Understanding Verbs, Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Adverbs
Verb: It is the word that expresses actions, states, or processes located in time (past, present, and future). Verbs are variable words, meaning they have different forms. The set of all verb forms is called conjugation.
Verbal Accidents: The person, number, and tense. Mood denotes the speaker’s attitude toward what is said.
Verb Moods
- Indicative Mood: Presents the action of the verb as something that actually happens.
- Subjunctive Mood: Displays the verbal action as if it were possible, desirable, or doubtful.
- Imperative Mood: Transmits an order or request.
Personal Forms of Verbs
- Infinitive: The base form of the verb (e.g., to love, to know, to laugh).
- Gerund: Indicates the circumstances surrounding the action (e.g., loving, knowing, laughing).
- Participle: Can act as a verb or a noun. It is the only verb form that changes in gender and number (e.g., tired, discovered).
Imperfective Aspect: The speaker presents the verbal action without regard for its beginning or end (e.g., hoped, will begin).
Perfective Aspect: The action is presented as already completed, whether in the past, present, or future (e.g., we go out, have tasted, we had dinner).
Prepositions
Prepositions are invariable words that connect words or groups of words (e.g., a, before, under, in contrast, for, since, between, to, toward, for, as, without, over, upon, through, and over).
Prepositional Phrases
Consist of two or more words that function as a preposition (e.g., below, in front of, above, by way of).
Conjunctions
Conjunctions are invariable words that join words, groups of words, or sentences (e.g., and, also, or, but, however).
Adverbs
Adverb: These are words that complement the meaning of a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or the entire sentence. Their main function is to express affirmation, denial, doubt, or clarify circumstances of place, time, or manner, usually related to the verbal action.
Adverbs: Are invariable words, meaning they do not change in gender, number, tense, or mood. Many adverbs can form diminutives or superlatives with suffixes (e.g., lejotes, early, clearly).
An emphatic form of adverbs is achieved by adding the word same (e.g., right now, right here, himself).
Types of Adverbs
- Location: Down here, there, up close, far, beneath, within.
- Time: Now, before, yesterday, after, then, today, tomorrow, never, ever, late, early, yet.
- Manner: Yes, well, good, fast, slow, wrong, quickly.
- Quantity: Many, little, nothing, something, quite, more, less, very, well.
- Affirmation: Yes, well, really, and so on.
- Denial: No, never, neither, and so on.
- Doubt: Perhaps, maybe, etc.
Another classification distinguishes between:
- Demonstrative Adverbs: (here, then, after, as well).
- Relative Adverbs: (when, where).
- Interrogative Adverbs: (when, where, how).
Adverbial Phrases
These are combinations of two or more words from different grammatical categories that have a unique meaning and function as adverbs.