Ken Ward's Writing Pages

Writing: Grammar: Parts of Speech

Page Contents

Bob ran in the marathon. Betty did too.



did

ran

did

did

too

in the marathon

too

in addition to the previously mentioned

My neighbour'cat was unwell. This made me feel sad.



this

do

They speak too groups. I do too.



Jack could lift heavy weights. So could Mary.



could

could lift

could

could lift

could

so

heavy weights

too

so

Jack could lift heavy weights. Mary could too.



could

could lift

too

lift heavy weights (too)

too

He is flying to America. I may too.



Her dress is green. Mine is too.



Her dress is green. So is mine.



He exercised regularly. I did too.



Jo did the work well. Bill did it similarly.



similarly

Other pro-forms

You should not walk on the grass. Fido did not heed this .



She had been let out of jail. She was violent and would attack without a thought. She carried a pistol and a knife, and would not hesitate to use them. She was a psychopath.



I did not know this when I told her to leave for disobeying the rules.



No script follows:

The Last Place in Space

- by Ken Ward

When pilot Philip Turner is accidentally transported by an anomaly and marooned on an unknown planet, he discovers the planet is threatened by a group of ruthless aliens similarly marooned. With the help of a group of young women with superpowers, and a powerful being called a god, he reluctantly uses his advanced knowledge and technology to help the planet's inhabitants, but will he succeed when outnumbered by aliens, opposed by greedy and squabbling kings, and limited by his gentle nature and moral beliefs? Paperback and Kindle:

Pro-forms are not really part of grammar, and this topic could be discussed under ellipsis or substitution. The purpose of this section is draw attention to the use of words as replacements for other words and expressions.A pro-form is a word that replaces a previously mentioned word or expression (or idea) and takes its meaning. Pro-forms have a similar function to pronouns (which are pro-forms). Strictly speaking, however, a pronoun is a word that stands for a noun. Conventionally, pronouns are considered to stand for groups of words including sentences and even for ideas, inferred from the text. It is sometimes useful, however, to be aware that some words stand for other parts of speech. For instance:In the sentence above,means. Clearly,isn't a pronoun (it replaces a verb), although it has the substituting quality of pronouns. We can think ofas a pro-verb. The wordis also a pro-form replacing, and adding the normal adverb, meaning(Bob).A pro-noun is a word that substitutes for a noun. All pro-nouns are pronouns, but some pronouns are not pro-nouns. For instance:The pronounrefers to the previous sentence, and is a pro-sentence, not a pro-noun.The most common pro-verb isWhere do replaces speak.We can considerin the second sentence to mean. In the second sentenceis a pro-verb. However, in the meaning,is a normal verb: it does not stand for another word. A word acting as a pro-form is sometimes repeated in the meaning in its normal form. The wordis also a pro-form replacingWe could have written the sentence, usinginstead of, like this:Whereis similarly a pro-veb meaning. The wordis also a pro-form meaning, where the repeated wordis an adverb of manner The word may is a pro-verb in the above sentence.The word too is a pro-adjective, standing for the adjective green. Again we could have written the sentence using so instead of too:Where so is a pro-adjective meaning green.The word too stands for regularly, so it is a pro-adverb. (did stands for exercised, and is a pro-verb).The wordstands for well, and is a pro-adverb.Pro-forms can replace other expressions, such as sentences:The word, this, stands for 'the rule about not walking on the grass'.They can refer to paragraphs, etc:The word 'this' stands for the preceding paragraph.