－ Aspect
１．Definition
Aspect is a grammatical element that has to do with
how an action, state of being, or event as described by a verb relates to time.
Aspect is often confused with tense.
While tense is concerned with when the action,
state of being, or event occurs (past, present, or future),
aspect is concerned with how it occurs in time.
It is through aspect that we understand whether an action takes place at a single point in time, during a continuous range of time, or repetitively.
Sometimes aspect is conveyed by a sentence’s structure, through a combination of particles, verbs, and verb phrases; other times, sentence structure may be used for more than one aspect, so we rely on the overall sentence to understand its temporal meaning.
－ Perfective and imperfective aspect
The perfective aspect can be conveyed through
a variety of verb structures.
It is used when we draw attention to an action as a whole, summarizing it.
The perfective aspect may occur in past, present, or future actions and events.
• “I ate dinner.”
• “I swim like a fish.”
• “I have never been there before.”
• “We will help you tomorrow.”
the imperfective aspect, on the other hand,
is used to draw attention to the action
as having an internal structure
(rather than as a whole, complete action).
Like the perfective, this is the case regardless of
when the event occurs.
One instance of the imperfective is
when we relate an action that is considered
to be in progress at the moment of speaking
(or at the time of another event).
This is usually conveyed through the continuous aspect.
• “I was washing dishes when she came through the door.”
We also use the imperfective
when we describe actions or events as occurring repetitively, either now or in the past:
• “We used to go traveling a lot.”
• “John runs five miles every day.”
－ Aspects of verb tenses
Traditionally, each verb tense is said to have four aspects, or temporal structures: the simple, the perfect, the continuous, and the perfect continuous. These traditional aspects of the tenses do not always coincide with theory on perfective aspect and imperfective aspect —it should be remembered that certain structures may express perfective aspect in some cases and imperfective aspect in others, depending on the intended meaning.
－ Aspects of the present tense
The present tense is used for repeated actions, and for actions occurring or having a result in the present.
The different aspects of the present tense can be found in the table below:
Usually,
the simple and the perfect aspects match up
with the perfective aspect in grammatical theory.
However, as mentioned, this is not always the case.
It could be argued in this case
that the simple aspect of the present tense
actually corresponds with the imperfective aspect,
since it is usually used to convey habitual acts, as in:
• “I go to school every day.”
• “We go shopping on Saturdays.”
－ Aspects of the past tense
The simple and perfect simple tenses
generally correspond with the perfective aspect,
while the continuous and perfect continuous
correspond with the imperfective aspect.
Again, these do not always match up along clear lines,
and we should consider what the verb phrase conveys overall to decide whether the sentence has perfective or imperfective aspect.
－ Aspects of the future tense
－ Perfective and Imperfective Aspect
１．Definition
Aspect is a grammatical term
that has to do with
how an action, state of being, or event unfolds
in relation to time.
The greatest distinction is made
between the perfective aspect,
which focuses on actions and events
as whole elements,
and the imperfective aspect,
which deconstructs
how an event is structured and located in time.
－ Perfective aspect
The perfective aspect
highlights actions, states, or events as a whole,
presenting the actions from an outside perspective
as complete, bounded events.
The perfective aspect is encountered
in all of the tenses—past, present, and future—
but it is easiest to illustrate in the past.
－ Imperfective aspect
We sometimes classify these structures as the continuous aspect and the habitual aspect, both of which are subclasses of the imperfective
－ Continuous Aspect
The continuous aspect,
also called the progressive aspect,
is a subclass of the imperfective
that emphasizes the progressive nature of the verb,
looking at it as an incomplete action in progress
over a specific period of time
－ Habitual Aspect
－ Other constructions
－ Future habits
－ Aspects of the Present Tense
１．Definition
２．Present Simple
The present simple structure is used to express facts and habits that are true in the present time
３．Present Continuous
The present continuous is the combination of the present tense with the continuous aspect. It is used for actions that are either in progress at the moment of speaking,
or will be in progress in the near future.
４．Present Perfect
It is used for actions or states that began in the past but have an effect on or relevance to the present, stressing the completion of the action.
５．Present Perfect Continuous
－ Aspects of the Past Tense
１．Definition
２．Past Simple
３．Past Continuous
４．Past Perfect
It is used for actions or states that began and were completed before another action in the past took place
５，Past Perfect Continuous
－ Aspects of the Future Tense
１．Definition
２．Future Simple
will + the base form of the verb (the infinitive without to).
３．Future Continuous
will + be + the present participle
４．Future Perfect
will + have + the past participle
５．Future Perfect Continuous
will + have + been + the present participle
Mood
１．Definition
realis moods (expressing what is real or true)
and irrealis moods (expressing what is unreal, hypothetical, or untrue).
２．Realis moods (the indicative mood)
The indicative mood is a type of grammatical mood used to express facts, statements, opinions, or questions.
This mood is used in all verb tenses to form declarative sentences (i.e., statements or declarations) or interrogative sentences (i.e., questions).
－ Irrealis Moods
There are two irrealis moods in English: the subjunctive mood and the imperative mood.
１．Subjunctive Mood
The subjunctive mood refers to verbs that are conjugated a certain way to describe hypothetical or non-real actions, events, or situations
We most commonly use the subjunctive mood to express wishes; to express commands, suggestions, requests, or statements of necessity; or to describe hypothetical outcomes that depend on certain conditions.
２．Imperative Mood
Instead, we usually use the imperative mood to form
imperative sentences when we want to issue direct orders, commands, or general instructions. It is considered an irrealis mood because the action being demanded has not actually happened (and might not happen).
When we make an imperative sentence,
we use the infinitive form of the verb (without to),
and we omit the subject of the verb.
However,
we do often use a noun of address (also called a vocative) instead, which is a noun or noun phrase used to address the person to whom the command is directed.
－ Other moods
The three true moods in English are
the indicative,
the subjunctive,
and the imperative.
the “emphatic mood” and “infinitive mood.”
１．Emphatic mood
• “Yes, I do know that we are meeting your parents tonight.”
• “Well, she does have a Ph.D., after all.”
• “Do be careful, John.”
• “Oh, do be quiet!”
２．Infinitive mood
• “To be loved is a wonderful thing.”
In this case, the infinitive to be forms the infinitive phrase to be loved, which is used as a noun and the subject of the sentence
－ Indicative Mood
１．Definition
The indicative mood is a type of grammatical mood used to express facts, statements, opinions, or questions. It is the sole realis mood in English (as opposed to the irrealis moods)
２．Function
－ Subjunctive Mood
１．Definition
We most commonly use the subjunctive mood to express desires or wishes;
to express commands, suggestions, requests, or statements of necessity;
or to describe hypothetical outcomes that depend on certain conditions.
１．Expressing Wishes
• Indicative mood: “It’s Monday. I have to go to work.”
• Subjunctive mood: “I wish it weren’t Monday. I wish I didn’t have to go to work.”
Notice that the verb be always conjugates to were in the subjunctive mood, regardless of whether it refers to a singular or plural noun.
２．Expressing Commands, Suggestions, Requests, and Statements of Necessity
When we express actions that we demand, suggest, or request
that someone else take,
or describe something that must be the case,
we use the base form of the verb—that is,
the infinitive form without the word to.
• “He demanded that they leave the room at once.” (command)
• “I recommend that she study harder next time.” (suggestion)
• “I ask that the audience be completely silent during the demonstration.” (request)
• “It’s necessary that we be vigilant to avoid another disaster.” (statement of necessity)
The biggest difference between the subjunctive and indicative mood in this case is that the verb does not change according to who is taking the action.
Note that when we issue direct demands using imperative sentences (as in, “Do your homework!” or “Please close the window.”), we are no longer using the subjunctive mood —instead, we are using what’s known as the imperative mood
－ Conditional Sentences
Conditional sentences are used to describe hypothetical scenarios that require a certain condition or conditions to be met.
They use what’s known as the conditional mood and are generally constructed using if to identify the conditions that must be met.
１．Zero Conditional
The zero conditional is used to talk about something that is generally true.
• “If you throw a ball in the air, it comes back down.” (Always true)
２．First Conditional
The first conditional is very similar in structure to the zero conditional, except that we now use the future simple tense (will + bare infinitive) to describe a probable or intended result of the condition
• “If I see him, I will tell him.”
• “If I win the lottery, I will buy a new house.”
３．Second Conditional
We use the second conditional to speak about a hypothetical situation or outcome resulting from the condition.
Unlike the first conditional,
we generally use the second conditional to talk about things that cannot or are less likely to happen.
To create the second conditional,
we use the past simple tense after the if clause,
followed by would, could or might + the bare infinitive for the result of the condition.
• “If you had a phone, you could call me every day.”
• “If I were older, I might stay up all night long.”
４．Third Conditional
Third conditionals are used to establish a hypothetical situation in the past, followed by a hypothetical outcome that did not really happen—typically, the outcome is the opposite of what actually happened.
To form the third conditional, we use the past perfect tense for the if conditional clause, and would/could/should/might have + the past participle of the verb for the hypothetical outcome.
• “If I had been more prepared, I would have passed that test.”
• “If I hadn’t overslept, I wouldn’t have been late for work.”
－ Subjunctive Mood - Expressing Wishes Definition
１．Creating the subjunctive mood
present simple tense —> past simple tense
present continuous tense —> past continuous tense
present perfect tense —>past perfect tense
present perfect continuous tense —>past perfect continuous tense
past simple tense —> past perfect tense
past continuous tense —> past perfect continuous tense
past perfect tense —>past perfect tense (no further shift possible)
past perfect continuous tense —>past perfect continuous tense (no further shift possible)
２．Wishes about others’ behavior
When we talk about someone’s continued behavior
that we wish were different,
we either use would + the desired verb,
or simply the past tense of the verb
• “I wish she wouldn’t whistle in the house like that.”
or
• “I wish she didn’t whistle in the house like that.”
３．If only instead of wish
To express a desire that is more fanciful, unrealistic, or that we consider to be ideal, we can use if only instead of I wish to add more emphasis to the desire. (Note that the subjunctive verb still goes back one tense in the past.)
• “I hate being cold all the time. If only I lived in a hot country.”
• “If only I were rich—I would spend my whole life traveling.”
• “We’re spending two weeks in the French alps next month; if only I could ski!”
－ Voice
１．Definition
Voice, also known as diathesis, is a grammatical feature that describes the relationship between the verb and the subject (also known as the agent) in a sentence.
More specifically, voice describes how the verb is expressed or written in relation to the agent.
There are two main types of voice: active voice and passive voice. A third type of voice called “middle” voice also exists but is less commonly used.
• “She wrote a novel.” (active voice)
• “The house was purchased by an elderly couple.” (passive voice)
• “The cat licked itself.” (“middle” voice)
主动：行为发出者
被动：行为接收者
中立：既发出行为，又接收行为
２．Active voice
A verb is in the active voice when the agent of the verb (the person or thing that performs the action specified by the verb) is also the subject of the sentence.
Not all active-voice verbs are required to take an object. Any object present, however, must come after the verb (which always comes after the agent).
• “The boy sang a song.” (with an object, a song)
• “I am watching a movie.” (with an object, a movie)
• “Vivian sings well.” (without an object)
３．Passive voice
A sentence uses the passive voice when the subject is acted upon by the verb.
Passive-voice sentences are structurally opposite to active-voice sentences, with the object (now the subject* of the sentence) coming before the verb and the verb coming before the agent of the action.
A passive-voice verb is used in the past participle form preceded by the auxiliary verb be, and the preposition by is inserted before the agent to form a prepositional phrase.
• “Angie will perform a famous piano piece tomorrow night.” (active voice)
• “A famous piano piece will be performed by Angie tomorrow night.” (passive voice)
• “Thousands of people have already read his new book.” (active voice)
• “His new book has already been read by thousands of people.” (passive voice)
When converting a sentence from active to passive, the original object becomes the new subject due to its position at the beginning of the sentence. At the same time, the agent changes into the object of a prepositional phrase.
Unlike active-voice, passive-voice sentences do not require agents. If an agent is unknown or irrelevant, you may eliminate the prepositional phrase containing the agent.
• “The light bulb was patented by Thomas Edison in 1880.” (with agent)
• “The light bulb was patented in 1880.” (without agent)
３．“Middle” voice
The term “middle” voice describes a type of voice that is a combination of sorts between the active and passive voices.
The middle voice is not clearly defined in the English language;
that is, it does not have a verb form specific to it.
It does, however, contain several odd or irregular verb usages
that are said to correspond most closely with the middle voice of other languages.
In most “middle”-voice sentences, the agent performs the verb’s action on itself. To compensate for the lack of a middle-voice verb form, these verbs are typically followed by a reflexive pronoun.
• “My girlfriend always checks herself in the mirror before we go out.”
• “The dog bit itself on the tail.”
“Middle” voice can also be used to describe some intransitive verbs. These verbs syntactically appear active (agent + verb) but function more similarly to verbs in the passive voice.
In other words, the agent is being acted upon (like the passive voice) despite its position in front of the verb (as in the active voice).
• “The lasagna cooked in the oven for several hours.” (The verb cook is acting upon the agent lasagna.)
• “The bicycle broke without warning.” (The verb break is acting upon the agent bicycle.)
－ Active Voice
１．Definition
The active voice is a type of grammatical voice in which the subject of a sentence is also the agent of the verb—that is, it performs the action expressed by the verb. In active-voice sentences, the agent always comes before the verb.
A direct object is not always required for active-voice verbs. When an object is included, however, it must come directly after the verb.
• “I am drinking some tea.” (with a direct object, some tea)
• “The boy hid his report card from his parents.” (with a direct object, his report card)
• “Dr. Johnson will speak at the convention.” (without a direct object)
２．When to use the active voice
The following sections contain circumstances in which you should always try to use the active voice over the passive voice.
２．１．When there is no direct object
Because passive-voice sentences require direct objects (which are turned into subjects when converted from active to passive voice), sentences without direct objects must be active
• “That man has painted for more than 40 years.”
• “We departed immediately after the grand finale.”
• “The kids chatted for several minutes.”
We can see how these sentences cannot be put in the passive voice, because there is no direct object to become the subject. Take, for instance, the first sentence:
• “For more than 40 years, has been painted by the man.” (What has been painted?)
It no longer makes any sense when structured in the passive voice, so it must remain active.
２．２．When the agent is important
The active voice is commonly used to emphasize the importance of an agent in a sentence.
By using the active voice, we can highlight an agent’s responsibility for or involvement with a particular action.
The examples below demonstrate the differences between an important agent (active voice) and an unimportant agent (passive voice):
• “The employees drink lots of coffee before work every day.” (active voice—describes the employees in relation to the act of drinking coffee)
• “Lots of coffee is drunk by the employees before work every day.” (passive voice—describes the act of drinking coffee in relation to the employees)
１．３．When the agent is known or relevant
You should always use the active voice if an agent is identifiable or contains information that is relevant to the rest of the sentence.
• “Shawn stole a menu from the restaurant.” (The speaker knows or is familiar with Shawn.)
On the other hand, when an agent is unknown or irrelevant, we usually switch to the passive voice and eliminate the agent altogether.
• “A menu was stolen from the restaurant.”
• “An abandoned puppy was found by the road.”
１．４．When expressing an authoritative tone
The active voice may also be used to stress the authority of an agent.
This authoritative tone is a strategy commonly used
in copywriting, advertising, and marketing
in order to convince consumers of the beneficial effects
of a product or service.
It may also be used to establish a command
or to more strongly emphasize an agent’s responsibility for an action.
• “Brushing your teeth at least twice a day is recommended by dentists.” (passive voice)
• “Dentists recommend brushing your teeth at least twice a day.” (active voice— emphasizes the authority of the dentists)
１．５．When the agent is an ongoing topic
Agents that can perform multiple actions may be treated as topics.
Making an agent an ongoing topic places emphasis
on that agent instead of the actions it performs.
When an agent acts as a topic,
it usually remains the primary subject in most active-voice sentences used to describe or refer to it.
－ Passive Voice
The passive voice is a type
of grammatical voice
in which the subject is acted upon by the verb.
Passive-voice verbs are always preceded
by the auxiliary verb be and are in their past participle forms.
While the receiver of the action
comes before the verb,
the person or thing performing the action (known as the agent)
comes after the verb
and is preceded by the preposition by
to form a prepositional phrase.
－ Converting the active voice into the passive voice
You may only convert a sentence
from the active voice into the passive voice
if there is a direct object.
As we’ve seen,
this direct object becomes the subject in the passive voice.
• “A high school track and field star won the race.” (active voice)
• “The race was won by a high school track and field star.” (passive voice)
－ Converting the passive voice into the active voice
You may only convert a sentence
from the passive voice into the active voice
if there is an identifiable agent of the verb.
In the active voice, this agent becomes the subject.
• “This blanket was knitted by my grandmother.” (passive voice)
• “My grandmother knitted this blanket.” (active voice)
If a passive-voice sentences does not contain an agent,
it cannot be converted into the active voice,
as the sentence will lack coherency without a subject.
－ When to use the passive voice
The passive voice is less commonly used
than the active voice
because it is wordy and often lacks clarity;
however,
there are several cases
in which using the passive voice may be necessary or preferable.
ａ．When the receiver of the action is important
ｂ．When the agent is unknown, irrelevant, or implied
ｃ．When softening an authoritative tone
ｄ．When expressing a professional, neutral, or objective tone
－ Middle Voice
１．Definition
The so-called middle voice is an approximate type of grammatical voice in which the subject both performs and receives the action expressed by the verb.
In other words, the subject acts as both the agent and the receiver (i.e., the direct object) of the action.
• “He injured himself playing rugby.” (He is the agent and himself is the receiver of the action.)
• “The cat is scratching itself.” (The cat is the agent and itself is the receiver of the action.)
Middle-voice verbs follow the same syntactic structure as in the active voice (agent + verb), but function semantically as passive-voice verbs. As a result, the middle voice is described as a combination of the active and passive voices.
Because there is no verb form exclusive to the middle voice, it is often categorized as the active voice since it uses the same verb structure in a sentence.
• “Some snakes have tried to eat inedible things.” (active voice)
• “Some snakes have tried to eat themselves.” (middle voice)
－ How to identify the middle voice
We can distinguish the middle voice from the active voice
by determining whether there is a reflexive pronoun after the verb
(in the direct object position)
or an intransitive verb acting upon the agent.
－ When the direct object is a reflexive pronoun
Because the agent is also the receiver of the action in the middle voice, we can clarify this connection by inserting a reflexive pronoun after the verb.
The reflexive pronoun assumes the role of the direct object and indicates that the agent is acting upon itself.
• “The child warmed herself by blowing into her hands.” (Herself is a reflexive pronoun that refers to the child.)
Many middle-voice verbs are transitive verbs
and therefore require a direct object in the form of a reflexive pronoun.
Without a reflexive pronoun,
the receiver of the action becomes unclear, and the sentence loses coherence.
Reusing the agent instead of adding a reflexive pronoun will affect the coherence of the sentence or even change its meaning altogether:
• “The child warmed the child by blowing into her hands.” (implies the child warmed a different child)
Likewise, using a personal pronoun instead of a reflexive pronoun will change or confuse the meaning of the verb’s action:
• “The child warmed her by blowing into her hands.” (implies the child warmed a different child)
－ When the verb is intransitive and acting upon the agent
Certain intransitive verbs can be used to modify an agent (usually an inanimate object) that is also the receiver of the action.
In the middle voice, this type of verb does not take a reflexive pronoun (or any direct object).
• “My sister’s lunch is cooking on the stove.” (Cook is an intransitive verb indicating what is being cooked.)
• “This car doesn’t drive smoothly anymore.” (Drive is an intransitive verb indicating what is being driven.)
However, active-voice verbs can also be intransitive and are expressed identically to middle-voice verbs.
• “The boy laughed when he heard the joke.” (Laugh is an intransitive verb indicating who is laughing.)
• “Someone is crying in the hallway.” (Cry is an intransitive verb indicating who is crying.)
You can determine whether an intransitive verb is in the active voice or the middle voice by changing the verb into the passive voice.
Doing so will convert the intransitive verb into a transitive verb and the agent into the receiver of the action.
If the meaning of the sentence stays roughly the same, it is in the middle voice. If the meaning changes dramatically or lacks coherence, it is in the active voice.
• “My sister’s lunch is cooking on the stove.” (original)
✔ “My sister’s lunch is being cooked on the stove.” (passive voice)
• “The boy laughed when he heard the joke.” (original)
✖ “The boy was laughed when he heard the joke.” (passive voice)
When converted into the passive voice, the original sentence loses coherence; therefore, it must be in the active voice.
－ Speech
１．Definition
Speech is usually divided between two types:
direct speech and reported speech (also known as indirect speech).
２．Reporting verbs
Both direct and indirect speech use what are known as reporting verbs, the most common of which are say and tell.
When we use tell, we need to use another person’s name or a
personal pronoun as an indirect object.
Other reporting verbs include ask, instruct, explain, mention, suggest, claim, and many more.
－ Direct Speech
Direct speech refers to the direct quotation of something that someone else said.
Because the quotation happened in the past,
we put the reporting verb into the past simple tense,
but we don’t change the verbs used within the quotation.
－ Punctuating direct speech
When used in writing, we indicate the quoted speech with quotation marks.
If we are quoting an entire sentence, we set it apart with one or two commas.
• John said, “I’ll never live in this city again.”
• Mary told him, “I want to have another baby,” which took him by surprise.
However,
if we are quoting a fragment of speech that is used
as an integral part of the overall sentence, then no commas are used.
• John said he feels “really bad” about what happened.
－ Direct speech before a reporting verb
We can also put direct speech before the reporting verb.
Again, we usually use a comma to separate the quoted text from the unquoted text
• “I can’t wait to see daddy,” my son said.
However, if a question mark or exclamation point is used
in the direct speech, then we do not use a comma:
• “Where are we going?” asked Sally.
• “This is going to be great!” Tom exclaimed
－ End punctuation — American vs. British
１．English
In American English, a period or comma used at the end of direct speech always appears within the quotation marks.
In British English, however, if the quotation ends in a period or comma, it is usually placed outside the quotation mark, as in:
• The CEO said, ‘This is a great day for the company’.
• ‘I want to be a doctor when I grow up’, Susy told us yesterday.
Note that if a quoted sentence ends in a question mark or exclamation point that belongs to the quotation, it will appear within the quotation marks. If the question mark or exclamation point belongs to the overall sentence (that is, it isn’t actually part of the quotation), it will appear outside the quotation marks. This is the same in both American and British English.
• Samantha asked, “How long will it take to get there?”
• But I don’t want to just ‘see how things go’!
－ Using multiple sets of quotation marks
If we are using double quotation marks,
then we have to put the quoted speech in single quotation marks;
if it is in single quotation marks,
then the quoted text is put into double quotation marks.
The rest of the punctuation in the sentence does not change.
• “They told us, ‘We don’t have the budget for more staff.’”
• ‘The prime minister is reported to have said that he is “in disagreement with the president’s remarks”, which prompted a quick response from the White House.’
－ Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)
When we tell other people
what someone else told us without directly quoting that person,
it is called reported speech.
(It is also sometimes known as indirect speech or indirect quotation.)
We still use reporting verbs in reported speech,
but we no longer use quotation marks
because we are reporting a version of what was said.
We also do not use commas to set the reported speech apart,
though we often (but not always) introduce it with the word that.
• Janet said she would go to the station herself.
• He told us that he wanted to be alone.
－ Shifting verb tense in reported speech
The conventional grammar rule when using reported speech is to shift the verb tense one degree into the past.
This is because we usually put the reporting verb in the past tense (I asked, she said, they told us, he suggested, etc.),
so the speech that is being reported must shift back as well.
In the table below, we’ll look at the way sentences in various tenses are shifted in reported speech according to this convention:
－ Other categories of speech
While direct and reported speech are the two main forms
of grammatical speech,
there are two other sub-categories that we use:
free indirect speech and silent speech.
－ Free Indirect Speech
Free indirect speech (also known as free indirect discourse) is used to indicate the thoughts or mental processes of a character;
as such, it is most commonly found in prose writing.
It is most often used in the form of a question,
rhetorically asking something about the character’s situation.
We do not use reporting verbs to introduce or indicate
free indirect speech,
and, like reported speech, it is used without quotation marks.
• He had no money, no job, and no friends. How had his life arrived to such a desperate point?
• Janet had just learned that she needed to give a speech to the entire school in less than an hour. What was she going to do?
－ Silent Speech
Silent speech refers to a direct quotation that is said internally (i.e., silently) by someone to him- or herself.
We still use reporting verbs, and we often apply the exact same punctuation rules to silent speech that we use in direct speech.
• “I’m never coming back to this town again,” he murmured to himself.
• She thought, “What a beautiful country.”
on stand out from the rest of the text,
some writers will use italics to indicate silent speech. Note that, if the reporting verb appears before the silent speech, we generally do not capitalize the first word if we don’t use quotation marks. For example:
• It will be quiet around here when the kids go to college, Dan thought.
• She asked herself, how am I going to get out of this one?
－ Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)
１．Definition
２．Reporting verbs
The most common so-called “reporting verbs” are say and tell. When we use tell, we need to use another person’s name, or a personal pronoun representing him or her, as an indirect object.
✖ “She said me she was late for the appointment yesterday.” (incorrect)
✔ “She said she was late for the appointment yesterday.” (correct)
✖ “She told she was late for the appointment yesterday.” (incorrect)
✔ “She told me she was late for the appointment yesterday. (correct)
Other reporting verbs include ask, instruct, explain, mention, suggest, claim, and many more.
• “He asked if I could come in early tomorrow.”
• “She explained that she was only joking.”
• “I merely suggested that we should go home early.”
某某说／提议／解释／．．．．
－ Shifting grammatical tense in indirect speech
自己说－－直接
别人说－－间接
－ Grammatical Person
１．Definition
Grammatical person refers to the degree of involvement of a participant in an action, event, or circumstance.
There are three degrees of grammatical person: first person (the speaker), second person (someone being spoken to), and third person (anyone/anything not being directly addressed).
The grammatical person of a clause’s subject (a noun or pronoun) will
affect how we conjugate the verb of that clause.
２．Non-be Verbs
When to conjugate for person
Every verb in English (except modal auxiliary verbs) conjugates for grammatical person.
However, this conjugation only occurs in one specific instance:
if the subject is singular and in the third person,
and if the verb is in the present simple tense.
If this is the case, we most often conjugate the verb
by adding “-s” or “-es” to the end.
In the first or second person in the present simple tense,
we simply use the base form (bare infinitive) of the verb.
• “I want a soda.” (first-person singular, present simple tense)
• “You want a soda.” (second-person singular, present simple tense)
• “She wants a soda.) (third-person singular, present simple tense)
• “They want a soda.) (third-person plural, present simple tense)
Note that this conjugation does not occur with the past or future simple tenses:
• “I wanted a soda.” (first-person singular, past simple tense)
• “You wanted a soda.” (second-person singular/plural, past simple tense)
• “She wanted a soda.) (third-person singular, past simple tense)
• “I will want a soda.” (first-person singular, future simple tense)
• “You will want a soda.” (second-person singular/plural, future simple tense)
• “She will want a soda.” (third-person singular, future simple tense)
－ Auxiliary verbs
Auxiliary verbs combine with the main verb of a clause to create a unique, specific meaning.
There are three primary auxiliary verbs that can all conjugate to reflect tense and person:
do, have, and be.
We use the verb do as an auxiliary when we want to ask questions or to make verbs negative.
In the present tense in the third-person singular, we conjugate do into does.
• “Do you want any ice cream?” (second-person singular/plural)
• “Does he want any ice cream?” (third-person singular)
• “They don’t want any ice cream.” (third-person plural)
• “She doesn’t want any ice cream.” (third-person singular)
The auxiliary verbs have and be are used to create the perfect, continuous, and perfect continuous forms of the past and present tenses.
The main verb in these tenses will not conjugate for person, but, in certain cases, the auxiliary verbs can.
The present perfect and present perfect continuous tense both use the present-simple tense form of the auxiliary verb have, which conjugates as has in the third-person singular.
Present Perfect Continuous Tense
• “I have been working a lot lately.” (first-person singular)
• “You have been working a lot lately.” (second-person singular/plural)
• “He has been working a lot lately.” (third-person singular)
• “They have been working a lot lately.” (third-person plural)
Present Perfect Tense
• “I have eaten too much food.” (first-person singular)
• “You have eaten too much food!” (second-person singular/plural)
• “The dog has eaten too much food!” (third-person singular)
• “The dogs have eaten too much food!” (third-person plural)
The present continuous and past continuous tenses, on the other hand, use the verb be as an auxiliary verb, and it conjugates in several ways according to person and tense:
Present Continuous Tense
• “I am running out of time.” (first-person singular)
• “We are running out of time.” (first-person plural)
• “You are running out of time.” (second-person singular/plural)
• “He is running out of time.” (third-person singular)
• “They are running out of time.” (third-person plural)
Past Continuous Tense
• “I was running out of time.” (first-person singular)
• “We were running out of time.” (first-person plural)
• “You were running out of time.” (second-person singular/plural)
• “He was running out of time.” (third-person singular)
• “They were running out of time.” (third-person plural)
－ Spelling conjugated verbs
As we’ve seen already, some verbs take “-s” or “-es” to conjugate for third-person singular subjects, depending on how they are spelled
１．Add “-s”
I play she plays
they break it breaks
we buy he buys
you write the author writes
I bake my father bakes
they lie he lies
２．Add “-es”
There are some verbs
that already end in a sibilant sound (a sound like a hiss or buzz)
created by the endings “-ss,” “-z,” “-x,” “-sh,” “-ch,” or “-tch.”
Adding “-s” to the end would just elongate that sound in an odd way,
so we add the suffix “-es” instead so that the sound is distinguished.
they catch she catches
we mix it mixes
I hush he hushes
we pass he passes
they quiz the teacher quizzes
I approach she approaches
We also usually add the “-es” suffix to verbs ending in a consonant + “-o,”
I go he goes
we do she does
they forgo he forgoes
they veto the committee vetoes
I lasso the rancher lassoes
you undo he undoes
However, verbs ending in a vowel + “-o” (such as moo, boo, woo, or radio) simply take the “-s” ending (moos, boos, woos, radios).
Solo is unique in that it ends in a consonant + “o,”
yet it also only takes “-s” for the third-person singular (solos).
Change “y” to “i” and add “-es”
If a verb ends in a consonant followed by “-y,” we conjugate by changing “y” to “i” and then adding “-es.”
(Note that if “y” is preceded by a vowel, as in play, buy, stay, etc.,
then we simply add “-s” as usual.)
they cry he cries
we try she tries
they scurry it scurries
the dogs bury he buries
I fly the pilot flies
I spy she spies
－ Conjugating be
The verb be is known as a highly irregular verb due to the huge variation in how it conjugates for tense and person.
Be, like the verbs have and do,
can be both an auxiliary verb or the main verb of a clause.
As we saw above,
when be functions as an auxiliary,
it is used to create
the past continuous and present continuous tenses;
when it functions as a main verb,
it is called a linking verb,
meaning it connects a subject to a description
rather than expressing a dynamic action.
now let’s look at some examples of how it functions as a linking verb.
• “I am 32 years old.”
• “Were you cold last night?”
• “It was very rainy in Ireland.”
• “John is in the other room.”
• “She is a bully.”
• “They are a lost cause.”
Note that we don’t conjugate be into its past and present participles
to reflect grammatical person;
instead, they are used when be is functioning as the main verb
in the perfect or continuous tenses.
• “I have been unwell lately.” (present perfect tense)
• “You are being silly.” (present continuous tense)
－ Declension
１．Definition
Declension collectively refers to the inflection
(change in form) of nouns, pronouns, adjectives,
and adverbs to reflect certain aspects
of how they are used in a sentence.
Declension stands in contrast to conjugation,
which refers specifically to the inflection of verbs.
ａ．Nouns
The declension of nouns reflects two things: plurality and gender
ｂ．Plurals
Nouns are declined primarily to reflect number.
A noun in its basic form is inherently singular,
so we must inflect it when there is more than one.
The most common way to do this is to add the suffix “-s”
to the end of the noun, as in books, dogs, tables, etc.
However, certain nouns take “-es” at the end instead,
and many irregular plurals defy any sort of spelling guidelines at all.
ｃ．Gender
In English, nouns are generally gender neutral.
While it is very common to inflect nouns
for gender in the romance languages
(such as French, Italian, and Spanish),
inflection for gender has all but disappeared in modern English
(except for personal pronouns, as we’ll see)
However, there are still a few English nouns that still do inflect for gender. The most common of these take an “-ess” ending to reflect feminine (female) gender.
count (male) vs. countess (female), or prince (male) vs. princess (female).
－ Personal Pronouns
Pronouns are used for a wide range of purposes,
but we only inflect a relatively small portion of them—personal pronouns.
However, other than the conjugation of verbs,
personal pronouns are the most heavily inflected part of speech
in English, changing form to reflect case, gender, number, and person.
Reflexive pronouns,
though not technically an example of declension,
are so similar to personal pronouns
that we will also consider them within this group.
ａ．Case
Personal pronouns change form to reflect
the subjective case,
the objective case,
and the possessive case.
ｂ．Subjective Case
When a personal pronoun is acting as the subject of a verb
(that is, it is the person or thing doing the action),
it is said to be in the subjective case.
• “I know that she said that.”
(Both pronouns are subjective,
as both are agents of their respective actions.)
• “He told her to be quiet.”
(Here, only he is in the subjective case;
her, the recipient or “object” of his action, is in the objective case.)
ｃ．Objective Case
A personal pronoun is in the objective case
when it is a direct or indirect object of a verb,
or else if it is the object of a preposition.
• “I can’t believe he fired you.” (You is the direct object of the verb fire.)
• “Please send them[间接宾语] a thank you card[直接宾语].” (Them is the indirect object of the verb send.)
• “You can’t say that to me!”
(Me is the object of the preposition to;
together they form the prepositional phrase to me.)
ｄ．Possessive (Genitive) Case
As the name implies,
the possessive case changes the inflection of a personal pronoun
to mark possession.
Possessive determiners function grammatically like adjectives,
modifying a noun or nouns.
• “My dad’s glasses went missing.”
(My is a possessive determiner
that shows the relation of dad to the speaker.)
• “He said it was his computer.”
(His is a possessive determiner that modifies computer.)
Possessive pronouns[所有格代词] are personal pronouns
in the possessive case that have the grammatical function of nouns.
• “I can see mine through the window!”
• “Jenny seems pretty sure that the book is hers.”
ｅ．Gender
Personal pronouns are only inflected for gender
when they are in the third person and singular—
first-person and second-person pronouns (singular or plural)
and third-person plural pronouns remain gender neutral.
Third-person feminine singular: she, her, hers, herself
Third-person masculine singular: he, him, his, himself
The third-person singular can also be neuter.
This is used when a personal pronoun represents a thing or an animal.
Animals can sometimes take gendered personal pronouns
if they are pets[宠物] or domesticated animals[家养]; otherwise, they take the third-person neuter form:
Third-person neuter singular: it, its, its own, itself
Remember, when there are multiple people or things,
we use the ungendered forms of they:
Third person plural: they, them, their, theirs, themselves
－ Person
Grammatical person refers to the perspectives of the personal pronouns
used to identify a person in speech and text—that is,
it distinguishes between a speaker (first person),
an addressee (second person), and others beyond that (third person).
ａ．First person
First-person pronouns tell what is directly happening to the speaker or narrator:
Singular: I, me, my, mine, myself
Plural: we, us, our, ours, ourselves
ｂ．Second person
We use the second-person pronouns
to indicate those who are being addressed directly by the speaker:
Singular/Plural: you, you, your, yours, yourself (singular), yourselves (plural)
ｃ．Third person
Third person is used to talk about someone or something
that is not the speaker and is not being directly addressed:
Feminine singular: she, her, hers, herself
Masculine singular: he, him, his, himself
Neuter singular: it, its, its own, itself
However, when there are multiple people or things,
we use the un-gendered forms of they:
Third person plural: they, them, their, theirs, themselves
－ Number
Personal pronouns, unlike nouns,
have various specific inflections
depending on whether they are singular or plural.
For the most part,
only the first-person and third-person personal pronouns have plural forms;
the only plural second-person pronoun is the reflexive pronoun yourselves.
There are no rules or guidelines for how we change the personal pronouns for number
because doing so affects all the other forms;
we simply have to memorize their various forms.
－ Reflexive Pronouns and intensive pronouns
Reflexive and intensive pronouns are identical in appearance,
formed by adding “-self” or “-selves” to the pronouns
my, our, your, her, him, it, them, or one (an indefinite pronoun).
Reflexive pronouns are used
when someone or something is both the subject and the object
of the same verb.
When this happens,
the reflexive verb is used as the object of the verb
to represent the person or thing;
a reflexive pronoun can never be used as the subject of a verb.
• “I wish you could hear yourselves right now!”
• “She admitted to herself that she was wrong.”
• “The vole hides itself beneath the ground for safety.”
• “The players have really outdone themselves today!”
• “One should strive to better oneself every day.”
Intensive pronouns look identical to reflexive pronouns,
but they are used to add emphasis to a person’s (or thing’s) role in an action.
• “I told them myself that the report would be finished on time.”
• “You need to do the work yourselves, or you will never learn the material.”
• “The president herself will be speaking at the ceremony.”
Reflexive and intensive pronouns are
not typically considered inflections of personal pronouns.
However,
because they are formed from other pronouns,
we have grouped them together here
with the other types of personal pronoun declension.
－ Adjectives
－ Adverbs
－ Plurals
Plurals of nouns are used to indicate
when there is more than one person, place, animal, or thing.
The normal method for making nouns plural
is to add an “-s” at the end of the noun.
If a noun ends in “-s,” “-x,” “-z,”
or with a cluster of consonants,
such as “-sh,” “-ch,” or “- tch” (as in “watch”),
we add “-es” to render it plural.
－ Words ending in “-y”
When the noun ends in a “-y”
and it is preceded by a consonant,
we change “y” to “i” and add “-es.”
one country – two countries
However,
when a word ends in a “-y” preceded by a vowel,
then we simply add an “-s” as usual:
one toy – two toys
－ Irregular plurals
There are some nouns that are irregular.
They do not adhere to spelling rules,
and so these need to be memorized.
one man – two men
one woman – two women
one person – two people*
one mouse – two mice
one goose – two geese
one child – two children
one tooth – two teeth
one foot – two feet
Be aware that irregular plural nouns
cannot be made plural again;
that is, you cannot have childrens, or feets.
However, people is an exception—
it can be pluralized as peoples in some cases.
－ Adding “-ves” vs. “-s”
With some nouns that end in “-f,” “-fe,” or “-lf,”
we replace the endings with “-ves” to make them plural.
one life – two lives
one wife – two wives
one loaf – two loaves
one leaf – two leaves
one knife – two knives
one thief – two thieves
one calf – two calves
one half – two halves
one wolf – one wolves
However,
many other words that end in “-f,” “-fe,” or “-lf”
are simply made plural with an “-s” on the end
one chief – two chiefs
one brief – two briefs
And yet some other words can receive
either “-ves” or “-s,” such as:
one handkerchief – two handkerchiefs – two handkerchieves
one hoof – two hoofs – two hooves
one scarf – two scarfs – two scarves
－ Words ending in “-ff” or “-ffe”
Words ending in “-ff” or “-ffe,”
on the other hand, have straightforward plural forms:
we simply add “-s” to the end, as in:
one cliff – two cliffs
one bailiff – two bailiffs
one giraffe – two giraffes
one gaffe – two gaffes
－ Words with the same plural and singular forms
one fish – two fish*
one sheep – two sheep
one bison – two bison
one aircraft – two aircraft
Note that fish can also be pluralized as fishes.
However, it is more common for this “-es”
form to be used in reference to more than one kind of fish,
as opposed to multiple fish in general.
－ Uncountable nouns
Although similar in nature to the above nouns,
uncountable nouns refer to things
that cannot be divided into individual units,
and that therefore cannot be made plural at all.
rice
butter
milk
advice
news
To quantify them, we need to use a unit of measure,
such as one pound of rice, a bottle of milk,
a piece of advice, etc.
－ Words from Latin or Greek
There are also nouns taken from Latin or Greek
that maintain their original forms in the plural.
However, as we’ll see,
some of these words have begun shifting towards
more conventional plural forms,
in addition to their original spellings.
index – indices (indexes is now also acceptable)
appendix – appendices (appendixes is now also acceptable)
fungus – fungi
criterion – criteria
nucleus – nuclei
syllabus – syllabi
focus – foci
cactus – cacti (cactuses is now also acceptable)
thesis – theses
crisis – crises
phenomenon – phenomena
－ Non-Existent Plural Adjectives
As you can see,
it is always the noun that is pluralized, and never the adjective.
－ Gender in Nouns
－ Conveying gender in English nouns
－ Making a noun feminine
Of the nouns that decline to mark gender,
most do so to indicate the noun as being feminine.
However, even this practice is becoming less common in modern English.
－ “-ess”
The most common suffix used to mark feminine nouns is “-ess.”
stewardess
waitress
actress
abbess
countess
duchess
princess
－ “-ette”
The other suffix most commonly recognized
as being a feminine marker is “-ette,”
due largely to its use in the term suffragette,
the name given to supporters
and advocates of women’s suffrage
in the early 20th century (especially in Britain).
－ Other feminine suffixes
“-ine,” used to form heroine (from hero),
and “-trix,” such as aviatrix (from aviator),
executrix (from executor),
or mediatrix (from mediator).
－ Making a noun masculine
Nouns that are, were,
or can be distinguished between feminine and masculine genders are often masculine in their basic form. These tend to end in “-er” or “-or” to denote someone who performs the action of a verb.
actor
cleaner
lawyer
executioner
executor
aviator
bachelor
widow (meaning a woman whose spouse had died)
masculine by adding “-er”
—widower (a man whose spouse has died).
－ Nouns with inherent gender identity
There is a relatively small amount of nouns in English
that are inherently gendered
because they describe members of the male or female sex
they do not use suffixes to alter
the meaning of an existing word.
Most commonly,
they are terms describing familial, social, or sometimes royal titles.
－ Animal names
We also have specific gendered words
to identify male and female members of animal types.
Although some are dependent
on the use of suffixes
(for instance, a female lion is a lioness),
many are totally unique words specific to that gender.
－ Regular and Irregular Inflection
Inflection,
the way we change a word’s form
to reflect things like tense, plurality, gender,
etc., is usually governed by consistent, predictable rules.
This is known as regular inflection.
there are many instances in which
the way a word is inflected doesn’t seem
to follow any rules or conventions at all
—this is known as irregular inflection.
Irregular inflection affects nouns, adjectives, adverbs,
and (most commonly) verbs.
－ Plurals of Nouns
－ Irregular plurals
－ Adjectives
Adjectives inflect when we change them into their comparative and superlative forms.
－ Regular adjectives
－ Irregular adjectives
－ Adverbs
－ Regular adverbs
－ Irregular adverbs
－ Irregular Degrees of Comparison
They are formed in the same way,
by adding “-er” or more/less for comparative adverbs
or “-est” or most/least for superlative adverbs.
