Recently Added Articles Page #55

main clause

The main clause of a sentence is the independent clause—complete with subject, conjugated verb, and a third part. The third part is dictated by the verb. If the verb is transitive, the third part will be a noun acting as the direct object, as in Jo...

main verb

The main verb in a sentence is the verb in the main clause, also called the independent clause. This verb will appear in conjugated form, showing tense, person, number, and mood. Other conjugated verbs might appear in a sentence, but these will be ve...

modal auxiliary verb

We have ten modal auxiliary verbs: can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, and would. We use them to express the mood of the verb, which, most often, is the indicative mood (expressing something as a fact). The modals enable us t...

modifier

Modifiers are words or groups of words that limit, enumerate, or describe and clarify the meaning of other words—called headwords. The headwords are nouns (or words acting as nouns) or verbs. Modifiers act either adjectivally or adverbially.Here ar...

mood

First, understand this: The word mood has nothing to do with frame of mind, as in happy or sad. It actually refers to mode, which is the attribute of a verb suggesting the speaker's attitude toward the action expressed.The mood of verbs shows how the...

no-action verb

All main verbs divide into two broad categories: action verbs (transitive and intransitive) and no-action verbs (the verb to be and linking verbs).The verb to be, as a main verb, joins the grammatical subject with another noun (subject complement or ...

nominal clause

A nominal clause is a group of words with a conjugated verb in it that acts as a noun. Also called a noun clause, this structure can fulfill virtually all functions of a noun. A nominal clause starts with words like that, the fact that, whether, when...

nondefining clause

The great grammarian Henry Fowler coined this term to refer to a nonrestrictive clause. A nondefining clause looks to the noun modified and adds information about it. It does not single it out among others that could exist in the context. Instead, th...

nonparallel construction

When you write a series of elements in a sentence, each element must (1) appear in the same grammatical form and (2) perform the same grammatical function. This is the rule of parallel construction. If any element fails to satisfy either criterion,...

nonrestrictive clause

A nonrestrictive clause is also called a nondefining clause.A nonrestrictive clause looks to the noun modified and adds information about it. It does not single it out among others that could exist in the context. Instead, the identity of the modifie...

noun

A noun is a person, place, thing, or idea or emotional state. Nouns are characterized by their ability to form plurals and to take possessive endings. The noun serves a variety of roles in our sentences.Consider the following sentence. In it you'll f...

noun absolute

The noun absolute is a power structure that belongs in your style. All great writers routinely use noun absolutes. In fact, you won't find a great work of fiction without oodles of noun absolutes. You form a noun absolute by taking a noun (or pronoun...

noun adverb

A noun can act as an adverb. In the following examples, notice how the noun answers one of the adverbial questions (how, when, where, or why): He went home. (noun adverb tells where he went)Yesterday he gave the class his views. (noun adverb tells ...

noun appositive

 See appositive....

noun chain

These days writers write long chains of nouns that befuddle the reader. A noun chain is a string of nouns, some acting as noun modifiers and one finally serving the noun function in the sentence. The expression noun chain is, itself, a noun chain.We ...

noun clause

 See nominal clause....

noun modifier

A noun can act as an adjective. When it does, we call it a noun modifier. Indeed, in the expression noun modifier, the word noun acts as a noun modifier. We have hundreds of these expressions in our language. In fact, you can make them up. chair legs...

noun substitute

This is not an official grammatical term. Rather, I made it up to refer to three structures in our language that can step in and perform the roles of the noun: (1) nominal clauses, (2) infinitive phrases, and (3) gerundive phrases. All great write...

nouniness

In his great work, Modern English Usage, Henry Fowler referred to a “nouny abstract style.” I took that adjective nouny and turned it into the noun nouniness.The term nouniness describes the style of many writers who, for some unknown reason, re...

number

The concept of number applies to nouns, verbs, and pronouns. Number distinguishes “oneness” and “more-than-oneness,” that is, it distinguishes the singular from the plural.English verbs do not have a special form to denote plurality. Instead,...

object

The grammatical word object refers to several of the main functions of nouns (and pronouns). A noun can serve as the direct object of a transitive verb, as in John hit the ball. A noun can serve as the object of a preposition, as in Mary went to the ...

object complement

A complement is a word or group of words that completes the action or state of being expressed by the verb. A subject complement typically follows the verb to be or a linking verb (seem, appear, many others).Another kind of complement is the object...

object of a preposition

One of the major roles of the noun or pronoun is the object of the preposition. When a noun or pronoun combines with a preposition, it forms a prepositional phrase, which primarily acts as either an adjective (the book on the table) or an adverb (He ...

objective case

The personal pronouns (and the relative or interrogative pronoun who) exhibit case. The case of a pronoun reveals how the noun it replaces would act in the sentence. We have three cases: (1) subjective or nominative case, (2) objective case, and (3...

parallel construction

When you write a series of elements in a sentence, each element must (1) appear in the same grammatical form and (2) perform the same grammatical function. This is the rule of parallel construction. If any element fails to satisfy either criterion,...