Name: __________________________________ Date: ________________ Period: _________________

Miss Michels Odyssey Parts of Speech Review!

R e v i e w - On a separate sheet of paper, identify the parts of speech in the following paragraph:
NOUN, PRONOUN, ADJECTIVE, VERB, ADVERB, PREPOSITION, CONJUNCTION, or
INTERJECTION. Use each part of speech only once. Please write out the whole word.
Polyphemus heard the (1) taunt and rose to his knees, then to his feet. He (2) cocked his ear towards the
sound of Odysseus voice. (3) He picked up the boulder from the opening of this cave and raised it high
(4) over his head. Before he let it go, he raised his (5) blinded face to the heat of the sun and bawled, (6)
Ahhh! Father! You god of the oceans! Poseidon, god of the seahear my curse! See what Odysseus,
King of Ithaca, has done to your son! Hate him with all the heat of the Earths core as I do! Hate him
with all the unforgivingness of the Earths icy peaks (7) and curse him as I curse him! Avenge me, for I
am powerless to be avenged! And he hurled the boulder (8) mercilessly.

NOUNS name a person, place, thing, or abstract idea.

Persons
Places
Things
Abstract Ideas

hero
battlefield
sword
heroism

witch
nations
Aegean Sea
hospitality

Circe
Ithaca
epics
arrogance

Common and Proper Nouns A common noun names any one of a group of persons, places, things, or
ideas. An abstract noun names a particular person, place, thing, or idea. Generally, common nouns are not
capitalized and proper nouns are capitalized.
Common Nouns
river
warrior
wife
cyclops

Proper Nouns
Lethe
Odysseus
Penelope
Polyphemus

Compound Nouns A compound noun consists of two or more words that together name a person, place,
thing, or idea. The parts of a compound noun may be written as one word, as separate words, or as a
hyphenated word.
One Word
shipwreck
wartime

Separate Words
Trojan War
Scylla and Charybdis

Hyphenated Words
brother-in-law
Lotus-Eaters

* * * Exercise 1: For each of the following common nouns, give a proper noun.
Then write compound next to each compound noun that you write.
Example: 1. river 1. Mississippi River compound
1. epic

4. hero

7. writer

2. city
3. nation

5. ocean
6. season

8. friend
9. myth

10. god

13.
document
11. goddess 14. song
12. religion 15. obstacle

Concrete and Abstract Nouns A concrete noun names a person, place, or a thing that can be perceived by
one or more of the senses (sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell). An abstract noun names an idea,
feeling, a quality, or a characteristic.
Concrete Nouns
Greece
sunset
thunder
clothing

Abstract Nouns
beauty
loyalty
kindness
hospitality

Collective Nouns A collective noun names a group of people, animals, or things.

Audience
Group
Cluster

Crowd
Batch
Litter

Army
Bouquet
Swarm

Chorus
Set
Staff

Flock
Bunch
Jury

* * * Exercise 2: Identify each of the italicized nouns in the following paragraph as

proper or common AND concrete or abstract. Also, if the noun is a compound noun
or a collective noun, label it as such.
Zeus (1) messenger was an unwelcome (2) visitor to (3) Calypso. She wept, she
stormed, she pleaded, but at last she had to submit to let (4) Odysseus go. (5)
Sadness overtook her, but she allowed her (6) trees to be felled and bound together
into a (7) raft, and she even wove a (7) sail to hang from its (8) mast. But all the
time she coaxed and wheedled, Dont you love (8) me just a little? What dont you
like about me? Cant you see my (9) beauty, my (10) immortality? Ill change! You
could love me if only (11) you would make the effort. Id make you immortal. Dont
you want to be immortal? Do you want to die one day and go down into the (12)
Underworld forever? Be part of that (13) group, those that are mortal? Do you
want to go there and face (14) Poseidon? (15) Hell remember you! Hell never
forgive you!

Pronouns Pronouns take the place of one or more nouns or pronouns.

Example: Penelope watched her son Telemachus glare at the aggressive suitors. She understood him
more than they did.
* * The first word or group of words that the pronoun stands for is called the ANTECEDENT. In the first
example above, Penelope is the antecedent for she, Telemachus is the antecedent for him, and suitors is the
antecedent for they.
Personal Pronouns A personal pronoun refers to the one(s) speaking (first person), the one(s) spoken to
(second person), or the one(s) spoken about (third person).
NOTE: The words my, your, his, her, its, our, and there are possessive pronouns, but because these words
can come before nouns and tell which one or whose, some people prefer to call them adjectives.
First Person
Second Person
Third Person

Singular
I, me, my, mine
you, your, yours
he, him, his, she,
her, hers, it, its

Plural
we, us, our, ours
you, your, yours
they, them, their,
theirs

Examples:

I hope that you can help me with my journey.

He said that they would not rest until he was found.
Reflexive Pronouns Reflexive pronouns refers to the subject of a sentence and functions as a
complement or as the object of a preposition.
First Person
Second Person
Third Person
Examples:

myself, ourselves
yourself, yourselves
himself, herself, itself, themselves

Im not quite myself today. [Myself is a predicate nominative identifying I.]

Odysseus kept himself from being eaten. [Himself is the direct object of let.]
They ate the cattle of Lord Helios for themselves. [Themselves is the object of the
preposition of the preposition for.]

Intensive Pronouns - Intensive pronouns emphasize the antecedent and have no grammatical function in
the sentence.
Examples:
Odysseus steered the boat himself.
Penelope unwove the shroud herself.
The men sacrificed the animals themselves.
Demonstrative Pronouns A demonstrative pronoun points out a particular person, place, thing, or idea.
They include: THIS, THAT, THESE, and THOSE
Examples:
This is the warrior I choose to protect, said Athena.
The woman I have at home means more to me than these.
NOTE: The words that can be used as demonstrative pronouns can also be used as adjectives.
PRONOUN This sails swiftly.
ADJECTIVE This ship sails swiftly.
Interrogative Pronouns An interrogative pronoun introduces a question.
They include: WHO, WHOM, WHICH, WHAT, WHOSE
Examples:
Who threatened to kill Odysseus crew?
Whose favor granted Odysseus safe passage across the sea?
Relative Pronouns A relative pronoun introduces a subordinate clause.
They include: THAT, WHICH, WHO, WHOM, WHOSE
Examples:
The dog that Odysseus raised is very loyal.
He is the suitor who promises to love Penelope most.
Indefinite Pronouns An indefinite pronoun refers to a person, place, idea, or thing that may or may not
be specifically named.
All
Another
Any
Anybody
Anyone
Anything
Both
Examples:

Each
Each other
Either
Everybody
Everyone
Everything
Few

Many
More
Most
Much
Neither
Nobody
None

No one
Nothing
One
One another
Other
Several
Some

Everyone in Odysseus fleet died except the hero himself.

Somebody
Someone
Something
Such

Has anyone heard the Sirens song and lived to tell the tale?
NOTE: Many of the pronouns you have studied so far may also be used as adjectives.
Examples:

that bard

whose journey

some beaches

several strokes

* * * Exercise 3: Identify the pronouns in each of the following sentences.

Example:
I began, Let me tell you about one of the adventures of our clever hero, Odysseus.
I, me, you, one, our
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Life with her was as sweet as lotus fruit; it tended to make a man forget his home and family.
Then his best friend came to speak to him himself.
Poseidons memory may be long or short, but yours has failed you if you forget your wife.
Your men have wives and children, too, and we have been gone from them for 11 years!
So Odysseus went to Circe and held her in his arms apologetically and said, Its time to go.
My group cannot stay away from home forever; you promised me a year ago I could leave.
I also recall something: you said you would tell me where I can learn a route home and the future.
Who is this oracle? Where will I find him? How long will you keep this from me?
Circe bit her lips and clenched her fists and said, Very well, I will tell you these things you ask.
You wont like what I tell you. You must travel to the Underworld. None must go with you.

Adjectives An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun. To modify means to

describe or to make the meaning of a word more specific. An adjective is a
modifier that tells what kind, which one, how many, or how much.
What kind?
Spilled blood
Greek soldier
Howling winds

Which one?
This ocean
These men
That adventure

How many?
Twenty years
Three men
Several arrows

How much?
No sleep
Enough sorrow
Some wine

An adjective may be separated from words it modifies.

Examples:

She is clever.
The sky became cloudy suddenly.

Articles The most frequently used adjectives are articles like a, an, and the. A and an are called
indefinite articles because they refer to any member of a general group. A is used before a word with a
consonant sound; an is used before a word with a vowel sound (A, E, I, O, U). The is called the definite
article because it refers to someone or something in particular.
* * * Exercise 4: For the following sentences, identify each adjective and the word
it modifies.
1. They looted delicious wine from Trojan cellars and put it in pointed jugs in the
stern of their ships.
2. But as for food, there was not one bite left.
3. Odysseus allowed his men to drink a sip of Trojan wine in hopes it would lift
their low spirits.
4. To his horror, they rolled into helpless drunkenness before slumping asleep on
each other.

5. It is too strong, he said to his winged bird, who only shuffled his thick
feathers knowingly.
6. So the quiet boats drifted slowly and idly, for want of strong mens rowing.
7. Land! shouted the tired lookout the next morning.
8. They saw beautiful vines, green olive trees, healthy goats, so they left the
boats along the shore.
9. Lets tread wearily and just take what we are given, said clever Odysseus.
10.
I shall take one ships crew and make contact with the rich people who
live here on this island.
Pronoun or Adjective?
Some words may be used either as adjectives or as pronouns. Words are pronouns when they rename
another noun. They are adjectives when they modify a noun or a pronoun.
PRONOUN: Which did you choose, Achilles? ADJECTIVE: Which sword did you choose, Achilles?
PRONOUN: Those are angry Laestrygonians. ADJECTIVE: Those Laestrygonians are angry.
* * * Exercise 5: Tell whether each italicized word in the following paragraph is
used as a noun, pronoun, or an adjective. For each adjective, give the word it
modifies.
Example: Of all the suitors, (1) which do you think are the most (2) antisocial?
1. pronoun 2. adjective which
(1) Homer was probably born around 725 B.C. on the (2) coast of Asia Minorthe
(3) modern Turkish coast. All of (4) that coastline had been colonized by Greeks
from the mainland. Homer was the first (5) Greek writer (6) whose work survives,
perhaps the (7) first Greek writer there was. (8) He came at the (9) end of a (10)
long line of (11) bards, (12) who worked in an (13) oral (14) tradition. (15) This
means they did not write anything down. Nevertheless, Homer and his (16) fellow
bards could recite or chant huge, (17) long epic poems. (18) Both of the (19)
works attributed to Homer --- the Iliad and the Odyssey --- are over (20) ten
thousand lines long in the original Greek.

Verbs A verb expresses actions or states of being.

Verbs are classified in three ways: a) As main or helping verbs b) as action or linking verbs c) as
transitive or intransitive verbs.
Main Verbs and Helping Verbs A verb phrase consists of one main verb and one or more helping verbs.
Examples:

I am reading Homers Odyssey. [Am is the helping verb. Reading is the main verb.]
Odysseus should have been modest instead of arrogant. [Should and have are helping
verbs and been is the main verb.]

Forms of Be
Forms of Have

Am
Are
Had

Commonly Used Helping Verbs

Be
Being
Been
Is
Has
Have

Was
Were
Having

Forms of Do
Modals

Did
Can
Could
May

Do
Might
Must
Ought

Done
Shall
Should
Will

Would

A modal is a helping verb that expresses an attitude toward the action or state of being of the main verb.
Example: He may never make it home after all.
Helping verbs may be separated from the main verb.
Example: Did Calypso ever release Odysseus?
NOTE: The word not (and the contraction nt) are never part of a verb phrase. Instead, they are adverbs
telling to what extent.
* * * Exercise 6: Identify the verbs and verb phrases in the following sentences.
Write the whole verb phrase on your separate paper. Be sure to include all helping
verbs.
1. The war had lasted so very, very long.
2. Then suddenly it was over in a flash of fire, a splash of blood, and a trampling
of horses.
3. Men whose ships had rolled idly over a thousand tides in the bay of Troy
gathered.
4. There were many faces missing, many oars lacking in the rower after ten years
of war.
5. But those who unfurled their sails, latched their oars were cheerful.
6. They had hung their masts with tokens of victory and filled their ships with
Trojan wine.
7. Best of all, they were going home.
8. They had not seen their wives and families for ten years.
9. Their sons had grown from boys into young men, and daughters had grown,
too.
10. Farms that had lain tangled and unattended for ten summers would now be
cared for.
Action Verbs - An action verb expresses physical or mental activity.
PHYSICAL Bring
MENTAL
Ponder
Examples:

Say
Trust

Rescue
Love

Sail
Review

Shout
Swim
Evaluate Guess

Breathe
Think

Jump
Fly
Consider Wonder

Please return Odysseus to me safely. [Return expresses physical action]

Do you know if you will ever find your father? [Do know expresses mental action]

Linking Verbs - A linking verb connects the subject to a word or word group that identifies or describes the
subject. Such a word or word group is called a subject compliment.
Examples:

1. Scylla is a sea monster who once was a beautiful nymph. [The subject compliment sea
monster identifies the subject Scylla.]
2. Scylla has been a evil force ever since she was transformed. [The subject compliment
force identifies the subject Scylla.]
3. Scylla looks scary with her six heads and eighteen rows of teeth. [The subject
compliment scary describes the subject Scylla.]

4. As she waits, Scylla become more agitated. [The subject compliment agitated describes
the subject Scylla.]
Commonly Used Linking Verbs
Be
Being
Am
Is

Are
Was
Were
Shall be

Will be
Has been
Have been
Had been

Forms of Be
Shall have been
Will have been
Can be
May be

Might be
Must be
Should be
Would be

Could be
Should have been
Would have been
Could have been

Others
Appear
Become

Feel
Grow

Look
Remain

Seem
Smell

Sound
Stay

Taste
Turn

NOTE: Some of the verbs listed as Others can be action verbs as well as linking verbs.
LINKING:

Odysseus felt lonely on the seashore without Penelope and Telemachus.

Odysseus felt the water rush against his tired feet.

* * * Exercise 7: Identify each italicized verb in the following sentences as action verb or linking verb.
Example:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

1. Not all scholars are convinced that both poems were written by Homer.
1. linking verb

The brutal and tragic atmosphere of the first epic is so different from the fantasy of the second.
They are not sure whether Homer is a real name.
Perhaps Homer is a kind of nickname.
Whatever the case, you have in your hands a story developed over three thousand years ago.
It was written down a couple hundred years later.

* * * Exercise 8: For each of the following verbs, write two sentences: in the first
sentence use the verb as a linking verb, and in the second sentence use it as an
action verb.
Example:
1. appear
2. sound

1. Become
1. We become older by the day. That gown becomes her.
3. smell
4. grow

5. look
6. feel

7. remain
8. stay

9. taste
10. turn

Transitive Verbs A transitive verb has an objecta word that tells who or what receives the action of the
verb.
Examples:

Odysseus trusts his wife. [The object wife receives the action of the verb trusts.]
Odysseus blinded the Cyclops. [The object Cyclops receive the action of the verb blinded.]

Intransitive Verbs An intransitive verb does note have an object.

Examples:

The Cyclops groaned. The boat sails near.

NOTE: The same verb may be transitive in one sentence and intransitive in another.

TRANSITIVE
INTRANSITIVE

SWAM
Odysseus swam the channel.
Odysseus swam for many hours.

STEERED
Odysseus steered the boat to safety.
Odysseus steered for the other sailors.

* * * Exercise 9: Identify the verb in each sentence, and tell whether it is transitive or intransitive.
Example:

1. We eagerly anticipated our trip home from Troy.

1. anticipated - transitive

1. I carried the bag of wind from Aeolia onto the boat.

2. My men begged for me to tell them what the bag contained.
3. While I slept, they fought amongst themselves.
4. Eventually, the greedier men ripped the bag of winds open.
5. The strong winds the bag contained blew us terribly off course.
6. Many of my men were lost at sea.
7. I wished they had not so much curiosity and selfishness in them.
8. We were much further away than when we even began the journey home.
9. I wondered if I will ever see my Penelope again.
10. I grabbed an oar and begin to row myself.

Adverbs An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. An adverb

tells how, when, where, or to what extent (how much, how long, or how often).
ADVERBS MODIFYING VERBS: The Cicones were waiting outside. [where]
The Cicones attacked us yesterday. [when]
The Cicones cheered loudly. [how]
The Cicones never gave up. [to what extent]
* * * Exercise 10: Identify the adverbs in the following sentences and name which verb it modifies.
Example:

1. My men ate the cattle of the Cicones greedily and thoughtlessly.

1. greedily ate, thoughtlessly - ate

1. Tired and hungry, my men and I landed quickly on the shore of the Cicones.
2. Cicone men, women, and children played lightheartedly in the surf.
3. Immediately, my men killed the children and took the women captive.
4. My men originally thought they would be able to get away with their war tactics here.
5. But some of the men successfully escaped to run and get help from the main army of Cicones.
6. How quickly the Cicone army appeared quickly and in great numbers.
7. Ceaselessly, it seems, we battled on the shores, in the waves.
8. My men fought with all their might, but they had never seen such carnage.
9. We barely escaped with our lives, but we lost many of our bravest soldiers that day.
10. I always wish my men had listened to me when I told them that we should have left.
ADVERBS MODIFYING ADJECTIVES: It was a fiercely competitive fight.
[Fiercely modifies the adjective competitive.]
The exceptionally brave soldiers will be honored.
[Exceptionally modifies the adjective brave.]
* * * Exercise 11: In each of the following sentences, an adverb modifies an adjective. Identify the
adverb and the adjective it modifies.

Example:

1. The island contained a considerably large number of the flowers.

1. adverb considerably, adjective - large

1. My men and I set down upon the unusually peaceful island.

2. Notably unaccustomed to such quiet, my men were suspicious of the islands inhabitants.
3. I sent three men who crept quite undetected through the landscape.
4. We were pretty surprised when they did not return back to the boat.
5. It seemed as if we waited for a very long time for their return, but after hours, they did not come.
6. At this, my men put on their thoroughly aged armor and set out to find their companions.
7. We found our lost sailors munching on the deliciously sweet lotus flower.
8. They had lost nearly all desire to return home after tasting the magical plant.
9. They smiled, and their faces seemed inexplicably content.
10. They would not leave the flower behind, so they had to be carried off by powerfully brutal force.
ADVERBS MODIFYING OTHER ADVERBS:
The crew ate extremely quickly. [The adverb extremely modifies the adverb quickly, telling to what
extent the crew ate quickly.
They all turned into pigs later that evening. [The adverb later modifies the adverb that evening, telling
when that evening.
* * * Exercise 12: Identify the adverb or adverbs in the following sentences. After each
adverb, give the word it modifies and the part of speech of that word.
Example:
imagine.

1. Odysseus dared not close his eyes, for what he saw was far too horrible to
1. far too (adverb), too horrible (adjective)

1. Odysseus had already eaten the moly flowers and was immune from her crafty magic.

2. He apprehensively walked around the pigpens and tried to calm the beating of his heart.
3. Looking through the window, he saw a woman with lilac eyes calmly seating his men at
the tables.
4. She smiled brightly as she gave them fresh, warm bread, pealed fruit, and parsley with
cheese.
5. At least, to Odysseus, it looked somewhat like parsley.
6. She gave them wine, too, more and more wine, which they drank graciously.
7. As they ate, she walked knowingly around their tables and watched them enjoy the meal.
8. She carried a willow wand and knocked each man in the head with it, playfully, as if
teasing.
9. But clearly she was not teasing them.
10. Each mans legs at once began to shrink, their faces grew snouts, and suddenly they were
swine!

* * * Exercise 13: For each word below, write two sentences. In the first sentence,
use the word as an adjective, and in the second sentence, use the word as an
adverb.
Example:

1. daily
6. straight

1. kindly
1. Penelope has a kindly manner. (adjective) She speaks kindly.
(adverb)
2. late
7. fast

3. far
8. more

4. early
9. right

5. hard
10. further

Preposition A preposition is a word that shows the relationship of a noun or a

pronoun, called the object of the preposition, to another word in the sentence. A
preposition, its object, and any modifiers of the object are called the prepositional
phrase.
Examples:

I sailed toward Ithaca.

I sailed around Ithaca.
I sailed by Ithaca.

I sailed near Ithaca.

I sailed toward Ithaca.
I sailed beyond Ithaca.

Commonly Used Prepositions

Aboard
About
Above
Across
After
Against
Along
Amid

Among
Around
At
Before
Behind
Below
Beneath
Beside

Besides
Between
Beyond
But (except)
By
Concerning
Down
During

Except
For
From
In
Inside
Into
Like
Near

Of
Off
On
Onto
Outside
Over
Past
Since

Through
To
Toward
Under
Underneath
Until
Up
Upon

With
Within
Without

Commonly Used Compound Prepositions

According to
In addition to
Instead of
Because of
In front of
On account of
By means of
In spite of
Prior to
Preposition or Adverb? Some words may be used as either prepositions or adverbs. Remember that an
adverb is a modifier and does not have a subject.
PREPOSITION
ADVERB

Telemachus climbed down the ladder.

Telemachus climbed down carefully.

Above the shore, the bird circled peacefully

Above, the bird circled peacefully.

NOTE: As a preposition, the word to comes before a noun or a pronoun to form a prepositional phrase.
Do not confuse such a prepositional phrase with an infinitive, a verb form that starts with the word to.
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES: to the battlefield, to her, to Ithaca
INFINITIVES: to create, to play, to compare
* * * Exercise 14: For each of the following words, write two sentences. In the first sentence, use the word as a
preposition and underline the prepositional phrase. In the second sentence, use the word as an adverb. Be prepared
to tell which word the adverb modifies.
Example:
1. around
2. under

1. in
1. We are going in the cave now. We are going in now. (in modifies going)
3. inside
4. on

5. up
6. below

7. outside
8. past

9. by
10. aboard

Conjunction A conjunction joins words or word groups.

Coordinating Conjunctions A coordinating conjunction joins words or word groups that are used in the
same way. FANBOYS: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So

Examples:

The men ate wine and cheese.

I looked for my men, but they were gone.

We can sail near Scylla or near Charybdis.

I was tired, yet I stayed awake.

Correlative Conjunctions A correlative conjunction is a pair of conjunctions that join words or word
groups that are used in the same way.
Both . . . and
Either . . . or
Examples:

Correlative Conjunctions
Neither . . . nor
Not only . . . but also

Whether . . . or

Neither Scylla nor Charybdis were safe for my men to pass near.
Both Scylla and Charybdis were deadly monsters.
Scyllas teeth were dangerous not only for my men but also for me.
Whether Charybdis swallowed them or not, my men would have died anyway.

* * * Exercise 15: Identify the coordinating conjunctions and correlative conjunctions in these sentences.
1. Circe, overjoyed to see them, helped them find Elpenors body and give him burial.
2. His friends planted his oar in the grave mound and called his name three times to the ocean, so he
could then join Hades in the Underworld.
3. Either Odysseus could tell his men the directions given to him, or he could let them want to go on.
4. Circe listened and bit her lip and nodded unhappily, but she did not say a word.
5. Not only did Circe let him go, but she also gave him advice on how to avoid the dangers of the
Sirens song by stuffing beeswax into the ears of his men.

Interjections An interjection expresses emotion. An interjection has not

grammatical relationship to the rest of the sentence. An interjection is usually set off
from the rest of the sentence by an exclamation point or by a comma or commas.
Exclamation points indicate strong emotion. Commas indicate mild emotion.
* * * Exercise 16: Using the interjections from the list provided, complete the
following sentences. Be sure to use the interjections as interjections and not as
adverbs or adjectives.
Choose from: excellent, well, whoa, ouch, wow, oops, whew, hey, cool, and yow.
Use each only once.
1. ________ thats scary!
2. ________ I forgot to thank Poseidon for his assistance in the Trojan War.
3. ________ our men were barely able to escape the Cicones.
4. ________ tomorrow I will be free of Circe!
5. ________ I cant decide, Calypso or Penelope?
6. ________ he didnt know I was Odysseus.
7. ________ she didnt marry any of her suitors!
8. ________ when will I finally be home?
9. ________ we finally gouged out his one eye!
10.
________ my men should have followed my command.
DETERMINING PARTS OF SPEECH: The same word may be used as different parts of speech. TO
figure out what part of speech the boldface word is in each of the following sentences, read the entire

sentence. What you are doing is studying the contextthe way the word is used in the sentence. From
the context, you can identify the part of speech of that word, like light and help in the following sentences.
Examples:

Penelope heard the light patter of raindrops on the stone pathway. [adjective]
The flash of light hurt his eyes. [noun]
Use care when you light the olive tree on fire. [verb]
Please help Odysseus home safely. [verb]
Athena will provide help, but only because Odysseus is so wise and clever. [noun]
Too bad Penelope couldnt go to the help desk to find out about Odysseus. [adjective]

* * * Exercise 17: Determine the part of speech of each italicized word in the following
paragraph.
Example:

(1) Exhausted, (2) they (3) slumped (4) across their (5) oars.
1. adjective 2. pronoun 3. verb 4. preposition 5. noun

(1) Odysseus raised a sail, and a (2) favorable breeze carried (3) them on into the great
ocean and away from the dangerous shoreline. The rising moon (4) wounded the sea with a
spear of silver, (5) and the old, familiar constellations showed (6) themselves one by one
like (7) signposts marking the way home. (8) Oh! Not far now, Odysseus (9) began. If
this wind holds (10) we shall see home (11) within the week. Over yonder, where the sun
went down, (12) is the Island of the Sun, (13) but we will not be putting ashore (14) there.
(15) Foolishly, that was all he said. (16) Just then, the wind (17) rattled the sail (18)
angrily (19) against the mast and the sea shivered into a (20) thousand waves. (21) Big
warm raindrops hit their weary shoulders as though the gods were spitting (22) on them
with (23) contempt. Eurylochus rocked the boat as (24) he heaved himself (25) heavily to
his feet. (26) Well, I say we do pull (27) into the island of the sun, and I (28) say we light
a fire, find ourselves (30) some shelter, and get some (31) sleep. I dont know about you,
comrades, (32) but my arms are out of their sockets, and my heart is half out of my chest
with terror. (33) Whether the captain says we should stop or not, I dont give a rip. He fed
six of my men to Scylla without (34) warning them of the (35) death they had in store!