Clause Clause
To show same-time action, use the present tense To show earlier action, use past tense I am eager to go to the concert because I love the Wallflowers. I know that I made the right choice.

Simple Present

To show a period of time extending from some point in the past to the present, use the present perfect tense. To show action to come, use the future tense.

They believe that they have elected the right candidate.

The President says that he will veto the bill.

To show another completed past action, use the past tense.

I wanted to go home because I missed my parents.

Simple Past

To show an earlier action, use the past She knew she had made the right perfect tense. choice. To state a general truth, use the present tense. The Deists believed that the universe is like a giant clock.

Present Perfect
or For any purpose, use the past tense.

Past Perfect

She has grown a foot since she turned nine. The crowd had turned nasty before the sheriff returned.

To show action happening at the same time, use the present tense.

I will be so happy if they fix my car today.

Future

To show an earlier action, use the past You will surely pass this exam if you tense. studied hard. To show future action earlier than the action of the independent clause, use the present perfect tense. The college will probably close its doors next summer if enrollments have not increased.

Future Perfect

For any purpose, use the present tense or present perfect tense.

Most students will have taken sixty credits by the time they graduate. Most students will have taken sixty credits by the time they have graduated.

Authority for this section: Quick Access: Reference for Writers by Lynn Quitman Troyka. Simon & Schuster: New York. 1995. Used with permission. Examples and format our own. Note: Unless logic dictates otherwise, when discussing a work of literature, use the present tense: "Robert Frost describes the action of snow on the birch trees." "This line suggests the burden of the ice." "The use of the present tense in Carver's stories creates a sense of immediacy."

Sequence of Tenses With Infinitives and Participles

Like verbs, infinitives and participles are capable of conveying the idea of action in time; therefore, it is important that we observe the appropriate tense sequence when using these modals.

INFINITIVES
Tense of Infinitive Role of Infinitive Example(s)

Present Infinitive (to see)

Coach Espinoza is eager to try out her new drills. [The eagerness is now; the trying out will happen later.] To show same-time action or action later than the verb She would have liked to see more veterans returning. [The present infinitive to see is in the same time as the past would have liked.]

Perfect Infinitive (to have seen)

The fans would like to have seen some improvement this year. ["Would like" describes a present condition; "to have seen" describes something prior to that time.] To show action earlier than the verb They consider the team to have been coached very well. [The perfect infinitive to have been coached indicates a time prior to the verb consider.]

PARTICIPLES
Tense of Participle Role of Participle Example(s)

Present Participle (seeing)

To show action occurring at the same time as that of the verb

Working on the fundamentals, the team slowly began to improve. [The action expressed by began happened in the past, at the same time the working happened.]

Past Participle
or

Prepared by last year's experience, the coach knows not to expect too much. [The action expressed by knows is in the present; prepared expresses a time prior to that time.] To show action occurring earlier than that of the verb Having experimented with several game plans, the coaching staff devised a master strategy. [The present perfect participle having experimented indicates a time prior to the past tense verb, devised.]

Present Perfect Participle

Four Verb Forms

The inflections (endings) of English verb forms are not difficult to remember. There are only four basic forms. Instead of forming complex tense forms with endings, English uses auxiliary verb forms. English does not even have a proper ending for future forms; instead, we use auxiliaries such as "I am going to read this afternoon." or "I will read." or even "I am reading this book tomorrow." It would be useful, however, to learn these four basic forms of verb construction. Name of verb Base form to work to write Past form Present participle Past participle I am working. I am writing. I have worked. I have written.

I can work. I worked. I work. I can write. I wrote. I write.

Linking Verbs
A linking verb connects a subject and its complement. Sometimes called copulas, linking verbs are often forms of the verb to be, but are sometimes verbs related to the five senses (look, sound, smell, feel, taste) and sometimes verbs that somehow reflect a state of being (appear, seem, become, grow, turn, prove, remain). What follows the linking verb will be either a noun complement or an adjective complement:

Those people are all professors. Those professors are brilliant. This room smells bad. I feel great. A victory today seems unlikely.

A handful of verbs that reflect a change in state of being are sometimes called resulting copulas. They, too, link a subject to a predicate adjective:

His face turned purple. She became older. The dogs ran wild. The milk has gone sour. The crowd grew ugly.

Mood

Mood in verbs refers to one of three attitudes that a writer or speaker has to what is being written or spoken. The indicative mood, which describes most sentences on this page, is used to make a statement or ask a question. The imperative mood is used when we're feeling sort of bossish and want to give a directive, strong suggestion, or order:

Get your homework done before you watch television tonight. Please include cash payment with your order form. Get out of town!

Notice that there is no subject in these imperative sentences. The pronoun you (singular or plural, depending on context) is the "understood subject" in imperative sentences. Virtually all imperative sentences, then, have a second person (singular or plural) subject. The sole exception is the first person construction, which includes an objective form as subject: "Let's (or Let us) work on these things together." The subjunctive mood is used in dependent clauses that do the following: 1) express a wish; 2) begin with if and express a condition that does not exist (is contrary to fact); 3) begin with as if and as though when such clauses describe a speculation or condition contrary to fact; and 4) begin with that and express a demand, requirement, request, or suggestion.

She wishes her boyfriend were here.

If Juan were more aggressive, he'd be a better hockey player. We would have passed if we had studied harder. He acted as if he were guilty. I requested that he be present at the hearing.

The subjunctive is not as important a mood in English as it is in other languages, like French and Spanish, which happen to be more subtle and discriminating in hypothetical, doubtful, or wishful expressions. Many situations which would require the subjunctive in other languages are satisfied by using one of several auxiliary verbs in English.
The New York Public Library's Writer's Guide to Style and Usage has this important note on the subjunctive: "The words if, as if, or as though do not always signal the subjunctive mood. If the information in such a clause points out a condition that is or was probable or likely, the verb should be in the indicative mood. The indicative tells the reader that the information in the dependent clause could possibly be true" (155). Cited with permission.

The present tense of the subjunctive uses only the base form of the verb.

He demanded that his students use two-inch margins. She suggested that we be on time tomorrow.

The past tense of the subjunctive has the same forms as the indicative except (unfortunately) for the verb to be, which uses were regardless of the number of the subject.

If I were seven feet tall, I'd be a great basketball player. He wishes he were a better student. If you were rich, we wouldn't be in this mess. If they were faster, we could have won that race.

Conditional Verb Forms

Conditional Clause and Main Clause
If I have enough money, I will go to Japan. conditional clause main clause I will go to Japan, if I have enough money main clause conditional clause

First, Second, and Third Conditional

1. First conditional:

If I have enough money, I will go to Japan.

2. Second conditional: If I had enough money, I would go to Japan. 3. Third conditional: If I had had enough money, I would have gone to Japan.

Conditional clause
1. If + Present Tense

Main clause
will + inf / present tense / imperative

a. If you help me with the dishes (if + pres), I will help you with your homework. (will + inf) b. If the sum of the digits of a number is divisible by three, the number is divisible by three (Pres. tense) c. If you see Mr Fox tonight, tell him I am ill. (imperative). 2. If + Past Tense 3. If + Past Perfect Tense would + inf would have + past participle

We do not normally use will or would in the conditional clause, only in the main clause.

Uses of the Conditional

1. First conditional a. Nature: Open condition, what is said in the condition is possible. b. Time: This condition refers either to present or to future time. e.g. If he is late, we will have to go without him. If my mother knows about this, we are in serious trouble.

2. Second conditional a. Nature: unreal (impossible) or improbable situations. b. Time: present; the TENSE is past, but we are talking about the present, now. e.g. If I knew her name, I would tell you. If I were you, I would tell my father. Compare: If I become president, I will change the social security system. (Said by a presidential candidate) If I became president, I would change the social security system. (Said by a schoolboy: improbable) If we win this match, we are qualified for the semifinals. If I won a million pounds, I would stop teaching. (improbable)

3. Third conditional a. Nature: unreal b. Time: Past (so we are talking about a situation that was not so in the past.) e.g. If you had warned me, I would not have told your father about that party.(But you didn't, and I have).

Remember!
1. The conditional construction does not normally use will or would in if-clauses. EXCEPTION: If will or would express willingness, as in requests, they can be used in ifclauses. e.g. If you will come this way, the manager will see you now. I would be grateful if you would give me a little help. (= please, come this way; please, give me...) 2. For the second conditional, were replaces was: If I were a rich man... 3. After if, we can either use "some(-one, -where...)" or "any(-one, -where...). If I have some spare time next weekend....or : If I have any spare time... 4. Instead of if not, we can use unless. e.g. I'll be back tomorrow unless there is a plane strike. He'll accept the job unless the salary is too low. 5.There is a "mixed type" as well, for the present results of an unreal condition in the past: If + Past Perfect - would + inf. If you had warned me [then], I would not be in prison [now].

Helping and Modal Auxiliary Verbs

Helping verbs or auxiliary verbs such as will, shall, may, might, can, could, must, ought to, should, would, used to, need are used in conjunction with main verbs to express shades of time and mood. The combination of helping verbs with main verbs creates what are called verb phrases or verb strings. In the following sentence, "will have been" are helping or auxiliary verbs and "studying" is the main verb; the whole verb string is underlined:

As of next August, I will have been studying chemistry for ten years.

Students should remember that adverbs and contracted forms are not, technically, part of the verb. In the sentence, "He has already started." the adverb already modifies the verb, but it is not really part of the verb. The same is true of the 'nt in "He hasn't started yet" (the adverb not, represented by the contracted n't, is not part of the verb, has started).

Shall, will and forms of have, do and be combine with main verbs to indicate time and voice. As auxiliaries, the verbs be, have and do can change form to indicate changes in subject and time.

I shall go now. He had won the election. They did write that novel together. I am going now. He was winning the election. They have been writing that novel for a long time.

Uses of Shall and Will and Should

In England, shall is used to express the simple future for first person I and we, as in "Shall we meet by the river?" Will would be used in the simple future for all other persons. Using will in the first person would express determination on the part of the speaker, as in "We will finish this project by tonight, by golly!" Using shall in second and third persons would indicate some kind of promise about the subject, as in "This shall be revealed to you in good time." This usage is certainly acceptable in the U.S., although shall is used far less frequently. The distinction between the two is often obscured by the contraction 'll, which is the same for both verbs. In the United States, we seldom use shall for anything other than polite questions (suggesting an element of permission) in the first-person:

"Shall we go now?" "Shall I call a doctor for you?"

(In the second sentence, many writers would use should instead, although should is somewhat more tentative than shall.) In the U.S., to express the future tense, the verb will is used in all other cases. Shall is often used in formal situtations (legal or legalistic documents, minutes to meetings, etc.) to express obligation, even with third-person and second-person constructions:

The board of directors shall be responsible for payment to stockholders. The college president shall report financial shortfalls to the executive director each semester."

Should is usually replaced, nowadays, by would. It is still used, however, to mean "ought to" as in

You really shouldn't do that. If you think that was amazing, you should have seen it last night.

In British English and very formal American English, one is apt to hear or read should with the first-person pronouns in expressions of liking such as "I should prefer iced tea" and in tentative expressions of opinion such as

I should imagine they'll vote Conservative. I should have thought so.

Uses of Do, Does and Did

In the simple present tense, do will function as an auxiliary to express the negative and to ask questions. (Does, however, is substituted for third-person, singular subjects in the present tense. The past tense did works with all persons, singular and plural.)

I don't study at night. She doesn't work here anymore. Do you attend this school? Does he work here?

These verbs also work as "short answers," with the main verb omitted.

Does she work here? No, she doesn't work here.

With "yes-no" questions, the form of do goes in front of the subject and the main verb comes after the subject:

Did your grandmother know Truman? Do wildflowers grow in your back yard?

Forms of do are useful in expressing similarity and differences in conjunction with so and neither.

My wife hates spinach and so does my son. My wife doesn't like spinach; neither do I.

Do is also helpful because it means you don't have to repeat the verb:

Larry excelled in language studies; so did his brother. Raoul studies as hard as his sister does.

The so-called emphatic do has many uses in English. a. To add emphasis to an entire sentence: "He does like spinach. He really does!" b. To add emphasis to an imperative: "Do come in." (actually softens the command) c. To add emphasis to a frequency adverb: "He never did understand his father." "She always does manage to hurt her mother's feelings." d. To contradict a negative statement: "You didn't do your homework, did you?" "Oh, but I did finish it." e. To ask a clarifying question about a previous negative statement: "Ridwell didn't take the tools." "Then who did take the tools?"

f. To indicate a strong concession: "Although the Clintons denied any wrong-doing, they did return some of the gifts." In the absence of other modal auxiliaries, a form of do is used in question and negative constructions known as the get passive:

Did Rinaldo get selected by the committee? The audience didn't get riled up by the politician.

Uses of Have, Has and Had

Forms of the verb to have are used to create tenses known as the present perfect and past perfect. The perfect tenses indicate that something has happened in the past; the present perfect indicating that something happened and might be continuing to happen, the past perfect indicating that something happened prior to something else happening. (That sounds worse than it really is!) See the section on Verb Tenses in the Active Voice for further explanation; also review material in the Directory of English Tenses. To have is also in combination with other modal verbs to express probability and possibility in the past.

As an affirmative statement, to have can express how certain you are that something happened (when combined with an appropriate modal + have + a past participle): "Georgia must have left already." "Clinton might have known about the gifts." "They may have voted already." As a negative statement, a modal is combined with not + have + a past participle to express how certain you are that something did not happen: "Clinton might not have known about the gifts." "I may not have been there at the time of the crime." To ask about possibility or probability in the past, a modal is combined with the subject + have + past participle: "Could Clinton have known about the gifts?" For short answers, a modal is combined with have: "Did Clinton know about this?" "I don't know. He may have." "The evidence is pretty positive. He must have."

To have (sometimes combined with to get) is used to express a logical inference:

It's been raining all week; the basement has to be flooded by now. He hit his head on the doorway. He has got to be over seven feet tall!

Have is often combined with an infinitive to form an auxiliary whose meaning is similar to "must."

I have to have a car like that! She has to pay her own tuition at college. He has to have been the first student to try that.

Modal Auxiliaries

Other helping verbs, called modal auxiliaries or modals, such as can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, and would, do not change form for different subjects. For instance, try substituting any of these modal auxiliaries for can with any of the subjects listed below.
I you (singular) he we you (plural) they

can write well.

Uses of Can and Could

The modal auxiliary can is used

to express ability (in the sense of being able to do something or knowing how to do something): He can speak Spanish but he can't write it very well. to expression permission (in the sense of being allowed or permitted to do something): Can I talk to my friends in the library waiting room? (Note that can is less formal than may. Also, some writers will object to the use of can in this context.) to express theoretical possibility: American automobile makers can make better cars if they think there's a profit in it.

The modal auxiliary could is used

to express an ability in the past: I could always beat you at tennis when we were kids. to express past or future permission: Could I bury my cat in your back yard? to express present possibility: We could always spend the afternoon just sitting around talking. to express possibility or ability in contingent circumstances: If he studied harder, he could pass this course.

In expressing ability, can and could frequently also imply willingness: Can you help me with my homework?

Can versus May

Whether the auxiliary verb can can be used to express permission or not "Can I leave the room now?" ["I don't know if you can, but you may."] depends on the level of formality of your text or situation. As Theodore Bernstein puts it in The Careful Writer, "a writer who is attentive to the proprieties will preserve the traditional distinction: can for ability or power to do something, may for permission to do it.

Uses of May and Might

Two of the more troublesome modal auxiliaries are may and might. When used in the context of granting or seeking permission, might is the past tense of may. Might is considerably more tentative than may.

May I leave class early? If I've finished all my work and I'm really quiet, might I leave early?

In the context of expressing possibility, may and might are interchangeable present and future forms and might + have + past participle is the past form:

She might be my advisor next semester. She may be my advisor next semester. She might have advised me not to take biology.

Avoid confusing the sense of possibility in may with the implication of might, that a hypothetical situation has not in fact occured. For instance, let's say there's been a helicopter crash at the airport. In his initial report, before all the facts are gathered, a newscaster could say that the pilot "may have been injured." After we discover that the pilot is in fact all right, the newscaster can now say that the pilot "might have been injured" because it is a hypothetical situation that has not occured. Another example: a body had been identified after much work by a detective. It was reported that "without this painstaking work, the body may have remained unidentified." Since the body was, in fact, identified, might is clearly called for.

Uses of Will and Would

In certain contexts, will and would are virtually interchangeable, but there are differences. Notice that the contracted form 'll is very frequently used for will.

Will can be used to express willingness:

I'll wash the dishes if you dry. We're going to the movies. Will you join us?

It can also express intention (especially in the first person):

I'll do my exercises later on.

and prediction:

specific: The meeting will be over soon. timeless: Humidity will ruin my hairdo. habitual: The river will overflow its banks every spring.

Would can also be used to express willingness:

Would you please take off your hat?

It can also express insistence (rather rare, and with a strong stress on the word "would"):

Now you've ruined everything. You would act that way.

and characteristic activity:

customary: After work, he would walk to his home in West Hartford. typical (casual): She would cause the whole family to be late, every time.

In a main clause, would can express a hypothetical meaning:

My cocker spaniel would weigh a ton if I let her eat what she wants.

Finally, would can express a sense of probability:

I hear a whistle. That would be the five o'clock train.

Uses of Used to
The auxiliary verb construction used to is used to express an action that took place in the past, perhaps customarily, but now that action no longer customarily takes place:

We used to take long vacation trips with the whole family.

The spelling of this verb is a problem for some people because the "-ed" ending quite naturally disappears in speaking: "We yoostoo take long trips." But it ought not to disappear in writing. There are exceptions, though. When the auxiliary is combined with another auxiliary, did, the past tense is carried by the new auxiliary and the "-ed" ending is dropped. This will often happen in the interrogative:

Didn't you use to go jogging every morning before breakfast? It didn't use to be that way.

Used to can also be used to convey the sense of being accustomed to or familiar with something:

The tire factory down the road really stinks, but we're used to it by now. I like these old sneakers; I'm used to them.

Used to is best reserved for colloquial usage; it has no place in formal or academic text.

Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs consist of a verb and another word or phrase, usually a preposition. They often arise from casual uses of the language and eventually work themselves into the mainstream of language use. Phrasal verbs can be both intransitive (The children were sitting around, doing nothing. The witness finally broke down on the stand.) and transitive in meaning (Our boss called off the meeting. She looked up her old boyfriend.) The word that is joined with a verb in this construction (often a preposition) is called a particle. The problem with phrasal verbs is that their meaning is often, at first, obscure, and they often mean several different things. To make out, for instance, can mean to perceive or to see something; it can also mean to engage in light sexual play. If someone chooses to turn up the street that is a combination of a verb and a preposition, but it is not a phrasal verb. On the other hand, if your neighbors unexpectedly turn up (appear) at a party or your brother turns up his radio, those are phrasal verbs. To come out, we are told, has eighteen different meanings. Verbs can be combined with different prepositions and other words, sometimes with dizzying effect: stand out, stand up, stand in, stand off, stand by, stand fast, stand pat, stand down, stand against, stand for. Further, the verb and the word or phrase it connects to are not always contiguous: "Fill this out," we would say, but then we would say, "Fill out this form."

Causative Verbs
Causative verbs designate the action necessary to cause another action to happen. In "The devil made me do it." the verb "made" causes the "do" to happen. Here is a brief list of causative verbs, in no particular order: let, make, help, allow, have, let, require, allow, motivate, get, make, convince, hire, assist, encourage, permit, employ, force, allow. Most of them are followed by an object (noun or pronoun) followed by an infinitive: "She allows her pet cockatiel to perch on the windowsill. She hired a carpenter to build a new birdcage." Three causative verbs are exceptions to the pattern described above. Instead of being followed by a noun/pronoun and an infinitive, the causative verbs have, make and let are followed by a noun/pronoun and the base form of the verb (which is actually an infinitive with the "to" left off).

Professor Villa had her students read four short novels in one week. She also made them read five plays in one week. However, she let them skip the final exam.

Factitive Verbs
Verbs like make, choose, judge, elect, select, name. are called factitive verbs. These transitive verbs can take two objects, or seem to:

They judged Philbert's dog Best of Show. (where "dog" is the direct object and "Best of Show" is the second complement). The faculty elected Dogsbreath the new Academic Dean. (where Dogsbreath is the direct object and "Academic Dean" is the second complement). U.S. News and World Report named our college the best in the northeast. (where "our college" is the direct object and "the best" is the second complement).

Tenses
Tense shows the time of a verb's action or being. There are three inflected forms reflected by changes in the endings of verbs. The present tense indicates that something is happening or being now: "She is a student. She drives a new car." The simple past tense indicates that something happened in the past: "She was a student. She drove a new car." And the past participle form is combined with auxiliary verbs to indicate that something happened in the past prior to another action: "She has been a student. She had driven a new car." Unlike most other languages, English does not have inflected forms for the future tense. Instead, English future forms are created with the use of auxiliaries: "She will be a student. She is going to drive a new car." English can even create the future by using the present tense, "The bus arrives later this afternoon," or the present progressive, "He is relocating to Portland later next month."

Progressive Verbs

The progressive tenses, which indicate something being or happening, are formed with the present participle form (ending in -ing) along with various auxiliaries. "She is driving. She was driving. She will be driving. She has been driving. She had been driving. She will have been driving."

Sequence of Tenses
Sequence of Tenses: The relationship between verbs in a main clause and verbs in dependent clauses is important. These verb tenses don't have to be identical as long as they reflect, logically, shifts in time and meaning: "My brother had graduated before I started college." "My brother will have graduated before I start."

Sequence of Tenses With Infinitives and Participles

Like verbs, infinitives and participles are capable of conveying the idea of action in time; therefore, it is important that we observe the appropriate tense sequence when using these modals.

INFINITIVES
Tense of Infinitive Role of Infinitive Example(s)
Coach Espinoza is eager to try out her new drills. [The eagerness is now; the trying out will happen later.] She would have liked to see more veterans returning. [The present infinitive to see is in the same time as the past would have liked.] The fans would like to have seen some improvement this year. ["Would like" describes a present condition; "to have seen" describes something prior to that time.] They consider the team to have been coached very well. [The perfect infinitive to have been coached indicates a time prior to

Present Infinitive (to see)

To show same-time action or action later than the verb

Perfect Infinitive (to have seen)

To show action earlier than the verb

the verb consider.]

PARTICIPLES
Tense of Participle Role of Participle Example(s)
Working on the fundamentals, the team slowly began to improve. [The action expressed by began happened in the past, at the same time the working happened.] Prepared by last year's experience, the coach knows not to expect too much. [The action expressed by knows is in the present; prepared expresses a time prior to that time.] To show action occurring earlier than that of the verb Having experimented with several game plans, the coaching staff devised a master strategy. [The present perfect participle having experimented indicates a time prior to the past tense verb, devised.]

Present Participle (seeing)

To show action occurring at the same time as that of the verb

Past Participle
or

Present Perfect Participle