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English in Use/Print version< English in Use

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Introduction

Words

Overview Nouns and pronouns Verbs Adjectives and adverbs Prepostions, conjunctions, and interjections Verbals

Sentences

Overview Basic components Phrases Clauses Fragments and run-on sentences

UsageAdjective and adverb usage Pronoun usage Subject-verb agreement Verb usage

Punctuation

End marks Commas Apostrophes Quotations Other common punctuation marks Less common typographical marks

Other key topics

Capitalization Spelling Writing and composition Syntax Figures of syntax Recent grammar restructure attempts

Appendices

Glossary External resources About GNU Free Documentation License

Contents(edit template)

General:Introduction

Parts of speech:Articles - Nouns - Verbs - Gerunds and participles - Pronouns - Adjectives - Adverbs - Conjunctions - Prepositions -

Interjections

Other English topics:Orthography - Punctuation - Syntax -

Figures of Syntax - Glossary

Welcome to the English language Wikibook on the English language!

To learn about chapter format and whether this is the right book for you, continue reading this page. Most of this material is not dependant on

other sections, so you can also use this book as a reference by clicking on any subject you would like to learn more about on the contents

page. If you don't want to bother looking through chapters for a specific piece of information, click here to ask a question on any subject

covered in this book. To learn more about this book and view a list of authors, see the About page.

Additionally, those knowledgeable about the English language are welcome and highly encouraged to contribute. See the About page to learnmore about contributing and add your name to the authors listing.

English has become one of the most popular languages in the world. Proper English skills are becoming a valuable asset in business around the

world. Do not put off learning English because of the great variety of word orders available (even for simple things). Have a go and keep trying.

Practice.

It is well worth remembering that English is not a fixed language - it is shifting like sand and so these "rules" are in the process of change and

are often ignored or bent - much to the disdain of erudite scholars. This may be one reason why English can be tricky to learn.

This book will function as:

1. A guide to structure and grammar,

2. A usage guide, and

3. A manual of style

It is divided into six units: Words and usage, Sentences, Punctuation, Other key topics, Appendices, and Topics in detail. The eventual goal is

to be usable in English classrooms around the world. This book will not include English vocabulary and pronunciation (covered in English as an

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Contents

Introduction

Welcome

Introduction to the English language

Purpose and structure - What will this book cover?

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Book Discussion

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Additional Language). Advanced writing topics (covered in Rhetoric and Composition(PDF)) will also be excluded.

This book is written for native English speakers and those who wish to learn the finer grammar and mechanics points of the language and

improve their writing and speech, including ESL speakers. It is meant to be both a structured textbook read chapter by chapter and a reference

book. English as an Additional Language and Business English present English in the manner of a traditional foreign language course. Rhetoric

and Composition(PDF) covers advanced writing techniques not covered in this book. See External resources for other pages to read.

All pages of this book should be about the same length and difficulty, in order to provide consistency and allow readers to plan ahead how much

they want to read each session. Each chapter will try to not be dependent on previous chapter as much as possible. Each chapter should be

accompanied by exercises using {{English/Exercise}}. on the bottom of the page to include the template. Secondly, you areencouraged to comment on each chapter on its talk page. Don't understand something? Please say so so others don't experience the same

problem! If you feel you understand the material on a page pretty well, write some exercises as practice. Be bold!

Modern English has evolved out of old Anglo-Saxon, a language much like modern German. In the

process, it has borrowed many Latin words, and completely changed its grammar.

The story starts when the Romans left Britain, leaving the Celtic Britons in chaos. One Celtic king asked the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes to

come and fight for him, but they decided to take over England instead, since the Celts couldn't put up a decent fight.

Soon, there were no Celts left in England, and hardly any trace of the Celtic languages. There are a few river names inherited from the Celts, or

earlier, and maybe a dozen words, but no more. This complete obliteration of the Celts was unusually thorough for the times.

A few generations later the English converted to Christianity. The new religion brought with it a flood of new words, borrowed from Latin and

Greek; religious terms such as Angel, priest, and nun, but also names of un-English things such lion, pepper, and oyster.

Around this time, the English began slurring the ends of words. This was the start of the process that created modern English grammar.

After a few centuries of peace the Vikings invaded. They spoke Old Norse, a language related to English. After much fighting, they settled down

in North East England, and introduced many Norse words into English, including the pronouns them, they, and their.

Just as the Viking invasions stopped, the French-speaking Normans invaded. Commoners continued speaking English, but for the next two

centuries the noblemen spoke French.

A few French words trickled into English during the period, but the number stayed pretty low until the nobles stopped speaking French, in the

mid thirteenth century. This precipitated a large influx of words of French origin into the English language as an entire class migrated from

French to English. Many of the French words were Anglicized, but some of the spelling of the words remained roughly intact. It should be noted

that the Normans spoke an older version of French known as Old Frenchthat may sometimes actually seem to be closer to English than

current French, because English took some words from Old French wholesale, such as mansion. Around the same time the universities ofOxford and Cambridge were founded.

During the Renaissance, the scholars of England added many more Greek and Latin words to the English language. As a result, much of the

technical vocabulary in English consists of Greek or Latin words.

Since then, English has also borrowed many words from the major European languages, such as French, as well as a few words from almost

every other language. It is still changing and developing.

English in Use/Parts of Speech Overview




Interjections



This page is written in English, and therefore needs to be translated at a later date to other languages for it to become more useful.

A noun, or noun substantive, is a part of speech (a word or phrase) which functions as

the head of a noun phrase. The word "noun" derives from the Latin nomenmeaning"name", and a traditional definition of nouns is that they are only those expressions that

refer to a person, place, thing, event, substance, quality, or idea. They serve as the

subject or object of a verb and as the governed term of a preposition, and can co-occur

with articles and attributive adjectives.

Intended audience - Who is this book for?

Chapter format

Brief language history

Wikipedia has related information

at History of the English

language

A Wikibookian disputes the factual accuracy of this page or section.

You can help make it accurate. Please view the relevant discussion.

Unit I: Words

Parts of Speech Overview

Nouns

Examples

Janet is the name of a girl.

Apple is a fruit and a computer company.

In the above sentence, "computer" is an adjective

because it is describing "company".

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There are different groups of nouns:

Common nouns"chair",

Proper nouns"Fred",

Abstract nouns"love",

Collective nouns"gaggle",

Compound nouns"butterfly",

Verbal nouns"triumphing".

Each of these different groups of nouns has different properties, each making them different in how we use them.

Thus, nouns are names of objects, places, people and things. They are used with adjectives to describe something, and with verbs to show an

action.

Concrete nouns are proper nouns and common nouns.

Proper nouns are the names of people, places, groups or dates: as, Adam, Boston, the Hudson, the Romans, the Azores, the Alps. They

almost always have a capital letter as their first letter. Example:

"Timmyis not someone to be toyed with."No one likes to hear other people boast their talents

Common nouns are the names of a sort, kind, or class, of beings or things: as, beast, bird, fish, insect, creatures, persons, children. They

often refer to objects or things which we can see, touch and feel, like the word chair. Example:

"I sat at the table."

Collective nouns are the names of a groups of objects or many individuals together: as, council, meeting, committee, flock. Example:

"They are a group."

Abstract nouns are the names of some particular qualities considered apart from its substance: as, goodness, hardness, pride, frailty. They are

often names of the things that we cannot touch or see, but are there all the same. Example:

"I think I've fallen in love!"

Verbal nouns or participial nouns are the names of some actions, or states of being; and are formed from a verb, like a participle, but

employed as a noun: as,

"The triumphingof the wicked is short."Job, XX, 5.

A thing sui generis, (i.e., of its own peculiar kind,) is something which is distinguished, not as an individual of a species, but as a sort by itself,

without plurality in either the noun or the sort of thing: as, galvanism, music, geometry.

"The Ancient of days did sit."Bible."Of the ancients."Swift.

"For such impertinents."Steele.

"He is an ignorant in it."Id.

"In the luxuriance of an unbounded picturesque."Jamieson.

"A source of the sublime;"Burke.

"The vast immense of space:"Murray.

"There is none his like."Job, XLI, 33.

"A little more than a little, is by much too much."Shakespeare.

"And gladly make much of that entertainment."Sidney.

"A covetous man makes the most of what he has."L'Estrange.

"It has done enough for me."Pope.

"He had enough to do."Bacon.

"All withers here; who most possess, are losers by their gain, stung by full proof, that bad at best, life's idle all is vain."Young."Nor grudge I you the much the Grecians give, nor murmuring take the little I receive."Dryden.

"A love of seeing the what and how of all about him."Story's Life of Flaxman: Pioneer, Vol. i, p. 133.

Cleanliness is next to Godliness.

The World Wide Web has become the least

expensive way to publish information.

Concrete nouns

Proper nouns

Common nouns

Individual nouns

Collective nouns

Abstract nouns

Attribute

Verbal nouns

Sui generis

Words and word groups used as nouns

Adjectives made nouns

Pronouns made nouns



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"The nameless he, whose nod is Nature's birth."Young, Night iv.

"I was wont to load my she with knacks."Shak. Winter's Tale.

"Or any he, the proudest of your sort."Shak.

"I am the happiest she in Kent."Steele.

"The shes of Italy."Shak.

"The hes in birds."Bacon.

"We should soon have as many hes and shes as the French."Cobbet's E. Gram., Para. 42.

"If, for instance, we call a nation a she, or the sun a he."Ib., Para. 198.

"When I see many its in a page, I always tremble for the writer."Ib., Para. 196.

"Let those two questionary petitioners try to do this with their whos and their whiches."Spect: Ash's Gr., p. 131.

"Such mortal drugs I have; but Mantua's law is death to any he that utters them."Shak.

"Avaunt all attitude, and stare, and start theatric."Cowper.

"A may-be of mercy is sufficient."Bridge.

"Which cuts are reckoned among the fractures."Wiseman.

"The officer erred in granting a permit."

"Feel darts and charms, attracts and flames."Hudibras.

"You may know by the falling off of the come, or sprout."Mortimer.

"And you have talked of sallies and retires."Shak.

"For all that else did come, were sure to fail; yet would he further none, but for avail."Spenser.

"For the producing of real happiness."Crabb.

"For the crying of the poor and the sighing of the needy, I will arise."Bible.

"Surely the churning of milk brings forth butter, and the wringing of the nose brings forth blood; so the forcing of wrath brings forth strife."

Prov., xxx, 33.

"Reading, writing, and ciphering, are indispensable to civilized man."

"Hence was invented the distinction between doing and permitting."Calvin's Inst., p. 131.

"Knowledge of the past comes next."Hermes, p. 113.

"I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me."Sol. Song, vii, 10.

"Here'sa simple coming-in for one man."Shak.

"What are your rents? What are your comings-in? O Ceremony, show me but your worth."Id.

"In these cases we examine the why, the what, and the how of things."L'Estrange.

"If a point or now were extended, each of them would contain within itself infinite other points or nows." Hermes, p. 101.

"The why is plain as way to parish church."Shak.

"It is heaven itself that points out an hereafter."Addison.

"The dread of a hereafter."Fuller.

"The murmur of the deep amen."Sir W. Scott.

"For their whereabouts lies in a mystery."Book of Thoughts, p. 14. Better.

"Bid them farewell, Cordelia, though unkind; you lose here, a better where to find."Shak.

"The if, which is here employed, converts the sentence into a supposition."Blair's Rhet.

"Your if is the only peacemaker; much virtue is in if."Shak.

"So his lordship decreed with a grave solemn tone, decisive and clear, without one if or butthat whenever the nose put his spectacles on,

by daylight or candlelighteyes should be shut."Cowper.

"O, not like me; for mine's beyond beyond."Shakspeare: Cymb., iii, 2.

"I.e., her longing is further than beyond; beyond anything that desire can be said to be beyond."Singer's Notes.

"You whirled them to the back of beyont to look at the auld Roman camp."Antiquary, i. 37.

"Come away from all the lo-heres! and lo-theres!"Sermon.

"Will cuts him short with a 'What then?'"Sermon.

"With hark and whoop, and wild halloo."Scott.

"And made a pish at chance and sufferance."Shak.

"A single look more marks the internal wo, than all the windings of the lengthened oh."Lloyd.

Nouns have modifications of genders, numbers, and cases.

Genders, in grammar, are modifications that distinguish objects in regard to sex.

There are three genders; the masculine, the feminine, and the neuter:

Verbs made nouns

Participles made nouns (gerunds)

Adverbs made nouns

Conjunctions made nouns

Prepositions made nouns

Interjections or phrases made nouns

Countable and uncountable nouns

Inflections of Nouns

Genders



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1. The masculine gender is that which denotes persons or animals of the male kind: as, man, father, king.

2. The feminine gender is that which denotes persons or animals of the female kind: as, woman, mother, queen.

3. The neuter gender is that which denotes things that are neither male nor female: as, pen, ink, paper.

Hence, names of males are masculine; names of females, feminine; and names of things inanimate, literally, neuter.

Masculine nouns make regular feminines, when their termination is changed to ess: as,

Hunter, huntress; prince, princess; lion, lioness.

In some instances the syllable essis simply added: as,

Accuser, accuseress; advocate, advocatess; archer, archeress; author, authoress; avenger, avengeress; barber, barberess; baron,

baroness; canon, canoness; cit, cittess; coheir, coheiress; count, countess; deacon, deaconess; demon, demoness; diviner, divineress;

doctor, doctoress; giant, giantess; god, goddess; guardian, guardianess; Hebrew, Hebrewess; heir, heiress; herd, herdess; hermit,

hermitess; host, hostess; Jesuit, Jesuitess; Jew, Jewess; mayor, mayoress; Moabite, Moabitess; monarch, monarchess; pape, papess;

or, pope, popess; patron, patroness; peer, peeress; poet, poetess; priest, priestess; prior, prioress; prophet, prophetess; regent, regentess;saint, saintess; shepherd, shepherdess; soldier, soldieress; tailor, tailoress; viscount, viscountess; warrior, warrioress.

In other instances, the termination is changed, and there is no increase of syllables: as,

Abbot, abbess; actor, actress; adulator, adulatress; adulterer, adulteress; adventurer, adventuress; advoutrer, advoutress; ambassador,

ambassadress; anchorite, anchoress; or, anachoret, anachoress; arbiter, arbitress; auditor, auditress; benefactor, benefactress; caterer,

cateress; chanter, chantress; cloisterer, cloisteress; commander, commandress; conductor, conductress; creator, creatress; demander,

demandress; detractor, detractress; eagle, eagless; editor, editress; elector, electress; emperor, emperess, or empress; emulator,

emulatress; enchanter, enchantress; exactor, exactress; fautor, fautress; fornicator, fornicatress; fosterer, fosteress, or fostress; founder,

foundress; governor, governess; huckster, huckstress; or, hucksterer, hucksteress; idolater, idolatress; inhabiter, inhabitress; instructor,

instructress; inventor, inventress; launderer, launderess, or laundress; minister, ministress; monitor, monitress; murderer, murderess;

negro, negress; offender, offendress; ogre, ogress; porter, portress; progenitor, progenitress; protector, protectress; proprietor, proprietress;

pythonist, pythoness; seamster, seamstress; solicitor, solicitress; songster, songstress; sorcerer, sorceress; suitor, suitress; tiger, tigress;

traitor, traitress; victor, victress; votary, votaress.

In a few instances the feminine is formed as in Latin, by changing orto rix; but some of these have also the regular form, which ought to bepreferred: as,

Adjutor, adjutrix; administrator, administratrix; arbitrator, arbitratrix; coadjutor, coadjutrix; competitor, competitress, or competitrix; creditor,

creditrix; director, directress, or directrix; executor, executress, or executrix; inheritor, inheritress, or inheritrix; mediator, mediatress, or

mediatrix; orator, oratress, or oratrix; rector, rectress, or rectrix; spectator, spectatress, or spectatrix; testator, testatrix; tutor, tutoress, or

tutress, or tutrix; deserter, desertress, or desertrice, or desertrix.

The following are irregular words, in which the distinction of sex is chiefly made by the termination:

Amoroso, amorosa: archduke, archduchess; chamberlain, chambermaid; duke, duchess; gaffer, gammer; goodman, goody, or goodwife;

hero, heroine; landgrave, landgravine; margrave, margravine; marquis, marchioness; palsgrave, palsgravine; sakeret, sakerhawk; sewer,

sewster; sultan, sultana; tzar, tzarina; tyrant, tyranness; widower, widow.

Numbers, in grammar, are modifications that distinguish unity and plurality.

There are two numbers; the singular and the plural.

The singular number is that which denotes but one: as,

"The boy learns."

The plural number is that which denotes more than one: as,

"The boys learn."

Plurals in meaning and form:

Analects, annals, archives, ashes, assets, billiards, bowels, breeches, calends, cates, chops, clothes, compasses, crants, eaves,

embers, estovers, forceps, giblets, goggles, greaves, hards or hurds, hemorrhoids, ides, matins, nippers, nones, obsequies, orgies, piles,

pincers or pinchers, pliers, reins, scissors, shears, skittles, snuffers, spectacles, teens, tongs, trowsers, tweezers, umbles, vespers,

victuals.

Plurals by formation, derived chiefly from adjectives:

Acoustics, aeronautics, analytics, bitters, catoptrics, commons, conics, credentials, delicates, dioptrics, economics, ethics,

extraordinaries, filings, fives, freshes, glanders, gnomonics, goods, hermeneutics, hustings, hydrodynamics, hydrostatics, hydraulics,

hysterics, inwards, leavings, magnetics, mathematics, measles, mechanics, mnemonics, merils, metaphysics, middlings, movables,

mumps, nuptials, optics, phonics, phonetics, physics, pneumatics, poetics, politics, riches, rickets, settlings, shatters, skimmings,

spherics, staggers, statics, statistics, stays, strangles, sundries, sweepings, tactics, thanks, tidings, trappings, vives, vitals, wages,

withers, yellows.

Plurals by composition:

Backstairs, cocklestairs, firearms, headquarters, hotcockles, spatterdashes, self-affairs. To these may be added the Latin words,

aborigines, antipodes, antes, antoeci, amphiscii, anthropophagi, antiscii, ascii, literati, fauces, regalia, and credenda, with the Italian

vermicelli, and the French belles-lettres and entremets.

The plural form is usually represented orthographically by adding sto the singular form. The phonetic form of the plural morpheme is [z] by

default. When the preceding sound is a voiceless consonant, it is pronounced [s] . Examples: boymakes boys; girl, girls; chair, chairs; cat,

cats.

Where a noun ends in a sibilant sound, the plural is formed by adding es(pronounced [?z]), which is spelled esif the word does not already end

with e: glassmakes glasses; dish, dishes; witch, witches; phase, phases; judge, judges.

Numbers

Regular plurals

Most nouns ending in opreceded by a consonant also form their plurals by adding es(pronounced [z]): heromakes heroes; potato, potatoes;



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volcano, volcanoes.

Nouns ending in a ypreceded by a consonant drop the yand add ies(pronounced [iz]): cherrymakes cherries; lady, ladies.

Proper nouns (particularly those for people or places) ending in a ypreceded by a consonant form their plurals regularly: Harrymakes Harrys;

Germany, Germanys.

This does not apply to words that are merely capitalised common nouns: as, P&O Ferries.

A few common nouns ending in a ypreceded by a consonant form their plurals regularly: henrymakes henrys; zloty, zlotys.

Words ending in eyform their plurals regularly, in order to avoid the unpleasant-appearing vowel sequence eie: monkey, monkeys.

Almost-regular plurals

Many nouns of Italian or Spanish origin are exceptions to the oes rule: cantomakes cantos; piano, pianos; portico, porticos; quarto, quartos;

solo, solos.

Many nouns ending in a voiceless fricative mutate that sound to a voiced fricative before adding the plural ending. In the case of [f ] changing to

[v] the mutation is indicated in the orthography as well: calfmakes calves; bath, baths; mouth, mouths; house, houses.

Some retain the voiceless consonant: proofmakes proofs; moth, moths; place, places; dwarf, dwarfs or dwarves; hoof, hoofs or hooves; staff,

staffs or staves; turf, turfs or turves; roof, roofs or rooves.

There are many other less regular ways of forming plurals. While they may seem quirky, they usually stem from older forms of English or from

foreign borrowings.

The plural of a few Germanic nouns can also be formed from the singular by adding nor en, stemming from the obsolete weak declension: ox

makes oxen; child, children.

The plural is sometimes formed by simply changing the vowel sound of the singular, in a process called umlaut (these are sometimes called

mutated plurals): footmakes feet; goose, geese; louse, lice; man, men; mouce, mice; tooth, teeth; woman, women.

Irregular plurals

Irregular Germanic plurals

Some nouns have singular and plural alike, although they are sometimes seen as regular plurals: as, aircraft, sheep, deer, fish, cod, trout, head,

cannon.

Generally, plurals refer to several species or kinds of animal, while the unmarked plural is used to describe multiple individual animals; one

would say the classification of fishes, but five fish in an aquarium.

Such nouns often retain their original plurals. In some cases both forms are still vying: for a librarian, the plural of appendix is appendices; for

physicians, the plural of appendix is appendixes. A radio engineer works with antennasand an entomologist deals with antennae. The "correct"

form is the one that sounds better in context. Correctly formed Latin plurals are the most acceptable, in academic and scientific contexts. In

common usage, plurals with sare sometimes preferred.

Final abecomes ae(also) or just adds s:

Formulamakes formulae, lamina, laminae; macula, maculae; minutia, minutiae; nebula, nebulae; siliqua, siliqiuae; dogma, dogmasordogmata; exanthema, exanthemasor exanthemata; miasmor miasma, miasmsor miasmata; stigma, stigmasor stigmata.

Salivaand scoriahave no occasion for the plural.

Final exor ixbecomes ices(pronounced [??si?z] or [??siz]) or just adds es. Of nouns in x, there are few, if any, which ought not to form the

plural regularly, when used as English words; though the Latins changed xto ces, and exto ices, making the isometimes long and

sometimes short: as,

Apex, apices, for apexes; appendix, appendices, for appendixes; calix, calices, for calixes; calx, calces, for calxes; calyx, calyces, for

calyxes; caudex, caudices, for caudexes; cicatrix, cicatrices, for cicatrixes; helix, helices, for helixes; index, indices, for indexes; matrix,

matrices, for matrixes; quincunx, quincunces, for quincunxes; radix, radices, for radixes; varix, varices, for varixes; vertex, vertices, for

vertexes; vortex, vortices, for vortexes.

Some Greek words in xchange that letter to ges: as, larynx, larynges, for larinxes; phalanx, phalanges, for phalanxes. Billet-doux, from the

French, is billets-doux in the plural.

Final isbecomes es(pronounced [?i?z]. Of nouns in is, some are regular: as, trellis, trellises: so, annolis, butteris, caddis, dervis, iris,marquis, metropolis, portcullis, proboscis.

Some seem to have no need of the plural: as, ambergris, aqua-fortis, arthritis, brewis, crasis, elephantiasis, genesis, orris, siriasis, tennis.

But most nouns of this ending follow the Greek or Latin form, which simply changes isto es: as, amanuensis, amanuenses; analysis,

analyses; antithesis, antitheses; axis, axes; basis, bases; crisis, crises; diaeresis, diaereses; diesis, dieses; ellipsis, ellipses; emphasis,

emphases; fascis, fasces; hypothesis, hypotheses; metamorphosis, metamorphoses; oasis, oases; parenthesis, parentheses; phasis,

phases; praxis, praxes; synopsis, synopses; synthesis, syntheses; syrtis, syrtes; thesis, theses.

In some, however, the original plural is not so formed; but is made by changing isto ides: as, aphis, aphides; apsis, apsides; ascaris,

ascarides; bolis, bolides; cantharis, cantharides; chrysalis, chrysalides; ephemeris, ephemerides; epidermis, epidermides.

So irisand proboscis, which we make regular; and perhaps some of the foregoing may be made so too.

Final iesremains unchanged: as, series, species.

Final onbecomes a. Of nouns in on, derived from Greek, the greater part always form the plural regularly: as, etymons, gnomons,

ichneumons, myrmidons, phlegmons, trigons, tetragons, pentagons, hexagons, heptagons, octagons, enneagons, decagons, hendecagons,

dodecagons, polygons.

So trihedrons, tetrahedrons, pentahedrons, etc., though some say, these last may end in dra.

For a few words of this class, however, there are double plurals in use; as, automataor atomatons, criteriaor criterions, parheliaor

parhelions; and the plural of phenomenon' appears to be alwaysphenomena.

Irregular plurals of foreign origin



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The plural of legumenis legumensor legumina; of stamen, stamensor stamina: of cherub, cherubsor cherubim; of seraph, seraphsor

seraphim; of beau, beausor beaux; of bandit, banditsor banditti.

Final umbecomes aor just adds s: as, addendummakes addenda, mediummakes mediaor mediums. Of nouns in um, some have no need

of the plural: as,

Bdellium, decorum, elysium, equilibrium, guaiacum, laudanum, odium, opium, petroleum, serum, viaticum. Some form it regularly; as,

asylums, compendiums, craniums, emporiums, encomiums, forums, frustums, lustrums, mausoleums, museums, pendulums, nostrums,

rostrums, residuums, vacuums. Others take either the English or the Latin plural; as, desideratums or desiderata, mediums or media,

menstruums or menstrua, memorandums or memoranda, spectrums or spectra, speculums or specula, stratums or strata, succedaneums

or succedanea, trapeziums or trapezia, vinculums or vincula. A few seem to have the Latin plural only: as, arcanum, arcana; datum, data;

effluvium, effluvia; erratum, errata; scholium, scholia.

Final usbecomes i(second declension), era, ora(third declension), or just adds es(especially in fourth declension, where it would otherwise

be the same as the singular): as, alumnusmakes alumni, viscus viscera, corpus corpora, prospectus prospectuses.

But such as have properly become English words, may form the plural regularly in es; as, chorus, choruses: so, apparatus, bolus, callus,

circus, fetus, focus, fucus, fungus, hiatus, ignoramus, impetus, incubus, isthmus, nautilus, nucleus, prospectus, rebus, sinus, surplus.

Radiusmakes radiior radiuses. Geniushas genii, for imaginary spirits, and geniuses, for men of wit. Genus, a sort, becomes generain

Latin, and genusesin English. Denariusmakes denariior denariuses.

Of nouns in us, a few have no plural: as, asparagus, calamus, mucus.

Some have only the Latin plural, which usually changes usto i: as, alumnus, alumni; androgynus, androgyni; calculus, calculi; dracunculus,

dracunculi; echinus, echini; magus, magi.

Final usin nouns of Greek origin "properly" add es. These words are also heard with the Latin iinstead, which is sometimes considered

"over-correct", but this is so common as to be acceptable in most circumstances, even technical ones: cactusmakes cactusesor cacti;

hippopotamus, hippopotamuses or hippopotami, octopus, octopuses, octopi, or octopodes; platypus, platypuses, rhinoceros, rhinoceroses

or rhinoceri, uterus, uteruses or uteri.

Final asin one case of a noun of Greek origin changes to antes: Atlasmakes Atlantes; atles, atlases.

Final main nouns of Greek origin add ta: stigmamakes stigmata; stoma, stomata; zeugma, zeugmata.

Though some take smore commonly: schemamakes schemataor schemas; dogma, dogmataor dogmas; lemma, lemmataor lemmas.

Some nouns of French origin add x: beaumakes beaux; chateau, chateaux; bureau, bureaus or bureaux.

Nouns from Slavic languages: kniazhestvomakes kniazhestvosor kniazhestva; kobzar, kobzarsor kobzari, oblast, oblastsor oblasti.

Nouns of Hebrew language origin add im, ot(generally m/f), or just s: cherubmakes cherubimor cherubs; seraph, seraphim or seraphs;

matzoh, matzot or matzos.

The Hebrew plurals cherubimand seraphim, being sometimes mistaken for singulars, other plurals have been formed from them.

Some nouns of Japanese origin have no plural and do not change: as, samurai, otaku.

However, other nouns such as kimonos, futonsand tsunamisare more often seen with a regular English plural.

In New Zealand English, nouns of Maori origin can either take an sor have no separate plural form: as, wakamakes waka; marae, marae;

kohwai, kohwai or kohwais; tui, tuis or tui, kiwi, kiwi or kiwis.

Nouns from languages that have donated few words to English, and that are spoken by relatively few English-speakers, generally form pluralsas if they were native English words: canoemakes canoes; kayak, kayaks; igloo, igloos; kangoroo, kangoroos; sauna, saunas; cwm, cwms;

pizza, pizzas; kindergarten, kindergartens.

In Canada and Alaska, some words borrowed from Inuktitut retain traditional plurals: Inukmakes Inuit; inukshuk, inukshuit.

Some words of foreign origin are much better known in the plural. In common usage, the proper plural is considered the singular form. Back-

formation has usually resulted in a regularized plural: candelabramakes candelabras; data, data; agenda, agendas or agendae; graffiti,

graffiti; insignia, insignias; algae, algae or algaes; opera, operas; viscera, viscera; panini, paninis; phalanx, phalanges; magazine,

magazines.

Cases, in grammar, are modifications that distinguish the relations of nouns or pronouns to other words.

There are three cases; the nominative, the possessive, and the objective.

The nominative case is that form or state of a noun or pronoun, which usually denotes the subject of a finite verb: as,

"The boy runs;"

"I run."

The subject of a finite verb is that which answers to who or what before it: as,

"The boy runs."

Who runs? "The boy."

Boy is therefore here a noun in the nominative case, or nominative.

For example:

I eat an orange

I buy a chocolate

I love my family

I love yellow

The possessive case is that form or state of a noun or pronoun, which usually denotes the relation of property: as,

"My hat;"

Cases

The nominative case

The possessive case



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"The boy's hat."

Boy is here a noun in the possessive case, or possessive.

The possessive case of nouns is formed, in the singular number, by adding to the nominative spreceded by an apostrophe; and, in the plural,

when the nominative ends in s, by adding an apostrophe only: as, singular, boy's; plural, boys'; sounded alike, but written differently.

The objective case is that form or state of a noun or pronoun which usually tells the object of a verb, participle, or preposition: as,

"I know the boy, having seen him at school; and he knows me."

The object of a verb, participle, or preposition, is that which answers to whom or what after it: as,

"I know the boy."

I know whom? "The boy."

Boy is therefore here a noun in the objective case, or objective.

The nominative and the objective of nouns, are always alike in form, being distinguishable from each other only by their place in a sentence, or

by their simple dependence according to the sense.

For example:

I am playing with my football.

I take her bag.

Anoud's room is dirty.

The declension of a noun is a regular arrangement of its numbers and cases. Thus:

Sing. Nom. friend, Plur. Nom. friends,Poss. friend's, Poss. friends',Obj. friend; Obj. friends.

Sing. Nom. man, Plur. Nom. men,Poss. man's, Poss. men's,Obj. man; Obj. men.

Sing. Nom. fox, Plur. Nom. foxes,Poss. fox's, Poss. foxes',

Obj. fox; Obj. foxes.Sing. Nom. fly, Plur. Nom. flies,

Poss. fly's, Poss. flies',

Obj. fly; Obj. flies.

The subject must be in the nominative case, as "You say it."

The subject is placed before the attribute, as "Peace dawned on his mind," except the following cases: a question, as "How many loaves have

you?" imperative mood, as "Go you," strong feeling, as "May she be happy!" a supposition, as "Were it true," neitheror nor, as "Neither shall

you touch it," emphasis, as "Here am I," no regimen, as "Echo the mountains round," dialogue, as "My name is Hassan," and the adverb there,

as "There lived a man."

A noun in apposition is put in the same case as the noun it explains, as "But he, our gracious master, knows us."

A possessive is governed by the name of the thing possessed, as "Man's life."

A possessive comes immediately before the governing noun, as "Nature's peace," except the following cases: an intervening adjective, as"Flora's earliest smells," affirmation or denial, as "The book is not John's," a possessive without sign, as "Brother Absalom's house," or "David

and Jonathan's friendship."

The predicate is governed by attribute in objective case, as "I found her."

A noun or a pronoun put after a non-transitive verb or participle, agrees in case with a preceding noun or pronoun referring to the same thing, as

"The child was named John."

The case of absolute noun or pronoun depends on no other word, as "Your fathers, where are they?"

A part of the text in this article, was taken from the public domain English grammar "The Grammar of English Grammars" by Goold Brown,

1851.

An English Grammar by W. M. Baskervill and J. W. Sewell, 1895.

The Wikipedia article on Collective noun.The Wikipedia article on Count noun.

The Wikipedia article on English plural.

The Wikipedia article on Mass noun.

The Wikipedia article on Noun.

The objective case

The declension of nouns

The noun as a modifier

A short syntax

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nounhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_nounhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_pluralhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_nounhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_nounhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Witt_Sewellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Malone_Baskervillhttp://www.gutenberg.org/files/14006/14006-h/14006-h.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goold_Brownhttp://www.gutenberg.net/etext/11615


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Interjections



A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun: as,

"The boy loves his book; he has long lessons, and he learns them well."

Pronouns are not a requirement of a sentence, and it is possible for them to never to be used in sentences. However, many sentences becomeunwieldy without them:

"Alistair is doing what Alistair thinks is best according to Alistair's rights as a human being."

Better, "Alistair is doing what he thinks is best according to his rights as a human being."

The pronouns in English language are twenty-four; and their variations are thirty-two: so that the number of words of this class, is fifty-six.

Pronouns are divided into three classes; personal, relative, and interrogative.

Pronouns also change depending on whether they refer to one person or thing (singular) or a group of people or things (plural).

A personal pronoun or personal is a pronoun that shows, by its form, of what person it is: as,

"Whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so you believed."1 Cor., xv, 11.

The simple personal pronouns are five: namely, I, of the first person; you, of the second person; he, she, and it, of the third person.

The compound personal pronouns are also five: namely, myself, of the first person; yourself, of the second person; himself, herself, and itself, of

the third person.

First person pronouns are used when referring to oneself:

"Ithink Iam not silly."

Second person pronouns are used to refer to someone who you are conversing with, the person the sentence is intended to be heard by:

"Youare not very silly."

Third person pronouns are used when referring to something else that is outside the conversation, either some other person, or an object not

capable of understanding or communicating:

"I don't like the tree because itis ugly."

"I don't like the RIAA because theysued me."

Third person singular pronouns are the only pronouns marked for gender. If gender is unknown, use he or sheor use a plural.

A relative pronoun or relative is a pronoun that represents an antecedent word or phrase, and connects different clauses of a sentence: as,

"No people can be great, who have ceased to be virtuous."Dr. Johnson.

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

Relative pronouns

The relative pronouns are who, which, what, that, as, and the compounds whoever or whosoever, whichever or whichsoever, whatever or

whatsoever.

Whatis a kind of double relative, equivalent to "that which" or "those which"; and is to be parsed first as antecedent, and then as relative: as,

"This is what I wanted; that is to say, the thing which I wanted."L. Murray. III.

An interrogative pronoun or interrogative is a pronoun with which a question is asked: as,

"Who touched my clothes?"Mark, v, 30.

The interrogative pronouns are who, which, and what; being the same in form as relatives.

Whodemands a person's name; which, that a person or thing be distinguished from others; what, the name of a thing, or a person's occupation

and character.

Pronouns have the same modifications as nouns; namely, persons, numbers, genders, and cases. Definitions universally applicable have

already been given of all these things; it is therefore unnecessary to define them again in this place.

The declension of a pronoun is a regular arrangement of its numbers and cases.

The simple personal pronouns are thus declined:

I, of the first person, any of the genders.Sing. Nom. I, Plur. Nom. we,

Poss. my, or mine, Poss. our, or ours,

Interrogative pronouns

Simple personals

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/English_in_Use/Glossaryhttp://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/English_in_Use/Figures_of_Syntaxhttp://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/English_in_Use/Syntaxhttp://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/English_in_Use/Punctuationhttp://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/English_in_Use/Orthographyhttp://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/English_in_Use/Prepostions,_conjunctions,_and_interjectionshttp://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/English_in_Use/Prepostions,_conjunctions,_and_interjectionshttp://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/English_in_Use/Prepostions,_conjunctions,_and_interjectionshttp://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/English_in_Use/Adverbshttp://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/English_in_Use/Adjectiveshttp://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/English_in_Use/Pronounshttp://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/English_in_Use/Verbalshttp://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/English_in_Use/Verbshttp://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/English_in_Use/Nounshttp://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/English_in_Use/Articleshttp://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/English_in_Use/Introductionhttp://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Template:English_in_Usehttp://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/English_in_Use


10/24

Obj. me; Obj. us.Plur. Nom. you,

Poss. your, or yours,Obj. you.

He, of the third person, masculine gender.Sing. Nom. he, Plur. Nom. they,

Poss. his, Poss. their, or theirs,Obj. him; Obj. them.

She, of the third person, feminine gender.

Sing. Nom. she, Plur. Nom. they,

Poss. her, or hers, Poss. their, or theirs,Obj. her; Obj. them.

It, of the third person, neuter gender.Sing. Nom, it, Plur. Nom. they,

Poss. its, Poss. their, or theirs,Obj. it; Obj. them.

The word self, added to the simple personal pronouns, forms the class of compound personal pronouns; which are used when an action reverts

upon the agent, and also when some persons are to be distinguished from others. They all want the possessive case, and are alike in the

nominative and objective. Thus:

Myself, of the first person, any of the gendersSing. Nom. myself, Plur. Nom. ourselves

Poss. ------, Poss. ---------,Obj. myself; Obj. ourselves.

Yourself, of the second person, any of the genders.Sing. Nom. yourself,

Poss. --------,Obj. yourself.

Plur. Nom. yourselves,Poss. ----------,Obj. yourselves.

Himself, of the third person, masculine gender.Sing. Nom. himself, Plur. Nom. themselves,

Poss. -------, Poss. ----------,Obj. himself; Obj. themselves.

Herself, of the third person, feminine gender.Sing. Nom. herself Plur. Nom. themselves,

Poss. -------, Poss. ----------,Obj. herself; Obj. themselves.

Itself, of the third person, neuter gender.Sing. Nom. itself, Plur. Nom. themselves,

Poss. ------, Poss. ----------,Obj. itself; Obj. themselves.

The relative and the interrogative pronouns are thus declined:

Who, literally applied to persons only.Sing. Nom. who, Plur. Nom. who,

Poss. whose, Poss. whose,Obj. whom; Obj. whom.

Which, applied to animals and things.

Compound personals

Relatives and interrogatives



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Sing. Nom. which, Plur. Nom. which,Poss. ----, Poss. -----,Obj. which; Obj. which.

What, applied ordinarily to things only.Sing. Nom. what, Plur. Nom. what,

Poss. ----, Poss. ----,Obj. what; Obj. what.

That, applied to persons, animals, and things.Sing. Nom. that, Plur. Nom. that,

Poss. ----, Poss. ----,Obj. that; Obj. that.

As, applied to persons, animals, and things.Sing. Nom. as, Plur. Nom. as,

Poss. ----, Poss. ----,Obj. as; Obj. as.

The compound relative pronouns, whoever or whosoever, whichever or whichsoever, and whatever or whatsoeverare declined in the same manner

as the simples. Thus:

Whoever or whosoever, applied only to persons.Sing. Nom. whoever, Plur. Nom. whoever,

Poss. whosever, Poss. whosever,Obj. whomever; Obj. whomever.

Sing. Nom. whosoever, Plur. Nom. whosoever,Poss. whosesoever, Poss. whosesoever,Obj. whomsoever; Obj. whomsoever.

Whichever or whichsoever, applied to persons,animals, and things.Sing. Nom. whichever, Plur. Nom. whichever,

Poss. ---------, Poss. --------,Obj. whichever; Obj. whichever.

Sing. Nom. whichsoever, Plur. Nom. whichsoever,Poss. ---------, Poss. --------,Obj. whichsoever; Obj. whichsoever.

Whatever or whatsoever, applied ordinarily to things only.Sing. Nom. whatever, Plur. Nom. whatever,

Poss. --------, Poss. --------,Obj. whatever; Obj. whatever.

Sing. Nom. whatsoever, Plur. Nom. whatsoever,Poss. ---------, Poss. --------,Obj. whatsoever; Obj. whatsoever.

Although helpful to eliminate repetitiveness of nouns, pronouns, when used too much, can make a sentence extremely vague: as,

"Pictures on walls make itlook pretty."

The reader does not know what itis.

"The teachers prepared the food. The students ate it. Theyhad fun."

The reader does not know who theyare.

The pronoun y'allis a contraction of "You all". It is traditionally used in the south of the United States, where in the north you all is more

common. Y'allfollows the same conjugation rules as they. Very often it is incorrectly spelled ya'll.

A pronoun must agree with its antecedent, as "This is the book; it is excellent," except the following cases: something indefinite, as "Tell me

who it was," a neuter pronoun, as "I cannot view it," the pronoun it, as "It is not for kings," the adjective many, as "Many a great genius, they

Compound relatives

Unclear Usage of Pronouns

Y'all

A short syntax



12/24

have no friends," enallage, as "We shall close our remarks," another sense, as "Lamps is of the plural number," nominatives, as "Who are

you?", absolute nominatives, as "It need not be any wonder," possessives, as "Him whose yoke is easy," objectives, as "Those whom she

persuaded," neuter verbs, as "Whom did you suppose me to be?", familiar language, as "The man [whom] I trust," omission of the relative, as

"The worst thing [that] could happen," a collective noun, as "The council were divided," the conjunction or, as "James or John will favour us with

his company," the conjunction and, as "Saul and Jonathan were pleasant in their lives," one person or thing, as "This great philosopher and

statesman," empathy, as "The good man, and the sinner too, shall have his reward," and each, every, or no, as "Every plant and every tree

produces others after its kind."

A part of the text in this article, was taken from the public domain English grammar "The Grammar of English Grammars" by Goold Brown,

1851.

The Wikipedia article on Ain't

The Wikipedia article on Generic you

The Wikipedia article on Personal pronouns

The Wikipedia article on Possessive pronouns

The Wikipedia article on Relative pronouns

The Wikipedia article on Singular they

The Wikipedia article on Y'all

The Wikipedia article on You

The Wikipedia article on Who

Contents(edit template)General:Introduction


Interjections



Verbs are often called action words that show what the subject (a noun or pronoun) is doing. A verb is a word that signifies to be, to act, or to be

acted on: as, I am, I rule, I am ruled, I love, you love, he loves. Verbs are so called, from the Latin verbum, a word; because the verb is that

word which most essentially contains what is said in any clause or sentence. Although described as "action words", they can describe abstract

concepts. They are a requirement of any sentence. Verbs have modifications of four kinds: moods, tenses, persons and numbers.

An English verb has four morphological forms (forms of word formation) ever needful to be ascertained in the first place: the present, the past, the

present participle, and the past participle. The third person singular is the fifth morphological form.

The present is that form of the verb, which is the root of all the rest; the verb itself; or that simple term which we should look for in a dictionary:

as, be, act, rule, love, defend, terminate.

The past is that simple form of the verb, which denotes time past; and which is always connected with some noun or pronoun, denoting the

subject of the assertion: as, I was, I acted, I ruled, I loved, I defended.

The present participle is that form of the verb, which ends commonly in ing, and implies a continuance of the being, action, or passion: as,

being, acting, ruling, loving, defending, terminating.

The past participle is that form of the verb, which ends commonly in dor ed, and implies what has taken place: as, been, acted, ruled, loved.

English, like many Germanic languages, contains both strong (or irregular, which is not quitethe same as strong) and weak (regular) verbs.

Irregular verbs are one of the most difficult aspects of learning English. Each irregular verb must be memorized, because they are not often easy

to identify otherwise.

Verbs are divided, with respect to their regularity, into four classes: regular and irregular, redundant and defective.

A regular verb is a verb that forms the past and the past participle by assuming dor ed: as, love, loved, loving, loved.

An irregular verb is a verb that does not form the past and the past participle by assuming dor ed: as, see, saw, seeing, seen.

Reference

See also

Verbs

Morphological forms

Regularity

A redundant verb is a verb that forms the past or the past participle in two or more ways, and so as to be both regular and irregular: as, thrive,

thrived or throve, thriving, thrived or thriven.

A defective verb is a verb that forms no participles, and is used in but few of the moods and tenses: as, beware, ought, quoth.

The person and number of a verb are those modifications in which it agrees with its subject. There are three persons and two numbers: thus,

1. Singular first person. I love.

2. Singular third person. He loves.

3. Plural first person. We love.

Persons and numbers

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4. Plural second person. You love.

5. Plural third person. They love.

Where the verb is varied, the third person singular in the present tense, is regularly formed by adding sor es: as, I see, he sees; I give, he

gives; I go, he goes; I fly, he flies; I vex, he vexes; I lose, he loses.

Where the verb is not varied to denote its person and number, these properties are inferred from its subject: as, if I love, if he love; if we love, if

you love, if they love.

Tenses are those modifications of the verb, which distinguish time. There are six tenses; the present, the past, the perfect, the past perfect, the

first-future, and the second-future. One could even say there are twelve tenses because each of those comes in simple and in progressive forms,

which have different meaning.

The past tense is sometimes called imperfect, but the names perfect and imperfect do not fit their meaning. These names were derived fromLatin where they were correct.

The present tense simple is that which expresses what now exists, is normal or correlated to senses. It is used with adverbs like always,

generally.

"There is a house in New Orleans."

"I read a book every week."

"I hear a noise."

The present tense continuous is that which expresses what is temporary:

"I am reading a letter."

"The car is running at high speed."

"Someone is always working."

The past tense simple is that which expresses what took place in time fully past. It is used with adverbs like yesterday, last week.

"Last week, I read several of Shaw's novels."

The past tense continuous is that which expresses what was taking place when (suddenly) something else occurred.

"I saw him yesterday, and hailed him as he was passing."

"I was giving a presentation when the microphone broke."

The present perfect tense simple is that which expresses what has taken place, within some period of time not yet fully past, or is still valid. It

is used with adverbs like ever, never, today, this week.

"I have read several of Shaw's novels."

"I have seen him today; something must have detained him."

"Have you ever tried fugu fish?"

The present perfect tense continuous is that which which started in the past and has not yet finished.

"Since I have been standing here, five planes took off."

The past perfect tense simple is that which expresses what had taken place, at some past time mentioned, before something other happened."I had seen him, when I met you."

"As soon as my car had been repaired, I could continue my trip."

The past perfect tense continuous is that which expresses what had started before and was still going on, when something else occurred.

"I had been listening to the radio when she dropped in."

The first-future tense simple is that which expresses what will take place hereafter.

"I shall see him again, and I will inform him."

The first-future tense continuous is that which expresses what will be currently taking place at a certain time in future.

"I will be swimming in the sea by the time you'll awake."

The second-future tense simple is that which expresses what will have taken place at some future time mentioned.

"I shall have seen him by tomorrow noon."

The second-future tense continuous is that which expresses what will have started at some time and will still be ongoing, at some future timementioned.

"I will have been swimming in the sea for four hours by the time you'll awake tomorrow."

An active verb is a verb in an active sentence, in which the subject performs the verb: as,

"I hitthe dog."

An active verb can be transitive or intransitive, but not passive or neuter.

Verbs are divided again, with respect to their signification, into four classes: transitive, intransitive, passive, and neuter.

A transitive verb is a verb that expresses an action which has some person or thing for its object: as,

"Cain slew Abel."

"Cassius loved Brutus."

An intransitive verb is a verb that expresses an action which has no person or thing for its object: as,

"John walks."

"Jesus wept."

A passive verb is a verb in a passive sentence (passive voice) that represents its subject, or what the nominative expresses, as being acted on:

Tenses

Signification

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as,

"I am compelled."

"Caesar was slain."

In a passive sentence, the action is performed on the subject.

"I hitthe dog,"

"The dog was hitby me."

These sentences have the same denotative meaning, but their connotative meaning is quite different; active verbs are much more powerful and

personal.

A neuter verb or impersonal passive verb is a verb that expresses neither action nor passion, but simply being, or a state of being: as,

"There was light."

"The babe sleeps."

Voice of speech can be active or passive. Principally in passive voice the same tenses can be used as in active voice. There are two forms of

passive voice (the second form is preferred):

"He gave me the book." =>

"The book was given to me,"

"I was given the book."

There are however some things to note.

"They build a house."

"The house is built."

Here active and passive do not really have the same meaning. If for example you describe a picture where people build a house, the first

sentence is perfectly correct. The second sentence however will be interpreted as the static perfect of the sentence

"The house has been builtit is built now."

This is, the house is now ready and not under construction. So the correct passive form is

"The house is being built."

Passive voice can be built quite formally by adhering to some rules. You will however not find normally all tenses as in active voice. Formal rules

will lead you to monstrosities like the following, you will certainly never hear (already the active sentence is quite monstrous):

"The speech will have been being held for four hours when finally you'll arrive."

"The president will have been holding a speech for four hours when finally you'll arrive."

Moods are different forms of the verb, each of which expresses the being, action, or passion, in some particular manner.

There are five moods; the infinitive, the indicative, the potential, the subjunctive, and the imperative.

The infinitive mood is that form of the verb, which expresses the being, action, or passion, in an unlimited manner, and without person or

number: as,

"To die,to sleep;to sleep!perchance, to dream!"from Hamlet by William Shakespeare.

The indicative mood is that form of the verb, which simply indicates or declares a thing: as,

"I write,"

"You know."

or asks a question: as,

"Do you know?"

"Know you not?"

The potential mood is that form of the verb which expresses the power, liberty, possibility, or necessity, of the being, action, or passion: as,

"I can walk."

"He may ride.""We must go."

The subjunctive mood is that form of the verb, which represents the being, action, or passion, as conditional, doubtful, and contingent: as,

"If you go, see that you offend not."

"See you do it not."Rev., xix, 10.

"God save the queen."

"It is a requirement that ... be done."

"It's high time you were in bed."

"If I were you,..."

The imperative mood is that form of the verb which is used in commanding, exhorting, entreating, or permitting: as,

"Depart you."

"Be comforted."

"Forgive me."

"Go in peace."

The conjugation of a verb is a regular arrangement of its moods, tenses, persons, numbers, and participles.

Voice

Moods

Conjugation



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An auxiliary, or a sign of a verb, is a short verb prefixed to one of the morphological forms of another verb, to express some particular mode

and time of the being, action, or passion. The auxiliaries are do, be, have, shall, will, may, can, and must, with their variations. Do, be, and have

express the indicative mood.

Most often, the auxiliaries are used in the following way:

When talking about actions that take place in the future, add the word willbefore the verb.

To describe an action that is temporary, add the appropriate form of the verb bebefore the verb and add ingto the end of the verb root.

To describe an action that has taken place, put the verb in the past tense and add the appropriate form of the verb havebefore the verb.

You can combine the previous two auxiliaries by putting the appropriate form of havebefore been, and putting both of them before the verb.

Present tense, sign of the present. I do, he does, we do, you do, they do.

Past tense, sign of the past. I did, he did, we did, you did, they did.

Present tense, sign of the present. I am, he is, we are, you are, they are.

Past tense, sign of the past. I was, he was, we were, you were, they were.

Present tense, sign of the perfect. I have, he has, we have, you have, they have.

Past tense, sign of the past perfect. I had, he had, we had, you had, they had.

Often confused with each other in modern English. These auxiliaries have distinct meanings, and, as signs of the future, they are interchanged

thus:

Present tense, sign of the indicative first-future.

Simply to express a future action or event: I shall, he will, we shall, you will, they will.To express a promise, command, or threat: I will, he shall, we will, you shall, they shall.

Past tense, sign of aorist, or indefinite.

Used with reference to duty or expediency: I should, he should, we should, you should, they should.

Used with reference to volition or desire: I would, he would, we would, you would, they would.

See also:Shall and will by Wikipedia

Present tense, sign of the potential present. I may, he may, we may, you may, they may.

Past tense, sign of the potential past. I might, he might, we might, you might, they might.

Present tense, sign of the potential present. I can, he can, we can, you can, they can.

Past tense, sign of the potential past. I could, he could, we could, you could, they could.

Present tense, sign of the potential present. I must, he must, we must, you must, they must.

If mustis ever used in the sense of the past tense, the form is the same as that of the present: this word is entirely invariable.

English grammar has changed,

"The house is being built."

no longer means the same as

"The house is built."

The first sentence refers to an ongoing action, the second to a completed one.

"If the expression, 'Is being built,' be a correct form of the present indicative passive, then it must be equally correct to say in the perfect,

'Has been being built;' in the past perfect, 'Had been being built;' in the present infinitive, 'To be being built;' in the perfect infinitive, 'To have

been being built;' and in the present participle, 'Being being built;' which all will admit to be expressions as incorrect as they are inelegant,

but precisely analogous to that which now begins to prevail."Bullions's Principles of English Gram., p. 58.

Verb may be conjugated in four ways:

Affirmatively: as, I write, I do write, or, I am writing; and so on.

Negatively: as, I write not, I do not write, or, I am not writing.

Interrogatively: as, write I? do I write? or, am I writing?

Interrogatively and negatively: as, write I not? do I not write? or, am I not writing?

The verbs would be conjugated affirmatively, unless said otherwise.

The verb loveis a regular active verb.

Do

Be

Have

Shall and will

May

Can

Must

Is being

Forms of conjugation

Love, conjugated in simple form

Simple form, active or neuter

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The simplest form of an English conjugation, is that which makes the present and past tenses without auxiliaries; but, even in these, auxiliaries

are required for the potential mood, and are often preferred for the indicative.

The infinitive mood is that form of the verb, which expresses the being, action, or passion, in an unlimited manner, and without person or

number. It is used only in the present and perfect tenses.

This tense is the root, or radical verb; and is usually preceded by the preposition to, which shows its relation to some other word: thus,

To love.

This tense prefixes the auxiliary have to the past participle; and, like the infinitive present, is usually preceded by the preposition to: thus,

To have loved.

The indicative mood is that form of the verb, which simply indicates or declares a thing, or asks a question. It is used in all the tenses.

The present indicative, in its simple form, is essentially the same as the present infinitive, or radical verb; except that the verb behas amin

the indicative.

The simple form of the present tense is varied thus:

I love, he loves, we love, you love, they love.

This tense may also be formed by prefixing the auxiliary doto the verb: thus,

I do love, he does love, we do love, you do love, they do love.

This tense, in its simple form is the past; which, in all regular verbs, adds dor edto the present, but in others is formed variously.

The simple form of the past tense is varied thus:

I loved, he loved, we loved, you loved, they loved,

This tense may also be formed by prefixing the auxiliary didto the present: thus,

I did love, he did love, we did love, you did love, they did love.

This tense prefixes the auxiliary haveto the past participle: thus,

I have loved, he has loved, we have loved, you have loved, they have loved.

This tense prefixes the auxiliary hadto the past participle: thus,

I had loved, he had loved, we had loved, you had loved, they had loved.

This tense prefixes the auxiliary shall or willto the present: thus,

Simply to express a future action or event: I shall love, he will love, we shall love, you will love, they will love.

To express a promise, volition, command, or threat: I will love, he shall love, we will love, you shall love, they shall love.

This tense prefixes the auxiliaries shall have or will haveto the past participle: thus,

I shall have loved, he will have loved, we shall have loved, you will have loved, they will have loved.

The potential mood is that form of the verb, which expresses the power, liberty, possibility, or necessity of the being, action, or passion. It is

used in the first four tenses; but the potential past is properly an aorist: its time is very indeterminate: as,

"He would be devoid of sensibility were he not greatly satisfied."Lord Kames, El. of Crit., Vol. i, p. 11.

This tense prefixes the auxiliary may, can, or must, to the radical verb: thus,

I may love, he may love, we may love, you may love, they may love.

Morphological forms

Present Past Present Participle Past Participle

Love Loved Loving Loved

Participles

Present Past Past Perfect

Loving Loved Having loved.

Infinite mood

Present tense

Perfect tense

Indicative mood

Present tense

Past tense

Perfect tense

Past perfect tense

First-future tense

Second-future tense

Potential mood

Present tense



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This tense prefixes the auxiliary might, could, would, or should, to the radical verb: thus,

I might love, he might love, we might love, you might love, they might love.

This tense prefixes the auxiliaries, may have, can have, or must have, to the past participle: thus,

I may have loved, he may have loved, we may have loved, you may have loved, they may have loved.

This tense prefixes the auxiliaries, might have, could have, would have, or should have, to the past participle: thus,

I might have loved, he might have loved, we might have loved, you might have loved, they might have loved.

The subjunctive mood is that form of the verb, which represents the being, action, or passion, as conditional, doubtful, or contingent. This mood

is generally preceded by a conjunction: as, if, that, though, lest, unless, except. But sometimes, especially in poetry, it is formed by a mere

placing of the verb before the nominative: as,

"Were I," for, "If I were;"

"Had he," for, "If he had;"

"Fall we" for, "If we fall;"

"Knew they," for, "If they knew."

It does not vary its termination at all, in the different persons. It is used in the present, and sometimes in the past tense; rarely, and perhaps

never properly, in any other. As this mood can be used only in a dependent clause, the time implied in its tenses is always relative, and

generally indefinite: as,

"It shall be in eternal restless change, self-fed, and self-consumed: if this fail, the pillared firmament is rottenness."Milton, Comus, l. 596.

This tense is generally used to express some condition on which a future action or event is affirmed. It is therefore erroneously considered by

some grammarians, as an elliptical form of the future.

If I love, if he love, if we love, if you love, if they love.

In this tense, the auxiliary dois sometimes employed: as,

"If you do prosper my way."Genesis, xxiv, 42.

"If he do not utter it."Leviticus, v, 1.

"If he do but intimate his desire."Murray's Key, p. 207.

"If he do promise, he will certainly perform."Ib., p. 208.

"An event which, if it ever do occur, must occur in some future period."Hiley's Gram., 3d Ed., Lond., p. 89.

"If he do but promise, you are safe."Ib., 89.

"Until old experience do attain to something like prophetic strain."Milton: Il Penseroso.

If I loved, if he loved, if we loved, if you loved, if they loved.

This tense, like the past of the potential mood, with which it is frequently connected, is properly an aorist, or indefinite tense; for it may refer to

time past, present, or future: as,

"If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, what further need was there that an other priest should rise?"Heb., vii, 11.

"They must be viewed exactly in the same light, as if the intention to purchase now existed."Murray's Parsing Exercises, p. 24.

"If it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."Matt., xxiv, 24.

"If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing?"1 Corinthians, xii, 17.

"If the thankful refrained, it would be pain and grief to them."Atterbury.

The imperative mood is that form of the verb, which is used in commanding, exhorting, entreating, or permitting. It is commonly used only in the

second person of the present tense.Love [you,] or do you love.

The verb seeis an irregular active verb.

Present Past Past Perfect

Seeing. Seen. Having seen.

Past tense

Perfect tense

Past perfect tense

Subjunctive mood

Present tense

Past tense

Imperative mood

See, conjugated in simple form

Morphological forms

Present Past Present Participle Past Participle

See. Saw. Seeing. Seen.

Participles

Infinitive mood



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Present tense. To see.

Perfect tense. To have seen.

Present tense. I see, he sees, we see, you see, they see.

Past tense. I saw, he saw, we saw, you saw, they saw.

Perfect tense. I have seen, he has seen, we have seen, you have seen, they have seen.

Past perfect tense. I had seen, he had seen, we had seen, you had seen, they had seen.

First-future tense. I shall see, he will see, we shall see, you will see, they will see.

Second-future tense. I shall have seen, he will have seen, we shall have seen, you will have seen, they will have seen.

Present tense. I may see, he may see, we may see, you may see, they may see.

Past tense. I might see, he might see, we might see, you might see, they might see.

Perfect tense. I may have seen, he may have seen, we may have seen, you may have seen, they may have seen.

Past perfect tense. I might have seen, he might have seen, we might have seen, you might have seen, they might have seen.

Present tense. If I see, if he see, if we see, if you see, if they see.

Past tense. If I saw, if he saw, if we saw, if you saw, if they saw.

Present tense. See [you,] or do you see.

The verb beis an irregular neuter verb.

Present Past Present Participle Past Participle.Be. Was. Being. Been.

Present Past Past PerfectBeing. Been. Having been.

Present tense. To be.

Perfect tense. To have been.

Present tense. I am, he is, we are, you are, they are.

Past tense. I was, he was, we were, you were, they were.

Perfect tense. I have been, he has been, we have been, you have been, they have been.

Past perfect tense. I had been, he had been, we had been, you had been, they had been.

First-future tense. I shall be, he will be, we shall be, you will be, they will be.

Second-future tense. We shall have been, he will have been, we shall have been, you will have been, they will have been.

Present tense. I may be, he may be, we may be, you may be, they may be.

Past tense. I might be, he might be, we might be, you might be, they might be.

Perfect tense. I may have been, he may have been, we may have been, you may have been, they may have been.

Past perfect tense. I might have been, he might have been, we might have been, you might have been, they might have been.

Present tense. If I be, if he be, if we be, if you be, if they be.

Past tense. If I were, if he were, if we were, if you were, if they were.

Present tense. Be [you,] or do you be.

The verb readis an irregular active verb.

Active and neuter verbs may also be conjugated, by adding the present participle to the auxiliary verb be, through all its changes: as,

Indicative mood

Potential mood

Subjunctive mood

Imperative mood

Be, conjugated in simple form

Morphological forms

Participles

Infinitive mood

Indicative mood

Potential mood

Subjunctive mood

Imperative mood

Read, conjugated in progressive form

Compound or progressive form



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"I am writing a letter."

"He is sitting idle."

"They are going."

This form of the verb denotes a continuance of the action or state of being, and is, on many occasions, preferable to the simple form of the verb.

Present Past Present Participle Past ParticipleRead. Read. Reading. Read.

Present Past Past PerfectBeing reading. Having been reading.

Present tense. To be reading.

Perfect tense. To have been reading.

Present tense. I am reading, he is reading, we are reading, you are reading, they are reading.

Past tense. I was reading, he was reading, we were reading, you were reading, they were reading.

Perfect tense. I have been reading, he has been reading, we have been reading, you have been reading, they have been reading.Past perfect tense. I had been reading, he had been reading, we had been reading, you had been reading, they had been reading.

First-future tense. I shall be reading, he will be reading, we shall be reading, you will be reading, they will be reading.

Second-future tense. I shall have been reading, he will have been reading, we shall have been reading, you will have been reading, they will

have been reading.

Present tense. I may be reading, he may be reading, we may be reading, you may be reading, they may be reading.

Past tense. I might be reading, he might be reading, we might be reading, you might be reading, they might be reading.

Perfect tense. I may have been reading, he may have been reading, we may have been reading, you may have been reading, they may have

been reading.

Past perfect tense. I might have been reading, he might have been reading, we might have been reading, you might have been reading, they

might have been reading.

Present tense. I

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