PARTS OS SPEECH
Parts of Speech: The Functions of Words Within a Sentence
Nouns
Definition: Nouns name objects, places, people, things, groups, qualities, and ideas. They are often referred to as "naming words".
Four Types:
Common Nouns: Name common, everyday things that can mostly be experienced by our five senses (sight, taste, touch, smell, sound).
Proper Nouns: Name particular people, places, and things (specific common nouns). They always begin with a capital letter.
Collective Nouns: Name a collection, group, or set of people or things.
Abstract Nouns: Names for things we cannot experience with our five senses but can recognize with the mind. Generally, these are thoughts, ideas, feelings, emotions, and concepts.
Recognition of Nouns:
Usually preceded by words such as: a, an, the, some, any, my, his, their, this, that, those, etc.
Found in specific positions in a sentence:
Before the verb: Stars twinkle. (Stars = Noun, twinkle = Verb)
After the verb: Drop the ball. (Drop = Verb, ball = Noun)
After a preposition: Vote for Pipkins. (for = Preposition, Pipkins = Noun)
Asking "WHAT?", "WHO?", or "WHOM?" can help identify a noun.
Characteristics of Nouns:
Countable or Uncountable:
Countable Noun: Has singular and plural forms (e.g., one car, two cars; an orange, four oranges).
Uncountable Noun: Only has a singular form (e.g., advice, information, soccer, stationery, algebra, humour, venison, gambling, pork).
Some nouns are plural in form but have a singular meaning (e.g., economics, news, physics, measles).
Some nouns are always in the plural form and rarely have a singular meaning (e.g., scissors, spectacles, glasses, thanks, data, giblets).
Gender:
Masculine: man, dog, bull, sailor.
Feminine: lady, bitch, cow, usherette.
Neuter: love, music, gum, bucket, coffee, tent (neither masculine nor feminine).
Three Cases:
Subject / Nominative case: The noun is the subject of the verb (e.g., The pencil broke. (pencil = Subject) ).
Object / Accusative case: The noun is the object of the verb (e.g., Read the notice. (notice = Object) ).
Possessive / Genitive case: Shows ownership (e.g., Jill’s dress, Jack’s bucket. (Jill's = Possessive, Jack's = Possessive) ).
Plural Forms:
Usually, add -s to the end of a word (e.g., cats, books).
Nouns ending in -ch, -s, -sh, -ss, or -x: add -es (e.g., churches, buses, dishes, messes, boxes).
Nouns ending in -y preceded by a consonant: drop the -y and add -ies (e.g., charities, armies).
Nouns ending in -y preceded by a vowel: just add -s (e.g., boys, keys).
Nouns ending in -f or -fe: change to -ves (e.g., knives, leaves). Exceptions: roofs, chiefs, safes.
Nouns ending in -o: add -es (e.g., potatoes, heroes). Exceptions: pianos, radios, banjos, tobaccos.
Nouns ending in -oo: simply add -s (e.g., zoos, photos).
Nouns ending in -eau: add -x or -s (e.g., bureaux/bureaus, plateaux/plateaus).
Some nouns have the same form in the singular and plural (e.g., sheep, buck, deer, trout).
The apostrophe (’) is NOT used to form plurals.
Adjectives
Definition: Adjectives qualify (tell us more about) nouns and pronouns. They are usually placed in front of a noun or pronoun.
Nine Types:
Descriptive Adjectives: Describe the noun (e.g., hasty decisions, beautiful people, blue moon).
Possessive Adjectives: Indicate possession (that something belongs to someone or something else). Always placed in front of the noun they belong to. Not to be confused with possessive pronouns.
Interrogative Adjectives: Ask a question about the noun (e.g., which house? what problem? whose car?).
Demonstrative Adjectives: Indicate a specific noun (e.g., this house, that problem, these pencils, those cars).
Numerical Adjectives: Indicate the number of the noun (e.g., seven birds, one hundred suggestions, each child, every day).
Indefinite Adjectives: Indicate a non-specific number (e.g., few birds, some suggestions, any child).
Ordinal Adjectives: Indicate order (e.g., first team, second thoughts, final answer).
The Article: Includes the definite article "THE" and indefinite articles "A" or "AN".
Proper Adjectives: Proper nouns that have been used as adjectives (e.g., French perfume, German cars, Italian women).
Recognition of Adjectives:
Usually placed immediately in front of the noun it refers to, or linked to its noun by a linking verb.
Can often be identified by its suffix (ending):
-able or -ible: noticeable, feasible, sociable
-al: general, actual, total
-ary: cautionary, stationary, military
-en: broken, fallen, sunken
-ful: useful, pitiful, hateful
-ic: poetic, scenic, artistic, romantic
-ish: devilish, pinkish, childish
-ive: active, persuasive, massive
-less: hopeless, featureless, motherless
-ous: serious, marvellous, hideous
-some: fearsome, handsome, cumbersome
-y: tricky, bumpy, rubbery
Comparison of Adjectives:
Three Degrees of Comparison:
Positive: The basic form of the adjective (e.g., happy, old, honest).
Comparative: Shows more of the quality (e.g., happier, older, more honest).
Superlative: Shows the maximum possible amount of the quality (e.g., happiest, oldest, most honest).
Rules for Formation:
Usually add -er for comparative and -est for superlative.
Adjectives ending in -y preceded by a consonant: drop -y and add -ier or -iest.
For long adjectives or those where -er or -est sounds awkward: use "more…" and "most…".
Some adjectives have irregular forms:
Positive: good, Comparative: better, Superlative: best
Positive: many, Comparative: more, Superlative: most
Usage:
When comparing two things, use the comparative form (e.g., my brother is taller; I prefer the simpler plan).
When comparing three or more things, use the superlative form (e.g., This is the best answer; Money is the least of our problems; She has the most money).
Attributive and Predicative Adjectives:
Attributive Adjective: The adjective is placed before the noun (e.g., A damaged lifeboat, A concrete bridge, Two drunken sailors).
Predicative Adjective: The adjective is placed after a linking verb (also known as an adjective complement) (e.g., The bull became angry, The conductor was nervous, The judge appeared to be sober).
Pronouns
Definition: Pronouns can be used to replace a noun in a sentence. They must agree with the noun they are replacing in number (singular or plural), gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter), and case (subject, object, or possessive).
Seven Types:
Personal Pronouns: Used in place of nouns referring to people and things.
| | Subject | Object |
|:---|:---|:---|
| Singular | I, you, he/she/it | me, you, him/her/it |
| Plural | we, you, they | us, you, them |Relative Pronouns: Refer to persons or things already mentioned in a different clause in the sentence (e.g., who, which, and, in some cases, that. The admiral, who spoke first, hates rum.).
Interrogative Pronouns: Ask questions (e.g., Who paid?, What did you say?, Whose are these?, Which have you bought?).
Demonstrative Pronouns: Point out certain nouns or pronouns (e.g., This is the train for Dundee, That was the wrong answer, These are the keys, Those are beautiful!, Such is the case).
Possessive Pronouns: Indicate ownership. Not to be confused with possessive adjectives.
Singular: The money is mine. The car is yours. His pen is blue; hers is black.
Plural: The money is ours. The pencils are yours. Theirs is a beautiful house.
Reflexive Pronouns: Refer back to the subject of the sentence (or clause) (e.g., I told myself not to be silly, You must discipline yourself, The monkey groomed himself, She bought herself a new car, We hurt ourselves, You must discipline yourselves, They left themselves no chance).
Indefinite Pronouns: Refer to people or things which are not exactly defined as to number (e.g., Is anyone interested?, The suggestion annoyed several, Some responded angrily, None of them were drowned).
The Three Persons of Pronouns: Personal and possessive pronouns differ in person:
First person singular: I (subject), mine (possessive)
Second person singular: you (subject/object), yours (possessive)
Third person singular: he/she/it (subject), his/hers (possessive)
First person plural: we (subject), our (possessive)
Second person plural: you (subject/object), yours (possessive)
Third person plural: they (subject), theirs (possessive)
Verbs
Definition: Verbs indicate either an action performed by a noun or pronoun (e.g., The horse bolted) or the state of being of a noun or pronoun (e.g., She is unhappy).
Types of Verbs:
Transitive Verbs: Are followed by a direct object (e.g., He hit the ball). Some verbs can be used transitively or intransitively, depending on context.
Intransitive Verbs: Are followed by an indirect object or have no object (e.g., The bird flew). Some verbs can be used transitively or intransitively.
Linking Verbs: Show the connection between a noun and another noun, or a noun and an adjective.
N + Linking Verb + N : That boy is a genius.
N + Linking Verb + Adj. : Those diamonds are valuable.
Finite Verbs: Have a subject, a number (singular/plural), and a tense (present/past/future) (e.g., They are listening carefully (They = subject, plural = number, present tense = tense, are
listening = finite)).Non-Finite Verbs: Have no subject, no definite number, and no certain tense (e.g., waiting for the bus (waiting = non-finite)).
Forms of Verbs (Non-Finite):
Participle: Indicates the completeness or incompleteness of an action.
Present Participle: Usually ends in -ing (e.g., bathing, walking, writing, doing).
Past Participle: Usually ends in -ed or -en (e.g., parted, dusted, rubbed, prepared, broken, swollen).
Infinitive: The base form of the verb, usually preceded by "to" (e.g., to fly, to waste, to swim, to ache). Can also form part of the tense of the verb.
Gerund: A verbal noun, a verb acting as a noun (e.g., Swimming is good exercise, Ladies like dancing, Remember the fallen).
Gerundive: A verbal adjective, a verb acting as an adjective (e.g., a swimming pool, a talking canary, a sunken wreck, a banded mongoose).
Auxiliary Verbs:
Also known as "helping verbs". They are verbs which, together with a participle or an infinitive, form a finite verb (e.g., be, can, do, have, may, must, shall, will, ought).
Examples: It is raining. (subject + auxiliary + present
participle); Andrew must have told him. (subject + two
auxiliaries + past
participle); Jill ought to play. (subject + auxiliary + infinitive).
Concord:
A verb must always agree with its subject in person and number.
Examples: I swim, You swim, He/she swims (NOT swim),
We are, You are, The children (they) are (NOT is).
Tense:
Indicates when the action took, is taking, or will take place.
Continuous: The action has been going on for some time, even if it started in the past.
Perfect: The action is over and complete.
Mood:
Indicates more exactly the sense of the verb and reflects the state of mind of the speaker.
Three Important Moods:
Indicative Mood: Used to state a fact or to ask a question which has a factual answer (e.g., Mary has a cold., Did she drink her medicine?, We are exercising our dog., Did Shakespeare write Peter Pan?).
Imperative Mood: The verb gives an order, command, or polite/strong request (e.g., Sit down., Don’t smoke., Be careful!, Do come and join us; be sure to bring a cake., You must be home by midnight.). The subject is always in the second person ("you") but is often omitted for commands and strong requests.
Subjunctive Mood: Used to express doubt or uncertainty, or when something is impossible, imaginary, improbable, or when expressing a wish (e.g., If I were president, you could retire., Heaven preserve us!, If you write, do so neatly., Were you to fall overboard, shout ‘Help’.).
Voice:
Indicates whether the action is performed by the subject, or whether the subject has the action done to it by someone or something else.
Two Voices:
Active Voice: The subject performs the action (e.g., Birds sing., The sun shines., People die., They are speaking., You have helped him.).
Passive Voice: The subject has the action done to it by something or someone else (not always stated) (e.g., You have been seen by the policeman., Mary was let down. (by her friend), It has been decided. (by the committee)). Only transitive verbs can be turned into the passive voice.
Adverbs
Definition: Adverbs give more information about verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or even a whole sentence, making their meaning more exact. They are usually placed as near to the verb as possible, and in front of the adjective, adverb, or sentence.
Six Types:
Adverbs of Manner: Answer the questions "How?" or "In what manner?" (e.g., He spoke incoherently., She sipped her gin appreciatively.).
Adverbs of Place: Answer the question "Where?" (e.g., She refused to go outside., Please stand there.).
Adverbs of Time: Answer the question "When?" (e.g., Occasionally I enjoy a cigar., Few teenagers know what cassettes are nowadays.).
Adverbs of Reason: Answer the question "Why?" (e.g., They were therefore promoted., The meeting was cancelled because the director had fallen ill.).
Adverbs of Negation: The words "not" and sometimes "neither…nor" are adverbs (e.g., I will not go to the party., He neither sang nor whistled.).
Adverbs of Degree: Answer the questions "How much?" or "To what degree or extent?" (e.g., He was very annoyed., The rider fell quite heavily.).
Recognition of Adverbs:
Most end in -ly. To change an adjective into an adverb, we usually add -ly (e.g., usual o usually, quick o quickly).
Some adverbs have their own special forms (e.g., soon, now, here, also).
Some adverbs are the same as their adjectives (e.g., fast, long, early, close, near).
Not all words ending in -ly are adverbs (e.g., fly, lovely, bully, holy, ugly).
Comparison of Adverbs:
Three Degrees of Comparison:
Positive: The basic form of the adverb (e.g., soon, slowly, smoothly).
Comparative: Shows more of the quality.
Add -er if the adverb has only one syllable (e.g., sooner).
Place "more" in front of adverbs with more than one syllable (e.g., more slowly, more smoothly).
Superlative: Shows the maximum possible amount of the quality.
Add -est if the adverb has only one syllable (e.g., soonest).
Place "most" in front of adverbs with more than one syllable (e.g., most slowly, most smoothly).
Usage:
When comparing two situations, only use the comparative form (e.g., Anne dresses more tastefully than Susan.).
When comparing three or more situations, use the superlative form (e.g., Of all the teachers, Mr. Spearfoot speaks most encouragingly.).
Caution: Be careful not to use an adjective where an adverb is required (e.g., "She writes much neater" should be "She writes much more neatly"; "Why doesn’t he speak proper?" should be "Why doesn't he speak properly?").
Prepositions
Definition: Linking words which show the relationship between two nouns or pronouns (e.g., The train went through the tunnel, The admiral was the son of a bishop).
Common Prepositions: about, above, across, after, against, along, amid, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down, except, for, from, in, inside, like, near, of, off, over, since, through, till, to, toward, under, until, up, upon, with.
Compound Prepositions: Consist of more than one word (e.g., apart from, because of, due to, immune from, in front of).
Placement: Should be placed between the two nouns or pronouns they link, and immediately in front of the second of the two (e.g., He dropped the baby out of the window, They put the sign up in front of the building).
Ending Sentences with Prepositions: It is sometimes illogical to end a sentence with a preposition (e.g., "Are you coming with?" should rather be "Are you coming?" or "Are you coming with us?").
Dual Function (Preposition and Adverb):
Many words can be used as both prepositions and adverbs (e.g., He put a strap round the suitcase (preposition), He turned round (adverb)).
If the word is being used as a preposition, it must be followed by a noun or pronoun (e.g., He put a strap round – what? He put a strap round the suitcase.).
Prepositional Phrases:
Include a preposition, its object, and any modifiers of the object.
Can function as either adjective phrases (modifying nouns/pronouns) or adverb phrases (modifying verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs).
Adjective Phrase Examples: The boy with him is his son., The bracelet in the shop window is the one I want., We stayed at the cabin by the river.
Adverb Phrase Examples: When you get to the sign, turn left., We climbed up the hill to see the view., It annoys me when people talk during movies.
Prepositions "for" and "since":
"for" + period of time: I have not seen her for three weeks.
"since" + point in time: I have not seen her since last Sunday.
Conjunctions
Definition: Conjunctions connect parts of a sentence.
Common Conjunctions: and, because, but, for, however, since, until, yet.
Four Categories:
Co-ordinating Conjunctions: Join things that are basically similar (e.g., Both pointers and spaniels are gun dogs).
Contrasting Conjunctions: Join things that are basically different and contrasting (e.g., I smoke cigarettes but my aunt prefers cigars).
Co-relative Conjunctions: Join things of the same kind to emphasize similarity (e.g., both – and, either – or, so – as, not only – but also).
Subordinating Conjunctions: Show an unequal relationship between the things linked, where one is less important than the other (e.g., after, because, for, since, till, when). Examples: He did not dance till the music stopped., Although he could play well, he preferred to watch.)
Unusual Positioning of Conjunctions:
Conjunctions usually occur between the things they are joining.
However, a sentence can begin with a conjunction (e.g., While in Paris I visited the Louvre.).
Beginning a sentence with "and" or "but" is acceptable for a particular effect (e.g., His house was destroyed… And he lost his temper.).
Interjections
Definition: Interjections perform no grammatical function and are expressions, usually of some emotion (e.g., Ha! Oh! Phew! Shame! Oh dear! Drat! Oh? Really?).