Looking for ideas for a homeschool kindergarten curriculum? Check out the textbooks, workbooks, books, and other materials that I used in my home for kindergarten level work. Updated on June 13, 2024. More
Explore the form-function diagram of the sentence ‘A pizza ate a cow with gray stripes.’ More
Looking for ideas for a homeschool preschool curriculum? Check out the textbooks, workbooks, books, and other materials that I used in my home for preschool level work. Updated on June 8, 2024. More
“Who is for people, that is for things” is a common prescriptive grammar rule that grammar teachers drill into English students. However, the rule is rather arbitrary and does not reflect actual use of the English language. More
Explore the form-function diagram of the sentence ‘Reading the books was exciting.’ More
Discover the rules of English spelling with Structured Word Inquiry (SWI). Explore lexical and functional spellings, suffixing rules, connecting vowels, compounding, prefixing, and more. More
An adjunct adverbial modifies an entire clause. Learn about the use of nouns and nouns phrases as adjunct adverbials in English grammar. More
What do the words German, Dutch, Deutsch, Teuton, and Almain have in common? I recently learned the Norwegian word tysk, which translates to “German, of or relating to the German people.” The word tysk comes from Old Norse þýðverskr, þýzkr, which comes from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz meaning “of or relating to a people.” The English cognate […] More
I love language, both language in general and specific languages. From my early encounters with grammar in elementary school to the depths of linguistic study during high school and throughout my undergraduate years, I have continually nurtured this fascination. Spanish served as my primary focus, complemented by semester-long studies in German and Old English. Embracing […] More
Traditional grammars define prepositions as words that “link to other words, phrases, and clauses” and that “express spatial or temporal relations.” Prepositions are lexical-function words, expressing discernible lexical meanings and grammatical relationships. A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition plus another nominal word, phrase, or clause functioning as the prepositional complement. In grammar, a noun […] More
Adjective phrases including adjectives perform four main grammatical functions within sentences in the English language. The four functions of adjectives and adjective phrases are: Adjectives are traditionally defined as “words that describe nouns.” (But not all words that describe nouns are adjectives.) Adjective phrases are defined as phrases that consist of an adjective plus any […] More
As a type of dependent or subordinate clause, adjective clauses consist of a relativizer followed by a clause that consists of a subject and a predicate. Sometimes the relativizer also functions as the subject. Relativizers are a type of subordinating conjunction. Relative pronouns and relative adverbs are both relativizers. Also known as relative clauses, adjective […] More
Notional grammars define adjectives as “words that describe nouns.” Big, cute, green, small, and wonky are prototypical adjectives. In big bully, The baby is cute, and I painted the wall green, each adjective describes a noun. Big describes the noun bully, cute describes the noun baby, and green describes the noun wall. However, stating that […] More
Traditional grammars categorize determiners with either adjectives or pronouns. But determiners are not adjectives. Repeat after me: Determiners are not adjectives. Notional grammars define adjectives as “words that modify nouns.” (But not all words that modify nouns are adjectives.) Adjectives describe attributes of nouns, pronouns, and noun phrases, functioning as noun phrase modifiers, subject complements, […] More
A few weeks ago, I saw a tweet from a TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) who attempted to exclude trans women from the definition of woman by arguing that nouns are “words for concepts that have a series of definitions to narrow categories and exclude other concepts.” My initial reaction was: “Do not try to use […] More
Notional grammars traditionally define the preposition as a word that “links to other words, phrases, and clauses” and that “expresses spatial or temporal relations.” A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition plus another word, phrase, or clause functioning as the prepositional complement. In grammar, the conjunct adverbial is a word or phrase that expresses a […] More
Notional grammars traditionally verbs as “words that denote actions and states of being.” A verb phrase consists of a verb plus any auxiliary verbs, particles, modifiers, complements, and objects. In grammar, a conjunct adverbial is a word or phrase that expresses a textual relationship. Verb phrases in the form of infinitives sometimes function as conjunct […] More
Notional grammars traditionally verbs as “words that denote actions and states of being.” A verb phrase consists of a verb plus any auxiliary verbs, particles, modifiers, complements, and objects. In grammar, a disjunct adverbial is a word or phrase that provides additional information to frame an entire clause. Disjunct adverbials denote the attitude of the […] More
English verbs and verb phrases perform nine primary grammatical functions within sentences in the English language. Traditional grammars define verbs as words that name actions and states. Verb phrases consist of a verb plus any modifiers, complements, particles, and auxiliaries. The nine prototypical functions of English verbs and verbs phrases are: The following sections explain […] More
Whereas sentence structure refers to the form of sentences in a language, sentence purpose refers to the function of sentences. Four types of sentence purposes exist in the English language: declarative sentences, interrogative sentences, imperative sentences, and exclamatory sentences. Declarative Sentences The first type of sentence in the English language is the declarative sentence. Declarative […] More
