Grammatical Category
The term "grammatical category" refers to specific properties of a word that can cause that
word and/or a related word to change in form for grammatical reasons (ensuring agreement
between words).
For example, the word "boy" is a noun. Nouns have a grammatical category called
"number". The values of number are singular (one) and plural (two or more).
1. The boy is playing.
2. The boys are playing.
In sentence 1, "boy" is in its basic form, giving its "number" the value of singular. There is
one boy and the related auxiliary verb "to be" is in the singular form (is).
In sentence 2, the form of "boy" has changed to "boys", giving its "number" the value of
plural. There is more than one boy and the related "to be" is in the plural form (are).
In the above example, the "number" of "boy" influences the form of boy, and also
influences the form of a related word (be). "Number" is a "grammatical category".
English has over twenty grammatical categories. Below we list the most common ones for
English learners and summarise their main features.
Number
Number is a property of nouns and pronouns, and indicates quantity. Number has two
values:


singular: indicates one only
plural: indicates two or more
number
singular plural
noun
boy
pronoun I
boys
we
Case
Case is a property of pronouns and nouns, and expresses their relationship to the rest of
the sentence. Case has three values (two of which do not apply to nouns):

subjective (pronouns only): when the word is the subject


objective (pronouns only): when the word is the object
possessive (pronouns and nouns): when the word indicates possession (ownership)
case
subjective
pronoun I
boy
noun
objective
possessive
me
mine
boy
boy's
Gender
Natural gender is a property of pronouns, and differentiates the sexes. Natural gender has
three values:



masculine: indicates male
feminine: indicates female
neuter: indicates everything else
gender
masculine
pronoun he/him/his
feminine
neuter
she/her/hers
it/its
Note that Old English had "grammatical gender" where words themselves had gender.
Remnants of this are found in "natural gender", which is based on the sex of people rather
than the gender of words.
Person
Person is a property of pronouns, and differentiates participants in a conversation. Person
has three values:



first person: refers to the speaker
second person: refers to the hearer
third person: refers to all other people or things
person
1st
pronoun I/me
2nd 3rd
you
he/him, she/her, it
we/us
they
Tense
Tense is a property of verbs, and most closely corresponds with location in time. Tense has
two values:


past: indicates before now
present: indicates now (and sometimes before and after now)
tense
verb
past
present
was
did
had
worked
ran
am
do
have
work
run
Note that "future tense" is not shown here because strictly-speaking it is not a tense but a
structure to talk about the future (after now).
Aspect
Aspect is a property of verbs, and expresses our view of the time structure of an activity or
state. Aspect has three values:



simple: the time has no structure
continuous: expresses ongoing action
perfect: expresses completed action
aspect
verb
simple
continuous
perfect
they work
they are working
they have worked
Mood
Mood is a property of verbs, and relates to the speaker's feelings about the reality of what
he is saying. Mood has three values:

indicative: expresses simple statement of fact


imperative: expresses command
subjunctive: expresses something desired or imagined
mood
verb
indicative
imperative
subjunctive
James stood up.
Stand up!
We insist that he stand.
Is it quiet enough?
Be quiet!
It is essential that you be quiet.
Voice
Voice is a property of transitive verbs*, and expresses the relationship of the subject to the
action. Voice has two values:


active: the subject does the action
passive: the subject receives the action
voice
transitive verb
active
passive
The cat ate the mouse.
The mouse was eaten by the cat.
* A transitive verb can have a direct object.
Degree
Degree is a property of gradable adjectives and adverbs, and indicates amount. Degree has
three values:



positive: indicates a basic quality
comparative: indicates a greater quality
superlative: indicates the maximum quality
degree
positive
comparative
superlative
gradable adjective
happy
happier
the happiest
gradable adverb
carefully more carefully the most carefully
Grammatical Functions of English Nouns and Noun Phrases
Noun phrases including nouns and pronouns perform eleven main grammatical
functions within sentences in the English language. The eleven functions of nouns and
noun phrases are:
1. Noun phrase head
2. Subject
3. Subject complement
4. Direct object
5. Object complement
6. Indirect object
7. Prepositional complement
8. Noun phrase modifier
9. Determinative
10. Appositive
11. Adjunct adverbial
Nouns are traditionally defined as “persons, places, things, and ideas.” Noun
phrase are defined as phrases that consist of a noun or pronoun and any number of
constituents including adjectives, determiners, prepositional phrases, verb phrases,
and adjective clauses.
Noun Phrase Head
The first grammatical function that nouns perform is the noun phrase head. A noun
phrase consists of a noun including a pronoun plus any determiners, modifiers, and
complements. For example, the following italicized nouns function as noun phrase
heads:



the big blue ball
someone to love
an old woman who lived in a shoe
Subjects
The second grammatical function that noun phrases perform is the subject. A subject
is a word, phrase, or clause that performs the action of or acts upon the verb. For
example, the following italicized noun phrases function as subjects:



The baby cried.
Dogs and cats make excellent pets.
I will have extensively studied English grammar.
Subject Complements
The third grammatical function that noun phrases perform is the subject complement.
A subject complement is a word, phrase, or clause that follows a copular, or linking,
verb and describes the subject of a clause. The terms predicate
nominative and predicate noun are also used for noun phrases that function as subject
complements. For example, the following italicized noun phrases function as predicate
nominatives:



My grandfather is a farmer.
Our favorite pets are dogs with short hair.
The woman whom you are looking for is she.
Direct Objects
The fourth grammatical function that noun phrases perform is the direct object. A
direct object is a word, phrase, or clause that follows a transitive verb and answers the
question “who?” or “what?” receives the action of the verb. For example, the following
italicized noun phrases function as direct objects:



The children ate all the cookies.
My professor recommended an extremely captivating book.
The woman has always hated mice and rats.
Object Complements
The fifth grammatical function that noun phrases perform is the object complement.
Object complements are defined as nouns, pronouns, noun phrases, adjectives, and
adjective phrases that directly follow and modify the direct object. For example, the
following italicized noun phrases function as object complements:



We consider our puppy our baby.
My aunt calls my uncle sweetheart.
America recently elected Barack Obama president.
Indirect Objects
The sixth grammatical function that noun phrases perform is the indirect object. An
indirect object is word, phrase, or clause that indicates to or for whom or what the
action of a ditransitive verb is performed. For example, the following italicized noun
phrases function as indirect objects:



My husband bought me flowers.
The child drew his mother a picture.
The salesman sold the company suffering from the scandal new computers.
Prepositional Complements
The seventh grammatical function that noun phrases perform is the prepositional
complement. A prepositional complement is a word, phrase, or clause that directly
follows a preposition and completes the meaning of the prepositional phrase. For
example, the following italicized noun phrases function as prepositional complements:



My husband bought flowers for me.
The students studied during their spring break.
Because of the lengthy delay, we missed our flight.
Noun Phrase Modifiers
The eighth grammatical function that noun phrases perform is the noun phrase
modifier. A noun phrase modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that modifies or
describes a noun including a pronoun or a noun phrase. For example, the following
italicized noun phrases function as noun phrase modifiers:



The child actor won an award.
The carpenter fixed the broken table leg.
We reserved twenty hotel rooms.
Determinatives
The ninth grammatical function that noun phrases can perform is the determinative.
Determinatives provide information such as familiarity, location, quantity, and number.
Possessive nouns — which are a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase and the possessive
clitic (apostrophe s or s apostrophe) — function as determinatives. Possessive nouns
indicate possession of or some other relationship to another noun or noun phrase. For
example, the following italicized noun phrases function as possessive modifiers:



My brother’s apartment is small.
I found everyone’s reports informative.
The man who stole my purse’s car has been towed.
Appositives
The tenth grammatical function that noun phrases perform is the appositive. An
appositive is a word, phrase, or clause that modifies or explains another noun phrase.
For example, the following italicized noun phrases function as appositives:



My grandfather, the farmer, bought more farm land.
The teacher, my uncle, assigns a lot of homework.
The musician Stevie Nicks is a singer in the band Fleetwood Mac.
Adjunct Adverbials
The eleventh grammatical function that noun phrases perform is the adjunct adverbial.
An adjunct adverbial is a word, phrase, or clause that modifies an entire clause by
providing additional information about time, place, manner, condition, purpose,
reason, result, and concession. For example, the following italicized noun phrases
function as adjunct adverbials:



Today the children woke up early.
Yesterday the children slept in late.
We decided to go home.
The eleven functions of noun phrases are noun phrase head, subject, subject
complement, direct object, object complement, indirect object, prepositional
complement, noun phrase modifier, determinative, appositive, and adjunct adverbial.