Learning with English

10 Modes of Modifiers

A modifier is a sentence element — a word or a phrase — that provides details. Three types of modifiers exist: those that qualify by answering the question of how or under what conditions something occurs, those that set conditions or explain circumstances by answering the question of who, what, when, where, and why, and those that provide reasons or conclusions.

Modifiers can also be classified into these categories:

1. Initial dependent clause: "Even though I was tired, I went for a walk."

2. Initial infinitive phrase: "To calm down, I went for a walk."

3. Initial adverb: "Immediately, I went for a walk."

4. Initial participial phrase: "Trying to distract myself, I went for a walk."

5. Mid-sentence appositive: "I, in an effort to calm down, went for a walk."

6. Mid-sentence participial phrase: "I, trying to distract myself, went for a walk."

7. Terminal present participial phrase: "I went for a walk, hoping to distract myself."

8. Terminal past participial phrase: "I went for a walk, soothed by the breeze."

9. Terminal resumptive phrase: "I went for a walk — a walk that did me good."

10. Terminal summative phrase: "I went for a walk, an activity that calmed me down and distracted me from my troubles."

And, for a bonus, employ a combination of phrases: "Even though I was tired, I, in an effort to distract myself, went for a walk, soothed by the breeze."

Thanks to this variety of ways to modify a sentence, writers need not be concerned about producing pedestrian prose.

Affect vs. Effect

Among the pairs of words writers often confuse, affect and effect might be the most perplexing, perhaps because their meanings are so similar. Affect, derived from affectus, from the Latin word afficere, "to do something to, act on," is easily conflated with effect, borrowed from Anglo-French, ultimately stemming from the Latin word effectus, from efficere, "to bring about."

Affect

The various senses of affect, each followed by a sentence demonstrating them, follow:

A noun meaning "mental state": "In his report, the psychiatrist, noting his lack of expression or other signs of emotion, described his affect as flat."

A verb meaning "to produce an effect, to influence": "I knew that my opinion would affect her choice, so I deliberately withheld it."

A verb meaning "to pretend" or "to put on": "She tried to affect an air of nonchalance, though she was visibly agitated."

Words with affect as the root, followed by their use in a sentence, include the following:

Affectation: A noun meaning "self-conscious behavior": "The girl's affectation of sophisticated maturity was undercut by the relentless snapping of her chewing gum."

Affection: A noun meaning "kind or loving emotion": "Her grandfather's deep affection for her was obvious in his heartwarming smile."

Disaffected: An adjective meaning "discontented, rebellious": "Disaffected youth dismayed by the poor job market and the larger issue of a society that does not seem to value them have been joining the protest movement in ever greater numbers." (This word is a case of an antonym that has outlived the original term from which it was derived in counterpoint; writers and speakers no longer express, in the sense of "favorably disposed," that a person is affected.)

Unaffected: An adjective with two distinct senses: the literal meaning of "not influenced or altered" ("They seemed disturbingly unaffected by the tragic news") and the surprisingly older, figurative meaning "genuine" ("The youth's candid, unaffected demeanor appealed to her after the stilted arrogance of her many suitors").

Effect

The various senses of effect, each followed by a sentence demonstrating them, follow:

A noun meaning "the result of a cause": "The effect of the lopsided vote was a loss of confidence in the chairman."

A noun meaning "an impression": "The soft, gentle tone has a calming effect."

A noun, usually in plural form, meaning "personal property, possession": "Among the effects found in the deceased man's pockets was a small book with his name self-inscribed."

A verb meaning "to accomplish": "His newfound sense of responsibility effected a positive change in her attitude toward him."

Words with effect as the root, followed by their use in a sentence, include the following:

Aftereffect: A noun, usually in plural form, meaning "something that follows a cause": "The aftereffects of the decision are still being felt years later."

Effective: An adjective meaning "successful": "The insect repellent was effective at keeping the mosquitoes at bay, which made for a pleasant outing."

Effectual: An adjective meaning "able to produce a desired effect": "Our conclusion is that mediation is an effectual strategy for obtaining a mutually satisfying outcome."

The noun efficiency and the adjective efficient, though not based on the root effect, share its etymological origin and mean, respectively, "productivity" and "productive" in the sense of accomplishing something with a minimum of effort in relation to outcome. Efficacy ("the power to produce a desired effect") and efficacious ("able to produce a desired effect") are also related. Another, unexpected word of related origin is feckless ("weak, worthless"), which is rare and has lost its antonym, feckful, through long disuse. Feck is a shortened form of effect developed in Scottish English.

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7 Patterns of Sentence Structure

Sentence structure can be categorized into seven patterns: one simple, three compound, two complex, and one compound-complex. Here are examples of each pattern with accompanying formulas, all to help you think of how to craft sentences in a greater variety of syntax:

1. Simple sentence (independent clause): "I went for a walk."

(An independent clause is set of words that includes a subject and a predicate. It can be a sentence or part of one. A dependent, or subordinate, clause is one that cannot stand on its own but provides additional information to supplement an independent clause.)

2. Compound sentence, IC+CC+IC (independent clause plus coordinating conjunction plus independent clause): "I went for a walk, and I was soothed by the gentle night air."

(Coordinating conjunctions are words that link one independent clause to another to form a compound sentence. These words can be recalled with the mnemonic FANBOYS and include for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.)

3. Compound sentence, IC+S+IC (independent clause plus semicolon plus independent clause): "I went for a walk; I was soothed by the gentle night air."

4. Compound sentence, IC+AC+IC (independent clause plus adverbial conjunction plus independent clause): "I went for a walk; consequently, I was soothed by the gentle night air."

(Adverbial conjunctions are adverbs that serve, when following a semicolon, to link independent clauses. They include consequently, however, moreover, nevertheless, therefore, and thus.)

5. Complex sentence, DM+C+IC (dependent marker plus clause plus independent clause): "Because I hoped to be soothed by the gentle night air, I went for a walk."

(Dependent markers are words that provide a relative context for a subordinate clause. They include after, although, as, "as if," because, before, if, since, though, until, when, where, whether, and while.)

6. Complex sentence, RP+C (relative pronoun plus clause): "Whatever doubts I had about taking a walk dissipated when I was soothed by the gentle night air."

(Relative pronouns are pronouns that relate a subordinate clause to the noun it modifies. They include who, whom, whose, whoever, whosoever, whomever, which, what, whatever, and sometimes that.)

7. Compound-complex sentence, DC+IC+CC+IC (dependent clause plus independent clause plus coordinating conjunction plus independent clause): "As I headed out for a walk, my doubts about doing so dissipated, and I was soothed by the gentle night air."

There are, of course, many variations to these patterns; even a simple sentence, for instance, can begin with the object in the example converted to the subject of another simple sentence: "A walk was my next order of business."

Whether to Use "Whether" or "If"

Sometimes, when it comes to deciding between using the word whether and employing the word if, the correct choice is obvious: "I don't know if to turn the oven knob left or right" is obviously wrong, but the almost-identical statement "I don't know if I should turn the oven knob left or right" is acceptable. However, because if implies probability, and whether indicates a choice between alternatives, in formal writing, the latter is more appropriate.

Similarly, "I don't remember if I turned the oven off" is correct, but because "I don't remember whether I turned the oven off" more clearly expresses that two alternatives exist, it is better in formal contexts.

"Turn the oven off if you are leaving" is a conditional sentence — it involves probability, not choice — and therefore if is correct. But "Turn the oven off whether or not you are leaving" conveys two alternatives, so whether is better. Note also the insertion of the phrase "or not" into the sentence: When the sense of whether is "regardless of the possible alternatives," include the phrase.

However, in such constructions as "I don't remember whether I turned the oven off," because whether already has a sense of "yes or no," "or not" is redundant.

The phrase "as to whether" to mean "about whether," as in "I am unclear as to whether a decision has been made," is correct, but it's an unnecessary formality; "about whether" will do. The phrase is also somewhat pedantic in constructions such as "The question as to whether it will do any good hasn't been answered." Simplify to "Whether it will do any good hasn't been determined."

When whether follows a noun such as decision, issue, or question, it should do just that, without the word of intervening, if the phrase appears in a sentence such as "They will make a decision whether we're there or not." ("Or not" is necessary here because the sense of whether is "regardless.") But if the sentence structure is something like "It's an issue of whether they're qualified" (here, "or not" is superfluous), of is integral.

15 Words for Household Rooms, and Their Synonyms

Here's an alphabetical tour of domestic vocabulary to help you avoid getting lost or walking through the wrong doorway, and to give you a choice in navigating your way:

1. Attic: Synonyms for this word (from the Latin Atticus, "of Attica") for a room or area under the roof of a house include garret (the term is from the Middle English word garite, "watchtower, turret") and loft (from the Old English word for "air" or "sky), as well as the obscure cockloft. A loft that opens to a lower room is also called a balcony (the term is from the Italian word balcone, "large window"); this term may also refer to an upstairs outside porch or deck.

2. Bathroom: Because of the personal nature of the bathroom's function, this room has many (mostly euphemistic) synonyms, including latrine and lavatory (both words are derived from the Latin word lavare, to wash"), as well as restroom, washroom, and "water closet"; most of these, however, are usually applied only to public facilities.

Bath or toilet (the latter term is derived from the French word toilette, "cloth") are also common usage — though toilet more often refers specifically to the key fixture — as are slang terms like head (this term is from naval usage, when the "bathroom" was the bow of the ship), john (from the given name), or loo (suggested to be from the French word l'eau, "water"). Privy, ultimately from Latin privatus, "private," was originally synonymous with outhouse but may also refer to an interior room.

3. Boudoir: This French term (amusingly derived from the French word bouder, "to pout") can apply to a bedroom, a dressing room, or a sitting room for the woman of the house. It has erotic connotations that, depending on context, the more utilitarian bedroom may or may not have.

4. Cellar: This area, often partially or completely belowground (see hall for etymology), is also called a basement. Because such areas often remain cooler than the rest of the dwelling, the cellar was originally used to store food and/or wine. More recently, it has been relegated to a general storage space or converted into one or more bedrooms or an informal entertainment area.

5. Closet: This term, from the Anglo-French word closett, a diminutive of clos, "enclosure," originally referred to a secluded room but now applies to a usually walk-in cabinet for storing clothes and/or other household items.

6. Conservatory: Often a separate building (also known as a greenhouse) but sometimes attached to a house, the conservatory (the term stems ultimately from the Latin word conservare, "keep, observe") is familiar to players of the board game Clue but rare in real life. The similar solarium (the term is from the Latin word for a porch with sun exposure), also known as a sunroom or a sun parlor, is a glass-enclosed room that may double as a conservatory.

7. Den: This term was borrowed from the synonym for lair, and the connotation of a secluded refuge is not coincidental; the neologism "man cave" (or mancave) suggests a retreat where the lord of the manor may escape to avoid responsibilities or the expectation that he behave in a civilized manner.

The den may be used for entertainment or as an office or a study; those terms are also likely to be applied to a spare room where academic, professional, or leisure writing or research is done and/or where household management is conducted.

8. Foyer: This word, adopted into English from French when France was considered the epitome of all that is refined and proper, in the latter language means "fireplace" (the word is ultimately derived from the Latin word focus, "hearth"). In humble abodes, the hearth was close to the door (as was everything else), but the name stuck even as dwellings became larger. The word applies to entrance areas in public buildings as well; synonyms like entranceway, entryway, and lobby are usually applied only in that context, not in identifying the domestic equivalent.

Vestibule (the term is from the Latin word vestibulum, "forecourt") is a synonym that suggests a transitional area. An earthier equivalent, generally referring to a separate small chamber, is mudroom, though this area is often entered through a side door.

9. Garage: This term derives from the French word for "the act of docking, from garer "to dock"; it's probably related to guard and guarantee. It was originally (and sometimes still is) detached from the house and, before the advent of the automobile, was preceded by the carriage house, itself an extension or evolution of a barn.

10. Hall: This word, stemming from the Old English heall and related to the Latin word cella, "small room" (whence cellar — see above), originally referred to an entire dwelling (or at least its primary chamber) at a time when that was the living arrangement for a chieftain or a nobleman.

By extension, the word came to be applied later to public buildings, campus edifices, and the like, but it also diminished to refer to the entry of a house, and ultimately, when houses became more extensive, a corridor or passageway that communicates to various rooms. The sense of "entry" is discussed above in the, er, entry for foyer.

11. Kitchen: For reasons of safety, the kitchen (the term derives ultimately from the Latin word coquere, "to cook") was a separate building, but now it is often the figurative heart of the home. Related terms include buttery (a storeroom for liquor, from the Anglo-French word but, "cask"), pantry (a storeroom for food, ultimately from Latin panis, "bread"), and scullery (a cleaning area, ultimately from the Latin word scutella, "drinking bowl").

12. Library: Originally, in some homes an entire room was set aside just to store the domestic collection of books, either for ostentatious display (and perhaps rarely, if ever, read) or for practical purposes, in which case the room doubled as an office or study. The term stems from the Latin word librarium, based on the stem libr-, "book."

13. Nursery: When, in the homes of the well-to-do, children were best not seen nor heard, they were relegated to the nursery (the term is ultimately derived from the Latin word nutricius, "nourishing"), a combination sleeping and playing area. Now, a nursery is simply a bedroom occupied by the very young.

14. Parlor: As the name (from the Anglo-French word parler, "talk") implies, this is a room dedicated to conversation among inhabitants or with their guests; "drawing room" (from "withdrawing room," the room to which guests at a dinner party withdrew for postprandial conversation) is a synonym, as are salon and "sitting room."

The hall and the parlor have been supplanted by the living room and/or the family room, the latter a fairly recent development to provide a casual environment in contrast to the former, a more formal area. (Some houses, by contrast, have a great room, a large open area that may include space for more than one activity as well as a dining area and free access to the kitchen.)

15. Porch: The porch (the term is from the Latin word portico, ultimately derived from porta, "gate") is usually merely a raised approach to a house, though it can be enclosed and might double as a solarium (see below). Synonyms are gallery, lanai (from Hawaiian), piazza (from Italian) stoop, and veranda or verandah (from Hindi and Urdu); all but stoop (from the Dutch word for a step) imply an expansive area. A sleeping porch is a well-ventilated area, sometimes adjacent to a bedroom, for sleeping on hot, still nights.

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50 Words with the Most Whimsical Prefix

The prefix be- has a variety of interesting roles in language:

Causation
The prefix is affixed to a verb to indicate a causative agent, as in belittle, meaning "to diminish by criticism or mockery."

Creation
Become and begin, and the archaic-sounding beget, are words starting with the prefix that indicate something coming to be; the prefix also appears in words expressing the near opposite, such as behead.

Intensification
It's one thing to be dazzled by a luminous object, but a reference to being bedazzled implies a higher order of enchantment.

Position
Be- indicates relative placement, as in below or between.

Its addition to a word transforms nouns and adjectives into verbs, as in besiege and beware ("be aware"). It also changes intransitive verbs (those that do not take an object) into transitive ones, as with becalm.

The simple act of attaching these two letters to an existing word enhances English by providing us with terms that entertain us with their vivid imagery. Here are some more or less obscure be- words and their definitions:

becloud: to obscure or muddle
bedaub: to excessively ornament or anoint
bedazzle: to enchant
bedeck: to fancily clothe or decorate
bedevil: to annoy
bedew: to moisten
bedight: to equip or adorn
bedim: to obscure, or to reduce light
bedizen: to adorn or dress in a tacky manner
bedraggle: to drench
befit: to be appropriate for
befool: to delude or trick
begrime: to make dirty
begrudge: to give reluctantly
beguile: to seduce
behoove: to be appropriate
bejewel: to adorn with jewelry
belabor: to emphasize unnecessarily
belaud: to fulsomely praise
belay: to stop or hold off from
beleaguer: to trouble or bother
belie: to falsely imply, to reveal something as false, or to contradict
bemire: to expose to or engulf in mud
bemock: to ridicule
benight: overcome by literal or figurative darkness
benumb: to deprive of sensation
bepuzzle: to confuse
bequeath: to leave an inheritance (the noun form is bequest)
bereave: to deprive (one so treated is bereft)
beseech: to beg (the past tense is besought)
beseem: to be fitting or suitable
beset: to attack, harass, or surround
besmear: to stain or obscure, or to defame
besmirch: see besmear
besort: to fit or become (also a noun meaning "appropriate associate")
besot: to infatuate or muddle
besoul: to endow with a soul
bespatter: to splash
bespeak: to claim, request, address, or identify
besprinkle: to scatter or disperse
bestir: to rouse
bestow: to put to use or in place, or to convey a gift
bestrew: see besprinkle
betake: to commit, or cause to act
bethink: to recall, or to cause to consider
betroth: to promise to marry, or to give in marriage
bewhisker: to provide with whiskers (or, as bewhiskered, to have whiskers)
bewhore: to corrupt sexually, or to characterize as a whore
bewig: to place a wig on
bewray: to betray

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35 Troublesome Irregular Verbs

In English, many verbs adapt simply to the past tense with the attachment of either -d or -ed, as in walk/walked or brake/braked. These are called regular verbs.

Many other verbs, however, undergo more significant alterations to transform from references to present-tense actions to those representing actions performed in the past. Such words are called irregular verbs.

The simple past, the tense form that describes what has previously occurred, is fairly straightforward once one assimilates the forms for each irregular verb. But complications set in when the past participle — a verb assisted by an auxiliary verb, or a past-tense form of the verb to be — is employed.

Some past-participle forms are easily distinguished from their simple-past counterparts, as in the case of ate/eaten, for example, or saw/seen ("I ate already"/"I had eaten already"; "We saw the movie"/"We had seen the movie"). Others, however, often literally give writers pause. Many of them are presented below in sample sentences with simple-past usage for comparison:

1.
"A problem arose."
"A problem had arisen."

2.
"They beat the odds."
"They had beaten the odds."

3.
"She bore it well."
"She had borne it well."

4.
"He broke the record."
"He had broken the record."

5.
"My friend drank three beers already."
"My friend had drunk three beers already."

6.
"You forsook us."
"You had forsaken us."

7.
"The boy hid the ball."
"The boy had hidden the ball."

8.
"I lay on the floor for a moment."
"I had lain on the floor for a moment."

9.
"We rode far."
"We had ridden far."

10.
"The phone rang."
"The phone had rung."

11.
"She rose to the occasion."
"She had risen to the occasion."

12.
"She sang."
"She had sung."

13.
"He shook it loose."
"He had shaken it loose."

14.
"The shirt shrank when I dried it."
"The shirt had shrunk when I dried it."

15.
"We strode along merrily the entire way."
"We had stridden along merrily the entire way."

16.
"The team strove to come back from behind."
"The team had striven to come back from behind."

17.
"I swore that I had not taken it."
"I had sworn that I had not taken it."

18.
"They swam to the other end and back."
"They had swum to the other end and back."

19.
"He took her back home."
"He had taken her back home."

20.
"My sister tore the paper up."
"My sister had torn the paper up."

Hanged and Hung
The past-participle form of hang is a special case. When referring to an object, hung is employed for both simple past and past participle:

21.
"They hung the stockings with great care."
"They had hung the stockings with great care."

In reference to execution by hanging, however, hanged is often (but not always) used in both forms:

"The horse thief was summarily hanged."
"The horse thief had been summarily hanged."

Hung in the latter sense is more likely to appear in a more casual context, as in a jocular usage or when referring to hanging in effigy:

"I'll be hung by my feet over an open fire if I don't finish this in time."

Choices
Many other verbs offer writers alternative forms for past tense, past-participle tense, or both:

22.
"I awaked (or awoke or awakened) to a deafening hum."
"I had awoken (or awaked or awakened) to a deafening hum."

23.
"She forgot to call back."
"She had forgotten (or forgot) to call back."

24.
"The swimmer quickly dove (or dived) into the pool."
"The swimmer had quickly dived into the pool."

25.
"I got nothing in return."
"I had gotten (or got) nothing in return."

26.
"She lighted (or lit) another cigarette."
"She had lit (or lighted) another cigarette."

27.
"He proved that I was right."
"He had proven (or proved) me right."

28.
"The boat sank."
"The boat had sunk (or sank)."

29.
"She showed him the door."
"She had shown (or showed) him the door."

30.
"The medallion shined (or shone) in the sunlight."
"The medallion had shone (or shined) in the sunlight."

31.
"I sneaked (or snuck) out last night."
"I had snuck (or sneaked) out last night."

32.
"The tiger sprang (or sprung) noiselessly."
"The tiger had sprung noiselessly."

33.
"The car's interior stank (or stunk) of stale fast food."
"The car's interior had stunk of stale fast food."

34.
"My dog waked (or woke) me up."
"My dog had woken (or waked) me up."

35.
"My aunt weaved (or wove) the scarf."
"My aunt had woven (or weaved) the scarf."

Hope usefully

^_^

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