A grammar of the english language word

В. Л. КАУШАНСКАЯ, Р. Л. КОВНЕР, О. Н.
КОЖЕВНИКОВА,

Е. В. ПРОКОФЬЕВА, 3. М. РАЙНЕС, С. Е. СКВИРСКАЯ,

Ф. Я. ЦЫРЛИНА

Грамматика английского языка

ПОСОБИЕ ДЛЯ СТУДЕНТОВ ПЕДАГОГИЧЕСКИХ
ИНСТИТУТОВ

Под редакцией проф. Б. А. Ильиша

Второе издание, переработанное

ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ УЧЕБНО-ПЕДАГОГИЧЕСКОЕ
ИЗДАТЕЛЬСТВО

МИНИСТЕРСТВА ПРОСВЕЩЕНИЯ РСФСР

ЛЕНИНГРАДСКОЕ ОТДЕЛЕНИЕ

Ленинград 1963

FOREWORD

The object of this book is to give a course of
English grammar for students specializing in the English language.

The book includes Accidence, i. e. the parts of
speech and morphological categories, and Syntax, i. e. the sentence
and the parts of the sentence. The rules are illustrated by examples
taken from English and American authors of the 19th and 20th
centuries.

The material of the book has been used for many
years in teaching students of the Pedagogical institute of Foreign
Languages in Leningrad, and has thus been put to the test of
practical work, in preparing the material for print the authors have
cosiderably enlarged it.

Exercises on all topics treated in the manual are
published in a separate issue, arranged in accordance with the
chapters of the present book.

The authors wish to acknowledge their obligations
to the teachers of the Department of Foreign Languages and the
Philological Department of Leningrad University, as well as to the
teachers of the Hertzen Pedagogical Institute and all the strangers,
who have reviewed the book and made a number of valuable suggestions.

Table of contents

Introduction. Grammatical
structure of the English language

Part I. ACCIDENCE

General classification of the parts of speech

Chapter I. THE
NOUN

§ 1. Definition

§ 2. Morphological characteristics

§ 3. Syntactical characteristics

§ 4. Morphological composition

§ 5. Classification

§ 6. The category of number

§ 7. The category of case

Chapter II. THE
ARTICLE

§ 1. General notion

Use of articles with common nouns

§ 2–4. Class nouns

§ 5–7. Nouns of material

§ 8–11. Abstract nouns

Use of articles with proper nouns

§ 12. Names of persons

§ 13. Geographical names

§ 14. Names of hotels, ships, newspapers and
magazines

§ 15. Names of cardinal points

§ 16. Names of months and days

§ 17. Nouns modified by proper nouns

Use of articles with nouns in some set expressions

§ 18. The use of the indefinite article with
nouns in set expressions

§ 19. The use of the definite article with nouns
in set expressions

§ 20. Nouns in set expressions used without an
article

§ 21. The use of articles with predicative nouns

§ 22. The use of articles with nouns in
apposition

§ 23. The use of articles with nouns used in
address

§ 24. Place of the article

§ 25. Ways of expressing the meaning of the
English articles in Russian

Special difficulties in the use of articles

§ 26. The use of articles with the nouns day,
night, morning, evening

§ 27. The use of articles with names of seasons

§ 28. The use of articles with the nouns school,
college, bed, prison, jail

§ 29. The use of articles with the noun town

§ 30. The use of articles with the names of meals

§ 31. The use of articles with names of languages

Use of articles with nouns modified by certain
adjectives, pronouns and numerals

§ 32. Most

§ 33. Few, a few,
the few; little, a little, the little

§ 34. Two, the two;
three, the three, etc.

§ 35. The second, a
second

§ 36. Another, the
other

§ 37. Last, the last

§ 38. Next, the
next

§ 39. A number, the
number

Omission of the article

Chapter III. THE
ADJECTIVE

§ 1. Definition

§ 2. Morphological characteristics

§ 3. Spelling rules

§ 4. Syntactical characteristics

§ 5. Morphological composition

§ 6. Classification

§ 7. Grammatical characteristics of qualitative
adjectives

§ 8. Grammatical characteristics of relative
adjectives

§ 9. Substantivized adjectives

Chapter IV. THE
PRONOUN

§ 1. Definition

§ 2. Classification

§ 3. Personal pronouns

§ 4. Possessive pronouns

§ 5. Reflexive pronouns

§ 6. Reciprocal pronouns

§ 7. Demonstrative pronouns

§ 8. Interrogative pronouns

§ 9. Relative pronouns

§ 10. Conjunctive pronouns

§ 11. Defining pronouns

§ 12. Indefinite pronouns

§ 13. Negative pronouns

Chapter V. THE
NUMERAL

§ 1. Definition

§ 2. Cardinal numerals

§ 3. The functions of cardinal numerals in a
sentence

§ 4. Ordinal numerals

§ 5. The functions of ordinal numerals in a
sentence

Chapter VI. THE
WORDS OF THE CATEGORY OF STATE

§ 1. Definition

§ 2–4. Morphological composition and use

Chapter VII. THE
VERB

§ 1. Definition

§ 2. Morphological structure

§ 3. Basic forms

§ 4. Syntactic function

§ 5. Transitive and intransitive verbs

§ 6. Lexical character

§ 7–10. Grammatical categories

Tenses in the Active Voice

The Indefinite form

The Present Indefinite

§ 1. The formation of the Present Indefinite

§ 2. The use of the Present Indefinite

The Past Indefinite

§ 3. The formation of the Past Indefinite

§ 4. The use of the Past Indefinite

The Future Indefinite

§ 5. The formation of the Future Indefinite

§ 6. The use of the Future Indefinite

The Future Indefinite in the Past

§ 7. The formation of the Future Indefinite in
the Past

§ 8. The use of the Future Indefinite in the Past

The Continuous form

The Present Continuous

§ 9. The formation of the Present Continuous

§ 10. The use of the Present Continuous

The Past Continuous

§ 11. The formation of the Past Continuous

§ 12. The use of the Past Continuous

The Future Continuous

§ 13. The formation of the Future Continuous

§ 14. The use of the Future Continuous

The Future Continuous in the Past

§ 15. The formation of the Future Continuous in
the Past

§ 16. The use of the Future Continuous in the
Past

Verbs not used in the Continuous form

The Perfect form

The Present Perfect

§ 17. The formation of the Present Perfect

§ 18. The use of the Present Perfect

§ 19. The Past Indefinite and the Present Perfect

The Past Perfect

§ 20. The formation of the Past Perfect

§ 21. The use of the Past Perfect

§ 22. The Past Indefinite and the Past Perfect

The Future Perfect

§ 23. The formation of the Future Perfect

§ 24. The use of the Future Perfect

The Future Perfect in the Past

§ 25. The formation of the Future Perfect in the
Past

§ 26. The use of the Future Perfect in the Past

The Perfect Continuous form

The Present Perfect Continuous

§ 27. The formation of the Present Perfect
Continuous

§ 28. The use of the Present Perfect Continuous

§29.The Present Perfect Continuous Inclusive and
the Present Continuous

§ 30. The Present Perfect and the Present Perfect
Continuous Exclusive

The Past Perfect Continuous

§ 31. The formation of the Past Perfect
Continuous

§ 32. The use of the Past Perfect Continuous

§ 33. The Past Perfect Continuous Inclusive and
the Past Continuous

The Future Perfect Continuous

§ 34. The formation of the Future Perfect
Continuous

§ 35. The use of the Future Perfect Continuous

The Future Perfect Continuous in the Past

§ 36. The formation of the Future Perfect
Continuous in the Past

§ 37. The use of the Future Perfect Continuous in
the Past

The Passive Voice

§ 1. The formation of the Passive Voice

§ 2. The use of the Passive Voice

§ 3. The use of tenses in the Passive Voice

§ 4. Ways of translating the Passive Voice into
Russian

§ 5. Uses of the Passive Voice peculiar to the
English language

§ 6. The verb to be
+ Participle II

Modal Verbs

§ 1. Definition

§ 2. Can

§ 3. May

§ 4. Must

§ 5. Should and
ought

§ 6. To be+
Infinitive

§ 7. To have
+ Infinitive

§ 8. Shall

§ 9. Will

§ 10. Would

§ 11. Dare

§ 12. Need

Mood

The Indicative Mood

The Imperative Mood

The Subjunctive Mood

§ 1. General notion

§ 2. Synthetic forms

§ 3. Analytical forms

§ 4. The forms of the Indicative Mood used to
express the same meaning as is expressed by the Subjunctive Mood

The use of the Subjunctive Mood

§ 5. Simple sentences

§ 6. Conditional sentences

§ 7. Adverbial clauses of purpose

§ 8. Adverbial clauses of concession

§ 9. Adverbial clauses of time and place

§ 10. Adverbial clauses of comparison

§ 11. Predicative clauses

§ 12. Subject clauses

§ 13. Object clauses

§ 14. Attributive appositive clauses

§ 15. Attributive clauses modifying the noun time
in the principal clause

§ 16. Emotional use of the Subjunctive Mood

§ 17. Ways of rendering the Subjunctive Mood in
Russian

Chapter VIII. THE
NON-FINITE FORMS OF THE VERB (THE VERBALS)

§ 1. Definition

§ 2. The characteristic traits of the verbals

The Participle

§ 3. General notion

§ 4. Double nature of the participle

§ 5. Tense distinctions

§ 6. Voice distinctions

§ 7. Functions of Participle I

§ 8. Functions of Participle II

§ 9. Predicative constructions with the
participle

§ 10. The Objective Participial Construction

§ 11. The Subjective Participial Construction

§ 12. The Nominative Absolute Participial
Construction

§ 13. The Prepositional Absolute Participial
Construction

§ 14. Absolute constructions without a participle

§ 15. Punctuation

The Gerund

§ 16. General notion

§ 17. Double nature of the gerund

§ 18. Tense distinctions

§ 19. Voice distinctions

§ 20. Predicative constructions with the gerund

§ 21. The use of the gerund

§ 22. The gerund and the infinitive

§ 23. The functions of the gerund

§ 24. The gerund and the participle

§ 25. The gerund and the verbal noun

The Infinitive

§ 26. General notion

§ 27. Tense and aspect distinctions of the
infinitive

§ 28. Voice distinctions

§ 29. The use of the infinitive without the
particle to

§ 30. The functions of the infinitive

§ 31. Infinitive constructions

§ 32. The Objective-with-the Infinitive
Construction

§ 33. The Subjective Infinitive Construction

§ 34. The for-to-Infinitive
Construction

§ 35. The Infinitive with the expressions to
be sorry, to be glad

Chapter IX. THE
ADVERB

§ 1. Definition

§ 2. Morphological structure

§ 3. Degrees of comparison

§ 4. Classification

Chapter X. THE
MODAL WORDS

§ 1. Definition

§ 2. Classification

§ 3. Use

§ 4. Modal words and adverbs

Chapter XI. THE
INTERJECTION

§ 1. Definition

§ 2. Classification

§ 3. Morphological composition

Chapter XII. THE
PREPOSITION

§ 1. Definition

§ 2. Morphological structure

§ 3. Classification

§ 4. Prepositions, adverbs and conjunctions

§ 5. Prepositions and postpositions

Chapter XIII. THE
CONJUNCTION

§ 1. Definition

§ 2. Morphological structure

§ 3. Classification

§ 4. Coordinating conjunctions

§ 5. Subordinating conjunctions

Chapter XIV. THE
PARTICLE

§ 1. Definition

§ 2. Classification

Part II. SYNTAX

Chapter XV. THE
SIMPLE SENTENCE

§ 1. Definition

§ 2. Classification

§ 3–4. Structure

Parts of the sentence

The principal parts of the sentence

The subject

§ 5. Definition

§ 6. Ways of expressing the subject

§ 7. It as
the subject of the sentence

The predicate

§ 8. Definition

§ 9. The simple predicate

§ 10. The predicate expressed by a phraseological
unit

§ 11. The compound predicate

§ 12. The compound nominal predicate

§ 13. The predicative

§ 14. The Objective Predicative

§ 15. The compound verbal predicate

§ 16. The compound verbal modal predicate

§ 17. The compound verbal aspect predicate

§ 18. Mixed types of predicate

Agreement of the predicate with the subject

§ 19. General notion

§ 20. Rules of agreement

§ 21. Agreement of the predicate with the subject
expressed by a syntactic word-group

The secondary parts of the sentence

The object

§ 22. Definition

§ 23. Ways of expressing the object

§ 24. Kinds of objects

§ 25. The direct object

§ 26. The indirect object

§ 27. The complex object

§ 28. The cognate object

The attribute

§ 29. Definition

§ 30. Ways of expressing the attribute

§ 31. The apposition

§ 32. The close apposition

§ 33. The loose or detached apposition

The adverbial modifier

§ 34. Definition and classification

§ 35. Ways of expressing the adverbial modifier

Detached (loose) parts of the sentence

§ 36. Definition

§ 37. The detached adverbial modifier

§ 38. The detached attribute

§ 39. The detached object

The independent elements of the sentence

§ 40. Definition

§ 41. Parenthesis

Sentences with homogeneous parts

Chapter XVI. WORD
ORDER

§ 1. General remarks

§ 2–4. Inverted order of words

§ 5. Position of the object

§ 6. Position of the attribute

§ 7. Position of adverbial modifiers

Chapter XVII. THE
COMPOUND SENTENCE AND THE COMPLEX SENTENCE

The compound sentence

§ 1. General notion

§ 2. Types of coordination

The complex sentence

§ 3. General notion

§ 4. Subject clauses

§ 5. Predicative clauses

§ 6. Object clauses

§ 7. Attributive clauses

§ 8. Attributive relative clauses

§ 9. Attributive appositive clauses

§ 10. The use of relative pronouns in attributive
relative clauses

§ 11. Adverbial clauses

§ 12. Adverbial clauses of time

§ 13. Adverbial clauses of place

§ 14. Adverbial clauses of cause

§ 15. Adverbial clauses of purpose

§ 16. Adverbial clauses of condition

§ 17. Adverbial clauses of concession

§ 18. Adverbial clauses of result

§ 19. Adverbial clauses of manner

§ 20. Adverbial clauses of comparison

§ 21. Polysemantic conjunctions

The compound-complex sentence

Parenthetical clauses

Chapter XVIII. THE
SEQUENCE OF TENSES

§ 1. Definition

§ 2–5. General rules

§ 6. Tenses in English and in Russian

§ 7. Tenses in object clauses

§ 8. Tenses in conventional direct speech

§ 9. Tenses in attributive relative clauses and
adverbial clauses of cause, result, comparison, and concession

§ 10. Tenses in subject clauses and predicative
clauses

Chapter XIX. INDIRECT
SPEECH

§ 1–2. General remarks

§ 3. Indirect statements

§ 4. Indirect questions

§ 5. Indirect orders and requests

§ 6. Indirect offers, suggestions, and advice

§ 7. Indirect exclamations

§ 8. Greetings and leave-taking

Chapter XX. PUNCTUATION

§ 1. General remarks

The simple sentence

§ 2. Homogeneous members

§ 3. Detached members

§ 4. Parenthetical words, groups of words, and
clauses

§ 5. Interjections

§ 6. Nouns in address

The compound sentence

§ 7. Coordinate clauses joined asyndetically

§ 8. Coordinate clauses joined by copulative
conjunctions

§ 9. Coordinate clauses joined by disjunctive
conjunctions

§ 10. Coordinate clauses joined by adversative
conjunctions

§ 11. Clauses joined by causative-consecutive
conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs

§ 12. Sentences containing direct speech

The complex sentence

§ 13. Subject clauses

§ 14. Predicative clauses

§ 15. Object clauses

§ 16. Attributive clauses

§ 17. Adverbial clauses

§ 18. Complex sentences consisting of two or more
homogeneous clauses

§ 19. Declarative non-exclamatory sentences

§ 20. Sentences expressing a question

§ 21. Exclamatory sentences

§ 22. Unfinished sentences

INTRODUCTION

GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

§ 1. Languages
may be synthetic and analytical according to their grammatical
structure.

In synthetic languages, such as for instance
Russian, the grammatical relations between words are expressed by
means of inflections: e. g. крыша
дома.

In analytical languages, such as English, the
grammatical relations between words are expressed by means of form
words and word order: e. g. the roof of
the house.

§ 2. Analytical
forms are mostly proper to verbs. An analytical verb-form consists of
one or more form words, which have no lexical meaning and only
express one or more of the grammatical categories of person, number,
tense, aspect, voice, mood, and one notional word, generally an
infinitive or a participle: e. g. He has
come, I am reading.

The analytical forms are:

1. Tense and Aspect verb-forms (the Continuous
form: I am writing, the
Perfect form: I
have written, the
Perfect Continuous form: I
have been writing, the
Future Indefinite: I
shall write, all
the other forms of the Future; also the interrogative and the
negative forms of the Present and Past Indefinite: Does
he sing? He does not sing).

2. The Passive Voice:
I was invited to the theatre.

3. The analytical form of the Subjunctive Mood: I
should go there if I had time.

In all these analytical forms the form word is an
auxiliary verb.

(For detailed treatment see chapters on the verb.)

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 Standard English – a form of speech and writing used in public discourse, including broadcasting, education, entertainment, government, and news, over a range of registers, from formal to informal. Divergences from the grammar described here occur in some historical, social, cultural, and regional varieties of English, although these are more minor than differences in pronunciation and vocabulary.

Modern English has largely abandoned the inflectional case system of Indo-European in favor of analytic constructions. The personal pronouns retain morphological case more strongly than any other word class (a remnant of the more extensive Germanic case system of Old English). For other pronouns, and all nouns, adjectives, and articles, grammatical function is indicated only by word order, by prepositions, and by the «Saxon genitive or English possessive» (-‘s).^[1]

Eight «word classes» or «parts of speech» are commonly distinguished in English: nouns, determiners, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions. Nouns form the largest word class, and verbs the second-largest. Unlike nouns in almost all other Indo-European languages, English nouns (with a few uncommon, non-mandatory exceptions) do not have grammatical gender.

Word classes and phrases[edit]

Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs forms are called open classes – word classes that readily accept new members, such as the noun celebutante (a celebrity who frequents the fashion circles), and other similar relatively new words.^[2] The others are considered to be closed classes. For example, it is rare for a new pronoun to enter the language. Determiners, traditionally classified along with adjectives, have not always been regarded as a separate part of speech. Interjections are another word class, but these are not described here as they do not form part of the clause and sentence structure of the language.^[2]

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 lexemes).^[3] Lexemes may be inflected to express different grammatical categories. The lexeme run has the forms runs, ran, runny, runner, and running.^[3] Words in one class can sometimes be derived from those in another. This has the potential to give rise to new words. The noun aerobics has recently given rise to the adjective aerobicized.^[3]

Words combine to form phrases. A phrase typically serves the same function as a word from some particular word class.^[3] For example, my very good friend Peter is a phrase that can be used in a sentence as if it were a noun, and is therefore called a noun phrase. Similarly, adjectival phrases and adverbial phrases function as if they were adjectives or adverbs, but with other types of phrases, the terminology has different implications. For example, a verb phrase consists of a verb together with any objects and other dependents; a prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and its complement (and is therefore usually a type of adverbial phrase); and a determiner phrase is a type of noun phrase containing a determiner.

Nouns[edit]

Many common suffixes form nouns from other nouns or from other types of words, such as -age (as in shrinkage), -hood (as in sisterhood), and so on,^[3] although many nouns are base forms not containing any such suffix (such as cat, grass, France). Nouns are also often created by conversion of verbs or adjectives, as with the words talk and reading (a boring talk, the assigned reading).

Nouns are sometimes classified semantically (by their meanings) as proper nouns and common nouns (Cyrus, China vs. frog, milk) or as concrete nouns 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 the word «wine» (This is a good wine, I prefer red wine).

Countable nouns generally have singular and plural forms.^[4] In most cases the plural is formed from the singular by adding -[e]s (as in dogs, bushes), although there are also irregular forms (woman/women, foot/feet, etc.), including cases where the two forms are identical (sheep, series). For more details, see English plural. Certain nouns can be used with plural verbs even though they are singular in form, as in The government were … (where the government is considered to refer to the people constituting the government). This is a form of synesis; it is more common in British than American English. See English plural § Singulars with collective meaning treated as plural.

English nouns are not marked for case as they are in some languages, but they have possessive forms, through the addition of -‘s (as in John’s, children’s) or just an apostrophe (with no change in pronunciation) in the case of -[e]s plurals and sometimes other words ending with -s (the dogs’ owners, Jesus’ love). More generally, the ending can be applied to noun phrases (as in the man you saw yesterday’s sister); see below. The possessive form can be used either as a determiner (John’s cat) or as a noun phrase (John’s is the one next to Jane’s).

The status of the possessive as an affix or a clitic is the subject of debate.^[6][7] It differs from the noun inflection of languages such as German, in that the genitive ending may attach to the last word of the phrase. To account for this, the possessive can be analysed, for instance as a clitic construction (an «enclitic postposition»^[8]) or as an inflection^[9][10] of the last word of a phrase («edge inflection»).

Phrases[edit]

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 complement or postmodifier^[5] may be a prepositional phrase (… of London), a relative clause (like …which we saw yesterday), certain adjective or participial phrases (… sitting on the beach), or a dependent clause or infinitive phrase appropriate 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.

Coordinating conjunctions 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[edit]

A system of grammatical gender, whereby every noun was treated as either masculine, feminine or neuter, existed in Old English, but fell out of use during the Middle English period. Modern English retains features relating to natural gender, namely the use of certain nouns and pronouns (such as he and she) to refer specifically to persons or animals of one or other genders and certain others (such as it) for sexless objects – although feminine pronouns are sometimes used when referring to ships (and more uncommonly some airplanes and analogous machinery) and nation-states.

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] Generally there is no difference between male and female in English nouns. However, gender is occasionally exposed by different shapes or dissimilar words when referring to people or animals.^[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».^[12]

• 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 words «male» or «female».^[12]

• Sam is a female doctor.
• 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).^[12]

• 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 (Queen Elizabeth) is a great ship.

Determiners[edit]

English determiners constitute a relatively small class of words. They include the articles the and a[n]; certain demonstrative and interrogative words such as this, that, and which; possessives such as my and whose (the role of determiner can also be played by noun possessive forms such as John’s and the girl’s); various quantifying words like all, some, many, various; and numerals (one, two, etc.). There are also many phrases (such as a couple of) that can play the role of determiners.

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 English articles and Zero article in English.

Pronouns[edit]

Pronouns are a relatively small, closed class of words that function in the place of nouns or noun phrases. They include personal pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, relative pronouns, interrogative pronouns, and some others, mainly indefinite pronouns. The full set of English pronouns is presented in the following table. Nonstandard, informal and archaic forms are in italics.

	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 (archaic plural and later formal)	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 & 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[edit]

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 Gender in English.) The word it can also be used as a dummy subject, concerning abstract ideas like time, weather, etc.

The third-person form they is used with both plural and singular referents. Historically, singular they was restricted to quantificational constructions such as Each employee should clean their desk and referential cases where the referent’s gender was unknown. However, it is increasingly used when the referent’s gender is irrelevant or when the referent is neither male nor female.

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[edit]

The demonstrative pronouns of English are this (plural these), and that (plural those), as in these are good, I like that. Note that all four words can also be used as determiners (followed by a noun), as in those cars. They can also form the alternative pronominal expressions this/that one, these/those ones.

Interrogative[edit]

The interrogative pronouns are who, what, and which (all of them can take the suffix -ever for emphasis). The pronoun who refers to a person or people; it has an oblique form whom (though in informal contexts this is usually replaced by who), and a possessive form (pronoun or determiner) whose. The pronoun what refers to things or abstracts. The word which is used to ask about alternatives from what is seen as a closed set: which (of the books) do you like best? (It can also be an interrogative determiner: which book?; this can form the alternative pronominal expressions which one and which ones.) Which, who, and what can be either singular or plural, although who and what often take a singular verb regardless of any supposed number. For more information see who.

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.» ^[13] 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[edit]

The main relative pronouns in English are who (with its derived forms whom and whose), which, and that.^[14]

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 restrictive relative clauses (unlike which and who, which can be used in both restrictive and unrestrictive clauses). It can refer to either persons or things, and cannot follow a preposition. For example, one can say the song that [or which] I listened to yesterday, but the song to which [not to that] I listened yesterday. The relative pronoun that is usually pronounced with a reduced vowel (schwa), and hence differently from the demonstrative that (see Weak and strong forms in English). If that 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 antecedent and that serves as a complete noun phrase in itself, as in I like what he likes. The words whatever and whichever can be used similarly, in the role of either pronouns (whatever he likes) or determiners (whatever book he likes). When referring to persons, who(ever) (and whom(ever)) can be used in a similar way.

«There»[edit]

The word there is used as a pronoun in some sentences, playing the role of a dummy subject, normally of an intransitive verb. The «logical subject» of the verb then appears as a complement after the verb.

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.^[15]

The dummy subject can undergo inversion, Is there a test today? and Never has there been a man such as this. It can also appear without a corresponding logical subject, in short sentences and question tags: There wasn’t a discussion, was there? There was.

The word there in such sentences has sometimes been analyzed as an adverb, or as a dummy predicate, rather than as a pronoun.^[16] 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 deictic adverb (meaning «at/to that place»), a sentence like There is a river could have either of two meanings: «a river exists» (with there as a pronoun), and «a river is in that place» (with there as an adverb). In speech, the adverbial there would be given stress, while the pronoun would not – in fact, the pronoun is often pronounced as a weak form, /ðə(r)/.

Reciprocal[edit]

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[edit]

Other pronouns in English are often identical in form to determiners (especially quantifiers), such as many, a little, etc. Sometimes, the pronoun form is different, as with none (corresponding to the determiner no), nothing, everyone, somebody, etc. Many examples are listed as indefinite pronouns. Another indefinite (or impersonal) pronoun is one (with its reflexive form oneself and possessive one’s), which is a more formal alternative to generic you.^[17]

Verbs[edit]

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).^[18] Many verbs also contain prefixes, such as un- (unmask), out- (outlast), over- (overtake), and under- (undervalue).^[18] 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 present participle and gerund form in -ing (writing), a past tense (wrote), and – though often identical to the past tense form – a past participle (written). Regular verbs have identical past tense and past participle forms in -ed, but there are 100 or so irregular English verbs with different forms (see list). The verbs have, do and say also have irregular third-person present tense forms (has, does /dʌz/, says /sɛz/). The verb be has the largest number of irregular forms (am, is, are in the present tense, was, were in the past tense, been for the past participle).

Most of what are often referred to as verb tenses (or sometimes aspects) in English are formed using auxiliary verbs. Apart from what are called the simple present (write, writes) and simple past (wrote), there are also continuous (progressive) forms (am/is/are/was/were writing), perfect forms (have/has/had written, and the perfect continuous have/has/had been writing), future forms (will write, will be writing, will have written, will have been writing), and conditionals (also called «future in the past»), so forms equivalent to future ones but with would instead of will. The auxiliaries shall and should sometimes replace will and would in the first person. For the uses of these various verb forms, see English verbs and English clause syntax.

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 subjunctive in certain contexts: It is important that he follow them or … that he be committed to the cause. There is also a past subjunctive (distinct from the simple past only in the possible use of were instead of was), used in some conditional sentences and similar: if I were (or was) rich …; were he to arrive now …; I wish she were (or was) here. For details see English subjunctive.

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 English modal verbs consist of the core modals can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would, as well as ought (to), had better, and in some uses dare and need.^[19] These do not inflect for person or number,^[19] do not occur alone, and do not have infinitive or participle forms (except synonyms, as with be/being/been able (to) for the modals can/could). The modals are used with the basic infinitive form of a verb (I can swim, he may be killed, we dare not move, need they go?), except for ought, which takes to (you ought to go). Modals can indicate the condition, probability, possibility, necessity, obligation and ability exposed by the speaker’s or writer’s attitude or expression.^[20]

The copula be, along with the modal verbs and the other auxiliaries, form a distinct class, sometimes called «special verbs» or simply «auxiliaries».^[21] These have different syntax from ordinary lexical verbs, especially in that they make their interrogative forms by plain inversion with the subject, and their negative forms by adding not after the verb (could I …? I could not …). Apart from those already mentioned, this class may also include used to (although the forms did he use to? and he didn’t use to are also found), and sometimes have even when not an auxiliary (forms like have you a sister? and he hadn’t a clue are possible, though becoming less common). It also includes the auxiliary do (does, did); this is used with the basic infinitive of other verbs (those not belonging to the «special verbs» class) to make their question and negation forms, as well as emphatic forms (do I like you?; he doesn’t speak English; we did close the fridge). For more details of this, see do-support.

Some forms of the copula and auxiliaries often appear as contractions, as in I’m for I am, you’d for you would or you had, and John’s for John is. Their negated forms with following not are also often contracted (see § Negation below). For detail see English auxiliaries and contractions.

Phrases[edit]

A verb together with its dependents, excluding its subject, may be identified as a verb phrase (although this concept is not acknowledged in all theories of grammar^[22]). A verb phrase headed by a finite verb may also be called a predicate. The dependents may be objects,complements, and modifiers (adverbs or adverbial phrases). In English, objects and complements nearly always come after the verb; a direct object precedes other complements such as prepositional phrases, but if there is an indirect object as well, expressed without a preposition, then that precedes the direct object: give me the book, but give the book to me. Adverbial modifiers generally follow objects, although other positions are possible (see under § Adverbs below). Certain verb–modifier combinations, particularly when they have independent meaning (such as take on and get up), are known as «phrasal verbs».

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[edit]

English adjectives, as with other word classes, cannot in general be identified as such by their form,^[23] 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 attributively, as part of a noun phrase (nearly always preceding the noun they modify; for exceptions see postpositive adjective), as in the big house, or predicatively, as in the house is big. Certain adjectives are restricted to one or other use; for example, drunken is attributive (a drunken sailor), while drunk is usually predicative (the sailor was drunk).

Comparison[edit]

Many adjectives have comparative and superlative forms in -er and -est,^[24] such as faster and fastest (from the positive form fast). Spelling rules which maintain pronunciation apply to suffixing adjectives just as they do for similar treatment of regular past tense formation; these cover consonant doubling (as in bigger and biggest, from big) and the change of y to i after consonants (as in happier and happiest, from happy).

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 ungradable.^[24] These represent properties that cannot be compared on a scale; they simply apply or do not, as with pregnant, dead, unique. Consequently, comparative and superlative forms of such adjectives are not normally used, except in a figurative, humorous or imprecise context. Similarly, such adjectives are not normally qualified with modifiers of degree such as very and fairly, although with some of them it is idiomatic to use adverbs such as completely. Another type of adjective sometimes considered ungradable is those that represent an extreme degree of some property, such as delicious and terrified.

Phrases[edit]

An adjective phrase is a group of words that plays the role of an adjective in a sentence. It usually has a single adjective as its head, to which modifiers and complements may be added.^[25]

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[edit]

Adverbs perform a wide range of functions. They typically modify verbs (or verb phrases), adjectives (or adjectival phrases), or other adverbs (or adverbial phrases).^[26] 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).^[27] They can also indicate a relationship between clauses or sentences (He died, and consequently I inherited the estate).^[27]

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,^[26] 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).

Most adverbs form comparatives and superlatives by modification with more and most: often, more often, most often; smoothly, more smoothly, most smoothly (see also comparison of adjectives, above). However, a few adverbs retain irregular inflection for comparative and superlative forms:^[26] much, more, most; a little, less, least; well, better, best; badly, worse, worst; far, further (farther), furthest (farthest); or follow the regular adjectival inflection: fast, faster, fastest; soon, sooner, soonest; etc.

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.^[28] 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).^[29]

A special type of adverb is the adverbial particle used to form phrasal verbs (such as up in pick up, on in get on, etc.) If such a verb also has an object, then the particle may precede or follow the object, although it will normally follow the object if the object is a pronoun (pick the pen up or pick up the pen, but pick it up).

Phrases[edit]

An adverb phrase is a phrase that acts as an adverb within a sentence.^[30] An adverb phrase may have an adverb as its head, together with any modifiers (other adverbs or adverb phrases) and complements, analogously to the adjective phrases described above. For example: very sleepily; all too suddenly; oddly enough; perhaps shockingly for us.

Another very common type of adverb phrase is the prepositional phrase, which consists of a preposition and its object: in the pool; after two years; for the sake of harmony.

Prepositions[edit]

Prepositions form a closed word class,^[27] although there are also certain phrases that serve as prepositions, such as in front of. A single preposition may have a variety of meanings, often including temporal, spatial and abstract. Many words that are prepositions can also serve as adverbs. Examples of common English prepositions (including phrasal instances) are of, in, on, over, under, to, from, with, in front of, behind, opposite, by, before, after, during, through, in spite of or despite, between, among, etc.

A preposition is usually used with a noun phrase as its complement. A preposition together with its complement is called a prepositional phrase.^[31] Examples are in England, under the table, after six pleasant weeks, between the land and the sea. A prepositional phrase can be used as a complement or post-modifier of a noun in a noun phrase, as in the man in the car, the start of the fight; as a complement of a verb or adjective, as in deal with the problem, proud of oneself; or generally as an adverb phrase (see above).

English allows the use of «stranded» prepositions. This can occur in interrogative and relative clauses, where the interrogative or relative pronoun that is the preposition’s complement is moved to the start (fronted), leaving the preposition in place. This kind of structure is avoided in some kinds of formal English. For example:

• 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 passive voice constructions and other uses of passive past participial phrases, where the complement in a prepositional phrase can become zero in the same way that a verb’s direct object would: it was looked at; I will be operated on; get your teeth seen to. The same can happen in certain uses of infinitive phrases: he is nice to talk to; this is the page to make copies of.

Conjunctions[edit]

Conjunctions express a variety of logical relations between items, phrases, clauses and sentences.^[32] The principal coordinating conjunctions in English are: and, or, but, nor, so, yet, and for. These can be used in many grammatical contexts to link two or more items of equal grammatical status,^[32] for example:

• 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,^[33] 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 correlative conjunctions, where as well as the basic conjunction, an additional element appears before the first of the items being linked.^[32] The common correlatives in English are:

• 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).

Subordinating conjunctions make relations between clauses, making the clause in which they appear into a subordinate clause.^[34] Some common subordinating conjunctions in English are:

• 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[edit]

Although English has largely lost its case system, personal pronouns still have three morphological cases that are simplified forms of the nominative, objective and genitive cases:^[35]

• The nominative case (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 genitive case (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.
• 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.^[36]

Most English personal pronouns have five forms: the nominative and oblique case forms, the possessive case, which has both a determiner form (such as my, our) and a distinct independent form (such as mine, ours) (with two exceptions: the third person singular masculine and the third person singular neuter it, which use the same form for both determiner and independent [his car, it is his]), and a distinct reflexive or intensive form (such as myself, ourselves). The interrogative personal pronoun who exhibits the greatest diversity of forms within the modern English pronoun system, having definite nominative, oblique, and genitive forms (who, whom, whose) and equivalently coordinating indefinite forms (whoever, whomever, and whosever).

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«).^[37]

Declension[edit]

Nouns have distinct singular and plural forms; that is, they decline to reflect their grammatical number; consider the difference between book and books. In addition, a few English pronouns have distinct nominative (also called subjective) and oblique (or objective) forms; that is, they decline to reflect their relationship to a verb or preposition, or case. Consider the difference between he (subjective) and him (objective), as in «He saw it» and «It saw him»; similarly, consider who, which is subjective, and the objective whom. Further, these pronouns and a few others have distinct possessive forms, such as his and whose. By contrast, nouns have no distinct nominative and objective forms, the two being merged into a single plain case. For example, chair does not change form between «the chair is here» (subject) and «I saw the chair» (direct object). Possession is shown by the clitic -‘s attached to a possessive noun phrase, rather than by declension of the noun itself.^[38]

Negation[edit]

As noted above under § Verbs, a finite indicative verb (or its clause) is negated by placing the word not after an auxiliary, modal or other «special» verb such as do, can or be. For example, the clause I go is negated with the appearance of the auxiliary do, as I do not go (see do-support). When the affirmative already uses auxiliary verbs (I am going), no other auxiliary verbs are added to negate the clause (I am not going). (Until the period of early Modern English, negation was effected without additional auxiliary verbs: I go not.)

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 Double negative). Such negating words generally have corresponding negative polarity items (ever for never, anybody for nobody, etc.) which can appear in a negative context but are not negative themselves (and can thus be used after a negation without giving rise to double negatives).

Clause and sentence structure[edit]

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[edit]

English word order has moved from the Germanic verb-second (V2) word order to being almost exclusively subject–verb–object (SVO). The combination of SVO order and use of auxiliary verbs often creates clusters of two or more verbs at the center of the sentence, such as he had hoped to try to open it. In most sentences, English marks grammatical relations only through word order. The subject constituent precedes the verb and the object constituent follows it. The Object–subject–verb (OSV) may on occasion be seen in English, usually in the future tense or used as a contrast with the conjunction «but», such as in the following examples: «Rome I shall see!», «I hate oranges, but apples I’ll eat!».^[39]

Questions[edit]

Like many other Western European languages, English historically allowed questions to be formed by inverting the positions of the verb and subject. Modern English permits this only in the case of a small class of verbs («special verbs»), consisting of auxiliaries as well as forms of the copula be (see subject–auxiliary inversion). To form a question from a sentence which does not have such an auxiliary or copula present, the auxiliary verb do (does, did) needs to be inserted, along with inversion of the word order, to form a question (see do-support). For example:

• 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)

Note that inversion does not apply in indirect questions: I wonder where he is (not *… where is he). Indirect yes-no questions can be expressed using if or whether as the interrogative word: Ask them whether/if they saw him.

Negative questions are formed similarly; however, if the verb undergoing inversion has a contraction with not, then it is possible to invert the subject with this contraction as a whole. For example:

• 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 English auxiliaries and contractions § Contractions and inversion.

Dependent clauses[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

The first published English grammar was a Pamphlet for Grammar of 1586, written by William Bullokar with the stated goal of demonstrating that English was just as rule-based as Latin. Bullokar’s grammar was faithfully modeled on William Lily’s Latin grammar, Rudimenta Grammatices (1534), used in English schools at that time, having been «prescribed» for them in 1542 by Henry VIII. Bullokar wrote his grammar in English and used a «reformed spelling system» of his own invention; but much English grammar, for much of the century after Bullokar’s effort, was written in Latin, especially by authors who were aiming to be scholarly. John Wallis’s Grammatica Linguae Anglicanae (1685) was the last English grammar written in Latin.

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.^[40] 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.^[41][42][43]

See also[edit]

• English usage controversies
• English prefixes
• Subject–object–verb

Notes and references[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Grammar books[edit]

• 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.
• Carter, Ronald; McCarthy, Michael (2006), Cambridge Grammar of English: A Comprehensive Guide, Cambridge University Press, p. 984, ISBN 0-521-67439-5 A 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. Oxford University Press. p. 464. 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.
• Cobbett, William (2003) [1818]. A Grammar of the English Language (Oxford Language Classics). Oxford University Press. p. 256. 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.
• Curme, George O. (1978) [1931, 1935]. A Grammar of the English Language: Volumes I (Parts of Speech) & II (Syntax). Verbatim Books. p. 1045. 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, Oxford University Press, p. 813, ISBN 978-0-19-966135-0
• Greenbaum, Sidney (1996). Oxford English Grammar. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. p. 672. ISBN 0-19-861250-8.
• Greenbaum, Sidney (1990). A Student’s Grammar of the English Language. Addison Wesley Publishing Company. p. 496. ISBN 0-582-05971-2.
• Halliday, M. A. K.; Matthiessen, Christian M. I. M. (revised by) (2004). An Introduction to Functional Grammar, 3rd. edition. London: Hodder Arnold. p. 700. 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.
• Huddleston, Rodney D.; Pullum, Geoffrey K. (2002). The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge University Press. p. 1860. ISBN 0-521-43146-8.
• Huddleston, Rodney D.; Pullum, Geoffrey K.; Reynolds, Brett (2022). A student’s introduction to English grammar (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 320. 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.
• Jespersen, Otto (1933). Essentials of English Grammar: 25th impression, 1987. London: Routledge. p. 400. 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)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). A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. Harlow: Longman. p. 1779. 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 0-00-370257-X second edition, 2005 ISBN 0-00-718387-9. Huddleston and Pullman say they found this grammar ‘useful’ in their Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. (p. 1765) A CD-Rom version of the 1st edition is available on the Collins COBUILD Resource Pack 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[edit]

• 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.
• Huddleston, Rodney D. (2009). The Sentence in Written English: A Syntactic Study Based on an Analysis of Scientific Texts. Cambridge University Press. p. 352. ISBN 978-0-521-11395-3.
• Jespersen, Otto (1982). Growth and Structure of the English Language. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. p. 244. ISBN 0-226-39877-3.
• Jespersen, Otto (1992). Philosophy of Grammar. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. p. 363. 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[edit]

• The Internet Grammar of English at UCL
• The Englicious website for school teachers developed by UCL
• English Grammar at the British Council

English Grammar

English grammar is a set of rules and guidelines that ensure the correct and standard use of the English language. It helps preserve the accuracy of the language by guiding its new learners as well as current users towards standard language use.

We have assembled an extensive list of topics that cover basic English grammar to advance in a manageable succession. We hope that the new learners can follow the list put together by our experts while the experienced ones can check back on their topic of necessity with ease.

Word

• Word: The Definition & Criteria

Sentence

• Sentence: Definition & Types
• Simple sentence
• Compound sentence
• Complex sentence, and 
• Compound-complex sentence.

Parts of speech

• Parts of speech

Noun

• Noun
• Types of Noun
• Proper Noun
• Common Noun
• Abstract Noun
• Concrete Noun
• Countable Noun
• Non-countable Noun
• Collective Noun
• Compound Noun

Pronoun

• Pronoun: Definition & Types
• Subject Pronouns
• Object Pronouns
• Possessive Pronouns
• Reflexive Pronouns
• Intensive Pronouns
• Relative Pronouns
• Demonstrative Pronouns
• Interrogative Pronouns

Adjective

• Adjective: Definition & Types
• Descriptive Adjectives
• Quantitative Adjectives
• Proper Adjectives
• Demonstrative Adjectives
• Possessive Adjectives
• Interrogative Adjectives
• Indefinite Adjectives
• Articles
• Compound Adjectives
• Degree of Adjectives

Verb

• Verb: Definition & Types
• Finite Verbs
• Non-finite Verbs
• Action Verbs
• Linking Verb
• Auxiliary Verbs
• Modal Verbs
• Past Participle
• Present Participle

Adverb

• Adverb: Definition & Types
• Conjunctive Adverbs
• Sentence Adverbs
• Adverbs of Time/Frequency (When?)
• Adverbs of Place/Direction (Where?)
• Adverbs of Degree (How Much?)
• Adverbs of Degree (How Much?)

Preposition

• Preposition: Definition & Types
• Prepositions of Time
• Prepositions of Place and Direction
• Prepositions of Agents or Things
• Phrasal Prepositions

Use of Prepositions

Prepositions are the most confusing and difficult part of grammar because almost every definition of a preposition has exceptions and different meanings. There is no better technique to grasp the correct use of prepositions other than practicing to picture how each preposition functions in certain contexts. There are some certain common uses and expressions of different prepositions.

• Prepositions of Time Usage
• Prepositions of Places & Direction Usage
• Use of Prepositions : Of, About, For, With, By

Conjunction

• Conjunction: Definition & Types
• Coordinating Conjunctions
• Correlative Conjunctions
• Subordinating Conjunctions

Interjection

• Interjection: Definition & Types

Article

• Article: Definition & Types
• Rules of Using Articles with Examples
• Use of Indefinite Article
• Use of Definite Article

Tense

• Present Tense
• Past Tense
• Future Tense

Present Tense

• Present Indefinite Tense
• Present Progressive (Continuous) Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Present Perfect Progressive (Continuous)

Past Tense

• Past Indefinite Tense
• Past Progressive (Continuous) Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Perfect Progressive Tense

Future Tense

• Simple Future (Future Indefinite) Tense
• Future Continuous Tense
• Future Perfect Tense
• Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Phrases

• Phrase: Definition, Types & Examples
• Noun Phrase
• Adjective Phrase
• Adverbial Phrase
• Prepositional Phrase

Number

• Number: Rules, Types & Examples
• Singular Number
• Plural Number

Clauses

• Clauses: Definition, Types & Examples
• Independent Clause
• Dependent Clause

Conditionals

• Conditionals: Definition, Structure & Examples
• Types of Conditionals
• The Real Conditionals
• The Unreal Conditionals

Modal Auxiliaries

• Modal Auxiliaries

Mood

• Mood: Definition, Types & Examples
• Indicative Mood
• Imperative Mood
• Subjunctive Mood

Subject-Verb Agreement

• Subject-Verb Agreement: Rules & Examples

Right Forms of Verbs

• Right Forms of Verbs: Rules with Examples

Case

• Case: Definition, Types & Examples
• Subjective Case
• Objective Case
• Possessive Case

Transformation of Sentences

• Transformation of sentences

Modifiers

• Modifiers: Definition, Types & Examples
• Pre-modifiers
• Post-modifiers

Narration

• Narration: Reported to Reporting Speech

Determiners & Quantifiers

• Determiners
• Quantifiers

Prefixes

• Prefixes: Definition with Examples

Suffixes

• Suffixes: Definition with Examples

Question

• Types of Questions

Punctuation

• Punctuation: Definition, Types & Usage Rules
• Correct Use of Semicolons

Do-insertion / Do-support

• Do-insertion or Do-support

Negation

• Negation: Definition, Rules & Examples

Inversion

• Inversion: Definition with Examples

Other Topics

• Comparatives
• Subjunctive: Structures, Usage
• Perfectives: Structures & Usage
• Parallel Structure
• Embedded Questions
• Dangling Modifiers
• Pronouns before the Gerunds & Infinitives
• Antecedents of Pronoun
• Infinitive: Definition and Types
• Adjective followed by the Infinitives
• Causative Verbs
• Verbs followed by Gerunds
• Verbs followed by Infinitives
• Uses of Direct & Indirect Object
• Correct Use of «Sequence of Tense» in Writing
• Affirmative and Negative Agreement
• Avoid Redundancy to Improve Your Writing
• Singular They — Wrong or Right?
• One VS You

Why Learn English Grammar?

The number of native and second-language speakers of English makes it the most widely used language in the world to date and that has peaked the importance of learning it. Learning grammar is often one of the first steps to learning the language itself so, it’s no surprise that the learners of English cannot but spend time getting used to its grammar. 

The five basic components of grammar in the English language are listed below —

1. Phonology
2. Morphology
3. Syntax
4. Semantics
5. Pragmatics

Grammatical rules in English explain how letters form words, words become phrases or sentences, in what order they must come in a sentence and why. English grammar teaches the ropes to its learners by explaining and exemplifying each topic relevant to using the English language correctly.

The chief importance of learning it —

Know the Distinct Features of Language

By learning English grammar, students of the language get to know what features of the language set it apart from the rest. English as Second Language (ESL) learners often learn the grammatical rules in English by comparing them with the grammar of their native language. For example, it will be news to native Spanish and Arabic speakers learning English grammar that every English word is not gendered unlike that of Spanish and Arabic.

Learn the Correct Spellings and Pronunciations

Defining, theorizing and teaching the correct spellings and pronunciations of each word are among the biggest responsibilities of grammar. Phonology and phonetics deal with what spelling should sound like. For instance, grammar determines that “Saline” will always end with an “e” and the pronunciation will be IPA: /ˈseɪ.laɪn/ in the United Kingdom English and IPA: /ˈseɪliːn/ in the United States one.

The Formation, Meaning Making and Usage of Words

Morphology takes care of the word formations, meaning-making as well as usage in sentences to accurately express what people feel. As an example, grammar will explain the rules to add prefixes and suffixes to existing words including a demonstration as to how the meanings change with such additions.

Structure and Meaning of Sentences

Syntax and semantics are the sectors of grammar that deal with the formation of sentences as well as how and what they mean when particular words are used in succession. To specify, English grammar teaches how Subject + Verb + Object is the basic rule to construct any sentence in the language. 

History of English Grammar

If English is your target language, English grammar can explain what initially fails to make sense while coming across uncommon sentences or new words. One may be interested to know about the history behind its coming into being.

We must start right from the history of grammar itself. Though Sanskrit grammar had been orchestrated around the fifth century BC in India, the modern English grammar has found its roots in the Greek grammar developed around the first century BC and the subsequent Latin one based on the Greek only about two thousand years later.

Who Makes the Grammar Rules?

Grammarians and linguists make grammatical rules so that people can learn and use languages easily. Grammarians are the scholars who study, teach, write and research systax and grammatical rules for their sheer love and passion for it. They are often native speakers of the language they deal with.

Linguists, on the other hand, are language nerds who love dissecting languages and finding similarities and dissimilarities between different languages around the world. These language and grammar nerds list out the existing rules within a language (as well as their exceptions) and those become the grammatical rules.

Languages have a tendency to evolve and change with time depending on who use them and where. English grammar has been rather rigid in the sense that grammarians and linguists have laid down rules depending on what was believed to be the correct use of the language at the time. With time nevertheless, English has become the language of the entire world and so the grammatical rules started evolving with the cultures and linguistic differences of its new speakers depending on their geopolitical locations.

Our Words

Learning a language is like learning the most important aspect of a nation. English is a language which has crossed its national boundary for a long time now. English is spoken in almost all the countries of the world as an international language. As a result, this language has many varieties now. However, among these varieties, the standard form of English still is and will be regarded as the most prestigious and accepted form of English. Apparently, learning the standard form of English with the understanding of how it works incorporates paramount importance. This project is an attempt to provide the learners with the basic grammatical structures in an easily comprehensible style.    

This website will give you a complete understanding of the structures and the ways of developing sentences in English. You will find a complete list of the topics and sub-topics on the first page of the website and you will be able to access them easily. The topics are discussed thoroughly with lots of examples and explanations. You will also find the exception of the common structures noted and explained with each topic. This website will provide you with a complete grammar book and on top of that, you will find the topics interlinked so that you can access them easily.    

It is generally presumed that grammar only helps the ESL (English as a Second Language) learners to write correct English and native speakers do not need grammar to write without mistakes. However, a native speaker of English will find this website useful if s/he wants to understand how his/her mother tongue works. This website will also help the native speakers of English use their language consciously and correctly.      

We have tried our best to produce an innovative but comprehensible approach to learn English grammar. However, we know that there is a lot of scope for improvements. We will deeply appreciate your suggestions and comments and try to improve the contents.

Часть серии по
английская грамматика
Морфология Множественное число Префиксы (по-английски ) Суффиксы (частый )
Типы слов Акронимы Прилагательные Наречия (плоский ) Статьи Союзы Соединения Демонстрации Определители Ругательства Усилитель Междометия Вопросительные Существительные Portmanteaux Собственники Предлоги (по-английски ) Местоимения (дело · человек ) Глаголы
Глаголы Вспомогательные средства и сокращения Настроение (условный · императив · сослагательное наклонение ) Аспект (непрерывный · привычный · идеально ) -ing Неправильные глаголы Модальные глаголы Пассивный залог Фразовые глаголы Использование глагола Переходные и непереходные глаголы
Синтаксис Статьи (по-английски ) Условные предложения Копула Do-поддержка Инверсия Перифраз Нулевая маркировка
Орфография Сокращения Заглавные буквы Запятая Дефис
Вариант использования Афро-американский диалект английского языка Грамматические различия американского и британского английского Двойные негативы Грамматические споры Ты

английская грамматика это способ, которым значения кодируются в формулировках в английский язык. Это включает в себя структуру слова, фразы, статьи, фразы, и структура целых текстов.

Существуют исторические, социальные, культурные и региональные разновидности английского языка. Расхождения с грамматика описанные здесь встречаются в некоторых диалекты. В этой статье описывается обобщенный, современный Стандартный английский — форма речи и письма, используемая в публичном дискурсе, включая радиовещание, образование, развлечения, правительство и новости, в широком диапазоне регистры от формального к неформальному. Есть различия в грамматике среди стандартные формы из Британский, Американец, и Австралийский английский, хотя это более незначительные, чем различия в словарный запас и произношение.

Современный английский в значительной степени отказался от флективный система дел индоевропейцев в пользу аналитический конструкции. В личные местоимения сохраняют морфологический падеж сильнее, чем любой другой класс слов (остаток более обширной германской падежной системы древнеанглийского языка). Для других местоимений, а также всех существительных, прилагательных и артиклей грамматическая функция обозначается только порядок слов, к предлоги, и «Саксонский родительный падеж или же Английский притяжательный » (-х).^[1]

8 «классы слов» или «части речи» в английском языке обычно различают: существительные, определители, местоимения, глаголы, прилагательные, наречия, предлоги, и союзы. Существительные образуют самый большой класс слов, а глаголы — второй по величине. В отличие от существительных почти во всех других Индоевропейские языки, Английские существительные не имеют грамматический род.

Классы слов и фразы

Существительные, глаголы, прилагательные и наречия образуют открытые классы — классы слов, которые легко принимают новые члены, такие как существительное знаменитость (знаменитость, часто бывающая в модных кругах) и другие подобные относительно новые слова.^[2] Остальные считаются закрытые классы. Например, новое местоимение редко встречается в языке. Определители, традиционно относящиеся к прилагательным, не всегда рассматривались как отдельная часть речи. Междометия — это еще один класс слов, но они здесь не описываются, так как они не являются частью пункт и приговор структура языка.^[2]

Лингвисты обычно принимают девять классов английских слов: существительные, глаголы, прилагательные, наречия, местоимения, предлоги, союзы, определители и восклицания. Английские слова обычно не помечаются для класса слов. Обычно по форме слова невозможно сказать, к какому классу оно принадлежит, за исключением, в некоторой степени, слов с флективными окончаниями или словообразовательными суффиксами. С другой стороны, большинство слов принадлежат более чем к классу из одного слова. Например, пробег может служить как глаголом, так и существительным (они рассматриваются как два разных лексемы ).^[3] Лексемы могут быть склонен для выражения различных грамматических категорий. Лексема пробег имеет формы бежит, побежал, жидкий, бегун, и Бег.^[3] Слова в одном классе иногда могут быть полученный из тех, что в другом. Это может породить новые слова. Существительное аэробика недавно породил прилагательное аэробный.^[3]

Слова объединяются в форму фразы. Фраза обычно выполняет ту же функцию, что и слово из определенного класса слов.^[3] Например, мой очень хороший друг Питер это фраза, которую можно использовать в предложении, как если бы это было существительное, и поэтому она называется словосочетание. По аналогии, прилагательные фразы и наречные фразы действуют так, как если бы они были прилагательными или наречиями, но с другими типами фраз терминология имеет другое значение. Например, фразовый глагол состоит из глагола вместе с любыми объектами и другими иждивенцами; а предложная фраза состоит из предлога и его дополнять (и поэтому обычно является разновидностью наречной фразы); и определяющая фраза это тип именной группы, содержащей определитель.

Существительные

Многие общие суффиксы образовывать существительные из других существительных или из слов другого типа, например -возраст (как в усадка), -капот (как в сестринство), и так далее,^[3] хотя многие существительные являются базовыми формами, не содержащими таких суффиксов (например, Кот, трава, Франция). Существительные также часто создаются преобразование глаголов или прилагательных, как и в словах разговаривать и чтение (скучный разговор, назначенное чтение).

Существительные иногда семантически (по их значению) классифицируются как существительные собственные и нарицательные (Сайрус, Китай против. лягушка, молоко) или как конкретные существительные и абстрактные существительные (книга, ноутбук против. смущение, предрассудки).^[4] Грамматическое различие часто проводится между считать (счетные) существительные Такие как Часы и город, и несчетные (неисчисляемые) существительные Такие как молоко и декор.^[5] Некоторые существительные могут функционировать как счетные, так и неисчислимые, например, слово «вино» (Это хорошее вино, Я предпочитаю красное вино).

Счетные существительные обычно имеют единственное число и множественное число формы.^[4] В большинстве случаев множественное число образуется от единственного числа путем добавления — [e] s (как в собаки, кусты), хотя есть и нерегулярный формы (женщина женщины, стопы ноги т. д.), включая случаи, когда две формы идентичны (овца, серии). Подробнее см. Английское множественное число. Некоторые существительные могут использоваться с глаголами множественного числа, даже если они имеют форму единственного числа, как в Правительство было … (куда правительство считается относящимся к людям, составляющим правительство). Это форма синезис; он чаще встречается в британском, чем в американском английском. Видеть Английское множественное число § Единственные числа с собирательным значением, рассматриваемые как множественное число.

Английские существительные не помечаются для дело как они есть на некоторых языках, но у них есть притяжательный падеж форм, путем добавления -х (как в Джона, детский) или просто апостроф (без изменения произношения) в случае — [e] s множественное число, а иногда и другие слова, оканчивающиеся на -s (владельцы собак, Любовь Иисуса). В более общем смысле окончание может применяться к существительным фразам (как в человек, которого вы видели вчерашнюю сестру); Смотри ниже. Притяжательная форма может использоваться как определитель (Кот Джона) или как существительное (Джон находится рядом с Джейн).

В статус притяжательного как аффикс или клитика является предметом споров.^[6][7] Оно отличается от существительного в таких языках, как немецкий, тем, что родительный падеж окончание может присоединяться к последнему слову фразы. Чтобы объяснить это, притяжательное может быть проанализировано, например, как клитическая конструкция (an «энклитический послелог «^[8]) или как перегиб^[9][10] последнего слова фразы («перегиб края»).

Фразы

Существительные фразы фразы, которые грамматически функционируют как существительные в предложениях, например как предмет или же объект глагола. В большинстве именных фраз есть существительное в качестве своего голова.^[5]

Английская именная фраза обычно имеет следующую форму (не обязательно должны присутствовать все элементы):

Определитель	+	Предварительные модификаторы	+	ИМЯ СУЩЕСТВИТЕЛЬНОЕ	+	Постмодификаторы / Дополнение

В этой структуре:

• то определитель может быть статья (то, а [п]) или другое эквивалентное слово, как описано в следующем разделе. Во многих случаях требуется, чтобы в именной фразе был какой-то определитель.
• предварительные модификаторы включать прилагательные и некоторые фразы прилагательных (например, красный, очень мило), и добавочные к существительным (Такие как колледж во фразе студент колледжа). Прилагательные модификаторы обычно ставятся перед существительными.
• а дополнять или же постмодификатор^[5] может быть предложной фразой (… Лондона), а придаточное предложение (подобно … который мы видели вчера), определенное прилагательное или причастный фразы (… сидеть на пляже) или придаточное предложение или же инфинитивная фраза соответствующий существительному (как … что мир круглый после существительного, такого как факт или же утверждение, или же … широко путешествовать после существительного, такого как желание).

Примером существительного, содержащего все вышеперечисленные элементы, является этот довольно привлекательный молодой студент колледжа, с которым вы разговаривали. Здесь который это определитель, довольно привлекательный и молодой являются прилагательными предварительными модификаторами, колледж это существительное дополнение, ученик существительное, стоящее в начале фразы, и с кем ты разговаривал является постмодификатором (в данном случае относительное предложение). Обратите внимание на порядок предварительных модификаторов; определитель который должен быть первым, а существительное добавлено колледж должен стоять после модификаторов прилагательного.

Координационные союзы, такие как и, или же, и но может использоваться на разных уровнях в составе существительных, например Джон, Пол и Мэри; подходящее зеленое пальто и шляпа; опасная, но захватывающая поездка; человек сидит или встает. Видеть § Союзы ниже для получения дополнительных объяснений.

Существительные фразы также могут быть помещены в сопоставление (где две последовательные фразы относятся к одному и тому же), как в этот президент, Авраам Линкольн, … (куда этот президент и Абрахам Линкольн находятся в сопоставлении). В некоторых контекстах то же самое может быть выражено предложной фразой, как в двойное проклятие голода и эпидемии (имеется в виду «двойные проклятия», то есть «голод и мор»).

К конкретным формам существительных относятся:

• фразы, образованные определителем то с прилагательным, как в бездомный, английский (это множественное число фразы, относящиеся к бездомным или англичанам в целом);
• фразы, во главе которых стоит местоимение, а не существительное (см. ниже);
• фразы, состоящие только из притяжательный падеж;
• инфинитив и герундий фразы в определенных позициях;
• определенные статьи, такие как который статьи и относительные предложения подобно что он сказал, в определенных положениях.

Пол

Система грамматического рода, согласно которой каждый имя существительное рассматривался как мужской, женский или средний род, существовал в Древнеанглийский, но вышла из употребления во время Средний английский период. Современный английский сохраняет особенности, относящиеся к естественный пол, а именно употребление некоторых существительных и местоимения (Такие как он и она) для обозначения людей или животных одного или другого пола и некоторых других (например, Это) для бесполых объектов — хотя женские местоимения иногда используются при обращении к кораблям (и, что еще реже, к самолетам и аналогичной технике) и национальным государствам.

На некоторые аспекты гендерного использования в английском языке повлияло движение к предпочтению гендерно-нейтральный язык. Животные — существительные тройного рода, они могут принимать местоимения мужского, женского и среднего рода.^[11] Как правило, в английских существительных нет разницы между мужчиной и женщиной. Однако иногда гендер проявляется в разных формах или разных словах, когда речь идет о людях или животных.^[12]

Мужское начало	Женский	Гендерно нейтральный
человек	женщина	взрослый
мальчик	девочка	ребенок
муж	жена	супруг
актер	актриса	исполнитель
петух	курицы	курица

Многие существительные, в которых упоминаются роли и должности людей, могут относиться как к мужскому, так и к женскому предмету, например, «кузен», «подросток», «учитель», «доктор», «студент», «друг» и «коллега».^[12]

• Джейн — мой друг. Она стоматолог.
• Пол мой двоюродный брат. Он дантист.

Часто гендерное различие для этих нейтральных существительных устанавливается путем вставки слов «мужской» или «женский».^[12]

• Сэм — женщина-врач.
• Нет, он мне не парень; он просто друг мужского пола.
• У меня есть три двоюродных сестры и два двоюродных брата.

В редких случаях существительные, изображающие вещи без пола, упоминаются с гендерным местоимением, чтобы передать знакомство. Также стандартно использовать гендерно-нейтральное местоимение (it).^[12]

• Я люблю свою машину. Она (машина) — моя самая большая страсть.
• Франция сейчас пользуется популярностью у своих (Франции) соседей.
• Я поехал из Англии в Нью-Йорк на Королева Елизавета; она (королева Елизавета) — великий корабль.

Определители

английский определители составляют относительно небольшой класс слов. Они включают статьи то и а [п]; определенный показательный и вопросительный такие слова как это, который, и который; собственники Такие как мой и чей (роль детерминатора также может играть существительное притяжательное формы, такие как Джона и девушка); разные количественная оценка слов подобно все, немного, много, разные; и цифры (один, два, так далее.). Также есть много фраз (например, пара), которые могут играть роль определителей.

Определители используются при образовании именных фраз (см. Выше). Многие слова, которые служат определителями, также могут использоваться как местоимения (это, который, много, так далее.).

Определители могут использоваться в определенных комбинациях, например: все воды и многие проблемы.

Во многих случаях требуется, чтобы именная фраза завершалась артиклем или каким-либо другим определителем. Сказать просто кот сел на стол; надо сказать мой кот сел на стол. Наиболее распространенные ситуации, в которых полная именная фраза может быть образована без детерминатора, — это когда она обычно относится к целому классу или концепции (как в собаки опасны и красота субъективна) и когда это имя (Джейн, Испания, так далее.). Более подробно это обсуждается на Английские статьи и Нулевая статья на английском языке.

Местоимения

Местоимения представляют собой относительно небольшой замкнутый класс слов, которые используются вместо существительных или существительных фраз. Они включают личные местоимения, указательные местоимения, Относительные местоимения, вопросительные местоимения, и некоторые другие, в основном неопределенные местоимения.

Личное

Личные местоимения современного стандартного английского языка и соответствующие им притяжательный падеж формы, следующие:

	Именительный падеж	Косой	Рефлексивный	Притяжательный детерминатор	Притяжательное местоимение
1 чел. петь.	я	мне	себя	мой	мой
2 чел. петь. / пл.	ты	ты	себя / себя	ваш	твой
3 чел. петь.	она, он, Oни, Это	ее, ему, их, Это	сама, сам, себя, сам	ее, его, их, это	ее, его, их, это
1 чел. пл.	мы	нас	мы сами	наш	наш
3 чел. пл.	Oни	их	самих себя	их	их

Формы от второго лица, такие как ты используются как в единственном, так и во множественном числе. На юге США вы все (вы все) используется во множественном числе, а также в различных других фразах, например вы парни используются в других местах. Архаичный набор местоимений второго лица, используемых в единственном числе, — ты, ты, сам, твой, твой, которые до сих пор используются в религиозных службах и могут быть замечены в более старых произведениях, таких как работы Шекспира, — в таких текстах ты набор местоимений используется для множественного числа или в единственном числе как формальный V-образная форма. Ты также может использоваться как неопределенный местоимение, имея в виду человека в целом (см. общий ты ) по сравнению с более формальной альтернативой, один (возвратный себя, притяжательный падеж один).

Формы третьего лица единственного числа различаются в зависимости от пола референта. Например, она используется для обозначения лица женского пола, иногда животного женского пола, а иногда объекта, которому приписываются женские характеристики, например корабля или страны. Человек мужского пола, а иногда и животное мужского пола, упоминается как он. В других случаях Это может быть использован. (Видеть Пол на английском языке.) Слово Это также может использоваться как фиктивный предмет, в предложениях типа Сегодня будет солнечно.

Формы множественного числа от третьего лица, такие как Oни иногда используются с единственной ссылкой, как гендерно-нейтральное местоимение, как в каждый сотрудник должен убирать свой стол. Несмотря на свою долгую историю, это использование иногда считается неграмотным. (Видеть единственное число Oни.)

Притяжательные детерминаторы, такие как мой используются как определители вместе с существительными, как в мой старик, некоторые из его друзей. Вторая притяжательная форма, такая как мой используются, когда они не квалифицируют существительное: как местоимения, как в мой больше твоего, и как предикаты, как в это мой. Обратите внимание на конструкцию мой друг (имеется в виду «мой друг»). Видеть Английский притяжательный Больше подробностей.

Демонстративно-вопросительный

В указательные местоимения английского языка это (множественное число эти), и который (множественное число те), как в это хорошо, мне это нравится. Обратите внимание, что все четыре слова также могут использоваться в качестве определителей (за которыми следует существительное), как в эти машины. Они также могут образовывать альтернативные местоименные выражения этот / тот, эти / те.

В вопросительные местоимения находятся ВОЗ, Какие, и который (все они могут иметь суффикс -Когда-либо для акцента). Местоимение ВОЗ относится к человеку или людям; имеет наклонную форму кому (хотя в неформальном контексте это обычно заменяется на ВОЗ), и притяжательная форма (местоимение или определитель) чей. Местоимение Какие относится к вещам или абстракциям. Слово который используется, чтобы спросить об альтернативах из того, что рассматривается как закрытый набор: какая (из книг) вам больше нравится? (Это также может быть вопросительный определитель: какая книга?; это может образовывать альтернативные местоименные выражения который из и который.) Который, ВОЗ, и Какие может быть в единственном или множественном числе, хотя ВОЗ и Какие часто используют глагол в единственном числе, независимо от предполагаемого числа. Для получения дополнительной информации см. ВОЗ.

Все вопросительные местоимения также могут использоваться как относительные местоимения; Подробности смотрите ниже.

Относительный

Информацию о том, «кто / кого» и связанные формы см. Кто (местоимение).

Главный Относительные местоимения на английском ВОЗ (с производными формами кому и чей), который, и который.^[13]

Относительное местоимение который относится к вещам, а не к людям, как в рубашка, которая раньше была красной, потускнела. Для лиц, ВОЗ используется (человек, который меня видел, был высоким). В косвенный падеж форма ВОЗ является кому, как в человек, которого я видел, был высоким, хотя в неформальной регистры ВОЗ обычно используется вместо кому.

Притяжательная форма ВОЗ является чей (человек, чья машина пропала …); однако использование чей не ограничивается людьми (можно сказать Идея, время которой пришло).

Слово который как относительное местоимение обычно встречается только в ограничительные относительные оговорки (В отличие от который и ВОЗ, которые могут использоваться как в ограничительных, так и в неограничительных положениях). Оно может относиться как к людям, так и к вещам и не может следовать за предлогом. Например, можно сказать песня, которая [или же который] Я слушал вчера, но песня, к которой [нет к тому, что] Я слушал вчера. Относительное местоимение который обычно произносится с пониженной гласной (Schwa ), а значит, в отличие от демонстративного который (видеть Слабые и сильные формы в английском языке ). Если который не является предметом относительного предложения, его можно опустить (песня, которую я слушал вчера).

Слово Какие может использоваться для формирования свободная относительная оговорка — тот, который не имеет антецедента и который сам по себе служит полной именной фразой, как в Мне нравится то, что ему нравится. Слова что бы ни и какой бы ни может использоваться аналогично в роли местоимений (все, что ему нравится) или определители (какую бы книгу он ни любил). Обращаясь к людям, кто (когда-либо) (и кого (когда-либо)) можно использовать аналогичным образом (но не в качестве определителей).

«Там»

Слово там используется как местоимение в некоторых предложениях, играя роль фиктивный предмет, обычно непереходный глагол. Тогда «логическое подлежащее» глагола появляется как дополнять после глагола.

Это использование там чаще всего встречается с формами глагола быть в экзистенциальные положения, для обозначения наличия или существования чего-либо. Например: Есть рай; На столе две чашки; В последнее время было много проблем. Его также можно использовать с другими глаголами: Есть два основных варианта; Произошел очень странный инцидент.

Фиктивный объект принимает номер (единственное или множественное число) логического подлежащего (дополнение), следовательно, используется глагол множественного числа, если дополнение является множественным. Однако на неофициальном английском языке сокращение есть часто используется как для единственного, так и для множественного числа.^[14]

Фиктивный предмет может пройти инверсия, Есть ли сегодня тест? и Никогда не было такого человека. Он также может появляться без соответствующего логического предмета, в коротких предложениях и теги вопросов: Не было обсуждения? Там было.

Слово там в таких предложениях иногда анализировался как наречие, или как манекен предикат, а не как местоимение.^[15] Однако его идентификация как местоимения наиболее соответствует его поведению в перевернутых предложениях и вопросительных тегах, как описано выше.

Потому что слово там также может быть дейктический наречие (означающее «в / в этом месте»), предложение вроде Есть река может иметь одно из двух значений: «река существует» (с там как местоимение), и «река в том месте» (с там как наречие). В речи наречие там будет дан стресс, а местоимение — нет — на самом деле местоимение часто произносится как слабая форма, / ðə (г) /.

Другой

Другие местоимения в английском языке часто идентичны по форме определители (особенно кванторы ), Такие как много, маленькийи т. д. Иногда форма местоимения отличается, например, никто (соответствует определителю нет), ничего, каждый, кто-нибудьи т. д. Многие примеры перечислены как неопределенные местоимения. Другое неопределенное (или безличное) местоимение — один (с его возвратной формой себя и притяжательный один), который является более формальной альтернативой общий ты.^[16]

Глаголы

Основная форма английского глагола обычно не имеет окончаний, хотя есть определенные суффиксы, которые часто используются для образования глаголов, например -съел (сформулировать), -fy (электрифицировать), и -ise / ize (реализовать / реализовать).^[17] Многие глаголы также содержат префиксы, такой ООН- (разоблачать), из- (пережить), над- (догнать), и под- (недооценивать).^[17] Глаголы также могут образовываться от существительных и прилагательных с помощью нулевой вывод, как и с глаголами ловушка, нос, сухой, и спокойствие.

У большинства глаголов есть три или четыре формы склонения в дополнение к основной форме: форма настоящего времени единственного числа от третьего лица в — (е) ​​с (пишет, провалы), а настоящее причастие и герундий форма в -ing (письмо), прошедшее время (написал), и — хотя часто идентично форме прошедшего времени — причастие прошедшего времени (написано). Правильные глаголы имеют идентичные формы прошедшего времени и причастия прошедшего времени в -ed, но их около 100 неправильные английские глаголы с разными формами (см. список ). Глаголы имеют, делать и сказать также имеют неправильные формы настоящего времени от третьего лица (имеет, делает / dʌz /, говорит / sɛz /). Глагол быть имеет наибольшее количество неправильных форм (я, есть, есть в настоящем времени, был были в прошедшем времени, был для причастия прошедшего времени).

Большинство из того, что часто называют глаголом Времена (или иногда аспекты ) на английском языке формируются с использованием вспомогательные глаголы. Помимо того, что называется простое настоящее (записывать, пишет) и простое прошедшее (написал), это также непрерывный (прогрессивные) формы (я / есть / есть / был / писали), идеально формы (есть / написал / написал, и идеальный непрерывный писал / писал / писал), будущее формы (Напишу, буду писать, будет писать, будет писать), и условные (также называется «будущее в прошлом») с бы на месте буду. Вспомогательное оборудование должен и должен иногда заменяют буду и бы от первого лица. Об использовании этих различных форм глаголов см. Английские глаголы и Синтаксис предложения на английском языке.

Основная форма глагола (быть, писать, играть) используется как инфинитив, хотя есть еще «to-infinitive» (быть, написать, играть) используется во многих синтаксических конструкциях. Также существуют инфинитивы, соответствующие другим аспектам: (чтобы) написать, (писать), (писать). От второго лица императив идентичен (основному) инфинитиву; другие императивные формы могут быть сделаны с позволять (отпусти нас, или же погнали; Позволь им съесть пирог).

Форма, идентичная инфинитиву, может использоваться как подарок сослагательное наклонение в определенных контекстах: Важно, чтобы он следить их или же … это он быть преданный делу. Существует также сослагательное наклонение прошедшего времени (отличное от простого прошлого только возможным использованием мы вместо был), используется в некоторых условных предложениях и подобных: если бы я был (или же был) богатые …; если бы он приехал сейчас …; Я бы хотел, чтобы она была (или же был) здесь. Подробнее см. Английское сослагательное наклонение.

В пассивный залог образуется с помощью глагола быть (в соответствующем времени или форме) с причастием прошедшего времени рассматриваемого глагола: машины пригнаны, его убили, меня щекочут, приятно побаловать себяи т.д. Исполнитель действия может быть представлен в предложной фразе с к (как в они были убиты оккупантами).

В Английские модальные глаголы состоят из основных модальных окон может, мог, май, мог бы, должен, должен, должен, буду, бы, а также должен), стал лучше, а в некоторых случаях смею и необходимость.^[18] Они не имеют отношения к человеку или числу,^[18] не встречаются сами по себе и не имеют форм причастия или инфинитива (кроме синонимов, например, быть / быть / мог (чтобы) для модальных окон мог бы). Модальные окна используются с основной формой инфинитива глагола (Я умею плавать, его могут убить, мы не смеем двигаться, они должны идти?), кроме должен, который занимает к (ты должен пойти). Модальные окна могут указывать на состояние, вероятность, возможность, необходимость, обязанность и способность, выявленные отношением или выражением говорящего или писателя.^[19]

В связка быть, вместе с модальными глаголами и другими вспомогательное оборудование, образуют отдельный класс, иногда называемый «специальные глаголы «или просто» вспомогательные средства «.^[20] Они имеют синтаксис, отличный от обычного лексические глаголы, особенно в том, что они делают свои вопросительный формы простым инверсия с предметом, и их отрицательный формы путем добавления нет после глагола (могу я …? Я не могу …). Помимо уже упомянутых, этот класс может также включать привыкший (хотя формы он использовал? и он не использовал также встречаются), а иногда имеют даже если не вспомогательный (формы вроде у тебя есть сестра? и он понятия не имел возможны, хотя и становятся менее распространенными). Он также включает вспомогательные делать (делает, сделал); это используется с основным инфинитивом других глаголов (не принадлежащих к классу «специальных глаголов»), чтобы сделать их формы вопроса и отрицания, а также выразительные формы (ты мне нравишься?; он не говорит по английски; мы закрыли холодильник). Подробнее об этом см. делать-поддерживать.

Некоторые формы связки и вспомогательных веществ часто выглядят как схватки, как в я за я, ты бы за ты бы или же у вас, и Джона за Джон. Их отрицательные формы со следующими нет также часто заключают контракты (см. § Отрицание ниже). Подробнее см. Вспомогательные средства и сокращения английского языка.

Фразы

Глагол вместе с его иждивенцами, исключая его предмет, может быть идентифицирован как фразовый глагол (хотя эта концепция признается не во всех теориях грамматики^[21]). Глагольная фраза, начинающаяся с конечный глагол можно также назвать предикат. Иждивенцы могут быть объекты, дополнения и модификаторы (наречия или наречные фразы ). В английском языке объекты и дополнения почти всегда идут после глагола; а прямой объект предшествует другим дополнениям, таким как предложные фразы, но если есть косвенное дополнение также, выраженное без предлога, то оно предшествует прямому объекту: дай мне книгу, но отдай книгу мне. Адвербиальные модификаторы обычно следуют за объектами, хотя возможны и другие позиции (см. § Наречия ниже). Определенные комбинации глагола и модификатора, особенно когда они имеют независимое значение (например, взять и вставать), известны как «фразовые глаголы «.

Подробнее о возможных узорах см. Синтаксис предложения на английском языке. Увидеть Неограниченные предложения Раздел этой статьи для глагольных фраз, начинающихся с нескончаемых глагольных форм, таких как инфинитивы и причастия.

Прилагательные

английский прилагательные, как и другие классы слов, в целом не могут быть идентифицированы как таковые по их форме,^[22] хотя многие из них образованы от существительных или других слов путем добавления суффикса, например -al (привычный), -полный (блаженный), -IC (атомный), -ш (насмехаться, молодой), -ous (опасный), так далее.; или от других прилагательных с префиксом: нелояльный, безнадежный, непредвиденный, переутомленный.

Могут использоваться прилагательные атрибутивно, как часть именной группы (почти всегда предшествует существительному, которое они модифицируют; исключения см. постположительный прилагательное ), как в большой дом, или же предикативно, как в дом большой. Некоторые прилагательные ограничены тем или иным использованием; Например, пьяный является атрибутивным (пьяный моряк), пока пьяный обычно является предикативным (матрос был пьян).

Сравнение

Многие прилагательные имеют Сравнительная степень и превосходная степень формы в -er и -стандартное восточное время,^[23] Такие как Быстрее и самый быстрый (из положительной формы быстрый). Правила орфографии, поддерживающие произношение, применяются к суффиксным прилагательным точно так же, как и к аналогичному обращению с правильное образование прошедшего времени; они охватывают удвоение согласных (как в больше и самый большой, из большой) и изменение у к я после согласных (как в счастливее и самый счастливый, из счастливый).

Прилагательные хороший и Плохо иметь неправильную форму лучше лучшего и хуже, хуже; также далеко становится дальше, дальше или же дальше, дальше всего. Прилагательное Старый (для которых обычный старшая и самый старый обычные) также имеет неправильную форму старший и старший, они обычно ограничиваются использованием при сравнении братья и сестры и в некоторых независимых целях. Для сравнения наречий см. Наречия ниже.

Однако многие прилагательные, особенно более длинные и менее распространенные, не имеют склонных сравнительных и превосходных форм. Вместо этого они могут быть квалифицированы с помощью более и наиболее, как в красиво, красивее, красивее (эта конструкция также иногда используется даже для прилагательных, для которых существуют склонные формы).

Некоторые прилагательные классифицируются как безнадежный.^[23] Они представляют свойства, которые нельзя сравнивать по шкале; они просто применяют или не применяют, как с беременная, мертвых, уникальный. Следовательно, сравнительные и превосходные формы таких прилагательных обычно не используются, кроме как в образном, юмористическом или неточном контексте. Точно так же такие прилагательные обычно не дополняются модификаторами степени, такими как очень и весьма, хотя для некоторых из них идиоматично использовать наречия, такие как полностью. Другой тип прилагательных, которые иногда считают необратимыми, — это прилагательные, которые представляют крайнюю степень некоторого свойства, например очень вкусно и испуганный.

Фразы

An прилагательная фраза группа слов, играющая роль прилагательного в предложении. Обычно в нем есть одно прилагательное. голова, которому модификаторы и дополняет могут быть добавлены.^[24]

Прилагательные могут быть изменены предшествующим наречием или фразой наречия, как в очень тепло, действительно внушительный, более чем немного взволнован. Некоторым также может предшествовать существительное или количественная фраза, как в обезжиренный, двухметровый.

Дополнения после прилагательного могут включать:

• предложные фразы: горжусь им, злой на экран, увлекается разведением жаб;
• инфинитив фразы: стремится решить проблему, легко подобрать;
• статьи о содержании, т.е. который статьи и некоторые другие: уверен, что он был прав, не уверен, где они;
• после сравнений, фраз или предложений с чем: лучше чем ты, меньше, чем я представлял.

Фраза прилагательного может включать как модификаторы перед прилагательным, так и дополнение после него, как в очень трудно убрать.

Прилагательные фразы, содержащие дополнения после прилагательного, обычно не могут использоваться в качестве атрибутивных прилагательных. перед существительное. Иногда их используют атрибутивно после существительного, как в женщина гордится тем, что она акушерка (где они могут быть преобразованы в относительные предложения: женщина, которая гордится тем, что она акушерка), но нельзя сказать *горжусь тем, что она акушерка. Исключения включают очень короткие и часто используемые фразы, такие как легко использовать. (Некоторые дополнения можно переместить после существительного, оставив прилагательное перед существительным, как в лучший мужчина, чем ты, крепкий орешек.)

Определенные атрибутивные прилагательные фразы образуются из других частей речи без какого-либо прилагательного в качестве заголовка, как в дом с двумя спальнями, политика без джинсов.

Наречия

Наречия выполнять широкий спектр функций. Обычно они модифицируют глаголы (или глагольные фразы), прилагательные (или фразы прилагательных) или другие наречия (или наречные фразы).^[25] Тем не менее, наречия также иногда квалифицируют словосочетания существительных (Только босс; довольно прекрасное место), местоимения и определители (почти все), предложные фразы (наполовину через фильм) или целые предложения, чтобы дать контекстный комментарий или указать отношение (Честно говоря, Я тебе не верю).^[26] Они также могут указывать на связь между предложениями или предложениями (Он умер, и как следствие Я унаследовал поместье).^[26]

Многие английские наречия образованы от прилагательных путем добавления окончания -ли, как в с надеждой, широко, теоретически (подробнее орфографию и этимологию см. -ли ). Некоторые слова могут использоваться как прилагательные, так и наречия, например быстрый, прямой, и жесткий; это плоские наречия. Раньше формально было принято больше плоских наречий; многие из них выживают в идиомах и в разговорной речи. (Это просто простой уродливый.) Некоторые прилагательные могут также использоваться как плоские наречия, когда они действительно описывают предмет. (Стрикер побежал голый, нет **Стрикер бежал голым.) Наречие, соответствующее прилагательному хороший является Что ж (Обратите внимание, что Плохо образует регулярный плохо, несмотря на то что больной иногда используется в некоторых фразах).

Есть также много наречий, не образованных от прилагательных,^[25] включая наречия времени, частоты, места, степени и с другими значениями. Некоторые суффиксы, которые обычно используются для образования наречий от существительных: -вард [s] (как в домой [s]) и -Мудрый (как в по длине).

Большинство наречий образуют сравнительную и превосходную степень за счет модификации с более и наиболее: довольно часто, чаще, чаще всего; плавно, более плавно, наиболее гладко (смотрите также Сравнение прилагательных, над). Однако некоторые наречия сохраняют неправильное перегибание для Сравнительная степень и превосходная степень формы:^[25] много, более, наиболее; маленький, меньше, наименее; Что ж, лучше, Лучший; плохо, хуже, наихудший; далеко, дальше (дальше), самый дальний (самый дальний); или следуйте обычному склонению прилагательного: быстрый, Быстрее, самый быстрый; скоро, раньше, скорее; и Т. Д.

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 (Мы 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 обычно 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 обычно manage a pint; We are never late; You might возможно have been unconscious. Adverbs that provide a connection with previous information (such as next, тогда, however), and those that provide the context (such as time or place) for a sentence, are typically placed at the start of the sentence: Вчерашний день we went on a shopping expedition.^[27] 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).^[28]

A special type of adverb is the adverbial particle used to form phrasal verbs (Такие как вверх в pick up, на в get on, etc.) If such a verb also has an object, then the particle may precede or follow the object, although it will normally follow the object if the object is a pronoun (pick the pen up или же pick up the pen, но pick it up).

Phrases

An adverb phrase is a phrase that acts as an adverb within a sentence.^[29] An adverb phrase may have an adverb as its голова, together with any modifiers (other adverbs or adverb phrases) and complements, analogously to the adjective phrases described above. For example: very sleepily; all too suddenly; oddly enough; perhaps shockingly for us.

Another very common type of adverb phrase is the prepositional phrase, which consists of a preposition and its object: in the pool; after two years; for the sake of harmony.

Prepositions

Prepositions form a closed word class,^[26] although there are also certain phrases that serve as prepositions, such as in front of. A single preposition may have a variety of meanings, often including temporal, spatial and abstract. Many words that are prepositions can also serve as adverbs. Examples of common English prepositions (including phrasal instances) are из, в, на, над, под, к, из, с, in front of, позади, противоположный, к, перед, после, в течение, через, in spite of или же despite, between, среди, так далее.

A preposition is usually used with a noun phrase as its complement. A preposition together with its complement is called a prepositional phrase.^[30] Examples are in England, under the table, after six pleasant weeks, between the land and the sea. A prepositional phrase can be used as a complement or post-modifier of a noun in a noun phrase, as in the man in the car, the start of the fight; as a complement of a verb or adjective, as in deal with the problem, proud of oneself; or generally as an adverb phrase (see above).

English allows the use of «stranded» prepositions. This can occur in interrogative and relative clauses, where the interrogative or relative pronoun that is the preposition’s complement is moved to the start (fronted ), leaving the preposition in place. This kind of structure is avoided in some kinds of formal English. For example:

• 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 который could be omitted.

Stranded prepositions can also arise in passive voice constructions and other uses of passive past participial phrases, where the complement in a prepositional phrase can become zero in the same way that a verb’s direct object would: it was looked at; I will be operated on; get your teeth seen to. The same can happen in certain uses of infinitive phrases: he is nice to talk to; this is the page to make copies of.

Союзы

Союзы express a variety of logical relations between items, phrases, clauses and sentences.^[31] The principal coordinating conjunctions in English are: и, или же, но, nor, so, yet, и за. These can be used in many grammatical contexts to link two or more items of equal grammatical status,^[31] for example:

• Noun phrases combined into a longer noun phrase, such as John, Eric, and Jill, the red coat or the blue one. When и 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 и the cat, dog, and mouse are both correct. The same applies to other modifiers. (The word но 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,^[32] numerals as in two or three buildings, так далее.
• Clauses or sentences linked, as in We came, но they wouldn’t let us in. They wouldn’t let us in, nor would they explain what we had done wrong.

Это также correlative conjunctions, where as well as the basic conjunction, an additional element appears before the first of the items being linked.^[31] The common correlatives in English are:

• 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).

Subordinating conjunctions make relations between clauses, making the clause in which they appear into a subordinate clause.^[33] Some common subordinating conjunctions in English are:

• conjunctions of time, including после, перед, поскольку, до того как, когда, пока;
• conjunctions of cause and effect, including потому что, поскольку, now that, в качестве, in order that, so;
• conjunctions of opposition or concession, such as несмотря на то что, though, even though, whereas, пока;
• conjunctions of condition: such as если, пока не, only if, whether or not, even if, in case (that);
• the conjunction который, which produces content clauses, as well as words that produce interrogative content clauses: whether, куда, когда, how, так далее.

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 который can be omitted after certain verbs, as in she told us (that) she was ready. (For the use of который in relative clauses, see § Relative pronouns above.)

Дело

Although English has largely lost its case system, personal pronouns still have three morphological cases that are simplified forms of the nominative, objective и genitive cases:^[34]

• В nominative case (subjective pronouns Такие как я, he, she, мы, they, who, whoever), used for the subject of a finite verb and sometimes for the complement из copula.
• В oblique case (object pronouns Такие как me, ему, her, нас, Это, нас, 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.
• В родительный падеж (possessive pronouns Такие как my/mine, his, her(s), our(s), это, our(s), их, theirs, чей), used for a grammatical possessor. This is not always considered to be a case; видеть English possessive § Status of the possessive as a grammatical case.

Most English personal pronouns have five forms: the nominative and oblique case forms, the possessive case, which has both a определитель form (such as мой, our) and a distinct независимый form (such as мой, ours) (with two exceptions: the third person singular masculine and the third person singular neuter Это, which use the same form for both determiner and independent [his car, it is his]), and a distinct reflexive или же интенсивный form (such as myself, ourselves). В interrogative personal pronoun who exhibits the greatest diversity of forms within the modern English pronoun system, having definite nominative, oblique, and genitive forms (who, whom, чей) and equivalently coordinating indefinite forms (whoever, whomever, и whosever).

Forms such as я, he, и мы are used for the subject («я kicked the ball»), whereas forms such as me, ему и нас are used for the object («John kicked me«).^[35]

Склонение

Nouns have distinct singular and plural forms; that is, they decline to reflect their grammatical number; consider the difference between книга и книги. In addition, a few English pronouns have distinct nominative (также называемый subjective ) и косой (or objective) forms; that is, they decline to reflect their relationship to a verb или же предлог, или же дело. Consider the difference between he (subjective) and ему (objective), as in «He saw it» and «It saw him»; similarly, consider who, which is subjective, and the objective whom.

Further, these pronouns and a few others have distinct притяжательный падеж forms, such as his и чей. By contrast, nouns have no distinct nominative and objective forms, the two being merged into a single plain case. Например, chair does not change form between «the chair is here» (subject) and «I saw the chair» (direct object). Possession is shown by the clitic -‘s attached to a possessive noun phrase, rather than by declension of the noun itself.^[36]

Negation

As noted above under § Verbs, a finite indicative verb (or its clause) is negated by placing the word нет after an auxiliary, modal or other «special » verb such as do, can или же быть. For example, the clause I go is negated with the appearance of the auxiliary do, в качестве I do not go (видеть do-support ). Когда affirmative already uses auxiliary verbs (I am going), no other auxiliary verbs are added to negate the clause (I am not going). (Until the period of early Modern English, negation was effected without additional auxiliary verbs: I go not.)

Most combinations of auxiliary verbs etc. with нет 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? или же Shouldn’t he pay?

Other elements, such as noun phrases, adjectives, adverbs, infinitive and participial phrases, etc., can be negated by placing the word нет before them: not the right answer, not interesting, not to enter, not noticing the train, так далее.

When other negating words such as never, nobody, etc. appear in a sentence, the negating нет is omitted (unlike its equivalents in many languages): I saw nothing или же I didn’t see anything, but not (except in non-standard speech) *I didn’t see nothing (видеть Double negative ). Such negating words generally have corresponding negative polarity items (ever за never, anybody за nobody, etc.) which can appear in a negative context but are not negative themselves (and can thus be used after a negation without giving rise to double negatives).

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 verb-second (V2) word order to being almost exclusively subject–verb–object (SVO). The combination of SVO order and use of auxiliary verbs often creates clusters of two or more verbs at the center of the sentence, such as he had hoped to try to open it. In most sentences, English marks grammatical relations only through word order. The subject constituent precedes the verb and the object constituent follows it. В Object–subject–verb (OSV) may on occasion be seen in English, usually in the future tense or used as a contrast with the conjunction «but», such as in the following examples: «Rome I shall see!», «I hate oranges, but apples I’ll eat!».^[37]

Вопросов

Like many other Western European languages, English historically allowed questions to be formed by inverting the positions of the verb and subject. Modern English permits this only in the case of a small class of verbs («special verbs «), consisting of auxiliaries as well as forms of the copula быть (видеть subject–auxiliary inversion ). To form a question from a sentence which does not have such an auxiliary or copula present, the auxiliary verb do (делает, did) needs to be inserted, along with inversion of the word order, to form a question (see do-support ). For example:

• She can dance. → Can she dance? (inversion of subject she and auxiliary can)
• I am sitting here. → Am I sitting here? (inversion of subject я and copula являюсь)
• 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 Такие как куда, Какие, 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)

Note that inversion does not apply in indirect questions: I wonder where he is (not *… where is he). Indirect yes-no questions can be expressed using если или же whether as the interrogative word: Ask them whether/if they saw him.

Negative questions are formed similarly; however, if the verb undergoing inversion has a contraction с нет, then it is possible to invert the subject with this contraction as a whole. For example:

• 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)

Смотрите также English auxiliaries and contractions § Contractions and inversion.

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 который 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 Только, 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 ни один: so do I, neither does she.

Inversion can also be used to form conditional clauses, beginning with should, мы (subjunctive), or имел, 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, т.е. 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 быть, 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

В 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 ты 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 Многоточие.

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 или же so do I; I don’t either или же 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 William Bullokar with the stated goal of demonstrating that English was just as rule-based as Latin. Bullokar’s grammar was faithfully modeled on William Lily’s Latin grammar, Rudimenta Grammatices (1534), used in English schools at that time, having been «prescribed» for them in 1542 by Генрих VIII. Bullokar wrote his grammar in English and used a «reformed spelling system» of his own invention; but much English grammar, for much of the century after Bullokar’s effort, was written in Latin, especially by authors who were aiming to be scholarly. John Wallis с Grammatica Linguae Anglicanae (1685) was the last English grammar written in Latin.

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.

английский parts of speech are based on Latin and Greek parts of speech.^[38] Some English grammar rules were adopted from латинский, 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.^[39][40][41]

Смотрите также

• Disputes in English grammar
• English prefixes
• Subject–object–verb

Примечания и ссылки

дальнейшее чтение

Grammar books

• Aarts, Bas (2011). Oxford Modern English Grammar. Издательство Оксфордского университета. п.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. п. 1203. ISBN  0-582-23725-4.
• Biber, Douglas; Leech, Geoffrey; Conrad, Susan (2002). Longman student grammar of spoken and written English. Pearson Education Limited. п. 487. ISBN  0-582-23726-2.
• Bryant, Margaret (1945). A functional English grammar. D.C. Heath and company. п. 326.
• Bryant, Margaret; Momozawa, Chikara (1976). Modern English Syntax. Seibido. п. 157.
• Carter, Ronald; McCarthy, Michael (2006), Cambridge Grammar of English: A Comprehensive Guide, Издательство Кембриджского университета, п. 984, ISBN  0-521-67439-5 A 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. п.854. ISBN  0-8384-4725-2.
• Chalker, Sylvia; Weiner, Edmund, eds. (1998). The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar. Oxford University Press. п. 464. 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.
• Cobbett, William (2003, originally 1818). A Grammar of the English Language (Oxford Language Classics). Издательство Оксфордского университета. п. 256. 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.
• Curme, George O. (1978; original 1931, 1935). A Grammar of the English Language: Volumes I (Parts of Speech) & II (Syntax). Verbatim Books. п. 1045. ISBN  0-930454-03-0.
• Declerck, Renaat (1990). A Comprehensive Descriptive Grammar of English. Kaitakusha,Tokyo. п. 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. п. 449. ISBN  978-90-334-5637-4.
• Fowler, H.W. (2015), Butterfield, Jeremy (ed.), Fowler’s Dictionary of Modern English Usage, Oxford University Press, п. 813, ISBN  978-0-19-966135-0
• Greenbaum, Sidney (1996). Oxford English Grammar. Оксфорд и Нью-Йорк: Издательство Оксфордского университета. п. 672. ISBN  0-19-861250-8.
• Greenbaum, Sidney (1990). A Student’s Grammar of the English Language. Addison Wesley Publishing Company. п. 496. ISBN  0-582-05971-2.
• Halliday, M. A. K.; Matthiessen, Christian M. I. M. (revised by) (2004). An Introduction to Functional Grammar, 3rd. edition. London: Hodder Arnold. п. 700. ISBN  0-340-76167-9.CS1 maint: несколько имен: список авторов (связь)
• Huddleston, Rodney D. (1984) Introduction to the Grammar of English. Кембридж: Издательство Кембриджского университета.
• Huddleston, Rodney D. (1988) English Grammar: An outline. Кембридж: Издательство Кембриджского университета.
• Huddleston, Rodney D.; Pullum, Geoffrey K., eds. (2002). The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Издательство Кембриджского университета. п. 1860. ISBN  0-521-43146-8.
• Huddleston, Rodney D.; Pullum, Geoffrey K. (2005). A student’s introduction to English grammar. Издательство Кембриджского университета. п. 320. ISBN  0-521-61288-8.
• 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.
• Jespersen, Otto (1933). Essentials of English Grammar: 25th impression, 1987. London: Routledge. п. 400. ISBN  0-415-10440-8.
• Jonson, Ben (1756). «Английская грамматика: создана Беном Джонсоном для всех незнакомцев на основе его наблюдений за английским языком, на котором сейчас говорят и которым пользуются». Работы Бена Джонсона: Том 7. Лондон: D. Midwinter et al.
• Колльн, Марта Дж. (2006). Риторическая грамматика: грамматический выбор, риторические эффекты, 5-е издание. Лонгман. п. 336. ISBN  0-321-39723-1.
• Kolln, Martha J .; Функ, Роберт В. (2008). Понимание грамматики английского языка (8-е изд.). Лонгман. п. 453. ISBN  978-0-205-62690-8.
• Корсаков, А. К. (Андрей Константинович). 1969. Использование времен в английском языке. Корсаков, А. К. Структура современного английского языка pt. 1. oai: gial.edu: 26766 в http://www.language-archives.org/item/oai:gial.edu:26766
• Мецнер, Эдуард Адольф Фердинанд, 1805–1892. (1873 г.). Грамматика английского языка; методические, аналитические и исторические. Дж. Мюррей, Лондон.CS1 maint: несколько имен: список авторов (связь)Три тома, перевод Клера Джеймса Грече из немецкого издания Englische Grammatik: Die Lehre von der Wort- und Satzfügung. Профессор Уитни в своем Основы грамматики английского языка рекомендует немецкий оригинал, в котором говорится: «есть английская версия, но ее вряд ли можно использовать». (стр. vi)
• Мейер-Миклестад Дж. (1967). Продвинутая грамматика английского языка для студентов и учителей. Universitetsforlaget-Oslo. п. 627.
• Моренберг, Макс (2002). Doing Grammar, 3-е издание. Нью-Йорк: Издательство Оксфордского университета. п. 352. ISBN  0-19-513840-6.
• Поутсма, Хендрик. Грамматика позднего современного английского языка, Гронинген, П. Нордхофф, 1914–29, 2 pt. в 5 т. Содержание: пт. I. Предложение: 1-я половина. Элементы приговора, 1928 год. 2-я половина. Составное предложение, 1929. — pt. II. Части речи: раздел I, A. Существительные, прилагательные и артикли, 1914. Раздел I, B. Местоимения и числительные, 1916. Раздел II. Глагол и частицы, 1926 год.
• Причуда, Рэндольф; Гринбаум, Сидней; Пиявка, Джеффри; & Свартвик, январь (1972). Грамматика современного английского языка. Харлоу: Лонгман.
• Причуда, Рэндольф (1985). Комплексная грамматика английского языка. Харлоу: Лонгман. п.1779. ISBN  0-582-51734-6.
• Шибсбай, Кнуд (1970). Современная английская грамматика: второе издание. Лондон: Издательство Оксфордского университета. п. 390. ISBN  0-19-431327-1. Эта книга представляет собой перевод трехтомника Шибсби. Энгельск Грамматик опубликовано между 1957 и 1961 годами. Шибсбай был учеником Джесперсена и соавтором шестого тома «Морфология» семи томов Джесперсена. Современная грамматика английского языка.
• Синклер, Джон, изд. (1991) Collins COBUILD — грамматика английского языка Лондон: Коллинз ISBN  0-00-370257-X издание второе, 2005 г. ISBN  0-00-718387-9. Хаддлстон и Пуллман говорят, что нашли эту грамматику «полезной» в своих Кембриджская грамматика английского языка. (стр. 1765) Версия 1-го издания на компакт-диске доступна в пакете ресурсов COBUILD от Collins. ISBN  0-00-716921-3
• Следд, Джеймс. (1959) Краткое введение в грамматику английского языка Чикаго: Скотт, Форесман.
• Стрэнг, Барбара М. Х. (1968) Современная английская структура (2-е изд.) Лондон: Арнольд.
• Томсон, А. Дж. (Одри Джин); Мартине, А. В. (Агнес В.) (1986). Практическая грамматика английского языка: четвертое издание. Издательство Оксфордского университета. п.384. ISBN  0-19-431342-5.CS1 maint: несколько имен: список авторов (связь)
• Visser, F. Th. (Фредерик Теодорус) (2003). Исторический синтаксис английского языка. Брилл. ISBN  90-04-07142-3. 4-е впечатление. оч. 1–2. Синтаксические единицы с одним глаголом — пт.3. 1-я половина. Синтаксические единицы с двумя глаголами. — pt.3. 2-я половина. Синтаксические единицы с двумя и более глаголами.
• Уитни, Уильям Дуайт (1877) Основы грамматики английского языка, Бостон: Джинн и Хит.
• Зандвоорт, Р. В. (1972) Справочник по грамматике английского языка (2-е изд.) Лондон: Longmans.
• Питер Херринг (2016), Грамматика Farlex http://www.thefreedictionary.com/The-Farlex-Grammar-Book.htm

Монографии

• Адамс, Валери. (1973). Введение в современное английское словообразование. Лондон: Лонгман.
• Бауэр, Лори. (1983). Английское словообразование. Кембридж: Издательство Кембриджского университета.
• Фрайз, Чарльз Карпентер. (1952). Структура английского языка; введение в построение английских предложений. Нью-Йорк: Харкорт, Брейс.
• Халлидей, М.А.К. (1985/94). Разговорный и письменный язык. Университет Дикина Нажмите.
• Хаддлстон, Родни Д. (1976). Введение в трансформационный синтаксис английского языка. Лонгман.
• Хаддлстон, Родни Д. (2009). Предложение на письменном английском языке: синтаксическое исследование на основе анализа научных текстов. Издательство Кембриджского университета. п. 352. ISBN  978-0-521-11395-3.
• Джесперсен, Отто (1982). Рост и структура английского языка. Чикаго и Лондон: Издательство Чикагского университета. п. 244. ISBN  0-226-39877-3.
• Джесперсен, Отто (1992). Философия грамматики. Чикаго и Лондон: Издательство Чикагского университета. п. 363. ISBN  0-226-39881-1.
• Джесперсен, Отто (1962). Избранные произведения. Лондон: Аллен и Анвин. п. 820.—Включает монографии Джесперсена Отрицание на английском и других языках, и Система грамматики.
• Круисинга, Э. (1925). Справочник современного английского языка. Утрехт: Kemink en Zoon.
• Пиявка, Джеффри Н. (1971). Значение и английский глагол. Лондон: Лонгман.
• Маршан, Ганс. (1969). Категории и типы современного английского словообразования (2-е изд.). Мюнхен: К. Х. Бек.
• МакКоули, Джеймс Д. (1998). Синтаксические явления английского языка (2-е изд.). Чикаго: Издательство Чикагского университета.
• Лук, К. Т. (Чарльз Тальбут), (1904, 1-е издание) Продвинутый синтаксис английского языка, основанный на принципах и требованиях Грамматического общества.. Лондон: Киган Пол, Тренч, Трубнер и компания. Новое издание Продвинутый английский синтаксис, подготовленный по авторским материалам Б. Д. Х. Миллера, издан как Современный английский синтаксис в 1971 г.
• Палмер, Ф. Р. (1974). Английский глагол. Лондон: Лонгман.
• Палмер, Ф. Р. (1979). Модальность и английские модальные окна. Лондон: Лонгман.
• Плаг, Инго. (2003). Словообразование в английском языке. Кембридж: Издательство Кембриджского университета.
• Scheurweghs, Гюстав. (1959). Современный английский синтаксис: обзор моделей предложений. Лондон: Лонгманс.

внешняя ссылка

• Интернет-грамматика английского языка на UCL
• Английская грамматика на британский совет

Bound morphemes

Bound morphemes cannot stand alone and have to be bound to another morpheme.

Two major clause types

Dependent clauses

Or

Types of phrase

A phrase is a group of interrelated words that can function on its own, or as part of a sentence or clause. A phrase is different from a clause because it does not require a subject and a predicate (see our section on clauses for more information on this).

As you can see, the perfective aspect can tell us that an action is complete, e.g. the present perfect tense ‘I have cooked pasta’, or it can tell us that it will be complete, such as the future perfect tense of ‘I will have cooked pasta’.

Simple sentences usually communicate things clearly. The sentences do not need added information as they work well on their own; they consist of a single independent clause.