Bryson•s Dictionary for Writers and Editors

Glossary � 395
of the verb. In “He is a rascal,” rascal is the complement of the
verb is.
conjunction. A word that links grammatical equivalents, as in “The
president and prime minister conferred for two hours” (the conjunction
and links two nouns) and “She came yesterday, but she
didn’t stay long” (the conjunction but links two clauses).
genitive. A noun or pronoun is in the genitive case when it expresses
possession (my house, his car, Sally’s job). Although some authorities
make very small distinctions between genitives and possessives,
many others do not. In this book, I have used the term possessives
throughout.
gerund. A verb made to function as a noun, as with the italicized
words here. “Seeing is believing”; “Cooking is an art”; “Walking is
good exercise.” Gerunds always end in -ing.
infinitive. The term describes verbs that are in the infinite mood (i.e.,
that do not have a subject). Put another way, it is a verb form that indicates
the action of the verb without inflection to indicate person,
number, or tense. There are two forms of infinitive: the full (to go, to
see) and bare (go, see), often called simply “an infinitive without to.”
mood. Verbs have four moods:
1. The indicative, which is used to state facts or ask questions (I am
going; What time is it?).
2. The imperative, which indicates commands (Come here; Leave
me alone).
3. The infinite, which makes general statements and has no subject
(To know her is to love her).
4. The subjunctive, which is principally used to indicate hypothe-