English grammar is the way in which meaning is encoded into words in English. This includes the structure of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences, down to the whole text.
There are variations of historical, social, cultural and regional English. The divergence of the grammars described here occurs in several dialects. This article describes current standard English, speech and writing forms found in public discourse types including broadcasting, education, entertainment, government, and news including formal and informal speeches. There is a difference in grammar between standard forms of English, American, and Australian English, although this is small compared to differences in vocabulary and pronunciation.
Modern English has largely abandoned the Indo-European inflection case system that supports analytic construction. The pronoun holds a stronger morphological case than any other word class (the rest of the larger Old German language system). For the other pronouns, and all the nouns, adjectives, and articles, the grammatical functions are only indicated by word order, with foreword, and by "Saxon genitive or possessive English" ( - ).
Eight "word classes" or "parts of speech" are generally distinguished in English: nouns, determinators, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, forecasts, and conjunctions. The noun forms the largest English word class, with the verb being the second largest word class. Unlike many Indo-European languages, nouns have no grammatical sex (although many nouns refer specifically to men or women or animals).
Video English grammar
Class and word phrase â ⬠<â â¬
The nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs form an open class - a word class ready to receive new members, such as the noun celebutante (a celebrity that frequently visits fashion circles), and other words that relatively new and similar. The others are considered closed classes. For example, rarely new pronouns to enter the language. Determinants, traditionally classified along with adjectives, are not always considered part of a separate speech. Interjections are another word class, but these are not explained here because they do not form part of the clause and sentence structure of the language.
English words are generally not marked for word classes. It is usually impossible to say from the form of the word to which the class belongs except, to some extent, in the case of words with inflected suffixes or derivational suffixes. On the other hand, most words belong to more than one word class. For example, run can act as a verb or a noun (these are considered as two different leksem). Lexemes can be infected to express different grammatical categories. The lexeme run has a running , running , runny , runner and < i> running . Words in a class can sometimes be derived from others. It has the potential to give rise to new words. The noun aerobics recently has an aerobic adjective .
Words combine to form a phrase. A phrase usually serves the same function as a word of some particular word class. For example, my excellent friend Peter is a phrase that can be used in sentences as if it were a noun, and therefore is called a noun phrase. Similarly, the adjectives and adverb phrases function as if they are adjectives or adverbs, but with other types of phrases, the terminology has different implications. For example, the verb phrase consists of a verb with the object and other dependents; the prepositional phrase consists of a preposition along with its complement (linguistic) (and therefore usually a type of adverb phrase); and the deciding phrase is a type of noun phrase containing a determiner.
Nouns
There are many common suffixes used to construct nouns from other nouns or from other types of words, such as -age (as in depreciation ), - period > i> (as in fraternity ), and so on, although many nouns are basic forms that do not contain such suffixes (such as cats , grass >, French ). The noun is also often made with the conversion of verbs or adjectives, such as the talk and read ( talk boring , assigned read ).
The nouns are sometimes classified as semantic (with meaning) as the proper nouns and general nouns ( Cyrus , China vs. frogs milk ) or as a concrete word and abstract nouns ( books , laptop vs. hot prejudice ). Differences in grammar are often made between counts (nominations) such as clock and cities â ⬠, and non-count nomenclatures like /i> and decorations . Some of the nouns can work well as countless and countless as the word "wine" ( This is a good wine , I prefer red wine ).
Nomina that can be calculated generally have a singular and plural form. In most cases, plural is formed from a single form by adding - [e] (as in dogs , bushes ), although there are also forms irregular ( female/female â ⬠<â ⬠, feet , etc.), including cases where the two forms are identical ( sheep , series ). For more details, see the plural English. Certain nouns can be used with plural verbs even though they are singular, as in Government... (where government is considered to refer to the people who make up the government). This is a form of synergy; it is more common in the UK than American English. See the plural English Ã,çÃ, Singulars with collective meaning that are treated as plural.
English nouns are not marked for the case because they are in several languages, but they possess possessive forms, constituted by the addition of - (as in John , children ), or just quotes (without changes in pronunciation) in the case of - [e] s plural and sometimes other words ending in -s ( dog owners , Jesus love ). In general, endings can be applied to noun phrases (as in men you see sisters yesterday ); See below. The possessive form can be used either as a determinant ( cat John ) or as a noun phrase ( John is next to Jane) .
The possessive status as affix or klitik is the subject of debate. This differs from the inflection of a native noun like German, in which the genitive end may be attached to the last word of the phrase. To illustrate this, possessiveness can be analyzed, for example as a cliche construction (a "posposition") or as the inflection of the last word of the phrase ("inflight edge").
Phrases
The noun phrase is a phrase that functions grammatically as a noun in a sentence, for example as the subject or object of the verb. Most noun phrases have nouns as their head.
A British noun phrase usually takes the following form (not all elements need to exist):
In this structure:
- the determiner may be an article ( the , a [n] ) or another equivalent word, as described in the section following. In many contexts it takes a noun to enter some determiner.
- pre-modifiers including adjectives and some adjective phrases (such as red , very beautiful ), and additional nouns (like < i> college in the student sentence). The adjective modifier usually comes before an additional noun.
- a complementary or postmodifier may be a preposition phrase (... London ), relative clauses (such as . we see yesterday ), certain participative adjectives or phrases (... sitting on the beach ), or dependent clauses or infinitive phrases that correspond to nouns (like ... that the world is round after nouns such as fact or statements , or ... travel extensively > after a noun such as desire ).
An example of a noun phrase that includes all the elements mentioned above is that a rather interesting young student you talk to . Here that is the determinant, rather interesting and young is the pre-adjective modifier, the college is a noun Additionally, students are nouns that serve as head phrases, and to whom you speak are post-modifiers (relative clauses in this case). Note the pre-modifier sequence; the determinant of that should take precedence and additional supplementary words college must arrive after the adjective modifier.
Coordinate conjunctions like and , or , and but can be used at various levels in noun phrases, as in John, Paul, and Mary ; green coat and matching hat ; dangerous but interesting journey ; someone sitting or standing . See Ã,ç Conjunction below for further explanation.
The noun phrase can also be placed in apposition (where two consecutive phrases refer to the same thing), as in the president, Abraham Lincoln, (where the president and Abraham Lincoln are in aposition). In some contexts, the same can be expressed with the preposition phrase, as in the curse of famine twins and disease outbreaks (meaning "twin cursings" of "starvation and pestilence").
Specific forms of noun phrases include: phrase
- formed by the determiner the with the adjective, as in homeless , English (this is a plural phrase referring to homeless people or British people in general); phrase
- with pronouns instead of nouns such as heads (see below); fron
- consists only of possessiveness;
- infinitive and gerund phrases, in certain positions;
- certain clauses, such as clauses and relative clauses like what he says , in a particular position.
Gender
A grammatical gender system, in which every noun is treated as masculine, feminine or neutral, is in Old English, but not used during the Middle English period. Modern English maintains features related to the natural sex, ie the use of certain nouns and pronouns (such as he and he ) to refer specifically to people or animals of one or the other sex. and certain others (such as it ) for objects without sex - even though the feminine pronoun is sometimes used when referring to ships (and more uncommon to some airplanes and analog machines) and nation states.
Some aspects of gender usage in English have been influenced by the movement toward preference for gender-neutral languages. Animals are nouns of three sexes, capable of taking masculine, feminine and neutral pronouns. Generally there is no difference between men and women in English nouns. However, gender is sometimes exposed by different forms or words when referring to people or animals.
Many nouns that mention the role and work of people can refer to a masculine or feminine subject, eg "cousin", "teenager", "teacher", "doctor", "student", "friend" and "colleague".
- Jane is my friend. He's a dentist.
- Paul is my cousin. He's a dentist.
Often the gender differences for neutral nouns are formed by including the word "male" or "female".
- Sam is a female doctor.
- No, he's not my girlfriend; he's just a boy friend.
- I have three female cousins ââand two male cousins.
Rarely, nouns that describe things without gender are called the gender pronouns to convey intimacy. It is also standard to use gender neutral pronouns (it).
- I like my car. He (the car) is my greatest passion.
- France is popular with its neighbors (France) today.
- I traveled from England to New York in Queen Elizabeth ; she (Queen Elizabeth) is a great ship.
Determiner
The English determinant is a relatively small word class. They include articles of the , a [n] , certain demonstrative and interrogative words like this , are , and that , possives like my and the (the decisive role can also be played by possessive possessions like John and > the girl ), various measuring words like all , some , many , various , and numbers ( one , two , etc.). There are also many phrases (like some ) that can play a determinator role.
Determinators are used in the formation of nomenclature (see above). Many words that work as a determinator can also be used as a pronoun ( this , that , many , etc.)
Determiner can be used in certain combinations, such as all water and many issues .
In many contexts, no noun phrases are required to be accompanied by articles or some other determinants. It is not grammatical to say just the cat is sitting at the table ; someone should say my cat is sitting on the table . The most common situations in which a complete noun phrase can be formed uncertainly are when referring generally to the whole class or concept (as in dangerous dogs and beauty is subjective ) and when it is a name ( Jane , Spanish , etc.) This is discussed in more detail in English articles and Zero articles in English.
Pronouns
The pronoun is a relatively small and closed word class that functions in the noun or noun noun. They include pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, relative pronouns, pronouns, and some other pronouns, especially indefinite pronouns.
Personal
The pronouns of the modern English standard, and related possessive forms, are as follows:
Second person shapes like you are used with singular and plural references. In the southern United States, you (all) are used as plural, and various other phrases like you are used elsewhere. A second set of pronouns used for a single reference is you, you, yourself, you, you, still used in religious services and can be seen in older works, such as Shakespeare - in such texts, the set of pronouns you are used for plural references, or with a single reference as a formal V form. you can also be used as indefinite words, referring to someone in general (see your generic ) compared to a more formal alternative, one ( Reflexive self , possessive person ).
The third person's singular form is distinguished by the gender of the referral. For example, he is used to refer to women, sometimes female animals, and sometimes an object that female characteristics are associated, such as a ship or country. A man, and sometimes a male animal, is called using he . In other cases it can be used. (See Gender in English.) The word is can also be used as an artificial subject, in sentences like It will be sunny this afternoon .
Third-person plural forms such as them are sometimes used with single references, as gender neutral pronouns, as in each employee must make sure they are tidying their desk . Although it has a long history, this use is sometimes considered not mathematical. (See single them .)
A possessive determinant such as me is used as a determinant along with a noun, as in my parents , some friends . A second possessive form like mine is used when they do not qualify a noun: as a pronoun, as in mine is greater than yours , and as a predicate, as in the this is mine . Also note the construction of my friends (meaning "someone who is my friend"). See possessive English for more details.
Demonstrative and interrogative
The English demonstrative pronoun is this (plural this ), and that (plural that ), as in < i> this is good, i like it . Note that all four words can also be used as determinators (followed by nouns), as in the cars . They can also form these alternative pronominal expressions these , these/ones .
The pronouns are who , what and are (all of them can pick the suffix -a for emphasis). The pronoun that refers to a person or persons; it has the oblique form who (though in this informal context it is usually replaced by who ), and the possessive (pronoun or deciding) form who . The pronoun what refers to an object or an abstract. The is is used to ask about alternatives of what is seen as a closed set: which (of the books) do you like best? (This can also be a determinant interrogation: which book? ; this can form which alternative pronominal expressions which and are . ) who , who and what can be singular or plural, though who and what often take a single verb without regard to each number it should. For more information, see who .
All pronouns can also be used as relative pronouns; see below for more details.
Relative
The main relative pronoun in English is that (with the form of the who and are ), i> it .
The relative pronoun that refers to things rather than people, as in t-shirts, which used to be red, faded . For people, who is used ( men who see me high ). The oblique form is is who , as in the man I see high , although in the informal list which is usually used instead of who .
The possessive form who is who ( the man whose car is missing... ); but the use of is is not limited to people (one can say idea whose time has arrived ).
The word as relative pronoun is usually found only in relative limiting clauses (unlike who and anyone , which can be used both within limits and clauses unlimited). It can refer to people or objects, and can not follow the preposition. For example, someone can say a song I I heard yesterday , but a song that > [not < i> for that ] I listened yesterday . The relative pronoun is is usually pronounced with a reduced vowel (schwa), and therefore differs from the demonstrative that (see weak and strong forms in English). If it is not the subject of the relative clause, it can be omitted ( the song I listened to yesterday ).
The word what can be used to form a free relative clause - one that has no preliminary and serves as a complete noun phrase in itself, as in I like what he likes <. The words whatever and are can be used equally, in the role of the pronouns ( whatever he likes ) or the determinator ( whatever he likes ). When referring to people, who (ever) (and who (ever) ) can be used in the same way (but not as decent). "There"
The word exists is used as a pronoun in a few sentences, plays the role of the puppet subject, usually from an intransitive verb. The "logical subject" of the verb then appears as a complement after the verb.
The use of exist occurs most often with verb forms being in an existential clause, to refer to the existence or existence of something. For example: There is a heaven ; There are two cups on the table ; There are many problems lately . It can also be used with other verbs: There are two main variants ; There was a very strange incident .
The subject of the doll takes a number (singular or plural) from a logical subject (complementary), then it takes a plural verb if its complement is plural. But in informal English, contractions exist are often used for both singular and plural.
The subject of the doll can be inversion, Is there a test today? and There has never been a man like this. It can also appear without the appropriate logical subject, in short sentences and question marks: No discussion, is there? There is.
The word exists in such a sentence is sometimes analyzed as an adverb, or as a puppet predicate, not as a pronoun. However, identification as a pronoun is most consistent with the behavior in reverse sentences and question tags as described above.
Since the word is it can also be a deuteric description (meaning "to that place"), sentences like There river can have one of two meanings: "there is a river" (with there as pronoun), and "the river is in that place" (with existing as an adverb). In speeches, adverbs exist will be under pressure, while pronouns will not - in fact pronouns are often pronounced as weak forms, /ÃÆ' à °? (R)/.
More
The other pronouns in English are often identical in form to determinators (especially quantifiers), such as many , little , etc. Sometimes, different pronoun forms, like none (in accordance with determiner no ), none , everyone i>, someone , etc. Many examples are listed as indefinite pronouns. Another indefinite (or unlawful) pronoun is one (with its own reflexive form self and possessive someone ), which is a more formal for generic you .
Verbs
The basic form of the English verb is generally not marked with any suffix, although there are certain suffixes often used to form verbs, such as -ate ( summarize ), it's ( electrification ), and -ise/ize ( aware/aware ). Many verbs also contain prefixes, such as un - ( open the mask ), out - ( ), over - ( overtake ), and below - ( undervalue ). Verbs can also be derived from nouns and adjective with derivation zones, such as the verb snare , the nose , dry , and quiet .
Most verbs have three or four forms of inflection other than the basic form: a single strained form of a single third person at - (e) s ( writing , botches >), present-participle form and gerund in -ing ( write ), past tense ( write ), and - though often identical to the strained form past - past participle ( written ). Regular verbs have the same past tense and past participle in -ed , but there are 100 or more irregular English verbs of different shapes (see list). The verb has , do and say also has an irregular third person straining form ( has , Representation in International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) ">/d? z/, say /s? Z/). The verb be has the largest number of irregular shapes ( am, is, are in the present tense, is, is in the past tense, has for past participle).
Most of what is often referred to as the verb form (or sometimes aspect) in English is formed using auxiliary verbs. Regardless of so-called simple gifts (written , write ) and simple past ( write ), there is also a continuous (progressive) form ( being/is being written, ), perfect forms ( already/already/written , and are constantly perfect already/have/been written ), future form ( will write , will be written , will be written , will have written ), and conditional (also called "future in the past") with will replace will . Auxiliaries must and must sometimes replace will and be in the first person. For the use of these various verb forms, see English verbs and English clause syntax.
The basic form of the verb ( be, write, play ) is used as an infinitive, although there are also "to-infinitive" ( being , to write , to play ) is used in many syntactic constructs. There are also infinitives that fit other aspects: (for) have written , (being) write , (write) . The second person of the imperative is identical to the infinitive (basic); Other important forms can be created with let ( let's go , or let's go ; let them eat the cake ).
A form identical to infinitive can be used as subjunctive present in a particular context: It is important that he follow them or ... that he becomes commit to cause . There is also a subjunctive past (different from the simple past only in the possible use of that instead of is ), used in some conditional and similar sentences: if I > (or is ) rich... ; if he arrives now... ; I hope he (or is ) here . For details, see English subjunctive.
Passive voice is formed by using the verb be (in the proper form or form) with past participle of the verb: car driven, he was killed, I was tickled, it was good to be pampered < i>, etc. Action players can be introduced in phrase prepositions by by (as in they were killed by the invaders ).
The English capital verb contains the core capital can , can , maybe , maybe , must , should , be , be , be , and should be (for ), better , and in some usage brave and necessary . It does not derail for a person or a number, and has no infinitive or participle form (except for a synonym, as with being able to be able to ) for capital can/can ). Capital is used with the basic infinitive form of the verb ( I can swim, he might be killed , we do not dare move , need them to go? , except for should , take to ( you have to go ).
Sopula becomes , along with capital verbs and other helpers, forming different classes, sometimes called "special verbs" or simply "helpers". It has a different syntax than ordinary lexical verbs, especially in that they make their interrogative form with a plain inversion with the subject, and their negative form by adding not after the verb ( can I... ? I can not... ). In addition to those already mentioned, this class also includes used for (though the form he used for it? and he did not use for was also found), and sometimes, sometimes having even when not a helper (a form like are you a sister? and he does not know maybe, although it becomes less common). This also includes auxiliary do ( perform , perform ); this is used with basic infinitives from other verbs (which do not belong to the "special verb" class) to make their question and negation form, as well as strict forms ( do I like you? ; he can not speak England, we closed the fridge ). For more details on this, see do -support.
Some forms of copula and helper often appear as contractions, as in i because i , you will for you will or you have , and John for John is . Their negated form by following not is also often contracted (see Ã,ç Negation below). For details, see English aides and contractions.
Phrase
A joint verb with its dependents, excluding the subject, can be identified as a verb phrase (though this concept is not recognized in all grammatical theories). The verb phrase headed by a finite verb can also be called a predicate. The dependents may be objects, appendages, and modifiers (adverbial annotations or phrases). In English, objects and appendages almost always come after the verb; the object directly precedes another complement such as prepositional phrase, but if there is an indirect object also, expressed without preposition, then it precedes the direct object: give me the book , but give me the book . Adverbial modifiers generally follow the object, although other positions are possible (see below Ã,ç Adverbs below). The combination of certain verb modifiers, especially when they have independent meanings (such as take and wake ), is known as "phrasal verb".
For details of possible patterns, see the syntax of the English clause. See the Non-up to the article clause section for verb phrases headed by non-limited verb forms, such as infinitives and participants.
Adjective
English adjectives, as with other classes of words, can not be generally identified as such by their form, though many of them are formed from nouns or other words with the addition of a suffix, such as -al ( - ), - full ( happy ), -ish ( bad , young ), -ous ( dangerous ), etc.; or from other attributes using prefixes: unfaithful , unreachable , unpredictable , too tired .
The adjectives may be used attributively, as part of the noun phrase (almost always precedes the nominations they modify, for the exception of the positive look adjective), as in large homes, or as predictive, as in big house. Certain adjectives are limited to one or other use; for example, drunk is attributive (drunk seafarers ), while drunk is usually predictive ( drunk sailor ).
Comparison
Many adjectives have comparative and superlative forms in -er and -est , such as faster and fastest (from positive form fast ). The spelling rules that retain the pronunciation apply to suffixing adjectives as they do for the same treatment of a regular tense past formation; this includes consonant multipliers (as in bigger and largest , than big ) and changes y to i after the consonant (as in happier and happiest , than happy ).
Adjectives good and bad have the better, the best and worse, worst and better ; also far to be furthest, farthest or furthest, farthest . The older older (the usual older and the oldest ordinary) also have irregular elders and oldest , this is generally restricted to use in comparing siblings and in particular independent use. For comparison of adverbs, see the description below.
However, many adjectives, especially those that are longer and less common, do not have the comparative and superlative forms reflected. On the contrary, they can qualify with more and most , as in beautiful, more beautiful, most beautiful (this construction is also sometimes used even for an adjective whose inflection form does exist).
Certain adjectives are classified as ungradable. It represents properties that can not be compared on a scale; they are only valid or not, such as pregnant , dead , unique . As a result, the comparative and superlative forms of such adjectives are usually not used, except in a figurative, funny or inappropriately contextual context. Similarly, such adjectives usually do not qualify with degree changers such as very and enough , although with some of them it is idiomatic to use adverbs like fully . Other types of adjectives that are sometimes considered to be unclassified are words that represent the extreme levels of some properties, such as delicious and fear .
Phrase
An adjective phrase is a group of words that play an adjective role in a sentence. It usually has a single adjective as its head, the modifier and its complement can be added.
Adjectives can be modified with adverbs earlier adverbs or phrases, as in very warm , really imposing , more than a little excited . Some can also be preceded by a quantitative noun or phrase, as in fat-free , along two meters .
Equipment following the adjective may include:
- prepositional phrases: proud of them , angry at the screen , attracted to the breeding frog ;
- infinitive phrases: want to solve problems , easy to retrieve ;
- The content clause, i.e. clause that and certain other people: believe that he is correct , not sure where they are ;
- after comparison, phrase or clause with rather than : better than you , smaller than I imagined .
An adjective phrase can include both modifiers before adjectives and complementary afterwards, as in very difficult to get rid of it .
Phrases that contain complementary adjectives usually can not be used as adjective attributes before nouns. Sometimes they are used specifically after a noun, as in a woman who is proud of being a midwife (where they can be changed to a relative clause: a woman who is proud of being a midwife >), but it's incorrect to say * proud to be a midwife . Exceptions include very short phrases and are often made like easy to use . (Certain furnishings can be moved to after the noun, leaving the adjective before the noun, as in the better men of you , the hard-toed peas .)
Sentences of certain attribute attributes are formed from other parts of speech, without adjectives as their head, as in a two-bedroom house , no-jeans policy .
Adverbs
Adverbia perform various functions. They usually modify verbs (or verb phrases), adjectives (or adjective phrases), or other adverbial (or adverbial) phrases. However, adverbs are also sometimes eligible for the noun phrases ( just boss ; enough beautiful places ), words ( almost all ), prepositional phrases ( half way through the movie ), or the whole sentence, for give contextual comments or show attitudes ( Frankly , I do not believe you ). They can also show relationships between clauses or sentences ( He dies, and consequently I inherit real estate ).
Many English adverbs are formed from adjectives by adding the end -ly , as in hopefully , widely , theoretically (for spelling and etymology details, see -ly ). Certain words can be used as adjectives and adverbs, such as fast , straight , and hard ; this flat adverb. In previous use more and more flat adverbs were accepted in formal use; many of these survive in idioms and everyday language. ( It's just plain ugly. ) Some adjectives can also be used as flat annotations when they really describe the subject. ( Streaker running naked , not ** Streaker goes silent .) Adjectives appropriate to the good is either good (note that is bad is a common bad , although pain is sometimes used in some phrases).
There are also many adverbs that are not derived from adjectives, including adverbs of time, frequency, place, level and with other meanings. Some commonly used suffixes to form an annotation of the noun are -ward [s] (as in homeward [s] ) and -wise (as in elongated ).
Most adverbs form comparative and superlative with the most more and most : often , more often , most often ; smooth , smoother , most current (see also comparison of adjectives, above). However, some information maintains an irregular inflection for comparative and superlative forms: many , more , most ; few , less , at least ; good , better , best ; bad , bad , worst ; far , further ( farther ), farthest ( furthest ); or follow the usual adjectiva inflections: fast , faster , fastest ; soon , faster , fast ; etc.
Adverbs that show how an action is generally placed after the verb and its object ( We carefully consider the proposal), although other positions are often possible ( We be careful consider the proposal ). Many adverbs of frequency, degree, certainty, etc. (Like often , always , almost , maybe , and various others like just ) tend to be placed before the verb ( they typically have the chip ), although if there are additional or other "special verbs" (see ç Verbs above), then the normal position for said annotation is after a special verb (or after the first verb, if there is more than one): I just complete the crossword ; He can usually manage a pint ; We never are late ; You may maybe have been unconscious . Description that provides connections with previous information (such as subsequent , then , however ), and that provides context (such as time or place) for a sentence , usually placed at the beginning of the sentence: Yesterday we did a shopping expedition.
A special type of adverb is an adverbial particle used to form a phrasal verb (like in in taking , on in getting , etc.) If such a verb also has an object, then the particle may precede or follow the object, although it will usually follow the object if the object is a pronoun ( select the top i> or retrieve pen , but retrieve ). Phrase
An adverb phrase is a phrase that acts as an adverb in a sentence. An adverb phrase may have an adverb as its head, along with any modifier (other adverb or phrase) and complementary, analogous to the adjective phrase described above. For example: very sleepy ; all too suddenly ; strangely ; may surprise us .
Another type of very common adverb phrase is the prepositional phrase, which consists of the preposition and its object: in the pool ; after two years ; for harmony .
Preposition
Prepositions form a closed word class, although there are also certain phrases that serve as prepositions, such as in front . A single preposition may have various meanings, often including temporal, spatial and abstract. Many words that are prepositions can also serve as adverbs. A common example of an English preposition (including a phrasal example) is from , in , on , above , from , with , in front , behind , opposite , by , before , after , for , via , though or though , between , among , etc.
Prepositions are usually used with noun phrases as a complement. The prepositions together with the accompanying are called prepositional phrases. Examples are in the UK , under the table , after six pleasant weeks , between land and sea . The prepositional phrase can be used as a complement or post-modifier of noun in noun phrases, as in men in cars , early combat ; as a complement to a verb or adjective, as in dealing with problems , being proud of yourself ; or generally as an adverb phrase (see above).
English allows the use of "stranded" front words. This can occur in an interrogative and relative clause, in which the pronounced pronoun or relative pronoun is a supplementary preposition moved forwarded, leaving the preposition in place. This kind of structure is avoided in some types of formal English. As an example:
- What are you talking about? (Possible alternative version: About what you are talking about? )
- Songs you listen to... (more formally: Songs you listen... )
Note that in the second example the relative pronoun that can be omitted.
The stranded prepositions may also appear in passive voice construction and other uses of past participative passive phrases, where the complement in the preposition phrase can be zero in the same way as the immediate object of a verb would: see ; I will be operated on ; get your teeth viewed . The same can happen in the use of certain infinitive phrases: he likes to talk to ; this is the page for making copies .
Conjunction
Conjunctions expressed various logical relationships between items, phrases, clauses and sentences. The main coordinating conjunctions in English are and , or , and but , and or , so , not , and for . It can be used in many grammatical contexts to connect two or more of the same grammatical status items, for example:
- The noun phrase is combined into a longer noun phrase, such as John, Eric, and Jill , red or blue coat . When and are used, the resulting noun phrase is plural. Determinants need not be repeated with individual elements: cats, dogs, and mouse and cats, dogs, and mouse are both correct. The same applies to other modifiers. (The word but can be used here in the meaning of "except": no one but you .)
- The adjectives or phrases are combined into adjectives or longer adverb phrases: tired but happy , above and farther .
- Verbs or combined verb phrases such as in he washes, peels, and chops radish (conjunctive verbs, shared items); he washes the radish, peels it, and cuts it (full verb phrase, including objects, joins).
- Other linked equivalent items, such as prefix linked in counseling before and after tests , numbers like in two or three buildings , etc.
- The linked clause or sentence, as in We are coming, but they will not let us login. They will not let us in, or will they explain what we did wrong.
There are also correlative conjunctions, where as well as basic conjunctions, additional elements appear before the first item is linked. General correlations in English are:
- either... or ( either male or female â ⬠);
- not... or ( not smart or funny );
- both... and ( they both punish and reward them );
- not... but , especially in not only... but also ( not exhausted but excited not only soccer but also many other sports ).
Subordinate conjunctions make connections between clauses, creating clauses in which they appear to be subordinate clauses. Some common subordinate conjunctions in English are:
- time conjunctions, including after , before , since , to , when , when ;
- conjunction causes and effects, including because , since , now , as , in order , so ;
- Opposition or concessionary conjunctions, such as though , though , though , while , while ;
- conjunction conditions: such as if , except , only if , good or not , even if , in case (it) ;
- the conjunction , resulting in a content clause, as well as words that generate an interrogative content clause: whether , where , when , how , etc.
A subordinate conjunction generally comes at the beginning of the clause, although many of them can be preceded by qualifying notices, as in maybe because... , especially if... . The conjunction can be removed after a certain verb, as in he told us (that) he/she is ready . (For the use of that in relative clauses, see Ã,ç Relative pronoun above.)
Case
Although English has lost most of its system, the pronoun still has three morphological cases which are the simplest forms of nominative, objective and genitive cases:
- The nominative case ( subjective substitute like i , he , he , us , them , who , anyone ), is used for the subject of a limited verb and sometimes to complete a copula.
- The case of oblique ( an object's pronoun like i , he , he , us , that , we , them , who , alone), used for the direct or indirect object of the verb, for the preposition object, to be absolutely separate, and sometimes to complete a copula.
- The genitive case ( pronouns belong like my/mine , hers , he ( s) , we (s) , that , our , them , < are ), used for grammar owners. This is not always considered a case; see possessive English Ã,ç Status possessive as grammatical case.
Most English pronouns have five forms: nominative and oblique case forms, possessive cases, which have a form of determinant (like i , us ) and different forms of independent (such as mine , ours ) (with two exceptions: a single, masculine third person and a third person the single neuter is , which uses the same form for the determiner and independent of its car , it belongs ]), and differs /i> or intensive (like myself , ourselves ). The interrogative pronouns that show the greatest variety of forms in the modern English pronoun system, have the definitive, oblique, and genitive ( who, i>, that ) and coordinate the same unlimited shapes ( anyone , anyone , and who ).
Forms like I , he and us are used for the subject (" I kick the ball" like me , he and us used for the object ("John kicked me ").
Declaration
The noun has a different singular and plural form; that is, they refuse to reflect their grammatical number; consider the difference between books and books . In addition, some English pronouns have different nominative (also called subjective) and oblique (or objective) forms; that is, they refuse to reflect their relationship with verbs or prepositions, or cases. Consider the difference between he (subjective) and he (objective), as in "He saw it" and "It sees it"; equally, consider who , who is subjective, and objective who .
Furthermore, these pronouns and several others have different possessive forms, such as them and ones . On the contrary, nouns have no different nominative and objective forms, they are combined into one lower case . For example, seats do not change the shape between "seat is here" (subject) and "I see seat" (direct object). Ownership is demonstrated by the cliché - attached to the phrase possessive noun, not by the decline of the noun itself.
Maps English grammar
Negation
As noted above under Verbs, restricted verbal verbs (or clauses) are negotiable by placing words not after the word help, other "special" capital or verbs like do < i>, can or be . For example, the clause left clause is negated by the helper do , because I did not go (see do ). When affirmative already uses the additional verbs ( I will ), no additional other added verbs to exclude the clause ( will go ). (Until the initial Modern English period, the negation was performed without additional additional verbs: I did not. )
Most combinations of auxiliary verbs etc. no has a contract form: not , can not , no , etc. (Also the unontontracted negation form of can be written as one word can not .) In the subject and verb inversion (as in the question see below)), the subject can placed after the contracted negation form: Should he not pay? or Should not he pay?
Other elements, such as the noun phrases, adjectives, adverbs, infinitive and participatory phrases etc. can be negated by placing the word not in front of them: not the correct answer , uninteresting , not logged in , not paying attention to trains â ⬠, etc.
When other disapproval words like never , no one , etc. Appearing in a sentence, rejection of not is omitted (unlike its equivalent in many languages)): I do not see anything or I see nothing >, but not (except in non-standard languages) * I do not see anything (see Negative double). Such abrogation words generally have the corresponding negative polar items ( never because never , anyone because no , etc.) that may appear in negative contexts, but not negatively on their own (and thus can be used after negation without causing a double negative).
Clause and sentence structure
A typical sentence contains one independent clause and perhaps one or more dependent clauses, although it is also possible to link together sentences of this form into longer sentences, using coordination conjunctions (see above). A clause usually contains a subject (noun phrase) and a predicate (a verb phrase in the terminology used above; that is, a verb with the object and its complement). The dependent clause also usually contains subordinate conjunctions (or in case of relative clauses, relative pronouns or relative phrases).
Word order â ⬠<â â¬
The English word sequence has moved from the verb-second German verb sequence (V2) to almost exclusively the subject-verb-object (SVO). The SVO sequence combinations and use of auxiliary verbs often create clusters of two or more verbs in the center of a sentence, such as he hopes to try to open them . In most sentences, English marks a grammatical relationship only through word order. The subject's constituent precedes the verb and constituents of the object following it. Object-subject-verb (OSV) can sometimes be seen in English, usually in the future tense or used in contrast to the "but" conjunction, as in the following example: "Rome I'll see!", "I hate oranges, but my apple will eat! ".
Question
Like many other Western European languages, English historically allows questions to be formed by reversing the position of the verb and subject. Modern English allows this only in the case of a small class of verbs ("special verb"), which consists of auxiliaries as well as forms from copula to (see additional-subject inversion). To form a question from a sentence that does not have a word or copula, the additional verbs do do , do ) need to be inserted, together with inversion of wording, to form questions (see do -support). As an example:
- He can dance. -> Can he dance? (subject inversion he and help be )
- I am sitting here. -> Am I sitting here? (subject inversion I and copula )
- Milk goes into the refrigerator. -> Does the milk go into the refrigerator? (no special verbs are present; need - support)
The above problem is yes-no question, but inversion also occurs in the same way after another question, formed with question words such as where , what , how , etc. Exceptions apply when the question word is the subject or part of the subject, in which case there is no reversal. As an example:
- I'm leaving. -> Where do I go? ( wh -the question formed by inversion, with necessary -the support required in this case)
- He's gone. -> Who goes? (No inversion, since the question is the subject)
Note that the inversion does not apply to indirect questions: I want to know where he is (not * ... where he ). The yes-no-indirect questions can be disclosed by using if or whether as a question: Ask them if/if they see it.
Negative questions are the same; But if an inversioned verb has contraction with not , then it is possible to reverse the subject with this contraction as a whole. As an example:
- John left. (affirmative)
- John did not go./John did not go. (negative, with and without contraction)
- Did not John go?/Did John not go? (negative questions, with and without contraction)
See also English auxiliary and contraction Ã, Ãç Contraction and inversion.
The dependent clause
The syntax of the dependent clause is generally the same as the independent clause, except that the dependent clause usually begins with a subordinate connexion or relative pronoun (or phrase containing such). In some situations (as described) relative or relative pronouns that may be omitted. Another dependent clause type without a subordinate conjunction is a conditional clause formed by inversion (see below).
Other uses of inversion
The clause structure with reversed subject and verb, used to form the question as described above, is also used in certain types of declarative sentences. This happens especially when the sentence begins with an adverbial or other phrase that is basically negative or contains words like just , almost no , etc.: I have never know someone who is so stupid; Only in France such food can be felt.
In the elliptical sentence (see below), inversion occurs after so (meaning "also") and also after negative not : so am I,/i>.
Reversal can also be used to form conditional clauses, starting with must , is (subjunctive), or has , in the following ways:
- should I win the race (equivalent to if I win the race );
- if he is a soldier (equivalent to if he is a soldier );
- whether he won the race (equivalent to if he won the race , that is if he won the race );
- if he won the race (equivalent to if he won the race ).
Other similar forms sometimes appear, but are less common. There are also constructions with subjunctive be , as in whether he lives or dies (meaning "no matter if he lives or dies").
The use of inversions to express third-person imperatives is now largely confined to the expression of long live X , which means "let X live long".
Imperative
In the imperative sentence (one gives command), there is usually no subject in an independent clause: Go until I call you. It's possible, however, to include you as a subject for emphasis: You stay away from me.
elliptical construction
Many types of elliptical constructions are possible in English, producing sentences that remove certain redundant elements. Various examples are given in the tenta article
Source of the article : Wikipedia