Appendix of Grammatical
Terms, Principal Periods
and Key Figures

Parts of speech in English

Almost all words found in the English language can be categorized under seven headings, collectively referred to as ‘parts of speech’. They are adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, nouns, prepositions, pronouns and verbs. A brief explanation of each is given below. An eighth category, much more usual in speech than in writing, is known as interjections or exclamations, and may describe anything from an expression of surprise (Ah!) or disappointment (Oh!), to a greeting (Hi!). Although they have an adjectival function, the definite and indefinite articles – the and a(n) – are sometimes regarded as a separate category.

Many words are versatile enough to operate as different parts of speech, depending on the particular task they are performing in a sentence. For example, still may be either a noun (still of the night) or a verb (to still someone’s anxieties), an adjective (still waters run deep) or an adverb (Are they still here?). Either can be an adjective, adverb, conjunction or pronoun. There is sometimes debate about the ‘incorrect’ use of one part of speech for another, usually nouns being used as verbs and vice versa (see English: Right and Wrong).

Adjective

Adjectives provide additional information about a noun or pronoun. They concern attributes such as colour, size, shape, age, frequency, mood, and so on:

The Roman conquest of Britain was rapid and overwhelming.

Adverb

Like adjectives, adverbs play a supporting role. Among other functions, they convey information about how an action is performed:

To travel hopefully is better than to arrive . . .

- they indicate place or time:

He’s the same when he’s here as he ever was.

- they modify adjectives:

On her first long drive she got uncomfortably sunburned.

Conjunction

Conjunctions are simple link words such as and, but, where, either, or, although. The vital if unobtrusive role they have in speech and writing points to their derivation from Old English or Anglo-Saxon.

Noun

A noun is a name – of a person, a place, an object, a feeling, an idea. Nouns are sometimes categorized under headings such as ‘abstract’ to describe feelings and qualities (grief, integrity), ‘collective’ when applied to a group (crowd, herd, orchestra), ‘proper’ to signify the name of a person, place or brand and usually capitalized (Henry, London, Coca Cola), and ‘compound’, in which two terms are joined together, with or without a hyphen (ice-cap, tradecraft).

Preposition

Like conjunctions, prepositions are linking words that explain the relationship between verbs and nouns, pronouns and nouns, etc. They include under, with, in, through, behind, above. As with conjunctions, their roots generally lie in Anglo-Saxon.

Pronoun

Pronouns are substitutes for nouns and are a good example of linguistic economy since their use avoids the need for cumbersome repetition or circumlocution. They are among the oldest English words. They can be subdivided into various types, including the personal (I, you, she), possessive (mine, their), reflexive (himself, itself) and relative (who, which).

Verb

A verb describes an action, state or experience, and is sometimes referred to as a ‘doing’ word. As with other grammatical definitions, this may be easier to understand through example rather than by explanation. Accordingly, the verbs in these three sentences have been underlined. A verb may be regarded as the most essential part of speech since, in strict terms, a sentence is only a sentence if it comes equipped with a (finite) verb.

Principal periods covered in The Story of English

Celtic period (c.750 BC–AD 450): Era named after the various Celtic tribes who lived in the British Isles from the Bronze Age onwards. They coexisted with the Romans but were driven to the margins by Anglo-Saxon settlement.

Roman period (AD 43–410): Roman occupation and settlement of England and Wales beginning with Emperor Claudius’s invasion and ending with withdrawal of the last legions.

Anglo-Saxon and Viking era (c.410–1066): Period dominated by conquest and settlement of England by tribes from northeastern Europe, including Angles, Saxons and Norsemen. Parts of this period are sometimes known as the Dark Ages, based on the (generally exaggerated) belief that culture and learning were in crisis. The era may alternatively be characterized as the Early Middle Ages.

Norman era/Middle Ages (1066–late 1400s): The centuries following the Norman Conquest, which saw the establishment of a common language – a fusion of Norman French and Old English.

Renaissance/Elizabethan/Jacobean era (1500s – 1630s): Period of consolidation and expansion of English language, culture and commerce. Across Europe, the Renaissance marks revival of learning and transition between the Middle Ages and the modern world.

Age of Reason/Enlightenment (late 17th century – end of 18th century): The era that saw the rise of science and rationalism across Europe, and which culminated in French Revolution and American Independence.

Victorian era (1830s–early 1900s): Highpoint of British power and prestige, and linguistic influence.

American era (1940s onwards): Period following the Second World War that has witnessed US dominance in English language and many other fields.

Principal historical and literary figures referred to in The Story of English

Adams, John (1735–1826): Second US president and one of the architects of Independence, Adams foresaw the supremacy of English as a world language because of the growing power and rising population of America.

Alfred the Great (b.849): King of Wessex (871–99), he conquered the Danes and established sovereignity over southern England; he encouraged learning and translation of (religious) works into English.

Augustine (d.c.604–609): Missionary sent by Pope Gregory to (re)convert English and the first Archbishop of Canterbury. The return of Christianity to England introduced new religious terminology to English language.

Bede (c.673–735): Benedictine monk and historical/religious scholar; his Ecclesiastical History of the English People gives an account of the arrival of Christianity in Britain and provides a unique historical chronology.

Caxton, William (1422–91): Brought printing to England from Europe in 1476; also translated and edited the works he published.

Chaucer, Geoffrey (1345–1400): The greatest English writer of the Middle Ages (The Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Criseyde), Chaucer used East Midland dialect, which formed the basis of standard English.

Claudius (10 BC–AD 54): Roman emperor (41–54) who invaded Britain in AD 43, leading to occupation and settlement lasting almost four centuries.

Elizabeth I (b.1533; r.1558–1603): Queen of England during period of growing national confidence, reflected in language and culture as much as in conquest and commerce.

James I (b.1566; r.1603–1625): King of England and Scotland (as James VI), and instigator of new and highly influential translation of the Bible after the Hampton Court conference of 1604.

Jefferson, Thomas (1743–1826): Third US president and a principal author of the American Declaration of Independence, Jefferson predicted a new ‘American dialect’ to suit the expansion of the new country.

Johnson, Samuel (1709–84): Dominant cultural arbiter of mid-18th-century British life; poet, critic, playwright, and lexicographer, Dr Johnson produced the authoritative Dictionary of the English Language.

Jones, William (1746–94): Jurist and linguist, Jones was among the first scholars to suggest that present-day Asian and European languages might have a common root; in a key speech in 1786, he discovered links between Sanskrit, Greek and Latin.

Lawrence, D(avid) H(erbert) (1885–1930): Nottinghamshireborn novelist and poet; caused outrage with his frank treatment of sex, culminating in a ban on his most explicit book, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, not openly published in UK until 1960, an event that led to the relaxation of linguistic taboos.

Lincoln, Abraham (1809–65): Sixteenth US president who delivered what is still the most famous oration in American history, the Gettysburg Address, during the Civil War; Lincoln’s rhetoric here, and elsewhere, was influenced by the King James Bible.

Milton, John (1608–74): Poet, political/religious theorist and supporter of Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell; Milton’s epic Paradise Lost (1663) introduced a new, elevated style of poetic diction.

Murray, James (1837–1915): Scottish-born principal editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, the most far-reaching and meticulous English dictionary yet attempted. The first volume of the first edition appeared in 1884, the last in 1928.

Shakespeare, William (1564–1616): Playwright, born in Stratford-upon-Avon, whose work and words have had profound effect on English language; coiner of new words and fresh phrases, and dazzling exemplar of the power of language.

Shaw, George Bernard (1856–1950): Irish-born dramatist and controversialist, Shaw attempted to create a new alphabet to resolve the inconsistencies and absurdities of English spelling.

Swift, Jonathan (1667–1745): Dublin-born writer and clergyman; poet, pamphleteer and satirist, Swift was one of the first authorities who wanted to correct and regularize English language.

Twain, Mark (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) (1835–1910): US novelist and journalist; humorous and often acerbic satirist, Twain created what some regard as the ‘Great American Novel’ in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), which helped to bring black and southern dialects into mainstream culture.

Webster, Noah (1758–1843): Connecticut-born, Webster produced the two-volume American Dictionary of the English Language (1828) which established distinctive US spellings and usages.

William I (b.1027; r.1066–87): King of England through victory at Hastings, William brought the culture of Norman France to England, including a new language.

Wyclif (or Wycliffe), John (c.1330–84): Radical figure in the medieval English church who questioned the prestige of bishops and supremacy of the pope. Translated the Bible into English to make it accessible to ordinary people.