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| ^ top Verb
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A verb is a doing word. It is used to express an action
(e.g. to fly, to think, to sing) or a state of being (to be, to
exist).
| Who
is the clown that painted
my office? [verb] |
This is covered in more detail in the lesson "verbs".
Related lesson: "Verbs".
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| ^ top Verb Root
|
The verb root (or basic form) is the form listed in a
dictionary. It is the same as the infinitive (i.e. the version with
the word "to"; e.g. "to walk") but does not include the
word "to".
 see, be,
sing, play, concur
| I
need to see a butterfly
before I go home. Cath has seen two. [verb
root] |
Related lesson: "Verbs".
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| ^ top Verbal
|
A verbal is a noun or adjective formed from a
verb. There are three main types:
participle (which acts as an adjective), gerund (which acts as a noun) and the
infinitive (which can act as a noun, adjective or adverb).
Participle:
Catch a falling star. / He is a fallen hero.
Gerund: Swimming
the Channel must be difficult.
Infinitive:
She loves to swim.
| Climbing
the known
route is the best option. [verbal] |
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| ^ top Verbal Noun
|
| See "Gerund". |
| ^ top Vocative Case
|
The vocative case is one of the 4
main cases in modern English. The vocative case is used to indicate direct address (i.e.
talking to somebody directly). Names in the vocative case are offset using commas.
Where have
you been, Charlie?
Jonathan,
do not forget your shower gel.
And that, your
Honour, concludes our case.
| Do
me a favour, Kev, and
ask Tim to stop bleating about the wind.
[vocative case] |
Nouns and pronouns in the vocative
case are identical to those in subjective case. However,
they should be offset using comma(s). This is why the vocative case is
distinguished as a case.
Related lesson: "Vocative".
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| ^ top Voice
|
| Voice is the term used to describe whether a verb
is active or passive. In a passive sentence, the
verb is said to be in the passive voice. Similarly,
the verb in an active sentence is said to be in the active
voice.
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| ^ top Vowel
|
The letters A, E, I, O, U are the called vowels. The other
letters in the alphabet are called consonants.
| The
quick brown
fox jumped
over
the lazy
dog.
[vowel] |
Related lesson: "An
or A".
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