Parts of SpeechEnglish I

NOUNS: What is a noun? A noun is a word that names a person, animal, place, thing, or idea. There are more nouns in the English Language than any other kind of word.PersonsAnimalsPlacesThingsIdeas

teacherstudentgirlTanya

sharkhamsterfishaardvark

schoolgymLake ErieChicago

pencomputermailboxskateboard

concentrationwisdomkindnessfreedom

A, an, and the are special words called articles. They are noun determiners, and they tip you off that theres a noun coming up in the sentence.

Singular and Plural Nouns: Singular means one of something, and plural means more than one.Five ways to make nouns plural:1. You can make most nouns plural by adding an s. EX: one pencil two pencils 2. If the noun ends with s, ch, sh, x, or z, add es to make it plural. EX: one dress two dresses; one brush two brushes3. To make some nouns that end with f or fe plural, change the f to a v and add es. EX: knife knives; half halves4. Add s if the letter in front of the y is a vowel, to make plural a noun that ends in y. EX: toy toys; key keys5. Drop the y and add ies if the letter in front of the y is a consonant. EX: dictionary dictionaries; penny penniesSome nouns have tricky plurals:EX: one man a group of men; one deer two deer; one child several children

Common and Proper Nouns: A common noun names any regular, ordinary person, animal, place, thing, or idea. The first letter is not capitalized. EX: student; town; president; dog; policeman; butterfly; nephew; adore A proper noun names a very specific, very particular person, animal, place, thing, or idea, and it always begins with a capital letter. EX: John Barrett; Allen Eagles; Thomas Jefferson; Texas State Fair

Concrete and Abstract Nouns:A concrete noun names an object that occupies space or can be recognized by any of the senses. EX: sneeze; star; explosion; hedgehog; chimney; child; bicycle An abstract noun names an idea, a quality, or a characteristic. EX: politeness; self-reliance; honesty; love; beauty; sincerity

Pronouns: A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun, a group or words acting as a noun, or another pronoun. EX: Bobby he, him; Sally she, her; The deer it; Mountains they, themA personal pronoun refers to a specific person or thing that can be either singular or plural. The first person indicates the person speaking, and the second person indicates the person being addressed. The third person indicates the person or thing being discussed.SingularPlural

First PersonI, mewe, us

Second Personyouyou

Third Personhe, him, she, her itthem

EX: We are aware that you will be bringing them to the party.A possessive pronoun indicates possession or ownership, and it takes the place of the possessive form of a noun.SingularPlural

First Personmy, mineour, ours

Second Personyour, yoursyour, yours

Third Personhis, her, hers, itstheir, theirs

EX: My coat and your book bag are in her locker.A reflexive pronoun refers to a noun or another pronoun and indicates that the same person or thing is involved. EX: I bought myself a pair of jeans.An intensive pronoun adds emphasis to a noun or another pronoun. EX: I, myself, bought a pair of jeans.An interrogative pronoun is used to form a question. Who? Whom? Whose? What? Which? EX: Which is the correct answer?A relative pronoun is used to begin some subject verb word groups called subordinate clauses. (that; who; whom; whose; whoever; whomever; whosoever; whatever; which; whichever; what) EX: Maya is the student who wrote the article.A demonstrative pronoun points out specific persons, places, things, or ideas. (this; these; that; those) EX: This marker writes in a very bold fashion.An indefinite pronoun refers to persons, places, things, or ideas in a more general way than a noun does. (all; another; any; anybody; anyone; anything; both; each; either; everybody; everyone; everything; few; many; most; neither; nobody; none; no one; nothing; one; other; others; several; some; somebody; someone; something) EX: No one knew the time. Perhaps everybody will come to the game.

VERBS: What is a verb? A verb is a word that shows action or state of being. Whatever you do can be expressed by a verb.1. Main Verb: The main verb expresses the main action or state of being in the sentence. EX: The principal called Julio into his office. Now Julio is nervous.2. Helping Verb: Helping verbs help the main verb express tense. There are twenty-three of these verbs. (Some teachers call these verbs AUXILIARY VERBS.) (am; is; are; was; were; be; being; been; do; does; did; have; has; had; may; must; might; can; could; shall; should; will; would)A main verb can have up to three helping verbs. EX: Rozzie was laughing so hard that she spilled her soda. EX: Jose should have known the answer to the math question. EX: Kim will have been waiting an hour by the time we get there. 3. Action Verb: An action verb tells what someone or something does. The action can be physical, mental, or emotional. EX: The students evacuated the building.EX: Kathleen decided to jump rope.A transitive action verb is followed by a noun that answers what? or whom? This is known as the direct object (DO). An intransitive action verb is NOT followed by a noun that answers what? or whom? EX: Leslie threw the ball. (Ball tells what Leslie threw making this a transitive action verb.) EX: The ball landed on the ground. (On the ground answers where?, not what?, or whom? making this an intransitive action verb.4. Linking Verb: A linking verb links the subject to the other words in the sentence. Linking verbs do NOT show action; they show a condition of existence. They just say that someone or something is, was, or will be.Present Tense:I am.

Past Tense:I was.

Future Tense:I will be.

Present Perfect Tense:I have been.

Past Perfect Tense:I had been.

Future Perfect Tense:I will have been.

TO BE: The verb to be (sometimes called the verb of being) is the most common, most popular, most used verb in the English Language. You use this verb dozens of times every day without realizing it. There are only eight BE verbs. (am; is; are; was; were; be; being; been)There are six tenses of the ever-popular verb to be.

More Linking Verbs: Here is another list of the most common linking verbs except for to be. (to seem; to appear; to look; to sound; to feel; to taste; to grow; to remain; to smell; to become)Linking verbs are NEVER followed by direct objects (DO), but instead are followed by nouns (called predicate nominatives (PN) which rename the subject) or adjectives (called predicate adjectives (PA) which describe the subject).******Sometimes a verb can function as a linking verb in one sentence and an action verb in the next. When it is an action verb, it will NOT be followed by a predicate nominative (PN) or a predicate adjective (PA). EX: Linking Verb That does not sound right to me. Action Verb Sound the fire alarm!EX: Linking Verb The stew smells delicious. Action Verb Can you smell the garlic in this stew?EX: Linking Verb I think my soup tastes too salty. Action Verb May I taste some Bubble Delight yogurt?ADJECTIVES: What is an adjective? An adjective is a word that tells us more about a noun or a pronoun. An adjective describes or modifies (limits the use of) a noun.Adjectives usually answer three questions about the nouns they describe.1. Which one? EX: Ill take that dress.

2. What kind of? EX: Roslyn spotted a huge monster in the cave.

3. How many? EX: Six ice cream cones, please.There are three kinds of adjectives.1. Demonstrative Adjectives: This, that, these, and those are called demonstrative adjectives. They point out (demonstrate) nouns. They ALWAYS answer the question which one(s)?2. Common Adjectives: A common adjective, like a common noun, is just a plain, ordinary, everyday adjective. It describes a noun in a general way. It is not capitalized unless it is the first word in a sentence. (busy; bitter; soft; colorful; warm; blue; sunny; juicy; grumpy; wet)3. Proper Adjectives: A proper adjective is made from a proper noun. It is ALWAYS capitalized. Examples Include: Proper Noun China; Ireland; Mars; U.S. Constitution / Proper Adjectives Chinese; Irish; Martian; ConstitutionalSometimes a proper noun does not change its form at all to become a proper adjective. Remember, a word is an adjective when it describes a noun, and all proper nouns can be made into or used as proper adjectives. EX: She is a Hollywood actress with a Texas accent who loves Idaho potatoes and New England clam chowder.Comparison of Adjectives: Positive, Comparative, and SuperlativeSometimes one person or thing is taller or bigger or faster than someone or something else. Sometimes one person or thing is the tallest or biggest or fastest of all. To show the comparisons, and adjective can be expressed three ways (called degrees). Positive Degrees (describing one)Comparative Degrees (comparing two)Superlative Degree (comparing more than two)

greatgreatergreatest

disgustingmore disgustingmost disgusting

Where an adjective goes in a sentence: Usually an adjective comes in front of the noun it is describing. EX: The gigantic creature was hiding in the scary cave on a clear day.But an adjective can also come after a linking verb, such as to be, and describe the subject of the sentence. Then it is called a predicate adjective (PA). EX: The creature was gigantic.(Gigantic describes the creature.)EX: The cave was scary. (Scary describes the cave.)EX: The day was clear. (Clear describes the day.)ADVERBS: What is an adverb? An adverb is a word that tells us more about 1) a verb, 2) an adjective, 3) another adverb. We sometimes say that an adverb describes or modifies (limits the meaning of) these words.When Adverbs Describe Verbs: Adverbs answer four questions about the verbs they describe: 1. When? 2. Where? 3. How? 4. To What Degree?1. When? EX: The pig danced yesterday. Some words that tell when:BeforeImmediatelySometimesDaily

PeriodicallyLatelySuddenlyEventually

NeverThenFinallyNow

2. Where? EX: The pig danced here.Some words that tell where:AboveDownInsideAnywhere

EverywhereHereThereBackward

OutsideAwayNearUp

******Some of these adverbs can also be used as prepositions! EX: near the boat EX: up the stairs

3. How? EX: The pig danced terribly. Some words that tell how: BadlyFastStupidlyBrilliantly

LoudlyGracefullyCleverlyQuietly

VigorouslyEagerlySkillfullyWell

EasilySlowlyWildlyToo

******Adverbs which answer the question how? usually modify verbs!

4. To What Degree? EX: The pig danced extremely badly. Some words that tell to what degree:ExtremelyDecidedlyRemarkablyLargely

VeryTooFullySomewhat

AnnoyinglyNotRatherQuite

******Adverbs which answer the question to what degree? usually modify adjectives and other adverbs!The three most common adverbs used in English are not, very, and too.How to change an adjective into an adverb: Many (but not all) adverbs end with the letters ly. You can often change an adjective into an adverb by adding ly. EX: soft + ly = softlyEX: awful + ly = awfullyRemember: The acronym AVA (Adjectives, Verbs, Adverbs) lists the types of words adverbs modify!

PREPOSITIONS Four things prepositions tell:1. Location: Amandas guinea pig is outside her cage.

2. Direction: Amandas guinea pig ran to her cage.

3. Time: Ill wait until noon, and then Im leaving. During the carnival, Simon lost his shoe.

4. Relationship: Sasha went to the Halloween party with Shana. This exciting book was written by Mark Twain.Comprehensive List of Prepositions:AboardBelowInSince

AboutBeneathInsideThrough

AboveBesideIntoThroughout

AcrossBesidesLikeTill

AfterBetweenNearTo

AgainstBeyodOfToward

AlongButOffUnder

AlongsideByOnUnderneath

AmongDespiteOntoUntil

AroundDownOutUp

AsDuringOutsideUpon

AtExceptOverWith

BeforeForPastWithin

BehindFromRoundWithout

******Some of the words on this list are not always prepositions. For example, about, since, and until can also be conjunctions. It depends on how the word is used in a particular sentence.

COMPOUND PREPOSITIONS: Compound prepositions are two or more words working together like a one-word preposition. Here are some examples:According toIn back ofAhead ofIn case of

Along withIn front ofAs forIn regard to

Away fromIn spite ofBecause ofInstead of

By way ofOut ofDue toWith exception of

Except forUp to In addition to