English Grammar Guide for Language Students: Especially students of Biblical Hebrew, New Testament Greek, Latin, and related modern languages 9781463233334

Citation preview

English Grammar Guide for Language Students

Gorgias Handbooks

27 Series Editor George Anton Kiraz

Gorgias Handbooks provides students and scholars with reference books, textbooks and introductions to different topics or fields of study. In this series, Gorgias welcomes books that are able to communicate information, ideas and concepts effectively and concisely, with useful reference bibliographies for further study.

English Grammar Guide for Language Students

Especially students of Biblical Hebrew, New Testament Greek, Latin, and related modern languages

Peter Burton

9

34 2013

Gorgias Press LLC, 954 River Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA www.gorgiaspress.com Copyright © 2013 by Gorgias Press LLC

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise without the prior written permission of Gorgias Press LLC.

2013

‫ܒ‬

ISBN 978-1-61143-864-2

9 ISSN 1935-6838

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A Cataloging-in-Publication Record is Available from the Library of Congress. Printed in the United States of America

TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ v Acknowledgments............................................................................................................. xiii 1. Scope and Purpose of the Book.................................................................................... 1 1.1 Purpose .................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Assumed knowledge of English ......................................................................... 1 1.3 Depth of treatment .............................................................................................. 1 1.4 Using this handbook ............................................................................................ 1 2. What is grammar? ............................................................................................................ 3 3. Phrases and Sentences .................................................................................................... 5 Exercise 1. .............................................................................................................. 6 4. Four types of simple sentences ..................................................................................... 7 Exercise 2 ............................................................................................................... 8 5. Two parts of a simple sentence: subject and predicate I........................................... 9 5.1 The subject and predicate of a sentence ........................................................... 9 5.2 Finding the subject of a statement................................................................... 10 5.3 Subjects of Exclamations .................................................................................. 14 Exercise 3. ............................................................................................................ 15 5.4 Word order I: Order of subject and predicate in English............................ 16 5.5 Finding the subject of a question ..................................................................... 17 5.6 Finding the subject of a command .................................................................. 18 5.7 One word sentences: Understood subjects and predicates ......................... 19 Exercise 4. ............................................................................................................ 21 6. Functions of words in sentences ................................................................................. 23 Exercise 5. ............................................................................................................ 25 7. Parts of Speech I ............................................................................................................ 27 7.1 Eight parts of speech in English ...................................................................... 27 7.2 Verbs..................................................................................................................... 28 7.2.1 Action verbs and stative verbs ................................................................ 28 7.2.2 Simple verbs ............................................................................................... 29 7.2.3 Composite verbs (periphrastic verbs): Auxiliary verbs and principal verbs ......................................................... 29 Exercise 6. ............................................................................................................ 32 7.3 Nouns ................................................................................................................... 33 7.3.1 Common nouns and proper nouns (proper names) ............................ 33 Examples of Proper Nouns .............................................................................. 33 Examples of Common Nouns .......................................................................... 34 7.3.2 Collective nouns ........................................................................................ 34 7.3.3 Concepts of abstract and concrete nouns ............................................. 34 Exercise 7. ............................................................................................................ 35 v

vi

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

7.4 Pronouns .............................................................................................................. 36 7.4.1 How pronouns are used ........................................................................... 36 7.4.2 Types of pronouns .................................................................................... 36 Exercise 8. ............................................................................................................ 38 7.4.3 Antecedents of pronouns......................................................................... 38 7.4.4 The simple sentence with pronouns ...................................................... 38 7.5 Adjectives ............................................................................................................. 38 7.5.1 Introducing adjectives............................................................................... 38 7.5.2 Descriptive adjectives ............................................................................... 39 7.5.3 Quantitative adjectives.............................................................................. 39 7.5.4 Demonstrative adjectives ......................................................................... 39 7.5.5 The definite article and the indefinite article......................................... 39 7.5.6 Possessive adjectives (personal pronominal adjectives) ...................... 40 7.5.7 Interrogative adjectives ............................................................................. 40 Exercise 9 ............................................................................................................. 40 7.6 Adverbs ................................................................................................................ 42 7.6.1 The function of adverbs ........................................................................... 42 7.6.2 Adverbs of manner, place, number, time and degree .......................... 42 7.6.3 Spelling of English Adverbs .................................................................... 43 7.6.4 Adverbs modifying adjectives or other adverbs ................................... 44 7.6.5 Interrogative adverbs ................................................................................ 44 7.6.6 Comparative adverbs ................................................................................ 45 7.6.7 Relative adverbs ......................................................................................... 45 7.6.8 Negative adverbs ....................................................................................... 45 7.6.9 The indefinite adverb ‘there’ part I......................................................... 45 Exercise 10. .......................................................................................................... 45 7.7 Note about Substantives ............................................................................. 46 7.8 Useful convention: Adjectives qualify and adverbs modify....................... 47 8. Two Parts of a Simple Sentence: Subject and Predicate II ..................................... 49 8.1 Subject .................................................................................................................. 49 8.1.1 Finite Verbs and Simple Sentences ........................................................ 49 Exercise 11 ........................................................................................................... 50 8.1.2 Subject and subject word ......................................................................... 50 Exercise 12 ........................................................................................................... 54 8.2 Predicate ............................................................................................................... 55 8.2.1 Predicate components .............................................................................. 55 8.2.2 Direct object and direct object word ..................................................... 56 Exercise 13 ........................................................................................................... 57 8.2.3 Indirect object and indirect object word ............................................... 60 Exercise 14 ........................................................................................................... 61 8.2.4 Complement of a verb and copulative verbs ........................................ 62 8.2.5 Verbs with double objects Part I ............................................................ 64 9. Definition of a phrase ................................................................................................... 65 10. Transitivity of Verbs: Transitive verbs and intransitive verbs.............................. 67 Exercise 15 ........................................................................................................... 67

TABLE OF CONTENTS 11. Voice of Verbs ............................................................................................................. 69 11.1 Active Voice and Passive Voice: .................................................................... 69 Exercise 16 ........................................................................................................... 73 11.2 Middle Voice ..................................................................................................... 76 11.3 Deponency ........................................................................................................ 78 12. Tense of Verbs ............................................................................................................. 81 12.1 Present tense, future tense and past tense .................................................... 81 12.2 Pluperfect Tense: .............................................................................................. 82 12.3 Examples of tense forms of the verb ‘do’ .................................................... 83 Exercise 17 ........................................................................................................... 85 Exercise 18 ........................................................................................................... 86 12.4 Tense in Greek and Hebrew........................................................................... 86 13. Aspect of Verbs ........................................................................................................... 89 14. Mood of Verbs............................................................................................................. 93 14.1 Indicative mood, imperative mood and subjunctive mood....................... 93 14.2 Optative mood in Greek ................................................................................. 94 14.3 Hebrew moods ................................................................................................. 94 15. Summary of components of a simple sentence: one subject and predicate ....... 95 15.1. The simple sentence ........................................................................................ 95 15.2. The basic simple sentence .............................................................................. 95 15.3. The expanded simple sentence...................................................................... 95 16. Parts of Speech II ........................................................................................................ 97 16.1 Phrases I: Prepositional Phrases .................................................................... 97 16.1.1 Adjectival phrases beginning with a preposition ................................ 97 16.1.2 Adverbial phrases beginning with a preposition ................................ 97 16.1.3 Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases ............................................... 97 16.2 Conjunctions ..................................................................................................... 98 16.3 Interjections....................................................................................................... 99 16.4 Parts of Speech Summary I........................................................................... 100 16.5 Grammar and translation issues: Translating and parts of speech ......... 100 17. Case .............................................................................................................................. 101 17.1 Nominative case (subjective case) and accusative case (objective case) 101 17.2 Possessive case (genitive case) and apostrophes ................................. 102 17.2.1 Deciphering strategy for the possessive case .................................... 103 Exercise 19 ......................................................................................................... 103 Exercise 20 ......................................................................................................... 105 17.2.2 Apostrophes that are not used to indicate the possessive case...... 107 17.2.2.1 ‘Its’ versus ‘It’s’: .................................................................................. 107 17.2.2.1.1 ‘Its’ ..................................................................................................... 107 17.2.2.1.2 ‘It’s’ for ‘It is’ ................................................................................... 107 17.2.2.2 ‘It’s been’ for ‘It has been’ ................................................................ 107 17.2.2.3 Other abbreviations for ‘has’ or ‘is’................................................. 107 17.3 Dative Case...................................................................................................... 107 17.4 Vocative Case .................................................................................................. 108 17.5 Cases following prepositions ........................................................................ 108

vii

viii

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

17.6 Common NT Greek cases ............................................................................ 109 17.7 Ablative and locative cases in Latin............................................................. 109 17.8 Cases in Hebrew ............................................................................................. 109 18. Person .......................................................................................................................... 111 18.1 First person, second person and third person ........................................... 111 18.2 Nouns and person .......................................................................................... 112 18.3 Pronouns and person..................................................................................... 112 18.4 Tables of personal pronouns and pronominal adjectives I ..................... 113 Table of Most English Personal Pronouns I ................................................ 113 Table of English Personal Pronominal Adjectives (Possessive Adjectives) I ......................................................................... 114 19. Number ....................................................................................................................... 115 19.1 Singular, plural and dual number ................................................................. 115 19.2 Tables of personal pronouns and pronominal adjectives II .................... 116 Table of Most English Personal Pronouns II .............................................. 116 Table of English Personal Pronominal Adjectives (Possessive Adjectives) II ....................................................................... 117 20. Grammatical Gender ................................................................................................ 119 20.1 Masculine, feminine, neuter and common grammatical gender ............. 119 20.2 Grammatical gender and natural or sexual gender ................................... 120 21. Tables of personal pronouns and pronominal adjectives III ............................. 121 Table of Most English Personal Pronouns III............................................. 121 Table of English Personal Pronominal Adjectives (Possessive Adjectives) III ...................................................................... 122 22. Agreement I................................................................................................................ 123 22.1 Agreement of adjectives and nouns ............................................................ 123 22.2 Agreement of subjects and verbs ................................................................. 123 22.3 Agreement of subjects and complements .................................................. 124 23. Apposition: Words in apposition to nouns and pronouns ................................. 125 24. Types of Pronouns and Pronominal Adjectives I ................................................ 127 24.1 Personal Pronouns and Possessive Pronouns ........................................... 127 24.2 Reflexive Pronouns and Intensive Pronouns (Emphatic Pronouns)..... 127 24.2.1 Reflexive pronouns ............................................................................... 127 24.2.2 Intensive pronouns (Emphatic pronouns)........................................ 128 24.3 Possessive adjectives (Personal pronominal adjectives) ........................... 129 24.4 Tables of English personal pronouns and pronominal adjectives IV.... 129 Table of English Personal Pronouns ............................................................. 129 Table of English Personal Pronominal Adjectives (Possessive Adjectives) ............................................................................ 130 24.5 Demonstrative pronouns and Demonstrative adjectives......................... 131 25. Non-finite verbs......................................................................................................... 133 25.1 Finite and non-finite verbs............................................................................ 133 25.2 Gerunds ........................................................................................................... 133 25.2.1 Gerund forms and spellings ................................................................ 134 25.2.2 Gerunds in the present tense active voice......................................... 134

TABLE OF CONTENTS English Gerund Table: Examples .................................................................. 134 25.2.3 Gerunds in other forms ....................................................................... 136 25.3 Participles......................................................................................................... 137 25.3.1 Present participles in the active voice ................................................ 137 English Participle Table 1: Active Voice Present Participles ..................... 138 25.3.2 Past participles in the active voice ...................................................... 139 English Participle Table 2: Active Voice Past Participle Formation ........ 140 English Participle Table 3: Examples of Active Voice Past Participles ... 141 25.3.3 Future participles in the active voice.................................................. 141 English Participle Table 4: Translation forms of future participles in the active voice..................................................................................... 142 25.3.4 Present participles in the passive voice .............................................. 143 English Participle Table 5: Formation of the Passive Voice Present Participle ................................................ 143 25.3.5 Past participles in the passive voice.................................................... 144 English Participle Table 6: Past participles in the passive voice................ 144 25.3.6 Future participles in the passive voice ............................................... 146 English Participle Table 7: Translation forms of future participles in the passive voice .................................................................................. 146 25.4 Infinitives ......................................................................................................... 146 25.4.1 Infinitives as verbal nouns ................................................................... 147 25.4.2 Infinitives as verbal adjectives ............................................................. 148 25.4.3 Infinitives as verbal adverbs ................................................................ 148 25.4.4 Infinitives in the active voice ............................................................... 149 English Infinitives Table 1: Formation of some common infinitives in the active voice ................................. 149 Exercise 21. Complete the following table: .................................................. 150 25.4.5 Infinitives in the passive voice ............................................................ 151 English Infinitives Table 2: Formation of some common infinitives in the passive voice .................................................................................. 151 Exercise 22: Complete the following table for passive infinitive forms. . 152 25.5 Reflexive pronouns and non-finite verbs ................................................... 153 26. Grammar and Translation Issues II ....................................................................... 155 27. Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs ................................................................ 157 27.1 Degrees of comparison: positive degree, comparative degree and superlative degree ................................................................................... 157 27.2 Comparison of Adjectives............................................................................. 157 27.2.1 Comparative degree of adjectives ....................................................... 157 27.2.2 Superlative degree of adjectives .......................................................... 158 Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs Table 1: Adjectives .................... 159 27.3 Comparison of Adverbs: Comparative and superlative degrees of adverbs...................................... 159 Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs Table 2: Adverbs ........................ 159 27.4 Comparison of adjectives and adverbs: irregular examples ..................... 160 Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs Table 3: Irregular examples ...... 160

ix

x

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

27.5 English comparisons and superlatives using comparative adverbs ‘less’ and ‘least’ ............................................... 160 28. Phrases II .................................................................................................................... 163 28.1 Adjectival phrases ........................................................................................... 163 28.2 Adverbial phrases ........................................................................................... 164 28.3 Noun phrases (substantival phrases) ........................................................... 164 28.4 Non-finite verb phrases................................................................................. 165 28.5 Gerund phrases............................................................................................... 165 28.6 Participial phrases ........................................................................................... 166 28.7 Infinitival phrases ........................................................................................... 166 28.8 Prepositional phrases with gerunds ............................................................. 166 28.9 Gerund phrases not beginning with prepositions as noun phrases ....... 167 28.10 Prepositional phrases as adjectival phrases or adverbial phrases ......... 167 28.11 Prepositional phrases containing gerunds or gerund phrases as adjectival or adverbial phrases ................................................................. 168 28.12 Infinitival phrases as noun phrases, adjectival phrases or adverbial phrases. ...................................................................................... 168 28.13 Participial phrases as adjectival phrases. ................................................... 169 29. Simple sentence components and expansion using non-finite verbs and phrases....................................................................... 171 29.1 Simple sentence components ....................................................................... 171 29.2. The basic simple sentence ............................................................................ 171 29.3. Sentence expansion step 1: the expanded simple sentence .................... 171 29.4 Sentence expansion step 2: Apposition and adding non-finite verbs and phrases (preliminary) ................................................ 172 30. Clauses I: Clauses, simple sentences and composite sentences ......................... 173 30.1 Clauses and phrases........................................................................................ 173 30.2 Simple sentences as independent clauses ................................................... 173 30.3 Composite sentences ..................................................................................... 173 30.4 Main clauses (independent clauses) ............................................................. 174 30.5 Co-ordinate clauses (independent clauses) and double sentences .......... 174 30.6 Subordinate clauses (dependent clauses) .................................................... 175 30.7 Clauses, complex sentences and multiple complex sentences ................ 176 30.8 Table of Sentence Types ............................................................................... 177 Table of Sentence Types .................................................................................. 177 31. Clauses II: Types of Subordinate Clauses (Dependent Clauses) ....................... 179 31.1 Adjectival Clauses ........................................................................................... 179 31.2 Relative conjunctions ..................................................................................... 181 31.3 Adverbial Clauses ........................................................................................... 181 31.3.1 Adverbial clauses of time: Temporal clauses .................................... 181 31.3.2 Adverbial clauses of manner: Manner clauses .................................. 181 31.3.3 Adverbial clauses of place: Locative clauses ..................................... 182 31.3.4 Adverbial clauses of reason: Reason clauses (Causal clauses) ........ 182 31.3.5 Adverbial clauses of purpose: Purpose Clauses (Final Clauses) .... 182

TABLE OF CONTENTS 31.3.6 Adverbial clauses of result (or consequence): Result clauses (Consecutive Clauses) .................................................... 183 31.3.7 Adverbial clauses of condition: Conditional clauses ....................... 184 31.3.8 Adverbial clauses of comparison: Comparative clauses.................. 185 31.4 Noun Clauses .................................................................................................. 185 31.4.1 Noun clause as the subject of a finite verb ....................................... 186 31.4.2. Noun clause as the direct object of a finite or non-finite verb ..... 186 31.4.3. Noun clause as the complement of a stative verb .......................... 187 31.4.4. Noun clause governed by a preposition ........................................... 187 31.4.5. Noun clause in apposition to a noun, a pronoun or noun equivalent ................................................................................... 187 31.4.6 Parts of Speech III: pronouns and prepositions .............................. 188 31.4.6.1 More about pronouns ....................................................................... 188 31.4.6.2 More about prepositions ................................................................... 188 32. Sentence Expansion II: step 4 ................................................................................. 189 Table of Sentence Types: ................................................................................. 189 33. Conjunctions .............................................................................................................. 191 33.1 Co-ordinating conjunctions .......................................................................... 191 33.2 Subordinating conjunctions (subordinate conjunctions) ......................... 192 33.2.1 Subordinating conjunction ‘that’ and noun clauses ......................... 192 33.2.2 Relative pronouns and relative adjectives.......................................... 193 33.2.3 Relative adverbs ..................................................................................... 193 33.2.3.1 Relative adverbs introducing adjectival clauses ............................. 193 33.2.3.2 Relative adverbs introducing adverbial clauses ............................. 194 33.2.3.3 Relative adverbs introducing noun clauses .................................... 194 33.3 Inferential conjunctions ................................................................................ 195 34. Phrases III: Conjunctions and temporal phrases ................................................. 197 34.1 Contemporaneous conjunctive phrases ...................................................... 197 35. Types of Pronouns and Pronominal Adjectives II .............................................. 199 35.1 Relative pronouns........................................................................................... 199 Table of English Relative Pronouns .............................................................. 200 35.1.1 ‘What’ as a relative pronoun ................................................................ 200 35.1.2 Agreement of relative pronouns ......................................................... 200 35.2 Relative adjectives........................................................................................... 201 35.3 Interrogative pronouns and interrogative adjectives ................................ 201 35.4 Indefinite pronouns and indefinite pronominal adjectives ...................... 202 36. Agreement II .............................................................................................................. 203 36.1 Agreement of pronouns, pronominal adjectives (possessive adjectives) and relative pronouns with their antecedents ... 203 36.2 Agreement of Participial Phrases with Nouns and Verbs ....................... 203 37. Distinguishing present gerunds from present participles in the active voice .. 205 37.1 Examples of Gerunds ending in ‘ing’:......................................................... 206 37.2 Examples of Participles ending in ‘ing’: ...................................................... 206 38. Clauses III: Six types of Questions ......................................................................... 209 38.1 Forming questions from statements ........................................................... 209

xi

xii

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

38.2 Forming questions by using interrogative words and phrases ................ 210 39 Clauses IV: Direct and Indirect Speech .................................................................. 213 39.1 Direct speech: Direct statements, commands, questions and exclamations .......................................................................... 213 39.2 Indirect speech: Indirect statements, commands, questions and exclamations .......................................................................... 213 40. Word Order II ........................................................................................................... 215 41. Parts of Speech Summary II .................................................................................... 217 42. Summary of simple sentence components ............................................................ 219 42.1 The simple sentence ....................................................................................... 219 42.2 The basic simple sentence ............................................................................. 219 42.3 Simple sentence expansion step 1: adding adjectives, adverbs, preposition ‘to’ or ‘for’ .................................. 219 42.4 Simple sentence expansion step 2: adding words in apposition ............. 220 42.5 Simple sentence expansion step 3: adding non-finite verbs and phrases ........................................................... 221 43. Sentence expansion: adding clauses........................................................................ 223 43.1 Sentence expansion step 4: adding subordinate clauses ........................... 223 43.2 Sentence expansion step 5: combining sentences ..................................... 223 43.3 Table of kinds of sentences .......................................................................... 224 44. Summary of Sentence Analysis Guidelines and Examples ................................. 225 44.1 Suggested Steps in Sentence Analysis ......................................................... 225 44.2 Some Examples .............................................................................................. 227 45. A Difficult Example .................................................................................................. 233 45.1 Ephesians 1:15-23 in various English translations .................................... 233 45.2 Ephesians 1:15-23 partially analyzed RSV .................................................. 237 46. Grammar and translation issues III: A basic rule of translation ........................ 245 47. Verbs with double objects Part II ........................................................................... 247 47.1 Verbs with double direct objects ................................................................. 247 47.2 Verbs with a direct object and an indirect object...................................... 248 48. Idioms using an indefinite pronoun or an indefinite adverb .............................. 249 48.1 Idioms .............................................................................................................. 249 48.2 Indefinite pronouns II: The indefinite pronoun ‘it’.................................. 249 48.3 The indefinite adverb ‘there’ part II ............................................................ 250 49. Bibliography and Suggested Reading ..................................................................... 251 50. Grammar Reference Glossary and Index .............................................................. 267

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I gratefully acknowledge the contributions of many others in developing my understanding of grammar and in composing this book, especially including: Mr Laurence M. Ellicott, Mr M.L.O. Ward and Mr Keith Hudson, all formerly of Newington College in the Sydney area, for building a knowledge of grammar of English and related languages that underlies this book. The importance of having good teachers should never be underestimated, especially at an early stage. S. H. Burton’s “Mastering English Grammar” has stimulated many ideas for the current book. Readers will find in it many helpful examples and explanations, with an occasionally different perspective about English grammar. Prof. Bernard A. Taylor and Prof. Frederick W. Danker for their considered thoughts and generous discussions about grammar and language. Dr Kirk Allison for helpful discussion about gerunds and participles. Dr Christine Burton and Ms Louise Burton for reading the material, offering valuable suggestions and pointing out mistakes.

xiii

1. SCOPE AND PURPOSE OF THE BOOK 1.1 PURPOSE For decades, language teachers in North America, Britain and Australia have reported that beginning students lack a basic understanding of grammar, even English grammar. This book is designed to address that gap — especially concerning courses in Biblical Greek, Hebrew, Latin and related modern languages.

1.2 ASSUMED KNOWLEDGE OF ENGLISH This handbook is especially for students who know English but who have not studied formal grammar very much, if at all. After developing a basic understanding, readers may use this book to refresh and develop their familiarity with concepts of English grammar.

1.3 DEPTH OF TREATMENT The topics considered deal with English grammar, especially how sentences are structured and how words function within sentences. The basic units of simple sentences are discussed in considerable detail so that students could use that knowledge to unravel any sentence, even very complex sentences, without getting lost. Topics such as parts of speech, subject and predicate, finite and non-finite verbs, direct and indirect objects, and transitivity are very important for understanding the grammars of English, Latin, Greek and Hebrew and their modern descendents. These topics are addressed for English in this book to provide the reader with a base from which to build an understanding of Greek, Hebrew and Latin especially. Topics such as verbal voice, tense, aspect and mood are also very important, but have their own distinct characteristics in Greek, Latin and Hebrew. It will be particularly important to understand these topics from the Greek, Latin and Hebrew language perspectives. They are introduced in this book but Greek, Latin and Hebrew grammars should be consulted for more specific information. This book therefore provides a basic perspective with which the reader might begin to study the grammars of ancient languages like Greek, Latin and Hebrew and such modern ones as Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese and German.

1.4 USING THIS HANDBOOK The book is intended to introduce important grammatical concepts and to be used later as a quick reference book on basic grammar to complement other sources. The content is arranged so that it can be read from start to finish. The material steadily builds a strong understanding of words and sentences. 1

2

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Whoever can follow sections 41–44 will be in a position to work through the grammar of many other languages with confidence. The detailed glossary offers a helpful summary of the understanding of grammar progressively introduced in the book. It includes some information about other languages not in the main text. It would be helpful to understand all of the grammar set out in this book before starting a first course in New Testament Greek, Biblical Hebrew or Classical or Medieval Latin. However, it is not necessary to go through the entire book before beginning these languages. For example, some of the sections on verb categories, like tense and aspect, could be consulted as you are studying the ancient language. They are provided as background for understanding the patterns of the other languages. While it is recommended that any course in grammar be undertaken with the assistance of a good teacher, this handbook is arranged so that it can be used by a committed student studying alone. The exercises are set out with suggested answers adjacent to the questions. By covering the answers with a card, students can see immediately whether they have understood what is being asked. Students can then either go back to review or go on to the next section. The extended table of contents has section names that are deliberately descriptive to help readers find focused discussions more easily. The glossary discusses the key terms progressively introduced in the book and a sample of other terms that occur in the literature. Instead of a separate index to the book, the glossary terms are indexed to sections in the handbook. The bibliography lists some helpful references and offers very brief remarks about them.

2. WHAT IS GRAMMAR? The grammar of a language is an attempt at describing how the words in the language are used and how they function. Words can be thought of as building blocks of a language. Grammar is about how words relate to each other so that the language built from the words makes sense. To be able to speak English a person does not need to know how to describe English language. People can be fluent in English without being able to talk about the conventions of English grammar. There are many possible ways of describing the uses and functions of the same English words. That is, there are theoretically many possible grammars of English. In the last few decades new linguistic theories (theories about languages in general) have led to a variety of approaches to English grammar. Consequently, many students have not been taught an older conventional approach to English grammar, and large numbers of students have been taught little or no formal grammar at all. There are nevertheless some established conventions about how to describe English. This handbook depends on a very old conventional description of English that helps us understand the basic concepts often used in Greek, Latin and Hebrew grammars, old and new. Many of the modern linguistic theories include formal grammatical terms that are traditional and often used similarly to how they are described in this book. For each modern linguistic theory it is important to find out how the linguist defines and uses terms. Even after a consensus develops about which, if any, of the new linguistic theories is most helpful for understanding Greek, Latin or Hebrew, the approach portrayed in this book may be used as a reliable entry into the world of formal grammar.

3

3. PHRASES AND SENTENCES We have stated that words can be thought of as building blocks of a language. Any collection of words might or might not mean anything in particular. We could try to arrange words in groups that make some sense to us. Consider each of these groups of words: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

to Tarshish into the sea in the sea to him very afraid praying to their Gods from the presence of the Lord

If you know the story of Jonah well, you might think they had something to do with that, for they were taken from translations of the Book of Jonah. But if you did not already know the Jonah story, and these were the only words you had from it, what could you say of much use about the story? Each of the groups of words above is what is called a phrase. Phrases only make partial sense by themselves. They need other words to complete the information being conveyed. If we had to answer questions like, “What happened?” or “What’s going on?” after reading any one of these phrases, we would not know what to say because each phrase by itself does not actually inform us about what happened. Let us think about the phrase ‘praying to their Gods’ by itself. It might lead us to think of people praying to their Gods. However, we don’t know whether people were, are or will be praying to their Gods, just thinking about the idea of praying to their Gods, or decidedly not praying to their Gods Perhaps they were young infants and had not even heard about the notion of praying to their Gods. The phrase “praying to their Gods” by itself does not give us enough information to know what is portrayed. Consider these groups of words: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

He found a ship going to Tarshish. The Lord sent out a great wind into the sea. There was a huge storm in the sea. The shipmaster came to him. Then the men were very afraid. They all started praying to their Gods. The men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 5

6

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Notice that the phrases from the first list of words are included in this list. This is a list of sentences. Each group of words in this list is a sentence that makes sense, not just partial sense like phrases. If we had to answer questions like, “What happened?” or “What’s going on?” after reading any one of these sentences we could have some idea of what to say because each sentence by itself actually informs us about what happened. Notice that each sentence could leave out the parts we have identified as phrases in them and they would still be complete sentences. We could still answer a question like, “What happened?” in a meaningful way (although 5 and 6 would be a bit odd). The phrases by themselves are only partially meaningful. They need other words to show what they are being used to mean. Sentences do not need phrases in order to be meaningful. A phrase affects the meaning of a sentence to which it is added by adding more information. It turns out that: a sentence has to have a finite verb and a phrase, by definition, does not have a finite verb. Finite verbs are considered later. In this book, the word ‘expression’ refers to any sequence or string of words, while the word ‘phrase’ is a special type of expression that does not have a finite verb in it. In many modern linguistic approaches, the term ‘phrase’ is often used instead of the term ‘expression’ for any string of words. Some theories use the term ‘phrase’ to discuss a string of words that does include a finite verb. Exercise 1: Indicate which groups of words are phrases only, and which are sentences. Answers 1. They came to the other side of the sea.

1. sentence

2. To the country of the Gerasenes.

2. phrase

3. When he got out of the boat, a man met him.

3. sentence

4. With an unclean spirit.

4. phrase

5. He lived.

5. sentence

6. He lived among the tombs.

6. sentence

7. Night and day.

7. phrase

8. There was a large herd of pigs nearby.

8. sentence

9. They left.

9. sentence

10. For a very long time.

10. phrase

4. FOUR TYPES OF SIMPLE SENTENCES There are four different types of sentences. Each has a different use. Consider these sentences: 1. 2. 3. 4.

They are here. Are they here? Be here at five! Oh, they are already here!

The first simply states something. It is an example of a sentence that is a statement. The second asks a question. It is an example of a sentence that is a question. The third issues a command. It is an example of a sentence that is a command. The fourth states something but with a strong sense of surprise, joy or alarm. It is an example of a sentence that is an exclamation. The four types of simple sentences are: Statement Question Command Exclamation

A statement states something. A question asks or requests something. A command orders or commands something. An exclamation exclaims something.

Another term for questioning is interrogating. So another name for a sentence that is a question is an interrogative sentence. In written English, statements end with a full-stop, also called a period. Questions end with a question mark. Commands usually, but not always, end with an exclamation mark. Very long commands often end with a full-stop, a period. Exclamations end with an exclamation mark. Other languages will have their own punctuation conventions for their different types of sentences. When the same mark is used for the different types of sentences in another language, we look for an alternative clue in the wording or text style to indicate what type of sentence we are dealing with.

7

8

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Exercise 2: Indicate which type of sentence each of the following is: Answers 1. They came to the other side of the sea.

1. statement

2. What have you to do with me?

2. question

3. Leave the man, you unclean spirit!

3. command

4. My name is Legion.

4. statement

5. Send us into the pigs.

5. command

6. Let us enter them.

6. command

7. The pigs ran into the sea!

7. exclamation

8. The people asked about the events.

8. statement

9. What happened?

9. question

5. TWO PARTS OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE: SUBJECT AND PREDICATE I 5.1 THE SUBJECT AND PREDICATE OF A SENTENCE Each sentence can be thought of as having two parts. To begin to understand what these two parts are, let us look at some sentences that are simple statements. In the following examples consider the differences between the parts in italics and those in normal print. 1. Elimelech lived in the town of Bethlehem. 2. His wife was named Naomi. 3. Elimelech died. 4. Naomi’s two sons married Moabite women. 5. One of them was called Ruth. 6. The Book of Ruth is about Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi. 7. One of Ruth’s great grandchildren was David, the King. 8. David succeeded the father of his friend Jonathan to the throne. 9. Jonathan’s friend David succeeded Jonathan’s father to the throne. 10. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. 11. He was born in Bethlehem. 12. He spent most of his childhood living in a different town, Nazareth. Each sentence conveys something meaningful. The italicised parts would not make sense if they were given by themselves. Nor would the parts in normal print if they were written by themselves. Both parts of these sentences are needed to make the sentences complete. In sentence 1, ‘Elimelech’ identifies the person about whom the rest of the sentence states something. The words, ‘lived in the town of Bethlehem’ tell us something about the person identified by the name ‘Elimelech’. In sentence 2, the words ‘His wife’ identify the person about whom the rest of the sentence states something. The words, ‘was named Naomi’ tell us something about the person identified by ‘His wife’. In sentence 3, ‘Elimelech’ identifies the person about whom the rest of the sentence states something. The single word, ‘died’ tells us something about the person identified by the name ‘Elimelech’. In sentence 4, the words ‘Naomi’s two sons’ identify the person about whom the rest of the sentence states something. The words, ‘married Moabite women’ tell us something about the people identified by the words ‘Naomi’s two sons’.

9

10

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

In sentence 5, ‘One of them’ identifies the person about whom the rest of the sentence states something. The words, ‘was called Ruth’ tell us something about the person identified by ‘One of them’. In sentence 6, ‘The Book of Ruth’ identifies the person about whom the rest of the sentence states something. The words, ‘is about Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi’ tell us something about the thing identified by ‘The Book of Ruth’. In sentence 7, ‘One of Ruth’s great grandchildren’ identifies the person about whom the rest of the sentence states something. The words, ‘was David, the King’ tell us something about the person identified by ‘One of Ruth’s great grandchildren’. In sentence 8, ‘David’ identifies the person about whom the rest of the sentence states something. The words, ‘succeeded the father of his friend Jonathan to the throne’ tell us something about the person identified by the name ‘David’. In sentence 9, ‘Jonathan’s friend David’ identifies the person about whom the rest of the sentence states something. The words, ‘succeeded Jonathan’s father to the throne’ tell us something about the person identified by ‘Jonathan’s friend David’. In sentence 10, ‘Jesus’ identifies the person about whom the rest of the sentence states something. The words, ‘was born in Bethlehem’ tell us something about the person identified by the name ‘Jesus’. In sentence 11, ‘He’ identifies the person about whom the rest of the sentence states something. The words, ‘was born in Bethlehem’ tell us something about the person identified by the word ‘He’. In sentence 12, ‘He’ identifies the person about whom the rest of the sentence states something. The words, ‘spent most of his childhood living in a different town, Nazareth’ tell us something about the person identified by the word ‘He’. Notice that in each sentence the italicised words identify the people or thing about whom something is being stated. In some of these sentences they are literally named. Notice too that in every sentence the words in normal print indicate something about the people or things that are identified by italics. In each of the sentences above the words in italics are called the subject and the words in normal print are called the predicate. Each simple sentence can be thought of as being composed of a subject PLUS a predicate. Every simple sentence can be divided into a subject and a predicate. The subject indicates who or what the sentence is about. The predicate tells us something about the subject. This allows us to use the following method for finding the subject of a statement. Since a simple sentence is composed of a subject plus a predicate, once we have found the subject, we know that the rest of the sentence is the predicate.

5.2 FINDING THE SUBJECT OF A STATEMENT Step 1: Choose the word or words that look like they form the subject. Step 2: Completely replace the words selected as the subject in step 1 by: a) ‘Who’ if the selected subject is personal; or b) ‘What’ if the selected subject is impersonal (e.g. a thing, an idea). Step 3: Replace the full stop (period) at the end of the sentence with a question mark.

TWO PARTS OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE: SUBJECT AND PREDICATE I

11

Step 4: Read the question now formed: a) If it is a properly formed English question, answer it with the exact words selected as the subject. b) If the question is not properly formed normal English, the selected subject is not the subject. Go back to step 1. Step 5: If the subject selected in step 1 precisely answers the question, then it is the subject of the original statement. If it does not answer the question correctly, it is not the subject (unless the selected subject is a personal pronoun, since personal pronouns change their spelling according to their use in sentences). Step 6: The predicate is whatever is left after the subject is removed from the sentence. Think about these examples: Consider sentence 3 above: Elimelech died. Let us check whether our method confirms that ‘Elimelech’ is the subject of the sentence. Step 1: We have chosen ‘Elimelech’ as the likely subject. Step 2: Completely replace the words selected as the subject in step 1 by: a) ‘Who’ if the selected subject is personal; or b) ‘What’ if the selected subject is impersonal (a thing, idea or similar). ‘Elimelech’ is the name of a person so we replace it with ‘Who’: Who died. Step 3: Replace the full stop (period) at the end of the sentence with a question mark: Who died? Step 4: Read the question now formed. “Who died?” is a well formed English question. Answer the question, “Who died?”: Elimelech. Step 5: The subject selected in step 1, ‘Elimelech’, precisely answers the question, “Who died?” So ‘Elimelech’ is the subject of the original statement. Consider sentence 6 above: The Book of Ruth is about Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi. Let us check whether our method confirms that ‘The Book of Ruth’ is the subject of the sentence. Step 1: We have chosen ‘The Book of Ruth’ as the likely subject. Step 2: Completely replace the words selected as the subject in step 1 by: a) ‘Who’ if the selected subject is personal; or b) ‘What’ if the selected subject is impersonal (a thing, idea or similar). ‘The Book of Ruth’ is the name of a thing so we replace it with ‘What’: What is about Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi. Step 3: Replace the full stop (period) at the end of the sentence with a question mark: What is about Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi? Step 4: Read the question now formed. It is a normal English style question. Answer the question, “What is about Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi?”: The Book of Ruth.

12

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS Step 5: The subject selected in step 1, ‘The Book of Ruth’, precisely answers this question. So ‘The Book of Ruth’ is the subject of the original statement.

Consider sentence 8 above: David succeeded the father of his friend Jonathan to the throne. Let us check whether our method confirms that ‘David’ is the subject of the sentence. Step 1: We have chosen ‘David’ as the likely subject. Step 2: Completely replace the words selected as the subject in step 1 by: a) ‘Who’ if the selected subject is personal; or b) ‘What’ if the selected subject is impersonal (a thing, idea or similar). ‘David’ is the name of a person so we replace it with ‘Who’: Who succeeded the father of his friend Jonathan to the throne. Step 3: Replace the full stop (period) at the end of the sentence with a question mark: Who succeeded the father of his friend Jonathan to the throne? Step 4: Read the question now formed. It is a real English question. Answer the question: “David.” Step 5: The subject selected in step 1, ‘David’, precisely answers this question. So ‘David’ is the subject of the original statement. Consider sentence 9 above: Jonathan’s friend David succeeded Jonathan’s father to the throne. We have italicised the words ‘Jonathan’s friend David’ to identify them as the subject of this particular sentence. However this time let us check our method by choosing ‘David’ as the subject of the sentence. After all sentence 9 looks a lot like sentence 8 where the subject is ‘David’, and both sentences mean the same thing. Step 1: We have now chosen ‘David’ as the likely subject. Step 2: Completely replace the words selected as the subject in step 1 by: a) ‘Who’ if the selected subject is personal; or b) ‘What’ if the selected subject is impersonal (a thing, idea or similar). ‘David’ is the name of a person so we replace it with ‘Who’: Jonathan’s friend who succeeded Jonathan’s father to the throne. Step 3: Replace the full stop (period) at the end of the sentence with a question mark: Jonathan’s friend who succeeded Jonathan’s father to the throne? Step 4: Read the question now formed. It is not a proper English question. It is even awkward to figure out what question if any is being asked. Therefore ‘David’ is not the subject of sentence 9. Go back to step 1 again. Step 1b: The sentence is about ‘David’ but that word did not work as the subject. Remember that the subject is the word or group of words that the rest of the sentence is about. So let us add more words to ‘David’ to test for the subject. Try ‘Jonathan’s friend David’. Step 2b: Completely replace the words selected as the subject in step 1 by: a) ‘Who’ if the selected subject is personal; or

TWO PARTS OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE: SUBJECT AND PREDICATE I

13

b) ‘What’ if the selected subject is impersonal (a thing, idea or similar). ‘Jonathan’s friend David’ identifies a person so we replace it with ‘Who’: Who succeeded Jonathan’s father to the throne. Step 3b: Replace the full stop (period) at the end of the sentence with a question mark: Who succeeded Jonathan’s father to the throne? Step 4b: Read the question now formed: “Who succeeded Jonathan’s father to the throne?” It is a real English question. Answer the question with the words selected this time as the subject: “Jonathan’s friend David.” Step 5b: The subject selected in step 1b, ‘Jonathan’s friend David’ precisely answers the question generated by our method, “Who succeeded Jonathan’s father to the throne?”. So ‘Jonathan’s friend David’ is the subject of the original statement. Notice that since David succeeded to the throne, ‘David’ is a correct answer to the ordinary question: “Who succeeded Jonathan’s father to the throne?”. However in this method we have to answer the question generated with all of the words we selected as the likely subject. So we had to try to answer with the expression, ‘Jonathan’s friend David’, not just ‘David’. It worked, so ‘Jonathan’s friend David’ is the subject of the sentence. Consider sentence 10 above: “Jesus was born in Bethlehem.” Step 1: We have chosen ‘Jesus’ as the likely subject. Step 2: Completely replace the words selected as the subject in step 1 by: a) ‘Who’ if the selected subject is personal; or b) ‘What’ if the selected subject is impersonal (a thing, idea or similar). ‘Jesus’ is the name of a person so we replace it with ‘Who’: Who was born in Bethlehem. Step 3: Replace the full stop (period) at the end of the sentence with a question mark: Who was born in Bethlehem? Step 4: Read the question now formed. “Who was born in Bethlehem?” is a well formed English question. Answer the question: “Jesus.” Step 5: The subject selected in step 1, ‘Jesus’, precisely answers the question, “Who was born in Bethlehem?”. So ‘Jesus’ is the subject of the original statement. Now consider sentence 11 above: “He was born in Bethlehem.” Step 1: We have chosen ‘He’ as the likely subject. Step 2: Completely replace the words selected as the subject in step 1 by: a) ‘Who’ if the selected subject is personal; or b) ‘What’ if the selected subject is impersonal (a thing, idea or similar). ‘He’ refers to a person so we replace it with ‘Who’: Who was born in Bethlehem. Step 3: Replace the full stop (period) at the end of the sentence with a question mark:

14

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Who was born in Bethlehem? Step 4: Read the question now formed. “Who was born in Bethlehem?” is a well formed English question. Answer the question: “He.” This answer does not sound right in English. We would answer it a little differently. One way is to complete the full sentence, so the answer would be: “He was born in Bethlehem.” That is real English and gives a correct answer. Words like ‘he’ are called pronouns and are used as general replacements for words that actually name people or things. They change their spelling according to their uses in sentences. In this case we might have answered in English correctly, “Him.” But that would complicate our method. Therefore: When trying to check whether a pronoun is the subject, let us add the rest of the sentence to that pronoun. Note also that when one of the words ‘you’ or ‘we’ is the selected subject and the verb ‘are’ follows them, we might generate an awkwardly worded question by simply putting ‘Who’ in place of the words ‘you’ or ‘we’. If so, we could put ‘Which person or people’ instead of simply ‘Who’. The method should then work as hoped. Step 5: In that case the subject selected in step 1, ‘He’, precisely answers the question, “Who was born in Bethlehem?”. So ‘He’ is the subject of the original statement.

5.3 SUBJECTS OF EXCLAMATIONS The method for finding the subject of a statement, also works for finding the subjects of exclamations. Step 1: Choose the word or words that look like they form the subject. Step 2: Completely replace the words selected as the subject in step 1 by: a) ‘Who’ if the selected subject is personal; or b) ‘What’ if the selected subject is impersonal (a thing, idea or similar). Step 3: Replace the exclamation mark at the end of the sentence with a question mark. Step 4: Read the question now formed: a) If it is a properly formed English question, answer it with the exact words selected as the subject. b) If the question is not properly formed normal English, the selected subject is not likely to be the subject. Go back to step 1. Step 5: If the subject selected in step 1 precisely answers the question, then it is the subject of the original statement. If it does not answer the question correctly, it is not the subject, unless it is a word that changes its spelling according to its use in a sentence. Step 6: The predicate is whatever is left after the subject is removed from the sentence.

TWO PARTS OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE: SUBJECT AND PREDICATE I

15

Consider this sentence: “The time has come!” Step 1: This exclamation is about ‘the time’ coming, let us choose ‘The time’ as the likely subject. Step 2: Completely replace the words selected as the subject in step 1 by: a) ‘Who’ if the selected subject is personal; or b) ‘What’ if the selected subject is impersonal (a thing, idea or similar). ‘The time’ is impersonal so we replace it with ‘What’: What has come! Step 3: Replace the exclamation mark at the end of the sentence with a question mark: What has come? Step 4: Read the question now formed. “What has come?” is a well formed English question. Answer the question: The time. Step 5: The subject selected in step 1, ‘The time’, precisely answers the question, “What has come?”. So ‘The time’ is the subject of the original exclamation. Exercise 3: Locate the subject and predicate of each simple statement or exclamation. Sentence

Answers Subject

Predicate

1. Now it came to pass.

1. it

Now ... came to pass

2. The judges ruled.

2. The judges

ruled

3. A certain man of Bethlehem 3. A certain man went to sojourn in the went to sojourn in the country of of Bethlehem country of Moab Moab. 4. The name of the man was 4. The name of the was Elimelech Elimelech. man 5. Naomi said something to her 5. Naomi two daughters-in-law.

said something to her two daughters-in-law

6. You have dealt kindly with the 6. You dead, and with me.

have dealt kindly with the dead, and with me

7. Then she kissed them.

7. she

Then ... kissed them

8. They wept.

8. They

wept

9. We will return with you to your 9. We people.

will return with you to your people

10. I am too old to have a 10. I husband.

am too old to have a husband

11. She said something.

said something

11. She

16

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

12. He did not say anything.

12. He

did not say anything

13. About that time Jesus came 13. Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.

About that time ... came from Nazareth in Galilee

14. John baptized him in the 14. John Jordan River.

baptized him in the Jordan River

15. Right away God’s Spirit made 15. God’s Spirit Jesus go into the desert.

Right away ... made Jesus go into the desert

16. The nets were cast into the 16. The nets lake by the fishermen.

were cast into the lake by the fishermen

17. The fishermen cast the nets 17. The fishermen into the lake.

cast the nets into the lake

18. John has been arrested by 18. John guards!

has been arrested by guards

19. Guards have arrested John!

have arrested John

19. Guards

20. God’s kingdom will soon be 20. God’s here! kingdom

will soon be here

21. That day was a sabbath.

21. That day

was a sabbath

22. A man had been cured.

22. A man

had been cured

23. It is against the law to carry 23. It your bed on the sabbath.

is against the law to carry your bed on the sabbath

24. A little later Jesus found him 24. Jesus in the temple.

A little later … found him in the temple

25. Then the man told the others.

Then … told the others

25. the man

26. To deny honor to the Son is 26. To deny honor is to deny it to the Father to deny it to the Father. to the Son

5.4 WORD ORDER I: ORDER OF SUBJECT AND PREDICATE IN ENGLISH The subject usually comes first before the predicate, as in most of the examples above. However, the order can be reversed so that the predicate precedes the subject. Reversed order tends to be used to emphasize something in things like poetry, but it is not common in ordinary English conversation or writing. Another more common variation in order is when a part of the predicate precedes the subject, as in numbers 1, 7 and 15 of exercise 3. In English we often use sentences with ‘there is’ or ‘there are’ in them. In those sentences the subjects typically follow words like ‘is’, ‘are’, ‘will be’ or ‘was’. Consider these sentences: Sentence 1: A book is on the table. Subject: a book Predicate: is on the table

TWO PARTS OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE: SUBJECT AND PREDICATE I

17

Sentence 2: On the table is a book. Subject: a book Predicate: on the table is Sentence 3: There is a book on the table Subject: a book Predicate: there is ... on the table Sentence 4: There was a famine in the land. Subject: a famine Predicate: there was ... in the land Sentence 5: In the land there was a famine. Subject: a famine Predicate: in the land there was Note: Apart from conjunctions, the typical word order within a clause in Classical Latin was to begin with the subject of the verb (or something to be highlighted), then any direct object and, very routinely, the verb as the last word in the clause. In contrast, the Latin Vulgate translation of the New Testament tended to follow the word order of NT Greek. As the Vulgate became the NT translation normally used in the Church of Western Europe, languages like French, Italian, and Spanish that are descended from Latin thus tend to have a word order similar to NT Greek, rather than one like Classical Latin.

5.5 FINDING THE SUBJECT OF A QUESTION Firstly, rearrange the question into the corresponding statement with a question mark at the end, then proceed as with a sentence that is a statement. Though the rearranged style of words might be unusual, the meaning of the question is the same as the original. Question

Question rearranged in Subject the style of a statement

Predicate

1. Have you arrived yet?

You have arrived yet?

you

Have ... arrived yet

2. Do you want us?

You do want us?

you

Do ... want us

3. Would he say so?

He would say so?

he

Would ... say so

4. Is it easier for me to tell this crippled man something?

It is easier for me to tell this crippled man something?

it

Is ... easier for me to tell this crippled man something

5. Are you thinking that?

You are thinking that?

you

Are … thinking that

18

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

5.6 FINDING THE SUBJECT OF A COMMAND In most commands it is normally understood by the speaker and listener (or reader) who the person being commanded is. Thus a command often does not include words to represent the subject being commanded. In that case we say the subject is understood, rather than saying it is missing from the words in the sentence. We normally proceed as if everyone knows who the person or thing being commanded is. Consequently, when we look for the subject of a sentence that is a command, we first add the words that are understood, the words that are not included in the actual command. To confirm our selection of the understood subject, we could add the word ‘must’ between the understood word(s) and the verb, then follow the steps for finding the subject of a statement or exclamation. Words that are “understood” can be put into parentheses to show what they are. Command

Understood word(s) as potential subject

Command rearranged in the style of a statement

Predicate

1. Leave!

(you)

(you) (must) leave!

leave

2. Cut the food up! (you)

(you) (must) cut the food up!

cut the food up

3. Arise!

(you)

(you) (must) arise!

arise

4. Throw me overboard!

(you)

(you) (must) throw me overboard!

throw me overboard

5. Don’t do this!

(you)

(you) (must) not do this!

don’t do this

Each of these examples involves someone telling someone else to do something, directly, as if face to face. When someone is talking directly to another person, the first person (the one talking) is said to be in the first person, and the second person (the one being spoken to directly by the first person) is said to be in the second person. So the examples above are all second person commands. The procedure for finding the subject of a command works well for second person commands. In some languages there are also first person commands and third person commands. When these are translated into English they are called the same types of commands. However, the English words that usually translate these commands can also be used in ordinary English for things that are not first or third person commands. 6. Let us go! 7. Let’s go! Superficially these two sentences mean the same thing. However in ordinary English it is quite possible that the first one is a direct command (as an appeal) to someone else, like a captor, demanding or pleading that the captor let “us” go. The second, abbreviated, version could easily be said by a captain of a team immediately before beginning competitive play, and the sentence would be considered a first person

TWO PARTS OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE: SUBJECT AND PREDICATE I

19

command that all of “us” go out onto the field and play hard right now. So the given procedure has to be adapted for first commands. From the examples below, it has to be adapted for third person commands too. Command

Understood word(s) as potential subject

Command rearranged in the style of a statement

Predicate

6. Let us go!

(you) [2nd person]

(you) (must) let us go!

let us go

7. Let’s go!

(we) [1st person]

(we) (must) go!

let ... go

8. Let them go now!

(you) [2nd person]

(you) (must) let them go now!

let them go

9. Let them live!

(they) [3rd person]

(they) (must) live!

let ... live

Sentences 8 and 9 could be commands from a leader, ruler or judge of some sort. Sentence 9 is a command that people (“them”), who are not being spoken to directly, be enabled or allowed to live. It is thus considered a third person command. Sentence 8 can easily be the sort of thing said by someone demanding that someone else holding some others release those people at once. It is thus a direct command from the person speaking to a second person. Sentence 8 is a second person command.

5.7 ONE WORD SENTENCES: UNDERSTOOD SUBJECTS AND PREDICATES In normal dialogues there are times when we use one word sentences. If all simple sentences are meant to have two parts, a subject and a predicate, how can one word sentences have two parts? If we allow words that are understood to be part of the analysis, we can still think of one word sentences as having the two parts. In examples 1 and 3 above, the sentences are one word commands. We added understood subjects to them as well as to the longer sentences in 2, 4 and 5. Then we identified an understood subject and an explicit predicate for each sentence. It can get rather complicated if the subject and also parts of the predicate are understood (not written or stated). In those cases the flow of the dialogue or other circumstances usually gives away what the understood words would be. Therefore we are able to understand what the subject and predicate are, even when much is not written in the sentence. That is of course why the missing words are called “understood”. Consider these examples:

20

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

One word sentence

Sentence with the possibly understood word(s) added

Subject

Predicate

(The player is) safe!

(the player)

(is) safe

(That is a) goal!

(that)

(is a) goal

(You) wait (for me)!

(you)

wait … (for me)

What (did you say)?

(you)

what (did)…(say)

(It is) time (to finish)!

(it)

(is) time (to finish)

In baseball: 1. Safe! In soccer or football: 2. Goal! Running, catching up: 3. Wait! In a noisy place: 4. What? At the end of a session: 5. Time!

Even when we know the general situation that these one word sentences occur in, we may be speculating about the words that are understood. There are clearly other real possibilities for these examples. Note: It turns out that even when we communicate perfectly successfully with words, we are not actually describing absolutely every detail that we are thinking about the communication. For our words to get meaning across accurately, there is always an assumed setting, a common understanding of some type of what is going on. Much is understood, not stated. This type of thing is clear when people use the jargon of one set of activity to talk about another set of activity. For example, in a commercial setting if someone says, “I’ll buy that” it means that person wants to have a commercial transaction. If the same words are used in a different setting, now in response to someone arguing for a particular view, it means that the respondent agrees with the view being advocated. A commercial perspective is used and hopefully understood; it is not described.

TWO PARTS OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE: SUBJECT AND PREDICATE I

21

Exercise 4: Indicate which of these are sentences. For each sentence state what type of sentence it is, and identify its subject and predicate. Is it a sentence?

Sentence Type

Subject

Predicate

yes

statement

I

command light to shine

yes

statement

he

then … looked at everything

yes

statement

you

may eat from any tree in the garden except that one

yes

exclamation

I

did not

yes

question

you

what have … done

yes

statement

your descend ents and hers

will always be enemies

1. in the beginning no 2. I command light to shine.

3. Then he looked at everything.

4. giving life no 5. You may eat fruit from any tree in the garden except that one.

6. I did not! 7. What have you done? 8. Your descendents and hers will always be enemies.

22

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

9. The end. yes (because of the capital T and the period)

statement

(this)

(is) the end

6. FUNCTIONS OF WORDS IN SENTENCES It is obvious that we use words in sentences to convey meaning. The words are arranged in regular patterns to bring this about. We can use these behavior patterns of the words to classify the words using only a very few groups. We can then discuss the behavior of words in sentences by discussing the behavior patterns of the groups that the words belong to. Every word in a sentence can be grammatically classified according to its function in that sentence. Consider these sentences. 1. The word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Amittai, quickly. The subject is the expression ‘the word of the Lord’. The predicate is the rest of the sentence: ‘came to Jonah, son of Amittai, quickly’. What does the subject do in the sentence? A literal answer is given by quoting the predicate. If we pictured what the subject does in the sentence, we might see the subject coming somewhere. The word ‘came’ indicates the action of the sentence. The word ‘came’ is essential in indicating the action of the sentence. The rest of the words in the predicate indicate where the action went (“to Jonah”), more about one of the words in the predicate itself (Jonah was a “son of Amittai”), and how fast the action was (“quickly”). 2. Rise, immediately! The subject is understood ‘(you)’. The predicate is (the rest of) the sentence: ‘Rise, immediately’. What is the understood subject supposed to do in the sentence? A literal answer is given by quoting the predicate. But if we pictured what the subject does in the sentence, we might see the subject rising. The word ‘rise’ indicates the action of the sentence. The word ‘rise’ is essential in indicating the action of the sentence. The remaining word in the predicate indicates when the action is to occur (“immediately”). 3. Go to Nineveh, that great city. The subject is understood ‘(you)’. The predicate is (the rest of) the sentence: ‘Go to Nineveh, that great city’. What is the understood subject supposed to do in the sentence? A literal answer is given by quoting the predicate. But if we pictured what the subject does in the sentence, we might see the subject going somewhere. The 23

24

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS word ‘go’ indicates the action of the sentence. The word ‘go’ is essential in indicating the action of the sentence. The rest of the words in the predicate indicate where the action is to go (“to Nineveh”), and more about one of the words in the predicate itself (Nineveh, “that great city”). 4. Speak against it. The subject is understood ‘(you)’. The predicate is (the rest of) the sentence: ‘Speak, against it’. What is the understood subject supposed to do in the sentence? A literal answer is given by quoting the predicate. But if we pictured what the subject does in the sentence, we might see the subject speaking. The word ‘speak’ indicates the action of the sentence. The word ‘speak’ is essential in indicating the action of the sentence. The rest of the words in the predicate indicate the direction the action is to take (“against it”).

A particular word might behave differently in different sentences, but in each sentence it behaves according to one of the regular patterns. 1. Consider the word ‘book’ used in these sentences: Function of the word ‘book’ a. Did you know that Book Book is the as part of the name of a particular town name of a town in New South Wales? b. The travel agent will book a ticket on as a word indicating the action of the the next flight. sentence c. They looked at the book with blank as the common name shared by all objects looks. of a certain type 2. Consider the word ‘trust’ used in these sentences: Function of the word ‘trust’ a. The National Trust is an institution.

as part of the name of a particular organization

b. His sister’s trust is not an institution.

as a common name shared by all behaviors of a certain type

c. Hey, trust me!

as a word indicating the action of the sentence

3. Consider ‘run’ used in these sentences: Function of ‘run’ a. He will run for office

as a word indicating the action of the sentence

TWO PARTS OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE: SUBJECT AND PREDICATE I

25

b. He scored a run.

as a common name shared by all game scores of a certain type

c. Is anyone named “Run”?

as the name of a particular person

4. Consider ‘bow’ used in these sentences: Function of ‘bow’ a. They took a long bow after the as a common name shared by all performance. movements of a certain type b. Will they bow for a long time again?

as a word indicating the action of the sentence

c. Who lives on Bow Street?

as the name of a particular street

5. Consider ‘wax’ used in these sentences: Function of ‘wax’ a. The wax paper is over there.

as a word describing a characteristic of a named type of object

b. The wax is a different color.

as a common name shared by all materials of a certain type

c. The moon will wax and wane in the as a word indicating the action of the sky. sentence d. “Wax,” was what they called Daniel as the name of a particular person Waxman. Once again we note that words are classified grammatically in each sentence according to how they function in that sentence. In the above examples we have words that function in certain ways. The highlighted words each function either: (i) as a word indicating the action of the sentence; (ii) as a common name shared by all members of a certain type of something; (iii) as the name of a particular person, object, entity or notion; (iv) as a word describing another word that is a name of someone or something. Exercise 5: For each of the words ‘beaches’, ‘draw’ and ‘wind’, make up sentences that have different types of functions for them. 1. ‘beaches’ Function of ‘beaches’ a.

[Try something with sand] The ocean beaches there have fine — as a common name shared by all grained yellow or orange sand. coastal physical features of a certain type

26

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

b.

[Try landing somewhere sandy] He beaches his craft.

c.

— as a word indicating the action of the sentence [Try a name of a place]

Shady Beaches sounds like a cool — as part of the name of a particular resort, but is it safe? resort 2. ‘draw’ Function of ‘draw’ a. Draw a tall animal walking along the — as a word indicating the main action road. of the sentence b It was a draw, a tie after all.

— as a common name shared by all results of a certain type

3. ‘wind’ wind

Function of ‘wind’

A hot wind dried out the crops.

— as a common name shared by all air movements of a certain type

Wind the clock up before we go.

— as a word indicating the action of the sentence

a.

b.

7. PARTS OF SPEECH I 7.1 EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH IN ENGLISH In the previous section we noted that words are classified grammatically in each sentence according to how they behave, how they function, in each sentence. We had examples of words functioning as: (i) a word indicating the action of the sentence; (ii) a common name shared by all members of a group with something in common; (iii) the name of a particular person, object, entity or notion; (iv) a word describing a characteristic of another word which is itself a name of some type. Words that function in the same way as each other in English sentences can be grouped together. The groups are called parts of speech. Different theories about language may have different ways of grouping words because they may involve different ways of conceiving how words function. The understanding of parts of speech given below has been widely followed with minor variation for many generations. It is very similar to that usually assumed in Latin and Biblical Greek grammars, and often in Hebrew grammars. In English we can identify eight different basic ways words function in sentences. So we say there are eight parts of speech in English. They are: Verbs Nouns Pronouns Adjectives Adverbs Prepositions Conjunctions Interjections In the previous section we had words that each functioned as a word indicating the action of the sentence. These words are verbs. We had words that each functioned as a common name shared by all members of a certain type of something. These words are common nouns. We had words that each functioned as the name of a particular person, object, entity or notion. These words are proper nouns.

27

28

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

The English common noun ‘noun’ is derived from ‘nomen’, the Latin word for “name”. The English common noun ‘verb’ is derived from ‘verbum’, the Latin word for “word”. Words whose function is to describe a characteristic or quality of a noun are adjectives. Thus:

Verbs can indicate the action of the sentence. Nouns name a person, thing, quality, or a characteristic. Adjectives describe a characteristic or quality of a noun.

7.2 VERBS 7.2.1 Action verbs and stative verbs We have noted that a characteristic of verbs is that they indicate the action of the sentence. However, some sentences do not have action. Instead they indicate something about the state of things.

a

Verb highlighted

Type of Verb

The Word was in the beginning.

stative verb

b The Word was with God.

stative verb

c

stative verb

The Word was God.

d We are here.

stative verb

e

That seems right.

stative verb

f

What appears green to you?

stative verb

g

This resembles that.

stative verb

h Afterwards this becomes that.

stative verb

i

stative verb

A platypus is a monotreme.

With stative verbs there is some sort of correspondence or equivalence between the subject and what follows the verb. In the examples above, except for h, there is no essential change made to the subject because of the verb. When your aunt gets married and becomes a wife, she is still your aunt. In the case of the verb ‘become’ when there is still a sense of identity between what was and what has become, then ‘become’ is a stative verb. In some languages, like Greek and Hebrew, concepts of being and becoming may not be strongly distinguished. Words able to be translated from those languages into English by forms of ‘become’ would likely also be able to be translated into English by forms of ‘be’. There are thus action verbs and stative verbs. Most verbs are action verbs. Action verbs typically indicate an action done by the subject or an action done to the subject, or sometimes they just indicate that an action occurs. Stative verbs do not.

PARTS OF SPEECH I

29

Verb highlighted

Type of Verb

j

The mouse ran up the clock.

action verb

k

The clock struck one.

action verb

l

Who first reported the story?

action verb

m

The children milked the cow this morning.

action verb

n

We heard the sirens at 3.00 a.m.

action verb

o

Who listens to the radio in the car?

action verb

We have already noted that every simple sentence has a subject and a predicate. It turns out that every predicate must have a verb. A predicate can simply be a verb without any other words, or it can have many other words. No sentence makes sense without a real or understood verb, or without a real or understood subject. We can say: Every simple sentence has a subject and a predicate. Every predicate has a verb. 7.2.2 Simple verbs Many verb forms are written using only one word, as in the examples in the two tables immediately above. An English verb that is composed of just one spelt word is called a simple verb. 7.2.3 Composite verbs (periphrastic verbs): Auxiliary verbs and principal verbs Many verbs use additional words to help them form the particular verbs needed. The additional helping words are called auxiliary verbs. (‘Auxiliary’ is derived from ‘auxilium’ a Latin word meaning help.)

30

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Here are some examples of auxiliary verbs with forms of the verb ‘come’: No auxiliaries

With one auxiliary verb

With two auxiliaries (a form of the verb ‘be’ as a second auxiliary)

With two auxiliaries (a form of the verb ‘have’ as a second auxiliary)

With three auxiliaries (a form of the verb ‘have’ followed by a form of ‘be’)

he comes

he is coming

he can come

he can be coming

he can have come

he can have been coming

he may come

he may be coming

he may have come

he may have been coming

he might come

he might be coming

he might have come

he might have been coming

he must come

he must be coming

he must have come

he must have been coming

he will come

he will be coming

he will have come

he will have been coming

he shall come

he shall be coming

he shall have come

he shall have been coming

he would come

he would be coming

he would have come

he would have been coming

he should come

he should be coming

he should have come

he should have been coming

he does come

he was coming he came

he has come

he has been coming

he did come he had come

he had been coming

PARTS OF SPEECH I

31

Auxiliary verbs in English include verbs that can also function as full verbs themselves, for example ‘be’, ‘have’, ‘do’, ‘let’, ‘get’ and ‘will’ (and, depending on the grammatical theory used, ‘make’). English has some auxiliary verbs that do not normally also function as full verbs by themselves: consider ‘can’, ‘must’, ‘ought’, ‘shall’ and ‘may’. The English verbal system can be one of the most difficult for second language learners to come to use accurately and well. It is tedious enough for native speakers. In this book we will not be concerned with all of the verb forms and how they are used in English. Unlike Greek, Latin and Hebrew, English uses an auxiliary verb ‘do’ for positive emphasis. When used with a negative word (like the negative adverb ‘not’), the English auxiliary verb ‘do’ helps form the negative sense of the verb. English uses the auxiliary verb ‘do’ in this way for action verbs and some stative verbs: Some ‘do’ forms of action verbs: Verb

Past Past (emphatic) (with negative adverb)

Present (emphatic)

Present (with negative adverb)

think

they did think

they did not think

they do think

they do not think

swim

you did swim

you did not swim

you do swim

you do not swim

call

we did call

we did not call

we do call

we do not call

become

he did become

he did not become

he does become

he does not become

have

she did have

she did not have

we do have

we do not have

do

it did do

it did not do

it does do

it does not do

get

I did get

I did not get

I do get

I do not get

An English verb that is composed of just one spelt word is called a simple verb. A verb that is made up of two or more spelt words may be called a composite verb. Composite verbs use one or more auxiliary verbs to help the principal verb convey the meaning desired. Some grammars, especially Greek grammars, might refer to composite verbs as periphrastic verb forms. Some may call them compound verbs.

32

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Exercise 6: Pick out the verbs in the sentences of exercise 4.

2. I command light to shine.

Subject

Predicate

I

command light to shine

Verb

command 3. Then he looked at everything.

he

then … looked at everything looked

5. You may eat fruit from you any tree in the garden except that one.

may eat from any tree in the garden except that one may eat

6. I did not!

I

did not did

7. What have you done?

you

what have … done have done

8. Your descendents and your hers will always be descendents enemies. and hers

will always be enemies

will be 9. The end.

(this)

(is) the end (is)

PARTS OF SPEECH I

33

7.3 NOUNS 7.3.1 Common nouns and proper nouns (proper names) We have noted that nouns name a person, thing, quality, or characteristic. We have already noticed common nouns and proper nouns. Nouns may be common nouns, that is names shared in common by members of some group of living beings, things, qualities or characteristics, whether they are real or imagined. Nouns may be proper nouns, that is individual names of particular living beings, things, qualities or characteristics, real or imagined. Another often used term for proper nouns is proper names. In English we begin the spelling of proper nouns with capital letters (upper case letters). We also begin sentences with capital letters. The ancient biblical manuscripts we have for Hebrew and Greek did not use what we would call lower case letters, so proper names are spelt like ordinary words. Each modern printing of the Greek New Testament has its own convention for how it uses upper and lower case letters — it is merely a printing convention and does not change the meaning or reference of the words. Proper nouns are all over the place. We know them as people’s names, names of streets, towns, cities, counties, states, countries, government offices and agencies, churches, colleges, companies, books, models of cars, trucks and tractors, breeds of cattle, pigs, sheep, horses and dogs, and as names of many other entities, living or nonliving. Common names are even more abundant than proper nouns. Examples of Proper Nouns Proper Noun

which is the particular name of

Ruth

a person

Broadway

a street

Littleton

a town

Los Angeles

a city

Sussex

a county

Montana

a state

Canada

a country

City of Lakewood Police Department

an agency of a government

First Church of Hamilton

a church

West Bambridge College of Design

a college

General Mills

a company

Treasure Island

a book

34

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Rolls Royce Silver Cloud

a car model

Ford F150

a truck model

Massey Ferguson

a make of tractors

Holstein

a breed of cattle

Merino

a breed of sheep

Clydesdale

a breed of horses

Cocker Spaniel

a breed of dogs

Phar Lap

a horse

Bedales Rose Maid

a pedigree cow

Examples of Common Nouns name government person church street college town company city book county model state models country car agency trucks

tractors breed cattle cow sheep horse dog pig example

noun verb table chairs example thing speech word

In this handbook we divide nouns into the two groups: common nouns and proper nouns. 7.3.2 Collective nouns Some common nouns are collective nouns. Each collective noun names a group of items. The whole group can then be treated as one entity and the collective noun treated like a singular noun. The word ‘team’ is a good example of a collective noun. The singular word ‘team’ identifies a group of players or colleagues. All of the team members can be treated at once. There can be several “teams” (plural) competing against each other. The singular words ‘herd’ and ‘flock’ are also good examples of collective nouns. There are herds (plural) of cattle, and separate flocks (plural) of sheep, goats and birds. 7.3.3 Concepts of abstract and concrete nouns Many grammars call nouns that do not have a material sense abstract nouns. It is as if an understanding of them were abstracted from what is treated as real, namely material reality. Nouns claimed to be referring to material reality are often then called concrete nouns. This distinction does not survive careful examination. Nor is the distinction necessary for understanding English, Greek or Hebrew grammar. Nevertheless appeal to concepts of abstract and concrete nouns is something students of Greek, Hebrew

PARTS OF SPEECH I

35

and other languages will routinely encounter in explanations of grammar. The better grammars seem to do this for their lack of a more suitable explanation. It is an example of the influence on grammatical theory of the way a certain type of philosophy portrays reality. Examples of common nouns that are not properly accounted for by an appeal to abstract versus concrete concepts include such realities as life, faith and trust, hope, love, kindness, goodness, right, justice, peace, mercy and truth. Nouns like those relate directly to being alive. However they are often given as examples of abstract nouns. Nouns just as closely related to living beings, like child, parent, god, are however often considered concrete. It is arbitrary to separate nouns like those just mentioned into abstract versus concrete groups. Such a distinction would appeal to a philosophical view that what fundamentally exist are physical phenomena. Exercise 7 Identify the nouns in the following and indicate whether they are common nouns, proper nouns or collective nouns: Naomi had a relative called Boaz, who lived in a modern house overlooking the sea. They met at their grandfather’s farm the day before yesterday. Flocks of galahs flew by.

Answer: Naomi had a relative called Boaz, who lived in a modern house overlooking the sea. They met at their grandfather’s farm the day before yesterday. A flock of galahs flew by.

Proper noun

Common Noun

Naomi x relative x Boaz x house x sea x grandfather x farm x day x

Collective noun

36

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS yesterday x flock x

x

galahs x

7.4 PRONOUNS 7.4.1 How pronouns are used Pronouns act in place of nouns and function in sentences as nouns do. They are like reserves brought in to relieve the real names of groups of items or of individual ones. A pronoun points out a person, place, thing or quality but without naming it. To gain an idea of how we use pronouns, consider the following: Pilate went out to the crowd and said, “What accusation do you bring against Jesus?” They answered and said to him, “If he were not a criminal, we would not have delivered him to you.”

The highlighted words are examples of pronouns. Taking them in order as they occur, let us list which words they are acting in place of. Pronoun you they him he we him you

The pronoun represents the crowd the crowd Pilate Jesus the crowd Jesus Pilate

Rewriting the narrative without the benefit of these pronouns, we would have: Pilate went out to the crowd and said, “What accusation does the crowd bring against Jesus?” The crowd answered and said to Pilate, “If Jesus were not a criminal, the crowd would not have delivered Jesus to Pilate.”

7.4.2 Types of pronouns The pronouns used in the above example each refer to people and are called personal pronouns. Personal pronouns include: I, you, he, she, we, they, and (believe it or not) it. They can change their spelling according to how they are used in a sentence. A list is given in the Table of English Personal Pronouns in section 24.4. There are various ways of classifying pronouns in English. Terms frequently used include:

PARTS OF SPEECH I

37

Personal pronouns Possessive pronouns Reflexive pronouns Intensive pronouns Demonstrative pronouns Relative pronouns Interrogative pronouns Distributive pronouns Quantitative pronouns Indefinite pronouns Consider these sentences: 1. What is that? 2. It is a book. The word what is an interrogative pronoun. It is used to start a question and in this sentence is acting as the subject of the verb ‘is’. The word that in this example is a demonstrative pronoun. It is used to point out something. This is the other commonly occurring demonstrative pronoun. The plural form of this is these and the plural spelling of that is those. The word it is conventionally called a personal pronoun, even though it refers to a book, which is not a living person, but the word it is what is called in grammar a ‘third person’ pronoun (see the later section on Person section 18.1). The word it can also be used indefinitely, as an indefinite pronoun, in sentences like: 3. It is raining. Consider: 4. Who is he? 5. Whoever he is, he is about to leave. In this example the word who is another interrogative pronoun. In this sentence it is used to start a question and is acting as the subject of the verb ‘is’. Each case of the word he is a personal pronoun. The word whoever is an indefinite pronoun. Possessive pronouns include: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs, thine. Reflexive pronouns and intensive pronouns have the same spellings in English but have different functions. They end with the letters ‘self’ or ‘selves’: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves. Distributive pronouns, also called quantitative pronouns, relate to the number of whatever is being referred to. For example: all, some, none, everyone, everybody, nobody. They may be called indefinite pronouns when it is imprecise what they refer to. There are corresponding distributive (quantitative) adjectives.

38

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Exercise 8 Identify which words are pronouns in the following sentences: Paul said to them, “They have publicly beaten us and put us into prison without trial. Now they want to release us in secret. Instead let them release us themselves.”

Answer: Paul said to them, “They have publicly beaten us and put us into prison without trial. Now they want to release us in secret. Instead let them release us themselves.”

These pronouns are examples of personal pronouns, except for ‘themselves’ which is used here as reflexive pronoun. 7.4.3 Antecedents of pronouns Pronouns act in place of nouns or even other pronouns. The noun or other pronoun whose place a pronoun takes is called the antecedent of the pronoun. More detail is progressively given about pronouns through the book. 7.4.4 The simple sentence with pronouns Remember that each simple sentence is made of a subject plus a predicate and that the predicate includes a verb. The subject indicates who or what the sentence is about. Thus: The subject of a simple sentence contains at least one noun or pronoun.

7.5 ADJECTIVES 7.5.1 Introducing adjectives Adjectives function to tell us more about nouns or pronouns. We say that adjectives qualify nouns or pronouns. Consider the sentences: Look at that view! Fresh snow is beautiful! It marks the start of every local winter. It is beautiful!

The verbs in these sentences are look, is and marks. The nouns are common nouns and they are view, snow, start and winter. There is one pronoun it, which refers to the fresh snow. The words at and of are prepositions that begin phrases. We discuss prepositions later. That leaves us with the words that, fresh, beautiful, the, every, local and beautiful (again). These words are adjectives.

PARTS OF SPEECH I

39

Adjective Meaning role

Grammatical role

that

points out the view

qualifies the noun ‘view’

fresh

describes the snow

qualifies the noun ‘snow’

beautiful

describes the snow

qualifies the noun ‘snow’

the

defines the starting

qualifies the noun ‘start’

every

describes the number of local winters

qualifies the noun ‘winter’

local

describes the location of the winter

qualifies the noun ‘winter’

beautiful

describes the fresh snow referred to by the pronoun ‘it’

qualifies the pronoun ‘it’

7.5.2 Descriptive adjectives In the table above the words ‘fresh’, ‘beautiful’ and ‘local’ are called descriptive adjectives as they describe some feature of the nouns or pronouns they qualify. The large number of English adjectives are nearly all descriptive adjectives. 7.5.3 Quantitative adjectives In the above, the word ‘every’ may be called a quantitative adjective for it describes how many items (how many winters) are involved. When numbers are used as adjectives they can be called quantitative adjectives too, for example in: one winter, first winter, the eightieth year. 7.5.4 Demonstrative adjectives We have come across the word ‘that’ as a pronoun, a demonstrative pronoun. In the example above ‘that’ does not act in the place of a noun but functions as an adjective because it qualifies a noun. It is called a demonstrative adjective. Other demonstrative adjectives include this, those and these. Being familiar with these adjectives and pronouns is important for understanding their Greek and Hebrew counterparts. 7.5.5 The definite article and the indefinite article The word the is called the definite article. The indefinite article is the word a. It is spelt an before a word starting with a vowel. The definite article is classed as an adjective in this handbook. It acts a like a weak demonstrative adjective by helping to select or define an item: 1. It is the one over there. (Implying: a specific book over there, in a certain location.) The indefinite article acts like a weak numeral “one”: 2. Give me a book from that pile. 3. George gave Crystal a book for Christmas.

40

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS 4. A book (Implying: only one book, but not a particular one).

Some languages, like Italian, have singular and plural forms of the definite and indefinite articles. Some languages, like Latin, do not have either article. Languages without a definite article are likely to use demonstrative pronouns as replacements for the definite article. Greek has singular and plural definite article forms but lacks an indefinite article. Hebrew lacks both articles but has a letter that it attaches to the beginning of nouns to make them definite. This then has a similar effect to having a definite article. Many Hebrew grammars call this prefixed letter the definite article and discuss it as if it were a separate word. Some grammars treat the definite article as a ninth part of speech. Because of its wide variety of functions in Greek, there is good reason to treat the definite article as a distinct part of speech in that language. In English it can be understand as a special type of adjective. 7.5.6 Possessive adjectives (personal pronominal adjectives) Consider “my country”, “your country, “his country, “her country, “its country”, “our country” and “their country”. The adjective qualifying the word ‘country’ in each case is called a possessive adjective. In fact they are adjectival versions of the personal pronouns. Hence they can be called personal pronominal adjectives. 7.5.7 Interrogative adjectives In the sentences, “Which window?” and, “What time?” the words ‘which’ and ‘what’ are adjectives that qualify nouns and also serve to introduce questions. They are interrogative adjectives. The grammatical term “interrogative” relates to questions and comes from the same Latin word as “interrogation” comes from. Exercise 9 Identify which words are adjectives and what they qualify in the following sentences: The next day poor old Enid Elliott slept too long to see the skipper leave on his dangerous voyage. She waited patiently for him in her rocker by the west window. It was very dark and still outside. Suddenly there was a loud bang.

Answer: The next day poor old Enid Elliott slept too long to see the skipper leave on his dangerous voyage. She waited patiently for him in her rocker by the west window. It was very dark and still outside. Suddenly there was a loud bang.

PARTS OF SPEECH I Adjective

The adjective qualifies the noun or pronoun

the day next day poor Enid Elliott old Enid Elliott the skipper his voyage dangerous voyage her rocker the window west window dark it still it a bang loud bang

41

42

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

7.6 ADVERBS 7.6.1 The function of adverbs The function of adverbs is to tell us more about the scope and intensity of the function of verbs, and the intensity of adjectives and other adverbs. We say that adverbs modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. Note that adjectives qualify nouns and pronouns, while adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Using these two verbs ‘qualify’ and ‘modify’ in this way helps to avoid ambiguity when analysing more detailed sentences. A number of other grammars do not observe this long practised convention. The name “ad+verb” leads us (correctly) to think that adverbs add to the meaning of the verbs they modify. 1. They are walking slowly around the lake. 2. They are walking powerfully around the lake. 3. They are walking nearby, on the path around the lake. 4. They are walking around the lake once. 5. They are walking around the lake soon. 6. They are walking excessively. Each of the highlighted words is an adverb modifying the verbs in their own sentences which all happen to be ‘are walking’. 7.6.2 Adverbs of manner, place, number, time and degree Adverb

Meaning role

Type of adverb

Grammatical role

slowly

limiting the rate or manner of walking

adverb of manner

modifying the verb ‘are walking’

powerfully

affecting the intensity of the manner of walking

adverb of manner

modifying the verb ‘are walking’

nearby

limiting the place of walking

adverb of place

modifying the verb ‘are walking’

once

limiting the number of occasions of walking around the lake

adverb of number

modifying the verb ‘are walking’

soon

limiting the time when the walking occurs

adverb of time

modifying the verb ‘are walking’

excessively

limiting the extent to which the walking occurs

adverb of degree

modifying the verb ‘are walking’

Adverbs are often: adverbs of manner, modifying how a verb functions; adverbs of place, modifying where a verb functions;

PARTS OF SPEECH I

43

adverbs of number, modifying how many times a verb functions; adverbs of time, modifying when a verb functions; adverbs of degree, modifying to what extent a verb functions. 7.6.3 Spelling of English Adverbs In Modern English there has long been a spelling convention to create adverbs from adjectives by adding the letters ‘ly’ to the ends of adjectives. In the U.S. there is now a strong tendency to use the spelling of the adjectival form as an adverb instead of using the ‘ly’ or other special adverbial spelling. A few very common words have quite different spellings as adjectives and adverbs, but their meanings are still linked closely. Examples of adjectives and adverbs. The adverbs are highlighted: Adjective

Adverb

Examples of uses

quick

quickly

The quick hare ran quickly.

slow

slowly

The slow tortoise dawdled slowly.

brief

briefly

The brief caller spoke briefly.

quiet

quietly

The quiet thinker thought quietly.

great

greatly

The great changes greatly improved the home.

weak

weakly

The weak patient spoke weakly.

strong

strongly

The strong challenger performed strongly.

loving

lovingly

The loving child looked lovingly at her parents.

powerful

powerfully

The powerful car sped powerfully along the track.

beautiful

beautifully

A beautiful sound echoed beautifully in the forest.

one

once

One day was once like that.

two

twice

Going two times is going twice.

three

thrice

Going three times is going thrice, but who says that?

first

firstly

Firstly, let us agree about the first place result.

second

secondly

Secondly, others don’t agree about the second one.

third

thirdly

Thirdly, what can we do about the third place?

annual

annually

Annual reports are given annually of course.

yearly

yearly

The yearly reports should be made yearly.

monthly

monthly

Monthly dues have been paid monthly.

44

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS near

nearby

There was a near catastrophe nearby.

good

well

Good things should come across well.

bad

badly

Bad music goes down badly with the audience.

much

much

Too much fun meant they didn’t think much about this.

very

very

This very day seems so very familiar.

7.6.4 Adverbs modifying adjectives or other adverbs Consider these sentences: 1. The sky is very blue. 2. The sky is too blue. 3. The sky is much too blue. 4. The sky is very much too blue. 5. The sky is wonderfully blue. The highlighted words are adverbs. In each of these sentences the word ‘blue’ is an adjective and it is modified by some adverb. In sentence 1 the adjective ‘blue’ is modified by the adverb ‘very’. In sentences 2, 3 and 4 the adjective ‘blue’ is modified by the adverb ‘too’. In sentence 5 the adjective ‘blue’ is modified by the adverb ‘wonderfully’. In sentences 3 and 4 the adverb ‘much’ modifies the adverb ‘too’. In sentence 4 the adverb ‘very’ modifies the adverb ‘much’. Therefore we have seen: Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. 7.6.5 Interrogative adverbs There is another frequent way that adverbs modify verbs: as interrogative adverbs. They begin questions, for example: Examples

Grammatical Classification

When was Magna Carta signed?

Interrogative adverb of time

How will Magna Carta be signed?

Interrogative adverb of manner

Why will Magna Carta be signed?

Interrogative adverb of reason or cause

Where will Magna Carta be signed?

Interrogative adverb of place

PARTS OF SPEECH I

45

7.6.6 Comparative adverbs An important use of adverbs modifying adjectives is in the comparison of adjectives and adverbs. The comparative adverbs more, most, less, least, too and rather are used. For example: 1. This cream is more delicious than that is, perhaps the most delicious that I have ever had. 2. Our luggage is less bulky than last time, and this is the least expensive ticket we’ve bought. 3. Sometimes I think the scenery here is just too beautiful to ever be able to leave. 4. The bull calf is rather strong for his age, isn’t he? 5. The crowd chose a criminal rather than Jesus. These sentences involve comparisons. In the first sentence ‘delicious’ is an adjective twice qualifying the noun ‘cream’. The adverb more modifies the adjective to put the adjective into a comparative form, when two items are compared. The adverb most modifies the adjective ‘delicious’ to put it into the superlative form, when more than two items are compared. In 5, ‘rather’ modifies the verb ‘chose’. Further discussion is given in section 27 (Comparison of adjectives and adverbs). 7.6.7 Relative adverbs Another type of adverb is the relative adverb. It is discussed in section 33.2 on subordinating conjunctions, which are words that are used to join simple sentences together to make one sentence. 7.6.8 Negative adverbs A negative adverb is one that negates the meaning of the word that is modified. The common negative adverbs are ‘no’, ‘not’, ‘never’. 1. That is not finished. 2. We are not staying here. 3. They will never do that again. 4. No favorable statements came from the not very friendly judges. In sentence 1 ‘not’ is a negative adverb modifying the verb ‘is finished’. In sentence 2 ‘not’ is a negative adverb modifying the verb ‘are staying’. In 3, ‘never’ is a negative adverb modifying the verb ‘will do’. In 4, ‘no’ is a negative adverb modifying the adjective ‘favorable’, and ‘not’ is a negative adverb modifying the adverb ‘very’. 7.6.9 The indefinite adverb ‘there’ part I In the following sentence the word there is an indefinite adverb: 1. There comes a time when we should all sleep. See also section 48.3, The indefinite adverb ‘there’ II. Exercise 10 Identify which words are adverbs and what they modify in the following sentences:

46

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS The next day poor old Enid Elliott slept too long to see the skipper leave on his dangerous voyage. She waited patiently for him in her rocker by the west window. It was very dark and still outside. Suddenly there was an extremely loud noise nearby!

Answer: The next day poor old Enid Elliott slept too long to see the skipper leave on his dangerous voyage. She waited patiently for him in her rocker by the west window. It was very dark and still outside. Suddenly, there was an extremely loud noise nearby!

Adverb

Type of Adverb

The adverb modifies

emphatic or comparative adverb

the adverb ‘long’

adverb of time

the verb ‘slept’

adverb of manner

the verb ‘waited’

emphatic or comparative adverb

the adjectives ‘dark’ and ‘still’

adverb of place

the verb ‘was’

adverb of manner or time

the verb ‘was’

indefinite adverb

the verb ‘was’

emphatic adverb

the adjective ‘loud’

adverb of place

the verb ‘was’

too

long patiently very

outside suddenly there extremely nearby

7.7 Note about Substantives A more general term than noun is substantive. The term substantive identifies nouns and other parts of speech that act similarly to nouns:

PARTS OF SPEECH I

47

pronouns, adjectives without an explicit noun that is being qualified, verb forms acting in noun-like ways (i.e. some participles and infinitives), and certain other parts of speech when they mimic noun uses. Nevertheless, some grammars use the terms noun and substantive synonymously. 7.8 Useful convention: Adjectives qualify and adverbs modify Remember that in this grammar, the verb ‘qualify’ is used for adjectival functions while the verb ‘modify’ is used for adverbial functions. Thus: Adjectives qualify nouns or pronouns. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. It is very common for other grammars to use the verb “modify” for both adjectival and adverbial functions. Some of these grammars will agree with the distinction between adjectival and adverbial functions. In those cases it does not matter whether they use ‘qualify’ or ‘modify’. The grammatical distinctions will be evident in other ways. Some other grammars will disagree with a strong, significant distinction between adjectival and adverbial functions, even though some of them will still use the terms ‘adjectival’ and ‘adverbial’. The more careful of these grammars will set out clearly what they mean when they use those terms. Some grammarians may still be building their linguistic terminology and use a few conventional terms, like ‘adjectival’ and ‘adverbial’, according to their own as yet undefined concepts, along with new terms they do define, until they arrive at a more precise set of grammatical descriptions. Yet other grammars seem to be oblivious to these things and use terms simply because they are memorable grammatical jargon (on the lighter side, see what is “memorable” in the book 1066 and All That).

8. TWO PARTS OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE: SUBJECT AND PREDICATE II 8.1 SUBJECT 8.1.1 Finite Verbs and Simple Sentences Remember: 1. Each simple sentence is composed of a subject PLUS a predicate. 2. The subject indicates who or what the sentence is about. 3. The predicate tells us something about the subject. 4. Every simple sentence has a subject and a predicate, and the predicate has a verb. 5. The verb indicates the action of the sentence or indicates the state of things. Therefore: 6. The subject of the simple sentence is the subject of the verb. Further: 7. Every simple sentence has a verb which has a subject. 8. A finite verb is defined as a verb that has a subject. Thus: 9. Every simple sentence has a finite verb. In fact: 10. A simple sentence is defined as a sentence having only one finite verb. Note that commands are sentences, so they have finite verbs. Command sentences issue a command to one or more people (or other things) to do something. The subjects of the verbs in command sentences are not normally spelt as separate words. Their subjects are then “understood” — that is their subjects are understood to be pronouns even though the subjects are not spelt as separate words. Based on the setting of the dialog, when a command sentence is used we can tell who (or what) is being commanded to do something. Therefore we may consider that the verbs of command sentences have subjects and so are finite. The four types of simple sentence (statement, exclamation, question and command) are each composed of one subject and one predicate, and the predicate has only one finite verb.

49

50

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Exercise 11: Pick out the finite verb and its subject in these sentences: Simple Sentence

Subject

Finite Verb

that enormous elephant with the big ears

stares

little Noah

rolled

who

would know

I

am

it

is

1. That enormous elephant with the big ears stares at you

2. Little Noah rolled down the street very very fast. 3. Who would know all about it? 4. I am not sure at the moment. 5. What time is it?

8.1.2 Subject and subject word The subject of a sentence will usually be one or more specific words. We have also seen examples of one word sentences which have an understood subject. Once again, remember: The subject indicates who or what the sentence is about. Nouns are naming words. Nouns name a person, thing, quality, or characteristic. Pronouns act as substitutes for nouns. Thus we should expect: The subject of a simple sentence will have at least one noun or pronoun in it. We have seen simple sentences where the subject can have other words in it besides a noun or pronoun. The other words can act to qualify the noun or pronoun in some way. We have already seen that adjectives qualify nouns or pronouns. In fact adjectives do often make up the rest of the subject with the noun or pronoun they qualify. There may also be phrases in the subject of a simple sentence that are acting like an adjective by qualifying the meaning of the noun or pronoun. We have also seen that adverbs can modify adjectives and other adverbs, so we would expect that adverbs could be included within the subjects of some sentences. We can see from the sentences in the previous exercise that there can be a big variation in the number of words in the subject of a simple sentence:

TWO PARTS OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE: SUBJECT AND PREDICATE II

Simple Sentence

Subject

Finite Verb

1. That enormous elephant with the big ears stares at you.

that enormous elephant with the big ears

stares

2. Little Noah rolled down the street very very fast.

little Noah

rolled

3. Who would know all about it?

who

would know

4. I am not sure at the moment.

I

am

5. What time is it?

it

is

51

Can we find in each of the subjects of these sentences the noun or pronoun that is essential to the subject to mean what it does? For sentences 3, 4 and 5 there is only one word in each of the subjects. They are all pronouns. For sentence 2, the name of the person, ‘Noah’, is a proper noun. The other word in the subject is an adjective qualifying the proper noun. So the proper noun is the essential noun for the sentence to keep its meaning. Sentence 1 has a much longer subject. First let us find all of the nouns and pronouns in the subject: Words making up the subject

Nouns

That enormous elephant

elephant

with the big ears

ears

Pronouns

52

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Which of these nouns (or both) seems to be essential to the verb in order to make sense of the sentence? We know that the verb is ‘stares’. The full predicate is: ‘stares at you’ Try ‘elephant’: elephant stares at you ever so seriously. Try ‘ears’: ears stares at you ever so seriously. We know from understanding the meaning of the original sentence, that an elephant is doing the staring, not its ears, so we should expect ‘elephant’ rather than ‘ears’ to be the essential subject word of the sentence. We see that ‘ears’ is plural, and ‘stares’ is singular, so ‘ears’ is not the subject of the verb ‘stares’. We are left with ‘elephant’ as the essential subject word. Thus: Words making up the subject

Nouns

Pronouns Likely essential subject word(s)

That enormous elephant

elephant

elephant

with the big ears

ears

To check, let us consider the roles the other words are playing in the subject of this sentence: ‘That’ and ‘enormous’ are adjectives qualifying the essential subject word ‘elephant’.

We have seen groups of words like ‘with the big ears’ at the start of the course. We called them phrases. This one is acting adjectivally by telling us more about the elephant. Adjectival phrases in fact qualify nouns or pronouns, just as adjectives do. Every subject of a simple sentence has an essential noun or pronoun we will call the subject word. Some sentences can have more than one subject word. Consider the following sentences. 1. Fred and Martha strolled along the road. Subject: Predicate: Finite verb:

Fred and Martha strolled along the road strolled

TWO PARTS OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE: SUBJECT AND PREDICATE II Words making up the subject

Nouns

Pronouns

Fred

Fred

Fred

Martha

Martha

53

Likely essential subject word(s)

and Martha

2. At great speed, the three green cars and the five red ones zoomed by. Subject: the three green cars and the five red ones Predicate: At great speed ... zoomed by Finite verb: zoomed Words making up the subject

Nouns

Pronouns

Likely essential subject word(s)

the three green cars

cars

cars

and the five red ones

ones

ones

3. You and I must go now. Subject: Predicate: Finite verb:

you and I must go now must go

Words making up the subject You

Nouns

Pronouns

Likely essential subject word(s)

you

you

I

I

and I

Every simple sentence has one or more subject words that form the subject of the finite verb.

54

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Exercise 12: Identify the subject words in these sentences: 1. Squirrels like to eat nuts. Words making up the subject

Nouns

Squirrels

squirrels

Pronouns

Likely essential subject word(s)

squirrels

2. Pilots of planes use maps for navigation. Words making up the Nouns subject

Pilots of planes

Pronouns

pilots

Likely word(s)

essential

subject

pilots

planes

3. Humming loudly, the young girl skipped down the street. Words making up the subject

Humming loudly the young girl

Nouns

girl

Pronouns

Likely essential subject word(s)

girl

TWO PARTS OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE: SUBJECT AND PREDICATE II

55

4. Nearly all cars, trucks and buses need oil for their engines to run properly. Words making up the subject

Nearly all cars trucks and buses

Nouns

Pronouns

Likely essential subject word(s)

cars trucks

cars trucks

buses

buses

8.2 PREDICATE 8.2.1 Predicate components The predicate of a simple sentence must have a finite verb. Grammatically speaking, no other words are needed in the predicate to make a simple sentence. There is a wide variety of ways to form a predicate. a) The finite verb may be the entire predicate: 1. Time passed. This sentence has a one word predicate which is the word ‘passed’. b) The predicate could also include one or more adverbs modifying the verb. 2. Time passed quickly. This sentence has a two word predicate, ‘passed quickly’, a verb plus an adverb. 3. The electricity supply was cut off temporarily yesterday. This has a predicate composed of a verb ‘was cut’ and adverbs ‘off’, ‘temporarily’ and ‘yesterday’. c) Some predicates just have a verb plus a noun, possibly with qualifying adjectives. 4. The players will deliver a large white box. The verb ‘will deliver’ and the noun ‘box’ with its qualifying adjectives, ‘a’, ‘large’ and ‘white’ form the predicate.

56

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

d) The predicate might include a mixture of nouns, pronouns, adverbs and other words. 5. The players happily delivered to their coach a large white box after the game. This simple sentence has a long predicate: all the words after ‘players’. Let us first consider cases like 4 and 5 where there is a noun or pronoun in the predicate. 8.2.2 Direct object and direct object word In many simple sentences the subject carries out the action of the verb on someone or something else named in the sentence. That person or thing is called the direct object of the verb. The action of the verb is carried out directly on the person or thing indicated. Therefore: Only action verbs are able to have direct objects. Stative verbs cannot have a direct object as they do not carry out any action. However, not all action verbs carry out action onto a direct object. Let us first consider sentences that do have a direct object. In a simple sentence that has a direct object, the direct object is part of the predicate, and may be a noun or pronoun plus any adjectives or phrases qualifying it. To find the direct object: After the finite verb put ‘whom?’ or put ‘what?’ and the answer to the question is the direct object. Let us look more closely at examples 4 and 5 above. 4. The players will deliver a large white box. Find the finite verb, then put ‘what?’ after it: the finite verb is: ‘will deliver’ the question becomes: “the players will deliver what?” the answer is: “a large white box” Thus, the direct object of the verb ‘will deliver’ in the sentence “The players will deliver a large white box” is: ‘a large white box’. 5. The players happily delivered to their coach a large white box after the game. Find the finite verb, then put ‘what?’ after it: the finite verb is: ‘delivered’ the question becomes: “The players happily delivered what?” the answer is: ‘a large white box’ Thus, the direct object of the verb ‘delivered’ in the sentence “The players happily delivered to their coach a large white box after the game” is: ‘a large white box’. Note: ‘happily’ is an adverb of manner modifying the verb; ‘to their coach’ is an adverbial phrase of place modifying the verb; ‘after the game’ is an adverbial phrase of time modifying the verb

TWO PARTS OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE: SUBJECT AND PREDICATE II

57

6. He did that. Find the finite verb, then put ‘what?’ after it: the finite verb is: ‘did’ the question becomes: “He did what?” the answer is: ‘that’ Thus, the direct object of the verb ‘did’ in the sentence “He did that” is: ‘that’. The subject has a subject word or words. Similarly the direct object has a direct object word or words. The direct object is made up of the word or words that answer the question made by adding ‘who?’ or ‘what?’. The direct object word is a noun or pronoun that has to be in the direct object for the sentence to make sense. To find the direct object word: Ask “What noun or pronoun must be in the direct object for this sentence to make sense?” Find the direct object and direct object word in the simple sentence: 7. The customer bought a green book. The finite verb is: ‘bought’ The question to locate the direct object is: “The customer bought what?” The answer is: ‘a green book’ Thus the direct object is ‘a green book’ To find the direct object word: Ask “What noun or pronoun must be in the direct object for this sentence to make sense?” The answer is: ‘book’ Thus the direct object word of the verb ‘bought’ is ‘book’. Exercise 13: Identify the direct objects and the direct object words in these sentences: 1. The scavengers consumed the carcass almost instantly. The finite verb is consumed The question to locate the direct object is The scavengers consumed what? The answer is the carcass Thus the direct object is the carcass To find the direct object word, ask: What noun or pronoun must be in the direct object for this sentence to make sense? The answer is carcass Thus the direct object word of the verb is carcass

58

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

2. Twelve balloonists left the valley at five o’clock this morning. The finite verb is left The question to locate the direct object is Twelve balloonists left what? The answer is the valley Thus the direct object is the valley To find the direct object word ask: What noun or pronoun must be in the direct object for this sentence to make sense? The answer is valley Thus the direct object word of the verb is valley 3. How many goats were eating the vegetables in the garden last night? The finite verb is were eating The question to locate the direct object is How many goats were eating what? Note that Sentence 3 is already a question. We are looking for the direct object of the verb within that question. So we have created a different question to answer. We are not here trying to answer the original question about how many goats did something. We are trying to find out what the goats were eating. The answer is the vegetables Thus the direct object is the vegetables To find the direct object word, ask: What noun or pronoun must be in the direct object for this sentence to make sense? The answer is vegetables Thus the direct object word of the verb is vegetables

TWO PARTS OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE: SUBJECT AND PREDICATE II

59

4. The great cricketer, Donald Bradman, achieved a lifetime average of over 99 runs per innings. The finite verb is achieved The question to locate the direct object is The great cricketer, Donald Bradman, achieved what? The answer is a lifetime average of over 99 runs per innings Thus the direct object is a lifetime average of over 99 runs per innings To find the direct object word, ask: What noun or pronoun must be in the direct object for this sentence to make sense? As the direct object has a lot of words in it, let us adapt the method we used to help find the subject word. What are the nouns and pronouns in the direct object? Words in the direct object

Nouns

Pronouns

Likely essential direct object word(s)

a lifetime average

average

average

of over 99 runs

runs

per innings

innings

Note that ‘lifetime’ is used in this sentence to qualify the noun ‘average’ and so is an adjective. In a different sentence it could be used as a noun. (In cricket ‘innings’ is both singular and plural. In baseball ‘innings’ is only plural.)

60

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS The answer is average Thus the direct object word of the verb is average

8.2.3 Indirect object and indirect object word Remember that the subject may carry out the action of the verb on a direct object of the verb. There may also be an indirect object of the verb. The indirect object is someone or something to whom or for whom the action of the verb is carried out. Typically the indirect object may begin with ‘to’ or ‘for’ and end with a noun or pronoun. Consider again sentence 5 from sections 8.2.1 and 8.2.2, a long but still simple sentence: 5. The players happily delivered to their coach a large white box after the game. We saw that the direct object of the verb is ‘a large white box’. So we know that the players delivered a large white box, and that it was delivered “after the game”. To whom was the box delivered? Clearly “to their coach”. The indirect object is thus ‘to their coach’. Just as we distinguish between a subject and a subject word, and a direct object and a direct object word, we distinguish between the indirect object and the indirect object word. The subject word and the direct object word are nouns or pronouns. Likewise the indirect object word is a noun or a pronoun. Each of these nouns or pronouns may be qualified by adjectives or by adjectival phrases. In 5 above, the indirect object word is therefore ‘coach’. Some verbs frequently have both direct and indirect objects. Verbs of giving are like this. A curiosity of English is that by changing the word order of the words in the predicate after the verb, it is normal to leave out the characteristic ‘to’ or ‘for’ of the indirect object. Following the sentence numbers from section 8.2.2, consider: 8. The student gave the librarian the books. 9. The student gave the books to the librarian. They mean exactly the same thing. In 8, because the noun for the person to whom the books are given is placed immediately after the verb, it is not necessary to have ‘to the librarian’. In fact it would sound a little odd to say, “The student gave to the librarian the books,” but it would still mean the same thing and be able to be understood. It is just not the way we would normally say it. We can set out the order of words in these two examples this way: 8. Subject + verb + indirect object without ‘to’ + direct object 9. Subject + verb + direct object + indirect object with ‘to’

TWO PARTS OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE: SUBJECT AND PREDICATE II

61

Consequently, to check whether a selected word or phrase is the direct object: if it does not start with ‘to’ or ‘for’, simply add one of these words. If the sentence still makes sense, the selection is probably correct. Exercise 14: Indicate the direct and indirect objects and the direct and indirect object words in these sentences: 1. Who wrote the play for you? Subject: who Predicate: wrote the play for you Verb within the predicate: wrote Direct object of the verb: the play Direct object word(s) within the direct object: play Indirect object of the verb: for you Indirect object word(s) within the indirect object: you 2. Their friends offered them some food and drink. Subject: their friends Predicate: offered them some food and drink Verb within the predicate: offered Direct object of the verb: some food and drink Direct object word(s) within the direct object: food, drink Within the predicate can we add ‘to’ or ‘for’ and still have the same meaning? Their friends offered to them some food and drink. Yes, we can still have the same meaning, though the English is unusual Indirect object of the verb: them Indirect object word within the indirect object: them

62

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

3. The company has given all the sales staff a rest. Subject: the company Predicate: has given all the sales staff a rest Verb within the predicate: has given Direct object of the verb: a rest Direct object word(s) within the direct object: rest Within the predicate can we add ‘to’ or ‘for’ and still have the same meaning? The company has given to all the sales staff a rest. Yes, we can still have the same meaning. Indirect object of the verb: all the sales staff As the indirect object has a lot of words in it, let us adapt the method we used to help find the direct object words. What are the nouns and pronouns in the indirect object? Words in the indirect object

Nouns Pronouns Likely essential indirect object word(s)

all the sales staff all the sales staff

staff

staff

Indirect object word(s) within the indirect object: staff 8.2.4 Complement of a verb and copulative verbs English stative verbs do not carry out an action. Hence the subject of a stative verb cannot act on a direct object. Nor can the subject of a stative verb be acted on by an indirect object. Consequently: Stative verbs do not have direct objects or indirect objects.

TWO PARTS OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE: SUBJECT AND PREDICATE II

63

Nevertheless, simple sentences can still have large predicates that include stative verbs. Stative verbs provide some sort of correspondence or equivalence between the subject and what follows the verb. For example, the verb ‘be’ is about as close to an equality sign as possible in ordinary language. The subjects of the forms of the verb ‘be’ are equated, or identified, with what follows the verb. All simple sentences are composed of a subject and a predicate, and the predicate includes a finite verb. When a verb in an English simple sentence is a stative verb, the predicate is composed of the stative verb and any adverbial expressions modifying the verb plus what is called the complement of the verb, or simply the complement. Complements of verbs may be composed of adjectives, nouns, pronouns, or expressions acting like them, and words qualifying or modifying them. Stative verbs take complements. Instead of the term ‘complement’ others might use variations on the name ‘predicate’, for example ‘predicative words’ or ‘predicate nominative’. Whatever the complement may be called it is not a direct or indirect object, contrary to some other grammars. While this conceptual distinction might seem to be merely a matter of taste or perspective, it is an important one to recognize when studying Greek and Latin. Examples (the sentence numbers follow on from section 8.2.2): 10. Sheep are woolly beasts. subject: predicate: finite verb: complement of the verb: identification of nouns:

‘sheep’ ‘are woolly beasts’ ‘are’ ‘woolly beasts’ ‘sheep’ with ‘beasts’

11. Mars and Venus are nearby planets. subject: ‘Mars and Venus’ predicate: ‘are nearby planets’ finite verb: ‘are’ complement: ‘nearby planets’ adjective qualifying ‘planets’: ‘nearby’ identification of nouns: ‘Mars’ and ‘Venus’ with ‘planets’ 12. The house is green. subject: predicate: finite verb: complement: adjective complementing and qualifying ‘house’:

‘the house’ ‘is green’ ‘is’ ‘green’ ‘green’

English stative verbs are identifiers. However it is common for grammars of some other languages like Hebrew to use ‘stative verb’ in a broader way. The term ‘stative verb’ can be used to classify verbs in other languages that include both verbs that are identifiers and other verbs that translate into English as

64

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

certain types of English action verbs. Therefore it can be helpful to refer to those stative verbs that are identifiers in their language as copulative verbs. The Latin word ‘copula’ can mean “a link”. A copulative verb is one that links, identifies, the subject with its complement. In the current grammar, English stative verbs are therefore copulative verbs. In a typical Hebrew grammar, the class of Hebrew stative verbs will include copulative verbs and other verbs that are not copulative verbs. 8.2.5 Verbs with double objects Part I Verbs discussed for most of this grammar are assumed to have no more than one direct object, but there could also be words in apposition to the direct object word(s). For discussion of apposition see section 23 “Apposition: Words in apposition to nouns and pronouns”. See also section 47 “Verbs with double objects Part II”.

9. DEFINITION OF A PHRASE We stated that all simple sentences have only one finite verb in them. We can now define the term ‘phrase’: A phrase is a string of words that does not have a finite verb in it. Remember that a finite verb is a verb that has an explicit or an understood subject. The term ‘phrase’ is used in many books to refer to any consecutive string of words in a sentence, no matter what types of words are in the string. A number of grammars use the term that way, but also use the term to apply to specific types of word strings, not always explicitly. The three distinctions used in this book between any expression which is any string of words, a particular type of word string called a phrase and a coherent expression called a clause is an old and helpful convention.

65

10. TRANSITIVITY OF VERBS: TRANSITIVE VERBS AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS We can now define the transitivity and intransitivity of verbs: A finite verb is transitive when it has a direct object. Only a finite verb can be transitive. A verb is intransitive when it does not have a direct object. Thus: Every finite verb is either transitive or intransitive in any particular simple sentence. Verbs can only be transitive when they have both a subject and a direct object. Only action verbs could be transitive. Action verbs may be transitive only if they have direct objects. Some action verbs could be transitive in one sentence but intransitive in another. All stative verbs must be intransitive. Examples: Transitive verbs: 1. The doctor treated the patient. 2. The government ran the country. 3. The fleet left the harbor this morning. Intransitive verbs: 4. The fleet left this morning. 5. The athlete ran very fast. 6. It comes every day. 7. There are two eagles outside. Exercise 15: Indicate which verbs are transitive and which are intransitive. For stative verbs indicate their complements. Indicate the direct and indirect objects. 1. Jonah went away. 2. Jonah went to Nineveh. 3. Will tomorrow be a hot day? 4. The canyon is very deep. 5. The House resumes in five minutes. 6. The Speaker will convene the meeting. 7. What should I say in this speech tonight? 8. They made a cake for her. 9. The children showed the class their pictures. 67

68

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS Verb

Transitivity Complement Direct Object

Indirect Object

went

intransitive

went

intransitive

will be

intransitive

a hot day

is

intransitive

very deep

resumes

intransitive

will convene

transitive

the meeting

should say

transitive

what

made

transitive

a cake

for her

showed

transitive

their pictures

the class

1. Jonah went away. 2. Jonah went to Nineveh. 3. Will tomorrow be a hot day? 4. The canyon is very deep. 5. The House resumes in five minutes. 6. The Speaker will convene the meeting.

7. What should I say in this speech tonight?

8. They made a cake for her. 9. The children showed the class their pictures.

11. VOICE OF VERBS 11.1 ACTIVE VOICE AND PASSIVE VOICE: There are action verbs and stative verbs. Most verbs are action verbs. Action verbs characteristically indicate an action done by the subject or an action done to the subject. Stative verbs do not. All verbs in English are usually described as being in the active voice or the passive voice. Action verbs in English are then classified as being in the active voice or the passive voice. When the subject of an action verb does the action, the verb is in the active voice. When the subject of an action verb has the action done to it, the verb is in the passive voice. All stative verbs in English are usually considered to be in the active voice. Thus, a verb is in the active voice: (i) when the subject of the verb is the actual agent of the action of that verb, or (ii) when the verb is a stative verb. While it can be simple to state what active and passive voice means, the concept of voice is very important for understanding how words work in sentences. Various spellings of the auxiliary verb ‘be’ are used to form the passive voice forms of English verbs, and some of the active voice forms. Notice some active and passive patterns of verb formation: Sentence with the verb in the Active voice

Corresponding sentence with the verb in the Passive voice

I do this.

This is done by me.

You do this.

This is done by you.

He does this.

This is done by him.

She does this.

This is done by her.

We do this.

This is done by us.

They do this.

This is done by them.

I am doing this.

This is being done by me.

You are doing this.

This is being done by you.

69

70

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Sentence with the verb in the Active voice

Corresponding sentence with the verb in the Passive voice

He is doing this.

This is being done by him.

She is doing this.

This is being done by her.

We are doing this.

This is being done by us.

They are doing this.

This is being done by them.

Sentence with the verb in the Active voice

Corresponding sentence with the verb in the Passive voice

I will do this.

This will be done by me.

You will do this.

This will be done by you.

He will do this.

This will be done by him.

She will do this.

This will be done by her.

We will do this.

This will be done by us.

They will do this.

This will be done by them.

I will be doing this.

This will be being done by me.

You will be doing this.

This will be being done by you.

He will be doing this.

This will be being done by him.

She will be doing this.

This will be being done by her.

We will be doing this.

This will be being done by us.

They will be doing this.

This will be being done by them.

I was doing this.

This was being done by me.

You were doing this.

This was being done by you.

He was doing this.

This was being done by him.

She was doing this.

This was being done by her.

We were doing this.

This was being done by us.

They were doing this.

This was being done by them.

I did this.

This was done by me.

You did this.

This was done by you.

He did this.

This was done by him.

VOICE OF VERBS

71

She did this.

This was done by her.

We did this.

This was done by us.

They did this.

This was done by them.

I have done this.

This has been done by me.

You have done this.

This has been done by you.

He has done this.

This has been done by him.

She has done this.

This has been done by her.

We have done this.

This has been done by us.

They have done this.

This has been done by them.

I had done this.

This had been done by me.

You had done this.

This had been done by you.

He had done this.

This had been done by him.

She had done this.

This had been done by her.

We had done this.

This had been done by us.

They had done this.

This had been done by them.

Examples: Subject

Verb

Direct object

Transitivity of verb

Action or stative verb?

Voice of verb

transitive

action verb

active voice

intransitive

action verb

passive voice

transitive

action verb

active voice

1a. The hungry child ate the food quickly. the hungry ate child

the food

1b. The food was eaten quickly by the hungry child. the food

was eaten

—

2a. Five students found the article in the library. five students

found

the article

72

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS Subject

Verb

Direct object

Transitivity of verb

Action or stative verb?

Voice of verb

intransitive

action verb

passive voice

transitive

action verb

active voice

action verb

passive voice

2b. The article was found by five students in the library the article

was found

—

3a. Within three seconds we will see the results. we

will see

the results

3b. Within three seconds the results will be seen by us. the results

will be seen

—

intransitive

4. During the earthquake all of the plates fell onto the floor. all of the plates

fell

—

intransitive

action verb

active voice

—

intransitive

stative verb

active voice

—

intransitive

action verb

active voice

—

intransitive

stative verb

active voice

transitive

action verb

active voice

5. Lucy and Michael were just here. Lucy and Michael

were

6. When will our dear friend arrive? our dear friend

will arrive

7. Bromine gas is brown! bromine gas

is

8a. They are giving a special present to you. they

are giving

a special present

VOICE OF VERBS Subject

Verb

Direct object

73

Transitivity of verb

Action or stative verb?

Voice of verb

intransitive

action verb

passive voice

8b. A special present is being given by them to you. a special present

is being given

—

Notice that we can easily convert a verb in the active voice that has a direct object into a verb in the passive voice. The paired sentences above are examples of doing this. The direct object of the active voice verb becomes the subject of the passive voice verb. The subject of the active voice verb becomes the agent of the action in the sentence with the passive voice verb and is introduced by the word ‘by’. Roughly, we could portray the relationship between two corresponding sentences meaning the same thing, where one uses the active voice and the other the passive voice, like this: Sentence using the verb in the active voice: [Subject of the active voice verb] + [active voice verb] + [direct object of active voice verb]. Sentence using the same verb in the passive voice: [Subject of passive voice verb = direct object of active voice verb] + [passive voice verb] + by + [Subject of the active voice verb]. Remember: (i) the subject of the verb is what the predicate tells us about; (ii) an action verb is in the active voice when the subject is doing the action of the verb; (iii) an action verb is in the passive voice when the subject is not doing the action of the verb, but is having the action of the verb done to it. Remember: A finite verb is transitive when it has a direct object. A verb is intransitive when it does not have a direct object. Thus: A verb in the active voice is transitive when it has a direct object. A verb in the active voice is intransitive when it does not have a direct object. Regarding the vaste majority of verbs that cannot have a double direct object: Since a verb in the passive voice cannot have a direct object, a verb in the passive voice is intransitive. Exercise 16: Indicate whether the verbs in these sentences are transitive or intransitive and in the active or passive voice: 1. What have you done?

74

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS 2. The doctor next door came over for lunch. 3. Seinfeld is a well-known comedian. 4. Rod Laver won the Grand Slam twice. 5. New Englanders in the US have a cultural memory tracing back to the 1600s. 6. The residents were asked about many recent events. 7. The soldiers were defeated by the invading forces. 8. They will be named by his friends. 9. Wombats and otters were chosen for the exhibition.

Sentence

Subject

Verb

Direct object

Transitivity Action of verb or stative verb?

Voice of verb

1. What have you done?

you

have done

what

transitive

action verb

active voice

2. The doctor next door came over for lunch.

the doctor next door

came

—

intransitive

action verb

active voice

3. Seinfeld is a well known comedian.

Seinfeld

is

— (complement: a well known comedian)

intransitive

stative verb

active voice

4. Rod Laver won the Grand Slam twice.

Rod Laver

won

the Grand Slam

transitive

action verb

active voice

VOICE OF VERBS

75

Sentence

Subject

Verb

Direct object

Transitivity Action of verb or stative verb?

Voice of verb

5. New Englanders in the US have a cultural memory tracing back to the 1600s.

New Englanders in the US

have

a cultural memory tracing back to the 1600s

transitive

(action) verb

active voice

6. The residents were asked about many recent events.

the residents

were asked

—

intransitive

action verb

passive voice

7. The soldiers were defeated by the invading forces.

the soldiers

were defeated

—

intransitive

action verb

passive voice

8. They will be named by his friends.

they

will be named

—

intransitive

action verb

passive voice

9. Wombats and otters were chosen for the exhibition.

Wombats and otters

were chosen

—

intransitive

action verb

passive voice

76

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Verbs that take double direct objects in the active voice can take an apparent direct object when put into the passive voice. Section 47 “Verbs with double direct objects II” discusses this matter. In section 8.2.4 “Complement of a verb and copulative verbs” we noted: English stative verbs are identifiers. However it is common for grammars of some other languages like Hebrew to use ‘stative verb’ in a broader way. The term ‘stative verb’ can be used to classify verbs in other languages that include verbs that are identifiers and other verbs that translate into English as certain types of English action verbs. Therefore it can be helpful to refer to those stative verbs that are identifiers in their language as ‘copulative verbs’.

We can now state that these “other verbs that translate into English as certain types of English action verbs” are typically translated into English by verbs in the passive voice. Thus according to the current grammar, English stative verbs are copulative verbs. In a typical Hebrew grammar, the class of Hebrew stative verbs will include copulative verbs and other verbs that are not copulative verbs but correspond to English action verbs in the passive voice.

11.2 MIDDLE VOICE It is normally held that no true middle voice occurs in English, so it is difficult to describe what it is. In Greek there is a third voice called the middle voice. In Hebrew niphal and hitpael verb forms may correspond in sense to a middle voice, though most Hebrew introductions do not mention this. Not surprisingly middle voice verbs are not explained well in many grammars of Greek or Hebrew. At the time of writing, there are very active discussions re-evaluating the role and meaning of the Greek middle voice. The sense that comes with the particularly English auxiliary verb ‘get’ can often approximate the sense of the middle voice in these other languages. Consider: 1. The children are getting dressed. This sentence is true when either: 2. The children are dressing themselves. or: 3. The children are being dressed [by someone else]. The verb formation ‘are getting dressed’, as it is used in sentence 1, is like a middle voice verb in Greek or Hebrew. The sentence has a clear meaning. However, compared to an ordinary active voice verb or an ordinary passive voice verb, there is something different about the relationship between the subject and the action of the verb. Is the action of the verb carried out by the subject (as for an active voice verb)? Or is the action carried out onto the subject (as for a passive voice verb)? Without more information about what the situation is, we cannot tell. Nevertheless we know

VOICE OF VERBS

77

what is happening: children plus clothes resulting in clothed children. The agent of the action may or may not be the subject in this type of middle voice equivalent. It is this ambiguity for an English reader that may be associated with the middle voice of other languages. Sentence 2 would be classed in English as having an active voice verb, because the subject, ‘the children’, is doing the dressing. Sentence 3 would be classed in English as having a passive voice verb, because the subject, ‘the children’, is being dressed by some other agent. Some English grammars will declare that English verbs involving forms of the auxiliary verb ‘get’ are all passive voice verbs, but that is not always so. Using the procedure explained in this grammar, it would be possible to argue that sentence 1 has an active voice verb, ‘are getting dressed’, with a subject, ‘the children’. Consider: 4. The maxi yacht set sail at first light. 5. The maxi yacht sailed at first light. Both sentences 4 and 5 have active voice verbs in English. In sentence 4 the verb is ‘set sail’, and in 5 the verb is ‘sailed’. In both of these sentences the yachts are not sailing themselves, but are being sailed by somebody. Nevertheless the yachts are sailing away. They are performing action, hence ‘maxi yacht’ is the subject in both sentences and the verbs are in the English active voice. Yet the subject is clearly not the principal actor in either sentence; some type of action is somehow being done to the subject by some unidentified agent. This idea is like the action of “getting dressed” that we discussed above. This is the type of meaning that middle voice verbs might have. 6. The new toys are selling well. 7. The new toys are getting sold quickly. In sentence 6 ‘are selling’ looks like an active voice verb, but toys do not do any selling. This type of expression in English is also similar to the middle voice expressions in Greek and Hebrew. Sentence 6 has the meaning of sentence 7 which uses the auxiliary verb ‘get’, and could itself be translated using a middle voice. Because the middle voice is not thought of as a common English feature, Greek and Hebrew grammars will often either (i) ignore the problem by translating the verb as a very clear active voice verb or else as a very clear passive voice verb, or (ii) use an uncommon English expression to translate the middle voice. For example, a Greek grammar might recommend that a middle voice verb be translated using an English active voice form with the additional words ‘for myself’, ‘for yourself’, ‘for him/ her/ itself’ and so on, according to the person and number of the Greek verb.

In French, for example, there are a large number of verbs called reflexive verbs. These French verbs always have a reflexive pronoun associated with them. They are usually translated into English without using a reflexive pronoun and by using English active voice verb forms, often combinations with the auxiliary verb ‘get’. Such French

78

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

reflexive verbs correspond in general to the effect of putting a Greek or Hebrew verb in the middle voice. Perhaps we should add a middle voice to the description of English verbs, where various combinations of the verbs such as ‘get’ and ‘set’ serve as an English middle voice.

11.3 DEPONENCY The grammatical term ‘deponent’ comes from the Latin verb ‘depono’ meaning “put aside”. A verb is said to be deponent when it has put aside or lost its active voice spelling during the development of the language, and so has come to use the spelling of another voice to convey an active voice meaning. The concept of deponency does apply historically to a number of common Latin verbs, which lost their active voice spellings, came to use passive voice spellings to convey active meanings, and act as true active voice forms. It is frequently stated in Greek grammars that there are quite a few important Greek verbs that have middle or passive spellings but active voice meanings. These verbs are usually called ‘deponent verbs’. However this is a generally incorrect description of Greek verbs. Because we do not usually think of English verbs as having a real middle voice, and there are real active and passive voices in English, it is tempting to consider the Greek middle voice as some sort of compromise between the active and passive. Indeed the Greek middle does appear to have an in between sense, and so is “middle”. But historically in Greek, there were first two voices that did all of the work of Greek verbs: what we now call the active and middle voices. The passive voice forms developed later from middle voice forms. In fact many types of the regular Greek verb forms have continued to use a middle spelling for both the middle and (so-called) passive forms. It may be more accurate to regard the Greek middle voice like an umbrella voice that covers what we usually see written about both the middle and the passive voices. Then the so-called passive Greek verb spellings that are identical to the middle versions would most likely not be thought of by Greek users as a separate passive, but a normal type of use for a middle voice form. In the very extensive ancient Greek literature that is available to us today, there are many Greek verbs that do not have active voice forms, but use middle voice forms routinely. However it is apparently not the case that most such Greek verbs laid aside an earlier active voice spelling so that now their middle or passive voice forms have to convey a supposedly lost active meaning. This otherwise obscure historical point has an important consequence for how we might describe certain common Greek verb forms. As B. Taylor argues in “Deponency and Greek Lexicography” in “Biblical Greek Language and Lexicography: essays in honor of Frederick W. Danker” deponency of Greek verbs is an erroneous category. We would do better to have a more finely tuned understanding in English of the Greek middle voice than to follow a Latin related and anachronistic classification of certain common Greek verbs as deponent. Currently the majority of introductory Greek grammars teach deponency as if it were a correct description of certain Greek verbs.

VOICE OF VERBS

79

Deponency is not a topic commonly discussed in Hebrew grammars because it is not usually considered characteristic of Hebrew verbs.

12. TENSE OF VERBS 12.1 PRESENT TENSE, FUTURE TENSE AND PAST TENSE Action verbs indicate the action of the sentence. Stative verbs indicate a correspondence or equivalence between the subject and complement. In this section we usually refer to action verbs and statives by referring to “action or correspondence”. An expression like “when an action occurs” or “when things occur” is used alone as shorthand and apply to both action and stative verbs. What do verb forms indicate about the time when the action or correspondence occurs? Possible English verb forms are abundant. Grammars have used a variety of names for them. We only consider the basic notions of verb forms in this handbook. One of the most difficult hurdles for those who learn English as a second language is to understand the subtleties of the English verbal system. Even many who speak English as their first language do not use the full variety of English verb forms. In part this can largely be unnoticed because there is some flexibility in the use of English verbs. What is not achieved by choosing a certain English verb form might be conveyed by other words used within a written passage or a dialogue. By noting the verb forms used in a text we might be able to answer such questions as: Did things occur before something else occurred in the past? Are they going on now? Have they finished? Is it left open whether they are still going on? Will they have finished when something else happens in the future? Tense and aspect of verbs address these matters. Basic to the notion of tense is the idea of time. Broadly, we think of three times when things occur: in the past in the present in the future. Consequently we can speak of verbs as being in a past tense, a present tense, or a future tense. English has simple or basic forms that are in past, present and future tenses. For example:

81

82

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS Verb

Simple Past

Simple Present

Basic Future

think

they thought

they think

they will think

swim

you swam

you swim

you will swim

call

we called

we call

we will call

be

he was

he is

he will be

have

she had

she has

she will have

do

it did

it does

it will do

get

I got

I get

I will get

Notice that the English basic future tense uses an auxiliary verb ‘will’. English often combines one or more auxiliary verbs with the principal verb to form the tenses of the principal verb. Remember (from sections 7.2.2 and 7.2.3): An English verb that is composed of just one spelt word is called a simple verb. A verb that is made up of two or more spelt words may be called a composite verb. Composite verbs use one or more auxiliary verbs to help the principal verb convey the meaning desired. Thus more strictly, in the above table the past and present verb forms given are “simple verbs” while the future verbs are “composite verbs”. Composite verbs can allow considerable subtlety concerning when things occur in relation to when other things occur.

12.2 PLUPERFECT TENSE: English, Latin and Greek have a set of special verb forms to indicate that action has taken place even before some other action that has taken place in the past. It is the pluperfect tense. The pluperfect tense is used to show that something occurred before action described by an ordinary past tense. The English pluperfect tense uses the past tense spelling, ‘had’, of the auxiliary verb ‘have’ to create the pluperfect tense. Verb

Simple Past

Pluperfect

think swim call be have do get

they thought you swam we called he was she had it did I got

they had thought you had swum we had called he had been she had had it had done I had got(ten)

TENSE OF VERBS

83

Consider the following examples of uses of different past tenses in English. Verbs in the pluperfect tense are in bold, and other verbs are in italics. 1. You had swum in this pool many times in practice before you swam in it in the race last week. 2. Robin had been here and had already left before Terry was here. 3. He had already gone away for the canoe trip before we arrived, so he did not hear the good news until this morning. 4. The agent was there when we arrived. He had arrived an hour before our train arrived.

12.3 EXAMPLES OF TENSE FORMS OF THE VERB ‘DO’ Let us assign tenses to the table of examples of the verb ‘do’ in section 11.1 above. Verb Tense type

Sentence with the verb in the Active voice

Corresponding sentence with the verb in the Passive voice

Present

I do this.

This is done by me.

You do this.

This is done by you.

He does this.

This is done by him.

She does this.

This is done by her.

We do this.

This is done by us.

They do this.

This is done by them.

I am doing this.

This is being done by me.

You are doing this.

This is being done by you.

He is doing this.

This is being done by him.

She is doing this.

This is being done by her.

We are doing this.

This is being done by us.

They are doing this.

This is being done by them.

I will do this.

This will be done by me.

You will do this.

This will be done by you.

He will do this.

This will be done by him.

She will do this.

This will be done by her.

We will do this.

This will be done by us.

They will do this.

This will be done by them.

Future

84 Verb Tense type

Past

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS Sentence with the verb in the Active voice

Corresponding sentence with the verb in the Passive voice

I will be doing this.

This will be being done by me.

You will be doing this.

This will be being done by you.

He will be doing this.

This will be being done by him.

She will be doing this.

This will be being done by her.

We will be doing this.

This will be being done by us.

They will be doing this.

This will be being done by them.

I was doing this.

This was being done by me.

You were doing this.

This was being done by you.

He was doing this.

This was being done by him.

She was doing this.

This was being done by her.

We were doing this.

This was being done by us.

They were doing this.

This was being done by them.

I did this.

This was done by me.

You did this.

This was done by you.

He did this.

This was done by him.

She did this.

This was done by her.

We did this.

This was done by us.

They did this.

This was done by them.

I have done this.

This has been done by me.

You have done this.

This has been done by you.

He has done this.

This has been done by him.

She has done this.

This has been done by her.

We have done this.

This has been done by us.

They have done this.

This has been done by them.

I have been doing this.

This has been being done by me.

You have been doing this.

This has been being done by you.

He has been doing this.

This has been being done by him.

TENSE OF VERBS Verb Tense type

Past: Pluperfect

85

Sentence with the verb in the Active voice

Corresponding sentence with the verb in the Passive voice

She has been doing this.

This has been being done by her.

We have been doing this.

This has been being done by us.

They have been doing this.

This has been being done by them.

I had done this.

This had been done by me.

You had done this.

This had been done by you.

He had done this.

This had been done by him.

She had done this.

This had been done by her.

We had done this.

This had been done by us.

They had done this.

This had been done by them.

I had been doing this.

This had been being done by me.

You had been doing this.

This had been being done by you.

He had been doing this.

This had been being done by him.

She had been doing this.

This had been being done by her.

We had been doing this.

This had been being done by us.

They had been doing this.

This had been being done by them.

Exercise 17: Convert the verbs in these sentences to the future: Verbs in a future tense 1. When did it rain? When will it rain? 2. Why have you come? Why will you come? 3. What did the messengers report? What will the messengers report? 4. How were they given those items?

86

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS Verbs in a future tense How will they be given those items?

5. Are there only questions and more questions? Will there only be questions and more questions? Exercise 18: Convert the verbs in these sentences to a past tense: Verbs in a past tense 1. The rabbis are discussing the matter. The rabbis were discussing the matter. 2. David Crystal writes very helpful books on linguistics. David Crystal has written very helpful books on linguistics. 3. A full load is being delivered to the warehouse. A full load was being delivered to the warehouse. 4. Computers will be the future. Computers were the future. 5. Surfing is an ocean sport. Surfing was an ocean sport

12.4 TENSE IN GREEK AND HEBREW In Greek there are tenses of the verbs that can be used to indicate when an action occurs. Greek tense forms may also used to convey what is called aspect of the verb. In Biblical Hebrew it may be argued that there are no specific verb tenses whose strict purpose is to show whether something occurred in the past, present or future. Other means are then used in Hebrew to show the relative time of events. In some

TENSE OF VERBS

87

Hebrew grammars written in English, two verb tenses, a past and a future, are often taught. This is more a device to help English readers than something basic to the Hebrew verb system. The senses of completed action and incompleted action more closely fit the functions of Hebrew verbs. It has been considered more informative to name the two main Hebrew “tenses”: ‘perfect’ (perfected, completed action) and ‘imperfect’ (imperfected, incompleted action). This approach has more to do with verbal aspect than simple time sequence of action, which is conveyed by verbal tense. But that is not the full story of Hebrew verb tenses, actual and de facto, so let us be cautious about sending Hebrew temporal tense distinctions to the aspect only grouping.

13. ASPECT OF VERBS Remember that tense of verbs has to do with issues such as when things occur (in the past, the present or the future) in relation to other things. Aspect of verbs is another way of providing information about when or how things happen in relation to other things happening. Basic to the notion of aspect is the sense of duration (Does it last a long time or is it over rapidly?) and completion or incompletion (Does it keep going? Does it recur? Do we have a sense of when it started? Can we tell whether it has finished or not?) In discussions of aspect, an expression like the “point of view of the speaker or writer” is often used, since the senses of duration and completion or incompletion of action are being considered from the point of view of the narrator. Aspect has more to do with issues such as whether things have finished occurring before some other thing starts, whether things are going on while some other thing is occurring, whether something completely starts and finishes within the time something else is going on, whether something is being repeated, or has just begun. The Slav languages (for example Russian and Bulgarian) do have specific forms of verbs to distinguish differences in verbal aspect and not just tense. There are thus verb forms used to imply that an action is completed or will be completed (the set of perfective forms) and others that imply that an action is incompleted, continuing, habitual or repeated (the imperfective forms) (for more details see the book by Papantchev on Bulgarian listed in the bibliography). Concepts such as these below are therefore important in aspect: action completed (thus perfective) incompleted — action not obviously completed (thus imperfective) continuous — going on concurrently (thus imperfective) iterative, frequentative — repeatedly going on (thus imperfective) inceptive — it just began (thus imperfective) habitual — it used to happen habitually (thus imperfective) semelfactive — occurs once (thus perfective) Latin has an imperfect tense to show incompleted action with respect to the past and a perfect tense to show completed action in the past. For these two Latin tenses both aspect and time are conveyed. However when they are translated into English the distinctions are not always clear from the well chosen English verb forms, because the English verb forms can be used in a variety of ways. For example, a particular Latin verb for “make” in the active voice could be translated into English:

89

90

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS i) from the imperfect tense by: he was making He was making a cake yesterday. he began to make He began to make a cake at 5 o’clock. he used to make He used to make a cake every day. he would make [routinely] He would make a cake every morning. he made He made a cake every morning. ii) from the perfect tense by: he has made He has made only one cake, ever. he did make He did make a cake yesterday. he made He made his first cake yesterday.

Notice ‘he made’ could be used in English to convey what in Latin in one tense is an incompleted action with respect to the past, and also in another Latin tense a completed action in the past. What do we see in English concerning this type of distinction in verbs? Much could be set out about the English verbal system, but that would not be within the scope of this book. There are verb forms that are clearly continuous, and others that are more suited to other types of description of action. In the present tense in English we have such things as: A simple present:

It does

It finishes

A continuous present:

It is doing

It is finishing

A present perfect:

It is done

It is finished

It is possible to look at these three verb forms and decide that there are three types of aspect involved. It is also possible to understand them in other ways. Probably most would agree that the second form, the continuous present tense, “it is doing”, is an example of an imperfective aspect because it has a continuous sense of action. Just as there is unresolved debate about the aspect of English verb forms, there is much unresolved about aspect of Biblical Hebrew and Greek verbs. In Greek the tense forms are now thought to convey aspect as well. Just what verbal aspect is and how the tenses relate to aspect in Ancient Greek are being seriously re-evaluated by Greek language scholars. It seems that every writer on the topic has a unique way of describing and subdividing what aspect is, how many aspects Greek distinguishes (are there two, two and a half, or three?), and how aspect might be used in Biblical Greek. There are some who argue that Greek verbs should only be understood as having aspect and not a regular temporal sense. T. Evans has set out some of the issues and perspectives of the main writers in “Future Directions for Aspect Studies in Ancient Greek” in Biblical Greek Language and Lexicography: essays in honor of Frederick W. Danker edited by Bernard A. Taylor et al. In so far as formal grammatical treatment of the concept of aspect for Greek verbs seems to have grown from the 1800s as interest in general linguistics (what human languages have in common) rose, rather than from a more ancient pedigree, and as there is no general agreement of how aspect is treated in Greek, perhaps the matter of Ancient Greek aspect should be treated with some caution.

ASPECT OF VERBS

91

Following Evans, three things seem to have to be taken into account to sort out what is conveyed about the action of the verb in relation to other events: 1. Lexical meaning (the “dictionary meaning”): the normal meaning of the verb may be associated with a certain type of action. (i) Snap! Note that the meaning of the verb itself is sufficient to convey a sudden and completed action. In discussions of aspect, verbs like ‘snap’ with implicit quick action are sometimes called semelfactive as opposed to iterative or repetitive. 2. Linguistic context: the way a verb is used in the particular passage can affect our understanding of the action of the verb in this instance. Note that when adverbs like ‘suddenly’, ‘repeatedly’, ‘always’ ‘usually’, ‘often’ are used with a verb they affect the perception of what type of action is being portrayed. Other additional words besides adverbs can have a similar affect. For example: (i) They sneezed suddenly. — gives the idea of a single action that is limited in time, hence perfective aspect;

(ii) They sneezed repeatedly. — gives the idea of a repeated action, hence imperfective aspect;

(iii) They sneezed whenever they saw bright sunshine. — gives the idea of recurrent action, hence imperfective aspect.

3. Tense form chosen for the verb. This is more where the debates about Greek verb spelling in relation to tense and aspect are taking place. Evans points out that it was once often thought that the Greek past tense called the aorist conveys that the action of the verb is punctilliar and Greek verbs in the present tense convey action that is durative. He notes that most Greek scholars no longer hold to this idea, and that it will take some time for the text and reference books to report that. Hebrew verb forms are at once easy to understand and use but difficult to classify strictly according to English grammar conventions. We repeat here what we noted in the section on tense about Hebrew: In Biblical Hebrew it may be argued that there are no specific verb tenses whose strict purpose is to show whether something occurred in the past, present or future. Other means are then used in Hebrew to show the relative time of events. In some Hebrew grammars written in English, two verb tenses, a past and a future, are often taught. This is more a device to help English readers than something basic to the Hebrew verb system. The senses of completed action and incompleted action more closely fit the functions of Hebrew verbs. It has been considered more informative to name the two main Hebrew “tenses”: “perfect” (perfected, completed action) and “imperfect” (imperfected, incompleted action). This approach has more to do with verbal aspect than simple time sequence of action, which is conveyed by verbal tense. But that is not the full story of Hebrew verb

92

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

tenses, actual and de facto, so let us be cautious about sending Hebrew temporal tense distinctions to the aspect only grouping.

14. MOOD OF VERBS 14.1 INDICATIVE MOOD, IMPERATIVE MOOD AND SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD Another way of classifying verbs is by assigning “mood”. There are two moods used very commonly today in English: the indicative mood and the imperative mood. A third less often noticed mood is the subjunctive mood. The indicative mood indicates what is/ was/ will be the case. The imperative mood commands what must be the case. The subjunctive mood presents what might be the case. Verbs used in ordinary descriptions are in the indicative mood. Verbs used for commands are in the imperative mood. Verbs used for wishes, some conditionals and some hypotheticals are put in the subjunctive mood, there is not always a different spelling available especially for the subjunctive. English speakers who think they never use a true subjunctive form, would have heard the otherwise impossible, “If I were you ...” The verb ‘were’ is the verb ‘be’ put into the subjunctive mood. Another example with a true subjunctive form of the same verb is: “If that be the case, then ...” The composite verb forms using the auxiliary verbs “would”, “could”, “may”, “might”, and “should” can be thought of as subjunctive forms in English. English has a well developed and detailed set of verb forms used in many complex ways. As this book is a basic introduction to English verbs for students of Greek, Latin and Hebrew and related languages, there is no need to go into the structure and uses of English composite verbs here. Examples of subjunctives: 1. I wish that it were true. 2. May it be so! 3. They might win. 4. If she could have known, it would be different now. 5. If you would like to go, you should leave this afternoon with us. 6. Let us talk now, so that we might understand what happened better. Some grammars will identify a separate conditional mood, but in this grammar the conditional forms are considered to be examples of the subjunctive mood. French is a language that has distinct indicative, imperative, conditional and subjunctive verb forms. Some English grammars will refer to the “infinitive mood” or “infinitival mood” when describing the infinitive forms of verbs. (The infinitive form is when the verb has 93

94

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

the word ‘to’ in front of it, like the verb forms ‘to go’, ‘to be’, ‘to think’.) The infinitive form is not considered a mood in this book and is discussed in the section on nonfinite verbs below. It is important to note that what might be put in one mood in English might be found in another mood in another language.

14.2 OPTATIVE MOOD IN GREEK Greek employs the three moods, indicative, imperative and subjunctive, and another mood called the optative mood. New Testament Greek has hardly any verbs in the optative mood.

14.3 HEBREW MOODS Hebrew does have special imperative forms for verbs. But these are not the only Hebrew verb forms used to convey imperatives. The other Hebrew verb forms are not usually classified according to mood. They cover the range of what we would think of as the indicative and subjunctive in English, and also, in certain situations, the imperative. There is not always a simple correspondence between a particular Hebrew verb form and just one of the English moods, indicative, subjunctive or even sometimes the imperative. Hence Hebrew verbs can be translated into English using whatever English mood suits the context well. This helps account for some of the quite different English translations of Hebrew poetry in print today.

15. SUMMARY OF COMPONENTS OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE: ONE SUBJECT AND PREDICATE After allowing for any words understood (section 5.7), we may consider simple sentences in the following ways.

15.1. THE SIMPLE SENTENCE The simple sentence is composed of only one subject plus only one predicate We can identify two simple sentence types: The basic simple sentence, and The expanded simple sentence.

15.2. THE BASIC SIMPLE SENTENCE + The Subject

Subject must have at least one subject word Each subject word is a noun or pronoun

+ The Predicate Predicate must have a finite verb

15.3. THE EXPANDED SIMPLE SENTENCE + The Subject Subject must have at least one subject word Each subject word is a noun or pronoun Subject may include adjectives qualifying a subject word Subject may include adverbs modifying adjectives in the subject Subject may include adverbs modifying adverbs that are modifying adjectives in the subject + The Predicate Predicate must have a finite verb Predicate may include adverbs modifying the finite verb in the predicate Predicate may include adverbs modifying adverbs that are modifying the verb When the verb is transitive predicate must include a direct object Direct object must have at least one direct object word Each direct object word is a noun or pronoun 95

96

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS Direct object may include adjectives qualifying a direct object word Direct object may include adverbs modifying adjectives in the direct object Direct object may include adverbs modifying adverbs that are modifying adjectives in the direct object If the verb is an action verb predicate may include an indirect object An English indirect object may or may not be a phrase starting with ‘to’ or ‘for’ Indirect object must have at least one indirect object word Each indirect object word is a noun or pronoun Indirect object may include adjectives qualifying an indirect object word Indirect object may include adverbs modifying adjectives in the indirect object Indirect object may include adverbs modifying adverbs that are modifying adjectives in the indirect object When the verb is an English stative verb predicate nearly always includes a complement. Complement may include adjectives qualifying the subject word(s) Complement may include adverbs modifying adjectives that are in the complement qualifying the subject word(s) Complement may include adverbs modifying adverbs that are modifying adjectives that are in the complement qualifying the subject words Complement may include nouns or pronouns Complement may include adjectives qualifying a noun or pronoun that is in the complement Complement may include adverbs modifying adjectives that are in the complement qualifying a noun or pronoun which is also in the complement Complement may include adverbs modifying adverbs that are modifying adjectives that are in the complement qualifying a noun or pronoun also in the complement.

16. PARTS OF SPEECH II We have already come across five parts of speech: verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives and adverbs. In this section we introduce the remaining three English parts of speech: prepositions, conjunctions and interjections.

16.1 PHRASES I: PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES Remember, from section 3, that, by definition, a phrase does not have a finite verb. 16.1.1 Adjectival phrases beginning with a preposition Consider: 1. That brown-hatted gentleman over there has been waiting for you. 2. That gentleman with the brown hat over there has been waiting for you. In the first sentence, ‘brown-hatted’ qualifies the noun ‘gentleman’. Notice that we can replace the adjective ‘brown-hatted’ with the phrase ‘with the brown hat’ and keep the same meaning. The phrase ‘with the brown hat’ in sentence 2 is acting just like the adjective ‘brown-hatted’ in the first sentence. We can therefore call the phrase ‘with the brown hat’ an adjectival phrase. 16.1.2 Adverbial phrases beginning with a preposition 3. The gangster struck the waiter forcefully. 4. The gangster struck the waiter with force. In sentence 3 the adverb ‘forcefully’ modifies the verb ‘struck’ as it tells us how the action of striking occurred. Similarly in sentence 4 the phrase ‘with force’ modifies the verb ‘struck’ as it tells us how the action of striking occurred. Thus the phrase ‘with force’ is acting adverbially. It is an adverbial phrase in sentence 4. 16.1.3 Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases The phrase ‘with the brown hat’ in sentence 2 starts with the word ‘with’ and ends with a noun, the word ‘hat’. In sentence 4 the phrase ‘with force’ also starts with the word ‘with’ and ends with a noun, the word ‘force’. The word ‘with’ in these phrases is called a preposition and the phrases ‘with the brown hat’ and ‘with force’ are prepositional phrases. The preposition governs the noun or pronoun in its own prepositional phrase. This is an important concept, especially for Greek and Latin, and will be considered further in the section on case. Some other grammars state that a noun governed by a preposition is the object of the preposition. 97

98

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS Prepositional phrases start with a preposition and end in a noun or a pronoun. The preposition governs the noun or pronoun in its prepositional phrase. Prepositional phrases function either adjectivally or adverbially.

There are quite a few prepositions in English. Some of them are used as adverbs as well. Table of some common prepositions: above around beneath down into on through up

across at beside for near onto to upon

after before besides from nearby out towards with

against behind by in of outside under within

Along Below Despite Inside Off Over Underneath Without

Note: Some spell ‘towards’ ‘toward’. Many grammars treat combinations of words as a single preposition. There is no doubt that various single prepositions in Greek, Latin and Hebrew are translated well into English using a set combination of words. Some of these combinations in English do function as prepositions, others may be combinations of an English prepositional phrase followed by a preposition. Table of some multi-word “prepositions”: according to away from because of down from down to except for

less than more than next to out of outside of up to

as far as by means of for the purpose of for the sake of in front of in relation to

in the circumstance of on account of on behalf of on this side of with respect to on condition of

Note: The US combination ‘off of’ often corresponds to ‘off’ or ‘from’ elsewhere.

16.2 CONJUNCTIONS Conjunctions are the glue used in English to join sentences, phrases and individual words together. Probably the most common conjunction is the word ‘and’. Examples of ‘and’ as a conjunction: 1. Joining two adjectives: Good and bad consequences followed. 2. Joining two nouns: With great care and speed the surgeon removed the impediment. 3. Joining two adverbs: The time went quickly and quietly.

PARTS OF SPEECH II

99

4. Joining two pronouns: The gift was to him and her. 5. Joining two prepositions: Runners ran up and down the hills in the long distance race. 6. Joining two phrases: The family left in a good mood and with renewed hope. 7. Joining two sentences by joining two finite verbs: The moon waxes monthly. The moon wanes monthly. The moon waxes and wanes monthly. Two other very common conjunctions are ‘but’ and ‘or’. The conjunction ‘or’ is often used with another conjunction ‘either’. The negative conjunctions ‘neither’ and ‘nor’ are also used together. ‘Neither’ effectively means “not either”, and ‘nor’ means “and not”. 8. Slowly but surely they crept along the hall. 9. The speech was delivered well, but the sound equipment did not work properly. 10. Is it here or not? 11. Take it or leave it. 12. Either take it or leave it. That’s our final offer. 13. Neither you nor I knows what will really happen in the game tomorrow. 14. It is neither blue nor green. It is yellow. Other important types of conjunctions are discussed in section 33.

16.3 INTERJECTIONS In a sense interjections are the left over category of English parts of speech. They are the words (or written sounds) that are injected into normal speech, as exclamations of some sort. Words like ‘oh’, ‘ooh’, ‘ah’, ‘aha’, ‘wow’, ‘ow’, ‘ouch’, ‘hmm’ are interjections. They are often followed by an exclamation mark either immediately or at the end of the sentence that they start. 1. Oh, what shall we do? 2. Ah, how beautiful the sky is tonight! 3. Aha! I knew it! 4. Ouch! That hurt. 5. Hmm, I wonder ... (Almost no dictionaries or grammars would recognise ‘hmm’ as a word, but it is a common and meaningful part of current English.) It is possible to use a phrase or a sentence as an interjection. When that is done the normal meaning of the phrase or sentence is often, but not always, set aside. If set aside, the interjection becomes just an exclamatory sound. 6. I say! What a catch! 7. Mercy be, they have come back! 8. Good gracious, what a beautiful sound that is!

100

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Note that the normal division of a simple sentence into a subject and predicate does not include interjections. When we analyse a simple sentence we should first identify any interjections, then proceed to identify the subject and predicate.

16.4 PARTS OF SPEECH SUMMARY I Verbs express an action or the state of things. Nouns name beings, things and ideas. Common nouns name general categories of items. Collective nouns are common nouns that name collections of categories. Proper nouns name particular people or items. Adjectives qualify nouns or pronouns. Pronouns are a small group of general words that can replace nouns. A pronoun points out a person, place, thing or quality (a being, thing or idea) without naming it. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and sometimes other adverbs. Prepositions introduce phrases that do not contain finite verbs, phrases that act adjectivally or adverbially and end in a noun or pronoun. Conjunctions connect words, phrases, (simple) sentences and even passages and books. Interjections are injected into sentences as exclamations.

16.5 GRAMMAR AND TRANSLATION ISSUES: TRANSLATING AND PARTS OF SPEECH

It is very important to note that some parts of speech in another language might not be translated into English using the same parts of speech. A single noun in Greek, Latin or Hebrew, for example, might be accurately translated by an English phrase composed of three parts of speech: a preposition, plus the indefinite article ‘a’, plus a noun. Consequently we have to recognize the Greek parts of speech when looking at a text in Greek, the Hebrew parts of speech when looking at a text in Hebrew, and so on for other languages, and the English parts of speech when looking at a text in English.

17. CASE 17.1 NOMINATIVE CASE (SUBJECTIVE CASE) AND ACCUSATIVE CASE (OBJECTIVE CASE) Case is very important for understanding Greek, Latin and many of their modern descendents. Case can also be helpful for understanding Hebrew, although many Hebrew grammars will not describe Hebrew using the concept of case. Early in the development of English, case played a more important part than it does today. The use and understanding of cases in English is different from how cases are used and understood in Greek, Latin and Hebrew. Case applies especially to nouns, adjectives and pronouns. Case is determined by the function of a word in a real sentence. In English, the subject word of a sentence is said to be in the nominative case (or subjective case) because it is the subject word of the sentence. In English, the direct object word of a sentence is said to be in the accusative case (also called the objective case) because it is the object word of the sentence. Remember that the object word is all or an essential part of the direct object. In English, a noun or a pronoun that is governed by a preposition in a prepositional phrase is said to be in the accusative case (or objective case). Only occasionally does the spelling of an English word today change because it is in the accusative case. For example the spelling ‘he’ is used for this pronoun when it is the subject word, while the spelling ‘him’ is used for this pronoun when it is the object word. However, for most words in English, to see whether each one is the subject or direct object of a verb, we have to rely on their position in the word order of the sentence. Examples: Nominative (subjective) case for a subject of a verb (will be going); 1. She will be going there soon. 2. Nancy will be going there soon. Accusative (objective) case for a direct object of a verb (told): 3. That person told her. 4. That person told Nancy. Accusative (objective) case after a preposition (to): 5. Generous gifts were given to her. 6. Generous gifts were given to Nancy. 101

102

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

The accusative case in Greek or Latin is very often indicated by putting a certain ending on the Greek or Latin word which is different from the ending of that word when it is the subject of the verb. So, when this spelling change occurs to fit the case in Greek or Latin, it may be easy to tell which word is the subject and which word is the direct object of a verb in a particular sentence. In languages like Latin and Greek the spellings of nouns, adjectives and pronouns usually change according to the spelling of the particular case each word is assigned in each sentence. That means that case endings (spelling) can be used to help decide which function nouns, adjectives and pronouns have in actual Greek and Latin sentences. Word order is still quite important in both languages for indicating how words are related to each other in each sentence. 17.2 Possessive case (genitive case) and apostrophes In English, there is a third case that is in common use: the possessive case (also called the genitive case). English words change their spelling when they are in the possessive case. 1. That is Mary’s book. Notice that the proper noun ‘Mary’ changes its spelling to show that the book belongs to Mary. An apostrophe and then the letter s are added to the spelling to spell which is the possessive form of . Likewise with ‘Canada’, ‘Jim’ and ‘school’: 2. Canada’s common boundary with the U.S. is very long. 3. Jim’s school’s new anthem was just played on the radio. To put singular nouns into the possessive case in English we add ’s What is the difference between these two sentences? 4. Our friend’s papers are still here. 5. Our friends’ papers are still here. Clearly the only visual difference is the location of the apostrophe. In sentence 4 the apostrophe comes immediately before the s of the possessive ending. In sentence 5 the apostrophe comes immediately after the s of the possessive ending. This difference is a very important one, for it affects the meaning of the sentence. It is a difference that many fluent speakers of English do not seem to know. Remember: To put singular nouns into the possessive case in English we add ’s Thus sentence 4 should mean that papers of one person, who is our friend, are still here. What about the s followed by the apostrophe? The convention in English spelling is: To put plural nouns whose plural spelling ends in an s into the possessive case in English we only add an apostrophe ’

CASE

103

thus: The spelling means of, or belonging to one friend (singular), while The spelling means of, or belonging to friends (plural). Note that the rules above apply to actual nouns, not to the possessive case of personal pronouns. Possessive pronouns do not have apostrophes at all — see sections 21 and 24.1. 17.2.1 Deciphering strategy for the possessive case A way to check whether you have the singular or plural word in possessive form is to simply remove the apostrophe and what comes after it. What is left should be a real English word that is either singular or plural. Can you think of a way of not having any apostrophes in sentences 4 and 5 below without changing the meaning? 4. Our friend’s papers are still here. 5. Our friends’ papers are still here. 4 becomes: 5 becomes:

6. The papers of our friend are still here. 7. The papers of our friends are still here.

Removing the apostrophe and what comes after it, creating a phrase using the preposition ‘of’ and changing the word order allows us to have a new sentence that means the same as the original. That can give us a way of checking whether we were correct in understanding the possessive. [xxx]’s corresponds to and means of [xxx] [xxx]s’ corresponds to and means of [xxx]s If someone’s proper name ends in an s, we can decide to make it into a possessive case spelling the usual way, by adding ’s. However if we don’t want to say a series of s sounds we could just add an apostrophe. Notice that the deciphering strategy for the possessive case given above still works whether we add ’s or simply add an apostrophe to a name ending in s: For : and are both possible possessive forms. Following the rule we get in both cases. Note that would give the deciphering result not the correct . So is not a correct spelling of the possessive of but it would be correct for the name if it exists. Exercise 19: For each possessive case spelling choose the correct corresponding prepositional phrase:

104

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Possessive forms Paul’s journey Paul’s journeys Mary’s cousin their house’s windows their houses’ windows Jerusalem’s hills The Johnson’s house The Johnsons’ house Johnson’s house

Possessive forms

Prepositional phrases (the) journey of Paul (the) journeys of Paul a journey of Paul’s a cousin of Mary’s a cousin of Mary (the) windows of their houses (the) windows of their house (the) windows of their houses’ (the) hills of Jerusalem (the) hills of Jerusalem’s The house of the Johnson The house of the Johnsons (The) house of Johnson Corresponding prepositional phrases

Paul’s journey (the) journey of Paul Paul’s journeys (the) journeys of Paul Mary’s cousin (a) cousin of Mary their house’s windows (the) windows of their house their houses’ windows (the) windows of their houses Jerusalem’s hills (the) hills of Jerusalem

CASE Possessive forms

105

Corresponding prepositional phrases

The Johnson’s house The house of the Johnson The Johnsons’ house The house of the Johnsons Johnson’s house (the) house of Johnson Notes: a journey of Paul’s would mean a cousin of Mary’s windows of their houses’ hills of Jerusalem’s

a journey of of Paul a cousin of of Mary windows of of their houses hills of of Jerusalem

the Johnson’s house means the house of the Johnson — improper, unless there is someone or something (like a company) called ‘the Johnson’. the Johnsons’ house correctly means the house of the Johnsons — where the Johnsons live, that is, where the Johnson family lives. Exercise 20: Convert the prepositional phrases into phrases with possessive forms using apostrophes: Prepositional phrases

Phrases using possessive spellings

the appearance of the suspect the suspect’s appearance editing of a film a film’s editing second son of the man the man’s second son

106

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Prepositional phrases

Phrases using possessive spellings

two gates of the wall the wall’s two gates eyes of a crow a crow’s eyes the noise of hooves (the) hooves’ noise joy of victory victory’s joy validity of an argument an argument’s validity the glasses of James James’s glasses the shields of some soldiers some soldiers’ shields the belongings of those people those people’s belongings the five members of this team this team’s five members Greek uses the genitive case very frequently. The Greek genitive case does function as a possessive case but also has other important uses. Hebrew is often described as having a genitive formation, but the way it is usually discussed is different from the way it has been described here. That is because the spelling change to a word in a genitive phrase is not made to the word that would have the apostrophe in English or be governed by the preposition ‘of’. The spelling change in a Hebrew “genitive phrase” is made to the word that in English would come before the word ‘of’. The expression ‘son of man’ in Hebrew would see a change of the word

CASE

107

‘son’ to mean ‘son of’, while the word ‘man’ would remain unchanged. The Hebrew for ‘son of’ has a spelling different from the spelling of the Hebrew word for “son”. The Hebrew “xxx of” form is called a construct and is said to be in the construct state. 17.2.2 Apostrophes that are not used to indicate the possessive case

17.2.2.1 ‘Its’ versus ‘It’s’: There are two words in English that have caused some confusion concerning the possessive case: ‘its’ and ‘it’s’.

17.2.2.1.1 ‘Its’ The word ‘its’ is the possessive case spelling of the pronoun ‘it’ and is used in sentences such as: 1. Its color is red. word ‘it’

meaning:

2. The color of the item that the refers to is red.

17.2.2.1.2 ‘It’s’ for ‘It is’ The word ‘it’s’ is nearly always an abbreviation for ‘it is’ and is nothing to do with the possessive form of ‘it’. ‘It’s’ standing for ‘it is’ is used in such sentences as: 3. It’s red.

meaning:

4. It is red.

17.2.2.2 ‘It’s been’ for ‘It has been’ There is a very common use of the word ‘it’s’ that is not usually given in grammar books: ‘it’s’ followed immediately by ‘been’, that is ‘it’s been’, is an abbreviation for ‘it has been’. 5. It’s been red for about ten minutes.

meaning:

6. It has been red for about ten minutes.

17.2.2.3 Other abbreviations for ‘has’ or ‘is’ In conversational rather than written English, other abbreviations of ‘has’ or ‘is’ are quite often used: For example: 7. School’s been out for two hours . means 9. Martha’s just arrived. 11. School’s over. 13. Martha’s here.

means means means

8. School has been out for two hours. 10. Martha has just arrived. 12. School is over. 14. Martha is here.

17.3 DATIVE CASE Another case used frequently in Greek and Latin is the dative case. The English indirect object corresponds most closely to a common use of the dative case. The English indirect object of a verb usually represented by the prepositional phrase ‘to xxx’ or ‘for xxx’ is often translated into Greek or Latin by putting the word ‘xxx’ into

108

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

the dative case — that is, changing the ending of the Greek or Latin word to a dative ending. There is no need in today’s English to appeal to more than the accusative case to analyse the English indirect object. The indirect object in the form ‘to xxx’ or ‘for xxx’ can be understood as being in the form of prepositional phrases. The prepositions ‘to’ and ‘for’ govern the noun or pronoun involved. Thus the English noun or pronoun is in the accusative case. Nevertheless, with historical warrant, many will describe the English indirect object as being in the dative case. 1. Saul spoke directly to his audience. ‘to his audience’ would go in the Greek dative 2. The guest brought a gift for them. ‘for them’ would go in the Greek dative

17.4 VOCATIVE CASE Greek and Latin have another case called the vocative case. The word ‘vocative’ is a close relative of the word ‘vocation’. Both come from the Latin verb for calling. When someone’s name is called out, the vocative case is used. 1. Hey Red Riding Hood, let me in! ‘Red Riding Hood’ in this sentence would be in the vocative case in Greek and Latin. Mostly in Greek the spelling of the noun in the vocative case is the same as it is when that noun is nominative. There are certain families of Greek nouns that change their spelling to show the vocative case. Hebrew has a form of a vocative. The Hebrew letter corresponding to the English ‘h’ is added to the beginning of the word in the vocative. Some Hebrew grammars will call this a vocative use of that letter, rather than of the noun itself. A few might refer to it as a vocative case spelling of the noun involved.

17.5 CASES FOLLOWING PREPOSITIONS A preposition governs the noun or pronoun in a prepositional phrase. In English the nouns or pronouns governed by prepositions are in the accusative (or objective) case. For example: 1. They are going with her. ‘with’ is the preposition governing ‘her’, and ‘her’ is the accusative (objective) case spelling of the pronoun ‘she’. 2. He has given life to us, forever. ‘to’ is the preposition governing ‘us’, and ‘us’ is the accusative case spelling of the pronoun ‘we’. In Greek nouns or pronouns governed by prepositions may be in the accusative, the genitive or the dative case, depending on the preposition. That is, the governed noun or pronoun is put in the case that the preposition characteristically takes after it. If a preposition can take more than one case, the preposition is usually considered to have different meanings for each case. In any one prepositional phrase the preposition takes only one case and has whatever the meaning associated with that case is.

CASE

109

Remember: Prepositional phrases start with a preposition and end in a noun or a pronoun. The preposition governs the noun or pronoun in the prepositional phrase. Prepositional phrases function either adjectivally or adverbially.

17.6 COMMON NT GREEK CASES The five cases above — the nominative, vocative, accusative, genitive and dative cases — are used heavily in New Testament Greek. Some grammars will list eight cases for Greek, based more on the history of the language, than on identifiable separate spellings and functions in the New Testament.

17.7 ABLATIVE AND LOCATIVE CASES IN LATIN Besides the well documented five cases discussed above, Latin has another very common case called the ablative case. It can be thought of as the “in, with, by” case. It is used both with and without prepositions to relate words to the rest of the sentence, often showing the circumstances in which, with which or by which something is so. Students will come across a locative case in both Latin and Greek, indicating the location where something is or occurs.

17.8 CASES IN HEBREW Because of the historical development of descriptions of Hebrew language, it is very uncommon for grammars to describe common spelling changes to a very large number of nouns as indicating cases. Instead prefixes and suffixes are usually discussed as if they were words themselves, even though they may be referred to as “inseparable prepositions” or “suffixes”. Nevertheless case indication is an easy way to understand many of the prefixes added to Hebrew nouns. Examples include showing such relationships as prepositional ones like “in”, “from”, “to”, “for”, and “with”. See the Glossary entries related to ‘case’ for more details on Hebrew cases.

18. PERSON 18.1 FIRST PERSON, SECOND PERSON AND THIRD PERSON Nouns, and words acting like them, have a grammatical feature called person. When they are the subject word(s) of a verb, that verb has the same person as the subject word(s). So: Nouns, pronouns and finite verbs have person. Formally, we can say that adjectives have person too, and their person would be the same as the person of the noun or pronoun that they qualify. However, in English and many other languages the spelling of adjectives does not change according to person, so this feature is usually not stated. In grammar there are three persons: the person of a noun or pronoun depends on how it is referred to. Grammatical Person

Description

Examples

1. First person

a person actually doing the talking or writing is said to be in the first person

I, me, we, us

2. Second person

a person or item being addressed is said to be in the second person

you, thou, thee

3. Third person

a person, or item being talked about or written about, but not addressed directly, is said to be in the third person

he, she, it, they, things, ideas

Consider these sentences: 1. We are writing to you about some friends. — The pronoun ‘we’ is in the first person, since whoever the ‘we’ stands for is doing the speaking. — The pronoun ‘you’ is in the second person, since whoever the ‘you’ stands for is being spoken to. — The noun ‘friends’ is in the third person, because the friends are being spoken about. — The verb ‘are writing’ is in the first person because its subject word, ‘we’, is in the first person.

111

112

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

2. In the auditorium the leader said to others in the audience, “We are writing to you about some friends.” — The noun ‘auditorium’ is in the third person because the reference is about the auditorium. — The noun ‘leader’ is in the third person, because this reference is about the leader. — The verb ‘said’ is in the third person because its subject word, ‘leader’ is in the third person. — The pronoun ‘others’ is also in the third person because this reference is about others. — The noun ‘audience’ is in the third person because this reference is about the audience. Within the words spoken to the audience: — The pronoun ‘we’ is in the first person, since whoever the ‘we’ stands for is doing the speaking. — The pronoun ‘you’ is in the second person, since whoever the ‘you’ stands for is being spoken to. — The noun ‘friends’ is in the third person, because the friends are being spoken about. — The verb ‘are writing’ is in the first person because its subject word, ‘we’, is in the first person.

18.2 NOUNS AND PERSON In English, Greek, Latin and Hebrew nearly all nouns are third person. Nouns referring to living beings that can communicate can be in the first, second or third person. In a given sentence when the nouns or pronouns refer to objects that cannot talk or write, those nouns or pronouns cannot be in the first person in the sentence. It is possible to talk directly to an inert (non-living) object, which would therefore be in the second person, but of course we should not expect any reply. (Think of someone like King Lear addressing and defying the storm in Shakespeare’s “King Lear” Act 3, scene ii.) Normally we only talk or write about inert objects; those objects would therefore be in the third person. In English the spelling of nouns does not change according to whether the noun is first, second or third person. This is also normally so in Greek, Latin, Hebrew and many other languages.

18.3 PRONOUNS AND PERSON Pronouns referring to the living may be first, second or third person. Pronouns referring to the inert (non-living) may be second or third person. The spelling of pronouns can change according to whether the pronoun is being used as first, second or third grammatical person, without changing the identity of the real person for whom the pronoun stands, the pronoun’s antecedent noun.

PERSON

113

Consider this dialog: Charles: Hi George, I’m Charles. It is good to meet you at last. George: Hello Charles, how are you? The first person pronoun, ‘I’, refers to the speaker, named Charles, who is referring to himself. He, Charles, refers to George initially by name, “Hi George.” Then Charles refers to George by the second person pronoun ‘you’. George in response to Charles uses his name, ‘Charles’, and then the second person pronoun ‘you’. So the pronouns ‘I’ and ‘you’ are used to refer to the same human being, Charles, according to whomever is speaking to whom.

18.4 TABLES OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS AND PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES I Table of Most English Personal Pronouns I Person

English style

Case Nominative (Subjective)

Accusative (Objective)

Possessive (Genitive)

1st

I

me

mine

2nd

you

you

yours

Current English

2nd

thou

thee

thine

King James English

3rd

he

him

his

3rd

she

her

hers

3rd

it

it

its

1st

we

us

ours

2nd

you

you

yours

Current English

2nd

ye

you

yours

King James English

3rd

they

them

theirs

114

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Table of English Personal Pronominal Adjectives (Possessive Adjectives) I Person

Personal Pronominal Adjective

English style

1st

my

2nd

your

Current English

2nd

thy

King James English

3rd

his

3rd

her

3rd

its

1st

our

2nd

your

Current English

2nd

your

King James English

3rd

their

Note: Personal pronouns in the possessive case above may simply be called possessive pronouns. In Italian the third person is normally used in formal conversation instead of the second person. In French and English one does find the use of the third person pronoun ‘one’ (or its French equivalent) acting on behalf of the second person in more formal settings, though in French much more routinely than English, doesn’t one?

19. NUMBER 19.1 SINGULAR, PLURAL AND DUAL NUMBER Nouns, and words acting like them, have a grammatical feature called number. When they are the subject word(s) of a verb, that verb has the same number as the subject word(s). So: Nouns, pronouns and finite verbs have number. Number refers in a limited way to how many items are referred to by the word we are using. The items can be anything at all that nouns or their substitutes refer to. In English, Latin and many modern languages the number of a word is either singular or plural. In Hebrew and Greek the number of a noun or its replacements is singular, dual, or plural. A word is singular if there is only one item referred to by the word we are using. A word is plural if there are two of more items referred to by the word we are using. A word is dual if there are precisely two items referred to by the word we are using. So, strictly, all dual forms are also plural forms. If there are two things, notions or qualities referred to by the word we are using, then that word is plural in English, Latin and its descendents. It is either dual or plural in Hebrew. In New Testament Greek it is very likely to have an ordinary plural spelling rather than a dual spelling. Things that come in pairs are often dual in Hebrew. One normal person’s eyes would be dual in Hebrew, but not the eyes of a group of people. Considered together their eyes would be plural in Hebrew. Similarly, one person’s hands would probably be dual in Hebrew. To translate a dual form for hands from Hebrew into English we might use an expression like “both hands” or “a pair of hands”, or simply just “hands”. If there are more than two things, notions or qualities referred to by the word we are describing, then that word is plural in English, Greek, Latin and Hebrew.

115

116

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

In English we usually make a noun plural by changing the spelling: Singular: Plural:

room rooms

bush man team [collective noun] sheep bushes men teams sheep [no spelling change]

In Greek, Latin and Hebrew, words are typically made dual or plural by changing the spelling at the end of, or inside, the words. Note: In Greek there are regular situations when a verb will not have the same number as its subject words. Hebrew can vary more idiosyncratically. Nevertheless, all finite verbs have grammatical number.

19.2 TABLES OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS AND PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES II We may now add information about number to our tables of pronouns and pronominal adjectives. Table of Most English Personal Pronouns II Number

Person

English style

Case Nominative (Subjective)

Accusative (Objective)

Possessive (Genitive)

1st

I

me

mine

2nd

you

you

yours

Current English

2nd

thou

thee

thine

King James English

3rd

he

him

his

3rd

she

her

hers

3rd

it

it

its

1st

we

us

ours

2nd

you

you

yours

Current English

2nd

ye

you

yours

King James English

3rd

they

them

theirs

Singular

Plural

NUMBER

117

Table of English Personal Pronominal Adjectives (Possessive Adjectives) II Number Singular

Plural

English style

Person

Personal Pronominal Adjective

1st

my

2nd

your

Current English

2nd

thy

King James English

3rd

his

3rd

her

3rd

its

1st

our

2nd

your

Current English

2nd

your

King James English

3rd

their

20. GRAMMATICAL GENDER 20.1 MASCULINE, FEMININE, NEUTER AND COMMON GRAMMATICAL GENDER

Nouns, and words acting like them, have a grammatical feature called gender. Nouns and pronouns have grammatical gender. In English, Greek and Latin, finite verbs do not change their spelling according to grammatical gender. Many Hebrew finite verbs tend to have the same gender as their subject words. Many Greek and Latin regular non-finite verbs have spellings to indicate their gender. Grammatical gender is not necessarily sexual gender. In Greek, Latin and Hebrew they overlap but may be different. Grammatical gender is a device to help spell families of words and associate words in sentences. Grammatical gender is not a statement about sexual gender and significance. Grammatical gender in English, Latin and Greek may be masculine, feminine or neuter. In Hebrew the available genders are masculine and feminine. A word may be of common grammatical gender, that is, in a particular sentence the word may be masculine, feminine or ambiguous depending on what the word is referring to or how it is used. In current English, nearly all of the hundreds of thousands of nouns are treated as having either neuter gender or a versatile, inconsequential, common gender. By comparison, grammatical gender for nouns and adjectives is routinely used in Hebrew and is especially important in Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, Portuguese and German. The grammatical genders of words in these languages have to be learnt, as they are not intuitively obvious. In the New Testament the two common Greek words for child are neuter in gender even though the real children referred to are male or female. In Biblical Hebrew nations except Israel (which is the name of a man) are usually feminine in grammatical gender, even though the actual people of the nations are male or female, and even though an army of the nation portrayed may be entirely male. We are used to making some spelling changes to refer to different people. For example, ‘host’ is masculine gender and is normally used to refer to someone who is male, while ‘hostess’ is feminine gender and is normally used to refer to someone who is female. The uses of these types of gender specific words change over time and from place to place in the English speaking world. In English there is a general drift either towards using masculine nouns to refer to both individual males and females, or instead to use different words which are either considered neuter or common gender. The relationship between grammatical gender and sexual gender of English words is 119

120

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

one of the very few grammatical topics of interest to a wide range of educated English speakers today.

20.2 GRAMMATICAL GENDER AND NATURAL OR SEXUAL GENDER The grammatical gender of a word may or may not match the natural gender or sexual gender of the one referred to. What is a particular grammatical gender in one language may be another grammatical gender in another language. Often neuter English words will be either grammatically masculine or feminine in Greek, Latin or Hebrew. Nevertheless, the grammatical gender of a word for an individual person or animal frequently matches the sexual gender of the individual identified by the word used in English, Greek, Latin or Hebrew.

21. TABLES OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS AND PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES III We can add grammatical gender to our tables of most personal pronouns and pronominal adjectives. Table of Most English Personal Pronouns III Number Person

Gender

Singular

English style

Case Nominative (Subjective)

Accusative (Objective)

Possessive (Genitive)

1st

common

I

me

mine

2nd

common

you

you

yours

Current English

2nd

common

thou

thee

thine

King James English

3rd

masculine

he

him

his

3rd

feminine

she

her

hers

3rd

neuter

it

it

its

1st

common

we

us

ours

2nd

common

you

you

yours

Current English

2nd

common

ye

you

yours

King James English

3rd

common

they

them

theirs

Plural

Note that personal pronouns in the possessive case may simply be called possessive pronouns.

121

122

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Table of English Personal Pronominal Adjectives (Possessive Adjectives) III Number Person Singular

Plural

English style

Gender

Personal Pronominal Adjective

1st

common

my

2nd

common

your

Current English

2nd

common

thy

King James English

3rd

masculine

his

3rd

feminine

her

3rd

neuter

its

1st

common

our

2nd

common

your

Current English

2nd

common

your

King James English

3rd

common

their

22. AGREEMENT I The concept of agreement (concord) is essential for understanding how sentences work.

22.1 AGREEMENT OF ADJECTIVES AND NOUNS Adjectives agree in number, gender and case with the nouns or pronouns they qualify. That is, each adjective has the same number, the same grammatical gender and the same case as the noun or pronoun that the adjective qualifies in its sentence. Agreement of adjectives with nouns is nearly always followed in regular English, Latin and Greek, and often in Hebrew. Hebrew adjectival words would additionally agree with nouns in definiteness which we could simply call a special grammatical case, contrary to most grammars.

22.2 AGREEMENT OF SUBJECTS AND VERBS The subject word(s) and the finite verb agree in person, number and gender. Thus when the subject is first person the spelling of the verb is a first person form. When the subject is second person so is the person of the verb. When the subject is third person so is the the verb. 1st person: 2nd person: 3rd person:

I am going to town. We are all going to town. You are going to town. She is going to town. They have already gone.

When the subject is singular the spelling of the verb is a singular form. When the subject is plural the verb is plural. In Hebrew when the subject is dual we expect the verb to have a plural spelling. Singular: Plural:

Betsy is going to town. You and Betsy are going to town.

When the subject is feminine the verb will have a specifically feminine form if one is available, but if a specifically feminine spelling of the verb is not available then a common gender spelling of the verb is used. When the subject is masculine the verb will have a specifically masculine form if one is available, otherwise a common gender spelling of the verb is used. When the subject has at least one masculine subject word plus one or more feminine subject words, the verb is normally put into the plural and if a specific gender has to be chosen for the verb the verb will be more likely be a masculine form.

123

124

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

22.3 AGREEMENT OF SUBJECTS AND COMPLEMENTS Stative verbs have complements instead of direct objects. Stative verbs can identify their subjects with their complements. Thus, complements of stative verbs that are identified with the subject word(s) agree with the subject word(s) in case. They are nominative when the subject is nominative. Adjectives in the complement agree in number, gender and case with the subject word(s). The grammatical number of the subject should equal the grammatical number of the complement: when the complement is singular the subject and the verb should be singular, when the complement is plural the subject and the verb should be plural. Not all ancient language texts comply with this.

23. APPOSITION: WORDS IN APPOSITION TO NOUNS AND PRONOUNS Consider: 1. I am writing to the faithful at Antioch. In this sentence: The finite verb is ‘am writing’. The subject is ‘I’ The verb is first person singular, so the subject word must be first person singular. Thus the subject word is ‘I’ 2. I, Paul, am writing to the faithful at Antioch. In sentence 2: The finite verb is ‘am writing’. The subject is ‘I, Paul’ The verb is first person singular, so the subject word must be first person singular. Thus the subject word is ‘I’ What then is the noun ‘Paul’ doing? Clearly the word ‘Paul’ is the name of the person referred to by the pronoun ‘I’. It is like an explanatory aside to give us more information about the subject word. The noun ‘Paul’ has the same number, case, gender and person as the pronoun ‘I’. As we see in sentence 1, we could leave ‘Paul’ out and still have a grammatically correct sentence with essentially the same meaning. The proper noun ‘Paul’ is in apposition to the word ‘I’. Words in apposition to each other refer to the same person or item. That is: Words in apposition have the same referent. Individual words in apposition to each other have the same number, case, gender and person. 3. I, Paul, an apostle, am writing to the faithful at Antioch. In sentence 3: The finite verb is ‘am writing’ The subject is ‘I, Paul, an apostle’ The subject word is ‘I’ A proper noun in apposition with the subject word is ‘Paul’

125

126

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

The words ‘an apostle’ also refer to Paul. They give us more information about ‘Paul’ the subject word. They are in apposition to ‘Paul’ and ‘I’. The noun ‘apostle’ has the same number, case, gender and person as ‘Paul’ and ‘I’. The indefinite article ‘an’, as an English adjective qualifying ‘apostle’, has the same number, case, gender and person as ‘apostle’ 4. I, Paul, an apostle of Christ, am writing to the faithful at Antioch. In sentence 4, the words in apposition now include a prepositional phrase: the whole expression ‘an apostle of Christ’ is in apposition to ‘Paul’ and the subject word ‘I’. The leading noun ‘apostle’ of the expression has the same number, case, gender and person as the proper noun ‘Paul’ and the pronoun ‘I’. The indefinite article ‘an’, as an English adjective qualifying the common noun ‘apostle’, has the same number, case, gender and person as ‘apostle’. The noun ‘Christ’ is governed by the preposition ‘of’ and so would have whatever number, gender and person it normally has and its case determined by the preposition, in English the objective (accusative) case. 5. That was a gift for George. In sentence 5: The indirect object of the verb is ‘for George’. 6. That was a gift for George, her favorite uncle. In sentence 6: The full indirect object of the verb is ‘for George, her favorite uncle’. The explanatory expression ‘her favorite uncle’ is in apposition to ‘George’. Some other grammars classify the words in apposition as adjectives or adjectival phrases or clauses. As these words are adding meaning to the noun or pronoun with which they are in apposition, it can legitimately be argued that they are acting adjectivally. In that case a noun in apposition with another noun would be classified as an adjective, and a phrase in apposition could be classified as an adjectival phrase. However, by the concept of apposition, rather than mere qualification (what adjectives do), they are identified with the noun rather than addressing a certain feature of the noun. Hence in this grammar, nouns, phrases and clauses that are in apposition are considered to be nouns, noun phrases, and noun clauses, respectively. In Hebrew especially, the occurrence of nouns in apposition is quite a common phenomenon. In a number of books there can be quite a lot of inconsistency in classifying Hebrew nouns in apposition either as nouns in apposition, or as adjectives, sometimes as both. This is largely due to the relative scarcity of genuine Hebrew adjectives compared to the number of Hebrew nouns. Hebrew nouns thus use interesting grammatical arrangements, including apposition, to do much of the work done in other languages by adjectives. Because of the significance of case in Greek sentence organization, it is important to note that words in apposition have the same case. Double direct objects of active voice verbs can be understood and treated as words in apposition with each other. See section 47 “Verbs with double objects Part II.”

24. TYPES OF PRONOUNS AND PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES I Grammars of English, Latin, Greek and Hebrew usually classify pronouns slightly differently from each other. It is best to learn how each language uses pronouns, and then consider how to represent the pronouns of one language in the other. In this book we note various types of English pronouns and pronominal adjectives.

24.1 PERSONAL PRONOUNS AND POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS In sections 18, 19 and 20 on person, number and gender we listed most of the English personal pronouns and the possessive pronouns. Personal pronouns in the possessive are also called possessive pronouns. Possessive pronouns do not have apostrophes. Examples of possessive pronouns: 1. That is ours, not yours! 2. Theirs is on their side, and ours is on our side, of course. 3. His car has not been delivered yet, but hers has already come. 4. What did you say about his? 5. His? Oh, his things are next to mine.

24.2 REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS AND INTENSIVE PRONOUNS (EMPHATIC PRONOUNS) To the lists of English personal pronouns we add reflexive pronouns and intensive pronouns, also called emphatic pronouns. Reflexive and intensive pronouns use the same spellings as each other but they each have different functions. The reflexive and intensive pronouns end in ‘-self’ in the singular and ‘-selves’ in the plural (see “Table of English Personal Pronouns” below.) 24.2.1 Reflexive pronouns In a simple sentence with only one verb: a reflexive pronoun refers back to the subject word, and the antecedent of a reflexive pronoun is the subject word(s). In English, reflexive pronouns are either (a) complements of stative verbs, (b) direct objects of action verbs, or (b) governed by prepositions in a prepositional phrase. Thus except when reflexive pronouns in English are complements of verbs, they are in the accusative case. Greek and Latin reflexive pronouns do not have a 127

128

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

nominative or vocative case form, but do have forms for the other normal cases of these languages. Reflexive pronouns have the same person, gender and number as the noun or pronoun they refer back to in the subject. Reflexive pronouns agree in person, gender, number with their antecedents. Examples: As a complement of a stative verb: 1. I am not myself today. As a direct object: 2. She treated herself to the food while she waited. 3. Did you hurt yourself? Governed by a preposition: 4. The vain people looked at themselves in the water for hours. 5. They bought presents for themselves. See section 25.5 for antecedents of reflexive pronouns following non-finite verbs. 24.2.2 Intensive pronouns (Emphatic pronouns) Intensive pronouns are used to emphasize a noun or pronoun which is their antecedent and is in the same sentence. Usually the antecedent is found next to the intensive pronoun. Otherwise it should be clear from the meaning of the sentence which noun or pronoun that the intensive pronoun emphasizes. Intensive pronouns can be in any case, depending on how they function in the sentence. Intensive pronouns agree with their antecedents in case, number, gender and person. Examples, with the intensive pronouns highlighted and their antecedents underlined: 1. She, herself, ate the food while she waited. 2. The donors themselves gave their gifts directly to the children. 3. The residents saw the burglar himself. 4. The residents themselves saw the burglar. 5. It is an activity of the organization itself. 6. He, himself, wanted it that way. 7. We will conquer the world ourselves. In 7 the intensive pronoun is separated from the pronoun, ‘we’, that it refers to. — We can see that the word ‘ourselves’ is first person plural, so it has to relate to a first person plural noun or pronoun. The only available candidate is the word ‘we’, which is the subject of the verb. Is ‘ourselves’ then a reflexive or an intensive pronoun? — The verb in the sentence is transitive, for it has a direct object. Is ‘ourselves’ a direct object or is it governed by a preposition? No. — Could we understand the pronoun ‘ourselves’ to be emphasizing the word ‘we’? Yes. — We can check this conclusion by putting the word ‘ourselves’ immediately after the word ‘we’ and seeing whether the meaning of the sentence has changed at all. 8. We ourselves will conquer the world.

TYPES OF PRONOUNS AND PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES

129

— It has not, so the pronoun ‘ourselves’ is an intensive pronoun rather than a reflexive pronoun.

24.3 POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES (PERSONAL PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES) The personal pronominal adjectives can also be called possessive pronominal adjectives and possessive adjectives. Some grammars refer to the possessive adjectives cryptically as “possessives” but that term could be ambiguous, for there are also possessive pronouns. See the “Table of English Personal Pronominal Adjectives (Possessive Adjectives)” below. Examples: 1. Your books, his books, her books, their books? The court will decide who owns them. 2. But what if the judge declares they are his books, not our books?

24.4 TABLES OF ENGLISH PERSONAL PRONOUNS AND PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES IV Table of English Personal Pronouns Reflexive & Intensive Pronouns English style

Case

Accusative (Objective)

Possessive (Genitive)

Nominative (Subjective)

Gender

Person

Number

Personal Pronouns

1st

common

I

me

mine

myself

2nd

common

you

you

yours

yourself

Current

2nd

common

thou

thee

thine

thyself

King James

3rd

masc.

he

him

his

himself

3rd

fem.

she

her

hers

herself

3rd

neuter

it

it

its

itself

Singular

130

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS Personal Pronouns

Reflexive & Intensive Pronouns

Plural 1st

common

we

us

ours

ourselves

2nd

common

you

you

yours

yourselves

Current

2nd

common

ye

you

yours

yourselves

King James

3rd

common

they

them

theirs

themselves

Note that the reflexive and intensive pronouns do not change their spelling according to case. Table of English Personal Pronominal Adjectives (Possessive Adjectives) Number Person Singular

Plural

Gender

Personal Pronominal Adjective

English style

1st

common

my

2nd

common

your

Current English

2nd

common

thy

King James English

3rd

masculine

his

3rd

feminine

her

3rd

neuter

its

1st

common

our

2nd

common

your

Current English

2nd

common

your

King James English

3rd

common

their

TYPES OF PRONOUNS AND PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES

131

24.5 DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS AND DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES Pronouns act like nouns. Demonstrative pronouns thus act like nouns. The usual demonstrative pronouns are: singular

plural

this

these

that

those

Demonstrative adjectives are actually demonstrative pronominal adjectives. Pronominal adjectives act as adjectives because they are adjectives. Demonstrative adjectives thus act like adjectives. The usual demonstrative adjectives are: singular

plural

this

these

that

those

Demonstrative pronouns and demonstrative adjectives have the same spelling but different uses. Examples of demonstrative pronouns highlighted: 1. This is a story 2. That is a story. 3. What stories those were! 4. These are not very interesting sentences are they? Examples of demonstrative adjectives highlighted: 5. This story is not that story. 6. This is the end of these examples.

25. NON-FINITE VERBS 25.1 FINITE AND NON-FINITE VERBS A finite verb is a verb that has a subject. A non-finite verb is a verb that does not have a subject. Since non-finite verbs are verb forms they may have all the ingredients of predicates that their finite equivalent verb forms can have. Non-finite verbs may be modified by adverbs, adverbial phrases and other adverbial expressions, just like their finite verb equivalents. Non-finite verbs may have direct objects, indirect objects or complements provided their finite verb equivalents can have them. A reflexive pronoun may be the direct object of a non-finite action verb, or the complement of a non-finite stative verb. In these situations, the reflexive pronoun might refer back to its antecedent which might be the subject word of the clause containing the non-finite verb phrase. Each non-finite verb can form the same types of predicates as those of their finite verb equivalent. Gerunds, infinitives and participles are non-finite verbs. Non-finite verbs are either in the active or the passive voice in English. All stative verbs in English, including their non-finite forms, are in the active voice. All action verbs in English, including their non-finite forms, are in the active or the passive voice. Because of how the active and passive voices are described, this can only make sense if we think of the non-finite form of a verb as a generalised form. An English action verb is in the active voice when the subject is doing the action of the verb, and in the passive voice when the action of the verb is being done to the subject. Thus for a nonfinite form of an action verb (i) to be in the active voice, the verb can be thought of as having its action able to be done by any possible subject; and (ii) to be in the passive voice, the verb can be thought of as having the action of the verb able to be done to any possible subject.

25.2 GERUNDS A gerund is a verbal noun. That is, a gerund is a non-finite verb form that functions like a noun. So, like a noun, a gerund can be: 1. a subject word, 2. a direct object word, 3. a complement, 4. in apposition to a noun, pronoun or gerund, 133

134

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

5. governed by a preposition in a prepositional phrase (including as an indirect object word), 6. qualified by an adjective (including a definite or indefinite article) or word acting adjectivally. The above numbers are used in the English Gerund Table below to indicate the type of noun function that each example of a gerund has. The first one listed is: “Looking through the window is easy.” — ‘looking’ is a gerund and is the subject word of the verb ‘is’; — ‘easy’ is the complement of the verb ‘is’, and is an adjective qualifying the gerund, ‘looking’. It follows that: Adjectives qualify nouns, pronouns or gerunds. 25.2.1 Gerund forms and spellings The English verbal system has great flexibility and complexity. There is a very large range of types of verb forms available, especially for finite verbs. Many of them are rarely used in daily discussions. In many other languages gerunds are often restricted to just one type. English gerunds can have both active and passive voice spellings, and present and past tense ones, though this is not widely noted. The present tense active voice spelling is much more common than any of the others. In English, just as there are complex, artificial future participles and future infinitives created to translate real future forms from other languages, there can be artificial future gerund forms, but most readers would never come across such things. 25.2.2 Gerunds in the present tense active voice The present tense, active voice spelling of the gerund is created by adding ‘ing’ to the end of the basic verb form. Thus, for the verb ‘do’, we add ‘ing’ to get ‘doing’. From the verb ‘be’ we get ‘being’, and from the verb ‘have’ we get ‘having’. The numbers related to the highlighted gerunds in this table refer to the list given in §25.2 of six noun like functions that gerunds can have. Notice in some of the examples that the gerund, as it is a verb, may be accompanied by regular ingredients of predicates. English Gerund Table: Examples English verb

Gerund: present, active

Gerund with the definite article

look

looking

the looking

worship

worshipping the worshipping

Example

1

Looking through the window is easy.

2

Believers like worshipping God.

NON-FINITE VERBS

135

English verb

Gerund: present, active

Gerund with the definite article

Example

love

loving

the loving

2

But they love loving!

think

thinking

the thinking

1

Thinking — creating and developing ideas — would be great.

create

creating

the creating

1

Creating and developing ideas would be great.

develop

developing

the developing

4

Thinking, that is, creating and developing ideas, well would be great.

reconcile

reconciling

the reconciling

1

Reconciling everyone is what is needed.

1, 6

Their reconciling people is truly rewarding.

2, 6

It was difficult to do the reconciling.

do

doing

the doing

1

Doing the reconciling was difficult.

walk

walking

the walking

1

Walking here and there is all there is to it.

talk

talking

the talking

1, 6

Some talking may be inexpensive.

ask

asking

the asking

5, 6

It was theirs for the asking.

pray

praying

the praying

1

Praying was different.

prey

preying

the preying

1

Preying on the weak was all they did.

laugh

laughing

the laughing

5

The amount of laughing was great.

cry

crying

the crying

3, 6

What was not hard to endure was his crying.

shepherd shepherding

the shepherding

1

Shepherding here, shepherding there, shepherding is what I do.

shepherd shepherding

the shepherding

4

Shepherding here, shepherding there, shepherding is what I do.

guard

guarding

the guarding

1, 6

Your guarding the tent tonight is critical.

pass

passing

the passing

1

Passing an English test may be the next hurdle.

136

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

English verb

Gerund: present, active

Gerund with the definite article

Example

have

having

the having

1

Having it for a long time was what they wanted.

be

being

the being

5, 6

It was because of their being kind.

do

doing

the doing

1

Doing this is hard, isn’t it? Or is it?

make

making

the making

5, 6

They say the difference is in the making.

give

giving

the giving

1, 6

The giving of his life has changed all.

25.2.3 Gerunds in other forms For comparison, here are two examples of the verb ‘know’ as a present tense active voice gerund: 1. Knowing about this should be helpful. 2. Your knowing about this should be helpful. Strictly, gerunds in English may have present tense forms in the passive voice, if their finite equivalents can have passive voice forms. An example often used in contemporary life is the present tense passive voice gerund of the verb ‘know’: ‘being known’. 3. Being known well can be an asset to candidates. That is something they try to achieve. 4. Their being known well can be an asset to the candidates. English verbs can also form gerunds in the past tense and active voice. 5. Having known about this was helpful. 6. Your having known about this was helpful. Again, if a finite verb can have passive forms, that verb can form a past tense passive voice gerund: 7. Having been known well beforehand was an asset for the winner. 8. Her having been known well beforehand was an asset for her. In the sections below on participles and infinitives, there are some complex English verbal expressions given in order to translate future participles and infinitives into English. Similarly, we could create such complex verbal arrangements as these: — artificial future gerund in the active voice of the verb ‘know’: ‘being about to know’ — artificial future gerund in the passive voice: ‘being about to be known’ 9. His being about to know what comes in future troubles him. 10. Their being about to be known by the audience made them nervous.

NON-FINITE VERBS

137

There are clear spelling relationships between the infinitives, participles and gerunds in the corresponding tenses and voices. Formally, if an English verb can have a particular type of participle or infinitive, we can generate a related gerund form. That is not the case in every language.

25.3 PARTICIPLES A participle is a verbal adjective. A participle is a non-finite verb form that functions as an adjective. So participles typically qualify nouns or pronouns in sentences. Very frequently in English, and in some cases in Greek, a participle is part of a composite verb, i.e. one that is spelt by two or more separate words. Even in these uses the participle can be understood to be functioning adjectivally. This may be especially helpful when the participle effectively forms the complement of the verb ‘be’. Like an adjective, a participle can: 1. qualify a noun 2. qualify a pronoun 3. qualify a word equivalent to a noun 4. be the complement of a stative verb. 5. be modified by an adverb. 6. qualify an understood noun or pronoun, and so seem to act as a noun or pronoun. The above numbers are used in the English Participle Table 1, below, to indicate the type of adjectival function that each example has. Many Greek grammars incorrectly declare that Greek participles can modify verbs adverbially. The participles described as acting adverbially are actually acting in one of the ways listed above, typically qualifying a pronominal subject of the main verb. In many cases, when these so called adverbial participles are translated into well constructed English, they are changed into English adverbial expressions modifying the main verb. See section 26, Grammar and translation issues II. 25.3.1 Present participles in the active voice The English present participle in the active voice has the same ‘ing’ ending as the form of the present active gerund of the same verb. The identically-spelt English present participles and gerunds can be distinguished from each other by their functions: the gerund will act as a noun, and the participle will act as an adjective. For further discussion on how to distinguish these two see section 37 Distinguishing present gerunds from present participles in the active voice. Participles have voice. That is, they can theoretically occur in each of the voices available in English, Greek, Latin and Hebrew. In English and Latin there are participles in the active and passive voices. In Greek there are participles in the active, middle and passive voices. Hebrew may also be understood to have participles in the active, middle and passive voices, but the Hebrew voices might be known by quite different names in the grammars.

138

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

In English, Latin and Greek, participles can be in different tenses. They may be in the present tense, the future tense or a past tense. Hebrew participles do not change their spellings to show tense and are usually taken to have a present sense, but the translation of Hebrew, Latin and Greek participles into English will not always show which tense the original participle was, or even that a non-finite verb was used in the ancient text. For examples of active voice present participles, see the following table. The numbers in this table refer to the list given above of the six adjectival functions of participles. English Participle Table 1: Active Voice Present Participles English verb

worship

Present participle active voice

Example with participle highlighted and qualified word(s) underlined

looking

2

Looking through the window, they saw the garden in full bloom.

worshipping

1

Charles and Diana, while worshipping today, received the news.

1

Charles and Diana received the news while worshipping today.

2

They received the news while worshipping today.

love

loving

1

He succeeded by using loving methods.

create

creating

1

God, creating the world, was in his element.

reconcile

reconciling

1

They are a reconciling influence.

walk

walking

1

That person walking over here has something to show us.

talk

talking

2

Someone talking gently may be what we need.

ask

asking

1

It was theirs for the asking price.

pray

praying

1

The praying figure looks different today.

prey

preying

1, 1

Preying on the weak, the thieves continued on their marauding way through the country.

laugh

laughing

1

The laughing guests drowned the voice of the speaker.

cry

crying

1

It was not difficult to sympathize with the crying child.

shepherd shepherding

1

That person shepherding the flock is my brother.

guard

1

The dogs guarding the compound tonight are well trained.

guarding

NON-FINITE VERBS

139

English verb

Present participle active voice

Example with participle highlighted and qualified word(s) underlined

sit

sitting

1

A dog guarded the child sitting by herself in the park.

pass

passing

1

A passing grade in the English test may be the next hurdle.

have

having

2

Having little she achieved much.

be

being

2

Being kind she could improve the situation.

do

doing

1

The machines doing that are huge.

make

making

1

The cook making the food today is very old.

give

giving

2

That is a very giving life.

reward

rewarding

3, 4

Thinking well can be rewarding.

reconcile

reconciling

3, 4, 5

Reconciling people is truly rewarding.

live

living

6

Welcome to the land of the living. [(ones) or (persons)]

6

Is it easy to make a living? [(income)]

In some of the examples, there are participles being modified by adverbs, where the adverb is part of the predicate of the participle according to its normal verbal function. Hence these adverbs are not modifying the participle in the way that adverbs modify adjectives. 25.3.2 Past participles in the active voice In English the form of the active voice past participle of a verb can be worked out by completing accurately the following clause: ‘They have xxxx’. Simply replace the ‘xxxx’ with the form of the verb that makes the clause correct. That form is the English active voice past participle. For examples see the two tables of active voice past participles below. To translate an active voice Greek or Latin past participle we might need to add the word ‘having’ which is the active voice present participle of the verb ‘have’. For examples see the table below.

140

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS English Participle Table 2: Active Voice Past Participle Formation

To find the active voice past participle of the verb:

Complete the clause ‘they have xxxx’

The active voice past participle in English is thus:

To translate a Greek or possibly Latin active voice past participle, it may also be thought of in English as:

look

they have looked

looked

having looked

worship

they have worshipped

worshipped

having worshipped

love

they have loved

having loved

having loved

create

they have created

created

having created

reconcile

they have reconciled

reconciled

having reconciled

walk

they have walked

walked

having walked

talk

they have talked

talked

having talked

ask

they have asked

asked

having asked

pray

they have prayed

prayed

having prayed

prey

they have preyed

preyed

having preyed

laugh

they have laughed

laughed

having laughed

cry

they have cried

cried

having cried

shepherd

they have shepherded

shepherded

having shepherded

guard

they have guarded

guarded

having guarded

pass

they have passed

passed

having passed

have

they have had

had

having had

be

they have been

been

having been

do

they have done

done

having done

make

they have made

made

having made

give

they have given

given

having given

see

they have seen

seen

having seen

hear

they have heard

heard

having heard

go

they have gone

gone

having gone

come

they have come

come

having come

break

they have broken

broken

having broken

win

they have won

won

having won

NON-FINITE VERBS

141

To find the active voice past participle of the verb:

Complete the clause ‘they have xxxx’

The active voice past participle in English is thus:

To translate a Greek or possibly Latin active voice past participle, it may also be thought of in English as:

speak

they have spoken

spoken

having spoken

think

they have thought

thought

having thought

drink

they have drunk

drunk

having drunk

build

they have built

built

having built

say

they have said

said

having said

speak

they have spoken

spoken

having spoken

hit

they have hit

hit

having hit

strike

they have struck

struck

having struck

English Participle Table 3: Examples of Active Voice Past Participles: Verb

Examples

look

Having looked at the clock, the children tried to say what time it was.

worship

The family, having worshipped all day, returned home.

love

Having loved us and continuing to love us, he died for us.

create

Having created the place, he runs it.

have

They went to sleep having had a long day.

be

Having been to the lake already, they set out in the other direction.

do

Having done their chores, they went in for breakfast.

make

Having made camp beside the lake, they prepared to fish.

give

Having given out their presents, they all sat down to eat.

see

Having seen great beauty they could no longer deny it.

hear

Having heard such music, they were in tears of joy.

25.3.3 Future participles in the active voice The future participle in English is more a convenient way of thinking of a complex English verbal expression than it is a real future participle. It is convenient because it can help us think about, or translate, what a real future participle might be in another language like Greek or Latin. For this purpose then, the “English active voice future

142

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

participle” can be discussed as a verb form with a standard structure. But note that English does not have a real English future participle. To form the active voice future participle of a verb in English, add the words ‘being about to’ to the basic spelling of the verb. For example, the active voice future participle of the verb ‘do’ is: ‘being about to do’. English Participle Table 4: Translation forms of future participles in the active voice Verb

Active voice future participle being about to +[verb]

have

being about to have

be

being about to be

do

being about to do

make

being about to make

give

being about to give

see

being about to see

hear

being about to hear

go

being about to go

come

being about to come

break

being about to break

love

being about to love

NON-FINITE VERBS

143

25.3.4 Present participles in the passive voice English Participle Table 5: Formation of the Passive Voice Present Participle Verb

Step 1

Step 2

Passive voice present participle

Is it transitive? (If the active voice verb is transitive it can be turned into a passive form)

Form the active voice past participle

being + [active voice past participle]

worship

worshipped

being worshipped

love

loved

being loved

create

created

being created

reconcile

reconciled

being reconciled

walk

walked

being walked

ask

asked

being asked

pray

prayed

being prayed

cry

cried

being cried

shepherd

shepherded

being shepherded

guard

guarded

being guarded

pass

passed

being passed

have

had

being had

do

done

being done

make

made

being made

give

given

being given

see

seen

being seen

hear

heard

being heard

look

talk

intransitive

intransitive

prey

intransitive

laugh

intransitive

be

go

intransitive

intransitive

144

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Verb

Step 1

Step 2

Passive voice present participle

Is it transitive? (If the active voice verb is transitive it can be turned into a passive form)

Form the active voice past participle

being + [active voice past participle]

break

broken

being broken

win

won

being won

speak

spoken

being spoken

think

thought

being thought

drink

drunk

being drunk

build

built

being built

say

said

being said

speak

spoken

being spoken

hit

hit

being hit

strike

struck

being struck

come

intransitive

25.3.5 Past participles in the passive voice English Participle Table 6: Past participles in the passive voice Verb

look

Step 1

Past Participles in the Passive Voice

Is it transitive? (If the active voice verb is transitive it can be made into a passive form)

having been + [active voice past participle]

intransitive

worship

having been worshipped

love

having been loved

create

having been created

reconcile

having been reconciled

walk

having been talked

talk ask

intransitive having been asked

NON-FINITE VERBS Verb

145

Step 1

Past Participles in the Passive Voice

Is it transitive? (If the active voice verb is transitive it can be made into a passive form)

having been + [active voice past participle]

pray

having been prayed

prey

intransitive

laugh

intransitive

cry

having been cried

shepherd

having been shepherded

guard

having been guarded

pass

having been passed

have

having been had

be

intransitive

do

having been done

make

having been made

give

having been given

see

having been seen

hear

having been heard

go

intransitive

come

intransitive

break

having been broken

win

having been won

speak

having been spoken

think

having been thought

drink

having been drunk

build

having been built

say

having been said

speak

having been spoken

hit

having been hit

strike

having been struck

146

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

25.3.6 Future participles in the passive voice We have already noted that English does not have a real English future participle. The future participle in English is more a convenient way of thinking of a complex English verbal expression than it is a real future participle. It is convenient because it can help us think about, or translate, what a real future participle might be in another language like Greek or Latin. For this purpose then, the “English passive voice future participle” can be discussed as a verb form with a standard structure. To form the passive voice future participle of a verb in English, add the words ‘being about to be’ to the past participle of the verb. For example, the passive voice future participle of the verb ‘do’ is ‘being about to be done’. English Participle Table 7: Translation forms of future participles in the passive voice Verb

Passive voice future participle being about to be +[past participle]

have

being about to be had

be (intransitive) do

being about to be done

make

being about to be made

give

being about to be given

see

being about to be seen

hear

being about to be heard

go (intransitive) come (intransitive) break

being about to be broken

love

being about to be loved

25.4 INFINITIVES An infinitive in English is simply a verb form with the separate word ‘to’ in font of it. For example, one infinitive of the verb ‘do’ is ‘to do’. An infinitive can function as a verbal noun, a verbal adjective or a verbal adverb. That is, an infinitive is a verb that never has a subject and that can function substantivally (as a noun), adjectivally (as an adjective), or adverbially (as an adverb). Like participles, English infinitives can indicate tense. English infinitives may be in a present tense or a past tense. It is also possible to think of a complex composite

NON-FINITE VERBS

147

future participle construction for English to correspond to a much less cumbersome future participle of languages like Greek or Latin. Infinitives are in the indicative mood. In English for nearly every tense in the indicative mood there is a possible infinitive form. Thus each English infinitive, not being able to have a subject of its own, can be thought of as a generalised form of the verb in its particular tense. Infinitives are in either the active or passive voice in English. Thus for an infinitive of an action verb to be in the acive voice, the verb can be thought of as having its action able to be done by any possible subject, and to be in the passive voice thought of as doing the action to any subject. For example, in the sentence, ‘To give a present to someone is kind,’ the infinitive ‘to give’ can be thought of as meaning ‘for anyone to give’ or ‘anyone giving’, so the action is being done by ‘anyone’ and the infinitive ‘to give’ is in the active voice. In the sentence, ‘To be given a present is usually welcomed,’ the infinitive ‘to be given’ can be thought of as meaning ‘for anyone to be given’ or ‘anyone being given’ where the action is being done to ‘anyone’ and the infinitive ‘to be given’ is in the passive. For examples of English infinitives and ways to form them, see sections 25.4.4 and 25.4.5 below. Greek and Latin infinitives may act like some English infinitives and so can be easily translated by English infinitives. However a Greek or Latin infinitive may have functions that English infinitives do not have. So they would be translated by some expression other than an English infinitive. Hebrew has two types of forms that have traditionally been named ‘infinitives’. The infinitive absolute in Hebrew is typically from the same verb root as the main verb, and acts as a magnifier of the action of the main verb. When functioning this way this type of Hebrew infinitive is acting adverbially. The other Hebrew form of the infinitive, the infinitive construct, varies its spelling. It is often acting either as a gerund or a simple infinitive of the verb. That is, the infinitive construct in Hebrew is often acting as a verbal noun. 25.4.1 Infinitives as verbal nouns In English, infinitives acting as nouns can normally replace gerunds if the gerunds are not qualified by an adjective, including the definite or indefinite article, and are not governed by a preposition. Normally the meaning of the expression will be the same, although there might be a stylistic nuance that produces a shift in meaning. 1. To depart would be better for me. — ‘to depart’ is the subject of the verb ‘would be’, so — the infinitive ‘to depart’ is acting as a noun. 2. To stay longer would be better for your sake. — ‘to stay longer’ is the subject of the verb ‘would be’ — ‘longer’ is an adverb modifying the infinitive ‘to stay’ — thus ‘to stay’ forms the subject word of the verb ‘would be’, so — the infinitive ‘to stay’ is acting as a noun. 3. Do you want to stay here for another week? — ‘to stay here for another week’ is the direct object of the verb ‘do want’, and — ‘here’ is an adverb modifying the infinitive ‘to stay’, and

148

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS — ‘for another week’ is an adverbial phrase modifying the infinitive ‘to stay’. — thus ‘to stay’ is acting like a direct object word of the verb ‘do want’, so — the infinitive ‘to stay’ is acting as a noun. 4. Their aim, to score five points before quickly, now looks possible. — The word ‘aim’ is a noun and the subject word of the sentence. — ‘five points’ is the direct object of ‘to score’ — ‘quickly’ is an adverb modifying ‘to score’ — ‘to score five points quickly’ is in apposition with the noun ‘aim’, so — the infinitive ‘to score’ is acting as a noun in apposition with a noun.

25.4.2 Infinitives as verbal adjectives 5. Do you have any reason to leave later? — ‘any reason to leave later’ is the direct object of ‘do have’. — ‘any’ is an adjective qualifying ‘reason’. — ‘reason’ is a noun and the direct object word of the verb ‘do have’. — ‘to leave later’ qualifies the noun ‘reason’ — ‘later’ is an adverb modifying ‘to leave’, so — the infinitive ‘to leave’ is acting adjectivally by qualifying ‘reason’. 6. That is the package to send. — ‘the package to send’ is the complement of the verb ‘is’. — ‘package’ is the complement word. — ‘to send’ tells us more about the noun ‘package’, so — the infinitive ‘to send’ is acting adjectivally by qualifying the noun ‘package’. 25.4.3 Infinitives as verbal adverbs 7. Are you ready to leave? — the verb is ‘are’ — the subject of ‘are’ is ‘you’ — ‘ready to leave’ is the complement of the verb ‘are’ — ‘ready’ is an adjective qualifying the subject ‘you’. — ‘to leave’ tells us more about the adjective ‘ready’, so — the infinitive ‘to leave’ is acting adverbially by modifying an adjective. 8. The representatives were sure to have signed the agreement before then. — the verb is ‘were’ — the subject of ‘were’ is ‘the representatives’ — ‘sure to have signed the agreement before then’ is the complement of the verb ‘were’ — ‘sure’ is an adjective qualifying the subject ‘the representatives’. — ‘to have signed’ tells us more about the adjective ‘sure’, so — the infinitive ‘to have signed’ is acting adverbially by modifying an adjective. 9. The refugees ate to satisfy their hunger. — the verb is ‘ate’. — the rest of the predicate is ‘to satisfy their hunger’, which tells us why or how the refugees ate. That is — ‘to satisfy their hunger’ modifies the verb ‘ate’ — ‘their hunger’ is the direct object of ‘to satisfy’, so

NON-FINITE VERBS

149

— the infinitive ‘to satisfy’ functions adverbially by modifying a verb. In English for nearly every tense in the indicative mood there is a possible infinitive form. See the following tables for examples of English infinitives. 25.4.4 Infinitives in the active voice English Infinitives Table 1: Formation of some common infinitives in the active voice Verb

Active voice simple present tense infinitive

Active voice continuous present tense infinitive

Active voice, simple past tense infinitive

Active voice, future tense infinitive

to + [verb]

to be + [present participle]

to have + [past participle]

to be about to + [verb]

look

to look

to be looking

to have looked

to be about to look

worship

to worship

to be worshipping

to have worshipped

to be about to worship

love

to love

to be loving

to have loved

to be about to love

create

to create

to be creating

to have created

to be about to create

reconcile to reconcile

to be reconciling

to have reconciled

to be about to reconcile

walk

to walk

to be walking

to have walked

to be about to walk

talk

to talk

to be talking

to have talked

to be about to talk

ask

to ask

to be asking

to have asked

to be about to ask

have

to have

to be having

to have had

to be about to have

be

to be

to be being

to have been

to be about to be

do

to do

to be doing

to have done

to be about to do

go

to go

to be going

to have gone

to be about to go

come

to come

to be coming

to have come

to be about to come

150

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Exercise 21. Complete the following table: Verb

Active voice simple present tense infinitive

Active voice continuous present tense infinitive

Active voice, simple past tense infinitive

Active voice, future tense infinitive

to pray

to be praying

to have prayed

to be about to pray

to prey

to be preying

to have preyed

to be about to prey

to laugh

to be laughing

to have laughed

to be about to laugh

to cry

to be crying

to have cried

to be about to cry

to shepherd

to be shepherding

to have shepherded

to be about to shepherd

to guard

to guarding

to pass

to be passing

pray prey laugh

cry shepherd

guard be to have guarded

to be about to guard

pass to have passed

to be about to pass

NON-FINITE VERBS

151

25.4.5 Infinitives in the passive voice Verbs that are always intransitive cannot have a passive voice form. English Infinitives Table 2: Formation of some common infinitives in the passive voice Verb

Passive voice present tense infinitive

Passive voice continuous present tense infinitive

Passive voice, simple past tense infinitive

Passive voice, future tense infinitive

to be + [past participle]

to be being + [past participle]

to have been + [past participle]

to be about to be + [past participle]

worship

to be worshipped

to be being worshipped

to have been worshipped

to be about to be worshipped

love

to be loved

to be being loved

to have been loved

to be about to be loved

create

to be created

to be being created

to have been created

to be about to be created

reconcile

to be reconciled

to be being reconciled

to have been reconciled

to be about to be reconciled

walk

to be walked

to be being walked

to have been walked

to be about to be walked

look — (intransitive)

—

—

—

— talk (intransitive)

—

—

—

ask

to be asked

to be being asked

to have been asked

to be about to be asked

have

to be had

to be having

to have had

to be about to be had

be — (intransitive)

—

—

—

do

to be done

to be being done

to have been done

to be about to be done

make

to be made

to be being made

to have been made

to be about to be made

152 Verb

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS Passive voice present tense infinitive

Passive voice continuous present tense infinitive

Passive voice, simple past tense infinitive

Passive voice, future tense infinitive

to be + [past participle]

to be being + [past participle]

to have been + [past participle]

to be about to be + [past participle]

give

to be given

to be being given

to have been given

to be about to be given

see

to be seen

to be being seen

to have been seen

to be about to be seen

hear

to be heard

to be being heard

to have been heard

to be about to be heard

Exercise 22: Complete the following table for passive infinitive forms. Verb

Passive voice present tense infinitive

Passive voice continuous present tense infinitive

Passive voice, simple past tense infinitive

Passive voice, future tense infinitive

to be prayed

to be being prayed

to have been prayed

to be about to be prayed

—

—

—

to be cried

to be being cried

to have been cried

to be about to be cried

to be shepherded

to be being shepherded

to have been shepherded

to be about to be shepherded

to be guarded

to be being guarded

to have been guarded

to be about to be guarded

to be passed

to be being passed

to have been passed

to be about to be passed

pray

laugh (intransitive) — cry

shepherd

guard

pass

NON-FINITE VERBS

153

25.5 REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS AND NON-FINITE VERBS A reflexive pronoun which is the direct object of a non-finite action verb, or the complement of a non-finite stative verb, typically refers back to its antecedent which may be another word either in the sentence, or as sometimes with other pronouns, in another sentence. 1. Action verb infinitive: The children were going to help themselves to the food before it was served. 2. Action verb participle: The hosts were surprised to find the children helping themselves to the food. 3. Action verb gerund: Helping themselves to the food was not such a good idea. 4. Stative verb infinitive: Before going on stage the speakers were advised to be themselves. Just as non-finite verbs, understood to be acting generally, have voice, although they lack actual subjects, similarly the reflexive pronoun oneself, as the direct object or complement of a non-finite verb, can be understood to refer to anyone in general. 5. Action verb infinitive: To correct oneself is better than being corrected by another. 6. Stative verb infinitive: To be truly oneself is desirable.

26. GRAMMAR AND TRANSLATION ISSUES II What is called an infinitive in Hebrew, Latin or Greek might not be equivalent to an infinitive in English. We therefore must be cautious not to let the grammatical name of a word type in Hebrew, Latin or Greek that looks the same as a grammatical name in English lead us to think that these word types in the different languages function the same way. Something very important for accurate translation follows from this. A particular grammatical construction in one language might be properly translated by quite a different grammatical construction in another language. So, for example, a Greek proper infinitive is a non-finite verb form that does not have a subject. It might be accurately translated into English by an adverbial clause, that begins with a conjunction and includes a finite verb that has a subject. It also follows that, even from a good English translation, we should be careful not to draw profound conclusions about the grammar of the original language just from the English grammatical constructions themselves, until we have seen whether there are good grounds for the conclusions in the original language. The classification of the grammatical categories used in the translation must not be automatically used to classify the grammatical categories in the original. Though seemingly obvious, this point has frequently not been observed in many modern explanations of Greek and Hebrew grammar. A very common mistake has been to classify Greek adjectival phrases (qualifying nouns or pronouns, and that have been translated into English using adverbial clauses modifying verbs), as adverbial clauses modifying verbs. The mistake is in the grammatical classification, not usually in the translation chosen. Describing the grammar of another language according to how it really is, instead of how it is translated into English, gives some insight to how the native speakers of the other language think or thought about what they were saying.

155

27. COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS 27.1 DEGREES OF COMPARISON: POSITIVE DEGREE, COMPARATIVE DEGREE AND SUPERLATIVE DEGREE

Consider the sentences: 1. Parents are old. 2. Parents are older than their children. 3. Parents are the oldest people around. In the first sentence the adjective ‘old’ is used simply to indicate a characteristic of parents without comparison to others. In the second sentence the adjective ‘older’ is used to compare that characteristic of parents with the same characteristic of their children. In the third sentence the adjective ‘oldest’ is used to compare that characteristic of parents with the same characteristic of everyone else (even if the sentence is not true). The words ‘old’, ‘older’ and ‘oldest’ are three forms of the same adjective dealing with oldness. They are the three degrees of comparison of this adjective. ‘Old’ is said to be in the positive degree. ‘Older’ is in the comparative degree. ‘Oldest’ is in the superlative degree. Adverbs may also have positive, comparative and superlative degrees.

27.2 COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES 27.2.1 Comparative degree of adjectives There are at least two ways in English to form the comparative degree of adjectives. 1. Add the ending ‘er’ to the basic adjective, the positive degree form. This might mean the ending of the basic adjective has to change, for example, from a ‘y’ to an ‘i’. So, ‘big’ becomes ‘bigger’, ‘holy’ becomes ‘holier’, ‘friendly’ ‘friendlier’, ‘pretty’ ‘prettier’. 2. Put the comparative adverb ‘more’ in front of the basic adjective. This is usually done in English when the adjective has a long spelling or ends in a characteristically adjectival ending such as ‘ous’ or ‘ful’. So ‘magnanimous’ becomes ‘more magnanimous’; ‘sinful’ ‘more sinful’, and ‘beautiful’ ‘more beautiful’. The comparative form compares just two entities or features. 4. A father is older than his child and a mother older than her child. 5. In relation to a father and his child, the father is the older one of the two. 6. All elephants are larger than ants. 157

158

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS 7. Of elephants and ants, which are the larger animals? 8. Is this a more picturesque scene than that? 9. Is this the heavier weight? 10. Can we find a lighter one than that?

The comparative degree of an adjective is often followed by the word than, an adverb of comparison, as in sentences 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10. Notice that the comparative forms in these examples using ‘than’ are not qualified by the definite article. In English the comparative form is also used with the sense of “one out of two” without having to use the word ‘than’, as in sentences 5, 7 and 9. Notice that the comparative forms in these examples are qualified by the definite article the. Different types of comparison are created using the comparative adverbs ‘too’ and ‘rather’. 11. Life is too precious to waste — it has more value than anyone should waste. 12. The box is too heavy for us to lift — it has more weight than we can lift. 13. The bull calf is rather strong for his age — he is stonger than bull calves of his age usually are. The meaning of the comparative degree of adjectives in some languages, like Latin, might correspond to an English use of ‘too’ or ‘rather’. 27.2.2 Superlative degree of adjectives There are two ways in English to form the superlative degree of adjectives. 1. Add the ending ‘est’ to the basic adjective, the positive degree form. This might mean the ending of the basic adjective has to change, for example, from a ‘y’ to an ‘i’. So ‘holy’ becomes ‘holiest’, ‘friendly’ ‘friendliest’, ‘pretty’ ‘prettiest’. 2. Put the comparative adverb ‘most’ in front of the basic adjective. This is usually done in English when the adjective has a long spelling, or ends in ‘ous’ or ‘ful’. ‘Magnanimous’ becomes ‘most magnanimous’, and ‘sinful’ ‘most sinful’. It is sometimes used to stress the superlative meaning. ‘pretty’ ‘the most pretty ever’ instead of simply ‘prettiest’. In some other languages the superlative form is also used to magnify the meaning of the basic adjective. In English this corresponds to modifying the adjective by the adverb ‘very’. So ‘very old’ might be an alternative English translation of the superlative degree of ‘old’, and ‘very beautiful’ for the superlative degree of ‘beautiful’.

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

159

Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs Table 1: Adjectives Positive Degree

Comparative Degree

Superlative Degree

Comparative alternatives

Superlative alternative

beautiful

more beautiful

most beautiful

too beautiful

very beautiful

extraordinary

more extraordinary

most extraordinary

too extraordinary

very extraordinary

gracious

more gracious

most gracious

too gracious

very gracious

old

older

oldest

too old

very old

close

closer

closest

too close

very close

windy

windier

windiest

rather windy

very windy

costly

costlier

costliest

rather costly

very costly

big

bigger

biggest

too big

very big

27.3 COMPARISON OF ADVERBS: COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE DEGREES OF ADVERBS

Just as adjectives can have degrees of comparison, so can many adverbs. The comparative and superlative degrees of English adverbs are formed by adding the words ‘more’ or ‘most’ to them. To translate the superlative degree of adverbs in a number of other languages the translation ‘very ...’ might be used in English. Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs Table 2: Adverbs Positive Degree

Comparative Degree

Superlative Degree

Superlative Degree alternative

beautifully

more beautifully

most beautifully

very beautifully

extraordinarily

more extraordinarily

most extraordinarily

very extraordinarily

graciously

more graciously

most graciously

very graciously

closely

more closely

most closely

very closely

160

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

27.4 COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS: IRREGULAR EXAMPLES Some adjectives and adverbs have their own ways of forming their comparative and superlative forms. Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs Table 3: Irregular examples Part of Speech

Positive Degree

Comparative Superlative Degree Degree

Comparative alternatives

Superlative alternative

Adjective

good

better

too good

very good

best

rather good Adverb

well

better

best

too well

very well

rather well Adjective

bad

worse

worst

too bad

very bad

rather bad Adverb

badly

more badly

most badly

too badly

very badly

rather badly badly

worse

worst

rather worse

very worst

Examples: Adjectives: Positive degree: That was good acting. Comparative degree: That was better acting. Superlative degree: That was the best acting. Adverbs: Positive degree: They acted well. Comparative degree: They acted better than before. Superlative degree: They acted best.

27.5 ENGLISH COMPARISONS AND SUPERLATIVES USING COMPARATIVE ADVERBS ‘LESS’ AND ‘LEAST’ The dual options to express comparison in English using the suffix ‘er’ or the adverb ‘more’, and for the superlative using ‘est’ or ‘most’ are not available in many languages. Those languages use either a spelling change or an extra word, not both. The use of ‘more’ and ‘most’ in English opens up a different way of comparing entities or characteristics. In contrast to more and most, English uses the comparative adverbs less and least in comparative expressions. Languages like French that use a word corresponding to ‘more’ may have a word corresponding to ‘less’ which is also used in comparisons. 1. That was less exciting than we imagined. 2. Surely that was the least exciting thing we did all week. 3. How could things be more awkward?

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

161

4. But everything is less awkward now. 5. As a fully developed swan the “ugly duckling” was less ugly and more beautiful than the ducks. Some say that swans are the most beautiful of the water birds, and should have the least concern about their appearance. 6. Could such a scene be painted more beautifully?

28. PHRASES II Remember from section 3, that by definition, a phrase does not contain a finite verb. The term ‘phrase’ only refers to words within a sentence, and can refer to any coherent sequence of words that does not contain a finite verb. Within English there are patterns of phrases that we normally use. We can name those phrases according to their patterns. Phrases may be named, or classified, according to how they function within a sentence as adjectival, adverbial or noun (substantival) phrases. They may also be classified according to the presence of particular types of words in them: for example as prepositional phrases, gerund phrases, participial phrases, infinitival phrases. Some phrases have several of these classifications at once.

28.1 ADJECTIVAL PHRASES Adjectives qualify nouns, pronouns or gerunds. Thus: Adjectival phrases are phrases that qualify nouns, pronouns or gerunds. For example: 1. Sid, asleep, snored. 2. Sid, sleeping, snored.

‘asleep’ is an adjective qualifying ‘Sid’ ‘sleeping’ is a participle acting as an adjective qualifying ‘Sid’ 3. Sid, sleeping soundly, snored. so ‘sleeping soundly’ is an adjectival phrase qualifying ‘Sid’ Consider these sentences again, (numbers 1 and 2 in section 16.1): 4. That brown-hatted gentleman over there has been waiting for you. 5a. That gentleman with the brown hat over there has been waiting for you. The phrase ‘with the brown hat’ in sentence 2 is acting just like the adjective ‘brownhatted’ in sentence 1. We can therefore call the phrase ‘with the brown hat’ an adjectival phrase. It is also a prepositional phrase as it begins with a preposition. There is another adjectival phrase in this sentence qualifying ‘gentleman’: 5b. That gentleman with the brown hat over there has been waiting for you. ‘Over there’ is also a prepositional phrase as it starts with the preposition ‘over’.

163

164

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

28.2 ADVERBIAL PHRASES Consider the adverbs in this sentence: 1. The teams’ moves soon became so very repetitive. ‘Soon’ is an adverb of time modifying the verb ‘became’ ‘So’ is an adverb modifying the adverb ‘very’; ‘Very’ is an adverb modifying the adjective ‘repetitive’. Adverbs modify a verb, an adjective or another adverb. Thus Adverbial phrases are phrases that could act in the way that adverbs act. However in normal English it is unlikely that an adverbial phrase would modify an adjective or an adverb. Thus we would state: Adverbial phrases modify verbs. Consider these sentences again (numbered 3 and 4 in section 16.1): 2. The gangster struck the waiter forcefully. 3. The gangster struck the waiter with force. In sentence 2 the adverb ‘forcefully’ modifies the verb ‘struck’ as it tells us how the action of striking occurred. Similarly in sentence 4 the phrase ‘with force’ modifies the verb ‘struck’ as it tells us how the action of striking occurred. Thus the phrase ‘with force’ is acting adverbially. It is an adverbial phrase in sentence 3. It is also a prepositional phrase as it begins with the preposition ‘with’. As noted in section 7.6.2, adverbs may be adverbs of time, manner, place, degree, and number. Similarly, an adverbial phrase may be, amongst others: 1. Adverbial phrase of time 2. Adverbial phrase of manner 3. Adverbial phrase of place 4. Adverbial phrase of degree 5. Adverbial phrase of number 6. Adverbial phrase of purpose 7. Adverbial phrase of reason

when? how? where? how much or how great? how many? for what purpose? for what reason?

8. Adverbial phrase of condition under what condition?

They ran at five o’clock. They ran with ease. They ran towards the end. They ran to the maximum. They ran for a third time. They ran for their team. He died because of his loving us If any at all, then it will be a lot.

28.3 NOUN PHRASES (SUBSTANTIVAL PHRASES) Nouns may be 1. a subject word, or an entire subject, 2. a direct object word or an entire object, 3. a main word of a complement or an entire complement, 4. in apposition to a noun, pronoun or gerund,

PHRASES II

165

5. governed by a preposition in a prepositional phrase (including as an indirect object word) 6. qualified by an adjective (including the definite or indefinite articles) Noun phrases act in the ways that nouns act in sentences. A noun phrase as the subject of a verb: 1a. To go home was what they wanted. 1b. Going home was what they wanted. A noun phrase as the direct object of a verb: 2a. They wanted to go home. 2b. They love being at home. A noun phrase as the complement of a verb: 3a. Their desire is to be here. 3b. The fun will be visiting the exotic locations. A noun phrase in apposition to a noun; 4a. Their desire, to be here, was all we noticed. 4b. Their desire, being here, was all we noticed. A noun phrase governed by a preposition: 5a. They were leaning towards choosing that one. 5b. By selecting that one they showed their true colors. A noun phrase qualified by an adjective: 6a. Riding the waves was fun. 6b. The reading of the letters had been very emotional.

28.4 NON-FINITE VERB PHRASES By definition, a phrase does not contain a finite verb, that is a phrase does not contain a verb that has a subject. This means that a phrase may contain a non-finite verb. Gerunds, participles, and infinitives are non-finite verbs Non-finite verbs may have direct objects if their finite forms can have direct objects. Non-finite verbs may have complements if their finite forms can have complements Non-finite verbs may be modified by adverbs and adverbial phrases just like their finite forms. Thus A phrase may contain a non-finite verb with a direct object or a complement and the non-finite verb may be modified by adverbs and adverbial phrases. We can name phrases after the type of word used to begin or structure the phrase: gerunds, participles, infinitives or prepositions.

28.5 GERUND PHRASES Gerund phrases may properly be called gerundive phrases. Because Latin has a gerundive form of verbs that is used significantly differently from gerunds, the term “gerund phrase” is used in this grammar to avoid ambiguity. Gerund phrases are structured around gerunds:

166

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS Gerund phrases are phrases beginning with gerunds, or with adjectival or adverbial words that qualify or modify the gerund which follows. Examples, with gerunds underlined: 1. Isn’t it true that taking good things for granted is what we tend to do? 2. Their carefully recording the events proved fortuitous. 3. Faithful and systematic reading of the Bible has been practised for thousands of years. 3. People all around the world can see the moon’s progressive waxing and waning each month.

As the last example has two gerunds there are two gerund phrases which share their words.

28.6 PARTICIPIAL PHRASES Participial phrases are sometimes called participle phrases. Participial phrases are phrases beginning with participles, or with adverbial words modifying the participle which follows. Examples, with participles underlined: 1. Those people sitting over there are the ones we are here to meet. 2. The children quietly waiting on the blue seats arrived first.

28.7 INFINITIVAL PHRASES Infinitival phrases are phrases beginning with infinitives or with adverbial words modifying the infinitive which follows. Examples, with infinitives underlined: 1. Would it be better to know the diagnosis or not to know it? 2. It is time to have a break. Because English infinitives are spelt with at least two words, it is possible to insert an adverb in between the ‘to’ and the characteristic verb spelling. This is called splitting the infinitive and the results are split infinitives. As they are widely used across the spectrum of English registers, many grammars regard them as acceptable, however, many others do not. This is one of the rare grammatical issues that public commentators often want us to carefully consider.

28.8 PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES WITH GERUNDS Prepositional phrases are phrases beginning with prepositions. Phrases beginning with prepositions followed by gerund phrases are therefore prepositional phrases where the preposition governs the gerund phrase. They are also gerund phrases that begin with a preposition. For many practical purposes it is usually helpful to regard these phrases primarily as prepositional phrases. Gerunds are verb forms acting as nouns, and gerund phrases within prepositional phrases are noun phrases. This fits the general pattern of prepositional phrases already stated:

PHRASES II

167

Prepositional phrases start with a preposition and end in a noun or a pronoun. The preposition governs the noun or pronoun in the prepositional phrase. We would now state: Prepositional phrases start with a preposition and end in a noun, pronoun, gerund or gerund phrase. The preposition governs the noun, pronoun or gerund in the prepositional phrase. Prepositional phrases are either adjectival phrases or adverbial phrases. Prepositional phrases are used extremely frequently throughout the English speaking world. Examples, with prepositions underlined: 1. What shall we do about providing an example? 2. Being without examples of prepositional phrases within the current section in this book concerning English grammar might lead to the conclusion, despite reality, that prepositional phrases, with their great potential for helpful communication, are not used frequently by English speakers at home and abroad, inside and outside countries, on land and over the seas and oceans around the world, and even going towards the moon and returning from space into the biosphere. Prepositional phrases are also common in Hebrew, Greek and Latin and their derivatives. In these languages many common expressions that do not use prepositions are translated into English using prepositions — see section 17 on case.

28.9 GERUND PHRASES NOT BEGINNING WITH PREPOSITIONS AS NOUN PHRASES

Gerunds function as verbal nouns: they are non-finite verb forms that function as nouns. Consequently gerund phrases can act in the way nouns act in sentences. Thus: Gerund phrases not beginning with prepositions are noun phrases. For examples see 1b, 2b, 3b, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a and 6b in section 28.3 noun phrases.

28.10 PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES AS ADJECTIVAL PHRASES OR ADVERBIAL PHRASES

Prepositional phrases may be adjectival phrases or adverbial phrases. For examples of prepositional phrases that function adjectivally, see 5a and 5b in section 28.1. From example 2 in section 28.8 some of the adjectival prepositional phrases are: of a number of prepositional phrases within the current section in this book concerning English grammar

qualifying the noun ‘examples’ qualifying the noun ‘number’ qualifying the noun ‘phrases’ qualifying the noun ‘section’ qualifying the noun ‘book’

168

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Some examples of adverbial prepositional phrases, also from example 2 in 28.8: without examples to the conclusion despite reality by English speakers

modifying the verb ‘might lead’ modifying the verb ‘might’ modifying the verb ‘might lead’ modifying the verb ‘are used’

28.11 PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES CONTAINING GERUNDS OR GERUND PHRASES AS ADJECTIVAL OR ADVERBIAL PHRASES

It follows that: Prepositional phrases containing gerunds or gerund phrases may be adjectival phrases or adverbial phrases. Because other languages often use cases without prepositions, when a gerund phrase is used in those languages without a preposition, it can be classified as acting adjectivally or adverbially, just as the English translation of that phrase using a preposition could be. However in the English translation, the gerund phrase within the prepositional phrase is regarded in English as a noun phrase governed by the preposition. An example of a prepositional phrase that has a gerund phrase and functions adverbially: 1. What did the builders decide about having an extra fireplace?

28.12 INFINITIVAL PHRASES AS NOUN PHRASES, ADJECTIVAL PHRASES OR ADVERBIAL PHRASES. English infinitives may function as verbal nouns, verbal adjectives or verbal adverbs. Thus: Infinitival phrases are either noun phrases, adjectival phrases or adverbial phrases. For examples of infinitival phrases functioning as noun phrases see 1a, 2a, 3a and 4a in section 28.3 Examples of infinitival phrases functioning as adjectival phrases: 1. Do you have any reason to leave later? The infinitival phrase ‘to leave later’ qualifies the noun ‘reason’ 2. That is the package to send quickly. The infinitival phrase ‘to send quickly’ is acting adjectivally by qualifying the noun ‘package’. Examples of infinitival phrases functioning as adverbial phrases: 3. Are you ready to leave now? The infinitival phrase ‘to leave now’ is acting adverbially by modifying the adjective ‘ready’. 4. The representatives were sure to have signed the agreement. The infinitival phrase ‘to have signed the agreement’ modifies the adjective ‘sure’. 5. The refugees ate to satisfy their hunger. ‘To satisfy their hunger’ modifies the verb ‘ate’

PHRASES II

169

28.13 PARTICIPIAL PHRASES AS ADJECTIVAL PHRASES. Participles function as verbal adjectives: that is, they are non-finite verb forms that function as adjectives. Consequently participial phrases may act in the way adjectives do in sentences. Thus: Participial phrases are adjectival phrases. Examples, with the words that are qualified by the adjectival participial phrases underlined: 1. Sid, sleeping soundly, snored. ‘Sleeping’ is a participle qualifying the proper noun ‘Sid’ ‘Soundly’ is an adverb modifying the non-finite verb ‘sleeping’ So ‘sleeping soundly’ is a participial phrase acting adjectivally to qualify ‘Sid’ 2. Caesar, looking towards Gaul, planned to conquer it. The participial phrase ‘looking towards Gaul’ acts adjectivally to qualify ‘Caesar’. 3. Having heard the address by Paul, they were baptized. 4. Having been healed of leprosy, only one of them thanked Jesus. 5. The hungry children quickly ate the food prepared for them. Whether the various types of phrases are noun phrases, adjectival phrases or adverbial phrases is very important for understanding Greek and Latin and for being able to translate them into English well. Routinely Greek grammars state that participles are verbal adjectives. However many grammars go on to state that Greek participles regularly act adverbially, as if modifying a verb. To the contrary the remaining grammars understand participles as acting like adjectives by qualifying nouns or pronouns, not also as adverbs. But it does not follow that a participle or a participial phrase in Greek that does function adjectivally will be accurately translated into English by an adjectival expression of any particular sort in English. In fact, many Greek non-finite participles are translated well using finite verbs and adverbial expressions. A very easy mistake that is often made after translating Greek correctly into English, is to use the English grammatical classification of the translated words to describe the Greek grammar of the original words. Since many common Greek participial phrases are translated well into English using adverbial expressions, it seems that those grammars treating participles as acting adverbially have made such a mistake.

29. SIMPLE SENTENCE COMPONENTS AND EXPANSION USING NON-FINITE VERBS AND PHRASES After interjections (section 16.3) have been identified, and after allowing for any words understood (section 5.7), we can describe simple sentences in the following ways.

29.1 SIMPLE SENTENCE COMPONENTS Recall the summary of components of a simple sentence in section 15:

The simple sentence is composed of only one subject plus only one predicate We can identify two simple sentence types: The basic simple sentence, and The expanded simple sentence.

29.2. THE BASIC SIMPLE SENTENCE + The Subject

Subject must have at least one subject word Each subject word is a noun or pronoun + The Predicate Predicate must have a finite verb

29.3. SENTENCE EXPANSION STEP 1: THE EXPANDED SIMPLE SENTENCE + The Subject

Subject must have at least one subject word Each subject word is a noun or pronoun Subject may include adjectives qualifying a subject word Subject may include adverbs modifying adjectives that are in the subject Subject may include adverbs modifying adverbs that are modifying adjectives that are in the subject + The Predicate Predicate must have a finite verb Predicate may include adverbs modifying the finite verb in the predicate Predicate may include adverbs modifying adverbs that are modifying the verb When the verb is transitive predicate must include a direct object Direct object must have at least one direct object word Each direct object word is a noun or pronoun Direct object may include adjectives qualifying a direct object word 171

172

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS Direct object may include adverbs modifying adjectives in the direct object Direct object may include adverbs modifying adverbs that are modifying adjectives in the direct object

If the verb is an action verb predicate may include an indirect object An English indirect object may or may not be a phrase starting with ‘to’ or ‘for’ Indirect object must have at least one indirect object word Each indirect object word is a noun or pronoun Indirect object may include adjectives qualifying an indirect object word Indirect object may include adverbs modifying adjectives in the indirect object Indirect object may include adverbs modifying adverbs that are modifying adjectives in the indirect object When the verb is an English stative verb predicate nearly always includes a complement. Complement may include adjectives qualifying the subject word(s) Complement may include adverbs modifying adjectives that are in the complement qualifying the subject word(s) Complement may include adverbs modifying adverbs that are modifying adjectives that are in the complement qualifying the subject words Complement may include nouns or pronouns Complement may include adjectives qualifying a noun or pronoun that is in the complement Complement may include adverbs modifying adjectives that are in the complement qualifying a noun or pronoun which is also in the complement Complement may include adverbs modifying adverbs that are modifying adjectives that are in the complement qualifying a noun or pronoun also in the complement

29.4 SENTENCE EXPANSION STEP 2: APPOSITION AND ADDING NON-FINITE VERBS AND PHRASES (PRELIMINARY) The pattern of the expanded simple sentence may be expanded further by: a) adding nouns, or noun phrases in apposition to nouns or pronouns. b) replacing nouns, pronouns, adjectives or adverbs with non-finite verbs: Gerunds may replace nouns or pronouns. Participles may replace adjectives. Infinitives may replace nouns, pronouns, adjectives or adverbs. c) replacing nouns, pronouns, adjectives or adverbs with phrases: Noun phrases may replace nouns or pronouns. Adjectival phrases may replace adjectives. Adverbial phrases may replace adverbs. Accordingly: Gerund phrases may replace nouns or pronouns. Participial phrases may replace adjectives. Prepositional phrases may replace adjectives, or adverbs. Infinitival phrases may replace nouns, pronouns, or adjectives, or adverbs modifying verbs.

30. CLAUSES I: CLAUSES, SIMPLE SENTENCES AND COMPOSITE SENTENCES 30.1 CLAUSES AND PHRASES Two important types of expressions or strings of words are phrases and clauses. A phrase is a string of words that does not contain a finite verb. A clause is an expression that does contain one, and only one, finite verb.

30.2 SIMPLE SENTENCES AS INDEPENDENT CLAUSES We have seen that simple sentences can be expanded in quite a lot of ways, becoming very varied. However if simple sentences are expanded in the ways described so far, all simple sentences still only have one finite verb each. Thus: Every simple sentence is a single clause. Every single clause that makes up the whole of a sentence is a simple sentence. A simple sentence can be called an independent sentence or an independent clause because it is a complete sentence by itself.

30.3 COMPOSITE SENTENCES Two or more simple sentences can be joined together to form a composite sentence. Each one of the simple sentences that are joined to form a composite sentence is called a clause within the composite sentence. Each composite sentence has more than one clause in it. Each sentence, simple or composite, has exactly the same number of finite verbs as it has clauses making it up. Because every clause has just one finite verb, every clause has one subject and one predicate. Consider these sentences: 1. We come. 2. We go. 3. We come and we go. Sentences 1 and 2 are simple sentences (in more ways than one). They are combined by using the conjunction ‘and’ to form sentence 3, which is thus a composite sentence with two clauses, two subjects and two predicates, and two finite verbs.

173

174

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

First clause: Subject: Predicate: Finite verb:

‘we come’ ‘we’ ‘come’ ‘come’

Conjunction: ‘and’

Second clause: Subject: Predicate: Finite verb:

‘we go’ ‘we’ ‘go’ ‘go’

30.4 MAIN CLAUSES (INDEPENDENT CLAUSES) Notice that if we separate the two clauses in 3 above from each other and from the conjunction, they make sense by themselves — they do not need another sentence to belong to the sentence. Each of such clauses is called a main clause. A main clause is also called an independent clause. First clause becomes: Does it make sense alone? Second clause becomes: Does it make sense alone? How many main clauses are there? Main clause or main clauses:

‘We come.’ yes. ‘We go.’ yes. two ‘we come’, ‘we go’

30.5 CO-ORDINATE CLAUSES (INDEPENDENT CLAUSES) AND DOUBLE SENTENCES

A composite sentence, like 3, that is composed of a two main clauses joined by a conjunction may be called a double sentence. In section 16.2 we gave some examples of conjunctions: and but or either ... or neither ... nor When these conjunctions are used to join two simple sentences together they create double sentences. This type of conjunction is called a co-ordinating conjunction. Co-ordinating conjunctions join main clauses. Main clauses joined in this way are called co-ordinate clauses. When two co-ordinate clauses have exactly the same subject, it is possible to leave out the words for the subject in the second co-ordinate clause. The second subject can then be considered “understood”. We have already seen understood subjects in command sentences. Consider these sentences: 1. We come. 2. We go. 3. We come and we go. 4. We come and go.

CLAUSES I: CLAUSES, SIMPLE SENTENCES AND COMPOSITE SENTENCES Sentence 4: First clause: Subject: Predicate: Finite verb: Conjunction: Second clause: Subject: Predicate: Finite verb:

175

‘we come’ ‘we’ ‘come’ ‘come’ ‘and’ (co-ordinating conjunction) ‘go’ (we) (that is ‘we’ understood) ‘go’ ‘go’

30.6 SUBORDINATE CLAUSES (DEPENDENT CLAUSES) There are other types of composite sentences that are not simply co-ordinate clauses joined together. Consider these sentences (after or adapted from the CEV, 1 Samuel 31:26–31): 5. David went back to Ziklag with everything that they had taken from the Amalekites. 6. He sent some of these things as gifts to his friends who were leaders of Judah and said something to them. 7. That is a list of the towns where David sent gifts. 8. David sent these gifts after he had taken them from the Amalekites. How many clauses are in each of these sentences? — The same number as the number of finite verbs. The finite verbs are highlighted. Breaking the sentences up into clauses we get: Sentence 5: David went back to Ziklag with everything that they had taken from the Amalekites. First clause: David went back to Ziklag with everything Does it make sense by itself? yes Then is it a main clause? yes Second clause: that they had taken from the Amalekites Does it make sense by itself? no, it needs the main clause to make sense Then is it a main clause? no A clause in these types of sentences that is not a main clause is called a subordinate clause. A subordinate clause is also called a dependent clause. Each subordinate clause is said to be subordinate to a main clause because its role in the sentence is subordinate to the role of a main clause and it depends on the main clause to complete its meaning. Equivalently we could state that each dependent clause is dependent on an independent clause to complete its meaning.

176

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Sentence 6: He sent some of these things as gifts to his friends who were leaders of Judah and said something to them. First clause: He sent some of these things as gifts to his friends Does it make sense by itself? yes Then is it a main clause? yes Second clause: who were leaders of Judah Does it make sense by itself? no, it needs the main clause to make sense Then is it a main clause? no Then is it a subordinate clause? yes Co-ordinating conjunction: and Third clause: (he) said something to them Does it make sense by itself? yes Then is it a main clause? yes Sentence 7: That is a list of the towns where David sent gifts. First clause: That is a list of the towns Does it make sense by itself? yes Then is it a main clause? yes Second clause: where David sent gifts Does it make sense by itself? no, it needs the main clause to make sense Then is it a main clause? no Then is it a subordinate clause? yes Sentence 8: David sent these gifts after he had taken them from the Amalekites. First clause: David sent these gifts Does it make sense by itself? yes Then is it a main clause? yes Second clause: after he had taken them from the Amalekites Does it make sense by itself? no, it needs the main clause to make sense Then is it a main clause? no Then is it a subordinate clause? yes

30.7 CLAUSES, COMPLEX SENTENCES AND MULTIPLE COMPLEX SENTENCES As we have already seen: A simple sentence has only one clause. A composite sentence has more than one clause. A double sentence has two main clauses. Consider the examples just given above. A complex sentence has only one main clause plus at least one subordinate clause. Therefore sentences 5, 7 and 8 above are complex sentences. A double complex sentence has two main clauses and at least one subordinate clause. Therefore sentence 6 above is a double complex sentence. We can generate even more complicated sentences: A multiple sentence has only main clauses but more than two main clauses.

CLAUSES I: CLAUSES, SIMPLE SENTENCES AND COMPOSITE SENTENCES

177

A multiple complex sentence has more than two main clauses and at least one subordinate clause. Other grammars will have different names for these types of sentences, but that is not especially important. It is helpful to think in the manner set out above about ways that clauses can be joined together to form composite sentences. Some Greek sentences are very, very long, but turn out to have structures that are easy to work out. That makes them easier to translate accurately into English using whatever number of sentences that make sense to an English reader. The distinction between main clauses and subordinate clauses is, however, very important.

30.8 TABLE OF SENTENCE TYPES The classification of kinds of sentence offered by S.H. Burton (p. 88) is helpful. With a little modification it is set out in the Table of Sentence Types. Table of Sentence Types Type of sentence

Identifying characteristic

Simple sentence

only one finite verb

Composite sentence

two or more clauses

Complex sentence

one main clause and at least one subordinate clause

Double sentence

two main clauses

Double complex sentence

two main clauses and at least one subordinate clause

Multiple sentence

more than two main clauses

Multiple complex sentence

more than two main clauses and at least one subordinate clause

31. CLAUSES II: TYPES OF SUBORDINATE CLAUSES (DEPENDENT CLAUSES) Subordinate clauses can be classified like phrases. Subordinate clauses may be: adjectival clauses adverbial clauses noun clauses Adjectives and adjectival phrases qualify nouns or pronouns (or their equivalents like gerunds). Likewise: Adjectival clauses qualify nouns or pronouns. Adverbs and adverbial phrases modify verbs, adjectives or adverbs. Likewise: Adverbial clauses modify verbs, adjectives or adverbs. Noun phrases function in sentences in the ways that nouns do. Similarly: Noun clauses function in sentences in the ways that nouns and noun phrases do.

31.1 ADJECTIVAL CLAUSES The following two sentences have nearly equivalent meanings: 1. They saw a person with a green hat. 2. They saw a person who had a green hat. So do these sentences: 3. They saw a person wearing a green hat. 4. They saw a person who was wearing a green hat. Sentence 1 has a prepositional phrase acting adjectivally by qualifying the noun ‘person’. Sentence 2 has an adjectival clause qualifying the noun ‘person’. Sentence 3 has a participial phrase acting adjectivally by qualifying the noun ‘person’. Sentence 4 has an adjectival clause qualifying the noun ‘person’. 2. They saw a person who had a green hat. This sentence has two finite verbs and so has two clauses: first clause: They saw a person second clause: who had a green hat

179

180

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS We could break the sentence into two simple sentences: 2a They saw a person. 2b A person had a green hat.

The two sentences, 2a and 2b, do not quite mean the same as sentence 2, because there is only one person seen in sentence 2 and that person had a green hat. In the pair of sentences 2a and 2b, it is possible that they saw one person, but that there might have been a second person who had a green hat. The meanings of the two clauses in 2 were tied together, with the meaning of the second clause dependent on the first clause. The first clause, ‘They saw a person’ is the main clause and the second clause ‘who had a green hat’ is a dependent or subordinate clause. The subordinate clause qualifies the noun ‘person’ and so it is an adjectival clause. Similarly in sentence 4 the adjectival subordinate clause ‘who was wearing a green hat’ qualifies the noun ‘person’. Notice that the adjectival clauses in sentences 2 and 4 each begins with the word ‘who’. The following three sentences have an equivalent meaning: 5. This is the punctured tire. 6. This is the tire with the puncture. 7. This is the tire that has the puncture. 8. This is the tire which has the puncture. Sentence 5 has an adjective qualifying the noun ‘tire’. Sentence 6 has a prepositional phrase acting adjectivally by qualifying the noun ‘tire’. Sentence 7 has an adjectival clause, ‘that has the puncture’, qualifying the noun ‘tire’. Sentence 8 has an adjectival clause, ‘which has the puncture’, qualifying the noun ‘tire’. Notice that the adjectival clause in sentence 7 begins with the word ‘that’, and the adjectival clause in 8 begins with the word ‘which’. Subordinate clauses can be inserted within the clause to which they are subordinated. 9. The time to play has arrived. 10. The time that we are to play has arrived. Sentence 9 has an infinitival phrase acting adjectivally by qualifying the noun ‘time’. Sentence 10 has an adjectival clause, ‘that we are to play’, qualifying the noun ‘time’. Notice that the adjectival clause breaks up the main clause, which is ‘the time has arrived’. This is often done to put the adjectival clause next to the word it qualifies.

CLAUSES II: TYPES OF SUBORDINATE CLAUSES (DEPENDENT CLAUSES)

181

31.2 RELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS The adjectival clauses in sentences 2 and 4 begin with ‘who’, in 7 and 10 they begin with the word ‘that’ and in 8 with ‘which’. The words ‘that’ ‘who’ and ‘which’ are used to join the adjectival clauses to their main clauses: therefore these words are conjunctions. Because they are relating subordinate clauses to main clauses they can be called subordinate conjunctions or relative conjunctions. They will be discussed later in the section on relative pronouns and relative adjectives. They are in fact relative pronominal conjunctions, but most grammars will refer to them by one of the other terms. ‘Which’ is used when relating non-living things. ‘Who’ when relating living things or beings. ‘That’ can be used for the living or non-living

31.3 ADVERBIAL CLAUSES Amongst types of adverbs there are: 1. Adverbs of time when? 2. Adverbs of manner how? 3. Adverbs of place where? 4. Adverbs of degree how much or how great? 5. Adverbs of number how many?

They ran quickly. They ran easily. They ran there. They ran extensively. They ran twice.

So also there may be adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses of time, manner, place (location), degree (extent), and number. There are many ways of grouping the different types of adverbial clauses. It may be best to consider the classifications of types of adverbial clauses given in grammars, including this one, as potentially useful guides rather than absolute categories. Some Greek, Latin and Hebrew grammars give abundant categories of adverbial clauses, while others give very few. It is important to recognize adverbial clauses as acting adverbially by modifying verbs, adjectives or adverbs. Adverbial clauses modify a word in the main clause, not one in their own clause. 31.3.1 Adverbial clauses of time: Temporal clauses 1. At six o’clock the train departed. 2. When it was six o’clock the train departed. 3. While the clock struck six the train pulled out. Sentences 1 and 2 have an equivalent meaning. Sentence 1 uses a prepositional phrase, an adverbial phrase of time to modify the verb ‘departed’. Sentence 2 uses an adverbial clause of time to modify ‘departed’. Sentence 3 has an adverbial clause of time modifying the verb ‘pulled’. Adverbial clauses of time often begin with words like ‘when’, ‘while’, ‘as’, ‘before’, ‘after’, ‘since’, ‘until’, ‘whenever’. These words can be called temporal conjunctions. 31.3.2 Adverbial clauses of manner: Manner clauses 4. The train departed like a canon ball. 5. The train departed like it was a ball fired from a canon. 6. Their young children performed as they had been taught.

182

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS 7. The refugees managed however they could.

Sentence 4 has a prepositional adverbial phrase of manner modifying the verb ‘departed’. Sentence 5 has an adverbial clause of manner modifying the verb ‘departed’. Sentence 6 has an adverbial clause of manner modifying the verb ‘performed’. Sentence 7 has an adverbial clause of manner modifying the verb ‘managed’. Adverbial clauses of manner often begin with the conjunctions ‘like’, ‘as’, ‘as if’ and ‘however’. 31.3.3 Adverbial clauses of place: Locative clauses 8. The trains went to every station. 9. The trains went wherever there was a train station. Sentence 8 has a prepositional phrase, an adverbial phrase of place modifying the verb ‘went’. Sentence 9 has an adverbial clause of place modifying the verb ‘went’. Adverbial clauses of place (or location) often begin with the conjunctions ‘where’, ‘wherever’, ‘whence’, ‘whither’. These words can be called locative conjunctions. 31.3.4 Adverbial clauses of reason: Reason clauses (Causal clauses) 10. Because it was six o’clock the train departed. 11. They had to stop sprinting as they had ran out of breath. 12 The water froze since the temperature dropped overnight to ten degrees below zero. Sentences 10, 11 and 12 each have a different adverbial clause of reason. In 10 it modifies the verb ‘departed’. In 11 it modifies the verb ‘stop’. In 12, the verb ‘froze’. Adverbial clauses of reason (or cause) often begin with the conjunctions ‘because’, ‘since’, ‘as’. These words can be called causal conjunctions. 31.3.5 Adverbial clauses of purpose: Purpose Clauses (Final Clauses) 13. Caesar invaded Britain in 55 B.C. so that he might lay a linguistic foundation for the development of English. 14. William the Conqueror invaded Britain in 1066 in order that the Normans would provide a French base for the development of English. 15. Napoleon fought at Waterloo that Nelson might become famous. 16. Burke and Wills set out on a long journey so that they might discover a way across the Australian continent. 17. Hitler invaded Poland in 1939 in order that he would receive aid under the Marshall Plan. 18. They invaded the country lest they get bored. 19. They invaded the country so that they would not get bored. Despite factual errors of sentences 13, 14, 15 and 17, each of the sentences 13 to 19 has an adverbial clause of purpose. The words introducing the purpose clauses here are ‘so that’, ‘in order that’, ‘that’, and ‘lest’. Even though we could strictly classify each

CLAUSES II: TYPES OF SUBORDINATE CLAUSES (DEPENDENT CLAUSES)

183

of the words making up ‘so that’ and ‘in order that’ separately according to English grammar, it is better to think of the terms ‘so that’ and ‘in order that’ as single terms, for the words making them up act together as if they were one term. That will help in understanding and translating from Greek, Latin and Hebrew. Thus we could call ‘so that’, ‘in order that’, ‘that’, and ‘lest’ adverbial conjunctions of purpose. Adverbial clauses of purpose often begin with the conjunctions ‘so that’, ‘in order that’, ‘that’, and ‘lest’. Generally, the finite verb of the purpose clause is in the subjunctive mood in English. See section 14.1 — note example 6. Notice that sentences 18 and 19 have the same meaning, the one using ‘lest’ the other ‘so that’ followed by ‘not’. The word ‘lest’ is a compact English way of showing negative purpose, for it means ‘so that .... not’ or ‘in order that .... not’ or something similar. English translations of purpose clauses from Latin and other languages often change the grammatical structures involved, without changing the meaning. Instead of using ‘in order that’ followed by a subject and a finite verb, many often use ‘in order to’ followed by an infinitive form. This can occur when the subject of the purpose clause is a pronoun whose antecedent is the subject word of the main clause. For example, in sentence 16 ‘Burke’ and ‘Wills’ are the subject words of the main clause; ‘they’ is a pronoun and the subject of the purpose clause. This sentence can be restated: 20. Burke and Wills set out on a long journey in order to discover a way across the Australian continent. Many vocab lists and grammars give ‘in order to’ as the meaning of some purpose conjunctions of other languages. That is simply a convenient aid for arriving at a sensible English translation of the sentence from the other language. Sentence 20 is frequently even more succinctly stated in English as: 21. Burke and Wills set out on a long journey to discover a way across the Australian continent. Therefore we can state that in English one of the uses of the simple infinitive construction of a verb is to convey purpose, however that might not be the case with another language. English sentences like 16, 20 and 21 are interchangable, and could translate one structure from another language. It might not be that another language has similar parallel constructions with the same meaning. 31.3.6 Adverbial clauses of result (or consequence): Result clauses (Consecutive Clauses) 22. They went there so that they might find the prize quickly. 23. They went there so that they found the prize quickly. Notice that both sentences 22 and 23 have the conjunction ‘so that’. The types of adverbial clauses that this conjunction introduces have led to confusion or ambiguity. Sentence 22 contains an adverbial clause of purpose, as it expresses the purpose of doing something. Notice that the verb of the adverbial clause is ‘might find’, a subjunctive form of the verb ‘find’. This gives us the clue that this is a purpose clause. Sentence 23 contains an adverbial clause of result (or consequence), as it expresses the result (or consequence) of doing something. Notice that the verb of the

184

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

adverbial clause is ‘found’, an indicative form. This gives us the clue that this is a result clause. Adverbial clauses of result often begin with the conjunctions ‘so that’, ‘that’, ‘so ... that’, ‘such ... that’. In English the finite verb of the result clause would be in the indicative mood (see section 14.1). 31.3.7 Adverbial clauses of condition: Conditional clauses Conditional clauses are not always classified as adverbial clauses. Often conditional clauses are treated in grammar sections on conditional sentences or conditionals. It is important once again to note that how a grammatical characteristic of English functions may be different from how it works in Greek, Latin or Hebrew. This is particularly true of conditionals. The information given in this English grammar merely provides a basic understanding on which to build. A conditional clause is an adverbial clause of condition, for it expresses the condition under which the main clause would be true or would come about. Some examples of conditional clauses: 24. Provided you can hear them coming, we will know when they arrive. 25. You may have more if you like it. 26. If I were you, I would not do what you do. 27. Were that the case, I would not be me. 28. Should it rain, the match will go on anyway. 29. Unless we leave soon, we will be snowed in. 30. Suppose someone actually does come for breakfast, where will we eat? 31. Suppose someone did come for breakfast, where would we eat? 32. Suppose someone were to come for breakfast, where would we eat? 33. If it has not come, then it has not come. 34. When marbles are green, they can be difficult to find in the grass. 35. If that is true, then we have won! As we can see in these examples, conditional sentences have a typical structure: [condition] + [consequence] or [consequence] + [condition]. The condition is called an adverbial clause of condition, or more simply the conditional clause, and the consequence is a main clause. Other terms can be used to identify these two types of clause occurring in a conditional sentence. The terms are usually used in pairs: This term:

is often used with this term:

the condition the adverbial clause of condition

the consequence the main clause

the conditional clause the “if” clause

the main clause the “then” clause

the protasis the premiss

the apodosis the answering clause

CLAUSES II: TYPES OF SUBORDINATE CLAUSES (DEPENDENT CLAUSES)

185

Notice that conditional clauses often begin with ‘if’. Hence the designation of conditional clauses as “if” clauses in some grammars. The main clause in a conditional sentence often begins with ‘then’ and so the clause has been designated as the “then” clause. But an introductory conjunction may be left out and may not be needed, as in 27 and 28 above. In both of these examples, the subjunctive form of the verb is used in the conditional clause to convey the conditional sense in English. Other methods to indicate conditional structures will also be used in Greek and other languages. In the examples of conditional sentences above, notice the mixture of indicative and subjunctive forms. Amongst English speakers there is considerable variation in the use of the subjunctive and indicative moods in conditional sentences. The extent of this variation suggests we are changing the implied conventions about how we use these forms. Consider, for example, sentences 30, 31 and 32. They might be used interchangeably, but they could also be used by the same speaker for slightly different situations. For most English speakers the differences between them are insignificant. Adverbial clauses of condition, when they use conjunctions, often begin with the conjunctions ‘if’, ‘provided’, ‘unless’, ‘suppose’ and ‘when’ and the consequence with the conjunction ‘then’. 31.3.8 Adverbial clauses of comparison: Comparative clauses We have already described the comparison of adjectives and adverbs in section 27. The comparative degree of adjectives or adverbs can be used with the word ‘than’ to compare two things or actions. A simple sentence: 1. That one is whiter than this. Complex sentences: 2. That one is redder than this one is. 3. She is more beautiful than I am. 4. The hare ran more quickly than the tortoise walked, but still lost the race. In these examples the word ‘than’ is a conjunction, beginning an adverbial clause of comparison — also called a comparative clause. In sentence 2 ‘than’ joins the comparative clause ‘than this one is’ to the main clause ‘that one is redder’. In 3 ‘than’ joins the comparative clause ‘than I am’ to the main clause ‘she is more beautiful’. In 4 ‘than’ joins the comparative clause ‘than the tortoise walked’ to the main clause ‘the hare ran more quickly’. Adverbial clauses of comparison often begin with the conjunctions ‘than’, ‘as’, and ‘such as’. These words can be called comparative conjunctions. 31.3.9 Adverbial clauses of concession: concessive clauses 1. Although we were there yesterday, we don’t remember what it was like. 2. Even though they had climbed Mt Everest, they seemed to be disappointed. Adverbial clauses of concession (concessive clauses) often begin with the conjunctions ‘although’, ‘though’ and ‘even though’. These can be called concessive conjunctions.

31.4 NOUN CLAUSES Just as noun phrases function in sentences in the ways that nouns do: Noun clauses function in sentences in ways that nouns and noun phrases do.

186

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Just as pronouns act in place of nouns, and as gerunds are verb forms acting like nouns or pronouns, noun clauses function in sentences like pronouns and other expressions equivalent to nouns. Noun clauses are themselves expressions equivalent to nouns. Like a noun and a noun phrase, a noun clause can be: 1. the subject of a finite verb 2. the direct object of a finite or non-finite verb 3. the complement of a stative verb 4. governed by a preposition 5. in apposition to a noun, a pronoun or noun equivalent. 6. qualified by an adjective. In the following sections with examples of noun clauses, the noun clauses are highlighted. 31.4.1 Noun clause as the subject of a finite verb 1. That we are nearly finished the discussion of clauses is quite exciting. 2. That noun clauses can be the subject of a verb may be difficult to see. 3. Whether the moon will fall into the sea was not one of my preferred topics. 4. Why George and Fiona would move is beyond comprehension. 5. How the Vikings could win the next championship may be a bit of a mystery. 6. When the rain will come again is something we would all like to know. 7. Where the shuttle landed was what they were trying to find out. 8. What the speaker said had some impact at least. 9. Whatever the speaker said cheered them up considerably. 10. However you climb to the top of the cliff does not seem to matter. 11. Wherever the actors go will be on camera. 12. Whoever lets the animals out will be loved or loathed. 13. Whichever group crosses together first will win. Notice that each main clause will make sense by itself if each noun clause is replaced by a suitable pronoun. For example, the first three and the last two sentences could become: 14. That is quite exciting. 15. It may be difficult to see. 16. This was not one of my preferred topics. 17. He or she will be loved or loathed. 18. They will win. Noun clauses can begin with such conjunctions as ‘that’, ‘whether’, ‘why’, ‘how’, ‘when’, ‘where’, ‘what’, ‘whatever’ ‘however’, ‘however’, ‘wherever’, ‘whoever’ and ‘whichever’. 31.4.2. Noun clause as the direct object of a finite or non-finite verb 19. They think that it is simply too early to sleep. 20. Who can say which book will be read first? 21. The generous donors gave whatever they could to the survivors.

CLAUSES II: TYPES OF SUBORDINATE CLAUSES (DEPENDENT CLAUSES)

187

31.4.3. Noun clause as the complement of a stative verb 22. It really is what was needed. 23. These words are what we are looking for. 31.4.4. Noun clause governed by a preposition 24. The institution is supported by what is done locally. 25. The racers may drive on whatever tracks they like. 26. For whoever came it was a wonderful time. 27. The generous donors gave whatever they could to who(m)ever survived. 28. They are thinking about whether they will go. Note that when something is translated from Greek, Latin or Hebrew into English using an English noun clause governed by a preposition, it may be that a different type of grammatical analysis applies to the original expression in Greek, Latin or Hebrew. Even within English there can be significantly different sentence structures meaning the same thing. For example: 29. For everyone who came it was a wonderful time. Sentence 29 means the same as 26. The two are interchangable in most circumstances. However the two have different English constructions. Sentence 26 has a preposition governing a noun phrase ‘whoever came’. Sentence 29 has a preposition governing a pronoun ‘everyone’, and that pronoun is qualified by an adjectival clause ‘who came’. The ancient languages have their own routine ways of structuring sentences that could be translated using English structures like those in 26 and 29. 31.4.5. Noun clause in apposition to a noun, a pronoun or noun equivalent 30. The result that they passed thrilled them all. The noun clause is ‘that they passed’. The noun clause is in apposition to the noun ‘result’. We could say, “The result thrilled them all,” and, “That they passed thrilled them all,” without changing the obvious meaning of the original sentence. The sentence does not mean “The result which they passed thrilled them all.” That is because the noun clause is not qualifying the noun ‘result’, but the noun clause is identifying with the noun ‘result’. This type of distinction between a noun clause in apposition to a noun and an adjectival clause qualifying a noun is very important in English, Latin and Greek. It is not normally as important in Hebrew, where words are more frequently in apposition than they are in English. 31. The students all successfully defended the thesis that all swans are not white. The noun clause is ‘that all swans are not white’. It is in apposition to the noun ‘thesis’. The noun clause is identified with the thesis, as they both refer to, or name, the same thing. We could not replace ‘that’ with ‘which’ and still have the same meaning. In contrast consider: 32. The students all successfully defended the thesis that they had formulated. The highlighted clause is an adjectival clause qualifying the noun ‘thesis’. It is not in apposition with any word or words. We could replace ‘that’ with ‘which’ and still have

188

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

the same meaning. The adjectival clause gives us particular background information about “the thesis”. That background information is not what the thesis is. It is the role of adjectival expressions to qualify what we know about nouns or pronouns, in this case to provide background information about the thesis. 31.4.6 Parts of Speech III: pronouns and prepositions

31.4.6.1 More about pronouns We could add to our description of the function of pronouns. Remember we stated: Pronouns are a small group of general words that can replace nouns. A pronoun points out a person, place, thing or quality without naming it. We could now state: Pronouns are a small group of general words that can replace nouns, noun phrases or noun clauses. A pronoun points out a person, place, thing, quality or description without naming it.

31.4.6.2 More about prepositions We could add to our description of the function of prepositions. We stated: Prepositions introduce phrases that do not contain finite verbs, that act either adjectivally or adverbially and that end in a noun or pronoun. We could now state: Prepositions introduce phrases that do not contain finite verbs, that act adjectivally or adverbially and that end in a noun or pronoun. Prepositions may also be followed by expressions equivalent to nouns, that is by gerunds, gerund phrases, or noun clauses. In English each infinitive begins with the preposition ‘to’. Thus an infinitive phrase already begins with a preposition.

32. SENTENCE EXPANSION II: STEP 4 (a) Any two sentences may be joined by a conjunction to make one longer sentence. (b) Conjunctions can be used to combine any number of sentences, no matter how complex each sentence might be, into one sentence. The classification of kinds of sentence offered by S.H. Burton (p. 88) is helpful. With a little modification it is set out in the Table of Sentence Types. Table of Sentence Types: Type of sentence

Identifying characteristic

Simple sentence

only one finite verb

Composite sentence

two or more clauses

Complex sentence

one main clause and at least one subordinate clause

Double sentence

two main clauses

Double complex sentence

two main clauses and at least one subordinate clause

Multiple sentence

more than two main clauses

Multiple complex sentence

more than two main clauses and at least one subordinate clause

189

33. CONJUNCTIONS Conjunctions join words, phrases, clauses and sentences together. Conjunctions acting in these ways may be classified as either co-ordinating conjunctions or subordinating conjunctions (subordinate conjunctions). When co-ordinating or subordinating conjunctions join sentences to form one longer sentence, the new sentence is a composite sentence, composed of two or more clauses. The composite sentence created has the same total number of clauses as existed in all of the sentences now joined together. We may classify another type of conjunction as an inferential conjunction. These conjunctions can be understood to join a sentence to preceding words notionally, that is, without the necessity of creating a new sentence that is a combination of previous clauses. A good example of an inferential conjunction is the word ‘therefore’.

33.1 CO-ORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS Co-ordinating conjunctions join main clauses to form a single sentence. Main clauses joined in this way are called co-ordinate clauses. 1. Blue walked over to the barn. 2. Red stayed near the swing. 3. Blue walked over to the barn and Red stayed near the swing. The two simple sentences 1 and 2 are joined by the co-ordinating conjunction ‘and’ to form 3, a single complex sentence with two main clauses. In section 16.2 we gave some examples of conjunctions. They are co-ordinating conjunctions: ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘or’, ‘either … or’, ‘neither … nor’ When co-ordinating conjunctions are used to join two simple sentences together they create double sentences, each with two main clauses. Sentence 3 above is a double sentence. Co-ordinating conjunctions are also used to join single words within a clause. 4. Jack and Jill ran up the hill. — ‘and’ joins the two subject words ‘Jack’ and ‘Jill’ to form with them the subject ‘Jack and Jill’. 5. Neither Jack nor Jill knows how famous they have become, do they? Co-ordinating conjunctions are used to join phrases together. 6. The pastor handled the reconciliation with careful thought and with kind words. 191

192

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS Co-ordinating conjunctions are used to join two clauses together. 7. Who did this and who did that are what the investigators were trying to find out.

33.2 SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS (SUBORDINATE CONJUNCTIONS) Subordinating conjunctions are used to join a subordinate clause to another clause. The three types of subordinate clauses are: noun clauses, adjectival clauses and adverbial clauses. Adjectival clauses and adverbial clauses are also called relative clauses. Subordinate conjunctions that join adjectival clauses or adverbial clauses to other clauses are also called relative conjunctions. The three types of relative conjunctions are: relative pronouns relative adjectives relative adverbs. Adjectival clauses relate to a noun or pronoun in the main clause by qualifying that noun or pronoun. Adjectival clauses are therefore introduced by relative pronouns, relative adjectives or relative adverbs. Adverbial clauses relate to a verb, adjective or adverb in the main clause by modifying it. Adverbial clauses are therefore introduced by relative adverbs. 33.2.1 Subordinating conjunction ‘that’ and noun clauses Each noun clause on the other hand does the work characteristic of a noun in a sentence. The word ‘that’ often begins a noun clause. 1. They left quickly saying that it is difficult. 2. That the population has fallen is a surprise to some people. 3. The teacher gave the claim that all swans are white as an incorrect example of a tautology. In 1 ‘that’ begins the noun clause ‘that it is difficult’, the direct object of the participle ‘saying’. In 2 ‘that’ begins the noun clause ‘that the population has fallen’ which is the subject of the verb ‘is’. In 3 ‘that’ begins the noun clause ‘that all swans are white’, which is in apposition to the noun ‘claim’. We have already seen that the word ‘that’ is used in a variety of ways: as an adjective (a demonstrative adjective) as a pronoun (a demonstrative pronoun) as an adverbial conjunction introducing an adverbial clause of purpose or of result as an adjectival conjunction introducing an adjectival clause When ‘that’ is used to introduce a noun clause it is not an adjective. Adverbial conjunctions we have seen so far do not introduce noun clauses. There is no noun that

CONJUNCTIONS

193

could sensibly replace the word ‘that’ when ‘that’ introduces a noun clause, so ‘that’ is not acting as a pronoun. Consequently, when ‘that’ introduces a noun clause, ‘that’ is a subordinating conjunction, rather than either a pronoun, an adjective or an adjectival or adverbial conjunction. In these noun clauses ‘that’ is not a relative conjunction. There are other conjunctions that introduce noun clauses and these conjunctions may be relative conjunctions — see below. Thus the word ‘that’ is used: as a demonstrative adjective as a demonstrative pronoun as an adverbial conjunction introducing an adverbial clause of purpose or of result as an adjectival conjunction introducing an adjectival clause as a subordinating conjunction introducing a noun clause 33.2.2 Relative pronouns and relative adjectives We have already seen in section 31.1 that the words ‘that’, ‘who’ and ‘which’ are used to join the adjectival clauses to their main clauses and that these words are conjunctions. Because they relate subordinate clauses to main clauses they are called subordinate conjunctions or relative conjunctions. They are relative pronominal conjunctions, but most grammars refer to them by one of the other terms. Relative pronouns and relative adjectives are discussed in sections 35.1 and 35.2. 33.2.3 Relative adverbs Strictly we could name relative adverbs as relative adverbial conjunctions for that is what they are. They join clauses together (they act as a “conjunction”). They are adverbs (hence “adverbial”) within their own subordinate clause. They relate a subordinate clause to another clause (hence “relative”). We can classify relative adverbs according to the type of subordinate clause they join to another clause. Relative adverbs can introduce adjectival clauses, adverbial clauses and noun clauses.

33.2.3.1 Relative adverbs introducing adjectival clauses 1. The decorator put the objects in places where she had always wanted to display them. 2. The tourists talked about places where they had travelled. The relative adverb ‘where’ could be replaced by the prepositional phrase ‘in which’ in sentence 1, and by ‘to which’ in sentence 2 without changing the meanings of the sentences. That means these clauses introduced by ‘where’ are acting adjectivally by qualifying the noun ‘places’ in each sentence (see section 35.1). They are adjectival locative clauses. In contrast, consider the following use of ‘where’ as an adverbial conjunction. 3. She is going where no-one has gone. In this sentence, the relative adverb ‘where’ could not be replaced by the words ‘in which’ or ‘to which’ without changing the meaning of the sentence to something odd.

194

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Notice that the whole subordinate clause could instead be replaced by the adverb of place ‘there’ and still make sense. The new sentence would be in agreement with the meaning of original sentence. This is because in this sentence the clause ‘where no-one has gone’ is an adverbial clause of place (an adverbial locative clause).

33.2.3.2 Relative adverbs introducing adverbial clauses We have already seen in sections 31.3ff examples of various sorts of adverbial clauses. Adverbial clauses of time often begin with the conjunctions ‘when’, ‘while’, ‘as’, ‘before’, ‘after’, ‘since’, ‘until’, or ‘whenever’. These words can be called temporal conjunctions. Adverbial clauses of manner often begin with the conjunctions ‘like’, ‘as’, or ‘as if’. Adverbial clauses of place (or location) often begin with the conjunctions ‘where’, ‘wherever’, ‘whence’, or ‘whither’. These words can be called locative conjunctions. Adverbial clauses of reason (or cause) often begin with the conjunctions ‘because’, ‘since’, or ‘as’. These words can be called causal conjunctions. We could call ‘so that’, ‘in order that’, ‘that’, and ‘lest’ adverbial conjunctions of purpose, or final conjunctions. Adverbial clauses of result often begin with the conjunctions ‘so that’, ‘that’, ‘so ... that’, or ‘such ... that’. As result clauses may also be called consecutive clauses, these words can be called consecutive conjunctions. Adverbial clauses of condition often begin with the conjunctions ‘if’, ‘provided’, ‘unless’, or ‘suppose’. These words can be called conditional conjunctions. Adverbial clauses of comparison often begin with the conjunctions ‘than’, ‘as’, or ‘such as’. These words can be called comparative conjunctions. Adverbial clauses of concession often begin with the conjunctions ‘although’, ‘though’, or ‘even though’. These can be called concessive conjunctions.

33.2.3.3 Relative adverbs introducing noun clauses Consider some of the noun clauses already seen in sections 31.4ff on noun clauses: 1. Why George and Fiona would move is beyond comprehension. 2. How the Vikings could win the next championship is a bit of a mystery. 3. When the rain will come again is something we would all like to know. 4. Where the shuttle landed was what they were trying to find out. 5. However you climb to the top of the cliff does not seem to matter. 6. Wherever Truman goes is on camera. The highlighted words are examples of (relative) adverbial conjunctions used to join the subordinate noun clauses to their main clauses. The conjunctions given in these examples serve as adverbs within their own clauses, so they are adverbs and conjunctions. It might seem that these relative conjunctions do not relate the noun clauses to the main clause. Noun clauses function in the ways that nouns function. In the examples given here the whole of each noun clause serves as the subject within the associated main clause. Thus they might not seem to be related to the main clauses by the conjunctions.

CONJUNCTIONS

195

However, consider the following sentences in relation to sentences 1 to 6: 7. The reason for which George and Fiona would move is beyond comprehension. 8. The manner by which the Vikings could win the next championship is a bit of a mystery. 9. The time at which the rain will come again is something we would all like to know. 10. The place at which the shuttle landed was what they were trying to find out. 11. The manner by which you climb to the top of the cliff does not seem to matter. 12. Each place to which Truman goes is on camera. It is evident that each relative adverb has an appropriate combination of noun and relative pronoun that could replace it without changing the meaning of the sentence. The structure of the sentences does change so that they have a noun as the subject word, and the subject word is qualified by an adjectival clause. The function of the relative adverbs here is to provide a different style of link between the subordinate clause and the main clause. Without the relative adverbial conjunctions the noun clauses and the sentences that the noun clauses are tied into would not make sense.

33.3 INFERENTIAL CONJUNCTIONS Inferential conjunctions do not have to combine clauses together into a new sentence, but they may. They join their clause to preceding words notionally, that is, without always creating a new sentence which is the combination of previous clauses. Examples of inferential conjunctions include ‘therefore’, ‘thus’, ‘hence’, ‘so’ and ‘then’. 1. It began to pour, so they cancelled the tennis match. 2. We think so, therefore we should begin soon. 3. Therefore, I appeal to you by God’s mercies to present your bodies as a living, holy sacrifice pleasing to God, your conscious worship. 4. Then what should we do about that? 5. If that is so, then what should we do about it? In sentence 1 ‘so’ does join the clause ‘it began to pour’ to the clause ‘they cancelled the tennis match’ to form a sentence containing both clauses. The inferential conjunction conveys some consequential notion referred to by the first clause to the second clause in this sentence. Some would alternatively classify ‘so’ in this sentence as either a subordinating conjunction, or else as an adverb, where ‘so’ is functioning similarly to an adverb like ‘consequently’ modifying the verb ‘cancelled’. In sentence 2 ‘therefore’ does join the clause ‘we think so’ to the clause ‘we should begin soon’ to form a sentence containing the two clauses. Once again, the inferential conjunction conveys some consequential notion referred to by the first clause to the second clause in this sentence. Some would alternatively classify ‘therefore’ in this sentence as an adverb, where ‘therefore’ is functioning similarly to an adverbial phrase like ‘for this reason’ as if modifying the verb ‘should begin’. Sentence 3 is a version of the well-known beginning sentence of chapter 12 of the New Testament Letter to the Romans. In this sentence the inferential conjunction

196

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

‘therefore’ refers to what has already been set out in the previous part of the letter. Thus, it conceptually joins what has come before to its own sentence. So inferential conjunctions conceptually join their own clause with something already understood, or taken as understood. In sentences 4 and 5 the conjunction ‘then’ is classified in this grammar as an inferential conjunction. So the word ‘then’ beginning the main clause of a conditional sentence is an inferential conjunction, and in sentence 5 the word ‘if’ is a conditional conjunction (as in section 33.2.3.2). There has been much recent interest in how sentences relate to other parts of the texts in which they occur. Inferential conjunctions would be called particular types of discourse markers by those engaged in such practices as discourse analysis of whole texts. This grammar addresses words within a sentence.

34. PHRASES III: CONJUNCTIONS AND TEMPORAL PHRASES 34.1 CONTEMPORANEOUS CONJUNCTIVE PHRASES Adjectives may be introduced by certain temporal conjunctions like ‘while’ and ‘when’ that imply contemporaneous action or state. Consider: 1. Asleep, he snored. 2. While asleep, he snored. 3. Content, she sleeps. 4. While content, she sleeps. Likewise present participles can be introduced by certain temporal conjunctions like ‘while’, ‘when’, that imply contemporaneity — concurrent action. 5. Sleeping, he snored. 6. While sleeping, he snored. The temporal conjunctions ‘while’ and ‘when’ do not introduce gerunds. Consider: 7. Do insomniacs love sleeping? The gerund ‘sleeping’ names the action of sleeping, but it does not tell us that sleeping occurs or does not occur. A gerund has a noun function by naming the action or state that the verb form implies, but a gerund does not provide the sense that action is or is not actually occurring. Other words are needed for that. 8. While sleeping an enormous giant is harmless. 9. When sleeping an enormous giant is harmless. The participle ‘sleeping’ describes a characteristic of someone or something. It does not name the action of sleeping. The conjunctions ‘while’ and ‘when’ immediately followed by a present tense participle indicate that action (sleeping) is actually happening in relation to the sense of the sentence (when a giant is harmless). It would therefore be incongruous to have one of the conjunctions ‘while’ or ‘when’ followed by a noun or a gerund. The conjunctions ‘while’ and ‘when’ followed by an adjective or by a present tense participle form a phrase because they do not contain a finite verb. But the phrases are not prepositional phrases. We could call them contemporaneous conjunctive phrases. Contemporaneous conjunctive phrases are a type of adverbial phrases of time (temporal phrases) modifying the verb of their clause, for they tell us when the action of

197

198

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

the verb occurs. These phrases each contain an adjective or a present participle. The action of the participle occurs concurrently with the action of the verb.

35. TYPES OF PRONOUNS AND PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES II 35.1 RELATIVE PRONOUNS Consider: 1. The car that just went by is painted green and gold. 2. The car which just went by is painted green and gold. 3. The person who was driving was laughing. 4. Describe the person whom you saw. 5. Describe the person that you saw. 6. Describe the car that you saw. 7. Describe the car which you saw. 8. We saw whose the car was. 9. This is the house in which they lived. 10. More came to the school to which they drove. 11. The methods by which we make toys is still a secret. 12. There are the people with whom we make the toys. 13. They are the donors from whom she received the gift. 14. The leaders for whom they served honored them well. In these sentences, the words ‘that’, ‘which’, ‘who’, ‘whose’ and ‘whom’ join adjectival clauses to their main clauses. They are therefore conjunctions. Because they are relating subordinate clauses to main clauses they can be called subordinate conjunctions or relative conjunctions. In sentences 1, 2 and 3, notice that the subjects of the verbs in the subordinate clauses are actually the relative conjunctions: In sentence 1, ‘that’ is the subject of the verb ‘went’ in ‘that just went by’. In sentence 2, ‘which’ is the subject of the verb ‘went’ in ‘which just went by’. In sentence 3, ‘who’ is the subject of the verb ‘was driving’ in ‘who was driving’. In sentences 4, 5, 6 and 7, notice that the direct objects of the verbs in the subordinate clauses are actually the relative conjunctions: In sentence 4, ‘whom’ is the direct object of the verb ‘saw’ in ‘whom you saw’. In sentence 5, ‘that’ is the direct object of the verb ‘saw’ in ‘that you saw’. In sentence 6, ‘that’ is the direct object of the verb ‘saw’ in ‘that you saw’. In sentence 7, ‘which’ is the direct object of the verb ‘saw’ in ‘which you saw’. In sentence 8, notice that ‘whose’ is acting as a possessive pronoun within its own subordinate clause. 199

200

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

In sentences 9 to 14, the relative conjunctions are each governed by a preposition. The prepositional phrases each function appropriately within their own subordinate clauses. The antecedents of the relative conjunctions are in the main clauses; in these sentences the antecedents are the individual words written immediately before the prepositional phrases. In all of these sentences the relative conjunctions ‘that’, ‘which’, ‘who’, ‘whose’ and ‘whom’ are acting as pronouns. They are therefore called relative pronouns. They are in fact subordinate conjunctions that are relative pronominal conjunctions, but most grammars refer to them by one of the other terms. Table of English Relative Pronouns Number

Antecedent

Gender

Case Nominative (Subjective)

Accusative (Objective)

Possessive (Genitive)

common

person(s)

common

who

whom (who)

whose

common

thing(s)

common

which

which

whose

common

common

common

that

that

whose

35.1.1 ‘What’ as a relative pronoun In English the word ‘what’ can function as a type of relative pronoun and its antecedent combined: it is logically equivalent to ‘that which’. To test whether ‘what’ is serving in this way, replace it with ‘that which’. If the meaning of the sentence remains the same, then ‘what’ is being used in this combined way. If the sentence meaning changed then ‘what’ is serving in some other role in the sentence. Consider: 15. The hungry people ate what was there. 16. The hungry people ate what food was there. Substituting ‘that which’ for ‘what’ in these sentences gives us: 17. The hungry people ate that which was there. 18. The hungry people ate that which food was there. Sentence 17 still makes sense and means what sentence 15 means. Thus ‘what’ is serving as a type of relative pronoun and its antecedent combined in sentence 9. Sentence 18 does not make sense. Thus ‘what’ is not serving in sentence 16 as if a relative pronoun and antecedent combined. The function of ‘what’ in sentence 18 belongs to section 35.2 which deals with relative adjectives. When ‘what’ is serving as a type of relative pronoun, it introduces a noun clause. 35.1.2 Agreement of relative pronouns Usually in Greek and Latin (and also in English if we are strict): Each relative pronoun takes its case from its function within its own subordinate clause, and takes its number, person and grammatical gender from its antecedent.

TYPES OF PRONOUNS AND PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES II

201

35.2 RELATIVE ADJECTIVES Relative adjectives are really relative pronominal adjectives. They are subordinate conjunctions that join subordinate clauses to other clauses. 19. The hungry people ate what food was there. 20. The hungry people ate whatever food was there. 21. Take which one is closest. 22. Take whichever one is closest. 23. They found the man whose house they were visiting. 24. There is a car whose top is missing! In each of these cases the relative adjectives qualify a noun (‘food’, ‘house’ or ‘top’) or a pronoun (‘one’). The relative adjectives are ‘what’, ‘whatever’, ‘which’, ‘whichever’ and ‘whose’. The conjunction ‘whose’ may refer to a person, as in sentence 23, or to a thing, as in sentence 24. The relative adjective ‘whose’ is most likely to introduce an adjectival clause. The relative adjectives ‘what’, ‘whatever’, ‘which’ and ‘whichever’ introduce noun clauses.

35.3 INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS AND INTERROGATIVE ADJECTIVES Interrogative pronouns and interrogative adjectives are used to introduce a direct or indirect question. The interrogative pronouns are ‘who’, ‘whom’, ‘what’, ‘which’ and ‘whose’. The interrogative adjectives are ‘what’, ‘which’ and ‘whose’. They are distinguished from the interrogative pronouns by qualifying a noun. Table comparing interrogative adverbs, interrogative adjectives and interrogative pronouns Interrogative Adverbs When will it come? How will it come?

Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative Adjectives

By when will it come? By what will it come?

At what time will it come? By what means will it come?

Why will it come? For what will it come? Where will it arrive? At which will it arrive? When was it signed? In which was it signed?

For what reason will it come? At which place will it arrive? In which year was it signed?

Who are you?

Which person are you?

Whom shall I say?

Which person shall I say?

To whom do we owe the pleasure?

To which person do we owe that?

What did you write?

What words did you write?

Which belongs to the library? Which book belongs to the library? In which was it signed? Whose is that?

In which castle was it signed? Whose car is that?

202

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

35.4 INDEFINITE PRONOUNS AND INDEFINITE PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES Some pronouns and adjectives have an indefinite sense, and so may be called indefinite pronouns or adjectives. They do not exactly identify the person, thing or quantity they are referring to. There are various ways of naming types of pronouns. Some English indefinite pronouns may be classified as distributive pronouns or as quantitative pronouns. Indefinite pronouns may include such pronouns as ‘it’, ‘any’, ‘anyone’, ‘anybody’, ‘anything’, ‘some’, ‘someone’, ‘somebody’, ‘something’, ‘few’, ‘each’ and ‘one’. The use of ‘one’ in English is declining, but some other languages like French and Italian routinely use equivalent words: 25. One must be careful what one says, mustn’t one? One tries, one always tries. 26. Have you come across any before? 27. Did anyone say? 28. Anybody might. 29. Take some, please. 30. Someone will come. 31. Somebody went swimming. 32. There is something to do there. 33. Few do. 34. Each counts. The indefinite relative pronouns include ‘whoever’, ‘whomever’, ‘whatever’ and ‘whichever’. 35. The volunteers feed whoever turns up. 36. The guests eat whatever is cooked for them. Indefinite adjectives include ‘any’, ‘some’. 37. Have you come across any pronouns before? 38. Oh, do take some adjectives with you. An indefinite relative adjective is ‘whatever’; another is ‘whichever’. 39. The hungry athletes ate whatever food was cooked for them. 40. Some think that whichever way they get there does not matter. In Greek, indefinite pronouns and adjectives are used frequently. Hebrew has expressions that may be translated well using indefinite pronouns; for example, the Hebrew for “if a man says in his heart” could be translated accurately into English by “if someone thinks”.

36. AGREEMENT II 36.1 AGREEMENT OF PRONOUNS, PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES (POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES) AND RELATIVE PRONOUNS WITH THEIR ANTECEDENTS

Pronouns agree with their antecedents in number, gender, and person. Intensive pronouns also agree with their antecedents in case. That is, each pronoun is meant to have the same number, the same grammatical gender and the same person as its antecedent. Each intensive pronoun should also have the same case as its antecedent. In regular English, Latin and Greek, agreement of pronouns with their antecedents is nearly always followed. It is usually followed in the Biblical Hebrew text.

36.2 AGREEMENT OF PARTICIPIAL PHRASES WITH NOUNS AND VERBS Participles are non-finite verbs acting as adjectives. They are thus often correctly called verbal adjectives. Adjectives agree with the nouns or pronouns that they qualify in number, gender and case. So, like adjectives: Participles agree with the nouns or pronouns that they qualify in number, gender and case. Thus participles have the same number, gender and case as the nouns or pronouns that they qualify. In English because participles do not change their spelling according to number, gender or case, the notion of agreement of the participle with the noun or pronoun might seem irrelevant. However in Greek and Latin it is especially important to understand this practice. In Hebrew adjectival words would also agree with nouns in definiteness. It is fairly easy to notice in Greek and Latin when a participle agrees in number, gender and case with the noun that it qualifies. It is also fairly easy to notice the agreement when the Greek pronoun is indicated by a word that is spelt as a separate word. The difficulty comes in Greek when the participle qualifies a pronoun that is indicated simply by the spelling of the finite verb. In Greek, Latin and Hebrew it is common not to spell the pronouns as separate words when the pronouns are subject words. The spelling of the finite verb is then used to show what the number, person and sometimes the gender of its pronominal subject are. In Greek there are many participles that are written in the nominative case in clauses that only indicate their pronominal subjects by the spelling of their finite verbs. In those cases the participles can be understood to be qualifying the pronominal

203

204

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

subject of the verb. This should pose no problem for Greek. The problem comes with many grammars. For Greek clauses that only indicate their pronominal subjects by the spelling of their finite verbs, many grammars report that Greek participles in the nominative case are modifying the verb. That is, these participles (verbal adjectives) are incorrectly treated as if they were acting adverbially (as verbal adverbs) instead of adjectivally. An alternative explanation, supported by this grammar, is that these participles are acting adjectivally in Greek by qualifying the pronominal subject, but they are often translated well into English using conjunctive phrases or clauses. However in rendering the Greek adjectival phrase accurately into English, a different type of grammatical construction such as an adverbial phrase or adverbial clause may be used, because it makes better sense for English. Although the alternative explanation just given has a strong historical pedigree, it might not be considered in some Greek textbooks. The Greek and Latin participles forming phrases in the oblique cases without separately spelt prepositions also function adjectivally, though they are often reported as functionally adverbially. For example, consider the Greek genitive absolute, the Latin ablative absolute, or the Greek accusative of extent. Each makes use of the characterisic functions of the cases involved. When translated into English they become more obvious looking prepositional phrases or are converted into subordinate clauses. Such English phrases and clauses are typically adverbial, modifying a verb. When converting phrases into clauses in English, adjectival phrases qualifying a noun or pronoun frequently become adverbial clauses modifying a verb.

37. DISTINGUISHING PRESENT GERUNDS FROM PRESENT PARTICIPLES IN THE ACTIVE VOICE Gerunds and participles are both non-finite verb forms. Gerunds behave as nouns, while participles behave as adjectives. Gerunds in the present tense and active voice are spelt with the ending ‘‘ing’’. So are participles in the present tense and active voice. How can we tell them apart? Since gerunds act as nouns, gerunds should have functions that nouns have. A noun, thus a gerund, may be: 1. the subject word of a finite verb 2. the direct object word of a finite or non-finite verb 3. governed by a preposition 4. in apposition to a noun, a pronoun or noun equivalent. 5. qualified by an adjective (including definite or indefinite articles), adjectival phrase or adjectival clause 6. the complement of a stative verb. Since participles act as adjectives, participles should have functions that adjectives have. An adjective, thus a participle or a participial phrase, may: 1. qualify a noun 2. qualify a pronoun 3. qualify a word equivalent to a noun 4. qualify an expression equivalent to a noun 5. follow a temporal conjunction in a contemporaneous conjunctive phrase. 6. be the complement of a stative verb. Gerunds and present active participles might both function as the complement of a stative verb. In English that will not present a problem in practice. A noun names some person, thing, movement, state, or notion. The focus is on naming, that is, identifying. 1. Athletes love running. The gerund ‘running’ names the action of running. Thus a gerund serves in a noun function by focusing on the action or state that is implied by the verbal sense of the gerund. An adjective is providing a description of a characteristic about another word, a noun or pronoun. It is not naming someone or something. 2. The running water is cold.

205

206

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

The participle ‘running’ describes a characteristic of someone or something, the water. It does not name the action of running.

37.1 EXAMPLES OF GERUNDS ENDING IN ‘ING’: 3. Beginning with a gerund is quite acceptable. ‘Beginning’ is a gerund of the verb ‘begin’ as it is the subject word of the clause. 4. The endings of these gerunds are spelt ‘ing’. ‘Endings’ is a gerund of the verb ‘end’, as it is the subject word of the clause. We can also see that ‘endings’ is a gerund because it is qualified by the definite article ‘the’, just as a noun would be. 5. By being kind she could improve the situation. ‘Being’ is a gerund as it is governed by a preposition. Consider the following (unusual but grammatically correct) sentence: By her being kind she could improve the situation. — this has the same type of form and meaning as the original sentence; — it treats ‘being’ as a gerund for it is acting as a noun that is able to be qualified by a possessive adjective, ‘her’. Participles act as adjectives and so they cannot be qualified by possessive adjectives. 6. After having it for a long time, they let it go. ‘Having’ is a gerund as it is governed by a preposition. Consider the following (unusual but grammatically correct) sentence: After their having it for a long time, they let it go. — this has the same type of form and meaning as the original sentence; — it treats ‘having’ as a gerund acting as a noun that is able to be qualified by a possessive adjective, ‘their’. Participles act as adjectives and so they cannot be qualified by possessive adjectives.

37.2 EXAMPLES OF PARTICIPLES ENDING IN ‘ING’: 7. Having little, she achieved much. She, having little, achieved much. — by this rearrangement of the word order we have exactly the same grammatical structure (except for word order) and meaning. We can see more easily that ‘having little’ is qualifying the pronoun ‘she’. That is an adjectival function, so ‘having’ is a participle. — If we tried to re-word the sentence by adding a possessive adjective (as we did with 5 and 6 above), we would get something that did not make sense: Her having little, she achieved much. that is: She, her having little, achieved much. Thus ‘having’ is not a gerund in 5. 8. Being kind, she could improve the situation. She, being kind, could improve the situation.

DISTINGUISHING PRESENT GERUNDS FROM PRESENT PARTICIPLES

207

— by this rearrangement of the word order we have exactly the same grammatical structure and meaning. We can see more easily that ‘being kind’ is qualifying the pronoun ‘she’. That is an adjectival function, so ‘being’ is a participle. 9. While thinking clearly, they speak well. They, while thinking clearly, speak well. We have indicated in the section 34 “Phrases III: Conjunctions and phrases” that participles, not gerunds, follow the temporal conjunctions ‘while’ and ‘when’. So ‘thinking’ is a participle.

38. CLAUSES III: SIX TYPES OF QUESTIONS 38.1 FORMING QUESTIONS FROM STATEMENTS Here are some types of English questions. The first four forms of questions have corresponding statement forms, so they are described as if they were methods for creating questions from statements. Method 1. In the statement simply change the full stop (period) at the end of the statement into a question mark. This method is more likely to be used in English when the claim of the statement is being questioned, or there is a sense of surprise, or excitement by the questioner. In Greek this method of forming a question is routine for ordinary questions. Method 2. After the statement add a compact question using a suitable auxiliary as a verb and the main part of the complex verb understood, and the negative form of the main part of the sentence. This method is more likely to be used in English when the claim of the statement is being affirmed or sought. Statement

Corresponding Question Method 1 expressing surprise or excitement, or possibly doubting the statement claim

Method 2 affirming the statement claim

It works.

It works?

It works, doesn’t it?

We all do have to go. I must go to sleep. You passed.

We all do have to go? I must go to sleep? You passed?

We all do have to go, don’t we? I must go to sleep, mustn’t I? You passed, didn’t you?

You have won. It is sunny.

You have won? It is sunny?

You have won, haven’t you? It is sunny, isn’t it?

It will rain soon.

It will rain soon?

It will rain soon, won’t it?

It won’t rain soon.

It won’t rain soon?

It won’t rain soon, will it?

It has snowed all night.

It has snowed all night?

It has snowed all night, hasn’t it?

Tomorrow always comes.

Tomorrow always comes?

Tomorrow always comes, doesn’t it?

Tomorrow never comes.

Tomorrow never comes?

Tomorrow never comes, does it?

209

210

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Method 3. For sentences with a composite verb (a verb that includes an auxiliary form), swap (invert) the positions of the first auxiliary verb and the subject, and change the full stop (period) at the end of the statement into a question mark. Statement

Corresponding Question Method 3: auxiliary verb inversion with subject

You will understand this.

Will you understand this?

A crowd is forming outside.

Is a crowd forming outside?

A crowd will be forming.

Will a crowd be forming?

Method 4. For sentences with a verb that does not include an auxiliary form, turn the verb into the corresponding composite form using the appropriate form of the auxiliary verb ‘do’, then follow method 3. Statement

Corresponding emphatic statement

Corresponding Question Method 4

Change simple verb to composite verb using the verb ‘do’

Apply method 3: auxiliary verb inversion with subject

You understand this.

You do understand this.

Do you understand this?

You understood this.

You did understand this.

Did you understand this?

It rains all the time.

It does rain all the time.

Does it rain all the time?

It never snows here.

It never does snow here.

Does it never snow here?

38.2 FORMING QUESTIONS BY USING INTERROGATIVE WORDS AND PHRASES Method 5. Begin with a word called an interrogative, which may be an interrogative adverb, an interrogative pronoun or an interrogative adjective. See the following table. Method 6. Begin with an interrogative prepositional phrase, starting with a preposition and followed by one of the interrogatives. Interrogative prepositional phrases are adverbial phrases. 1. By what extraordinary means did they achieve that? 2. In which year was Magna Carta signed?

CLAUSES III: SIX TYPES OF QUESTIONS Question form Method 5 Using an Interrogative Adverb

Using an Interrogative Pronoun

211 Question form Method 6

Using an Interrogative Adjective

Using an Interrogative Adverbial Phrase

When will it go?

What time will it go?

At what time will it go?

How will it go?

What way will it go?

By what way will it go?

Why will it go?

What reason is there?

For what reason will it go? For what will it go?

Where will it arrive?

What location is it?

At what place will it arrive?

When was Magna Carta signed?

Which year was it?

In which year was Magna Carta signed?

How long ago?

In which was Magna Carta signed?

Who are you? Whom shall I say?

To whom do we owe the pleasure?

What did you write?

What words did you write?

Which belongs there?

Which book belongs there?

Whose is that?

Whose item is that?

With what words did you write?

39 CLAUSES IV: DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH 39.1 DIRECT SPEECH: DIRECT STATEMENTS, COMMANDS, QUESTIONS AND EXCLAMATIONS

Direct speech is what is spoken, or thought, and written down in a special way to show it is spoken. The actual spoken words are given to the reader directly. The scripts of plays are full of direct speech. The New York Times, in accord with its attempt to provide a lasting record of important news, has often provided the full text of a speech. All of the text would then be direct speech. In ordinary writing, quotation marks are usually used to highlight direct speech within other text. The section of a sentence that is in quotation marks to show the words in direct speech is treated as a noun clause. They take the part of a noun within the sentence where they are inserted, even if the quoted words include more than one sentence. Direct speech can be composed of ordinary sentences. Thus we can have direct statements, direct commands, direct questions and direct exclamations.

39.2 INDIRECT SPEECH: INDIRECT STATEMENTS, COMMANDS, QUESTIONS AND EXCLAMATIONS

The term indirect speech refers to words that approximate what was, is or will be actually spoken (or thought). The actually spoken words are given to the reader indirectly and often inexactly. Indirect speech is a very common way to report what was said in the past. Examples: Direct speech

Indirect Speech

1. “Listen, Israel!” commanded Moses.

Moses commanded that Israel listen.

2. Moses commanded, “Listen, Israel!”

Moses commanded Israel to listen.

3. “Of course we will come,” replied the neighbors.

The neighbors replied that of course they would come

4. “Of course we shall come,” replied the neighbors.

The neighbors replied that they will come.

5. The neighbors replied, “Of course we’ll come.”

The neighbors said they will come.

213

214

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS Direct speech

Indirect Speech

6. “Of course,” replied the neighbors, “we will come.”

The neighbors said of course they are coming.

7. Someone is asking, “What time is it?”

Someone is asking what time it is.

8. Someone was asking, “What time is it?”

Someone was asking what time it was.

9. The children asked, “Are we nearly there?”

The children asked whether they were nearly there.

Notice that the verb in the direct speech may be changed as the direct speech is converted to indirect speech. Note also that the version of what is said in the direct speech is usually modified when it is reported indirectly. Indirect speech typically begins with one of the conjunctions, ‘that’, ‘whether’, ‘what’, ‘how’, ‘why’, ‘where’, ‘who’ and ‘how’. Line 1 gives an example of direct and indirect commands. Line 2 shows how direct commands can be converted to infinitive phrases in English. Indirect statements typically begin with the conjunction ‘that’. Often this conjunction is left out, but it is “understood”. Indirect questions begin with such conjunctions as ‘whether’ (or ‘if’), ‘what’, ‘how’, ‘why’, ‘where’, ‘who’, ‘which’ and ‘how’. ‘Whether’ and (frequently in ordinary conversation) ‘if’ are used to introduce indirectly a direct question of the first four types given in the section 38. The other conjunctions are used as interrogative conjunctions in their corresponding direct questions. Indirect statements, indirect commands, indirect questions and indirect exclamations are noun clauses. Direct and indirect speech are represented differently in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and English and other modern languages. It is important to learn the different approaches taken, especially in Greek.

40. WORD ORDER II That a change in word order in English can turn a statement into a question is clear. The order of words in an English sentence often determines what the functions of the words are. That affects the meaning of the sentence. In English, word order often determines the meaning of the sentence. This is easy to see when transitive verbs are used: 1. The dog ate the meat. 2. The meat ate the dog. 3. Ate the dog the meat. 4. The the dog meat ate. 5. The ate meat dog the. From these arrangements we can see that we have to follow some word order patterns in English. In general: + The definite article must go before the noun it qualifies: ‘the dog’, and ‘the meat’. + Adjectives either go before the noun they qualify or are put in some obvious relationship with the noun, like being put in the complement of a verb identifying the subject with the adjective. + Adjectival phrases and adjectival clauses normally are next to the noun or pronoun they qualify. + Adverbs, adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses modifying adjectives or adverbs are usually next to the words they modify. + Adverbs, adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses modifying verbs may be next to the verb, at the start of a clause or at the end of the clause. They can move around. + It is usual to put the subject first, then the transitive verb, then the direct object. It is sometimes possible to put the direct object before the subject followed by the verb in things like speeches, poetry, or certain types of dialog: The meat, the dog ate. The milk, the cat drank. The popcorn, who ate it? Notice that the use of the simple punctuation mark, the comma, makes it possible to read these sentences sensibly. Word order is also very important in Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Greek and Latin word orders have more flexibility than English ones because spelling patterns also show the relationships of words within sentences. Even in Greek and Latin the words belonging to phrases or subordinate clauses tend to stay together. Greek word order is often subject then verb then object, but not as rigidly as in English. In Classical Latin 215

216

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

the main verb of a clause is typically the last word in the clause, however the early Latin translation of the Greek New Testament tended to follow the Greek word order. That influenced the development of the word orders of the Latin descendents like French, Spanish and Italian. Their word orders are thus more similar to Greek word order than that of Classical Latin. In Hebrew prose the verb tends to be written first, then often the subject, then the rest of the predicate. Words belonging to phrases or subordinate clauses stay together.

41. PARTS OF SPEECH SUMMARY II Verbs express an action or the state of things. Action verbs express action. Stative verbs express the state of things. Finite verbs have subjects. Non-finite verbs do not have subjects. Gerunds are non-finite verbal nouns Participles are non-finite verbal adjectives Infinitives are non-finite verbal nouns, adjectives or adverbs Transitive verbs have direct objects. Intransitive verbs do not have direct objects. Action verbs may be transitive or intransitive. Stative verbs are intransitive, and may have complements. Verbs may have voice, mood, tense and aspect (temporal and aspectual tense). Finite verbs have number and person. (In Hebrew they may also have gender). Participles may have number, gender and case, and, theoretically, person. Nouns name things. Common nouns name general categories of items. A collective noun is a common noun naming a group of items or beings. Proper nouns name particular people or items. Nouns may have number, gender, case, and person. Adjectives qualify nouns, pronouns, noun equivalents (gerunds, gerund phrases, noun clauses). Adjectives may have number, gender and case, and theoretically person. Adjectives usually agree with the words they qualify in number, gender, case, and person. Pronouns are a small group of general words that can replace nouns, noun phrases or noun clauses. A pronoun points out a person, place, thing, quality or description without naming it. Pronouns may have number, person, gender and case. Intensive pronouns agree with their antecendents in number, person, gender and case. Indefinite pronouns are each taken to be third person, neuter gender, singular or plural. Other pronouns agree with their antecedents in number, person and gender.

217

218

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and their equivalents, or adverbs and their equivalents. Relative adverbs are conjunctions. Prepositions show the relationship between an expression and other words in its sentence. Prepositions govern phrases that do not contain finite verbs, that act adjectivally or adverbially and that end in a noun, pronoun, gerund or gerund phrase. Prepositions may also be followed by (govern) noun clauses. The preposition ‘to’ is the first part of all English infinitives, and may express purpose. Conjunctions join words, phrases, clauses and even passages and books. Inferential conjunctions join sentences to previous texts. Co-ordinating subjunctions join equivalent expressions, like main clauses, together. Subordinating conjunctions join subordinate clauses to main clauses or verbal phrases. Relative pronouns, relative adjectives and relative adverbs are subordinating conjunctions. Interjections are injected into sentences as exclamations.

42. SUMMARY OF SIMPLE SENTENCE COMPONENTS After interjections (section 16.3) have been identified, and after allowing for any words understood (section 5.7), we can describe simple sentences in the following ways.

42.1 THE SIMPLE SENTENCE From the summary of components of a simple sentence in section 15:

The simple sentence is composed of only one subject plus only one predicate. There are various ways of describing how to build more complex sentences. Consider the following.

42.2 THE BASIC SIMPLE SENTENCE The components of the basic simple sentence are:

Subject:

Subject must have at least one subject word. Each subject word is a noun or pronoun.

Predicate:

Predicate must have only one finite verb.

42.3 SIMPLE SENTENCE EXPANSION STEP 1: ADDING ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS, PREPOSITION ‘TO’ OR ‘FOR’ The Subject:

Subject must have at least one subject word Each subject word is a noun, pronoun or adjective acting as a noun Subject may include adjectives (including the definite and indefinite articles) qualifying a subject word Subject may include adverbs modifying adjectives that are in the subject Subject may include adverbs modifying other adverbs that are modifying adjectives that are in the subject

The Predicate:

Predicate must have only one finite verb Predicate may include adverbs modifying the finite verb Predicate may include adverbs modifying other adverbs that are modifying the finite verb

219

220

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS When the verb is transitive predicate must include a direct object Direct object must have at least one direct object word Each direct object word is a noun, pronoun or adjective acting as a noun Direct object may include adjectives qualifying a direct object word Direct object may include adverbs modifying adjectives that are in the direct object Direct object may include adverbs modifying other adverbs that are modifying adjectives that are in the direct object If the verb is an action verb predicate may include an indirect object An English indirect object may or may not be a phrase starting with preposition ‘to’ or ‘for’ Indirect object must have at least one indirect object word Each indirect object word is a noun, pronoun or adjective acting as a noun Indirect object may include adjectives qualifying an indirect object word Indirect object may include adverbs modifying adjectives that are in the indirect object Indirect object may include adverbs modifying other adverbs that are modifying adjectives that are in the indirect object

When the verb is an English stative verb predicate nearly always includes a complement Complement may include adjectives qualifying the subject words Complement may include adverbs modifying adjectives that are in the complement and qualifying the subject words Complement may include adverbs modifying other adverbs that are modifying adjectives that are in the complement and qualifying the subject words Complement may include nouns, pronouns or adjectives acting as nouns Complement may include adjectives qualifying a noun, pronoun or adjective acting as a noun that is in the complement Complement may include adverbs modifying adjectives that are in the complement and qualifying a noun, pronoun or adjective acting as a noun also in the complement Complement may include adverbs modifying other adverbs that are modifying adjectives that are in the complement and qualifying a noun, pronoun or adjective acting as a noun in the complement

42.4 SIMPLE SENTENCE EXPANSION STEP 2: ADDING WORDS IN APPOSITION Simple sentences may be expanded further by adding nouns, pronouns or adjectives acting as nouns in apposition to nouns, pronouns or adjectives acting as nouns.

SUMMARY OF SIMPLE SENTENCE COMPONENTS

221

42.5 SIMPLE SENTENCE EXPANSION STEP 3: ADDING NON-FINITE VERBS AND PHRASES

The variety of components of simple sentences may be expanded further by adding non-finite verbs replacing nouns, pronouns, adjectives or adverbs with non-finite verbs Gerunds may replace nouns or pronouns Participles may replace adjectives Infinitives may replace nouns, pronouns, adjectives or adverbs adding prepositional phrases and non-finite verb phrases replacing nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs or non-finite verbs with phrases Noun phrases may replace nouns, pronouns or words acting as nouns Adjectival phrases may replace adjectives or words acting as adjectives Adverbial phrases may replace adverbs or words acting as adverbs Prepositional phrases may replace adjectives, adverbs or their substitutes Gerund phrases may replace nouns, pronouns or words acting as nouns Participial phrases may replace adjectives or words acting as adjectives Infinitival phrases may replace nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs modifying verbs, or words acting as any of these Non-finite verb phrases may have direct objects, indirect objects or complements with the same structures and components as the related finite verbs may have.

43. SENTENCE EXPANSION: ADDING CLAUSES A simple sentence is a sentence with only one clause. Each clause has the same structure as a simple sentence. That is, each clause has its own subject and predicate, with one finite verb, and possibly any additional features that simple sentences may have.

43.1 SENTENCE EXPANSION STEP 4: ADDING SUBORDINATE CLAUSES Simple sentences may be expanded further to become composite sentences by: adding subordinate clauses or replacing nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, noun phrases, adjectival phrases or adverbial phrases with subordinate clauses A subordinate clause may be either a noun clause, an adjectival clause or an adverbial clause Noun clauses may act where nouns or noun phrases may act Direct speech within a sentence functions as a noun clause in that sentence. Adjectival clauses may act where adjectives or adjectival phrases may act Adverbial clauses may act where adverbs or adverbial phrases may modify verbs

43.2 SENTENCE EXPANSION STEP 5: COMBINING SENTENCES (a) Any two sentences may be joined by using a conjunction to make one longer sentence. (b) Conjunctions can be used to combine any number of sentences, no matter how complex each sentence might be, into one sentence.

223

224

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

43.3 TABLE OF KINDS OF SENTENCES Similar to the kinds of sentences noted by S.H. Burton (p. 88): Type of sentence

Identifying characteristic

Simple sentence

only one finite verb; only one clause

Composite sentence

two or more clauses

Complex sentence

one main clause and at least one subordinate clause

Double sentence

two main clauses

Double complex sentence

two main clauses and at least one subordinate clause

Multiple sentence

more than two main clauses

Multiple complex sentence more than two main clauses and at least one subordinate clause

44. SUMMARY OF SENTENCE ANALYSIS GUIDELINES AND EXAMPLES 44.1 SUGGESTED STEPS IN SENTENCE ANALYSIS Based on an understanding of parts of speech, simple sentence structure, how to expand a simple sentence, including how to combine sentences, we can develop some general steps for sorting out the grammatical components of sentences. Not all possible situations are covered by the logic of what is suggested below, nor is the logic proposed absolutely consistent. Readers may want to develop their own detailed steps, but the following should be useful and will suit a very large majority of sentences. For situations not covered by the general method suggested here, review the explanations of English sentence structure in this book for clues to go forward. Is there any direct speech within the sentence? (direct speech should be within quotation marks) If yes, treat each complete direct speech as a noun clause, and analyse the direct speech separately. Are there any interjections? If yes, identify them by putting them inside square brackets. Are there any words understood (not spelt but understood)? If yes, write them in (put them in parentheses). Be sure to include understood conjunctions. Because the number of finite verbs equals the number of clauses: Find all the verbs Find all the finite verbs Is there only one finite verb? Yes, then analyse the sentence as a simple sentence Is there more than one finite verb? Yes, then find the conjunctions Determine the types of clauses and locate the main clause(s) Analyse each main clause as a simple sentence Then analyse subordinate clauses in turn

225

226

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Proceed with simple sentence analysis of each clause, following the patterns in section 42 ‘Summary of simple sentence components’ and keeping in mind Sentence Expansion step 2, section 43.1. In each clause: Note the finite verb Find the subject Find the predicate In the subject: find the subject word find any other words forming the subject find adjectives qualifying subject word(s) find adjectival phrases qualifying subject word(s) find nouns or noun phrases in apposition to a subject word find adverbs or adverbial phrases modifying adjectives, other adverbs, or non-finite verbs in the above identify the parts of speech within each prepositional phrase for each participle, gerund or infinitive: Is there a verbal complement or remaining predicate used to form a phrase? If yes, then identify the parts of speech there find conjunctions joining subordinate clauses to any word(s) within the subject In the predicate: Locate the finite verb again Find the adverbs or adverbial phrases modifying the verb In each adverbial phrase identify each part of speech Is this verb an action verb or a stative verb? If an action verb, is it transitive (have a direct object)? In the direct object: find the direct object word find any other words forming the direct object find adjectives qualifying direct object word(s) find adjectival phrases qualifying direct object word(s) find nouns or noun phrases in apposition to a direct object word find adverbs or adverbial phrases modifying adjectives, other adverbs, or non-finite verbs in the above identify the parts of speech within each prepositional phrase for each participle, gerund or infinitive: Is there a verbal complement or remaining predicate used to form a phrase? If yes, then identify the parts of speech there find conjunctions joining subordinate clauses to any word(s) within the direct object If the verb is an action verb does it have an indirect object? In the indirect object: Is there a preposition introducing the indirect object? If yes, find the indirect object word(s) governed by the preposition find any other words forming the indirect object

SUMMARY OF SENTENCE ANALYSIS GUIDELINES AND EXAMPLES

227

find adjectives qualifying indirect object word(s) find adjectival phrases qualifying indirect object word(s) find nouns or noun phrases in apposition to an indirect object word find adverbs or adverbial phrases modifying adjectives, other adverbs, or non-finite verbs in the above identify the parts of speech within each prepositional phrase for each participle, gerund or infinitive: Is there a verbal complement or remaining predicate used to form a phrase? If yes, then identify the parts of speech there find conjunctions joining subordinate clauses to any word(s) within the indirect object If the verb is a stative verb it may have a complement. In the complement: (adverbs or adverbial phrases modifying the verb have already been identified) find adjectives qualifying the subject word(s) of the clause find adverbs or adverbial phrases modifying such an adjective find other adverbs or adverbial phrases modifying other adverbs or find nouns, pronouns or noun phrases complementing the subject of the verb find adjectives qualifying these words find adjectival phrases qualifying these words find nouns or noun phrases in apposition to a noun, pronoun or noun phrases that complements the subject of the verb find adverbs or adverbial phrases modifying adjectives, other adverbs, or non-finite verbs in the above identify the parts of speech within each prepositional phrase for each participle, gerund or infinitive: Is there a verbal complement or remaining predicate used to form a phrase? If yes, then identify the parts of speech there find conjunctions joining subordinate clauses to any word(s) within the complement Reconsider the functions of the conjunctions in all clauses analysed so far. Confirm or decide the type of clause that each conjunction introduces. For each adjectival clause decide which word(s) it qualifies. For each adverbial clause decide which word(s) it modifies. For each noun clause confirm whether it functions as a subject, a direct object, an indirect object, a complement or in apposition to one of these.

44.2 SOME EXAMPLES 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. — this sentence is a statement. — there is no direct speech. — there are no interjections. — there is only one finite verb ‘created’. — thus this is a simple sentence (one clause) — the subject is ‘God’ — the predicate is ‘in the beginning ... created the heavens and the earth’

228

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

— the subject word is ‘God’ which is a third person singular proper noun. — ‘in the beginning’ is an adverbial phrase of time modifying the verb ‘created’. — ‘in the beginning’ starts with the preposition ‘in’ which governs ‘the beginning’ — the noun ‘beginning’ is qualified by the definite article ‘the’; — ‘created’ is an active voice, past tense, indicative mood of the action verb ‘create’ in the third person singular. — the direct object of ‘created’ is the expression ‘the heavens and the earth’ — thus the verb is transitive and an action verb — the two direct object words are ‘heavens’ and ‘earth’ joined by the conjunction ‘and’ and qualified by the definite article ‘the’. 2. Will we be able to sail around the world ourselves in eighty days? — this sentence is a question. — no direct speech. — no interjections. — only one finite verb ‘will be’. — thus a simple sentence. — subject ‘we’. — predicate ‘will ... be able to sail around the world ourselves in eighty days’. — subject word ‘we’ a first person plural personal pronoun. — ‘will be’ is the active voice, future tense, indicative mood form of the stative verb ‘be’ in the first person plural. — the rest of the predicate forms the complement of ‘will be’. — ‘able’ is an adjective qualifying the pronoun ‘we’. — ‘to sail around the world ourselves in eighty days’ is an adverbial expression modifying ‘able’ — ‘to sail’ is an infinitive in the present tense, active voice of the verb ‘sail’ — ‘around the world’ is a prepositional phrase of place modifying the non-finite verb ‘to sail’. — ‘around’ is a preposition governing ‘the world’ — ‘the’ is the definite article and qualifies the common noun ‘world’. — ‘in eighty days’ is an adverbial phrase of time modifying the infinitive ‘to sail’. — ‘in’ is a preposition governing ‘eighty days’. — ‘eighty’ is a cardinal adjective qualifying the common noun ‘days’. — ‘ourselves’ is an emphatic pronoun (intensive pronoun) in the first person plural whose antecedent is ‘we’. Notes: a) In various languages, the concept of “being able to” is conveyed by a single verb, while in English it is strictly a combination of the verb ‘be’ and the adjective ‘able’. b) Had the word order in this sentence been: “...to sail ourselves around the world in ...” we would have concluded that ‘ourselves’ was a reflexive pronoun. English has the same spellings for the emphatic pronouns and the reflexive pronouns, but other languages may have distinct spellings for these types of pronouns, making it easy to tell them apart.

SUMMARY OF SENTENCE ANALYSIS GUIDELINES AND EXAMPLES

229

3. All of the players sat there after the match looking exhausted. — A statement. — no direct speech. — no interjections. — only one finite verb ‘sat’. — subject ‘all of the players’. — predicate ‘sat there after the match looking exhausted’. — subject word ‘all’, a third person pronoun — ‘of the players’ is an adjectival phrase qualifying the pronoun ‘all’. — ‘sat’ is an active voice, past tense, indicative mood form of the action verb ‘sit’ in the third person plural — ‘there’ is an adverb of place modifying the verb ‘sat’. — ‘after the match’ is an adverbial phrase of time modifying the verb ‘sat’. — ‘after’ is a preposition governing ‘the match’. — ‘the’ is the definite article and qualifies the common noun ‘match’. — ‘looking exhausted’ is a participial phrase qualifying ‘all’. — ‘looking’ is a present tense, active voice participle of the action verb ‘look’ — ‘exhausted’ may be considered a past participle acting as an adjective or as a former past participle form that is so commonly used that it is treated as a true adjective; in either analysis it forms a complement of the non-finite verb ‘looking’ and qualifies ‘all’. Note: If the sentence were “All the players sat there,” then ‘all’ would be an adjective qualifying the noun ‘players’ instead of being a pronoun as in the above example. The noun ‘players’ would be the subject word. 4. “Children, look! A black swan!” our English aunt called out. — here we have three sentences. — there is direct speech ‘Children, look! A black swan!’ all of which functions as if a noun clause within the remaining expression. — the first sentence ‘Children, look!’ is a direct command. — ‘children’ is a common noun being used in place of proper nouns and would be in a vocative case or form in Greek, Latin or Hebrew; it is strictly an interjection. — putting in understood words we have ‘(you) look’ — ‘(you)’ is the understood subject and subject word, and is understood to be second person plural. — ‘look’ is the predicate and the active voice present tense imperative mood of the action verb ‘look’ in the second person plural. — the second sentence is ‘A black swan!’ which is an exclamation. — adding understood words we could get ‘(That is) a black swan!’ — ‘(that)’ is a demonstrative pronoun and the understood subject and subject word of the understood stative verb ‘is’. — ‘(is) a black swan’ is the predicate. — ‘a black swan’ is the complement of the understood stative verb ‘is’. — ‘a’ is an indefinite article qualifying the common noun ‘swan’. — ‘black’ is an adjective qualifying the common noun ‘swan’.

230

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

— the third sentence is a statement, that treats the direct speech as a single noun clause. — ‘our English aunt’ forms the subject of the statement. ‘Aunt’ is the subject word, and is a third person singular common noun. — ‘our’ is a personal pronominal adjective (a possessive adjective) in the first person plural qualifying the noun ‘aunt’ and is common gender. — ‘English’ is a proper adjective qualifying the noun ‘aunt’. — the predicate is ‘called out “Children, look! A black swan!”’ — the finite verb is ‘called’, an active voice, past tense, indicative mood form of the action verb ‘call’ in the third person singular form. — ‘out’ is strictly an adverb modifying the verb ‘call’. — the direct speech is treated like a noun and forms the direct object of the action verb ‘call’ which is thus transitive. Notes: a) Why select ‘that’ as understood when the indefinite adverb ‘there’ could be understood? Pretend the English aunt was brought up in the 1800s on the example of a tautology in English philosophy classes, that all swans were white. Have her go to Australia and see a healthy black swan. b) “Calling out” is represented frequently in other languages by one word, a verb, rather than by a verb and an adverb as in English. Vocabulary lists and the bilingual grammars introducing another language to English readers might treat the English words ‘call’ and ‘out’ as one English verb ‘call out’, but strictly speaking, inaccurately. 5. Having been called to attend to this awkward matter, she left quickly. — This sentence is a statement. — no direct speech or interjection — only one finite verb. — thus a simple sentence. — ‘having been called to attend to this awkward matter she’ forms the subject. — ‘left quickly’ is the predicate. — ‘she’ is the subject word, a personal pronoun, feminine gender, in the third person singular. — ‘having been called to attend to this awkward matter’ is a participial expression acting adjectivally to qualify the pronoun ‘she’. — ‘having been called’ is a passive voice, past tense participle of the action verb ‘call’. — ‘to attend to this awkward matter’ is an infinitival phrase functioning adverbially modifying the non-finite verb ‘having been called’. — ‘to attend’ is an active voice, present tense infinitive of the action verb ‘attend’ — ‘to this awkward matter’ is a prepositional phrase forming an indirect object of the non-finite verb ‘to attend’. — ‘to’ is a preposition governing ‘this awkward matter’. — ‘this’ is a demonstrative adjective qualifying the common noun ‘matter’. — ‘awkward’ is an adjective modifying the common noun ‘matter’. — ‘left’ is the active voice, past tense, indicative mood of the action verb ‘leave’ in the third person singular.

SUMMARY OF SENTENCE ANALYSIS GUIDELINES AND EXAMPLES

231

— ‘quickly’ is an adverb modifying the verb ‘left’. Note If the sentence instead began, “Called to attend to this, she ...” then the ‘called’ would still be classified the same way as ‘having been called’ for it is really an abbreviation or alternative English form for the longer participle form. But the word ‘this’ would now be a demonstrative pronoun rather than an adjective, for it is not now qualifying any word. 6. Their thinking, which had been very carefully done, about what was at stake, did lead to some better results than we had expected. — This sentence is a statement. — There is no direct speech or interjection. — ‘had been’, ‘was’, ‘did lead’ and ‘had expected’ are finite verbs, so there are four clauses in this sentence. (i) The main clause is ‘their thinking ... about [what was at stake] did lead to some better results’. — ‘their thinking ... about [what was at stake]’ forms the subject of the main clause. — ‘did lead to some better results’ forms the predicate of the main clause. — The subject word of the main clause is ‘thinking’ an active voice present tense gerund of the action verb ‘think’. — ‘their’ is a personal possessive adjective (possessive adjective) in the third person plural common gender qualifying the gerund ‘thinking’. — ‘about what was at stake’ forms an adverbial expression modifying the nonfinite verb ‘thinking’ — ‘about’ is a preposition governing the noun clause ‘what was at stake’. — ‘did lead’ is the active voice, indicative mood in a past tense of the action verb ‘lead’ in the third person singular. — ‘to some better results’ is a prepositional adverbial phrase modifying the verb ‘did lead’. — ‘to’ is a preposition governing ‘some better results’. — ‘some’ is an indefinite adjective qualifying the common noun ‘results’. — ‘better’ is the comparative form of the adjective ‘good’ qualifying the common noun ‘results’. (ii) ‘which had been very carefully done’ is an adjectival clause qualifying the gerund ‘thinking’. — ‘which’ is a relative pronominal conjunction (relative pronoun) whose antecedent is the gerund ‘thinking’ and which functions in the subordinate relative clause as the subject and subject word of the clause. — ‘had been very carefully done’ is the predicate in the relative clause. — ‘had been done’ is the finite verb in the subordinate clause, it is the active voice, pluperfect tense, indicative mood of the action verb ‘do’ in the third person singular. — ‘very’ is an adverb modifying the adverb ‘carefully’. — ‘carefully’ is an adverb modifying the verb ‘had been done’.

232

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

(iii) ‘what was at stake’ is a noun clause governed by the preposition ‘about’, forming an adverbial expression within the main clause, but this noun clause is acting like a noun in a propositional phrase, and is not acting adverbially. — ‘what’ is a conjunction acting as the subject of the stative verb ‘was’. — ‘was’ is the active voice, past tense, indicative mood of the stative verb ‘be’ in the third person singular. — ‘at stake’ forms the complement of the verb ‘was’ and is a prepositional adjectival phrase qualifying the subject word ‘which’. — ‘at’ is a preposition governing the common noun ‘stake’. (iv) “than we had expected” is an adverbial clause of comparison modifying ‘did lead’. — ‘than’ is a comparative conjunction joining the comparative clause to the main clause. — ‘we’ is the first person plural common gender personal pronoun, and is the subject of the comparative clause. — ‘had expected’ is the finite verb and the predicate of the comparative clause. It is the active voice, pluperfect tense, indicative mood of the action verb ‘expect’ in the third person plural.

45. A DIFFICULT EXAMPLE The Letter to the Ephesians has some very long, complex sentences in the Greek New Testament texts commonly used today. Ephesians 1:15–23 is probably the longest.

45.1 EPHESIANS 1:15–23 IN VARIOUS ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS Let us consider a number of English translations of Ephesians 1: 15–23. Notice the number of separate sentences that are used in each translation below. The verse divisions have been removed. Each translation has been formatted so that each paragraph has only one sentence. King James Version (KJV) Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. Revised Standard Version (RSV) For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe, according to the working of his great might which he accomplished in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come; and he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all. 233

234

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

English Standard Version (ESV) For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. Revised English Bible (REB) Because of all this, now that I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and the love you bear towards all God’s people, I never cease to give thanks for you when I mention you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the all-glorious Father, may confer on you the spiritual gifts of wisdom and vision, with the knowledge of him that they bring. I pray that your inward eyes may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope to which he calls you, how rich and glorious is the share he offers you among his people in their inheritance, and how vast are the resources of his power open to us who have faith. His mighty strength was seen at work when he raised Christ from the dead, and enthroned him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all government and authority, all power and dominion, and any title of sovereignty that commands allegiance, not only in this age but also in the age to come.

A DIFFICULT EXAMPLE

235

He put all things in subjection beneath his feet, and gave him as head over all things to the church which is his body, the fullness of him who is filling the universe in all its parts. New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) That is why I, having once heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus, and your love for all God’s holy people, have never failed to thank God for you and to remember you in my prayers. May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him. May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, how rich is the glory of the heritage he offers among his holy people, and how extraordinarily great is the power that he has exercised for us believers; this accords with the strength of his power at work in Christ, the power which he exercised in raising him from the dead and enthroning him at his right hand, in heaven, far above every principality, ruling force, power or sovereignty, or any other name that can be named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet, and made him, as he is above all things, the head of the Church; which is his Body, the fullness of him who is filled, all in all. New American Bible (NAB) Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the holy ones, do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of (your) hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might, which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way. New International Version (NIV) For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly

236

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. New Living Translation (NLT) Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called — his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else — not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself. Phillips This is why since I heard of this faith of yours in the Lord Jesus and the love which you bear towards fellow-Christians, I thank God continually for you and I never give up praying for you; and this is my prayer. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the all-glorious Father, will give you spiritual wisdom and the insight to know more of him: that you may receive that inner illumination of the spirit which will make you realise how great is the hope to which he is calling you — the magnificence and splendour of the inheritance promised to Christians — and how tremendous is the power available to us who believe in God. That power is the same divine energy which was demonstrated in Christ when he raised him from the dead and gave him the place of highest honour in Heaven — a place that is infinitely superior to any conceivable command, authority, power or control, and which carries with it a name far beyond any name that could ever be used in this world or the world to come. God has placed everything under the power of Christ and has set him up as supreme head to the Church, for the Church is his body, and in that body lives fully the one who fills the whole wide universe. Today’s English Version, (TEV), the Good News Bible (GNB) For this reason, ever since I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks to God for you.

A DIFFICULT EXAMPLE

237

I remember you in my prayers and ask the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, to give you the Spirit, who will make you wise and reveal God to you, so that you will know him. I ask that your minds may be opened to see his light, so that you will know what is the hope to which he has called you, how rich are the wonderful blessings he promises his people, and how very great is his power at work in us who believe. This power working in us is the same as the mighty strength which he used when he raised Christ from death and seated him at his right side in the heavenly world. Christ rules there above all heavenly rulers, authorities, powers, and lords; he has a title superior to all titles of authority in this world and in the next. God put all things under Christ’s feet and gave him to the church as supreme Lord over all things. The church is Christ’s body, the completion of him who himself completes all things everywhere.

Contemporary English Version (CEV) I have heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people. So I never stop being grateful for you, as I mention you in my prayers. I ask the glorious Father and God of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you his Spirit. The Spirit will make you wise and let you understand what it means to know God. My prayer is that light will flood your hearts and that you will understand the hope that was given to you when God chose you. Then you will discover the glorious blessings that will be yours together with all of God’s people. I want you to know about the great and mighty power that God has for us followers. It is the same wonderful power he used when he raised Christ from death and let him sit at his right side in heaven. There Christ rules over all forces, authorities, powers, and rulers. He rules over all beings in this world and will rule in the future world as well. God has put all things under the power of Christ, and for the good of the church he has made him the head of everything. The church is Christ’s body and is filled with Christ who completely fills everything.

45.2 EPHESIANS 1:15–23 PARTIALLY ANALYZED RSV This passage has a particularly complex arrangement in most of the translations. This is because the Greek sentence has a complex arrangement of clauses and participial phrases. A partial analysis is offered here of the RSV rendering, as it is just one long sentence. Anyone who can follow this very complicated English sentence structure should not have trouble analyzing the ever so much less complicated sentences found elsewhere. The relationships between the original Greek words may be easier to sort out than their English counterparts because of the special ways Greek associates clauses and phrases. The reader may want to compare the RSV sentence with the translations given above to see how other translators have tried to simplify the English. Translations

238

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

using more sentences have to create words to act in place of conjunctions or participles. By noting the words added in these separate sentences, it may be possible to see how the translators thought the sentence involved was related to another clause in the original. Of the English translations given, the grammatical structure of the KJV most closely resembles the grammatical structure of the Greek in this passage. When a Greek or Hebrew sentence is translated into English well, it is always important to remember that the types of grammatical categories used in the original might not be the types used in the translation. It follows from this that the classification of the grammatical categories used in the translation must not be automatically used to classify the grammatical categories in the original. Though seemingly obvious, this point has frequently not been observed in many modern explanations of Greek and Hebrew grammar. A very common mistake has been to classify Greek adjectival phrases (qualifying nouns or pronouns, and that have been translated into English using adverbial clauses modifying verbs), as adverbial clauses modifying verbs. Such a mistake is in the classification, not usually in the translation chosen. The RSV translation follows, with the finite verbs highlighted in bold print and the non-finite verbs in italics. The CONJUNCTIONS joining clauses are in upper case letters (and understood words are added in parentheses): For this reason, BECAUSE I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, THAT the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, THAT you may know WHAT is the hope to WHICH he has called you, WHAT are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, AND WHAT is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us WHO believe, according to the working of his great might WHICH he accomplished in Christ WHEN he raised him from the dead AND (WHEN he) made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name THAT is named, not only in this age but also in that WHICH is to come; AND he has put all things under his feet AND (he) has made him the head over all things for the church, WHICH is his body, the fulness of him WHO fills all in all.

This sentence obviously has many clauses. There are three main clauses. Two of these come near the end of the long sentence. The other main clause is at the start of the sentence. The first main clause with subordinate clauses omitted is: For this reason, ... I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers” Finite verb: do cease

composite verb composed of the auxiliary verb ‘do’ plus ‘cease’ in the present tense, active voice, indicative mood

Subject word: I first personal pronoun, singular in the nominative case

A DIFFICULT EXAMPLE

239

Participial phrase: remembering you adjectival phrase qualifying ‘I’ Prepositional phrase in my prayers adverbial phrase of place modifying the participle ‘remembering’ Negative adverb: not modifying the verb ‘do cease’ Direct object: to give thanks for you Infinitival phrase to give thanks noun phrase serving as the direct object word of the verb ‘do cease’ Prepositional phrase for you adjectival phrase qualifying the noun ‘thanks’ within the direct object Prepositional phrase for this reason adverbial phrase of reason modifying the verb ‘do cease’ Subordinate clause of the first main clause: BECAUSE I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints adverbial clause of reason modifying the verb ‘do cease’ This subordinate clause is an example of an adverbial clause being used in the English to translate a Greek adjectival participial phrase that qualifies ‘I’, the subject word of the main clause. For the other subordinate clauses that belong with the first main clause, see below. *** The other two main clauses are each joined by the co-ordinating conjunction ‘and’ to the other main clauses: AND he has put all things under his feet AND has made him the head over all things for the church The second main clause: he has put all things under his feet Finite verb: has put

composite verb composed of the auxiliary verb ‘has’ plus ‘put’ 3rd person singular, in a past tense, active voice, indicative mood Subject word and subject: he third personal pronoun, singular in the nominative case; antecedent of the pronoun is ‘God’.

240

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS Direct object: all things Direct object word: things common noun, plural of ‘thing’ Adjective: all adjective qualifying ‘things’ as part of the direct object Prepositional phrase under his feet adverbial phrase of place modifying the verb ‘has put’ Preposition under governs ‘his feet’ in the prepositional phrase ‘under his feet’ Pronominal adjective his 3rd person pronominal adjective (possessive pronoun), singular qualifying ‘feet’; antecedent of the pronominal adjective is either ‘God’ or ‘Christ’ — other information would confirm the latter. Common noun: feet common noun, plural of ‘foot’, governed by ‘under’ in the prepositional phrase ‘under his feet’ ***

The third main clause without its subordinate clauses is: (he) has made him the head over all things for the church Finite verb: has made

composite verb composed of the auxiliary verb ‘has’ plus ‘made’ in a past tense, active voice, indicative mood Subject word and subject: (he) ‘he’ understood, third personal pronoun, singular, in the nominative case; antecedent of the pronoun is ‘God’. Double direct object : him the head over all things for the church First direct object word and first direct object: him 3rd person pronoun, singular, in the accusative case; antecedent of the pronoun is likely ‘Christ’ — were it ‘God’ it is more likely that the reflexive pronoun ‘himself’ would be used to refer back to the subject ‘he’, namely ‘God’. Second direct object word within the second direct object: head common noun, singular Definite article: the definite article qualifying the noun ‘head’ Prepositional phrase: over all things adjectival phrase qualifying the noun ‘head’ Prepositional phrase: for the church either an adjectival phrase qualifying the noun ‘head’, or an adverbial phrase of purpose modifying the verb ‘has made’

A DIFFICULT EXAMPLE

241

Subordinate clause of the third main clause: WHICH is his body, the fulness of him adjectival clause qualifying the noun ‘church’ Finite verb: is 3rd person singular, present tense, active voice of the verb ‘be’ Subject word and subject: which relative pronoun (relative pronominal conjunction); antecedent is the noun ‘church’ Complement of the verb: his body, the fulness of him ... Pronominal adjective: his 3rd person pronominal adjective (possessive pronoun), singular, qualifying the common noun ‘body’; antecedent of the pronominal adjective is the pronoun ‘him’ in the third main clause and so ultimately the antecedent is either ‘God’ or ‘Christ’ — other information would confirm the latter. Phrase in apposition: the fulness of him in apposition to ‘his body’ Prepositional phrase: of him adjectival phrase qualifying ‘fulness’ Subordinate clause of the subordinate clause of the third main clause: WHO fills all in all adjectival clause qualifying the pronoun ‘him’ Finite verb: fills 3rd person singular, present tense, active voice of the verb ‘fill’ Subject word and subject: who relative pronoun (relative personal pronominal conjunction); antecedent is the pronoun ‘him’ in the immediately preceding clause Direct object word: all distributive or indefinite pronoun Prepositional phrase: in all adjectival phrase qualifying the pronoun ‘all’; consider the possibility of an idiomatic sense to the expression ‘all in all’ to refer to the whole of creation. The other subordinate clauses in the RSV passage belong to the first main clause: THAT the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, THAT you may know WHAT is the hope to WHICH he has called you,

242

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

WHAT are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, AND WHAT is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us WHO believe, according to the working of his great might WHICH he accomplished in Christ WHEN he raised him from the dead AND (WHEN he) made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name THAT is named, not only in this age but also in that WHICH is to come Subordinate clause: THAT the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, adverbial clause of purpose or result, modifying the participle ‘remembering’ in the first main clause Conjunction: that adverbial conjunction of purpose or result Finite verb: may give 3rd person singular composite verb in the subjunctive mood, composed of the auxiliary verb ‘may’ plus ‘give’ Subject: the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory Subject word: God proper noun Phrase in apposition: the Father of glory in apposition to ‘the God of our Lord Jesus Christ’ Indirect object: you 2nd personal pronoun, indirect object of ‘may give’ Participial phrase: having the eyes of your hearts enlightened adjectival phrase qualifying the indirect object ‘you’ Subordinate clause: THAT you may know adverbial clause of purpose or result, modifying the participle ‘having enlightened’ in the immediately preceding clause Finite verb: may know composite verb composed of the auxiliary verb ‘may’ and ‘know’, subjunctive mood, active voice Subject: you second personal pronoun, either singular or plural: from greater context of the letter the passage belongs to, able to see that it is plural

A DIFFICULT EXAMPLE

243

Direct object: a series of three noun clauses each beginning with the relative conjunction ‘what’, the last of these is joined to them by the conjunction ‘and’ The three noun clauses: WHAT is the hope WHAT are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints WHAT is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us Each of these noun clauses uses a form of the verb ‘be’ and each has a complement Subordinate clause: to WHICH he has called you adjectival clause qualifying the noun ‘hope’ in the noun clause ‘what is the hope’ Relative pronoun: which relative pronominal conjunction, governed by the preposition ‘to’ introducing an adverbial clause modifying the verb ‘has called’; antecedent of the pronoun is the noun ‘hope’ Subordinate clause: WHO believe, according to the working of his great might adjectival clause qualifying the pronoun ‘us’ in the immediately preceding noun clause Relative conjunction: who relative pronominal conjunction, introducing an adjectival clause qualifying the pronoun ‘us’ in the preceding noun clause; antecedent of the pronoun is the pronoun ‘us’ Subject of the finite verb: who as its antecedent is ‘us’, we could reconstruct the clause as “we believe, according to the working of his great might” Gerund: working gerund of the verb “work” and governed by the compounded preposition “according to” Definite article: the definite article qualifying the gerund “working” Prepositional phrase: of his great might adjectival phrase qualifying the gerund “working” Subordinate clause: WHICH he accomplished in Christ adjectival clause qualifying the gerund “working” in the immediately preceding clause

244

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Subordinate clause: WHEN he raised him from the dead adverbial clause of time modifying the verb “accomplished” in the immediately preceding clause Co-ordinating conjunction: and joining two adverbial clauses of time modifying the same finite verb Subordinate clause: (WHEN he) made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name adverbial clause of time modifying the verb “accomplished” in the clause immediately preceding the similar adverbial clause Subordinate clause: THAT is named, not only in this age but also in that adjectival clause qualifying the noun “name”, in the immediately preceding clause Subordinate clause: WHICH is to come adjectival clause qualifying the pronoun “that” in the immediately preceding clause Although sentences have no limit on their complexity, this one is about as complicated as they come in biblical texts. Others are easy by comparison.

46. GRAMMAR AND TRANSLATION ISSUES III: A BASIC RULE OF TRANSLATION The grammatical patterns of one language are not exactly the same as those of other languages. Therefore in translation the particular grammatical structure of an expression used in the original language might not correspond to the particular grammatical structure used to translate that expression. An accurate and very faithful translation could result in parts of speech or other variations in grammar being used in the target language that were not used in the original language. The target language might even use one grammatical structure for expressions that have different structures in the original language. For example participles and gerunds from one language could end up being translated into English using identical words in English. In the following sentences 1 and 4 could represent the grammatical structure of the original language, and 2 and 5 could be steps towards the more likely translations, sentences 3 and 6. 1. After having it for a long time, they let it go. ‘Having’ is a gerund as it is governed by a preposition. Note these sentences with corresponding meaning: 2. After their having it for a long time, they let it go. 3. After they had had it for a long time, they let it go. Sentence 3 has a different grammatical structure from sentence 1, but we could say they mean the same thing. 4. Having had it for a long time, they let it go. ‘Having had’ is a past participle qualifying the pronoun ‘they’. 5. They, having had it for a long time, let it go. 6. After they had had it for a long time, they let it go. Sentence 6 has a different grammatical structure from sentence 4, but we could say they mean the same thing. Sentences 3 and 6 are exactly the same English sentence: they have exactly the same words in the same order. They therefore have the same meaning. However we developed sentence 3 from sentence 1 which uses a gerund, and sentence 6 from sentence 4 which uses a participle. Sentences 1 and 4 both mean the same thing even though they have different grammatical structures. Suppose sentence 3 were a good translation of a Greek sentence that uses a gerund and also a good translation of a different Greek sentence that uses a participle. Some might incorrectly conclude that, because the English translation is the same for both, the two original Greek sentences should be regarded as having the same grammatical structure as each other in Greek.

245

47. VERBS WITH DOUBLE OBJECTS PART II 47.1 VERBS WITH DOUBLE DIRECT OBJECTS A double direct object within a single predicate means two direct objects of the same verb. They are neither joined by a conjunction, nor are they in apposition to each other. Verbs that take double direct objects in the active voice can take an apparent direct object when put into the passive voice. Typically verbs of naming, teaching, making and information transfer can have double direct objects with their active forms and so have apparent direct objects as passive verbs. This occurs in Hebrew and other languages. Active voice Passive voice Active voice Passive voice Active voice Passive voice Active voice Passive voice

1. The Lord named you Israel. 2. You were named Israel by the Lord. 3. Stalin renamed St Petersburg Leningrad. 4. St Petersburg was renamed Leningrad by Stalin. 5. He will call them his friends. 6. They will be called his friends by him. 7. God has appointed Christ the head of everything. 8. Christ has been appointed the head of everything by God.

In these examples when the active voice verb has a double direct object, it is the first direct object that becomes the subject of the passive verb. The second direct object of the active verb becomes the apparent direct object of the passive verb. Double direct objects are not the same as a direct object plus a noun or noun equivalent in apposition. For the normal meanings of the verbs in the sentences with the double direct objects, both direct objects are required to complete the sense of the sentences. Active voice Passive voice

9. God has appointed Christ. 10. Christ has been appointed by God.

Sentence 9 with only one direct object, would mean something different from sentence 7 with double direct objects. Similarly 10 and 8 have different meanings. That is not the case with words in apposition to a direct object. Active voice Passive voice

11. The local believers gave Paul, the apostle, a meal. 12. Paul, the apostle, was given a meal by the local believers.

247

248

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

In 11 the words ‘the apostle’ are in apposition to ‘Paul’, which is a direct object of the verb ‘gave’. They stay with the word ‘Paul’ when the passive sentence is created — sentence 12. Active voice Passive voice

13. The local believers gave Paul a meal. 14. Paul was given a meal by the local believers.

With the words in apposition removed, sentences 13 and 14 still mean the same sort of thing as 11 and 12 respectively; the reported events are the same, but we do not have as much information about Paul.

47.2 VERBS WITH A DIRECT OBJECT AND AN INDIRECT OBJECT Consider these sentences: Active voice

15. David gave Jonathan a gift. 16. David gave a gift to Jonathan.

They are two normal ways of saying the same thing in English. Sentence 15 puts ‘Jonathan’ as the first object and 16 puts ‘Jonathan’ as the indirect object governed by the preposition ‘to’. It turns out that verbs like ‘give’ that can be used in these two ways, with or without the preposition ‘to’, can have two different ways of expressing their passive sentences, and like their active forms, the passives have the same meaning as each other. Active voice Passive voice Active voice Passive voice Active voice Passive voice Active voice Passive voice

17. David gave Jonathan a gift. 18. Jonathan was given a gift by David. 19. David gave a gift to Jonathan. 20. A gift was given to Jonathan by David. 21. Your tutor will teach you great things. 22. You will be taught great things by your tutor. 23. Your tutor will teach great things to you. 24. Great things will be taught to you by your tutor

When a clause has an indirect object written without using a preposition as in 15 and 21, that clause has the same appearance of the clause pattern of sentences 1, 3, 5 and 7, and it can be similarly converted to a passive form with an apparent direct object (sentences 18 and 22). When a clause has an indirect object written by using a preposition, as in sentences 19 and 23, that clause can be converted to a passive form that has the same structure as for verbs that have only one object in their active forms. That is, no apparent direct object occurs with the passive verb (sentences 20 and 24). Typically, verbs of giving and instruction can have both direct and indirect objects, which may be written without a preposition. Various writers use one or both of the terms ditransitivity and bitransitivity to refer to verbs with double direct objects or a direct object and indirect object without a preposition.

48. IDIOMS USING AN INDEFINITE PRONOUN OR AN INDEFINITE ADVERB 48.1 IDIOMS An idiom is a meaningful expression whose words function together in a way that does not match the sum of their usual individual meanings and functions.

Some idioms are common to all groups who speak a language, whereas others are more locally used and understood. Sometimes English idioms are used widely but with quite different meanings from one region to another. Forms of the expression ‘to be up the creek’ are idioms. This expression might be used to describe the actual location of someone. Mostly it is used idiomatically to indicate that someone is in a helpless or difficult predicament. This type of idiom could also be described as a metaphoric use of words. However when users normally have no thought about the original physical meaning of the expression, the metaphor has really become an idiom. Common to all who speak English are idioms that are not derived from metaphoric uses of words. The pronoun ‘it’ can be used with verbs in an idiomatic way. The adverb ‘there’ can be used with certain types of verbs idiomatically.

48.2 INDEFINITE PRONOUNS II: THE INDEFINITE PRONOUN ‘IT’ The word ‘it’ can be used idiomatically as in: 1. It rained cats and dogs all day. This sentence using an idiom means: 2. Very heavy rain occurred all day. The same type of grammatical use of the word ‘it’ occurs in the next sentence but without us having to think of a metaphor. 3. It was the neighbours. Clearly the subject, ‘it’, and the complement, ‘the neighbours’, do not have the same number as we would regularly expect. The pronoun ‘it’ is not being used as a normal personal pronoun in the third person, but is being used indefinitely in the above examples. We can thus call ‘it’ an indefinite pronoun. Another use of the indefinite pronoun ‘it’ occurs where the word ‘it’ is the subject of a clause and is separated by the predicate from an expression that is in apposition with it. Sentences 4 and 7 below are examples of this pattern. 4. It is easy to understand some things. 5. It, to understand some things, is easy. 6. To understand some things is easy. 249

250

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

In sentence 4 ‘to understand some things’ is an infinitival phrase serving as a noun phrase. The phrase is in apposition to the indefinite pronoun ‘it’. Sentence 5 is a possible way of rearranging the word order to show the apposition. Sentence 6 is formally a different structure but a more natural way of showing the meaning of sentence 4 than sentence 5. 7. It was a very good thing that they found what they were looking for in time. 8. It, that they found what they were looking for in time, was a very good thing. 9. That they found what they were looking for in time was a very good thing. Similarly in sentence 7, ‘that they found what they were looking for in time’ is a noun clause in apposition to the subject word, ‘it’ which is serving as an indefinite pronoun.

48.3 THE INDEFINITE ADVERB ‘THERE’ PART II The word there can be called an indefinite adverb. Consider the ordinary and correct English sentence: 1. There is a book here next to me with a coffee stain on the cover. Is the book here, in this place, in a location close to the speaker, or is it there, in that place, somewhere more distant from the speaker? It is surely here. So in sentence 1 the word there is not acting in its other common role as an adverb of place (a locative adverb, when it typically means ‘in that place’). In sentence 1 the word there is acting as an indefinite adverb. Some other grammars classify this use of there as a particle, which would be a ninth part of speech. However: 2. There does not seem to be a need for this extra part of speech in English. The indefinite adverb ‘there’ is used with verbs of existence (like be, exist, seem, appear), verbs of movement (like come, go) and passive verbs in questions, and some other situations. 3. There is another star there, just beyond where we were looking. 4. There comes a time when we should all sleep. In many other languages we might find sentences 1, 3 and 4 structured, respectively, more like this: 5. A book is here next to me with a coffee stain on the cover. 6. Another star is there, just beyond where we were looking. 7. A time comes when we should all sleep.

49. BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SUGGESTED READING

English Bible translation quotations have been taken from: CEV ESV GNB KJV NAB NIV NJB NJPSV NLT NRSV Phillips REB RSV

Contemporary English Version English Standard Version Good News Bible (Today’s English Version - TEV) King James (Authorised) Version New American Bible New International Version New Jerusalem Bible TANAKH — New Jewish Publication Society Version New Living Translation New Revised Standard Version New Testament in Modern English Revised English Bible Revised Standard Version

A small sample of the abundant literature follows.

ENGLISH AND LINGUISTICS Author, Editor

Title

Edition & Publisher

Notes

Braun, Frank X.

English Grammar for Languages Students: basic grammatical terminology defined and alphabetically arranged

Ulrich’s Books Inc, Ann Arbor MI, 1947, 23pp

A very concise alphabetical list of common English grammatical terms with occasional examples. Generally helpful.

Burton, S. H.

Mastering English Grammar

Macmillan Education Ltd, London 1984– 1987, 178pp

A thorough introduction to the grammar of the English sentence.

251

252

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Author, Editor

Title

Edition & Publisher

Notes

Crystal, David

A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics

4th ed., Blackwell Publishers Ltd, Oxford, 1997

A very valuable dictionary of terms used across the range of linguistic schools of thought.

Crystal, David

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language

Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1995

An extended well illustrated compilation of almost every topic about English language.

Crystal, David

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language

2nd ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1997

A similar volume referring to linguistics and languages from around the world.

Farrell, Edith R., and C. Frederick Farrell Jr

Side By Side French and English Grammar

Passport Books, NTC/ Contemporary Publishing Company, Chicago, 1995

A simplified approach to explaining and correlating the grammars of the two languages.

Lyons, John

Language and Linguistics: an introduction

Cambridge University Press, 1981–1992, 356pp

A readable and helpful introduction to main themes of many of the contemporary linguistic schools of thought and how they developed.

Morton, Jacqeline

English Grammar for Students of French

4th ed., The Olivia and Hill Press, Ann Arbor, 1997

A simplified introduction to English and French grammar, using an explanation of grammar that differs from that in this grammar. Cf Ferrar.

Zorach, Cecile, and Charlotte Melin

English Grammar for Students of German

The Olivia and Hill Press, Ann Arbor, 2001

The same type of introduction to English as the one for French in the same series.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SUGGESTED READING

253

GREEK Author, Editor

Title

Edition & Publisher

Notes

Black, David Alan

Linguistics for Students of New Testament Greek: a survey of basic concepts and applications

Baker Book House Company, Grand Rapids, 1988

A gentle introduction to a mixed group of linguistic theories applied to NT Greek. Helpful explanations of Greek using linguistic concepts. Demonstrates the value and ambiguity of increasingly common linguistic terminology in grammars.

Burton, Peter R.

An Introductory Biblical Greek Reference Grammar

(in preparation)

A reference grammar to assist new students and graduates alike. Assumes no prior knowledge of Greek. Covers most grammar of first two years of study of NT Greek.

Buth, Randall

Living Koine for Everyone

Biblical Language Center, Part 1 with 3 CDs, Jerusalem, 2002

Innovative. Intention is to teach to speak NT period Greek from the beginning. A good way to go.

Dobson, John H.

Learn New Testament Greek

Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 3rd ed with accents, 2005, 384pp

Popular beginner’s grammar. Incorporates a lot of teaching methods to help students learn reasonably quickly. At times intentionally light on detail. Companion CD is available.

Duff, Jeremy

The Elements of New Testament Greek

CUP, Cambridge, 3rd ed., 2005

A rewritten replacement of Wenham. A usually helpful introduction to NT Greek. An unusually high view of deponent verb forms.

254

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Evans, T.V.

Future Directions for Aspect Studies in Ancient Greek

In Taylor et al., William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, 2004

Introduces the main theories about aspect of the verb in Ancient Greek.

Jay, Eric

New Testament Greek

S.P.C.K., London 1958– 1975, 350pp

A detailed introduction to New Testament Greek with very helpful explanations of Greek grammar

Mastronade, Donald J.

Introduction to Attic Greek

University of California Press, Berkeley, London, 1993, 425pp

A well conceived, carefully written, readable, thorough introduction to Attic Greek.

Taylor, Bernard A.

Deponency and Greek Lexicography

In Taylor et al., William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, 2004.

Argues against the use of the concept of deponency for Greek verbs, a concept used in very many grammars.

Taylor, Bernard A., John A.L. Lee, Peter R. Burton, and Richard E. Whitaker (eds)

Biblical Greek Language and Lexicography: essays in honor of Frederick W. Danker

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, 2004.

A collection of essays, especially on Greek lexicography and aspect, from elementary to advanced discussions.

Wenham, John

Elements of New Testament Greek

Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1965, revised 1991

Begins with a short introduction to English grammar that is referred to through the book. Succeeded now by Duff in the CUP series

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SUGGESTED READING

255

HEBREW Author, Editor

Title

Edition & Publisher

Notes

Dobson, John H.

Learn Biblical Hebrew

Dallas: SIL International, 1999

An effective introduction to Hebrew. Method unlike those taken by many other courses. An accompanying tape is available.

Joüon, P. and T. Muraoka.

A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew

Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1991, vols I&II

Considered an advanced grammar. Composed in French by Joüon, translated into English and developed by Muraoka. The most readable of the detailed reference grammars in English. Some sections may be read by first year students.

Kelley, P.H.

Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar

Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992

A widely used and detailed introductory textbook. As with many texts, some oversimplified explanations of Hebrew grammar.

Kelley, P.H., T.L. Burden, and T.G. Crawford

A handbook to Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar

Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994

A useful supplement to Kelley’s textbook.

Lambdin, T.O.

Introduction to Biblical Hebrew

New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1971

Contains a very thorough treatment of introductory Hebrew grammar, but relies on transliterations for too much of the book; develops its own influential description of Hebrew grammar, yet still within the long tradition of Hebrew theory.

256

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

Ross, A.P.

Introducing Biblical Hebrew

Grand Rapids: A well thought out and Baker Academic, thorough more recent 2001 development within the Lambdin school of Hebrew grammar.

Seow, C.L.

A Grammar for Biblical Hebrew

Nashville: Abingdon Press, revised edition, 1995

Another sound development of the Lambdin school, with its own very helpful insights and means of introducing each topic.

van der Merwe, C.H.J., J.A. Naudé, and J.H. Kroeze

A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar

Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press Ltd, 1999

An effective intermediate reference book for those who already have an introductory understanding of Hebrew. Draws from both modern linguistic thinking and more traditional grammatical understanding of Hebrew. Very helpful to clarify and extend explanations found in introductory or reference grammars.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SUGGESTED READING

257

Waltke, B. K. An Introduction to and Biblical Hebrew M. O’Connor. Syntax.

Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1990.

Another intermediate Hebrew reference grammar; many consider it an advanced grammar. Assumes a stronger understanding of Hebrew than that by Christo van der Merwe et al. Very helpful reference grammar, adapting many modern linguistic insights to Classical Hebrew description.

Weingreen, J.

A Practical Grammar for Classical Hebrew

2nd ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, 1959.

A widely used introductory Hebrew textbook. Often appreciated for the order in which topics are introduced. Many exercises, though the English to Hebrew have an idiosyncratic style.

Williamson, H.G.M.

Annotated Key to Lambdin’s Introduction to Biblical Hebrew (JSOT Manuals 3)

Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press Ltd, 1987–98

Detailed notes by a current Oxford professor on the text by Lambdin, the former Harvard scholar.

Author, Editor

Title

Edition & Publisher

Notes

Ferrar, H.

A French Reference Grammar

2nd ed., Oxford University Press, London and New York, 1967, 332pp

A well written, clear introductory reference grammar of French, with associated exercises. Designed for secondary students, and suitable for others.

FRENCH

258

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

LATIN Author, Editor

Title

Edition & Publisher

Notes

Kennedy, B. H., and James Mountford

Kennedy’s Revised Latin Primer

Longman Group, 1962, 246pp

An introductory Latin reference grammar; deservedly the early basis of many established scholars’ knowledge of Latin grammar.

Kennedy, B. H., J. Mountford, and Gerrish Gray

Kennedy’s New Latin Primer

Tiger of the Stripe, Richmond, UK, 2008, 261pp

UK and US versions with different case orders in declensions. More current English than its predecessors. Innovations in descriptions. Still very valuable.

Moreland, Floyd L., and Rita M. Fleischer

Latin: An Intensive Course

University of California Press, Berkeley, 1977

Appropriately suits the style and depth of rapid, intensive university summer courses. Best approached with a basic knowledge of grammar.

Pope, Stephanie, et al.

Cambridge Latin Course, Units 1–4

New York: Cambridge University Press, 4th ed., 2001

Easy to use cross between a true oral-aural and text based introductory Latin series, with helpful story lines illustrating the times and assisting language learning. Helpful to have a firm understanding of English or related grammar from a different source.

Wheelock, Frederick M, and Richard A. LaFleur

Wheelock’s Latin

6th ed., A widely used and HarperResource, lengthy introductory NY, 2000 grammar, with an abundance of exercises.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SUGGESTED READING

259

BULGARIAN Author, Editor

Title

Edition & Publisher

Papantchev, George D.

Colloquial Bulgarian: a complete language course

Rutledge, 1994, New York

Notes

GENERAL REFERENCES FOR BIBLICAL STUDIES Author, Editor

Title

Edition & Publisher

Notes

Danker, F.W.

Multipurpose Tools for Bible Study

Minneapolis: Fortress Press, revised and expanded, 1993

Well written discussion of resources for biblical studies.

DeMoss, Matthew S.

Pocket Dictionary for the Study of New Testament Greek

IVP, Downers Grove, 2001

A quick useful glossary of over 1,700 terms used in grammar, language and other NT studies. See Crystal (Dictionary) for a more detailed language reference.

Fitzmyer, J.A.

An Introductory Bibliography for the Study of Scripture

3rd ed., Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1990

Very useful descriptions of the works cited.

BIBLICAL TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS English Editor, Abbreviation

Title

Edition & Publisher

The Comparative Grand Rapids: Study Bible: a Parallel Zondervan, Study Bible: presenting 1984 the New International Version, New American Standard Bible, Amplified Bible, King James Version

Notes NIV, NASB, Amplified, KJV on facing pages for easy comparison.

260

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS The Complete Parallel Bible containing the Old and New Testaments with the Apocryphal/ Deuterocanonical Books. New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New American Bible & New Jerusalem Bible

New York: Oxford University Press, 1993

NRSV, REB, NAB, NJB translations on facing pages. Enables quick comparisons, and indicates the variations in texts chosen.

CEV

Contemporary English Version

New York: Swinging between a American Bible translation and a Society, 1991 paraphrase in simplified US English with uncomplicated sentence structure and vocabulary.

ESV

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version

Crossway Bibles, 2001

A development of the RSV line, in essentially accurate current English. Generally, but not entirely a more literal word for word translation than some others.

GNB (TEV)

Good News Bible (Today’s English Version)

—

A paraphrastic rendering of the Bible in contemporary US English with a restricted vocabulary range and simple register.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SUGGESTED READING

261

KJV (Authorised Version)

King James (Authorised) Version of the Holy Bible

Various editions since 1611.

Has helped shape and stabilize Modern English, with a little vocabulary that has since changed its meaning, and some pronominal forms and some verb endings no longer commonly used. A fairly literal translation of the original languages, using a slightly different NT text tradition from many current translations.

NAB

New American Bible

—

A fresh translation by Catholic scholars, often with particularly well chosen and succinct expressions. Reads well. Editions differ.

NIV

New International Version

East Brunswick: The Holy Bible New International Version, International Bible Society 1978

Easy to read. Deliberately departs from the word for word tradition of translation (KJV-RSV), has a majority of similar expressions, otherwise offers considerable interpretation of biblical expressions with a strong US English style, though there is a British edition.

262

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

NJB

New Jerusalem Bible

—

A significant revision of the Jerusalem Bible, which was an English rendering of the French Bible de Jerusalem. Corrected where needed to the flow of the original languages. Well written English, often near one end of the possible ranges of Hebrew verb meanings.

NJPSV (Hebrew and English)

JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh: the traditional Hebrew text and the new JPS translation — Student edition

Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1999

NJPSV, TANAKH: Hebrew text based on Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, and English text based on the new JPS translation of the TANAKH the Holy Scriptures, 2nd ed. the NJPSV is a refreshing and well chosen translation not attempting to revise the KJV.

NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation

Wheaton IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1996

NLT: second ed. 2004. Unlike the Living Translation which was a compiled paraphrase with a range of existing translations in mind, this is a new translation using a limited but well chosen, vocabulary and style of English.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SUGGESTED READING New York: Oxford University Press, 1989

263

NRSV

The Holy Bible containing the Old and New Testaments with the Apocryphal/ Deuterocanonical Books, New Revised Standard Version

Phillips

The New Testament in New York: Modern English Macmillan Publishing Company, revised edition, 1972, reprinted 1988

J.B. Phillips’ translation tending strongly towards a paraphrase. Some very well chosen expressions to correspond to the original NT Greek.

REB

The Revised English Bible

A revision of the New English Bible, which had been aimed at higher register English readers and not intended for public readings aloud. REB has modified sentence structures for easier public reading, and variously corrected to the original languages. Has some succinct expressions that capture the Hebrew beautifully. Uses some concepts not obviously in the original NT Greek.

Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press, 1989

A revision of the RSV, benefiting from further research, modernising the remnants of KJV verb forms, and smoothing the flow of the text, with some better choices of vocabulary. The RSV often serves as an easier clue to the original structure of the ancient texts.

264

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

RSV

The Holy Bible with the Apocrypha, Revised Standard Version

New York: Oxford University Press, 1971– 2002

A helpful revision of the KJV. Retains some KJV style of English no longer in common use. Otherwise an easy to read current English translation. Tends to be a little more literal word for word translation than its successor the NRSV, which corrects and variously improves the RSV.

Title

Edition & Publisher

Notes

Greek NT Editor, Abbreviation

Goodrich, A Reader’s Greek New Grand Rapids: Richard J., and Testament Zondervan, Albert L. 2nd ed., 2007 Lukaszewski

The Greek NT text that underlies “Today’s New International Version”. Footnoted English glosses for the root vocabulary of the words in the text occurring less than 30 times. Glosses for the Greek words occurring over 30 times are listed at the end of the book, before several maps. Some text critical footnotes. A very handy edition to speed up learning to read the text of the NT, and for quick reference to unfamiliar passages.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SUGGESTED READING

265

Hebrew and Aramaic OT Editor, Abbreviation

Title

Edition & Publisher

Notes

Brown, A. Philip, and Bryan W. Smith

A Reader’s Hebrew Bible (RHB)

Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008

The Hebrew and Aramaic text of the Old Testament is after version 4.4 of the Westminster Leningrad Codex from the J. Alan Groves Center for Advanced Biblical Research as found in the software ‘BibleWorks’ version 7.0. Differences from the BHS are listed in an appendix. RHB has footnoted English glosses for the root vocabulary of the Hebrew words in the text occurring less than 100 times, except for proper nouns. and for Aramaic words occurring less than 25 times. Glosses for the Hebrew words occurring over 100 times are in an appendix. A very handy edition to speed up learning to read the text of the OT, and for quick reference to unfamiliar passages.

50. GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX The terms discussed below are listed in alphabetical order. Within the description of each term, the first use of a term that has its own listing in the table is put into italics. References to pertinent sections of the ‘English Grammar Guide for Language Students’ are by section numbers. There are many competing schools of thought about how to describe the structures and functions of words and sentences, whether for just one language or for many languages. No consensus has yet developed. This glossary is a small sample of terms used in grammars and discussions of English and other languages. Some of the terms listed are not mentioned elsewhere in the English Grammar Guide. The terms in the table below may be used in other ways by various grammars, but many of the ideas overlap and often the formal terms do. A very helpful source of information about linguistic terminology is the latest edition of David Crystal’s “A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics”, published by Blackwell’s. His discussion of ‘sentence’ demonstrates the significant variety of approaches to grammatical description in use between language scholars. Matthew DeMoss’s “Pocket Dictionary for the study of New Testament Greek” by IVP covers a wider field than simply language and provides a very succinct glossary of terms, seemingly dependent on Crystal’s more thorough descriptions. Also useful is Frank Braun’s “English Grammar for Language Students” from the University of Michigan. TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

abcedary

Another name for alphabet – from the first four letters of the English alphabet, a b c d. See alephbet, alphabet.

ablative absolute

The ablative case is widely used in Latin. The Latin §36.2 ablative absolute is a phrase put into the ablative case without being introduced by a preposition. The phrase functions as an adverbial phrase modifying the verb with a general sense provided by the ablative case, something like “in the circumstances of [something having been done]”, or “with [something having been done]”. “This completed, the war ended.” That is, “With this having been completed, the war ended.” The Latin for ‘with this having been completed’ could be in the ablative case using a past participle of

267

268

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

the verb for ‘complete’, and very likely the participle in neuter gender. A more usual English translation, with significantly altered syntax, might be: “After this had been completed, the war ended.” In Greek there is a similar use of a genitive absolute phrase that typically includes a participle in the genitive case. There can also be an accusative absolute which employs a sense of the accusative case. The term ‘absolute’ can be misleading. Some suggest it conveys that the phrases in the ablative, genitive or accusative cases do not have any direct connection with other words in the sentence. The phrase in the ablative case does have one of the possible ablative relationships with some other part of the sentence: the ablative absolute phrase modifies the verb. In Latin there is no direct grammatical relationship between the ablative absolute and the subject or the direct object of the verb. In NT Greek the genitive absolute phrase, as well as modifying the verb, might also be about the subject or object of the verb. Both the genitive absolute and accusative absolute phrases will relate to other words via some normal genitive or accusative case meaning, respectively. See also instrumental case, ablative case, case. ablative case

Latin makes very frequent use of an ablative case §17.7 which has many uses. It can be thought of as the “in, with, by” case. It is used both with and without prepositions to relate words to the rest of the sentence, often showing the circumstances in which, with which or by which something is, or might be, so. See instrumental case, case, bet case, ablative absolute.

absolute case

The ordinary form of a Hebrew noun is said to be in §17.8 the absolute state. Applying the notion of case to Hebrew this form could be called the absolute case. See construct case, construct chain, case.

absolute state abstract

See absolute case, and case.

§17.8

Nouns are often classified as either abstract or concrete, §7.3.3 where concrete nouns are usually said to refer to what is tangible or real, and abstract nouns do not. Unless a purely physicalist (materialist) explanation of reality is correct, this is a mistake, an improper abstraction from reality. Typically ‘life’, ‘love’ and ‘truth’ are considered

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

269 SECTION

abstract nouns, referring to what is not tangible or real, while ‘friend’ may or may not be. Would the truth itself of the assertion that abstract nouns are intangible or not real be regarded as not real? Since the concept is internally contradictory, anything could be called abstract or concrete. Some types of verbs relating to hoping, aspiring, wishing are often called abstract and then assigned particular forms in certain constructions in a language, often a subjunctive mood. It would be better to treat this group of verbs as relating to future, possible or desired circumstances and build an explanation of how they are used in a language around that idea. See concrete, mood of verbs. accent

Grammatically, accent refers not to someone’s entire speech pattern, idioms and vocabulary (“They have foreign accents!”), but to the extra stress given to particular syllables. Except on imported words, especially from French and German, written English does not use accent marks, but the regular regional patterns of spoken English show different emphases on pronunciation of syllables and expressions. Both Greek and Hebrew have long traditions of using accent marks in their texts, but the precise sounds resulting from them are not precisely known. See syllable.

accidence

Accidence normally corresponds to inflectional morphology, the study of the changes of the form, or spelling, of a word as it is used in its various ways; that is, the study of inflections. See morphology, inflection, word.

accusative absolute

See ablative absolute, accusative case, case.

accusative and infinitive

The accusative and infinitive construction occurs §16.5, §26 frequently in Greek and Latin. It also occurs in English: “They thought him to be wise and just.” The accusative case of the personal pronoun ‘him’ with the infinitive ‘to be’ and its complement ‘wise and just’ compose the English accusative and infinitive construction ‘him to be wise and just’ and is similar to the form of both Greek and Latin constructions. Incorrectly, many grammars state that the accusative

270

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

form is the subject of the infinitive. Infinitives don’t have subjects. More precisely, the accurate translations of Greek and Latin accusative and infinitive constructions into English that transform the infinitives into finite verbs and the appropriate words in the accusative into the nominative do then have English subjects. “They thought him to be wise and just.” This could be rewritten: “They thought that he was wise and just.” ‘He’ is now in the nominative and the subject of the finite verb ‘was’ and both are now in the newly created subordinate clause ‘that he was wise and just’. Grammatical structure of the translation should not dictate the description of the structure of the original. See accusative case, nominative case, infinitive, non-finite verbs, agreement, predicate noun. accusative case

Also called the objective case, the accusative case is usually §17.1, §17.5, used to indicate the direct object of a verb. In English it §21, §24.2.1, is also used for words governed by prepositions. §35.1 “He gave them to her because they were hers.” ‘Them’, the direct object of the verb ‘gave’, is in the accusative case. ‘Her’, governed by the preposition ‘to’ is in the accusative case in English. “He gave books to her.” ‘Books’, the direct object of the verb ‘gave’, is in the accusative case. In other languages like Greek and Latin, the accusative can convey a special meaning by itself without either a preposition or the words having to be a direct object. Often the accusative is associated with the notion of extent, e.g. in time (“for two days”), space and direction (“towards the city”), size, or weight, but each language has its own uses. Latin and Greek have a common construction called the accusative and infinitive. See dative case, case, accusative absolute, accusative and infinitive.

action verb

An action verb is one that changes the circumstances, the state of things, rather than leaving them in the same state (the role of stative verbs). Action verbs are usually said to be in the active voice or the passive voice. English verbs seem also to have a functional middle voice.

§7.2.1, §8.2.2, §10, §11, §15, §24.2.1, §29.3, §41, §42.3, §42.5

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

271 SECTION

“The cold weather has gone, so it will be warm soon.” ‘Has gone’ is an action verb in English; ‘will be’ is a stative verb. See verb, stative verb, active voice, passive voice, middle voice. active voice

A finite verb is said to be in the active voice when either the subject is doing the action of the verb, or the verb is about the subject. Thus action verbs and stative verbs may be in the active voice. In contrast a finite verb is said to be in the passive voice when the action of the verb is done to the subject, thus only action verbs can be in the passive voice. Effectively non-finite verb forms are deemed to be active or passive when their forms are directly derived from their finite active or passive forms, respectively. English verb forms are normally allocated to either the active voice or the passive voice. However there seems to be a functional third voice, the middle voice, as well. Latin has an active voice and a passive voice. Latin deponent verbs have passive forms but active meanings. Greek also has a middle voice, used extensively. Hebrew can be deemed to have the three voices. “Once there was a better way to think.” ‘Was’ is in the active voice. The forms of action verbs used when the subject of the verb is actually doing the action of the verb is usually called the active voice: “The eagle ate the fish.” ‘Eat’ is an action verb, its subject is the pair of words ‘the eagle’, the eagle did the eating, so ‘ate’ is in the active voice. “The fish was eaten by the eagle.” ‘Eat’ is an action verb, its subject is the pair of words ‘the fish’, but the eagle did the eating, so ‘was eaten’ is not in the active voice, but is in the passive voice. See middle voice, passive voice, deponency, subject.

§11.1, §11.2, §11.3, §25.2.1, §25.2.2, §25.3.1, §25.3.2, §25.4.4, §37, §47.1, §47.2

adjectival clause

An adjectival clause is a subordinate clause (a dependent clause) that acts similarly to an adjective or an adjectival phrase. Adjectival clauses qualify nouns or pronouns (or their equivalents like gerunds) that belong to another clause. Adjectival clauses are joined (related) to the main clause or non-finite verb phrase within the main

§31, §31.1, §31.2, §31.4.5, §33.2, §33.2.1, §33.2.2, §33.2.3, §33.2.3.1,

272

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES clause by a relative pronoun or a relative adjective (a relative pronominal adjective). Relative pronouns and relative adjectives are two types of relative conjunctions. “The athletes who trained hard did well in the competition.” ‘Who trained hard’ is an adjectival clause qualifying the noun ‘athletes’. It is joined to the main clause ‘the athletes did well in the competition’ by the relative pronoun ‘who’. The antecedent of ‘who’ is the noun phrase ‘the athletes’. “The house in which they were born is over there.” ‘In which they were born’ is an adjectival clause qualifying the noun ‘house’. It is related to the main clause ‘the house is over there’ by ‘which’, a relative pronoun governed by the preposition ‘in’. The antecedent of ‘which’ is the noun phrase ‘the house’. “This is Mary, in whose house the family is a guest.” ‘In whose house the family is a guest’ is an adjectival clause qualifying the noun ‘Mary’. It is related to the main clause ‘this is Mary’ by the relative adjective ‘whose’ which qualifies the noun ‘house’ within the prepositional phrase ‘in whose house’. The antecedent of ‘whose’ is the noun ‘Mary’. “Speaking to the voters who were already cheering was very easy for the candidate.” ‘Who were already cheering’ is an adjectival clause qualifying the noun ‘voters’. It is related to the gerund phrase ‘speaking to the voters’, which is the subject of the verb ‘was’ within the main clause, by the relative pronoun ‘who’, which is the subject of the verb ‘were cheering’. See adjective, adjectival phrase, clause.

SECTION §33.2.3.3, §34.1, §35.1, §35.2, §37, §40, §43.1

adjectival conjunction

An adjectival conjunction is a relative conjunction, strictly a §33.2.1 relative adjectival conjunction, that joins a subordinate clause to a main clause and acts adjectivally within the subordinate clause. See relative adjective, relative conjunction, conjunction, interrogative adjective.

adjectival participial phrase

An adjectival participial phrase is a phrase that begins §28, §28.13 with a participle and that is also an adjectival phrase (one that functions like an adjective). See adjectival phrase, cf gerunds vs participles.

adjectival phrase

Adjectival phrases are phrases that qualify nouns, and §8.1.2, §8.2.2,

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

273 SECTION

words acting in the place of nouns: pronouns, gerunds, adjectives acting as nouns, participles acting as nouns, noun phrases or noun clauses. “The woman writing the story is close to the bookshelf in the hallway.” ‘Writing the story’ is an adjectival participial phrase qualifying the noun ‘woman’. ‘In the hallway’ is an adjectival prepositional phrase qualifying the noun ‘bookshelf’. See adjective, adjectival clause, phrase, participial phrase, gerund phrase, infinitive phrase, prepositional phrase.

§8.2.4, §16.1, §16.4, §17.5, §25.3, §25.4.2, §26, §28, §28.1, §28.6, §28.8, §28.10, §28.11, §28.12, §28.13, §29.4, §31.1, §36.2, §37, §40, §41, §43.1, §43.2

adjectival prepositional phrase

An adjectival prepositional phrase is a prepositional phrase (one that begins with a preposition) that is also an adjectival phrase (one that functions like an adjective). See adjectival phrase, preposition.

§16.1, §16.1.1, §16.1.3, §28, §28.8, §28.10, §28.11, §28.12, §28.13, §31.1, §41

adjective

An adjective is one of the parts of speech. English adjectives qualify nouns, and words acting in the place of nouns: pronouns, gerunds, adjectives acting as nouns, participles acting as nouns, noun phrases or noun clauses. “It is all wishful thinking, my lad.” ‘Wishful’ is an adjective qualifying the gerund (or noun) ‘thinking’. ‘My’ is a pronominal adjective qualifying the noun ‘lad’. “The simple are wise, aren’t they?” ‘The simple’ is the subject of the verb ‘are’. ‘Simple’ is the subject word and so is an adjective acting as a noun. It is qualified by both ‘the’ and the adjective ‘wise’, which is the complement of the stative verb ‘are’. See agreement, parts of speech, complement.

§7.1, §7.5, §7.6.1, §7.6.3, §7.6.4, §7.6.8, §7.8, §8.1.2, §8.2, §15, §16.1.1, §16.2, §16.4, §17, §18.1, §19, §22.1, §22.3, §25.2, §25.2.2, §25.3, §25.3.1, §25.4, §25.4.1, §25.4.2, §28.3, §28.5, §29.3, §29.4, §31.1, §31.4, §33.2, §34.1, §36.2, §37, §37.2, §40, §41, §42.3, §42.4, §42.5, §43.1

274

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

adverb

Adverbs are a part of speech. English adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and their equivalents, and other adverbs and their equivalents. “The team did very well, considering how difficult it was.” ‘Well’ is an adverb modifying the verb ‘did’, ‘very’ is an adverb modifying the adverb ‘well’, ‘how’ is an adverb modifying the adjective ‘difficult’. See parts of speech, indefinite adverb.

§7.1, §7.6, §7.8, §8.1.2, §8.2, §15, §16.1.3, §16.4, §25.1, §25.3, §25.3.1, §25.4, §25.4.3, §28.2, §28.4, §28.5, §28.7, §29.3, §29.4, §31.3, §33.2, §33.2.3, §33.2.3.1, §33.3, §40, §41, §42.3, §42.4, §42.5, §43, §43.1

adverbial clause

An adverbial clause is a subordinate clause (dependent clause) that acts similarly to an adverb or adverbial phrase. Adverbial clauses typically modify finite and non-finite verbs. They are joined (related) to another clause, or non-finite verb phrase, by relative conjunctions. Adverbial clauses function adverbially within the other clause or phrase. There are many types of adverbial clauses, usually classified by how they function within the main clause; e.g. are adverbial clauses of time (temporal clauses), manner (manner clauses), place or location (locative clauses), reason or cause (reason or causal clauses), purpose (purpose or final clauses), result or consequence (result or consecutive clauses), condition (conditional clauses), comparison (comparative clauses), or concession (concessive clauses). See adverb, adverbial phrase, clause, relative conjunction, temporal phrases and clauses.

§25.1, §26, §31, §31.3, §31.3.1, §31.3.2, §31.3.3, §31.3.4, §31.3.5, §31.3.6, §31.3.7, §31.3.8, §31.3.9, §33.2, §33.2.1, §33.2.3, §33.2.3.1, §33.2.3.2, §34.1, §36.2, §40, §43.1

adverbial clause of condition, adverbial phrase of condition

See protasis, conditional sentence.

§28.2, §31.3.7, §33.3

adverbial conjunction

An adverbial conjunction is a subordinating conjunction and §33.2.1, may be called a relative conjunction, strictly a relative §33.2.3.1, adverbial conjunction, that joins a subordinate clause to a §33.2.3.3, §43.2 main clause and acts adverbially within the subordinate clause. See relative adverb.

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

275 SECTION

adverbial phrase

Adverbial phrases are phrases that act similarly to an adverb. They typically modify finite and non-finite verbs. They often begin with a preposition thus forming a prepositional phrase. See adverb, adverbial clause, phrase, prepositional phrase, temporal phrases and clauses.

adverbial prepositional phrase

Begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or noun §16.1, §16.1.2, equivalent, and typically modifies a verb. §16.1.3, §28, See preposition, noun, noun equivalent. §28.8, §28.10, §28.11, §28.12, §41

adverbs of comparison

Adverbs of comparison in English are such words as §27.2,1, §27.5, ‘than’, ‘like’, ‘as’. They are also referred to as §31.3.8 comparative adverbs, but adverbs in the comparative degree forms are also called comparative adverbs. The English adverb of comparison ‘than’ is used to introduce the second component of a comparison, which is between two things. “Children are younger than their parents.” The first element of the comparison is the age of children; ‘younger’ is a comparative adjective followed by the adverb of comparison ‘than’ which introduces the second element, the age of the children’s parents. “The hare could run faster than the tortoise, but the tortoise won their race.” The first thing in the comparison is the speed of the hare’s ability to run; ‘faster’ is a comparative adverb followed by the adverb of comparison ‘than’ which introduces the second element of the comparison, the speed of the tortoise’s ability to run. See adverb, comparative degree, degrees of comparison, comparison of adjectives, comparison of adverbs, mem case.

affix

An affix is an additional character or set of characters added to a word to change its spelling: affixes are prefixes (added at the beginning of a word), infixes (added inside a word), suffixes (added at the end of a word) or a combination of these. Affixing may be due either to inflection of a word, or derivation of a word from another word.

§8.2.2, §8.2.3, §8.2.4, §11.1, §16.1, §16.4, §17.5, §25.1, §25.4.3, §26, §28, §28.2, §28.8, §28.10, §28.11, §28.12, §29.3, §29.4, §31.3, §36.2, §41, §43.1, §43.2

276 TERMS

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

To make the word ‘temple’ plural we add the suffix ‘s’, to get ‘temples’. To create (derive) the noun ‘discernment’ from the verb ‘discern’ we add the suffix ‘ment’. To change the meaning of the verb ‘rise’ we can, in effect, add an infix to get ‘raise’. To negate the meaning of ‘known’ we can add the prefix ‘un’ to get ‘unknown’. See also morpheme, inflection. agent

Agent refers to the doer of an action; for action verbs in the active voice, the agent is the subject of the verb; for passive voice verbs the agent might be identified by a prepositional phrase starting with ‘by’.

agreement

Grammatical agreement between words is when the functions of these words are closely related to each other in a sentence and have the same person, number, gender, or case in order to show that they are closely related. They are said to agree in person, number, gender or case as the situation may be. The subjects of verbs usually agree with the verbs in number and person. There are exceptions in the ancient languages. The subjects and complements of stative verbs usually agree in case and often in number. Adjectives usually agree in number, case and gender with the nouns or pronouns they qualify. In Hebrew adjectives and nouns usually agree in definiteness. Participles, verbs functioning also as adjectives, agree, like adjectives, in number, case and gender with the nouns or pronouns they qualify, even when the pronoun is understood. This is especially important in understanding Greek (see participle, and see genitive absolute under ablative absolute). Intensive pronouns would usually agree in case, number, gender and person with their antecedents. Other pronouns and their antecedents usually agree in number, gender and person, while they would normally take the case appropriate for their function within their own clause. Words in apposition will usually have the same case as each other. “Five fish were caught by two strong sailors one day last week.” ‘Five’ qualifies ‘fish’ and so both have the same number (plural), gender and case (nominative). ‘Five’ and ‘fish’ agree in number, gender and case.

§22, §24.2.1, §24.2.2, §24.4, §35.1.2, §36.1, §36.2, §40

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES ‘Fish’ is the subject word of the verb ‘were caught’ and so they have the same number (plural) and person (third person). ‘Fish’ and ‘were caught’ agree in number (plural) and person (third). ‘Two’ and ‘strong’ both qualify ‘sailors’ and so they all have the same number, gender and case. They agree in number, case and gender.

alephbet

Another name for alphabet; from the first two letters of the Hebrew and Aramaic alphabet, aleph and bet. See abcedary, alphabet.

alphabet

A small number of symbols, called ‘letters’, used to represent the main single sounds of a language, so that all the normally written sounds and words of the language can be spelt using these symbols. An alphabet usually has from about 20 to 35 distinct letters. Some, like Hebrew and Aramaic, have an essentially consonantal alphabet, others like Greek, Latin and English have symbols for consonants and other symbols for vowels. Greek has an extra nonalphabetic symbol, called the rough breathing, to represent an h sound. Hebrew and Aramaic have a set of extra non-alphabetic symbols written around the letters to indicate particular vowels. The sounds and sequences (alphabetic order) of modern alphabets, but not the shapes of the letters, seem to be relatives of the Ugaritic alphabet. Each Ugaritic letter is composed of combinations of thin triangular shapes, that is, cuneiform style. Ugaritic is a Semitic language, so too are Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic. Ugarit flourished about 1400 to 1200 BC near the shore of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, around the ancient area often called Phoenicia. Classical Greek scholars today usually refer to Phoenician writing as the ancestor of the Greek alphabetic writing system. Because of the influence of Greek literature and culture, Latin added some letters, such as k, z and y, to its own alphabet from its Greek cousin. The English alphabet represents a further development of the Latin alphabet. While languages like English use a set of symbols for cardinal numbers (0, 1, 2 etc) that are distinct from their alphabets, others like post-biblical Hebrew assign specific numerical values to the letters of the alphabet. They are used in many editions of the Hebrew Bible.

277 SECTION

278

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

The word ‘alphabet’ comes from the names of the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha and beta. Two other common names for ‘alphabet’ are ‘alephbet’ – from the first two letters of the Hebrew and Aramaic alphabet, aleph and bet – and ‘abcedary’, concocted from the English letters ‘a, b, c and d’. See alephbet, abcedary, vowels, vowel letters, vowel carriers, consonants and numbers. alphabetic script

A writing system for the words of a language using an alphabet. An alphabetic script is in contrast to a syllabic script and a pictographic script. Hebrew, Greek and Latin and their descendents are all written in alphabetic scripts. See alphabet, syllabic script, pictographic script.

analytic language

A language that mainly uses auxiliary words to show changes in meaning of words, with few inflections employed; e.g. English, which depends heavily also on word order; cf synthetic language. Many other terms are used instead of synthetic and analytic. See auxiliary verb.

anaphoric

An anaphoric use of a word occurs when the word refers to something already mentioned. Pronouns are frequently used anaphorically. See in contrast cataphoric.

anarthrous

An anarthrous word in Greek is one without a definite article. See article.

answering clause

See apodosis, conditional sentence.

§31.3.7, §33.3

antecedent

The antecedent of a pronoun is the noun, or noun equivalent, that a pronoun is substituting for. The antecedent may or may not be in the same sentence as the pronoun. See pronoun, noun.

§7.4.3, §24.2.1, §24.2.2, §35.1, §35.1.1, §35.1.2, §35.4, §36.1, §41

antonym

An antonym of some word is another word with a meaning that is opposite a meaning of the first word. A word might have a range of meanings. If some parts of the ranges of meanings of two words are opposite each other, then the two words are antonyms of each other. ‘Ally’ and ‘enemy’ are antonyms. So are ‘on’ and ‘off’. See synonym. See also homonym.

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

279 SECTION

apodosis

Within a conditional sentence the apodosis is the main §31.3.7 clause, the consequence of the condition. Also called the ‘“then” clause’, the answering clause. The conditional clause is the protasis. “If they succeed, then they will receive a prize.” “They will receive a prize if they succeed.” The apodosis in the first sentence is ‘then they will receive a prize’, and in the second, ‘they will receive a prize.’ See conditional sentence, conditional clause, protasis, main clause.

apostrophe

A spelling mark (an inflection or punctuation mark) to §17.2, §17.2.1, show abbreviation, either to show possession or §24.1 simply to reduce the speech sounds. The term means “of a friend”, means “of friends”. means “it is” or “it has”: See punctuation mark.

applied linguistics

A growing set of disciplines each applying linguistic insights to their own field; e.g. second language acquisition or instruction (educational linguistics), translation theory and practice, speech pathology (speech therapy).

apposition

A word in apposition can be like an aside to provide extra information about another word that is a routine part of the clause. Words in apposition to each other always refer to the same person or item, are always within the same clause, and always have the same case within the clause. They are nearly always immediately next to each other and are usually separated by commas. Nouns, noun phrases and noun clauses can be in apposition to nouns, pronouns, noun phrases and noun clauses. “I, Paul, am writing to you.” The noun ‘Paul’ is in apposition to the pronoun ‘I’ and both words are in the nominative case. Since ‘I’ is the subject word of the verb ‘am’ it is in the nominative and therefore ‘Paul’ is in the nominative. “Paul, an apostle of Christ, wrote a letter.” The substantival expression ‘an apostle of Christ’ may be called a noun phrase, even though it contains an adjectival prepositional phrase ‘of Christ’. In Greek and Latin ‘of Christ’ would be in the genitive case. ‘An apostle of Christ’ is in apposition with the noun ‘Paul’. ‘Paul’ is the subject word of the verb ‘wrote’ and

§8.2.5, §23, §25.2, §25.2.2, §28.3, §29.4, §31.4, §33.2.1, §37, §42.4

280 TERMS

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

is thus in the nominative case. Therefore the words ‘an apostle’ are in the nominative case. “Matthew, my friend, you must join us for dinner.” ‘My friend’ is a noun phrase and is in apposition with the noun ‘Michael’ and both would be in the vocative case. When a noun clause is in apposition to a noun or pronoun, the words joining the clause to the clause of that noun or pronoun will actually be, or be understood to be, in the same case as the noun or pronoun. “The claim that they have made, that you were here yesterday, is what we are considering now.” ‘Claim’ is the subject word of the verb ‘is’ and so is in the nominative case. The noun clause ‘that you were here yesterday’ is in apposition with either ‘the claim’ or more fully ‘the claim that they have made’. Thus this noun clause would be in the nominative case. The second noun clause ‘what we are considering now’ is the complement of the stative verb ‘is’ and so is in the nominative case. The clause ‘that they have made’ is not in apposition with any words, because it is an adjectival clause qualifying the noun ‘claim’. The conjunction joining this clause to the main clause is the word ‘that’ and goes in the case suited to its own clause, the accusative case, since ‘that’ is the direct object of the verb ‘have made’. See noun, comma, case. archaism

Something regarded as old and no longer normally used.

archeology

Archeology (archaeology) is the study of beginnings, i.e. of the material remains from the past. See epigraphy, codicology, papyrology.

article

The English articles are the singular and plural definite article ‘the’, and the singular indefinite articles ‘a’ and ‘an’. The spelling ‘an’ is used immediately before words beginning with a vowel to make ‘a’ easier to pronounce: “a look”, “an orange”; “the book”, “the books”. English might use the word ‘some’ to fill in for a non-existent plural indefinite article: “books” or “some books”. The English articles are usually considered particular types of adjectives qualifying nouns or noun equivalents.

§7.5.5, §16.5, §25.2, §25.2.2, §25.4.1, §28.3, §37, §42.3

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

281 SECTION

Greek has a very strong definite article used so much more widely than the English word ‘the’ that it may be classified as its own separate part of speech. Greek lacks an indefinite article, so Greek grammars usually use the term ‘article’ to mean the definite article. Classical Latin does not have any direct equivalents of articles. Later Latin used demonstrative adjectives for the sense of the definite article. Italian has both singular and plural forms of both the definite and indefinite articles in both grammatical genders. The Italian, French and Spanish definite articles are apparently derived from demonstrative adjectives of Latin. Hebrew has a definite articular prefix, see articular case, but no true indefinite article. See definite article, indefinite article, articular case, adjective. articular case

Prefixed he as the articular case: in Hebrew the letter he §17.8 (hay) can be added as a prefix to the beginning of a noun to convey the sense of a definite article, or of a vocative case. It is common for Hebrew grammars and vocabularies to treat the he prefix as a separate word, as if it were a separate definite article, like ‘the’ in English. “The mountain” would be one word in the articular case in Hebrew. When a Hebrew noun is in the articular case and a bet, kaph or lamed case at the same time, the he typically disappears but the vowel associated with the he remains and goes with the bet, kaph or lamed respectively. “Oh mountain” would also be one word in the articular case in Hebrew. The he prefix can also be used as the he interrogative, but typically with differing vowels. See hay and he, he interrogative, case, definiteness.

articular infinitive An articular infinitive is an infinitive qualified by the definite article and can be understood to function like a gerund. The case of the article is determined by the function of the phrase in the clause. This is a feature of Greek. English does not have an articular infinitive construction. Greek does not have a non-finite verb form only used as a gerund. Greek infinitival phrases beginning with the definite

282

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

article can function as the subject or direct object of a verb and so be noun phrases. Like nouns they can be governed by prepositions so that the preposition plus the articular phrase forms an adverbial phrase. Like nouns, Greek articular infinitives may be without a preposition and be in the genitive case usually to form an adverbial phrase of purpose, modifying the verb. English does have specific verb forms that are gerunds. English can use infinitives as nouns, in place of gerunds, but the English infinitive is not qualified by an article. Articular infinitives are acting like gerunds, and so an intermediate English translation might well involve an English gerund. The final translation might change the non-finite verb phrase into a subordinate clause with a finite verb. See infinitival phrase, gerund, noun phrase. aspect of verbs

Aspect (aspectual tense) is a tense matter. See tense of verbs.

§1.3, §12.4, §13

auxiliary verb

An auxiliary verb is a helping verb (the term ‘auxilium’ in Latin means “help”). Auxiliary verbs combine in sequence with a principal verb to form a composite verb. “This is going to be easy, isn’t it?” The auxiliary verb ‘is’ combines with the participle ‘going’, from the principal verb ‘go’, to form the composite verb ‘is going’. See composite verb, verb.

§7.2.3, §11.1, §11.2, §12.1, §12.2, §12.3, §14.1, §38.1, §41

bet case

Prefixed bet: in Hebrew the letter bet can be added as a §17.8 prefix to the beginning of a noun to convey the sense of an ablative or instrumental case; for example to convey ‘in’, ‘with’, or ‘by’ some circumstance. See case, ablative case, instrumental case.

Biblical Hebrew

Hebrew of the Old Testament. See Classical Hebrew.

binyan, binyanim

Binyan refers to a particular set of forms for Hebrew verbs. ‘Binyanim’ is the plural of ‘binyan’. Some grammars call the binyanim conjugations, but they provide many more types of derived forms than conjugations characteristically do. Within each binyan there can be seen to be conjugations. Some argue that the derivational relations between words across the binyanim are only that; that is the verbs within each binyan should be treated as separate

§20.1

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

283 SECTION

verbs – just as the English verb ‘rise’ is regarded by users and lexicographers as a different verb from ‘raise’. Hebrew binyanim include the qal. niphal, piel, pual, hiphil, and hitpael amongst others. Several different names are in use for each of the binyanim. Cf conjugation, verb. capital letters

Capital letters are upper case letters (e.g. D, E, F) rather than lower case letters (d, e, f). See upper case.

cardinal numbers, cardinal numerals, cardinals

Cardinal numbers, also called cardinal numerals and cardinals, are ordinary counting numbers such as 1, 2, 3, 4. While concepts of nothing or non-existence existed within the ancient worlds of Hebrew, Greek and Latin, there was no numerical symbol for zero in those languages. The English word ‘nil’ comes from the Latin word ‘nihil’ meaning “nothing”. See numbers and alphabet.

case

The word ‘case’ is used in this book to refer to a specific situation or example in a language, and alternatively as an important grammatical term, as follows: Cases, when they exist in a language, represent special functions of words in sentences, suggesting how the words relate to each other within their own clause. There are often particular spelling variations for a word to show that it belongs to a particular case. Such spelling variations are changes in the form of a word — morphological variations or inflections. English, Greek and Latin cases include the nominative case (subjective case), the accusative case (objective case), and the genitive case (possessive case). Greek and Latin both have a vocative case and a dative case (often the indirect object case). Latin makes much use of the ablative case. The locative case is found in Greek and Latin. Other cases have been named in grammars of Greek and Latin. For NT Greek the misleading terms ‘eight case system’ and ‘five case system’ are often used in grammars. In Greek and Latin the cases other than the nominative and vocative cases are called the oblique cases or derived cases. In Greek and Latin prepositional phrases, each preposition takes a certain case; that is, the words governed by the preposition are put into the case that the preposition takes. Hebrew can be described as having a system of

§16.1.3, §17, §22.1, §22.3, §23, §24.2.1, §24.2.2, §28.8, §35.1, §35.1.2, §36.1, §36.2

284

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

cases, though while that approach is uncommon, it is one endorsed by this writer. In Hebrew we can speak of an absolute case (absolute state), a construct case (construct state), an articular case (he prefix), a bet case (an ablative or instrumental case), a kaph case, a lamed case (a dative case), a mem case, a shin case, and a directional case (he suffix). Hebrew has an extremely common vav prefix used as a conjunction attached to any type of word. Hebrew also has another he prefix construction, a he interrogative that can be attached to the first word of a sentence to turn the sentence into a question. Two languages would not likely use the similarly named cases in precisely the same way, but there can be considerable overlap in types of uses. Each case in a language may indicate more than one way that words in that case relate to other words in the sentence. See the entry for each grammatical case. See also paradigm, declension, inflectional morphology, inflection. cataphoric

An cataphoric use of a word occurs when the word refers to something being mentioned later. Some pronouns are used before the words for which they stand are given. See in contrast anaphoric.

cf

English abbreviation meaning “compare” possibly “contrast”; abbreviation for a Latin imperative of ‘confero’ “bring”.

Classical Greek

See Koine Greek.

Classical Hebrew

Ancient Hebrew that includes the Hebrew of the Old Testament and extra-biblical Hebrew of the times. Almost all the extant Classical Hebrew is Biblical Hebrew. Between the Old and New Testament periods, Hebrew developed into Mishnaic Hebrew with a few, significant changes in syntax, especially of the verb and some development of vocabulary. Hebrew has been continually used up to the present. However Modern Hebrew was deliberately developed in the C19th in relation to Mishnaic Hebrew to be the primary home vernacular.

Classical Latin

Classical Latin is Latin of the Ancient Roman period §40 including at least the century before and the century after Christ. Ecclesiastical Latin developed in the early Patristic period of the Church (the ekklesia). The

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

285 SECTION

Vulgate influenced the syntax of the modern languages developed from Latin. See Koine Greek. clause

A clause always includes one and only one finite verb, that is, a verb with a subject, in contrast to a phrase, which, according to this grammar, never includes a finite verb. Clauses can be classified as main clauses (independent clauses) and subordinate clauses (dependent clauses). A simple sentence has only one clause. The clause in a simple sentence is a main clause. Two or more simple sentences can be joined by one or more coordinating conjunctions to form a co-ordinate sentence with two or more main clauses. A simple sentence can be joined to a second simple sentence by a subordinating conjunction to become a subordinate clause functioning within the second clause, which is then called the main clause of the new sentence. See finite verb, subject, sentence, subordinate clause, relative clause, adjectival clause, adverbial clause, noun clause, main clause, conditional clause, phrase.

codicology

Codicology is the study of codices or manuscripts. The singular of ‘codices’ is ‘codex’. See epigraphy, papyrology, archeology.

cognate

Words are cognates when they are related historically by having a common ancestor like English ‘core’ and French ‘coeur’ from Latin ‘cor’ meaning “heart”. Whole languages can be called cognates when the bulk of their ancestry is the same, like Spanish, Portuguese, French, Romanian and Italian which are modern versions of Latin, each mixed with local languages. The so-called infinitive absolute of Hebrew more often than not functions as an intensive adverb modifying the verb with which it is cognate. Hebrew has many nouns that are cognate accusatives of verbs. See infinitive absolute, cognate accusative.

cognate accusative

A cognate accusative is a direct object expressing the idea conveyed by the verb where the direct object word and the verb have a common historical derivation. A cognate accusative construction may serve to narrow the scope of meaning of the action involved by, say, having an adjective qualify the direct object. Many

§9, §10, §16.4, §30, §31, §32, §33, §33.1, §33.2, §33.2.3, §36.2, §38, §39, §40, §43, §43.1, §43.2, §43.3

286

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

languages employ cognate accusatives. E.g. “to give special gifts”, “to fight fights”, “to endure endurance”, “to say witty sayings”. See verb, noun, cognate, case. collective noun

A special type of common noun. See noun.

collocation

Collocation (“co-location”) is the common, repeated §48 occurrence together of particular words to form an anticipated, or known, meaningful expression or recognizable pattern. The words in a collocation may be said to collocate with each other, and are called ‘collocates’ of each other. The potential of items to collocate is known as their ‘collocability’ or ‘collocation range’. When a word that tends to collocate is used, we often expect the other words of a collocation to follow. E.g. ‘spic and span’ meaning “clean” possibly “shiny”; ‘get up and go’ meaning “leave”; ‘ready, set, go’ meaning “start”. Idioms and clichés may be regarded as types of collocation. English words that are effectively free from predispositions to collocate in certain ways, and so are able to associate with just about any words, are words such as ‘the’, ‘a’, ‘or’, ‘and’, ‘after’, ‘to’. See expression, idiom, cf register.

comma

A very common punctuation mark used, within a §40 sentence, to provide a small break. For examples of use, see punctuation. See punctuation mark.

command

A command is one of the four basic types of sentences. §4, §5, §8.1.1, The finite verb in a command goes in the imperative §14.1 mood. The finite verb of a command typically has a subject that is not named, it is understood. See sentence, imperative mood of verbs, understood.

common gender

See gender.

§20

common noun

See noun.

§6, §7.3.1, §7.3.2, §7.3.3, §16.4, §41

comparative adjective

Adjectives in the comparative forms may be called §7.6.5, §27 comparative adjectives. See adjective, degrees of comparison.

comparative adverb

Adverbs in the comparative forms may be called §7.6.5, §27, comparative adverbs; but note that adverbs of comparison §27.2.1,

§6, §7.3.2, §16.4, §41

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

287 SECTION

(‘than’, ‘like’, ‘as’) are also referred to as comparative §27.2.2, §27.5 adverbs. See adverb, degrees of comparison, adverbs of comparison. comparative clause

An adverbial clause of comparison, often beginning §31.3.8, with comparative conjunctions ‘than’, ‘as’, ‘such as’. §33.2.3.2 The actual comparison is with whatever is declared in the main clause. See adverbial clause, conjunction.

comparative degree

One of the three degrees of comparison for adjectives and adverbs; the other two degrees of comparison are positive degree and superlative degree. See adjective, adverb, degrees of comparison, adverb of comparison.

§7.6.5, §27.1, §27.2.1, §27.3, §27.4, §27.5, §31.3.8

comparison of adjectives

See adjective, comparative adjective, degrees of comparison.

§7.6.5, §27.1, §27.2, §27.4, §27.5

comparison of adverbs

See adverb, comparative adverb, degrees of comparison, §7.6.5, §27.1, adverbs of comparison. §27.3, §27.4, §27.5

complement

English stative verbs convey a state of things, they do not bring about a change, so they do not act on any direct object. English stative verbs are also copulative verbs, so they can identify their subjects with something, which is called their complement. An adjective standing alone in the complement is said to qualify the subject of the verb. Precision and consistency of agreement in number and gender between the subject and complement of a copulative verb varies from language to language. “This is that.” The stative verb ‘is’ identifies its subject ‘this’ with its complement, the predicate pronoun ‘that’. “The music was beautiful.” The stative verb ‘is’ identifies its subject ‘the music’ with its complement the predicate adjective ‘beautiful’ which agrees in person, gender and number with the noun it qualifies ‘music’. See stative verb, copulative verb, agreement, predicate pronoun, predicate noun, predicate adjective.

§8.2.4, §15, §22.3, §24.2.1, §25.1, §25.2, §25.2.2, §25.3, §25.3.1, §28.3, §29.3, §31.4, §31.4.3, §37, §40, §42.3, §42.5

complex sentence A complex sentence has one main clause and at least one §30.7, §30.8, subordinate clause. §32, §43.3 “Some people who are carrying gifts have come to the door.”

288

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

See main clause, subordinate clause, conjunction, sentence. composite

Composite means made of (composed of) two or more parts. See composite verb, composite sentence, sentence.

composite sentence

A composite sentence has two or more clauses. §30.3, §30.4, “The food has arrived, so let’s eat, before it gets §30.5, §30.6, cold” §30.7, §30.8, See clause, conjunction, sentence. §32, §33, §43.1, §43.2, §43.3

composite verb

A verb composed of two or more separate words, in contrast to a simple verb which is only one word. For an example see auxiliary verb. Some grammars, especially Greek grammars, call composite verbs ‘periphrastic verbs’. See verb, auxiliary verb, periphrastic verb.

compound noun

A noun composed of more than one word, e.g. many proper nouns like ‘New York’, ‘Los Angeles’. See noun.

compound sentence

A compound sentence may be another name for a complex sentence, one with two or more clauses. See complex sentence.

concord

Grammatical concord between words is grammatical agreement between words. See agreement.

concrete

For concrete, see abstract

condition, conditional clause, conditional phrase

A conditional clause is an adverbial clause expressing the §28.2, §31.3.7 hypothetical condition, or circumstance under which, something occurs. A conditional phrase is an adverbial phrase of condition. English conjunctions introducing conditional clauses include ‘if’, ‘unless’, ‘perhaps’, ‘provided’, ‘suppose’ and sometimes ‘when’. The conditional clause or phrase may be called the protasis. The main clause of the sentence to which the conditional clause belongs may be called the apodosis. See apodosis, protasis, adverbial clause, clause, adverbial phrase, conditional sentence, conditionals

§7.2.3, §11.1, §11.2, §12.1, §12.2, §12.3, §14.1, §25, §25.4 §38.1, §41

§7.3.3

conditional mood The conditional mood is a French mood of verbs used in a §14.1, §31.3.7 conditional clause. See mood of verbs, conditional clause. conditional sentence,

A conditional sentence (a conditional) is composed of a §28.2, §31.3.7, condition plus a consequence. The consequence is the §33.3

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

conditionals

main clause of the sentence. The condition may be a conditional phrase or a conditional clause. Other names used for the condition include ‘protasis’, ‘“if” clause’, ‘adverbial clause of condition’, ‘adverbial phrase of condition’. Other names for the consequence include ‘apodosis’, ‘ “then” clause’, ‘answering clause’ (q.v.)

conjugate

To conjugate is to list the inflections of a word that belongs to a specified grammatical category, usually verbs. For example: list 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person, singular and plural spellings in the present tense, active voice, indicative mood of a particular finite verb. See verb, inflection, conjugation, cf declension.

conjugation

A group of words grouped according to similar inflection patterns; often used of verbs. Latin has four standard conjugations of verbs (‘first’, ‘second’, ‘third’ and ‘fourth’ conjugations), with another that has features of the third and fourth, and is thus given different names in the grammars: e.g. treated as a variant of the 3rd, treated as a 3rd and a half. Hebrew has a more detailed arrangement of related verb forms, called binyanim, which some grammars call conjugations. Greek has regular conjugations for inflections of verbs. See verb, inflection, binyan, cf declension.

conjunction

The conjunction is one of the basic parts of speech. Conjunctions join words, phrases, clauses and sentences together, to form anything from a simple phrase to complex sentences. Thus there are many types of conjunctions and many different naming conventions for them. Co-ordinating conjunctions can be used to combine any number of sentences, no matter how complex each sentence might be, into one sentence. Subordinating conjunctions join a subordinate clause to a main clause or non-finite verb phrase. Relative conjunctions are used to add relative clauses to a sentence to form a longer sentence. Interrogative conjunctions are used to introduce questions. Inferential conjunctions, like ‘therefore’ and ‘thus’, act at the start of a sentence to join it notionally to preceding text. Temporal conjunctions introduce adverbial clause of time, locative conjunctions clauses of place (location), causal conjunctions adverbial clauses of reason or cause, final conjunctions adverbial clauses of

289 SECTION

§7.1, §7.6.7, §16.2, §16.4, §30.3, §30.5, §31.2, §31.3.1, §31.3.2, §31.3.3, §31.3.4, §31.3.5, §31.3.6, §31.3.7, §31.3.8, §31.3.9, §31.4.1, §32, §33, §33.1, §33.2, §33.2.1, §33.2.2, §33.2.3, §33.2.3.1, §33.2.3.2,

290

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES purpose (ends, finality), consecutive conjunctions adverbial clauses of result or consequence, conditional clauses adverbial clauses of condition, comparative conjunctions adverbial clauses of comparison, manner conjunction adverbial clauses of manner. Some common English conjunctions are ‘and’, ‘or’, ‘but’, ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘while’. The Hebrew Bible has over 13,000 words with a particular prefix, the vav prefix, that is typically translated into English as a separate conjunction, often ‘and’. The Hebrew vav prefix is thus often called a vav conjunction. See parts of speech, sentence, independent clause, subordinate clause, adjectival conjunction, adverbial conjunction, vav prefix.

consonants

Consonants are the sounds of a language made ostensibly by very briefly blocking the flow of air in the throat, inside the mouth or at the lips, consequently seemingly sounded in combination with some type of vowel sound. Consonants are also letters of the alphabet used to represent the consonantal sounds. Some consonantal letters are treated as vowel letters in particular words. See vowels, vowel letters, syllables.

construct case

A common form of a Hebrew noun is said to be in the construct state when it is in a genitive type of relationship with the following word. Applying the notion of case to Hebrew this form could be called the construct case. For example: “mountain of holiness” The Hebrew construct state (case) of the Hebrew word for ‘mountain’ would convey the meaning ‘mountain of’. See construct chain, absolute case, genitive case, case.

construct chain

A Hebrew construct chain is a connected sequence of words each in the construct state (construct case) except for the final word which is in the absolute state (absolute case). Unlike English, Latin and Greek, the spelling change (inflection) of the Hebrew word in a phrase with the pattern of words ‘aaa of bbb’ occurs to the first word (‘aaa’) so that it means “aaa of” while the word ‘bbb’ stays in the absolute state unchanged. In the other languages, ‘bbb’ would go into a genitive case (possessive case) and ‘aaa’ would be unchanged. See definiteness, construct case, genitive case, absolute case.

SECTION §§33.2.3.3, §33.3, §34, §34.1, §35.1, §39.2, §41, §43.2

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS construct state

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

291 SECTION

See construct case, absolute case, absolute state.

contemporaneous An adverbial phrase of time (temporal phrase), §34.1, §37 conjunctive composed of a conjunction, like ‘while’ or ‘when’, phrase followed by an adjective or a present participle. See temporal clauses and phrases, temporal conjunction, adverbial phrase. co-ordinate clauses

Two simple sentences joined by a co-ordinating conjunction §30.5, §33.1 are co-ordinate clauses. They are both main clauses (independent clauses), rather than subordinate clauses (dependent clauses). “Well that’s that. We have finished.” “Well that’s that and we have finished.” The first two simple sentences have been joined by the co-ordinating conjunction ‘and’ to form a composite sentence (a double sentence) See conjunction, clause, sentence.

co-ordinating conjunction

See conjunction and co-ordinate clauses.

copulative verb

A copulative verb is one that links, identifies, the §8.2.4, §11.1 subject with its complement. English stative verbs are therefore copulative verbs, but many Hebrew stative verbs are not copulative verbs (and they would typically be translated into English by action verbs in the passive voice). See stative verb, complement, verb, cf transitive verb, direct object.

corpus, corpora

Corpus is a Latin word meaning body. It is used to name a collection of words, usually a very large collection; a modern language corpus typically numbers in the millions of words, using a vocabulary numbering in the thousands or even, as an English corpus could, in the hundreds of thousands. The Latin plural of corpus is corpora. Some modern writers use corpuses for the plural of corpus. See text, vocabulary, lexicon.

dative case

Normally English is not described as having a true §8.2.3, §17.3, dative case. Instead English grammars describe the §17.5 indirect object. Greek and Latin each have a true dative case, which can be used as an indirect object case. Certain Greek and Latin prepositions govern words in the dative case. Hebrew has a lamed case which can serve similarly to an indirect object case or a dative case.

§16.2, §30.5, §33, §33.1

292

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

“He gave Gayle gifts.” “He gave gifts to Gayle.” In appropriate contexts, these two sentences have the same meaning, and so show two ways in English of expressing what, in other languages, may be called the dative case of ‘Gayle’. ‘Gifts’, the direct object of the verb ‘gave’, is in the accusative case. ‘Gayle’ in the first sentence can be said to be in the dative case, but in English is usually be said to be in the accusative case (objective case). See indirect object, lamed case, case, preposition. declension

Words that have very similar inflection patterns in a language may be grouped as a declension. Nouns, adjectives and often pronouns typically belong to declensions. This is a strictly grammatical category, one of morphology, not one of semantics. Declensions are often named numerically, e.g. ‘first declension’, ‘second declension’. A declension might be named according to some characteristic vowel or spelling of its members, e.g. ‘the adeclension’. To list the various inflections or spellings of a particular word is to decline it. Some grammars use the expression ‘give the declension of’ some word to mean ‘decline’ that word, rather than simply naming the declension to which it belongs. See noun, inflection, conjugation, paradigm.

decline

To list the inflections of a word that belongs to a specified morphological group called a declension. To decline a noun might entail listing all forms of that noun in all of the cases in the singular, dual, and plural. See declension, conjugate, paradigm.

definite article

In English ‘the’ is the definite article used before §7.5.5, §22.1, singular and plural nouns. §25.2, §25.2.2, See article, articular case, definiteness, indefinite article. §25.4.1, §27.2.1, §28.3, §37, §37.1, §40, §42.3

definite case, definiteness

Definiteness is a characteristic of Hebrew words. A §22.1, §36.2 word is definite: (i) when it is in the articular case; (ii) when it is in the construct case and the final word in the construct chain is definite;

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

293 SECTION

(iii) when it is a proper noun; or (iv) when it has a personal pronominal possessive suffix. “The house”, “House of God”, “God”, and “Our house” The Hebrew words for all of these nouns would be definite. “A house”, “a god”, “We have a house” None of the Hebrew for these words would be definite. See article, definite article, indefinite article, articular case, absolute state. degrees of comparison

demonstrative

The three degrees of comparison for adjectives and for adverbs are the positive degree, the comparative degree and the superlative degree. English examples: Positive Comparative Adjectives weak weaker beautiful more beautiful good better bad worse Adverbs weakly more weakly beautifully more beautifully well better badly worse Adjectives in the comparative forms may be called comparative adjectives. Adverbs in the comparative forms may be called comparative adverbs; but note that adverbs of comparison (‘then’, ‘like’, ‘as’) are also referred to as comparative adverbs. The Latin comparative may also mean “too” or “rather”, as in “too precious”, “rather heavy”. Strictly, English comparatives also include forms using the comparative adverb “less” as in “less beautiful”, “less weakly”. Languages like French have sepearate comparative words equivalent to “more” and “less”, but many languages do not. The Latin superlative may commonly mean “very” something, like “very weak”, “very good”. This can occur in Greek too. Sometimes called the elative superlative. See adjective, adverb, adverb of comparison.

§27.1, §27.2, §27.3, §27.4 Superlative weakest most beautiful best worst most weakly most beautifully best worst

Demonstrative adjectives qualify a noun or noun equivalent. §7.5.4, §24.5,

294

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

adjective

Also called ‘demonstrative pronominal adjectives’. §33.2.1 They are pronominal adjectives. In English they have the same spelling as the corresponding demonstrative pronouns: ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘these’ and ‘those’. See adjective, noun, noun equivalent, agreement, demonstrative pronoun.

demonstrative pronoun

Demonstrative pronouns act in place of nouns. In §7.4.2, §7.5.5, English they have the same spelling as the §24.5, §33.2.1 corresponding demonstrative adjectives: singular ‘this’, plural ‘these’; singular ‘that’, plural ‘those’. In Greek the definite article often acts as a demonstrative adjective would; this supports the idea that the Greek definite article be treated as its own part of speech. Latin lacks articles, so makes good use of several demonstrative pronouns, some of which can be translated well by English personal pronouns (e.g. ‘this’ in a masculine singular form might be equivalent to “he”) See pronoun, noun, antecedent, agreement, demonstrative adjective.

denominative verb

A denominative verb is a verb derived from a noun. See verb, noun, morphology.

dependent clause

A dependent clause is also called a subordinate clause. §30.6, §31 See subordinate clause, clause and, in contrast, main clause and independent clause.

deponency, deponent verb

Deponency of verbs occurs when one set of verb §11.3 forms falls out of use and another set of verb forms takes on the functions of the forms no longer used. The word ‘deponency’ comes from the Latin verb ‘depono’, “put down, set aside”. In Latin there are verbs that once had an active voice set of forms which fell out of use over time. Such Latin verbs use passive forms (spellings) to function as active voice verbs with active voice meanings, and so are called deponent verbs. There are Greek middle voice and some passive voice forms that are translated using English active voice verb forms. Following the Latin example, most grammars call these Greek forms ‘deponent verbs’, but the concept of deponency does not properly apply to the historical development of almost all NT Greek verbs. In fact the Greek passive voice grew out of the middle voice. The range of meaning of the Greek middle voice spans what in English is

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

295 SECTION

translated by active or passive forms, depending on the Greek verb and its particular use. See active voice, middle voice, passive voice. derivation

See derive.

derivational morphology

See morphology.

derive, derived form

To derive a form is to develop a new word from another word; for example the noun ‘direction’ may have be a derived form from the verb ‘direct’. See etymology, diachronic.

derived cases

See oblique cases, case.

descriptive adjective

Descriptive adjectives are adjectives that qualify a noun by §7.5.2 describing some characteristic of the noun. The large majority of English adjectives are descriptive adjectives. See adjective.

diachronic

Through, or over, time; hence diachronic study of a language is its developmental or historical study. See etymology, synchronic.

dialect

A subdivision of a language; there are often regional, social and educational variations of a language. Differences in vocabulary, forms and syntax used would be represented in the spelling when an alphabetic script is used, but where a pictographic script is used two dialects with different pronunciation, vocabulary and syntax could use exactly the same texts, as in Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese dialects. See register.

dictionary

An organised listing of succinct analyses of words, possibly with summaries of their morphology, syntax and idiomatic use, semantics, history and pronunciation. A dictionary of an ancient language is often called a lexicon. See lexicon, lexicography, vocabulary.

diphthong

A combination of two different vowels treated grammatically as one vowel and more or less pronounced as if a single vowel. E.g. ‘ie’ in ‘piece’, ‘ea’ in ‘peace’ and ‘ou’ in ‘hour’ can be considered diphthongs. See vowels.

296

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

direct command

See direct discourse.

direct discourse

Also called direct speech or direct quotation: the actual §39.1, §43.1 words said aloud (e.g. as part of an address or conversation), written down (e.g. in a book) or thought (e.g. in a novel when the writer gives the actual words thought by a character). Quotation marks (inverted commas) are normally used at the start and end of direct speech. There are direct statements, direct questions, direct commands, and direct exclamations. In contrast, see indirect discourse. See punctuation.

direct exclamation

See direct discourse.

§39.1, §43.1

direct object

In a clause, when a subject carries out the action of the verb on a person or thing named in the clause, that person or thing is called the direct object of the verb. It follows that only action verbs can have direct objects and that in English an action verb with a direct object would be in the active voice. When a finite verb has a direct object, the verb is transitive, when it does not it is intransitive. Stative verbs cannot have a direct object as they do not carry out any action. A non-finite verb which is an action verb can have direct or indirect objects provided its finite forms can have them. “To have a direct object the verb does not have to have a subject”. The first non-finite verb form, ‘to have’, an infinitive, does not have a subject, but does have a direct object composed of the words ‘a direct object’. Similarly the second non-finite verb ‘to have’ has a direct object, the words ‘a subject’. See transitive verb, indirect object, cf complement.

§8.2.2, §8.2.4, §10. §11.1, §15, §24.2.1, §25.1, §28.3, §29.3, §31.4, §33.2.1, §35.1, §37, §40, §42.3, §42.5

direct object word

Within a sentence, a direct object word can be identified when the direct object is a single word or a phrase, not a noun clause. A direct object word is a word within the direct object that must be present for its clause, or non-finite verb phrase, to make sense. When the direct object is composed of only one word, that word is the direct object word. When a phrase forms the direct object (e.g. when a noun is qualified by an adjective) the main word (so e.g. the noun) is the direct object word. When two such main words are

§8.2.2, §15, §17.1, §25.2, §25.2.2, §28.3, §29.3, §42.3

§39.1, §43.1

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

297 SECTION

joined by a conjunction, like ‘and’, both main words serve as direct object words. “In the beginning, God made the heavens and the earth.” The verb is ‘made’, its direct object are the words ‘the heavens and the earth’. The word ‘the’ each time is acting adjectivally, the word ‘and’ is a simple conjunction. The two nouns ‘heavens’ and ‘earth’ are essential for the meaning of the sentence and so are the direct object words. See direct object, cf subject word, indirect object word. direct question

See direct discourse.

§35.3, §39.1, §43.1

direct quotation

See direct discourse.

§39.1, §43.1

direct speech

See direct discourse.

§39.1, §43.1

direct statement

See direct discourse.

§39.1, §43.1

directional case

In Hebrew the letter he can be added as a suffix to the end of a noun to indicate direction: “To the city” and “towards the city” could be expressed by the Hebrew for the word ‘city’ put into the directional case. See case.

discourse

An apparently coherent sample of a language. There §33.3 is varied use of the term, some meaning a relatively large sample such as a speech or a book, others could mean even a two-lined poem. Some use ‘text’ and ‘discourse’ synonymously, others treat these words differently.

discourse analysis

Explanation or description of a discourse, usually §33.3 highlighting characteristic links between components within a discourse, and the features of different types of discourse being considered. Thus discourse analysis entails the study of how sentences or groups of sentences relate to one another. Some use ‘text linguistics’ and ‘discourse analysis’ synonymously. See discourse, sentence analysis.

distributive pronoun

Distributive pronouns, also called quantitative pronouns, in §7.4.2, §35.4 effect answer questions like, “How much?”, “How many?” or “How great?” They provide a quantitative answer. The following can be used in contexts where they are distributive pronouns: ‘all, some, none, everyone,

298

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

everybody, nobody’. See indefinite pronoun, pronoun, quantitative pronoun. double complex sentence

A double complex sentence has two main clauses and at §30.7, §30.8, least one subordinate clause. §32, §43.3 “Because it’s already raining, I’m running to the barn and getting under the hay.” See sentence, main clause, subordinate clause.

double direct objects, double objects

Some finite verbs in the active voice can have two §8.2.5, §23, separate, distinct, direct objects that are not in apposition, §47.1 §47.2 not joined by a conjunction, or separated by a comma. Such verbs have double direct objects and can be called ditransitive (or bitransitive). This phenomenon is called ditransitivity (bitransitivity). Passive voice forms of ditransitive verbs can have apparent direct objects, contrary to descriptions elsewhere about passive voice forms being intransitive. This occurs in Hebrew and other languages. Verbs of naming, teaching, making and information transfer can be ditransitive. Verbs of giving and instruction when in the active voice can have both direct and indirect objects in the same clause. Then they can have apparent direct objects in one of their possible passive voice versions of the active voice clause. ‘Give’ and ‘name’ are two examples of verbs that can have apparent direct objects of their passive voice forms. 1. “Someone gave him a book.” 2. “Someone gave a book to him.” 3. “He was given a book by someone.” 4. “A book was given to him by someone.” All of the above sentences can be understood to convey the same meaning. 5. “Their parents named them Jack and Jill.” 6. “They were named Jack and Jill by their parents.” These two sentences have the same meaning. In 3 and 6 we have passive voice forms with apparent direct objects, contrary to descriptions elsewhere about passive voice forms being intransitive. See voice, transitivity, direct object, indirect object.

double sentence

A double sentence has two main clauses. “It’s already midday and the clouds are swirling.” See sentence, main clause.

§30.5, §30.7, §30.8, §32, §33.1, §43.3

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

299 SECTION

dual number

Dual number means two, or a pair, in Greek and §19.1 Hebrew grammars. So those languages have three grammatical numbers: singular (one), dual (two or a pair), plural (more than one). When a word has dual number it is treated as plural for grammatical agreement. See number, agreement.

e.g.

English abbreviation for Latin ‘exempli gratia’ meaning “for example”.

Ecclesiastical Latin

The Latin of the Church based in Rome. See Classical Latin and Koine Greek.

educational linguistics

Application of insights about linguistics applied to the teaching and learning of a second language. Also called pedagogical linguistics, or simply pedagogy.

elative superlative See degrees of comparison. emphatic forms of verbs

In positive statements or commands (rather than questions §7.2.3 or negative statements), the forms of compound verbs using the auxiliary verb ‘do’ or ‘did’ are emphatic forms of the verbs. “Green plants do have green coloring.” ‘Do have’ is an emphatic form of the verb ‘have’. See composite verbs, verb.

emphatic pronoun

See intensive pronoun.

epigraphy

Epigraphy is the study of epigraphs or (ancient) writings. See papyrology, archeology, codicology

et al.

English abbreviation for Latin ‘et alii’ meaning “and others”.

etc.

English abbreviation for Latin ‘et cetera’ meaning “and the rest”.

etymology

The study of the history of development of a word or words, especially concerning form and meaning. See derive, diachronic, philology, semantics, lexicography.

exclamation

An exclamation is one of the basic types of sentences. “Great!” See exclamation mark, sentence

exclamation mark

The English exclamation mark is a punctuation mark: ! It §4, §16.3 is used at the very end of a command, where a verb in the imperative mood is used, and also at the very end of

§24.2, §24.2.2

§4, §5, §8.1.1, §16.3, §16.4, §41

300

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

a short exclamation. See sentence, punctuation, punctuation mark. expression

In this grammar the term expression is used very §3, §9, §31.4, generally. It is any sample of a sequence or string of §37, §48.1 words from a language. An expression may be as short as a pair of words or as long as a sentence. A phrase and a clause are examples of different types of expression. An expression can be any subset of words in a sequence, but not merely a list of words. See word, phrase, clause, sentence.

feminine

See gender.

finite

Finite means limited in some way: see finite verb and §8.1.1 non-finite verb.

finite verb

A finite verb is one that has a subject in its clause. The person and number of the subject determines, according to the practices of each language, the person and number of the finite verb. Finite verbs are thus said to be limited, made finite, by person and number, while non-finite verbs are not limited by person or number. “Well, well, here we are at last.” The pronoun ‘we’ is the subject of the verb ‘are’, so the verb in this sentence is finite. “We wanted to be here.” The pronoun ‘we’ is the subject of the verb ‘wanted’ so this verb is finite, but the verb ‘to be’, an infinitive form, does not have a subject, so it is a nonfinite verb. Each Greek, Latin and Hebrew finite verb by itself typically has a spelling that indicates it has a subject that is in either the first person, second person or third person and is singular or plural. A non-finite verb does not. See subject, non-finite verb, person, number.

first person

First person is for self reference by the speaker(s), §18 writer(s) or thinker(s). First person pronouns include: I, me, we, us, mine, ours. First person possessive pronominal adjectives include: my, our. See person, personal pronoun, possessive pronoun, possessive pronominal adjective, agreement, finite verb, subject, understood.

future gerund

An artificial form in English. E.g. for the verb ‘do’, §25.2.3, §41 active voice ‘being about to do’, passive voice ‘being

§20

§3, §8.1.1, §8.1.2, §8.2, §9, §10, §15, §16.4, §18, §19.1, §20.1, §22.2, §29.2, §29.3, §30.1, §30.8, §31.4, §31.4.1, §31.4.2, §32, §34.1, §36.2, §37, §41, §42.2, §42.3, §43, §43.3

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

301 SECTION

about to be done’. See future participle, gerund, non-finite verb. future infinitive

Add: An artificial form in English. E.g. for the verb §25.2.3, §41, ‘do’, active voice ‘to be about to do’, passive voice §42.5 ‘to be about to be done’. See future participle, infinitive, non-finite verb.

future participle

Formally, future participles are not a feature of English. §12.1, §25.2.1, However future participles exist in other languages, §25.3.3, so it can be helpful to have an expression type §25.3.6, §25.4 available to translate them. For a future participle of the verb ‘do’ we could have in the active voice “being about to do”, and in the passive voice “being about to be done”. Future participles behave as other participles. See participle, non-finite verb, non-finite verb phrase, tense of verbs.

gender

Grammatical gender is a grammatical device to help spell whole families of words and to help associate words in sentences (see agreement). Nouns, adjectives, pronouns, participles and gerunds may have gender (and so may Hebrew finite verbs). Grammatical gender is not a comment about sexual gender or the significance of a word. Grammatical gender in English, Greek and Latin may be masculine, feminine or neuter; in Hebrew, Italian and French either masculine or feminine. Some words have a common gender; they may be masculine, feminine or ambiguous depending on what they refer to in the sentence. The grammatical genders of Greek, Latin and Hebrew words have to be learnt, as they are not intuitively obvious. Grammatical gender is probably more important to Greek and Latin than it is to Hebrew. The English third person singular personal pronouns are show grammatical gender: ‘he’ is masculine, ‘she’ feminine, ‘it’ neuter. The plural ‘they’ covers all genders. Until recently English masculine pronouns were often used to refer to all people, but now there tends to be a restriction of them to refer to just males. Some now use previously feminine only pronouns to refer to all people. Others simply restrict masculine pronouns to males, and feminine to females. Almost all English nouns and adjectives are neuter. English is tending to use previously masculine only forms of nouns for both masculine and feminine, retaining feminine forms for only

§20, §22.1, §22.2, §23, §24.2.1, §24.2.2, §35.1.2, §36.1, §36.2

302

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

feminine reference. ‘Hostess’ is feminine and ‘host’ could be either gender. See agreement, pronouns, pronominal adjectives. genitive absolute

For genitive absolute, see ablative absolute, and instrumental §36.2 case.

genitive case

The genitive case is also often called the possessive case in §17.2, §17.2.1, English, and is used as a possessive case in Greek and §17.2.2, §17.5, Latin. §21, §35.1 “He gave them to her because they were hers.” The word ‘hers’ is in the genitive case. “Michael’s run was superb.” The word ‘Michael’s’ is in the genitive case. It can alternatively be written ‘of Michael’: “The run of Michael was superb.” Greek has many different uses for the genitive case. One is as an instrumental case. The Greek genitive absolute is an important verbal phrase. A very common Hebrew phrase is a construct chain. In describing them, Hebrew grammars use the term ‘genitive’, but it does not apply in a way that corresponds directly to the structure of English, Greek or Latin. Cf nominative case. See instrumental case, construct case, construct chain, case.

gerund

A gerund is a non-finite verb form that functions like a noun. As a verb it can have all of the predicate relationships that its finite versions can have; so it can form a gerund phrase. As a noun it can do what a noun can do, e.g. it can be the subject or object of a verb, qualified by adjectives, including the articles and governed by prepositions. English gerunds all end in ‘ing’. “Thinking is impossible to avoid.” ‘Thinking’ is a gerund from the verb ‘think’ and functions as a noun by being the subject of the verb ‘is’. “Thinking well is difficult.” ‘Thinking well’ is a gerund phrase and forms the subject of the verb ‘is’. The gerund ‘thinking’ is modified by the adverb ‘well’ forming part of a predicate. See gerunds vs participles, non-finite verb, articular infinitive, infinitive, participle, phrase.

§25.1, §25.2, §25.2.1, §25.2.2, §25.2.3, §25.3.1, §25.4.1, §28.3, §28.4, §28.5, §28.8, §28.9, §29.4, §31.4, §31.4.6.1, §31.4.6.2, §34.1, §37, §37.1, §37.2, §41, §42.5, §43.1

gerund phrase

A gerund phrase is a type of noun phrase.

§28, §28.4,

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES See gerund.

303 SECTION §28.3, §28.4, §28.5, §28.8, §28.9, §29.4, §31.4, §31.4.6.1, §31.4.6.2, §37.1, §41, §42.5, §43.1

gerunds vs participles

Gerunds and participles are non-finite verb forms. English §25.3.1, §37, gerunds and present tense participles in the active voice §37.1, §37.2, end in ‘ing’. Thus gerunds and participles from the §46 same verb can have exactly the same spelling. Gerunds act as nouns and participles typically act as adjectives. Thus the noun or participle functions of the ‘ing’ non-finite verb forms should indicate which is a gerund and which a participle. “The going gets tough in the forest.” ‘The going’ is the subject of ‘gets’, and ‘going’ is the subject word, so ‘going’ is a gerund qualified by ‘the’. “The hikers, going through at night, made better progress.” ‘Going through at night’ is an adjectival phrase qualifying ‘the hikers’, so ‘going’ is a participle in the present tense, active voice. See gerund, participle, noun, noun equivalents, adjective, non-finite verb phrases.

grammar

A grammar of a language is an attempt at describing §2 how the words in that language are formed and how they are used or function. Words can be thought of as building blocks of a language. Grammar is about how words are related to each other so that the language built from the words makes sense. Some grammars prescribe how the words may be used properly within the language.

grammatical agreement

For grammatical agreement, see agreement.

§22, §24.2.1, §24.2.2, §24.4, §35.1.2, §36.1, §36.2, §40

grammatical analysis and translation

A common error in grammatical analysis frequently results from using the classification of the structure and forms of the translation to classify the structure and forms of the original. See accusative and infinitive.

§16.5, §17.1, §25.4, §26, §31.4.4, §35.4, §36.2, §39.2, §46

304

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

grammatical case

For grammatical case, see case.

§17

grammatical gender

For grammatical gender, see gender.

§20

grammatical number

For grammatical number, see number.

§19

grammatical person

Grammatical person may be first person, second person or §18 third person. See person.

graphemics

Study of writing systems. See alphabetic script, syllabic script, pictographic script.

Greek

Greek in this grammar is Koine Greek, especially NT Greek, unless noted otherwise. Broadly but not precisely, Classical Greek varieties preceded Hellenistic Greek (Koine Greek), which included Septuagintal Greek, NT Greek and Apostolic Greek, which was followed by Patristic Greek. See Koine Greek.

hay and he

‘Hay’ and ‘he’ are two ways of transcribing the fifth letter of the Hebrew and Aramaic alphabets. The sound of the name of this letter is like the pronunciation of the English word ‘hay’, while the spelling ‘he’ is the more commonly used transcription.

he interrogative

Prefixed he as the he interrogative: this is the fifth letter of the Hebrew alephbet prefixed to the first word in a sentence to make the sentence a question. The vowels attached to the he interrogative are typically different from those attached to the he prefix used in the articular case. See articular case, case.

he prefix

Prefixed he: the Hebrew he prefix is the fifth letter of the §17.4, §22.1, alephbet prefixed to a word. §36.2 See articular case, definiteness, he interrogative and case.

he suffix

In Hebrew the letter he is used as a suffix for various

§12.4, §14.1, §16.5, §17, §20, §24.2.1, §25.3.1, §25.3.2, §25.3.3, §25.3.6, §25.4, §26, §28.8, §30.7, §31.3, §31.4.4, §31.4.5, §35.1.2, §35.4, §36.1, §36.2, §39.2, §40, §46

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

305 SECTION

purposes, including for the directional case. See directional case, case. headword

A headword, or head-word, is the actual word used to index a dictionary entry (a lexical entry), frequently alphabetically, for a word or word group. Also called a lexical item, lexeme, lemma, sometimes root, dictionary entry word, or simply the word. See word, lexicon.

Hebrew

Hebrew in this grammar refers to Classical Hebrew, especially Biblical Hebrew, the Hebrew of the Old Testament, unless otherwise noted. See Classical Hebrew.

Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew and Aramaic text of the Old Testament of the Bible. See Classical Hebrew, Septuagintal Greek, Koine Greek, Vulgate.

Hellenistic Greek

Greek of the Hellenistic period, following the death of Alexander the Great about 322 BC, continuing into the first centuries after Christ. Hellenistic Greek is taken to be Koine Greek. Septuagintal Greek and New Testament Greek were written in the Hellenistic period. See Koine Greek.

homonym

A word with the same spelling as, but different meaning from, another word. In contrast see synonym.

i.e.

English abbreviation for Latin ‘id est’ meaning “that is”.

ibid.

English abbreviation for Latin ‘ibidem’ meaning “in the same place”.

id.

English abbreviation for Latin ‘idem’ meaning “the same”.

idiom, idiomatic use

An idiom is a meaningful expression whose words §16.3, §48.1, function together in a way that does not match the §48.2, §48.3 sum of their usual individual meanings and

§11.3, §12.4, §13, §14.3, §16.5, §17.2.1, §17.4, §20, §23, §25.3.1, §25.4, §26, §28.8, §31.3, §31.4.4, §35.4, §36.1, §36.2, §39.2, §40

306 TERMS

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES functions. When we are not using idioms and we hear individual words we normally first think of their meanings in relation to a normal vocabulary range for the subject being discussed at the time. For example, if we are talking about a rugby (football) game and use the word ‘ball’ we think of an elongated inflated object kicked, passed and carried in rugby. If we are watching a tennis match at Wimbledon and hear the word ‘ball’ we think of a small, furry, circular and bouncy object used to play tennis. When we talk about the evening events after the Wimbledon tennis championships and hear the word ‘ball’ we would likely think of a social gathering with celebration and dancing. In an idiomatic use, words normally used to discuss one type of activity are typically used out of context in another type of activity. “To drop the ball” can mean, in rugby, to not hold onto a rugby ball and is required by the rules in certain situations. In tennis it can mean to hit the ball with a tennis racquet in such a way that it lands on a spot being discussed. In the evening at Wimbledon, “to drop the ball” could mean to cancel a social gathering involving dancing, But as an idiom, “to drop the ball” can mean to fail to carry out a task, without any thought of international sport or dances. “To be up the creek” can mean to have a difficult problem or situation, without any thought given to creeks or waterways. English idioms tend to be used differently in different English speaking areas; sometimes the same idiom will mean quite different things from region to region. To “table a document” can mean in one region to discuss it now, but in another, to put it aside, that is, not to discuss it now. English uses the word ‘it’ and ‘there’ idiomatically to create sentences whose structures may not be found in other languages. The influence of French on English development may be significant for these uses. “It is raining.” ‘It’ is used idiomatically. No antecedent for ‘it’ occurs. “There are storm clouds over there.” The first ‘there’ is an idiomatic use of the word to

SECTION

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

307 SECTION

allow the sentence structure. The second ‘there’ is an adverb of place, a locative adverb indicating where the storm is. See expression, collocation, lexicography. “if” clause

See protasis, conditional sentence.

imperative mood

The imperative mood is the form that a verb usually §14.1 takes when there is a command, an order. English commands end with an exclamation mark. “Love you neighbor!” “Try again!” See mood of verbs, sentence, punctuation mark.

impersonal verbs

Some verbs may be used impersonally. When the §48.2 pronoun ‘it’ is used as an indefinite pronoun and is the subject of a verb, we could call the verb an impersonal verb. “It’s about to pour. Run for it!” In both uses the word ‘it’ is an indefinite pronoun. In the first use, ‘it’ is used as the subject of the verb ‘is’, which is an impersonal verb. “It is cold, and it is likely to rain soon. Soon after it thunders, it can hail. If it pours, it will flood, but not if it’s starts to freeze first. Around here it snows in winter.” “It was the neighbors.” Such impersonal uses of verbs are arguably examples of an English middle voice. See indefinite pronoun, verb, subject, middle voice.

in order that, in order to

The composite terms ‘in order that’ and ‘ in order to’ are often used to translate adverbial conjunctions of purpose from another language. English translations of purpose clauses frequently use simple infinitival phrases of purpose instead. See infinitive, infinitival phrase, conjunction, adverbial phrase, adverbial clause.

indefinite adjective

Adjectives with an imprecise antecedent. E.g. ‘any’, §35.4 ‘some’. “Would you like some food?”. See indefinite relative adjective, indefinite pronoun.

indefinite adverb

The word ‘there’ can be used as an indefinite adverb, as §7.6.9, §48.3 well as its other use as an adverb of place, a locative adverb meaning “in that place”. “There is a table here, beside the fireplace.” ‘There’ is not an adverb of place in this sentence,

§31.3.7, §33.3

308

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

‘here’ is. ‘There’ is an indefinite adverb, part of an English idiomatic style, possibly related to a French style. Other languages might express this sentence something like this: “A table is here, beside the fireplace.” See there, adverb, idiom, marker, indefinite pronoun, impersonal verbs. indefinite article

In English ‘a’ and ‘an’ are the indefinite articles used before singular nouns. English may use the word ‘some’ to fill in for a plural indefinite article: ‘a book’, ‘some books’. While Latin lacks articles, Italian has gender specific singular and plural indefinite and definite articles. See article, definite article.

indefinite pronoun

A pronoun may be called an indefinite pronoun when §7.4.2, §35.4, what it refers to is imprecise. §48.2 Examples: ‘whoever, whatever’. The following can be used in certain contexts where each of them is an indefinite pronoun: ‘all, some, none, everyone, everybody, nobody’; in other contexts each of them can be a distributive pronoun (quantitative pronoun). The third person singular pronoun ‘it’ is frequently used in English as an indefinite pronoun. “Whoever did this deserves a medal.” “Some think so.” “It’s about to pour. Run for it!” See pronoun, impersonal verbs, distributive pronoun, indefinite adverb, indefinite relative pronoun, indefinite relative adjective,

indefinite relative adjective

A particular type of indefinite adjective, that qualifies a §35.4 word in its own clause, and joins that clause to a main clause. E.g. ‘whatever’, ‘whichever’. “Could they feed them with whatever food there is left?” See indefinite adjective.

indefinite relative pronoun

A particular type of indefinite pronoun, that joins a §35.4 subordinate clause to a main clause. E.g. ‘whoever’, ‘whomever’, ‘whatever’. “Could they feed who(m)ever comes with whatever there is left?” See indefinite pronoun.

independent clause

An independent clause can also be called an §30.2, §30.4, ‘independent sentence’, a ‘main clause’ and a ‘co- §30.5, §30.6 ordinate clause’. A simple sentence only has one clause,

§7.5.5, §16.5, §23, §25.2, §25.2.2, §25.4.1, §28.3, §37, §42.3

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

309 SECTION

and is an independent clause. Two independent clauses (main clauses) can be joined by a co-ordinating conjunction. “What is small talk? Why is it popular?” These two questions can be joined by ‘and’ to form one sentence with two independent clauses (main clauses): “What is small talk and why is it popular?” This new sentence can be called a double sentence or a composite sentence. Two simple sentences can be joined by a relative conjunction to form a complex sentence with an independent clause (a main clause) and a relative clause, which is a dependent clause (subordinate clause): “Look at the elephant! It’s eating a whole branch.” “Look at the elephant which is eating a whole branch!” Two simple sentences can be joined to form an independent clause (a main clause) and a noun clause, which is a dependent clause (subordinate clause): “It is forty degrees below zero outside the tent”. “That is not encouraging.” “That it is forty degrees below zero is not encouraging.” See main clause, subordinate clause, conjunction, clause. sentence. indicative mood

The indicative mood is the most common of the verb §14.1, §14.3, moods. It is typically used to convey that the action §25.4, §25.4.3, or state is, was or will be the case. §31.3.6, §31.3.7 “It was so.” See mood of verbs.

indirect command

An indirect command is a type of indirect discourse, and §39.2 typically forms a subordinate clause which is a noun clause, or an infinitival phrase which is a noun phrase. E.g. “They were ordered to set up camp quickly.” See indirect discourse, subordinate clause, noun clause.

indirect discourse Also called indirect speech: spoken, written or thought §39.2 words that are not indicated as the actual words spoken, written down or thought, in contrast to the exact quotation of direct discourse. Indirect speech is indirectly or approximately noted. See sentence, indirect statements, indirect commands, indirect questions. Cf direct discourse. indirect object

There may be an indirect object of an action verb. The §8.2.3, §8.2.4,

310

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES indirect object is someone or something to whom or for whom the action of the verb is carried out. Typically in English the indirect object may begin with a preposition, ‘to’ or ‘for’, and end with a noun or pronoun. “The benefactor provided a large donation to the institution.” ‘Provided’ is an action verb whose direct object is ‘a large donation’, and indirect object is ‘to the institution’. “He gave the things to them.” “He gave them the things.” In both sentences the action verb ‘gave’ has a direct object ‘the things’. In the first sentence ‘to them’ is the indirect object of the verb, and in the second ‘them’ is the indirect object of the verb. Note the word orders of the direct and indirect objects with the two different ways of using the pronoun them. See accusative case, dative case, lamed case, direct object.

SECTION §15, §17.3, §25.1, §29.3, §42.3, §42.5, §47.2

indirect object case

See indirect object, accusative case, dative case, lamed case, §15, §17.3 case.

indirect object word

Within a sentence, an indirect object word can be §8.2.3, §15, identified when the indirect object is a single word or a §25.2, §29.3, phrase, not a preposition governing a noun clause. An §42.3 indirect object word is a word within the indirect object that must be present for its clause, or non-finite verb phrase, to make sense. When the indirect object is composed of only one word, or one word governed by a preposition, that word is the indirect object word. When a phrase forms the indirect object (e.g. when a noun is qualified by an adjective) the main word (so e.g. the noun) is the indirect object word. When two such main words are joined by a conjunction, like ‘and’, both main words serve as indirect object words. See indirect object, direct object, direct object word, noun, adjective, phrase, verb.

indirect question

An indirect question is a type of indirect discourse, and §35.3, §39.2 typically forms a subordinate clause which is a noun clause, or an infinitival phrase which is a noun phrase. The subordinate clause may be introduced by an interrogative conjunction. “They are asking whether the clause after the word ‘asked’ is an indirect question.”

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

311 SECTION

‘Whether’ is an interrogative conjunction joining the indirect question ‘whether the clause after the word ‘asked’ is an indirect question’ to the main clause. See indirect discourse, subordinate clause, noun clause, noun phrase, question, interrogative conjunction. indirect speech

See indirect discourse

indirect statement

An indirect statement is a type of indirect discourse, and §39.2 typically forms a subordinate clause which is a noun clause, or possibly an infinitival phrase which is a noun phrase. E.g. “We are advised that this clause after ‘advised’ is an indirect statement.” See indirect discourse, subordinate clause, noun clause.

inferential conjunctions

Inferential conjunctions can be called ‘discourse §33, §33.3 markers’ when text is being analyzed in larger selections than just a sentence at a time – as in this grammar. See conjunction.

infinitival mood

When used by grammars, infinitival mood is about non- §14.1 finite verbs in one way or another. See non-finite verb, mood of verbs.

infinitival phrase

An infinitival phrase (also called an infinitive phrase) begins with an infinitive in English and may have additional words forming a predicate. Infinitival phrases are types of non-finite verb phrases. English infinitival phrases may act like nouns, adjectives or adverbs. Thus infinitival phrases may be noun phrases, adjectival phrases or adverbial phrases. “To travel can be rewarding.” The infinitive ‘to travel’ is the subject of the composite verb ‘can be rewarding’, and so is an infinitival phrase that is a noun phrase. “Traveling can be rewarding.” The gerund ‘traveling’ is the subject of the verb and forms its own noun phrase. English can sometimes swap gerunds and present tense, active voice infinitives for each other and retain the same meaning. “We want to go there with you.” The infinitival phrase ‘to go there with you’ contains ‘to go’, which is the English present active infinitive form of the verb ‘go’, the adverb ‘there’ and the adverbial phrase ‘with you’ both modifying the verb ‘to go’. The infinitival phrase is the direct

§39.2

§26, §28, §28.3, §28.4, §28.7, §28.12, §29.4, §31.1, §31.3.5, §42.5

312 TERMS

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

object of ‘want’ and so is a noun phrase. “Do you think this is too difficult to understand?” The infinitive ‘to understand’ modifies the adjective ‘difficult’, and so is an adverbial phrase modifying ‘difficult’. “Will they all come to see the Queen?” The verb ‘come’ is always intransitive, as it never has a direct object. The infinitive ‘to see’ has a direct object ‘the Queen’. The infinitival phrase ‘to see the Queen’ modifies the verb ‘will come’, and so is an adverbial phrase of purpose modifying ‘will come’. “Everyone wants something to do today.” The infinitival phrase ‘to do today’ qualifies the pronoun ‘something’, and so is acting as an adjectival phrase. The infinitive ‘to do’ is modified by the adverb ‘today’. Greek infinitival phrases beginning with the definite article are noun phrases. often called articular infinitives. English does not have articular infinitives. See non-finite verb phrase, articular infinitive, phrase, infinitive, in order that, in order to. infinitive

An infinitive is a non-finite verb form as it does not have a subject and so it is not limited, made finite, by person or number. As a verb the infinitive can have all of the types of predicate relationships that its finite forms can have. In English the infinitive is always a composite form beginning with the word ‘to’: e.g. ‘to be’, ‘to do’, ‘to come’, ‘to go’, ‘to be born’, ‘to have been fed’, ‘to have lived’, ‘to be doing’. Each Greek and Latin infinitive is spelt as a single word. The English, Greek and Latin infinitives have inflections indicating various tenses. What are usually called infinitives in Hebrew are frequently better understood as other forms, such as the infinitive absolute which is really an adverb intensifying the main verb with which it is cognate, or the infinitive construct, which often functions as a true gerund. English simple infinitives may convey purpose, as in “they went to the store to buy milk”, where ‘to buy milk’ is an infinitival phrase of purpose. In other languages more complex structures may be used instead. English also uses other constructions to convey precisely the same meaning as the infinitival phrase – see ‘in order that, in order to’.

§14.1, §25.1, §25.4, §25.4.1, §25.4.2, §25.4.3, §25.4.4, §25.4.5, §28, §28.4, §28.7, §29.4, §31.3.5, §41, §42.5

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

313 SECTION

See subject, finite verb, non-finite verb, person, number, predicate, cognate, infinitival phrase. infinitive absolute

In Hebrew grammars, the infinitive absolute is a form §25.4 of a verb, but it is really an adverb intensifying the main verb with which it is cognate. See verb, adverb, cognate, cf infinitive.

infinitive construct

In Hebrew the infinitive construct is a non-finite verb §25.4 form. It often acts as a gerund or as a simple infinitive of the verb. It often has a prefix. See infinitive absolute, non-finite verb, prefix, verbal noun.

infinitive phrase

Also called an infinitival phrase. See infinitival phrase.

infix

An infix is an additional character, or characters, added to the inside of a word changing its spelling, possibly how it functions and even its meaning. The English word ‘rise’ changes to ‘raise’ by adding an ‘a’ as an infix. An infix is a particular type of affix. See affix.

inflection

Also spelt ‘inflexion’. Changes in the forms, or §17.1, §17.2, spellings, of a word, without creating a conceptually §18.2, §18.3, new word; for example making a word plural by §20, §21, §36.2 adding ‘s’. Some linguistic theories treat this term quite differently. See word, accidence, morphology, conjugation, declension.

inflectional morphology

See accidence, morphology.

§26, §28, §28.3, §28.4, §28.7, §28.12, §29.4, §42.5

instrumental case An instrumental case is used in some languages, but not §17 English, to indicate means, method or circumstance: “with great force” and “by great force” could be translated by putting the appropriate words for ‘great force’ into an instrumental case without having to use a preposition. The Latin ablative case and the NT Greek genitive case can serve as instrumental cases. So too may the Hebrew bet case. “With this having been done” could be translated into Latin and Greek using one word only in each language; in Latin an ablative of a passive participle to create an ablative absolute, and in Greek a genitive of a passive participle, creating a genitive absolute. See ablative case, genitive case, bet case, case.

314 TERMS

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

intensive pronoun

Intensive pronouns, also called emphatic pronouns, are used §7.4.2, §24.2, to emphasize a noun or pronoun. Usually the noun §24.2.2, §24.4, or pronoun is next to the intensive pronoun in §36.1 English. Otherwise it should be clear from the meaning of the sentence which noun or pronoun that the intensive pronoun emphasizes. All English intensive pronouns end in ‘self’ or ‘selves’, just as English reflexive pronouns do. But other languages usually have different spellings for these types of pronouns. Intensive pronouns have the same case, number, gender and person as the noun or pronoun they emphasize. They are in apposition with their antecedents. Thus intensive pronouns can be in any case, depending on the sentence. “She, herself, ate the food while she waited.” “She ate the food herself, while she waited.” ‘Herself’ is an intensive pronoun emphasizing its antecedent, the pronoun ‘she’. See apposition, reflexive pronoun, pronoun, agreement.

interjection

An interjection is a part of speech. Interjections are §7.1, §16.3, injected into discourse as exclamations, one of the §29, §41, §42, sentence types. “Oh, really!” §44 Some languages would use a vocative case to express a very brief interjection. See part of speech, vocative case, sentence.

interrogative

The English word ‘interrogative’ is derived from a §38.2 Latin word meaning “ask a question”. See question, interrogative conjunction.

interrogative adjective

Interrogative adjectives are pronominal adjectives used to ask §7.5.7, §35.3, questions in direct speech, or to act as interrogative §38.2 conjunctions, relative adjectives, in indirect questions. “For what reason did that happen?” ‘What’ is an interrogative adjective qualifying the noun ‘reason’. “To which destination are these things being sent?” ‘Which’ is an interrogative adjective qualifying the noun ‘destination’. “Which one?” When translated into another language, interrogative adjectives qualifying the word ‘one’ tend to become interrogative pronouns in the other language. “They wondered for what reason that happened.”

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

315 SECTION

‘What’ is an interrogative adjective acting as a relative adjective. See interrogative pronoun, interrogative adverb, adjective, question, relative adjective, pronominal adjective. interrogative adverb

Interrogative adverbs are adverbs used to ask questions, §7.6.5, §35.3, or to act as interrogative conjunctions, relative adverbs, in §38.2 indirect questions. “Why did that happen?” ‘Why’ is an interrogative adverb of cause or of reason modifying the verb ‘did happen’. “How did it happen so quickly?” ‘How’ is an interrogative adverb of manner modifying the verb ‘did happen’. “When is it?” ‘When’ is an interrogative adverb of time modifying the verb ‘is’. “They wondered why that happened.” ‘Why’ is an interrogative adverb acting as a relative adverb. See adverb, question, interrogative pronoun, interrogative adjective, relative adverb.

interrogative conjunction

Interrogative conjunctions are conjunctions joining §35.3 subordinate clauses that introduce indirect questions to a main clause. Interrogative conjunctions may be interrogative adjectives (relative adjectives), interrogative adverbs (relative adverbs) or interrogative pronouns (relative pronouns). See conjunction, interrogative adjective, interrogative adverb, interrogative pronoun, relative adjective, relative pronoun, relative adverb.

interrogative pronoun

Interrogative pronouns are pronouns used to ask questions §7.4.2, §35.3, in direct speech, or to act as interrogative conjunctions, §38.2 relative pronouns, in indirect questions. “Who is there, dear?” ‘Who’ is an interrogative pronoun and the subject of the verb ‘is’ in this question. “Who did they give it to?” ‘Who’ is an interrogative pronoun and the indirect object of ‘did give’ in this question. “What did we buy?” ‘What’ is an interrogative pronoun and the direct object of ‘did buy’ in this question? “The children heard us ask ourselves what we bought.” ‘What’ is an interrogative pronoun acting as a

316

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

relative pronoun. See pronoun, question, interrogative adverb, interrogative adjective, relative pronoun. intransitive, intransitive verb

An intransitive verb in one that does not have a direct object. All English stative verbs are thus intransitive, and action verbs that lack a direct object in their clause are intransitive. Some languages have action verbs that are either always transitive or always intransitive. See direct object, verb, transitivity of verbs, complement, stative verb.

iterative adverbs

Sometimes called ‘numeral adverbs’. See numbers.

kaph case

Prefixed kaph: in Hebrew the letter kaph can be added §17.8 as a prefix to the beginning of a noun to convey a sense of comparison as in ‘like’ or ‘as’. See mem case, case, adverbs of comparison.

Koine Greek

Koine Greek (Hellenistic Greek) is the Greek commonly §11.3, §12.4, used in the Hellenistic period, after Alexander the §13, §14.2 Great conquered the eastern Mediterranean area until the early centuries after Christ. Hence the New Testament is written in Koine Greek. Classical Greek generally preceded Koine Greek, though classical styles were employed in some writings of the Hellenistic period. Septuagintal Greek in all its styles is early Hellenistic Greek rendering of the Old Testament including the deuterocanonical works. Writings of the early Church leaders, Church Fathers, were in Patristic Greek (‘pater’ is Latin for ‘father’). The Vulgate was a translation of the Bible into Latin of that period. Vulgate style of Latin tended to follow the syntactic orders of Biblical Hebrew and especially NT Greek. Thus Italian, French and Spanish, modern Latin descendents, influenced historically by use of the Vulgate, have a syntactic order often more similar to NT Greek (e.g. subject verb object) than Classical Latin (e.g. subject object verb). See also Classical Hebrew.

lamed case

Prefixed lamed: in Hebrew the letter lamed can be added §17.3, §17.8 as a prefix to the beginning of a noun to convey the sense of a dative case, a sense of belonging, of having (possession) and other uses. See case, dative case.

Latin

Latin in this grammar refers to Classical Latin, unless §11.3, §16.5,

§10, §11.1, §25.3.4, §25.3.5, §25.4.5, §41

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES noted otherwise. See Classical Latin and Koine Greek.

lemma

Within lexicography, usually another term for headword. See headword, lexicon.

letter

See alphabet, alphabetic script and numbers.

lexical entry

See lexicon.

lexical field

See lexicon.

lexical gap

See lexicon.

lexical item

See headword, lexicon.

lexical structure, lexical system

See lexicon.

lexicographer

Someone who compiles the type of reference work used to find out the meanings of such words as ‘lexicographer’ and ‘lexicon’ (a “dictionary maker” and a “dictionary”). See lexicography.

lexicography

Dictionary making: succinctly analyzing, describing and summarizing the morphology, syntax, semantics, possibly the history and sometimes the pronunciation of words. Entries about words are frequently arranged alphabetically, or in families of derivatives, or in common groups of meanings (semantic domains). See dictionary, lexicon, word, headword, lemma, root, stem, semantics, morphology, phonology, etymology, philology, derive, principal parts, inflection, syntax, agreement.

lexicon

Conventionally a lexicon is a dictionary. Often used to name substantial dictionaries of ancient languages. More recently used to refer to the whole vocabulary of

317 SECTION §17, §20, §24.2.1, §25.3.1, §25.3.2, §25.3.3, §25.3.6, §25.4, §26, §27.2, §27.4, §28.5, §28.8, §31.3, §31.4.4, §31.4.5, §35.1.2, §36.1, §36.2, §39.2, §40

318

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

a corpus; may be used to refer to whatever users of a language know of the vocabulary of the language. A lexical entry is a discussion in the lexicon (the dictionary) of a word from the vocabulary. The word discussed in a lexical entry is a lexical item (also called a lexeme or a headword). A language has a lexical structure (a lexical system), which is the way the lexical items are organized in the language. The terms semantic field and semantic domain are sometimes used interchangeably to refer to a common area of meaning conveyed by different words. Dictionaries can index entries orthographically (according to spelling of headwords, usually in alphabetical order) or semantically (according to semantic domains or fields). A semantic field is a lexical field. A lexical gap in a language exists when no particular words (lexemes) make certain differences in reference, even though other lexemes exist to make similar distinctions; e.g. brother - sister, uncle - aunt, but no English lexemes to tell male cousins from female cousins. A language may lexicalize a distinction by having particular words (lexemes) to indicate the difference. See dictionary, vocabulary, lexicography, word, headword. lexeme

See headword, lexicon.

linguistic theories Linguistic theories are theories about, ways of describing, a number of languages or languages in general. linguistics

The study of all, or a group of, languages, usually to understand patterns common to the languages studied. Some use the term for the study of one language.

locative adverb, locative phrase, locative clause

Each indicates a location, a place, where something §33.2.3.1, is or happens. Locative phrases and clauses may §33.2.3.2 function adjectivally or adverbially within their sentences. See locative case, adverb, phrase, clause.

locative case

A locative case is used in some languages, but not §17.7 English, to indicate location: “in the room” could be translated by putting the appropriate word for ‘room’ into the locative case without having to use a preposition. Greek and Latin each have a distinctly spelt (inflected) locative case, for some nouns. One of their other oblique cases is used for those nouns without a true locative form.

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

319 SECTION

See case, locative phrase. lower case

Lower case characters, like a, b, c, are not upper case §7.3 characters, like A, B, C. The difference for English characters is a punctuation one, or else a stylistic one. Some languages like Hebrew are written using a single case of script, not having distinct upper and lower case forms. See upper case, uncials, majuscule, minuscule.

main clause

A main clause is also called an independent clause and a principal clause. The central idea of a main clause is that it does not depend on another clause just to be able to be part of the sentence that it belongs to. In contrast, a subordinate clause is subordinate to another clause, since it depends on the other clause to be able to be part of the sentence that both clauses belong to. Only for discussion concerning the subordinate clause, that other clause is usually referred to as a main clause, whether it is actually a main clause of the sentence, or it is itself actually a clause subordinate to a third clause in the sentence. Again, only in relation to subordinate clauses, for the sake of simplicity, the term ‘main clause’ is often used to refer to what is really only a predicate in a nonfinite verb phrase. For examples see independent clause; see also subordinate clause, clause, sentence.

majuscule

Ancient Greek manuscripts often only use capital letter forms, majuscules. See minuscules, uncial, upper case, lower case.

markedness

[An unnecessarily over-suffixed word]. Used variously in various varieties of linguistic schools of thought to discuss whether, or how, some linguistic feature is present in a language, how it is conceived by users and how it is used. E.g.: - Whether there are special forms for the plurals of nouns distinguishing them from their singulars. - The use of masculine gender to refer to just the male in certain situations and to both the male and female in other situations, but the use of the feminine gender to refer only to the female. See marker, marking.

marker

A symbol like a letter, word or larger unit used to §33.3 highlight a grammatical or other feature of a text.

§30.4, §30.5, §30.6, §30.7, §30.8, §31.1, §31.3, §32, §33.1, §33.2, §33.2.2, §33.2.3.3, §35.1, §43.3

320

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

Some might suggest that words that are markers are not semantically significant. In English at least, capable writers and composers are able to choose their words so that each one is semantically significant. marking

Sometimes used in place of markedness, though some would decidedly disagree. See markedness.

masculine

See gender.

mem case

Prefixed mem: in Hebrew the letter mem can be added as §17.8 a prefix to the beginning of a noun to convey the sense of the preposition ‘from’, forming the equivalent of a prepositional phrase with that noun. In comparative expressions the mem case can have the sense of the adverb of comparison ‘than’. The mem case may convey a partitive sense: a part ‘of’ a collection, a quantity ‘out of’ some group. See case, adverbs of comparison, comparative adverb, partitive, kaph case.

middle voice

It is commonly held that no middle voice exists in §11.2, §11.3, English. It exists abundantly in Greek. In Hebrew §25.3.1 there is a niphal verb form that may often correspond to a middle voice. There is therefore value in exploring English forms to see what corresponds to a general sense of the middle voice, especially of Greek. Modern languages derived from Latin with permanently reflexive verbs, like French, Italian and Spanish, can be seen to have verb forms that correspond to the meaning of Greek middle voice verbs. While it does occur, grammars often exaggerate the reflexive meaning of Greek verbs in the middle voice. Auxiliary verbs and verb combinations in English using ‘get’ or ‘set’ correspond well to the Greek middle voice: e.g. ‘get to go’, ‘get going’, ‘set sail’, ‘set about going’. English grammars often treat all composite verbs formed by ‘get’ plus a participle as passive forms of the verb, but examples below counter that. Another possibility for a middle voice sense in English is when the subject of a seemingly active voice verb is really having the action of the verb done to it (see below for an example).

§20

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES Stative verbs are usually said to be always in the active voice. “Where would the exploration of an English middle voice get to be if that statement were so?” ‘Get to be’ could be considered a middle voice construction for the most stative of all verbs, ‘be’. The ‘get [present active infinitive]’ (‘get to [verb]’) form could probably be generated for all English verbs, enabling them to have a middle voice sense. Likewise for action verbs and a ‘get [present passive infinitive]’ (‘get to be [past participle]’) form. ‘Get [present participle]’ or ‘get [past participle]’ would be other general forms for many English verbs in a putative middle voice. A common description of the voices for action verbs follows. An action verb is in the active voice when its subject is doing the action of the verb. An action verb is in the passive voice when its subject is being acted on by the action of the verb. An action verb is in the middle voice when the action of the verb is carried out, but it is not especially significant whether the subject of the verb is doing the action of the verb or not. The middle voice seems to range widely, sometimes allowing the subject to be the doer of the action of the verb, other times the recipient of the action of the verb, others not conveyed by the verb’s voice or normal lexicographic meaning. “The mother dressed her daughter.” ‘Dress’ is an action verb; the subject of ‘dressed’ is the pair of words ‘the mother’, the mother did the dressing of the daughter, so ‘dressed’ is in the active voice. “The daughter was dressed by her mother.” ‘Dress’ is an action verb; the subject of ‘was dressed’ is the pair of words ‘the daughter’; the daughter had the dressing done to her, so ‘was dressed’ is in the passive voice. “The daughter got dressed.” ‘Dress’ is an action verb. The subject of ‘got dressed’ is the pair of words ‘the daughter’, but did the daughter dress herself or did someone else? If it is significant who did the dressing, we would look to the context, to other sentences, to let us know. In Greek we would expect ‘got dressed’ to be in the

321 SECTION

322 TERMS

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES middle voice. In languages like French ‘get dressed’ is represented by a permanently reflexive verb. “The ship set sail.” ‘Sail’ is an action verb; the subject of ‘set sail’ is the pair of words ‘the ship’, but did the ship sail itself (e.g. by using modern computers) or was it sailed by someone? In Greek we would expect ‘set sail’ to be in the middle voice. “After winning the prize, the old couple got to go to the Wimbledon Championships.” ‘Go’ is an action verb; ‘to go’ is an infinitive. We could consider the subject of the combination of verbs ‘got to go’ to be the pair of words ‘the old couple’. To express ‘got to go’ in Greek, a middle voice form of a Greek verb for ‘go’ would be used. A translation back into English could produce the original sentence or: “After winning the prize, the old couple went to the Wimbledon Championships.” The subject of the action verb ‘go’ (‘went’) is ‘the old couple’; the old couple did the going, so in this English sentence we would state that ‘went’ is in the active voice, knowing that the “original” Greek used a middle voice. “The cakes sold well yesterday.” Who did the selling of the cakes is not indicated. The formal subject of the verb ‘sold’ is ‘the cakes’, but it was the cakes that were being sold. From the description above that when the subject of a sentence has the action of the verb done to it, the verb is in the passive voice, we would conclude that ‘sold’ is a passive voice form. However ‘were sold’ is known to be the normal passive voice form for a sentence like this one, and ‘sold’ the normal active voice form. So, either a broader understanding of the passive voice in English is needed, or we allow a broad notion of the meanings of a set of verbs like ‘sell’ so that they can look like, and still be classified as, active voice forms in sentences like this one, or else the possibility of a middle voice in English should be considered seriously. “The cakes got to sell well yesterday,” might be a more precise representation of what would be in a Greek sentence using a Greek middle voice verb, but a more likely English translation might be “The cakes sold well yesterday.”

SECTION

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

323 SECTION

Another candidate for a de facto English middle voice is the impersonal use of various verbs. When the indefinite pronoun ‘it’ is the subject of a verb, the verb might be considered as an English middle voice use (but not when the antecedent of the pronoun follows the verb so that ‘it’ is not truly indefinite). “It rains, it pours, it floods, it snows, it thunders.” “It’s going to hail!” Note: Many grammars follow an old but incorrect tradition reporting many Greek middle and some passive forms as deponent verbs, carrying a remnant active voice meaning and use, just as Latin genuinely does have deponent forms. A better appreciation for the Greek middle voice and a better understanding of the history of Greek voices would remedy this misunderstanding. See voice, active voice, passive voice, impersonal verb, indefinite pronoun, deponency. minuscule

A cursive style of writing, used in most Greek NT manuscripts from the C9th onwards. See majuscule, uncial.

Mishnaic Hebrew

Hebrew of the commentaries on the Pentateuch in the Mishnah, completed in AD 200, and of other literature of the preceding two centuries or so. See Classical Hebrew.

modal, modal verbs

An auxiliary verb. For example ‘can’, ‘must’, ‘should’, ‘might’, ‘could’, ‘would’. English ‘have’ followed by an infinitive creates a modal expression, as in “We have to do this today.” See auxiliary verb, composite verb.

mood of verbs

‘Mood’ is used in this grammar to classify sets of finite §14, §25.4 verb forms. English, Greek, Latin and its descendents have these three moods in various quantities: The indicative mood which indicates what is/ was/ will be the case. The imperative mood which commands what must be the case. The subjunctive mood which conveys what might be the case. There is a fourth Greek mood: The optative mood which conveys what one wishes were the case. There is a fourth French mood:

324

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

The conditional mood, which conveys what would be the case. Some grammars describe an infinitival mood, sometimes including all of the non-finite verb forms, other times only the infinitives themselves. Cf tense, aspect, voice, subjunctive mood. morpheme

Morphemes are the basic forms of a language that are meaningfully significant, including whole words, and the spelling changes made to words. For example, to make the word ‘song’ plural, a morpheme ‘s’ could be added to the morpheme ‘song’ to get the word ‘songs’. Free morphemes can occur as separate words, while bound morphemes, like affixes, cannot. See phonemes, affix.

morphology

The study of the forms, the morphemes, of words, including their spelling changes as they are inflected (inflectional morphology), and their derivation from other words (derivational morphology). A denominative verb is a verb derived from a noun. See morpheme, phonology, syntax, linguistics, inflection, accidence, case.

multiple complex sentence

A multiple complex sentence has more than two main §30.7, §30.8, clauses and at least one subordinate clause. §32, §43.3 “Look out! The sky is falling!” they cried as they fled to the building, and when they arrived they hid under cover.” See main clause, subordinate clause, direct discourse, noun clause, sentence.

multiple sentence A multiple sentence has more than two main clauses. §30.7, §30.8, “I suppose we should get up, stroll over to the §32, §43.3 barn and join the others.” See main clause, sentence. negative adverbs

Adverbs that cancel (negate) the meaning of the word §7.6.8 or words being modified. See adverb, negative conjunction.

negative conjunction

Conjunction that cancels (negates) what it is joining. §16.2 ‘Neither … nor’ effectively means “not either … and not”. See conjunction, negative adverb.

neuter

See gender.

New Testament Greek

New Testament Greek (NT Greek) is the range of §14.2, §17.6, Greek in which the New Testament was written. It is §40

§20

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

325 SECTION

an example of Koine Greek, Hellenistic Greek. The syntax of the Vulgate New Testament was influenced by the syntax of NT Greek, effecting changes from the normal syntax of Classical Latin that were thus influential in the development of the modern Romance languages. See Koine Greek, Hellenistic Greek, Vulgate, Romance languages. niphal

Niphal is the name of a particular Hebrew binyan, a particular set of forms for Hebrew verbs. It corresponds very roughly to the Greek middle voice, and is translated into English using the full range of voice and reflexive options of English, depending on the particular verb’s range of meanings. See binyan, verb, middle voice.

nominative case

Also often called the subjective case. The nominative case §17.1, §21, is usually used to indicate the subject of a verb. The §24.2.1, §35.1, nominative case may be used for the complement of a §36.2 stative verb. “He gave them to her because they were hers.” The word ‘he’ is the subject of the verb ‘gave’, and ‘they’ is the subject of the verb ‘were’, and so ‘he’ and ‘they’ are in the nominative case. “That was an old story.” ‘Be’ is a stative verb, the complement of ‘was’ is ‘an old story’ and is said to be in the same case as the subject because it is equated with the subject, that is, the complement is in the nominative case. See also case.

non-finite verb

A non-finite verb is one that does not have a subject. Since a clause must have one finite verb, a non-finite verb can only form a phrase, a non-finite verb phrase. In English non-finite verbs are participles, infinitives or gerunds. Latin has these and gerundives. Greek has abundant participles and infinitives. The classification of Hebrew non-finite verbs should include infinitives, gerunds and participles, but most Hebrew grammars do not mention gerunds by that name. Some grammars treat the non-finite verb forms as the infinitival mood of the verb. The term ‘verbal’ is used by some grammars instead of ‘nonfinite verb’ but not always for all non-finite verbs. See participle, infinitive, gerund, non-finite verb phrase, finite verb, tense of verbs, verbal, verbal adjective, verbal adverb, verbal noun.

§20.1, §25, §29.4, §31.4, §31.4.2, §36.2, §37, §41, §42.5, §43

326

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

non-finite verb phrase

A non-finite verb phrase is a phrase with a non-finite verb plus a predicate of that verb. They may be gerund phrases, infinitival phrases or participial phrases. See phrase, predicate, non-finite verb, gerund phrase, infinitival phrase, participial phrase.

§24.2.1, §28, §28.4, §29.4, §34.1, §42.5, §43.1

noun

Nouns are one of the parts of speech. Nouns name a person, place, thing, quality, characteristic, description or thought. Proper nouns (also called proper names) name particular people or items. In English spelling they start with a capital letter (upper case letter). Common nouns name general categories of items, and they are by far the most commonly occurring nouns. A collective noun is a special type of common noun and names a grouping of members or items. Common nouns: fork, sample, sleep, work, travel, kindness, literature, reviews, games, gods. Collective nouns: (singular) team, flock, herd, association; (plural) teams, flocks, herds, associations. Proper nouns: Max, Myrtle, Bundanoon, Boston, God, Revised English Bible. In a sentence nouns can be the subject word, the direct object word, the indirect object word, a word in apposition, a word governed by a preposition, a word in the vocative case, and qualified by adjectives, adjectival phrases and adjectival clauses. Other words can function in the same way as, or similarly to, a noun within a sentence. Types of words and expressions that act in the place of a noun include: pronouns, gerunds, adjectives acting as nouns, participles acting as nouns, noun phrases or noun clauses. “When in times past God spoke to our forefathers, He spoke in many and varied ways through the prophets.” (After the Revised English Bible, Hebrews 1:1) ‘Times’ is a common noun governed by the preposition ‘in’ and qualified by the adjective ‘past’. ‘God’ is a proper noun and the subject word of the verb ‘spoke’. ‘Forefathers’ is a common noun governed by the preposition ‘to’ and qualified by the adjective ‘our’. ‘He’ is a pronoun with antecedent ‘God’ and acting as a noun as the subject word of the verb ‘spoke’. ‘Ways’ is a common noun governed by the preposition ‘in’ and qualified by the adjective ‘many’ and participle ‘varied’. ‘Prophets’ is a common noun governed by the preposition

§6, §7.1, §7.3, §7.5.1, §7.7, §8.2, §15, §16.4, §16.5, §17, §18, §19, §20.1, §22, §23, §24.2.1, §24.2.2, §25.2, §25.2.2, §25.3, §25.3.1, §25.4, §28.3, §29.2, §29.3, §29.4, §31.4, §31.4.6.1, §31.4.6.2, §33.2, §33.2.1, §33.2.3.3, §35.2, §35.3, §36.2, §37, §37.1, §40, §41, §42.2, §42.3, §42.4, §42.5, §43.1

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

327 SECTION

‘through’ and qualified by the adjective (the definite article) ‘the’. See parts of speech, apposition, noun phrase, noun clause, pronoun, gerund, participle, adjective, subject word, direct object word, indirect object word, agreement. noun clause

A noun clause (a substantival clause) is a subordinate clause that acts as a noun within another clause or within a non-finite verb phrase. The noun clause may be the subject, the direct object, an indirect object, or a complement of a verb. It may be governed by a preposition. Direct speech is treated as if it were just one noun clause within the sentence where it is being quoted, even though the words being quoted may include more than one clause or sentence. Indirect speech in English is also treated as a noun clause. When ‘that’ introduces a noun clause, ‘that’ is a subordinate conjunction, but not a relative conjunction. There are other conjunctions that introduce noun clauses which may be relative conjunctions. See relative adverb, relative pronoun, that, apposition.

noun equivalents

Noun equivalents function like nouns in sentences. They §8.2, §23, may be pronouns, gerunds, infinitives, noun phrases, noun §24.5, §25.2, clauses, or adjectives acting as nouns (q.v.). §25.2.2, §25.3, §25.3.1, §25.4, §25.4.1, §29.4, §31, §31.4, §31.4.6.1, §31.4.6.2, §33.2.1, §33.2.3.3, §37, §41

noun phrase

A noun phrase (a substantival phrase) functions like a noun within the clause that it belongs to. It may be the subject, the direct object, an indirect object, or a complement of a verb. Some may be governed by a preposition. Noun phrases may be gerund phrases or infinitival phrases. See gerund, gerund phrase, infinitival phrase, articular infinitive, apposition.

NT Greek

That is, New Testament Greek, the variety of Greek §14.2, §17.6,

§23, §31, §31.4, §31.4.1, §31.4.2, §31.4.3, §31.4.4, §31.4.5, §31.4.6.1, §31.4.6.2, §33.2, §33.2.1, §33.2.3, §33.2.3.3, §35.1.1, §35.2, §39.1, §39.2, §41, §43.1

§8.2, §23, §25.2.2, §25.4.1, §28, §28.3, §28.5, §28.8, §28.9, §28.11, §28.12, §29.4, §31, §31.4, §31.4.6.1, §31.4.6.2, §41, §43.1, §43.2

328

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

used in the New Testament. See New Testament Greek, Koine Greek.

§40

number

English grammatical number is singular when only one is referred to, and plural when two or more are referred to. “Five fish were caught by two strong sailors one day last week.” ‘Five’ and ‘fish’ and ‘were caught’ are all considered plural. So are ‘two’, ‘strong’ and ‘sailors’. ‘One’, ‘day’, ‘last’ and ‘week’ are each considered singular. Hebrew and Greek have a dual number which is able to indicate two of something, especially when a pair. See dual number, agreement, numbers.

§7.5.5, §7.6.2, §19, §22, §23, §24.2.1, §24.2.2, §35.1, §35.1.2, §36.1, §36.2

numbers

Mathematical numbers, in language descriptions §7.5.5 usually called numerals, are used to count the quantity of whatever is being considered. In many languages numbers are simply adjectives, or adjectives and nouns. In Hebrew, numbers can be treated as adjectives too, but their behaviour does not follow the usual patterns of agreement between adjectives and nouns. Thus Hebrew numbers are often treated as a separate part of speech. Cardinal numbers (cardinal numerals, or simply cardinals) are ordinary counting numbers, ‘1, 2, 3’ and so on. They are used in English as nouns and adjectives. Ordinal numbers (ordinal numerals, or simply ordinals) show the order, such as ‘first’, ‘second’, ‘third’ and similar. They are used in English as nouns and adjectives. Ordinal adverbs include such words as ‘firstly’, ‘secondly’, ‘thirdly’ and so on. Iterative adverbs include such words as ‘once’, ‘twice’, ‘thrice’; translations into English of iterative adverbs above thrice, involve two terms as in ‘four times’, five times’. The grammatical number of mathematical numbers (numerals) bigger than 1 is plural, or if 2, it could be dual. See number, parts of speech.

numerals

See numbers.

oblique cases

The oblique cases are those other than the nominative §17 and vocative cases: so, e.g., in Greek the accusative, genitive,

§7.5.5

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

329 SECTION

dative and locative cases; in the Latin those cases as well as the ablative case. Some call these cases derived cases. See case. object

See direct object.

§8.2, §15, §16.1.3, §28.3, §29.3, §47.1, §47.2

objective case

See the accusative case, case.

§17.1, §21, §24.2.1, §24.2.2, §35.1

ordinals, ordinal numbers, ordinal numerals

See numbers.

ordinal adverbs

See adverbs, numbers.

orthography

The study of spelling. See morphology, inflection.

papyrology

Papyrology is the study of papyri. See archeology, codicology, epigraphy.

paradigm

A list of the various spelling forms, inflections, of a word is called a paradigm. To list nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and participles in Greek and Latin paradigms is to decline them. Their paradigm patterns form declensions. To list verbs in paradigms is to conjugate them. Their paradigm patterns form conjugations. Hebrew verb conjugations can be called binyanim (singular binyan). See declension, inflection, noun, pronoun, adjective, participle, conjugation, verb.

parse, parsing

Analyzing and identifying the derived forms and root of words, and their functions. Extent and type of analysis may vary according to the grammarian. See inflection, declension, conjugation, agreement, syntax, morphology, lexicography, parts of speech, sentence analysis.

participial phrase

Participial phrases (‘participle phrases’) are phrases starting with a participle, or with adverbial words that modify the participle that follows immediately. Participial phrases are adjectival phrases. Participial phrases can also be governed by prepositions, and are then called prepositional phrases. The prepositional phrase itself may be an adjectival or an adverbial phrase. See participle, phrase, adjective, adverb, non-finite verb

§28, §28.1, §28.4, §28.6, §28.8, §28.10, §28.13, §29.4, §31.1, §34.1, §36.2, §37, §43.1

330 TERMS

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

phrase, preposition. participle

A participle is a non-finite verb form that functions as an adjective, typically by qualifying a noun or a pronoun. So participles normally agree in number, gender and case with the words they qualify. In English, and sometimes in Greek, a participle may be part of a composite verb, i.e. one that is spelt by two or more separate words. Even in these cases the participle can be considered to be functioning adjectivally. Many grammars incorrectly classify some Greek participles as verbal adjectives acting adverbially by modifying a verb. More accurately, such participles are acting adjectivally either: (i) by qualifying a personal pronoun which is the subject of the verb (where the person and number of the subject is identified by the inflection of the verb, the subject is understood to be in the nominative case, and the number and case of the participle agree with the subject, and the gender of the participle agrees with that of the antecedent of the pronominal subject); or else: (ii) by qualifying an understood personal pronoun which is part of an adverbial phrase that modifies the main verb. Consider, for example, the Greek genitive absolute and Latin ablative absolute phrases. As verb forms, participles may have all the ingredients of predicates that their related finite verb forms can have. English present participles in the active voice end in ‘ing’ just like their gerund relatives. English past participles in the active voice often end in ‘ed’ but could have many other spelling styles. See present participle, past participle, future participle, adjective, non-finite verb, finite verb, verb, gerunds vs participles, understood, genitive absolute, ablative absolute.

particle

Usually names a separate part of speech for words that §48.3 do not seem to fit the other parts of speech recognized in a language. Particles are thus often a part of speech where its members have miscellaneous functions, according to the grammar classifying them. Hebrew particles can include certain adverbs and conjunctions that might not be easily grouped with the other adverbs or conjunctions because of their collected functions. See parts of speech.

§25.1, §25.3, §25.3.1, §25.3.2, §25.3.3, §25.3.4, §25.3.5, §25.3.6, §25.4, §28.4, §28.6, §29.4, §33.2.1, §34.1, §36.2, §37, §37.1, §37.2, §41, §42.5

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

331 SECTION

partitive, partitive Partitive: a part ‘of’ a collection, a quantity ‘out of’ genitive some group. The Greek genitive case can have a partitive sense, and is then often called a partitive genitive. The Hebrew mem case may also have a partitive sense. See case, genitive case, mem case. parts of speech

Words that function in the same way as each other in §6, §7, §16, §41 English sentences can be grouped together. Each group is called a part of speech. English, Latin and its descendants can be seen to have eight parts of speech: verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. In English the articles are special types of adjectives. Greek is better treated as having these eight parts of speech plus a ninth for the definite article as it is extremely common and has an important, unique, regular set of functions. Many grammars have a miscellaneous part of speech usually called particles, but each particle can often be understood as one of the other parts of speech. There are overlapping functions between some of these groups: participles are verbs that also function like adjectives, gerunds are verbs that also function like nouns, relative pronouns are pronouns that also serve as conjunctions, pronominal adjectives are pronouns or pronominal forms functioning as adjectives, relative (pronominal) adjectives are also serving as conjunctions, relative adverbs are adverbs serving as conjunctions. Any word or sound could be turned into an interjection, even unintelligible. For each language there can be different selections of functions creating different sets of parts of speech in different grammars. Sometimes a grammar with a different set of parts of speech to that used here uses the same, or very similar, terms but with different meanings. As there is no settlement yet about how to apply modern linguistics to a language, especially Koine Greek or Classical Hebrew, the grammatical literature often uses an inconsistent mixture of terms. There is an old tradition of dividing all the Hebrew words into only three parts of speech, verbs, nouns and particles, or sometimes just two, verbs and others usually called nouns. Many non-verb Hebrew words can often be understood if they are thought of as nouns. Many current Hebrew grammars treat

332

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

certain prefixes as if they were separate words (but see case). Current Classical Hebrew dictionaries often arrange the word entries according to their perceived historical derivation from verb forms. It can thus be helpful to adapt the above eight member set of parts of speech to consider Classical Hebrew. Adding two more, numerals and what could be called prefix-suffix words (words composed only of case style prefixes and possessive suffixes) to the parts of speech should cover the Hebrew words. See word, phrase, clause, sentence. passive voice

For stative verbs it is usually stated that their forms are never in the passive voice, and always in the active voice. An action verb is usually said to be in the passive voice when the subject of the verb is being acted on by the action of the verb. “Jesus was killed by the Roman soldiers.” ‘Kill’ is an action verb; its subject is the word ‘Jesus’; in this sentence the action of killing was being done to Jesus, the subject, so the verb ‘was killed’ in this sentence is in the passive voice. “Roman soldiers killed Jesus.” The subject of the action verb ‘killed’ are the words ‘Roman soldiers’. The Roman soldiers were doing the killing in this sentence, so the verb ‘killed’ is not in the passive voice but the active voice. Some Latin verbs have passive forms but active meanings. They are called deponent verbs or deponents. Some classify a number of Greek verbs in the middle voice or passive voice as deponents, but this is currently being corrected in the literature. See action verb, stative verb, voice, active voice, middle voice, deponency, subject.

past infinitive

An infinitive in a past tense; in English may be in the §25.4 active or passive voice. E.g. active voice ‘to have done’, ‘to have been doing’, passive voice ‘to have been done’. See tense, infinitive, non-finite verb.

past participle

Past participles are non-finite verbs acting adjectivally and may convey completed action or a state of things prior to the action or state of the main verb, no matter whether the action or state of the main verb is in the past, present or future. See participle, tense of verbs, cf present participle.

§11.1, §11.2, §11.3, §25.2.1, §25.2.3, §25.3.1, §25.3.4, §25.3.5, §25.3.6, §47.1, §47.2

§12.1, §25.3.2, §25.3.5, §25.3.6, §41, §42.5

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

333 SECTION

Patristic Greek

See Koine Greek.

pedagogy

See educational linguistics.

periphrastic verb

See composite verb, auxiliary verb.

§7.2.3

person

Grammatical person refers to who is talking, writing or thinking, or being addressed directly, or being talked about, written about or thought about. First person (I, me, we, us, mine, my, ours, our) is for self reference by the speaker(s), writer(s) or thinker(s). Second person (you, yours, your) refers to whoever is being addressed. Third person (he, she, it, they, his, hers, its, theirs, her, their) refers to whoever or whatever is being talked, spoken or thought about. Almost all nouns are used in a third person way. Pronouns and pronominal adjectives are first, second or third person. In many languages, finite verbs have distinct first, second and third person forms to agree with the person of their subjects. English present tense, active voice, finite verbs now usually have a common form for all persons except the third person singular. 1st person singular: I go. 2nd person singular: You go. 3rd person singular: He goes. She goes. It goes. 1st person plural: We go. 2nd person plural: You go. 3rd person plural: They go. See pronoun, pronominal adjective, subject, verb, agreement, number.

§7.4.2, §18, §22.2, §23, §24.2.1, §24.2.2, §35.1.2, §36.1, §36.2

personal pronominal adjective

Also called ‘possessive pronominal adjective’ and ‘possessive adjective’. See possessive adjective.

personal pronoun Personal pronouns take the place of nouns, and noun §7.4.2, §7.5.6, equivalents. There are first person, second person and third §18.3, §19.2, person, singular and plural forms. First and second §21, §24, §24.4 person forms usually refer to living beings, able to speak (first person) and listen (second person). Third person forms may refer to living and non-living entities. “I am telling you that those two people like that car. They said she was a beaut!” The words ‘I’, ‘you’, ‘they’ and ‘she’ are personal pronouns, where ‘she’ refers to a car, a non-living

334 TERMS

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

object. See pronoun, person, number, first person, second person, third person, agreement. philology

Study of language history. See also diachronic, cf etymology.

phonemes

The basic units of sounds in a language used to construct meaningfully significant forms; each phoneme is usually represented in alphabetic script by a letter, letter pair, or group of letters. Cf morphemes.

phonology

The study of the sounds of a language, including the pronunciation of words, their components and other significant sounds of a language not reflected in the words themselves. See phonemes, morphology, syntax, linguistics.

phrase

The term phrase may refer to one or more types of sequences of words that make sense. In this grammar, a phrase cannot form an entire sentence for a phrase does not include a finite verb, in contrast to a clause which does include a finite verb, while an expression refers to any coherent sequence of words. So a clause may include one or more phrases, and an expression can include a clause, a phrase or multiples of clauses and phrases. A phrase may frequently be classified by its function within a clause as either: (i) an adjectival phrase (acting like an adjective); (ii) an adverbial phrase (acting like an adverb); (iii) a noun phrase (acting like a noun, and often called a substantival phrase). A phrase may have additional classifications according to the presence of particular types of words in the phrase: e.g. as a prepositional phrase, a gerund phrase, a participial phrase, an infinitival phrase. Some phrases may simultaneously have several of these classifications according to word forms present in them. See expression, sentence, clause, word.

pictographic script

A writing system for the words and symbols of a language using separate drawings (pictographs) of things to represent the separate words. There might be tens of thousands of such pictographs needed to write the main vocabulary of a language. Chinese writing, with over 50,000 pictographs is largely a

§3, §8.1.2, §9, §16.1, §16.2, §16.3, §16.4, §16.5, §28, §29.3, §30.1, §33, §40

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

335 SECTION

pictographic script. Many modern computer applications are more and more using pictographs instead of alphabets and numerals to signify functions within their toolbars. See syllabic script, and alphabetic script. plural

More than one. See number, dual.

positive degree

See degrees of comparison

possessive adjective

Also called ‘personal pronominal adjective’ and ‘possessive pronominal adjective’. A possessive adjective is a form or a first, second or third person pronoun acting as an adjective showing possession or a sense of belonging. As adjectives they qualify nouns. In Latin and Greek the genitive case usually conveys such possession. E.g. ‘my’, ‘ your’, ‘thy’, ‘her’, ‘his’, ‘its’, ‘our’, ‘their’. “Their books have arrived.” See adjectives, personal pronominal adjective.

§7.5.6, §21, §24.3, §24.4, §25.2, §25.2.2, §36.1, §37.1, §37.2

possessive case

See the genitive case, case.

§17.2, §17.2.1, §17.2.2, §21, §35.1

possessive pronominal adjective

Also called ‘personal pronominal adjective’ and ‘possessive §7.5.6, §21, adjective’. A possessive pronominal adjective is a pronominal §24.3, §24.4, adjective in the first person, second person or third person §25.2, §25.2.2 (q.v.) See possessive adjective.

§19, §22

possessive See possessive suffix. pronominal suffix possessive pronoun

Also called personal possessive pronouns. English §7.4.2, §17.2.2, possessive pronouns in the first person singular: ‘mine’; first §21, §24.1, person plural: ‘ours’; §24.4, §35.1 second person singular: ‘yours, thine’; second person plural: ‘yours’; third person singular: ‘his, hers, its’; third person plural: ‘theirs’. In languages such as Greek and Latin such pronouns would be conceived as pronouns in the genitive case (the possessive case). As they are pronouns, unlike possessive adjectives which are pronominal adjectives, they would not appear as possessive suffixes of nouns. See personal pronoun, first person, second person, third person.

possessive suffix

Used in some other languages, but not English, a possessive suffix (possessive pronominal suffix) is added to

336

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

the end of a word to convey the sense that the word is qualified by a possessive pronominal adjective. See affix, suffix, possessive pronominal adjective. possessives, the possessives

Ambiguous terms, sometimes meant to just refer to §24.3, §24.4 possessive adjectives, but could refer to possessive pronouns. See possessive adjective, possessive pronoun.

predicate

Every clause, and so every simple sentence, can be divided into one subject and one predicate. The finite verb of the clause is always part of the predicate. After the subject is subtracted from the clause, what remains is the predicate. The predicate can be any size from just a simple verb, to very many words, such as the direct object, indirect object, complement of the verb and words that qualify or modify them, adjectives, adjectival phrases, adverbs, adverbial phrases. In complex sentences the predicate may include adverbial clauses modifying predicate verbs, or adjectival clauses qualifying nouns, or noun clauses. See sentence, sentence expansion, sentence analysis.

predicate adjective

An adjective forming the complement of a stative verb and §15 qualifying the subject of the verb. See adjective, predicate, subject, stative verb, complement, predicate noun.

predicate nominative

See predicate noun.

predicate noun

A noun forming the complement of a stative verb. When §15 the verb has a subject, the predicate noun is in the same case as the subject, hence it is sometimes called a predicate nominative. However, predicate nouns can occur in oblique cases according to regular constructions in Greek and Latin. See noun, predicate, subject, case, stative verb, complement, predicate adjective, ablative absolute, genitive absolute, accusative and infinitive.

predicate pronoun

A pronoun forming the complement of a stative verb. §15 See pronoun, complement, predicate noun, predicate adjective.

prefix

Additional letter or letters added to the start of a word, thus changing its spelling. A prefix is a particular type of affix. In many grammars and some vocabularies and dictionaries, Hebrew prefixes are discussed as if they were separate words, but they are not; in

§5, §7.2.1, §8.2, §15, §16.3, §25.1, §29.1, §29.2, §29.3, §30.3, §42.1, §42.2, §42.3, §42.5

§15

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES English translations many prefixes represented by separate English words. See case, affix.

337 SECTION

are

well

prefixed bet

See bet case, case, ablative case, instrumental case.

prefixed he

See hay and he, he prefix, articular case, definiteness, he §7.5.5 interrogative and case.

prefixed kaph

See kaph case, case, adverbs of comparison.

prefixed lamed

See lamed case, case, dative case.

prefixed mem

See mem case, case, adverbs of comparison, comparative adverb, partitive.

prefixed shin

See shin case, case, relative pronoun.

prefixed vav

See vav prefix, case, conjunction.

prefix-suffix word Prefix-suffix word is a novel term for Hebrew words composed entirely of case style prefixes joined to personal possessive pronominal suffixes. Otherwise they do not fit any of the usual parts of speech. Some treat the prefixes as separate words that in this situation have the usual pronominal suffixes, others treat these words as pronouns with prefixes. Most call these the miscellaneous particles. See parts of speech, word. preposition

Prepositions are a part of speech. They introduce phrases that do not contain finite verbs, that act adjectivally or adverbially and that end in a noun or pronoun. Prepositions may also be followed by other noun equivalents (gerunds, gerund phrases, or noun clauses). In English, prepositions may govern relative pronouns which join subordinate clauses to another clause. In languages like Latin, Greek and Hebrew, prepositions might be omitted from what are translated into English as prepositional phrases, because of the use of cases in those languages. Examples of prepositions: ‘in, with, by, at, to, for, from, of, after, into, on, onto, towards, above, below, inside, outside, beside, under, over’. Some grammars treat pairs of prepositions as if they are a single preposition. To translate a single preposition from another language, often a pair, triple or quadruple of English words is used; e.g. ‘according to, except for, because of, on account of, outside of, by means of, as far as, in front of, for the purpose of’.

§7.1, §8.2.3, §14.1, §15, §16.1.3, §16.4, §16.5, §17.1, §17.5, §25.2, §25.2.2, §25.4, §25.4.1, §28.3, §28.4, §28.8, §31.4, §31.4.4, §33.2.3.1, §35.1, §37, §37.1, §41, §42.3, §42.5

338

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

See parts of speech, prepositional phrases, case. prepositional phrases

A prepositional phrase is a phrase that begins with a preposition. The preposition is said to govern the words in the phrase. The governed words may themselves be another type of phrase, for example a preposition may govern a gerund phrase. Prepositional phrases may be adjectival phrases or adverbial phrases. Prepositional phrases act adjectivally by indicating the relation of a noun, adjective, pronoun or noun equivalent to other nouns or pronouns in the sentence. They act adverbially by modifying the meaning of the verb. “In three days he will be back.” ‘In three days’ is a prepositional phrase, modifying the finite verb. “After his leaving for the other place we went home.” ‘For the other place’ is a prepositional phrase modifying the non-finite verb ‘leaving’, a gerund. ‘After’ is a preposition governing ‘his leaving for the other place’, the gerund phrase with its predicate. See preposition.

present infinitive

An infinitive in the present tense; may be active or passive §25.4, §41, voice in English. E.g. active voice ‘to do’, ‘to be §42.5 doing’, passive voice ‘to be done’. See tense, infinitive, non-finite verb.

present participle

Present participles are non-finite verbs acting adjectivally §12.1, §25.3.1, and typically conveying action or a state of things §25.3.4, §37 concurrent with the action or state of the main verb, no matter whether the action or state of the main verb is in the past, present or future. Present participles in the active voice end in ‘ing’, as do gerunds in the active voice and present tense. To distinguish them, consider their functions: participles act as adjectives and gerunds as nouns. See participle, adjective, gerund, noun, active voice, past participle, future participle, tense of verbs.

principal clause

See main clause, independent clause, and clause.

principal parts

The principal parts of a verb are particular spellings of forms of the verb that by convention are used to construct the derived forms of the verb. Latin and Greek have fairly standard verb forms used for the principal parts, while there is more variation between grammars for English sets of principal parts. Latin

§8.2.3, §11.1, §16.1, §17.5, §23, §24.2.1, §25.2, §25.2.2, §28, §28.1, §28.3, §28.8, §28.10, §28.11, §28.12, §29.3, §29.4, §31.1, §33.2.3.1, §35.1, §37.1, §42.3, §42.5

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

339 SECTION

verb lists typically have four principal parts, and Greek typically six. Within a binyan, Hebrew grammars show variation of forms chosen as principal parts, but the principal forms for the set of binyanim of each Hebrew verb is generally the same or very similar across dictionaries and word lists. See verb, conjugation, binyan. principal verb

A composite verb is composed of auxiliary verb(s) plus a §7.2.3, §41 principal verb. Some grammars call composite verbs ‘periphrastic verbs’. See auxiliary verb, composite verb.

pronominal adjectives

Pronominal adjectives are forms or relatives of pronouns §24, §24.3, that act as adjectives. They include possessive pronominal §24.4, §24.5, adjectives (possessive adjectives), demonstrative adjectives, §35, §36.1 relative adjectives and interrogative adjectives (q.v.). See first person, second person, third person, adjective, pronoun.

pronoun

Pronouns are a part of speech. They are general words that can act in place of specific nouns, noun phrases or noun clauses. A pronoun points out a person, place, thing, quality, characteristic, description or thought, just as a noun does, but without naming it. “What do they think about that?” ‘What’, ‘they’ and ‘that’ are all pronouns. While the question is comprehensible, the pronouns in this sentence do not identify anyone or anything in particular. We need to know what words the pronouns are representing, that is the antecedents of the pronouns. While there are hundreds of thousands of nouns in English, there is just a small number of pronouns used in their place. It is possible to have sub-groups of pronouns according to there functions: personal pronouns, possessive pronouns, reflexive pronouns, intensive pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, relative pronouns, interrogative pronouns, distributive pronouns, indefinite pronouns amongst others. Each language will have its own list. See parts of speech, and the named types of pronouns above.

§7.1, §7.4, §7.5.1, §7.5.4, §8.1.2, §8.2, §15, §16.4, §17, §18, §19, §20, §22, §23, §24, §25.2, §25.2.2, §25.3, §25.3.1, §28.3, §29.2, §29.3, §29.4, §31.4, §31.4.1, §31.4.6.1, §33.2, §35, §35.1, §35.2, §36.1, §36.2, §37, §37.2, §40, §41, §42.2, §42.3, §42.4, §42.5, §43.1

proper name

A proper name is a proper noun. See noun.

§6, §7.3.1

proper noun

Also called a proper name. See noun.

§6, §7.3.1, §16.4, §41

340 TERMS

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

protasis

Within a conditional sentence, the protasis is typically an §31.3.7 adverbial clause of condition or an adverbial phrase of condition that sets out the condition. As a clause the protasis is also called the ‘ “if” clause’, the ‘premiss’, the ‘conditional clause’. The main clause of the conditional sentence is the apodosis. The apodosis could also be an adverbial phrase of condition within a conditional sentence. See conditional clause, conditional, apodosis, adverbial clause.

punctuation

Punctuation is used to indicate changes in the flow of §4, §7.3.1, a written text, as well as grammatical associations §16.3, §40 between some words in a sentence. For example, consider commas: Commas separate sequences of adjectives but not normally adjectives joined by a conjunction; words in apposition can be preceded and followed by commas; relative clauses that qualify only the immediately adjacent word can be preceded by a comma while relative clauses that qualify a more general antecedent in the sentence are not usually preceded by a comma. This last punctuation convention is not always observed. “Red, green, blue and white are the colors they chose.” Commas separate the sequences of adjectives ‘red, green, blue’ but not the adjectives joined by a conjunction ‘blue’ and ‘white’. “Stephen, Governor of Essex, is no longer with us.” ‘Governor of Essex’ is in apposition with ‘Stephen’ and surrounded by commas to show the break in the sentence and association with ‘Stephen’. “The descendents of the Polynesians, who are very tall, will attend.” The commas show that the relative clause ‘who are very tall’ qualifies just the word ‘Polynesians’ and means that Polynesians are tall. So this sentence means that the Polynesian descendents will attend, regardless of how tall they are even though Polynesians are very tall. “The descendents of the Polynesians who are very tall will attend.” The lack of commas suggests that the relative clause ‘who are very tall’ qualifies the words ‘the descendents of the Polynesians’, that is, the

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

341 SECTION

Polynesian descendents. So this sentence means that the very tall amongst the Polynesian descendents will attend. See punctuation mark. punctuation mark

Punctuation marks are the written symbols used to §4, §7.3.1, mark divisions within sentences and the ends of a §16.3, §17.2, sentence. English punctuation marks: §38.1, §39.1 To indicate the end of a sentence: . full-stop, also called a period ? question mark ! exclamation mark To indicate breaks in the flow of a sentence: , comma, the weakest break ; semi-colon : colon: stronger break than a semicolon To indicate something missing, used to show possession: ’ apostrophe (see §17.2) To indicated direct discourse, or to highlight an expression being discussed: “” (double) quotation marks, also called inverted commas ‘’ (single) quotation marks, also called inverted commas To join very closely related words (e.g. semi-colon) or brok-en words: xx-xx a hyphen To indicate a break in a sentence, like an aside: a single dash often has the same shape as a hyphen — an em dash may function similar to parentheses () a pair of parentheses, sometimes called brackets [] a pair of square brackets {} a pair of curly brackets To mean “exclusive or”; otherwise “and” in a list, or else in mathematics “divided by”, or simply part of a URL: / a slash Often used to quote an email or web address (URL):

French quotation marks in some texts:

342

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

> Other languages have their own punctuation marks and conventions for their different types of sentences. Note: in this grammar, periods (full stops) are often placed outside other punctuation marks at the ends of sentences, largely to simplify computer searches of what is in sentences. This is contrary to most conventions in English writing, where the final period of a sentence is placed inside direct discourse or parentheses. See punctuation, alphabetic script. q.v.

An English abbreviation for Latin ‘quod vide’ meaning “which see!”, i.e. “you could look up the words just noted”.

quantitative adjective

Adjectives that indicate some amount or quantity of §7.5.1, §7.5.3, the noun that they qualify. §35.4 See quantitative pronoun, distributive pronoun, indefinite pronoun.

quantitative pronoun

See distributive pronoun.

question

A question is one of the four basic sentence types. All §4, §5, §7.5.7, English written questions end with a question mark. §8.1.1, §38.1, They may look just like a statement with a question §38.2 mark added; they often have reversed the order of the words of a composite verb. For six ways of forming English questions see §32. See sentence, punctuation mark.

question mark

A question mark is the punctuation mark at the end of a §4, §38.1 question, isn’t it? See question, punctuation mark, sentence.

quotation mark

The punctuation marks, also called inverted commas, §39.1 placed at the start and end of direct speech (direct discourse). See punctuation, direct discourse.

reciprocal pronoun

Greek has a reciprocal pronoun which is translated into English by one of two pairs of words. Some therefore call such a pair an English reciprocal pronoun. The pairs of English words used are “each other”, and “one another”. See pronoun, cf reflexive pronoun.

reflexive pronoun

In an English simple sentence a reflexive pronoun is used §7.4.2, §24.2,

§7.4.2, §7.5.3, §35.4

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

343 SECTION

to refer back to the subject of the simple sentence. §24.2.1, §24.4 Each English reflexive pronoun is either the direct object of a verb, complement of a stative verb, or governed by a preposition in a prepositional phrase. English reflexive pronouns have the same spellings as English intensive pronouns, ending in ‘self’ or ‘selves’, but function differently. Other languages usually have one set of forms for their reflexive pronouns and another set of forms for their intensive pronouns. See intensive pronouns, pronouns. reflexive verb

English verbs that have reflexive pronouns as direct objects §11.2 in a particular sentence may be called reflexive verbs in that sentence. Languages such as Italian, French and Spanish each have some verbs that are always used with reflexive pronouns. These verbs are permanently reflexive verbs. Such reflexive verbs often translate uses of the Greek middle voice well. A number of these permanently reflexive verbs may be translated accurately into English using, rather than English reflexive verbs, combinations of the verb ‘get’, which contributes to what seems to be a real English middle voice. See reflexive pronoun, middle voice.

register

Register refers to a fairly consistent style of language use within a language; e.g. the same person could use two or more registers of a language, one, say, with fellow athletes, the other at work; not usually the same as dialect. E.g. consider the different uses of “How do you do, sir?” and “How’s it going, mate?” Cf dialect, idiom, collocation.

relative adjectival conjunction

A relative adjective.

relative adjective

A relative adjective is also called a relative pronominal §31.2, §33.2, adjective, or a relative adjectival conjunction. Relative §33.2.2, adjectives are conjunctions that relate (join) adjectival §35.1.1, §35.2 clauses or noun clauses to main clauses or non-finite verb phrases within a main clause. Relative adjectives are pronominal adjectives that act as adjectives within their own subordinate clause. The pronominal forms ‘what’, ‘whatever’, ‘which’, ‘whichever’, ‘whose’, ‘whosever’’ may be used as relative adjectives.

§35.2

344

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

“Put what ingredients you like into the soup.” ‘What’ is a relative adjective qualifying the noun ‘ingredients’ within the noun clause ‘what ingredients you like’ “Use whichever part of the recipe appeals to you.” ‘Whichever’ is a relative adjective qualifying the noun ‘part’ within the noun clause ‘whichever part of the recipe appeals to you’, which serves as the direct object of the verb ‘use’ in the main clause. “The guard in whose care I am putting you is trustworthy.” ‘Whose’ is a relative adjective qualifying the noun ‘care’ within the adverbial phrase ‘in whose care’, which modifies the verb ‘am putting’, all within the adjectival clause ‘in whose care I am putting you’, which qualifies the noun ‘guard’ in the main clause, ‘the guard is trustworthy.’ The antecedent of ‘whose’ is ‘the guard’. See adjectival clause, relative pronoun, conjunction, agreement, interrogative adjective. relative adverb

A relative adverb is a relative conjunction that joins (relates) a relative clause to another clause or a non-finite verb phrase. The relative adverb functions as an adverb within its own relative clause. Its own clause may act in relation to the main clause adjectivally, adverbially, or substantivally, that is, the relative clause may be either an adverbial clause, an adjectival clause or a noun clause. “The tourists went where they were sent.” ‘Where’ is a relative adverb, joining the relative clause, ‘where they were sent’, an adverbial clause of place modifying the verb ‘went’ from the main clause. Within the relative clause ‘where’ is acting as an adverb of place modifying the verb ‘were sent’. “When the rain will come is uncertain.” ‘When’ is a relative adverb introducing the noun clause ‘when the rain will come’, which is the subject of the verb ‘is’. ‘When’ serves as an adverb of time within the relative clause modifying the verb ‘will come’. See relative clause, conjunction, relative conjunction, main clause, adverb, temporal phrases and clauses.

§7.6.7, §33.2, §33.2.2, §33.2.3, §33.2.3.1, §33.2.3.2, §33.2.3.3 §33.2.4, §33.2.5, §33.2.6

relative adverbial conjunction

A relative adverb.

§33.2.3, §33.2.3.3

relative clause

A relative clause is a subordinate clause (a dependent clause) §33.2

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

345 SECTION

that is connected (related) to another clause, which may be a main clause, or to a non-finite verb phrase by a relative conjunction. A relative clause may be an adjectival clause, an adverbial clause, or a certain type of noun clause. In English, when the relative conjunction is a relative pronoun and is the direct object of the verb in the relative clause, the relative conjunction may be dropped. “The grass, which the cattle like, is in the next paddock.” “The grass, the cattle like, is in the next paddock.” See clause, relative conjunction. relative conjunction

Relative conjunctions are conjunctions that join (relate) a §31.2, §33.2, subordinate clause (a dependent clause) called a relative §33.2.2, §35.1 clause to another clause or to a non-finite verb phrase. A relative conjunction is either a relative pronoun, a relative adjective (a relative pronominal adjective), or a relative adverb, depending on how it functions within the relative clause itself. See relative pronoun, relative adjective, relative adverb.

relative pronominal adjective

A relative pronominal adjective is a relative adjective. See relative adjective.

relative pronominal conjunction

Relative pronominal conjunctions are also called relative §31.2, §33.2.2, pronouns. §35.1 See relative pronoun.

relative pronoun

Relative pronouns are conjunctions that relate (join) adjectival clauses or noun clauses to main clauses or nonfinite verb phrases. Relative pronouns act as pronouns within their own subordinate clause. Thus they may be called relative pronominal conjunctions. For relative pronouns joining adjectival clauses, their antecedents are the words qualified by the adjectival clauses. The pronouns ‘that’, ‘who’, ‘whom’, ‘whoever’, ‘whomever’, ‘what’, ‘whatever’, ‘which’, ‘whichever’, ‘whose’, ‘whosoever’ may be used as relative pronouns. ‘Who’ and ‘whom’ are used for nouns that are considered personal (alive and usually people), and ‘which’ is used for impersonal nouns and for collective nouns involving people, while ‘that’ and ‘whose’ are used for both personal and impersonal antecedents. ‘What’ can stand for ‘that which’ where

§35.2

§7.4.2, §31.2, §33.2, §33.2.2, §33.2.3.3, §35.1, §35.1.1, §35.1.2, §36.1

346 TERMS

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES in another language the word ‘which’ would likely be treated separately from the word ‘that’. In English, when the relative pronoun is the direct object of the verb in an adjectival relative clause, the relative pronoun is often dropped, and this does not change the conceived structure or the meaning of the sentence (see an example below). The dropped conjunction is treated grammatically as being understood. Dropping the relative pronoun is not a common practice in other languages. “The people who live there are very young.” ‘Who’ is a relative pronoun whose antecedent is ‘the people’ and is acting as a relative conjunction joining the adjectival clause ‘who live there’ to the main clause ‘the people are very young’, and serving as the subject of the verb ‘live’ within its own clause. “You may put what you like into the soup.” ‘What’ is a relative pronoun joining the noun clause ‘what you like’ to the main clause ‘you may put’, and serves as the direct object of the verb ‘like’ within the noun clause. The noun clause is the direct object of the verb ‘you may put’. “The children liked the caramels which their parents gave them yesterday.” “The children liked the caramels their parents gave them yesterday.” In the first sentence, ‘which’ is a relative pronoun, with antecedent ‘caramels’, acting as a relative conjunction joining the adjectival clause ‘which their parents gave them yesterday’ to the main clause ‘the children liked the caramels’, and serving as the direct object of the verb ‘gave’ in its own clause. Without changing the meaning, the second sentence has dropped the relative pronoun ‘which’, and is now grammatically treated as being understood. “This is the one about whom they spoke before.” “This is the one who they spoke about before.” In the first sentence, the relative pronoun ‘whom’ is governed by the preposition ‘about’ in the prepositional phrase ‘about whom’, and joins the adjectival clause ‘about whom they spoke before’ to the main clause ‘this is the one’. The adjectival clause qualifies ‘the one’, which is also the antecedent of the relative pronoun. English is changing in certain regions so that the accusative form ‘whom’ is being replaced by the

SECTION

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES form ‘who’. We can conceive of them as serving in the same constructions, though different spellings and word order. Thus these two sentences are both in use. Notice that when this happens the adverbial phrase ‘about whom’ modifying the verb ‘spoke’ is split up so that ‘who’ starts the clause, while the preposition ‘about’ goes after the verb. Such radical separation of a preposition from the word it governs is not expected in Hebrew, Greek or Latin. “That the comings and goings which they have seen have ended is good news.” ‘Which’ is serving in this sentence as a relative pronoun. It functions as the direct object word of the verb ‘have seen’ within its own subordinate clause ‘that they have seen’, an adjectival clause which qualifies the combined gerund phrases ‘the comings and goings’. ‘Which’ joins the subordinate clause to the predicate of the combined non-finite verb phrases ‘the comings and goings’, combined gerund phrases within the noun clause ‘that the comings and goings have ended’. The antecedent of ‘which’ is ‘the comings and goings’. ‘That the comings and goings which they have seen have ended’ is the subject of the verb ‘is’ within the main clause. See relative adjective, relative conjunction, agreement, pronoun, understood, relative clause.

Romance languages

The languages that are modern descendents of Latin, the language of the Roman Empire, then the language of the church based in Rome and spread across Europe. Romance languages include Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, and three of the four official languages of Switzerland, Italian, French and Romansch. See Vulgate.

root

A root can be a headword in a dictionary entry, or it can be a particular word used in grammars to refer to some base word from which various inflections are built. Some use the word ‘root’ for what others call a stem, not necessarily a complete word itself, but the basic form to which other letters are added to create inflections. See word, inflection, declension, conjugation, principal parts, headword, lexicon.

rough breathing

A Greek symbol written above a vowel or diphthong to

347 SECTION

348

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

convey an audible h sound. It is not part of the Greek alphabet. See alphabet, vowels, consonants. second person

Second person refers to whoever is being addressed. §18, §18.1 Second person pronouns include: thou, thee, ye, you, yours. Second person possessive pronominal adjectives include: thy, your. See person, personal pronoun, possessive pronominal adjective, agreement, finite verb, subject, understood.

semantic domain, Semantic field and semantic domain are sometimes used semantic field interchangeably to refer to a common area of meaning within a language conveyed by different words of the language. Instead of having an alphabetic index of headwords, a dictionary could index its information according to designated semantic domains of the language. Such designated semantic domains are formally arbitrary, so that for a language with a subtle vocabulary there may be many different and useful ways of assigning semantic domains. Thus a semantic domain dictionary might represent just one of a number of ways of associating words according to common areas of meaning. See lexicon. semantics

The study of the meanings of words in a language. Most dictionaries focus on providing semantic information, information about meaning, for the words they discuss. See lexicon, lexicography, linguistics, semantic domain.

sentence

A sentence is a coherent sequence of words that do not need other words to make basic sense, that is, to convey a thought, indicate the state of things or describe some type of action or change. A particular sentence is not generally a subset of a larger grammatical unit. Thus a sentence differs from a mere list of words, from a random cut from a text, and from a phrase. A phrase needs more words to convey a thought or description. The meaning of a sentence does not have to be true to be a proper sentence. It can be true, or convey an imaginary or impossible meaning. The following are both real sentences, one is realistic, the other impossible in this world: (i) The cat is climbing the tree. (ii) The oak tree is climbing the cat.

§3, §4, §5, §6, §15, §16.2, §16.3, §30, §32, §33, §33.3, §40, §41

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

349 SECTION

Every sentence is one of four types: a statement, a question, a command, or an exclamation. Statements state (indicate) what is/ was/ will be/ might be the case. Questions question (ask) what is/ was/ will be/ might be the case. Commands command (order or demand) what must be. Exclamations exclaim (cry out) something or other. Examples: Statement: “It starts at five, four miles from here.” Question: “What time is it now?” Commands: “Get in the car, now! Let’s go!” Exclamation: “We’re going to be on time!” Sentences can also be classified by the types of clauses that they are composed of. Various names can be given to the sentence types. These can be useful: A simple sentence has only one clause, thus one finite verb, one subject, one predicate. - “What would we do without them?” A composite sentence has two or more clauses. - “You’re worried about that, the hurricane is coming and we’re outside!” A complex sentence has one main clause and at least one subordinate clause. - “At least I have the umbrella you gave me last year, when we were away.” A double sentence has two main clauses. - “It’s already midday and the clouds are swirling.” A double complex sentence has two main clauses and at least one subordinate clause. - “Because it’s already raining, I’m running to the barn and getting under the hay.” A multiple sentence has more than two main clauses. - “Well dear, I suppose we should get up, stroll over to the barn and join the others.” A multiple complex sentence has more than two main clauses and at least one subordinate clause. - “Look out! The sky is falling!” they cried as they fled to the building, and when they arrived they hid under cover.” See punctuation, phrase, expression, clause, main clause, subordinate clause, conjunction, direct discourse, mood of verbs, sentence analysis, sentence expansion. sentence analysis

Classifying the various types of sentences and their §4, §15, §16.2,

350

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

components and how they relate to each other within each sentence. For the structure or basic and expanded simple sentences, see §42. For further sentence expansion, including more than one clause, see §43. For sentence analysis strategy and examples see §44. See sentence.

§16.3, §16.4, §17.3, §20.2, §22, §36, §24.2.2, §24.5, §26, §30, §31.1, §33.3, §35.1.2, §40, §41, §42, §43, §44, §44.1, §44.2, §45, §45.1, §45.2

sentence expansion

See §42 for expansion of the most basic sentence structure, using non-finite verbs and phrases. For further sentence expansion, to include more than one clause, see §43. See sentence.

§15, §16.2, §16.4, §29, §30.8, §32, §33, §33.1, §33.3, §39.1, §41, §42.1, §42.2, §42.3, §42.4, §42.5, §43, §43.1, §43.2, §43.3

Septuagintal Greek

The various types of Greek in the Septuagint, which is a set of Hellenistic Greek (Koine Greek) translations of the Hebrew and Aramaic Old Testament books as well as various additions often called deuterocanonical. See Koine Greek, Classical Hebrew.

shin case

Prefixed shin: in Hebrew the letter shin can be added as §17.8 a prefix to the beginning of a noun to convey a relationship similar to the relative pronoun relationship to the neighboring words. See case, relative pronoun.

simple sentence

A simple sentence has only one clause, thus only one subject, and one predicate, and one finite verb which is in the predicate. See sentence, expression, phrase, word, clause, subject, predicate, finite verb.

simple verb

A verb spelt as one word, rather than as two or more §7.2.2, §41 words, as in a composite verb.

§4, §5, §7.4.4, §8.1.1, §10, §15, §24.2.1, §29, §29.1, §30.2, §30.3, §30.7, §30.8, §32, §42, §42.1, §42.2, §42.3, §42.4, §42.5, §43, §43.1, §43.3

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

351 SECTION

See composite verb, verb. singular

Solitary, only one. See number.

§17.2, §19, §22

statement

See sentence and punctuation.

§4, §5, §8.1.1, §38.1

stative verb

Stative verbs express the state of things, without changing them, in contrast to action verbs which do convey change. Each language has its own set of stative verbs, any of which might not be translated as statives in another language. ‘be’: When it exists in some form in a language, the verb ‘be’ is a typical example of a stative verb. ‘become’: In one language the verb ‘become’ can be treated as something involving change, hence it would be an action verb (consider a child becoming an adult). In another language this verb can be treated as a stative verb, not involving change, where the child is still understood to be the same person, so the child is the adult. ‘appear’: The verb ‘appear’ may well be treated as a stative verb in one language, but in an another it may be considered a verb involving movement, so an action verb. Hebrew has many stative verbs that translate easily into English using composite verb forms that use a form of the auxiliary verb ‘be’ followed by a past participle, creating an English passive voice verb. This type of stative verb is not a copulative verb. Other Hebrew stative verbs do translate as copulative verbs and so correspond to English stative verbs. See copulative verb, action verb, composite verb, auxiliary verb.

§7.2.1, §8.2.2, §8.2.4, §10, §11.1, §15, §22.3, §24.2.1, §25.3, §25.3.1, §29.3, §31.4, §31.4.3, §37, §41, §42.3, §42.5

stem

The stem of a word is not usually a complete word itself, but a basic form to which other letters are added to create inflections. See inflection, word, affix, morpheme, declension, conjugation, root, case.

strong verb

Strong verb, like weak verb, is a term used to reflect the amount of peculiar variation of forms from the standard forms that occur as the verb is conjugated. Strong verbs in a language tend not to vary much, while weak verbs tend to vary a lot. This has little or nothing to do with strength of the verb’s use, or meaning. See verb, weak verb, inflection, conjugation.

352

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

subject

Each clause can be divided into one subject and one predicate. The solitary finite verb for the clause belongs to the predicate. The subject must be a noun, or a noun equivalent, like a pronoun or noun phrase, or even a noun clause. Words within the subject of a complex sentence may be qualified by subordinate clauses. Each verb is either a stative verb or an action verb. The subject of a stative verb is what the meaning of the stative verb and the predicate are about. When the action verb is in the active voice, its subject is doing the action of the verb. When the action verb is in the passive voice then the action of the verb is done to the subject. See noun, pronoun, noun phrase, noun clause, finite verb, predicate, action verb, stative verb, active voice, passive voice, simple sentence, complex sentence, sentence analysis, sentence expansion.

§5, §7.2.1, §7.4.4, §8.1, §9, §10, §15, §16.3, §22.2, §25.1, §28.3, §29.1, §29.2, §29.3, §30.3, §30.5, §31.4, §31.4.1, §33.2.1, §33.2.3.3, §35.1, §38.1, §40, §42.1, §42.2, §42.3

subject word

The subject word of a clause is a noun or a pronoun that is essential for the clause to mean what it does. When the subject is composed of only one word, that word is the subject word. When an unspecialized phrase forms the subject (e.g. when a noun is qualified by an adjective) the main word (so e.g. the noun) is the subject word. When two such main words are joined by a conjunction, like ‘and’, both main words serve as subject words. When a noun clause is the subject, there is no simple subject word. See subject, finite verb, phrase, cf direct object word, indirect object word.

§8.1.2, §15, §17.1, §19.1, §22.2, §22.3, §24.2.1, §25.2, §25.2.2, §28.3, §29.2, §29.3, §33.2.3.3, §36.2, §37, §42.2, §42.3

subjective case

See the nominative case. See also case.

§17.1, §21, §35.1

subjunctive mood The subjunctive mood is the form a verb usually takes §14.1, §14.3, when something might well be so, or might be so in §31.3.5, some circumstance in the past, present or future. §31.3.6, §31.3.7 The circumstance could be entirely normal and realistic, or it could be fanciful or fictitious. “That might be.” ‘Might be’ is in the subjunctive mood. “Christians hope that Christ might return.” ‘Might return’ is in the subjunctive mood. “If I were you, then, yes I would think so too.” ‘Were’ is a subjunctive form of the verb ‘be’. ‘Would think’ can be described as being in the subjunctive mood. Each language that distinguishes mood from

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

353 SECTION

mood, has its own conventions for when its various moods are used. See mood of verbs. subordinate clause

A subordinate clause is also called a dependent clause. Subordinate clauses act within another clause or nonfinite verb phrase (a participial phrase, an infinitival phrase, or a gerund phrase). This other clause can be called a main clause. Subordinate clauses are either adjectival clauses, adverbial clauses or noun clauses (substantival clauses). See clause, adjectival clause, adverbial clause, noun clause, main clause.

§30.6, §30.7, §30.8, §31, §32, §33.2, §33.2.3, §33.2.3.1, §33.2.3.2, §33.2.3.3, §35.1, §35.1.2, §35.2, §40, §43.1, §43.3

subordinate conjunction, subordinating conjunction

See conjunction.

§31.2, §33, §33.2, §33.2.1, §33.2.2, §33.2.3, §33.2.3.1, §33.2.3.2, §33.2.3.3, §33.3, §35.1, §35.2, §41

substantival expression, substantival clause

A substantival expression is one that acts like a noun. So §7.7 too is a substantival clause. See noun, expression, clause, noun equivalents, substantive.

substantival phrase

A substantival phrase is a noun phrase, one that acts like a §28.3 noun in its clause. See noun phrase, noun equivalents, substantive, noun.

substantive

A substantive in some grammars is any word or phrase §7.7 acting like a noun, in others it is simply another name for a noun. See noun, parts of speech, noun equivalents.

suffix

A suffix is an addition to the end of a word of one or more letters. It is a particular type of affix. See affix, possessive suffix.

superlative degree

See degrees of comparison.

syllabic script

A writing system for the words of a language using particular symbols for the normally recognized syllables of the language. A syllabic script might have hundreds of symbols to cover the range of syllables

§27.1, §27.2.2, §27.3, §27.4, §27.5

354

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

in the language. Syllabic scripts, like Sumerian, predated the development of the Ugaritic alphabet. See alphabet, alphabetic script, pictographic script. syllable

A syllable is effectively a single unit of speech within a word. A syllable includes just one vowel (or vowel equivalent like a diphthong), and depending on the conventions of the particular sample of the language being considered, may start and end with a consonant or consonants, or just start with a consonant or consonants, or even include no consonants. For example: the word ‘consonants’ has three vowels and so has three syllables, which may be designated as ‘con’ ‘son’ and ‘ants’, or ‘con’ ‘so’ ‘nants’ depending on various settings. See vowels, consonants, syllabic script.

synchronic

Contemporary, synchronic study of a language is its study within a limited period. Cf diachronic.

synonym

A word is a synonym of another word when both words have largely the same or very similar meanings. ‘Empty’ and ‘vacuous’ could be synonyms. So could ‘perfect’ and ‘complete’. See antonym, cf homonym.

syntactic analysis

Syntactic analysis of an expression is a description of its syntax. See syntax, sentence analysis.

syntax

Studying syntax is studying the structure of an expression, the relations between the types of words in the sentence, how they function. Grammars often have large sections on syntax, following sections on morphology and phonology. See morphology, phonology.

synthetic language

A synthetic language is a language that mainly uses inflection (spelling changes) to show changes in meaning of words, with few auxiliary words employed; e.g. Latin, Greek, Hebrew. Many other terms are used instead of synthetic and analytic. Cf analytic language.

temporal

Concerning time, usually the regular sequence of §12.4 time, as in past then present then future. See tense of verbs, temporal phrases and clauses.

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

355 SECTION

temporal conjunction

Conjunctions that typically introduce adverbial clauses of §33.2.3.2, time. May also be used to begin adverbial phrases. §34.1, §37, See temporal phrases and clauses, contemporaneous §37.2 conjunctive phrase.

temporal phrases and clauses

Temporal phrases and clauses are adverbial phrases of time §31.3, §31.3.1, or adverbial clauses of time. They indicate the time §34.1, §37 when, during which, before which or after which something occurs. “When this is over, they will all be better off.” “During the ceremony, there will be a lot of music.” “Before they went to sleep, the children gazed at the brilliant stars.” “After eating, let us go out.” See phrase, clause, adverbial phrase, adverbial clause, relative clause, relative adverb.

tense of verbs

Tense of verbs may be considered to be of two types: temporal or aspectual tense (aspect). Temporal and aspectual forms of finite verbs both use the forms of the “tenses”, so the spelling (inflection) of a verb might not be sufficient to determine the temporal or aspectual tense of the verb. In some cases it is both. Temporal tense concerns whether the verb’s activity refers to past, present or future activity. “It ended five years ago.” (past tense) “It is ending today.” (present tense) “It will end one day.” (future tense) Aspect (aspectual tense) concerns such things as whether the verb’s activity is completed or not, is continuous within the period considered, and whether it is semelfactive (occurs only once), recurrent (continual), habitual, iterative (repetitive), inceptive (beginning), conative (trying to do something). Some classify aspect using two categories, such as perfective (sense of completion) or imperfective (not necessarily completed). There is continuing active discussion especially about how aspect applies to Greek and Hebrew verbs. The imperfect tense in Latin has the sense of activity that is incomplete, while the Latin perfect tense conveys completed action. Largely, the Greek imperfect tense and aorist tenses do likewise, respectively. The Greek perfect tense has a meaning that carries over from the past into the present, so could be classified as conveying imperfective aspect.

§12, §13, §25.2.1, §25.2.2, §25.2.3, §25.3.1, §25.4

356

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

The English present tense has three common forms, each of which could be used in a continuing sense. “We go there each summer.” “We are going there this summer.” “We do go there often.” Both finite verbs and non-finite verbs have aspect. Non-finite verb forms may not typically be understood to have temporal significance. See verb, conjugation, past participle, present participle. text, text linguistics

See discourse and discourse analysis.

that

The English word ‘that’ is used as a demonstrative §7.4.2, §7.5.4, adjective, a demonstrative pronoun, an adverbial conjunction §7.5.5, §33.2.1, introducing an adverbial clause of purpose or result, as §35.1.1 a subordinating conjunction introducing a noun clause, and as a relative conjunction introducing a relative clause that is an adjectival clause. That’s that.

“then” clause

See apodosis, conditional sentence.

there

The adverb ‘there’ can be used as an adverb of place, §7.6.9, §48.3 a locative adverb meaning “in that place”, and as an indefinite adverb in English. “Please put it there, beside the fireplace.” (locative adverb). “There is a table here, beside the fireplace.” (indefinite adverb). See adverb, indefinite adverb, idiom, marker.

third person

Third person refers to whoever or whatever is being §7.4.2, §18, talked, spoken or thought about. Third person §18.1 pronouns include: he, she, it, they, his, hers, its, theirs. Third person possessive pronominal adjectives include: his, her, its, their. See person, personal pronoun, possessive pronominal adjective, agreement, finite verb, subject, understood.

transitive, transitive verb

See transitivity of verbs.

transitivity of verbs

A finite verb (one with a subject) is transitive when it has §10 a direct object. Only action verbs can have a direct object. A non-finite verb (one without a subject) with a direct object can be said to be transitive, though this is

§16.4, §41

§31.3.7, §33.3

§10, §11.1, §25.3.4, §25.3.5, §25.4.5, §29.3, §40, §41, §42.3

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

357 SECTION

more easily supported for a participle with a direct object within an adjectival participial phrase. A verb is intransitive when it does not have a direct object. “Should we say those things or not?” The verb ‘should say’ has a subject ‘we’, so it is finite, and has a direct object ‘those things’, so it is transitive in this sentence. “I cannot say.” The verb ‘say’ has a subject ‘I’, so it is finite, but it does not have a direct object, so it is intransitive in this sentence. See direct object, subject, finite verb, non-finite verb, adjectival participial phrase, verb. translation complications

See grammatical analysis and translation, Greek, Hebrew, Latin.

uncial

A particular style of non-cursive majuscule Greek script used in NT manuscripts from about the C3rd to C8th, after which cursive scripts (minuscules) began to replace their use. Also a similar style of Latin script used in manuscripts in the same period. See majuscule, upper case, minuscule.

understood

Understood means that we assume one or more extra words are part of the structure or expression we are examining than are actually written or used in the structure or expression. (The words understood might be written for grammatical discussion inside parentheses.) In a direct command, the person being commanded might not be named but for grammatical purposes is assumed (i.e. understood) to be named. To get a race started, the controller of a race might cry out to the contestants, “Go!” The assumed subject, the understood subject, of the verb ‘go’ is the plural pronoun ‘you’, so that the sentence is understood to be “(You) go!” See subject, direct command, command, imperative mood of verbs, adjectival participial phrase, relative pronouns.

upper case

Upper case characters are capital letters (like A, B, C). §7.3.1 Refers only to the shape or relative size of alphabetic letters, and has nothing to do with the grammatical term ‘case’. In languages where there are distinct shapes for upper and lower case versions of each letter of the alphabet (like A and a, B and b), upper case letters are often used to begin proper nouns and

§5.7, §7.2.1, §8.1.1, §9, §15, §25.3, §25.3.1, §30.5, §42, §44.1

358

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

sentences. Some modern printed NT Greek texts use upper case letters to begin sentences, while others do not. Extant ancient NT Greek manuscripts often use capital letter forms only (majuscules), especially C3rd to C8th uncial manuscripts. Hebrew uses an Aramaic alphabetic script. Aramaic scripts have only one case – they do not employ upper and lower cases. Some Biblical Hebrew manuscripts do however occasionally use deliberately oversized, enlarged letters for very specific purposes. See uncial, majuscules, lower case, minuscules. v.

An English abbreviation for Latin ‘vide’ meaning “see!” as in q.v. But some use ‘v.’ for ‘vs’ in legal and sporting challenges. See vs.

vav case

See vav prefix, case.

§17.8

vav conjunction

The vav conjunction is the vav prefix.

§16.2, §17.8

vav prefix

Prefixed vav: in Hebrew the letter vav (also named waw) §17.8 is an extremely common prefix added to the beginning of any word to act as a conjunction, with a very wide range of possible meanings in English. It is always the first letter of the words to which it is prefixed. When vav is attached to verb forms, the verb form may take on a different sense, so some grammars name a different tense of the verb. When the vav is attached to nouns, we could consider it a vav case conveying a connection to the previous word like the English words ‘and’ or perhaps ‘but’. Some grammars and vocabularies treat the vav prefix as a separate word. See conjunction, case

verb

Verbs are a part of speech. Action verbs express an action and stative verbs express the state of things. Many but not all action verbs can have a direct object. Stative verbs cannot a direct object, but might have a complement. “The cat chased the toy.” The verb ‘chase’ is always conveying some sort of action. “Swans are not always white. In Western Australia they are black.” The verb ‘be’ (occurring as ‘was’ in each of these clauses) is a stative verb, not changing the circumstances. It is also a copulative verb, identifying

§6, §7.1, §7.2, §7.6.1, §7.6.5, §8.2, §9, §10, §11, §12, §13, §14, §15, §16.4, §19.1, §22.2, §33.2, §35.1, §36.2, §40, §41, §42.2, §42.3, §42.5, §43, §43.1, §43.2, §43.3

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

359 SECTION

the subject with its complement. Verbs can have many characteristics. Verbs, whether action verbs or stative verbs, can be finite or non-finite. They may be classified according to mood, tense (temporal and aspectual), voice, number, and if finite person, but if non-finite possibly case. Their inflections can form conjugations, or in Hebrew, binyanim. They may be transitive or intransitive. They each belong to a predicate. Predicates may have things like a direct object, an indirect object, a complement, phrases and subordinate clauses. They might be modified by adverbs, adverbial phrases or adverbial clauses. In non-finite forms they might be part of the subject of a clause or its predicate and they might be qualified adjectivally or modified adverbially just as nouns and adjectives may be. There is one and only one finite verb for every predicate. Each use of a verb may be spelt as a single word, in which case it is called a simple verb, or spelt by two or more words, in which case it is called a composite verb. Composite verbs use one or more auxiliary verbs to help the principal verb convey the meaning desired. For some composite forms the principal verb may be in the form of a participle. English, Greek, Latin and its derivatives have composite forms in various quantities. Hebrew verbs are typically single words, simple verb forms – but consider the infinitive absolute. See entries for the categories above and parts of speech. verb transitivity

See transitivity of verbs

verbal

A verbal in some grammars is a non-finite verb acting as a noun or an adjective, which in this grammar is a verbal noun or verbal adjective, respectively. The term ‘verbal’ is used as a noun in those grammars, but as an adjective in this handbook. See verbal noun, verbal adjective, verbal adverb.

verbal adjective

A verbal adjective is a non-finite verb form acting as an §25.3, §25.4, adjective, qualifying a noun or noun equivalent. Participles §25.4.2, §28.12, are verbal adjectives. Some infinitives function as §36.2, §41 verbal adjectives. See participle, infinitive, non-finite verb, adjective.

verbal adverb

A verbal adverb is a non-finite verb form acting as an adverb. Some infinitives function as verbal adverbs. Some grammars incorrectly treat certain uses of participles in Greek as verbal adverbs.

§10

§25.2, §25.3, §25.4, §25.4.3, §26, §28.12, §36.2, §41

360

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS

TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

See infinitive, participle, non-finite verb, adverb. verbal noun

A verbal noun is a non-finite verb form acting as a noun. §25.2, §25.4, Gerunds are verbal nouns. Some infinitives function as §25.4.1, §28.12, verbal nouns. §41 See gerund, infinitive, non-finite verb, noun, noun equivalents.

vs

An English abbreviation for Latin ‘versus’ “turned” meaning in English “against”. Sometimes simply abbreviated as ‘v.’, but see ‘v.’.

vocabulary

A list of words with their basic meanings, or the total collection of words used in some setting. See word, headword, root, dictionary, lexicon, lexicography.

vocative case

When someone’s name is called out, the name is put §17.4, §24.2.1 into the vocative case. Similarly if an object is called upon, it would go into the vocative case. English does not have a unique form for the vocative case, but can use an additional word, the interjection ‘oh’ (‘O’), immediately before the word in the vocative. Consequently some grammars will not use ‘vocative’ to describe English uses. In Hebrew the articular case (using the he prefix) is used to show a word is in the vocative case. “Oh Savior, help us!” “Savior, help us!” Both sentences would have the same translation within Greek, Latin or Hebrew; that is, the word for ‘Savior’ in each language would be in the vocative case without a separate word for ‘oh’. “Rock, speak to me!” ‘Rock’ would go in the vocative case. See case, articular case.

voice of verbs

In English grammars there are usually two voices of the §11, §25.2, verb: active voice, where the subject does the action, or §25.3, §25.4 the verb is about the subject, and passive voice, where the subject has the action of the verb done to it. However English may also have a functionally equivalent set of structures to convey the middle voice, which is a strong feature of Greek and evident in some Hebrew (consider the niphal and hitpael). See active voice, passive voice, middle voice.

vowel carriers

Vowel carriers are consonants whose own sound is omitted and replaced by the sound of a vowel. Vowel carriers are also called vowel letters. See vowel letters and consonants.

GRAMMAR REFERENCE GLOSSARY AND INDEX TERMS

DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

vowel letters

Vowel letters are letters of the alphabet used to represent vowel sounds. Some vowel letters can be treated as consonants in particular words. The English letter ‘y’ is a vowel letter in some words, as in ‘pony’, but is otherwise a consonant, as in ‘yellow’. Four consonants of the Hebrew and Aramaic alephbet often serve as vowel carriers: aleph, vav (waw), he and yod. These vowel carriers are also called vowel letters. See vowels, vowel carriers, consonants, alephbet.

vowels

Vowels are certain sounds of a language made ostensibly without closure to the flow of air in the throat, or by the tongue or by the lips. Vowels are also letters of the alphabet used to represent the vowel sounds: such letters can also be called “vowel letters”. The regular English vowels are ‘a e i o u’. The letter ‘y’ represents a vowel in some words, as in ‘pony’, but is otherwise a consonant, as in ‘yellow’. Diphthongs are pronounced like vowels. The sounds associated with the letter h can be like a vowel sound, with a slight vibration – consider the Greek rough breathing, and the Hebrew vowel carrier he, See diphthong, consonant, syllable, alphabet, word, rough breathing, vowel carrier.

Vulgate

A translation of the Bible into Latin. See especially Koine Greek, and note the influence of the Vulgate on the development of the syntax of the Romance languages. See Classical Latin, Ecclesiastical Latin, Latin.

weak verb

Verbs that are used very frequently in a spoken language are likely to be weak verbs – that is, have many variations of forms from the standard conjugated verb forms. In languages such as Hebrew there are many verbs considered weak verbs because they have regular variations in form as they are conjugated because of the types of sounds that would be produced as they are conjugated. See strong verb, conjugation, verb.

word

The word ‘word’ is used in different ways by different schools of thought within linguistics. ‘Word’ has two types of meaning in this grammar: (i) It refers to any actual individual spelling unit in an expression or in a list. For example there are three words in the following list: ‘book, books, booked’;

361 SECTION

§7.5.5, §15, §16.4, §33, §35.1.1, §35.4, §36.2, §37, §40, §42, §48.1

362 TERMS

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLES

SECTION

and four words in the sentence ‘It is about time’. (ii) The word ‘word’ also refers to the spelling entry that is indexed in an ordinary dictionary, so the individual spellings ‘book’ and ‘books’ could be found under the entries for the word ‘book’, which is a noun, and under the entry for the different word ‘book’ which is a verb, but the word ‘booked’ would probably only be found under the entry for the word ‘book’ which is a verb. This second use of the word ‘word’ relies more on a conceptual understanding of what a word is than on an immediately visual or spoken understanding that is used for the first use given here. There are quite different conventions in written texts about how to distinguish between using a particular word, discussing that word and indicating its meaning. In this glossary the first time a word that has its own entry in the glossary is used, that word is put into italics (word). Then in this section, to simply use words, the words are written without any extra features (word). To discuss a particular word, that word is put into single inverted commas — quotation marks (‘word’); thus use of single inverted commas around a word or expression, can by itself mean “the word or expression inside the inverted commas” without having to write extra words to say so. Double inverted commas (quotation marks) are used to give a meaning, a translation, and to indicate direct discourse (“word”). See punctuation marks, expression, sentence, phrase, headword, root, lemma, stem, inflection, declension, conjugation, derivation, parts of speech, dictionary, lexicography. word order

A frequent word order of English statements is §5.4, §17.1, §40 subject-verb-object (SVO), but of NT Greek and Vulgate Latin and its modern descendents it is sometimes SVO, other times SOV, while of Classical Latin, typically SOV, and of Hebrew VSO. English depends heavily on word order to convey meaning because of little use of inflected forms to show agreement between words. “The cat ate the food” has a very different meaning from “the food ate the cat.” See syntax, sentence analysis, agreement, apposition, inflection, analytic language, synthetic language, Koine Greek.