Words like “will,” “would,” “must,” “may,” “might,” “can,” and “could” are modal auxiliaries, or “modal auxiliary verbs.” Sometimes they are called simply “modals” or “modal verbs.” In all of English there are only…
Grammar glossary: indicative
The term “indicative” refers to the grammatical “mood” of a verb in a clause. The indicative mood could be described as the ordinary, everyday mood expressed in most statements. It is used for…
Grammar glossary: gerund
A gerund is a word that contains the idea of a verb but functions in a sentence as a noun. The words “escaping,” “coughing,” “being,” and “laughing” are all in the form…
Grammar glossary: indirect object
When one object follows directly after another in a clause, as in the statement “I showed him (1) my collection (2),” the first is the indirect object (“him”) and the second is the direct object (“my…
Grammar glossary: direct object
The direct object is an element in a sentence that provides information that completes the idea introduced by certain verbs. We can say that it receives the action of the verb or…