An adjective is a type of word in a language that is used to describe things or people. Words like “hot,” “sweet,” “boring,” and “beautiful” are adjectives.
Usually, in English, adjectives come before the thing they describe—a hot day, a sweet pickle—but sometimes they come later in the sentence, as in “I thought today’s class was really interesting.” (The adjective “interesting” describes the class.) In certain cases, an adjective can even come right after the word it describes. For example, we don’t say “I want a good something to eat.” Instead, we say “I want something good to eat.”
Adjectives are usually one-word units, but sometimes they have two or more words separated by a hyphen as in four-wheel-drive vehicle and cancer-related research.
Most adjectives have what are called comparative and superlative forms; that is, there is a basic form like “cold” and a form like “colder” that we use when we compare how cold things are. This form with “-er” is called the “comparative” form. Then there is another form like “coldest” that describes something that is colder than any of the other things we are talking about. The form with “-est” is called the “superlative” form. Some adjectives do not have these special forms with “–er” and “-est,” however, and we use the words “more” and “most” with them instead; for example, we say “more interesting,” “more level-headed,” “most delicate,” “most hilarious.”* If a word has a form with “–er” or “–est,” or if it makes sense to use “more” or “most” with it, then we can be sure that it is an adjective. Still, some words that are adjectives do not have comparative or superlative forms at all, so the main criterion for classifying them as adjectives is that they modify nouns; that is, they describe words that represent things or people.
*There isn’t a perfect rule about which adjectives must use “more” or “most” rather than “–er” or “–est” forms, but there are some general tendencies. The shorter the word is, the more likely there will be a special form with “–er” and “–est.” Most one-syllable adjectives act this way and many two-syllable adjectives do too, especially if they end in “–y” (e.g., “sleepy,” “sleepier,” “sleepiest”). If the word has three or more syllables, we always use “more” and “most.” If the adjective ends in a suffix, such as “–ful,” ”-ing,” “-ed,” or “-less,” we use “more” and “most,” even if it’s a two-syllable word. Adjectives made up of hyphenated words always use “more” and “most.”
The infinitive in English is the form that we use to refer to a verb generally. It is the form that we use to name a verb or in making a list of verbs. If we ask a question about the meaning of a verb, for example, we usually refer to it by its infinitive form, as in “Do you know what obviate means?” or “What is the meaning of ionize?”
The infinitive is a form of a verb that does not show time; that is, it does not show past or non-past time by its form. If we say “He wanted to see that movie,” the verb form “wanted” shows that it refers to past time, but “to see,” which is an infinitive, does not reflect past time. If we say “He wants to see that movie,” we know that “wants” refers to present time, but the infinitive “to see” is exactly the same as in the sentence with “wanted.” Because the infinitive is a simple form of the verb and does not show time, it is used in English to represent all verb forms related to it, which is the reason that it is used as the representative form of a verb in dictionaries.
Within sentences in English, an infinitive is generally preceded by the word “to”; for example, “to go,” “to watch,” “to ride,” “to think,” “to sleep,” “to write.” This helps to distinguish it as an infinitive because the infinitive form is identical to many other grammatical forms in English. An infinitive that is not preceded by the word “to” is often called, simply, an “infinitive without ‘to’” but it is also called a “bare infinitive.” It is the bare infinitive that is used to list verbs in dictionaries and it is a required form after most modal auxiliaries (“You mustsign it”; “They willdecide soon”) and it is required after certain verbs (“He made them wait,” “I let them sleep”).
“WH-word” is a term used in linguistics and education to make it simple to refer to any of the question words that begin with the letters “wh” as well as the question word “how.” The word “whether” is also sometimes included in this set of words. Below is a list of the common WH-words used in contemporary English.
The word “tense” refers to time. It refers to how verbs show time by their form. The words “slept” and “sleeps” are really the same word, but they differ with respect to tense. In English, there are really only two tenses by our definition: past tense and present (or, more accurately, “non-past”) tense. Of course, we can talk about the future too, but English verbs do not have a special form built into them that indicates the future, whereas it does have forms of the verb that show whether it is non-past or past. For example, the verb “walk” has the form “walks” that shows that it is referring to the present (or, at least, non-past) time (e.g., “She walks to the campus every day,” “She flies to Paris next week”). It also has the form “walked” that shows that it is referring to the past (e.g., “I walked home last night.”) Every verb in English has a form ending in “s” (for third person singular, as in “he knows,” “she works”) as well as forms that look identical to the infinitive (as in “I know,” they work”).* These forms indicate non-past time. Past time is reflected in verbs usually by a form ending in the suffix “-ed.” However, many common verbs such as “go,” “see,” “do,” and “get” have irregular forms for indicating past tense. These particular verbs have “went,” “saw,” “did,” and “got” respectively.
One may wonder about “future tense” in English. Some languages have a specific future tense, but, in English, we rely on ways to talk about the future that do not involve additional forms of the verb. To talk about the future, we often use the expression “be going to,” or we use the auxiliary verb “will” to refer to future time. The reason we prefer to refer to “non-past” time in this glossary rather than simply “present,” is that English speakers also use the “present tense” in speaking about the future. For example, when we say “I leave for Tokyo next week,” we are using the “present tense” to speak about the future. It is really the phrase “next week” that indicates the future, not the form of the verb itself.
In the way that we define “tense” in this glossary, the following examples are all in the “past tense”:
I walked to work yesterday.
I had walked to work, so I was a bit late.
I was walking to work.
I had been walking to work.
The following examples are all in the “present tense”:
She walks to work on Mondays.
She is walking to work these days.
She has walked to work for many years now.
She has been walking to work since last year.
Of course, the sentences that are indicated here as being all in the past tense or all in the present tense differ from each other grammatically and meaningfully, but they differ with respect to “aspect” and not to “tense.” (Verbs formed with “has” or “had” show what is called the “perfect” aspect. Those verbs that use a form of “be” combined with the verb in the “-ing” form, show what is called the “progressive” (or “continuous”) aspect. Verbs that consist of only one word show the “simple” aspect. “Aspect” refers to such notions as completeness, incompleteness, and continuity. For more information, see ASPECT in this glossary.)
In common parlance, the term “present tense” tends to be used for what is more specifically termed the “simple present” form, as seen in the above sentence “She walks to work on Mondays.” The term “past tense” tends to be used for what is more specifically termed the “simple past” form, as in “I walked to work this morning.”
Some grammarians use the term “tense” to indicate the form of a verb in connection with both its time and its aspect. Therefore, terms such as “present progressive,” “past perfect,” and “past progressive” are sometimes called “tenses.”
*The verb “be” is unique in English in that it has more forms than other verbs in both the present and past tenses. Whereas all other verbs have only two forms for the present tense (e.g., “go” and “goes,” “see” and “sees”), the verb “be” has three forms (“am,” “is,” and “are”). And, in the past tense, there are two forms rather than just the one form (“was” for the subjects “he,” “she,” and “it” and “were” for the subjects “I,” “we,” “you,” and “they”).
The term “subjunctive” refers to one of the grammatical “moods” that color the verb in a sentence. Verbs in the subjunctive mood indicate that the action or state described by the verb is hypothetical or counter to reality (e.g., “They proposed that the city build a new bridge,” “If I were you, I’d buy it”). In English, there are five moods: indicative, subjunctive, imperative, interrogative, and conditional. Grammatical mood is something that indicates a certain perspective on what is being said. It has to do with things like what is considered to be real, what one desires or recommends to become real, what would be real under a particular condition, or what one knows to be purely hypothetical or impossible. For example, verbs in the indicative mood express what is considered reality (“I listened to the song twice,” “She’s going to stop at the store on her way back.”) Verbs in the imperative mood (e.g., “Listen!” “Stop!”) indicate that what is being said is a request, and verbs in the subjunctive mood, again, indicate that the action or condition is hypothetical–perhaps proposed but not currently real–or counter to reality altogether.
The verb of a sentence can show its “mood” by the form that the verb takes.* In English, verbs have relatively few unique forms, however, so it is not always easy to judge the mood of a verb simply by looking at its form; still, there are some ways to identify the operation of the subjunctive mood. In the following sentences, the verbs in italics are in the subjunctive mood, which explains why there is no “-s” at the end of verbs in the third person singular as one would expect if they were in the more typical indicative mood in the present tense. Notice also how negatives are formed with these italicized verbs.
They demanded that she leave immediately.
He insisted that they not drive in the snow storm.
She asked that he be more punctual in the future.
The lawyer recommended that she not sign the document just yet.
The council proposed that the city expand its bus service.
The school requires that each student provide proof of immunization.
The sentences above contain forms in what is called the presentsubjunctive. Present subjunctive forms look exactly like the infinitive form of a verb (without the word “to”). Below are all the present subjunctive forms of the verb “to be” with their associated subjects.
I be
you be
he be
we be
she be
they be
it be
Below are all the present subjunctive forms of the verb “to make.”
I make
you make
he make
we make
she make
they make
it make
The “present subjunctive” plays a relatively small, but nonetheless important, role in modern English. Certain verbs, when followed by a clause beginning with “that,” require a subjunctive form of the verb in the following clause. For example, the verbs “request,” suggest,” “advise,” and “insist” are followed by a clause in the subjunctive mood.**
The hotel requests that each guest sign the register upon check-in.
The doctor suggested that she take up yoga.
The lawyer advised that he be patient and not do anything rash.
The customer insisted that she receive a full refund.
All the examples of the subjunctive above are shown with a third person singular subject. This is simply to make it more obvious that the form of the verb is subjunctive rather than indicative. Most indicative and subjunctive forms look identical.
Other uses of the present subjunctive are extremely limited in modern English. Certain adjectives followed by a “that” clause take the subjunctive, as in “It’s important/necessary/mandatory that he follow these instructions exactly.” And certain constructions such as “in order that” and “lest” are also followed by verbs in the subjunctive (e.g., “She left two hours early lest she miss her train.”) Certain set phrases such as “God save the Queen,” and “God bless you” also contain present subjunctive forms.
The “past subjunctive” is somewhat more active in that it is the form that is used in “if” and “wish that” clauses when describing something contrary to fact or considered impossible or highly improbable. Past subjunctive forms look identical to indicative past tense forms. However, the subjunctive form for the verb “be” is “were” for all subjects.
If I were you, I’d sell that car while it still has some value.
He wishes he were here with us now.
If she were the child’s mother, she would have acted differently.
If I went to that school, I think I’d be happier than I am here.
I wish I had some money to help you with, but I really can’t spare any.
Although the term “past subjunctive” is used to describe these verb forms, the meaning conveyed is not one of past time. When it’s necessary to indicate past time, forms that look like the indicative past perfect are used.
If I had been there last night, I would have tried to help. (But I wasn’t there.)
If he had seen the deer, he would have braked earlier. (But he didn’t see it.)
If they had been here yesterday, they would have gotten all the instructions. (But they weren’t here.)
I wish that Ihad gone to see a doctor sooner than I did. I might have avoided this surgery.
He wishes he hadn’t acted so hastily. He strongly regrets what he did now.
*The conditional mood is created by the use of “would” or other modal auxiliary preceding the verb–the verb itself does not have a special form to show conditional. A typical conditional sentence is in the form of “If I were you, I would tell him the truth.” The interrogative mood is typically created by subject-verb inversion (“Are you ready?”) or by the employment of an auxilary verb before the subject (“Do you think so?”).
**The requirement for the present subjunctive after certain verbs following a “that“ clause is felt more strongly in American English than in British English. Speakers of British English often insert “should” before some of these verbs or may avoid these constructions altogether when possible. Instead of “He advised that she be on time,” a British speaker might say “He advised that she should be on time” or “He advised her to be on time.” American speakers may be inclined to avoid the subjunctive as well if there is a grammatically correct alternative. The subjunctive can feel somewhat formal.
In English, the shortest “full sentence” we can make is made up of 1) a subject and 2) a verb that shows past or non-past time (or a modal auxiliary verb, such as “can,” “will,” “should,” or “might”). Everysentencethat is technically called a “sentence” consists of, at least, these two things.
SUBJECT
VERB
She
paints.
We
won.
A subject in a sentence can consist of just one word, or it can consist of many words. The crucial factor is that it functions as a noun. It may be a simple noun (like “milk”), a subject pronoun (such as “I,” “we,” “he,” “she,” or “you”), a gerund (like “sleeping” or “thinking”) a phrase, or anything else that can function as a noun. That is, it is a person or a thing (or many persons or many things). Of equal importance is that the subject of a sentence is generally the person or thing that does the action of the verb or is described by the action, thing, quality, or condition expressed by the verb part of the sentence.
SUBJECT
VERB
Lions
hunt.
He
forgets
a lot.
The audience
laughed.
The people across the street
moved.
What
happened?
My father
is
a mechanic.
They
are
happy.
The cat that was up in the tree
came
down finally
Another thing that defines a subject is that it “governs” its verb. That is, the verb takes a particular form depending on what “person” the subject is. For example, the verb “work” in a sentence in the present tense will be “work” if the subject is “we,” “I,” “you,” or “they” (or an equivalent of one of these), but it will be “works” if the subject is “he,” “she,” or “it.” In the case of the verb “be,” the form of the verb varies to a greater extent. “Be” has three forms in the present tense–the word “am” for the subject “I,” the word “is” for the subjects “she,” “he,” or “it,” and the word “are” for the subjects “we,” “they,” and “you.” “Be” also has two different forms in the past tense, “was” and “were,” which vary according to their subject.
The word “sentence” is defined in various ways, but the way the word is generally used in traditional grammar has one specific meaning: A sentence is a statement or question that consists, at least, of (1) a subject and (2) an accompanying verb that reflects time (past or non-past) or contains a modal auxiliary (e.g., “must,” “can,” “will,” etc.)* Therefore, single words are not sentences, and phrases like “Not yet,” “In the kitchen,“ “Beautiful day!” and “To be or not to be” are not “sentences.”
Things like “Oh, no!” “Congratulations!” and “Huh?” are certainly complete and important things to say as well, but they are not considered “sentences” as far as English grammar is concerned. That does not mean that there is anything wrong with them. It’s just that they cannot be defined as “sentences.” Moreover, something like “my leaving on Friday” is not a sentence because, even though there is an action, “leaving,” and somebody doing that action (me), the verb form “leaving” does not show whether it refers to past or non-past time. (“Friday” could refer either to last Friday or next Friday or some other Friday in the past or future.) “Leaving” is a timeless form, and a “sentence,” according to notions of grammar, must show past or non-past time in the verb (or contain a modal auxiliary). In addition, the word “my” in “my leaving on Friday” is a possessive adjective rather than a noun, so it can’t be considered a subject of a sentence. (Actually, this whole phrase “my leaving on Friday” could be the subject of a sentence because it is acting as a noun.)
A subject of a sentence must be a noun, or something that functions like a noun. For example, it may be a subject pronoun (such as “we,” “I,” “he,” “she”), a gerund, or a phrase that functions as a noun. Therefore, a string of words like “She walked” is a full sentence, but “her walking” is not. Similarly, “He helped” is a full sentence, but “him helping” is not.
It’s important to note that a subject of a sentence can be quite long. A subject can consist of one word or it can consist, for example, of one noun and many adjectives and adjectival clauses and phrases. For example, the phrase “That friendly old guy at the party that asked me that question about my mother” can function as the subject of a sentence. It is not in itself a sentence even though it is long and it has a verb, “asked,” which goes with “guy.” It is not a sentence because the phrase “that asked me a question about my mother” is working as an adjective simply to describe which “guy” is being talked about. The verb “asked” is a subordinate verb, not a main verb (a required verb to make a sentence) because it is part of this adjectival clause. A full sentence would have to tell us what this friendly old guy at the party who asked me a question about my mother actually did.
NOT A FULL SENTENCE
FULL GRAMMATICAL SENTENCE
Passed!
I passed!
Not yet.
She has not yet made her decision.
In the kitchen.
They are talking in the kitchen.
You!
You should!
Beautiful day!
It is a beautiful day!
Walking.
Walking is their usual way of getting to school.
My leaving on Friday
My leaving on Friday will upset my mother.
The cat that was sitting by the window
The cat that was sitting by the window yawned.
*Imperative sentences, such as “Stay there!” “Put the keys on the table,” are considered complete grammatical sentences even though their intended subject, “you,” is not expressed.
The present participle is a verb part. It is formed with the ending “-ing” and looks just like a gerund (e.g., “going,” “walking,” “sitting,” “dancing,” “eating”). We see or hear the present participle most often in sentences that use progressive forms as in the following examples:
He’s sleeping.
She’s working late tonight.
I’m making a cake.
They’ve been building a sandcastle.
He was cleaning the bathroom while she was cleaning the kitchen.
I will be sitting on the beach by this time tomorrow.
The present participle is also used to describe what some person, thing, or animal is engaged in at a certain point in time. When the present participle is used in this way, it is not part of a main verb of a clause. It is functioning as an adjectival modifier instead. It is used to describe a noun or noun phrase. Often, the present participle describes a person or thing in terms of what they are doing at a particular time.
The sleeping lion looked almost tame.
We put out the last glowing coals of the fire.
She witnessed them stealing the bicycle.
There he was, sitting on the front porch, reading a book.
A predicate is a major element of a sentence. Simply defined, it is the verb part of the sentence. It is the part of a sentence that contains the verb and elements of the sentence attached to the verb. The term “predicate” stands in contrast to the term “subject.” The following sentences are broken up into their subjects and predicates.
A “phrase,” in one sense of the term as it is used in grammar, is a group of words that forms part of a sentence but does not contain a subject and verb that operate together grammatically. In other words, “in Chicago” is a phrase, but “They live in Chicago” is not a phrase. (The larger group of words containing the subject “they” and the verb “live” is a clause. It is also a grammatical sentence in itself.)
Here are some more examples of this type of phrase. Notice that there is a grammatical ordering of the words but no subject-plus-verb combinations.
the large apartment upstairs
in the New Year
his new girlfriend
sleeping on the couch
my apologizing to her
after the movie
We often use the word “phrase” in connection with the notion of “prepositional phrase.” Prepositional phrases are a combination of a preposition followed by a noun, pronoun, or group of words functioning together as a noun; for example, phrases like “in the park,” “after midnight,” “for me and you,” “beyond that tree over there” are all prepositional phrases.
In a different sense of the term “phrase” in grammar, a phrase is seen as a main constituent, or primary building block, of a sentence, such as a “noun phrase” or a “verb phrase.” The sentence “The man who bought the ring returned it the next day” is made up of the noun phrase “The man who bought the ring” and the verb phrase “returned it the next day.” In this sense of the term “phrase,” it is possible for there to be one-word phrases. For example, the word “she” in the sentence “She is sleeping” is a noun phrase just in itself. The word “forgot” in the sentence “I forgot” is the entire verb phrase in that sentence. Every English full sentence consists of at least a noun phrase and a verb phrase, which is sometimes represented as