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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),...

Conclusion to the Parts of Speech

We hope you have enjoyed and profited from Grammar.com’s discussion of the parts of speech in the English language. We’ve tried to cover what you need to know to expand your knowledge of the language. We firmly believe that improving your writing...

a, an

Writers sometimes confuse the use of the articles a and an. We were all taught that a precedes a word starting with a consonant and that an precedes a word starting with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u). Here’s the secret to making the rule work: The rule a...

agree

Watch out. Those who diminish our language have turned the intransitive verb agree into a transitive verb. Remember, an intransitive verb needs a preposition to form a relationship with a noun.Thus, you agree to the terms. You do not agree the terms....

all, all of

allIn formal writing, omit the of after all. Remember the folk song: All My Trials Not:All of My Trials all ofIn two situations, however, you should include the of.1. When the word following all is a pronoun. all of themBut when that pronoun is poss...

almost

Place almost directly before the word it modifies.The following is incorrect: There was almost a threatening edge to his voice. Instead: There was an almost threatening edge to his voice. See only....

all right, alright

Use two words: all right. The one-word alright is incorrect in American English....

alot, a lot, allot

The word lot is a one-word noun. When you precede it with the article a, you write the expression as two words: a lot. You wouldn’t refer to a tree as atree. Neither should you write alot.Allot is a verb that means “to parcel out or distribute.â€...

and

Don’t hesitate to start a sentence with And. It’s a coordinating conjunction, and great writers have been starting sentences with conjunctions for hundreds of years. You can remember the coordinating conjunctions by referring to the acronym BOYFA...

a while, awhile

Awhile is an adverb that will most commonly follow a verb. (Could you wait awhile?)A while is a noun form and usually appears after a preposition (usually for or in). The main confusion here is that both can be used in very similar sentences: Sit awh...