Lecture 2: Parts of Speech, Sentence Structure, and Punctuation

Flashcards covering parts of speech, sentence structure components, and punctuation rules from Lecture 2 of Communication and Study Skills (BPCCS1111).

Parts of Speech

Categories into which words are put based on the way they are used and their functions in the English language.

Articles

Words combined with nouns to indicate whether a noun is general or specific.

Indefinite Articles

The words 'a' and 'an', which describe nouns in general.

Definite Article

The word 'the', which describes a specific or definite noun.

Nouns

Words used to name things, people, and places.

Common Noun

A noun naming what something is (such as a chair, table, dog, or car) that can be seen and touched and usually has an article in front of it.

Abstract Noun

A noun representing something that can be felt but cannot be touched, such as love, excitement, or despair.

Proper Noun

The name of a specific person, place, or entity that always begins with a capital letter.

Compound Noun

A noun made up of more than one word to form another word, which may be hyphenated, written as one word, or separated by association by meaning.

Collective Noun

A name for a group of things, such as a bunch of flowers.

Pronouns

Words that are used to replace overused nouns so that a noun does not have to be repeatedly stated.

Personal Pronouns

Pronouns used to identify a specific person or object, categorized into subjective, objective, and possessive cases.

Subjective Case Pronoun

A pronoun (I, you, he, she, we, they, it) used to replace a noun that is the subject of a sentence.

Objective Case Pronoun

A pronoun (me, you, him, her, us, them, it) used to replace a noun that is the object of a sentence.

Possessive Case Pronoun

A pronoun (my, mine, his, hers, their, our, its, your) that shows the belonging of an object.

Demonstrative Pronouns

Pronouns (this, that, these, those) used to show or identify one or many nouns that may be far or near in distance or time.

Verbs

Words that indicate an action taken and show what was done to the subject of a sentence.

Adverbs

Words that describe an action (verb) by telling how, where, or how often it was done.

Adjectives

Words that describe an object or noun, usually coming before or after a noun to describe its appearance, size, or quality.

Prepositions

Words that show the position or place of something (usually put before nouns or pronouns) or indicate time.

Conjunctions

Joining words that connect two sentences, phrases, or clauses together.

Sentence

A sequence of words capable of standing alone to make an assertion, ask a question, or give a command.

Subject

The component of a sentence structure representing who or what is performing the action.

Object

The component of a sentence structure representing to what or whom the action is being done.

Commas

Punctuation marks (,) used to show a pause or to add more information to a sentence.

Parenthesis (Double Comma)

A pair of commas used in a sentence to add extra information.

Colon

A punctuation mark (:) that explains to the reader what has come before or what will come after.

Semi-colon

A punctuation mark (;) used in place of a comma to separate items on a long list or join two sentences.

Dash

A punctuation mark (–), used alone or in a pair, that adds additional information, shows a sudden change of thought or emotion, shows cut-off speech, or disguises words.

Hyphen

A punctuation mark (-) used to join words into compound nouns or adjectives, or to split a word at a syllable when running out of space on a line.

Quotation Marks

Punctuation marks (' '), specifically single inverted commas, used in direct speech to enclose actual words spoken or quoted.

Ellipses

Three dots (…) used to show omitted words, create a dramatic pause for suspense, or indicate that a thought or idea continues.

Contraction

The omission of a few letters in words, marked by an apostrophe where the letters are left out.

The Golden Rule of Writing

'KEEP IT SIMPLE' — speaking properly, plainly, and in as few words as possible so as to be understood.