An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises. George Lyman Kittredge
10. The meaning of a word in the sentence determines to what part of speech it belongs.
The same word may be sometimes one part of speech, sometimes another.
11. The infinitive is a verb-form which partakes of the nature of a noun. It is commonly preceded by the preposition to, which is called the sign of the infinitive.
12. The participle is a verb-form which has no subject, but which partakes of the nature of an adjective and expresses action or state in such a way as to describe or limit a substantive.
A participle is said to belong to the substantive which it describes or limits.
The chief classes of participles are present participles and past participles, so called from the time which they denote.
Substitutes for the Parts of Speech
Phrases
13. A group of connected words, not containing a subject and a predicate, is called a phrase.
A phrase is often equivalent to a part of speech.
(1) A phrase used as a noun is called a noun-phrase.
(2) A phrase used as a verb is called a verb-phrase.
(3) A phrase used as an adjective is called an adjective phrase.
(4) A phrase used as an adverb is called an adverbial phrase.
14. Adjective or adverbial phrases consisting of a preposition and its object, with or without other words, may be called prepositional phrases.
Clauses
15. A clause is a group of words that forms part of a sentence and that contains a subject and a predicate.
16. A clause used as a part of speech is called a subordinate clause. All other clauses are said to be independent.
17. Clauses of the same order or rank are said to be coördinate.
18. Sentences may be simple, compound, or complex.
(1) A simple sentence has but one subject and one predicate, either or both of which may be compound.
(2) A compound sentence consists of two or more independent coördinate clauses, which may or may not be joined by conjunctions.
(3) A complex sentence consists of two or more clauses, one of which is independent and the rest subordinate.
A compound sentence in which one or more of the coördinate clauses are complex is called a compound complex sentence.
19. Subordinate clauses, like phrases, are used as parts of speech. They serve as substitutes for nouns, for adjectives, or for adverbs.
(1) A subordinate clause that is used as a noun is called a noun (or substantive) clause.
(2) A subordinate clause that modifies a substantive is called an adjective clause.
(3) A subordinate clause that serves as an adverbial modifier is called an adverbial clause.
PART TWO
INFLECTION AND SYNTAX
CHAPTER I
INFLECTION
52. Inflection is a change of form in a word indicating some change in its meaning. A word thus changed in form is said to be inflected.
Thus the nouns man, wife, dog, may change their form to man’s, wife’s, dog’s, to express possession; or to men, wives, dogs, to show that two or more are meant.
The pronouns I, she, may change their form to our, her.
The adjectives large, happy, good, may change their form to larger, happier, better, to denote a higher degree of the quality; or to largest, happiest, best, to denote the highest degree.
The verbs look, see, sing, may change their form to looked, saw, sang, to denote past time.
The examples show that a word may be inflected (1) by the addition of a final letter or syllable (dog, dogs; look, looked), (2) by the substitution of one letter for another (man, men), or (3) by a complete change of form (good, better, best).
53. The inflection of a substantive is called its declension; that of an adjective or an adverb, its comparison; that of a verb, its conjugation.
Note. Some forms which we regard as due to inflection are really distinct words. Thus we is regarded as a form of the pronoun I, but it is in fact an altogether different word. Such irregularities, however, are not numerous, and are properly enough included under the head of inflection.
The table below gives a summary view of inflection, and may be used for reference with the following chapters.
Substantives (Nouns and Pronouns)GenderMasculine (male)Feminine (female)Neuter (no sex)NumberSingular (one)Plural (more than one)PersonFirst (speaker)Second (spoken to)Third (spoken of)CaseNominative (subject case)Possessive (ownership)Objective (object case)
Adjectives and AdverbsComparisonPositive DegreeComparative DegreeSuperlative Degree
VerbsNumber (Verb agrees with Subject)SingularPluralPerson (Verb agrees with Subject)FirstSecondThirdTenseSimple TensesPresentPastFutureCompound TensesPerfect (or Present Perfect)Pluperfect (or Past Perfect)Future PerfectMoodIndicative (all six tenses)Imperative (Present Tense only)Subjunctive (Present, Past, Perfect, Pluperfect)VoiceActive (Subject acts)Passive (Subject receives the action)Infinitives (Present and Perfect)Participles (Present, Past, and Perfect)
CHAPTER II
NOUNS
CLASSIFICATION—COMMON NOUNS AND PROPER NOUNS
54. A noun is the name of a person, place, or thing.
55. Nouns are divided into two classes—proper nouns and common nouns.
1. A proper noun is the name of a particular person, place, or thing.
Examples:
Lincoln,
Napoleon,
Ruth,
Gladstone,
America,
Denver,
Jove,
Ohio,
Monday,
December,
Yale,
Christmas,
Britannia,
Niagara,
Merrimac,
Elmwood,
Louvre,