The past participle in Spanish is primarily used with the verb haber ‘to have’ to form the present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect of Spanish verbs. Similar to the past participle in English, the Spanish past participle is formed by affixing a suffix to the stem of a verb. The following sections explain the […] More
The present participle in Spanish is primarily used with the verb estar ‘to be’ to form the present progressive of Spanish verbs. Similar to the present participle in English, the Spanish present participle is formed by affixing a suffix to the stem of a verb. The following sections explain the formation of regular and irregular […] More
Traditional grammars define nouns as words that name a person, place, thing, or idea. Pronouns are a subcategory of nouns that take the place of nouns, noun phrases, noun clauses, and other grammatical forms. Relative pronouns both a type of pronoun that take the place of another word, phrase, or clause and a type of […] More
Determiners are a closed class of words that provide information such as familiarity, location, quantity, and number about a noun or noun phrase. Determiners differ in form and function from adjectives, which describe attributes of nouns and noun phrases. Like demonstrative pronouns, demonstrative determiners provide additional information about the proximity of the word or phrase. […] More
Determiners are a closed class of words that provide information such as familiarity, location, quantity, and number about a noun or noun phrase. Determiners differ in form and function from adjectives, which describe attributes of nouns and noun phrases. Articles are a type of determiner that specify the grammatical definiteness of a noun or noun […] More
Traditional notional grammars define the noun as a word that refers to a person, place, thing, or idea. A pronoun is a small word that takes the place of a noun, noun phrase, noun clause, and other grammatical form. Pronouns are a subcategory of nouns. The relative pronoun is both a type of pronoun that […] More
An idiom is a word, phrase, or expression that cannot be taken literally because the meaning is figurative. Idioms are a form of expression peculiar to a language. The English language has many idioms that mention food. The following sections provide definitions of some common English idioms and proverbs that include fruit, vegetables, baked goods, […] More
Possessive determiners belong to a closed class of words call determiners. Determiners provide information such as familiarity, location, quantity, and number about a noun, pronoun (rarely), or noun phrase. Possessive determiners are similar to possessive nouns, which indicate possession of or some other relationship to another word or phrase. The possessive determiners in English are […] More
Interrogative determiners belong to a closed class of words call determiners. Determiners provide information such as familiarity, location, quantity, and number about a noun, pronoun (rarely), or noun phrase. Interrogative determiners ask questions about unknown nouns and noun phrases. The interrogative determiners in English are what and which. The possessive determiner whose, or possessive interrogative […] More
Demonstrative determiners belong to a closed class of words call determiners. Determiners provide information such as familiarity, location, quantity, and number about a noun, pronoun (rarely), or noun phrase. Demonstrative determiners express grammatical number and deixis, or proximity. The demonstrative determiners in English are this, that, these, and those. Do not confuse the demonstrative determiners […] More
The noun is defined in traditional notional grammars as a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. A pronoun is a small word that takes the place of a noun, noun phrase, noun clause, and other grammatical form. Pronouns are a subcategory of nouns. The relative pronoun is both a type of pronoun […] More
Articles belong to a closed class of words call determiners. Determiners provide information such as familiarity, location, quantity, and number about a noun, pronoun (rarely), or noun phrase. Articles specify the grammatical definiteness of a noun or noun phrase. The definite article in English is the. The indefinite articles in English are a and an. […] More
Predicate adjectives are defined as adjectival grammatical forms that perform the grammatical function of subject complement. Subject complements are words, phrases, and clauses that follow a copular, or linking, verb and refer back to modify, describe, or complete the grammatical subject of the clause. Subject complements are grammatical constituents embedded in the predicate of a […] More
Predicate nominatives, or predicate nouns, are defined as nominal grammatical forms that perform the grammatical function of subject complement. Subject complements are words, phrases, and clauses that follow a copular, or linking, verb and refer back to modify, describe, or complete the grammatical subject of the clause. Subject complements are grammatical constituents embedded in the […] More
Nouns are defined in traditional grammars as words that people, places, things, and ideas. A subcategory of nouns, pronouns are traditionally defined as small words take the place of nouns, noun phrases, noun clauses, and other grammatical forms. Relative pronouns are both a type of pronoun that take the place of another word, phrase, or […] More
Nouns are defined in traditional grammars as words that refer to people, places, things, and ideas. Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns, noun phrases, noun clauses, and other grammatical forms and are a subcategory of nouns. Relative pronouns are both a type of pronoun that take the place of another word, phrase, […] More
Traditional grammars define nouns as words that name people, places, things, and ideas. Pronouns are a subcategory of nouns that take the place of nouns, noun phrases, noun clauses, and other grammatical forms. Relative pronouns are both a type of pronoun that take the place of another word, phrase, or clause and a type of […] More
English verbs express three grammatical moods: indicative, imperative, and subjunctive. Grammatical mood is defined as a set of distinctive verb forms that express modality. Modality is the grammaticalized expression of the subjective attitude of the speaker, which includes opinions about possibility, probability, necessity, obligation, permissibility, ability, desire, and contingency. In the English language, the subjunctive […] More
Particles are function words that express grammatical relationships with other words. Function words are words that perform definite grammatical functions but that lack definite lexical meaning. Only one grammatical form can perform the grammatical function of particle in the English language: p-words. Similar in form to prepositions, p-words function as particles within three constructions in […] More
The passive, as one of the two grammatical voices in the English language, allows a language user to move an object of a sentence in the active voice into the subject position of a passive sentence. The past perfect-progressive passive is an English verb form that refers to verbs in the past tense, perfect-progressive aspect, […] More
