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on the other hand it is friendly； nonjudgmental； brief； blunt； and； I hope； helpful。
NOUN
A noun is a person； place； or thing – either a tangible thing； like a block of ice or a head
of cattle or your mother in law； or an intangible thing； like a concept or an emotion。
PRONOUN
The dictionary tells us that pronouns are words that serve as substitutes for nouns。 If
that’s confusing； ignore it and let’s get right down to the pronouns。 In English they are I；
you； he； she； it； we； they； me； him； her； us； them； my； mine； your； yours； his； hers； its； our；
ours； their and theirs。
In addition； we have INTERROGATIVE pronouns （who； what； which） for asking
questions。
We also have RELATIVE pronouns （who； whose； which； that） for explaining and
describing the nouns we use。
In the sentence “Who owns that house？” the pronoun who is used in interrogative
form。 It’s asking a question。 In the sentence “The man who owns that house is nice；” the
pronoun who is used in its relative sense。 You’re not asking anybody a question； you’re
identifying the man。 “The man whose house…；” “The house； which I visited…；” and
“The house that I visited…” all demonstrate the use of relative pronouns。
VERB
A verb is an action word – to do； to go； to want； to think。 Chances are that any word that
sounds right after the word to （provided the to doesn’t mean “toward” or “in the direction
of”） is a verb。 English verbs are so consistent （unchanging）； it’s easy for the English
speaker to get overwhelmed when tackling a language whose verbs INFLECT （change
forms）； as all the Romance； the Slavic； and many other languages’ verbs do。 When we
follow a verb through all its forms （I go； you go； he goes； we go； they go； in the present
tense； past tense； future tense； etc。） we are CONJUGATING that verb。 You’ll feel less
bewildered if you stop to realise that our own English verbs inflect just enough to give
you the idea of changing forms。 The present tense； third person singular form of the
English verb （the he form） usually adds an s （I give； you give； but he gives）。
INFINITIVE
An infinitive is a verb in neutral gear。 In English the infinitive is the form we talked
about above – to go； to do； etc。 The infinitive form of the verb go is therefore to go。 That
doesn’t tell you who’s going or when he’s going or； in case he’s already gone； when he
went。 The infinitive is just hanging there； ready to express any and all of the above
possibilities when the proper INFLECTIONS； changes； are applied。
The gears that neutral infinitives can shift into involve PERSON； NUMBER； and TENSE。
We’ll tackle them in that order。
PERSON
I am FIRST PERSON。 You are SECOND PERSON。 He； she； or it is THIRD PERSON。 The fussbudget
grammarian wants to blow the whistle right here and remind us that we； you； and they are
also first； second； and third person。 Don’t rush me。 We’re getting to it。
NUMBER
Number； in English and most other languages； is either SINGULAR or PLURAL。 （In Russian
and other Slavic languages there’s a third one。 They have singular； plural； and really
plural。 Be grateful！） I； the first person； am only one individual。 Therefore I am first
person singular。 You； by yourself； are second person singular。 He； she； and it are third
person singular。
We are more than one person； therefore we are first person plural。 You； meaning two
or more of you； are second person plural。 Second person singular and second person
plural in English happen to look and sound identical。 That’s not so in all languages。 They
are third person plural。 The one English word they covers as many he’s； she’s and it’s as
anybody can possibly throw at you。 Again； not all languages are so obliging！
TENSES
Even those who didn’t pay much attention in school shouldn’t have difficulty with tenses。
I am is PRESENT tense。 （To give it its full name and rank we’d have to say I am is the
present tense； first person singular of the verb to be。）
You were is PAST tense； or； more fully； the past tense； second person singular （in this
case it could be plural too） of the verb to be。
He will be is FUTURE tense； or the future tense； third person singular of the verb to
be。
The PERFECT tense is another form of the past tense that expresses not I was but
rather I have been。 （Perfect here just means “finished。”） This tense is more important in
English than in many other languages； and more important in French than in English。
The PAST PERFECT （also called PLUPERFECT） tense is I had been。 It takes place before
the “regular” past。
The IMPERFECT （“unfinished”） tense is I was being； I was walking； I was going；
doing； etc。
The CONDITIONAL tense is I would be。
There are more tenses； and they may vary from language to language； but that’s
enough to give you the hang of what tenses are。
AUXILIARIES
As the name suggests； auxiliaries are words that help you accomplish something。 In
English； the verb to have serves as the auxiliary that helps us form the perfect tenses （I
have been； I had been）。 The verb to be serves as the auxiliary that helps us form the
imperfect tense （I was going）。
NOUN CASES
Just as ice； water； and steam are merely different forms of the same thing； I； me； my； and
mine are merely different forms of the same word。 You pick the form according to what
CASE you need。 （Yes！ You already do this in English。） Let’s advance on case now and
destroy its mystery before it destroys your enthusiasm。
Noun （and pronoun） cases turn more people away from learning languages than
boot camp turns away from joining the marines。 And the same reason underlies both。
Those who’ve been there enjoy boosting their own glory by exaggerating the difficulties
involved to the intimidated uninitiated。
“Wait until those drill instructors at Parris Island get a hold of you！” is essentially
the same comment as “Wait until you run into all those noun cases！” You may recall with
distaste the trouble you had with Latin’s six noun cases。 Russian also has six noun cases。
Serbo…Croatian has seven。 Other languages have even more。
Anyone studying a language bristling with noun cases knows the sinking feeling of
leaving warm； shallow water and running into wave after wave of charts showing nouns
that change their endings for no apparent reason！
You can ride those waves。 Those nouns； in fact； change for very good reasons；
reasons that are easy to catch on to provided you’re not labouring under the spell of a
showoff know…it…all who tells you； “Finnish！ Forget it。 They have fifteen noun cases in
the singular and sixteen in the plural！”
Fortunately； English has just enough of what we call noun cases to prove they’re
nothing to fear。
Let’s play with the word house。 “The house is large。” “The exterior of the house us
green。” “Let’s go to the house。” “I see the house。” In all of those sentences； the form of
house remains mercifully （for anybody learning English） the same。 If there were any
reason to strain a point and prove that plain English nouns can have case too； we could
confect the sentence “The house’s exterior is green；” and point out that house’s is the
genitive case of house。
To get a fuller example of case； we have to go to our English pronouns。 “I have a
pen。” “My pen is good。” “Give the pen to me。” “Do you hear me？”
Look what happened to I as it changed roles in the various sentences。 In the
sentence “I have a pen；” I is the subject of the sentence。 In the sentence “My pen is
good；” I has changed to my to express the concept of possession。 In the sentence “Give
the pen to me；” I becomes the indirect object of the giving； and in the sentence “Do you
hear me？” I becomes the direct object of the verb hear。
If I wanted to discourage you instead of inspire you； I would say； “We have now
met the NOMINATIVE case； the GENITIVE case； the DATIVE case； and the ACCUSATIVE case；
and we’re all going to stay right here and not come up for air until you can decline （give
me the lineup of） 189 nouns in all those cases in the language you’d like to learn！”
Instead I say let’s move forward and learn how to say things and read things and
understand things in the language。 You can learn about noun cases and other grammatical
complexities exactly the way you learned your uncles and aunts when you were a baby –
one hug； one kiss； one lollipop at a time。
When we carry the noun through all its cases we say we’re DECLINING that noun。
Noun cases tip you off to the role of the noun or pronoun in a sentence。 Many languages
need them to tell you who is doing what to whom。 Approach them with a good attitude
and you will feel the wisdom of Mark Twain’s little sermon； “Fear knocked at the door。
Faith answered。 No one was there。”
ADJECTIVE