I encountered something the other day in which someone referred to the English spoken by many Black Americans as Ebonics. The controversial term stuck in my mind, so I decided to remind myself of the history of the term. The term Ebonics, which originated in the late 1970s as a portmanteau or blend of the […] More
As I have written repeatedly, the line between grammatical forms is blurry at best, especially among lexical categories like noun, verb, and adjective. Grammatical form and grammatical function distinguish one word class from other. The lines between functional categories are typically much clearer than the lines between lexical categories. As closed classes that do not […] More
Adjunct adverbials are words, phrases, and clauses that modify an entire clause by providing additional information about time, place, manner, condition, purpose, reason, result, and concession. Six grammatical forms can perform the grammatical function of adjunct adverbial in the English language. The six grammatical forms that can function as the adjunct adverbial are: The following […] More
<verge>“turn, bend”, from Latin vergere “to bend, turn, tend toward” Words Sums Verge -> vergeVerge + es -> vergesVerge + ed -> vergedVerge + ing -> vergingcon + Verge -> convergecon + Verge + es -> convergescon + Verge + ed -> convergedcon + Verge + ing -> convergingcon + Verge + ent -> convergentcon […] More
Who gets who? Who gets whom? Which interrogative pronoun is correct and why? More
Whenever I come across a post about “words to avoid,” I audibly groan. Such posts are prescriptivist attempts to impose more arbitrary rules on language use. I recently saw a post in my Facebook feed about “words to avoid to sound smarter.” One suggestion was to avoid the word that. The post claimed that that […] More
Learn more about Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) by studying the spellings of some vocabulary words related to the Christmas holiday: Christmas, Yuletide, decoration, angel, mistletoe, ornament, poinsettia, fruitcake, eggnog, and gingerbread. Structured Word Inquiry English spelling is rule-based. There are no exceptions, just more rules to uncover. I have yet to find a word whose […] More
Learn more about Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) by studying the spellings of some vocabulary words related to the Thanksgiving holiday: Thanksgiving, gratitude, turkey, cranberry, Thursday, squash, cornucopia, delicious, acorn, potato, corn, and pumpkin. Structured Word Inquiry English spelling is rule-based. There are no exceptions, just more rules to uncover. I have yet to find a […] More
Learn more about Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) by studying the spellings of some vocabulary words related to the autumn season: autumn, September, October, November, scarecrow, equinox, harvest, chestnut, deciduous, and chilly. Structured Word Inquiry English spelling is rule-based. There are no exceptions, just more rules to uncover. I have yet to find a word whose […] More
Learn about Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) by studying the spellings of some vocabulary words related to the Halloween holiday. More
Prior to c.450, the peoples of Britannia (Britons) spoke Celtic languages. Between 388 and 400, Romans occupied Britannia (modern England and Wales). Celtic-speaking Scots and Picts lived north of the Romanized Britons. In c.450, Germanic tribes including the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invaded Britannia. The language that developed was Old English. Just as there are […] More
Writing is not sounds written down. The primary function of English spelling is to represent meaning. Sounds do matter, but not just any grapheme can spell any sound. The grapheme that spells a sound in a word is informed by meaning, relatives, and etymology. If writing were sounds written down, why does English have so […] More
As an undergraduate, I decided that I wanted to write my one grammar book one day. After years of study, note making, and blog posts, I began writing the book on April 5, 2019. I am now excited to announce that A Form-Function Description of the Grammar of the Modern English Language is finally available […] More
<tract> “draw, drag, move,” from stem of trahere “to pull, draw” Words Sums Tract -> tract Tract + s -> tracts Tract + or -> tractor Tract + or + s -> tractors Tract + or + Beam -> tractorbeam Tract + or + Beam + s -> tractorbeams Tract + ion -> traction Tract + ion […] More
<augur(e)> “predict, foretell” from French inauguration and directly from Late Latin inaugurationem, presumably originally “installment under good omens,” from in– “on, in” + augurare “to act as an augur, predict” Words Sums Augur(e) -> augur Augur(e) + s -> augurs Augur(e) + y -> augury in + Augur(e) + ate -> inaugurate in + Augur(e) […] More
<thank> “thought, gratitude; think, feel,” from Old English þancian, þoncian, compare related Old English noun þanc, þonc Words Sums Thank + s -> thanks Thank + ed -> thanked Thank + ing -> thanking Thank + ful -> thankful Thank + ful + ness -> thankfulness Thank + ful + ly -> thankfully un + Thank + ful -> […] More
Two types of sentences in English are declarative sentences and interrogative sentences. Declarative sentences, or declarations, convey information or make statements. Interrogative sentences, or questions, request information or ask questions. Periods indicate declarative sentences in written English. Question marks indicate interrogative sentences in written English. Declarative Sentences Declarative sentences are subject-verb (SV) in word order. […] More
<sign> from Latin signum “identifying mark, token, indication, symbol; proof” Words Sums (248) Sign -> sign Sign + s -> signs Sign + ed -> signed Sign + ing -> signing Sign + ing + s -> signings Sign + er -> signer Sign + er + s -> signers Sign + ee -> signee […] More
If you have been following along on my LinguisticsGirl Twitter feed, you know that I have been working on a reading program for my second child. My reading program developed in response to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, which I used with my oldest child. When the time came to teach […] More
What is the habitual be? Who uses the habitual be? I began writing this post a few months ago as I investigated verb constructions outside the tense-aspect paradigm of the mythical standard English for the grammar book that I am writing. Writing about a topic helps me with my understanding. Habitual be refers to the […] More
