Grammar Flashcards
Auxiliary
Definition: “helping verb” (often a form of “be,” “have,” or “do”)
Example: “I am working on it.”
Gerund
a verb acting as a noun clause (usually the “-ing” form of the verb)
“eating worms is bad for your health.”
Imperative
Def: verb used for issuing commands
“do it now!”
Indicative
plain old verb in present tense
“John plays with the ball.”
Infinitive
an unconjugated verb to “with” in front of it
“to be, or not to be.”
Participle
the “-ed” form of a verb
“John has played with the ball many times.”
Predicate
further information about the subject (a verb and its cohorts)
“This test is really bogus.”
Subjunctive
verb used to express conditional or counterfactual statements
“If I were a rich man…”
Subordinate Conjuction
a word that introduces a subordinate clause
“since you’re awake, I’ll just turn on the TV.”
transitive verb
transitive verb is incomplete without a direct object, as in the following examples:
INCOMPLETE
The shelf holds.
COMPLETE
The shelf holds three books and a vase of flowers.
An intransitive verb, on the other hand, cannot take a direct object:
Ex. This plant has thrived on the south windowsill.
The compound verb “has thrived” is intransitive and takes no direct object in this sentence.
Vocative
expression of direct address
“Sit, Ubu, sit!”
Substantive
a group of words that is used in place of a noun. eg: “cup of tea” instead of “cup”
