Grammar of the Day: the Verb
Jan. 27th, 2005 02:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ziasudraWhen Words Collide, sixth edition
Lauren Kessler & Duncan McDonald, ©2004, pp. 19-27.
(Singularly the best grammar book I've ever read!)
"The word. That's what verb means in Latin, and that very definition reveals its power and its function. The verb is at the core of all writing: It propels, it positions, it pronounces." (p. 19)
Verb Form (p. 19)
1. Transitive verb
~ The transitive verb carries action from the subject to the object.
~ The transitive verb transports the initiator of the action (subject) to its target (object).
~ The transitive verb will have answered the what? or the whom?
~ Recipients of transitive verbs are called direct objects.
2. Intransitive verb (pp. 19-20)
~ There is no recipient of action from the intransitive verb.
~ Sentences with the intransitive verb conveys action as well as location or a state of being.
~ The intransitive verb is often indicated by prepositions following the verb.
~ The intransitive verb will have answered the how? or the when?
3. Linking verb (p. 20)
~ The linking verb links the subject with a modifier.
~ The linking verb connects only nouns and adjectives back to the subject—not adverbs.
Principal Parts of Verbs (pp. 23-24)
1. Infinitive (to write)
2. Past (wrote)
3. Present Participle (written)
4. Past Participle (writing)
Verb "Voice" (p. 24)
1. Active (I write)
2. Passive (It is written)
Verb "Mood" (p. 25)
1. Indicative: verbs are indicative when they convey a fact or question. (I write)
2. Imperative: verbs are imperative when they issue a command/order. (write!)
3. Subjunctive: verbs are subjunctive when they convey some information that is actually contrary to fact. (I doubt this writes)
4. Question: are these the only moods in English? What about cohortative, directive, jussive, etc.?
Verbals—words that look like verbs but are not (pp. 25-27)
1. Gerunds: always ending in -ing, gerunds are ALWAYS nouns—either the subject or the object in a sentence. ("writing" in I like writing)
2. Participles: ending either in -ing or -ed, participles are ALWAYS adjectives—modifying either a noun or a pronoun. ("ending" in this sentence is a participle that modifies the noun, "participles." Same with "modifying")
3. Infinitives: always in "to ___" form, infinitives can either be nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.
Miscellaneous (pp. 22-23)
1. Verb Number: a verb must agree with its subject in number. (he writes; they write)
2. Verb Tense: keep tenses consistent and parallel. (when he writes I also write; when she wrote they also wrote)
Lauren Kessler & Duncan McDonald, ©2004, pp. 19-27.
(Singularly the best grammar book I've ever read!)
"The word. That's what verb means in Latin, and that very definition reveals its power and its function. The verb is at the core of all writing: It propels, it positions, it pronounces." (p. 19)
Verb Form (p. 19)
1. Transitive verb
~ The transitive verb carries action from the subject to the object.
~ The transitive verb transports the initiator of the action (subject) to its target (object).
~ The transitive verb will have answered the what? or the whom?
~ Recipients of transitive verbs are called direct objects.
2. Intransitive verb (pp. 19-20)
~ There is no recipient of action from the intransitive verb.
~ Sentences with the intransitive verb conveys action as well as location or a state of being.
~ The intransitive verb is often indicated by prepositions following the verb.
~ The intransitive verb will have answered the how? or the when?
3. Linking verb (p. 20)
~ The linking verb links the subject with a modifier.
~ The linking verb connects only nouns and adjectives back to the subject—not adverbs.
Principal Parts of Verbs (pp. 23-24)
1. Infinitive (to write)
2. Past (wrote)
3. Present Participle (written)
4. Past Participle (writing)
Verb "Voice" (p. 24)
1. Active (I write)
2. Passive (It is written)
Verb "Mood" (p. 25)
1. Indicative: verbs are indicative when they convey a fact or question. (I write)
2. Imperative: verbs are imperative when they issue a command/order. (write!)
3. Subjunctive: verbs are subjunctive when they convey some information that is actually contrary to fact. (I doubt this writes)
4. Question: are these the only moods in English? What about cohortative, directive, jussive, etc.?
Verbals—words that look like verbs but are not (pp. 25-27)
1. Gerunds: always ending in -ing, gerunds are ALWAYS nouns—either the subject or the object in a sentence. ("writing" in I like writing)
2. Participles: ending either in -ing or -ed, participles are ALWAYS adjectives—modifying either a noun or a pronoun. ("ending" in this sentence is a participle that modifies the noun, "participles." Same with "modifying")
3. Infinitives: always in "to ___" form, infinitives can either be nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.
Miscellaneous (pp. 22-23)
1. Verb Number: a verb must agree with its subject in number. (he writes; they write)
2. Verb Tense: keep tenses consistent and parallel. (when he writes I also write; when she wrote they also wrote)
