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and you will feel the wisdom of Mark Twain’s little sermon； “Fear knocked at the door。
Faith answered。 No one was there。”
ADJECTIVES
Adjectives are words that describe nouns。 In the phrase “the green pen；” green is the
adjective that describes pen。 You’ll encounter some fuss about them because in many
languages adjectives have to AGREE WITH （appear in the same form as） the nouns they
MODIFY （refer to）。 In those languages adjectives must agree with the nouns in gender and
number （and sometimes case）。
A little Spanish will quickly make it clear。 El libro es rojo （“The book is red”）
shows the adjective rojo （“red”） in masculine singular form to agree with libro （“book”）。
La pluma es roja （“The pen is red”） shows the adjective roja （“red”） in feminine singular
form to agree with pluma （“pen”）。 Los libros son rojos （“The books are red”） shows the
adjective rojos （“red”） in masculine plural form to agree with libros （“books”）。 Finally；
Las plumas son rojas （“The pens are red”） shows the adjective rojas （“red”） in feminine
plural form to agree with plumas （“pens”）。
ADVERBS
Adverbs describe verbs – they tell how。 “He mastered the easy parts of the language
easily。” Easily is the adverb telling how he mastered the easy parts （Easy； of couse； is the
adjective。）
PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions are words that precede nouns and pronouns to form phrases （groups of
words） that can act as adjectives or adverbs。 Prepositions show relationships among
nouns； they often indicate position or direction； and they are often short words： to； at； by；
for； with； from； toward； on； over； behind； between； etc。
DEFINITE ARTICLE
The definite article in English is the word the。
INDEFINITE ARTICLE
The indefinite article in English is the word a or an。 English has both the definite and
indefinite article。 Some other languages also have both。 Some have one but not the other。
Some have neither。
SUBJECT…VERB…OBJECT
Words like these symbolise the grade school “nerve gas” which deadens the desire to
proceed through grammar and parts of speech； and diagramming sentences； and all
related yawn provokers that once seemed to float too far over our heads ever to zoom
down and give us discomfort。 Those concepts may have seemed like distant enemies in
the eighth grade when you had no intention of becoming an English teacher； but they’re
close friends and necessary allies when you’re learning another language。
Briefly； in the sentence “He hits the ball；” the word he is the SUBJECT； hits is the
VERB； ball is the OBJECT； the DIRECT OBJECT。 If we lengthen the sentence to “He hits the
ball to him；” then him is the INDIRECT OBJECT。
ACTIVE
The verb is ACTIVE or in the ACTIVE VOICE if the subject is performing the verb action。 In
“He hits the ball；” the verb hits is in the active voice because the subject he is the one
（the AGENT） doing the hitting。
PASSIVE
The verb is PASSIVE or in the PASSIVE VOICE if the subject receives or is subject to the
action of the verb。 Thus in “The ball is hit by him”； the subject ball doesn’t do any
hitting。 Rather； it gets hit。 Therefore； we say that the verb hit is in the passive voice
because the subject ball is not performing the action of the verb but is rather having that
action performed upon it。
REFLEXIVE
The verb is reflexive when its action bounces back upon itself。 In the sentence “I dress
myself；” the subject I both performs the action and has it performed on itself。
IMPERATIVE
The imperative is the command form of the verb。 The imperative of the verb to go is go！
The imperative of the verb to watch is Watch！
COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE
Though not as flighty and volatile as verbs and nouns； English adjectives and adverbs
can’t sit entirely still。
Good； better； and best are really the same word in escalating degrees。 Good is the
simple； the base form of the adjective。 Better is the comparative form。 Best is the
superlative form。 Good…better…best is an example of an irregular comparative…superlative
construction。 If it were regular； it would be good； gooder and goodest； like the regular
neat； neater and neatest。
The comparative and superlative of adverbs in English is formed with more and
most： “He progressed rapidly。 He progressed more rapidly。 He progressed most rapidly。”
CARDINAL AND ORDINAL NUMBERS
Cardinal numbers are one； two； three； four； etc。 Ordinal numbers are first； second； third；
fourth； etc。
FORMS OF ADDRESS
English is deceptively easy in forms of address。 Everybody in second person singular and
plural is you。 Your spouse is you。 Your four year old child is you。 Your interior decorator
is you。 The President of the United States is you。 Your cocker spaniel is you。 In almost
every other language； speakers differentiate； sometimes sharply； between the FAMILIAR
form of address （French tu； German du） and the FORMAL form （French vous； German Sie）。
The usual rule is that you use the familiar form of address only when addressing （talking
to） intimates； children； and animals。 All others take the formal form。
There comes a moment in the affairs of humans when someone who started out
formally as a stranger or casual acquaintance becomes； with time and congeniality； so
familiar that the formal form of address seems almost stilted and even offish or insulting。
In some countries – Norway； for instance – the tension is broken by the suggestion Skal
vi drikke dus？ （“Shall we drink to a new era in our friendship？” one in which we’ll
address each other as the familiar du rather than the formal De？） That’s a speak…now…or…
forever…hold…your…peace moment in the relationship。 If there’s no objection； the two
friends take a glass and toast their graduation from formal to familiar with their drinking
arms intertwined！
DIMINUTIVES
A charming trick almost every language has is this “shrinking” of someone or something
you like by the use of diminutives。 The diminutive of Charles is Charlie。 The diminutive
of William is Billy。 The diminutive of star is starlet。 The diminutive of pig is piglet or
piggy。 The Olympics of diminutives is won hands down by the Italians； who have
literally dozens of different forms of the diminutive； each conveying its own special
nuance of feeling for the noun undergoing the shrinking。
IDIOMS
Idioms are expressions that may not make sense but have clear and specific meanings
anyhow because the speakers of the language have “agreed” that； rules notwithstanding；
those particular words shall have a particular meaning。 An idiom has a meaning that
cannot be derived from the conjoined meaning of its elements。
In English； we say “Let’s take a walk！” What are you taking？ In Spanish； that
becomes “Damos un paseo；” which literally means “Let’s give a walk！” What are you
giving？ Neither makes much sense but both are correct。 Both are idioms。
Some English idioms； at random； are： at first blush； at one’s wits end； axe to grind；
beat around the bush； break the ice； chip off the old block； crack a joke； fit as a fiddle；
forty winks； get in one’s hair； give a piece of one’s mind； keep the wolf from the door； red
tape； and with flying colours。
All languages have idioms。 They’re fun and enriching and they illustrate
differences and similarities among cultures。 How philosophically distant is the
Norwegian who says about a dim witted person； “Han er darlig utstyrt i oeverst etasje”
（“He’s poorly equipped on the top floor”）； from the American Southerner who says；
“He’s three pickles shy of a barrel”？
Learn to diagnose idioms in English and make sure you never try to translate them
literally into any other language。 If you try to tell a Spanish friend； “I’m on a roll；” do not
say “Estoy en un panecillo。” He will look under your feet for signs of crumbs without
any comprehension that what you really meant to express is that things are going
extremely well for you at the moment。
Likewise； be attentive to idioms as they come at you in other languages。 The
German who tells you to “break your neck and your leg” is really wishing you luck。 So is
the Italian who seems to be sending you “into the mouth of the wolf”！
The foregoing is by no means the whole of the mechanical vocabulary you’ll need
to conquer every other language on earth。 You’ve got some dandies waiting for you
inside whatever language you choose to tackle。 In French and other languages you’ll
meet the double negative。 In Finnish； it’s worse： you’ll meet the inflecting negative！
German will be watching to see if you can handle its double infinitive。 Russian can’t wait
to hit you with its perfective and imperfective verb aspects。 Gender in Hebrew is so
complex you have to know the sex of a dog before you can