Help with Some English Grammar Terms

Help with Some English Grammar Terms

by Alex
(Quebec)

Hey there,

I am currently in Quebec City learning French, and have come to realize that I am not sure about a lot of definitions for grammar in English.

I look up the definition but I don't understand it!

Words like transitive verbs and attributive and aspect.

Please help!

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Mar 16, 2013
Answer
by: Chelsey

Thanks for the question! These can be confusing terms. I will try to give simple explanations here and more information can be found by following the links provided.

TRANSITIVE VERBS

There are two things you should know about transitive verbs.

Transitive verbs are action verbs such as kick, bring, paint, and eat.

Transitive verbs must be used with a direct object. A direct object is something or someone that receives the action of the verb.

Examples
1. Please bring a pencil to class.
Transitive verb: bring
Direct object: pencil

2. The boy kicked the ball.
Transitive verb: kicked
Direct object: ball

3. Dan painted a picture.
Transitive verb: painted
Direct object: picture

Many verbs can be both transitive and intransitive, meaning you can use them with or without a direct objects. In the examples above, all three verbs are being used as transitive verbs because they have a direct object.

ATTRIBUTIVE

Attributive refers to a word that is joined directly to a noun in order to describe it. An attributive noun is usually optional. It does not change the meaning of the sentence if you remove it.

Examples
1. My sons all have blonde hair.
"Blonde" is an attributive adjective.
2. Please hand me the can opener.
(Please hand me the opener.)
"Can" is an attributive noun that functions as an adjective to describe the opener.
3. I would like another bowl of potato soup.
(I would like another bowl of soup.)
"Potato" is an attributive noun that functions as an adjective to describe the soup.

ASPECT

Aspect can be very confusing because it is not common in many other languages. In grammar, aspect is a way to change a verb to show whether the action is complete or ongoing. It does not change the time.

For Example:
1. I bake a cake.
2. I am baking a cake.
3. I have baked a cake.

All three examples are in the present time. However, each sentence has a different aspect.

Sentence 1 (I bake a cake.)
Simple aspect: It simply tells the time.

Sentence 2 (I am baking a cake.)
Progressive aspect: It gives the time and tells us that the action is ongoing. It is in progress.

Sentence 3 (I have baked a cake.)
Perfect aspect: It gives the time and tells us that the action is finished.

These three sentences have the same TIME and the same ACTION, but a different ASPECTS.

"Time" and "Aspect" combine to form tenses in the English language.

Follow this link for some easy to read charts about Aspect.

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