Grammar Reference Guide

Quick Reference

Conversion Methods

Contemporary to Edwardian (Five-Step Method)

1. Remove all contractions (“don’t” → “do not”)
2. Change “will” to “shall” for first-person simple future
3. Change “If I had” to “Had I” (conditional inversion)
4. Group descriptive elements in threes (triadic rhythm)
5. Soften direct statements with understatement (“terrible” → “rather unfortunate”)

Contemporary to Liturgical (Five-Step Method)

1. Change “You/Your” to “Thou/Thee/Thy” for divine address
2. Add “-est” to verbs with “Thou” (“knowest”, “hast”, “didst”)
3. Move object to front for emphasis (“Thy Name do we bless”, “This truth we hold…”)
4. Start with participial phrase (“Having risen from sleep…”, “Having never visited…”)
5. End with Trinitarian doxology (“…now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen”)

Edwardian to Contemporary

1. Simplify modal constructions
2. Use “will” for all persons in future
3. Replace “whom” with “who” in speech