In English, the shortest “full sentence” we can make is made up of 1) a subject and 2) a verb that shows past or non-past time (or a modal auxiliary verb, such…
grammatical patterns glossary
Grammar glossary: sentence
The word “sentence” is defined in various ways, but the way the word is generally used in traditional grammar has one specific meaning: A sentence is a statement or question that consists,…
Grammar glossary: present participle
The present participle is a verb part. It is formed with the ending “-ing” and looks just like a gerund (e.g., “going,” “walking,” “sitting,” “dancing,” “eating”). We see or hear the present…
Grammar glossary: predicate
A predicate is a major element of a sentence. Simply defined, it is the verb part of the sentence. It is the part of a sentence that contains the verb and elements of the…
Grammar glossary: phrase
A “phrase,” in one sense of the term as it is used in grammar, is a group of words that forms part of a sentence but does not contain a subject and…