Editing English grammar (section)

==Word classes and phrases==
{{Grammar series}}
Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are [[Open class (linguistics)|open class]]es – word classes that readily accept new members, such as the noun ''[[celebutante]]'' (a celebrity who frequents the fashion circles), and other similar relatively new words.<ref name="carter-mccarthy-p296"/> The rest are [[closed class]]es; for example, it is rare for a new pronoun to enter the language. Determiners, traditionally classified along with adjectives, have not always been regarded as a separate part of speech. [[Interjections]] are another word class, but these are not described here as they do not form part of the [[clause]] and [[Sentence (linguistics)|sentence]] structure of the language.<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p296>{{Harvnb|Carter|McCarthy|2006|p=296}}</ref>

Linguists generally accept nine English word classes: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, determiners, and exclamations. English words are not generally marked for word class. It is not usually possible to tell from the form of a word which class it belongs to, but some inflectional endings and derivational suffixes are distinct to each class. On the other hand, most words belong to more than one word class. For example, ''run'' can serve as either a verb or a noun (these are regarded as two different [[lexeme]]s).<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p297>{{Harvnb|Carter|McCarthy|2006|p=297}}</ref> Lexemes may be [[inflected]] to express different grammatical categories. The lexeme ''run'' has the forms ''runs'', ''ran'', ''runny'', ''runner'', and ''running''.<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p297/> Words in one class can sometimes be [[Morphological derivation|derived]] from those in another. This has the potential to give rise to new words. For example, the noun ''aerobics'' has given rise to the adjective ''aerobicized''.<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p297/>

Words combine to form [[phrase]]s. A phrase typically serves the same function as a word from some particular word class.<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p297/> For example, ''my very good friend Peter'' is a phrase that can be used in a sentence as if it were a noun, and is therefore called a [[noun phrase]]. Similarly, [[adjectival phrase]]s and [[adverbial phrase]]s function as if they were adjectives or adverbs, but with other types of phrases, the terminology has different implications. For example, a [[verb phrase]] consists of a verb together with any objects and other dependents; a [[adpositional phrase|prepositional phrase]] consists of a preposition and its [[complement (linguistics)|complement]] (and is therefore usually a type of adverbial phrase); and a [[determiner phrase]] is a type of noun phrase containing a determiner.

===Nouns===
{{Main|English nouns}}
Many common [[suffix]]es form nouns from other nouns or from other types of words, such as ''-age'' (''shrinkage''), ''-hood'' (''sisterhood''), and so on,<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p297/> though many nouns are base forms containing no such suffix (''cat'', ''grass'', ''France''). Nouns are also created by [[Conversion (word formation)|converting]] verbs and adjectives, as with the words ''talk'' and ''reading'' (''a boring talk'', ''the assigned reading'').

Nouns are sometimes classified semantically (by their meanings) as [[Noun#Proper nouns and common nouns|proper and common nouns]] (''Cyrus'', ''China'' vs ''frog'', ''milk'') or as [[Noun#Concrete nouns and abstract nouns|concrete and abstract nouns]] (''book'', ''laptop'' vs ''embarrassment'', ''prejudice'').<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p298/> A grammatical distinction is often made between [[count noun|count (countable) nouns]] such as ''clock'' and ''city'', and [[mass noun|non-count (uncountable) nouns]] such as ''milk'' and ''decor''.<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p299>{{Harvnb|Carter|McCarthy|2006|p=299}}</ref> Some nouns can function both as countable and as uncountable such as "wine" in ''This is a good wine''.

Countable nouns generally have [[Grammatical number|singular]] and [[plural]] forms.<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p298>{{Harvnb|Carter|McCarthy|2006|p=298}}</ref> In most cases the plural is formed from the singular by adding ''-[e]s'' (as in ''dogs'', ''bushes''), although there are also [[irregular plural|irregular]] forms (''woman/women'', ''foot/feet''), including cases where the two forms are identical (''sheep'', ''series''). For more details see [[English plural]]. Certain nouns can be used with plural verbs even though they are singular in form, as in ''The government were{{nbsp}}...'' (where ''the government'' is considered to refer to the people constituting the government). This is a form of [[synesis]], and is more common in British than American English. See {{slink|English plural|Singulars with collective meaning treated as plural}}.

English nouns are not marked for [[case (grammar)|case]] as they are in some languages, but they have [[possessive (linguistics)|possessive]] forms, through the addition of ''-'s'' (as in ''John's'', ''children's'') or just an [[apostrophe]] (with no change in pronunciation) in the case of ''-[e]s'' plurals (''the dogs' owners'') and sometimes other words ending with ''-s'' (''Jesus' love''). More generally the ending can be applied to noun phrases (as in ''the man you saw yesterday's sister''); see below. The possessive form can be used either as a determiner (''Manyanda's cat'') or as a noun phrase (''Manyanda's is the one next to Jane's'').

The [[English possessive|classification of the possessive]] as an affix or a clitic is the subject of debate.<ref name="Hudson 2013">{{Cite book |isbn=9789027273000|date=2013|publisher= Manyanda Simon Publishing Company |title= Morphosyntactic Categories and the Expression of Possession |editor1-last=Börjars |editor1-first=Kersti |editor2-last=Denison |editor2-first=David |editor1-link= David Denison |editor3-last=Scott |editor3-first=Alan |chapter= A cognitive analysis of Manyanda's hat |last1=Hudson|first1= Richard |author-link1=Richard Hudson (linguist) |pages=123–148}}</ref><ref name=" Börjars 2013">{{Cite book |isbn=9789027273000|date=2013|publisher= Manyanda Simon Publishing Company |title= Morphosyntactic Categories and the Expression of Possession |editor1-last=Börjars |editor1-first=Kersti |editor2-last=Denison |editor2-first=David | author-link1= David Denison |editor3-last=Scott |editor3-first=Alan |chapter= Expression of Possession in English |last1 =Börjars | first1=Kersti |last2 =Denison | first2=David |editor1-link= David Denison |last3 =Krajewski | first3=Grzegorz |last4 =Scott | first4=Alan |pages=149–176}}</ref> It differs from the noun inflection of languages such as German, in that the [[genitive]] ending may attach to the last word of the phrase. To account for this, the possessive can be analysed, for instance as a clitic construction (an "[[enclitic]] [[postposition]]"<ref name="Quirk group genitive">{{Cite book|quote=[the ''-s'' ending is] more appropriately described as an enclitic postposition'|page=[https://archive.org/details/comprehensivegra00quir/page/328 328]|last1=Quirk|first1=Randolph|author-link1=Randolph Quirk|last2=Greenbaum|first2=Sidney|author-link2=Sidney Greenbaum|last3=Leech|first3=Geoffrey|author-link3=Geoffrey Leech|last4=Svartvik|first4=Jan|year=1985|title=A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language|location=Harlow|publisher=Longman|isbn=978-0-582-51734-9|url=https://archive.org/details/comprehensivegra00quir/page/328}}</ref>) or as an inflection<ref name="Oxford English Grammar, Case">{{Cite book|quote=In speech the genitive is signalled in singular nouns by an inflection that has the same pronunciation variants as for plural nouns in the common case|pages=109–110|last1=Greenbaum|first1= Sidney |author-link=Sidney Greenbaum |title=The Oxford English Grammar |year=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-861250-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|quote=In writing, the inflection of regular nouns is realized in the singular by apostrophe + ''s'' (''boy's''), and in the regular plural by the apostrophe following the plural ''s'' (''boys{{'}}'')|last1=Quirk|first1=Randolph |last2=Greenbaum |first2=Sidney |last3=Leech |first3=Geoffrey |last4=Svartik |first4=Jan |title=A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language |url=https://archive.org/details/comprehensivegra00quir|url-access=registration|publisher=Longman |year=1985|page=[https://archive.org/details/comprehensivegra00quir/page/319 319]}}</ref> of the last word of a phrase ("edge inflection").

====Phrases<span class="anchor" id="Noun phrases"></span>====
[[Noun phrase]]s are phrases that function grammatically as nouns within sentences, for example as the [[subject (grammar)|subject]] or [[object (grammar)|object]] of a verb. Most noun phrases have a noun as their [[head (linguistics)|head]].<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p299/>

An English noun phrase typically takes the following form (not all elements need be present):
:{| cellspacing="5"
|- style="font-variant: small-caps; font-size: larger;"
! Determiner || + || Pre-modifiers || + || NOUN || + || Postmodifiers/Complement
|}

In this structure:
*the ''determiner'' may be an article (''the'', ''a[n]'') or other equivalent word, as described in the following section. In many contexts, it is required for a noun phrase to include some determiner.
*''[[pre-modifier]]s'' include adjectives and some adjective phrases (such as ''red'', ''really lovely''), and [[noun adjunct]]s (such as ''college'' in the phrase ''the college student''). Adjectival modifiers usually come before noun adjuncts.
*a ''[[complement (linguistics)|complement]]'' or ''[[postmodifier]]''<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p299/> may be a prepositional phrase (''... of London''), a [[relative clause]] (like ''... which we saw yesterday''), certain adjective or [[participial]] phrases (''... sitting on the beach''), or a [[dependent clause]] or [[infinitive phrase]] appropriate to the noun (like ''... that the world is round'' after a noun such as ''fact'' or ''statement'', or ''... to travel widely'' after a noun such as ''desire'').

An example of a noun phrase that includes all of the above-mentioned elements is ''that rather attractive young college student to whom you were talking''. Here ''that'' is the determiner, ''rather attractive'' and ''young'' are adjectival pre-modifiers, ''college'' is a noun adjunct, ''student'' is the noun serving as the head of the phrase, and ''to whom you were talking'' is a post-modifier (a relative clause in this case). Notice the order of the pre-modifiers; the determiner ''that'' must come first and the noun adjunct ''college'' must come after the adjectival modifiers.

[[English coordinators|Coordinators]] such as ''and'', ''or'', and ''but'' can be used at various levels in noun phrases, as in ''John, Paul, and Mary''; ''the matching green coat and hat''; ''a dangerous but exciting ride''; ''a person sitting down or standing up''. See {{slink||Conjunctions}} below for more explanation.

Noun phrases can also be placed in ''[[apposition]]'' (where two consecutive phrases refer to the same thing), as in ''that president, Abraham Lincoln, ...'' (where ''that president'' and ''Abraham Lincoln'' are in apposition). In some contexts, the same can be expressed by a prepositional phrase, as in ''the twin curses of famine and pestilence'' (meaning "the twin curses" that are "famine and pestilence").

Particular forms of noun phrases include:
* phrases formed by the determiner ''the'' with an adjective, as in ''the homeless'', ''the English'' (these are [[plural]] phrases referring to homeless people or English people in general);
* phrases with a pronoun rather than a noun as the head (see below);
* phrases consisting just of a [[English possessive|possessive]];
* [[infinitive]] and [[gerund]] phrases, in certain positions;
* certain clauses, such as ''that'' clauses and [[content clause]]s like ''what he said'', in certain positions.

====Gender====
{{Main|Gender in English}}
A system of [[grammatical gender]], whereby every [[noun]] was treated as either masculine, feminine, or neuter, existed in [[Old English]], but fell out of use during the [[Middle English]] period. [[Modern English]] retains features relating to [[natural gender]], most prominently the use of [[pronoun]]s (such as ''he'' and ''she'') to refer specifically to persons or animals of one or other genders and certain others (such as ''it'') for sexless objects – although feminine pronouns are sometimes used when referring to ships (and more uncommonly some airplanes and analogous machinery) and nation-states.

Some aspects of gender usage in English have been influenced by the movement towards a preference for [[gender-neutral language]]. Animals are triple-gender nouns, being able to take masculine, feminine and neuter pronouns.<ref name=Siemund>{{cite book|last=Siemund|first=Peter|title=Pronominal Gender in English: A Study of English Varieties form a Cross-Linguistic Perspective|year=2008|publisher=Routledge|location=New York}}</ref> While the vast majority of nouns in English do not carry gender, there remain some gendered nouns (e.g. ''ewe'', ''sow'', ''rooster'') and derivational [[affix]]es (e.g. ''widower, waitress'') that denote gender.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brinton |first=Laurel J., and Leslie K. Arnovick |title=The English language: a linguistic history |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-19-901915-1 |edition=3rd |location=Don Mills, Ontario, Canada |pages=194 |language=en}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!  Masculine !! Feminine !! Gender neutral
|-
|  ''man'' || ''woman'' || ''adult''
|-
|  ''boy'' || ''girl'' || ''child''
|-
|  ''husband'' || ''wife'' || ''spouse''
|-
|  ''actor'' || ''actress'' || ''performer''
|-
|  ''rooster'' || ''hen'' || ''chicken''
|}
{{Unreliable source?|date=May 2023}}

Many nouns that mention people's roles and jobs can refer to either a masculine or a feminine subject, for instance "cousin", "teenager", "teacher", "doctor", "student", "friend", and "colleague".<ref name="NOUN GENDER">{{cite web |title=NOUN GENDER |url=https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/noun-gender/}} ''EF Education First''</ref>

*Jane is my friend. She is a dentist.
*Paul is my cousin. He is a dentist.

Often the gender distinction for these neutral nouns is established by inserting the word "male" or "female".<ref name="NOUN GENDER"/>

*Sam is a male nurse.
*No, he is not my boyfriend; he is just a male friend.
*I have three female cousins and two male cousins.

Rarely, nouns illustrating things with no gender are referred to with a gendered pronoun to convey familiarity. It is also standard to use the gender-neutral pronoun (''it'').<ref name="NOUN GENDER"/>

*I love my car. She [the car] is my greatest passion.
*France is popular with her [France's] neighbors at the moment.
*I traveled from England to New York on the ''Queen Elizabeth''; she [the ''Queen Elizabeth''] is a great ship.

===Determiners===
{{Main|English determiners|English articles}}
English [[determiner (grammar)|determiner]]s constitute a relatively small class of words. They include the [[English articles|articles]] ''the'' and ''a[n]''; certain [[demonstrative adjective|demonstrative]] and [[interrogative]] words such as ''this'', ''that'', and ''which''; [[possessive adjective|possessives]] such as ''my'' and ''whose'' (the role of determiner can also be played by [[English possessive|noun possessive]] forms such as ''John's'' and ''the girl's''); various [[Quantifier (linguistics)|quantifying words]] like ''all'', ''some'', ''many'', ''various''; and [[numeral (linguistics)|numeral]]s (''one'', ''two'', etc.). There are also many phrases (such as ''a couple of'') that can play the role of determiners.

Determiners are used in the formation of noun phrases (see above). Many words that serve as determiners can also be used as pronouns (''this'', ''that'', ''many'', etc.).

Determiners can be used in certain combinations, such as '''''all the''' water'' and '''''the many''' problems''.

In many contexts, it is required for a noun phrase to be completed with an article or some other determiner. It is not grammatical to say just ''cat sat on table''; one must say ''my cat sat on the table''. The most common situations in which a complete noun phrase can be formed without a determiner are when it refers generally to a whole class or concept (as in ''dogs are dangerous'' and ''beauty is subjective'') and when it is a name (''Jane'', ''Spain'', etc.). This is discussed in more detail at [[English articles]] and [[Zero article in English]].

===Pronouns===
{{Main|English pronouns}}
[[Pronoun]]s are a relatively small, closed class of words that function in the place of nouns or noun phrases. They include [[personal pronoun]]s, [[demonstrative pronoun]]s, [[relative pronoun]]s, [[interrogative pronouns]], and some others, mainly [[indefinite pronoun]]s. The full set of English pronouns is presented in the following table. Nonstandard, informal and archaic forms are in ''italics''.
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="3" rowspan="2" |
![[Nominative case|Nominative]]
![[Accusative case|Accusative]]
![[Reflexive pronoun|Reflexive]]
!Independent [[Genitive case|genitive]]
!Dependent genitive
|-
!(subject)
!(object)
!
! colspan="2" |(possessive)
|- valign="top"
! rowspan="2" |First-person
! colspan="2" |Singular
|[[I (pronoun)|I]]
|me
|myself
|mine
|my<br/>''mine'' (before vowel)<br/>''me'' (esp. BrE)
|- valign="top"
! colspan="2" |Plural
|[[we]]
|us
|ourselves<br/>''ourself''
|ours
|our
|- valign="top"
! rowspan="5" |Second-person
! rowspan="2" |Singular
!Standard
|[[you]]
|you
|yourself
|yours
|your
|- valign="top"
!''Archaic informal''
|''[[thou]]''
|''thee''
|''thyself''
|''thine''
|''thy<br/>thine'' (before vowel)
|- valign="top"
! rowspan="3" |Plural
!Standard
|you
|you
|yourselves
|yours
|your
|- valign="top"
!''Archaic''
|''ye''
|''you''
|''yourselves''
|''yours''
|''your''
|- valign="top"
!''Nonstandard''
|''ye<br/>you all<br/>y'all<br/>youse''<br/>etc. (see above)
|''ye<br/>you all<br/>y'all<br/>youse''
|''yeerselves<br/>y'all's'' (or ''y'alls'')<br/>''selves''
|''yeers<br/>y'all's'' (or ''y'alls'')
|''yeer<br/>y'all's'' (or ''y'alls'')
|- valign="top"
! rowspan="5" |Third-person
! rowspan="4" |Singular
!Masculine
|[[He (pronoun)|he]]
|him
|himself
| colspan="2" |his
|- valign="top"
!Feminine
|[[She (pronoun)|she]]
|her
|herself
|hers
|her
|- valign="top"
!Neuter
|[[It (pronoun)|it]]
|it
|itself
|''its''
|its
|- valign="top"
![[Epicene]]
|[[Singular they|they]]
|them
|themselves<br/>''themself''
|theirs
|their
|- valign="top"
! colspan="2" |Plural
|[[they]]
|them
|themselves
|theirs
|their
|- valign="top"
! rowspan="2" |Generic
! colspan="2" |Formal
|[[One (pronoun)|one]] 
|one
|oneself
|
|one's
|- valign="top"
! colspan="2" |''Informal''
|''you''
|''you''
|''yourself''
|''your''
|''your''
|- valign="top"
! rowspan="3" |Wh-
! rowspan="2" |Relative and
interrogative
!For persons
|[[Who (pronoun)|who]]
|whom<br/>''who''
|
|whose<sup>†</sup>
|whose
|-
!Non-personal
|what
|what
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |Relative only
|which
|which
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="3" |Reciprocal
|
|each other<br/>one another
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="3" |[[Dummy pronoun|Dummy]]
|there
it
|it
|
|
|
|}
<sup>†</sup> Interrogative only.

====Personal====
{{Main|English personal pronouns}}
The personal pronouns of modern standard English are presented in the table above. They are ''I, you, she, he, it, we'', and ''they''. The personal pronouns are so-called not because they apply to persons (which other pronouns also do), but because they participate in the [[Grammatical person|system of grammatical person]] (1st, 2nd, 3rd).

The second-person forms such as ''you'' are used with both singular and plural reference. In the Southern United States, [[y'all]] (you all) is used as a plural form, and various other phrases such as ''you guys'' are used in other places. An archaic set of second-person pronouns used for singular reference is ''[[thou]], thee, thyself, thy, thine'', which are still used in religious services and can be seen in older works, such as Shakespeare's—in such texts, the ''you'' set of pronouns are used for plural reference, or with singular reference as a formal [[T–V distinction|V-form]]. ''You'' can also be used as an [[indefinite pronoun]], referring to a person in general (see [[generic you|generic ''you'']]), compared to the more formal alternative, ''[[one (pronoun)|one]]'' (reflexive ''oneself'', possessive ''one's'').

The third-person singular forms are differentiated according to the gender of the referent. For example, ''she'' is used to refer to a woman, sometimes a female animal, and sometimes an object to which feminine characteristics are attributed, such as a ship or a country. A man, and sometimes a male animal, is referred to using ''he''. In other cases, ''it'' can be used. (See [[Gender in English]].) The word ''it'' can also be used as a [[dummy subject]], concerning abstract ideas like time, weather, etc., or a [[Dummy pronoun#Dummy objects|dummy object]] of a verb or preposition.

The third-person form ''they'' is used with both plural and singular [[referent]]s. Historically, [[Singular they|singular ''they'']] was restricted to [[quantifier (linguistics)|quantificational]] constructions such as ''Each employee should clean their desk'' and referential cases where the referent's gender was unknown. However, it is increasingly used when the referent's gender is irrelevant or when the referent is neither male nor female.

The possessive determiners such as ''my'' are used as determiners together with nouns, as in ''my old man'', ''some of his friends''. The second possessive forms like ''mine'' are used when they do not qualify a noun: as pronouns, as in ''mine is bigger than yours'', and as predicates, as in ''this one is mine''. Note also the construction ''a friend of mine'' (meaning "someone who is my friend"). See [[English possessive]] for more details.

====Demonstrative ====
The [[demonstrative pronoun]]s of English are ''this'' (plural ''these''), and ''that'' (plural ''those''), as in ''these are good, I like that''. All four words can also be used as determiners (followed by a noun), as in ''those cars''. They can also form the alternative pronominal expressions ''this/that one'', ''these/those ones''.

==== Interrogative ====
The [[interrogative pronoun]]s are ''who'', ''what'', and ''which'' (all of them can take the suffix ''[[-ever]]'' for emphasis). The pronoun ''who'' refers to a person or people; it has an oblique form ''[[whom]]'' (though in informal contexts this is usually replaced by ''who''), and a possessive form (pronoun or determiner) ''whose''. The pronoun ''what'' refers to things or abstracts. The word ''which'' is used to ask about alternatives from what is seen as a closed set: ''which (of the books) do you like best?'' (It can also be an interrogative determiner: ''which book?''; this can form the alternative pronominal expressions ''which one'' and ''which ones''.) ''Which'', ''who'', and ''what'' can be either singular or plural, although ''who'' and ''what'' often take a singular verb regardless of any supposed number. For more information see [[Who (pronoun)|''who'']].

In Old and Middle English, the roles of the three words were different from their roles today. "The interrogative pronoun ''hwā'' 'who, what' had only singular forms and also only distinguished between non-neuter and neuter, the neuter nominative form being ''hwæt''".<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Cambridge history of the English language: Volume I|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1992|isbn=|editor-last=Hogg|editor-first=Richard|location=Cambridge|pages=144|oclc=}}</ref> Note that neuter and non-neuter refers to the grammatical gender system of the time, rather than the so-called natural gender system of today. A small holdover of this is the ability of relative (but not interrogative) ''whose'' to refer to non-persons (e.g., ''the car whose door won't open'').

All the interrogative pronouns can also be used as relative pronouns, though ''what'' is quite limited in its use;<ref name="Huddleston phrasal genitive" /> see below for more details.

====Relative====
{{Main|English relative clauses}}
{{For|"who/whom" and related forms|Who (pronoun)}}
The main [[relative pronoun]]s in English are ''[[who (pronoun)|who]]'' (with its derived forms ''whom'' and ''whose''), ''which'', and ''that''.<ref>Some linguists consider ''that'' in such sentences to be a [[complementizer]] rather than a relative pronoun. See [[English relative clauses#That as relativizer instead of relative pronoun|English relative clauses: Status of ''that'']].</ref>

The relative pronoun ''which'' refers to things rather than persons, as in ''the shirt, which used to be red, is faded''. For persons, ''who'' is used (''the man who saw me was tall''). The [[oblique case]] form of ''who'' is ''whom'', as in ''the man whom I saw was tall'', although in informal [[Register (sociolinguistics)|registers]] ''who'' is commonly used in place of ''whom''.

The possessive form of ''who'' is ''whose'' (for example, ''the man whose car is missing''); however the use of ''whose'' is not restricted to persons (one can say ''an idea whose time has come'').

The word ''that'' as a relative pronoun is normally found only in [[restrictive relative clause]]s (unlike ''which'' and ''who'', which can be used in both restrictive and unrestrictive clauses). It can refer to either persons or things, and cannot follow a preposition. For example, one can say ''the song that'' [or ''which''] ''I listened to yesterday'', but ''the song to which'' [not ''to that''] ''I listened yesterday''. The relative pronoun ''that'' is usually pronounced with a reduced vowel ([[schwa]]), and hence differently from the demonstrative ''that'' (see [[Weak and strong forms in English]]). If ''that'' is not the subject of the relative clause, it can be omitted (''the song I listened to yesterday'').

The word ''what'' can be used to form a [[free relative clause]] – one that has no antecedent and that serves as a complete noun phrase in itself, as in ''I like what he likes''. The words ''whatever'' and ''whichever'' can be used similarly, in the role of either pronouns (''whatever he likes'') or determiners (''whatever book he likes''). When referring to persons, ''who(ever)'' (and ''whom(ever)'') can be used in a similar way.

===={{Anchor|There as pronoun}}"There"====
The word ''there'' is used as a pronoun in some sentences, playing the role of a [[dummy subject]], normally of an [[intransitive verb]]. The "logical subject" of the verb then appears as a [[complement (linguistics)|complement]] after the verb.

This use of ''there'' occurs most commonly with forms of the verb ''be'' in [[existential clause]]s, to refer to the presence or existence of something. For example: ''There is a heaven''; ''There are two cups on the table''; ''There have been a lot of problems lately''. It can also be used with other verbs: ''There exist two major variants''; ''There occurred a very strange incident''.

The dummy subject takes the [[grammatical number|number]] (singular or plural) of the logical subject (complement), hence it takes a plural verb if the complement is plural. In informal English, however, the [[contraction (grammar)|contraction]] ''there's'' is often used for both singular and plural.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fowler|2015|p=813}}</ref>

The dummy subject can undergo [[inversion (linguistics)|inversion]], ''Is there a test today?'' and ''Never has there been a man such as this''. It can also appear without a corresponding logical subject, in short sentences and [[question tag]]s: ''There wasn't a discussion, was there? There was''.

The word ''there'' in such sentences has sometimes been analyzed as an [[adverb]], or as a dummy [[Predicate (grammar)|predicate]], rather than as a pronoun.<ref>For a treatment of ''there'' as a dummy predicate, based on the analysis of the [[copula (linguistics)|copula]], see [[Andrea Moro|Moro, A.]], ''The Raising of Predicates. Predicative Noun Phrases and the Theory of Clause Structure'', ''Cambridge Studies in Linguistics'', 80, Cambridge University Press, 1997.</ref> However, its identification as a pronoun is most consistent with its behavior in inverted sentences and question tags as described above.

Because the word ''there'' can also be a [[Deixis|deictic]] adverb (meaning "at/to that place"), a sentence like ''There is a river'' could have either of two meanings: "a river exists" (with ''there'' as a pronoun), and "a river is in that place" (with ''there'' as an adverb). In speech, the adverbial ''there'' would be given [[stress (linguistics)|stress]], while the pronoun would not – in fact, the pronoun is often pronounced as a [[weak and strong forms in English|weak form]], {{IPA|/ðə(r)/}}.

==== Reciprocal ====
The English [[reciprocal pronoun]]s are ''each other'' and ''one another''. Although they are written with a space, they're best thought of as single words. No consistent distinction in meaning or use can be found between them. Like the reflexive pronouns, their use is limited to contexts where an [[Antecedent (grammar)|antecedent]] precedes it. In the case of the reciprocals, they need to appear in the same clause as the antecedent.<ref name="Huddleston phrasal genitive" />

====Other====
Other pronouns in English are often identical in form to [[English determiners|determiners]] (especially [[quantifier (linguistics)|quantifiers]]), such as ''many'', ''a little'', etc. Sometimes, the pronoun form is different, as with ''none'' (corresponding to the determiner ''no''), ''nothing'', ''everyone'', ''somebody'', etc. Many examples are listed as [[indefinite pronoun]]s. Another indefinite (or impersonal) pronoun is ''[[one (pronoun)|one]]'' (with its reflexive form ''oneself'' and possessive ''one's''), which is a more formal alternative to [[generic you|generic ''you'']].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/one|title=''One'' Definition|dictionary=[[dictionary.com]]|access-date=18 June 2015}}</ref>

===Verbs===
{{Main|English verbs}}

The basic form of an English verb is not generally marked by any ending, although there are certain suffixes that are frequently used to form verbs, such as ''-ate'' (''formulate''), ''-fy'' (''electrify''), and ''-ise/ize'' (''realise/realize'').<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p301>{{Harvnb|Carter|McCarthy|2006|p=301}}</ref> Many verbs also contain [[prefix]]es, such as ''un-'' (''unmask''), ''out-'' (''outlast''), ''over-'' (''overtake''), and ''under-'' (''undervalue'').<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p301/> Verbs can also be formed from nouns and adjectives by [[Conversion (word formation)|zero derivation]], as with the verbs ''snare'', ''nose'', ''dry'', and ''calm''.

Most verbs have three or four inflected forms in addition to the base form: a third-person singular present tense form in ''-(e)s'' (''writes'', ''botches''), a [[present participle]] and [[gerund]] form in ''-ing'' (''writing''), a past tense (''wrote''), and – though often identical to the past tense form – a [[past participle]] (''written''). Regular verbs have identical past tense and past participle forms in ''-ed'', but there are 100 or so [[English irregular verbs|irregular English verbs]] with different forms (see [[List of English irregular verbs|list]]). The verbs ''have'', ''do'' and ''say'' also have irregular third-person present tense forms (''has'', ''does'' {{IPA|/dʌz/}}, ''says'' {{IPA|/sɛz/}}). The verb ''be'' has the largest number of irregular forms (''am, is, are'' in the present tense, ''was, were'' in the past tense, ''been'' for the past participle).

Most of what are often referred to as verb [[grammatical tense|tenses]] (or sometimes [[Grammatical aspect|aspect]]s) in English are formed using [[auxiliary verb]]s. Apart from what are called the [[simple present (English)|simple present]] (''write'', ''writes'') and [[simple past (English)|simple past]] (''wrote''), there are also [[continuous aspect|continuous]] (progressive) forms (''am/is/are/was/were writing''), [[perfect aspect|perfect]] forms (''have/has/had written'', and the perfect continuous ''have/has/had been writing''), [[future tense|future]] forms (''will write'', ''will be writing'', ''will have written'', ''will have been writing''), and [[conditional tense|conditionals]] (also called "[[future in the past]]"), so forms equivalent to future ones but with ''would'' instead of ''will''. The auxiliaries [[shall and will|''shall'' and ''should'']] sometimes replace ''will'' and ''would'' in the first person. For the uses of these various verb forms, see [[English verbs]] and [[English clause syntax]].

The basic form of the verb (''be, write, play'') is used as the [[infinitive]], although there is also a "to-infinitive" (''to be'', ''to write'', ''to play'') used in many syntactical constructions. There are also infinitives corresponding to other aspects: ''(to) have written'', ''(to) be writing'', ''(to) have been writing''. The second-person [[imperative mood|imperative]] is identical to the (basic) infinitive; other imperative forms may be made with ''let'' (''let us go'', or ''let's go''; ''let them eat cake'').

A form identical to the infinitive can be used as a present [[subjunctive]] in certain contexts: ''It is important that he '''follow''' them'' or ''... that he '''be''' committed to the cause''. There is also a past subjunctive (distinct from the simple past only in the possible use of ''were'' instead of ''was''), used in some conditional sentences and similar: ''if I were'' (or ''was'') ''rich{{nbsp}}...''; ''were he to arrive now{{nbsp}}...''; ''I wish she were'' (or ''was'') ''here''. For details see [[English subjunctive]].

The [[passive voice]] is formed using the verb ''be'' (in the appropriate tense or form) with the past participle of the verb in question: ''cars are driven, he was killed, I am being tickled, it is nice to be pampered'', etc. The performer of the action may be introduced in a prepositional phrase with ''by'' (as in ''they were killed by the invaders'').

The [[English modal verbs]] consist of the core modals ''can'', ''could'', ''may'', ''might'', ''must'', ''shall'', ''should'', ''will'', ''would'', as well as ''ought (to''), ''had better'', and in some uses ''dare'' and ''need''.<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p303>{{Harvnb|Carter|McCarthy|2006|p=303}}</ref> These do not inflect for person or number,<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p303/> do not occur alone, and do not have infinitive or participle forms (except synonyms, as with ''be/being/been able (to'') for the modals ''can/could''). The modals are used with the basic infinitive form of a verb (''I can swim, he may be killed'', ''we dare not move'', ''need they go?''), except for ''ought'', which takes ''to'' (''you ought to go''). Modals can indicate the condition, probability, possibility, necessity, obligation and ability exposed by the speaker's or writer's attitude or expression.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Modal verbs and modality – English Grammar Today – Cambridge Dictionary|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/modal-verbs-and-modality|access-date=2020-09-24|website=dictionary.cambridge.org|language=en}}</ref>

The [[copula (linguistics)|copula]] ''be'', along with the modal verbs and the other [[English auxiliary verbs|auxiliaries]], form a distinct class, sometimes called "[[special verbs]]" or simply "auxiliaries".<ref>Sidhu, C. D. (1976). ''An Intensive Course in English'', Orient Blackswan, p. 5.</ref> These have different syntax from ordinary [[lexical verb]]s, especially in that they make their [[interrogative]] forms by plain [[subject–auxiliary inversion|inversion]] with the subject, and their [[negation|negative]] forms by adding ''not'' after the verb (''could I{{nbsp}}...? I could not{{nbsp}}...''). Apart from those already mentioned, this class may also include ''used to'' (although the forms ''did he use to?'' and ''he didn't use to'' are also found), and sometimes ''have'' even when not an auxiliary (forms like ''have you a sister?'' and ''he hadn't a clue'' are possible, though becoming less common). It also includes the auxiliary ''do'' (''does'', ''did''); this is used with the basic infinitive of other verbs (those not belonging to the "special verbs" class) to make their question and negation forms, as well as emphatic forms (''do I like you?''; ''he doesn't speak English''; ''we did close the fridge''). For more details of this, see [[do-support|''do''-support]].

Some forms of the copula and auxiliaries often appear as [[contraction (grammar)|contraction]]s, as in ''I'm'' for ''I am'', ''you'd'' for ''you would'' or ''you had'', and ''John's'' for ''John is''. Their negated forms with following ''not'' are also often contracted (see {{slink||Negation}} below). For detail see [[English auxiliaries and contractions]].

====Phrases<span class="anchor" id="Verb phrases"></span>====
A verb together with its dependents, excluding its [[subject (grammar)|subject]], may be identified as a [[verb phrase]] (although this concept is not acknowledged in all theories of grammar<ref>[[Dependency grammar]]s reject the concept of finite verb phrases as clause constituents, regarding the subject as a dependent of the verb as well. See the [[verb phrase]] article for more information.</ref>). A verb phrase headed by a [[finite verb]] may also be called a [[predicate (grammar)|predicate]]. The dependents may be [[object (grammar)|object]]s, complements, and modifiers (adverbs or [[adverbial phrase]]s). In English, objects and complements nearly always come after the verb; a [[direct object]] precedes other complements such as prepositional phrases, but if there is an [[indirect object]] as well, expressed without a preposition, then that precedes the direct object: ''give me the book'', but ''give the book to me''. Adverbial modifiers generally follow objects, although other positions are possible (see under {{slink||Adverbs}} below). Certain verb–modifier combinations, particularly when they have independent meaning (such as ''take on'' and ''get up''), are known as "[[phrasal verb]]s".

For details of possible patterns, see [[English clause syntax]]. See the [[English clause syntax#Non-finite clauses|Non-finite clauses]] section of that article for verb phrases headed by non-finite verb forms, such as infinitives and participles.

===Adjectives===
{{Main|English adjectives}}

English [[adjective]]s, as with other word classes, cannot in general be identified as such by their form,<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p308>{{Harvnb|Carter|McCarthy|2006|p=308}}</ref> although many of them are formed from nouns or other words by the addition of a suffix, such as ''-al'' (''habitual''), ''-ful'' (''blissful''), ''-ic'' (''atomic''), ''-ish'' (''impish'', ''youngish''), ''-ous'' (''hazardous''), etc.; or from other adjectives using a prefix: ''disloyal'', ''irredeemable'', ''unforeseen'', ''overtired''.

Adjectives may be used [[attributive adjective|attributively]], as part of a noun phrase (nearly always preceding the noun they modify; for exceptions see [[postpositive adjective]]), as in ''the big house'', or [[predicate adjective|predicatively]], as in ''the house is big''. Certain adjectives are restricted to one or other use; for example, ''drunken'' is attributive (''a drunken sailor''), while ''drunk'' is usually predicative (''the sailor was drunk'').

====Comparison====
Many adjectives have [[comparative]] and [[superlative]] forms in ''-er'' and ''-est'',<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p309>{{Harvnb|Carter|McCarthy|2006|p=309}}</ref> such as ''faster'' and ''fastest'' (from the positive form ''fast''). Spelling rules which maintain pronunciation apply to suffixing adjectives just as they do for similar treatment of [[English verbs#Past tense|regular past tense formation]]; these cover consonant doubling (as in ''bigger'' and ''biggest'', from ''big'') and the change of ''y'' to ''i'' after consonants (as in ''happier'' and ''happiest'', from ''happy'').

The adjectives ''good'' and ''bad'' have the irregular forms ''better, best'' and ''worse, worst''; also ''far'' becomes ''farther, farthest'' or ''further, furthest''. The adjective ''old'' (for which the regular ''older'' and ''oldest'' are usual) also has the irregular forms ''elder'' and ''eldest'', these generally being restricted to use in comparing [[sibling]]s and in certain independent uses. For the comparison of adverbs, see [[#Adverbs|Adverbs]] below.

Many adjectives, however, particularly those that are longer and less common, do not have inflected comparative and superlative forms. Instead, they can be qualified with ''more'' and ''most'', as in ''beautiful, more beautiful, most beautiful'' (this construction is also sometimes used even for adjectives for which inflected forms do exist).

Certain adjectives are classed as [[ungradable adjective|ungradable]].<ref name="carter-mccarthy-p309"/> These represent properties that cannot be compared on a scale; they simply apply or do not, as with ''pregnant'', ''dead'', ''unique''. Consequently, comparative and superlative forms of such adjectives are not normally used, except in a figurative, humorous or imprecise context. Similarly, such adjectives are not normally qualified with modifiers of degree such as ''very'' and ''fairly'', although with some of them it is idiomatic to use adverbs such as ''completely''. Another type of adjective sometimes considered ungradable is those that represent an extreme degree of some property, such as ''delicious'' and ''terrified''.

====Phrases<span class="anchor" id="Adjective phrases"></span>====
An [[adjective phrase]] is a group of words that plays the role of an adjective in a sentence. It usually has a single adjective as its [[head (linguistics)|head]], to which [[modifier (linguistics)|modifier]]s and [[complement (linguistics)|complement]]s may be added.<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p310>{{Harvnb|Carter|McCarthy|2006|p=310}}</ref>

Adjectives can be modified by a preceding adverb or adverb phrase, as in ''very warm'', ''truly imposing'', ''more than a little excited''. Some can also be preceded by a noun or quantitative phrase, as in ''fat-free'', ''two-meter-long''.

Complements following the adjective may include:
* [[prepositional phrase]]s: ''proud of him'', ''angry at the screen'', ''keen on breeding toads'';
* [[infinitive]] phrases: ''anxious to solve the problem'', ''easy to pick up'';
* [[content clause]]s, i.e. ''that'' clauses and certain others: ''certain that he was right'', ''unsure where they are'';
* after comparatives, phrases or clauses with ''than'': ''better than you'', ''smaller than I had imagined''.

An adjective phrase may include both modifiers before the adjective and a complement after it, as in ''very difficult to put away''.

Adjective phrases containing complements after the adjective cannot normally be used as attributive adjectives ''before'' a noun. Sometimes they are used [[postpositive adjective|attributively after the noun]], as in ''a woman proud of being a midwife'' (where they may be converted into relative clauses: ''a woman who is proud of being a midwife''), but it is wrong to say *''a proud of being a midwife woman''. Exceptions include very brief and often established phrases such as ''easy-to-use''. (Certain complements can be moved to after the noun, leaving the adjective before the noun, as in ''a better man than you'', ''a hard nut to crack''.)

Certain attributive adjective phrases are formed from other parts of speech, without any adjective as their head, as in ''a two-bedroom house'', ''a no-jeans policy''.

===Adverbs===
{{Main|English adverbs}}
[[Adverb]]s perform a wide range of functions. They typically modify verbs (or verb phrases), adjectives (or adjectival phrases), or other adverbs (or adverbial phrases).<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p311>{{Harvnb|Carter|McCarthy|2006|p=311}}</ref> However, adverbs also sometimes qualify noun phrases ('''''only''' the boss''; '''''quite''' a lovely place''), pronouns and determiners ('''''almost''' all''), prepositional phrases ('''''halfway''' through the movie''), or whole sentences, to provide contextual comment or indicate an attitude ('''''Frankly''', I don't believe you'').<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p313>{{Harvnb|Carter|McCarthy|2006|p=313}}</ref> They can also indicate a relationship between clauses or sentences (''He died, and '''consequently''' I inherited the estate'').<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p313/>

Many English adverbs are formed from adjectives by adding the ending ''-ly'', as in ''hopefully'', ''widely'', ''theoretically'' (for details of spelling and etymology, see ''[[-ly]]''). Certain words can be used as both adjectives and adverbs, such as ''fast'', ''straight'', and ''hard''; these are [[flat adverb]]s. In earlier usage more flat adverbs were accepted in formal usage; many of these survive in idioms and colloquially. (''That's just '''plain''' ugly''.) Some adjectives can also be used as flat adverbs when they actually describe the subject. (''The streaker ran '''naked''''', not ''The streaker ran '''nakedly'''''.) The adverb corresponding to the adjective ''good'' is ''well'' (note that ''bad'' forms the regular ''badly'', although ''ill'' is occasionally used in some phrases).

There are also many adverbs that are not derived from adjectives,<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p311/> including adverbs of time, of frequency, of place, of degree and with other meanings. Some suffixes that are commonly used to form adverbs from nouns are ''-ward[s]'' (as in ''homeward[s]'') and ''-wise'' (as in ''lengthwise'').

Adverbs are also formed by adding -''ly'' to the participles. For example, ''according,'' a present participle adjective, becomes ''accordingly,'' an adverb, by adding -''ly'' after it. The past participle adjective ''repeated'' becomes ''repeatedly'' by adding -''ly'' after it.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

Most adverbs form comparatives and superlatives by modification with ''more'' and ''most'': ''often'', ''more often'', ''most often''; ''smoothly'', ''more smoothly'', ''most smoothly'' (see also [[#Comparison|comparison of adjectives]], above). However, a few adverbs retain irregular inflection for [[comparative]] and [[superlative]] forms:<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p311/> ''much'', ''more'', ''most''; ''a little'', ''less'', ''least''; ''well'', ''better'', ''best''; ''badly'', ''worse'', ''worst''; ''far'', ''further'' (''farther''), ''furthest'' (''farthest''); or follow the regular adjectival inflection: ''fast'', ''faster'', ''fastest''; ''soon'', ''sooner'', ''soonest''; etc.

Adverbs indicating the manner of an action are generally placed after the verb and its objects (''We considered the proposal '''carefully'''''), although other positions are often possible (''We '''carefully''' considered the proposal''). Many adverbs of frequency, degree, certainty, etc. (such as ''often'', ''always'', ''almost'', ''probably'', and various others such as ''just'') tend to be placed before the verb (''they '''usually''' have chips''), although if there is an auxiliary or other "special verb" (see {{slink||Verbs}} above), then the normal position for such adverbs is after that special verb (or after the first of them, if there is more than one): ''I have '''just''' finished the crossword''; ''She can '''usually''' manage a pint''; ''We are '''never''' late''; ''You might '''possibly''' have been unconscious''. Adverbs that provide a connection with previous information (such as ''next'', ''then'', ''however''), and those that provide the context (such as time or place) for a sentence, are typically placed at the start of the sentence: '''''Yesterday''' we went on a shopping expedition''.<ref>{{cite web|first = Kenneth |last = Beare| url = https://www.thoughtco.com/adverb-placement-in-english-1211117| title = Adverb Placement in English|work = ThoughtCo.|date = 10 February 2019}}</ref> If the verb has an object, the adverb comes after the object (''He finished the test '''quickly'''''). When there is more than one type of adverb, they usually appear in the order: manner, place, time (''His arm was hurt '''severely at home yesterday''''').<ref>{{Cite web|title=Adverbs and adverb phrases: position – English Grammar Today – Cambridge Dictionary|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/adverbs-and-adverb-phrases-position|access-date=2020-09-24 |website= dictionary.cambridge.org|language=en}}</ref>

A special type of adverb is the adverbial particle used to form [[phrasal verb]]s (such as ''up'' in ''pick up'', ''on'' in ''get on'', etc.) If such a verb also has an object, then the particle may precede or follow the object, although it will normally follow the object if the object is a pronoun (''pick the pen up'' or ''pick up the pen'', but ''pick it up'').

====Phrases<span class="anchor" id="Adverb phrases"></span>====
An [[adverb phrase]] is a phrase that acts as an adverb within a sentence.<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p312>{{Harvnb|Carter|McCarthy|2006|p=312}}</ref> An adverb phrase may have an adverb as its [[head (linguistics)|head]], together with any modifiers (other adverbs or adverb phrases) and complements, analogously to the [[#Adjective phrases|adjective phrases]]{{Broken anchor|date=2025-05-05|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=#Adjective phrases|reason= The anchor (Adjective phrases) [[Special:Diff/838103608|has been deleted]].|diff_id=838103608}} described above. For example: ''very sleepily''; ''all too suddenly''; ''oddly enough''; ''perhaps shockingly for us''.

Another very common type of adverb phrase is the [[prepositional phrase]], which consists of a preposition and its object: ''in the pool''; ''after two years''; ''for the sake of harmony''.

===Prepositions===
{{Main|English prepositions}}
[[Preposition]]s form a closed word class,<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p313/> although there are also certain phrases that serve as prepositions, such as ''in front of''. A single preposition may have a variety of meanings, often including temporal, spatial and abstract. Many words that are prepositions can also serve as adverbs. Examples of common English prepositions (including phrasal instances) are: ''of'', ''in'', ''on'', ''over'', ''under'', ''to'', ''from'', ''with'', ''in front of'', ''behind'', ''opposite'', ''by'', ''before'', ''after'', ''during'', ''through'', ''in spite of'' or ''despite'', ''between'', ''among'', etc.

A preposition is usually used with a noun phrase as its [[complement (grammar)|complement]]. A preposition together with its complement is called a [[prepositional phrase]].<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p314-315>{{Harvnb|Carter|McCarthy|2006|pp=314–315}}</ref> Examples are ''in England'', ''under the table'', ''after six pleasant weeks'', ''between the land and the sea''. A prepositional phrase can be used as a complement or post-modifier of a noun in a noun phrase, as in ''the man in the car'', ''the start of the fight''; as a complement of a verb or adjective, as in ''deal with the problem'', ''proud of oneself''; or generally as an adverb phrase (see above).

English allows the use of [[Preposition stranding|"stranded" prepositions]]. This can occur in interrogative and [[English relative clauses|relative clauses]], where the interrogative or relative pronoun that is the preposition's complement is moved to the start ([[wh-fronting|fronted]]), leaving the preposition in place. This kind of structure is avoided in some kinds of formal English. For example:
*''What are you talking about?'' (Possible alternative version: ''About what are you talking?'')
*''The song that you were listening to{{nbsp}}...'' (more formal: ''The song to which you were listening{{nbsp}}...'')
Notice that in the second example the relative pronoun ''that'' could be omitted.

Stranded prepositions can also arise in [[English passive voice|passive voice]] constructions and other uses of passive [[past participle|past participial phrases]], where the complement in a prepositional phrase can become [[zero (linguistics)|zero]] in the same way that a verb's direct object would: ''it was looked at''; ''I will be operated on''; ''get your teeth seen to''. The same can happen in certain uses of [[infinitive]] phrases: ''he is nice to talk to''; ''this is the page to make copies of''.

===Conjunctions===
{{Main|Conjunction (grammar)}}

[[Conjunction (grammar)|Conjunction]]s express a variety of logical relations between items, phrases, clauses and sentences.<ref name="carter-mccarthy-p315">{{Harvnb|Carter|McCarthy|2006|p=315}}</ref> They help link ideas, show relationships, and form more complex sentences. 

The principal [[coordinating conjunction]]s in English are: ''and'', ''or'', ''but'', ''nor'', ''so'', ''yet'', and ''for''. These can be used in many grammatical contexts to link two or more items of equal grammatical status,<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p315/> for example:
*Noun phrases combined into a longer noun phrase, such as ''John, Eric, and Jill'', ''the red coat or the blue one''. When ''and'' is used, the resulting noun phrase is plural. A determiner does not need to be repeated with the individual elements: ''the cat, the dog, and the mouse'' and ''the cat, dog, and mouse'' are both correct. The same applies to other modifiers. (The word ''but'' can be used here in the sense of "except": ''nobody but you''.)
*Adjective or adverb phrases combined into a longer adjective or adverb phrase: ''tired but happy'', ''over the fields and far away''.
*Verbs or verb phrases combined as in ''he washed, peeled, and diced the turnips'' (verbs conjoined, object shared); ''he washed the turnips, peeled them, and diced them'' (full verb phrases, including objects, conjoined).
*Other equivalent items linked, such as prefixes linked in ''pre- and post-test counselling'',<ref>British Medical Association, ''Misuse of Drugs'', Chapter 4, "Constraints of current practice."</ref> numerals as in ''two or three buildings'', etc.
*Clauses or sentences linked, as in ''We came, '''but''' they wouldn't let us in. They wouldn't let us in, '''nor''' would they explain what we had done wrong''. 
Another example of clauses or sentences linked is: ''I like reading books, '''and''' I also enjoy watching movies''.

There are also [[correlative conjunction]]s, where as well as the basic conjunction, an additional element appears before the first of the items being linked.<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p315/> The common correlatives in English are:
* ''either{{nbsp}}... or{{nbsp}}...'' ('''''either''' a man '''or''' a woman'');
* ''neither{{nbsp}}... nor{{nbsp}}...'' ('''''neither''' clever '''nor''' funny'');
* ''both{{nbsp}}... and{{nbsp}}...'' (''they '''both''' punished '''and''' rewarded them'');
* ''not{{nbsp}}... but{{nbsp}}...'', particularly in ''not only{{nbsp}}... but also{{nbsp}}...'' ('''''not''' exhausted '''but''' exhilarated'', '''''not only''' football '''but also''' many other sports'').

An example of a correlative conjunction can be seen in: '' '''Not''' only did I finish my homework, '''but''' I also helped my sibling''.

[[English subordinators|Subordinators]] make relations between clauses, making the clause in which they appear into a [[subordinate clause]].<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p316>{{Harvnb|Carter|McCarthy|2006|p=316}}</ref> Some common subordinators in English are:
*conjunctions of time, including ''after'', ''before'', ''since'', ''until'', ''when'', ''while'';
*conjunctions of cause and effect, including ''because'', ''since'', ''now that'', ''as'', ''in order that'', ''so'';
*conjunctions of opposition or concession, such as ''although'', ''though'', ''even though'', ''whereas'', ''while'';
*conjunctions of condition: such as ''if'', ''unless'', ''only if'', ''whether or not'', ''even if'', ''in case (that)'';
*the conjunction ''that'', which produces [[content clause]]s, as well as words that produce interrogative content clauses: ''whether'', ''where'', ''when'', ''how'', etc.

Subordinating conjunction generally comes at the very start of its clause, although many of them can be preceded by qualifying adverbs, as in ''probably because{{nbsp}}...'', ''especially if{{nbsp}}...''. The conjunction ''that'' can be omitted after certain verbs, as in ''she told us (that) she was ready''. (For the use of ''that'' in relative clauses, see {{slink||Relative pronouns}} above.)

An example of a subordinating conjunction being used is: ''I went to the store '''because''' I needed milk''.

===Case===
Although English has largely lost its case system, [[personal pronouns]] still have three morphological cases that are simplified forms of the [[nominative case|nominative]], [[objective case|objective]] and [[genitive case]]s:<ref>The Chambers Dictionary, 11th edition</ref>

* The ''[[nominative case]]'' (''[[subjective pronouns]]'' such as ''I'', ''he'', ''she'', ''we'', ''they'', ''who'', ''whoever''), used for the subject of a [[finite verb]] and sometimes for the [[complement (linguistics)|complement]] of a [[copula (linguistics)|copula]].
* The ''[[oblique case]]'' (''[[object pronoun]]s'' such as ''me'', ''him'', ''her'', ''it'', ''us'', ''them'', ''whom'', ''whomever''), used for the direct or indirect [[object (grammar)|object]] of a verb, for the object of a preposition, for an absolute disjunct, and sometimes for the complement of a copula.
* The ''[[genitive case]]'' (''[[possessive pronouns]]'' such as ''my/mine'', ''his'', ''her(s)'', ''its'', ''our(s)'', ''their(s)'', ''whose''), used for a grammatical possessor. This is not always considered to be a case; see {{slink|English possessive|Status of the possessive as a grammatical case}}.

Most English personal pronouns have five forms: the nominative and oblique case forms, the [[possessive case]], which has both a ''[[determiner (linguistics)|determiner]]'' form (such as ''my'', ''our'') and a distinct ''independent'' form (such as ''mine'', ''ours'') (with two exceptions: the [[grammatical person|third person]] singular masculine and the third person singular neuter ''it'', which use the same form for both determiner and independent [''his car'', ''it is his'']), and a distinct ''[[reflexive pronoun|reflexive]]'' or ''intensive'' form (such as ''myself'', ''ourselves''). The [[Interrogative word|interrogative]] personal pronoun ''who'' exhibits the greatest diversity of forms within the modern English pronoun system, having definite nominative, oblique, and genitive forms (''who'', ''whom'', ''whose'') and equivalently coordinating indefinite forms (''whoever'', ''whomever'', and ''whosever'').

Forms such as ''I'', ''he'', and ''we'' are used for the [[subject (grammar)|subject]] ("'''I''' kicked the ball"), whereas forms such as ''me'', ''him'' and ''us'' are used for the [[object (grammar)|object]] ("John kicked '''me'''").<ref>Finkenstaedt, Thomas; Dieter Wolff (1973). Ordered profusion; studies in dictionaries and the English lexicon. C. Winter.</ref>

===Declension===
{{Further|Declension}}
Nouns have distinct singular and plural forms; that is, they ''decline'' to reflect their [[grammatical number]]; consider the difference between ''book'' and ''books''. In addition, a few English pronouns have distinct [[nominative case|nominative]] (also called [[nominative case#Subjective|subjective]]) and [[oblique case|oblique]] (or objective) forms; that is, they decline to reflect their relationship to a [[verb]] or [[preposition]], or [[grammatical case|case]]. Consider the difference between ''he'' (subjective) and ''him'' (objective), as in "He saw it" and "It saw him"; similarly, consider ''[[Who (pronoun)|who]]'', which is subjective, and the objective ''whom''. Further, these pronouns and a few others have distinct [[grammatical possession|possessive]] forms, such as ''his'' and ''whose''. By contrast, nouns have no distinct nominative and objective forms, the two being merged into a single ''plain case''. For example, ''chair'' does not change form between "the chair is here" (subject) and "I saw the chair" (direct object). Possession is shown by the [[clitic]] ''-'s'' attached to a possessive [[noun phrase]], rather than by declension of the noun itself.<ref>[[James Clackson]] (2007) [https://books.google.com/books?id=DJDjNp6wODoC&pg=PA90 ''Indo-European linguistics: an introduction''], p.90</ref>