Grammar, Usage, Style: an overview
In my local writer’s group last month, I had the assignment to teach a lesson on anything under the sun that was writing-related. And, being… Read More »Grammar, Usage, Style: an overview
In my local writer’s group last month, I had the assignment to teach a lesson on anything under the sun that was writing-related. And, being… Read More »Grammar, Usage, Style: an overview
Prescriptive Rule: “Never use a body part as the subject of your sentence.” E.g., “Her shoulders rose in a hapless shrug.” (This structure is deemed bad, according… Read More »The Case of the Autonomous Body Parts
If English language elements are a collection of family members, the Subjunctive Mood is the sickly great-uncle, bed-ridden and lingering at death’s door for… Read More »If I Were Any More Uncertain, I’d Be Subjunctive
I was raised on the King James Version of The Bible (the good ol’ KJV). In addition to its spiritual tutelage, this translation quite nicely… Read More »Standing on Formality
It never fails to amaze me the outrage that people can muster up about language use. An example from the recent past lies in the… Read More »Hopefully You’re Not Offended by This
It’s a big, complicated word, “linguistics,” stuffed with technical concepts and broad theories. If writing is your craft, though, this particular study could well be… Read More »7 Things Every Writer Should Know about Linguistics
Objectives:
Skill level: Advanced
As indicated by the title, this is the final post in my verb series, though not necessarily my final post on verbs. (Who knows what the future holds, yeah?) This is mostly an overview post, so it’s short, quick, and to the point.
This post covers two essential constructs most commonly associated with the verb to be.
Objectives:
Skill Level: Intermediate
In English, the term “copula” (or “linking verb”) refers to a verb that links a subject and a subject predicate. (The subject predicate, as indicated by its name, takes a nominative case.) The copula serves as a sort of grammatical placeholder and holds little lexical meaning despite its grammatical and rhetorical purpose.
The discussion in this post requires a different view of language structure. For a deeper understanding, I refer you to Andrew Radford’s English Syntax: An Introduction (ISBN 0521542758), particularly pp. 190-193 . Much of this post draws from that source.
Objectives:
Skill level: Advanced
Read More »Verbs, Part 4: Theta-Roles, or How to Eliminate Passive Voice
This post covers verb transitivity and its relationship to the fourth verb feature, Voice.
Objectives:
Skill level: Intermediate