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The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
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English Language Tips

- Adjuncts
- Adverbs
of time, place, frequency, degree
and manner, together with Adverbials
(phrases that have a function similar to Adverbs),
all of which modify the Verb
in the Clause
or Sentence
are known as Adjuncts
- Adverbials
- Phrases that function like Adverbs
are known as Adverbials.
- Adverbs
- An Adverb
is a word that can change the meaning of all sorts of grammatical categories,
including Verbs,
Adjectives,
Adverbs
and Nouns
- There are a number of different types, such as Adverbs
of time, place, frequency, degree
and manner.
- Articles
- A and AN are the Indefinite
Articles, used to show that a Countable
Noun is Singular
and doesn't refer to any particular example of that Noun.
- THE is the Definite
Article, used to refer to a specific example of a Noun
either Singular
or Plural.
- As
- AS can be an Adverb,
a Conjunction
and a Relative
Pronoun.
- Auxiliary Verbs
- An Auxiliary
Verb is used together with another Verb
to make a Question,
make it NEGATIVE, give EMPHASIS, show Tense
or a combination of these.
- BE, DO and HAVE
are the Auxiliary
Verbs.
- Conjunctions 2
- Conjunctions,
like AND, AS, BECAUSE,
BUT and LIKE, join up information
in a Sentence
or Clause.
- Conjuncts
- A Conjunct
links or relates what is said in two sentences, like HOWEVER;
THEREFORE and NEVERTHELESS. Conjuncts
are members of the wider group known as Conjunctions.
- Countable & Uncountable Nouns
- A Countable
Noun can be Singular
or Plural.
- An Uncountable
Noun does not have a Plural
form.
- Demonstratives
- Demonstratives
indicate a specific Noun
or noun group. The category can be divided into two sub-categories;
Demonstrative
Adjectives, which are used with the Noun
they point to, and Demonstrative
Pronouns, which replace the Noun
as well as pointing to it.
- NB THIS; THAT; THESE
and THOSE are identical whether they are functioning
as Pronouns
or Adjectives.
- Determiners
- Articles,
Numerals,
Possessive
Adjectives, Quantifiers
and Demonstrative
Adjectives are all Determiners,
which means that they restrict a Noun
to a single example or to an identifiable group.
- Disjuncts
- A Disjunct
modifies a whole Sentence
or Utterance
by expressing the speaker's attitude, opinion or evaluation of what
is being said. Disjuncts
are members of the group known as Sentence
(or Sentencial)
Adverbs
and Adverbials.
- Ditransitive Verbs
- Ditransitive
Verbs can take a Direct
Object and an Indirect
Object.
- Interrogative Adjectives
- Question words, like WHAT and WHICH
that accompany and ask for a Noun
to be specified, identified or given a number are INTERROGATIVE Adjectives.
- Interrogative Adverbs
- Question words that affect the Verb
in terms of concepts like TIME (WHEN), MANNER
(HOW), REASON (WHY) or LOCATION (WHERE)
are INTERROGATIVE Adverbs.
- Interrogative Pronouns
- Question words that act like Pronouns,
like WHAT, WHICH, WHO
and WHOM are called Interrogative
Pronouns.
- Intransitive
Verbs do not take an Object
- Only Transitive
Verbs can have a Passive
form.
- Its & It's
- IT'S is a contraction of either "it
is" or "it has". (TAKES APOSTROPHE)
- ITS shows possession. (NO APOSTROPHE)
- Like
- LIKE can be an Adjective,
Adverb,
Conjunction,
Noun,
Pronoun
or Verb.
- Modal Verbs
- A Modal
Verb is used to express the speaker's ideas about such things as
the possibility, intention, obligation and necessity of the action or
state described by the Verb
it accompanies.
- CAN, COULD, WILL,
WOULD, etc, are examples of Modal
Verbs.
- Monotransitive Verbs
- MONOTRANSITIVE VERBS take a single Object.
- Negative Pronouns
- NO-ONE; NOBODY; NEITHER;
NONE and NOTHING are the Negative
Pronouns, which are used to replace a Noun
or Noun
Phrase and make it negative.
- Noun Phrase
- A Noun
Phrase consists of a Noun
together with any of the words that modify it, including Determiners
and Adjectives
- Numerals
- Numerals
are part of the family of Determiners
and consist of Cardinal
Numbers (one, two, three
...) and Ordinal
Numbers (first, second...).
- Parts of Speech- Alone
- As an Adjective,
ALONE is Predictive
- it cannot come before a Noun.
- It is also an Adverb
- live ALONE, etc.
- Parts of Speech- Because
- BECAUSE can be either an Adverb
or a Conjunction
- Parts of Speech- But
- BUT is a Conjunction,
Preposition
& Adverb
- Parts of Speech- Few
- FEW, FEWER and FEWEST
can used an Adjective,
Noun
or Pronoun
- Parts of Speech- How
- HOW can be either an Adverb
or a Noun
- Parts of Speech- If
- IF is a Conjunction
(occasionally a Countable
Noun used in the Plural
= IFS)
- Parts of Speech- Just
- JUST can be an Adjective
or an Adverb.
As an Adjective,
it means being fair and doing what ought to be done.
- Parts of Speech- Little
- LITTLE, LESS and LEAST
can be used as Adjectives,
Nouns
andPronouns
- Parts of Speech- Many
- MANY can be an Adjective,
Noun
or Pronoun
- Parts of Speech- Much
- MUCH, MORE and MOST
can be used as Adjectives,
Nouns,
Pronouns
& Adverbs
- Parts of Speech- Nevertheless
- NEVERTHELESS = Adjective
& Conjunction
- Parts of Speech- Since
- SINCE can be an Adverb,
a Conjunction
or a Preposition
- Parts of Speech- These & Those
- THESE is the Plural
of this and, likewise, it can be a Demonstrative
Adjective or a Demonstrative
Pronoun
- THOSE is the Plural
of that. It can also be a Demonstrative
Adjective or a Demonstrative
Pronoun
- Parts of Speech- This & That
- THIS can be a Demonstrative
Adjective or a Demonstrative
Pronoun
- THAT can be an Adverb,
Conjunction,
Demonstrative
Pronoun, Adjective,
or a Pronoun.
- Parts of Speech- What
- WHAT can be an Adjective,
Adverb
or a Pronoun
- Parts of Speech- Where
- WHERE can be an Adverb,
Conjunction,
Noun
or Pronoun
- Parts of Speech- Which
- WHICH can be either an Adjective
or a Pronoun
- Parts of Speech- While
- WHILE can be a Conjunction,
Noun
or Verb.
- Parts of Speech- Who
- WHO can be either an Adjective
or a Pronoun
- Parts of Speech- Whom
- WHOM can be either an Adjective
or a Pronoun
- Parts of Speech- Why
- WHY - Adverb
or Noun
- Personal Pronouns
- I; YOU; SHE; HE;
IT; WE; and THEY
are the Personal
Pronouns that can act as the Subject
of a Verb.
- ME; YOU; HER;
HIM; IT; US and THEM
are the Personal
Pronouns that can act as the Object
of a Verb.
- NB: YOU and IT do not change and
HER can also be used as a Possessive
Adjective.
- Possessive Adjectives
- MY; YOUR; HER;
HIS; ITS; OUR and
THEIR are the Possessive
Adjectives that are used to show who owns something.
- NB: HER is the same when used in the Personal
Pronoun form and HIS and ITS can
also act as Possessive
Pronouns.
- Possessive Pronouns
- MINE; YOURS; HERS;
HIS; ITS; OURS &
THEIRS are Possessive
Pronouns that show who owns something and replace the Noun
itself.
- NB: HIS and ITS are the same when
they are acting as Possessive
Adjectives.
- Prepositions
- Prepositions
like IN, OF and ON
link Nouns,
Pronouns
& Gerunds
to other words.
- Pronouns
- Pronouns
are words that can replace or substitute a Noun
or a Noun
Phrase, inc. I; ME; MINE;
MYSELF; SOME; ANY;
NO; NOBODY; NO-ONE;
NOTHING; THIS; THAT;
THESE; THOSE; WHAT;
WHICH; WHO and WHOM.
- Quantifiers
- Words that show how much of a Noun
there is or how many examples of a Noun
there are called Quantifiers,
a category that includes Numerals
and words like SOME and ANY; NONE;
EITHER and NEITHER.
- Reciprocal Pronouns
- Reciprocal
Pronouns show that an action works both ways:
- James and Kate love EACH OTHER. (This means that James loves Kate
and that Kate loves James)
- Reflexive Pronouns
- MYSELF; YOURSELF; HERSELF;
HIMSELF; ITSELF; OURSELVES;
YOURSELVES & THEMSELVES are the
Pronouns
used when the Subject
and Object
or complement of the Verb
are the same.
- NB: The second person (YOU) has either a Singular
or Plural
reference. THEMSELF and ONESELF are
often used as an impersonal Singular
reflexive pronoun when it isn't clear if the person referred to is male
or female.
- Relative Pronouns
- Words used to introduce clauses in sentences, like THAT;
WHICH; WHO; and WHOSE
are Relative
Pronouns.
- So
- SO can be used to emphasise an Adjective,
Adverb
or a combination of Adverb
+ Adjective.
- So & Such 1
- SO can be an Adverb,
Conjunction
or Pronoun.
- SUCH can be an Adjective,
Adverb
or Pronoun
- Some & Any 1
- SOME and ANY can be Pronouns
or Quantifiers.
- Spell
- SPELL can both regular (SPELL\SPELLED\SPELLED)
and irregular (SPELL\SPELT\SPELT).
- Such
- SUCH can be used to emphasise a Noun
(with or without an Article),
or an Adjective
+ Noun.
- Themself & Themselves
- THEMSELF is used as an alternative to HIMSELF
or HERSELF when the Gender
is unknown or indeterminate. It is, therefore, Singular,
which some people use as grounds to find fault with it as a word and
call it wrong.
- THEMSELVES is Plural.
- They're, Their & There
- THEY'RE = THEY ARE
- THEIR = Possessive
Adjective
- THERE can be used as an Adverb
or a Noun.
- Transitive & Intransitive Verbs
- Transitive
Verbs can take an Object.
Examples
- Examples- Adjectives that look like Adverbs 1
- BEASTLY; BROTHERLY; COSTLY; COWARDLY; DAILY; ELDERLY; FATHERLY; FORTNIGHTLY;
FRIENDLY; GHASTLY; GHOSTLY; LEISURELY; LIKELY; LIVELY
- Examples- Adjectives that look like Adverbs 2
- LONELY; LOVELY; MONTHLY; MOTHERLY; NIGHTLY; SILLY; SISTERLY; TIMELY;
UGLY; WEEKLY; YEARLY
- Examples- Adverbials
- IN FACT; ALL IN ALL; ALL TOLD; AFTER LUNCH; IN FRANCE
- Examples- Adverbs of degree 1
- ABSOLUTELY; WHOLLY; COMPLETELY; DEFINITELY; ENTIRELY; FAIRLY
- Examples- Adverbs of degree 2
- FULLY; NEARLY; PARTIALLY; SIMPLY; SURELY; THOROUGHLY; TOTALLY; UTTERLY
- Examples- Adverbs of frequency 1
- ALWAYS; USUALLY; GENERALLY; NORMALLY; FREQUENTLY; REGULARY; OFTEN;
SOMETIMES
- Examples- Adverbs of frequency 2
- OCCASIONALLY; SELDOM; RARELY; NEVER; EVER; DAILY; WEEKLY; MONTHLY;
YEARLY
- Examples- Adverbs of manner 1
- ANGRILY; BADLY; BEAUTIFULLY; CAREFULLY; CARELESSLY; CASUALLY; CHEERFULLY;
CLEVERLY; CORRECTLY; FORMALLY; GENTLY
- Examples- Adverbs of manner 2
- HAPPILY; IMPOLITELY; INFORMALLY; UNHAPPILLY; KINDLY; LUCKILY; UNLUCKILY;
POLITELY; POWERFULLY; QUICKLY; QUIETLY; RUDELY
- Examples- Adverbs of manner 3
- SADLY; SHYLY; SLOWLY; SOUNDLY; STUPIDLY; SWEETLY; SUDDENLY; THOROUGHLY;
WELL; WILDLY
- Examples- Adverbs of place 1
- AHEAD; AROUND; BACK; DOWNHILL; DOWNSTAIRS; DOWNTOWN; HERE; THERE
- Examples- Adverbs of place 2
- INDOORS; INSIDE; LOCALLY; OUTDOORS; OUTSIDE; UPHILL; UPSTAIRS
- Examples- Adverbs of time 1
- AFTERWARDS; ALREADY; BEFOREHAND; EARLY; EVENTUALLY; FINALLY
- Examples- Adverbs of time 2
- JUST; LATELY; NOW; RECENTLY; SOON; STILL; TODAY; TOMORROW; YESTERDAY
- Examples- Auxiliary Verbs 1
- AM; 'M; ARE; 'RE; AREN'T; IS; ISN'T; WAS; WASN'T; WERE; WEREN'T;
BE; BEING; BEEN
- Examples- Auxiliary Verbs 2
- DO; DON'T; DOES; DOESN'T; DID; DIDN'T
- Examples- Auxiliary Verbs 3
- HAVE; 'VE; HAVEN'T; HAS; HASN'T; HAD; HADN'T; HAVING
- Examples- Conjunctions 1
- AND; AS; BECAUSE; BUT; LIKE; OR
- Examples- Conjunctions 2
- HOWEVER; ALTOGETHER; THEREFORE; THUS; HENCE; LIKEWISE; NEVERTHELESS;
NONETHELESS
- Examples- Conjunctions 3
- ALTHOUGH; THOUGH; WHERE; WHEREVER; WHEREAS; WHILE
- Examples- Conjunctions 4
- IF; SO; THAT; UNLESS
- Examples- Conjunctions 4
- AFTER; BEFORE; SINCE; TILL; UNTIL; WHEN; WHENEVER
- Examples- Conjunctions 5
- WHEREBY; WHEREUPON; WHILST
- Examples- Conjuncts
- HOWEVER; ALTOGETHER; THEREFORE; THUS; HENCE; LIKEWISE; NEVERTHELESS;
NONETHELESS
- Examples- Definite Article
- THE
- Examples- Demonstrative Adjectives
- THIS; THAT; THESE; THOSE
- Examples- Demonstrative Pronouns
- THIS; THAT; THESE; THOSE; NONE; NEITHER; ONE
- Examples- Disjuncts 1
- ADMITTEDLY; CERTAINLY; DEFINITELY, IN FACT; NATURALLY; FRANKLY; PERHAPS;
STRANGELY
- Examples- Disjuncts 2
- POSSIBLY; REALLY; ACTUALLY; OFFICIALLY; SURPRISINGLY; FORTUNATELY;
LUCKILY; PREFERABLY
- Examples- Indefinite Article
- A & AN
- Examples- Interrogative Pronouns
- WHAT; WHICH; WHO; WHOM
- Examples- Modal Verbs
- CAN; CANNOT; CAN'T; COULD; COULDN'T; MUST; MUSTN'T; WILL; WON'T;
'LL; WOULD; WOULDN'T; SHALL; SHAN'T; SHOULD; SHOULDN'T; MAY; MAYN'T;
MIGHT; MIGHTN'T; OUGHT; OUGHTN'T; NEEDN'T; DARE; DAREN'T
- Examples- Negative Pronouns
- NO-ONE; NOBODY; NEITHER; NONE & NOTHING
- Examples- Numerals (Cardinal Numbers)
- ZERO; ONE; TWO; THREE; FOUR; FIVE; SIX; SEVEN; EIGHT; NINE; TEN
- 0; 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10
- Examples- Numerals (Ordinal Numbers)
- FIRST; SECOND; THIRD; FOURTH; FIFTH; SIX; SEVENTH; EIGHTH; NINTH;
TENTH
- 1st; 2nd; 3rd; 4th; 5th; 6th; 7th; 8th; 9th; 10th
- Examples of Irregular Adjectives
- BAD; WORSE; WORST; FAR; FURTHER; FARTHER; FURTHEST; FARTHEST; GOOD;
BETTER; BEST; LITTLE; LESS; LEAST; MUCH; MANY; MORE; MOST
- Examples of Some, Any & No 1
- ANY; ANYONE; ANYBODY; ANYWHERE; ANYWAY; ANYHOW; ANYTHING; ANYPLACE
- Examples of Some, Any & No 2
- SOME; SOMEONE; SOMEBODY; SOMEWHERE; SOMEWAY; SOMEHOW; SOMETHING;
SOMEPLACE
- Examples of Some, Any & No 3
- NO; NOONE; NO-ONE; NOBODY; NOWHERE; NOHOW; NOTHING
- Examples- Parts of Speech
- Adjectives;
Adverbs;
Articles;
Auxiliary
Verbs; Conjunctions;
Ditransitive
Verbs, Gerunds
; Infinitives;
Intransitive
Verbs; Modal
Verbs; Nouns;
Prepositions;
Pronouns;
Relative
Pronouns; Transitive
Verbs
- Examples- Personal Pronouns (Object)
- ME; YOU; HER; HIM; IT; US & THEM
- Examples- Personal Pronouns (One)
- ONE, ONE'S and ONESELF can be used as Impersonal Pronouns, but they
are rather old-fashioned now.
- Examples- Personal Pronouns (Subject)
- I; YOU; SHE; HE; IT; WE; & THEY
- Examples- Possessive Adjectives
- MY; YOUR; HER; HIS; ITS; OUR & THEIR
- Examples- Possessive Pronouns
- MINE; YOURS; HERS; HIS; ITS; OURS & THEIRS
- Examples- Prepositions 1
- AT; BY; IN; INTO; OFF; ON; ONTO; TO UNDER
- Examples- Prepositions 2
- ABOUT; ABOVE; AFTER; ALONG; AMONG; AROUND
- Examples- Prepositions 3
- FOR; FROM; OF; OVER; PAST; TOWARD; TOWARDS THROUGH
- Examples- Prepositions 4
- SINCE; TILL; UNTIL; WITH; WITHOUT
- Examples- Prepositions 5
- AMID; AMIDST; AMONGST
- Examples- Prepositions 6
- BEFORE; BEHIND; BELOW; BESIDE BETWEEN
- Examples- Quantifiers 1
- SOME; MUCH; MANY; FEW; LITTLE; SEVERAL; A LOT OF; LOTS OF; HALF;
PLENTY OF; 1; 1st
- Examples- Quantifiers 2
- ALL; ANY; EVERY; EACH; BOTH; ENOUGH; NEITHER; EITHER; NONE; NO
- Examples- Quantifiers 3
- MORE; MOST; FEWER; FEWEST; LESS; LEAST
- Examples- Reciprocal Pronouns
- EACH OTHER; ONE ANOTHER
- Examples- Reflexive Pronouns
- MYSELF; YOURSELF; HERSELF; HIMSELF; ITSELF; ONESELF; OURSELVES; OURSELVES;
THEMSELVES; & THEMSELVES
- Examples- Relative Pronouns
- THAT; WHICH; WHO; WHOM; WHOSE
- Examples- Sentencial Adverbs 1
- YES; NO
- Examples- Words that can give emphasis 1
- REALLY; SO; SUCH
- Examples- Words that can give emphasis 2
- MYSELF; YOURSELF; HERSELF; HIMSELF; ITSELF; OURSELVES; YOURSELVES;
THEMSELVES (Reflexive
Pronouns)
- Examples- Words that can give emphasis 3
- DO + (Adverb
+ Verb);
DOES + (Adverb
+ Verb);
DID + (Adverb
+ Verb)
- Examples- Words that can give emphasis 4
- HOW + Adjective
or Adjectival Phrase
- WHAT + Noun
or Noun
Phrase
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