SkillBrief: Recognizing the Eight Parts of Speech

Page 1 of 2

SkillBrief
Recognizing the Eight Parts of Speech

To understand the basics of good grammar, you need to be familiar with the eight parts of speech. The parts of speech tell you how words function in a sentence, rather than what words are or mean. Words can also be altered to function as different parts of speech.

Nouns
Nouns are words that name things. They can be categorized into five groups: Common nouns name a generic type of person, place, or thing. Common nouns can be further divided up into count, abstract, or collective nouns. Proper nouns name unique people, places, or things, rather than identifying them based on the categories to which they belong. They always start with a capital letter. Count nouns express enumerable things. They occur in both singular and plural forms. Collective nouns or mass nouns refer to things that are normally countable, either because they are abstract or because they denote an indeterminate number of people or things. Abstract nouns name things you can't see, hear, smell, taste, or touch. They describe feelings, ideas, or concepts.

Pronouns
Pronouns replace nouns. Using them can make sentences less cumbersome. Pronouns have different forms or cases, depending on how they function in a sentence: Subjective pronouns replace nouns that act as the subjects in sentences. In other words, they replace nouns describing who or what performs the action described by a verb. Objective pronouns act as the objects in sentences. They replace nouns identifying who or what is the recipient of the action expressed by a verb. Possessive pronouns indicate ownership, or possession. The possessive pronouns my, our, your, his, her its, and their can be used as adjectives to qualify nouns as in "my report." Each possessive pronoun also has a corresponding independent form that can stand alone, without a noun. With the independent form, the thing possessed may be either an antecedent or something understood. The independent form can also be the subject or object of a verb. Some personal pronouns are compounds that use the suffix self or selves. These pronouns are used for two main purposes for emphasis, as in "I will do it myself," or to refer to the subject of the verb, as in "They support themselves." When they are used for emphasis, they are called intensive pronouns. When used to refer to a subject, they are called reflexive pronouns. A reflexive pronoun looks the same as an intensive pronoun but has a different function. It reflects the action that the verb describes by renaming the subject, whereas an intensive pronoun adds emphasis and gives force to a sentence. And intensive pronouns take the subjective case, whereas reflexive ones don't.

Verbs
Verbs are commonly described as "action" words. That's because verbs typically describe the performance or occurrence of actions, as in runs or writes. But verbs can also indicate a state of being or condition. Helping or auxiliary verbs combine with some verb forms. They may indicate tense or obligation, or provide other additional meaning. These combinations of helping verbs with other verb forms are known as verb phrases. Commonly used helping verbs are versions of the verb to be. These include am and is in the present tense, was and were in the past tense, and will in the future tense.

https://xlibrary.skillport.com/courseware/Content/cca/comm_20_a01_bs_enus/output/... 28-12-2013

SkillBrief: Recognizing the Eight Parts of Speech

Page 2 of 2

Adverbs
Adverbs describe, qualify, limit, or modify verbs, adjectives, and sometimes other adverbs. You can classify adverbs into three types. Adverbs of time tell you when something occurs. Adverbs of manner describe how something is done. And adverbs of place tell you where something occurs. Adverbs commonly end in the letters ly. Adverbs often modify verbs, but they can also modify adjectives, which are words that describe nouns. Adverbs can also modify other adverbs.

Adjectives
Adjectives describe nouns or pronouns. They answer questions such as Which one? What kind? or How much? Conjunctions Conjunctions join words, phrases, or sentences. There are two types of conjunctions: Coordinating conjunctions join words or groups of words that are of equal importance that is, independent elements. Subordinating conjunction introduces a clause that is dependent on the main clause of a sentence. You may remember being taught at school that you should never start a sentence with a conjunction like And, But, or So. However, it's now generally considered acceptable to do this if a previous sentence makes it clear what the conjunction is referring to. It's also appropriate to start a sentence with a conjunction like Because or Since if the sentence begins with an introductory clause that modifies another clause that follows.

Interjections
Interjections are words, phrases, or clauses that denote strong feeling or emotion. They're often followed by exclamation marks. Avoid using interjections in formal business writing unless you're quoting someone directly.

Prepositions
A preposition is a word or phrase that links an object to another word in a sentence to show the relationship between them. A preposition's object is usually a noun or pronoun. Different prepositions indicate different types of relationships: Prepositions such as on, above, and below identify spatial relationships they specify where something is in relation to something else prepositions like before, after, at, and until indicate time relationships, and prepositions such as by, to, and with identify logical relationships Being able to identify the eight parts of speech and use them correctly will help ensure your business writing is clear, professional, and effective.

Course: Business Grammar: Parts of Speech Topic: The Eight Parts of Speech

Copyright 2009 SkillSoft. All rights reserved. SkillSoft and the SkillSoft logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of SkillSoft in the United States and certain other countries. All other logos or trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

https://xlibrary.skillport.com/courseware/Content/cca/comm_20_a01_bs_enus/output/... 28-12-2013