the active
noun
the active form of a verb. The active is also sometimes called the active voice.
Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word
noun
the form of a verb that shows whether an action is continuing, is repeated, or happens only once
noun
a verb that is used with another verb to show its tense, form questions, form the passive, or change an aspect of its meaning. The main auxiliary verbs in English are “be,” “have,” and “do.”
noun
the verb form used for saying that something must happen or exist in order for something else to be true
verb
used instead of repeating the same verb that was used earlier in the sentence, or in a previous sentence
noun
the form of the pronoun or verb that you use about yourself, and about someone who is with you. The first person pronouns in English are “I,” “me,” “we,” and “us.”
noun
the verb tense used for showing that an action will be finished at a particular time in the future. The future perfect in English is formed using “will have,” as in “He will have finished the work by Friday,” or “shall have,” as in “I shall have gone to work by the time you get up”.
noun
the form of a verb that expresses orders. The imperative is also called the imperative mood.
noun
the form of a verb that describes an action in the past that is continuous, repeated, or not finished. The imperfect is also called the imperfect tense.
noun
the basic form of a verb. In English, this form of the verb together with the word “to” in front of it is usually called a to-infinitive, and the verb form on its own is usually called a bare infinitive.
noun
a verb such as “be” or “seem” that connects the subject of a sentence with its complement (=the part of the sentence that describes the subject)
noun
a verb such as “can,” “might,” “should,” etc. that is used with another verb to express ideas such as possibility, permission, or intention
noun
a group of verb forms that are used to show whether, for example, a sentence is a statement, question, or order
noun
the form of a verb used in compound tenses and as an adjective. English uses the present participle, which ends in “-ing,” and the past participle, which usually ends in “-ed.”
noun
the form of a verb that is used for describing states that existed or things that happened before the present time
noun
the form of a verb used to make the perfect tense and passive forms of verbs. Past participles are also sometimes used as adjectives, for example “cooked” in the phrase “cooked vegetables.”
noun
a verb tense formed with “had” and a past participle. It is used to express an action that was completed before a particular time in the past, for example “had finished” in the sentence “She offered to help but I had already finished”.
noun
the form of a verb used to express what existed or happened in the past, for example “lived” in the sentence “We lived in France until I was 7.”
noun
the form of a verb that is used for talking about an action that has been completed before the present time. In the sentence “Sharon has gone home,” “has gone” is the perfect tense of “go.”
noun
a combination of words that is used like a verb and consists of a verb and an adverb or preposition, for example give in or come up with
noun
in English, the form of a verb that ends in “ing” and expresses continuing action, for example the word “fishing.” It can sometimes be used as an adjective, for example in “the screaming baby.”
noun
in English, a verb tense that expresses an action that was completed at some time in the past, or that started in the past and continues. The tense is formed by combining the present tense of “have” and the past participle of a verb, as in the sentence “She has paid the bill”.
noun
the form of a verb that expresses what exists now, what is happening now, or what happens regularly
noun
the basic forms of an English verb, from which other verb forms are made, such as the infinitive, past tense, and past participle
noun
a verb that describes something that two people do to or with each other, for example the verb “meet” in the sentence “We always meet in the park.”
noun
the pronoun or form of a verb that refers to the person you are talking to. In English the second person pronoun is “you.”
noun
an infinitive in which there is an adverb between the word “to” and the verb, as in the phrase “to completely understand.” Some people avoid this because they think it is bad style.
noun
the form of a verb that is used for expressing doubts and wishes. For example, in the sentence “I wish I were taller,” “were” is in the subjunctive. The indicative is used for making statements and asking questions about facts, and the imperative is used for telling someone to do something.
noun
a form of a verb used for showing when something happens. For example “I go” is the present tense and “I went” is the past tense of the verb “to go.”
noun
the set of pronouns and verb forms used for referring to someone or something that is not the speaker or the person being spoken to
noun
the form of a verb that shows whether the subject of the verb does the action (the active voice) or whether the action is done to it (the passive voice)
noun
the forms of pronouns or verbs that show who is being referred to. People use the first person (I) to refer to themselves, the second person (you) to refer to the person or people they are talking to, and the third person he/she/they to refer to anyone else
|
|
Blog
A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.
global English and language change from our blog
|
|
