Glossary of Grammatical Terms

Here’s the Glossary of Grammatical Terms. Throughout GrammaRight, these

terms appear in a highlighted font. When you put your cursor on the term, it
changes color. Click the term and you’ll get a Pop-Up Definition in a separate
window. After reading the definition, simply close the window.

acronym
An acronym is a word formed from the initial letters of a name, such as IBM
for International Business Machines, or by combining initial letters or parts of
a series of words, such as radar for radio detecting and ranging.

Form the plural of most acronyms simply by adding “-s.” Thus, one IRA, two
IRAs.

When using a or an before an acronym, use a if the acronym, when spoken,

begins with a consonant sound, as in a UFO. But use an if the acronym, when
spoken, begins with a vowel sound, as in an FDA hearing.

Though the New York Times does otherwise, you should spell acronyms
without periods. Thus: FBI.

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action verb
An action verb denotes physical, mental, or even emotional activity. The word
run is obviously an action verb. But so is think.

Every action verb is either transitive or intransitive. A transitive verb is one

that can attach directly to a noun (the direct object of the verb). An intransitive
verb cannot attach directly to a verb; an intransitive verb needs a proposition
to form a relationship with a noun.

Thus, the action verb hit is transitive. You can hit a ball.

But the action verb proceed is intransitive. You proceed with the investigation.

Many action verbs have both transitive and intransitive definitions. The verb

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run is intransitive, as in run across the field. But it is also transitive, as in She
runs the organization.

Top writers develop their writing styles around the action verb.

The other verbs in the English language, which are not action verbs, are
(1) the verb to be, (2) the linking verb, and (3) the auxiliary verb.

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active voice
Every transitive verb can appear in one of two voices: the active voice or the
passive voice.

In the active voice, the grammatical subject of the sentence is the actor. Thus,
in the following sentence, the actor is the subject of the sentence. The subject
is active. The verb, therefore, appears in the active voice:

• John hit the ball.

In the passive voice, what was the direct object in the active voice (ball)
becomes the grammatical subject in the passive voice. Thus, in the following
sentence, the grammatical subject is passive, that is, the subject receives the
action denoted by the action verb in the passive voice:

• The ball was hit by John.

To form the passive voice, take any form of the verb to be and add the past
participle of the transitive verb.

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adjective
An adjective is a word or group of words that modifies or describes a noun (a
little girl) or a pronoun (he is strange). Single-word adjectives usually come
before the word they modify (the red wagon). But when adjectives join a
preposition to form what's called an adjectival phrase, they can come after the

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word they modify (the wagon red in color).

Most adjectives come in three states. The positive state describes the basic
attribute (the hot plate). The comparative state shows more of the attribute
(the hotter plate). The superlative state shows the most of the attribute (the
hottest plate).

Sometimes you add “-er” to form the comparative state and “-est” to form the
superlative state. But other times you use the word more (more difficult) to
form the comparative and most (most difficult) to form the superlative. You'll
find a complete discussion of this problem in Chapter 3 of the Grammar &
Writing Guide.

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adjectival clause
First, a clause is a group of words with a conjugated verb in it. Second, an
adjectival clause is a clause that modifies or describes a noun or pronoun.
Note these adjectival clauses:

• on the street where she lives

• the book that arrived at the store

• the book, which arrived at the store,

Adjectival clauses must be either restrictive or nonrestrictive. The that clause

above is restrictive. The which clause is nonrestrictive. This complicated topic
is described thoroughly in Chapter 14 of the Grammar & Writing Guide. There
you'll learn the differences between that and which.

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adjectival phrase
First, a phrase is any multiword group without a conjugated verb. Second, an
adjectival phrase is a phrase that modifies or describes a noun or pronoun.
Usually, an adjectival phrase consists of an adjective and a prepositional

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phrase, such as free from bias or pertinent to our discussion.

Other phrases, like prepositional phrases (over the rainbow) or verbal phrases
(sitting next to the judge) may act as adjectives. We prefer to limit the
expression adjectival phrase to those multiword groupings that begin with true
adjectives.

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adverb
An adverb is a word or group of words that modifies or describes a verb.
Many one-word adverbs end in “-ly,” such as he ran quickly. Others, however,
do not, such as he ran fast.

Adverbs also modify or describe adjectives, such as the very tall man. They
may also modify other adverbs, such as he ran extremely fast.

Adverbs typically serve to answer what we might call adverbial questions

about the verbs they modify. These include:

• Where

• When

• How

• Why

• Under what circumstances

Adverbs come in three states. In the positive state, the adverb ascribes the
basic attribute, as in He wrote clearly. To form the comparative state, we
usually add the word more, as in He wrote more clearly. To form the
superlative state, we usually add the word most, as in He wrote most clearly.
These rules apply to the “-ly” adverbs.

Adverbs not ending in “-ly” can form their comparative state by adding “-er”
(he ran faster) and their superlative state by adding -est (he ran fastest).

You'll find a complete discussion of this problem in Chapter 4 of the Grammar

& Writing Guide.

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See also compound verb about the placement of adverbs in multiword verb
forms, such as We have definitely decided to have a party.

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adverbial clause
First, a clause is a group of words with a conjugated verb in it. Second, an
adverbial clause is a clause that modifies or describes a verb. Note these
adverbial clauses:

• He quit the race because he lost his energy.

• Though he was tired, he won the race.

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adverbial phrase
Many phrases can act as adverbs and modify a verb, another adverb, or an
adjective. A prepositional phrase can act as an adverb and modify a verb: In
May, it often rains. A verbal phrase can act as an adverb: To scare the
intruder, the homeowner brandished his gun.

Strictly, an adverbial phrase is a group of words having an adverb as the first

word. We can build far more adjectival phrases (free from bias, pertinent to
our case) than adverbial phrases. Here is an adverbial phrase:

• Oddly enough, the defendant admitted his guilt.

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antecedent
A pronoun takes the place of a noun. When writing, you'll use a pronoun and
that pronoun will refer to some noun close by. That noun (the referent) is

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called the antecedent. The prefix ante might make you think that all
antecedents come before the pronoun. But that's not true. Pronouns are either
anaphoric (backward-looking) or cataphoric (forward-looking).

Here's an anaphoric pronoun. It looks back to the antecedent:

• John is my friend. He came to our house for dinner.

Here's a cataphoric pronoun. It refers to an upcoming antecedent:

• When he came to our house, John brought a bottle of Hope & Grace
pinot noir.

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appositive
An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that defines or restates another noun
(or pronoun). Generally, the appositive follows the word it defines, as in My
friend, Susan, came to dinner. But the appositive can also precede the noun it
defines. Study this example:

• A landmark decision, Brown v. Board of Education desegregated the

public schools.

If an appositive is nonrestrictive (most are), it should be set off by commas.

But if an appositive is restrictive, no commas should appear. Study these
examples:

• John's brother Fred came to dinner (restrictive, John has more than one
brother and the appositive Fred singles out which brother, no commas).

• Susan's brother, Jack, came to dinner (nonrestrictive, Susan has just

one brother, commas are mandatory).

The terms restrictive and nonrestrictive are elsewhere defined.

See restrictive clause and nonrestrictive clause.

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article
We have three articles in the English language: a, an, and the. The words a
and an are indefinite articles; the is a definite article.

Use an when the word modified begins with a vowel or vowel sound, as in
an apple or an hour.

Use a when the word modified begins with a consonant or consonant sound,
as in a bicycle or a university.

When a or an modifies an acronym, use an when the spoken acronym begins

with a vowel sound, as in an FDA hearing.

The differences between a-an and the, and the issue of when to omit articles
are discussed in Chapter 3 of the Grammar & Writing Guide.

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auxiliary verb
When you conjugate a one-word verb, you can form the present tense (he
decides) and the past tense (he decided) with just one verb word. But when
you go beyond the present and past tenses, you need an auxiliary verb, also
called a helping verb, to complete the conjugation (he will decide).

We have 16 auxiliary verbs: to be, do, have, can, may, might, must, shall, will,
ought (to), used (to), should, would, could, dare, and need (to). Five of these
can serve as full verbs (to be, dare, do, have, and need), that is, you can
conjugate them.

Auxiliary verbs join with main verbs to show certain tenses, voices (active and
passive) (The case was decided by the court), conditions (He might win), and
obligations (She must study).

When joined to a main verb, auxiliaries form multiword verbs. Some people
incorrectly believe that when you modify a multiword verb form with an
adverb, you should not break up the multiword verb form. In Chapter 4 of the
Grammar & Writing Guide, you'll find a full discussion on the placement of
adverbs. Thus, study these examples:

• She will probably win the election.

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 • He has definitely decided to attend graduate school.

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case
We have seven kinds of pronouns in the English language (personal
pronouns, reflexive and intensive pronouns, relative pronouns, interrogative
pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, indefinite pronouns, and reciprocal
pronouns).

The personal pronouns (and the relative or interrogative pronoun who) exhibit
case. The case of a pronoun reveals how the noun it replaces would act in the
sentence. We have three cases: (1) subjective case (also called nominative
case), (2) objective case, and (3) possessive case.

The relative or interrogative pronoun who also exhibits case: who (subjective),
whom (objective), and whose (possessive).

In the table below, please note the correct possessive form of the pronoun it.
The correct form is its. Many people incorrectly use an apostrophe and write
things like We enjoyed it's plot. Wrong. The word it's is the contraction of it is.
We urge you to read Chapter 9 in the Section on Grammatical Mistakes.

The following table reveals the three cases of the personal pronouns.

Singular Personal Pronouns

Person Subjective Objective Possessive

Case Case Case

First Person I me my-mine

Second You you your-yours

Person

Third he him his-his

Person (masculine) (masculine) (masculine)

she her her-hers

(feminine) (feminine) (feminine)

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 it (neuter) it (neuter) its-its
(neuter)

Plural Personal Pronouns

Person Subjective Objective Possessive

Case Case Case

First Person we us our-ours

Second you you your-yours

Person

Third they them their-theirs

Person

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clause
A clause is a group of words with a conjugated verb in it. Clauses come in two
types: (1) independent and (2) dependent. An independent clause is a full
sentence, begins with a capital letter, and ends with a period or other full stop.
A dependent clause cannot stand by itself as a sentence. It must attach to an
independent clause to form what is called a complex sentence.

Dependent clauses may act in three ways: (1) as nouns, (2) as adjectives,
and (3) as adverbs. Study these three examples of dependent clauses.

• That she won the race did not surprise us.

(noun clause acting as the subject of the sentence)

• He left the party because he was tired.

(adverbial clause modifying the verb left)

• He enjoyed the party, which lasted all night.

(adjectival clause modifying the noun party)

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collective noun
A collective noun, also called a group noun, refers to a group of persons or
things. Examples include group, number, majority, team, and many others.

In American English, when individual members of the group noun act

individually, you should use a plural verb. Study this example:

• A majority of courts have followed Roe v. Wade.

(Here, the courts have acted individually, in separate cases, not as a
single group or mass. Thus, the verb have followed is plural.)

But if the individual members of the group act as a unit, then you should use a
singular verb. Study this example:

• A group of Senators has decided to introduce the bill.

(Here, the group acted as a unit. Thus, the verb has decided is
singular.)

In England, group nouns typically take a plural verb. Thus, across the pond,
you'll hear:

• The jury have reached their verdict.

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comparative state
Modifiers—adjectives and adverbs—attribute qualities to nouns and verbs.
When the modifier shows a greater quality, it appears in the comparative
state.

Usually, for adjectives, you form the comparative state by adding “-er” to the
adjective, as in the hotter plate. But you would not describe a test as
difficulter. You would write a more difficult test.

Various rules govern the use of “-er” or more. You'll find a complete
discussion in Chapters 3 and 4 of the Grammar & Writing Guide.

See positive state and superlative state.

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complement
A complement is a word or group of words that completes the action or state
of being expressed by the verb. A subject complement typically follows the
verb to be or a linking verb (seem, appear, many others).

Thus, in the sentence you're now reading, the subject complement is the
italicized words. Notice that the subject complement never dictates the
number of the verb. If the grammatical subject is singular (subject
complement), the verb must be singular (is), even if the subject complement is
plural (italicized words).

Another kind of complement is the object complement. In the following

sentence, the object complement is underlined:

• We elected her mayor.

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complement verb
A complement verb, or phrasal verb, comprises a verb and a preposition. We
have hundreds of them in the English language: dredge up, drop out, make
up, mess up, screw up, and the list goes on and on.

The verb-preposition combination will then be transitive or intransitive. For

example, the verb dredge up is transitive (He dredged up her bleak past). But
the verb drop out is intransitive and needs yet another preposition to attach to
a noun (He dropped out of college).

If the complement verb is transitive, you may put the object between the verb
and the preposition: She messed it up. But if the complement verb is
intransitive, the verb and preposition must remain together: He dropped out of
college.

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complex sentence
A complex sentence comprises one independent clause and at least one
dependent clause. The dependent clause, which cannot stand by itself as a
sentence, performs some grammatical function in the complex sentence. In
the following example* of a complex sentence, notice the grammatical
functions of the three underlined dependent clauses:

• Although it wasn't true, Mike told everyone that he had lent his bike to
the boy who lived next door.

Here are the grammatical functions of the main clause and the three
dependent clauses:

• Although it wasn't true,

(adverbial clause modifying entire sentence)

• Mike told everyone

(the main clause)

• that he had lent his bike

(noun clause, direct object of told)

• to the boy who lived next door.

(adjectival clause modifying boy)

* Thomas S. Kane, The Oxford Guide to Writing p. 218 (1983).

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compound adjective
A compound adjective comprises two or more words. The unit formed then
serves as an adjective. These are also called phrasal adjectives. The vast
majority of writers have no clue about spelling these structures. As a general
rule, you should hyphenate phrasal adjectives, especially those coming before
the word modified. Consider these examples:

• a common-law doctrine

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 • a civil-rights case

• a management-consulting firm

One type of compound adjective you never hyphenate is the one formed with
an -ly adverb and (1) a true adjective, (2) a past participle, or (3) a present
participle. Here are three examples:

• a newly free nation

• a widely used procedure

• the rapidly increasing revenue

If, however, the adverb is not an -ly adverb, you do hyphenate the compound
adjective if it precedes the modified noun. If it follows the modified noun, do
not hyphenate it. Thus:

• the well-known actor

• the actor is well known

For a complete discussion on the use of the hyphen in compound adjectives,

see the GrammaRight Section entitled "Rules on Punctuation."

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compound predicate
A compound predicate is simply two or more main verbs attached to a single
subject of the sentence. Please note: When you join just two verbs, no
comma should come before the and. Only when you join three or more
elements in a series do you use a comma before the conjunction.

• Wrong
The president gave the speech, and thrilled the crowd.

• Right
The president gave the speech and thrilled the crowd.

There is an exception to this rule. If the first of the two elements has another
and within it, you might want to put a comma before the and joining the two

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elements, just to avoid confusion:

• The committee revisited this issue and the Jones Study, and created a
new rule to guide the actions of supervisors.

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compound sentence
A compound sentence comprises two or more independent clauses. You may
join these clauses by using one of the seven coordinating conjunctions: but,
or, yet, for, and, nor, so. Or you may use a correlative conjunction: not … but,
not only … but (also), neither … nor, either … or.

You may also join two independent clauses through parataxis, which means
pushing the two clauses together without a conjunction. Typically, you'll use a
semicolon to join the clauses.

Here are compound sentences formed by a coordinating conjunction and

through parataxis:

• Sally played the guitar, and Fred sang the melody.

• Sally played the guitar; Fred sang the melody.

When you use a correlative conjunction to join two independent clauses, you'll
have to use a multiword verb form for the first clause and put the subject
between the auxiliary verb and the main verb. Like this:

• Not only did the President decide to employ the use of force, but he
decided to use massive force.

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compound verb
A compound verb is a multiword verb form consisting of one or more auxiliary
verbs and a main verb, as in I have seen the movie, She has gone home, We
will have decided this issue sometime next week.

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An unfortunate—an misinformed—rule has developed among some writers:
They believe that an adverb never comes between the parts of a compound
verb. They are wrong. In fact, the opposite is true: The adverb should
frequently come between the auxiliary and the main verb, as in should
frequently come.

To put adverbs in their proper place, follow these seven conventions. The
adverbs appear in bold underlined type, the verbs in bold type:

• 1. To stress the adverb, put it before the subject.

Emphatically the parent denied the child's request to ride without a

seatbelt.

• 2. An adverb needing no emphasis comes after the subject and before the
simple (one-word) verb.

The teacher sometimes uses the dictionary.

• 3. Do not put an adverb between a verb and its object.

Avoid: I understand entirely the rule governing the placement of

adverbs. (The word understand is the verb and rule is its object; no
adverb should come in between.)

Instead: I entirely understand the rule governing the placement of

adverbs.

• 4. An adverb modifying a two-word compound verb comes between the

helping verb and the main verb.

The manager will probably review the salary scales next month.

The president has often rejected similar arguments.

The runner was consistently winning her races.

• 5. An adverb modifying a three-word compound verb comes after the first

helping verb when the adverb modifies the entire thought
communicated by the compound verb.

The students have certainly been forewarned about the risks of

smoking.

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 We will undoubtedly have received news from the school by that
time.

• 6. If an adverb strongly modifies the main verb, put it before the main
verb, not after the first helping verb (in a compound verb with three or
more words).

This argument has been repeatedly rejected by the personnel office.

This policy will have become firmly entrenched in our tax law.

• 7. An adverbial expression consisting of several words comes outside the

compound verb, ordinarily after it.

The students have been reminded over and over again to refrain
from smoking.

We have been hearing this particular argument off and on for several
years.

You'll find a complete discussion of this problem in Chapter 4 of the Grammar

& Writing Guide.

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conjugation
The process of conjugation shows the forms of a verb as it appears in all
tenses. Conjugation reveals tense (when), person (who), number (how many,
singular or plural), and mood (showing the way the speaker regards the
statement). The major tenses include present, past, future, present perfect,
past perfect (pluperfect), and future perfect.

We conjugate verbs using the personal pronouns in the three persons (first,
second, third) and in the singular (I, you, he-she-it) and the plural (we, you,
they).

You'll find a complete conjugation of regular and irregular verbs in Chapter 2

of the Grammar & Writing Guide.

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conjunction
We have three kinds of conjunctions: (1) coordinating, (2) correlative, and
(3) subordinating. The coordinating and correlative conjunctions join elements
in a series. When you join elements (two or more nouns, two or more verbs,
two or more adjectives, and so on), you must make certain that each element
appears in the same grammatical form and performs the same grammatical
function. This is the rule of parallel construction.

The subordinating conjunctions introduce subordinate clauses.

We have seven coordinating conjunctions, which you can remember with the
acronym BOYFANS (but, or, yet, for, and, nor, so). We have five pairs of
correlative conjunctions (not … but, not only … but also, both … and, either
… or, neither … nor).

We have scores of subordinating conjunctions, words like if, because, when,

even though, although, though, as long as, as far as, and many others.

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conjunctive adverb
A conjunctive adverb is a word like however or therefore. Others include
nonetheless, consequently, even so, and others. We can use these words to
join independent clauses. When you use them, however, make sure that you
precede the word with a semicolon and follow it with a comma. Many people
make the mistake of using a comma before the conjunctive adverb. Study
these examples:

• Wrong
He passed the test, however he flunked the course.

• Right
He passed the test; however, he flunked the course.

Good writers usually avoid these structures. Instead, they use coordinating
conjunctions to reveal the relationship of the second clause. Like this:

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 • He passed the test, but he flunked the course.

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consonant
The word consonant refers to the phonetic sound produced by occluding with
or without releasing (p, b; t, d; k, g), diverting (m, n, ng), or obstructing (f, v; s,
z, etc.) the flow of air from the lungs. From grade school, you remember the
vowels as a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y. All other letters are consonants.
When spelling, sometimes you'll double a consonant ending a word before
adding a suffix, as I just did when I doubled the consonant “l” in spelling. Here
are some handy rules from The Columbia Guide to Standard American
English:

1. Words that end in a single vowel plus a single consonant usually double
the final consonant before adding a suffix that begins with a vowel: stop
becomes stopped, stopping, stopper, and unstoppable. Thus snip
becomes snipper, but snipe becomes sniper.

2. Most words that end in two consonants do not ordinarily double the final
consonant before a suffix: print becomes printed, printing, and printer.

3. If the suffix begins with a consonant instead of a vowel, the final consonant
of the base word stays single: ship becomes shipment and clap becomes
claptrap.

4. Words of two and more syllables that are stressed on the final syllable
normally double the final consonant before adding a suffix: infer becomes
inferred and inferring. But two-syllable words stressed on the final syllable
do not double the final consonant when the suffix begins with a consonant:
regret becomes regretting but regretful. And words stressed on the final
syllable but ending with two consonants or with a vowel do not double the
consonant: predict becomes predicting and predicted.

5. Words that end in -c usually add -k before the suffix: panic becomes
panicking; picnic, picnicked.

6. In words of more than one syllable ending in a consonant, especially -l, the
English generally double the final consonant, and Americans generally do
not.

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Here are some examples of Rule 6:

American English British English

canceled, cancelled cancelled

jeweler, jeweller jeweller

kidnaped, kidnapped
kidnapped

labeled, labelled labelled

traveled, travelled travelled

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contraction
A contraction shows the coming together of two or more words with
intervening sounds (in speech) omitted or with intervening letters (in writing)
omitted. Typically, the contraction brings together an auxiliary verb and a main
verb, as in He'll win (He will win). Or it brings together a negative and a verb,
as in He won't win (He will not win). The omitted letters are shown by an
apostrophe.

A contraction often includes the auxiliary verb have (I could've won). When
spoken it sounds like a stressed of. Many people, unfortunately, then write the
of instead of the contraction, as in I could of run. This is a huge mistake, dealt
with in the Section on Grammatical Mistakes.

Some writers believe that contractions simply don't belong (there's one) in
formal writing. Nonsense. Many great writers use them, if sparingly. Check out
this advice from Rudolf Flesch in The Art of Readable Writing (1949):

Don't start using contractions at every single opportunity. It's not as

simple as that. Contractions have to be used with care. Sometimes they
fit, sometimes they don't. It depends on whether you would use the
contraction in speaking that particular sentence (e.g. in this sentence I
would say you would and not you'd). It also depends on whether the
contraction would help or hinder the rhythm that would suit your

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 sentence for proper emphasis. So don't try to be consistent about this; it
doesn't work. You have to go by feel, not by rule.

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coordinate adjective
Coordinate adjectives are two adjectives, of equal weight, modifying the same
noun. Generally, you should separate the adjectives with a comma. A good
test to use: Put the word and between the two adjectives and see if that
makes sense. If so, the adjectives are coordinate adjectives.

Consider this example:

• It was a long, hot summer.

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coordinating conjunction
A coordinating conjunction joins elements in a series. Each element must
perform the same grammatical function and appear in the same grammatical
form. This is the rule of parallel construction.

We have seven coordinating conjunctions, which you can remember with the
acronym BOYFANS: but, or, yet, for, and, nor, so.

When you use one of these conjunctions to join three or more elements, you
should put a comma before the conjunction. This is called the serial-comma
rule. The comma is often referred to as the Oxford comma. Thus: red, white,
and blue.

Don't for minute think you cannot begin a sentence with a conjunction. That's
a myth. All great writers routinely start sentences with but, or, yet, or even
and. For a complete discussion, consult Chapter 6 of the Grammar & Writing
Guide.

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Click the “X” to close this window.

copulative verb
It's not what you think. Or hope.

A copulative verb is a verb form that joins a subject to an adjective or to

another noun. The verb to be is a copulative verb. So are the linking verbs
(seem, appear, look, become, and others).

The verb to be may join a subject to a noun or an adjective. Study these two
examples:

• John is my friend.
(noun)

• John is happy.
(adjective)

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correlative conjunction
These conjunctions come in pairs. We have five of them: not … but, not only
… but also, both … and, neither … nor, either … or.

All good writers routinely use these conjunctions in their style. You should,
too.

When you do, make certain that the two parts of the correlative conjunction
join two grammatically equal elements. If the first part joins an adjective, then
the second part must join an adjective. Thus, it would be incorrect to write: He
is neither my friend nor happy. You cannot join a noun (friend) with an
adjective (happy).

Also, when you use neither … nor to join two subjects in a sentence, the
number of the noun closer to the verb governs the number of the verb. Study
the following two examples:

• Neither the player nor the coach wants to lose.

• Neither the coach nor the players want to lose.

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dangling modifier
A dangling modifier is a phrase or clause that does not hook up to any other
word or phrase in the sentence. The dangling modifier is a gross grammatical
error, one you want to avoid.

The error typically arises with adjectival phrases, especially those that begin
sentences. Here's the rule: When you begin a sentence with an adjective, that
adjective must modify the grammatical subject of the sentence. If it doesn't, it
dangles.

When you start a sentence with a present-participial phrase, that is, an -ing
verb, the grammatical subject must be the agent of that verbal activity. Thus:

• Hoping to gain favorable relations with the media, the candidate called
a press conference.

When you start a sentence with a past-participial phrase, that is, an -ed verb,
the grammatical subject must be the recipient of that verbal activity. Thus:

• Decided in 1954, the Supreme Court case desegregated public

schools.

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dangling participle
See dangling modifier.

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defining clause
The great grammarian Henry Fowler coined this term to refer to a restrictive
clause. A defining clause looks to the noun modified and singles it out among

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others that could exist in the context. A defining clause points a finger at the
noun modified and says, “that noun, not any others named by that noun.”

A defining clause begins with the relative pronoun that and is not set off by
commas. Of course, defining clauses could begin with the personal relative
pronouns—who, whom, whose. The key, then, becomes the absence of any
comma setting off the clause.

Here are some defining clauses:

• The judge who wrote the opinion assumed the bench in 1999.

• The novel that climbed to the top of the charts set a sales record.

• Here's the book I told you about.

(This clause has its own independent subject “I,” so you may drop the
that.)

See nondefining clause.

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definite article
We have three articles in the English language: a, an, and the. The word the
is the definite article. The words a and an are indefinite articles.

Grammarians often go on for pages analyzing the differences between a-an

and the. Generally, you use the word the when you're referring to a known
entity or a single example. You use the word a or an when you're referring to
something in general, not a specific one or ones.

You'll find a complete discussion in Chapter 3 of the Grammar & Writing

Guide.

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demonstrative pronoun
We have four demonstrative pronouns in the English language: this, that,

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these, those. The first two are singular, the last two plural. Demonstrative
pronouns take the place of a noun, and when you use them, make sure the
antecedent is crystal clear. The antecedent can be a word, or it can be an
idea expressed in the same sentence or preceding sentences. But it must be
clear. This is a good rule to follow. There, in that sentence, the demonstrative
pronoun this referred to the rule—it must be clear.

The words this and these refer to something close in space, time, or
relationship. The words that and those refer to something more remote. The
closeness can be proximity in your written piece.

When you couple one of these words with a true noun, it ceases to be a
pronoun and becomes a demonstrative adjective (note the word these in the
sentence you're now reading).

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dependent clause
Clauses come in two varieties: independent and dependent. A dependent
clause cannot stand by itself as a sentence. Dependent clauses will act in one
of three ways in your sentences: (1) adjectives, (2) adverbs, or (3) nouns. An
adjectival clause modifies a noun or pronoun; an adverbial clause modifies a
verb or sometimes an entire sentence; and a noun clause substitutes for, and
performs the grammatical functions of, a noun. Examples of each follow:

• That she won the race did not surprise us.

(noun clause acting as the subject of the sentence).

• He left the party because he was tired.

(adverbial clause modifying the verb left).

• He enjoyed the party, which lasted all night.

(adjectival clause modifying the noun party).

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derivative adjective
A derivative adjective derives from a verb form. You can take certain suffixes
(-ful, -ent,
-ant, -ive, and others), add them to verbs, and produce derivative adjectives.
The word derivative in derivative adjective is, you guessed it, a derivative
adjective.

Be careful about using derivative adjectives. If you mean to convey the

meaning of the base verb, then use the verb. Thus, instead of saying I am
hopeful of an early resolution of this issue, use the verb forms hiding in
hopeful and resolution, and say this instead: I hope to resolve the issue soon.

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derivative noun
A derivative noun derives from a verb form. You can take certain suffixes
(-tion, -sion,
-ence, -ance, and others), add them to verbs, and produce derivative nouns.
Examples include conclusion, statement, pertinence, and scores of others.

Be careful about using derivative nouns. If you mean to convey the meaning
of the base verb, then use the verb. Thus, instead of saying I am hopeful of
an early resolution of this issue, use the verb forms hiding in hopeful and
resolution, and say this instead: I hope to resolve the issue soon.

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direct object
Action verbs come in two varieties: transitive and intransitive. A transitive verb
has the intrinsic ability to attach directly to a noun, and that noun is called the
direct object. Thus, in the sentence John hit the ball, the word ball is the direct
object of the transitive verb hit.

Also, objects of verbs show up in verbal phrases as well. If the verb is

transitive, it can pick up a noun and produce a phrase. Thus, in the sentence
He wanted to hit the ball, the word ball serves as the object of the infinitive to

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hit.

If a personal pronoun takes the place of a direct object or object in a verbal

phrase, it must appear in the objective case. Thus, in the sentence John hit
him, the word him serves as the direct object; the word him appears in the
objective case.

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elliptical clause
A useful power structure is the elliptical clause, also called a truncated clause.
The structure consists of a subordinating conjunction (if, though, although,
when, while, and many others) and one of six structures: (1) present
participle, (2) past participle, (3) true adjective, (4) prepositional phrase,
(5) infinitive phrase, and (6) true noun. Examples of each follow:

• The party-goers drank while dancing.

1. present participle dancing

• Though tired, the runner finished the race.

2. past participle tired

• When complete, the brief must be filed with the clerk.

3. true adjective complete

• Although near the subway, the company urged its workers to drive to
work.
4. prepositional phrase near the subway

• He seemed unsteady as if about to fall.

5. infinitive to fall

• Though a fair man, the Senator required his staff to work after hours.
6. true noun man

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elliptical expression
An elliptical expression is a group of words with certain understood words
omitted. Good writers routinely use elliptical expressions. You may punctuate
elliptical expressions in two ways: (1) begin the expression with a semicolon,
and then insert a comma where the omitted words would have appeared or
(2) for simple expressions, insert a comma before the expression but omit the
comma where the omitted words would have appeared.

Here are Mr. Strunk and Mr. White using an elliptical expression when
discussing restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses. Notice that they opt for the
simple punctuation:

• That is the defining, or restrictive pronoun, which the nondefining, or

nonrestrictive.

Here's an example using the semicolon technique:

• Carolina has won three national titles; Duke, two.

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finite verb
A finite verb is a conjugated verb, which shows tense, person, number, and
mood. The opposite of a finite verb is the infinitive, which does not show
tense, person, number, or mood. Here's a finite verb:

• He wrote the best-selling novel.

Here's an infinitive verb:

• He wanted to write a best-selling novel.

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fragment
A sentence fragment is a single word or a group of words that does not qualify

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as a complete grammatical sentence. It might be a dependent clause written
as a complete sentence. Or it might simply be a group of words with no verb
at all. Many writers effectively use sentence fragments in their style.
Fragments might also be called typographical sentences, a group of words
beginning with a capital letter and ending with a period. If you use
typographical sentences in your style, make certain it is immediately evident
that you know what you're doing and that you're not making a mistake. And
point out to your supervisor that great writers often use these structures. So
there.

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fused participle
The great grammarian Henry Fowler coined the term fused participle. The
structure consists of a noun or pronoun followed by a present participle, that
is, an -ing verb. The entire unit (noun or pronoun plus -ing verb) then enters
the sentence and performs the function of a noun. Fowler decried the use of
these structures, but they show up in the writing of good writers. The
Grammar & Writing Guide contains a complete discussion in Chapter 10, and
we urge you to study it. Here's an example of a fused participle, using a
pronoun and an -ing verb.

• He hid the jewels without anyone knowing that he stole them.

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future-perfect progressive tense

There are six progressive tenses. Some grammarians refer to the progressive
tense as the progressive aspect of a verb. The progressive tense shows an
“ongoingness” of the action denoted by the verb.

The progressive tense is formed by using the verb to be as an auxiliary verb

and adding the present participle (-ing) of the verb. Thus, the future-perfect
progressive tense is formed by writing the future perfect of the verb to be (will
have been) and adding the -ing verb. Thus:

• He will have been studying this material for a long time.

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future-perfect tense
The perfect tenses are formed by using the auxiliary verb to have and adding
the past participle of the main verb. Thus, the future perfect is formed by
taking the future tense of to have (will have) and adding the past participle of
the main verb. Thus:

• We will have seen this movie sixteen times by tomorrow night.

The future-perfect tense refers to an action that will be completed at some

definite time in the future.

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future-progressive tense
There are six progressive tenses. Some grammarians refer to the progressive
tense as the progressive aspect of a verb. The progressive tense shows an
“ongoingness” of the action denoted by the verb.

The progressive tense is formed by using the verb to be as an auxiliary verb

and adding the present participle (-ing) of the verb. Thus, the future-
progressive tense is formed by writing the future tense of the verb to be (will
be) and adding the -ing verb. Thus:

• He will be studying the proposal next week.

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future tense
The future tense shows actions or states of being that will occur in the future.
Please note, however, that we can show futurity in other ways as well. The
simple present tense can show futurity: The game begins tonight.

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We form the future tense by combining the auxiliary verb will with the base
infinitive of the verb. In America, we use will for all persons and numbers,
including the first person. Thus:

• I will walk to the movie.

(first person)

• He will walk to the movie.

(third person)

In England, writers often use shall to form the future tense in the first person.
Thus:

• I shall walk to the movie.

(first person)

• He will walk to the movie.

(third person)

On the BBC Radio website, however, we find this statement:

There is no semantic difference when shall and will are used to refer to
the simple future. Will can be used in all persons.

BBC.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv43.shtml

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gender
Gender is a grammatical concept, though most people today use gender
when they mean sex. In other languages, various endings indicate whether a
noun or pronoun is a masculine, feminine, or neuter entity. But in English,
gender has pretty much disappeared from English nouns and adjectives. It
remains only in the third-person singular of personal pronouns: he-him-his-his
for the masculine, she-her-hers-hers for the feminine, and it-its-its for the
neuter.

A pronoun must agree in gender and in number with the antecedent (the noun
or other pronoun that the pronoun refers to). Thus, a singular antecedent
demands a singular pronoun. A problem arises with gender, however. If the
noun you're referring to could be male or female, you can get stuck with

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writing he or she, him or her, she or he, her or him, and so on.

The best solution is this: Make your antecedent plural. Then you can refer
back using the plural pronouns they, their, and them—pronouns that do not
reveal gender.

Please study the in-depth discussion of sexist writing in Chapter 5 of the

Grammar & Writing Guide.

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gerund
A gerund is a present participle (-ing verb) used as a noun. If the -ing verb
acts as an adjective, it is not a gerund but a participial adjective. Thus, the
expression a winning hand is not a gerund. It is simply a present participle
(winning) used as an adjective.

A gerund may serve virtually any noun function. For example, it can act as the
subject of a sentence, as a direct object, or as the object of a preposition.
Examples of each follow:

• Winning the race became his obsession.

(Gerundive phrase serving as the grammatical subject.)

• I like swimming.
(Gerund serving as the direct object of the verb like.)

• He perfected his technique of swinging the golf club.

(Gerundive phrase serving as the object of the preposition of.)

Beware the fused participle. Consult Chapter 10 of the Grammar & Writing
Guide for a thorough discussion.

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group noun
See collective noun.

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helping verb
A helping verb is an auxiliary verb. For a brief discussion, see auxiliary verb.
For a thorough discussion, consult Chapter 2 of the Grammar & Writing
Guide.

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homograph
The following discussion from The Columbia Guide to Standard American
English (1993) aptly describes homographs, homonyms, and homophones:

• Homographs are words spelled alike but with different meanings and
usually with different pronunciations (lead, verb [LEED], meaning “to
conduct,” and lead, noun [LED], the name of the metal). Homophones
are words pronounced alike but different in spelling and meaning (to,
two, and too). Homonyms, a more general term, are words spelled or
pronounced alike but having different meanings: soar and sore are one
sort of homonym; gore, meaning “the tapered piece of cloth in a skirt,”
and gore, meaning “blood,” are examples of another sort. Bow, verb, “to
bend at the waist,” and bow, noun, “the front end of a boat,” are
homonyms, and some would add the differently pronounced bow,
meaning variously “the weapon for shooting arrows,” “the decorative
knot used in hair ribbons and bow ties,” “the long, slender rod strung
with horsehairs used to play stringed instruments.”

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homonym
See homograph.

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this window.
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homophone
See homograph.

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imperative mood
The mood of verbs shows how the speaker regards the utterance. The
speaker might regard the utterance as a statement: that's the indicative mood.
The speaker might ask a question: that's the interrogative mood. The speaker
might issue a command: that's the imperative mood. Or the speaker might
state a possibility, hope, wish, or hypothetical: that's the subjunctive mood.

You form the imperative mood by using the second-person conjugation and
ordinarily leaving out the subject. The subject is the implied you. Sometimes,
the speaker includes the subject, either at the beginning of the sentence or
postponed to the end. For emphasis, the speaker can even put a comma after
the subject.

Here are some examples of the imperative mood. Notice in the “Frances”
examples that Frances is the third person. But the imperative mood is formed
by using the second-person form of the verb:

• Close the window.

• Come here!

• You come here.

• Frances, write the report.

• Write the report, Frances.

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imperfect tense (progressive tense)
The progressive tense (also called the progressive aspect) is sometimes
referred to as the imperfect tense.

There are six progressive tenses: present, past, future, present perfect, past
perfect, and future perfect. Some grammarians refer to the progressive tense
as the progressive aspect of a verb. The progressive tense shows an
“ongoingness” of the action denoted by the verb.

The progressive tense is formed by using the verb to be as an auxiliary verb

and adding the present participle (-ing) of the verb. You form a particular
tense simply by conjugating the verb to be in that tense and adding the
present participle of the verb.

Here are the progressive tenses for the verb to study. The present participle
of study is studying. Notice how the verb to be is conjugated in the various
tenses.

Present He is studying the report.

Past He was studying the report.

Future He will be studying the report.

Present He has been studying the report.

Perfect

Past Perfect He had been studying the report.

Future Perfect He will have been studying the report.

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indefinite article
We have three articles in the English language: a, an, and the. The words a
and an are the indefinite articles. The word the is the definite article.

Indefinite articles—a and an—are used only with singular nouns. These words
denote a single unspecified thing named by the noun. Thus, a pencil refers to
any pencil, one not designated or revealed by the context. If the reader knows
which pencil you're talking about, then you would use the pencil.

If you want to refer to an entire class, you simply use the plural noun and omit
any article. Thus: “The students used pencils to take the test.”

Use the indefinite article a before nouns beginning with a consonant sound,
an before nouns beginning with a vowel sound. Thus:

• a house

• an hour

• a university

• an umbrella

• a UFO

• an FDA hearing

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indefinite pronoun
Indefinite pronouns enable us to refer to any one, any two, several, or all in a
group or class of persons or things or ideas. Examples include: all, another,
anyone, each, someone, everybody, none, others. Some of the pronouns
have possessive forms (someone's, everybody's). Some don't: There's no
possessive of none, for example. Unlike the personal pronouns, the indefinite
pronouns form their possessives by adding “apostrophe -s.” Only one has a
plural form (others). In formal settings, all indefinite pronouns ending in -one
or -body are singular. You should therefore use singular verbs. And, in formal
settings, when referring back to them, you should use singular pronouns. For
a thorough discussion, study Chapter 5 of the Grammar & Writing Guide.

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Thus:

• Wrong

Everybody is entitled to their own opinion.

(One day, even highly literate Americans will regard this usage as
correct.)

• Right

Everybody is entitled to his own opinion.

(But watch out for charges of sexism.)

Everybody is entitled to her own opinion.

(Ditto.)

Everybody is entitled to his or her own opinion.

(A tongue-twister, which Katie Couric used on her debut on CBS
Evening News in September 2006.)

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independent clause
A clause is a group of words with a conjugated verb in it. We have two kinds
of clauses: independent and dependent. An independent clause is a complete
sentence. It begins with a capital letter and ends with a period or other
terminal punctuation mark.

The terms conjugated verb and dependent clause are elsewhere defined.

See finite verb and dependent clause; see also main clause.

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indicative mood
First, understand this: The word mood has nothing to do with frame of mind,
as in happy or sad. It actually refers to mode, which is the attribute of a verb

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suggesting the speaker's attitude toward the action expressed.

The mood of verbs shows how the speaker regards the utterance. The
speaker might regard the utterance as a statement: that's the indicative mood.
The speaker might ask a question: that's the interrogative mood. The speaker
might issue a command: that's the imperative mood. Or the speaker might
state a possibility, hope, wish, or hypothetical: that's the subjunctive mood.

Most sentences appear in the indicative mood, regardless of tense. The

following show the indicative mood:

• I write the book.

(present tense)

• I wrote the book.

(past tense)

• I will write the book.

(future tense)

• I will be writing the book.

(future-progressive tense)

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indirect object
The indirect object is a person or thing secondarily affected by the action of
the verb, the direct object being primarily affected. The indirect object appears
in the sentence as a noun (or pronoun) unconnected by a preposition. It is
positioned between the verb and the direct object. Like this:

• He gave the class his views on the theory of relativity.

Notice that the transitive verb gave has a direct object views. The noun class
serves as the indirect object.

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infinitive phrase
Every verb has a base infinitive form. We think of the infinitive as the verb with
the preposition to in front of it, as in to have, to hold, to love, to honor, to
cherish. Infinitive phrases can act as (1) nouns, (2) adjectives, or (3) adverbs.
The most prevalent use is probably the adverbial use. If the verb in the
infinitive phrase is transitive, it can have a noun or pronoun attached to it as
the verbal object. Also, within the infinitive phrase, you might find all sorts of
modifiers. Adverbs can modify the infinitive itself; adjectives can modify any
nouns present. Study these examples of each use:

• He wanted to win the game.

(infinitive phrase used as a noun, the object of the transitive verb want)

• She's got a ticket to ride.

(infinitive phrase used as an adjective modifying the noun ticket)

• To win the tournament, Tiger Woods changed his swing.

(infinitive phrase used as an adverb modifying the verb changed)

Controversy rages over whether you may split an infinitive by putting other
words between the to and the infinitive verb. The short answer is yes. The so-
called rule against split infinitives is simply not a rule. For a thorough
discussion and a press release by the Oxford English Dictionary, study
Chapter 10 of the Grammar & Writing Guide.

See present-participial phrase and past-participial phrase.

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infinitive verb
Every verb has a base infinitive form. We think of the infinitive as the verb with
the preposition to in front of it: as in to have, to hold, to love, to honor, to
cherish. Infinitives appear in the language in three ways: (1) they appear
alone to show some of the tenses, as in I write, You write, We write, They
write; (2) they join auxiliary verbs to form other tenses or conditions, as in I
will write, He could write; and (3) they are used to form infinitive phrases,
which can act as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. The term infinitive phrase is
elsewhere defined.

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Controversy rages over whether you may split an infinitive by putting other
words between the to and the infinitive verb. The short answer is yes. The so-
called rule against split infinitives is simply not a rule. For a thorough
discussion and a press release by the Oxford English Dictionary, study
Chapter 10 of the Grammar & Writing Guide.

The following, appearing in New Fowler, are correct:

• That's when you have to really watch yourself.

—Quarto, 1981 (UK).

• It led Cheshires to finally abandon publishing fiction at all.

—B. Oakley, 1985 (Australia).

• The goal is to further exclude Arafat.

—U.S. News & World Report, 1986 (United States).

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intensive pronoun
The reflexive and intensive pronouns are the “-self” words, as in myself,
yourself, himself, herself, themselves, and so on. These words are used in
two ways: (1) to reflect action back onto the actor in the sentence (reflexive
pronoun) and (2) to intensify a statement (intensive pronoun).

The “-self” words serve as intensives, structures enabling us to emphasize.

We use them to repeat the noun referred to. In formal style, we put the -self
word directly after the noun. In less formal settings, we can move it to the end
of the clause:

Formal

• I myself finished the report.

• The judge herself wrote the majority opinion.

Informal

• I finished the report myself.

• The judge wrote the majority opinion herself.

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interjection
An interjection is one of the eight parts of speech. It is a word of surprise, as
in wow, whoopie do, yikes. They rarely show up in formal writing.

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interrogative mood
First, understand this: The word mood has nothing to do with frame of mind,
as in happy or sad. It actually refers to mode, which is the attribute of a verb
suggesting the speaker's attitude toward the action expressed.

The mood of verbs shows how the speaker regards the utterance. The
speaker might regard the utterance as a statement: that's the indicative mood.
The speaker might ask a question: that's the interrogative mood. The speaker
might issue a command: that's the imperative mood. Or the speaker might
state a possibility, hope, wish, or hypothetical: that's the subjunctive mood.

In the interrogative mood, you don't change the form of the verb. Instead, you
invert the auxiliary verb and place it before the subject. The main verb comes
after the subject. Here are some constructions of the interrogative mood:

• Is he having any fun?

• Do you think he will win?

• Have the women finished the match?

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interrogative pronoun
We have various ways of asking questions in the English language. We can

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take a multiword verb form and put the subject between the auxiliary verb and
the base infinitive, as in Do you mind? or Will he go? We can also use certain
adverbs and ask questions like How do you feel? or Why did you fail? Finally,
we can use interrogative pronouns to ask questions: who (subjective case),
whom (objective case), whose (possessive case), which, and what. When we
use these interrogative pronouns, the who-whom-whose will serve some
grammatical noun function in the sentence. Pronoun case, therefore,
becomes hugely important.

Keep an important point in mind: There are two kinds of questions (direct and
indirect). You form a direct question by (1) putting the subject between the
auxiliary verb and the main verb, (2) using an interrogative adverb, or
(3) using an interrogative pronoun. Direct questions are followed by question
marks. You form an indirect question by making a statement but omitting any
signals of the direct question. In other words, you omit the question mark, as
in He asked which book you like the most.

In the following examples of questions formed with interrogative pronouns,

note the grammatical functions served by, and consequent case of, the who-
whom-whose interrogative pronouns:

Interrogativ
e Question Grammatical Function
Pronoun

who Who's on first? The word who is the subject of

the sentence (subjective case).

whom Whom should The word whom is the object of

we call? call (objective case).

whose Whose turn is The word whose is the

it? possessor of the noun turn
(possessive case).

which Which runner

won the race?

what What time is it?

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intransitive verb
Action verbs are either transitive or intransitive. A transitive verb has the
intrinsic ability to attach directly to a noun, called the direct object. But an
intransitive verb cannot attach directly to a noun. To form a relationship with a
noun, an intransitive verb needs a preposition. You can write a book (write is
transitive). But you cannot proceed an investigation. The verb proceed is
intransitive. Thus, you proceed with an investigation.

Many verbs have both transitive (she runs the organization) and intransitive
(she runs for exercise) definitions. When you look up verbs in the dictionary,
you'll find definitions divided between transitive and intransitive.

On Dictionary.com, the editors don’t use the terms transitive and intransitive.
Instead, they divide definitions into “verbs (used with objects)” and “verbs
(used without objects).” The “with objects” moniker means “transitive.” The
“without objects” moniker means “intransitive.”

As a writer, it behooves you to make certain you use a verb correctly. For
example, is the verb pervade transitive or intransitive? To find out, you must
consult the dictionary. It's transitive. Thus: Grief pervaded the funeral parlor.
Not: Grief pervaded in the funeral parlor.

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irregular verb
Verbs have four principal parts: (1) the infinitive, (2) the past, (3) the past
participle, and (4) the present participle. A regular verb forms its past tense
and past participle the same way, usually by adding “-ed.” Take the regular
verb walk. The past tense is walked, as in He walked to the store. The past
participle is also walked, as in He has walked to the store (the perfect tenses
are formed by using have as an auxiliary and combining it with the past
participle).

The verb keep is also regular. It forms its past tense (kept) and its past
participle (kept) the same way.

But an irregular verb has one word for its past tense and another word for its
past participle. They don't just add “-ed.” Typically, they change an internal
vowel (I drink, I drank, I have drunk), or they add -en to form the past

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participle (I choose, I chose, I have chosen).

How do you find out the correct past tense and past participle of an irregular
verb? Check the dictionary. The principal parts are typically revealed in bold
type immediately after the entry (the entry is the infinitive form).

Thus, you might find: ring, rang, rung, ringing. Or you might find: swing,
swung, swinging. When you see only one swung, it's understood that swung
is both the past tense and the past participle.

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linking verb
A linking verb is also called a copula or copulative verb. It shows no action.
Instead, it links the grammatical subject usually to an adjective, sometimes to
a noun. All the verbs denoting the five senses are linking verbs: sound, look,
taste, smell, and feel. These words typically link to adjectives. Other linking
verbs include: appear, to be, remain, seem, become, and stay.

Here are some linking verbs linking the subject to an adjective:

• He looks sick.

• She sounds troubled.

• They remained calm.

• I feel bad about that.

Please note that the linking verb feel links to an adjective, not an adverb.
Many otherwise smart people say I feel badly about that. No. Correct usage
requires I feel bad about that.

Finally, you may use seem and some other linking verbs to link to noun:

• She seems an honest woman.

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main clause
The main clause of a sentence is the independent clause—complete with
subject, conjugated verb, and a third part. The third part is dictated by the
verb. If the verb is transitive, the third part will be a noun acting as the direct
object, as in John hit the ball. If the verb is intransitive, the third part is
typically a phrase or adverb, as in She ran to the store. If the verb is the verb
to be or a linking verb, the third part will be a noun (subject complement or
predicate nominative), an adjective (predicate adjective), or perhaps a phrase.

Dependent clauses may attach to the main clause to form a complex

sentence.

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main verb
The main verb in a sentence is the verb in the main clause, also called the
independent clause. This verb will appear in conjugated form, showing tense,
person, number, and mood. Other conjugated verbs might appear in a
sentence, but these will be verbs in dependent clauses.

It's also possible to have two or more main verbs hanging on the same
grammatical subject. If you have two main verbs, do not use a comma before
the conjunction. Thus:

• John hit the ball and ran to first base.

If you join three or more main verbs, a comma does precede the conjunction.
Thus:

• John hit the ball, ran to first base, and slid into second.

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modal auxiliary verb

We have ten modal auxiliary verbs: can, could, may, might, must, ought to,
shall, should, will, and would. We use them to express the mood of the verb,

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which, most often, is the indicative mood (expressing something as a fact).
The modals enable us to express obligation, necessity, permission, or certain
conditional actions, as in I might write the book.

Notice that these words lack principal parts. For example, there is no past
participle or present participle for these modal verbs. The word can does have
could to express a sense of the past, but none of these words have traditional
principal parts (infinitive, past tense, past participle, present participle). For
example, there's no such expression as “to must.” Also, none of the modals
may act as main verbs.

Often writers will drop a main verb when it's clear what the modal refers to.
You should, too. See how it works?

Other auxiliary verbs—to be, have, and do—do have meanings as main
verbs.

See primary auxiliary verb.

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modifier
Modifiers are words or groups of words that limit, enumerate, or describe and
clarify the meaning of other words—called headwords. The headwords are
nouns (or words acting as nouns) or verbs. Modifiers act either adjectivally or
adverbially.

Here are some examples of modifiers, with their names and functions shown:

• The large house suddenly darkened.

(one word adjective large modifying the noun house)
(one-word adverb suddenly modifying the verb darkened)

• The house on the hill frightened the children.

(prepositional phrase acting as an adjective to modify the noun house)

• The case, which was decided by the Supreme Court, desegregated the
public schools. (nonrestrictive adjectival clause modifying the noun
case)

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this window.
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mood
First, understand this: The word mood has nothing to do with frame of mind,
as in happy or sad. It actually refers to mode, which is the attribute of a verb
suggesting the speaker's attitude toward the action expressed.

The mood of verbs shows how the speaker regards the utterance. The
speaker might regard the utterance as a statement: that's the indicative mood.
The speaker might ask a question: that's the interrogative mood. The speaker
might issue a command: that's the imperative mood. Or the speaker might
state a possibility, hope, wish, or hypothetical: that's the subjunctive mood.

Forming the subjunctive mood probably causes the most trouble. We urge
you to read Chapter 5 in the Section on Grammatical Mistakes.

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no-action verb
All main verbs divide into two broad categories: action verbs (transitive and
intransitive) and no-action verbs (the verb to be and linking verbs).

The verb to be, as a main verb, joins the grammatical subject with another
noun (subject complement), an adjective (predicate adjective), or a phrase
(usually showing where or when something is). Linking verbs typically link the
grammatical subject to an adjective. Some examples of no-action verbs
follow:

• John is a winner.

• Susan was thirsty after the race.

• Sally seems upset with this turn of events.

• The steak tasted scrumptious.

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nominal clause
A nominal clause is a group of words with a conjugated verb in it that acts as
a noun. Also called a noun clause, this structure can fulfill virtually all
functions of a noun. A nominal clause starts with words like that, the fact that,
whether, when, and many other subordinating conjunctions.

Here's one nominal clause serving some of the noun roles: The fact that you
bought GrammaRight.

• The fact that you bought GrammaRight shows your interest in good
writing. (nominal clause acting as the subject of the sentence).

• The reason you got a raise is the fact that you bought GrammaRight.
(nominal clause acting as the subject complement after the verb to be)

• In your review, your boss mentioned the fact that you bought
GrammaRight. (nominal clause acting as the direct object of the verb
mentioned)

• Your boss was aware of the fact that you bought GrammaRight.
(nominal clause acting as the object of the preposition of)

As a matter of style, you should try to reduce your use of the fact that. I use it
here simply as way of illustrating the functions of a nominal clause. Often you
can delete the words the fact and just use a nominal clause beginning with the
word that. You could delete the fact in all the above examples except the last.

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nondefining clause
The great grammarian Henry Fowler coined this term to refer to a
nonrestrictive clause. A nondefining clause looks to the noun modified and
adds information about it. It does not single it out among others that could
exist in the context. Instead, the identity of the modified noun either is already
known from context or is known because there's just one of those things
named by the noun.

You should introduce nondefining clauses with the relative pronoun which

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(unless who, whom, or whose is appropriate). Commas must set off the
clause from the rest of the sentence.

Following are some examples of nondefining clauses. It is assumed that, from

context, the reader would know the identity of the thing, person, or idea
named by the noun. The clause is not necessary for identification. It is, in a
word, nondefining.

• My best friend, who lives next door, came to dinner.

• The U.S. Supreme Court, which is across the street from Congress,
decided the case.

• The book, which arrived in the mail, enraptured the entire family.

See defining clause.

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nonparallel construction
When you write a series of elements in a sentence, each element must
(1) appear in the same grammatical form and (2) perform the same
grammatical function. This is the rule of parallel construction. If any element
fails to satisfy either criterion, you have written a nonparallel construction.

You'll join elements in a series with these coordinating conjunctions: but, or,
yet, and. You may also use the correlative conjunctions, which come in pairs:
either … or, neither … nor, not … but, both … and, not only … but (also). With
the correlative conjunctions, you must make certain that the element joined by
the first word (e.g., not or not only) grammatically mirrors the element joined
by the second word (e.g., but or but also).

When you join three elements or more with a conjunction, you should put a
comma before the conjunction. This is called the serial-comma rule. Thus:
red, white, and blue.

Here is a nonparallel construction formed with a coordinating conjunction:

• He is determined, forceful, and a natural leader.

(the word leader is a noun; the other elements in the series are
adjectives)

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Here is a nonparallel conjunction formed with a correlative conjunction:

• The manager ordered not only a full report but also wanted some
background research. (The not only joins a noun acting as the direct
object of the verb ordered, but the but also joins another verb wanted.)

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nonrestrictive clause
A nonrestrictive clause is also called a nondefining clause.

A nonrestrictive clause looks to the noun modified and adds information about
it. It does not single it out among others that could exist in the context.
Instead, the identity of the modified noun is either already known from context
or is known because there's just one of those things named by the noun.

You should introduce nonrestrictive clauses with the relative pronoun which
(unless who, whom, or whose is appropriate). Commas must set off the
clause from the rest of the sentence.

Following are some examples of nonrestrictive clauses. It is assumed that,

from context, the reader would know the identity of the thing, person, or idea
named by the noun. The clause is not necessary for identification. It is, in a
word, nondefining.

• My best friend, who lives next door, came to dinner.

• The U.S. Supreme Court, which is across the street from Congress,
decided the case.

• The book, which arrived in the mail, enraptured the entire family.

See restrictive clause.

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noun
A noun is a person, place, thing, or idea or emotional state. Nouns are
characterized by their ability to form plurals and to take possessive endings.
The noun serves a variety of roles in our sentences.

Consider the following sentence. In it you'll find all 10 functions the noun
performs in the English language:

• The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave

the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly,
his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

The 10 functions are as follows:

1. subject (professor)
2. predicate noun (expert)
3. direct object (views)
4. object of verbal phrase (to write papers and taking notes)
5. indirect object (class)
6. object of a preposition (importance)
7. noun appositive (John Smith)
8. noun modifier (noun expert)
9. noun adverb (yesterday)
10. noun absolute (his students feverishly taking notes on all he said)

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noun absolute
The noun absolute is a power structure that belongs in your style. All great
writers routinely use noun absolutes. In fact, you won't find a great work of
fiction without oodles of noun absolutes. You form a noun absolute by taking a
noun (or pronoun) and adding five different structures: (1) true adjective,
(2) present-participial phrase (-ing phrase), (3) past-participial phrase (-ed
phrase), (4) prepositional phrase, and (5) true noun. Here are examples of the
five types:

1. Noun (or pronoun) + True Adjective or Adjectival Phrase

Her face red with embarrassment, the Senator finally found her place
in her notes and continued her speech, the crowd uneasy with her

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 discomfort.

2. Noun (or pronoun) + Present Participle

The parties raised $50,000, the founder paying $40,000, the others
contributing $10,000.

3. Noun (or pronoun) + Past Participle

These issues resolved, the agency turned its attention to other matters.

4. Noun (or pronoun) + Prepositional Phrase

“He lay flat on the brown, pine-needled floor of the forest, his chin on
his folded arms ….” (The first sentence in Hemingway's For Whom the
Bell Tolls.)

5. Noun (or pronoun) + Noun

He ignores scientific principles, his theories a wish list of insupportable
propositions.

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noun adverb
A noun can act as an adverb. In the following examples, notice how the noun
answers one of the adverbial questions (how, when, where, or why):

• He went home.
(noun adverb tells where he went)

• Yesterday he gave the class his views.

(noun adverb tells when he gave his views)

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noun appositive
See appositive.

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noun chain
These days writers write long chains of nouns that befuddle the reader. A
noun chain is a string of nouns, some acting as noun modifiers and one finally
serving the noun function in the sentence. The expression noun chain is,
itself, a noun chain.

We see these structures in the military, in the sciences, in the law, indeed all
over the place. Good writers avoid them like the plague. You can get a noun
chain under control by moving the noun that performs the noun role to the
front. Then add any necessary prepositional or verbal phrases to smooth out
the expression. Here's an example, with its cure:

• Noun chains create noun chain reader strangulation problems.

Now, the fix:

• Noun chains create problems that tend to strangle the reader.

Sure, the fix requires more words. But the reader doesn't have to wait to the
end of the noun chain to find out that noun chains create problems.

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noun clause
See nominal clause.

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noun modifier
A noun can act as an adjective. When it does, we call it a noun modifier.
Indeed, in the expression noun modifier, the word noun acts as a noun
modifier. We have hundreds of these expressions in our language. In fact, you
can make them up.

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noun substitute
This is not an official grammatical term. Rather, I made it up to refer to three
structures in our language that can step in and perform the roles of the noun:
(1) nominal clauses, (2) infinitive phrases, and (3) gerundive phrases. All
great writers routinely use these structures, though they will use a true noun
when it gets the job done.

Here are examples of the three main noun substitutes:

• The fact that you bought GrammaRight shows your interest in good
writing. (nominal clause acting as the subject of the sentence).

• He wanted to win the game.

(infinitive phrase used as a noun, the object of the transitive verb want)

• He perfected his technique of swinging the golf club.

(Gerundive phrase serving as the object of the preposition of.)

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nouniness
In his great work, Modern English Usage, Henry Fowler referred to a “nouny
abstract style.” I took that adjective nouny and turned it into the noun
nouniness.

The term nouniness describes the style of many writers who, for some
unknown reason, refuse to use many verb forms. Instead, they will take a verb
like conclude and turn it into the noun conclusion. A nouny writer never states
anything; a nouny writer makes a statement. A nouny writer never changes
his style; a nouny writer makes a change in his style.

To develop a powerful style, you must learn the concept of verb-based prose.
Chapter 11 of the Grammar & Writing Guide will help you love the verb.

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this window.
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number
The concept of number applies to nouns, verbs, and pronouns. Number
distinguishes “oneness” and “more-than-oneness,” that is, it distinguishes the
singular from the plural.

English verbs do not have a special form to denote plurality. Instead, number
shows up only in the third-person singular, where the endings of -s, -es, or
-ies indicate the singular.

The personal pronouns also exhibit number. Each of the three persons has
both a singular form and a plural form (for second person you, it's the same).
In the first person, I (singular) and we (plural). In the second person, you
(singular) and you (plural). And in the third person, he or she or it (singular)
and they (plural).

Here's a cardinal rule of grammar: A verb must agree with the number of its
subject. Another rule: Only the grammatical subject, not some other word,
determines the number of the verb.

Here's another cardinal rule of grammar (although it's currently undergoing a

change): A pronoun must agree with the number of its antecedent; if the
antecedent is singular, the pronoun must be singular; if the antecedent is
plural, the pronoun must be plural.

Problems of subject-verb disagreement in number and pronoun-antecedent

disagreement in number are thoroughly discussed in the Grammar & Writing
Guide. Also, please read the first chapter in the Section on Grammatical
Mistakes. We urge you to study these problems carefully. Nothing in grammar
contaminates your style more than violation of these principles.

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object
The grammatical word object refers to several of the main functions of nouns
(and pronouns). A noun can serve as the direct object of a transitive verb, as
in John hit the ball. A noun can serve as the object of a preposition, as in

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Mary went to the party. A noun can serve as an indirect object, as in The
professor gave his students a lecture.

If a personal pronoun fulfills any of these grammatical functions as objects, it

must appear in the objective case. This is a cardinal rule of grammar—one
you must not break.

See verbal object.

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object complement
A complement is a word or group of words that completes the action or state
of being expressed by the verb. A subject complement typically follows the
verb to be or a linking verb (seem, appear, many others).

Another kind of complement is the object complement. In the following

sentence, the object complement is underlined:

• We elected her mayor.

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object of a preposition
One of the major roles of the noun or pronoun is the object of the preposition.
When a noun or pronoun combines with a preposition, it forms a prepositional
phrase, which primarily acts as either an adjective (the book on the table) or
an adverb (He drove to my house). The noun or pronoun hooked to the
sentence by the preposition is the object of the preposition.

When a personal pronoun serves as an object of a preposition, it must appear

in the objective case. Using the subjective case is a common mistake,
portrayed in the title of the Oops Me book: A Grammar Book for You and I,
Oops Me.

See objective case for a pop-up discussion of the objective case of

pronouns,

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Here are some common mistakes, with the fixes shown parenthetically (the
preposition and the object of the preposition are underlined):

• just between you and I

(just between you and me)

• He prepared the report for Jane and I.

(He prepared the report for Jane and me.)

• Here's a present for you and he.

(Here's a present for you and him.)

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objective case
The personal pronouns (and the relative or interrogative pronoun who) exhibit
case. The case of a pronoun reveals how the noun it replaces would act in the
sentence. We have three cases: (1) subjective or nominative case,
(2) objective case, and (3) possessive case.

A pronoun must appear in the objective case when it serves as the object of a
verb, an indirect object, or the object of a preposition.

The relative or interrogative pronoun who also exhibits case: who (subjective),
whom (objective), and whose (possessive).

The following table reveals the objective case of personal pronouns. You must
use the objective case when the pronoun acts as the object of a verb (We
elected him mayor), as the indirect object of a verb (Send me the report), or
the object of a preposition (Here's a present for you and him).

Singular Personal
Pronouns

Person Objective Case

First Person me

Second Person you

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Third Person him (masculine)

her (feminine)

it (neuter)

Plural Personal Pronouns

Person Objective Case

First Person us

Second Person you

Third Person them

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parallel construction
When you write a series of elements in a sentence, each element must
(1) appear in the same grammatical form and (2) perform the same
grammatical function. This is the rule of parallel construction. If any element
fails to satisfy either criterion, you have written a nonparallel construction.

You'll join elements in a series with these coordinating conjunctions: but, or,
yet, and. You may also use the correlative conjunctions, which come in pairs:
either … or, neither … nor, not … but, both … and, not only … but (also). With
the correlative conjunctions, you must make certain that the element joined by
the first word (e.g., not only) grammatically mirrors the element joined by the
second word (e.g., but or but also).

When you join three elements or more with a conjunction, you should put a
comma before the conjunction. This is called the serial-comma rule. Thus:
red, white, and blue.

Here is a nonparallel construction formed with a coordinating conjunction:

• He is determined, forceful, and a natural leader.

(The word leader is a noun; the other elements in the series are
adjectives.)

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Here is a nonparallel conjunction formed with a correlative conjunction:

• The manager ordered not only a full report but also wanted some
background research. (The not only joins a noun acting as the direct
object of the verb ordered, but the but also joins another verb wanted.)

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participle
Every main verb has two kinds of participles: a past participle and a present
participle.

The past participle shows up in verb conjugation in two ways: (1) to form the
perfect tenses with the auxiliary verb have (I have decided to retire) and (2) to
form the passive voice with the auxiliary verb to be (The case was decided by
the court). For regular verbs, the past participle is the same as the past tense,
usually formed by adding -ed. For irregular verbs, you form the past participle
in some other way; the past participle of drink, for example, is drunk. You can
identify the past participle of a verb by completing this sentence: I have [insert
verb here]. If you don't know the past participle for an irregular verb like swim,
then check the dictionary.

The present participle shows up in verb conjugation in one way: It forms the
progressive tense (also called the progressive aspect) with the auxiliary verb
to be (He is preparing the report now). You form the present participle for all
verbs by adding -ing. Sometimes you drop a silent -e, as in writing. And
sometimes you double an ending consonant, as in occurring.

Finally, past and present participles appear in verbal phrases (the case
decided by the court, the judge sitting next to the law clerk). They can also act
as one-verb verbal adjectives (the exhausted runner, the smoking gun).

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parts of speech
We have eight parts of speech in the English language: (1) nouns, (2) verbs,
(3) adjectives, (4) adverbs, (5) pronouns, (6) conjunctions, (7) prepositions,

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and (8) interjections. Every word you use in speech or writing falls into just
one of these eight categories.

To become an accomplished writer, you must know all about these eight parts
of speech. Each is discussed thoroughly in the Grammar & Writing Guide.
The numbers above correspond to the chapter numbers where each part of
speech is discussed.

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passive voice
An action verb is either transitive or intransitive. A transitive verb can hook
directly to a noun or pronoun (the direct object). An intransitive verb cannot
hook directly to a noun or pronoun.

Every transitive verb can appear either in the active voice or the passive
voice. In the active voice, the grammatical subject of the sentence is the actor
(John hit the ball). In the passive voice, the grammatical subject of the
sentence is the recipient of the action (The ball was hit by John).

To form the passive voice, you use the verb to be as an auxiliary verb. You
then add the past participle of the transitive verb you're putting in the passive
voice. Most past participles end in -ed (the past participle of decide is
decided) Irregular verbs, however, form their past participles in some other
way (the past participle of drink is drunk).

Here are some examples of passive-voice constructions:

• The meeting was held yesterday.

(past tense)

• This issue will have been decided before the end of the session.
(future-perfect tense)

• When the police arrived at the scene, the evidence had been
destroyed.
(past-perfect tense)

As a matter of style, you should favor the active voice over the passive voice.
A discussion of some exceptions to this rule, appears in Chapter 13 of the
Writing & Grammar Guide.

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past-participial phrase
Regular verbs typically form their past participles by adding -ed. Irregular
verbs, however, form their past participles in some other way. For example,
they change an internal vowel (I drink, I drank, I have drunk), or they add “-en”
to form the past participle (I choose, I chose, I have chosen).

Past participles show up in verb conjugation in two ways: (1) to form the
perfect tenses with the auxiliary verb have (I have decided to retire) and (2) to
form the passive voice with the auxiliary verb to be (The case was decided by
the court).

But past participles also form past-participial phrases. These phrases always
act as adjectives (the case decided by the court). You can start sentences
with a past-participial phrase. Just make sure it modifies the grammatical
subject of the sentence. Here are some examples of past-participial phrases:

• Written by the personnel director, the office manual details the rules of
employment.

• This letter, mailed on January 17th, demanded a response.

See infinitive phrase and present-participial phrase.

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past participle
The past participle shows up in verb conjugation in two ways: (1) to form the
perfect tenses with the auxiliary verb have (I have decided to retire) and (2) to
form the passive voice with the auxiliary verb to be (The case was decided by
the court).

For regular verbs, you form the past participle and past tense the same way,
usually by adding -ed.

For irregular verbs, you form the past participle in some other way; the past

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participle of drink, for example, is drunk. You can identify the past participle of
a verb by completing this sentence: I have [insert verb here]. If you don't know
the past participle for an irregular verb like swim, then check the dictionary.

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past-perfect progressive tense

There are six progressive tenses. Some grammarians refer to the progressive
tense as the progressive aspect of a verb. The progressive tense shows an
“ongoingness” of the action denoted by the verb.

The progressive tense is formed by using the verb to be as an auxiliary verb

and adding the present participle (-ing) of the verb. Thus, the past-perfect
progressive tense is formed by writing the past perfect of the verb to be (had
been) and adding the -ing verb. Thus:

• He had been studying this material for a long time before entering
school.

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past-perfect tense
The perfect tenses are formed by using the auxiliary verb to have and adding
the past participle of the main verb. Thus, the past perfect is formed by taking
the past tense of to have (had) and adding the past participle of the main
verb. Thus:

• When I arrived at her house, she had finished dinner.

The past perfect is also called the pluperfect tense. Be very careful when
using the past perfect. Many writers use the past perfect when they actually
mean just the past tense.

The past perfect shows what's called the remote past. Once you've
established a time period (when I arrived at the house), the past perfect then
backs up the time to a past within a past (she had finished dinner).

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The past-perfect tense often appears in “indirect speech.” If a person says, “I
have decided to retire,” then you can quote that person directly by writing:

• He said, “I have decided to retire.”

But if you wanted to refer to that statement indirectly, you would write:

• He said that he had decided to retire.

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past-progressive tense
There are six progressive tenses. Some grammarians refer to the progressive
tense as the progressive aspect of a verb. The progressive tense shows an
“ongoingness” of the action denoted by the verb.

The progressive tense is formed by using the verb to be as an auxiliary verb

and adding the present participle (-ing) of the verb. Thus, the past-progressive
tense is formed by writing the past tense of the verb to be (was or were) and
adding the -ing verb. Thus:

• He was studying when she called.

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past tense
The past tense of a main verb shows what happened or what state of being
existed earlier at a definite time. When you use the past tense, the activity or
state of being is over, finished, done (I drank the water, He was happy).

A regular verb usually forms its past tense by adding -ed (I decide, I decided).
An irregular verb doesn’t add -ed. It might change an internal vowel (I drink, I
drank).

Every one-word verb has a one-word past tense. When you move beyond the
present tense and the past tense, however, you'll need to use auxiliary verbs
to form other tenses (I will study, I have studied, and so on).

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If the time portrayed is indefinite or if the action or state of being continues to
the present, then the use of the past tense is improper. Instead, you should
use the present perfect. Consider the following incorrect use of the past
tense:

• I played at this golf course before.

Instead, use the present perfect:

• I have played at this golf course before.

Or suppose you are at a friend’s party. You would not say in the past tense,
“We enjoyed your party.” The enjoyment continues to the present. Thus, you
would use the present perfect: “We have enjoyed your party.”

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perfect tenses
The perfect tenses are under attack by many misinformed, but otherwise well-
educated, writers and speakers. The tense does express qualities of verbs
that are otherwise incapable of expression and is therefore worth retaining.

We have three perfect tenses: (1) present perfect (I have finished), (2) past
perfect (I had finished), and (3) future perfect (I will have finished). All are
formed by using the auxiliary verb have with the past participle of the main
verb.

See present-perfect tense, past-perfect tense, and future-perfect tense.

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person
The concept of person applies to pronouns and reflects a universal truth:
There are only three types of people on earth. We have the speaker (first
person), the listener (second person), and the person being gossiped about
(third person).

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As pronouns developed, they took on three forms: (1) first person, (2) second
person, and (3) third person. Each also took on singular (one person) and
plural (more than one person) forms. Finally, each appeared in three cases
(subjective, objective, possessive). Here they are:

Singular Personal Pronouns

Person Subjective Objective Possessive Case

Case Case

First Person I me my-mine

Second you you your-yours

Person

Third he him his-his (masculine)

Person (masculine) (masculine)

she her her-hers (feminine)

(feminine) (feminine)

it (neuter) it (neuter) its-its (neuter)

Plural Personal Pronouns

Person Subjective Objective Possessive Case

Case Case

First Person we us our-ours

Second you you your-yours

Person

Third they them their-theirs

Person

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personal pronoun
We have seven kinds of pronouns in the English language (personal

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pronouns, reflexive and intensive pronouns, relative pronouns, interrogative
pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, indefinite pronouns, and reciprocal
pronouns).

The personal pronouns refer to three persons: (1) first person, (2) second
person, and (3) third person. They exhibit case (subjective, objective,
possessive) and number (singular, plural). Finally, the third-person singular
pronouns reveal gender.

For a complete list, see person.

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phrase
A phrase is a multiword group having no conjugated verb in it. We have
various kinds of phrases, which perform all sorts of functions in the language.
Basically, the phrases can serve as nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Three
very important phrases are the verbal phrases (infinitive, present participial,
and past participial). Though verbs are present in these phrases, the verbs
are not conjugated. Here's a partial list of phrases:

• Prepositional phrase
(over the rainbow)

• Infinitive phrase
(to win the game)

• Present-participial phrase
(winning the game)

• Past-participial phrase
(earned by the shareholder)

• Appositive phrase
(my friend, the girl next door)

• Adjectival phrase
(the issues pertinent to our project)

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Click the “X” to close this window.

plural
Nouns and pronouns are either singular or plural. Nouns typically form their
plurals by adding -s, (boys), -es (torches), or -ies (cities). Some plural words,
like children and fish, do not use -s. Pronouns have special forms to show
plurality (I and we, he and they, it and they, she and they) (examples in
subjective case).

If the grammatical subject of a sentence or clause is plural, then the verb must
appear in the plural as well. The plural form of a verb (other than the verb to
be) is the base infinitive form (I write and they write, I am and we are).

Be careful, some writers form plurals by adding “apostrophe -s.” You should
use the apostrophe only when there's no other way to form the plural, as in
Dot your i's and cross your t's). To form the plural of an acronym, just add -s,
as in He has two IRAs. The same for dates, as in the 1960s.

Finally, a plural subject is formed with the coordinating conjunction and (John
and Mary have decided to move). Words like along with, together with, as well
as, and others do not form plural subjects. These expressions are not
coordinating conjunctions. Thus: John along with Mary wants to move.

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positive state
Adjectives and adverbs exhibit a positive state, which simply shows the
attribute expressed by the adjective (hot) or adverb (quickly). If the adjective
or adverb seeks to show that something has more of the attribute expressed,
we use the comparative state (hotter, more quickly). If the adjective or adverb
seeks to show the utmost of the attribute expressed, we use the superlative
state (hottest, most quickly).

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possessive case
The personal pronouns (and the relative or interrogative pronoun who) exhibit
case. The case of a pronoun reveals how the noun it replaces would act in the
sentence. We have three cases: (1) subjective or nominative case,
(2) objective case, and (3) possessive case.

The relative or interrogative pronoun who also exhibits case: who (subjective),
whom (objective), and whose (possessive).

The following table reveals the possessive case of personal pronouns. You
must use the possessive case when the pronoun replaces a noun that would
have a possessive ending. Notice that two forms of possessive pronouns
appear. The first is used when the possessive pronoun modifies a noun (my
car), the second when the possessive pronoun stands by itself (the car is
mine).

Singular Personal
Pronouns

Person Possessive Case

First Person my-mine

Second Person your-yours

Third Person his-his (masculine)

her-hers (feminine)

its-its (neuter)

Plural Personal
Pronouns

Person Possessive Case

First Person our-ours

Second Person your-yours

Third Person their-theirs

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this window.
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possessives
One of the distinctive features of the noun is its ability to own something, to
possess something. We show this act of possession by adding a possessive
ending, typically an “apostrophe
-s” (Fred's report) to a singular noun and “just an apostrophe” to a plural noun
(the persons' rights) (but children's toys).

Here's the rule for nouns: Form the possessive of all singular nouns, even
those ending in -s by adding “apostrophe -s.” Many writers make the mistake
of adding just an apostrophe to form the possessive of singular nouns ending
in -s. This is rule 1, page 1 of Strunk & White's The Elements of Style. Thus,
the following are correct:

• the boss's priorities

• Congress's committees

• Bridget Jones's Diary

Theoretically, an inanimate object or abstract idea cannot possess anything,

but writers routinely use possessive endings with inanimate objects, as in the
rocket's red glare. These are technically called false possessives.

Some of the indefinite pronouns form their possessives with a possessive

ending: another's, anybody's, anyone's, each one's, either's, everybody's,
everyone's, neither's, no one's, nobody's, one's, other's, others', and
somebody's.

But other pronouns have special forms to show possession: my, mine, our,
ours, his, her, hers, its, their, and theirs. Also, make sure you form the
possessive of the neuter pronoun it like this: its. Many people incorrectly use
it's and write things like We enjoyed it's plot. Wrong. We enjoyed its plot.

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predicate
Every sentence or clause has a subject and a predicate. The subject is a
noun, pronoun, or group of words acting as a noun, and the words associated
with, or modifying, that noun form. The predicate contains the verb and all
words associated with, or modifying, the verb. The following examples show
the predicate underlined:

• Every sentence or clause has a subject and a predicate.

• The subject is a noun, pronoun, or group of words acting as a noun.

• The predicate contains the verb and all words associated with, or
modifying, the verb.

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predicate adjective
A predicate adjective is an adjective appearing in the predicate of a sentence.
Typically, a predicate adjective follows the verb to be, but it could also follow a
linking verb. The following predicate adjectives are underlined:

• Fred is tall.

• Susan seems sick.

• The book is difficult to understand.

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predicate nominative
A predicate nominative is also called a subject complement or a predicate
noun. The predicate nominative typically follows the verb to be. Sometimes a
predicate nominative can follow a linking verb. It restates or defines the
grammatical subject of the sentence. The following predicate nominatives are
underlined:

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 • She is my friend.

• Susan was an excellent leader.

• Stephanie seems an honest woman.

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predicate noun
See predicate nominative.

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preposition
A preposition is one of the eight parts of speech. The preposition serves as a
dab of glue, sticking a noun, a group of words acting as a noun, or a pronoun
onto the sentence. The noun or pronoun stuck to the sentence is called the
object of a preposition. Together they form a prepositional phrase.

We have three kinds of prepositions: (1) simple prepositions, (2) marginal

prepositions, and (3) compound prepositions.

Simple prepositions are one-word structures; most have only one syllable,
as in for, in, of, with, to, from; some have two, as in after, before, under; some
have more, as in underneath, notwithstanding. We have about 70 simple
prepositions in the English language.

Marginal prepositions act just like simple prepositions, but they are derived
from other words, primarily verbs, as in barring, including, concerning.

Compound prepositions come in two- or three-word varieties, as in

pursuant to, according to, for the purposes of, in conjunction with. Watch out.
Don't use a compound preposition like with respect to when you simply mean
for, with, about, or some other simple preposition.

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Click the “X” to close this window.

prepositional phrase
When a noun or pronoun combines with a preposition, it forms a prepositional
phrase, which primarily acts as either an adjective (the book on the table) or
an adverb (he drove to my house). The noun or pronoun hooked to the
sentence by the preposition is the object of the preposition.

When a personal pronoun serves as an object of a preposition, it must appear

in the objective case. Using the subjective case is a common mistake,
portrayed in the title of the Oops Me book: A Grammar Book for You and I,
Oops Me.

Here are some common mistakes, with the fixes shown parenthetically (the
preposition and the object of the preposition are underlined):

• just between you and I

(just between you and me)

• He prepared the report for Jane and I.

(He prepared the report for Jane and me.)

• Here's a present for you and he.

(Here's a present for you and him.)

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present-participial phrase
All main verbs have a present-participial form. Just add -ing and you've got a
present participle. Sometimes you have to drop a silent -e as in writing. And
sometimes you double an ending consonant, as in occurring.

The present participle can form a present-participial phrase. If the present-

participial verb is transitive, the phrase can have an object in it, as in winning
the case.

The present-participial phrase usually acts as an adjective. It can come at the

beginning of a sentence, in the middle of a sentence, or at the end of a
sentence. When you start a sentence with a present-participial phrase, make
certain that the grammatical subject of the sentence is the agent of that verbal

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activity. Otherwise, you will have written a dangling participle. Here are
examples of a present-participial phrase beginning a sentence, coming inside
a sentence, and ending a sentence:

• Trying to impress his boss, the employee worked late each night.

• The other man, carrying a package, jumped aboard the car.

• The scales struck the plaintiff, causing injuries for which she sues.

Finally, a present-participial phrase can act as a noun. When it does, it's

called a gerund. See gerund. See also infinitive phrase and past-
participial phrase.

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present participle
All main verbs have a present-participial form. Just add -ing and you've got a
present participle. Sometimes you have to drop a silent -e as in writing. And
sometimes you double an ending consonant, as in occurring.

The present participle shows up in the progressive tenses, sometimes called

the progressive aspect of a verb. The progressive tense is formed by using
the verb to be and adding the present participle, as in We were winning the
race.

The present participle can also form a present-participial phrase. If the

present-participial verb is transitive, the phrase can have an object in it, as in
winning the case.

Finally, the present participle can act as a noun. When it does, it's called a
gerund.

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present-perfect progressive tense

There are six progressive tenses. Some grammarians refer to the progressive

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tense as the progressive aspect of a verb. The progressive tense shows an
“ongoingness” of the action denoted by the verb.

The progressive tense is formed by using the verb to be as an auxiliary verb

and adding the present participle (-ing) of the verb. Thus, the present-perfect
progressive tense is formed by writing the present perfect of the verb to be
(has been or have been) and adding the -ing verb. Thus:

• He has been studying throughout the night.

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present-perfect tense
The perfect tenses are formed by using the auxiliary verb to have and adding
the past participle of the main verb. Thus, the present perfect is formed by
taking the present tense of to have (has or have) and adding the past
participle of the main verb.

The present-perfect tense is appropriate in two situations: (1) the action was
completed at some indefinite time in the past or (2) the action occurred in the
past but continues to the present. Here's an example of the present-perfect
tense showing completion of the act at some indefinite time in the past:

• We have seen this movie before.

And here's an example of the present-perfect tense showing a past action

continuing to the present:

• He has worked on his thesis for three weeks now.

Remember the two conditions: (1) the past time is indefinite or (2) the past
action continues to the present. If these conditions don't persist, then the
present-perfect tense is incorrectly used. Here’s a mistake, with the fix
shown parenthetically:

• I have played golf all afternoon yesterday.

(I played golf all afternoon yesterday.)
(The past time is definite.)

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present-progressive tense
There are six progressive tenses. Some grammarians refer to the progressive
tense as the progressive aspect of a verb. The progressive tense shows an
“ongoingness” of the action denoted by the verb.

The progressive tense is formed by using the verb to be as an auxiliary verb

and adding the present participle (-ing) of the verb. Thus, the present-
progressive tense is formed by writing the present tense of the verb to be (am,
is, or are) and adding the -ing verb. Thus:

• He is studying for the exam.

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present tense
The present tense of a verb designates an action or state of being going on or
existing at the time of speaking or writing, as in John walks across the street
or She is excited about her new job. Some novelists insist on using the
present tense, as if the action were occurring at the moment the reader reads
the book. Most irritating, in my opinion.

We can also use the present tense to denote futurity, as in The game is on
TV tonight.

We can also use what is called the historical present tense to depict what
authors do in their books, as in Fitzgerald paints a somber mood on East Egg.

The third-person singular of a verb requires a special form to create the

present tense. Typically, the third-person singular ends in -s, -es, or -ies as in
He writes the book, He watches the movie, She verifies the numbers. For all
other persons (including third-person plural), the present tense is the same as
the base infinitive, as in I write, You write, We write, They write, and so on.

The verb to be forms its present tense using am (first person), are (second
person), and is (third person) in the singular and are (all persons) in the plural.

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primary auxiliary verb

We have roughly 16 auxiliary verbs in the English language. Three are called
primary auxiliaries: to be, to have, and to do. These three words perform
special functions.

The verb to be forms the passive voice (The ball was hit by John) and the
progressive tense (John was hitting the ball).

The verb to have forms the perfect tenses (I have decided to retire).

The verb to do enables us to negate or to ask questions (He did not write the
book, Do you mind?).

Notice that each of these verbs can act as a main verb as well, as in I am
happy, He has a lot of money, and He does his own thing.

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principal parts
Main verbs have four principal parts: (1) infinitive (to decide), (2) past tense
(decided), (3) past participle (decided), and (4) present participle (deciding). A
regular verb forms its past tense and past participle the same way, usually by
adding -ed. An irregular verb, however, uses different methods to form its
past tense and past participle. Typically, they change an internal vowel (I
drink, I drank, I have drunk), or they add -en to form the past participle (I
choose, I chose, I have chosen).

For discussion of each principal part, see infinitive verb, past tense, past
participle, and present participle.

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progressive tense
The progressive tense (also called the progressive aspect) is sometimes

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referred to as the imperfect tense.

There are six progressive tenses: present, past, future, present perfect, past
perfect, and future perfect. Some grammarians refer to the progressive tense
as the progressive aspect of a verb. The progressive tense shows an
“ongoingness” of the action denoted by the verb.

The progressive tense is formed by using the verb to be as an auxiliary verb

and adding the present participle (-ing) of the verb. You form a particular
tense simply by conjugating the verb to be in that tense and adding the
present participle of the verb.

Here are the progressive tenses for the verb to study. The present participle
of study is studying. Notice how the verb to be is conjugated in the various
tenses.

Tense Example of Progressive Tense

Present He is studying the report.

Past He was studying the report.

Future He will be studying the report.

Present He has been studying the report.

Perfect

Past Perfect He had been studying the report.

Future He will be studying the report.

Perfect

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pronoun
We have seven kinds of pronouns in the English language.

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. Personal pronouns (words
like I, me, my, we, our, us, you, your, he, she, him, his, her, and on and on)
exhibit case, gender, and number. The relative or interrogative pronoun who
also exhibits case: who (subjective), whom (objective), and whose
(possessive).

Here's the list of the seven kinds of pronouns:

1. personal pronouns (words that can substitute for people)

2. reflexive and intensive pronouns (those -self words enabling you to say
myself, himself, herself, yourself, and others)

3. indefinite pronouns (like everyone, everybody, anyone, one, none, and

others)

4. demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, and those)

5. relative pronouns (that, which, who, whom, and whose)

6. interrogative pronouns (who, whose, whom, which, and what)

7. reciprocal pronouns (each other and one another).

See subjective case, objective case, and possessive case.

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proper noun
A proper noun names a specific person, place, time period, work of literature
or art, and so on. It begins with a capital letter. Examples include:

• New York City

• Friday

• Shakespeare's play Hamlet

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 • Fred

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reciprocal pronoun
We have only two of these pronouns, and they come in pairs: each other and
one another. We use them to show some sort of a relationship between two or
more people or larger groups.

In formal settings you should use each other to refer to two people or two
groups; one another, to three or more. In less formal settings, we use the
terms interchangeably.

The reciprocals have possessive forms. Each of these is singular, not plural,
as in Susan and Tom criticized each other's political views.

Here are some examples:

• Tom and Fred like each other.

• All the class members dislike one another.

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reflexive pronoun
These are the -self words, as in myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself,
ourselves, themselves. They are called reflexive and intensive pronouns and
are used in two ways: (1) to reflect action back onto the actor in the sentence
(reflexive pronoun) and (2) to intensify a statement (intensive pronoun).

Remember these two rules about the use of reflexive pronouns:

1. Use the -self pronoun only when the subject of the sentence and an
object in the sentence are one and the same.

2. Never use a -self pronoun as a subject, only as an object.

The reflexive pronouns enable you to make action reflect back on the subject

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of the sentence. Thus:

• He hurt himself.

• She committed herself to achieving success.

The reflexive pronouns should always serve as objects, never as subjects. In

formal settings, it is a grammatical mistake to use a reflexive pronoun as the
subject of a sentence.

Study these incorrect uses of a reflexive pronoun, with fixes appearing

parenthetically:

• Please send the report to Jane and myself.

(Please send the report to Jane and me.)

• Fred and myself appreciate the invitation.

(Fred and I appreciate the invitation.)

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regular verb
Verbs have four principal parts: (1) the infinitive, (2) the past, (3) the past
participle, and (4) the present participle. A regular verb forms its past tense
and past participle the same way, usually by adding -ed. Take the regular
verb walk. The past tense is walked, as in He walked to the store. The past
participle is also walked, as in He has walked to the store (the perfect tenses
are formed by using have as an auxiliary and combining it with the past
participle).

The verb keep is also regular. It forms its past tense (kept) and its past
participle (kept) the same way.

But an irregular verb has one word for its past tense and another word for its
past participle. They don't just add -ed. Typically, they change an internal
vowel (I drink, I drank, I have drunk), or they add -en to form the past
participle (I choose, I chose, I have chosen).

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relative pronoun
We have five relative pronouns in the English language: that, which, who
(whoever), whom (whomever), and whose. Note that the personal relative
pronouns (who, whom, whose) exhibit case: who (subjective case), whom
(objective case), and whose (possessive case).

The word that introduces a restrictive or defining clause. The word which
introduces a nonrestrictive or nondefining clause, which must be set off by
commas. The personal relative pronouns who, whom, and whose also
introduce either restrictive (no comma) or nonrestrictive (commas) clauses.

These five words share three characteristics: (1) they introduce a dependent
adjectival clause; (2) they serve a grammatical function in that clause, and
(3) they refer to a particular noun or pronoun in the main sentence.

The differences between that and which stump even the smartest writers. This
issue, along with other intricacies of the relative pronouns, is thoroughly
discussed in Chapter 14 of the Grammar & Writing Guide.

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restrictive clause
A restrictive clause is also called a defining clause. The great grammarian
Henry Fowler coined the term defining clause. A restrictive clause looks to the
noun (or pronoun) modified and singles it out among others that could exist in
the context. A restrictive clause points a finger at the noun modified and says,
“that noun, not any others named by that noun.”

A restrictive clause begins with the relative pronoun that and is not set off by
commas. Of course, defining clauses could begin with the personal relative
pronouns—who, whom, whose. The key, then, becomes the absence of any
comma setting off the clause.

Here are some defining clauses:

• The judge who wrote the opinion assumed the bench in 1999.

• The novel that climbed to the top of the charts set a sales record.

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 • Here's the book I told you about.
(This clause has its own independent subject “I,” so you may drop the
that.)

See nondefining clause.

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run-on sentence
A run-on sentence happens when a semicolon is omitted between two
independent clauses not joined by a coordinating or correlative conjunction.
Sometimes a comma might appear, but that's incorrect punctuation. To join
two independent clauses without a conjunction, you must use a semicolon, as
in John played the guitar; Mary sang the melody.

You can fix run-on sentences by (1) adding a semicolon, (2) breaking the run-
on sentence into two sentences, (3) using a conjunctive adverb with a
preceding semicolon and trailing comma, or (4) using a coordinating
conjunction.

Here are some examples of run-on sentences, with fixes shown

parenthetically):

• It was late, we went home.

(It was late; we went home.)
(It was late; therefore, we went home.)

• The research was defective, the partners were upset.

(The research was defective; the partners were upset.)
(The research was defective. The partners were upset.)
(The research was defective, so the partners were upset.)
(The research was defective. The partners were upset.)

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self
For a discussion of the -self words, as in myself, yourself, himself, herself,

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etc., see reflexive pronoun.

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sentence
A grammatically complete sentence has a subject and a conjugated verb, as
in Mary sang. A sentence is also an independent clause. If a group of words
qualifies only as a dependent clause, it is not a sentence, as in Because we
were tired. Many writers use incomplete sentences in their writing. These are
technically known as sentence fragments. They might also be called
typographical sentences, a group of words beginning with a capital letter and
ending with a period. If you use typographical sentences in your style, make
certain it is immediately evident that you know what you're doing and that
you're not making a mistake. And point out to your supervisor that great
writers often use these structures. So there.

The four kinds of verbs enable us to write four basic types of complete
sentences:

Four Possible Sentence Types

1A Subject + Transitive + Direct

(Actor) Verb Object
John in the active (Recipient)
voice the ball.
hit

1B Subject + Transitive + Actor

(Recipient) Verb Phrase
The ball in the (Actor)
passive by John.
voice
was hit

2 Subject + Intransitive + Phrase

John Verb to first base.
ran

3 Subject + Verb to be + Complement

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 John is the batter.

+ Adjective
John is strong.

+ Phrase
John is at the plate.

4 Subject + Linking + Complement

John Verb the team
seems leader.

+ Adjective
John appears quick.

+ Phrase
John sounds out of sorts.

That's it, folks. Every English sentence falls into one of these categories,
which vary with the type of verb chosen.

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sentence adverb
A sentence adverb modifies an entire sentence or clause. According to top
authorities, adverbs, including those ending in -ly, can modify entire
sentences. Here are some examples drawn from reputable sources:

• Unhappily, there are times when violence is the only way in which
justice can be secured.—T.S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral (1935).

• Agreeably, he asked me my name and where I lived.—A 1987 issue of

the New Yorker.

• Frankly, I do not wish to stop them.—Brian Moore's The Colour of Blood

(1987).

Be careful, however. If you start a sentence with the sentence adverb

hopefully, your readers might get their noses out of joint. The structure is
correct, but it has a bad reputation.

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serial-comma rule
When you join three or more elements in a series, put a comma before the
conjunction (usually and or or). Thus: red, white, and blue. This is the serial-
comma rule. The comma is also referred to as the Oxford Comma. The top
style manuals follow the serial-comma rule. So should you.

The series may consist of any grammatical element. You can construct
sentences with three or more subjects, verbs, direct objects, objects of
prepositions, verbal objects, or any other grammatical part of a sentence. In
the following examples, you'll find a variety of grammatical elements
appearing in a series. Each is named parenthetically after the example.

Examples

• The flag is red, white, and blue.

(Three predicate adjectives.)

• In her will, the woman left jewelry, coins, stocks and bonds, but no
cash.
(Four direct objects of the transitive verb left.)

• The director, the assistant chief, and the chairperson held a confidential
meeting. (Three subjects.)

• Neither the president, the vice-president, nor the chief financial officer
may authorize this particular capital expense. (Three subjects.)

• The personnel committee reconsidered this issue, found that the

supervisor had exceeded her authority, and granted the relief
requested by the employee. (Three predicate verbs.)

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singular
Nouns and pronouns are either singular or plural. Nouns typically form their

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plurals by adding -s, (boys), -es (torches), or -ies (cities). Some plural words,
like children and fish, do not use -s. Pronouns have special forms to show
plurality (I and we, he and they, it and they, she and they) (examples in
subjective case).

If the grammatical subject of a sentence is singular, then the verb must be

singular. Also, if an antecedent is singular, then any pronoun referring to it
must be singular.

These days—to avoid the he/she problem—writers will use a singular

antecedent and then refer to it with the plural pronouns they, their, or them.
Though this usage is correct in England, it would not be acceptable in formal
writing in America even though everyone does it in oral speech. The following
is incorrect in formal writing:

• An applicant must file their application with the personnel office.

You can avoid the problem by making the antecedent plural (applicants).

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split infinitive
Every verb has a base infinitive form. We think of the infinitive as the verb with
the preposition to in front of it: as in to have, to hold, to love, to honor, to
cherish. Infinitives appear in the language in three ways: (1) they appear
alone to show some of the tenses, as in I write, You write, We write, They
write; (2) they join auxiliary verbs to form other tenses or conditions, as in I
will write, He could write; and (3) they are used to form infinitive phrases,
which can act as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.

Controversy rages over whether you may split an infinitive by putting other
words between the to and the infinitive verb. The short answer is yes. The so-
called rule against split infinitives is simply not a rule. For a thorough
discussion and a press release by the Oxford English Dictionary, study
Chapter 10 of the Grammar & Writing Guide. The following are correct:

• To boldly go where no man has gone before.

• That's when you have to really watch yourself.

—Quarto, 1981 (UK).

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 • It led Cheshires to finally abandon publishing fiction at all.
—B. Oakley, 1985 (Australia).

• The goal is to further exclude Arafat.

—U.S. News & World Report, 1986 (United States).

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subject
The grammatical subject of a sentence or clause is a noun, a group of words
acting as a noun, or a pronoun. The subject names whatever is asserted by
the verb. Usually, the subject precedes the verb, as in She walked to work.
But when you ask a question, you put an auxiliary verb before the subject, as
in Will she walk to work? Examples of subjects in the following are underlined:

• The committee wrote the manual.

(single noun acting as the subject)

• She won the race.

(pronoun acting as the subject)

• To win the race became his passion.

(infinitive phrase acting as the subject)

• Achieving success remained his principal goal.

(gerundive phrase acting as the subject)

• That she won the race didn't surprise us.

(nominal clause acting as the subject)

Only the grammatical subject of a clause determines the number of the verb.
If the subject is singular, the verb must be singular. If the subject is plural, the
verb must be plural.

The predicate noun of a sentence never determines the number of the verb.
Thus, the following is correct:

• Our biggest problem is the thousands of cars clogging the streets.

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subjective case
The personal pronouns (and the relative or interrogative pronoun who) exhibit
case. The case of a pronoun reveals how the noun it replaces would act in the
sentence. We have three cases: (1) subjective or nominative case,
(2) objective case, and (3) possessive case.

A pronoun must appear in the subjective case when it acts as a subject of a

sentence or clause or when it acts as a subject complement, as in It was she
who became upset.

The relative or interrogative pronoun who also exhibits case: who (subjective),
whom (objective), and whose (possessive).

The following table reveals the subjective case of personal pronouns.

Singular Personal
Pronouns

Person Subjective Case

First Person I

Second Person you

Third Person he (masculine)

she (feminine)

it (neuter)

Plural Personal
Pronouns

Person Subjective Case

First Person we

Second Person you

Third Person they

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this window.
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subjunctive mood
First, understand this: The word mood has nothing to do with frame of mind,
as in happy or sad. It actually refers to mode, which is the attribute of a verb
suggesting the speaker's attitude toward the action expressed.

The mood of verbs shows how the speaker regards the utterance. The
speaker might regard the utterance as a statement: that's the indicative mood.
The speaker might ask a question: that's the interrogative mood. The speaker
might issue a command: that's the imperative mood. Or the speaker might
state a possibility, hope, wish, or hypothetical: that's the subjunctive mood.

The subjunctive mood is used when you need to (1) depict situations contrary
to fact, (2) express a wish, (3) express a supposition, (4) issue a command,
(5) make a suggestion, or (6) show necessity.

You form the subjunctive of action verbs by using the plural form of the verb,
even in situations calling for the third-person singular, as in The law requires
that an applicant file the document within 30 days.

You form the subjunctive of the verb to be by using the plural were, even in
situations calling for the third-person singular, as in If I were you, I'd file the
papers at once.

Many writers incorrectly think that the word if must always be followed by
were when the verb to be appears. Not so. The test is whether the writer is
trying to say something hypothetical or contrary to fact.

Please read the chapter on the subjunctive mood in the Section on

Grammatical Mistakes.

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subordinate clause
A subordinate clause is also called a dependent clause. A dependent clause
cannot stand by itself as a sentence. It must attach to an independent clause
to form what is called a complex sentence.

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Dependent clauses may act in three ways: (1) as nouns, (2) as adjectives,
and (3) as adverbs. Study these three examples of dependent clauses.

• That she won the race did not surprise us.

(noun clause acting as the subject of the sentence)

• He left the party because he was tired.

(adverbial clause modifying the verb left)

• He enjoyed the party, which lasted all night.

(adjectival clause modifying the noun party)

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subordination
Each sentence has three essential parts: (1) the subject, (2) the verb, and
(3) the other stuff, which is governed by the kind of verb chosen. Writers then
begin to add to this basic structure. They add one-word additions (adjectives,
adverbs, noun modifiers, etc.) Or they add multiword additions, which are
phrases and clauses. These additions occupy subordinate parts of the
sentence. The process of adding these words and structures to the basic
sentence is called subordination. At least, that's what I call it.

Please study Part III of the Grammar & Writing Guide.

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subordinating conjunction
We have a long list of subordinating conjunctions. These words are used to
start a subordinate clause, which can act as an adjective, adverb, or noun.
Examples include after, although, as, as far as, as if, as long as, as though,
because, before, how, if, in order that, provided that, since, so (that), that,
though, till, unless, until, what, whatever, when, whenever, where, wherever,
while, and others.

You can use subordinating conjunctions to form what's called an elliptical

clause, also called a truncated clause. For a discussion, see elliptical clause.

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superlative state
Most adjectives and adverbs come in three states. The positive state
describes the basic attribute (the hot plate, he ran quickly). The comparative
state shows more of the attribute (the hotter plate, he ran more quickly). The
superlative state shows the most of the attribute (the hottest plate, he ran
most quickly).

Sometimes you add -er to form the comparative state and -est to form the
superlative state. But other times you use the word more (more difficult) to
form the comparative and most (most difficult) to form the superlative. You'll
find a complete discussion of this problem in Chapters 3 and 4 of the
Grammar & Writing Guide.

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switcheroo noun
I coined this term to describe two-word pairs. The two words are spelled and
sometimes pronounced identically. One word acts as a noun, the other as a
verb.

A classic example is change. A nouny writer would always opt for the noun
form and write: "I must make a change in my writing style." The verb-based
writer, naturally, would write: "I must change my writing style."

Other examples include use, request, and love.

The nouny writer always engages in the use of a computer. Or worse:

engages in the utilization of a computer. The verb-based writer simply uses a
computer.

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tense
In traditional English grammar, we have six tenses of verbs:

1. present tense (I decide)

2. past tense (I decided)

3. future tense (I will decide)

4. present-perfect tense (I have decided)

5. past-perfect tense (pluperfect) (I had decided)

6. future-perfect tense (I will have decided).

We also have six progressive tenses, also called the progressive aspect of
verbs.

When you conjugate a verb, you reveal all tenses using the three persons
(first, second, third) and showing singular and plural forms.

You'll find a complete discussion of tenses and verb conjugation in Chapter 2

of the Grammar & Writing Guide.

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transitive verb
Action verbs are either transitive or intransitive. A transitive verb has the
intrinsic ability to attach directly to a noun, called the direct object. But an
intransitive verb cannot attach directly to a noun. To form a relationship with a
noun, an intransitive verb needs a preposition. You can write a book (write is
transitive). But you cannot proceed an investigation. The verb proceed is
intransitive. Thus, you proceed with an investigation.

Transitive verbs appear in two voices: active voice (John hit the ball) and
passive voice (The ball was hit by John).

Many verbs have both transitive (She runs the organization) and intransitive
(She runs for exercise) definitions. When you look up verbs in the dictionary,
you'll find definitions divided between transitive and intransitive.

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On Dictionary.com, the editors don’t use the terms transitive and intransitive.
Instead, they divide definitions into “verbs (used with objects)” and “verbs
(used without objects).” The “with objects” moniker means “transitive.” The
“without objects” moniker means “intransitive.”

As a writer, it behooves you to make certain you use a verb correctly. For
example, is the verb pervade transitive or intransitive? To find out, you must
consult the dictionary. It's transitive. Thus: Grief pervaded the funeral parlor.
Not: Grief pervaded in the funeral parlor.

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truncated clause
See elliptical clause.

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verb
The most important word in the English language is the verb. Without it, we
could not write sentences. In fact, if you want to write a one-word sentence,
that one word must be a verb.

We have four kinds of main verbs: (1) action transitive verbs, (2) action
intransitive verbs, (3) the verb to be, and (4) linking verbs.

A fifth kind of verb is the auxiliary verb, which joins with a main verb in verb
conjugation.

Verbs fulfill five functions in our language. In their (1) conjugated form, they
enable us to form clauses, either as complete sentences or as dependent
clauses. They also appear (2) as infinitives (to verbs), (3) as present
participles (-ing verbs), and (4) as past participles (ordinarily -ed verbs). In
these three forms, they appear as verbal phrases. And, in their -ing and -ed
forms, they can appear (5) as single-word adjectives.

We can use two of the verbal phrases (to phrase, -ing phrase) as nouns,
adjectives, and adverbs. We can use the third verbal phrase (the -ed phrase)

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as an adjective. In short, verbs can perform the roles of all major parts of
speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

That's power.

With so much versatility inherent in the verb form, one would think that writers
would favor verb-based writing. The good writers do just that: They fashion
their styles around the verb. But soft, fluffy writers shy away from verbs.
Instead, they prefer the noun form.

We urge you to study Chapters 2, 10, 11, and 12 of the Grammar & Writing
Guide. To become an excellent writer, you must master the use of verbs.

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verb to be
The verb to be is unique in the English language. It can serve as a main verb
(I am a writer) and as a primary auxiliary verb to form the progressive tense (I
am writing the book) and the passive voice (The book was written by me).

Ordinarily, it requires only four words to perform a complete conjugation of a

regular verb (decide, decides, decided, deciding). It can require five words for
a complete conjugation of an irregular verb (drink, drinks, drank, drunk,
drinking).

But it requires eight words to conjugate the verb to be (am, is, are, was, were,
been, being, be).

As a main verb, the verb to be will be followed by (1) a noun, the predicate
nominative, (2) an adjective, the predicate adjective, or (3) a phrase showing
where or when something is.

Many writers use far too many constructions of the verb to be in their style.
Powerful writers, on the other hand, write with action verbs. Please, you must
read Chapter 12 of the Grammar & Writing Guide. In that chapter, you'll find
that I did not use a single construction of the verb to be in the 2,200 words in
the chapter.

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verbal object
Action verbs come in two varieties: transitive verbs and intransitive verbs. A
transitive verb has the intrinsic ability to attach directly to a noun, and that
noun is called the direct object. Thus, in the sentence John hit the ball, the
word ball is the direct object of the transitive verb hit.

Also, objects of verbs show up in verbal phrases as well. These are called
verbal objects. If the verb is transitive, it can pick up a noun and produce a
phrase.

In the sentence He wanted to hit the ball, the word ball serves as the verbal
object of the infinitive to hit.

In the sentence The player scoring the most points wins the game, the word
points serves as the object of the present participle scoring.

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verbal phrase
We have three verbal phrases in the English language: (1) infinitive phrases,
(2) present-participial phrases, and (3) past-participial phrases. These are
power structures that all great use rather profusely in their styles. So should
you.

You'll find thorough discussions of verbal phrases in Chapters 2 and 10 in the

Grammar & Writing Guide. For quick definitions, see infinitive phrase,
present-participial phrase, and past-participial phrase.

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vowel
Letters are either vowels or consonants. In grade school, you learned that
vowels are a, e, i, o, and u, and sometimes y. The word consonant refers to
the sound produced by occluding with or without releasing (p, b; t, d; k, g),

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diverting (m, n, ng), or obstructing (f, v; s, z, etc.) the flow of air from the
lungs. When spelling, sometimes you'll double a consonant ending a word
before adding a suffix, as I just did when I doubled the consonant “l” in
spelling.

When you use the indefinite article a and an, you'll use an when the word
modified begins with a vowel sound. Pay no attention to the letter beginning
the word. The sound is what's important. Thus:

• a university

• an umbrella

• a historic event

• an hour

For a discussion of spelling words ending in a consonant, see consonant.

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Pop-Up Definition
Here's a sample Pop-Up Definition. Whenever you see a highlighted
grammatical term, click it for a Pop-Up Definition. After reading the definition,
simply close the window.
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