PARTS OF
SPEECH
NOUN – person, place, thing,
or idea
/ The (noun) smiled.
Nouns can be common or proper
Common nouns: man,
book, city,
team
Proper nouns: Justin, Lord of
the Flies, New York,
New
York Giants
Nouns can be concrete (things you can see or touch) or abstract (things you can’t see or touch)
Concrete nouns: dishes,
desks, discs, doorknobs
Abstract
nouns: love, justice, guilt, anxiety
Nouns can be subjects or objects
A subject noun
names the person, place, thing or idea that is doing the action or is
being talked
about.
Our family loved spending afternoons in the park.
An object noun is used
as the direct object, indirect object, or object of the preposition.
We would often
eat our lunch there.
A predicate noun follows a linking verb or a form of the be verb and repeats/renames
the
subject.
Our favorite game was
football.
PRONOUN – substitutes for nouns
and function as nouns / Jess said the hat was (pronoun).
Personal pronouns – refers to specific people, places, or
things
I,
you, be, she, it we, they
I
want to go home.
Indefinite pronouns –do not
substitute for specifics everybody, some
Everybody speaks.
Relative pronouns –relate groups
of
words to nouns or
other pronouns
who, whoever, which, that
The
book that won is a novel.
Interrogative pronouns –introduce
questions who, which, what
Who
will contribute?
Demonstrative pronouns –identify
or point nouns this, that, such
This is a problem.
Intensive pronouns –a
personal
pronoun + self/selves,
himself,
ourselves
He himself asked that question.
Reflexive pronouns –same form as intensive but indicate that the sentence subject also
receives the
action of the
verb themselves
They
injured themselves.
VERB
– action or state of being
Janie (verb) __
five
miles.
You/He/She/They/We
__(intransitive
verb)__ often.
I/You/It (linking verb)
happy.
Let’s (transitive
verb) it.
Transitive verbs pass the action on to a receiver (person,
place, or thing)/object
The receiver is the object
I threw the pen.
HINT: if there are questions left (who, where, what), it’s probably transitive
Intransitive verbs don’t pass
the action
on to
a receiver
Linking verbs link subjects to word(s) that describe the subject
Any form of the be verb (am, is, are, were, was, be, being, been)
The answer is three.
Verb Phrases consist of
a main verb
and
a helping verb
Helping verbs = can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must, do, does,
did, has, have,
had
She had always been thinking
of her future.
ADVERB – modify/describes verbs, adjective, or other adverbs; answers the question HOW?
WHEN? WHERE? or
TO WHAT EXTENT?
Who ran __(adverb)__
in the relay?
I ran (adverb).
HINT: - ly ending is a clue that it’s an adverb
Adverbs have 3 forms: positive, comparative, and superlative.
Positive
Performing fleas train
vigorously. (“Vigorously” modifies the verb “train” without making any
comparisons.)
Comparative
Jumping frogs train more
vigorously
than performing fleas. (“More vigorously”
modifies the verb “train” and compares how “frogs” train to how “fleas”
train.)
Superlative
Fido’s flea is the most vigorously
trained insect in the world. (“Most vigorously” modifies the
adjective “trained” and compares one “flea” to all other insects.)
Good vs. Well
“Good” is used
only as an adjective
“Well” can be used as an
adverb (many different
meanings) or
an adjective
(only meaning “fit” or “healthy”)
Her health was good. “Good” is an adj. describing her health.
Decker trained well. “Well” is an adv. telling me HOW Decker trained.
ADJECTIVE – modifies / describes a
noun or
pronoun; answers the questions WHAT KIND?
HOW MANY? WHICH ONE?
The (adjective) girl/boy is very (adjective).
4 Types of
Adjectives
Demonstrative: points out a particular noun
This kitten
is mean, but that cat is meaner.
Compound: made up of
more than one word
Scar-faced
Bronty is
no scaredy-cat guard.
Indefinite: gives an approximate number/quantity
Some cats enjoy having many
mice around.
Predicate: follows a linking verb and
describes
the subject
A
frustrated kitten is unpleasant and
unpredictable.
Forms of Adjectives
Positive: describes noun/pronoun without comparing it to anything
Frozen yogurt is a light dessert.
Comparative: compares 2 nouns/pronouns
Frozen yogurt is a lighter dessert than ice cream.
Superlative: compares 3 or more nouns/pronouns
Frozen yogurt is the lightest dessert of
the five on
this menu.
PREPOSITIONS – show position or
direction
Kate tossed a penny (preposition) the fountain.
Gives more information and explains
things. Explains relationships.
Prepositions
always exist in phrase
A
prepositional phrase can be left out of a sentence and the sentence still makes sense.
A prepositional phrase starts with a preposition
A phrase
contains
a subject or a verb – not both
Without prepositions, we lose visuals in
writing as well as our orientation in time and space.
CONJUNCTIONS
– connects ideas
or joins words, phrases, or
clauses
Fred finished
his math (conjunction) science.
Connects
words, phrases/clauses, and sentences
Allows us to say more without repetition
Subordinate Conjunctions:
AAAWWUBBIS: as, after, although, while, when, until, before, because, if, since
Coordinate:
FANBOYS: for, and,
nor,
but,
or, yet, so
INTERJECTIONS – word or phrase used to express strong emotion or surprise
“(interjection), Joe,
guess where I’m
going
next week?”
Shows intense emotion
Exists in single words or
VERY
short phrases.
Usually set off with
a comma, exclamation point, question mark,
or
period.
Examples:
Ahhh!
Oh. Hey, Oh my gosh!
Huh? Oh, man! Dude! Dude. Dude?
