English grammar
English grammar is the set of structural rules of the English language. This includes the structure of words, phrases, clauses, sentences, and whole texts.
This article describes a generalized, present-day
Eight
Word classes and phrases
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English grammar |
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Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs forms are called
Linguists generally accept nine English word classes: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, determiners, and exclamations. English words are not generally marked for word class. It is not usually possible to tell from the form of a word which class it belongs to except, to some extent, in the case of words with inflectional endings or derivational suffixes. On the other hand, most words belong to more than one-word class. For example, run can serve as either a verb or a noun (these are regarded as two different
Words combine to form
Nouns
Many common suffixes form nouns from other nouns or from other types of words, such as -age (shrinkage), -hood (sisterhood), and so on,[3] though many nouns are base forms containing no such suffix (cat, grass, France). Nouns are also created by converting verbs and adjectives, as with the words talk and reading (a boring talk, the assigned reading).
Nouns are sometimes classified semantically (by their meanings) as proper and common nouns (Cyrus, China vs frog, milk) or as concrete and abstract nouns (book, laptop vs embarrassment, prejudice).[4] A grammatical distinction is often made between count (countable) nouns such as clock and city, and non-count (uncountable) nouns such as milk and decor.[5] Some nouns can function both as countable and as uncountable such as "wine" in This is a good wine.
Countable nouns generally have
English nouns are not marked for
The
of the last word of a phrase ("edge inflection").Phrases
Noun phrases are phrases that function grammatically as nouns within sentences, for example as the subject or object of a verb. Most noun phrases have a noun as their head.[5]
An English noun phrase typically takes the following form (not all elements need be present):
Determiner + Pre-modifiers + NOUN + Postmodifiers/Complement
In this structure:
- the determiner may be an article (the, a[n]) or other equivalent word, as described in the following section. In many contexts, it is required for a noun phrase to include some determiner.
- pre-modifiers include adjectives and some adjective phrases (such as red, really lovely), and noun adjuncts(such as college in the phrase the college student). Adjectival modifiers usually come before noun adjuncts.
- a infinitive phraseappropriate to the noun (like ... that the world is round after a noun such as fact or statement, or ... to travel widely after a noun such as desire).
An example of a noun phrase that includes all of the above-mentioned elements is that rather attractive young college student to whom you were talking. Here that is the determiner, rather attractive and young are adjectival pre-modifiers, college is a noun adjunct, student is the noun serving as the head of the phrase, and to whom you were talking is a post-modifier (a relative clause in this case). Notice the order of the pre-modifiers; the determiner that must come first and the noun adjunct college must come after the adjectival modifiers.
Coordinators such as and, or, and but can be used at various levels in noun phrases, as in John, Paul, and Mary; the matching green coat and hat; a dangerous but exciting ride; a person sitting down or standing up. See § Conjunctions below for more explanation.
Noun phrases can also be placed in apposition (where two consecutive phrases refer to the same thing), as in that president, Abraham Lincoln, ... (where that president and Abraham Lincoln are in apposition). In some contexts, the same can be expressed by a prepositional phrase, as in the twin curses of famine and pestilence (meaning "the twin curses" that are "famine and pestilence").
Particular forms of noun phrases include:
- phrases formed by the determiner the with an adjective, as in the homeless, the English (these are plural phrases referring to homeless people or English people in general);
- phrases with a pronoun rather than a noun as the head (see below);
- phrases consisting just of a possessive;
- infinitive and gerund phrases, in certain positions;
- certain clauses, such as that clauses and relative clauses like what he said, in certain positions.
Gender
A system of
Some aspects of gender usage in English have been influenced by the movement towards a preference for gender-neutral language. Animals are triple-gender nouns, being able to take masculine, feminine and neuter pronouns.[11] While the vast majority of nouns in English do not carry gender, there remain some gendered nouns (e.g. ewe, sow, rooster) and derivational affixes (e.g. widower, waitress) that denote gender.[12]
Masculine | Feminine | Gender neutral |
---|---|---|
man | woman | adult |
boy | girl | child |
husband | wife | spouse |
actor | actress | performer |
rooster | hen | chicken |
Many nouns that mention people's roles and jobs can refer to either a masculine or a feminine subject, for instance "cousin", "teenager", "teacher", "doctor", "student", "friend", and "colleague".[13]
- Jane is my friend. She is a dentist.
- Paul is my cousin. He is a dentist.
Often the gender distinction for these neutral nouns is established by inserting the word "male" or "female".[13]
- Sam is a male nurse.
- No, he is not my boyfriend; he is just a male friend.
- I have three female cousins and two male cousins.
Rarely, nouns illustrating things with no gender are referred to with a gendered pronoun to convey familiarity. It is also standard to use the gender-neutral pronoun (it).[13]
- I love my car. She [the car] is my greatest passion.
- France is popular with her [France's] neighbors at the moment.
- I traveled from England to New York on the Queen Elizabeth; she [the Queen Elizabeth] is a great ship.
Determiners
English
Determiners are used in the formation of noun phrases (see above). Many words that serve as determiners can also be used as pronouns (this, that, many, etc.).
Determiners can be used in certain combinations, such as all the water and the many problems.
In many contexts, it is required for a noun phrase to be completed with an article or some other determiner. It is not grammatical to say just cat sat on table; one must say my cat sat on the table. The most common situations in which a complete noun phrase can be formed without a determiner are when it refers generally to a whole class or concept (as in dogs are dangerous and beauty is subjective) and when it is a name (Jane, Spain, etc.). This is discussed in more detail at
Pronouns
Nominative | Accusative | Reflexive | Independent genitive | Dependent genitive | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(subject) | (object) | (possessive) | |||||
First-person | Singular | I | me | myself | mine | my mine (before vowel) me (esp. BrE) | |
Plural | we | us | ourselves ourself |
ours | our | ||
Second-person | Singular | Standard | you | you | yourself | yours | your |
Archaic informal | thou | thee | thyself | thine | thy thine (before vowel) | ||
Plural | Standard | you | you | yourselves | yours | your | |
Archaic | ye | you | yourselves | yours | your | ||
Nonstandard | ye you all y'all youse etc. (see above) |
ye you all y'all youse |
yeerselves y'all's (or y'alls) selves |
yeers y'all's (or y'alls) |
yeer y'all's (or y'alls) | ||
Third-person | Singular | Masculine | he | him | himself | his | |
Feminine | she | her | herself | hers | her | ||
Neuter | it | it | itself | its | its | ||
Epicene
|
they | them | themselves themself |
theirs | their | ||
Plural | they | them | themselves | theirs | their | ||
Generic | Formal | one | one | oneself | one's | ||
Informal | you | you | yourself | your | your | ||
Wh- | Relative and
interrogative |
For persons | who | whom who |
whose† | whose | |
Non-personal | what | what | |||||
Relative only | which | which | |||||
Reciprocal | each other one another |
||||||
Dummy | there
it |
† Interrogative only.
Personal
The personal pronouns of modern standard English are presented in the table above. They are I, you, she, he, it, we, and they. The personal pronouns are so-called not because they apply to persons (which other pronouns also do), but because they participate in the system of grammatical person (1st, 2nd, 3rd).
The second-person forms such as you are used with both singular and plural reference. In the Southern United States, y'all (you all) is used as a plural form, and various other phrases such as you guys are used in other places. An archaic set of second-person pronouns used for singular reference is thou, thee, thyself, thy, thine, which are still used in religious services and can be seen in older works, such as Shakespeare's—in such texts, the you set of pronouns are used for plural reference, or with singular reference as a formal V-form. You can also be used as an indefinite pronoun, referring to a person in general (see generic you), compared to the more formal alternative, one (reflexive oneself, possessive one's).
The third-person singular forms are differentiated according to the gender of the referent. For example, she is used to refer to a woman, sometimes a female animal, and sometimes an object to which feminine characteristics are attributed, such as a ship or a country. A man, and sometimes a male animal, is referred to using he. In other cases, it can be used. (See
The third-person form they is used with both plural and singular
The possessive determiners such as my are used as determiners together with nouns, as in my old man, some of his friends. The second possessive forms like mine are used when they do not qualify a noun: as pronouns, as in mine is bigger than yours, and as predicates, as in this one is mine. Note also the construction a friend of mine (meaning "someone who is my friend"). See English possessive for more details.
Demonstrative
The
Interrogative
The
In Old and Middle English, the roles of the three words were different from their roles today. "The interrogative pronoun hwā 'who, what' had only singular forms and also only distinguished between non-neuter and neuter, the neuter nominative form being hwæt." [14] Note that neuter and non-neuter refers to the grammatical gender system of the time, rather than the so-called natural gender system of today. A small holdover of this is the ability of relative (but not interrogative) whose to refer to non-persons (e.g., the car whose door won't open).
All the interrogative pronouns can also be used as relative pronouns, though what is quite limited in its use;[1] see below for more details.
Relative
The main relative pronouns in English are who (with its derived forms whom and whose), which, and that.[15]
The relative pronoun which refers to things rather than persons, as in the shirt, which used to be red, is faded. For persons, who is used (the man who saw me was tall). The oblique case form of who is whom, as in the man whom I saw was tall, although in informal registers who is commonly used in place of whom.
The possessive form of who is whose (for example, the man whose car is missing); however the use of whose is not restricted to persons (one can say an idea whose time has come).
The word that as a relative pronoun is normally found only in
The word what can be used to form a
"There"
The word there is used as a pronoun in some sentences, playing the role of a
This use of there occurs most commonly with forms of the verb be in existential clauses, to refer to the presence or existence of something. For example: There is a heaven; There are two cups on the table; There have been a lot of problems lately. It can also be used with other verbs: There exist two major variants; There occurred a very strange incident.
The dummy subject takes the number (singular or plural) of the logical subject (complement), hence it takes a plural verb if the complement is plural. In informal English, however, the contraction there's is often used for both singular and plural.[16]
The dummy subject can undergo
The word there in such sentences has sometimes been analyzed as an adverb, or as a dummy predicate, rather than as a pronoun.[17] However, its identification as a pronoun is most consistent with its behavior in inverted sentences and question tags as described above.
Because the word there can also be a
Reciprocal
The English reciprocal pronouns are each other and one another. Although they are written with a space, they're best thought of as single words. No consistent distinction in meaning or use can be found between them. Like the reflexive pronouns, their use is limited to contexts where an antecedent precedes it. In the case of the reciprocals, they need to appear in the same clause as the antecedent.[1]
Other
Other pronouns in English are often identical in form to
Verbs
The basic form of an English verb is not generally marked by any ending, although there are certain suffixes that are frequently used to form verbs, such as -ate (formulate), -fy (electrify), and -ise/ize (realise/realize).[19] Many verbs also contain prefixes, such as un- (unmask), out- (outlast), over- (overtake), and under- (undervalue).[19] Verbs can also be formed from nouns and adjectives by zero derivation, as with the verbs snare, nose, dry, and calm.
Most verbs have three or four inflected forms in addition to the base form: a third-person singular present tense form in -(e)s (writes, botches), a
Most of what are often referred to as verb
The basic form of the verb (be, write, play) is used as the infinitive, although there is also a "to-infinitive" (to be, to write, to play) used in many syntactical constructions. There are also infinitives corresponding to other aspects: (to) have written, (to) be writing, (to) have been writing. The second-person imperative is identical to the (basic) infinitive; other imperative forms may be made with let (let us go, or let's go; let them eat cake).
A form identical to the infinitive can be used as a present
The passive voice is formed using the verb be (in the appropriate tense or form) with the past participle of the verb in question: cars are driven, he was killed, I am being tickled, it is nice to be pampered, etc. The performer of the action may be introduced in a prepositional phrase with by (as in they were killed by the invaders).
The
The
Some forms of the copula and auxiliaries often appear as
Phrases
A verb together with its dependents, excluding its
For details of possible patterns, see English clause syntax. See the Non-finite clauses section of that article for verb phrases headed by non-finite verb forms, such as infinitives and participles.
Adjectives
English adjectives, as with other word classes, cannot in general be identified as such by their form,[24] although many of them are formed from nouns or other words by the addition of a suffix, such as -al (habitual), -ful (blissful), -ic (atomic), -ish (impish, youngish), -ous (hazardous), etc.; or from other adjectives using a prefix: disloyal, irredeemable, unforeseen, overtired.
Adjectives may be used
Comparison
Many adjectives have
The adjectives good and bad have the irregular forms better, best and worse, worst; also far becomes farther, farthest or further, furthest. The adjective old (for which the regular older and oldest are usual) also has the irregular forms elder and eldest, these generally being restricted to use in comparing siblings and in certain independent uses. For the comparison of adverbs, see Adverbs below.
Many adjectives, however, particularly those that are longer and less common, do not have inflected comparative and superlative forms. Instead, they can be qualified with more and most, as in beautiful, more beautiful, most beautiful (this construction is also sometimes used even for adjectives for which inflected forms do exist).
Certain adjectives are classed as
Phrases
An
Adjectives can be modified by a preceding adverb or adverb phrase, as in very warm, truly imposing, more than a little excited. Some can also be preceded by a noun or quantitative phrase, as in fat-free, two-meter-long.
Complements following the adjective may include:
- prepositional phrases: proud of him, angry at the screen, keen on breeding toads;
- infinitive phrases: anxious to solve the problem, easy to pick up;
- content clauses, i.e. that clauses and certain others: certain that he was right, unsure where they are;
- after comparatives, phrases or clauses with than: better than you, smaller than I had imagined.
An adjective phrase may include both modifiers before the adjective and a complement after it, as in very difficult to put away.
Adjective phrases containing complements after the adjective cannot normally be used as attributive adjectives before a noun. Sometimes they are used attributively after the noun, as in a woman proud of being a midwife (where they may be converted into relative clauses: a woman who is proud of being a midwife), but it is wrong to say *a proud of being a midwife woman. Exceptions include very brief and often established phrases such as easy-to-use. (Certain complements can be moved to after the noun, leaving the adjective before the noun, as in a better man than you, a hard nut to crack.)
Certain attributive adjective phrases are formed from other parts of speech, without any adjective as their head, as in a two-bedroom house, a no-jeans policy.
Adverbs
Adverbs perform a wide range of functions. They typically modify verbs (or verb phrases), adjectives (or adjectival phrases), or other adverbs (or adverbial phrases).[27] However, adverbs also sometimes qualify noun phrases (only the boss; quite a lovely place), pronouns and determiners (almost all), prepositional phrases (halfway through the movie), or whole sentences, to provide contextual comment or indicate an attitude (Frankly, I don't believe you).[28] They can also indicate a relationship between clauses or sentences (He died, and consequently I inherited the estate).[28]
Many English adverbs are formed from adjectives by adding the ending -ly, as in hopefully, widely, theoretically (for details of spelling and etymology, see -ly). Certain words can be used as both adjectives and adverbs, such as fast, straight, and hard; these are flat adverbs. In earlier usage more flat adverbs were accepted in formal usage; many of these survive in idioms and colloquially. (That's just plain ugly.) Some adjectives can also be used as flat adverbs when they actually describe the subject. (The streaker ran naked, not **The streaker ran nakedly.) The adverb corresponding to the adjective good is well (note that bad forms the regular badly, although ill is occasionally used in some phrases).
There are also many adverbs that are not derived from adjectives,[27] including adverbs of time, of frequency, of place, of degree and with other meanings. Some suffixes that are commonly used to form adverbs from nouns are -ward[s] (as in homeward[s]) and -wise (as in lengthwise).
Adverbs are also formed by adding ly to the participles. For example, according, a present participle adjective, becomes accordingly, an adverb, by adding ly after it. The past participle adjective repeated becomes repeatedly by adding ly after it.[citation needed]
Most adverbs form comparatives and superlatives by modification with more and most: often, more often, most often; smoothly, more smoothly, most smoothly (see also
Adverbs indicating the manner of an action are generally placed after the verb and its objects (We considered the proposal carefully), although other positions are often possible (We carefully considered the proposal). Many adverbs of frequency, degree, certainty, etc. (such as often, always, almost, probably, and various others such as just) tend to be placed before the verb (they usually have chips), although if there is an auxiliary or other "special verb" (see § Verbs above), then the normal position for such adverbs is after that special verb (or after the first of them, if there is more than one): I have just finished the crossword; She can usually manage a pint; We are never late; You might possibly have been unconscious. Adverbs that provide a connection with previous information (such as next, then, however), and those that provide the context (such as time or place) for a sentence, are typically placed at the start of the sentence: Yesterday we went on a shopping expedition.[29] If the verb has an object, the adverb comes after the object (He finished the test quickly). When there is more than one types of adverb, they usually appear in the order: manner, place, time (His arm was hurt severely at home yesterday).[30]
A special type of adverb is the adverbial particle used to form
Phrases
An
Another very common type of adverb phrase is the
Prepositions
A preposition is usually used with a noun phrase as its
English allows the use of
- What are you talking about? (Possible alternative version: About what are you talking?)
- The song that you were listening to ... (more formal: The song to which you were listening ...)
Notice that in the second example the relative pronoun that could be omitted.
Stranded prepositions can also arise in
Conjunctions
- Noun phrases combined into a longer noun phrase, such as John, Eric, and Jill, the red coat or the blue one. When and is used, the resulting noun phrase is plural. A determiner does not need to be repeated with the individual elements: the cat, the dog, and the mouse and the cat, dog, and mouse are both correct. The same applies to other modifiers. (The word but can be used here in the sense of "except": nobody but you.)
- Adjective or adverb phrases combined into a longer adjective or adverb phrase: tired but happy, over the fields and far away.
- Verbs or verb phrases combined as in he washed, peeled, and diced the turnips (verbs conjoined, object shared); he washed the turnips, peeled them, and diced them (full verb phrases, including objects, conjoined).
- Other equivalent items linked, such as prefixes linked in pre- and post-test counselling,[34] numerals as in two or three buildings, etc.
- Clauses or sentences linked, as in We came, but they wouldn't let us in. They wouldn't let us in, nor would they explain what we had done wrong.
There are also
- either ... or (either a man or a woman);
- neither ... nor (neither clever nor funny);
- both ... and (they both punished and rewarded them);
- not ... but, particularly in not only ... but also (not exhausted but exhilarated, not only football but also many other sports).
- conjunctions of time, including after, before, since, until, when, while;
- conjunctions of cause and effect, including because, since, now that, as, in order that, so;
- conjunctions of opposition or concession, such as although, though, even though, whereas, while;
- conjunctions of condition: such as if, unless, only if, whether or not, even if, in case (that);
- the conjunction that, which produces content clauses, as well as words that produce interrogative content clauses: whether, where, when, how, etc.
Subordinating conjunction generally comes at the very start of its clause, although many of them can be preceded by qualifying adverbs, as in probably because ..., especially if .... The conjunction that can be omitted after certain verbs, as in she told us (that) she was ready. (For the use of that in relative clauses, see § Relative pronouns above.)
Case
Although English has largely lost its case system,
- The subjective pronouns such as I, he, she, we, they, who, whoever), used for the subject of a finite verb and sometimes for the complement of a copula.
- The oblique case (object pronouns such as me, him, her, us, it, us, them, whom, whomever), used for the direct or indirect object of a verb, for the object of a preposition, for an absolute disjunct, and sometimes for the complement of a copula.
- The possessive pronouns such as my/mine, his, her(s), our(s), its, our(s), their, theirs, whose), used for a grammatical possessor. This is not always considered to be a case; see English possessive § Status of the possessive as a grammatical case.
- The privative case (formed with the suffix -less), used for expressing the absence or lack of the marked noun, such as in the phrase the homeless man. [citation needed]
- The semblative case (formed with the suffix -like), used for denoting the similarity of one noun to another, such as in the newspaper headline Texas Man Catches Fish With Human-Like Teeth.[37][citation needed]
Most English personal pronouns have five forms: the nominative and oblique case forms, the
Forms such as I, he, and we are used for the subject ("I kicked the ball"), whereas forms such as me, him and us are used for the object ("John kicked me").[38]
Declension
Nouns have distinct singular and plural forms; that is, they decline to reflect their
Negation
As noted above under
Most combinations of auxiliary verbs etc. with not have contracted forms: don't, can't, isn't, etc. (Also the uncontracted negated form of can is written as a single word cannot.) On the inversion of subject and verb (such as in questions; see below), the subject may be placed after a contracted negated form: Should he not pay? or Shouldn't he pay?
Other elements, such as noun phrases, adjectives, adverbs, infinitive and participial phrases, etc., can be negated by placing the word not before them: not the right answer, not interesting, not to enter, not noticing the train, etc.
When other negating words such as never, nobody, etc. appear in a sentence, the negating not is omitted (unlike its equivalents in many languages): I saw nothing or I didn't see anything, but not (except in non-standard speech) *I didn't see nothing (see
Clause and sentence structure
A typical sentence contains one independent clause and possibly one or more dependent clauses, although it is also possible to link together sentences of this form into longer sentences, using coordinating conjunctions (see above). A clause typically contains a subject (a noun phrase) and a predicate (a verb phrase in the terminology used above; that is, a verb together with its objects and complements). A dependent clause also normally contains a subordinating conjunction (or in the case of relative clauses, a relative pronoun, or phrase containing one).
Word order
English word order has moved from the Germanic
Questions
Like many other Western European languages, English historically allowed
- She can dance. → Can she dance? (inversion of subject she and auxiliary can)
- I am sitting here. → Am I sitting here? (inversion of subject I and copula am)
- The milk goes in the fridge. → Does the milk go in the fridge? (no special verb present; do-support required)
The above concerns yes–no questions, but inversion also takes place in the same way after other questions, formed with interrogative words such as where, what, how, etc. An exception applies when the interrogative word is the subject or part of the subject, in which case there is no inversion. For example:
- I go. → Where do I go? (wh-question formed using inversion, with do-support required in this case)
- He goes. → Who goes? (no inversion, because the question word who is the subject)
Inversion does not apply in
- John is going. (affirmative)
- John is not going. / John isn't going. (negative, with and without contraction)
- Isn't John going? / Is John not going? (negative question, with and without contraction respectively)
See also
Dependent clauses
The syntax of a dependent clause is generally the same as that of an independent clause, except that the dependent clause usually begins with a subordinating conjunction or relative pronoun (or phrase containing such). In some situations (as already described) the conjunction or relative pronoun that can be omitted. Another type of dependent clause with no subordinating conjunction is the conditional clause formed by inversion (see below).
Other uses of inversion
The clause structure with an inverted subject and verb, used to form questions as described above, is also used in certain types of declarative sentences. This occurs mainly when the sentence begins with adverbial or other phrases that are essentially negative or contain words such as only, hardly, etc.: Never have I known someone so stupid; Only in France can such food be tasted.
In elliptical sentences (see below), inversion takes place after so (meaning "also") as well as after the negative neither: so do I, neither does she.
Inversion can also be used to form conditional clauses, beginning with should, were (subjunctive), or had, in the following ways:
- should I win the race (equivalent to if I win the race);
- were he a soldier (equivalent to if he were a soldier);
- were he to win the race (equivalent to if he were to win the race, i.e. if he won the race);
- had he won the race (equivalent to if he had won the race).
Other similar forms sometimes appear but are less common. There is also a construction with subjunctive be, as in be he alive or dead (meaning "no matter whether he is alive or dead").
Use of inversion to express a third-person imperative is now mostly confined to the expression long live X, meaning "let X live long".
Imperatives
In an imperative sentence (one giving an order), there is usually no subject in the independent clause: Go away until I call you. It is possible, however, to include you as the subject for emphasis: You stay away from me.
Elliptical constructions
Many types of elliptical construction are possible in English, resulting in sentences that omit certain redundant elements. Various examples are given in the article on Ellipsis.
Some notable elliptical forms found in English include:
- Short statements of the form I can, he isn't, we mustn't. Here the verb phrase (understood from the context) is reduced to a single auxiliary or other "special" verb, negated if appropriate. If there is no special verb in the original verb phrase, it is replaced by do/does/did: he does, they didn't.
- Clauses that omit the verb, in particular those like me too, nor me, me neither. The latter forms are used after negative statements. (Equivalents including the verb: I do too or so do I; I don't either or neither do I.)
- Tag questions, formed with a special verb and pronoun subject: isn't it?; were there?; am I not?
History of English grammars
The first published English grammar was a Pamphlet for Grammar of 1586, written by
Even as late as the early 19th century, Lindley Murray, the author of one of the most widely used grammars of the day, was having to cite "grammatical authorities" to bolster the claim that grammatical cases in English are different from those in Ancient Greek or Latin.
English parts of speech are based on Latin and Greek parts of speech.[41] Some English grammar rules were adopted from Latin, for example John Dryden is thought to have created the rule no sentences can end in a preposition because Latin cannot end sentences in prepositions. The rule of no split infinitives was adopted from Latin because Latin has no split infinitives.[42][43][44]
See also
- English usage controversies
- English prefixes
- Subject–object–verb
Notes and references
- ^ ISBN 0-521-43146-8.
We conclude that both head and phrasal genitives involve case inflection. With head genitives it is always a noun that inflects, while the phrasal genitive can apply to words of most classes.
- ^ a b Carter & McCarthy 2006, p. 296
- ^ a b c d e Carter & McCarthy 2006, p. 297
- ^ a b Carter & McCarthy 2006, p. 298
- ^ a b c Carter & McCarthy 2006, p. 299
- ISBN 9789027273000.
- ISBN 9789027273000.
- ISBN 978-0-582-51734-9.
[the -s ending is] more appropriately described as an enclitic postposition'
- ISBN 0-19-861250-8.
In speech the genitive is signalled in singular nouns by an inflection that has the same pronunciation variants as for plural nouns in the common case
- ^ Quirk, Randolph; Greenbaum, Sidney; Leech, Geoffrey; Svartik, Jan (1985). A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. Longman. p. 319.
In writing, the inflection of regular nouns is realized in the singular by apostrophe + s (boy's), and in the regular plural by the apostrophe following the plural s (boys')
- ^ Siemund, Peter (2008). Pronominal Gender in English: A Study of English Varieties form a Cross-Linguistic Perspective. New York: Routledge.
- ISBN 978-0-19-901915-1.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ a b c "NOUN GENDER". EF Education First
- ^ Hogg, Richard, ed. (1992). The Cambridge history of the English language: Volume I. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 144.
- ^ Some linguists consider that in such sentences to be a complementizer rather than a relative pronoun. See English relative clauses: Status of that.
- ^ Fowler 2015, p. 813
- ^ For a treatment of there as a dummy predicate, based on the analysis of the copula, see Moro, A., The Raising of Predicates. Predicative Noun Phrases and the Theory of Clause Structure, Cambridge Studies in Linguistics, 80, Cambridge University Press, 1997.
- ^ "One Definition". dictionary.com. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
- ^ a b Carter & McCarthy 2006, p. 301
- ^ a b Carter & McCarthy 2006, p. 303
- ^ "Modal verbs and modality – English Grammar Today – Cambridge Dictionary". dictionary.cambridge.org. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
- ^ C.D. Sidhu, An Intensive Course in English, Orient Blackswan, 1976, p. 5.
- ^ Dependency grammars reject the concept of finite verb phrases as clause constituents, regarding the subject as a dependent of the verb as well. See the verb phrase article for more information.
- ^ Carter & McCarthy 2006, p. 308
- ^ a b Carter & McCarthy 2006, p. 309
- ^ Carter & McCarthy 2006, p. 310
- ^ a b c Carter & McCarthy 2006, p. 311
- ^ a b c Carter & McCarthy 2006, p. 313
- ^ Beare, Kenneth (10 February 2019). "Adverb Placement in English". ThoughtCo.
- ^ "Adverbs and adverb phrases: position – English Grammar Today – Cambridge Dictionary". dictionary.cambridge.org. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
- ^ Carter & McCarthy 2006, p. 312
- ^ Carter & McCarthy 2006, pp. 314–315
- ^ a b c Carter & McCarthy 2006, p. 315
- ^ British Medical Association, Misuse of Drugs, Chapter 4, "Constraints of current practice."
- ^ Carter & McCarthy 2006, p. 316
- ^ The Chambers Dictionary, 11th edition
- ^ "Texas Man Catches Fish With Human-Like Teeth". Local6.com. July 19, 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-08-16. Retrieved 2006-07-19.
- ^ Finkenstaedt, Thomas; Dieter Wolff (1973). Ordered profusion; studies in dictionaries and the English lexicon. C. Winter.
- ^ James Clackson (2007) Indo-European linguistics: an introduction, p.90
- ISBN 0-521-55967-7.
- ISBN 9781101870945.
- ^ "From 'F-Bomb' To 'Photobomb,' How The Dictionary Keeps Up With English". NPR.org. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
- ISBN 9781101870945.
- ISBN 9781101870945.
Further reading
Grammar books
- Aarts, Bas (2011). Oxford Modern English Grammar. Oxford University Press. p. 410. ISBN 978-0-19-953319-0.
- Biber, Douglas; Johansson, Stig; Leech, Geoffrey; Conrad, Susan; Finegan, Edward (1999). Longman grammar of spoken and written English. Pearson Education Limited. p. 1203. ISBN 0-582-23725-4.
- Biber, Douglas; Leech, Geoffrey; Conrad, Susan (2002). Longman student grammar of spoken and written English. Pearson Education Limited. p. 487. ISBN 0-582-23726-2.
- Bryant, Margaret (1945). A functional English grammar. D.C. Heath and company. p. 326.
- Bryant, Margaret; Momozawa, Chikara (1976). Modern English Syntax. Seibido. p. 157.
- ISBN 0-521-67439-5A CD-Rom version is included.
- Celce-Murcia, Marianne; Larsen-Freeman, Diane (1999). The Grammar Book: An ESL/EFL teacher's course, 2nd ed. Heinle & Heinle. p. 854. ISBN 0-8384-4725-2.
- Chalker, Sylvia; Weiner, Edmund, eds. (1998). The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar. ISBN 0-19-280087-6.
- Cobbett, William (1883). A Grammar of the English Language, In a Series of Letters: Intended for the Use of Schools and of Young Persons in General, but more especially for the use of Soldiers, Sailors, Apprentices, and Plough-Boys. New York and Chicago: A. S. Barnes and Company.
- ISBN 0-19-860508-0.
- Curme, George O., College English Grammar, Richmond, VA, 1925, Johnson Publishing company, 414 pages . A revised edition Principles and Practice of English Grammar was published by Barnes & Noble, in 1947.
- ISBN 0-930454-03-0.
- Declerck, Renaat (1990). A Comprehensive Descriptive Grammar of English. Kaitakusha, Tokyo. p. 595. ISBN 4-7589-0538-X. Declerck in his introduction (p.vi) states that almost half his grammar is taken up by the topics of tense, aspect and modality. This he contrasts with the 71 pages devoted to these subjects in The Comprehensive Grammar of English. Huddleston and Pullman say they profited from consulting this grammar in their Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. (p. 1765)
- Dekeyser, Xavier; Devriendt, Betty; Tops, Guy A. J.; Guekens, Steven (2004). Foundations of English Grammar For University Students and Advanced Learners. Uitgeverij Acco, Leuven, Belgium. p. 449. ISBN 978-90-334-5637-4.
- Fowler, H.W. (2015), Butterfield, Jeremy (ed.), Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage, ISBN 978-0-19-966135-0
- ISBN 0-19-861250-8.
- ISBN 0-582-05971-2.
- ISBN 0-340-76167-9.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - Huddleston, Rodney D. (1984) Introduction to the Grammar of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Huddleston, Rodney D. (1988) English Grammar: An outline. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ISBN 0-521-43146-8.
- Huddleston, Rodney D.; Pullum, Geoffrey K.; Reynolds, Brett (2022). A student's introduction to English grammar (2nd ed.). Cambridge: ISBN 978-1-009-08574-8.
- Jespersen, Otto. (1937). Analytic Syntax. Copenhagen: Levin & Munksgaard, 1937. 170 p.
- Jespersen, Otto. (1909–1949). A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles (Vols. 1–7). Heidelberg: C. Winter.
- ISBN 0-415-10440-8.
- Jonson, Ben (1756). "The English grammar: Made by Ben Jonson for the benefit of all strangers, out of his observation of the English language now spoken and in use". The Works of Ben Jonson: Volume 7. London: D. Midwinter et al.
- Kolln, Martha J. (2006). Rhetorical Grammar: Grammatical Choices, Rhetorical Effects, 5th edition. Longman. p. 336. ISBN 0-321-39723-1.
- Kolln, Martha J.; Funk, Robert W. (2008). Understanding English Grammar (8th ed.). Longman. p. 453. ISBN 978-0-205-62690-8.
- Korsakov, A. K. (Andreĭ Konstantinovich). 1969. The use of tenses in English. Korsakov, A. K. Structure of Modern English pt. 1. oai:gial.edu:26766 at http://www.language-archives.org/item/oai:gial.edu:26766
- Maetzner, Eduard Adolf Ferdinand, 1805–1892. (1873). An English grammar; methodical, analytical, and historical. J. Murray, London.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Three Volumes, translated by Clair James Grece from the German edition Englische Grammatik: Die Lehre von der Wort- und Satzfügung. Professor Whitney in his Essentials of English Grammar recommends the German original stating "there is an English version, but it is hardly to be used." (p. vi) - Meyer-Myklestad, J. (1967). An Advanced English Grammar for Students and Teachers. Universitetsforlaget-Oslo. p. 627.
- Morenberg, Max (2002). Doing Grammar, 3rd edition. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 352. ISBN 0-19-513840-6.
- Poutsma, Hendrik. A grammar of late modern English, Groningen, P. Noordhoff, 1914–29, 2 pt. in 5 v. Contents: pt. I. The sentence: 1st half. The elements of the sentence, 1928. 2d half. The composite sentence, 1929.--pt. II. The parts of speech: section I, A. Nouns, adjectives and articles, 1914. section I, B. Pronouns and numerals, 1916. section II. The verb and the particles, 1926.
- Quirk, Randolph; Greenbaum, Sidney; Leech, Geoffrey; & Svartvik, Jan. (1972). A Grammar of Contemporary English. Harlow: Longman.
- Quirk, Randolph (1985). ISBN 0-582-51734-6.
- Rossiter, Andrew (2020). A Descriptive Grammar of English. Linguapress. p. 207. ISBN 978-2-958-38550-7.
- Schibsbye, Knud (1970). A Modern English Grammar: Second edition. London: Oxford University Press. p. 390. ISBN 0-19-431327-1. This book is a translation of Schibsbye's three volume Engelsk Grammatik published between 1957 and 1961. Schibsbye was a student of Jespersen's and co-author of the sixth volume –Morphology –of Jespersen's seven volume Modern English Grammar.
- Sinclair, John, ed. (1991) Collins COBUILD – English Grammar London: Collins ISBN 0-00-716921-3
- Sledd, James. (1959) A short introduction to English grammar Chicago: Scott, Foresman.
- Strang, Barbara M. H. (1968) Modern English structure (2nd ed.) London: Arnold.
- Thomson, A. J. (Audrey Jean); Martinet, A. V. (Agnes V.) (1986). A practical English grammar:Fourth Edition. Oxford University Press. p. 384. ISBN 0-19-431342-5.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - Visser, F. Th. (Fredericus Theodorus) (2003). An historical syntax of the English language. Brill. ISBN 90-04-07142-3. 4th impression. pts. 1–2. Syntactical units with one verb.--pt.3. 1st half. Syntactical units with two verbs.--pt.3. 2d half. Syntactical units with two and more verbs.
- Whitney, William Dwight, (1877) Essentials of English Grammar, Boston: Ginn & Heath.
- Zandvoort, R. W. (1972) A Handbook of English Grammar (2nd ed.) London: Longmans.
- Peter Herring (2016), The Farlex Grammar Book http://www.thefreedictionary.com/The-Farlex-Grammar-Book.htm
Monographs
- Adams, Valerie. (1973). An introduction to modern English word-formation. London: Longman.
- Bauer, Laurie. (1983). English word-formation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Fries, Charles Carpenter. (1952). The structure of English; an introduction to the construction of English sentences. New York: Harcourt, Brace.
- Halliday, M. A. K. (1985/94). Spoken and written language. Deakin University Press.
- Huddleston, Rodney D. (1976). An introduction to English transformational syntax. Longman.
- ISBN 978-0-521-11395-3.
- ISBN 0-226-39877-3.
- ISBN 0-226-39881-1.
- Jespersen, Otto (1962). Selected Writings. London: Allen & Unwin. p. 820.—includes Jespersen's monographs Negation in English and Other Languages, and A System of Grammar.
- Kruisinga, E. (1925). A handbook of present-day English. Utrecht: Kemink en Zoon.
- Leech, Geoffrey N. (1971). Meaning and the English verb. London: Longman.
- Marchand, Hans. (1969). The categories and types of present-day English word-formation (2nd ed.). München: C. H. Beck.
- McCawley, James D. (1998). The syntactic phenomena of English (2nd ed.). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
- Onions, C. T. (Charles Talbut), (1904, 1st edition) An advanced English syntax based on the principles and requirements of the Grammatical society. London: Keegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & co. A new edition of An advanced English syntax, prepared from the author's materials by B. D. H. Miller, was published as Modern English syntax in 1971.
- Palmer, F. R. (1974). The English verb. London: Longman.
- Palmer, F. R. (1979). Modality and the English modals. London: Longman.
- Plag, Ingo. (2003). Word-formation in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Scheurweghs, Gustave. (1959). Present-day English syntax: A survey of sentence patterns. London: Longmans.
External links
- The Internet Grammar of English at UCL
- The Englicious website for school teachers developed by UCL
- English Grammar at the British Council