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relative pronoun

We have five relative pronouns in the English language: that, which, who (whoever), whom (whomever), and whose. Note that the personal relative pronouns (who, whom, whose) exhibit case: who (subjective case), whom (objective case), and whose (possess...

restrictive clause

A restrictive clause is also called a defining clause. The great grammarian Henry Fowler coined the term defining clause. A restrictive clause looks to the noun (or pronoun) modified and singles it out among others that could exist in the context. A ...

run-on sentence

A run-on sentence happens when a semicolon is omitted between two independent clauses not joined by a coordinating or correlative conjunction. Sometimes a comma might appear, but that's incorrect punctuation. To join two independent clauses without a...

"-self" words

For a discussion of the -self words, as in myself, yourself, himself, herself, etc., see reflexive pronoun....

sentence

A grammatically complete sentence has a subject and a conjugated verb, as in Mary sang. A sentence is also an independent clause. If a group of words qualifies only as a dependent clause, it is not a sentence, as in Because we were tired. Many writer...

sentence adverb

A sentence adverb modifies an entire sentence or clause. According to top authorities, adverbs, including those ending in ‑ly, can modify entire sentences. Here are some examples drawn from reputable sources: Unhappily, there are times when violenc...

serial-comma rule

When you join three or more elements in a series, put a comma before the conjunction (usually and or or). Thus: red, white, and blue. This is the serial-comma rule. The comma is also referred to as the Oxford Comma. The top style manuals follow the s...

singular

Nouns and pronouns are either singular or plural. Nouns typically form their plurals by adding ‑s, (boys), ‑es (torches), or ‑ies (cities). Some plural words, like children and fish, do not use ‑s. Pronouns have special forms to show pluralit...

split infinitive

Every verb has a base infinitive form. We think of the infinitive as the verb with the preposition to in front of it: as in to have, to hold, to love, to honor, to cherish. Infinitives appear in the language in three ways: (1) they appear alone to s...

subject

The grammatical subject of a sentence or clause is a noun, a group of words acting as a noun, or a pronoun. The subject names whatever is asserted by the verb. Usually, the subject precedes the verb, as in She walked to work. But when you ask a quest...

subjective case

No matter what type of writing you are working on, you will sooner or later face the need for proofreading and editing your piece since these are important stages of the entire writing process. Therefore, any author has to learn the difference betwee...

subjunctive 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...

subordinate clause

A subordinate clause is also called a dependent clause. A dependent clause cannot stand by itself as a sentence. It must attach to an independent clause to form what is called a complex sentence.Dependent clauses may act in three ways: (1) as nouns,...

subordination

Each sentence has three essential parts: (1) the subject, (2) the verb, and (3) the other stuff, which is governed by the kind of verb chosen. Writers then begin to add to this basic structure. They add one-word additions (adjectives, adverbs, nou...

subordinating conjunction

We have a long list of subordinating conjunctions. These words are used to start a subordinate clause, which can act as an adjective, adverb, or noun. Examples include after, although, as, as far as, as if, as long as, as though, because, before, how...

superlative state

Most adjectives and adverbs come in three states. The positive state describes the basic attribute (the hot plate, he ran quickly). The comparative state shows more of the attribute (the hotter plate, he ran more quickly). The superlative state shows...

switcheroo noun

I coined this term to describe two-word pairs. The two words are spelled and sometimes pronounced identically. One word acts as a noun, the other as a verb.A classic example is change. A nouny writer would always opt for the noun form and write: "I m...

tense

In traditional English grammar, we have six tenses of verbs:1. present tense (I decide)2. past tense (I decided)3. future tense (I will decide)4. present-perfect tense (I have decided)5. past-perfect tense (pluperfect) (I had decided)6. future-perfec...

transitive verb

Action verbs are either transitive or intransitive. A transitive verb has the intrinsic ability to attach directly to a noun, called the direct object. But an intransitive verb cannot attach directly to a noun. To form a relationship with a noun, an ...

truncated clause

 See elliptical clause....

verb

The most important word in the English language is the verb. Without it, we could not write sentences. In fact, if you want to write a one-word sentence, that one word must be a verb.We have four kinds of main verbs: (1) action transitive verbs, (2)...

verb "to be"

The verb to be is unique in the English language. It can serve as a main verb (I am a writer) and as a primary auxiliary verb to form the progressive tense (I am writing the book) and the passive voice (The book was written by me).Ordinarily, it requ...

verbal object

Action verbs come in two varieties: transitive verbs and intransitive verbs. A transitive verb has the intrinsic ability to attach directly to a noun, and that noun is called the direct object. Thus, in the sentence John hit the ball, the word ball i...

verbal phrase

We have three verbal phrases in the English language: (1) infinitive phrases, (2) present-participial phrases, and (3) past-participial phrases. These are power structures that all great use rather profusely in their styles. So should you.You'll f...

vowel

Letters are either vowels or consonants. In grade school, you learned that vowels are a, e, i, o, and u, and sometimes y. The word consonant refers to the sound produced by occluding with or without releasing (p, b; t, d; k, g), diverting (m, n, ng),...