Topic Category: Parts of Speech

Introduction

The word noun comes from Latin nomen, which means name. At a basic level, a noun names a person, place, or thing:

Sarah
dishwasher
ocean
New York

Often you can put an article (the or a) before the noun, a verb afterwards, and before you know it you have a sentence:

The phone rang.

As with all parts of speech, a word’s function in the sentence is dependent on context, on how it interacts with the words around it. With every new part of speech that you learn, the previous ones will come into focus more clearly.

Common and Proper Nouns

There are two types of nouns. Proper nouns refer to specific persons, places, or things, and they begin with a capital letter. The others are called common nouns, and the only time they are capitalized is if they are an important title or if they occur at the beginning of a sentence:

Common Nouns	Proper Nouns
boy	John
Pope	Pope Francis
planet	Mars
brand	Lego
President	Nixon
state	Florida
race	Daytona 500

Abstract and Concrete Nouns

As mentioned, all nouns are either common or proper nouns. However, we can use two other terms to categorize nouns. Nouns can also be classified as concrete or abstract. A concrete noun is something you can easily experience using your senses. You can see your friend, you can stand on a hill, and you can hear an airplane.

Yet a noun doesn’t have to be just a person, place, or thing. It can also be something that resembles a quality, an idea, or an action. These nouns are more abstract in nature. Here are some examples:

Quality, Concept, Idea	Action
difference	celebration
juiciness	counting
majority	competition
absence	bungee jumping
religion	sewing
freedom	water polo
happiness	birth

The most confusing here are the action words. Aren’t they supposed to be verbs? The answer is that not every action is automatically a verb. For example, any word that looks like a verb and ends in –ing is a present participle, and present participles are not verbs (they’re called verbals). In fact, sometimes a verbal (e.g., sewing) can be a noun. It all depends on how the word is used in the sentence.

In the next section we will review some of the main uses of nouns. Context will tell you a lot about whether a word is a noun.

The Uses of Nouns

At the core of every sentence is a subject that normally contains at least a noun or pronoun (the pronoun standing in for the noun). This subject does the action of the main verb:

Colleen called.

A noun can also be the direct object of the verb. In other words, it receives the action of the verb:

Emily ran a marathon.

If the noun is the indirect recipient of the action, then we call it the indirect object:

I sent an email to Madeleine.

A noun can also be the object of a preposition:

The wind whispered through the trees.

There are other uses as well, but the point is that nouns don’t exist in a vacuum. They have a job to do.

And that’s what will allow you to recognize the more confusing nouns, especially the ones that are more abstract or look like actions. Take the following example:

Practice took a long time.

The word practice might look like an action, and in another sentence it might be a verb (I practice), but here we already have a main verb (took). So we can figure out that practice has to be the subject (the thing that took a long time).

Introduction

A pronoun is a word that stands in for a noun. The word goes back to Latin (pronomen), and literally means in the place of (pro) a name/noun (nomen). That’s why pronouns usually come after the noun that they refer back to:

John‘s robot even combs his hair for him.

Here the pronoun his refers back to John, a proper noun. Bonus points if you noticed that the same applies to him.

The noun that comes before the pronoun also has a fancy Latin name: it’s called the antecedent (from Latin antecedere, to go before).

It can happen that the pronoun comes before the noun, as in this example:

In his last will and testament, Carl left his wife the whole kit and caboodle.

It can also happen that a pronoun has no antecedent, as Lewis Carroll famously pointed out in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. In this passage, the Mouse is trying to read a history lesson, when the Duck rudely interrupts him:

[Said the mouse,] “…even Stigand, the patriotic archbishop of Canterbury, found it advisable—”

“Found what?” said the Duck.

“Found it,” the Mouse replied rather crossly: “of course you know what “it” means.”

“I know what ‘it’ means well enough, when I find a thing,” said the Duck: “it’s generally a frog or a worm. The question is, what did the archbishop find?”

Whereas the Duck insists that language should follow the rules, and that it must refer to something, the Mouse takes the view that his intended meaning is clear. Intentions are more important rules.

As the Duchess will later say, “take care of the sense, and the sounds will take care of themselves.”

If life were only that easy.

The Eight Types

There are eight kinds of pronouns, and while you don’t have to memorize their names, it will help you to spend some time with them. Here they are:

Types of Pronouns
Personal	Demonstrative
Impersonal	Indefinite
Interrogative	Reflexive
Relative	Reciprocal

The biggest categories are the personal and indefinite pronouns; the other ones are quite small.

Personal Pronouns

The following chart shows every personal pronoun:

Subject Pronouns	Object Pronouns	Possessive Pronouns	Possessive Adjectives
I	me	mine	my
you	you	yours	your
he/she/it	him/her/it	his/hers	his/her/its
we	us	ours	our
you	you	yours	your
they	them	theirs	their

Organizing these pronouns is easier with the help of some key words.

Person

First person refers to the person who is speaking (the I or we).

If you’re talking to someone else, then that would be the second person in the conversation, and you would use pronouns like you and yours.

If the two of you are talking about other people or things, then they would be in the third person (it, they, them, etc.).

Number

If there is just one person or thing, then you’re dealing with a singular pronoun. A plural pronoun refers to two or more persons or things.

Gender

Third person pronouns are categorized by gender. They are masculine (he, him, etc.), feminine (she, her, etc.), or neuter (it). The other pronouns can apply to any gender.

Case

When a pronoun is the subject (and doing the action of the verb) it is in the subjective case:

He studied kinesiology.

On the other hand, if the pronoun receives the action of the verb then it will take the objective case:

The mountain conquered me.

Possessive pronouns can act like subjects or objects:

Yours is more colorful.

You can have mine.

Finally, possessive adjectives do not function like subjects or objects. Like other adjectives, they accompany a noun that they modify:

I love your hair.

Impersonal Pronouns

Impersonal pronouns can replace personal pronouns. They are more abstract and generally mean “a person.” There are just two impersonal pronouns:

Impersonal Pronouns
One	It

Try to use one sparingly in formal writing, as it can sound a bit stiff. Similarly, it is a rather vague pronoun, and often you can be more specific:

Vague: In The Divine Comedy, Dante often tries to outdo his teacher Virgil. One might argue that it reveals an “anxiety of influence.”

Better: In The Divine Comedy, Dante often tries to outdo his teacher Virgil. Harold Bloom argues that such poetic competition reveals an “anxiety of influence.”

Finally, note that one can also be classified as an indefinite pronoun and that it is included in the personal pronouns.

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are used for pointing at something, as you might in a demonstration:

Allow me to demonstrate how to drive this Porsche.

There are just four demonstrative pronouns:

Singular	Plural
This	These
That	Those

And this is what those pronouns look like in a sentence:

These cupcakes are wonderful.

This essay is plagiarized.

Those onions make me cry.

That is a great idea.

In the first three examples, the pronoun acts like an adjective (it modifies a noun). In the last it acts like a noun.

Notice that this and these refer to things close by, whereas that and those are reserved for more distant objects.

Interrogative Pronouns

There are five interrogative pronouns, and they are used for asking questions:

Interrogative Pronouns
Who	What
Whom	Which
Whose

Here are some key things to know about interrogative pronouns.

1. Interrogative pronouns often lack an antecedent because the noun they refer to is found in the answer to the question:

Who shot John F. Kennedy? Lee Harvey Oswald.

2. The pronoun whom is reserved for the object of a preposition or verb:

To whom did you sell your old truck?

Whom will Sally marry?

Few people actually use whom in everyday conversation, and in less formal writing who is sometimes acceptable.

3. You can add emphasis to your interrogative pronoun by adding –ever at the end (e.g., whoever).

Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns relate extra information, usually in the form of a relative clause. Here are all five relative pronouns.

Relative Pronouns
Who	That
Whom	Which
Whose

With the exception of that, these are the same as the interrogative pronouns. It’s just their function that’s different.

We tend to use who for people, which for things, and that for people or things, though there are exceptions. Here are a few examples of relative pronouns in a sentence:

The Tragically Hip, who went on their last tour in 2016, have long been an iconic Canadian band.

I ran into Jenny, whom you dated in high school.

Jupiter, which is the largest planet in our solar system, is still tiny compared to the sun.

I love those socks that you wore yesterday.

As mentioned earlier, whom has fallen into disuse. It is properly used as the object of a verb or preposition, but in casual speech is typically replaced by who.

Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are easy to spot. They always end in –self or –selves:

Singular	Plural
myself	ourselves
yourself	yourselves
himself	themselves
herself
itself
oneself

These pronouns are often used as a direct object:

Sarah saw herself in the mirror.

At other times, they add emphasis to a subject or object. In this role they are sometimes called intensive or emphatic pronouns:

The professor himself committed a solecism.

Reciprocal Pronouns

Reciprocal pronouns are two pronouns that work together and form a pair. There are just two pairs to learn:

Reciprocal Pronouns
each other	one another

They often help when the subject of a sentence is in the plural:

Good friends take care of each other.

In this example, the action is reciprocated, or returned in kind.

I and Me

The personal pronouns I and me sometimes cause trouble when used in tandem with other nouns and pronouns.

For example, which of the following is correct?

They left some food behind for James and I.

They left some food behind for James and me.

It’s the second option that is correct. The reason is that me is an object pronoun and receives the action of the verb. If you test each pronoun by itself, you can easily tell which one’s correct:

They left some food behind for I.

They left some food behind for me.

So when in doubt, just take away the other noun or pronoun and see whether you need I or me. Here are some correct sentences to peruse:

She and I went to the movies.

Mia gave Esther and me a taste of her own homemade cough medicine.

My girlfriend and I would love a massage.

The police pulled aside just Karen and me.

Introduction

Verbs are usually action words. They indicate what the subject of each clause is doing. Normally a sentence has at least one main verb.

Here is a sentence with two clauses, and therefore two verbs:

When I remember my childhood, I become sentimental.

The sentence also reveals that not every verb is clearly an action. The verb become shows a change or a process. These abstract verbs are less about action, and more about describing a state of being (many of them are linking verbs).

So let’s dig in and learn about the different kinds of verbs.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

There are two main types of verbs: transitive and intransitive verbs. However, some intransitive verbs can also be described as linking verbs.

Transitive verbs take a direct object. The word transitive is derived from the Latin verb transire, which means to go or cross over. English actually has quite a few words that start with trans, and in each case the prefix means across / cross:

translate = carry across (from one language to another)

transvestite = cross dresser

transition = crossing over

transport = convey across

trans-Atlantic = across the Atlantic

In the same way, transitive verbs carry the action across to a direct object:

She sold her car.

Transitive verb: sold.

Direct object: her car.

By contrast, intransitive verbs lack a direct object:

I fell down the stairs.

Intransitive verb: fell.

Prepositional phrase: down the stairs.

If we asked fell what? there is no answer. The prepositional phrase explains where these actions took place, but there is no direct object.

However, there are many verbs that can be both transitive and intransitive:

I guessed the answer.

I just guessed.

In most dictionaries, the abbreviations vt and vi will tell you if a verb is transitive, intransitive, or both.

Linking Verbs

Linking verbs are a kind of intransitive verb. These verbs don’t take a direct object. Instead, they are followed by a noun or adjective that describes the subject:

Henry is a mechanic.

She became angry.

The linking verb acts like an equal sign, linking the subject to the description after the verb. The latter is called the subject complement:

Subject = complement (noun or adjective)

There aren’t that many linking verbs, and most of them are forms of to be. The others tend to describe states of being or are associated with the senses:

“To Be”	States of Being	Senses
am	appear	feel
is	become	look
are	grow/turn	smell
was	stay/remain	sound
were	seem	taste
…

Note that “to be” can also be a helping verb.

As you study the following examples, look for the way in which the subject complement (the noun or adjective after the linking verb) describes the subject:

Your duet sounded fantastic.

This specimen is a Libellula depressa, a species of dragonfly.

The apple pie smells lovely.

The main dish will be linguine.

Be careful though: some of these linking verbs can be transitive or intransitive verbs in a different context:

Smell the roses!

He tasted the oysters.

She is in the bathroom.

Kendra looked through the telescope.

The first two sentences have direct objects and the last two end with prepositional phrases (so no direct object or subject complement).

Helping Verbs

Helping or auxiliary verbs allow us to create verb phrases. Without them we would have a hard time expressing exactly when something happened (tense), what the tone of the statement is (mood), and whether the action is active or passive (voice).

In addition, a subcategory of helping verbs (called modal auxiliaries) provides other nuances like possibility and necessity.

Three of the most common helping verbs come in quite a few forms (in grammatical terms, they are strongly inflected):

Be	Do	Have
am	do	have
are	does	has
is	did	had
was	doing	having
were	done
be
being
been

These helping verbs make it easy to create verb phrases:

does suggest

have been talking

did wonder

were harvesting

In a sentence, these phrases may be interrupted by adverbs:

You were not listening

I am fortunately going on holidays then.

Alternatively, in questions a helping verb may come before the subject:

Have you been taking your medication?

The only thing that never changes is that the helping verbs always come before the main verb.

Modal Auxiliaries

There are also quite a few helping verbs that allow you to fine-tune the exact meaning of a verb phrase. These are the modal auxiliaries, and in the chart they are organized by function:

Modal Auxiliary	Function
can/could	ability/possibility
may/might	possibility/permission
must/ought to	obligation
should	obligation/condition
would	condition
shall/will	intention/probability

As you can see, some modals have multiple or overlapping uses. Let’s take a closer look at a few that are easily misused.

Shall

There are three ways to use shall:

1. To express a command or make a strong statement:

You shall not pass!

2. To ask a question or make a suggestion:

Shall we go to the mall?

3. To indicate the future tense:

We shall overcome.

Now here’s the rub: traditionally, rule three applies only to first person subjects. You can say I shall or we shall (both first person), but you’re not supposed to say you shall or they shall (unless you’re commanding them – see rule 1).

If you find this confusing, you can take comfort from the fact that most people use will instead to form the future tense (also in the first person). Even in formal writing will is generally acceptable (more so in North America than in Britain). But if you want to be a stickler you can go around shouting “Thou shalt use shall to indicate the future tense with first person subjects only!”

May vs. Might

Often we use may and might interchangeably, but there is a subtle difference between them: may suggests a stronger possibility than might. The latter is more hypothetical, and is especially useful to describe situations that are contrary to fact (they didn’t happen, but they might have).

Let’s first look at some examples where may and might are interchangeable:

I may order a cheese burger.

I might go for a swim later.

By contrast, the following sentences clearly require might rather than may:

If you had stopped smoking decades ago, your lungs might now be clean.

Had I not slammed on the breaks, you might now be in a hospital.

In these cases we are dealing with hypothetical situations, where might is preferred.

And that’s it for helping verbs. Use them together with transitive and intransitive verbs to form complex verb phrases.

Principal Parts

Now that we know the types of verbs we might encounter, we are ready to look at the main parts that make up a verb.

There are four principal parts:

Principle Part	Example
Basic Form (An action in the present: I + present tense)	kick
Past Tense (An action in the past: I + past tense)	kicked
Past Participle (Often the same as the past tense. Usually formed by adding -ed to the present tense)	kicked
Present Participle (Formed by adding -ing to the basic form)	kicking

Not all grammar books include the present participle, but we’ve done so to show that all verb tenses can be formed from these principal parts.

By themselves past and present participles cannot be verbs (they’re called verbals), but with helping verbs they can be part of the verb phrase (e.g., will be seeing).

There are some verbs that are a bit irregular in how they form these four principal parts. That’s why they are called irregular verbs!

Here are some examples:

Basic Form	Past Tense	Past Participle	Present Participle
drive	drove	driven	driving
read	read	read	reading
sing	sang	sung	singing
swim	swam	swum	swimming

If you’re a native speaker, but you’re not quite sure how to form the past participle, you can ask yourself, how would I finish a phrase such as he had … or it was … ?

For example, if the verb is swear you might say he had sworn and know that the past participle is sworn.

If English is not your first language, it will take you some time to learn the few hundred irregular verbs that have different principal parts.

Verb Tenses

Now that we know about helping verbs and about the principal parts, we can move on to the different tenses of the verb. The tenses allow us to make subtle distinctions about when something is happening.

The following chart provides a quick overview of the twelve different tenses, as applied to both a regular and irregular verb:

For more information about all twelve tenses, please see our detailed introduction to verb tense.

Mood

You can think of the mood as the tone or manner in which something is expressed. English has three moods: the indicative, imperative, and subjunctive.

The indicative is the one we use most often. It includes statements of fact and questions:

The time passes so quickly.

We will be doing a fundraiser.

Aren’t you glad I didn’t say “banana”?

We want justice.

By that time I will have been waiting for five hours.

Indicative statements can use any of the twelve verb tenses described above.

The imperative mood covers commands, requests, and instructions. The subject of an imperative verb is implied (it’s usually you):

Do the right thing and buy me a coffee. (you do and buy)

Please join me in applauding a fine performance. (you join)

Follow these simple instructions to put together your new table. (you follow)

The subjunctive is the mood that gives writers the most trouble, in part because it is little used. These days we tend to use modal helping verbs (like should, would, etc.) to create the same effect.

The subjunctive expresses conditions that are contrary to fact, hypothetical situations that have not happened or are not likely to happen.

Here’s how the subjunctive is formed:

Now that you know how to form the subjunctive, let’s look at some situations in which the subjunctive should be used.

Hypothetical Statements:

If I were rich, I would live in a hotel. (indicative: I was; I will live)

Wishes and desires:

I wish I were older.

Clauses that start with that and express commands, advice, wishes, and so on:

I suggest that he leave at once. (indicative: he leaves)

If you’re not sure if a statement is subjunctive, try inserting a modal helping verb that makes the clause subjunctive (that he should leave). If that works then the subjunctive mood is probably appropriate.

Advanced Information

The subjunctive is disappearing from the English language, which is why you may often find it more natural to use the indicative form. Here’s a good example:

Subjunctive: If I be honest

Indicative: If I am honest

Most of us would pick the indicative, and not feel bad about it.

The one place where the subjunctive will likely survive for quite some time yet is in common expressions:

So be it

Be that as it may

If I were you

God help us / So help me God

Heaven forbid

Long live the King

Finally, even though the subjunctive is on the way out in English, it is frequently used in other languages.

Voice

The voice of the verb refers to the relationship between the subject and the action.

If the verb has an active voice, then the subject is doing the action.

If the verb has a passive voice, then the action is happening to the subject. In other words, the subject would normally be the object of the verb.

Active voice: Treebeard sang a song.

Passive voice: The song was sung by Treebeard.

The passive voice is formed by using some form of to be as a helping verb and adding a past participle. Here are some examples:

To Be	+ Past Participle
am	headhunted
had been	praised
will be	struck
were	seen

Another clue that you’re dealing with the passive voice is that the implied subject is often included after the verb (usually in a by construction):

These cows are milked by robots.

In fact, to make a sentence active you need to figure out who is actually doing the action (robots) and make that the subject:

Robots milk these cows.

However, not all verbs are easily transformed from the active to the passive (or vice versa). Some transitive verbs that take a direct object in the active voice simply don’t make sense in a passive construction. For example, you can’t say that something is lacked.

Usage

As much as possible, write in the active voice. Compare the following two sentences for directness:

If you want to ensure a successful rebellion, the current ruler must be apprehended, all media outlets must be captured and controlled, and innocent civilians should be protected as much as possible.

If you want to ensure a successful rebellion, you should apprehend the current ruler, capture and control all media outlets, and protect innocent civilians as much as possible.

As you can see, the active version is more colorful and concise. That’s why you should use the passive voice sparingly.

The passive voice works best in the following situations:

• When you don’t know who the subject is or don’t want others to know
• When you want to draw attention to the action (and its object) rather than the subject
• When you want your tone to be more abstract and indirect (e.g., in some academic discourse)

However, be selective about when you use the passive voice, also in formal writing. Your default option should be the active voice.

Finally, some grammar books tell you to avoid mixing the active and the passive voice in the same sentence. Our advice is to go with what sounds the most natural.

The following sentence has two passive voice verbs:

We were told by our tour guide that the Louvre was closed due to flooding.

In this case the first verb is best made active, whereas the second is fine as is:

Our tour guide told us that the Louvre was closed due to flooding.

Being aware of these subtle differences will give you greater control over your writing.

Introduction

In English there are twelve tenses (or forms). Each one is characterized by its tense (past, present, or future) and its aspect (simple, continuous, perfect, or perfect continuous).

Native speakers intuitively grasp which tense is correct. ESL students have a much harder time. However, everyone can benefit from understanding what makes each tense unique.

Twelve Tenses

The following chart breaks down all twelve tenses (with links to the relevant lessons). For the examples we’ve used the regular verb to walk and the irregular verb to sing:

Past	Present	Future
Past Simple I walked / I sang	Present Simple I walk / I sing	Future Simple I will walk / I will sing
Past Continuous I was walking / I was singing	Present Continuous I am walking / I am singing	Future Continuous I will be walking / I will be singing
Past Perfect I had walked / I had sung	Present Perfect I have walked / I have sung	Future Perfect I will have walked / I will have sung
Past Perfect Continuous I had been walking / I had been singing	Present Perfect Continuous I have been walking / I have been singing	Future Perfect Continuous I will have been walking / I will have been singing

Note that another name for the continuous is the progressive tense.

Tense

While there are twelve tenses, we also use the word tense to refer specifically to the present, past, and future tense.

The way to think about these tenses is that they are the point in time from which an action is measured. The action might take longer, and its actual timing may even surprise you, but the tense makes sense from the perspective of the speaker.

For instance, if you say “I have been studying guitar” (present perfect continuous), then the action clearly happened in the past, but it is being measured in relation to the present moment. It may even spill over in the present, as the speaker is likely still studying the guitar.

Similarly, if you say “I am leaving soon” (present continuous) you are using the present tense, even though you are describing an action that will take place in the future.

In other words, the concept of tense is flexible, so be prepared for some odd uses.

Aspect

The aspect of a verb refers to how the action relates to time. Some actions happen just once, others are repeated, and still others extend over a longer period of time. The aspect indicates how the action extends over time.

Simple

The simple aspect describes a simple fact:

He drove.

I love chocolate.

The simple aspect doesn’t say anything about whether the action is finished or continued for a certain amount of time. That’s why the simple aspect is not all that specific, and we often have to add more context to make sense of what is going on:

He drove for an hour before I took the wheel.

Continuous

The continuous or progressive aspect describes actions that take place over a period of time and may be unfinished:

I am writing a book about Mozart.

In this example, the act of writing is a process that is incomplete and takes a certain amount of time.

To form the continuous aspect, use a present participle and one or two helping verbs. Note, however, that not all verbs have a continuous forms. For more information, check out our lesson on stative and dynamic verbs.

Perfect

The perfect aspect describes a completed action:

We had performed a funny skit.

She will have finished her course by then.

To form the continuous aspect, use a past participle and one or two helping verbs.

Perfect Continuous

The perfect continuous combines elements of the previous two aspects. The action has an element of continuation, but it also has an end point. It is a completed action that takes place over a certain amount of time:

We had been watching Youtube videos, when suddenly the teacher walked in.

You can form the perfect continuous by combining the present participle with a number of helping verbs.

More Information

For more information, please check out the individual lessons for each verb tense.

Introduction

The past simple tense (also called the preterite) describes a completed action that took place before the present moment.

Form

In English, the past simple tense does not change based on person or number.

To form the past simple tense, regular verbs add –ed:

She ordered

I sulked

I obeyed

She smiled

For specific spelling rules, please watch the video above.

Irregular verbs change more drastically. Here are a few examples:

Do – did

Come – came

Buy – bought

Sit – sat

Negative Form

The negative form consists of did not (didn’t) and the base (the infinitive minus to)

We didn’t (did not) surrender.

He did not call.

They didn’t wait.

Asking Questions

To ask a question in the past simple tense, use did and the base (the infinitive minus to):

Did you ask?

Did they request that?

Uses

Completed Actions

I cooked breakfast.

Over a period of three years he mastered the guitar.

Repeated Actions

Every day at lunch she ate a sandwich with cheese, lettuce, and tomato.

Frequency

I rarely played the flute those days.

Sequence of Actions

I smiled and she frowned.

More Information

For more information, please see our introduction to all twelve verb tenses in English.

Introduction

The present simple tense describes an action happening at the present time.

However, the present simple tense often has a timeless quality to it, and is not necessarily happening right now.

Form

The present simple is easy to form. Use the base form of the verb and add an s for the third person singular:

Note too that verbs that end in –y often change their ending to –ies (e.g., cry becomes cries) in the third person singular. The exception is if a vowel precedes the –y (e.g., slay becomes slays).

In addition, some verbs add –es in the third person singular (e.g., he stitches, she caresses). This is because the base form ends with a sound such as “s” or “ch.”

Negative Form

The negative form consists of do not (or don’t) and the base of the verb:

We don’t smoke.

I don’t drink and drive.

Asking Questions

To ask a question, use do and the base of the verb:

Do you think so?

Do you subscribe?

Uses

Habitual / Repeated Actions

The monks prune the hedges faithfully.

On the first day of each month, Fred cuts his fingernails.

General Statement

Female lions hunt more than males.

Arranged or Scheduled Actions

They always catch the 7:30 train.

With the Future Tense

Sometimes the present simple is used together with a future tense verb:

George will not be happy once he finds out.

Instructions

Please come and have a look at this document.

Historical Present

You can occasionally use the present simple to talk about something that happened in the past:

We were in the Cheesecake Cafe when out of the blue he proposes to me!

This use is more common in literature and in casual conversation.

Conclusion

The present simple is rarely used to describe an action that is immediate to the speaker. For that you are more likely to use the present progressive (e.g., I am typing right now). Instead, the present simple is primarily used to describe recurring, timeless, and habitual actions. That’s why the present simple is often accompanied by references to time (every day, tomorrow, sometimes, etc.).

More Information

For more information, please see our introduction to all twelve verb tenses in English.

Introduction

The future simple tense expresses that an action will happen at some future moment. The future simple tense can be used to talk about future events, make predictions, declare one’s intentions, and state a spontaneous decision.

The future simple tense is not the only way to talk about a future action. A somewhat less formal way is to use an am going to construction (e.g., I am going to walk five miles).

Form

To form the future simple tense, use will or shall and the base of the verb:

We will wash your car.

They will finish their homework.

I shall keep my promise.

Note that shall is more common in British English and is used primarily in the first person (I, we). For more info, check out our separate discussion of shall.

As mentioned, in some instances you can also form the future with am going to:

We are going to see the play.

I am going to read that book.

You are going to clean your room!

They are going to tour Ireland.

In general, using will expresses greater certainty. However, there is a lot of overlap. The am going to construction is typically used for planned and predetermined events, for indicating one’s intentions, for making predictions, and for ordering people around. In most cases, the use of am going to is closely tied to some knowledge or evidence drawn from the present moment.

Negative Form

The negative form simply adds not. 

We will not accept your demands.

You won’t believe this!

Note that the verb won’t is a contraction of will not.

Asking Questions

Use the regular form to ask questions:

Will you visit?

Shall I make a cup of tea?

In this case shall is clearly preferred when speaking in the first person (I, we).

Uses

Future Actions

She will meet you at the airport.

We will be glad to host you.

Spontaneous Actions

I will do the dishes.

We will do it right now.

Intentions / Promises

I will write the report.

You will never walk alone.

Predictions

The Pittsburgh Penguins will win the Stanley Cup this year.

He will crash his car before the year is out.

Tricky Cases

One of the most confusing things about verbs has to do with dependent clauses. If your native language is not English, you may sometimes be tempted to use the future simple when the present simple tense will do.

This applies especially to some sentences where the main clause contains the future simple tense and the dependent clause does not. Let’s review these cases.

References to Time

When a clause starts with a reference to time (before, after, when, as soon as, etc.), you often need to use the present simple instead of the future simple:

Incorrect: After we will milk the cows, we will have breakfast.

Correct: After we milk the cows, we will have breakfast.

Conditional Statements

In some if statements you may not need to use the future simple tense:

Awkward: I will buy your guitar, if you will teach me some simple chords.

Better: I will buy your guitar, if you teach me some simple chords.

Even though the action of teaching will take place in the future, we tend to use the present simple. One way to think about it is to consider that from the perspective of the moment when the action of buying takes place, the act of teaching is simultaneous (and thus present). Another explanation is that hypothetical statements like this have a timeless quality to them. Either way, the present simple is better.

That Clauses

Here’s one more example where the dependent clause does not necessarily need the future simple tense:

Incorrect: I will talk to that girl that you will want to go out with.

Correct: I will talk to that girl that you want to go out with.

Here too the present simple tense is preferred.

More Information

For more information, please see our introduction to all twelve verb tenses in English.

Introduction

The past continuous (or past progressive) is a tense that describes an unfinished action in the past. By unfinished we don’t mean that the action never ended. Rather, the action continued or progressed over a period of time.

Form

To form the past continuous, use was or were and the present participle:

Negative Form

The negative form simply adds not:

We were not dating.

Asking Questions

Use the regular form to ask questions:

Were you holding hands?

Uses

Incomplete Actions

I was mowing the lawn at the time.

We were drawing penguins.

With Other Actions

The past continuous is often used in conjunction with other verbs. Together they relate actions in time:

While we were messaging, Tom’s dad grabbed his phone and threw it out of the window.

Before I went to school, I was reading Asterix and Obelix.

Repeated Actions

Every day we were conjugating verbs.

It was raining constantly.

To Show Change

Times were changing.

They were learning so many life lessons.

The tomatoes were ripening quickly.

More Information

For more information, please see our introduction to all twelve verb tenses in English.

Introduction

The present continuous (or present progressive) is used for actions that are happening at the present moment.

Form

To form the present continuous, use am, is, and are, followed by the present participle:

Negative Form

The negative form simply adds not:

We are not skinny-dipping.

Asking Questions

Use the regular form to ask questions:

Are you watching the game?

Primary Uses

Present Actions

We are studying right now.

Ongoing / Temporary Actions

They are doing a major in Spanish.

Trends

More and more people are writing papers on their phones.

Future

Tomorrow I am coaching the junior team.

Irritation

She is always shouting.

More Information

For more information, please see our introduction to all twelve verb tenses in English.

Introduction

The future continuous (or future progressive) describes an action that will take place in the future over a certain amount of time.

Form

The future continuous consists of will be followed by the present participle:

You will be suffering greatly.

Negative Form

The negative form simply adds not:

They will not be coming.

Asking Questions

Use the regular form to ask questions:

Will you be needing a projector?

Primary Uses

Future Actions

I will be waiting for you.

Repeated / Continuous Actions

We will be practicing every Thursday night.

Predictions

Next year they will be crushing their opponents.

Non-continuous Verbs

Not all verbs have a continuous aspect. See our section on the present continuous for more details.

More Information

For more information, please see our introduction to all twelve verb tenses in English.

Introduction

The past perfect (or pluperfect) describes an action that was completed in the past, usually before something else happened.

Form

The past perfect is formed by combining had with the past participle:

You had baked such a fantastic pie.

They had tasted success for the first time.

Negative Form

Simply add not:

We had not thought that possible.

Asking Questions

Use the regular form:

Had he spotted the sniper?

Uses

Actions Completed in the Past

I had noticed you were behaving oddly.

By the time the whistle went, we had scored five tries.

More Information

For more information, please see our introduction to all twelve verb tenses in English.

Introduction

The present perfect tense describes an action that happened in the past or is still happening now.

Form

The present perfect is formed using have (or has) and the past participle:

Note that irregular verbs form the past participle differently (e.g., eaten, bought, swum). They do not add –ed to the base.

Negative Form

Simply add not:

I have not confessed.

Asking Questions

Use the regular form to ask questions:

Have they seen the light?

Sample Uses

Past Events

We have visited Burundi.

While the verb often refers to the recent past, there is no exact time limit to how long ago the action may have occurred.

Events Still Happening

I have completed two exercises and am almost done.

Change

We have learned a great deal.

Unknown Duration

They had worked together for some time.

Accomplishments

You have mastered the art of origami.

Conclusion

The time frame of the present perfect is more open ended than with the simple past. Use the simple present when you need to be more specific about the timing of the action.

That’s why you cannot use the present perfect with certain adverbs of time (e.g., yesterday):

Incorrect: I have skipped school yesterday.

Correct: I skipped school yesterday.

On the other hand, you can use the present perfect with adverbs that are less specific (e.g., already, ever, never, etc.):

I have already finished my assignment.

More Information

For more information, please see our introduction to all twelve verb tenses in English.

Introduction

The future perfect describes an action that will be finished or completed in the future.

Form

The future perfect is formed by combining will have with the past participle:

You will have seen me walk across the stage.

They will have visited the museum.

Negative Form

Simply add not:

We will not have managed that.

Asking Questions

Use the regular form:

Will he have gone home?

Sample Uses

Actions Completed in the Future

At the end of our trip we will have visited twenty countries.

I don’t think I will have completed the assignment by then.

 As the examples show, the future perfect is often used to refer to an action completed before some other event or moment.

More Information

For more information, please see our introduction to all twelve verb tenses in English.

Introduction

The past perfect continuous (or past perfect progressive) describes an action that started in the past and continued until another moment in the past.

It is often accompanied by an indication of how much time has passed.

Form

The past perfect continuous is formed by combining had been with the present participle:

She had been celebrating.

We had been exercising.

Negative Form

Simply add not:

We had not been paying attention.

Asking Questions

Use the regular form:

Had he been smoking again?

Uses

Continuous Actions Completed in the Past

They had been studying trigonometry for three weeks already.

We had been swimming in the lagoon when the tsunami struck.

More Information

For more information, please see our introduction to all twelve verb tenses in English.

Introduction

The present perfect continuous (or present perfect progressive) describes an action that started in the past and has either just been completed or still continues at the present moment.

Form

The present perfect continuous is formed by combining have been (or has been) with the present participle:

Note that there is no present perfect continuous for the verb to be. You would not say have been being. You can just say have been.

Negative Form

Simply add not:

We have not been lying to you.

Asking Questions

Use the regular form:

Has he been jogging again?

Uses

Recently Completed Actions

The present perfect continuous can be used to describe actions that started in the past and have recently been completed:

They have been lobbying the government to change the law.

She has been complaining again.

Ongoing Actions

The present perfect continuous can also describe actions that started in the past and are still ongoing:

I have been sneezing constantly.

We have been searching for hours now. 

More Information

For more information, please see our introduction to all twelve verb tenses in English.

Introduction

The future perfect continuous (or future perfect progressive) describes a continuous action that will be completed at some point in the future.

Form

The future perfect continuous is formed by combining will have been with the present participle:

She will have been teaching for ten years.

We will have been traveling for six months at that point.

Negative Form

Simply add not:

We will not have been fasting very long yet.

Asking Questions

You can employ the regular form, although this usage is rare:

Will he have been crawling by that time?

Uses

Continuous Action Completed in the Future

They will have been skiing for two hours.

I will have been waiting for a while.

More Information

For more information, please see our introduction to all twelve verb tenses in English.

Introduction

English has multiple ways to form the future simple tense. The most common method is to combine will with the base of the verb (e.g., I will go). A slightly less formal way to achieve the same effect is to use an am going to construction. Let’s see how this works.

Form

To use an am going to construction, start with a form to be (am, are, is), add going, and finish with the infinitive (e.g., to bike). Here’s what that looks like in practice:

I am going to bike

You are going to bike

He/she/it is going to bike

We are going to bike

You are going to bike

They are going to bike

In casual conversation going to is sometimes shortened to gonna (as in I’m gonna get you).

Uses

The phrase am going to has a lot of overlap with the regular future simple tense (using will). Here are the main uses.

Intentions

You can use am going to to declare your intentions.

We are going to come to your last performance.

They are going to go on the next voyage to Mars.

Orders

You can order people around:

You are going to clean up your room!

You are going to come with me this instant.

Predictions

When you make a prediction using am going to, it’s usually based on some knowledge or evidence that you have in the present moment.

It’s going to rain any moment

He is finally going to apply for a job.

Comparison with “Will”

Compared to am going to, the future simple using will is a bit more formal and tends to express more certainty,

In addition, the construction am going to is often used in relation to our current moment (what we know to be true right now).

More Information

For more information, please see our introduction to all twelve verb tenses in English.

Introduction

The main reason why you’ll want to know the difference between stative and dynamic verbs is that stative verbs do not have a continuous tense.

There are a number of continuous tenses, and what they all have in common is that they contain a present participle (e.g., shooting, eating) and some helping verbs.

You can’t use a stative verb in this form:

Incorrect: I am believing you.

Correct: I believe you.

Now that you know why the distinction matters, let’s see how we can keep these verbs apart.

Non-continuous Verbs

Not all verbs regularly express continuous action. Here are some examples of non-continuous verbs:

Emotion or feeling: hate, love, feel, want …

Possession: own, possess, belong …

Thought and opinion: believe, know, realize, understand …

Communication: agree, mean, promise …

These are stative verbs, in that they express a state, not an action. That’s why you wouldn’t say “I am owning a mountain bike.”

However, there are plenty of exceptions. You might say “I am loving this” or “I think I am understanding you.” When used in this way the verb takes on a more dynamic aspect.

More Information

For more information, please see our introduction to all twelve verb tenses in English.

Introduction

Verbals are not a separate part of speech, but they do deserve some special attention. While verbals are derived from verbs, they generally function as other parts of speech in a sentence.

Types of Verbals

There are three types of verbals: infinitives, present participles, and past participles.

Infinitives

To form the infinitive, just combine to with the verb:

to milk
to like
to write
to sing
to buy

Note that the to in an infinitive is not considered a preposition.

Present Participles

The present participle is formed by adding -ing to the verb:

milking
liking
writing
singing
buying

Past participles

The past participle is one of the principle parts of the verb. It is usually formed by adding -ed to the verb:

milked
liked

However, some verbs are irregular and have quite a different past participle:

written
sung
bought

An easy way to figure out the past participle is to think about the past perfect tense. Just fill in the blank as follows:

I had ____.

Verb: to write.
Answer: written.

The Functions of Verbals

Although verbals are derived from verbs, they usually take on a different function in the sentence. In fact, the only time a verbal can be part of the main verb is if it’s accompanied by one or more helping verbs:

I would have bought a muffin.

She has written two novels.

Otherwise, verbals tend to take on the role of other parts of speech. Let’s look at a few examples:

Participles as Adjectives

Participles often function as adjectives:

Your caring attitude is rather endearing.

I love your refurbished kitchen.

In the first sentence, the present participle caring modifies the noun attitude. In the second sentence, the past participle refurbished modifies the noun kitchen.

Verbals as Nouns

Present participles and infinitives can take on the role of a noun. Here are some examples:

To collect ice cubes is a foolish endeavour.

Infinitive: To collect.
Main verb: is.

In this sentence, the infinitive is the subject, and so is acting like a noun.

Here’s another example:

Training takes time.

Present participle: training.
Main verb: takes.

Again, training is the subject and functions like a noun. Note that when a present participle acts like a noun it’s called a gerund.

Verbals in Phrases

Verbals can also start phrases. Here are some examples:

To see you happy means a lot to me.

Sue, seizing her chance, stole Mike’s wallet.

Retired recently, Brad spent his days on the golf course:

Note that the first participial phrase contains a present participle and the last a past participle. All these phrases act like parts of speech. For instance, the last participial phrase acts like an adjective, modifying “Brad.”

To find out more about how verbals can be used in phrases, please visit our page on phrases.

Conclusion

To sum up, verbals will never be your main verb unless they have a helping verb. Otherwise they function as other parts of speech (mostly nouns and adjectives) or in phrases.

Introduction

Prepositions are words like in, during, or between. They are normally followed by a noun or pronoun, with which they form a prepositional phrase:

Here are some more examples:

during recess
between you and me
from Russia
with love

The job of the preposition is to relate the noun or the pronoun (the object of the preposition) to the rest of the sentence. Take, for instance, the following sentence:

I work at the post-office.

The prepositional phrase tells us a bit more about where I work.

Using prepositional phrases

So far we’ve figured out that prepositional phrases provide extra information. In fact, a prepositional phrase will never be part of the core of the sentence. When you’re analyzing a sentence, you can take away the prepositional phrases to make it easier to find the subject and verb:

This sentence also shows how prepositional phrases function in a sentence. They act either as an adverb or an adjective.

• The phrase in the morning clarifies when I like to eat. In other words, it tells us something about the verb (like) by providing a time frame. When you modify the verb, you’re using an adverb, and that is also the role of the prepositional phrase in the morning.
• The phrase with cream cheese tells us a bit more about the kind of bagel this is. Since bagel is a noun, the prepositional phrase is acting like an adjective.

If you can tell whether a prepositional phrase is adjectival or adverbial, you can give yourself a pat on the back. For most of us (mere mortals) simply spotting a prepositional phrase is good enough.

Common errors

Don’t automatically assume that you’re dealing with a preposition. Take the following sentence:

I must have left behind my monocle.

The word behind can be a preposition or an adverb, and in this case it’s an adverb. It’s modifying the verb (must have left) rather than relating a noun or pronoun to the rest of the sentence.

Ending with a preposition

Contrary to popular wisdom, you are allowed to end a sentence with a preposition. The noun or pronoun (the object of the preposition) can usually be found earlier in the sentence:

You are the only person I am showing this to.  

Which of those girls are you going on a date with?

Check out the treasure we stumbled upon.

Most of the time, though, you can reword the sentence to avoid ending on a preposition.

Common prepositions

Most prepositions have to do with time or place. There is no need to memorize every preposition (in fact, there are many more prepositions than those listed), but it will help you to read through the following list once or twice.

Spatial	Abstract	Temporal
above	about	after
across (from)	according to	around
against	as (for)	at
ahead of	besides	by
along/alongside	concerning	during
among	considering	past
apart from	contrary to	since
around	despite	till
at	except (for)	to
below	in order to	until
beneath	in relation to
beside	in spite of
between	like
beyond	notwithstanding
by	of
down	off
in front of	on account of
in place of	regarding
inside	regardless of
into	such as
near	throughout
next to	unlike
on	upon
onto	with
out (of)
outside
past
round
through
to
toward(s)
under(neath)
up
within

Introduction

Adjectives are descriptive words that modify nouns or pronouns:

The blue ribbon
That black cat
A better me
An educational speech

In each case, the adjective tells you something about the noun. The adjective answers one of the following questions:

What kind of?

Which? Whose?

How many? How much?

The best way to ask these questions is to combine them with the noun in the sentence:

Twenty-two mice danced in the circus.

Question: how many mice?

Adjective: twenty-two.

As you can see, adjectives usually come before the noun or pronoun. The most common exception is with a linking verb:

The weather is sunny.

The days are long.

He became embittered.

In these cases, the adjective comes after the subject it describes.

Tricky adjectives

There are quite few words that at first glance don’t look like adjectives. Often the function of a word depends on how it’s used in the sentence. Let’s review these tricky forms.

Articles

In English, we have two articles: the and a(n). Because they come before a noun, they can be considered adjectives:

The soother
A tree
An ability

Pronouns

If a pronoun modifies a noun, then it functions like an adjective:

My friend
Any complaints
Those cousins
Which room

Nouns

At times nouns can take on the role of an adjective:

Student council
Coffee machine
Almond milk
Barber shop quartet

You can categorize these as nouns too, but it’s important to understand how they function.

Participles

Present and past participles can also act like adjectives:

Torn shirt
Ranked player
Captivating show
Streaming media

These examples demonstrate the versatility of language. Participles are derived from verbs, but they can describe nouns.

Clauses and Phrases

Even clauses and phrases can function like adjectives:

The tiger that escaped yesterday…

The fountain in the front garden…

However, don’t worry too much for now about these larger units. They will be explained in our course on sentence structure.

Comparison of Adjectives

Adjectives (and adverbs) come in three forms: positive, comparative, and superlative.

The positive is the basic form. The comparative, as the name implies, shows a greater or lesser degree. The superlative shows the greatest or least degree. Here are some examples:

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
blue	bluer	bluest
funny	funnier	funniest
remarkable	more/less remarkable	most/least remarkable

Clearly not all adjectives follow the same pattern. That’s why it’s helpful to know the basic rules.

1. If an adjective consists of a single syllable, add -er for the comparative and –est for the superlative.

2. If an adjective has three or more syllables, add most or least.

3. If an adjective has two syllables, you’ll have to choose between adding -er/-est and most/least. It depends on what sounds better:

Zealous, more zealous, most zealous.

Tiny, tinier, tiniest

If you’re not sure which form to use, consult a dictionary.

Let’s finish with a few exceptions and additional rules.

Irregular Adjectives

Some adjectives don’t follow the normal rules for showing comparison. These are considered irregular adjectives:

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
bad	worse	worst
good	better	best
little	less	least
much/many/some	more	most
far	farther/further	farthest/furthest

Adjectives Without a Comparative Form

Other adjectives simply don’t have a comparative form. These words describe an absolute condition, in which case comparison does not work:

final
impossible
perfect
unique
whole
…

It would be illogical to say that something is the most perfect or more unique since perfection and uniqueness do not allow for degrees of comparison.

Using the Comparative and Superlative

Grammar books will tell you that the comparative is used to compare two things, whereas the superlative is meant for three or more things:

Your grandmother is older than mine.

Which is the longest of the six Oksa Pollock books?

This is a somewhat tricky rule. Take the following example:

Her huskies are more resilient than his.

There are likely more than two huskies involved, but we still use the comparative. One way to make sense of this is to consider that a “thing” (e.g., huskies) might be plural. In other words, we are still comparing just two things (her huskies and his huskies).

Another approach is to understand what is really at issue with this rule. The main thing to watch out for is that you don’t use the superlative to compare two things:

Incorrect: Of these two brands of coffee, which do you like best?

Instead, use the comparative form (better).

Introduction

The adverb is the Swiss Army knife of parts of speech. It not only modifies verbs, but also adjectives, verbals, other adverbs, and entire clauses or sentences. Because adverbs are so versatile, we’ll cover each function separately.

Regular and Irregular Adverbs

Many adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective:

nice/nicely
warm/warmly

We call these regular adverbs. Adverbs that don’t follow this rule are called irregular adverbs.

Sometimes adverbs look exactly the same as the adjective form:

The early bird gets the worm.

I came early.

Sometimes they are quite different:

Good shot!

Are you feeling well?

And sometimes they have no corresponding adjective form (often, not).

In fact, even when a word ends in -ly, you can’t assume that it’s an adverb. There are also adjectives that end in -ly (lonely, friendly).

Asking the right question.

To find an adverb in a sentence, you can ask the following questions:

• How?
• When?
• Where?
• Why?
• To what degree?

Here’s what this looks like in practice:

In the winter, the bus from Abbotsford was often late.

When? In the winter

To what degree? Often

Be careful, however! By themselves such questions don’t tell us why these words are adverbs. For example, we might ask the question where? and answer from Abbotsford, not realizing that from Abbotsford acts like an adjective to describe what kind of bus (a noun) we’re dealing with.

That’s why in the following sections we’ve broken down the specific uses of adverbs. If you learn these, you will understand exactly why some words are adverbial.

The uses of adverbs

Modifying the Verb

The word adverb literally means “something that is added to the verb” (in Latin ad = to and verbum = word, verb). It’s not surprising, then, that adverbs often modify verbs:

Jennifer bugged Mike relentlessly.

If we ask bugged how? the answer would be relentlessly.

Even prepositional phrases can act like an adverb and modify the verb:

I saw you through the window.

Here the prepositional phrase through the window tells us where I saw you. Prepositional phrases always act like adjectives or adverbs, so context is everything.

Modifying an Adjective

Adverbs also allow us to refine the meaning of an adjective:

Myron drives an extremely old Volkswagen bus.

The adverb extremely answer the question To what degree? Myron’s vehicle is not just old; it is extremely old.

Here are a few more examples:

Her baby is so adorable!

That’s the most flimsy excuse ever.

The children were surprisingly curious.

Modifying Verbals

You’ll recall that verbals look like verbs but often take on a different role in the sentence. If you want to modify a verbal, you would use an adverb:

Salana, swinging her bat wildly, somehow hit a home run.

Let’s look at some more examples:

Walking regularly is great for your health.

Left alone, Cindy sat on a bench and read a book.

To ski properly takes practice.

As you can see, to check if a word is an adverb you need to know what other part of speech it’s modifying.

Modifying Other Adverbs

Adverbs can even modify each other:

He broke the news too suddenly.

Here the adverb too answers the question to what degree? and so tells us how suddenly he broke the news.

Here are a few more examples for good measure:

He appeared to accept his award almost reluctantly.

Annette checked her Fitbit very often.

I love your necklace so much.

Modifying Entire Clauses.

Sometimes an adverb modifies not just a specific word but an entire clause or sentence:

Oddly, no one had thought of that solution.

Fortunately, the check was in the mail.

Interestingly, in Erwin Schrödinger’s thought experiment the cat is simultaneously alive and dead.

As you can see from these examples, the adverb is not specific enough to modify one word, but provides a comment on the entire sentence.

Comparative Forms of Adverbs

Just as with adjectives, adverbs come in three forms: positive (the basic form), comparative (showing a greater or lesser degree) and superlative (showing the greatest or least degree).

There are two ways to form the comparative:

• Use –er when the adverb is just one syllable long: nearer, later, sooner, slower, straighter.
• If the adverb is longer than one syllable, add more: more closely, more fully, more incessantly, more jealously.

Similarly, there are two standard ways to form the superlative:

• Use –est when the adverb is just one syllable long: nearest, quickest, slowest, straightest.
• If the adverb is longer than one syllable, add most: most impressively, most gleefully.

The only exception to these rules is early, which follows the rules for one syllable adverbs (earlier, earliest).

Irregular adverbs

Some irregular adverbs don’t follow the normal rules for comparative and superlative forms:

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
well	better	best
badly	worse	worst
much	more	most
little	less	least
far	farther/further	farther/furthest

Many of these forms are the same as for irregular adjectives.

Adverbs with Two Endings

If you’ve read the previous section, you may have noticed that some adverbs that end in –ly also have a shorter form. Here are some examples:

close, closely
loud, loudly
quick, quickly
slow, slowly

Sometimes the two forms are used in different ways:

He came close and gave me a hug.

I watched her closely.

At other times, the shorter form is simply a more casual way of phrasing something:

Janet laughs so loud that her mom gets embarrassed.

Let’s go slow this time.

In a more formal context you should think about using the –ly ending, but it depends somewhat on preference. You might find that you would readily substitute slowly, but still prefer loud over loudly.

Common Mistakes

There are a few adverbs and adjectives that cause a lot of trouble. Let’s focus on the chief troublemakers:

Adjective	Adverb
bad	badly
good	well

To see which one you’re dealing with, you have to look at the rest of the sentence. Take the following examples:

He treated me badly.
That was a bad idea.

He treated me well.
That was a good idea.

So far so good: the adverb modifies the verb and the adjective describes the noun. The difficulty comes when we use a linking verb:

She felt bad about our breakup.

A linking verb is usually followed by a noun or adjective that describes the subject. That’s why we have to use bad rather than badly. You can see why this is so if you compare a similar sentence:

The weather forecast looked bleak.

The linking verb itself is not being modified—it’s the forecast that’s bleak.

But there is one more thing to watch out for: the adverb well can also be an adjective, in which case it refers to one’s health. Compare these sentences:

After her fever subsided, Belinda was well enough to go to class.

After her fever subsided, Belinda felt good enough to go to class.

In each case we’ve used an adjective to describe Belinda’s health.

Introduction

Conjunctions are like hinges. They connect words, phrases, and clauses. Let’s review the three types of conjunctions.

Coordinating Conjunctions

The most common conjunctions are called coordinating conjunctions. The word coordinate means to bring different elements into a harmonious and orderly relationship.

Coordinating conjunctions do just that: they relate two parts of the sentence that are given equal weight:

Which is better: Mars or Snickers?

The beach was nice, but the seagulls were annoying.

The great news is that there are just seven coordinating conjunctions; the bad news is that you should probably memorize them. To help you out, someone came up with the acronym FANBOYS:

For – And – Nor – But – Or – Yet – So

Here’s an alternative way to group them:

And, but (create similarity and contrast)

For, nor, or (they rhyme!)

Yet, so (the leftovers)

Use whatever strategy works for you. These are some of the most common building blocks of language and you’ll want to be able to identify them.

Subordinating Conjunctions

The word subordinate means to treat something as being of less importance than another. Just like a king rules over his people (his subordinates), so a sentence has elements that are of lower rank or importance.

In particular, when a sentence has a dependent clause, it is introduced by a subordinating conjunction. This conjunction relates the dependent clause to the main clause:

When Jim went to China, he accidentally ordered a hot dog.

Once we’ve graduated, we can do anything!

You’ll notice that if the dependent clause comes first, it is usually followed by a comma. If it comes later in the sentence, the comma is often left out:

I won’t tell you the story unless you buy me a drink.

I made only two friendship bracelets because I have only two friends.

Here is a list of the most common subordinating conjunctions:

Subordinating Conjunctions
after	since
although	so that
as (if)	than
as long as	that
because	though
before	unless
even if	until
even though	when
if (only)	whenever
in order that	where
now that	whereas
once	wherever
rather than	while

Correlative Conjunctions

The last type of conjunction is really a pair of conjunctions that work as a team. If it helps, think of them as being related to each other:

either … or

neither … nor

not only … but also

both … and

whether … or

These pairs can tie together anything from specific words to entire clauses:

Trixie won medals in both shot put and high jump. (connecting nouns)

Olivier studied whether nationalism is dead in Europe or whether it is being revived by fears over immigration. (connecting clauses)

While there are just a few correlative conjunctions, we use them all the time.

Caution

Finally, a word of caution.

Many words can function as multiple parts of speech. Conjunctions are no exception to this rule:

She wrote so many Christmas cards.

The hose was leaking, so I bought some new washers.

They knew each other before the war.

Before we had our staycation, we had no idea how many local attractions there are.

Cathy’s pigeons are more iridescent than mine.

He clearly loves you more than I do.

Everything depends on context. The more parts of speech you learn, the easier it gets to differentiate them. That’s the theory anyway.

Introduction

Even though conjunctive adverbs are not actually a separate part of speech, we’ve given them their own entry. That’s because being able to recognize conjunctive adverbs will help you to avoid some common grammatical errors.

Definition

A conjunctive adverb is an adverb that functions like a conjunction. Simply put, it ties together two independent clauses or sentences.

Here’s a list of the more common ones, organized by function:

Adding Information	Cause and Effect
also	accordingly
finally	consequently
furthermore	hence
in addition	therefore
moreover	thus

Contrast	Changing Direction
by contrast	anyway
instead	incidentally
however	meanwhile
nevertheless	next
nonetheless	still

Similarity	Emphasis
equally	indeed
likewise	in fact
similarly	undoubtedly

You might be wondering how these words are different from regular conjunctions. For one thing, conjunctive adverbs can be moved around in the sentence, whereas conjunctions have to stay in the same place:

We bought an old tent trailer. However, it takes forever to set up.

We bought an old tent trailer. It takes forever to set up, however.

By contrast, in the following sentence the conjunction and can go in only one spot:

We went to a board game café and played a game of Ticket to Ride.

How to use conjunctive adverbs

Conjunctive adverbs are the big boys of conjunctions. They do the heavy work of connecting separate clauses or sentences. And that’s why they typically come after a period or a semi-colon, and not after a comma.

Wrong: We see very few birds on our feeder, however, that’s because there is no feed left.

Right: We see very few birds on our feeder; however, that’s because there is no feed left.

Right: We see very few birds on our feeder. However, that’s because there is no feed left.

So be careful that you don’t create a comma splice when you use a conjunctive adverb.

The last rule to remember is that conjunctive adverbs are often set off with commas. When the conjunctive adverb comes later in the clause, it has commas before and after it:

Moreover, Queen Elizabeth I objected to John Knox’s opinions about female rulers.

My parents, meanwhile, were on vacation in Hawaii.

Iron Man 3, by contrast, did not appeal to me.

Finally, you are often allowed to drop the commas if you feel that sounds more natural. This is especially the case when the conjunctive adverb is shorter or comes later in the clause:

Meanwhile the sun was setting.

Your argument is therefore rubbish.

Introduction

The word interjection comes from Latin, and literally means something “thrown between.” In English, interjections are expressions of emotion. They don’t normally modify anything else in the sentence.

Interjections are common in everyday speech, but should be avoided in formal writing.

Examples

Here are some examples of interjections:

Oh, uh, um, eh, hey, ah, etc.
hi
well
gosh, golly, etc.
dear (me)
alas, alack, etc.
okay
cheers
ouch
amen
bye
hurray
phew
sorry
wow

Usage

Mild interjections can be set off with commas. Stronger expressions of emotion are often followed by an exclamation point. If an interjection comes in the middle of a sentence, you might place dashes around it.

Here are some examples of how you might punctuate various interjections:

Gee whiz, I never thought of that!

Ouch! Watch your step!

Okay, next goal wins!

She said “bye” and waved.

And we all know—hallelujah!—that we are saved by faith in our good works.

Your contribution to our project has been, well, not the greatest.

Introduction

It’s one thing to learn each part of speech separately. It is quite a bit more challenging to review them all at once. Yet it can be immensely rewarding to start seeing exactly how a sentence has been put together. It’s a bit like staring at an optical illusion, waiting for a picture to emerge. When it does, it’s an amazing experience.

Tips

To be successful at parsing a sentence, it helps to be a bit strategic. Start by looking for parts of speech that you find easy. You might be able to tell right away that a sentence contains an adjective or two. Once you’ve gained some confidence, it’s a good idea to see if the sentence contains any conjunctions. If it does, you might be able to split the sentence up into smaller units (clauses and phrases). After that you can zoom in and start looking for nouns, pronouns, and verbs, as those tend to form the core of most sentences.

There is of course no foolproof way to analyze a sentence, and it gets easier once you’ve learned about the general structure of a sentence. Still, the more you practice and review your parts of speech, the more successful you’ll be.

Example

Before you do the review exercises, here’s an example of how we might take apart a sentence. Here we’ve analyzed the opening sentence of chapter 1 of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein:

We can also diagram each prepositional phrase, but hopefully this gives you the basic idea. And, as you can tell from this example, learning about parts of speech can reveal how a sentence like this creates balance, as its two clauses are remarkably similar in structure.