Basic Grammar Home
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On this page find information on the following (in alphabetical order):
Certain words are connected with each other, and because they are connected, they must agree or match in a specific way. The two main forms are listed below.
Subject-Verb agreementVerbs must agree with their subjects in regards to the number. If there is one subject (singular), the verb must reflect that by being in singular form. If there is more than one subject (plural), the verb must be in its plural form (Lester and Beason 123).
He welds every day.
He is singular, and welds is the singular form of "to weld".
They weld every day.
They is plural, and weld is the plural form of "to weld".
With compound subjects that are joined by "and", the verb is always plural. When joined by "or", "either", "neither", "nor", "not only", and similar words, the verb agrees with the closest subject (Lester and Beason 134).
Angie and Tyler play games at the park.
Angie and Tyler together make two people, so the verb "to play" is plural.
Neither Angie nor Tyler plays games in the park.
Angie is separate from Tyler in this sentence, so the verb "to play" is singular.
Pronouns must have the same number and gender as the word they are replacing (Lester and Beason 167).
Tim says that he is proud of himself.
"He" and "himself" are both masculine and singular like Tim.
Andrea says that she is proud of herself.
"She" and "herself" are both feminine and singular like Andrea.
The twins say that they are proud of themselves.
"They" and "themselves" are plural and genderless like "twins".
Indefinite pronouns which talk about unspecified nouns must agree in number (Lester and Beason 169).
Both say that they are proud of themselves.
"Both" is always plural, so it is matched with the plurals "they" and "themselves".
Somebody says that he or she is proud of him- or herself.
"Somebody" is always singular, so it is matched with the singular; however, since the gender is unknown both genders should be indicated. This makes the sentence wordy and should be avoided by keeping indefinite pronouns plural as often as possible.
A clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb. There are a few different types of clauses as outlined below (Lester and Beason 48).
Independent clauses are entire thoughts that can stand on their own.
The boys ate lots of pie.
"Boys" is the subject, "ate" is the verb. If that sentence was stated on its own, it would make sense.
Dependent clauses are unable to stand on their own. If they are not attached to an independent clause, it will not make sense. There are three types of dependent clauses below, many of which start with words that can help identify them (Lester and Beason 49).
Adjective ClausesAdjective clauses modify the nouns they follow and start with one of the following words: "who", "whom", "whose", "that", and "which" (Lester and Beason 55).
Adverb ClausesAdverb clauses modify verbs by giving information about where, when, why, or how and begin with subordinating conjunctions (Lester and Beason 50).
Noun ClausesNoun clauses work as noun phrases, taking the place of single nouns, and often begin with "that" or words starting with "wh" (Lester and Beason 61).
Andrew sang the song that he wrote.
"Andrew" is the subject, "sang" is the verb, "the song" is the direct object, and "that he wrote" is an adjective clause. Notice that there is a subject, "he", and a verb, "wrote". "That he wrote" would not make sense as statement on its own, so it is dependent.
Alex poured water on the plants because the ground looked dry.
"Alex" is the subject, "poured" is the verb, "water" is the direct object, "on the plants" is a prepositional phrase, and "because the ground looked dry" is the adverb clause. Notice that there is a subject, "ground", and a verb, "looked". "Because the ground looked dry" would not make sense on its own.
I don't know if the baby will be a boy or a girl.
"I" is the subject, "don't know" is the verb, "if the baby will be a boy or a girl" is the noun clause. Notice that there is a subject, "baby", and a verb, "Will be". "If the baby will be a boy or a girl" would not make sense as a statement on its own, so it is a dependent clause.
Adjective clauses can be either restrictive or nonrestrictive. A restrictive clause defines some element of the noun it modifies. It is necessary for the noun to have meaning in context.
The shirt that I was wearing last night got ripped.
"The shirt" is the noun being modified. There are many shirts, and the speaker likely owns quite a few shirts. To understand which shirt the speaker is referring to, the restrictive clause "that I was wearing last night" is necessary.
A nonrestrictive clause gives information that could be useful, but the noun would make sense without the information.
The shirt, which I bought at a thrift store, got ripped.
"The shirt" is the noun being modified. The speaker may own more than one shirt from a thrift store, and the nonrestrictive clause, "which I bought at a thrift store", does not define which shirt from the thrift store it was. The information might be useful, but it is unnecessary.
Sentences are groups of words that can express complete thoughts on their own without relying on context or requiring a question to be asked first (Lester and Beason 45).
Types of SentencesThere are four types of sentences: declarative sentences that make a statement and end with a period, interrogative sentences that ask questions and end with a question mark, imperative sentences that make commands or mandates and are punctuated with either periods or exclamation marks, and finally, exclamatory sentences that are statements punctuated with an exclamation mark (Lester and Beason 46-47).
I like books.
This is a declarative sentence. No context is needed for it to be understood.
Do you like books?
This is an interrogative sentence because it asks a question.
(You)Buy that book.
This is an imperative sentence, and the (You) at the front is understood to be there even though it would not be said.
I love books!
This is an exclamatory sentence, placing emphasis on the fact that I love books.
Sentences are assembled from different pieces. Knowing the various pieces can make a complicated sentence easier to understand.
SubjectThe subject is who or what is doing the action in the sentence or is the topic of the sentence if no action is being done. There are two categories of subjects: simple, the noun or nouns that can be modified, and complete, the noun and its modifications. Subjects must have the correct agreement with verbs. This is also known as a noun and a noun phrase (Lester and Beason 23).
VerbVerbs either provide the action a subject is doing or describe the subject. Like subjects, there are two categories of verbs: simple, the verb and any helping verbs, and complete, the verb and its complements (Lester and Beason 27).
ComplementsComplements are nouns or adjectives that follow a verb or preposition so that a sentence can make sense. This includes direct objects, which receive the action of the doer and indirect objects, which receive the direct object.
Anthony gave his car a quick tune up.
Anthony is the subject because he is the thing doing something. In this case, the action was to give something to something. The direct object receives the action, which in this case is a tune up. And the indirect object is the thing that ultimately receives the modified action of the verb and in this case is the car, which is receiving the tune up that is being given by Anthony.
Jacob handed Edward the pen and paper.
Jacob is the doer of the action, which is handing something to someone. The pen and paper are the items being acted upon, and Edward is the one receiving the pen and paper.
Parts of speech are elements that are used to make up clauses, phrases, subjects, and sentences. There are many parts of speech and they are listed below in alphabetical order.
AdjectiveAdjectives describe or modify nouns and pronouns, and act as predicate adjectives by describing the subject of linking verbs. When modifying nouns, the adjective always come before the noun; when acting as predicate adjectives, they always follow the verb (Lester and Beason 8).
The fast new computer could beat the old one any day.
In this case, "fast" and "new" are adjectives modifying the noun "computer", and "old" modifies the pronoun "one".
The plane was loud.
In this case, "loud" is working as predicate adjective, describing the subject, "plane".
Adverbs modify adjectives, other adverbs, or verbs. They modify verbs most often. When modifying adjectives and adverbs, adverbs cannot move and therefore are fairly easy to spot. When modifying a verb, adverbs answer "when", "where", "how", "why", "how often" and similar questions (Lester and Beason 14). For tips on identifying what an adverb is modifying, look at the "Tips & Tricks" section.
The ridiculously boring television show ended at eight.
"Ridiculously" is modifying the adjective "boring".
The instructor responded to the e-mail quite quickly.
In this sentence, "quite" is modifying the adverb "quickly" while "quickly" modifies the verb "responded".
Students use the library frequently.
The question posed here is "how often do students use the library", and the answer is "frequently". That means the adverb "frequently" modifies the verb "use".
Conjunctions join words or phrases. There are two types: coordinating conjunctions that join equal parts, and subordinating conjunctions that join unequal phrases. FANBOYS is useful to remember, because it combines the main coordinating conjunctions "for", "and", "nor", "but", "or", "yet", and "so".
Peter likes to run and to play baseball.
"And" is used to join equal infinitive verbs. This is a coordinating conjunction because neither phrase is more important than the other.
Peter likes to swim after he runs.
"Peter likes to swim" is an independent clause and carries more weight than the dependent clause "after he runs". "After" is the subordinate conjunction in this sentence.
Interjections are words placed into sentences for emphasis. If removed, the sentence still makes sense and is grammatically correct because interjections are not required (Lester and Beason 311). They may or may not be followed by exclamation marks.
Well, I think I'll go to the store.
If the "well" is removed from this sentence, it still make sense.
Nouns are the names of people, places, things, and ideas. There are two types of nouns: proper nouns, which are names of specific people, places, or things, and common nouns which are the general names of people, places, things, ideas (Lester and Beason 4). Nouns are a part of the subject of a sentence.
John got the cat out of the tree.
"John" is the name of a specific person and therefore is a proper noun. "Cat" and "tree" are the names of things, but not a specific thing, so they are common nouns.
Prepositions are words that begin prepositional phrases. They are bound to an object (either a noun or pronoun) in the phrase (Lester and Beason 21). For more information on prepositional phrases, look at the "Phrases" tab.
This book of safety rules is very heavy.
"Of safety rules" is a prepositional phrase that helps clarify which book is being indicated.
Pronouns take the place of or represent a noun and must agree with the number and gender of the noun. There are four types of pronouns, and they have different persons. To make it easier to understand, each of the types is broken down below.
Personal pronounsPersonal pronouns take the place of nouns. There are three persons: first-person (the speaker), second-person (the hearer), and-third person (neither the speaker nor the hearer). The choice of pronoun depends on which person the noun is, the gender, and the number, and whether the noun was acting as a subject in a sentence, an object of a preposition or a verb, or as possessive of something else. Fortunately, there is list of personal pronouns that can help make it easier to understand.
| First-Person | ||
| Function | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | I | we |
| Object | me | us |
| Possessive | mine | ours |
| Second-Person | ||
| Function | Singular | Plural |
| Subject | you | you |
| Object | you | you |
| Possessive | yours | yours |
| Third-Person | ||
| Function | Singular | Plural |
| Subject | he, she, it | they |
| Object | him, her, it | them |
| Possessive | his, hers, its | theirs |
Reflexive pronouns must refer to a noun or pronoun in the same sentence. All reflexive pronouns end with -self or -selves (Lester and Beason 18). Like personal pronouns, these are broken into first-, second-, and third-person. These do not, however, get broken into functions.
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| First-person | myself | ourselves |
| Second-person | yourself | yourselves |
| Third-person | himself, herself, itself | themselves |
Indefinite pronouns talk about unknown amounts of persons or things (Lester and Beason 18). These pronouns do not reflect gender or person. Many of these pronouns begin with "any", "every", "no", and "some" and end with "-body", "-one", or "-thing".
Demonstrative PronounsDemonstrative pronouns help show or point out the thing being talked about in the sentence. There are only four pronouns that play this role: "this", "that", "these", and "those". Note: all four of these words can be used as adjectives, so check to make sure that the pronoun is not modifying anything.
That guitar is hers.
"Hers" is a possessive, third-person pronoun replacing the name of the girl who owns the guitar.
Stephanie bought the guitar for herself.
"Herself" is a reflexive pronoun reflecting "Stephanie".
Few play the guitar as well as Stephanie.
"Few" refers to a group of people, but the amount and gender are unknown.
Can you play that?
"You" is a second-person pronoun that makes the subject of the sentence. "That" is a demonstrative pronoun that stands on its own to point out some object; usually, the sentences before or after explain what the object is.
Verbs show action or describe states of being. Action verbs show action while linking verbs describe states of being (Lester and Beason 6). Linking verbs are sometimes identical to action verbs, but the difference comes in whether or not the subject of the sentence is committing an action. Verbs show a tense because actions and states of being can change from minute to minute or day-to-day, or they can be anticipated. To learn more about verbs, visit the "Verbs & Verbals" tab.
Tom called Jim on his new phone.
"Called" is a verb expressing action. The subject did something.
The phone was green.
"Was" is a verb expressing a state of being. A phone cannot do green. Instead, it is being described as green.
Phrases are groups of words that work together as a single part of speech (Lester and Beason 321). There is usually a head, which is a noun, verb, adjective, or preposition, combined with its modifiers and objects. There are many types of phrases and the most common kinds are listed below.
Appositive PhrasesAppositive phrases are noun phrases that help to rename or identify a noun (Lester and Beason 300). Typically it is the noun before the phrase. They can be either essential or non-essential. Essential appositive phrases are necessary to identify the noun it modifies. Nonessential appositives are not.
That book, the one with the blue cover, is a good one.
Without the appositive phrase "the one with the blue cover", there would be no way of knowing which book is good.
Timothy's mother, a doctor, reads every day.
The appositive phrase "a doctor" is not important to this sentence. We know whose mother is being referred to, and her profession is not important to whether or not she reads.
Gerunds are verbs that are used as nouns. A gerund phrase acts as a noun and can be the subject of a sentence (Lester and Beason 309).
Eating too much food at once can be an unpleasant experience.
The gerund phrase is the subject of the sentence. The verb is "can be" and it is describing a state of being after having eaten too much.
Infinitives are verbs with "to" in front of them and before they are changed in tense (Lester and Beason 311). Infinitive phrases act as nouns, adjectives, and adverbs.
The doctor wanted to send his patient to a specialist.
The infinitive phrase is taking the place as the object of the verb "wanted".
Noun phrases are nouns with modifiers that act as nouns. Technically, infinitive phrases and gerund phrases that are used as nouns are also considered noun phrases (Lester and Beason 316).
The big, black clouds hurried across the sky.
"Cloud" is the noun, and "big, black" are adjectives modifying the noun. All together, they act as the subject for the verb.
Prepositional phrases act as either adjectives or adverbs. When acting as adjectives, the prepositional phrases modify nouns. When acting as adverbs, they modify verbs.
The house in the woods is very old.
In this case, the prepositional phrase is acting as an adjective, modifying the noun.
We went in the woods to find the house.
The prepositional phrase "in the woods" in this case is acting as an adverb by saying where the subject went.
The bank gave the family a loan.
This sentence would still make sense if it was written as "The bank gave a loan to the family." "The family" is an indirect object that is made into a prepositional phrase and then moved behind the direct object.
The fireman, who had years of experience, allowed everyone back into the building. "The fireman, who had years of experience" can be replaced by the third-person pronoun "he". "He allowed everyone back into the building" is still correct and it still makes sense.
Running around at the park made the children tired.
Replacing the participial phrase "Running around at the park" with "it" means the sentence is still grammatically correct: "It made the children tired".
Following the car in front of me, I soon grew tired of the quick lane changes. Replacing "following the car in front of me, I" with "he" changes the meaning of the sentence, but it is still grammatically correct. "He soon grew tired of the quick lane changes" is still a correct sentence, so "following the car in front of me" is a participial phrase that modifies "I".
The truck is red.
To determine that "red" really is an adjective, simply place "red" in front of "truck". "The red truck" makes sense, so it is an adjective.
The boys ran after they got home from school.
"After they got home from school" modifies "ran" because it answers the question: "when did the boys run?"
After they got home from school , the boys ran.
This is the same sentence as the previous example, but the adverb phrase was able to move to the front and still make sense, so it modifies the verb. Adverbs that modify adjectives and other adverbs can only be placed directly after the word or phrase being modified.
George R.R. Martin, the author of the Song of Fire and Ice series, which includes dragons and magic, has written several novels with various topics like aliens, vampires, and the end of the world.
The example sentence is confusing, but using the verb phrase, "has written", as a starting point and moving backwards to look for nouns, it is clear that "dragons" and "magic" don't work, because they modify "The Song of Fire and Ice series", which is a prepositional phrase modifying "author". Author is close, but by going back one further, it helps to define who "George R.R. Martin" is. That name does not modify anything, and when tested with "has written" for agreement, it agrees.
There are two dogs running around outside.
"There are" is a verb phrase that merely points out the existence of something, there is no action happening. For the helping verb "to be" to agree with a plural subject the correct form is "are".
John and Kathy are trying to catch their dogs.
"John and Kathy" can be replaced easily by "they". "They are trying to catch their dogs" still makes perfect sense, while "It are trying to catch their dogs" does not.
Trees are places for cats to hide.
There are three common nouns in this sentence. By using "the" in front of trees, we see the sentence still makes sense. If you place "the" in front of "are", the sentence no longer makes sense. The other two common nouns are "(the) places" and "(the) cats".
The boy played the game very well.
The sentence would still be grammatically correct and make sense if it were "the boy played it." Context would have to explain what "it" was, though.
He worked because the work was given to him.
This sample combines both of the test sentences. "He" is the subject form, and "him" is the object form. In that simple sentence, both are used correctly.
Who worked? The work was given to whom?
"Who" is subject case while "whom" is object case. The two questions in that example are just question versions of the previous example. It would be appropriate to replace "whom" with "him" and the question would still be grammatically correct: "The work was given to him?"
You and I should go to the store tomorrow.
Compounds that involve pronouns can be confusing. "You and I" versus "you and me" can be very difficult to figure out. In the sample sentence, "I should go to the store" makes sense, so "I" is the correct pronoun. "Me should go to the store" would be incorrect. This works in many different situations, whether the compound is part of the subject or part of the object.
The book sat on the shelf.
The base of "sat" is "sit". If "will" is placed in front of "sit", the sentence still makes sense.
Verbs show action or describe states of being. Action verbs show action while linking verbs describe states of being (Lester and Beason 6). Linking verbs are sometimes identical to action verbs, but the difference comes in whether or not the subject of the sentence is committing an action. Verbs show a tense because actions and states of being can change from minute to minute or day-to-day, or they can be anticipated.
Verb FormsThere are several types of verb forms, and most have their own rules. Here's a brief description of the rule and how the form is created. There are a few examples at the bottom.
Base FormThe base form of the verb is the verb that all of the other forms are based on. This includes words like "be", "walk", "run", "talk," and etc. The base form is used primarily in commands (imperative sentences), and in future tense. The base form is also used for the present form in many cases. To make a verb future tense, simply add "will" before the base (Lester and Beason 74).
Present FormThe present form is either the base form, for first-person and second-person singular and plural, and third-person plural, or the base form plus an "s" at the end for third-person singular. This is true for almost all forms, though "be" is an exception (Lester and Beason 75).
Past FormThe past form is more complicated. Most verbs can be made past form by adding "d" or "ed" to the end; however, many verbs are irregular and cannot follow the normal pattern for past form. These verbs often have a single vowel changed. Some verb forms simply have to be memorized, such as the forms for "be" and for "go" (Lester and Beason 76).
Infinitive FormThe infinitive form is the same for all verbs, making it easy to remember and to use. It is "to" plus the base form. Infinitive verbs can be used to make infinitive phrases which act as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs (Lester and Beason 77).
Present Participle FormThe present participle form is the same for all verbs. Simply add "ing" onto the end of the verb. Present participle forms can be used in gerunds and gerund phrases which then act as nouns (Lester and Beason 77).
Past Participle FormLike past form verbs, past participle verbs are often formed the same way: by adding "ed" or "d" to the end of the verb. The words that are irregular in past are irregular in past particple as well, but the vowel being changed is changed once more. To make a past tense verb into a past participle, a form of "have" or "be" must be before the verb (Lester and Beason 78).
| Regular Verbs | ||||||
| Base Form | Present Form | Past Form | Infinitive Form | Present Participle Form | Past Participle Form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Talk | talk | talk, talks | talked | to talk | talking | talked |
| Smile | smile | smile, smiles | smiled | to smile | smiling | smiled |
| Irregular Verbs | ||||||
| Base Form | Present Form | Past Form | Infinitive Form | Present Participle Form | Past Participle Form | |
| Sing | sing | sing, sings | sang | to sing | singing | sung |
| Write | write | write, writes | wrote | to write | writing | written |
| Be | ||||||
| Base Form | Present Form | Past Form | Infinitive Form | Present Participle Form | Past Participle Form | |
| be | be | is, are | was, were | to be | being | been |
| Go | ||||||
| Base Form | Present Form | Past Form | Infinitive Form | Present Participle Form | Past Participle Form | |
| Go | go | go, goes | went | to go | going | gone |
Smile, people are watching.
"Smile" is in its base form in this example, since it is an imperative sentence, telling the reader to smile.
I smile as often as I can, but he never smiles.
"I" is first-person, so it takes the base form; "he" is third-person singular, so it takes the base+s form, "smiles".
We all smiled for that picture.
The picture was taken in the past, so "smiled" in the past form is used.
You need to smile.
"Need" is the verb in this sentence, and "to smile" is an infinitve phrase working as a direct object.
Smiling is good for the heart.
"Smiling" is a present participle form working as a gerund in this sentence, it is acting as a noun.
He had smiled only once in his life.
"Smiled" comes after the helping verb "had" in this sentence and is therefore a past participle rather than a past form.
Modal verbs are five verbs that have only two forms: present and past. These verbs can only be used with another verb in its base form (Lester and Beason 79). They are as follows:
| Modal Verbs | |
| Present Form | Past Form |
|---|---|
| can | could |
| may | might |
| must | ---- |
| shall | should |
| will | would |
Verb tenses put the above forms into proper use so that sentences tell a story and make sense. There are six tenses total, with two categories: simple and perfect. Each category has present, past, and future tenses (Lester and Beason 80).
Present TenseThe present tense does not describe activities happening in that instant. Instead, it is used to state facts and to make generalizations. Present tense is created simply by having the present form of the verb, making sure it agrees in person if the subject is third-person singular.
August is hot in Georiga.
"August" is not performing an activity, and it is certainly not performing an activity right in that instant. Instead, the sentence and its present tense verb "is" is simply stating a fact.
Dogs smell strange.
The "Dogs" aren't smelling strange. Instead, "smell" in this case is a generalization, suggesting that most or all dogs have a strange smell.
Past tense describes activities that happened in the past. Additionally, because present tense is not used for things happening in the present, writing that is recording events is written in the past tense (Lester and Beason 83). Past tense simply uses the past form in a sentence.
John grabbed the paper from the table.
A single action happened in the past, so the past form is used to make the sentence past tense.
Future tense describes activities that will happen or might happen in the future. These are created by using a modal verb and then the base form of the main verb to create a verb phrase. "Will" is the most common modal verb used in the future tense (Lester and Beason 83).
Tomorrow, we will arrive at school on time.
"Will arrive" is the future tense verb in this sentence.
Present perfect tense is created by adding the helping verbs "have" or "has" plus the past participle form of the main verb. The tense describes activities that have happened in the past over a period of time and have either ended very recently, or are expected to continue into the future (Lester and Beason 84).
That machine has been on all morning.
In the example, the machine started working in the morning, and continued working throughout the morning. It has either just stopped, or more likely, is still on and may continue being on.
Past perfect tense is formed by taking "had" and the past participle. It describes an event that happened in the past and was already completed before something else happened. It is often used to give a timeline or a sequence of events (Lester and Beason 85).
He had gotten into the car when he realized the keys were still inside the house.
The driver was already in the car, that action was completed. Then, he realizes that he does not have the keys.
Future perfect tense is created by having "will have" in front of the past participle form of a verb. It represents an action that has not happened yet, but is going to happen and will be completed by a certain time (Lester and Beason 86).
Fall semester classes at GNTC will have ended by Christmas.
The Fall classes are not yet over in this sentence, but they will be over before it becomes Christmas.
Progressive verbs are tenses that are neither simple nor perfect; however, as with simple and perfect, there are three tenses: present, past, and future (Lester and Beason 87).
Present ProgressivePresent progressive is used for activities that are occuring right at that moment. It uses the present tense of "be" plus the present participle of the verb (Lester and Beason 87).
I am writing this guide with the help of a book.
The book is being used at the very moment of writing the guide.
Past progressive is used for activities that were in progress in the past, but have since been completed. It uses the past tense of "be" plus the present participle (Lester and Beason 88).
John was riding his bicycle when the car cut him off.
John was still in the progress of riding his bicycle when he interacted with the car. Now, though, that action is over and done with.
Future progressive is used for actions that will be in progress in the future. It uses "will be" plus the present participle form of a verb.
By the time we get there, class will be ending!
The class is not over yet, but by the time the first part of the sentence has happened, the second part will be happening.
There are two "voices" for verbs. Passive voice has an action happening to someone or something. In active voice, someone or something is doing the action. Passive sentences always have some form of the verb "be" in them.
The clothes were washed by Andrew.
This example is passive. "Were" is the form of the "be" verb, and the clothes cannot be doing the action of washing. Rather, they had washing happening to them, done by Andrew.
Andrew washed the clothes.
This is the same sentence and has pretty much the same meaning, but it uses fewer words. Andrew is doing the action of washing the clothing.
Verbals are verb forms being used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs(Lester and Beason 332). These each have their own names and will be looked at below.
Verbal FormsVerbals can be gerunds, participles, or infinitives. Each type of phrase is discussed under "Phrases", but the type, form, and part of speech are shown below (Lester and Beason 95). For examples, please look at the "Phrases" tab.
| Type | Form | Part of Speech |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund Phrase | Present Participle | Noun |
| Participial Phrase | Present OR Past Participle | Adjective |
| Infintive Phrase | Infintive | Noun, Adjective, or Adverb |
Look here for the books, websites, and articles consulted when creating these resources. These are also excellent places to find more information on this topic.
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