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Adverbs are one of ten word classes in Portuguese, but what exactly qualifies as an adverb, and where does the boundary with other modifiers lie?

Why do some Portuguese words have multiple valid forms? An examination of variant morphemes and when grammatical alternatives become redundant.

Two sentences can look identical on the surface but mean entirely different things. This essay explores why and what that reveals about the internal architecture of language.

Transformation rules link what a sentence means to how it sounds. Part 2 works through the mechanics of these structural translations.

Can grammar be made precise enough to be deterministic? An introduction to syntagmatic grammar as a formal attempt to define the structure of language.

A formal grammar must both generate all well-formed phrases and assign them proper structural descriptions. Part 2 examines what happens when it fails either condition.

Active, passive, reciprocal, reflexive and middle — the different voices a verb can take, and the crucial distinction between the passive voice as a grammatical form and the passivity of a subject that undergoes the action.