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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...]

“Prepositions are not words to end sentences with” reads the joke commenting on a prescriptive grammar rule for prepositions. According to scholar G.O. Curme in his Parts of Speech and Accidence published in 1935, the traditional definition of a preposition is “a word that indicates a relation between the noun or pronoun it governs and another word, which may be [Read Full Article...]

Witches and wizards found in fantasy literature reveal themselves as magical not only through their actions and outward appearances but also through their speech. In The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Gandalf adorns his head with a pointy gray hat and carries a wooden staff. The witches in Whispering to Witches by Anna Dale dress in black and send messages on [Read Full Article...]

Particles Particles in English grammar are function words that express grammatical relationships with other words. Function words perform definite grammatical functions but lack definite lexical meaning. Particle is a grammatical function. The grammatical form that can function as the particle in English grammar is the preposition. The prepositions of phrasal verbs, quasi-modal verbs, and some determiners function as particles. References [Read Full Article...]

English Personal Pronouns Pronouns are small words that can take the place of nouns and noun phrases. Personal pronouns are pronouns that take the place of common and proper nouns. The English personal pronoun system includes four types of pronouns: subject pronouns, object pronouns, possessive pronouns, and reflexive pronouns. Pronouns in English can perform five different grammatical subjects depending on [Read Full Article...]

Prescriptive Grammar Rule for Infinitives To split the infinitive or to not split the infinitive, that is the question. Prescriptive grammars forbid the splitting of infinitives. Most English speaking students have been told by the grade school or high school grammar teacher to never split an infinitive. Even in college, I have had professors chastise me for splitting my infinitives. [Read Full Article...]

Infinitive Markers Infinitive markers in English grammar are function words that distinguish the base forms from the infinitive forms of English verbs. Function words perform definite grammatical functions but lack definite lexical meaning. Infinitive marker is a grammatical function. The grammatical form that can function as the infinitive marker in English grammar is the preposition or p-word, specifically the preposition [Read Full Article...]

Prescriptive Grammar Rule for Prepositions What is up with the English grammar rule “do not end sentences with prepositions”? I clearly remember my grade school grammar teachers drilling this rule into my head. Marooned prepositions, stranded prepositions, whatever term you use, prepositions without complements were expressly forbidden. However, as all native English speakers know, prepositions are perfectly acceptable words to [Read Full Article...]

Prepositional Complements Prepositional complements in English grammar are words, phrases, and clauses that directly follow a preposition and complete the meaning of the prepositional phrase. Prepositional complement is a grammatical function. The grammatical forms that can function as the prepositional complement in English grammar are noun phrases, prepositional phrases, verb phrases, and noun clauses. Prepositional complements are also called complements [Read Full Article...]

Nouns and Noun Phrases The article The Functions of Nouns and Noun Phrases in English lists and explains the ten prototypical grammatical functions of nouns and noun phrases in English grammar. The article English Nouns and Noun Phrases: The Ten Functions of Nouns in English Grammar also explains the ten main functions of nouns and noun phrases in English grammar. [Read Full Article...]