Chapter 1: Parts of Speech

Verb

Verbs indicate actions or states of being. Ex: To be, To have, To seem, To go, To Study, To believe.

• The “to” form of a verb is known as the infinitive. All of the verbs listed above are infinitives.
• A really good way to know whether the form is an infinitive is by playing “to” in front of it to form an infinitive.
• Verbs are not always used as infinitives. In order to indicate who is performing an action, we must conjugate the verd and provide its subject

To be and To have are the most common English verbs; as a result, they are tested frequently on the SAT. Because they are irregular, their conjugated forms are different from their infinitives.

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The number of a verb indicated whether it is singular or plural.

Noun

• Nouns indicate people, places, objects, and ideas, at sometimes qualities.
• Note that in addition to physical objects, nouns can refer to concepts/ideas that cannot be touched. These nouns, otherwise known as abstract nouns usually end in -ment, -tion, and -tude.Pronoun
• Pronouns replace nouns, as simple as that. Instead of using many of the same noun in a sentence, you replace it with she or he instead of saying Jackie or Dave. The noun that gets replaced is called the antecedent.

Personal pronouns are often referred to in the following manner:

Preposition

Prepositions are time and location words. They indicate where things are people are, where they’re going, and when events happened. They are always followed by nouns. \n

Ex: The dog ran under the fence and into the neighboring yard in a matter of seconds.

Conjunction

Conjunctions indicate relationships between words, phrases, and clauses. \n

1. Coordinating conjunctions (used to join two independent clauses):

• I studied hard, but I still didn't do well on the test.
• Sarah loves to read novels, and she often stays up late to finish them.

1. Subordinating conjunctions (used to join an independent clause and a dependent clause):

• Although I had studied all week, I still found the test difficult.
• Because the weather was so bad, we decided to cancel our plans.

1. Correlative conjunctions (used in pairs to join two equal elements in a sentence):

• Either you can come with us, or you can stay at home.
• Not only did he study for hours, but he also asked the teacher for extra help.

Adverb

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs, and phrases/clauses. Many common adverbs end in -ly, but the SAT is primarily concerned with conjunctive adverbs: adverbs that server as transitional words.

Although many of these words have the same meaning as conjunctions, they can only be used at the beginning of a sentence or clause.

Adjectives

Adjectives modify pronouns and nouns and other adjectives.

1. The angry customer complained to the manager.
2. The soft pillow provided a comfortable place to rest.
3. The curious cat investigated the new toy.

Adjectives are used to describe or modify nouns or pronouns in a sentence, and they can help to add detail and color to your writing. When using adjectives, it's important to choose words that are specific, precise, and evocative, and that accurately convey the tone and meaning of the sentence.

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