Parts of Speech

Parts of Speech
Parts of Speech are words classified according to their functions in sentences, for purposes of traditional grammatical analysis. According to traditional grammars eight parts of speech are usually identified: nouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns, verbs, and interjections. Noun Pronoun Verb Adjective Adverb Preposition Conjunction Interjection girl, man, dog, orange, truth ... I, she, everyone, nothing, who ... be, become, take, look, sing ... small, happy, young, wooden ... slowly, very, here, afterwards, nevertheless at, in, by, on, for, with, from, to ... and, but, because, although, while ... ouch, oh, alas, grrr, psst ...

Most of the major language groups spoken today, notably the Indo-European languages and Semitic languages, use almost the identical categories; Chinese, however, has fewer parts of speech than English.i The part of speech classification is the center of all traditional grammars. Traditional grammars generally provide short definitions for each part of speech, while many modern grammars, using the same categories, refer to them as word-classes or form-classes. To preface our discussion, we will do the same: I. Nouns A noun (Latin nomen, name) is usually defined as a word denoting a thing, place, person, quality, or action and functioning in a sentence as the subject or object of action expressed by a verb or as the object of a preposition. In modern English, proper nouns, which are always capitalized and denote individuals and personifications, are distinguished from common nouns. Nouns and verbs may sometimes take the same form, as in Polynesian languages. Verbal nouns, or gerunds, combine features of both parts of speech. They occur in the Semitic and Indo-European languages and in English most commonly with words ending in -ing. Nouns may be inflected to indicate gender (masculine, feminine, and neuter), number, and case. In modern English, however, gender has been eliminated, and only two forms, singular and plural, indicate number (how many perform or receive an action). Some languages have three numbers: a singular form (indicating, for example, one book), a plural form (indicating three or more books), and a dual form (indicating, specifically, two books). English has three cases of nouns: nominative (subject), genitive (possessive), and objective (indicating the relationship between the noun and other words). Compound nouns are two or more nouns that function as a single unit. A compound noun can be two individual words, words joined by a hyphen, or two words combined.

Individual words: time capsule Hyphenated words: great-uncle Combined words: basketball

In grammar, possession shows ownership. Follow these rules to create possessive nouns. With singular nouns, add an apostrophe and an s. dog dogs bone

singer singers voice With plurals ending in s, add an apostrophe after the s. dogs dogs bones singers singers voices With plurals not ending in s, add an apostrophe and an s. men mens books mice mices tails

Here are the guidelines for creating plural nouns. Add s to form the plural of most nouns. cat cats computer computers Add es if the noun ends in s, sh, ch, or x. wish wishes inch inches box boxes If a noun ends in consonant -y, change the y to i and add es. city cities lady ladies If a noun ends in vowel -y, add s. Words ending in -quy dont follow this rule (as in soliloquies). essay essays monkey monkeys II. Adjectives An adjective is a word that modifies, or qualifies, a noun or pronoun, in one of three forms of comparative degree: positive (strong, beautiful), comparative (stronger, more beautiful), or superlative (strongest, most beautiful). In many languages, the form of an adjective changes to correspond with the number and gender of the noun or pronoun it modifies. Adjectives are words that describe nouns and pronouns. Adjectives answer the questions: What kind? How much? Which one? How many? For example:

What kind? How much? Which one? How many?

red nose more sugar second chance several chances

gold ring little effort those chocolates six books

Proper adjectives are formed from proper nouns. California vegetables. Mexican food. Compound adjectives are made up of more than one word. far-off country teenage person

Indefinite adjectives dont specify the specific amount of something. all another any both each either few many more most neither other several some

III. Adverbs An adverb is a word that modifies a verb (he walked slowly), an adjective (a very good book), or another adverb (he walked very slowly). Adverbs may indicate place or direction (where, whence), time (ever, immediately), degree (very, almost), manner (thus, and words ending in -ly, such as wisely), and belief or doubt (perhaps, no). Like adjectives, they too may be comparative (wisely, more wisely, most wisely). Adverbs are words that describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Adverbs answer the questions: When? Where? How? or To what extent? When? left yesterday begin now Where? fell below move up How? happily sang danced badly To what extent? partly finished eat completely Most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective. Here are some of the most common non-ly adverbs: afterward almost already also back even far fast hard here how late long low more near never next now often quick rather slow soon still then today tomorrow too when where yesterday Follow these guidelines when you use adverbs: Use an adverb to describe a verb. Experiments using dynamite must be done carefully. Use an adverb to describe an adjective. Sam had an unbelievably huge appetite for chips. Use an adverb to describe another adverb. They sang so clearly Conjunctive adverbs are used to connect other words and to link ideas and paragraphs. accordingly again also besides consequently finally for example furthermore however indeed moreover otherwise on the other hand nevertheless then therefore IV. Prepositions Words that combine with a noun or pronoun to form a phrase are termed prepositions. In languages such as Latin or German, they change the form of the noun or pronoun to the objective case (as in the equivalent of the English phrase give to me), or to the possessive case (as in the phrase the roof of the house). Prepositions link a noun or a pronoun following it to another word in the sentence. Use this chart to help you recognize some of the most common prepositions: about above across after against along

amid below by from on

around beneath despite in onto

as beside down inside of past

at between during into off since

before beyond except like opposite through

behind but for near out to

outside over

toward under underneath until upon with A noun or pronoun always follows a preposition. A prepositional phrase is a preposition and its object. A prepositional phrase can be two or three words long. on the wing in the door However, prepositional phrases also can be much longer, depending on the length of the preposition and the number of words that describe the object of the preposition. near the violently swaying oak trees on account of his nearly depleted bank account V. Conjunctions Conjunctions are the words that connect sentences, clauses, phrases, or words, and sometimes paragraphs. Coordinate conjunctions (and, but, or, however, nevertheless, neither nor) join independent clauses, or parts of a sentence; subordinate conjunctions introduce subordinate clauses (where, when, after, while, because, if, unless, since, whether). Coordinating conjunctions link similar words or word groups. There are seven coordinating conjunctions: for and nor but or yet so Use this mnemonic to help you remember the seven coordinating conjunctions: FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). Correlative conjunctions also link similar words or word groups, but they are always used in pairs. Here are the correlative conjunctions: bothand eitheror neithernor not onlybut also whetheror VI. Pronouns A pronoun is an identifying word used instead of a noun and inflected in the same way nouns are. Personal pronouns, in English, are I, you, he/she/it, we, you (plural), and they. Demonstrative pronouns are thus, that, and such. Introducing questions, who and which are interrogative pronouns; when introducing clauses they are called relative pronouns. Indefinite pronouns are each, either, some, any, many, few, and all. Reflexive pronouns add information to a sentence by pointing back to a noun or pronoun near the beginning of the sentence. Reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves. Tricia bought herself a new car. All her friends enjoyed themselves riding in the beautiful car.

Intensive pronouns also end in -self or -selves but just add emphasis to the noun or pronoun. Tricia herself picked out the car. Demonstrative pronouns direct attention to a specific person, place, or thing. There are only four demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, those. This is my favorite movie. That was a fierce rain storm. Relative pronouns begin a subordinate clause. There are five relative pronouns: that, which, who, whom, those. Jasper claimed that he could run the washing machine. Louise was the repair person who fixed the machine after Jasper washed his sneakers. Interrogative pronouns ask a question. They are: what, which, who, whom, whose. Who would like to cook dinner? Which side does the fork go on? Indefinite pronouns refer to people, places, objects, or things without pointing to a specific one. The most common indefinite pronouns are listed in the chart on the next slide. Singular
another anyone each everyone someone anybody anything either

Plural
both few many others several

Singular or Plural all any more most none some

everybody little everything neither much nobody nothing other no one one somebody something

VII. Verbs Words that express some form of action are called verbs. Their inflection, known as conjugation, is simpler in English than in most other languages. Conjugation in general involves changes of form according to person and number (who and how many performed the action), tense (when the action was performed), voice (indicating whether the subject of the verb performed or received the action), and mood (indicating the frame of mind of the performer). In English grammar, verbs have three moods: the indicative, which expresses actuality; the subjunctive, which expresses contingency; and the imperative, which expresses command (I walk; I might walk; Walk!) Certain words, derived from verbs but not functioning as such, are called verbals. In addition to verbal nouns, or gerunds, participles can serve as adjectives (the written word), and infinitives often serve as nouns (to err is human).

Action verbs tell what the subject does. The action can be visible (jump, kiss, laugh) or mental (think, learn, study). The cat broke Louises china. Louise considered buying a new china cabinet. An action verb can be transitive or intransitive. Transitive verbs need a direct object. The boss dropped the ball. The workers picked it up. Intransitive verbs do not need a direct object. Who called? The temperature fell over night. VIII. Interjections Interjections are exclamations such as oh, alas, ugh, or well (often printed with an exclamation point). Used for emphasis or to express an emotional reaction, they do not truly function as grammatical elements of a sentence. Wow! Thats not a gorilla suit! aha, ahem, ahh, ahoy, alas, arg, aw B: bam, bingo, blah, boo, bravo, brrr C: cheers, congratulations D: dang, drat, darn, duh E: eek, eh, encore, eureka F: fiddlesticks G: gadzooks, gee, gee whiz, golly, goodbye, goodness, good grief, gosh H: ha-ha, hallelujah, hello, hey, hmm, holy cow, holy smokes, huh?, humph, hurray O: oh, oh dear, oh my, oh well, ooops, ouch, ow P: phew, phooey, pooh, pow R: rats S: shh, shoo T: thanks, there, tut-tut U: uh-huh, uh-oh, ugh W: wahoo, well, whoa, whoops, wow Y: yeah, yes, yikes, yippee, yo, yuck