The Parts of Speech

Objectives: To be able to identify the function of a word, phrase, or clause as one of the eight parts of speech. To identify the roles each part of speech plays in the sentence.To use appropriate grammar.

Parts of Speech Nouns Pronouns Verbs Adjectives Adverbs Prepositions Conjunctions Interjections

Noun: Definition Definition – A word, phrase, or clause that names

a person, place, thing, or idea Examples:

Words: car, London, toy, hate Gerund phrases: Recording a top ten hit is the

musician’s primary ambition. Infinitive phrases: To serve in the Peace Corps

remains her intention. Noun subordinate clauses: Whoever finishes the test

first will probably fail it. If a word can be preceded by an article (a, an, the)

without requiring another word, and it is logical in the context, it is a noun. Example: an advantage, but not an advantageous

Noun: Function Nouns can be the subject (S) of a clause or sentence. What is a subject?

Who or what the clause or sentence is about. The town of Weatherford celebrates its Peach Festival

every July. town – single word Listening to her favorite singer puts Alicia in a

splendid mood. Listening to her favorite singer – gerund phrase To speak slowly and distinctly is something that Jackie

rarely does. To speak slowly and distinctly – infinitive phrase

Noun: Function Subject (S) of a clause or sentence: Which of the hockey teams will win the

Stanley Cup is anybody’s guess at this point in the series.

Which of the hockey teams will win the Stanley Cup (Which) – noun subordinate clause

That he risks injury and even death makes his job as a stunt man especially uninviting for most people.

That he risks injury and even death (he) – noun subordinate clause

Noun: Function Nouns can be the predicate nominative

(PN) of a clause or sentence. What is a predicate nominative?

A noun that follows a linking verb (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been, become, seem, grow, appear, look, feel, taste, smell, remain, sound, stay, etc.) and identifies the subject. PNs and Ss can be interchanged without any change in meaning.

William Faulkner was a winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.

winner is the PN

Noun: Function PNs Karen’s future goal is singing for a living. singing for a living – gerund phrase Tabitha’s favorite line from Shakespeare

has always been “to be or not to be.” to be or not to be – infinitive phrase Kevin is who will receive my vote for class

president. who will receive my vote for class president

– noun subordinate clause

Noun: Function Nouns can be the direct object (DO) of a clause or

sentence. What is a direct object?

A noun that follows action verbs and receives the action of that verb. DOs answer the questions what? or whom? after an action verb.

Randolph tossed his cap into the air at graduation. cap Carla Sue’s dad enjoys dancing to the music of the

Rolling Stones. dancing to the music of the Rolling Stones – gerund

phrase

Noun: Function DOs Judge Holland decided to dismiss the case for lack

of evidence. to dismiss the case for lack of evidence – infinitive

phrase Because my sister likes eating pineapple pizza, I

knew that she would not even taste any of the pepperoni.

that she would not even taste any of the pepperoni – noun subordinate clause

eating pineapple pizza – gerund phrase as DO of adverb subordinate clause

Noun: Function Nouns can be the indirect object (IO) of a

clause or sentence. What is an indirect object?

The IO always comes between the action verb and the DO and answers: to/for whom/what?

Henry handed his best friend the diary. friend Juanita will bring the class doughnuts. class

Noun: Function IOs Kimberly gives making straight A’s

her undivided attention. making straight A’s – gerund phrase This particular class has shown

whoever teaches them a masterful approach toward studying.

whoever teaches them – noun subordinate clause

Noun: Function Nouns can be the object complement (OC) of a clause

or sentence. What is an object complement?

The OC always comes after a DO following an action verb with the meaning of make or consider. It answers what? after the DO.

The new couple painted their living room red. red The student class voted her their president. president We consider that argument ill-reasoned. ill-reasoned

Noun: Function Nouns can be the object of a preposition (OP) in

a clause or sentence. Paul listens to music around the clock. music, clock Jaye believes that she lost her hearing from

playing in a heavy metal band. playing in a heavy metal band – gerund phrase I addressed the letter to whom it may concern. whom it may concern – noun subordinate

clause

Noun: Function Nouns can be the appositive in a clause or

sentence. What is an appositive?

A noun that is located next to another noun and identifies it in some way.

My friend Erica sends all of her favorite singers fan mail.

Erica Jeffrey’s hobby, building model airplanes,

keeps him busy most every weekend. building model airplanes – gerund phrase

Noun: Function Only a few of us were surprised by his

wish to become a gourmet chef. to become a gourmet chef – infinitive

phrase The candidate’s belief that the sale of

handguns should be prohibited caused a major debate.

that the sale of handguns should be prohibited – noun sub clause

Noun Categories Nouns can be common or proper, abstract or

concrete, and collective. Common: woman, city, building Proper: Jennifer, Birmingham, Eiffel Tower Abstract: beauty, strength, love, courage, hate,

independence Concrete: hat, desk, book, odor, leaf Collective: crowd, team, class, herd, gaggle

Collective nouns can be treated either as singular or plural depending on context!

Compound nouns are made up of more than one word: Ringling Brothers Circus, high school, White House

Pronoun: Definition Definition – A word used in place of a noun.

Pronouns can perform any of the previous noun functions.

Examples: I, me, you, he, him, her, it, myself, herself,

yourself, each, neither, who, which, somebody, few, most

There are 8 types of pronouns: personal, possessive, intensive, reflexive,

interrogative, relative, demonstrative, indefinite

What is an antecedent? An antecedent is the word to which a pronoun

refers.

Personal Pronouns

Nominative Case – Can be S or PN

Objective Case – Can be DO, IO, OC, or OP

Singular Plural Singular Plural

1st person

I we me us

2nd person

you you you you

3rd person

he, she, it

they him, her, it

them

Personal Pronouns

What does nominative case mean? Nominative case pronouns act as

subjects and predicate nominatives. What does objective case mean? Objective case pronouns act as DOs,

IOs, and OPs.

Possessive Pronouns (and Adjectives)Singular Plural

First Person mine oursSecond Person yours yoursThird Person his, hers, its theirs

*Possessive Adjectives*Singular Plural

First Person my ourSecond Person your yourThird Person his, her, its theirThe above possessive adjectives are usually listed with the possessive

pronouns because they refer to antecedents. However, the possessive adjectives occur in front of nouns, whereas possessive pronouns stand on their own.

Practice: Identify the antecedent of the italicized words. 1. In Whitman’s poetry, he wrote about the importance of self; in

hers, Emily Dickinson wrote about love, nature, and immortality. 2. “I never saw a Moor” and “The Sky is low – the Clouds are

mean” are both about nature. 3. For many years, Emily’s father did not support her in her

interest in poetry. 4. Emily, her brother Austin, and her sister Vinnie grew up in

Amherst, MA. They continued to live there as adults. 5. Emily seldom left Amherst. She spent many years as a recluse. 6. Some of Emily’s acquaintances urged their friend to publish her

poems. 7. Emily sent a few poems to a poetry critic at The Atlantic

Monthly and asked for his opinion. 8. They corresponded until Emily’s death in 1886. 9. Emily found beauty in nature and all its variations. 10. Emily wrote of herself: “I am small, like the Wren.”

Practice – Identify each pronoun as either first person, second person, or third person, then tell if it’s singular or plural. If the word is possessive, decide whether it’s a pronoun or an adj.

1. Mike hit a home run today; it is his first at this school. 2. Lupe and Lisa took their books to lunch. 3. Loren and her brother Patrick are taking a course in CPR;

they would like a career in medicine. 4. A lizard tastes and smells with its tongue. 5. “You probably won’t believe us,” said Ross, “but Sam and

I saw a UFO last night on our way home.” 6. Alanna cut her finger, but it is bandaged now. 7. When Tran Chu left for the Math Olympiad, his entire

class showed up to wish him luck. 8. Sipra forgot her lunch, but two classmates shared theirs

with her. 9. How quickly we forget past favors; the big question today

is “What have you done for me lately?” 10. “This knapsack is mine,” said Omar. “You must have left

yours back at the campsite, Frank.”

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

Singular PluralFirst Person myself ourselvesSecond Personyourself yourselvesThird Person himself, herself, *themselves

itself

*theirselves is IMPROPER GRAMMAR;

What is the difference between reflexive and intensive pronouns?

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns Reflexive pronouns always add information to a

sentence. They are most often used as DOs or IOs. Ex/ Jim uses a stopwatch to time himself on the track.

She taught herself to play the piano.We gave ourselves a party.

Intensive pronouns only add emphasis to another noun or pronoun in the same sentence.

Ex/He himself delivered the flowers.You must sign the application yourself.Mariko herself made the bridesmaids’ dresses.Pepe, Jaime, and Caesar designed the float themselves.

If a pronoun is intensive, you can remove it without losing meaning in the sentence. A reflexive pronoun cannot be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence.

Demonstrative PronounsNEAR FAR

Singular this thatPlural these those Demonstratives point out persons or things. Be careful! This, that, these, and those can

also be Demonstrative Adjectives. Demonstrative pronoun: Because of this, I

no longer wear those shoes. Demonstrative adjective: Because of those

chew marks, I no longer wear those shoes.

Interrogative Pronouns

who whom whosewhat which whoever

whomever whatever whichever

Interrogative pronouns are used in questions.

Who borrowed my pen? What was the name of the book?

Relative Pronouns

*that who whom whosewhat which whoever whomever whatever whichever

Relative pronouns are used to introduce adjective and noun subordinate clauses.

The question that is on everyone’s mind is “when is the test?”

I will agree with whatever you decide.

Indefinite Pronouns Singular: anybody, anyone, anything, each,

either, everyone, everybody, everything, one, no one, nobody, nothing, neither, somebody, someone, something Each of the boys is ready to play. Neither of the boys knows about the accident.

Plural: both, few, many, others, several Both senators are in agreement. Many have come.

Singular or plural (depending on context): all, any, most, none, some Most of the band practices on Tuesdays. Most of the cinnamon rolls still need icing.

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement Agreement is especially tricky with indefinite

pronouns. A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number.

If the antecedent is singular, the pronoun should be singular.

Everyone must sit down quietly at their desks before receiving their test. Though this is incorrect in written English, it is spoken quite a lot. What’s the solution?

His or her: Everyone must sit down quietly at his or her desk before receiving his or her test.

Plural: Students must sit down quietly at their desks before receiving their tests.

No pronouns: Students must be seated in order to receive tests.

Verbs Two categories: 1. Main verbs 2. Auxiliary (helping) verbs There are also two types of main verbs: 1. Linking verbs 2. Action verbs (of which there are two

types) 1. transitive and 2. intransitive The main verb preceded by one or more

helping verbs makes up a verb phrase.

Verbs

Verb Phrase

Auxiliary Main

Linking Action

transitiveintransitive

Auxiliary Verbs MUST be followed by another verb

(main verb), helps that verb show tense. There are 23 auxiliary verbs:

Be: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been

Have: have, has, had Do: do, does, did Modals: may, might, must, shall,

should, will, would, can, could

Linking Verbs Are a type of main verb, and therefore are either

the only verb in that clause or the last verb in the verb phrase.

Be verbs: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been Sensory verbs: sound, taste, appear, feel, look,

smell Condition verbs: become, remain, seem, stay, grow Sensory and condition verbs can be either action or

linking. How do you tell? If you can substitute a be verb and the sentence

makes sense, it’s linking. If what follows the verb is a PN or PA, it’s linking.

Action or Linking?

Tybalt looked surly. Juliet looked at the stars in the sky. The Friar grows a variety of herbs. Mercutio grows more and more

belligerent.

If it’s not linking, it’s ACTION: Actions expressed by an action verb can be

physical actions or mental actions. I thought it was wonderful!

Action verbs are either transitive or intransitive. Intransitive verbs have no direct object: I ran. I

fell down the steps. You can’t fall something, so fall is intransitive.

Transitive verbs, however, have direct objects, and can therefore also take indirect objects or object complements along with the DOs: I gave the cat a bath. The senior class elected Jamie president.

Transitive or Intransitive? He talked to the professor after class. She might join the sorority this year. When I get home from school, I feed Jolie. She waits for me at the door everyday. Jolie likes to run around the front yard. I thought for a long time about the tough

decision. I wondered where everybody went. Please turn in your homework. The little girl, on being punished by her

mother, said, “This stinks!”

Side Note: Intransitive Descriptors Slang expressions such as “bites, blows,

rocks, rules, smells, stinks, and sucks” play a unique role in American English. They are a class of intransitive verbs used as modifiers. They are an economical way of expressing opinion: “English rocks!”

However, due to their informal nature, they are not to be used in any kind of formal writing assignment. Because they are so economical and imprecise, they are also not to be used in descriptive writing, as they tend to oversimplify description.

Side Note: Troublesome Verbs Lie & Lay

Lie is intransitive. You cannot “lie” anything down. Lay is transitive. You can “lay” something down.

Sit & Set Sit is intransitive. You “sit,” but you do not “sit”

something down. Set is transitive. You do not “set,” but you can “set”

something down. Rise & Raise

Rise is intransitive. You “rise” in the morning, but you do not “rise” your hand. (Bread rises, the sun rises, etc.)

Raise is transitive. You can raise your hand or raise the flag, but you cannot “raise” from your bed in the morning.

Verb forms - Tense

There are four basic forms of a verb. Every other tense uses one of these forms as a base: Present: go/goes, bring/brings, talk/talks Past: went, brought, talked Past participle: (has) gone, (has)

brought, (has) talked Present participle: (is) going, (is)

bringing, (is) talking

Verb forms - Tense Other tenses are formed by adding

auxiliaries to one of those original four forms:

Future: will/shall go, will bring, will talk Past perfect: had gone, had brought, had

talked Present perfect: has gone, has brought, has

talked Future perfect: will have gone, will have

brought, will have talked

Verb forms - Tense Progressive forms indicate an action or state of being

that is in progress at a specified time. Past Progressive: was going Present Progressive: am going Future Progressive: will be going Past Perfect Progressive: had been going Present Perfect Progressive: has/have been going Future Perfect Progressive: will have been going Use: Use it to specify order of events.He had been going to the store when another car ran a

red light. We will have been traveling for 3 days by the time we

reach California. I have been staying after school a lot this week.

Modifiers: Adjectives, Adverbs, and Prepositional Phrases Three parts of speech are modifiers,

meaning that modify in some way another part of speech.

Adjectives modify nouns: The blue car sped off.

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs: The rather pretty girl daintily made her bed very quickly.

Prepositional phrases act as adjectives or adverbs: The pizza in the fridge is left over. My brother put it in the fridge last night.

Adjectives

Definition: a word, phrase, or clause that describes, specifies, limits, or modifies nouns or pronouns. They answer the following four questions:

What kind? Which one? How many?/How much? Whose is it?

Adjectives Words as adjectives:

a rotten apple, the green ink, several assignments, my computer, Charlie’s pen

Prepositional phrases: the house on the corner a teacher with a strict demeanor

Present participial phrases: The student hurtling down the hallway fell into

the trash can. Finishing her homework, Carol suddenly noticed

the distinct smell of chocolate chip cookies wafting in from the kitchen.

Adjectives Past participial phrases:

Knocked down by an inside fast ball, the batter slowly dusted himself off and prepared for the next pitch.

Sonja Martinez, disturbed by the raucous behavior of her classmates, asked the counselor for a transfer.

Infinitive phrases: The most important team to beat this time is the

Yankees. The counselor to see about college applications is Mrs.

Strickland. Adjective subordinate clauses:

Maya, who missed 2 weeks of school due to pneumonia, asked for tutorial assistance from her teachers.

The twenty-two answers that I missed on my Summer Reading Test certainly didn’t help my grade.

Adverbs Definition: a word, phrase, or clause that

modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. They answer six questions:

How? When? Where? Why? To what extent? Under what condition?

Adverbs Words as adverbs:

I cautiously approached the stray dog. We will attend the play tomorrow. He looked rather ridiculous in that chicken suit. The children ran outside to play after the thunderstorm.

Prepositional phrases: The children ran outside to play after the thunderstorm. Underneath the bed, Jolie hides from the storm.

Infinitive phrases: To irritate his older sister, Chris repeated every word. The children ran outside to play after the thunderstorm.

Adverb subordinate clauses: Because I could not locate my tennis shoes, I wore high

heels to school. No one should fail a vocabulary quiz unless he forgets to

study.

Prepositions Definition: a word that connects the noun

or pronoun that follows it to some other word in the clause or sentence.

A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun, the object of the preposition.

Examples: to the moon in my neighbor’s yard Throughout the history of time and space

Common prepositions—KNOW!aboard at down off to

about before during on toward

above behind for onto under

across below from out underneath

after beneath in outside until

against beside inside over up

along between into past upon

among but (except)

like since with

around by near through within

as concerning of throughout

without

Compound Prepositions—KNOW!

according to because of in front of next to

ahead of by means of in spite of on top of

along with in addition to instead of out of

Prepositions – Functions Prepositional phrases function as modifiers

– either adjectives or adverbs. (They can rarely function as nouns, but I am not going into that just yet.)

Adjective prepositional phrases modify a noun or pronoun. They tell which one? Or what kind? about the noun or pronoun, and they DIRECTLY FOLLOW THE NOUN OR PRONOUN THEY MODIFY.

Examples: The bench beneath the elm trees needs repair. The debate concerning school vouchers is

Friday.

Prepositions – Functions Adverb prepositional phrases modify a verb,

adjective, or an adverb. They tell how? when? where? why? to what extent? or under what condition? about the verb, adj, or adv. AdvPPs may appear anywhere in the sentence: Kaneisha walked around the track 16 times. Underneath the open prairie sky, the imposing

farm house stood alone. Mr. Davis exercises seriously because of health

problems.

Conjunctions Definition: a word that joins words, phrases, or clauses

together Four types of conjunctions: Coordinating: and, or, nor, for, yet, so, but ( or use

acronym FANBOYS) Punctuation Rule: When joining two independent

clauses, you must place a comma before the conjunction: She saw the art work, and she liked it.

However, when joining words or phrases, no comma is necessary: Freshmen and juniors must pay $15 for their PSAT tests.

Correlative: work in pairs both…and either…or neither…nor not only…but also

Conjunctions Conjunctive Adverbs (transition words): used to join

independent clauses. to show contrast: however, nevertheless, instead, on the

other hand, still to add information: furthermore, moreover, in addition to show the effect or result: therefore, consequently, as a

result To show similarities: likewise, similarly To show the opposite of what is intended: otherwise To emphasize a fact in a stronger or more specific way: in

fact, indeed Punctuation rule: When joining two independent clauses

together with a conjunctive adverb, put a semicolon before it and a comma after it: I wanted to go to Europe; therefore, I saved my money.

Subordinating Conjunctions Used to form a

subordinate clause; appear at beginning of sub clause.

Usually begin adverb subordinate clauses. Those marked with asterisks may sometimes begin adjective or noun subordinate clauses.

after because that when*

although before since whenever

as even though

so that where*

as if if than wherever

as long as in order that

though while

as soon as once unless till

as though provided until

Interjections

Words or phrases that have no grammatical function but express emotion.

Because they have no grammatical value, they should not appear in formal writing, only informal writing.

Examples: Oh! Golly gee willikers! Holy rusted metal, Batman! Whoa!

Review What parts of the sentence can nouns be? What phrases and clauses function as nouns? What parts of the sentence can pronouns be? What are the two categories of main verbs? What are the complements that follow action verbs? What are the complements that follow linking

verbs? What are the four forms of the verb? What are the two verb forms that require a helping

verb in front of them in order to function as a verb in the sentence?

What are the 23 helping verbs?

Review Is a subject or complement in a prepositional

phrase? What do adjectives modify? What are the questions that adjectives

answer? What phrases and clauses function as

adjectives? What do adverbs modify? What are the questions that adverbs answer? What phrases and clauses function as

adverbs?