How to Learn Any Language 39
ADJECTIVES
Adjectives are words that describe nouns. In the phrase “the green pen,” green is the adjective that describes pen. You’ll encounter some fuss about them because in many languages adjectives have to AGREE WITH (appear in the same form as) the nouns they MODIFY (refer to). In those languages adjectives must agree with the nouns in gender and number (and sometimes case).
A little Spanish will quickly make it clear. El libro es rojo (“The book is red”) shows the adjective rojo (“red”) in masculine singular form to agree with libro (“book”). La pluma es roja (“The pen is red”) shows the adjective roja (“red”) in feminine singular form to agree with pluma (“pen”). Los libros son rojos (“The books are red”) shows the adjective rojos (“red”) in masculine plural form to agree with libros (“books”). Finally, Las plumas son rojas (“The pens are red”) shows the adjective rojas (“red”) in feminine plural form to agree with plumas (“pens”).
ADVERBS
Adverbs describe verbs – they tell how. “He mastered the easy parts of the language easily.” Easily is the adverb telling how he mastered the easy parts (Easy, of couse, is the adjective.)
PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions are words that precede nouns and pronouns to form phrases (groups of words) that can act as adjectives or adverbs. Prepositions show relationships among nouns; they often indicate position or direction, and they are often short words: to, at, by, for, with, from, toward, on, over, behind, between, etc.
DEFINITE ARTICLE
The definite article in English is the word the.
INDEFINITE ARTICLE
The indefinite article in English is the word a or an. English has both the definite and indefinite article. Some other languages also have both. Some have one but not the other. Some have neither.
SUBJECT-VERB-OBJECT
Words like these symbolise the grade school “nerve gas” which deadens the desire to proceed through grammar and parts of speech, and diagramming sentences, and all related yawn provokers that once seemed to float too far over our heads ever to zoom down and give us discomfort. Those concepts may have seemed like distant enemies in the eighth grade when you had no intention of becoming an English teacher, but they’re close friends and necessary allies when you’re learning another language.
Briefly, in the sentence “He hits the ball,” the word he is the SUBJECT, hits is the VERB, ball is the OBJECT, the DIRECT OBJECT. If we lengthen the sentence to “He hits the ball to him,” then him is the INDIRECT OBJECT.
ACTIVE
The verb is ACTIVE or in the ACTIVE VOICE if the subject is performing the verb action. In “He hits the ball,” the verb hits is in the active voice because the subject he is the one (the AGENT) doing the hitting.
PASSIVE
The verb is PASSIVE or in the PASSIVE VOICE if the subject receives or is subject to the action of the verb. Thus in “The ball is hit by him”, the subject ball doesn’t do any hitting. Rather, it gets hit. Therefore, we say that the verb hit is in the passive voice because the subject ball is not performing the action of the verb but is rather having that action performed upon it.
REFLEXIVE
The verb is reflexive when its action bounces back upon itself. In the sentence “I dress myself,” the subject I both performs the action and has it performed on itself.
IMPERATIVE
The imperative is the command form of the verb. The imperative of the verb to go is go! The imperative of the verb to watch is Watch!
COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE
Though not as flighty and volatile as verbs and nouns, English adjectives and adverbs can’t sit entirely still.
Good, better, and best are really the same word in escalating degrees. Good is the simple, the base form of the adjective. Better is the comparative form. Best is the
superlative form. Good-better-best is an example of an irregular comparative-superlative construction. If it were regular, it would be good, gooder and goodest, like the regular neat, neater and neatest.
The comparative and superlative of adverbs in English is formed with more and most: “He progressed rapidly. He progressed more rapidly. He progressed most rapidly.”
CARDINAL AND ORDINAL NUMBERS
Cardinal numbers are one, two, three, four, etc. Ordinal numbers are first, second, third, fourth, etc.
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