MODULE 1: PARTS OF SPEECH

There are nine parts of speech. There are articles, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs,
conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections.
Compiled by Leah Graham, Summer 1999

Nouns
A noun is a word used to name something: a person/animal,
a place, a thing, or an idea. For example, all of the following are nouns.

Leah, Ignacio, Lan, Marek
Japan, Venezuela, Atlanta, Kroger, the Gap
pencil, store, music, air
biology, theory of Relativity, Pythagorean theory

Hint: They are sometimes preceded by noun markers. Noun markers are also called determiners and
quantifiers. They are words like a, an, the, this, that, these, those, each, some, any, every, no, numbers
(1,2,3,etc.), several, many, a lot, few, possessive pronouns (his, her, etc). See determiners for more
information.

Nouns are classified in several ways

1. Nouns can be singular or plural.
Singular nouns name only one person, place, thing or idea.
One apple, a pencil, the book

Plural nouns name two or more persons, places, things or ideas. Most singular nouns (Not ALL) are
made plural by adding s. For example, (pencil is a singular noun. The word pencils is a plural noun.)

Exception #1: If a noun ends with the s, sh, ch, or x like the words, kiss, church, ash or box, then they
are made plural by adding es (kisses, churches, ashes, and boxes).

Exception #2:There are also irregular nouns that do not follow any rules. For example, the plural form
of the word child is children.

2. Nouns can be Proper Nouns or Common Nouns
a) Proper nouns refer to specific people, places, things and ideas. A person's name (Leah Graham) is
a proper noun, for example. Other examples are names of places (Atlanta, Georgia) and names of
things (the Navy). They are always capitalized!

Peoples names and titles- King Henry, Mrs. Smith
Names for deity, religions, religious followers, and sacred books- God, Allah, Buddha, Islam,
Catholicism, Christians
Races, nationalities, tribes, and languages- African American, Polish-American, Black,
Chinese, Russian
Specific Places like countries, cities, bodies of water, streets, buildings, and parks
Specific organizations- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), .
Days of the week, months, and holidays,
Brand names of products
Historical periods, well-known events, and documents- Middle ages, Boston Tea Party,
Magna Carta
Titles of publications and written documents

b) Common nouns are all other nouns. For example: cat, pencil, paper, etc. They are not capitalized
unless they are the first word in the sentence.

3. Nouns can also be collective.
Collective nouns are nouns that are grammatically considered singular, but include more than one
person, place, thing, or idea in its meaning. Words like team, group, jury, committee, audience, crowd,
class, troop, family, team, couple, band, herd, quartet, and society.

Generally, collective nouns are treated as singular because they emphasize the group as one unit. The
committee is going to make a decision.

4. Nouns can also be either count or non-count.
Nouns that are non-count cannot be counted. For example, you cannot go outside to have two fresh airs.
One goes outside for fresh air.

5. Nouns can be Abstract or concrete
A noun can be abstract or concrete.
Concrete nouns are nouns that you can touch. They are people, places, and some things. Words like
person, court, Georgia, pencil, hand, paper, car, and door are all examples of concrete nouns.

Abstract nouns are nouns that cannot be physically held. For example, things like air, justice, safety,
Democracy, faith, religion, etc.

6. Nouns can be Gerunds
A gerund is the ing form of the verb and is used as a noun. For example,

Running is good for you.
Running is the noun/gerund and. is is the verb.
My crying upset him.
Crying is the subject and upset is the verb

Note: A noun can fit into more than one of these categories. For example, the noun Angela is a
singular, concrete, count, proper noun.
Pronouns
A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun. They eliminate the need for repetition.
For Example:
Instead of Emma talked to Emma's child, you might say Emma talked to her child.
Her is the pronoun. It renames the antecedent, Emma.

There are several types of pronouns.

Personal Pronouns refer to specific persons or things. Personal pronouns can act as subjects, objects,
or possessives.
1.

Singular: I, me, you, she, her, he, him, it
Plural: we, us, you, they, them


I, you, she, he, it, we, they are used as subjects of sentences.
For example, She knew the grammar rules very well.

The personal pronouns that can be used as objects are:
Me, you, him, her, it, them

For Example:
The teacher gave all of them good grades.
Tommy gave his poetry book to her.
Then, Azra gave it to me.
Them, her and me are personal pronouns used as objects. They are NOT the subjects of the sentences.

2. Possessive Pronouns indicate ownership or possession.

Singular: my, mine, your, yours, hers, his, its

For Example: She returned my pencil to me because it was mine.

3. Reflexive Pronouns name a receiver of an action who is identical to the doer of the action.

Singular: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself
Plural: ourselves, yourselves, themselves

For example: Manuela congratulated herself on her good grades.
Here, Manuela is both the doer and the receiver of the action.
Q: So, who did Manuela congratulate? A: Herself.




5. Intensive Pronouns emphasize a noun or another pronoun.

Singular: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself
Plural: ourselves, yourselves, themselves

For Example: I saw Brad Pitt himself at the mall.
Here, himself emphasizes the antecedent, Bradd Pitt.


6. Reciprocal Pronouns express shared actions or feelings.

Each other One another

For Example:
Yan Ko and Tai help each other with their homework.
Leon and his girlfriend dance with one another when they go clubbing.

7. Indefinite Pronouns refer to non-specific persons and things.

All, another, any, anybody, anyone, anything, both, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, few,
many, neither, nobody, none, no one, nothing, one, several, some, somebody, someone, something

For Example:
Many believe that UFOs exist, but nobody can prove it.
No one can be sure if aliens really exist, but only few wonder if Elvis is still alive.
The underlined indefinite pronouns do not refer to any one person. They are referring to people in
general.

8. Demonstrative Pronouns are also considered noun markers. They point towards nouns.

this, that, these those

For Example:
That woman attends Gainesville College.
That points out which woman.
The woman attends Gainesville College. Q: Which woman? A: That woman.

9. Interrogative Pronouns introduce questions.

Who, Whom, Whose, Which, What

For Example:
Who is going on vacation? To whom will the teacher give an A?
What are you doing?




10. Relative Pronouns introduce dependent clauses and refers to a person or thing already mentioned in
the sentence (i.e. the antecedent).

Who, whoever, whom, whomever, whose, which, that

For Example:
The English that we learn in class will help us pass English 1101.
that we learn in class is the adjective clause that describes English. And, that is the relative pronoun.
Q: Which English?
A: The English that we learn in classas opposed to the English we learn around our friends.

Note: Adjectives clauses modify nouns or pronouns, and usually answer one of the following questions:
Which one? What kind of? They begin with a relative pronoun or a relative adverb (when or where).


Adjectives
An adjective modifies (describes) a noun or pronoun.

Normally in English, the adjective comes before the noun. For example: The smart student earned an
"A".

They also come after linking verbs. For example:
I feel happy.

Adjectives can be used to make comparisons.
For most adjectives of one or two syllables, you can add er. For example, greater, faster, stronger.

For adjectives longer than two syllables, you should use the word more.
For example, He was more intelligent than his sister was.

Adjectives can also be used as superlatives.

This is usually done by adding est to the end of an adjective that is one or two syllables.
For example, the loudest, the coolest, the smartest.

If an adjective is three syllables or longer, you must use the words the most. For example, Katsu
is the most likeableperson in the world!


WARNING- Never use both an er ending and the word moreor an
est ending and the word most.

For example, I am the most happiest when my students learn. Instead, it should be: I am the
happiest when my students learn.

There are some irregular adjective and adverb forms. For example:
Adjective Adverb Comparing two Comparing three or
more
Bad badly Worse worst
Good Well Better Best
Little Less Least
Much Many More Most

Punctuation Note: Adjectives are not usually capitalized unless they are the first word in a sentence.
BUT, nationalities are also adjectives and should be capitalized. For example:

Ricky Martin is Puerto Rican and Michelle Yeoh is Chinese.

These are called proper adjectives. And, like proper nouns, proper adjectives are always capitalized in
English. They are derived from proper nouns and are words like: African-American, Vietnamese,
Latino, Italian, Japanese, Korean, etc. They can also include adjectives like Catholic, Jewish,
Republican, Democrat, etc.

When they are used together, they are arranged in a certain order.
Determine
r*
Opinion Size Age Color Origin Material Noun
The, This
Some
Pretty
Tall
Big
Thin
New
Old
Blue
Purple
Puerto
Rican
Leather
Wood
Sofa
My Expensiv
e
Small Ancient Black Chinese Silk Scarf

For Example:
I saw that tall, thin, old, blue silk scarf at the store and I bought it.
Leon drives an expensive old Italian car.

Although, we wouldnt ordinarily use so many adjectives in just one sentence.


*Note: Determiners include articles, demonstrative pronouns, indefinite pronouns and possessive
pronouns.








Adverbs
An adverb is a word that modifies an action verb, an adjective or another adverb.

The teacher carefully graded the homework.
Carefully is an adverb that modifies the action verb to grade.

Tommy was extremely enthusiastic about doing his homework.
Extremely is an adverb that modifies the adjective enthusiastic.

Yan Ko ran out of the classroom very quickly.
Very is an adverb that modifies the adverb quickly.


Warning: You need an adjective after linking verbsNEVER an adverb!
For example, Tai feels bad (guilty) when he has to leave class.

Here, bad is an adjective that modifies the proper noun Tai. It is an adjective because it follows the
linking verb to feel.

HOWEVER, verbs like look, sound, smell, feel, and taste can function as either an action verb or a
linking verb.

Tai feels badly (to the touch) after swimming in a chlorinated pool. His skin is really dry.

Here, bad is used in its adverbial form since it follows an action verb, to feel.

Types of Adverbs:
1. Relative Adverbs introduce questions and dependent adverbial clauses. They answer the questions
When? and Where? They are:

When Where
For Example:
When I was young, I liked to play outside.
Q: When did I like to play outside? A: When I was young.

2. Adverbs of Frequency indicate answer the question how often? They are:

Always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, never


The students in ESOL 98 always study very hard.
They rarely forget to do their homework.

NOTE: Generally, these adverbs come before the verb; however there is an exception. In the case
of the verb to be, the adverb of frequency comes after the verb. For example: Azra is always on
time for class
Conjunctions are the scotch tape of the grammatical world. They join together words and
phrases. There are three kinds of conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions, and
subordinating conjunctions.


1. Coordinating Conjunctions
There are seven coordinating conjunctions in English. You can use the mnemonic device fanboys to
remember them.

For
And
Nor
But
Or
Yet
So

They can be used with commas to create compound sentences. For example:
Ignacio loves to dance, but Roco has no rhythm.
Kyong Mee works hard, yet she still earns low grades.


Note: A compound sentence is a sentence made up of two independent clauses. That is, a compound
sentence is simply two complete sentences joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction (i.e. a
fanboys).

2. Correlative Conjunctions also join ideas, but they work in pairs. They are:
Bothand
neithernor
whetheror
eitheror
not onlybut also

For Example:
Not only am I happy about the grades, but I am also excited that you are learning!

3. Subordinating Conjunctions join an independent clause to a subordinate clause. That is, they join a
clause that can stand alone with a clause that cannot stand alone. Some frequently used subordinating
conjunctions are:

after, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, since, so that, though, unless, until,
when, whenever, where, wherever, whether, while.


For Example:
Although the students were tired, they still came to class.

Interjections
Interjections are words used to express emotional states. They can usually be found in narrative writing,
interviews, and in spoken English. They can stand alone. For example:

Oh!, wow!, Ouch! Oops! Hey!

Punctuation Note: They are punctuated with either commas or exclamation marks. Mild interjections
are followed by a comma, but stronger interjections are punctuated with an exclamation mark (!) .

Oh, were late for the movie.
Generally, the movies is not an important destination. Therefore, the person making this statement will
sound less urgent than the next example.

Oh! Im late for work.
Work, unlike the movies, is generally considered a very important destination. If one doesnt arrive on
time, there is the possibility of being fired or of losing face. Here, the speaker will have a greater sense
of urgency.


Generally , you do not find interjections in academic writing.


Prepositions
Prepositions are words that, like conjunctions, connect a noun or pronoun to another word in a sentence.
Some common prepositions:

About Before Down Into Through
Above Behind During Like To
Across Below Except Of Toward
After Beneath For Off Under
Among Beside From On Up
Around Between In Over With
At By Instead of Since Without

A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or
pronoun. They can act as adjectives or as adverbs.

Manuela, the student from Germany, wrote an excellent paper on the computer.

Verbs
Verbs generally express action or a state of being. There are several classifications for verbs- action
verbs,/linking verbs, main verbs/auxiliary verbs, transitive/intransitive and phrasal verbs.

1. Action verbs show action.
He runs. He plays. They study.

2. Linking Verbs link the subject to an adjective.
Ricky Martin is beautiful.
The linking verb is links the adjective beautiful with the subject Ricky Martin.

1. Main verbs can stand alone.



2. Auxiliary verbs, also called helping verbs, serve as support to the main verb.
The most common auxiliary verbs are:

Have, has, had
Do, does, did
Be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been
Should, could, will, would, might, can, may, must, shall, ought (to)


For example:

Tai has run everyday.
Run is an action verb. The subject can actually do it.
Has is the helping verb. It helps the main verb run to be present perfect tense.

Verbs can be transitive or intransitive.

1. Transitive Verbs require a direct object in order to make sense.
For Example:

Yolanda takes aspirin for her headaches.
Here, takes is a transitive verb since the sentence Yolanda takes has no meaning without its direct object
aspirin.

2. Intransitive Verbs do not need direct objects to make them meaningful. For Example:

Julio swims.
The verb swim has meaning for the reader without an object.

Caution: A verb can be either transitive or intransitive depending on its context. For Example:

The cars race. Here, race is intransitive. It does not need an object.

My father races horses. Here, races is transitive. It requires the object horses in order to make
sense.

Verbs can be phrasal.
1. Phrasal verbs are made up of a verb and a preposition. The preposition gives the verb a different
meaning than it would have by itself. For example, the verb look has a different meaning from the
phrasal verb look up (in the dictionary).

Some more examples:

call up, find out, hand in, make up, put off, turn on, write up


WARNING: The base form of a verb is called the infinitive. It is to + verb. For example, to do, to
win, to study, etc. Under no circumstance can a verb preceded by to be considered a verb. Infinitives
are not verbs.









Q: What do articles do in a sentence?
A: Articles signal that a noun is going to
follow.

Example:

Who invented the telephone? The wheel?
The refrigerator? The airplane?
A cat was chasing a mouse in my back
yard.


Modifiers (adjectives & adverbs) can appear between an article and a noun.

Examples:
A sunset.
A spectacular sunset.
An exceptionally spectacular sunset.

The indefinite article a can only appear before nouns that begin with a consonant
sound: a hand, a book, a world, a computer

The indefinite article an can only appear before nouns that begin with a vowel
sound: an apartment, an hour, an article

General Rules for the Use of Articles:

I. Use a/an with singular count nouns whose specific identity is not known to the
reader either because it is being mentioned for the first time, or because its
specific identity is unknown even to the writer.

Examples:
Julia arrived in a limousine. (a = one among many. Not a specific one.)
Were looking for an apartment. (an = any one.)


II. Do not use a/an with non-count nouns. Only use a/an with non-count nouns if you
add a count noun in front of the non-count noun.

Example:
Anh asked her mother for an advice.
Anh asked her mother for a piece of
advice.


III. Use the with most nouns whose specific identity is known to the reader because:

1. the noun has been previously mentioned:

Yesterday I saw a group of ESL students. The students were playing with a ball.
The ball was white and blue. The ball rolled into a hole. The hole was small.

2. the noun is made specific by a superlative:

I bought the fastest computer they had.

3. the noun describes a unique person, place, or thing:

Please give this to the manager.
The sun is bright today.
Rain is falling heavily in the North.

4. the context or situation makes the nouns identity clear:

Please dont slam the door when you leave.
Bob warned me that the dog playing in his yard is very affectionate and jumps
on every person it meets.
IV. Do not use the with plural or non-count nouns meaning all or in general (i.e.
generic reference nouns). Do not use the with most singular proper nouns.

The fountains are an expensive element of landscape design.
In some parts of the world, the rice is preferred to all other grains.


V. Do not use articles with other noun markers or determiners, i.e. possessive nouns (Helens) ; and
some pronouns (his, her, its, ours, their, whose, this, that, these, those, all, any, each, either, every, few,
many, more, most, much, neither, several, some).
Exceptions:
All the
A few
The most

Examples:

The Helens book is on the floor.
A this book belongs to Trung.


A final caution- A word can be more than one part of speech. For example:

I sat on the sofa.
Above, sofa is used as a noun (object of the preposition).

I slept on the sofa bed.
But, here sofa is used as an adjective to modify the noun bed.

And, native speakers often take poetic license with words in conversation. For example:

Its Sofa city for you!

Here, sofa acts as an adjective to describe the noun city. The meaning of the sentence is that the person
will have to sleep on the sofa, not a bed.


Sources:


Azar, B. (1992). Fundamentals of English grammar 2
nd
ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall
Regents.

Hacker, D. (1989). A writers reference. New York: St. Martins
Press, Inc.

Hayes, C. (1996). English at hand. Marlton, NJ: Townsend Press.

Leahs head.

Shono, S. (Fall 1998). ESL 0650 Articles Handout.





























ACTIVITY #1

NAME:_____________________________________________________________

Answer all twenty-five questions using complete sentences when possible. For questions where you
have to identify parts of speech in a sentence, please underline the words and, if needed, label
them above the word.


1. Define noun:




2. Define pronoun:




3. Find all of the pronouns in the following sentence:

The children made themselves lunch.



4. Find all of the nouns in the following sentence:

Mark saw saddles, knives, hats, and lariats.



5. Find and label all of the nouns and pronouns in the following sentence:

The puppy taught itself how to open the gate.



6. Define adjective:




7. Define adverb:



8. Find all of the adjectives in the following sentence:

This quiet, private walk always makes me feel a little tired but also happy.



9. Find all of the adverbs in the following sentence:

The sprinter ran swiftly.



10. Find all of the adverbs in the following sentence:

I will not grade you harshly, the way I often do.



11. Find all of the verbs in the following sentence:

The owls hooted and flew all night.



12. Define verb:




13. Find all of the verbs in the following sentence:

Denzel Washington is an actor.



14. Find all of the verbs in the following sentence:

It was a warm day and I felt happy.



15. Find all of the verbs in the following sentence:

Kansas has been named the Sunflower State.


16. Find all of the prepositions in the following sentence:

The rabbit ran around the stump.


17. Name five prepositions:



18. Define preposition:




19. Find all of the prepositions in the following sentence:

In the story about Rainsford, the hunter falls off a boat and lands on a strange island.



20. Name fifteen prepositions:






21. Define conjunction:





22. Find all of the interjections in the following sentence:

Wonderful! You all passed the test!



23. Define interjection:





24. Find all of the interjections in the following sentence:

Alexis was, well, not quite with it today.







25. Find all of the conjunctions in the following sentence:


Devon did neither her homework nor her chores last night, but shemanaged to con her
parents into giving her an allowance and a hug.





BONUS: Note: I will not give over a 100 for a score. Identify the part of speech for each word in the
following sentence:



Wow! The class is not about their grammar and literary terms.








SCORE:


























ACTIVITY #2

Name: ________________________________________________________________

Use for questions 1-3-- The class laughed loudly.

1. Which word is a noun in the above sentence?
A. laughed
B. class
C. loudly

2. Which word is an adverb in the above sentence?
A. laughed
B. class
C. loudly

3. Which word is a verb in the above sentence?
A. laughed
B. class
C. loudly

Use for questions 4 -6 --The rain beat furiously against the roof.

4. Which word is a preposition?
A. beat
B. furiously
C. against

5. Which word is the subject?
A. rain
B. beat
C. roof

6. Which 2 words are nouns?
A. rain & roof
B. beat & rain
C. roof & beat




Use for questions 7-11-- Certain laws in our state protect many wild flowers.

7. In the sentence above, which word is the subject?
A. flowers
B. state
C. laws

8. In the sentence above, which word is the verb?
A. in
B. protect
C. wild
9. In the sentence above, what part of speech is the word wild?
A. pronoun
B. adjective
C. adverb

10. In the sentence above, what part of speech is the word our?
A. pronoun
B. adjective
C. adverb

11. Flowers would be considered the
A. subject
B. predicate
C. direct object

Circle the correct answer to the following questions:

12. A proper noun differs from a common noun in that it
A. it indicates a specific noun
B. it indicates a group of people that represent one noun
C. it indicates a thing that is intangible or unable to be touched

13. Which of the following is a common noun?
A. oppression
B. Paris
C. city
D. team

14. Which of the following is a proper noun?
A. oppression
B. Paris
C. city
D. team

15. A subject of the sentence must include either a noun or a
A. verb
B. pronoun
C. adjective

16. Which of the following is a personal pronoun?
A. this
B. who
C. she
D. each


17. Can you fill in the following acronym for Coordinating Conjunctions?
A. F ______
B. A ______
C. N ______
D. B ______
E. O ______
F. Y ______
G. S ______

18. Match up the correct letter with the definition:


1. _________ shows the relationship of a noun or a pronoun to some other word in a sentence

2. _________ shows emotion; has no grammatical link to the rest of a sentence


3. _________ replaces a noun (for example: he, she, they, you, etc.)

4. _________ connects phrases and words

5. _________ modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb and answers these questions:
when? where? how? how much? why?

6. _________ shows action or a state of being

7. _________ modifies a noun or a pronoun and answers these questions: which? what kind
of? how many?

8. _________ person, place, thing or idea


A. Interjection
B. Noun
C. Pronoun
D. Verb
E. Coordinating Conjunction
F. Adverb
G. Adjective
H. Preposition








Parts of Speech Practice Test

Key: nounN verbV
adjectiveADJ adverbADV
pronounPRO prepositionPREP
conjunctionCONJ interjectionINT

Part 1 Directions: Using the key above, identify whether the underlined words are nouns, adjectives,
pronouns, conjunctions, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, or interjections.


_____1. They attended the concert last weekend.

_____2. Several cats ran into Robs garage.

_____3. The truck driver delivered the packages quickly.

_____4. Fast runners won all the awards at the track meet.

_____5. My friends and I walked home after school.

_____6. I wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch yesterday.

_____7. She was counting the ballots during social studies class.

_____8. Hey! That is my seat.

_____9. Will they finish the test on time?

_____10. The diagram was pretty complicated for us.

_____11. He will practice his musical piece soon.

_____12. Reggie saw the awesome sight from the air.

_____13. Her sister is the oldest member of the group.

_____14. Check the score, Tom.

_____15. Will the students be able to find the answer by themselves?

_____16. Are you sure of yourself?

_____17. They slowly carried the couch down the stairs.

_____18. Can you see beyond the hills from the top of the tower?


_____19. Hurray! Our team has finally scored a touchdown.





_____20. The troop had been scattered throughout the woods.
Part 2 Directions: Identify the indicated word (inside of parentheses) within the sentence.

__________1. (pronoun) Paul hopes that she will sing with the choir.

__________2. (pronoun) Can Jerry help him with the science project?

__________3. (noun) Have you seen the eraser?

__________4. (noun) She purchased the margarine with him.

__________5. (adjective) Older people tire more easily.

__________6. (adjective) He is agile.

__________7. (adjective) Kind people are often rewarded.

__________8. (adverb) The police officer ran fast.

__________9. (adverb) My sister answered the question intelligently.

__________10. (adverb) You really should see this art exhibit, Kenny.

__________11. (preposition) Reggie fell by the stairs.

__________12. (preposition) May I sit between you two?

__________13. (verb) Joke about it now.

__________14. (verb) They overcharged me.

__________15. (verb) Ozzie, eat up.

__________16. (conjunction) I like peanuts and potato chips.

__________17. (conjunction) He wants to buy the house, yet he knows it is too expensive.

__________18. (interjection) Ah! The sun is so warm.

__________19. (interjection) No! I will never try that.

__________20. (adverb) Georgette eventually walked her brother to the station.




Diagnostic Test PARTS OF SPEECH
Read the entire essay carefully. Next, proofread the essay for errors. If one of the underscored
parts in a line is incorrect, circle the letter below the error on your answer sheet. If all
underscored parts in a line are correct, circle E on your answer sheet. There is no more than one
error in a line. You will have 40 minutes to complete the test.
1. When I opened the door. I could tell it was going to be a typical,
A B C D
2. sultry August afternoon. The sun and the high humidity was producing such
A B C D
3. intense heat that I felt as if they were sitting on my doorstep. Stepping
A B C D
4. out to get the newspaper. I practically burned my bare feet on the steel
A B C D
5. porch, I decided then the only place to be on such a torrid day was the beach.
A B C D
6. I sprinted to my car and opened the door; fierce heat emerge as
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7. if I has just opened a blast furnace. I climbed into the car. My legs
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8. melting into the vinyl seat. My hands burned from the heat of the black
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9. steering wheel. Even the air conditioning, did not succeed in diminishing
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10. the heat in their four-wheel pressure cooker.
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11. As I drove through the suburban development; heat rose from the pavement
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12. in waves. I drove passed many people attempting to find relief from the heat.
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13. Children tryed to cool off under whirling sprinklers and garden hoses.
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14. The temperatures of the rushing water however, must have been lukewarm instead
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15. of icy cold. After every spraying, the kids dodging the
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16. scorching sidewalks to save his feet from blisters. When I drove
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17. through town, City public works employees, drowsy from the intolerable
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18. heat, lounged on park benches for an all-day lunch brake. More fortunate
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19. people managed to have the day free, they sat under trees and by pools and
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20. sipped cold lemonades both the glasses of lemonade and the people sweated
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21. profusely. Everyone young and old trudged along the sidewalks, each
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22. were clothed as comfortably as possible. Most people, seeking comfort,
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23. were wearing shorts and light-weight shirts; their feet encased in sandals.
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24. Only a few stalwart businesspeople insist upon wearing three-piece suits with
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25. long-sleeved shirts and vests. Even the gait of these intrepid souls eager
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26. to close lucrative business deals, were slowed by the waves of heat
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27. raising from the steamy concrete sidewalks and molten asphalt roads.
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28. After seeing the city people struggling for comfort, I am glad
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29. to reach the nearest beach, where I heard radios. Blaring out cries
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30. for releif from the heat. I saw athletes playing volleyball in the
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31. scorching sand and swimmers bobbing up and down in the oceans waves,
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32. a few people sat by the waters edge or waded in the shallow tidal
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33. pools some hardy people jogged down the beach in seeming comfort.
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34. I ran through the maze of bodies to find a empty spot on the beach.
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35. When I finally sat down, I noticed a slight ocean breeze but it did not
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36. lessen the intense heat of the suns rays. I soon became so dizzy from
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37. the heat that I drug myself the shoreline of the cool ocean in hopes
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38. of regaining my strength the waters temperature, however, was not refreshing.
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39. After wading aimlessly in the tepid water, I had begun to swim out to the breakers.
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40. Seeking cooler water, I dove repeated under the breaking, white-capped
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41. waves to lower depths. My efforts were in vain unfortunately, the water a few
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42. feet from the surface lacked the cool temperatures I craved and covered
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43. with salt and sand, I returned to the shore and laid down on my blanket.
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44. I then decided that my adventure to the beach was useless I was never
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45. going to conquer the heat. After a couple of hours at the beach; I headed home.
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46. As I drove away from the beach, the clear sky quickly became cloudy
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47. and high winds blew from the sea. A thunderstorm broke lose as a
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48. result of the days intense heat and humidity. The wind and rain
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49. cooled the air temporarily, after an hour, the sun reappeared, and
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50. the scorching heat returned, which was disappointing.