Fortran

The infinitive form of a verb (See Chapter 6), is to + verb; for example, to forgive, to forget, to imagine. Infinitives are tricky little buggers. Although they’re forms of verbs, they don’t act as verbs; instead, they play the role of nouns, adjectives, and adverbs, as in these examples: To admit my limitations would convey a lack of confidence. (Infinitive serving as […]

Grammarians also classify verbs as transitive and intransitive: Transitive verbs require an object; for example, “The jar contains …” is an incomplete thought that leaves the reader wondering what the jar contains … jam, beets, lightning bugs? Intransitive verbs, on the other hand, don’t take a direct object; for example, in the sentence “Everyone laughed.” the word laughed is intransitive. Now, if everyone laughed […]

Helping verbs pitch in when other verbs need their services, as in the following examples (the helping verbs are bold italic, while the main verb is italic): The building will be demolished later this year. Everyone could have finished dinner if we had arrived 30 minutes earlier. Crew members have delighted cruise ship passengers for years with their zany antics. Just so you know, separating […]