Parts of SpeechParts of SpeechParts of SpeechParts of Speech

What does that mean?What does that mean?

Parts of SpeechEach word in a sentence performs a basic function or task.

Words perform four basic tasks: they name, modify, express action or state of being, or link.

There are 8 Different Parts of Speech:

• NOUN- a noun names a person, place, thing, or idea.

Ex. Felix the cat curled up in my lap, shedding his fur all over my pants.

PRONOUN- a pronoun is used in place of a noun.

(Example): We remember how well you treated our grandmother when she visited.

The antecedent is the noun that the pronoun is

replacing.(Example):

• Where is Michael?• He is at the library.

(Michael is the antecedent of He)

Amy’s black dog barks loudly because he is scared.

(Dog is the antecedent of he)

Personal PronounsPersonal Pronouns—used —used in place of the name of a in place of the name of a

person or thingperson or thing

• I, me, we, us, he, she, it, him, her, you, they, them

Singular pronounSingular pronoun—used —used in place of the name of in place of the name of one person, or thing.one person, or thing.

• I, me, you, he, she, it, him, her

Plural PronounPlural Pronoun—used in —used in place of more than one place of more than one

person or thing.person or thing.

• We, us, they, them

Possessive pronounPossessive pronoun--shows ownership or shows ownership or

possession.possession.

• Mine, yours, his, hers, ours theirs

Reflexive pronoun—refers Reflexive pronoun—refers back to the noun previously back to the noun previously

used; adds –-used; adds –-selfself and -- and --selvesselves

• Myself, herself, yourself, themselves, ourselves

Interrogative Interrogative pronounpronoun—asks a —asks a

question.question.

• Who, whose, whom, what, which

Indefinite PronounIndefinite Pronoun—points —points out a person, place, or out a person, place, or

thing, but not a specific or thing, but not a specific or definite one.definite one.

• One, someone, anything, other, all, few, nobody

DemonstrativeDemonstrative—points out a —points out a specific person, place, idea, specific person, place, idea,

or thing.or thing.

• This, these, that, those

VERB- expresses action or state of being.

(Example): The mischievous squirrels scrambled up the tree and chased each other in circles.

State-of-Being Verbs• Some verbs don’t show action. They

tell what something is, or they LINK the subject with a word or words in the predicate. These verbs are called LINKING VERBS

• Examples: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been…

Linking Verbs• They connect a noun with another noun,

pronoun, or adjective that describes or identifies it; the most common linking verbs are formed from the verb to be

• My mother is the best mom in the world.• She seems eager to always want to do

things for us.

Helping Verbs• These verbs HELP a main verb

express action or state of being.

• (Ex.) A dog can detect thousands of smells with its nose.

• Our dog has been chasing squirrels in the backyard.

Examples of Linking & Helping Verbs

• Is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been, has, have, had, do, does, did, will, shall, should, would, can, could, may, might, must, seems, **becomes, feels, appears***

• John has been walking to school.• We had the best time on vacation.

• You should call for an appointment.

• ADJECTIVE- modifies/describes a noun or pronoun.

(Example): On the dark and dreary day, they watched old classic movies on television.

To find the adjective, FIRST find the NOUN(s) and then look for words that describe it/them.

• An adjective has 1 of 3 functions. It tells what kind, how many, or which one.

EXAMPLES:It is going to be a rainy day.

Several students are absent today.That woman is riding a horse.

Let’s Try!• Hockey is a confusing game for inexperienced

players.

• The old house collapsed during the strong and powerful windstorm.

• There were several cars in the parking lot.

• The sleek, shiny car raced down the long, windy road.

Remember that some adjectives can tell which one. This can get tricky

because the look like pronouns

Adjectives or Pronouns?????Adjectives or Pronouns?????

This bulb burnt out. (adjective)This doesn’t work. (pronoun)

These candles are new. (adjective)These are new. (pronoun)

Adjectives or Adjectives or Pronouns?????Pronouns?????

That light is too bright. (adjective)That is too bright. (pronoun)

Do you see those stars? (adjective)Do you see those? (pronoun)

Just like nouns, Some adjectives can be

PROPER.(EXAMPLES):

• The African Plains• Italian art

• Chinese food• Independence Day celebration

• Christmas presents• Major League Baseball game

ADVERB- modifies/describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb.

(Example): Max jumped quickly into the pool nearly landing on the raft.

More Examples:• Reporters quickly gathered the

news. (The adverb quickly modifies the verb gather.)

The route is too long. (The adverb too modifies the adjective long.)

• Our paper boy delivers the paper very early. (The adverb very modifies another ADVERB early. The adverb early modifies the verb delivers.)

As you know, adjectives ask certain questions: What kind, how many, and

which ones• ADVERBS also answer certain

questions: • Where? • When? • How?

• How Often? • To What Extent?

EXAMPLES:• My dog ran away. (the adverb

away tells where).

• I will call you later. (the adverb later tells when).

• I quietly closed the door. (the adverb quietly tells how).

• He always reads baseball magazines. (the adverb always tells how often).

• He was too tired to watch TV. (the adverb too tells to what extent).

NOTE: The word NOT is almost always an adverb. When not is part of a contraction like hadn’t, the n’t

is an adverb.

• The following words are often used as adverbs:

• Where? Here, there, away, up• When? Now, then, later, soon• How? Clearly, easily, quietly, slowly• How often? Never, always, often,

seldom• To what extent? Very, too, almost, so,

really

PREPOSITION- shows the relationship between its object—a noun or a pronoun—and another word in a sentence. Common prepositions are after, around, at behind, beside, beneath, off, through, until, upon, and with.

***TIME, LOCATION & ***TIME, LOCATION & DIRECTION/DISTANCE***DIRECTION/DISTANCE***

(Example): Beside the edge of the ravine, the hikers waited for the others in their group.

Here’s the list of prepositions!

• Aboard, about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, at…

• Before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by…

• Down, during, except, for, from, in, into…

CONT…• Like, near, of, off, on, out, over,

past, since…

• Through, throughout, to, toward…• Under, underneath, until, up,

upon…• With, within, without

Examples:• Your math book is underneath

your coat. (The preposition shows the relationship of book to coat.)

• We paddled the canoe toward the shore. (The preposition shows the relationship of canoe to shore.)

Examples:• The driver behind us honked his

horn. (The preposition shows the relationship of driver to us.)

CONJUNCTION- joins words or groups of words. Common conjunctions are and, but, nor, or, so, and yet.

(Example): Neither Kim nor Betsy wanted to be late, so they ran as fast as they could.

Examples:• Mother and I are Mets fans.• The car swerved and ran off the road.• We drove through New York and

Pennsylvania.• We tried but failed.• Sue or I will make the salad for dinner.

Examples:• The car is elegant yet affordable.• He will hide in the closet or under the

bed.• The team was tired but played on.• Neither Tim nor Al could have expected

such a long ordeal.• Tim can either cut his calorie intake or

increase his exercise time.

Compound Sentences—TWO independent sentences can be combined

by using a COMMA followed by a conjunction.

• The wind blew, and the windows rattled.

• You may be right, but I doubt it.• You should leave now, or I will miss

the bus.• I am smarter than my brother, yet he

always get better grades than me.

• I don’t make good grades, nor do I try very hard in school.

• It is raining outside today, so I think I will wear my raincoat.

INTERJECTION- is a word used to express emotion. Common interjections are oh, ah, well, hey, and wow.

(Example): Hey! Wait for me!Well, we can go to the park

later if you prefer.