Grammar and Language Workbook

Underline each verb, and write LV in the blank if the verb is a linking verb and AV
if the verb is an action verb.
LV
The English language is a relative of many other tongues.
1. Sir William Jones was a British jurist in India in the 1780s.
2. He was a learned eighteenth-century man; he became familiar with Latin and
Greek in school.
3. At one point, Sir William studied Sanskrit, the ancient language of India.
4. Records in Sanskrit contained many legal tracts and other items of interest for
him.
5. Therefore, Sir William felt a strong curiosity about this important scholastic
language.
6. A surprise awaited Sir William, however.
7. Sanskrit, Latin, and Greek had many things in common.
8. The Sanskrit, Latin, and Greek words for three were similar.
9. The Latin tres and the Greek trias resembled the Sanskrit trayas.
10. Sanskrit panca, “five,” was similar to the Greek for five, pente.
11. He also noted the similarity between the Latin words rex and regem and the
Sanskrit word for king, rajan.
12. Many other parallels between Sanskrit words and Latin and Greek words were
curiosities to Sir William.
Unit 1, Parts of Speech
57
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Name ___________________________________________________ Class _________ Date ____________________
Grammar

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13. The British jurist grew more and more certain of a direct relationship between
these words.
14. His linguistic studies finally led him to a surprising conclusion about these
languages.
15. On February 2, 1786, Sir William spoke to the Asiatic Society of Calcutta.