Basic Grammar

Frankly, I'm not really a grammar guy, but here are a few glyphs we can pile up along the bottom of a word to depict its place in the grand scheme of things.

First Person [I, me, us] (an arm pointing to me)
I hear
Second Person [you] (a finger pointing to you)
you see
Third Person [him, she, they] (based on a drawing of the eye to indicate a person or thing seen.)
he says
Plural (stolen directly from Egyptian hieroglyphics.)
cats
The definite article, a subscript of the glyph [that]
the cat
Past tense (rewind button.)
I shot
Future tense (fast forward button.)
I will read
Imperative
go!
Passive mood (a recliner chair.)
they will be stopped
To turn a Adjective into a Verb. ("to make ___")
to chill
To turn a Noun into a Adjective. [___-like] (from mathematics. "approximately equals")
asinine
To turn a Noun into a Adjective. [-ful]
dangerous ("dangerful")
To turn a Noun into a Verb. ("to make like".)
to oppress
To turn a Noun into an infinitive Verb. (The opposite of the symbol below; also v for verb.)
to sit
To turn a Verb into a Noun. (Simplified symbol of standing, status, to mean "the state of".)
opening
Possessive or genitive (I invented this symbol to suggest the English word "of" and the French "de".)
the capital of Ireland
Agent [-er, -man]
runner
The Plus Sign indicates Comparative [-er, more]
drier
Superlative (Double-plus) [-est, most]
lamest
Diminutive [-ette, mini-] ("Less than or equal to")
daddy
Negative [Un-, Non-]
unattached
Really Negative [Dis-, Anti-]
antiaircraft gun
Reflexive [-self] (a mirror)
myself
Possible [-ible] (from logic)
flammable
Masculine
Feminine
Really (When the image is primarily used as a metaphor for an abstract concept, this changes it to meaning exactly what it shows.)
horseshoe
Metaphorically (When the image is primarily used as a realistic icon, this changes it to a subtler metaphor for a more generic concept.)
vehicle


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Last updated October 2004

Copyright © 2003-04 Matthew White