Basic Concepts of English Grammar (3)

Inversion
Changing the usual word order so
that the verb comes before the
subject (e.g. Up went the balloon).

Linking verb
A verb (e.g. be, become, appear) that
connects a SUBJECT with its
COMPLEMENT.

Modal verbs
A group of verbs (can, could, dare,
may, might, must, need, ought to,
shall, should, will, would, used to)
that give information about such
things as possibility, necessity, and
obligation.

Noun
A word that refers to a person, place,
thing, quality, etc. A proper noun is
the name of a particular person,
place or thing (e.g. John Todd,
Berlin, Sydney Opera House).

Noun phrase
A group of words where the main
word is a noun (e.g. I've been talking
to the woman across the road; We
spoke to several small children).

Object
The person or thing affected by the
action of the verb or that is involved
in the result of the action (e.g. I put
the book back on the shelf).
Compare SUBJECT.

Participle
The present participle is the '-ing'
form of a verb (e.g. walking, singing,
eating) used, for example, in
continuous tenses. The past participle
is the '-ed' form of a verb (e.g.
walked, sung, eaten) used, for
example, in perfect tenses. A
participle adjective is one formed
from the present or past participle of
a verb (e.g. the candidates applying,
a broken plate).

Passive
In a passive clause or passive
sentence, the grammatical subject is
the person or thing that experiences
the effect of the action given in the
verb (e.g. The book was written by
Geoff.). Compare ACTIVE.

Performative verb
A verb which states the action that is
performed when a speaker uses the
verb (e.g. I promise I'll do it
tomorrow; I apologise).

Possessive
The possessive form of a noun ends
in either -'s (e.g. Mark's car) or -s'
(e.g. the girls' changing room).

Preposition
A word such as in, on, by that comes
before a noun, pronoun, noun phrase
or -ing form (e.g. in March, above
my uncle's head, by investing).

Prepositional phrase
A group of words that consists of a
preposition and its prepositional
object (a noun, pronoun, noun
phrase or -ing form) (e.g. behind our
house, across it).

Pronoun
A word that is used instead of a noun
or noun phrase. Pronouns include
personal pronouns (e.g. I, she, me),
reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself,
herself), and RELATIVE PRONOUNS
(e.g. who, which).

Quantifier
A word or phrase that goes before a
noun or noun phrase to talk about
the quantity of something (e.g. a little
water, many of the women in the
room).

Relative clause
A kind of SUBORDINATE CLAUSE that
describes a noun that comes before it
in a MAIN CLAUSE. A defining relative
clause says which person or thing is
being talked about (e.g. A friend who
lives in London is getting married).
A non-defining relative clause gives
more information about the noun
(e.g. My bicycle^ which I've left
outside your house, is over 20 years
old).