English grammar is the body of rules that describe the
structure of
expressions in the
English language. This includes the structure of
words,
phrases,
clauses, and
sentences.
There are historical, social, and regional variations of English.
Divergences from the
grammar
described here occur in some
dialects of English. This article describes a generalized
present-day
Standard English, the form of speech found in types of public
discourse including
broadcasting,
education,
entertainment,
government, and
news reporting,
including both formal and informal speech. There are certain differences
in grammar between the standard forms of
British English,
American English, and
Australian English, although these are inconspicuous compared with
the
lexical and
pronunciation differences.
Word classes
and phrases
There are eight
word classes, or parts of speech, that are distinguished in English:
nouns,
determiners,
pronouns,
verbs,
adjectives,
adverbs,
prepositions, and
conjunctions. (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.[1]
Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs form
open classes – word classes that readily accept new members, such as
the noun
celebutante (a celebrity who frequents the fashion circles), the
adverb 24/7
(as in I am working on it 24/7), and similar relatively new
words.[1]
The others are regarded as
closed classes. For example, it is rare for a new pronoun to be
admitted to the language.
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, some 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).[2]
Lexemes may be
inflected to express different grammatical categories. The lexeme
run has the forms runs, ran, and running.[2]
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.[2]
Words combine to form
phrases.
A phrase typically serves the same function as a word from some
particular word class.[2]
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,
adjective phrases and
adverb 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 together with its
complement (and is therefore usually a type of adverb phrase); and a
determiner phrase is a type of noun phrase containing a determiner.
Nouns
Nouns
form the largest English word class. There are many common
suffixes
used to form nouns from other nouns or from other types of words, such
as -age (as in shrinkage), -hood (as in
sisterhood), and so on,[2]
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).
Unlike in many related languages, English nouns do not have
grammatical gender (although many nouns refer specifically to male
or female persons or animals, like mother, father, bull,
tigress; see
Gender in English). 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.
heat, prejudice).[3]
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.[4]
Some nouns can function to be either countable or uncountable such the
word "wine" (This is a good wine, I prefer red wine).
Countable nouns generally have
singular and
plural
forms.[3]
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, medium/media, etc.),
including cases where the two forms are identical (sheep,
series). For more details, see
English plural.
Certain nouns can take 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,
a form of
synesis, 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, formed by 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).
For details, see
English possessive.
Noun phrases
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.[4]
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[4]
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 that you
were talking to. 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 that you were talking to 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.
Determiners
English
determiners constitute a relatively small class of words. They
include the
articles the, a[n] (and in some contexts some),
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, 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
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.
Personal pronouns
The personal pronouns of modern standard English, and the
corresponding
possessive forms, are as follows:
|
Nominative |
Oblique |
Reflexive |
Possessive determiner |
Possessive pronoun |
1st pers. sing. |
I |
me |
myself |
my |
mine |
2nd pers. sing./pl. |
you |
you |
yourself/yourselves |
your |
yours |
3rd pers. sing. |
she, he, it |
her, him, it |
herself, himself, itself |
her, his, its |
hers, his, (rare: its) |
1st pers. pl. |
we |
us |
ourselves |
our |
ours |
3rd pers. pl. |
they |
them |
themselves |
their |
theirs |
The second-person forms such as you are used with both
singular and plural reference. (An archaic set of pronouns used for
singular reference is thou, thee, thyself, thy, thine.) 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
sex of the referent. For example, she can be used to refer to a
female person, sometimes a female animal, and sometimes an object to
which female characteristics are attributed, such as a ship or a
country. A male person, 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, in sentences like It is going to be sunny this
afternoon.
The third-person plural forms such as they are sometimes used
with singular reference, as a
gender-neutral pronoun, as in each employee should ensure they
tidy their desk. This usage is sometimes considered ungrammatical.
(See
singular they.)
The possessive deteminers 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 and interrogative pronouns
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 then form
the alternative pronominal expressions this/that one,
these/those ones.
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.
All the interrogative pronouns can also be used as relative pronouns;
see below for more details.
Relative pronouns
The main
relative pronouns in English are
who (with its derived forms whom and whose),
which, and
that.[5]
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 (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 (but not as determiners).
There as
pronoun
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 colloquial
English, however, the
contraction there's is often used where there are
would be expected.
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.[6]
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)/.
Other pronouns
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 at
Indefinite pronoun.
Verbs
Main article:
English verbs
Verbs form the second largest word class after nouns. 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).[7]
Many verbs also contain
prefixes,
such un- (unmask), out- (outlast), over-
(overtake), and under- (undervalue).[7]
Verbs can also be formed from nouns and adjectives by conversion, as
with the verbs snare, nose, dry, and calm.
Most verbs have three or four inflected forms: 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") with would in
place 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
infinitive is the basic form of the verb (be, write, play),
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.[8]
These do not inflect for person or number,[8]
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).
The
copula be, along with the modal verbs and the other
auxiliaries, form a distinct class, sometimes called "special
verbs" or simply "auxiliaries".[9]
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.
Verb phrases
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[10]).
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
English
adjectives, as with other word classes, cannot in general be
identified as such by their form,[11]
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), 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
Many adjectives have
comparative and
superlative forms in -er and -est,[12]
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.[12]
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 adjectives sometimes considered ungradable is those that
represent an extreme degree of some property, such as delicious
and terrified; the same point about modifiers applies to these,
although it is not rare to find them in comparative or superlative form.
Adjective phrases
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.[13]
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-metre-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
Adverbs
perform a wide range of functions, typically modifying verbs (or verb
phrases), adjectives (or adjective phrases), or other adverbs (or adverb
phrases),[14]
although they also sometimes qualify noun phrases (only the boss,
quite a lovely place), pronouns and determiners (almost all)
and prepositional phrases (halfway through the movie), indicate
an attitude or comment on a whole sentence (frankly, I don't believe
you),[15]
or indicate the relation between clauses or sentences (he died, and
consequently I inherited the estate).[15]
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. 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 a large number of adverbs that are not derived from
adjectives,[14]
including adverbs of time (today, soon, then), of place
(here, there, everywhere), of degree (very,
much, quite, so, too), and with other meanings
(only, just, however, therefore). Some
suffixes that are fairly commonly used to form adverbs from nouns are
-ward[s] (as in homeward[s]) and -wise (as in
lengthwise).
A few adverbs retain irregular inflection for
comparative and
superlative forms:[14]
much, more, most; a little, less,
least; soon, sooner, soonest; well,
better, best; badly, worse, worst;
far, further (farther), furthest (farthest);
or follow the regular adjectival inflection: fast, faster,
fastest, etc. However 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).
Adverbs indicating the manner of an action are most usually placed
after the verb and its objects (We considered the proposal carefully),
although other positions are often possible. 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 the 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 a context
(such as time or place) for the sentence, often come at the start of the
sentence: Yesterday we went on a shopping expedition.[16]
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).
Adverb phrases
An
adverb phrase is a phrase that acts as an adverb within a sentence.[17]
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
Prepositions form a closed word class,[15]
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.[18]
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
Conjunctions express a variety of logical relations between items,
phrases, clauses and sentences.[19]
The principal
coordinating conjunctions in English are and, or, and
but, as well as nor, so, yet and for.
These can be used in many grammatical contexts to link two or more items
of equal grammatical status,[19]
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,[20]
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.[19]
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.[21]
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.
A 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.)
Negation
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 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. Sometimes, multiple negations are used for humorous
purposes, and are understood to follow the rules of multiplying negative
numbers in math: an even number of negations, including zero, means a
positive, while an odd number means a negative. For example, There is
not no cow over there is understood to mean there is at least
one cow, which is positive. He didn't never not bow after a
performance is understood to mean there has been at least one
instance of him not bowing, which is negative.
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). English
syntax is essentially of SVO (subject–verb–object)
type; the verb precedes its object in the verb phrase, and the subject
of the clause precedes the verb.
Questions
Like many other Western European languages, English historically
allowed questions to be asked by inverting the positions of verb and
subject. Modern English requires the use of the auxiliary verb do,
along with inversion of the word order, to form a question from a simple
(one-word) affirmative (I go → Do I go?, Where do I go?),
apart from when the main verb is "be" (I am here → Am I here?,
Why am I here?). When the affirmative verb is compound, a
question is formed by inverting the auxiliary verb with the subject (John
is going → Is John going?).
Combining the formation of a question with negation involves both
insertion of do, if the verb is not already compound, and
inversion of the auxiliary verb with the subject: John is going →
Is John not going?; John goes → Does John not go?.
However, the word not can optionally (especially in informal
English) be
contracted with the auxiliary verb, in which case the word order is
further changed: Isn't John going?, Doesn't John go?.
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 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
The clause structure with inverted subject and verb, used to form
questions as described above, is also used in certain types of
declarative sentence. This occurs mainly when the sentence begins with
an adverbial or other phrase that is essentially negative or contains
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
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
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
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 many English grammars, for much of the century after
Bullokar's effort, were 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.