A look at English

A LOOK AT ENGLISH
English is currently one of the
most widely spoken languages in
the world. Yet foreign students
who study it frequently find it
baffling. Philip Brand believes
that an understanding of
grammatical terms can be of real
assistance.
In this basic A - Z guide to
grammar, he sets out to explain
the meaning of basic terms,
giving examples, frequently from
literature. The terms are
grouped under subjects for easier
reference. Though not
comprehensive, the guide covers
many basic points, including a
useful section on common
grammatical and spelling errors.
Although this book is designed
primarily for foreign students, it
might well help English students
understand the workings of their
language. The decline in the
teaching of grammar in schools
has been paralleled by a general
deterioration in the standard of
written English. A recent
Government enquiry into the
teaching of language in schools
reflects the widespread concern
with this subject. This book may
help English students also
towards better usage and a
clearer understanding of their
language.
P.B.
The Book Guild Ltd.,
25High Street,
Lewes, Sussex
ISBN 086332 363 4

Philip Brand is a government
official with a B .A . from the
Open University. He has spent
four years at a theological
college, and has a keen interest in
grammar, stimulated by his
frequent contact in London with
foreign students attempting to
learn English. His other interests
include languages, serious music
and horology. He lives in
London.

A Look at English
Philip Brand
IBB
The Book Guild Ltd
Sussex, England

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way
of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, photocopied or
held in any retrieval system, or otherwise circulated without the
publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other
than that in which this is published and without a similar condition
including this condition being imposed on the subsequent pur
chaser.
The Book Guild Limited
Temple House
25 High Street
Lewes, Sussex
First published 1989
© Philip Brand 1989
Set in Linotron Bembo
Typeset by Book Economy Services
Printed in Great Britain by
Antony Rowe Ltd
Chippenham, Wilts
ISBN 0 86332 363 4

CONTENTS
Preface 7
1 PARTS OF SPEECH 9
Between, But, For
2 N O U N S 13
Nouns, Abstract nouns, Noun clauses, Noun
phrases, Apposition, nouns in, Gender,
Number, Gerund, Subject ofa sentence
3 VERBS 21
Verbs, Auxiliary verbs, Finite verbs,
Impersonal verbs, Notional verbs, Future
tense, Future-in-the-past-tense, Imperfect
tense, Perfect tense, Pluperfect tense, Present
tense, Present perfect tense, Imperative mood,
Indicative mood, Infinitive mood, Accusative
and infinitive constructions, Cognate object,
Complement, Concord, Mood of the verb,
Voice
4 SUBJUNCTIVE 36
Subjunctive mood, Jussive subjunctive,
Optative subjunctive
5 ADJECTIVES 39
Adjectives, Adjective clauses, Adjective
phrases, Comparison
ofadjectives/adverbs, Predicative use of
adjectives, Participles
6 ADVERBS 45
Adverbs, Adverbial phrases, Condition,
adverbial clauses of, Manner, adverbial clauses
of, Place, adverbial clauses of, Reason,
adverbial clauses of, Comparison of
adjectives/adverbs: (see section on Adjectives)
7 PREPOSITIONS 49
Prepositions
8 PRO N O U N S 51
Pronouns, Reflexive pronouns, Relative
pronouns, Restrictive use of relative pronouns

9 CONJU NCTION S 55
Co-ordinating conjunctions, Subordinating
conjunctions
10 SENTENCES 57
Simple sentence, Complex sentence, Double
sentence, Predicate ofa sentence
11 CLAUSES 60
Clauses of concession, Consecutive clauses,
Final clauses, Principal clauses, Subordinate
clauses, Temporal clauses,
see also: Adverbial clauses in Adverbs
Adjective clauses in Adjectives
12 PHRASES 65
Phrase, Absolute phrase
see also: Adverbial phrases
13 CASE 67
Case, Nominative case, Vocative case,
Accusative case, Genitive case, Dative case
14 PUN CTU A TION 71
Apostrophe, Question mark, Semi-colon
15 POETIC TERMS 73
Alliteration, Metaphor, Simile, Iambic,
Trochaic
16 FIGURES OF SPEECH 76
Euphemisms, Metonymy, Patheticfallacy,
Spoonerism
17 SOME CO M M O N PITFALLS 78
Affect/affect, Benefit, spelling of, Century and
decade, Credible/credulous, Different to/from,
Due to/owing to, Owing to, Esquire, use of,
Fulfil, spelling of, Infer, use of, Its/itrs,
Like/as, Mutual, meaning of, Only, place in
sentence, Prevent, meanings of, Unrelated
gerund and participles, Who/whom

PREFACE
For some years the teaching of grammar in schools has been out
of fashion and decried as being outdated and boring. The result
is generally agreed to have been a deterioration in standards of
literacy, observed by educationists and employers alike. Now
the tide seemed to have turned, with the recent government
enquiry into the teaching of language in schools.
This A to Z of grammar is designed to help two groups of
people. Firstly it should help foreign students struggling to
learn English, by explaining basic grammatical terms and
giving examples of correct usage. In the process they will,
incidentally, come across many of the masters of English prose.
Secondly it may help English students towards a better
understanding of their own language, by elucidating points of
common usage. Particularly helpful is the section on Some
Common Pitfalls, based on frequently observed errors.
This book does not claim to be a comprehensive com
pendium of grammar and is not intended to be exhaustive. Its
size makes it a handy pocket reference book and it should find a
place on every student’s bookshelf.

1
Parts ofSpeech
These are eight in number:-
(i) adjective; adverb; conjunction; interjection;
noun; preposition; pronoun; verb
The only sure way of telling the part of speech a particular
word plays in a sentence is to ask questions such as: what
function is this word performing? Is it a naming word, for
example, or does it serve merely to join words or phrases? Is the
word capable of taking an object? and so on.
Examples
(i) When I see a friend in need, I cannot pass him by.
(here by is used as an adverb)
(ii) This treatise was written by a celebrated author.
(by is a preposition in this sentence)
(iii) I do not think that my friend has m uch money.
(here m uch is an adjective)
(iv) His chief talent was an acuteness in dispute; a talent
not usually m uch exercised by kings.
HENRY HALLAM
(In this sentence, the word much is an adverb)
(v) There is no love but love at first sight.
BENJAMIN DISRAELI
(here we have an example of but used as a preposi
tion)
(vi) Without changing a muscle, but with the same
smiling face with which he had previously taunted
9

10 A LOOK AT ENGLISH
my host, did the gladiator brave the painful grasp he
had undergone.
LORD LYTTON
(here but is a conjunction)
Note that it is possible for a word to fulfil the role of two
parts of speech at the same time. Thus in the sentence:
(vii) I shall call out your name when I see you.
the word when is both an adverb of time and a conjunction (it
joins together two clauses, one principal and one subordinate).
BETWEEN. This word can be used both as a preposition
and as an adverb:-
(i) That is a secret between John and me. (preposition)
(ii) Draw the lines so that there is plenty of space
between, (adverb).
Note that when between functions as a preposition, all the
words which stand as object to it must be in the Accusative
case:-
(iii) A barrier seems to exist between him and them.
(iv) Between you and m e and the bed-post, young
master has quarrelled with old master.
LORD BULWER-LYTTON
BUT. This word can be used:-
a. As an adverb:
(i) I have but one son.
(ii) The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
THOMAS GRAY
b. As a conjunction:
(iii) She is tired but happy.
(iv) I boasted of a calm indeed, but it was comparative
only.
CHARLES LAMB

PARTS OF SPEECH 11
c. As a preposition: and when it is so used, care must be
taken to ensure that all object-words are in the
Accusative case:
(v) All were punished but him and me.
(vi) No one but her was allowed to leave.
(vii) I feel like one
Who treads alone,
Some banquet-hall deserted,
Whose lights are fled,
Whose garlands dead,
And all but he departed.
THOMAS MOORE
In the last example, the pronoun in line 6 is clearly in the
wrong case, and it is difficult to justify the error on the grounds
of poetic licence.
(viii) We cannot but love him (present infinitive as object).
FOR. This word can be used both as a preposition and as a
co-ordinating conjunction:-
(i) A passion for this kind may be salutary, ifwe will learn
the lessons for us with which is it charged. (Preposi
tion)
MATTHEW ARNOLD
(ii) The common people have the use of their limbs; for
they live by their labour or skill. (Co-ordinating conj.)
WILLIAM HAZLITT
(iii) Let me rest awhile: for I am weary. (Co-ordinating
conjunction).
Note that when for is used as a conjunction, either a colon or a
semi-colon is often required after the previous word.
Note also that when the word is so used, it canjoin only entire
clauses, and never, as in the case of most conjunctions, words
and phrases as well.

ANALYTICAL LANGUAGE. An Analytical Language is
one, such as English, that conveys meaning by the use of
prepositions, conjunctions, etc., rather than, as in the case of
Latin and Greek, by inflexions. In such a language, the order of
words in a sentence is most important.

2
Nouns
These are naming words (Latin, nomen), and it must be
remembered that a noun or noun-equivalent forms the subject
of every finite verb.
Nouns are often classified as:-
(i) Common: table, house, machine
(ii) Proper: James, France, Vaseline
(iii) Abstract: Mercy, Temperance, Wickedness
(iv) Collective: a flock of sheep; a crowd of football
supporters; a pride of lions
The gerund and the infinitives (qq.v) must also be considered
nouns:-
(v) Walking is a good form of exercise. (Gerund)
(vi) ’Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all (Perfect infinitive)
LORD TENNYSON
In the following examples, the nouns and other naming
words have been printed in bold:-
(vii) Tom orrow is the first day of spring
(viii) By reading books we learn many things.
(ix) My spirit is too weak; mortality
Weighs heavily on me like unwilling sleep
And each imagined pinnacle and steep
of Godlike hardship tells me I must die.
JOHN KEATS
13

(x) When the wind is blowing and the sleet or rain is
driving against the dark windows, I love to sit by
the fire, thinking of what I have read in books of
voyage and travel.
CHARLES DICKENS
ABSTRACT NOUNS name things that are not tactile - that
cannot, in other words, be touched. Examples are:~
(i) beauty; envy; mercy; quality; valour
(ii) Rid of the world’s injustice, and his pain
He rests at last beneath God’s veil of blue.
OSCAR WILDE
(The poet is speaking ofJohn Keats, whose grave he
visited in Rome).
NOUN CLAUSES are Subordinate clauses (that is, clauses
dependent upon other clauses) that perform the chief function
of a noun - that is, they name. They can perform all the
functions of a noun, as these examples show:
(i) How he came here is not known, (subject of a
verb).
(ii) I saw (that) he did not understand me. (object of a
verb)
MRS CRAIK
(iii) Tell me by what means you were educated.
(object of a preposition - a very common construct
ion in English).
(iv) In whatever we say to you, we can have no interest
but yours.
(object of preposition).
LORD CHESTERFIELD
(v) The result is what we expected (complement of
verb)

N O U N S 15
(vi) Upon his first rising the court was hushed, and a
general whisper ran among the country people that
Sir Roger was up. (noun clause in apposition to the
word whisper).
RICHARD ADDISON
N O U N PHRASES. A Noun-phrase is a naming phrase - a
group of words lacking a finite verb and so not having a subject.
Such a phrase has all the functions of a noun. e.g.
(i) The man in the crowd suddenly fell forward.
(Subject of a sentence).
(ii) One great misfortune in life is to be without friends.
(Complement)
(iii) He entered the classroom without any o f his text
books,
(Object of a preposition)
APPO SITION, nouns in. Two nouns are said to be in
Apposition when they both refer to the same thing; for
example:-
(i) Tom , T om the Piper’s son
Stole a pig and away he ran.
NURSERY RHYME
(ii) I have here some work for your son Alexander.
(iii) Mr Tibbs, the second-rate beau, I have formerly
described, together with his lady.
OLIVER GOLDSMITH
Observe that nouns in apposition to each other must always
be in the same case:-
(iv) I gave the message to his father, the baker. (Accusa
tive case).
Observe also that a Noun-clause can be in apposition to a
noun previously stated:-

(v) The fact that he had a criminal record was held
against him.
GENDER. It is not always realized that there are two kinds of
gender, namely grammatical gender, and gender according to sex.
Grammatical gender, in those languages that possess it, means
in effect the agreement between a noun and the adjective that
describes it; for example:-
(i) French: un petit garqon - a little boy
une petite ecole - a small school
(ii) Latin: deus dirus - a terrible god
bellum dirum - a terrible war
Note that when learning such a language, the student needs to
learn both a noun and its gender. This is never the case in
English, which has only gender according to sex.
NUMBER. Most nouns in English indicate the plural form by
the addition of -s or -es; thus
(i) book books branch branches
leg legs brush brushes
table tables fox foxes
The following words and their plural forms should be noted:-
analysis analyses
axis axes
court-martial courts-martial
criterion criteria
datum data
dilettante dilettanti
forum forums
memorandum memoranda
phenomenon phenomena
radius radii
species species
virtuoso virtuosi

G ER U N D . A gerund is a naming-word, and so it is a noun; but
it is a noun formed from verbs, both transitive and intransitive.
Like the present participle, the gerund has the ending -ing:-
(i) cooking; eating; fishing; laughing; reading
Unlike the Latin gerund, the one in English can be freely used
as the subject of a sentence:-
(ii) Sw im m ing is a healthy pastime.
(iii) Learning is the knowledge of that which is not
generally known to others.
WILLIAM HAZLITT
The gerund can take a direct object, provided that it has been
formed from a transitive verb:-
(iv) Eating unripe apples is unwise.
(v) R eading good books will help to improve the mind.
It can also stand as object of a preposition (this is a very
common construction in English):-
(vi) We shall catch our train only by leaving early.
(vii) She devoted much of her time to knitting.
Occasionally, the gerund can be used in the plural:-
(viii) I do not like the appearance of those buildings.
(ix) The endings of the various words are called inflexions.
See also: -ING, WORDS ENDING IN
-IN G , W ORDS E N D IN G IN. In English, most words ending
in the suffix -ing are either gerunds (q v.) or present participles,
Active voice:-
(i) The metaphysical poets were men of learning, and to
show their learning was their whole endeavour.
(Gerund).
DR SAMUEL JOHNSON
N O U N S 17

(ii) All Saturday morning I could perceive, in conse
quence of this, my wife and daughters in close
conference together, and now and then glancing at
me with looks that betrayed a latent plot. (Present
participle)
OLIVER GOLDSMITH
There are however a few words of this type that, though they
began life as present participles, can now be used only as
prepositions, governing a direct object in the Accusative case.
Examples are:-
(iii) concerning; considering; notwithstanding;
regarding; saving
(iv) Iknow of Disraeli, and have heard much concerning
him.
(v) Notwithstanding the young man’s honesty, I do not
recommend him for the position.
It is possible to confuse the gerund and the present participle:
both, after all, end in -ing, and both are capable of taking a direct
object. Remember therefore that a gerund is always a naming
word - it names an action or state; and this is something that a
participle, which is a describing word, can never do. Consider
these examples:-
(vi) As a single man, I have spent a good deal of my time in
noting down the infirmities of Married People.
CHARLES LAMB
In this sentence, the word noting names an action, and is
therefore a gerund (in fact, it is in the Accusative case, object of
the preposition in).
(vii) Seeing afterwards Orestes in his raving fit, he grew
more than ordinary serious, and took occasion to
moralise (in his way) upon an evil conscience.
JOSEPH ADDISON
In this last example, seeing is a describing word, a participle,
qualifying the pronoun he.

N O U N S 19
SUBJECT OF A SENTENCE. The subject of a clause or
sentence is a naming word and so must always be a noun or noun
equivalent.
Thus is can be:-
a. A noun:
(i) This work is interesting.
(ii) Helen, thy beauty is to me
Like those Nicean barks of yore.
E.A. POE
b. A pronoun:
(iii) It is snowing.
(iv) I thus rambled from pocket to pocket till the beginning
of the civil wars.
JOSEPH ADDISON
c. A Noun-clause:
(v) What he told m e is a secret.
(vi) Why the fam ily left the house will soon be known.
d. A Noun-phrase:
(vii) What to do next is a problem.
(viii) To spend too m uch tim e in studies is sloth.
FRANCIS BACON
e. A verb in the Infinitive mood:
(ix) To love others is a Christian duty.
f. A gerund:
(x) Seeing is believing.
(xi) Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man;
and writing an exact man.
FRANCIS BACON
g. Certain adjectives can also stand as subject:
(xiii) The wise will always listen to counsel.

(xiv) The rich have become richer and the poor have
become poorer.
P.B. SHELLEY
Thus we see that the noun and the verb are the most important
parts of speech, since every grammatical sentence must contain
at least one of each.

3
Verbs
The verb (Latin, verbum, a word) is the most important of the
eight parts of speech since every grammatical sentence must
contain one, expressed or understood. Verbs can express a state,
or more usually, an action:-
(i) to be; to become; to remain; to seem
These verbs express a state.
(ii) to grow; to leave; to move; to release
These verbs express an action.
Or we may simply say that the verb in a sentence tells us what
the subject is or does.
In these sentences, the verb has been put into italics
(iii) Her husband died last week.
(iv) M ind what you say
(v) She walks in beauty, like the night
O f cloudless climes and starry skies.
LORD BYRON
(vi) Speech is the only benefit man hath to express his
excellency of mind above other creatures.
BEN JONSON
When one verb follows another, as in the last example, the
second verb is in the Infinitive mood.
21

A verb can have a mood, a tense, and a voice (see under these
headings).
A finite verb is one having its own subject, thus:-
(vii) I run; he lives; they are moving
AUXILIARY VERBS are verbs that do not possess a meaning
of their own, but are used simply to help another verb to indicate
a mood, tense or voice. The Auxiliary verbs in English - there
are only six - are:-
(i) be; do; have; may; shall; will
Examples in sentences:-
(ii) It seemed to Catherine that if she were his sister, she
would disprove this axiom.
HENRY JAMES
(helping to indicate the Subjunctive mood)
(iii) He has lived in New York for several months,
(helping to indicate the Present-perfect tense)
(iv) In this letter, I am warned to leave the area at once,
(helping to indicate the Passive voice)
See also: Notional verbs.
FINITE VERB. This is the name given to a verb having its own
subject; thus:-
(i) he smiles; you abandon; they deliver
Note that the subject of a verb in the Imperative mood is nearly
always understood:-
(ii) Leave the room and come back later!
It is however sometimes inserted to create emphasis —though

this is somewhat colloquial:-
(iii) Don’t you talk to me like that!
VERBS 23
IMPERSONAL VERBS. There are a few verbs that, because
of their meaning, can be used only in the third person singular,
with the pronoun it as subject. The chief verbs are:-
(i) to hail; to rain; to snow; to thunder
(ii) It is snowing outside.
(iii) A foolish thing was but a toy,
For the rain it raineth every day.
W . SHAKESPEARE
NO TIONAL VERBS are verbs that have a full meaning of
their own, as distinct from Auxiliary verbs (q.v.) that do not.
Here are some examples:-
(i) to bring; to consider; to dislike; to run
Needless to say, most English verbs come into this category.
Some verbs may be Notional at one time and Auxiliary at
another, as these examples show:-
(ii) I have a present for my friend. (Notional)
(iii) I have seen this play before. (Auxiliary)
(iv) What I have heard of her schooldays from other
sources confirms the accuracy of the details in this
remarkable letter. (Auxiliary)
MRS GASKELL

FUTURE TENSE. This tense, as the name tells us, relates to
events that are about to take place; thus:-
(i) to love, indicative mood, Active voice
I shall love
you will love
he/she will love
we shall love
you will love
they will love
(ii) to love, indicative mood, Passive voice
I shall be loved
you will be loved
he/she will be loved
we shall be loved
you will be loved
they will be loved
Note that if will is used for the First Person singular and
plural, and shall for the Second and Third Persons, then the
notion of determination is introduced; for example:-
(iii) I will not be spoken to like that!
(iv) He shall answer for his misdeeds - every one of them!
FUTURE-PERFECT TENSE. This tense refers to actions
regarded as complete at some future time; in English, the
auxiliary verb used is have.
Example: to see, Indicative Mood, Active Voice
I shall have seen
You will have seen
He/She/It will have seen
We shall have seen
You will have seen
They will have seen

So also with the Passive voice:-
I shall have been seen
You will have been seen
and so on
Examples in Sentences:
(i) I shall have loved her for thirty years.
(ii) H e w ill have been found by tomorrow morning.
(iii) She w ill have read my letter by this time.
FU T U R E IN T H E PA ST TENSE. Sometimes a speaker
refers to an event in the future, and his words are subsequently
reported; when this happens the tense used is called the future in
the past. Examples of this tense are:-
(i) I told him that I w ould not allow the games to take
place.
(ii) We mentioned that we should be visiting Italy in the
spring.
IM PER FEC T TEN SE. This tense is used to describe an event
that is not yet completed; usually the term is confined to events of
past time:-
(i) I was speaking; I was giving
So also in Latin and French:-
(ii) Latin: loquebar; dabam
(iii) French: Je parlais; je donnais
(iv) I was speaking to him when he became ill.
VERBS 25

(v) When we were leaving the lecture-hall, we saw an
accident occur.
(vi) I was walking about my chamber this morning in a
very gay humour, when I saw a coach stop at my door.
RICHARD STEELE
PERFECT TENSE. This tense is used to describe a completed
action in the past (perfectus in Latin means completed).
(i) Active voice:
I ruled
you ruled
he/she ruled
we/you/they ruled
(ii) Passive voice:
I was ruled
you were ruled
he/she was ruled
we/you/they were ruled
(iii) I entered my office somewhat later than usual.
(iv) They inspected the new Town Hall in the High
Street.
(v) To preserve and to rear so frail a being, the most tender
assiduity was scarcely sufficient.
EDWARD GIBBON
See also: Present Perfect Tense.
PLUPERFECT TENSE. This tense is usually used to tell us
that an action occurred prior to some other past action; thus:-
(i) I told the judge that I had been waiting for payment
for nearly two years.
(ii) We had passed for some time along the wall of a park,
and at length the chaise stopped at the gates.
WASHINGTON IRVING

VERBS 27
Note that the pluperfect tense of the verb to have is had had,
as in the following example:-
(iii) They had been married ten years, and until this present
day on which M r Dombey satjingling andjingling his
heavy gold watch-chain in the great arm-chair by the
side of the bed, had had no issue.
CHARLES DICKENS
PRESENT TENSE. The following is an example of a verb
conjugated in the present tense, indicative mood:-
(i) Active voice:
I love
you love
he/she loves
we/you/they love
(ii) Passive voice:
I am loved
you are loved
he/she is loved
we/you/they are loved
Examples of this tense in sentences:-
(iii) The young lady loves a sailor.
(iv) I dislike all forms of sport.
(v) Now sleeps the crimson petal, now the white;
Nor waves the cypress in the palace walk
ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON
The present tense is also used in a subordinate clause,
irrespective of the tense of the verb in the Principal clause, in
order to assert something that is necessarily true at all times:-
(vi) I told him that the earth travels around the sun, and
that the sun appears to rise in the east.

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE. This form of the Perfect tense
is used to show that an event occurred in recent past time; in
English the auxiliary verb have is used:-
(i) I have given; he has left; we have received.
(ii) You have recently written to my aunt.
(iii) We have bathed, where none have seen us,
In the lake and in the fountain
T.L. BEDDOES
An example of the Passive voice may also be given:
(iv) He has been known to destroy letters sent to him.
IMPERATIVE MOOD. This mood of the verb is used in
making requests, and also in giving commands; thus:-
(i) Please pass the salt.
(ii) Stand to attention!
(iii) ‘Drink,’ I said, presenting him the wine.
E. A. POE
(iv) Think for a little while of that scene, and the meaning
of all its small formalisms, mixed with its serene
sublimity.
JOHN RUSKIN
Notice that the subject of a verb in the Imperative mood is
usually understood: (You) please pass the salt: (you) stand to
attention and so on. However in colloquial language, the subject
is sometimes stated:
(v) Don’t you talk to me like that!
INDICATIVE MOOD. O f the four moods (q.v.) found in
English, the Indicative is the most common, since it is used to

VERBS 29
give information, real or supposed, to ask a question, and also in
making an exclamation; thus:-
(i) I shall spend the evening at home.
(ii) Where are my text-books?
(iii) How tedious those lectures are!
(iv) Fair daffodils, we weep to see
You haste away so soon
ROBERT HERRICK
(v) Yet each man kills the thing he loves,
By each let this be heard
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word.
OSCAR WILDE
(Note: be heard in line 2 is in the Infinitive mood).
INFINITIVE M OOD. This mood of the verb is the one that
names an action or state without reference to a subject:-
(i) to be; to give; to love; to stand
Because the Infinitive is a naming mood, it is really a noun, and
so can stand as subject of a sentence or clause:-
(ii) To err is human: to forgive, divine.
ALEXANDER POPE
(iii) To be sick is to enjoy monarchal prerogatives.
CHARLES LAMB
The Infinitive mood is often used in English to denote purpose
(i.e. its use is adverbial):-
(iv) I shall go to town to do some shopping.
(v) But since it pleased a vanish’d eye,
I go to plant it on his tomb.

These examples show that the Infinitive is usually found with
the preposition to, but this is not invariably the case. Thus the
preposition is omitted after the auxiliary verbs shall, will, may,
and do, and also after a few other verbs such as hear, see, dare.
A verbal infinitive can stand as object to a transitive verb
(exactly like an ordinary noun):-
(vi) I do not wish to leave.
It can stand as complement:-
(vii) His one desire is to visit Rome.
In the following example, the Infinitive stands as object to a
preposition:-
(viii) My son is about to sit his final examination.
If the Infinitive can take a direct object, it can also be used in the
Passive voice:-
(ix) Active voice: to grow; to love; to warn
(x)Passive voice: to be grown; to be loved; to be warned
Note that in English we often use a noun as an adjective; thus:
(xi) a winter sun; a harvest festival; a storm warning
This practice applies equally well to the Infmitive:-
(xii) Bring me a book to read.
(xiii) The former belongs to this life; the latter to that which
is to come.
LORD MACAULAY
(In this sentence, the Infinitive to com e qualifies the pronoun
that).

A CCUSA TIV E A N D IN FIN ITIV E C O N STR U C TIO N .
This construction is more commonly found in Latin than in
English; for example:-
(i) Scimus eum esse regem.
In translating this into English, we need to use a Noun clause:-
(ii) We know that he is king.
However we do on occasion use the Accusative and Infinitive
construction in our own language, and here are two examples:-
(iii) I consider him to be guilty.
(iv) I believe you know m e to be somewhat positive.
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
VERBS 31
CO G N A TE O BJECT. There are a few verbs which, though
they are intransitive, are capable of taking an object whose
meaning is in some way related to the verb itself (cognatus is a
Latin adjective meaning ‘related’). Some examples are:-
(i) Let him die the death of a slave.
(ii) His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep,
The Kraken sleepeth,
C O M PLEM EN T. Sometimes a verb, whether transitive or
intransitive, requires some additional words to make the sense
complete; and to these words is given the name com plem ent.
Consider the verb to be.
This verb is sometimes used with the meaning to exist, as in
the sentence:
(i) God is (Latin, Deus est).
Far more frequently, however, it is used to make sentences
with the aid of a complement:-

(ii) She is a good mother.
(iii) The priest was a member of the Society ofJesus.
So also with the verb to become:-
(iv) The young man became a thief.
Some transitive verbs need a complement in order to complete
the sense (these are sometimes called ‘Transitive Verbs of
Incomplete Predication’). Here are some examples
(v) They declared him the victor.
(vi) I dislike eating such sweet dishes.
Remember that the verbs to be and to become take the same
case after them as before:-
(vii) I am he.
(viii) Are those the essential books? Yes, those are they.
(ix) Richard I became king in the year 1189.
CONCORD in grammar refers to the agreement that ought to
exist, in number and person, between a verb and its subject;
thus:-
(i) He is a lucky man.
(ii) My son, whom I spoke to you about, is coming
today.
(iii) Mr Yeats is the only one among the younger English
poets who has the whole poetical temperament, and
nothing but the poetical temperament.
ARTHUR SYMONS
(Observe that when the subject of a clause is a Relative
pronoun, the verb must agree with its antecedent, as in the last
example).

VERBS 33
Sometimes for the sake of euphony, a verb is made to agree
with a word other than its subject:-
(iv) A number of boys were seen running from the shop.
(v) The majority of men are not always to be relied on.
In a sentence such as:-
(vi) The public are requested not to walk on the grass.
The singular, is, would also be possible: but the two
should not be mixed in the one passage.
Particular care must be taken when a verb and its
subject are separated by a good many words, as in the
following sentence:-
(vii) It is worth noticing that the most important defences
of the beliefin witchcraft, against the growing sceptic
ism in the latter part of the sixteenth century and in the
seventeenth, were the productions of men who in
some departments were among the foremost thinkers
of their time.
GEORGE ELIOT
M OOD OF THE VERB. In this expression, the term m ood
means mode, or way of acting. A verb can act in one of four
different ways:-
a. To state a fact, real or supposed, to ask for inform
ation, or to make an exclamation (Indicative mood):-
(i) You must accept my answer.
(ii) Is that the road to London?
(iii) Her brother understood immediately the nature and
intention of the peace-offering.
ANTHONY TROLLOPE
(iv) How generous (it is) of you!

b. To give a command or make a request (Imperative
mood):-
(v) Sit up straight!
(vi) Give us this day our daily bread.
(vii) Tell me, where is fancy bred,
O r in the heart or in the head?
SHAKESPEARE
c. To express a notion without reference to person or
number (Infinitive mood):-
(viii) To love others is a duty.
(ix) To err is human.
A. POPE
d. To express a wish, supposition or contingency (Sub
junctive mood):-
(x) I wish that I were rich.
(xi) God save the Queen.
(xii) I triumph still, if thou abide with me.
H.F. LYTE
The Subjunctive mood is, on the whole, a literary one.
The student should consult the articles under these headings.
VOICE. Most verbs indicate, by means of inflection and/or the
use of an auxiliary verb, whether the subject of the verb is acting
(Active voice) or being acted upon (Passive voice).
Here is the verb to love, Indicative mood, Present tense,
conjugated in both the Active and the Passive voice:-
(i) Active Voice
I love
you love
he loves
we/you/they love

VERBS 35
(ii) Passive Voice
I am loved
you are loved
he is loved
we/you/they are loved
Note that, in English, the Passive voice is always constructed
with the verb to be.
When a sentence whose verb is in the Active voice is changed
to one whose verb is passive, the direct object of the former
becomes the subject of the latter: thus:-
(iii) A sword killed the sailor. (Active voice)
(iv) The sailor was killed by a sword. (Passive voice)
Only verbs that are transitive, taking a direct object in the
Accusative case, can be used in the Passive voice.
In some old books of English Grammar, the term Neuter
verb was used to denote those intransitive verbs that are
incapable of taking even a Cognate object (q.v.); for example, to
be and to become.

4
Subjunctive
SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD. This mood of the verb is used to
indicate wishes, conditions, suppositions, and so on - anything
except facts, for which the Indicative mood is required.
In former times, the Subjunctive mood was in much more
frequent use. It is often found, for example, in the Bible:-
(i) Until the day break
And the shadows flee away.
SONG OF SOLOMON, II, 17
(Here we have the Subjunctive mood used in an Adverbial
Clause of Time: nowadays we should the Indicative (until the
day breaks).).
(ii) Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth
and for evermore.
p s a l m c x m , 2
(this is an example of the Optative subjunctive).
It is a fact however that many languages, including English,
tend to use the Subjunctive mood less and less.
In formal, written English, the main uses of the mood are
these:-
(a) To express a wish:
(iii) God grant your request.
(iv) I wish I were dead: and it is all through you I am
driven to wish it.
ANTHONY TROLLOPE
36

(b) In some clauses of Comparison:
(v) He looked as if he were unwilling to act in the matter.
Sometimes verbs such as should or m ay are used as substi
tutes for the pure Subjunctive:-
(vi) I shall travel by rail, that I may have a faster journey.
Here are one or two further examples of the Subjunctive
Mood:-
(vii) O that I once past changing were,
Fast in thy Paradise, where no flower can wither.
GEORGE HERBERT
(viii) O be thou blest with all that Heav’n can send,
Long Health, long Youth, long Pleasure, and a
Friend.
ALEXANDER POPE
(ix) Where’er she lie,
Locked up from mortal eye,
In shady leaves of destiny
RICHARD CRASHAW
These examples are all taken from poetry: but even there we
find the Indicative mood far more common.
Here is the verb to praise conjugated in the Active voice,
Subjunctive mood:-
Present tense: I praise
you praise
he/she praise
we/you/they praise
Perfect tense (rare): I praised
you praised
he/she praised
we/you/they praised
The Passive voice of this mood - (if) I be praised, etc., is also
quite rare.
SUBJUNCTIVE 37

JUSSIVE SUBJUNCTIVE. This construction is found in
Classical Latin: it is used to express a command (inhere, to
command):
thus:-
(i) Oremus.
Let us pray.
(ii) Ne hie maneamus.
Do not let us remain here.
Note that the corresponding English construction requires the
use of the verb let followed by the present infinitive; as these
examples show, all object words must therefore be in the
Accusative case:-
(iii) Let him answer for this deed.
(iv) Let you and me do the task ourselves.
(v) Cheer us when we recover: but let us pass on - for
God’s sake, let us pass on!
EDMUND BURKE
OPTATIVE SUBJUNCTIVE. This is the name given to the
Subjunctive mood when it is used to express a wish or desire:-
(i) Heaven grant your wish!
(ii) ‘Ruin seize thee, ruthless King!’
THOMAS GRAY
(iii) Ahou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace.
LEIGH HUNT
Examples (i) and (ii) show that it is possible for the verb in the
Principal clause of a sentence to be in the Subjunctive mood.

5
Adjectives
Adjectives are words used to qualify nouns and pronouns. In
the following examples, the adjectives have been put into
bold:-
(i) I know that she is a kind lady.
(ii) The prisoner considered the sentence to be harsh.
(iii) Being weary, I went to bed early,
(iv) With great deference to the old lady’s judgement in
these matters, I think I have experienced some
moments in m y life whey playing at cards for
nothing has even been very agreeable.
CHARLES LAMB
Adjectives are usually divided by grammarians into eight
types:-
a. Proper: English; Spanish; Greek
b. Possessive: my; his; her; our; your; their
c. N um eral: fourteen; nineteen; fifty-seven
d. Quantitative: some; much; little; enough
e. Demonstrative: this; that; the; a or an; such
f. Descriptive: lonely; quiet; plausible; reliable
g. Interrogative: which? what?
h. Distributive: each; every; either; neither
39

Some adjectives are formed from verbs, both transitive and
intransitive, and when this happens they are called participles:-
(v) a speaking clock; a smiling boy;
a broken window
If a verb comes between an adjective and the noun it qualifies:
the adjective is said to be used predicatively:-
(vi) The Head Teacher was angry.
(vii) Children, you are very little,
And your bones are very brittle.
R.L. STEVENSON
Sometimes in English idiom requires the use of an adjective
when from the grammatical point of view we should expect an
adverb; e.g.
(vii) This tea tastes too sweet.
(viii) Do you always take your whisky neat?
Note that the demonstrative adjectives this and that are
unique in that they have a plural form: this book becomes
these books and that clock becomes those clocks.
ADJECTIVE CLAUSES. These, like adjectives, qualify a
noun or noun-equivalent in another clause; e.g.
(i) The students whom you saw just now are resident
at this College.
The noun so qualified - in the example above it is the word
students - is known as the antecedent.
Adjective clauses are introduced by either a Relative pronoun
(who, whom, that, which) or a Relative adverb (why, when,
where).
(ii) The place where he is buried is known to very few.
(iii) The lady who arrived yesterday is my aunt.

ADJECTIVES 41
(iv) The profession of a medical man in a small provincial
town is not often one which gives to its owner in
early life a large income.
ANTHONY TROLLOPE
Notice that the Relative pronoun is often omitted in English,
though this cannot be done in either Latin or French; e.g.
(v) The student I spoke to has given up his course of
studies.
ADJECTIVE PHRASES qualify nouns exactly like adjectives;
often they contain a participle or preposition:-
(i) He is a surgeon noted for his skill.
(ii) Nobody likes a wind from the east.
(iii) Six weeks the guardsman walked the yard,
In the suit o f shabby grey
OSCAR WILDE
(In this example, the adjectival phrase qualifies the noun
‘guardsman’)
COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES A N D ADVERBS.
Many adjectives of Quality have three forms - the positive, the
comparative, and the superlative - and these are used for
purposes of comparison. The positive form is simply the
adjective itself: the comparative is used when two things are
compared, and the superlative, when more than two things are
compared. Thus we have:-
Positive form Comparative Superlative
able abler ablest
quick quicker quickest
small smaller smallest

These adjectives contain only one syllable, and they are
compared by means of inflexion.
However, most adjectives of two or more syllables are
compared by the use of the words more for the comparative,
and most for the superlative; thus:-
curious more curious most curious
desirable more desirable most desirable
zealous more zealous most zealous
Examples in sentences
(i) John is an abler pupil than Tom.
(ii) That book is more interesting than this.
(iii) I declare my lady turned a shade paler at the sight of
him.
WILKIE COLLINS
(iv) He was the man who, of all modern and perhaps
ancient poets, had the largest and most compre
hensive soul.
j o h n d r y d e n : h e is s p e a k in g o f s h a k e s p e a r e
A few adjectives have an irregular form of comparison.
The only ones at all commonly used are:-
bad worse worst
good better best
little less least
much more most
some more most
There are some adjectives of Quality that, because of their
meaning, can be used only in an absolute sense: for example:-
(v) everlasting; perfect; total; unique

It follows therefore that such a sentence as:-
(vi) My copy of ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’ is much more
unique than yours
is quite inadmissible.
What has been said here about adjectives, applies to the
comparison of adverbs:-
ADJECTIVES 43
fast faster fastest
gracefully more gracefully most gracefully
usefully more usefully most usefully
Exceptions to the general rule are:-
badly worse worst
little less least
well better best
PREDICATIVE USE OF ADJECTIVES. An adjective is
said to be used predicatively when it is separated from the noun
it is describing by a verb; thus:-
(i) His father is kind.
(ii) His artistic skill is great, and his ideality high.
A very few adjectives can be used only predicatively: e.g.
(iii) alone asleep loath unable
(iv) Why is that man alone?
(v) Sand-strewn caverns, cool and deep,
Where the winds are all asleep.
MATTHEW ARNOLD

(In this last example, three adjectives are used predicatively).
(vi) The doctor is unable to see you at this time.
(vii) I am loath to remain in this house on my own.
PARTICIPLES are adjectives; but they differ from ordinary
adjectives in that they are formed from verbs, both transitive and
intransitive.
a. Participles formed from transitive verbs:
(i) fishing; giving; loving; warning
b. Participles formed from intransitive verbs:
(ii) becoming; being; dying; sleeping
A participle formed from a transitive verb can take a direct
object, thus:-
(iii) Seeing his friend, the young man crossed the street.
Here are some examples of sentences containing participles:-
(iv) He is a loving father.
(v) Becoming weary, we returned home before the
appointed time.
(vi) Thy voice is on the rolling air;
I hear thee where the waters run
Thou standest in the rising sun,
And in the setting thou are fair
Note that the word setting in the last of these lines is not a
participle but a gerund.
There is no future participle in English, as there is in Latin.
Instead we must use the term about to>
(vii) This boy is about to start his lessons for the day.

6
Adverbs
Adverbs are words that qualify, in the main, verbs, adjectives
and other adverbs; e.g:-
(i) Tom ran quickly down the hill.
(the adverb qualifies the verb ran).
(ii) There are some laws in this empire very peculiar.
JONATHAN SWIFT
(here the adverb qualifies the adjective peculiar).
(iii) Why do you read so slowly?
(the adverb qualifies the adverb slowly).
In the sentence:
(iv) The young man swam half over the lake.
it appears that the adverb qualifies the preposition over; but
some grammarians would say that it qualifies instead the whole
of the following adverbial phrase.
Adverbs are usually classified as follows:-
a. Time: now; then; tomorrow; yesterday
b. Place: here; there; everywhere; inside; around
c. Manner: slowly; silently; morbidly; quietly
d. Degree: so; rather; somewhat; slightly; almost
e. Reason: because; since (these words are also used as
conjunctions, and for this reason some grammarians
refer to them as conjunctive adverbs).
45

Note that an adverb can qualify a whole sentence; whenever
this occurs, the adverb must stand first, e.g:-
(v) Perhaps he will arrive early enough to attend class.
ADVERBIAL PHRASES are very common indeed: like
adverbs, they tell us about time, place, manner, degree, com
parison, etc.
Examples in phrases
(i) in a moment or two (time)
(ii) at the end of next week (time)
(iii) in the middle of an island (place)
(iv) in difficult circumstances (place)
(v) as meek as a lamb (manner)
(vi) as fast as a hare (manner)
(vii) up to a certain point (degree)
Examples in sentences
(viii) I shall see my mother in a few weeks’ time.
(ix) To the last point of vision, and beyond,
Mount, daring warbler!
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
(x) Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away.
REVD. ISAAC WATTS
(xi) Unhappily a few months after the appearanceof
‘Journey to the Hebrides’, Johnson did whatnone of
his envious assailants could have done, and to a
certain extent succeeded in writing himself down.
LORD MACAULAY

CONDITION, ADVERBIAL CLAUSES OF. The only
conjunctions that are at all commonly used in modern English to
introduce these clauses are if and unless.
(i) If you do not arrive on time, you will be penalised.
(ii) If this then be success, ’tis dismaller than any failure.
ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING
(iii) I will not enter for the race unless a prize is offered.
(iv) You have furnished me now with arguments to
convince my brother, if he should ever enter upon
the dispute again.
DOROTHY OSBORNE
ADVERBS 47
M ANNER, ADVERBIAL CLAUSES OF. These clauses are
introduced by the words as, as if, or as though:-
Examples
(i) Do as I tell you.
(ii) Men fear death, as children fear to go in the dark.
FRANCIS BACON
(iii) The fire glows brightly, crackling with a sharp and
cheerful sound, as if it loves to burn.
CHARLES DICKENS
PLACE, ADVERBIAL CLAUSES OF. In modern English,
these clauses are introduced by where or wherever:-
(i) You will find him where the sun meets the sea.
(ii) We must contact our friend, wherever she is now.
Let us however look at two further complex sentences:-
(iii) I cannot find the place where the poet is buried.
(iv) Where our relative is now living is a mystery.

In sentence (iii) the ‘where’clause qualifies the noun ‘place’and
is therefore adjectival. In sentence (iv) the ‘where’clause names a
fact (it is really the subject of the sentence) and so is nominal - a
Noun clause.
These examples tell us therefore that the kind of clause is
determined solely by the work it is doing in a sentence.
REASON, ADVERBIAL GLAUSES OF. These clauses are
introduced by the conjunctions because or since, as in these
examples:-
(i) The pupil was punished because he arrived late.
(ii) I will not accuse you since you have suffered
enough already.
(iii) Mr Slope had predetermined to hate the man, because
he foresaw the necessity of fighting him.
ANTHONY TROLLOPE
The Indicative mood is used in these clauses.

7
Prepositions
In an analytical language (q.v.) such as English, prepositions play
a most important part.
A preposition is a word showing the relationship between a
noun or noun-equivalent (called the object) and another word or
series of words; for example:-
(i) I struck him across the face.
In this simple sentence, the preposition across shows the
relationship that exists between the personal pronoun him and
the words the face, the word face being the object of the
preposition, and therefore in the Accusative case.
Prepositions and transitive verbs (including gerunds and
participles formed from such verbs) are the only parts of speech
that can govern an object in this way.
In English, nouns in the Accusative case do not undergo a
change of form, but many pronouns do; and it follows that when
a series of pronouns (or nouns and pronouns) is dependent upon
a preposition, care must be taken to ensure that they are all in the
same case; for example:-
(ii) That is a secret between him and them.
(iii) You have been very kind to her.
(iv) Will you be able to do much for us?
(v) The ploughman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.
THOMAS GRAY
(vi) They used the rake with a measured action, drawing
the scanty rake towards them.
CHARLES DICKENS
49

It should be noted that in a sentence such as:
(vii) We have been talking about who is to become the
chairman of the committee.
the object of the preposition about is the Noun clause that
follows.
A preposition can sometimes be placed at the end of a sentence,
whenever this follows naturally:-
(viii) No student likes to be laughed at.
(ix) Your inquiry is being dealt with.

8
Pronouns
Pronouns are words used to avoid undue repetition: they
designate things, instead of, like nouns, naming them.
Pronouns are divided into seven groups:
a. Personal: You; him; they; it
b. Possessive: his; hers; yours; mine
c. Reflexive: myself; himself; themselves
d. Emphatic: myself; herself; ourselves
e. Demonstrative: this; that; such
f. Relative: who; whom; which; that
g. Interrogative: who? whom? which? what?
In the following sentences, the pronouns have been put into
italics:-
(i) I asked my mother to open the letter, and then I
asked her to read if aloud.
(ii) W hom were you talking to in church today?
(iii) It was now that I regretted the early years which had
been wasted in sickness or idleness, or mere idle
reading.
EDWARD GIBBON
(iv) That watch is not m ine; is it yours?
(Note: the word that in the last example is a possessive
adjective).
51

REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS. The Reflexive pronouns are:-
(i) myself
yourself
himself/herself/itself
ourselves
yourselves
themselves
As the name suggests, these pronouns refer back to the
subject of the sentence.
Reflexive pronouns are always the object, direct or indirect,
of a transitive verb or preposition (in other words, such
pronouns can never stand as subject).
Examples
(ii) The king killed himself, (object of verb)
(iii) Why are you talking to yourself? (object of
preposition)
(iv) This would occur were those great reformers to
allow themselves to stroll by moonlight round
the towers of some of our ancient churches,
(object of present infinitive)
ANTHONY TROLLOPE
English has very few verbs that must always be followed by a
Reflexive pronoun. Two examples are to betake and to pride
(the former is somewhat archaic).
(v) The visitors betook themselves to bed at an early
hour.
(vi) The author prided himself on his knowledge of
English literature.
A Reflexive pronoun can sometimes be in the Dative case, as
in the following example:-
(vii) The young lady bought herselfa Christmas present.

RELATIVE PR O N O U N S are so called because they relate
back to some previous noun, or noun-equivalent, in the sen
tence; and this noun or noun-equivalent is called the antecedent.
In English the Relative pronouns are these:-
(i) who which; that (Nominate case)
whose; of which or wrhose (Genitive case)
whom; which; that (Accusative case)
Examples
(ii) The boys who are responsible are to remain in class.
(iii) The singer whose place you have taken is unwell.
(iv) The difficulty that I spoke to you about last week has
now been resolved.
(here, the Relative pronoun is in the Accusative case)
(v) Caged in old woods, whose reverent echoes wake,
When the heron screams along the distant lake.
SAMUEL ROGERS
Note that the case of a Relative pronoun is governed solely by
the work it does in its own clause:-
(vi) The doctor w hom he consulted is a close friend.
(Accusative case)
RESTRICTIVE USE OF RELATIVE PR O NO UNS
When a Relative pronoun is used to introduce an Adjective-
clause, it is said to be used in a restrictive sense; thus:-
(i) This is the house that Jack built.
(ii) For sixteen years - from 1831 to 1847 - Heine lived
that rapid concentrated life which is known only in
Paris.
GEORGE ELIOT
PRONOUNS 53
When, on the other hand, such a pronoun introduces a
Principal clause, it is said to be used in a continuous or non-
restrictive sense:-

(iii) The doctor, who is a friend of mine, is coming to see
you.
This last sentence really consists of two Principal clauses: what
we are saying is:-
(iv) The doctor - he is a friend of mine - is coming to see
you.

9
Conjunctions
CO-ORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS. These are con-
junctions that join words, as well as sentences and clauses, of
equal value (that is, two Principal clauses or two that are
Subordinate). The most common of these are:-
(i) and; and so; but; either. . . or; for; neither
. . . nor; nevertheless; therefore; yet
Examples used in sentences:-
(ii) Ientered the room and picked up a newspaper.
(here two Principal clauses arejoined)
(iii) Neither the headmaster nor his staff have completed
the annual reports.
(an example of a Double sentence, q.v.)
(iv) He told me that he felt unwell but would still attend
the meeting.
(in this Complex sentence, butjoins two Noun clauses)
(v) Let me rest awhile: for I am weary.
EPITAPH
(another example of a Double sentence)
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS. When a conjunc
tion joins a Principal clause to one that is Subordinate, it is
55

known as a Subordinating conjunction.
Examples are:-
(i) although; because; if; since; that; when
Examples in sentences:
(ii) Ishall call out your name if Isee you.
(conjunction introduces an Adverb clause).
(iii) The world of the diocese declared that Mrs Proudie
was at work.
ANTHONY TROLLOPE
(conjunction introduces a Noun clause).
(iv) The book that you have in your hand was written by
a famous scholar.
(conjunction introduces an Adjective clause).

10
Sentences
SIMPLE SENTENCE. A simple sentence is one containing
only one finite verb (that is, a verb limited by having a subject,
personal or impersonal). Thus we have:-
(i) Every boy must answer his name.
(ii) It is raining heavily, (impersonal subject).
(iii) To the world’s business, he is dead.
CHARLES LAMB
(iv) The swallow leaves her nest.
THOMAS L. BEDDOES
(v) We spend our days, each one of us, in looking for the
secret of life.
OSCAR WILDE
Note that sentence (i) contains two verbs, must and answer.
Must is finite, while answer is in the Infinitive mood.
COMPLEX SENTENCES. A complex sentence is a sentence
containing at least one subordinate clause (that is, a clause
dependent upon another clause). Let us take, as an example, the
following sentence which comes from a story by Charles
Dickens:-
(i) One winter’s evening, towards the close of the year
1800, or within a year or two of that time, a young
medical practitioner, recently established in business,
was seated by a cheerful fire in his little parlour,
listening to the wind which was beating the rain in
57

pattering drops against the window or rumbling
dismally in the chimney.
This sentence, long as it is, contains only two clauses, one
principal, and one subordinate. The principal clause is ‘One
winter’s evening . . . to the wind’ and the subordinate clause is
‘which was beating . . . in the chimney’ (in fact it is an
Adjective clause).
Here, by contrast, is a very short complex sentence - again
one containing two clauses:-
(ii) Leave when you can.
In this sentence the principal clause is ‘(y°u)leave’; and the
subordinate clause - an Adverb clause of Time - is, ‘when you
can.’
DOUBLE SENTENCE. A Double sentence in grammar is
one that contains two - and two only - Principal clauses; thus:-
(i) He entered the room and (he) sat down.
(ii) He is at home in the external, the polemical, the
historical, the circumstantial, and (he) is only episod
ically devout and practical.
GEORGE ELIOT
Such a sentence may however contain one or more
Subordinate clauses:-
(iii) I love old ways, and the path I was walking felt
kindly to the feet it had known for almost fifty years.
J.R. LOWELL
(This last example contains four clauses in all - two Principal
and two Subordinate).
PREDICATE OF A SENTENCE. In every grammatical
sentence, something is said about something else; the ‘some
thing else’ is called the subject, and what is stated about the

subject is called the predicate. The predicate always contains
the finite verb.
In each of the following sentences, the predicate has been
printed in italics:-
(i) A famous scholar lives in that house.
(ii) Clive was in a painfully anxious situation.
LORD MACAULAY
(iii) His dear old head was bent dow n over his prayer-
book,
W .M . THACKERAY
(iv) I do n o t lo ve thee9 D r Fell,
The reason w h y I cannot tell.
THOMAS BROWN
(v) The results of the late battle are exhibited every
where about here in thousands o f cases.
WALT WHITMAN
SENTENCES 59

11
Clauses
CLAUSES OF CONCESSION. These Adverbial clauses are
introduced by such words as:-
(i) although; though; even though; even if;
however
Examples are:-
(ii) I will trust the Lord, though He punish me.
(iii) Even though you are my friend, I must condemn
your conduct.
(iv) However tired you may be, you must finish your
work tonight.
(v) These securities, though it would be easy to prove
that they were all recognized in law, differed much in
the degree of their effective operation.
HENRY HALLAM
This last example shows that it is possible for one Subordinate
clause to be dependent upon another.
The Indicative mood is usually employed in such clauses,
especially in modern English. Note however the use of the
Subjunctive mood in examples (ii) and (iv).
CONSECUTIVE CLAUSES are subordinate clauses that
indicate the result of the action described in the Principal clause
on which they depend. Thus:-
(i) He ran so fast that he fell.
60

CLAUSES 61
(ii) The clock was so dirty that it stopped.
(iii) The idea seemed so ludicrous that I could not help
smiling at it.
MRS CRAIK
It is an interesting point that in Classical Latin, the verb in a
Consecutive clause must be in the Subjunctive mood, even
though what is stated is represented as a fact; e.g.
(iv) Tam celeriter cucurrit ut ceciderit.
He ran so fast that he fell.
FINAL CLAUSES in grammar, are adverbial clauses that
show the purpose of the action described in the Principal clause:-
(i) You must wear spectacles, in order that you may
im prove your sight.
(ii) Stand still, ye ever moving spheres of heaven
That tim e m ay cease and m idnight never come.
CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE
In modern English, however, it is far commoner to use a
phrase with the prsent infinitive to express purpose, as these
examples show:-
(iii) You must wear spectacles to im prove your sight.
(iv) To save herself from useless remonstrance, Mrs
Price never wrote to her family on the subject till
actually married.
JANE AUSTEN
(v) I digress to Soho, to explore a bookstall.
CHARLES LAMB
PRINCIPAL CLAUSE of a sentence. This clause is one
capable of standing on its own: in other words, it is a kind of
simple sentence, but one having another clause dependent upon
it (it is really illogical to speak of the Principal clause, since the

term implies dependency upon another clause: but the term is
retained for convenience).
Let us take an example of a simple sentence:
(i) He sent for the Doctor.
Now let us add a dependent clause:
(ii) He sent for the Doctor because his wife felt unwell.
Our simple sentence has become complex, with a Principal
clause, and one that is Subordinate (in this case, an Adverbial
clause of Reason) dependent on it.
In the following examples, the Principal clause has been
printed in bold (of course, there may be more than one):
(iii) I wrote him a letter, in order that I might gain a
friend.
(iv) Such is the use which has been made of human
learning.
HAZLITT
(v) The presence that thus rose so strongly beside the
waters, is expressive of what in the ways of a
thousand years men had come to desire.
WALTER PATER
(vi) When Lord Arthur woke it was twelve o’clock, and
the midday sun was streaming through the ivory-
silk curtains of his room.
OSCAR WILDE
The Principal clause of a sentence usually has its verb in the
Indicative mood e.g.
(vii) However, I was curious to see what an author of that
country could say upon such a subject.
JONATHAN SWIFT
The verb may be in the Imperative mood:
(viii) Take back the hope (that) you gave -
I claim only a memory of the same.
ROBERT BROWNING
Sometimes, though only rarely, the verb is in the Subjunctive
mood:

CLAUSES 63
(ix) God grant my eyes may never behold the like, now
seeing above ten thousand houses all in one flame.
JOHN EVELYN
Note that in the case of an Adverbial clause of Condition, the
Principal clause is known as the Apodosis; thus
(x) If you give me sufficient money, I shall buy a meal.
SUBO RDINATE CLAUSE. A Subordinate clause is one that
is dependent upon another clause - that is, it cannot stand on its
own. Such a clause may do the work of a noun, adjective or
adverb:-
(i) W hat I asked him was a reasonable question.
(Noun Clause)
(ii) Sentiments w hich are m erely natural affect not the
mind with any pleasure.
(Adjective Clause)
DAVID HUME
(iii) T hough I have now travelled the Sussex downs
upw ards o f thirty years, yet I still investigate that
chain of majestic mountains with fresh admiration
year by year.
(Adverb Clause of Concession)
GILBERT WHITE
(iv) Find out w hat he was doing w hen you spoke to
him .
(Noun Clause and Adverb Clause)
The last example shows that it is possible for one Subordinate
clause to be dependent upon another.
TE M PO R A L CLAUSES, or Adverbial clauses of Time are
very common; they are introduced by these conjunctions:-
(i) after; as soon as; before; since; till; until;
when; whenever; while

Examples
(ii) I shall tell you a secret when I see you.
(iii) You may read your book while I remain here.
(iv) Until the day break,
And the shadows flee away,
Turn, my beloved, and be thou
like a roe or a young hart
upon the mountains of Bather
SONG OF SOLOMON
(The student should observe the use of the Subjunctive mood
in the last example; in Modern English, the Indicative mood
would be used).
(v) In sleep she seemed to walk forlorn,
Till cold winds woke the gray-eyed morn
(v) Some kill their love when they are young
And some when they are old. . . .
OSCAR WILDE

12
Phrases
PHRASE. A Phrase in grammar is a series of words not having
a Finite verb - that is, not having a verb with its own subject.
Phrases are usually classified as Noun, Adjective or Adverb,
according to the kind of work they do in a sentence (see under
these headings). Examples of each kind foliow:-
(i) We shall assist our cause by being m ore agreeable.
(Noun Phrase)
(ii) Carrying a black umbrella, the suspect was easily
recognizable.
(Adjective Phrase)
(iii) Early on the following morning he reached
Portsmouth.
(Adverb Phrase)
ROBERT SOUTHEY
ABSOLUTE PHRASES are phrases that, from the gram
matical point of view, stand outside the structure of the
sentence in which they appear; for example:-
(i) The sun having set, we all returned home.
(ii) The king being slain, the soldiers retreated.
fvfote that a comma is required between an absolute phrase
and the rest of the sentence.
Absolute phrases are much commoner in Classical Latin than
65

6 6 A LOOK AT ENGLISH
in English. In Latin, the Ablative case is used in such a
construction but in English nouns and pronouns are in the
Nominative case:-
(iv) R ege interfecte, milites se receperunt (Latin)
(The king being slain, the soldiers retreated).

13
Case
CASE in grammar refers to the form a word undergoes in order
to show its relationship to another word. In a highly inflected
language such as Latin, the case of a noun, adjective or pronoun is
of the utmost importance in determining the meaning of a phrase
or sentence.
In our own language however, only the Genitive case is
indicated by a change of form; e.g. in sentence (iv) below:
(i) John is now attending school. (Nominative case).
(ii) John, are you listening? (Vocative case).
(iii) I saw John last Sunday. (Accusative case).
(iv) John’s books are in the hall. (Genitive case).
(v) We gave John some fruit. (Dative case).
The two other Latin cases, namely the Ablative and the
Locative, are not found in English.
NOMINATIVE CASE. This is the most important of the five
cases (q.v.) found in English since it is the case of the subject-
word, and therefore every grammatical clause and sentence must
contain a noun or noun-equivalent which is in this case. Here are
some examples:-
(i) The sun shines.
(ii) Many attempts have been made by writers on art and
poetry to define beauty in the abstract.
WALTER PATER
67

(This sentence contains seven nouns, but only one of these is in
the Nominative case).
(iii) Droop, herbs and flowers,
Fall, grief, in showers.
BEN JONSON
(In this example, the two verbs are in the Imperative mood,
and the subject-words are therefore understood: (you) droop;
(You) fall).
Nouns and pronouns used in absolute phrases (q.v.) are also in
the Nominative case; thus
(iv) The day being fine, we went out walking.
(Cf. the use of the Ablative case in Latin in such phrases)
VOCATIVE CASE. Nouns are said to be in the Vocative case
when they are used in addressing someone:-
(i) John, open your book
(ii) My son, obey the laws of the land.
(iii) Milton, thou should be living at this hour
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
Note that when a noun is in the Vocative case, it is usually
followed by a comma.
ACCUSATIVE CASE. A noun or pronoun is said to be in the
Accusative case when it is the direct object of a transitive verb or
a preposition. In the following sentences, words in the Accusa
tive case have been put into bold:-
(i) I have seen your son.
(ii) Has he eaten his supper?
(iii) We shall learn many things by reading books.
(iv) They made the boy Emperor.

(In this example, the two nouns are said to be in Apposition).
(v) If we wish to know the force of human genius we
should read Shakespeare.
WILLIAM HAZLITT
(vi) My leisure time was spent, not in the dissipations
common to such a way of life, but in reading and
study.
WILLIAM COBBETT
CASE 69
GENITIVE CASE. The Genitive case is adjectival by nature,
and it is the only case of the English noun which is indicated by
means of inflexion; for example:-
(i) John’s shoes; my aunt’s house; a man’s honour
(ii) For G od’s sake let us sit upon the ground
And tell sad stories of the death of kings.
SHAKESPEARE
In formal, written English, the use of the Genitive case is
confined to nouns denoting living things, and to some abstract
nouns, especially those relating to time and distance:-
(iii) His uncle’s garden; two days’journey; ten weeks’
notice
The ’s is usually added even when a noun ends in -s:-
(iv) Henry James’s novels; Thomas’s books
Note the following examples of the Genitive case:-
(v) for conscience’ sake; for goodness’ sake;
for justice’ sake.
Grammarians often speak of the subjective Genitive and the
objective Genitive. These examples show what the terms mean:-
(vi) God’s mercy is something we all need.
(Subjective: mercy coming from God)

(vii) The cathedral was filled with the sound of God’s
praise.
(Objective: praise going towards God)
Note that the subjective Genitive is the commoner of the two.
DATIVE CASE. There are a few verbs in English that are
capable of taking two objects - one, the direct object, will be in
the Accusative case; the other, called the indirect object, is said to
be in the Dative case. Some examples follow.
(i) I gave him some money.
In this sentence, money is the direct object, and him the
indirect.
(ii) He showed his mother his homework.
Here, the noun mother is the indirect object, in the Dative
case.
(iii) He that gives thee a capon, give him the leg and the
wing.
GEORGE HERBERT
(Capon is an old name for a cock)
Now let us look at this sentence:
(iv) I teach my son Latin.
In this sentence, the noun son may be considered the indirect
object, and the noun Latin the direct, or both nouns may be
considered direct objects and so in the Accusative case (this
would apply in Classical Latin; thus:
(v) Filium meum linguam latinam doceo.)

14
Punctuation
APOSTROPHE. The Apostrophe or raised comma has two
main functions: first to indicate the Genitive case (q.v.) and
secondly to show that one or more letters have been omitted
from a word:-
a. Indicating the Genitive case:
(i) John’s book; the poets’houses; the women’s hats
Nowadays there is a tendency to omit the Apostrophe where
the notion of possession is not prominent:-
(ii) Chambers Encyclopaedia; a young ladies public
school
b. Indicating the omission of a letter or letters:
(iii) altho’; he’s; it’s (that is, it is); we’re
Note in particular the following examples of the Apostrophe:
(iv) For conscience’ sake; for justice’ sake; Tom the
grocer’s wife.
QUESTION MARK. This mark of punctuation (?) should be
used only at the end of a direct question:-
(i) Have you seen your son recently?
(ii) Who is Sylvia? What is she,
That all our swains commend her?
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
71

(iii) I asked him why he was visiting London. (Indirect
question).
Sometimes, of course, words in the form of a statement
really indicate a question, and therefore do need a question
mark:-
(iv) She is not your mother?
(v) You are interested in the offer?
SEMICOLON. Note that a semicolon is usually required
when two Principal clauses follow one another without a
conjunction; thus:-
(i) I asked him to leave the room; I really cannot tolerate
his ill-manners.
(ii) It is at once the centre and circumference of all
knowledge; it is that which comprehends all science,
and that to which all science must be referred.
P.B. SHELLEY
(In this passage, Shelley is speaking of Poetry).

15
Poetic terms
ALLITERATION. This figure of speech occurs when two or
more words in a line start with the same sound (this may, or
may not, be the same letter): e.g.
(i) You have made a bad blunder.
(ii) It was a sad, subdued ceremony.
(iii) She sent the gentle sleep from Heaven,
That slid into my soul
SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE
METAPHOR. When this figure of speech is used, something
is spoken of as if it were something else with which it has a
common characteristic; and of course Metaphors apply both to
persons and to things. Here are some examples:-
(i) Your young daughter is a vixen.
(i.e. she often displays the bad temper associated with that
animal).
(ii) That man is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
(i.e. He is cunning and evil but looks both meek and gentle).
(iii) Be near me when the sensuous frame
Is rack’d with pangs that conquer trust,
And Time, a maniac scattering dust
And Life, a Fury slinging flame.
73

(iv) Gone too, his Court and yet
The stars his Courtiers are
LIONEL JOHNSON
(The poet is speaking of King Charles I)
The idioms of everyday speech are full of Metaphors:-
(v) All was going well until you let the cat out of the bag.
(vi) The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
(vii) Empty vessels make most sound.
SIMILE. This figure of speech occurs when two things, alike
in a point of resemblance but otherwise totally different, are
compared. The words like or as are often used.
Examples are:-
(i) Iam as ravenous as a wolf.
(ii) He ran as fast as the wind.
(iii) Helen, thy beauty is to me
Like those Nicean barks of yore. . . .
E. A. POE
(iv) I saw that the coal-fires in bargeson the river were
being carried away before thewind like red-hot
splashes in the rain.
CHARLES DICKENS
IAMBIC. This foot is by far the most commonly used in
English prosody. It consists of two syllables, the second of
which is stressed (w~). An example is found in these lines by
Tennyson:-
The seasons bring the flower again,
And bring the firstling to the flock,
And in the dusk of thee the clock
Beats out the little lives of men.
(In Memoriam)
(Iambic tetrameter)

POETIC TERMS 75
TROCHAIC. This foot in prosody is the reverse of the
Iambic: in other words it consists of two syllables, the first of
which is stressed. The following example is taken from Blake’s
‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’:-
Piping dowrn the valleys wild,
Piping songs of pleasant glee,
On a cloud I saw a child,
And he laughing said to me. . . .
WILLIAM BLAKE

16
Figures of speech
EUPHEMISM is a figure of speech by which we replace a harsh
expression (e.g. a lie) by one that is milder (e.g. a fib). So also,
he passed away instead of he died.
(i) So be my passing!
My task accomplished and the long day done.
W .E. HENLEY
(ii) Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land.
CHRISTINA ROSSETTI
METONYMY. When this figure of speech is used, we denote
one thing by referring to something else closely connected with
it.
Examples are:-
(i) The legislation has now been approved by Whitehall,
(i.e. the British Government).
(ii) That famous criminal trial took place at the Old
Bailey in the year 1910.
(i.e. the Central Criminal Court situated there).
(iii) He was all for love and a little for the bottle.
CHARLES DICKENS
PATHETIC FALLACY. This term was first used by John
Ruskin (1819-1900) in his work, ‘Modem Painters’ (1856). It
occurs when we attribute human feelings and emotions to some
76

FIGURES OF SPEECH 77
part of inanimate nature. An example is to be found in
Shakespeare’s play, ‘Romeo and Juliet’:-
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief,
That thou her maid art far more fair than she,
Be not her maid, since she is envious.
(Act ii, Scene 2)
SPOONERISM. This is the name given to the accidental
transposition of the initial sounds of various words of phrases -
for example, town drain for down train. The name comes
from the Revd. William Spooner (1844-1930), a fellow of New
College Oxford, who is said to have been prone to the practice.

17
Some common pitfalls
AFFECT/EFFECT. Distinguish between these words.
To affect (in everyday language, the word is always used as a
verb) means to have an effect on something or someone:-
(i) This decision will affect the number of people taking
the examination.
(ii) How will your husband’s unemployment affect your
way of life?
Effect can be used both as a noun and as a verb:-
(iii) The effect of his arrival was startling, (nominal use).
(iv) How can we effect the entry of this country into the
E.E.C? (verbal use).
Affect is used as a noun in psychology, where it denotes any
emotion or feeling connected with behaviour.
BENEFIT, spelling of. We have in this word a spelling trap for
the unwary.
Present Infinitive: to benefit
Present Participle and Gerund: benefiting
Past Participle: benefited
(i) Is your son benefiting from his lessons in Classical
Greek?
(ii) She had two sisters to be benefited by her elevation.
JANE AUSTEN
78

SOME COM MON PITFALLS 79
CENTURY AND DECADE. Note that the first year of every
decade, and therefore of every century, must start in 1 and end in
0 (1971-80, 1981-90, and so on). The first day of the twentieth
century was therefore Tuesday 1st January 1901.
CREDIBLE/CREDULOUS. Do not confuse the meaning of
these two adjectives. These sentences may help to show the
difference between them:-
(i) I find my son’s story a credible one. (i.e. believable)
(ii) That kind of excuse will be accepted only by credu
lous people, (i.e. those who are too ready to believe)
(iii) The most positive men are the most credulous.
ALEXANDER POPE
DIFFERENT/to/from. In modern English, this adjective
should be followed by the preposition from:-
(i) This event is different from what I expected.
(ii) Your example is different from hers.
It is a fact however that many great writers of the past have
used different to. An example is to be found in Charlotte
Bronte’s famous novel ‘Jane Eyre’, first published in 1847:—
(iii) ‘It is an old saying that “all is not gold that glitters” and
in this case I do fear there will be something found to
be different to what either you or I expect.’
Nevertheless, present-day students are advised to use different
from.
DUE TO. In this well-known phrase, the word due is an
adjective, and must therefore have a noun to qualify:-
(i) The late arrival of the train was due to signal failure.
(Correct usage: here due qualifies the noun arrival).

(ii) His bad driving was due to his being under the
influence of alcohol. (Correct usage: here due qualifies
the gerund driving).
(iii) Due to staff sickness, this shop must remain closed.
(This sentence is not correct since the word due has no
noun to qualify). Say instead:-
(iv) Owing to staff sickness, this shop must remain
closed.
OWING TO. This phrase, unlike due to, is a compound
preposition; and it should be used in place ofdue to when there is
no noun for the adjective due to describe. Here are some
examples of the correct use of the phrase:-
(i) Owing to sudden illness, the shop is temporarily
closed.
(ii) The meeting was poorly attended, owing to inclement
weather.
(iii) The project was abandoned, owing to lack of funds.
ESQUIRE, use of. This term is, strictly speaking, a title given
to gentlemen below the rank of knight. For this reason it should
not be used in conjunction with such titles and designations as
Mr, Dr, the Honourable, or the Revd.
Note these examples:-
(i) James Guthrie, Esq.
(ii) Mr Thomas Hope
(iii) The Hon. Edward Shaw
(iv) The Revd. Adrian Wilde, M.A.
FULFIL, spelling of. This word is a spelling trap for the
unwary. The various relevant parts of the verb are:-

SOME C O M M O N PITFALLS 81
Present infinitive: to fulfil
Present participle and gerund: fulfilling
Past participle: fulfilled
Note also the spelling of the Abstract noun: fulfilment.
INFER, use of. This word means, at any rate in modern
English, to make an inference, and it should not be used with the
meaning to imply:-
(i) These facts infer that the man is a rogue.
A fact cannot make an inference; therefore let us change this
sentence to read:-
(ii) These facts im ply that the man is a rogue.
(iii)From the information you have given me, I infer that
your son is now sixteen years old.
(Correct use of word)
(iv) He inferred from hearing it, that the window was at
the back of the house.
WILKIE COLLINS
ITS/IT’S.
Do not confuse these two words.
Its is simply the genitive case of the pronoun it, as in the
sentence:-
(i) That dog does not yet know its master.
It’s means it is; thus:-
(ii) It’s time the children went to bed.
(iii) It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good.
Old Proverb

LIKE/
(i) Such a way of acting is not at all like him.
In this sentence, the word like is an adjective, and yet it
appears to govern a case. The real explanation is that a
preposition, to, is understood after like: ‘like (to) him. ’
In formal written English, like should not be used as a
conjunction, as in this sentence:-
(ii) He does not love you like I do.
This should read:-
(iii) He does not love you as I do.
Here is another example of the use of the word:-
(iv) Behold me, for I cannot sleep,
And like a guilty thing I creep
At earliest morning to the door.
MUTUAL, meaning of. Mutual is an adjective meaning going
from one to the other, and it should not, at any rate in formal,
written English, be used with the meaning common or shared.
The following sentence shows the word in its correct usage:-
(i) John dislikes Tom, and the dislike is mutual.
(that is, John dislikes Tom, and Tom dislikes John).
The novelist Charles Dickens uses the word incorrectly in the
title of his well-known novel, ‘Our Mutual Friend’ (1864/5).
ONLY, place in sentence.
(i) I only attend classes on Tuesdays.
(ii) Smoking is only allowed in the tea-room.

(iii) Children are only admitted when accompanied by an
adult.
(iv) You are only allowed to borrow four books.
In each of these sentences, even though the meaning is more or
less clear, the word only has been misplaced. When writing
formal English, we should therefore take care to ensure that this
word comes as near as possible to the phrase it qualifies: thus:-
(v) I attend classes only on Tuesdays.
(vi) Smoking is allowed only in the tea-room.
(vii) Children are admitted only when accompanied by an
adult.
(viii) You are allowed to borrow only four books.
PREVENT, meanings of. In old English, this verb had one or
two meanings, such as to precede and to anticipate; thus
Shakespeare uses the word with this latter meaning in Julius
Caesar:
(i) I know not how
But I do find it cowardly and vile
For fear of what might fall, so to prevent
The time of life.
(that is, Death)
However in Modern English the only acceptable meaning is to
stop (someone or something) from an action:-
(ii) I cannot prevent your leaving the meeting early.
Note that the adjective from the verb prevent is preventive.
UNRELATED G ER UND A N D PARTICIPLE
(i) Travelling to the office, an accident occurred before
my eyes.
SOME CO M M O N PITFALLS 83

The sentence printed above does not make sense, since an
accident cannot possibly travel. Remember that a participle is
an adjective and so must be correctly related to the noun or
pronoun it is intended to qualify. Therefore this sentence
should read:-
(ii) When I was travelling to the office, an accident
occurred before my eyes.
In the following sentence, the participle is correctly related:-
(iii) Walking the other day in Cheapside, I saw some
turtles in Mr Sweeting’s window.
SAMUEL BUTLER
Now take another example:-
(iv) On entering the amphitheatre, new objects of
wonder presented themselves.
WASHINGTON IRVING
This is an example of an unrelated gerund - an example that
comes from the pen of a distinguished author. Let this sentence
be changed to>
(v) When he entered the amphitheatre, new objects of
wonder presented themselves.
(This sentence comes from a passage describing the
adventures of Rip Van Winkle).
The student should note that the past participle can also be
incorrectly related; thus:-
(vi) Tired by his journey, bed seemed an inviting pros
pect
This should read:-
(vii) He was tired by his journey, and therefore bed
seemed an inviting prospect.

SOME COM M ON PITFALLS 85
Finally, here is another example of an unrelated gerund:-
(viii) On forcing the door of the room, the deceased
gentleman was discovered, dead, with the pillow of
the bed over his face,
WILKIE COLLINS
This sentence is taken from the famous novel, ‘The Moon
stone’ (1861). The gerund forcing apparently refers to the noun
gentleman, but should of course refer to a pronoun such as we
or they:-
(ix) On forcing the door of the room, we discovered the
gentleman dead, with the pillow of the bed over his
face.
WHO/WHOM.
(i) ‘For instance, there was Miss Verney, whom every
body thought was just a cross old maid’.
This sentence was written by a distinguished author, Sir
Compton Mackenzie (1883-1972), but it is a fact that the relative
pronoun is in the wrong case (change whom to who).
From this we see that these relative and interrogative pro
nouns, one in the Nominative, and other in the Accusative case,
can cause trouble to even the most careful of writers.
Who can stand only as the subject of a verb, as these examples
show:-
(ii) Who is here?
(iii) I know a man who has won a large sum of money
(iv) Who was your father?
OSCAR WILDE
(v) For thy slaves unlace thee.
And he, who shall embrace thee
Waits to try thy beauty’s spell
T.L. BEDDOES

Whom, on the other hand, can be object of (a) a transitive verb
(including one in the Infinitive mood): or (b) a preposition. Thus
we have:-
(vi) Whom have we here? (object of transitive verb)
(vii) The lady whom we passed on Monday is my aunt,
(object of transitive verb ‘we passed’)
(viii) There were already some half-score of men assembled
in the waiting-room, among whom I saw the man
who cleans our clocks, and a young apothecary of
Cheyne Walk, (object of preposition ‘among’)
JANE WELSH CARLYLE
(ix) There are some acquaintances whom it is no easy
matter to shake off. (object of present infinitive ‘to
shake’)
OLIVER GOLDSMITH
(x) The character of his influence is best seen in the fact
that many of the men who have the least agreement
with his opinions are those to whom the reading of
‘Sartor Resartus’ was an epoch in the history of their
minds, (object of preposition ‘to’)
GEORGE ELIOT, W r itin g o f THOMAS CARLYLE
(xi) We cannot know whom we would; and those whom
we know, we cannot have at our side when we most
need them, (objects of transitive verbs ‘we would’and
‘we know’)
JOHN RUSKIN
(xii) It is a Lucretian pleasure to behold the poor drudges
whom I have left behind in the world, carking and
caring, (object of transitive verb ‘I have left’)
CHARLES LAMB
(xiii) Icannot tell whether Iam to account him whom Iam
next to speak of, as one of our company, (object of
preposition ‘of).
SIR RICHARD STEELE

SOME CO M M O N PITFALLS 87
(xiv) I have protracted my work till most of those w hom 1
wished to please have sunk into the grave, (object of
present infinitive ‘to please’).
DR JOHNSON
(xv) ‘Ilook upon this young man whom Ihave sacrificed,
Mr Scuddamore, and feel how small a thing it is to be a
Prince.’ (object of transitive verb ‘I have sacrificed’)
R.L. STEVENSON
A good rule for the student to follow is this: never use the
word whom without being able to show the transitive verb or
preposition of which it is the object.
Remember however that whom is generally considered too
formal for everyday conversation, and therefore who often takes
its place as both subject and object-word.

string: pi sweet e, K e a ts. 3, The K*v
rnenis. .established m the Ei
Law Locke. Ab e. ol dem erit
E a f o re ib le , var, of E nfob
tEiif©'reive, a, 1606. (I
-iv jl ) Tt
ards *ad
forcement
dimipltne
2EA.BLK.
EkFO.EC!
forcible.
H e m *
t E n f o 're s t,
tE n fo -rc iv e lv o d t,
*. 1619, r- nfed.L .
Of,
«$ by the enem:
enfi'ier; see E
strin g or ibra,
tSe* quot.) }$}
S' bC&Si :.
E n f o rm , e tc ,;
E n f o r t; sec £2
tE n f o r t ir a e , t
a. quality.. Cmavi
lE n fo u 'M e r,
fouldre {mod, fa
fo u ld red ppL «
S eenkik,
E n f r a m e
Fore
- m 2 .
>ee I k
joe/.
O F r.
E n~
a-b ■f Fmi_
te . -1 65?. 1
b in-., 1546,
lake ii5to fiesll
upon. c« To p
To mve a Ion
'AXW'* V T£v 3 ?v; 3 ••■ ^p.-5 v,,,V£ $*,, r , j*,, ,, f?: UK? *>«.&.*/*$<
IS P M r r e ^ y j ? n ^ o f ^ ^ b s |
164$, 6, «rfr. for rf.fi. 4To em b ark in an
buE iness* {J-) 1040. ? , tra m . Of com batant*
To In terlo ck (w eapons b A.1m abm l. MW
S. a . T o b rin g io to oon&iot im ik th e extern
1668, b . In in for re/l> T o e n te r In to eosnb*
ivnth); also/io> 1647, 9. « ‘engage w ith ' (m
&); also (now ta rd y } fig. 1698.
I, »< Hand. m« Ul, 69. 4> B er lo rn , engaged it
-. u-* o? n>“ whole ixtwrsfthtiUh in an in&tax
" i t t n % huftkitxi Kith my p d ta? IM7, 4 ,1
e< in p o litic J< a w n . tb »> He bad taken care »c
to e. the whole of hi* troop# 1881. *♦ The*
monsters. Critics * with your <1arte e, Pojpk.
Engaged Cenge^dsdh |>î. a. 1615. |:
pree. 4 I, t E n ta n g le d . f b , Oblige*
€. L ocked in tight. d , B e tro th ed , 2* (S«
quota, >
I, b. Not as an e. person, but indifferentl
W a lto k . 2- M. mlumn> one partly let into
wall ir the rear, i? wked* (Meeh.) wheefe 5?* ge*
E n g s'g ed aeas,
i$ m e a tb Also tm -
engagtwi.t.ni>L engager 1 m
W m V L M * -M ss'L l J - X i^JiniloB of enga$dn*
i&m t,). 2, Th
sta te , ooodltioi;;., o r fact of being e»ga$reti
>42. 3, A form a) pm m im
‘tak in g , coT eâot 1624;
e m 1606; riilary liab iliik
Also /ip, -165
0 i :>n
It, E.k
wra;i>
believes that an understandin gof
iw trc o eo aiiter;
.t , Ab ioduefc
assistance.i l ;r i
1 he
.on; a ti
biii« (ran
t» slo^j
m xm A , m.i
e, BiCKXJH
^ngagemeot^ JiJ. >.. Ix
tween the Svs
E n g a g e r
t, -4- ~ml.i i
en ters into
[Vin?
:kglet
?-?• EftltvMei
kilnit; thj
;S. If, E:
K m |f. £ koa<5
igageg; u p . cne wh
a g rc e m e o t; f
wh
tgsgreniei;' " ' ^ ^ ^ f v Z a u i a e t o a r a m m a r i h e
sets out to explain the meaning of basic
terms, giving examples, frequentlyfrom'J a pr ’A*'f - ' ' i .*'*O*-*it-r*t-*<f'■ .'■-■■■'< taôn)i£iiSt 'a ,' attractive
literature.
fcetwee
noseioiier
pr . imp. m i he - iectoraj franc
3, T he conversioi
ind» Into tn
Enfree, "freedom, “freeze, <
E n tr$ n z ienfn m i r 185<
T o tt ro% int< n fn 1 2}.
E n lro w a rc lim it ¥.s * t.
itm c*
gtwmv *n#c
e E*
E x
' force
npo o
: honê;
. To ex<
>or /corn
il*« Mu.:
To over-
. 4. T o
tEnfu me.
Engage <es
Bargah ,
m e e t In w ine
Engage (e?
iws
IfsOI
• ; The
rtbataot
'<•'?. . B-u>' 0ng~ly nr! .
¥;Z%%tzllb.n*>., * g a o l. - g a r b o i! , eie .
F?e.f. ;
EB.garIa.nd ceng'H. il&Bd}, e, 1.561..,
4 <;,-,rJAV V' *f >- r*i!' ir:,ut
xr m w itt a ârlao d
r:r.m oo, r. 1612. If, En-s 4
*05 Mk} Ta serv e m a g-aerinon i « ; t<
I.'* i g&rrls to #t a t ion as a ga,r.r^
tE nga
niigiag
h.):thi
or *ep?
r
,».ee Es
ff. E*>-
w j T
CiAEa
proto?
0 ;F r.
E n•
. Enfo rcer, En ~
G a o i ;st.;, WaoE.)
1. tt. To pledge or paw»; to roortâge-jW .
2, /?fi To pledge (ooe^ uf*, bo»our, etc );alaof.
to e^?>o«.e to risk. Now rare, 1566, f3„ To
make (a person) security for |a debt, o tcj
■ 165], 4. To bind by promise, or by legal or
moral o b lig atio n spec- to betroth .1606. b.
To have made an appointment, etc.
6. To bespeak 1753 6, «<!r. fe>r
To pledge oneself 16KL t7. tram. To lay
under oidigatiori; in pom. to be eotomitted
in -I6f>7. S, To urge:, iod’aoe. Now rare, 1647.
9, To gain, %in over, as an adherent or helper
(arcft•>1667, 10,To attract, ebarxo>fascinate.
Also abml.- Now rare. 171L.
2, Thi« to Ik- true, I do e, my life J, 17 L, v. H.
172, S. Mrrch i III ii. 264 4, { &»> <■ ; P>r
,-r ,, J ,,, K<dti.at <«■ *uha
oall. r >.?<<’" lxxx*»eaijs et< fe. Moo thsn
1 e. for J ank a r.KTEN, 6. O. .example high: in-
ga^^tru to ernuiab Mill /', IX, P68, ^.T<*n
pueiry in the cause of virtue 1776.
IL 1. a. To entangle. ?05*v 1602. h.Arch,
To fa«teto »tta<>b. In paa,s. of: a pillar: To be
partly let i«t<? a wall in the rear. 1766.. e.
568, 4h- Ft, engaxtn
>?, f. #>» EN•4 A
speech,! A ves
E n g astrim j tfeic «
. rare, 1.6m ”[f. I f .
■th, or ,« witbf genm
tE nga 'S trim yth,
m/i/thr - Gr. ^v>wr^.s
dat of ; bell> -
Engem '^roUe m?,
e Oim ,«d,i To set 4
to betowel,.
fg agîK isr, 1526, I- OFr, en&endn
next*| The action of engendering; <xma
offspring, produce ■•"164?,
Engender (endê od=un r. M l, - -0;Fs
engmdrer j- b. ingmemre, i, in- <
nmrwrt H k ieats r,| t fraw. Of the male
To begetr J Ht, ->^5 Now r>%ei., <<r
t.l, Of the female: To conceive, bear "466;]
J, To produce, give existence to ME, M
'.W , To <"on!oate 1 onst ?nlA, vi«o fts
..«„*% 'S, :pit. To b^-d, i'>« prodwned
develop. Also /I#, -1666,
b Wbea a man. .âgendm bis like Jt Is n-
M*-*( t > « ,jfi- I >, pt ^ >/ r<’ r i a h
;ror'4 I"77 j><Pi#f,rv
5 s r j t «'na»*n‘Wred b,
I? *,>^} I S. thi k loods
smd »u>rtwe, there l)lY»l3f. Hence Ea4a>»4er
er, fc»g«-a<l«r.m«at,
E ngendrnre Ceodse ndriaj;). areA, ME
i—OFr enfjenîr(e}ute f engendttr tr^^1

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