Introduction to Grammar

Nouns

All Nouns have Number. In most languages there are only two Numbers: Singular and Plural (boat / boats, man / men, ox / oxen).

In many languages Nouns also have Gender. English is not strong on Gender but Spanish has two while Greek has three: Masculine (Anthropos - man), Feminine (Agabi - love), and Neuter (Cheri - hand).

Nouns are usually associated with Articles. The Definite Article is the; the Indefinite Article is a or an.

In English, Nouns do not have Case. Case determines the part that the Noun plays in a sentence. The Latin sentence discipulus videt means the pupil sees - the noun is the subject of the sentence. In discipulum video (which means I see the pupil) - the noun is the object of the sentence. German, Greek, Russian, and Finnish all have Case in their grammar.

Pronouns

The words she, they, it are examples. The sentence Kryss crosses a bridge, can be rewritten he crosses the bridge or Kryss crosses it. In both examples a Noun has been replaced by a Pronoun.

The Pronouns that refer to people are called Personal Pronouns (I, you, he, she, we). Demonstrative Pronouns replace a specific item or group of items: this is good, that was my book, these are excellent, those are mine. Possessive Pronouns describe the ownership of items: mine, yours, theirs, his (the book is his). Interrogative Pronouns are used in asking questions: who are you?, which one?, why am I here?, what is a proton? Relative Pronouns have the same form as Interrogative pronouns but are not used in questions (the girl who looks like her, I did not understand what was said).

Adjectives

The -er form of an adjective is called the Comparative (bigger, greener). The -est form of an adjective is called the Superlative (smallest, latest).

Demonstrative Adjectives are the words that point to a noun (this book, those towns).

Possessive Adjectives define personal possession (my, your, his) as in his slippers are green.

Verbs

The normal form of the verb tells you nothing about when the action is performed or who performs it. This is called the Infinitive. To go, to see, to destroy are all Infinitives.

Actions can be performed by three Persons (First, Second, Third) and two Numbers (Singular, Plural). This gives six forms. To Conjugate a Verb means to systematically run through these six forms. Verbs have Tenses which tell us when the action takes place. The first tense normally learnt is the Present Tense. So, if we conjugate the Present Tense of the Verb To Be, we would write:

• I am
• you are
• he / she / it / one is
• we are
• you (plural) are
• they are

Apart from the Present there are several other Tenses. These are tabulated below for the Verb To Walk. Verbs that are used with others to form a tense are called Auxiliary Verbs. To have and to be are both used as Auxiliary Verbs. The -ing form of a verb is called the Present Participle (i.e. walking). The -ed form of a Verb is the Past Participle (i.e. walked).

The Infinitive described above is an example of a Mood. There are three other Moods in Verbs. The Indicative Mood describes actions in real life (she lived, we will become, I have eaten). The Subjunctive Mood describes wishes or desires (Let us pray, live long and prosper). The Imperative Mood is the command form of the Verb (don't go, come here).

Verbs have two Voices. The Active Voice is the form where the subject and object are different (I see you, you see me). The Passive Voice turns the action back onto the subject (I am seen, she is seen).

Reflexive Verbs are those where the action is redirected back to the subject (I wash myself). Impersonal Verbs are those that only have meaning in the Third person (i.e it rains, it is possible). These usually involve weather. Transitive Verbs are capable of taking an object (in I see you, you is the object of the verb). Intransitive Verbs cannot take an object (the phrase I go you is meaningless because the verb to go is Intransitive).

Others

Prepositions control the direction of a Verb in relation to a Noun. In sentences like I go to the shop and She is in the house, the to and in relate the verb to the noun. These are called prepositions because in most languages (English, Greek, Latin) they precede the noun. In Turkish and Hindi these words follow the noun and are called Postpositions. Further examples are towards, within, outside, below, with. In some languages (Latin or Greek), the meaning of a Preposition depends on the Case of the following Noun (In Romam - into Rome; In Roma - in Rome).

Conjunctions are words that link phrases to form longer sentences. These are words like and, but, so. There are two types of Numbers. Cardinal Numbers are in the form one, three, ten. Ordinal Numbers have the form first, third, tenth.

Interjections are sounds made to show emotion. Examples are ouch, a-ha, phew and, hopefully, your rection to this essay: wow!