Different kinds of words

For the purposes of identification, all the words in a sentence have their own designations, called Parts of Speech. They also have distinct functions, though these may vary from one context to another.

The different kinds of words in the English language are called 'parts of speech' because it was originally translated literally from the Greek merē logou (μέρη λόγου), which literally means ‘parts of speech’ or ‘parts of discourse’. Latin grammarians translated the phrase directly, and English inherited it from them. The name stuck because it’s tidy and intuitive.

Parts of speech will be dealt with in this order: Noun (naming word), Adjective (a word that describes a noun), Verb (action word), Participle (a verb form which needs an auxiliary or helping verb to indicate a change of tense), Adverb (a word that gives added meaning to a verb), Pronoun (used instead of a noun). Preposition (used to introduce a phrase), Gerund (a word that can change from an adjective to a noun or from a verb to an adjective).

Note: Parts of speech which rarely if ever present a problem will receive only brief mention.

NOUN

There are several kinds — proper nouns, common nouns (either concrete or abstract), collective nouns and compound (sometimes hyphenated) nouns.

Proper Nouns begin with a capital letter (upper case) and denote a particular person, place, event or object. For example: Your Honour, Parliament House, The Great War, The Bible.
Common Nouns relate to things which are recognised by our senses, things we can see, hear, touch, taste and smell, and which begin with a lower case letter, for example: house, music, fabric, food, perfume and so on.
Abstract Nouns include the names of many things that cannot be seen or touched, such as courage, grief, concentration, hope, mercy and so on. The suffixes ion, ation, dom, ism, ant and ment are the commonest abstract-noun endings. Some of the ugliest words in our language have been coined with the aid of these suffixes, for example: prioritisation, institutionalisation, and others dear to the hearts of journalists and politicians. They are to be avoided as far as possible in creative writing.
Collective Noun. A noun that expresses a grouping of individual objects or persons, for example: crowd — a number of people; brigade — a company of soldiers. To be strictly correct in using collective nouns, it is better to choose the verb form which agrees in number with its subject. A singular collective noun requires a singular verb, for example: The committee was disbanded. The government is doing all it can. A plural collective noun requires a plural verb, for example: The committees were disbanded. Governments are doing all they can.
Occasionally, euphony dictates an infringement of this rule, for example: A large crowd of children are having fun at Movie World today. In instances such as this, when the singular subject (crowd) is separated from the verb by a plural (children) the plural verb may be used to avoid a stilted effect, as would occur in: A large crowd of children is having fun at Movie World today. Commonsense and a trusty ear will be your best guides when using collective nouns.
Compound Nouns. Many new compounds have entered our language in recent times, and for the most part are not entitled to a hyphen, for example: mainstream, downsizing, upmarket, ongoing, website, flashpoint, and these join company with the established compounds such as: drawbridge, cattleman, waterway, and so on.
No one, traditionally two words, is often hyphenated, but is that really necessary? Eric Partridge, in Usage and Abusage and Roget’s Thesaurus give only no one. Some dictionaries give no-one as an option for no one. Actually, there are few people who’d notice the difference and probably only purists would care!

Check a good English dictionary or a specialised writer’s dictionary and decide whether you want to become Americanised and write no-one.

ADJECTIVE

The adjective is a descriptive word, used to modify (give added meaning to) a noun or pronoun. There are almost as many adjectives in the English language as there are birds in the sky, yet many people seem to use only one or two, a favourite of the young being ‘That’s cool!’.

Adjectives are vital for specifics such as third generation, elder statesman, wild animal, and for defining colours: fiery red, cornflower blue, flesh pink.

Too many adjectives result in a florid style of writing, and they should always be used sparingly. If there is a choice between the long adjective and the shorter one, it is better to opt for the latter — insubstantial may well be flimsy or shaky. Sometimes a single noun can be exchanged for the adjective/noun coupling, for example: deluge instead of torrential downpour; disaster instead of terrible catastrophe.

When an editor suggests tightening your prose, the first line of attack should be the adjective population in your manuscript, particularly those that are weakened and discredited from overuse, such as nice, pretty, terrific, and lovely. In their first definition, these adjectives have become ostracised, and are often used in a contradictory or ironic sense, for example:

Well, you’re a nice sort of a creep!
It was a pretty awful movie.
He’s got terrific charisma.
Oh, what a lovely war!

An adjective may be placed before or after a noun, or even after a verb, for example: The golden apple; the poet laureate, the party was noisy.

Comparison of Adjectives: The three categories that denote increasing strength or intensity in adjectives are known as adjectival degree, and are as follows:

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
good	better	best
bad	worse	worst

Words of one syllable (except those quoted) take the suffix -er to form the comparative, and -est to form the superlative. Many words of two syllables ending in -y (lazy, angry), -le (subtle), -er (clever), and -ow (narrow) also follow this formula. Again, there are exceptions, for example: hirsute, robust.

Words of three or more syllables are beyond the reach of -er and -est, except for a few negatives (unholy, ignoble). We then use more to form the comparative, and most to form the superlative: more beautiful; most beautiful, more strenuous, most strenuous.

When an adjective of one or two syllables and another of three or more syllables are compared in the same sentence, care needs to be taken to treat each adjective individually within the context.

This plan is more silly and dangerous than anyone imagines.
This plan is sillier and more dangerous than anyone imagines.
He was the most mean and disobliging man I’ve ever met.
He was the meanest and most disobliging man I’ve ever met.
This plan is more silly and dangerous than anyone imagines.
This plan is sillier and more dangerous than anyone imagines.
He was the most mean and disobliging man I’ve ever met.
He was the meanest and most disobliging man I’ve ever met.

Placement of the modifier is also important. Compare:

Rafter was more exhausted from the heat than from exertion.
Rafter was exhausted, more from the heat than from exertion.
Rafter was more exhausted from the heat than from exertion.
Rafter was exhausted, more from the heat than from exertion.

Double comparatives (more sillier) and double superlatives (most ugliest) must never be used. Certain adjectives, known as absolutes should never be compared. It is ridiculous to say one day is more perfect than another, for it is not possible to improve upon perfection. Some absolutes such as unique, inundated, spent and impeccable are too often given a modifier, so have lost much of their intrinsic strength and special meaning. Almost is allowed as a modifier, for something may well be almost perfect, or almost unique.

VERB

Verbs are action words. Formerly it was taught that no sentence is complete without a verb. A sentence might consist of just one word, but that would need to be a verb, for example: ‘Go!’ in which the subject or doer is understood as you. The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of the English Language maintains that any utterance constitutes a sentence, even giving ‘Yes!’ as an example. There is a certain logic in that, since former grammarians agreed that a sentence is a complete thought expressed in words. Sentences of two words (subject and verb) are very common, for example: Jesus wept.

A verb may be transitive, in which the action passes from a doer to an object, for example:

Transitive: I hear the bellbirds singing.
Intransitive: I was deaf but now I hear.

Confusion often occurs between the short, simple words lay and lie. This confusion extends far beyond the spoken word. It surfaces in books by reputed authors, in newspaper reports, television newscasts and the writings of respected columnists. Why then, is it so difficult to conjugate these little words and use them correctly? Firstly, remember their different meanings.

Intransitive verb: Lie means to recline. One cannot recline anything, so lie does not carry an action from doer to object, and is therefore an intransitive verb. In other words, it has no object. Here are some examples of the intransitive lie in several of its tenses:

Today I lie here. (present)
Now I am lying here. (present participle)
Yesterday I lay here. (past)
Often I have lain here. (past participle)
Tomorrow I shall lie here. (future)

Transitive verb: Lay means to place, or to put (something). The action passes from the doer to an object, and therefore lay is a transitive verb. Here are some conjugations of the transitive verb lay and the objects (in bold) governed by those verbs:

Today I lay the book on the table. (present)
Now he is laying bricks. (present participle)
Yesterday we laid plans for a journey. (past)
Often have we laid money aside for this. (past participle)
I will lay my cards on the table. (future).

(Note: Will is an emphatic form of shall.)

There is no such word as layed. Lie, meaning to tell an untruth, is easily conjugated:

Politicians lie about the economy. (present)
He wasn’t there, so he is lying. (present participle)
Auntie lied about her age. (past)
They have lied so often that no one believes them now. (past participle)
I shall lie if I have to. (future)

Lay, in the sense of a song or minstrel’s lay is a noun, as is the colloquial lay (chiefly American) meaning sexual contact.

Verbs also enjoy the distinction of having tense, number, mood and voice.

Tense: There are about twenty categories of tense, and to simplify the matter I shall select only those that are commonly used.

Tense indicates the particular time in which an action takes place, whether past, present or future, and whether that action is continuous, prospective or completed. It is the great variety of verb tenses that confuses and entangles many writers. Here are six of the most commonly used:

Today we play football. (present)
Today we are playing football. (present participle)
Yesterday we played football. (past)
Many times we have played football. (past participle)
They had played football all day. (past perfect)
They will play football tomorrow. (future)

It has become fashionable to write fiction (short stories, even novels) in present tense, for example: She reads the newspaper, tosses it aside and wonders if she ought to hide it.

The reader becomes locked in the ‘here and now’, as though the action is taking place in the moment of reading the text. Some plots unravel well with this added sense of immediacy, but duration of the text is a major factor that should be considered when choosing your tense. Present tense is intrusive and does not melt away unnoticed as one reads, so the shorter the work the better. A great body of poetry is written in present tense, but most poems are snippets of observation compared with a full-length novel.

Present tense narration defies the tradition that what is being recounted has already happened and is therefore in the past. Present tense, although trendy, does tend to weary some readers. Others approach it in the same way as watching events unfold in a movie, or listening to a cricket commentary. However, the tradition for storytelling over the past two centuries has resided with past tense, and is more generally preferred by writers.

Whatever tense you select for your prose, present tense must always be used to denote what is true at all times, for example: What goes up must come down, although in these times of space exploration, many things go up that never come down!

Simple Past Tense refers to the immediate past, for example: Jack started the car.

Past Perfect Tense (or past before the immediate past) also known as Pluperfect Tense, requires an auxiliary or helping verb to make the change of tense, and that causes problems in the inevitable surfacing of had and had had, as the following example demonstrates:

Dan had gone from strength to strength … he had pulled drunks out … he had attended funerals … he had broken bad news to the bereaved, but his faith had deserted him when he found the medals had gone to senior officers.

Some writers resort to contractions when had just won’t go away — he’d gone from strength to strength, but that ploy fools no observant reader. A change of tense is obviously needed.

Having initially established past before the immediate past, revert to simple past:

Dan had gone from strength to strength … he pulled drunks out … he attended funerals … he broke bad news to the bereaved, etc.

Continue in simple past, then close the paragraph by reverting to past perfect: had gone to senior officers.

Number. A verb may be singular (referring to one) or plural (referring to more than one). A singular subject requires a singular verb. A plural subject requires a plural verb. Sometimes the subject of the verb isn’t immediately identifiable:

A selection of foreign films that deal with erotica, gratuitous violence and Third World issues, of interest to a small corner of the viewing market, are presently being shown at the Princess Cinema.

First isolate the principal clause (the true subject or main thought in the sentence). It is the only clause which can stand alone, and everything else in the sentence is subordinate or secondary to it. Ask this question: What is or are being shown? Answer: A selection. Therefore the principal clause reads: A selection are being shown. The singular subject (selection) and the plural verb (are) do not agree in number. Change are to is.

A collective noun should, in most instances, have a verb that matches it in number, for example: The bunch of grapes is ripe.

Mood. The mood of a verb is not unlike that of a person! It may be indicative (making a factual statement), imperative (giving an order), or subjunctive (expressing some doubt or unlikelihood). Examples:

I washed the car. The children are asleep. It will rain tomorrow.
(Indicative.)

Salute the flag! Make a wish. (Imperative.) In these examples, the subject is understood to be you.
If I had been more studious I would probably have passed the exam.
(Subjunctive.)

Regarding subjunctive mood, this (in its finer points) is a fairly extensive study, demanding considerable patience. Briefly, when the mood of the verb is prospective (we are not sure what is going to happen) rather than indicative (already known to us), where there is an element of doubt, supposition or uncertainty, the subjunctives might have been, lest we should, if I were, if it should, and many similar ‘wish-equivalents’ should be employed.

When the verb suggests a condition already in the past, the subjunctive were would not be appropriate. For example: I felt as though I was being pursued by demons. This type of sentence is merely declarative (making a statement), rather than conditional on an X-factor. If, as if, and as though in a sentence do not automatically create subjunctive mood, for example: If I had known he was there all the time, I’d have been less afraid.

Voice indicates how a subject and verb relate to each other, either in a direct manner or by an elusive, roundabout manner, or whether there is mention of a subject at all! These two sentences impart similar information, firstly by active voice and secondly by passive voice: They decided to go ashore in Aden. Subject (they) and verb (decided) relate to each other in a direct manner, making a simple, declarative statement. It was decided to go ashore in Aden. Who decided? The passive verb was decided has no subject.

The preposition by is sometimes an indicator of passive voice: The rules were broken by several players. This is a roundabout way of saying: Several players broke the rules, in which the verb broke is active voice.

Passive voice does not necessarily divulge who or what performs an action, but states only that an action was performed, for example: Gold was discovered at Gympie. If nobody knows or cares who discovered it, then gold become the focus of interest, and the verb operates passively. It would still be passive if we added more words: Gold was discovered at Gympie by James Nash. (Nash is not the subject.) If the sentence is recast in active voice, James Nash becomes the subject: James Nash discovered gold at Gympie.

Ration your use of passive voice in creative storytelling. A sprinkling of passive verbs for the sake of variety, or to slow the pace of a narrative passage that’s moving too rapidly can be a useful device for the novelist. Otherwise leave passive voice to academics, who might need to be circumspect about attributing material to any particular person or source.

Participle is the name given to a verb that needs an auxiliary verb (for example: is, was, were, has, had, have) to express certain tenses. Because the participial phrase is so frequently misused, I shall try to illustrate why and where these pitfalls occur.

Past and Present Participles are used to introduce a phrase which relates to the noun or pronoun immediately preceding or following the phrase,for example:

Weighing almost a tonne, the load needed to be balanced carefully by the driver. (It is the load, not the driver, that weighs a tonne.) When the participial phrase is not immediately connected to the intended noun or noun-equivalent, the result can be ambiguous or just plain ludicrous, for example: Weighing almost a tonne, the driver balanced his load carefully. (Big driver?)

This is called a ‘dangling’ participle. It has become prevalent in media. I have collected, over a period of some years, a file of danglers from the various media. Some are hilarious, for instance:

Barking and yapping all night, he decided to do something about the neighbour’s dog.
After a trip to Europe, the church seemed smaller than ever.
Sitting under the hotel awning, the drunken bragging was in full swing when a herd of goats came by.

Who barked and yapped; who went to Europe; who sat under the awning? The dangling participial phrase will not tell you. These sentences need to be recast.

You will readily see from these examples, drawn from unrevised writings, that the participial phrase will invariably attach itself to the nearest noun or noun-equivalent, and the results are sometimes undignified, to say the least! The instances of dangling participles are now so common that few people notice them, and it’s a safe bet this solecism will become accepted grammar in time. For the present, a good habit is to watch for these unintended funnies and avoid committing them in your own writing.

ADVERB

Adverbs are used to modify, or give added meaning to: (a) a verb, (b) another adverb, (c) a preposition, or (d) an adjective, by telling when, where, how, why, or for how long an action took place, for example:

He spoke suddenly. (Adverb of manner giving extra meaning to the verb spoke.)
He spoke very suddenly. (The adverb very intensifies the meaning of the adverb suddenly and is known as an intensifier.)
We left immediately after the results were announced. (Modifies the preposition after.) See Prepositions.
She is noticeably angry. (Modifies the adjective angry.)

Adverbs can act as conjunctions, to join clauses or sentences: The dog hid under the bed when the storm broke. The teacher read the lesson while the children listened. See Conjunctions.

Adverbs often end with the suffix -ly, thereby turning an adjective into an adverb: deep/deeply; bad/badly.

The Comparison of Adverbs is similar to that of adjectives, with -er or more forming the comparative, and -est or most forming the superlative, for example: later, latest; more seriously injured, most seriously injured.

The adverb usually sits more comfortably after the verb, for instance: He spoke scathingly of the whole family. There is a natural word order in speech which, in most instances, rejects the adverb preceding the verb. It would seem more natural to say: He spoke wistfully of his old home, than He wistfully spoke of his old home. However, there are exceptions, for example: He usually spoke for too long, and We normally leave early. In deciding whether the adverb follows or precedes the verb, a writer should aim for naturalness and euphony. Inept constructions such as He irritably answered me, would be better expressed by starting or ending the sentence with the adverb.

Thus some thought must be given to the placement of an adverb, and the writer should also consider carefully whether the adverb is really necessary at all! In dialogue the spoken words will often indicate the mood of the speaker, without further elaboration, for example: Please forgive me. I’m most terribly sorry. Do you need to add: he apologised humbly? It would be better to show than to tell: he shuffled uneasily. See here for more about ‘Show, Don’t Tell’.

As with adjectives, it is easy to over-amplify and clutter one’s writing with too many adverbs, particularly the intensifiers — very, rather, somewhat, perfectly, greatly, actually, basically and so on. Adding an intensifier to an absolute merely dilutes the force of that particular descriptive word. The most unique animals, the totally exhausted athletes and the completely inundated city are samples of over-emphasis. Almost or nearly can be used with any absolute, for one may be almost exhausted, and the weather may be nearly perfect. See ‘Slip-ups and Trip-ups’, for more information.

PRONOUN

Pronouns are used as stand-ins for nouns. The prefix pro means ‘for’. We cannot keep on referring to a character as (for example) Mr Smith. He and his family of masculine gender pronouns will stand in for him, while Mr Smith himself takes a rest from his Proper Noun name. (The italicised words are pronouns.)

Personal Pronouns come in groups, and their usage is dictated by a formula known as Case. There are three different categories of case applying to pronouns.

	Subjective (Nominative)	Objective (Accusative)	Possessive (Genitive)
1st person	I we	me us	my, mine our, ours
2nd person	you (also thou)	you (also thee) not yous	your, yours (also thy, thine)
3rd person	he, she it they who one other, others another either someone	him, her it them whom one other, others another either someone	his, her, hers its* their, theirs whose one’s other’s, others’ another’s either’s someone’s
	Do not confuse its* with it’s, which is a contraction of it is.

The pronouns in the first column must be used subjectively only (with the exception of those duplicated in the objective column). You will more than likely hear: Mother took he and I to the movies. This really means that Mother took he to the movies and at the same time took I to the movies? Correct: Mother took him and me to the movies.

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. This is not only a Biblical misquote but a sadly ungrammatical version, a favourite with a certain well-known cartoonist. Let he cast the first stone, is the Principal Clause or main thought in this sentence. (Him is required.)

People have become wary, almost paranoid, about using the objective pronouns me, us, him, whom and them. Perhaps this is an over-reaction to the semi-literate usages of earlier times, such as: Me and Joe are goin’ to the races; Him and her are gettin’ married; and Them’s me best boots.

Strictly speaking, these transgressions are no less affronting than the blatant solecisms I quoted earlier, and which occur in so-called educated English. Respected columnists are all too fond of expressions such as the likes of we Australians and this is a matter between he and I. (If a pronoun is the object of a preposition it must be in the objective case, for example: between him and me). See Prepositions.

How this trend began is anyone’s guess, but I sometimes wonder if it gained a foothold through a television comedy in which the catchphrase, She who must be obeyed, was often used objectively, thus: I’ll take some flowers home to she who must be obeyed.

Another frequent error is the apostrophe in the pronoun its. It’s is a contraction of it is, and the difference can be seen in this sentence: It’s a good day for its trial run.

Reflexive, or bending-back, pronouns are formed with the noun self (or selves). Therefore the subject and object of the verb are the same entity. These are the reflexive pronouns:

Singular: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, oneself.
Plural: ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

The reflexive pronoun cannot stand alone in a sentence and there must be a ‘parent’ noun or pronoun for it to lean on or refer to. Therefore, a pairing is necessary, for example:

I shall go by myself. You may tell him yourself (or yourselves).
Jack taught himself to swim. She told herself not to be silly.
The bird preened itself. One can’t always blame oneself.
We, ourselves, are responsible for this state of affairs.
They, the winners, congratulated themselves.

In the following sentences the reflexive pronouns have been left stranded without a companion entity:

Myself and my three children went on the later train.
My three children and I went on the later train. (Courtesy demands that others are mentioned before the speaker.)
Please see my secretary or myself on this matter.
Please see my secretary or me on this matter. (You are the only person who can see yourself – in a mirror, most likely!)
Myself and my three children went on the later train.
My three children and I went on the later train. (Courtesy demands that others are mentioned before the speaker.)
Please see my secretary or myself on this matter.
Please see my secretary or me on this matter. (You are the only person who can see yourself – in a mirror, most likely!)

Relative Pronouns: Who, which, that. Use who when referring to persons: The man who came to dinner. Use which with abstract nouns: We reached the last phase of our negotiations, which four years ago seemed destined for failure. Use that when referring to animals or inanimate objects: The house that Jack built.

How does one decide whether to say: I have a coat which no longer fits me, or I have a coat that no longer fits me? Take your pick. Neither is incorrect, but the ear will tell you! Which is stilted and unnatural in this context, mainly because it is better coupled with an abstract noun.

Some grammarians suggest using that for restrictive clauses and which for non-restrictive ones. For example: Hospitals that care for old people are understaffed. (A statement about geriatrics’ hospitals.) Hospitals, which care for old people, are understaffed. (A statement about all hospitals.)

Sometimes it’s advisable to dispense with relative pronouns in writing, if the result is closer to natural speech. Take these sentences:

The first car which I bought was a Mini. (Would anyone say that? I think not.)
The second car that I bought was a Ford. (This, too, is awkward and unnatural.)
The third car I bought was another Ford. (Natural speech, no relative pronoun.)

There is a current school of thought which regards the relative pronouns which and that as being dispensable for the introduction of a clause. Recently I read a manuscript of 245 pp, and each page contained at least three unnecessary thats — more than 700 useless words.

Only if the comprehension of a sentence is threatened by its exclusion, should a writer resort to the relative pronoun that and never when we can readily grasp meaning without it. These sentences illustrate the options:

They were hoping that the rescue party would find them.
They were hoping the rescue party would find them.
He learned that they would be coming that night, and that there was to be a welcome party.
He learned they would be coming that night, and there was to be a welcome party.

Only one that is indispensable, and it’s not a relative pronoun, but an adjective designating or singling out a particular night. When honing and polishing your prose, look for the dispensable relative pronouns. Your writing will be tighter and more professional.

That that is even clumsier: He would have to flee the country; he knew that that was the only solution is an example of unrevised writing. There are alternatives, for example: To flee the country was the only solution—he knew that, or perhaps: He knew that to flee the country was his only solution, or better still: He knew his only solution was to flee the country. Thus finally, after a little juggling, the relative pronoun is eliminated, and natural speech is mirrored.

Which was, or which is, may be understood in sentences such as: His temper, always volatile, made the children wary of him. Or: His always volatile temper made the children wary of him. There is no point in using more words to say the same thing, thus: His temper, which was always volatile, made the children wary of him. Editing your work gives you a second look at these instances of ‘padding’.

PREPOSITION

Prepositions introduce a noun or noun-equivalent to the rest of the sentence. There are at least fifty simple (one word) prepositions, a dozen or so of two words, and a number of three words (complex prepositions).

Some simple prepositions in common use are: above, among, up, over; before, to and from, and many of the complex variety: because of, up against, with regard to.

How does one recognise a preposition? To make it difficult, some of them can double as adverbs or conjunctions, depending on the context. Fortunately, grammar has a rule for the identification of a preposition: When followed by a noun or noun-equivalent, these words become a preposition for the purpose of introducing a phrase (a group of words unable to stand alone). Here are some examples of phrases introduced by simple prepositions: among equals, under the bridge, over my dead body, inside the gate, against his better judgement.

Complex prepositions of two or three words can also be identified by the fact that a noun or noun-equivalent follows: In front of a crowd; with reference to your letter; in connection with our arrangement.

It is easy to recognise the nouns (crowd, letter, arrangement). Sometimes these prepositions are followed by a pronoun, for example: for the likes of us; no sympathy for them; take some flowers to her.

The foregoing three constructions obey the rule which states in part: Prepositions govern pronouns in the objective case. The objective pronouns have already been listed in this text (see here), but here they are again: me, us, you (also thee), him, her, it, them, whom, one, other, others, another, either, someone.

These are the correct pronouns to follow a preposition. Here are some examples from media sources which show the rule is too often ignored:

for the likes of we city folk; no love lost between she and Richard; a matter between he and I.

Correctly:

for the likes of us city folk; no love lost between her and Richard; a matter between him and me, and so on.

This is popular parlance, encouraged by media and adopted without thought or question by people who have become tone-deaf to wrongful usages. It is easy to follow the bad example if it is the one most frequently heard. All the subjective pronouns in the foregoing examples should be replaced with their objective counterparts.

GERUND

Although fewer people are aware of the existence of this part of speech, it is used on a daily basis, and we’d be stumped without it. How else could we have the disabled toilet or the alarmed door? These are verbs doing the work of an adjective in describing the toilet and the door. When an adjective is used as a noun, we call it a noun gerund, for example: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Ivan the Terrible.

If the gerund functions as a noun, it must be accorded the status of a noun. This sentence is correct: They scoffed at my entering the race. Here, entering is a noun gerund, object of the possessive pronoun my. (They scoffed at the fact of my entering, rather than at me personally.) To say: They scoffed at me entering the race is just as ungrammatical as: They scoffed at me old-fashioned running gear. Other examples:

Do you mind his disaffecting to a different party?
I was surprised at your giving up such a good job.
They were disappointed by my going away at such a time.
There is no danger of its becoming a habit.

The gerunds all end in ‘ing’ and are all present participles masquerading as objective case nouns. This, admittedly, is one of the finer points of grammar, rarely observed, largely forgotten, but is yet no load to carry, and will distinguish a writer as having special adeptness in the use of English grammar.

ARTICLE

There are only two. The, known as Definite Article, before a consonant: the car, the zebra, and before vowels: the egg, the unicorn, the idea.

A or an, known as Indefinite Article. A before a consonant, an before a vowel, except when that vowel has a consonantal sound as in user-friendly, and before certain words that begin with h such as hour, honour, heir.

INTERJECTION

Exclamatory utterance requiring special emphasis by way of an exclamation mark or italics, or both, for example: Hey, there!

CONJUNCTION

A joining word, used to bring separate sentences, words or phrases into a single unit. There are two kinds of conjunctions:

The co-ordinating conjunction joins units of equal status, for example: He packed his bags. He will leave tomorrow. The conjunction replaces the second mention of the same subject (he), for example: He packed his bags and will leave tomorrow.

The subordinating conjunction joins a dependent clause (one that cannot stand alone) to the principal clause, for example: The horses grazed where the grass was greenest.

When the writer is conversant with the Parts of Speech that make up our language, and understands their functions and prescribed places, the road to grammar is made easier. This booklet is intended as a brief and practical coverage of the commonest errors and some of the ways by which they can be eliminated from your writing. That is a start.

‘Easy writing makes hard reading.’

—Ernest Hemingway

Request a free quote

Please email
greensladecreations@gmail.com
Sorry, but due to scammers and spam, I am unable to share my mobile number any more. If you want to talk, please just put that request into your email and I’ll get back to you when I can.