English Grammatical Terms
Letter B
(PG = Prescriptive Grammar — DG = Descriptive Grammar)
(GL = Grammatical Lingo — OB = Obtuse — NG = Not Grammatical)
- B, b — [PG] The Letter “B” Is The Second Letter Of The English Alphabet. It Is Also The First Consonant In The English Alphabet.
- See Also: “Letter” & “Consonant”
- Bare Infinitive — [DG] The Term “Bare Infinitive” is used to refer to the form of a Verb when that Verb is in it’s “Infinitive Form” — and does NOT use the Particle “to”.
For Example: “The best thing you can do to improve your TOEFL Score is study as hard as you can.”
This form is usually used in spoken English, because there are times when we naturally eliminate the Particle “to” and it does not disrupt the message. But in the written form — in almost all cases — it should be included. “…to study as hard as you can.”
- See Also: “Infinitive”
- Base Grammatical Element — [PG] In The Common Tongue ALL Grammatical Elements are “Base”. This is because they are “Elements”. They can not be reduced any further.
- Base Grammatical Structure — [PG] There is only one “Base Grammatical Structure” in The Common Tongue of The English Language. That “Structure” is “The Sentence” — which has two forms: “Statement” & “Question”.
- Base Grammatical Unit — [PG] This is a Term that was created by C. James Cote (“The Teacher” from GiveMeSomeEnglish!!!) to describe the Grammatical Units which can not be classified as any other type of Grammatical Unit.
First of all — The Term “Grammatical Unit” is used to refer to the different types of Words in The Grammar Of The Common Tongue. In Traditional Grammar, they wrongly use the Terms “Parts Of Speech” or “Word-Classes”. (See those explanations for why those Terms are wrong.)
The “Grammatical Units” Are: “Adjective”, “Adverb”, “Article”, “Conjunction”, “Noun”, “Number” (word-form), “Preposition”, “Pronoun”, & “Verb”. (But only the ones that are underlined are “Base Grammatical Units”.)
“Articles” (and there are only three) function as either an “Adjective” or a “Number” — so even though that are unique enough to be a “Grammatical Unit” on their own — they are not a Base Grammatical Unit. because they can be classified as yet another type of “Grammatical Unit”.
To Clarify: There are words that can be classified under more than one type of “Grammatical Unit”. But it is the actual CLASSIFICATION — not the word — that I am referring to. If any word CLASSIFICATION can be yet-further classified (like Determiners & Quantifiers) — then it can not be a Grammatical Unit. It is a “Word-Class” (not a “Part Of Speech”). And since the “Article” — unique as it is — can also be classified as an “Adjective” or even function as a “Number” — then it can not be a Base Grammatical Unit.
- (to) Be — [PG] The most commonly used Verb in The English Language; A Verb with an Irregular Conjugation; Very-Often Used As An Auxiliary Verb; And probably the most-important Verb in The English Language — as it is necessary to form almost all Sentences of any substantial meaning or value.The Verb (to) Be has many different forms — depending on the gender and number of the Subject or Object it “agrees with” in the Sentence.
- See Also: “Verb”, “Auxiliary Verb”, & “Irregular Conjugation”
- British-English — [NG] The Term “British-English” is not a Grammatical Term. It is English Industry Terminology which used to refer to the Dialect of English that is spoken in Great Britain — and is taught in any country that was once part of The British Empire — as-well-as most other countries that are NOT in the North or South America.
However — the idea behind this Term is Stupid & Obtuse, as there are MANY different Dialects that are considered to be “British-English” — even within Great-Britain, alone! This is also true of literally EVERY every English-speaking country around The World.
The people from the different countries in Great-Britain do NOT sound like each other. They only have similar qualities — like ignoring: The Pronunciation of The Letter “R” at the end of Words — the use of the Particle “To” in-front-of many Verbs — and the use of the Definite or Indefinite Article in-front-of many Nouns (like “Hospital”) which absolutely SHOULD have an Article.
There are similar problems with the use of the Term “American-English”. The Pronunciation between the Northern & Southern States — as well as the Eastern & Western States — is VERY different. And there are some Grammatical problems with “American-English” as well. Such as thinking that the use of the Word “That”, as-well-as the Comma is sometimes optional! And almost COMPLETELY ignoring The Present Perfect Tenses!
So this is yet ANOTHER reason for the formation of The Common Tongue. To eliminate ALL of these discrepancies and provide The World with a form of the so-called “English” Language (which is quite different than the “English” that is spoken in England — but) which respects ALL Languages for their contributions TO English, as-well-as the MANY different Dialects around The World — and then provides The ENTIRE World with the *best example for all.
*(though sounding similar to the claims made about “Common Core Education” — The Common Tongue is DRASTICALLY different, because it is not about making things “Easier” & “Inclusive” for everyone. That is a myth and a lie. It is about being Correct — while still being **Simple & Elegant. **[“Simple” & “Easy” are not the same thing. However The Common Tongue DOES make it MUCH Easier to learn English… Not by “dumbing it down”… But by creating a Logical & Correct System — making those who learn it SMARTER… The “Common Core” does exactly the opposite.] And finally — the Word “best” [used above] is an opinion, unless it is based on defining boundaries, limitations and/or desired qualities & outcomes. The reason that The Common Tongue is the “best” is based on the qualities and outcome of being Simple, Elegant, & most-easily Comprehended — while also being the easiest to Learn & Communicate with.)
- See Also: “American-English”
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