The term “possessive” in grammar often refers to actual possession as we normally think of it. When we talk about “Sam’s phone,” we are using a possessive indicator (‘s) to say that…
grammatical patterns glossary
Grammar glossary: past participle
The past participle is a verb part. The words “done,” “gone,” “lost,” and “forgotten” are examples of past participles. The past participle is a form that a main verb can take when it is…
Grammar glossary: object
The word “object” in grammar refers to one of the important elements that can make up a sentence (or clause). The simplest type of sentence contains only a subject and a verb–for…
Grammar glossary: modal auxiliary
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…