Parts of Speech

Every part of speech has one formal and one functional proof.

Before we start: Let’s define morpheme:

List of morphemes:

Test for Nouns

Formal Proof
1. Has noun- making ___________________: government, incidence,
admonition
2. Can occur with _____________ morpheme: governments,
incidences,
admonitions
3. Can occur with _________________ morpheme: government’s,
incidence’s,
admonition’s
Functional Proof
1. Without _________________, can directly follow an article:
__________ government, ___________ incidence, ________
admonition
2. Fits the frame sentence: (The) ____________________ seem(s) all
right.
Test the following words to determine which ones are Nouns. If you
determine it is a Noun, write out the TWO proofs. Remember you need
TWO proofs for each word (one formal proof, one functional proof). If
the word does not fit TWO proofs, then it is NOT a Noun.

1. Velocity:

2. Run:
 3. Condition:

4. Accurately:

Test for Verbs

Functional Proof
1. Has a verb- making ___________________: criticize
2. Can occur with present/past ___________ morpheme: criticizes,
criticized
3. Can occur with present-participle ___________________: criticizing
4. Can occur with past-participle ___________________: had criticized,
was criticized

Functional Proof
1. Can be made a __________________: Criticizethis novel. Runthe
mile.
2. Can be made ________________: Do notcriticize this novel. Do not
run the mile.
3. Fits one of the two frame sentences: They must_________________
it.
They must ________________
good.

Test the following words to determine which ones are Verbs. If you
determine it is a Verb, write out the TWO proofs. Remember you need
TWO proofs for each word (one formal proof, one functional proof). If
the word does not fit TWO proofs, then it is NOT a Verb.

1. Jeopardize:
 2. Angry:

3. Voracious:

4. Determine:

Test for Adjectives

Formal Proof
1. Has adjective- making ___________________: foolish, beautiful,
anxious
2. Takes comparative or superlative ________________: softer, softest
Functional Proof
1. Compared by using ___________/_____________: more soft, most
soft
2. Intensifies: Very soft, Very tough
3. Fits the frame sentence: The______________ man seems very
____________________.
Test the following words to determine which ones are Adjectives. If you
determine it is an Adjective, write out the TWO proofs. Remember you
need TWO proofs for each word (one formal proof, one functional
proof). If the word does not fit TWO proofs, then it is NOT an Adjective.

1. Mace:
 2. Lovable:

3. Fiery:

4. Luminous:

Test for Adverbs

Formal Proof
1. Has adverb- making _______________: suddenly, homeward
2. Takes comparative/superlative __________________: ran faster, ran
fastest
Functional Proof
1. Compared by using __________/___________: more suddenly, most
suddenly
2. Intensifies: Very suddenly
3. Can be moved within a sentence without changing its meaning:
The door opened suddenly.
Suddenly the door opened.
4. Fits the frame sentence: The man told his story
_____________________.
Test the following words to determine which ones are Adverb. If you
determine it is an Adverb, write out the TWO proofs. Remember you
need TWO proofs for each word (one formal proof, one functional
proof). If the word does not fit TWO proofs, then it is NOT a Adverb.

1. Yak:

2. Hate:

3. Onward:

4. Frankly:

Parts of Speech Worksheet.

Determine each underlined word’s part of speech.

Use the following tips:
1. To prove each word’s part of speech you need TWO proofs
2. Be sure to look at the context in which the word is used
3. Looking at the morphemes will help in determining more quickly

The Crazy Tale of Vistoso Bosses

On a bright Saturday morning, Vistoso Bosses stepped out of their front

door. She was trotting to the end of their driveway to pick up their dailynewspaper.
Only, this morning was different from every other morning for Vistoso Bosses. Vistoso

Bosses could not easily get to the end of their driveway, for a large mound of animal

carcasseslay in their way. Had it been a large mound of oranges, it would not be such a

big dealfor the Vistoso Bosses. Having just gotten new cell phones, Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em

was the only contact they could call to help them with the situation.

Soulja Boy arrived quickly and was a bit queasy when he sawthe carcasses.

Soulja Boy was not fully prepared for this monstrosity, so he was perplexed as to how he

was going to get to the Vistoso Bosses on the otherside. He ran immediately back to his

imitationBat-mobile and opened the trunk. Soulja Boy suddenly returned with his

Carcass Destroyer 89; which he bought in Cancun last year. He told the Vistoso Bosses

to sit on the frontporch while he took care of the carcasses. Frantically spraying the

carcass pile, Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em saved the morning by dissolvingthe pile. The Vistoso

Bosses were able to continue down the driveway to get their morning newspaper. Then,

the three music stars hopped into the imitation Bat-mobile to finish making their next

music video.