Linguistics Girl

Although grammatical relationships among forms of lexemes are expressed through either inflection or periphrasis, English is a highly periphrastic language. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (2008), periphrasis is defined as “a phrase of two or more words used to express a grammatical relationship which would otherwise be expressed by the inflection of a single word.” Examples of periphrasis include [Read Full Article...]

Modal Verbs The article English Modal Verbs lists and explains the nine modal verbs in English—can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would—and discusses some of the possible definitions and meanings of these modals. The article Modal Auxiliary Verbs: The Grammar of Modal Verbs in English explains and provides examples of the grammar of the nine English modal verbs. [Read Full Article...]

Verb Phrase Forms The article The Internal Structure of Verb Phrases in English explains and exemplifies the five grammatical forms that appear with verbs to form English verb phrases. The article The Functions of Prepositions in Verb Phrases: Infinitive Markers, Particles, and Verb Phrase Complements explains the three functions of prepositions within English verb phrases. Verb Phrase Functions The article [Read Full Article...]