Absolute expression.An expression (usually composed of a substantive and a participle, perhaps with modifiers) which, though not formally and grammatically joined, is in thought related to the remainder of the sentence. (The relief party having arrived, we went home. This disposed of, the council proceeded to other matters. Defeated, he was not dismayed.) Antecedent.A substantive to which a pronoun or participle refers. Literally, antecedent means that which goes before; but sometimes the antecedent follows the dependent word. (The man who hesitates is lost. Entering the store, we saw a barrel of apples.) Man is the antecedent of the pronoun who, and we is the antecedent of the participle entering. Auxiliary.Be, have, do, shall, will, ought, may, can, must, might, could, would, should, etc., when used with participles and infinitives of other verbs, are called auxiliary verbs. Case.The relation of a substantive to other words in the sentence as shown by inflectional form or position. The subject of a verb, or the predicate of the verb to be, is in the nominative case. The object of a verb or preposition, or the "assumed subject" of an infinitive, is in the objective case. A noun or pronoun which denotes possession is in the possessive case. Clause.A portion of a sentence which contains a subject and a verb, perhaps with modifiers. The following sentence contains one dependent (subordinate) and one independent (principal) clause: When the storm ceased, the grove was a ruin. Conjugation.The inflectional changes in the verb to indicate person, number, tense, voice, mode, and modal aspect. Declension.The changes in a noun, pronoun, or adjective to indicate person, number, or case. Ellipsis, elliptical expression.An expression partially incomplete, so that words have to be understood to complete the meaning. An idea or relation corresponding to the omitted words is present, at least vaguely, in the mind of the speaker. Elliptical sentences are usually justifiable except when the reader cannot instantly supply the understood words. Examples of proper ellipses: You are as tall as I [am tall]. Is your sister coming? I think [my sister is] not [coming]. I will go if you will [go]. [I give you] Thanks for your advice. Gerund.A verbal in -ing used as a noun. (I do not object to your telling. His having deserted us makes little difference.) The gerund may be regarded as a special form of the infinitive. Infinitive.A verbal ordinarily introduced by to and used as a noun (To err is human). In such sentences as "The road to follow is the river road," follow may be regarded as the noun of a phrase (compare the road to Mandalay), or the entire phrase may be regarded as an adjective. Similarly, in "He hastened to comply," comply may be regarded as a noun or to comply as an adverb. After certain verbs (bid, dare, help, make, need, etc.) the to is omitted from the infinitive group. (He bids me go. I need not hesitate.) Inflection.Change in the form of a word to show a modification or shade of meaning. At a very early period in our language there was a separate form for practically every modification. Although separate forms are now less numerous, inflection is still a convenient term in grammar. Its scope is general: it includes the declension of nouns, the comparison of adjectives and adverbs, and the conjugation of verbs. Modify.To be grammatically dependent upon and to limit or alter the quality of. In the expression "The very old man," the and old modify man, and very modifies old. Participle.A verbal used as an adjective, or as an adjective with adverbial qualities. In the sentence "Mary, being oldest, is also the best liked," being oldest refers exclusively, or almost exclusively, to the subject and is therefore adjectival. In such sentences as "He fell back, exhausted" and "Running down the street, I collided with a baby carriage," the participle refers in part to the verb and is therefore adverbial as well as adjectival. Phrase.A group of words forming a subordinate part of a sentence and not containing a subject and its verb. Examples: With a whistle and a roar the train arrived [prepositional phrase]. Bowing his head, the prisoner listened to the verdict of the jury [participial phrase]. In a loose, untechnical sense phrase may refer to any short group of words, even if the group includes a subject and its verb. Predicate.The word or word-group in a sentence which makes an assertion about the subject. It consists of a finite verb with or without objects or modifiers. Predicate adjective.An adjective in the predicate, usually linked with the subject by some form of the verb to be (is, was, were, etc.). (John is lazy. The soldiers were very eager.) Predicate noun.A noun linked with the subject by some form of the verb to be. (John is halfback. They were our neighbors.) Sentence.A sentence is a group of words containing (1) a subject (with or without modifiers) and a predicate (with or without modifiers) and not grammatically dependent on any words outside of itself; or (2) two or more such expressions related in thought. Sentences of type 1 are simple or complex; sentences of type 2 are compound. A simple sentence contains one independent clause (The dog barks angrily). A complex sentence contains one independent clause and one or more subordinate clauses (The dog barks when the thief appears). A compound sentence contains two or more independent clauses (The dog barks, and the thief runs). Substantive.A noun or a word standing in place of a noun. (The king summoned parliament. The bravest are the tenderest. She was inconsolable.) A substantive phrase is a phrase used as a noun. (From Dan to Beersheba is a term for the whole of Israel.) A substantive clause is a clause used as a noun. (That he owed the money is certain.) Syntax.Construction; the grammatical relation between the words, phrases, and clauses in a sentence. Verbal.Any form of the verb used as another part of speech. Infinitives, gerunds, and participles are verbals. They are used to express action without asserting it, and cannot, therefore, have subjects or be used as predicate verbs.

Abridged Conjugation of the verb to take
ModeTenseActive VoicePassive Voice
IndicativePresentI takeI am taken
PastI tookI was taken
FutureI shall (will) takeI shall (will) be taken
PerfectI have takenI have been taken
Past PerfectI had takenI had been taken
Future PerfectI shall (will) have takenI shall (will) have been taken
SubjunctivePresentIf I takeIf I be taken
PastIf I tookIf I were taken
PerfectIf I have takenIf I have been taken
Past PerfectIf I had takenIf I had been taken
ImperativePresentTake
Modal Aspects

(Modal aspects, formed by combining auxiliaries with the main verb, give special meanings—emphatic, progressive, etc.—to the primary modes. Since there are almost as many aspects as there are auxiliaries, only a few can be enumerated here.)

TenseModal AspectActive VoicePassive Voice
Present IndicativeEmphatic:I do take
Progressive:I am takingI am being taken
Contingent:I may takeI may be taken
Potential:I can takeI can be taken
Obligative:I must takeI must be taken
Etc.
Past IndicativeEmphatic:I did take
Progressive:I was takingI was being taken
Contingent:I might takeI might be taken
Potential:I could takeI could be taken
Obligative:I must takeI must be taken
Etc.
Present SubjunctiveEmphatic:If I do take
Progressive:If I be taking
Contingent:If I might take
Potential:If I could take
Obligative:If I must take
Etc.
Present ImperativeEmphatic:Do take
Progressive:Be taking
Verbals
VerbalTenseActive VoicePassive Voice
InfinitivePresent:To takeTo be taken
Perfect:To have takenTo have been taken
GerundPresent:TakingBeing taken
Perfect:Having takenHaving been taken
ParticiplePresent:TakingBeing taken
Past: Taken
Perfect:Having takenHaving been taken

Exercise:

Copy a page of good prose from any book, leaving wide spaces between the lines. Indicate the part of speech of every word. This may be done by abbreviations placed beneath the words. For example: